County Commission approves alcohol ban at county functions
Though it’s expected to be amended, Shelby County Commissioners approved Monday, July 13, a ban on alcoholic beverages being served at county facilities.
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 3921 articles by Bill Dries :
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July 2020
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Metro -
City of Memphis Council approves $113m CARES Act COVID-19 spending plan
The spending plan or budget was reconstructed several times in bargaining and changes in federal rules for how the grants could be used. Along the way, there was talk of animals moving out of the zoo and how to fund laptops and tablets for Shelby County Schools students.
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Metro City Council delays move toward solid waste fee moratorium
The city administration says problems with garbage collection services aren’t solved yet but that the situation is improving. -
Metro Cohen amendment would make city flood control system part of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The city’s flood walls and other parts of its flood control system would be the responsibility of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under an amendment by U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis to the federal Water Resources Development Act. -
Shelby County County Commission Scorecard: Ban the Box and Budget Aftermath
Our scorecard tracks what could a close final vote to come on the ban the box ordinance after it was amended. We also detail the three budget amendments that got through before the commission approved a hiring freeze.
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Elections Boyd and Brown battle for General Sessions Court Clerk
The only countywide general election race on the Aug. 6 ballot pits a former City Council member against a former Probate Court clerk for a complex but often forgotten office. Early voting starts Friday, July 17.
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Video
EducationSCS superintendent says most parents picking online classes for coming semester
The Shelby County Schools superintendent said on “Behind The Headlines” that the school system is ready with a flexible plan and two teams of teachers for each school – virtual teachers and in-person teachers.
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Video
City of MemphisHeads of city’s 3 major hospitals discuss COVID surge readiness
The CEOs of Regional One Health, Baptist Memorial Health Care, and Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare talk on "Behind The Headlines" about their contingency plans for the surge in COVID-19 cases locally and the numbers they look at to activate surge plans.
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City of Memphis TVA private meeting with consultants to MLGW stirs pot in electric power debate
Critics of TVA contend the Friday meeting is “highly improper.” MLGW says the meeting is part of due diligence on the way to a final version of the report that will play a large role in determining whether the city-owned utility stays with or leaves TVA.
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Podcast
City of MemphisEaster-Thomas: ‘Something missing’ in way police recruited
Memphis City Council member talks on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast about her push to remove from the November ballot a residency referendum that would allow police and firefighters to live outside the county.
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Public Safety Stretch of Poplar may be renamed Black Lives Matter Avenue
The avenue between Front and Danny Thomas Boulevard to be renamed includes the county’s criminal justice center. A majority of the council is sponsoring the resolution, to be voted on at Tuesday’s council meeting.
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Public Safety Forrest slave market historic marker damaged, to be repaired
It is the second historical marker to be snapped in two from its base in the past month. The rector of Calvary Episcopal Church says the marker, noting the location of Nathan Bedford Forrest's slave market, will be repaired and reinstalled as soon as possible.
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Premium
City of MemphisVictorian Village ‘outcast’ makes a comeback
The restored columns of the circa 1840s Pillow-McIntyre House at Adams and Orleans were reinstalled last week, signalling at turn in fortunes for a sometimes forgotten house with some secrets.
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Election 2020
ElectionsNearly 8,000 cast ballots in first 2 days of early voting
Early voting across Shelby County in advance of the Aug. 6 election date resumes Monday, July 20, after the first two days drew nearly 8,000 voters.
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Election 2020
ElectionsEarly voting opens in first Shelby County election during pandemic
More than 13,000 Shelby Countians had requested absentee ballots through Wednesday.
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Election 2020
ElectionsBallot Basics: Early voting July 17-Aug. 1
Here are the basics you need to know in order to vote early and make sure your ballot has all of the races it is supposed to have, including district races.
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Election 2020
ElectionsHagerty praises federal response in Portland in joint online appearance with Trump
During the half-hour online event Friday evening, Trump called Tennessee's Republican Senate primary "a real primary" -- an apparent reference to the tightening race between the former U.S. ambassador to Japan and Dr. Manny Sethi of Nashville.
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Election 2020
ElectionsCalvo withdraws from SCS race, backs Harris in challenge of McCormick
Mauricio Calvo’s withdrawal accented the opening day of early voting in Memphis. Preliminary numbers show more than 5,000 people voted early Friday. In getting out of the District 5 school board race, Calvo cited his duties as executive director of Latino Memphis and the disproportionate impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on Latino Memphians.
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Education Shelby County Schools board contenders discuss pandemic, state testing and ASD transition
The responses from candidates in the five school board races on the Aug. 6 ballot got lively during two forums sponsored by Chalkbeat Tennessee and the social justice organization MICAH.
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City of Memphis Council proposals call for examination of street, park and public place names
Two proposals on the city council agenda Tuesday would change the rules for naming and renaming streets, parks and other places. It's part of a slate of council proposals that has grown larger than police reform to include changing city government priorities. The effort is being led by a renaming of one of the most well-known addresses in the city.
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election 2020
ElectionsAbout 8,000 of 15,000 requested absentee ballots mailed so far
The deadline to request an absentee ballot is July 30, so more ballot requests are on the way. Meanwhile, a total of 12,314 Shelby County voters have cast their ballots -- absentee and through in-person early voting -- in the first three days of the period that runs through Aug. 1. Election day is Aug. 6.
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City of Memphis Renaming commission approved by City Council, Poplar renaming sidelined
The Poplar Avenue name change to Black Lives Matter Avenue will be among the items the renaming commission considers. The trio of related measures met with mixed results at Tuesday's Memphis City Council session. An ordinance to give the council final approval of any names changes of streets, parks and public places may get some legal rewording before its first of three votes next months.
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Metro Council scraps Glenview cell tower, delays vote on Balmoral office space
Memphis City Council members voted down a new cell tower in the Glenview Historic District Tuesday, July 21, after objections from homeowners, including three council members.
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Election 2020
ElectionsAbsentee ballot count stands at about 11,000, Phillips says
So far, the return by voters of the unusually high number of the mail-in ballots hasn't shown up in the early voting turnout figures. Shelby County Elections Administrator Linda Phillips told county commissioners Wednesday, July 22, that some absentee voters may not complete their ballots because they are expecting to see the presidential general election that is on the November ballot.
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Metro Riverside Drive to reopen next month to weekday auto traffic
The reopening is one of several measures the city is announcing or considering this week in what looks like a new round of measures in the four-month-old pandemic
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