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 3975 articles by Bill Dries :
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. Shelby County solar-farm regulations issue comes to a close at City CouncilRelated content:
The final vote on the joint city-county ordinance came a day after the Shelby County Board of Commissioners approved the same compromise.
Memphis City Council members talked about better camera surveillance and other measures with Memphis Parks Director Nick Walker.Related story:
Two resolutions to fund the clerk’s office, including a pay raise, were withdrawn from the County Commission’s agenda Monday, May 6, without comment.
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.
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.
County administration has yet to review the raises, which are one of several resolutions on the Monday, May 6, agenda.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.Related story:
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.
Marquita Bradshaw is running again statewide after a surprising Democratic primary victory four years ago in her first Senate race. Meanwhile, Whitehaven has a new Republican organization.
The $17 million renovation is the first public library in Orange Mound. Mayor Paul Young said the project is an answer to the gunfight last week in the community that killed two and wounded seven.
Shelby County Commissioner Mick Wright criticized General Session Judge Bill Anderson’s push for more defendants to be released on their own recognizance.
The D.C. Scorecard finds some bipartisanship among the state’s House delegation to Washington. The city’s two Congressmen — one Democratic and the other Republican — voted for aid packages to Taiwan, Ukraine and Israel — although for different reasons. The state’s two Republican Senators voted against the aid.
The Memphis in May event at Liberty Park will also have celebrity pitmasters doing cooking demonstrations and 129 teams from 22 states and four foreign countries competing for barbecue honors.
The Saturday shooting that killed two and wounded seven came up in Tuesday, April 23, City Council committee sessions where Interim MPD Chief C.J. Davis talked about federal charges and a shift in strategy.
Young presented his budget propsosal including the first tax hike in more than nine years for the city Tuesday, April 23, at the top of Tuesday’s Memphis City Council meeting. Council budget deliberations begin next month.