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 3806 articles by Bill Dries :
Hamilton County District Attorney General Coty G. Wamp, in a letter to Shelby County commissioners, says the investigation has been slow moving with unreturned phone calls and denied records requests that she says violate state law.
The case of one county commissioner against another was dismissed in court Wednesday, Dec. 20.
If approved, members who serve two terms, or eight years, would get city health benefits for life. The council also approved a pay raise for incoming Mayor Paul Young and put a fifth referendum on the August 2024 ballot. City nails down Brooks Museum agreement, delays vote on Chickasaw Gardens gatesRelated story:
Memphis City Council heard oppositions to the new Memphis Art Museum before giving the green light to an agreement with the Brooks Museum to run it and punted a vote on closing two streets in Chickasaw Gardens.
TDOT announced a plan to rebuild the I-55 bridge over the Mississippi River with funding from Gov. Bill Lee’s $3.3 billion Transportation Modernization Act.
Shelby County commissioners also funded 21 new “youth development specialist” positions at Memphis-Shelby County Juvenile Court, and a rugby field for Memphis Inner City Rugby.
The Memphis City Council ends its term with a vote on a proposed extension of health benefits for some departing members and on a 2024 ballot question, allowing the body to set the pay for its members.
The Shelby County Commission’s final meeting of 2023 will review contract extensions for health care services at the jail and juvenile detention facilities along with a grant for the Memphis Inner-City Rugby program.
The $78 million redevelopment of the old Northside High School comes with an ambitious plan to bring back the surrounding Klondike subdivision from decades of blight.
Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr.’s request for a temporary order of protection from fellow commissioner Mickell Lowery has been denied — at least for now.
“We’ve had a number of dialogues over the past couple of months, and I feel confident that she can and will be able to lead us into a better space with regards to public safety.”
The March 5 primary is Shelby County’s first election of 2024 and is topped by Tennessee’s presidential primary. The race for General Sessions Court clerk is the only countywide position on the ballot in 2024.
Memphis wasn’t part of original expansion plans for passenger-rail service in and through Tennessee. But connecting Memphis to Nashville would also give travelers New Orleans and Chicago.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and state House Speaker Cameron Sexton say the fine print of a new, expanded school-voucher bill will include accountability standards for private schools and home-schooled students.
The new community center, scheduled to open in 2025, is just yards away from the existing community center, which is one of the most used in the Memphis Parks system.
The music festival by Mempho Presents is May 3-5, 2024, with a lineup expected early next year.
The fellowships come with a $65,000 stipend for each of the three recipients funded by federal community grants.
County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. is seeking a court order of protection against fellow commissioner Mickell Lowery after the two exchanged words in August. Attorneys are seeking to seal the order and the details of Ford’s legal motion.
“Once this service is in operation, much of the country will be accessible by rail from Memphis,” said U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn. “This is a very big deal.”
The final approval of the August 2024 referendum for city voters came Tuesday, Dec. 5, in a chaotic roll call. The council has another ballot question on the way to allow it to set its own pay.
The Memphis City Council will also tackle moving state funding for the Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium renovations and a resolution to give Mayor-elect Paul Young a raise.
A vote on a construction contract for a rugby field was delayed Monday, Dec. 4, amid an ongoing commission debate about whether programs in one area are a start or are a limit that doesn’t benefit other areas.
Funding for a Whitehaven High School STEM Center is among the votes Shelby County commissioners are expected to take Monday.
The Downtown Memphis crime plan surfaced in October. It could face its first test this holiday season. Officials involved in putting it together talked on “Behind The Headlines” about the plan and the reality it is built to confront.
Holt has been leader of the 46-year-old festival for more than 25 years. His retirement, effective at the end of January, comes after a series of fundamental changes to the set of month-long events.