Mayoral hopeful: We need ‘to amp up’ MPD numbers, quality
Watch five mayoral candidates discuss local crime and criminal justice issues during last night’s Daily Memphian mayoral debate.
Bill Dries
Reporter
Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for more than 40 years.
There are 3663 articles by Bill Dries :
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April 2023
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Elections -
City of Memphis Blackburn talks federal spending cuts in visit to Memphis
During a Monday, April 24, visit to Memphis, Sen. Marsha Blackburn talked about her endorsement of former President Donald Trump and took to Twitter to offer supporters a “Marsha, Marsha, Marsha pizza cutter.”
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City of Memphis Strickland takes his last budget to City Council
Late Monday evening, a resolution on the city’s residency requirement for mayoral candidates was added to the council’s executive session. Council chairman Martavius Jones wants the city’s chief legal officer to take a stand on just how long a candidate for mayor must have lived in the city.
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Behind The Headlines MATA’s dilemma: Capital projects are federally funded, while daily operations face shortfall
MATA CEO Gary Rosenfeld talked on “Behind The Headlines” about the balance between plans and what they cost to stay on the road.
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City of Memphis City Council member joining river parks organization
The first-term Memphis City Council member will lead implementation of a new environmental curriculum in the city’s riverfront parks.
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Elections Daily Memphian to host Memphis mayoral debate
Five of the 11 declared mayoral contenders will debate crime, policing and criminal justice at the April 24 event at The Halloran Centre at the Orpheum, which will also be live-streamed on The Daily Memphian site.
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City of Memphis‘Decorum’ questions follow intense city council discussion on police reform
Citizens pushing for police reforms wanted quick action after the death of Tyre Nichols. Some on the council say they pushed too hard.
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City of Memphis Election Commission subpoenaing Mayor Strickland in mayoral residency suit
The city administration has declined to take a side on whether it believes the five-year residency requirement is in effect. That puts the city between the Election Commission, which wants some kind of court ruling on what the requirement is, and two mayoral candidates whose attorneys say they will pursue who raised the residency issue in the first place.
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Shelby County Harris, Wright pitch Regional One rebuild financing
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris takes a proposal to the County Commission next week to fund the county’s share of the $700-million capital project. Commissioner Mick Wright says he hopes that can be coupled with a property tax reduction.
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State Government Bail limit bill awaits Lee’s signature
The bill requires trial court and general sessions court judges to set bail for certain violent felonies.
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DowntownTrolleys missing from two Downtown lines for nearly a decade
Nine years ago this month all trolleys stopped running following a fire on the Madison line. Nine years later, the Riverfront loop and Madison Avenue line are still down.
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City of Memphis Call for $15M in MATA funding comes with push for regional transit authority
MATA president and CEO Gary Rosenfeld called for a regional transit authority that could raise its own funding across a larger area and possibly move into street repairs and other “mobility” issues.
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Trolleys missing from two Downtown lines for nearly a decade
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Shelby County Shelby County Commission buys land for Cordova fire station, approves Kerrville solar array
The commission took action on the two project as part of a light agenda Monday, April 17. Meanwhile, the county continues to search for another fire station site in southeast Shelby County.
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Shelby CountyNew Cordova fire house, Kerrville solar array top county commission agenda
The Shelby County Commission votes Monday, April 17, on a contract for a new county fire house in a part of Corova de-annexed by the city of Memphis in 2021.
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City of MemphisNew civic group enters MLGW-TVA skirmish
"$450 Million for Memphis" wants Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division to end its ties with TVA and start the move with a specific look at how much it would cost to sign on with the MISO network, the best known competitor for the city-owned utility that is TVA's biggest customer.
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City of Memphis Possible MLGW split from TVA draws questions over the right question to ask
Two leaders of the civic group backing an end to TVA ties say on "Behind The Headlines" that they want to hear more about how much it would cost MLGW to go with another electric power supplier without having to generate its own power as well.
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Analysis
City of MemphisDraft report on MLGW-TVA relationship draws fire from all sides
The civic group calling for MLGW to cut ties with TVA says TVA's estimate this week of hundreds of millions of dollars in expenses in the switch is wrong. And it says the draft report's recommendation of local power generation by MLGW is wrong too.
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City of Memphis Energy activists question how MLGW worded power switch proposals
The group “$450 Million For Memphis” says the bids from rival power suppliers should be redone to include proposals that are outside the basic requirements set up by MLGW management.
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Behind The Headlines Watch: The fight over terms for a TVA exit
The leaders of the group “$450M For Memphis” talk on Behind The Headlines about their problems with the ongoing RFP process and why they are phasing out the group.
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Metro Steve Cohen sees the possible return of Democratic majority in US House
“I’ve got more influence than I’ve ever had,” said Steve Cohen, who says he will seek reelection in 2024.
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City of Memphis Paul Young still has the most money in 2023 Memphis mayor’s race
Mayoral contender Paul Young has the largest campaign war chest across the last six months of campaigning. He also raised the most money in campaign finance reports covering the first three months of 2023.
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State Government Justin J. Pearson appointed to House seat in 7-0 vote
The commission voted to return Pearson to the District 86 state House seat at a special meeting Wednesday, April 12.
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Shelby County Adviser says more locations, temporary workers can end County Clerk’s problems
The new special adviser to Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert says she has some “concrete ideas” about how to end lines outside the office locations.
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State Government Several hundred march to Shelby County Commission
The march from the National Civil Rights Museum to the county building comes ahead of the Wednesday, April 12, county commission vote to appoint Justin J. Pearson to his District 86 seat in the state House of Representatives.
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City of Memphis City council approves ‘Driver Equality Act,’ concluding police reform votes
The council vote was chaotic as activists pushing for the passage of the measure complained about the council banning those who spoke at previous council sessions for using profanity.
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