Memphis River Parks sues Memphis in May
The lawsuit over damages to Tom Lee Park seeks $675,000 on a $1.425 million bill due in mid-August. The other $750,000 is covered by a damage deposit paid by the city and the festival.
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 3972 articles by Bill Dries :
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September 2023
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City of Memphis -
Elections Shelby County Republican Party says no to school board primaries in close vote
The decision came during a secret-ballot vote of the local Republican Party’s executive committee Thursday, Sept. 7, in Germantown.
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City of Memphis Brooks Museum says stopping work for court fight could cost $7M
The lawsuit, due for its first hearing later this month, is a deep dive into past disputes about how to use the “public promenade” the city’s founders created more than 200 years ago.
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Elections Gloria Johnson opens Senate bid, draws fire from incumbent Marsha Blackburn
Memphis was the third of three stops Tuesday, Sept. 5, kicking off what Johnson says will be an “uphill battle” to win the August primary and take down Marsha Blackburn in next year’s November general election.
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City of Memphis Political Roundup: 901 Day, too many candidates and not enough votes
Van Turner and Paul Young started their mayoral campaigns a year ago on 901 Day. A year later, they talk about what separates each in a pack of 17 candidates.
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Elections Labor and social justice groups back Turner in bid to repeat 2022 blue wave
The coalition argues a wave in the 2022 countywide elections can be repeated despite city elections being nonpartisan. Meanwhile, the local Republican party has endorsed Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr.
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Mayor's Race
ElectionsHere’s who else is running to be Memphis’ next mayor
These other 10 contenders are on the October ballot for Memphis mayor.
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Mayor's race
ElectionsVan Turner has had plenty of stops on path to mayor’s race
The life of the attorney and former Shelby County commissioner has taken him to Atlanta, Knoxville, D.C. and Japan. He returned to Memphis more than 20 years ago and found a path to elected office.
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Downtown Redesigned Tom Lee Park ready for debut
Nearly three years after work began on the $62 million redesign, the Downtown Memphis space along the Mississippi River will have a formal opening Saturday, Sept. 2. Here’s what to expect.
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August 2023
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Behind The Headlines Paul Young says MLGW plan needs time. (And maybe more money.)
Memphis Mayoral contender Paul Young also talked on “Behind The Headlines” about “stopping the bleeding” from violent crime as the next mayor’s top priority of the next mayor.
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City of Memphis Oui, c’est vrai! MIM chooses France as 2024 honored country
The choice is the first by the Greater Memphis Chamber. France was last honored in 1990 by Memphis In May.
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City of Memphis Chancery Court judge issues order that could halt new Brooks Museum of Art construction
Chancellor Melanie Taylor-Jefferson proposed halting construction on the new Brooks Museum of Art Downtown, contingent on Friends for Our Riverfront posting a bond that would cover the cost of stopping construction.
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Shelby County Sheriff’s office reform measures clear early County Commission vote
The commission also used some of its opioid settlement money to develop a plan for dealing with the effect of opioid addiction.
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Shelby County County Commission returns to police reform ordinances for Sheriff’s office
The set of three ordinances were delayed on first reading votes two weeks ago. Meanwhile, Monday’s meeting is the last for Mickell Lowery as chairman of a body that is still working its way through a rift among the nine Democratic members.
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Update
State GovernmentFormer 2-term Republican Tennessee Gov. Don Sundquist dies at 87
The Memphis Republican’s bid for a state income tax in his second term as governor estranged him from the GOP statewide, but Sundquist made his peace with a more conservative state party late in life.
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Elections Political Roundup: McKissack opens campaign HQ and how many votes to become mayor
Campaigns are anticipating a voter turnout of around 100,000 voters when all of the votes are counted Oct. 5. Some candidates believe one of them could win the mayors race with as few as 25,000 votes.
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Behind The Headlines Chamber takes over Memphis in May international activities
The Memphis in May International Festival was founded to promote foreign business investment in the city. The tradition will continue with the Greater Memphis Chamber announcing the 2024 honored country next week.
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City of Memphis Riverfront group, including Overton Heirs, sues to stop new Brooks construction
The Chancery Court lawsuit seeks to stop construction on the new riverfront Brooks Museum, charging violations of the terms of the “public promenade” established when the city was founded in 1819.
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City of Memphis Council pushes for permanent sheriff’s presence on Beale
The resolution by council chairman Martavius Jones and council vice chairman JB Smiley Jr. asking the Memphis Police Department to ask Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner for the permanent cooperation was approved by the council on a 10-0 vote.
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City of Memphis City court clerk question will be on ballot; MLGW residency won’t
The Memphis City Council voted down a ballot question that would have required MLGW employees to live within Shelby County. It gave final approval to a referendum on restoring the city court clerk as an elected office.
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Elections Gibson calls Bonner’s leadership ‘weak and ineffective’
Memphis Mayoral contender J.W. Gibson is the latest in the race to challenger Floyd Bonner Jr. on recent deaths at the Shelby County Jail during Bonner’s tenure as sheriff.
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City of Memphis City Council to take final votes on two more 2024 ballot questions
The council has already approved two other charter referendums for the 2024 election year and has others waiting in the wings. If all are approved, it would make five ballot questions for Memphis voters next year.
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City of Memphis Political Roundup: Memphis mayoral candidates criticize fellow contenders
Mayoral contender Van Turner also said Saturday the city’s “crime wave” has to be “met where it is.” Also, the special legislative session in Nashville could influence the Memphis mayor’s race.
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Behind The Headlines Bluffwalk at new Brooks Museum can be in the eye of the beholder
The director of the Brooks says on “Behind The Headlines” the controversy over the bluffwalk on the river side of the museum being built Downtown depends on your definition of the public walkway atop much of the riverbluff.
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Elections Memphis mayoral candidates share public-safety plans at Chamber forum
The Greater Memphis Chamber forum drew six of the seven major contenders for mayor.
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