‘Mere negligence’ not enough for ouster, Halbert’s lawyer says
Asked about Halbert’s statements, Mayor Lee Harris told The Daily Memphian: “I’m shocked by everything you just said. The rabbit hole has gotten deeper.”
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 3907 articles by Bill Dries :
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May 2024
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Shelby County -
Behind The Headlines City and county navigate difficult budget seasons
Memphis City Council members weigh a 75-cent tax hike as Shelby County commissioners have to make some decisions about change to the funding for a Regional One Health rebuild.
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Metro Kevin Ritz’s nomination squeaks through Senate Judiciary Committee
The nomination takes place against a backdrop of a dispute between Republicans and Democrats in the chamber over a procedural custom for notifying senators of the opposing party that was suspended during the Trump administration.
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City of MemphisThe story of Tom Lee and his afterlife
After his heroic efforts to save 32 people from a capsized excursion boat on the Mississippi River, Tom Lee worked as a city sanitation worker and lived in the Klondike neighborhood.
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Arts & Culture99 years later, Tom Lee’s heroism remains relevant in poetry competition
Against a wall of windows facing a wind-swept Mississippi River, a small group of people at Beale Street Landing raised a toast to Tom Lee Wednesday, May 8, in the park named in his honor.
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City of MemphisPolitical Roundup: Selling the tax hike, Democratic unity and the North Memphis way
The political roundup reviews Mayor Paul Young’s tax-hike pitch to citizens in Orange Mound. Also Justin J. Pearson on the shaky state of Democratic unity, and Telisa Franklin opens her campaign for the District 96 seat.
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EducationSchool board candidates sound off on Feagins’ leadership, voter apathy
School board candidates on the August ballot talk about MSCS superintendent Marie Feagins’ vision for the district.
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City of Memphis Council members question fee hike and tax increase Mayor Young seeks
The hike in the monthly solid-waste fee was passed on the first of three votes by the Memphis City Council. They heard there could be increases in the fee as they also weigh a property-tax hike.
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Shelby County solar-farm regulations issue comes to a close at City Council
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City of Memphis Shelby County solar-farm regulations issue comes to a close at City Council
The final vote on the joint city-county ordinance came a day after the Shelby County Board of Commissioners approved the same compromise.
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City of MemphisSafety at community centers in focus after shooting in Douglass
Memphis City Council members talked about better camera surveillance and other measures with Memphis Parks Director Nick Walker.
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Shelby County Support for Wanda Halbert’s raise requests vanishes with legal move to oust her
Two resolutions to fund the clerk’s office, including a pay raise, were withdrawn from the County Commission’s agenda Monday, May 6, without comment.
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Shelby County County Commission gives final approval to rules for solar farms
The vote came with some important changes to accomodate large solar arrays within the city that MLGW pushed for. The Memphis City Council votes on the measure Tuesday, May 7.
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City of Memphis City Council could take first vote on solid-waste-fee hike
The administration of Mayor Paul Young wants the council to take the first of three votes Tuesday, May 7, on a $6.98 increase in the solid waste fee. The administration also will outline changes it would make to garbage collection with the increase.
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Shelby CountyShelby County Commission to vote on pay raises for County Clerk’s office
County administration has yet to review the raises, which are one of several resolutions on the Monday, May 6, agenda.
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Behind The Headlines Regional One transformation could begin this summer
Reginald Coopwood says on “Behind The Headlines” the hospital’s shift to an academic center involves growing medical specialties that could fund itself. Coopwood also addressed calls for more funding from Arkansas and Mississippi.
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Shelby CountyShelby County budget proposal ups its share of Regional One rebuild
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris talks about the move to county financing of the first phase of the project over the next decade. Meanwhile, CEO of Regional One said the anticipated state funding didn’t come through this year.
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City of Memphis Solid-waste fee goes up in city budget proposal, too
The $6.89 fee hike was among the focal points as City Council members held the first in a series of public forums Thursday, May 2, to gauge public opinion on the proposed 75-cent property-tax hike.
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Shelby County County HR director calls Clerk Halbert’s raise requests ‘asinine’
Funding requests came before Shelby County commissioners Wednesday, May 1, in committee sessions. They appear to be a move toward a corrective-action plan, but the pay raises are likely to face more questions.
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Shelby County County mayor proposes budget with no property-tax hike
The budget proposal includes a 6% pay raise for county employees. The county commission begins budget hearings later this month with votes on the plan some time in June.
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City of Memphis Mother who lost son in Orange Mound Park calls out fear at town hall
Jennifer Fason spoke before a crowd of 200 who gathered at Orange Mound Community Center Tuesday, April 30, at the latest One Memphis forum led by Memphis Mayor Paul Young.
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April 2024
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Shelby County Mayor Harris to propose county pay raise
The 6% proposed raise for all county employees comes two years after Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris proposed and the Shelby County Board of Commissioners approved a 5% pay hike.
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City of Memphis City marks start of fiber broadband install
The groundbreaking at Willow Park in East Memphis Tuesday, April 30, is the start of building the infrastructure for a fiber broadband network that is to connect the system to at least 85% of the city.
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City of MemphisOrange Mound’s Reconstruction history comes into focus
A cemetery for the Deaderick Plantation, which later became the core of the Orange Mound subdivision, has been ground zero for efforts to chart what life was like for those in the Reconstruction era after slavery.
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South MemphisChucalissa’s link to slavery and Reconstruction resurfaces
After the Native American inhabitants of Chucalissa left the mound settlement in the 1500s ahead of European explorers arriving in the area, the area became a large cotton plantation.
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Downtown Mississippi River cobblestone landing project resumes this summer
The cobblestone landing project got underway in 2017. It seeks to make the public and historic space on the city’s harbor more accessible with amenities like floating restaurants.
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