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 3660 articles by Bill Dries :
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December 2018
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City of Memphis The last vote count of a busy election year is certified and in the books. -
City of Memphis Pleasant led Election Commission through changes, challenges
In three decades on the Shelby County Election Commission, 24 of them as chairman, O.C. Pleasant oversaw changes from lever voting machines to electronic machines to touch-screen machines and dodged an attempt to introduce punch-card voting in local elections. -
City of Memphis City Council calls six a quorum, as four hire attorney
Six Memphis City Council members on Tuesday, Dec. 11, approved 39 resolutions from the delayed Dec. 4 agenda as the four members not present sent their lawyer to the special session at City Hall. -
State Government Memphis attorney named chief deputy of Tennessee attorney general’s office
Jonathan Skrmetti, a partner at the Butler Snow LLP law firm and former federal prosecutor in the Memphis office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western Division of Tennessee, is the new chief deputy of the Tennessee attorney general’s office. -
City of Memphis Lamar to lead new city solid waste division
A former joint staff doctrine planner at the Pentagon and Williams Sonoma executive will run the city’s newly formed Solid Waste Division and carry out Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland’s bid to improve the city’s garbage pickup services. -
Education Ray named interim Shelby County Schools superintendent
Joris Ray, Shelby County Schools' chief of academic operations and school support, is the school system’s interim superintendent starting with the departure of SCS superintendent Dorsey Hopson next month. -
City of Memphis Council contenders: Who’s in the mix for three open city council seats
All three open positions on the Memphis City Council are in play starting Thursday at noon, the deadline for those interested in the District 6 seat and the Super District 8 Position 2 seat to file their applications with the council office. -
City of Memphis Nonprofits see conflicting dynamics in city’s need
For the last 20 years, First Baptist Church on Broad has celebrated Thanksgiving with a dinner at the church that includes the homeless. A group of men from the church deliver hot Thanksgiving meals to around 1,000 more people that day as well. -
City of Memphis NAACP concerned about ‘attempt to racially gerrymander’ council
The Memphis Branch of the NAACP says the Memphis City Council should have consistent rules for filling vacancies on the body and suggests a special election if the council remains at an impasse in filling the three open seats at its Tuesday meeting. -
City of Memphis City Council fields narrow for appointments
Ten citizens have applied for one of the two latest vacancies on the Memphis City Council, and 16 have applied for the other. -
City of Memphis Parks Partnership keeps River Garden active in first month
The River Garden at Mississippi River Park has a few unexpected additions. Since the park at the Wolf River Harbor was revamped as a more active setting about a month ago, a hawk and a bobcat have taken up residence. -
City of Memphis Burson campaign photos show new political reality
Charles Burson began with the certainty that he was taking pictures of what would be Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign march to the presidency. That belief and his political experience influenced how and where the Memphis attorney and former Tennessee attorney general framed what he shot. -
City of Memphis TDZ expansion approved for second convention center hotel
The Tennessee Building Commission's executive committee has approved an expansion of the Downtown Tourism Development Zone for a second convention center hotel in Memphis. -
City of Memphis Change is constant in newly published Overton Park history
Brooks Lamb was making final edits on his book about Overton Park when he found out the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art was planning a move out of the park to Downtown Memphis. -
City of Memphis Candlelight vigil to mark one year since removal of Confederate monuments
A candlelight vigil Thursday in Health Sciences Park will mark the one-year anniversary of the removal of Confederate monuments there and from Memphis Park. -
City of Memphis City Council’s 3 empty seats take center stage
The Memphis City Council has three empty council seats to fill Tuesday. And if the 10 council members can’t break the gridlock that has delayed the appointment to the first of those vacancies, there will be more calls for special elections to fill all three. -
City of Memphis Bond bid for council seat sidelined by diagnosis
Theryn Bond got some bad news in her quest to get the appointment to the open City Council District 6 seat. -
City of Memphis City Council rejects Logan, punts filling vacancies to new year
Memphis City Council members put off filling three empty seats on the council Tuesday at their last meeting of the year. -
City of Memphis Graceland says it’s willing to delay arena plans to get money for other attractions
There are plans to make two more Hallmark movies in Memphis next year, according to the managing partner of Graceland Holdings LLC. -
City of Memphis City Council votes down MLGW rate hikes, approves Union Row TIF
Memphis City Council members have rejected gas, water and electric rate hikes proposed by Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division. On three separate 3-7 votes Tuesday, the council voted down the rate hikes to take effect in 2019 and again in 2021 across all three divisions of the publicly owned utility. -
City of Memphis Memphis 3.0 draft includes area anchors and ‘degree of change’ ratings
The city’s long-range development plan for the next 20 years begins with what is already there, gauges the market and public sentiment and builds from there. A draft of the Memphis 3.0 plan debuted Wednesday on a city website, www.memphis3point0.com. -
City of Memphis Confederate monuments anniversary blends with coming city elections
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland won’t officially announce his re-election bid until next month. -
City of Memphis Confederate monument anniversary reveals a work in progress
One year to the day that Confederate monuments were removed from two city parks, the anniversary revealed the controversy still has some unexpected life left in it among those pursuing the removal of the monuments by different methods.
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Shelby County Harris pushes for new juvenile detention center funding
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris presses the case for funding of a new juvenile detention center ahead of a key County Commission vote next month.
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City of Memphis Robinson and Morgan say council discord has broader context
Memphis City Council members say there were some indications of discord before the rift over filling three vacant council seats. But when the rift settled in for the rest of the year it was a surprising turn.
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