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 :
Also on the commission’s Monday, April 3, agenda is funding for more prosecutors and a return to a plan to buy the old Metro Plaza Shopping Center in South Memphis for up to $3.5 million.
Carter claimed the chairmanship in the most Democratic county in the state Saturday, April 1, by three votes over rival Jesse Huseth.
Two history professors, looking at the city’s Civil Rights Movement since Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination 55 years ago, talk about Tyre Nichols, police reform and where today’s movement is headed on “Behind The Headlines.”
The race for chairman of the Shelby County Democratic Party is set against the backdrop of turmoil this week in the state House. Two of the three contenders say Democrats in the House aren’t being vocal enough.
Council attorney Allan Wade says council rules forbid special meetings to vote on ordinances, like the redistricting plan an ad hoc group is sending to the council for a vote in special meetings April 5 and April 12.
Wanda Halbert met March 29 with county commissioners who pressed for specifics on a lease at Poplar Plaza and an opening date for the Riverdale Road office. One commissioner pushed his call for her to resign.
The lawsuits over the five-year residency rule in the mayor’s race get their first court hearing Friday. Meanwhile, four of the mayoral contenders show up for a People’s Convention gathering at LeMoyne-Owen College and council candidates Meggan Kiel and Pearl Walker kick off their bids.
An email chain indicates representatives from Poplar Plaza have been asking Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert since at least September 2022 about relocating the clerk’s office space in the shopping center.Related story:
Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert goes before county commissioners Wednesday, March 29. Here are some of the basics of the controversy that has been ongoing for about a year.
Cary Vaughn was re-elected Shelby County Republican chairman at the local party’s biennial convention, with a call for new blood and a focus on common ground.
The spring growth includes new tree plantings overlooking Tom Lee Park as well as new community centers in Berclair and South Memphis and a new art installation Downtown.
Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert says she has a back-up plan to move the clerk’s office now at Poplar Plaza to an old bank branch at Quince and Perkins.
An ad hoc group is expected to recommend several maps to the council with a first council vote scheduled for an April 5 special session. There is no guarantee the council will change the current district lines ahead of October city elections. And the ad hoc group isn’t of one mind on how to redraw the lines.
As the People’s Convention begins this weekend, local Republicans will decide if they’ll stick with the party’s current leader. Plus, two contenders for the local Democratic party head, more on the mayoral residency issue and who could be waiting in the wings.
If Wanda Halbert does not move the Poplar Plaza office location, Mayor Harris could make the case that she is derelict in her duty.
The “Memphis Alerts” program was launched a month ago and is still building its base of users. It’s designed for emergencies and can go citywide or just to specific areas.
A charter amendment that would require candidates for Memphis mayor and City Council to live in the city at least a year before election day could be headed to voters in 2024.
Memphis City Council members advance an ordinance for party buses. Supporters of the ordinance cite a lack of regulations and public disturbance problems for Downtown patrons.
A $350 million Regional One financing plan can move forward, but the county will need to get a committed funding match from either Tennessee, Mississippi or Arkansas.
The ordinance would require a permit for the drivers of the “entertainment transportation vehicles.”
The proposed ordinance comes up for council consideration as two contenders in the 2023 race for mayor have filed lawsuits over the current residency requirement.
County commissioners approved the “Tyre Nichols Transparency in Policing Policy” resolution, delayed votes on two other police-reform ordinances, and approved TikTok use limits for county employees.
In this installment of “Minor Offenders, Major Offenses,” we answer some of the basic questions about Juvenile Court and its basic responsibilities. Because, despite it being a court of record, “there is little standardization in juvenile court size, case management procedures and court administrative practices” across the state.
Much of the current framework of the Memphis and Shelby County Juvenile Court is the result of a 2012 agreement between Shelby County elected leaders and the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department.
A majority of the commission could greenlight a restructuring of the proposed capital budget County Mayor Lee Harris takes to the commission in April.