Doug McGowen confirmed as head of MLGW
The council also confirmed Chandell Ryan as the city’s new chief operating officer — the first woman to hold the No. 2 post in city government.
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 4392 articles by Bill Dries :
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November 2022
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City of Memphis -
Shelby County Financing for Klondike redevelopment clears first hurdle
The trust fund for city and county property taxes earmarked for the redevelopment area cleared the first of three votes before the Shelby County Commission.
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City of MemphisNew compromise may cost Audubon Park golf course redesign one of its holes
The compromise announced by Memphis City Council members Ford Canale and Chase Carlisle Monday, Oct. 31, does away with a hole in the expanded golf course by the park’s lake.
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October 2022
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Shelby County County Commission takes appointment of ethics officer out of county attorney’s hands
A new ordinance gives the appointment of a chief ethics officer to the county mayor, to be voted on by the County Commission. The county attorney’s office will still have some input.
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Shelby County County Commission pares down voter-education funding sought by Election Commission
The funding is for a marketing firm to work with the Election Commission to not only explain the new voting system to voters, but also chart the areas of low voter turnout across the county.
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Shelby County County Clerk Halbert’s new office misses Halloween deadline
County chief administrative officer Harold Collins says the office is fully equipped, but Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert says the office won’t open until early December, missing a deadline set by Shelby County commissioners.
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City of Memphis Council weighs Tom Lee Park damage dispute, McGowen’s move to MLGW
The council also takes preliminary votes Tuesday, Nov. 1, on a plan and financing arrangements for an ambitious remake of the Klondike community in North Memphis.
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Shelby County Shelby County Commission votes on ethics, Klondike redevelopment and voter education
The Monday, Oct. 31, commission meeting sees a final vote on a change to how a county ethics officers is chosen. So far, there has been little public discussion by the body of the measure.
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Free to Readers
ElectionsThree Memphis mayoral contenders clash at early campaign forum
At a Shelby County Young Democrats forum, Joe Brown, Van Turner and Paul Young talked about name recognition, experience, crime, Black business ownership and, in one case, how women have no place in the mayor’s race.
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City of Memphis Beale Street Baptist gets $150K in county-funded repairs
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said the grant from the county’s reserve fund is likely the first of several for a full restoration of the 137-year old church.
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State Government Local lawmakers optimistic Memphis will get ‘fair share’ for sports venues
After the General Assembly gave the Tennessee Titans $500 million earlier this year to build a new stadium, local lawmakers are optimistic that the state will be as generous to Memphis in the interest of fairness.
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Free to Readers
On the RecordSmaller Shelby County ballot yields lower early voter turnout so far
Shelby County elections administrator Linda Phillips and Ian Randolph of the Shelby County Voter Alliance talked about the low turnout on The Daily Memphian’s “On The Record” podcast.
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Public Safety Kelsey to change plea in federal criminal case
After the Tennessee Legislature adjourned for the year, Brian Kelsey continued to tweet his views on national and state political issues with no reference to the criminal charges he faced. As of Thursday, it appears his Twitter account has been deleted.
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City of MemphisSaving Coliseum still an option, says coalition cofounder
Marvin Stockwell says the group still has a seat at the table as the city pursues a $684 million sports venue plan that would do away with the Mid-South Coliseum. His strategy is to find another site for the soccer stadium.
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City of Memphis MLGW board questions progress on $1B infrastructure overhaul
An MLGW board member questioned the $299 million capital spend in the utility’s budget. Utility officials say the five-year, $1 billion plan was slowed by supply chain problems and labor problems.
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Free to Readers
ElectionsBonner makes run for Memphis mayor official
Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. joined the early forming field for Memphis mayor Tuesday, Oct. 25, with a formal announcement from Clark Tower.
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Free to Readers
ElectionsFloyd Bonner Jr. to announce run for Memphis mayor
Bonner’s announcement follows several months of consideration on the heels of his easy second term win in the August county general election.
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free to readers
ElectionsPolitical Roundup: Early voting hits 20,000; Jason Martin campaigns in Collierville
The county’s early voter total through the first four days of the period is tops in the state.
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City of MemphisInside Sheriff Floyd Bonner’s move to run for Memphis Mayor
How to handle crime in Memphis will dominate Bonner’s mayoral platform. Meanwhile, another contender in the race told supporters Tuesday the next mayor shouldn’t be someone who will “keep us steady”
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Education MICAH pushes for national search for next MSCS superintendent
Four of nine school board members agreed to a national search, along with public input through public hearings.
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Behind The Headlines County Commission willing to start anew with County Clerk Halbert, for now
The Shelby County Commission elected in August is taking its first swing at enduring problems in the Shelby County Clerk’s office. A discussion with three commissioners on “Behind The Headlines” shows a willingness to start anew on the controversy but some indications it might not last.
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Transportation & Logistics Fred Smith on stagflation and more from the Freedom Awards
At last night’s Freedom Awards, FedEx Corp. founder Fred Smith talked about the economy and highlighted longtime staff members; two Pulitzer Prize-winning authors spoke about the time it takes to write about history.
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City of Memphis Pulitzer Prize-winning author talks ‘return migration’ at NCRM’s Freedom Awards
All three recipients of the National Civil Rights Museum’s annual Freedom Awards talked at the Thursday, Oct. 20, ceremony about the present divisions in America and the way forward.
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Update
City of Memphis‘Charged environment’ pervades Audubon Park public meeting
Memphis Parks director Nick Walker told a crowd at a public meeting Wednesday, “I don’t want to mislead you into thinking that it is our intention to do a wholesale change on this.”
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Free to readers
ElectionsEarly voting opens with new voting system and new trends
The Wednesday, Oct. 19, opening came with some new restrictions on campaigning near several voting sites and indications that the choice to vote on new machines or vote with a hand-marked paper ballot will be watched as closely as the vote totals.
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