Salinas is new Shelby County Democratic Party leader
Gabby Salinas emerged as the new local party chair at an online party convention Saturday, Aug. 28, after former party chairman Corey Strong withdrew from the balloting.
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 3663 articles by Bill Dries :
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August 2021
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Shelby County -
On the Record Jones discusses City Council redistricting process
On The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, City Council member Martavius Jones says he intends to propose doing away with council super districts and also will call for partisan primaries in advance of city general elections.
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Shelby County Shelby County Commission tries to tie up loose ends on bonuses
County Commissioners stalled on the tax rate for one-time bonuses at their last meeting and decided to give county employees pay raises.
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City of Memphis Smiley considers bid for governor
City Council member JB Smiley began telling local officials last week he was considering a bid for governor next year, starting with the August 2022 Democratic primary. The field for the race is already forming to challenge Republican Gov. Bill Lee.
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City of Memphis Memphis prepares for remnants of Hurricane Ida
MLGW and Memphis Public Works crews are prepared to work overtime if the hurricane still has a lot of wind and rain left on its path north.
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Elections Miss. Gov.: South’s response to COVID impacted by belief in ‘eternal life’
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves talked about the pandemic Thursday, Aug. 26, at a re-election fundraiser in Shelby County held at a replica of the Mississippi governor’s mansion.
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Shelby County Shelby County Commission begins redistricting process
Shelby County commissioners have inaugural session of their ad hoc redistricting group.
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Shelby County County Commission approves bonuses without lump-sum tax
Shelby County commissioners gave final approval Monday, Aug. 30, to $26 million worth of bonuses to full- and part-time county employees.
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City of Memphis Council member explains his position on resolutions
During an online speech to the Memphis Rotary Club, Worth Morgan also was asked about a possible run for Shelby County mayor next year.
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September 2021
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Update
Arts & CultureMichelle Obama, Poor People’s Campaign among Freedom Award honorees
The event will also include special recognition of the teenager who recorded the last moments of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020.
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State Government Hagerty bound for Europe to talk with allies about Afghanistan withdrawal
Hagerty spoke Wednesday, Sept. 1, at an East Memphis political fundraiser just before leaving for a tour of Europe to meet with government leaders and NATO allies.
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Behind The Headlines Carlisle, Milton say consolidation charter commission necessary for change
The two leading proponents of forming a consolidation charter commission talked on “Behind The Headlines” about the opposition and hesitancy they are encountering.
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City of Memphis Consolidation time frame grows short as council has second discussion
The Tuesday, Sept. 7, committee discussion is the second for the Memphis City Council.
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City of Memphis Memphis’ $161M ARPA budget gets a City Council rewrite
Council members put ARPA spending plans on hold to talk about a compromise that could increase the council’s share of ARPA funding from $13 million to around $20 million.
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City of Memphis City Council opens door to Afghan, Haitian refugees
The council delayed a decision on a retail strip center including gas pumps at 2977 Broad Ave. at Tillman in Binghampton.
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City of Memphis City Council stops short of consolidation charter commission for now
The council votes to appoint a study committee to weigh whether the city should pursue drafting a charter that would consolidate city and county governments if approved by voters.
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City of Memphis JB Smiley Jr. ready to take his shot at being governor
Memphis Councilman JB Smiley Jr. plans to run for governor of Tennessee.
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Metro Greater Memphis Chamber supports charter commission
The Greater Memphis Chamber backs forming a commission to explore city-county consolidation but doesn’t have a position yet on whether consolidation would be a good idea.
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Elections City Council member JB Smiley enters governor’s race
The first-term City Council member claims the numbers are there to first win the August statewide primary and then the November general election. That’s despite no Democrat winning statewide office in Tennessee in 15 years.
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Elections Moody talks challenging Harris in Democratic county mayor’s primary
The special assistant to Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland talked about his exploratory campaign for mayor Wednesday, Sept. 8, and sounded very much like he is in the race while taking a few jabs at incumbent Mayor Lee Harris.
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Premium
Shelby CountyCounty redistricting process aims to avoid problems of 2011
The County Commission’s working group on the once-a-decade redrawing of district lines got down to business Wednesday, Sept. 8, to set not only commission district lines but those of the Shelby County Schools board.
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City of Memphis 36 Afghan refugees to resettle in Memphis
Most of the refugees arriving in Memphis are allowed to enter the country because they fear persecution under Taliban rule. Others aided the U.S. military in Afghanistan.
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Shelby County County Commission Scorecard: Missing votes, fixing ethics and a bonus vote
The Commission Scorecard recaps critical votes at the Aug. 23 meeting and an overtime vote at a special Aug. 30 session. The special meeting may have been the last word on bonuses for county employees. But it is far from the last word on the underlying issue that drew out the final vote across two meetings in one week.
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City of Memphis Strickland has breakthrough COVID case
Strickland said he had been experiencing mild symptoms including congestion that prompted him to get tested with the results being positive Friday.
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Public Safety Juvenile Court reform issue returns to County Commission
A Juvenile Justice Consortium says the U.S. Justice Department should at least take another look at Memphis-Shelby County Juvenile Court and consider returning to some form of federal oversight of the court.
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