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 3972 articles by Bill Dries :
After a year off because of the pandemic, the marathon returns Saturday, Dec. 4, with some changes to street closures. The changes put a priority on reopening streets in the South Main area first.
State Representatives John Gillespie and Dwayne Thompson spoke on this week’s “Behind The Headlines.”
On “Behind The Headlines,” Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland says he hopes a city charter change on police residency is revived and put back on a ballot for a vote soon.
The Council Scorecard looks at the split decision on the last two of the pipeline ordinances and the end of a delayed plan to add a gas station to a part of Binghampton that already has a lot of gas pumps.
The County Commission Scorecard finds a lot of commissioners on the fence for now when it comes to raising the pay of the sheriff and mayor. The scorecard also chronicles the final series of votes on new district lines for the commission going into the 2022 elections.
Memphis City Council member Edmund Ford Sr. said Friday evening he asked about a county employee’s use of personal pronouns because he didn’t know what they meant, but “could have been less harsh in my delivery and tone.”
The statewide group working for LGBTQ equality called a pair of tirades by council member Edmund Ford Sr. at Tuesday’s council session “bullying, trolling and abusive.”
Early reaction among the city’s representatives in Washington the day of the House vote approving the $2 trillion Biden adminstration domestic agenda focused on a provision that would expand TennCare coverage that the Tennessee Legislature has refused to expand.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland spoke Thursday morning about the death of rapper Young Dolph.
City Council member Martavius Jones is the first member of the body to react to several angry outbursts by fellow council member Edmund Ford Sr. at Tuesday’s session.
From calling a councilwoman “baby” to berating a city division director, Memphis City Council member Edmund Ford Sr. has a history of outbursts prior to Tuesday’s comments to two members of county government.
Smiley called for working “together collectively to make a difference” and said a curfew would be a temporary measure.
The Memphis City Council approved one pipeline ordinance but denied another that would have kept oil pipelines from locating within 1,500 feet of schools, churches and parks.
The council elected Jamita Swearengen as leader, rejected a convenience store with gas pumps at Broad and Tillman, gave final approval to a downzoning and approved more money for a fix of City Hall’s crumbling marble.
A move to form an ad hoc redistricing group for more public participation on the front end of drawing new district lines was tabled by the council in October. The sponsor brought it back briefly Tuesday, Nov. 16, in committee discussions.
Also on the Tuesday, Nov. 16, City Council agenda are final votes on measures requiring more local review of pipelines, more money for City Hall’s crumbling marble problem and electing a new chairman for 2022.
Left unresolved is $7.9 million in ARPA spending for FedExForum that commissioners delayed action on.
If approved on three votes, the raises would apply to the next term of office that begins Sept. 1, 2022, after next year’s county primaries and general elections. Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris says he doesn’t support it.
The commission also votes Monday, Nov. 15, on $10.8 million in indirect federal American Rescue Plan Act funding delayed when the commission approved a budget for using most but not all of the federal funding.
The 21% raises garnered only two yes votes and two no votes in the first of three readings with seven county commissioners abstaining. The final vote is set for Dec. 20 and will take nine votes to be approved.
Gov. Bill Lee was in East Memphis for a local political fundraiser Friday, just before signing five new laws from a special session of the Tennessee Legislature and allowing a sixth bill to become law without his signature.
Darrick Harris, the consultant to the Shelby County Commission on redistricting, talked with The Daily Memphian about the path to the new district maps approved Nov. 8.
A precinct-by-precinct look at the recent redrawing of County Commission district lines, how the Cordova district was created and what the data says about the county’s politics — past and present.
Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich talked on “Behind The Headlines” of her concerns about guidelines judicial commissioners use in determining who should be released while they await trial and the second take on a juvenile assessment center.
Shelby County had announced plans to assess a $25 per pay period surcharge against county employees who did not get vaccinated for COVID by a July deadline.