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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 3905 articles by Bill Dries :
The multi-part deal between the Memphis Zoo, the City of Memphis and the Overton Park Conservancy includes a new North Parkway entrance for the Memphis Zoo as well as 300 parking spaces.
The County Commission Scorecard explores the rough road to seven votes.
Barksdale served as sheriff from 1976 to 1986.
The Election Commission’s decision not to open early-voting sites at churches during the Easter weekend is renewing charges of voter suppression.
On this week’s On The Record podcast, Bill Dries is joined by Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland.
The agreement, which also preserves the Overton Park greensward in its entirety, draws on a lot of the ideas that have been proposed individually during the years-long controversy. Zoo to turn over Old Forest, leave Overton Park greensward intact Related story:
Former Probate Court Clerk Paul Boyd says he hasn’t made up his mind on filing his qualifying petition for the August ballot.
While Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo was in the city, the state’s two Republican Senators in Washington remained vocal critics of Biden administration economic and energy policies.
Second term state House Democrat London Lamar moves to the Senate chambers after winning an appointment over nonprofit leader Rhonnie Brewer.
Ken Moody has got the one-on-one challenge of incumbent Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris he wanted in the May Democratic primary.
Months after a Postal Service slowdown in first-class mail delivery, the USPS estimate of 2.7 days to deliver parcels and letters doesn’t match what we heard from readers.
Kelsey announced the decision in a Twitter post Friday, March 4. The end of the current legislative session in Nashville will mark the end of an 18-year run in Nashville for Kelsey, who first came to the General Assembly as a state House member.
On Behind The Headlines, the outgoing University of Memphis president said none of the crises were in academia. He also discussed leveraging sports to fund academic growth and said a Liberty Bowl decision is coming.
The Shelby County will commission fill the vacancy at its March 21 meeting. Most of those who applied for the appointment plan to run for a full four-year term in the August elections.
Most of the six people who have applied to fill the vacancy plan to be on the primary ballot in August, seeking a new four-year term past the appointment.
Brent Taylor resigned as chairman of the Shelby County Election Commission this week but didn’t mention a bid for the state Senate.
The increase in THP officers for the city’s interstate system and state highways has been a goal of Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland.
Under the amended ordinance, people would be able to use major credit cards to pay tow truck companies, but the allowed fee will go up to 4%.
Some City Council members noted that it seems like “certain people” get their electricity back first after outages.
2021 police stats show arrests for reckless driving and drag racing are up over 2020. That follows a stronger police presence and traffic enforcement without changing the police pursuit policy.
In a split vote, the council also approved a resolution backing the nomination of the first Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court and accepted a grant to hire a “pet reunification specialist” for Memphis Animal Services.
The county could see new voting machines by August of this year, but two issues indicate overall differences between the Shelby County Commission and the Election Commission.
If a tax-sharing bill pending in the Tennessee General Assembly is approved in Nashville and signed by Gov. Bill Lee, it could mean an additional $12 million in revenue to the city, Mayor Jim Strickland says.
Four of the six applicants have pulled and/or filed petitions to run for a full 4-year term in the Senate seat. In other action, the commission approved funding for juvenile counselors in police precincts.
The commission delayed votes to receive and file two financial reports from Memphis Shelby County Schools until it gets dollar figures on the rebrand.Related story: