Noisy debate doesn’t deter County Commission from ethics vote
The vote brought to the surface deep differences the body has with Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, and one commissioner brought a plastic bag filled with house shoes.
Bill Dries
Reporter
Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for almost 50 years covering a wide variety of stories from the 1977 death of Elvis Presley and the 1978 police and fire strikes to numerous political campaigns, every county mayor and every Memphis Mayor starting with Wyeth Chandler.
There are 4279 articles by Bill Dries :
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May 2025
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MetroThe Making of a Hero: After fading, Tom Lee’s story resurfaces
Forty years after he died, a group of descendants and others began to reassemble the scattered puzzle pieces of Tom Lee’s heroism.
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The Making of a Hero: The bend that took down the M.E. Norman riverboat
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MetroThe Making of a Hero: The bend that took down the M.E. Norman riverboat
The series of turns in the Mississippi River just south of Memphis has claimed boats before and was known for strong currents. It has changed in the century since the M.E. Norman capsized and sank to the river’s muddy bottom.
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Education County Commission to vote on putting all MSCS seats on ballot
The ordinance is possible because of a state law passed in the Tennessee Legislature this year that enabled local legislative bodies to do that in Shelby and Knox counties.
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City of Memphis Parking garage plan gets first Council vote
Memphis City Council members take the first of three votes Tuesday, May 6, on a proposal to fine the owners of Downtown parking garages who don’t maintain safety standards and pick up their trash.
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MetroThe Making of a Hero: What was happening in Memphis in May 1925?
Here’s a look at what was happening in Memphis in May of 1925 as an engineers’ convention, that included a riverboat cruise south on the Mississippi River, met in Downtown Memphis.
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What Calvin Coolidge told Tom Lee at White House
The Making of a Hero: What happened to Tom Lee after the river rescue
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MetroThe Making of a Hero: What happened to Tom Lee after the river rescue
When Tom Lee arrived on the Memphis riverfront May 9, 1925, the morning after that long night, he began encountering people who already knew his name and knew the bravery of what he’d done.
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Shelby County County ethics proposals could face ‘can of Raid’ and ‘house shoes’
Two ethics proposals return to the Shelby County Commission Monday. County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr., who faces criminal charges himself, is accusing others of wrongdoing.
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MetroThe Making of a Hero: What Calvin Coolidge told Tom Lee at White House
A decade after the meeting, an unbylined column in The Commercial Appeal offered a reason behind Tom Lee’s decision to cut short his visit to the nation’s capital.
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MetroThe Making of a Hero: Who was Tom Lee?
A headstone in Mt. Carmel Cemetery shows Tom Lee was born Feb. 18, 1885, and died April 1, 1952. Between those two dates, Lee mostly lived in Memphis.
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Shelby County Political Roundup: Why Republicans want partisan school board primaries
The Shelby County Republican Party is hoping having partisan primaries in school board races will help them crawl back to relevancy in the Democratic-dominated county, even if they have little chance of winning some races.
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MetroThe Making of a Hero: 100 years ago, an engineers’ convention turned deadly
On May 8, 1925, about 100 years ago, a steamboat capsized in the Mississippi River — a disaster that forced dozens of men, women and children to fight for their life against the current until a brave Memphian, a veteran river worker, reached out to help.
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Behind The Headlines Mulroy said Brent Taylor’s latest move is ‘face-saving bit of window dressing’
“There never was a case for removal or even investigation in the first place, and you don’t have to take my word for that,” Shelby County DA Steve Mulroy said on WKNO-TV’s “Behind The Headlines.”
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Shelby County County GOP reverses course on school board races
The Shelby County Republican Party executive committee didn’t want partisan primaries in school board races two years ago, but Thursday’s vote went the other way.
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City of Memphis Clayborn Temple’s back wall collapses
The collapse complicates efforts to preserve some part of the historic church that went up in flames April 28.
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April 2025
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City of Memphis Clayborn Temple nonprofit leader said some of landmark may survive
Anasa Troutman, the leader of the nonprofit directing the restoration of Clayborn Temple, said the building may be considered a “complete loss” by the Memphis Fire Department, but she said she isn’t using the term.
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Downtown Clayborn fire investigation to be ‘thorough and detailed’
Firefighters will investigate the cause of the blaze but will also need to determine if any additional parts of the structure need to come down.
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Calkins: On Clayborn Temple’s final day, shaken Memphians came to pay their respects
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Shelby County JB Smiley Jr. touts ‘direct’ leadership style as he joins Shelby County mayor’s race
Memphis City Council member JB Smiley Jr. joins what could be a large field of contenders in the Democratic primary to succeed Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris.
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Elections Political Roundup: Shelby County Democrats stalled on chair, more
Local Democrats set a May 31 date to pick a chair, Patricia Possel is the newest Shelby County election commissioner and Congressman Steve Cohen says revoking student visas is causing problems on Memphis college campuses.
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City of Memphis Landmark Clayborn Temple total loss after pre-dawn fire
“If history teaches us anything, it’s this: Clayborn Temple will rise again, because its foundation was never merely physical. It was spiritual. It was communal. And that foundation cannot be burned,” said NCRM President Russ Wigginton.
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Shelby County Sheriff’s Office pegs ‘worst case’ cost of new jail
The multi-year dollar figure comes from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and would fundamentally alter the county’s annual capital budget now at $150 million a year for all capital projects.
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City of Memphis City Council takes another crack at ‘party houses’
Council Chair Ford Canale and Council member Philip Spinosa are working on a proposal they hope will not draw the attention of Airbnb lobbyists in Nashville who undid some of the regulations council members put in place in 2016.
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City of Memphis Memphis Zoo makes big plans as attendance dips
Although the capital and operating funds are separate, the new capital projects are expected to push attendance up, which raises more money for the zoo to operate.
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City of Memphis Downtown parking and liquor stores top City Council agenda
The council hears about a proposal to enforce standards for lighting and cleanliness of Downtown parking garages and votes on a move to extend the life of a temporary Downtown surface parking lot at Beale and Main streets.
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Shelby County County Commission weighs changes to embattled grant program
County Commissioner Britney Thornton said Wednesday the allegations against Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. shouldn’t be considered in deciding what, if any, changes should be made to the body’s grant program.
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