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 3981 articles by Bill Dries :
The Carlisle name follows a $1.5 million donation by the developers to the $62 million Tom Lee Park redesign. It honors the late Gene Carlisle, the family patriarch who called the One Beale real estate “the best piece of dirt in Memphis.”
During a campaign stop Thursday, Sept. 15, in Memphis, Dr. Jason Martin pointed to low funding levels for the TBI crime lab despite a state surplus of $2 billion
The proposed “Restoring Law and Order Act” would include federal grant programs for more police and detectives focused on violent crime as well as a General Accounting Office examination of delays in processing rape kits.
The Shelby County Election Commission also approved two new polling places for the Nov. 8 election day.
Former Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich talked to The Daily Memphian about the 2020 plea deal for Ezekiel Kelly that Gov. Bill Lee called an example of “soft-on-crime plea deals.” Gov. Lee calls for changes in plea deals during Memphis visitRelated story:
In wide-ranging discussion about violent crime, the Memphis City Council voted to ask the state for at least 50 more state troopers for at least six months and a digital messaging system similar to Amber Alert.
The election will fill the vacancy left when Tarik Sugarmon resigned last month to become Juvenile Court Judge.
Gov. Bill Lee was in Memphis Friday, Sept. 9, touting stricter laws targeting violent repeat offenders passed during his tenure.
The ordinance would take the power to appoint the county ethics officer away from the county attorney’s office. It comes eight years after that office investigated whether Brooks lived in the commission district she represented, and concluded she didn’t. Shelby County Commission weighs forming public safety committee in wake of recent violenceRelated story:
The committee proposal is a reaction to last week’s violence in the city, with more discussion to come at committee sessions later this month before a vote.
The council’s monthly crime update from Memphis Police brass could be more than a regular check-in. Last week’s violence has renewed a long-running civic discussion. And it has moved swiftly to questions about the criminal justice system.
The scorecard looks at two special meetings this month that filled an open council seat, shut down another city charter change ballot question and approved a compromise on One Beale.
The agenda is light Monday for the body of 13 that includes six new commissioners and seven returning. The commission has a nine-member Democratic majority following the August county general elections.
Leaders of the local Justice and Safety Alliance talked about the week of violence that has shaken the city on “Behind The Headlines.” Police find no threats to the public despite various reportsRelated story:
According to the Tennessee Department of Correction, one Ezekiel Kelly was released March 16, 2022.
The former principal court clerk was fired two years ago for taking nearly $62,000 in cash from evidence boxes starting in 2018. He was indicted on the criminal charges last month.
The Butler Snow law partner becomes the first Black man from Tennessee to serve on the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Council members had questions about whether the financing sets a precedent now that the owners of the Downtown Memphis Sheraton have plans to add several hundred rooms to the original convention center hotel. Downtown board proposes One Beale resolution for $95M in bondsRelated story:
Teri Dockery was appointed to the vacant District 4 council seat last month. She isn’t a candidate in the Nov. 8 special election for the council seat but is eyeing a full four-year term on the October 2023 ballot.
The Fairgrounds transition to Liberty Park began with a 2003 fire that brought down a 1920s landmark. What followed was a complex, political and at times contradictory path to change.
The Commission Scorecard tracks a trio of important decisions made at the end of the term of the commission that left office at the end of August. All three could be on the plate of the new commission.
The special meeting is the second in a week for the council. The compromise involving $10 million was announced by Mayor Jim Strickland before the Labor Day weekend.
The recommendation Thursday, Sept. 1, from MLGW CEO and President J.T. Young will likely not be the last word on the issue.
The item would have required the winner of the 2023 Memphis mayor’s race to get a majority of the votes either on election day or in a runoff.
The two-term Shelby County Commissioner opened his bid in Health Sciences Park with calls for equal opportunity in the city and expectations the race to the October 2023 election day could be crowded.Related story: