City Council delays first of three votes on police residency referendum
The delay came after some council members opposed to the ballot question pushed for a separate vote on first reading Tuesday, Dec. 21.
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 4089 articles by Bill Dries :
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December 2021
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City of Memphis -
City of Memphis Williams appointment in clerk’s office delayed again by council
The delay by the city council came after Calvin Williams said he’s paid for his mistakes but insisted he never “mismanaged anything in government.”
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City of Memphis City Council to take first vote on police residency
The first-reading vote to put the item on the August 2022 ballot comes at the last council meeting of 2021.
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Shelby County County Commission takes final votes on pay raises
The votes at the last meeting of 2021 will determine if the commission itself should get a pay hike and whether the mayor and sheriff also get raises. If approved, the raises would take effect after next year’s county elections.
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Shelby County County Commission approves Tom Lee Park redesign funding
Shelby County Commissioners approved $6.7 million in capital funding Monday, Dec. 20, for the Tom Lee Park redesign. -
Shelby County Pay raises approved for next elected commission, mayor and sheriff
The commission being elected in August with at least six new members will get a 19.9% pay raise. The mayor and sheriff elected on the same August ballot will get 21% raises.
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Shelby County 31 Omicron variant cases confirmed in Shelby County
Shelby County Health Department director Dr. Michelle Taylor told Shelby County Commissioners Monday, Dec. 20, that caution is recommended for holiday gatherings.
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Shelby County Filing period begins for Shelby County primary
Starting Monday, Dec 20, candidates in the May 3 Shelby County primaries can begin filing qualifying petitions to get on the ballot. And there are some changes in the partisan primaries this year.
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Behind The Headlines Watch: Harris talks law enforcement bonuses, gun laws and re-election
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris plans to offer bonuses to recruit corrections and homeland security officers in county government, he said on “Behind The Headlines.”
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Public Safety Kroger security guard indicted on second-degree murder charge
The indictment follows a second-degree murder charge filed in August against Gregory Livingston.
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City of Memphis MLGW, IBEW settle contract impasse
Utility workers for the city-owned utility get pay raises the next four years under the compromise that scrubbed a city council session to break the labor contract impasse.
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City of Memphis City Council Scorecard: A resurrection at Broad and Tillman
The City Council Scorecard examines the procedural votes that brought a controversial commercial development project and a key intersection back to life after the council killed the project in November on a tie vote.
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Elections School board member to run for Shelby County Commission
Althea Greene opened her bid for the District 7 commission seat by saying Tennessee’s new open carry gun law is meant to increase violence and killings. Candidates can begin pulling and filing qualifying petitions in the May primaries, including the commission races, starting Monday.
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City of Memphis Council members question Young Dolph’s legacy but rename street anyway
The council voice vote was unanimous to rename a street for Young Dolph on Tuesday, Dec. 7, but it came after some council members questioned the honor given the lyrics of some of his music.
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Elections Attorney Janika White joins Democratic primary for DA
White makes the Democratic primary race a three-way contest with the winner in May expected to challenge Republican DA Amy Weirich in the August county general elections.
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Public Safety Skahan weighs new sentence in Pervis Payne case
Criminal Court Judge Paula Skahan took under advisement Tuesday, Dec. 14, two days of testimony in a hearing that will determine whether Pervis Payne serves two life sentences concurrently or consecutively for the 1987 murders of Charisse Christopher and her 2-year-old daughter, Lacie, in Millington
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City of Memphis MLGW-IBEW contract impasse resolved before council verdict
A special Memphis City Council meeting called to resolve a labor contract impasse was settled before the 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 14, start of the session.
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City of Memphis New details revealed about proposed ‘Sunset Lake’ in harbor
A proposed lake off Mud Island would be north of I-40 and the Hernando DeSoto Bridge.
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City of Memphis Beale Street Landing exterior work to find its way inside
The seven-year-old venue beneath a manmade hill on Tom Lee Park’s north end is a separate project from the $61 million renovation of the park.
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Public Safety Resentencing for 1987 killings hinges on conflicting views of Pervis Payne
The inmate’s 1988 death sentence was set aside because of questions about his mental competency. The resentencing hearing continues Tuesday, Dec. 14.
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City of Memphis City Council’s special session to decide MLGW labor impasse
The Tuesday afternoon meeting should be short with the labor contract impasse the only item on the agenda. The meeting technically continues last week’s meeting, which was recessed to allow for the special meeting.
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Public SafetyPervis Payne resentencing centers on consecutive or concurrent life sentences
The Monday, Dec. 13, resentencing in Shelby County Criminal Court comes after prosecutors took the death penalty off the table in a retrial for a 1987 double murder in Millington. At stake is whether the life sentences will run consecutively or concurrently. If concurrently, Payne would be eligible for parole.
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Shelby County County Commission Scorecard: The pay raise votes
The County Commission Scorecard looks at the second- reading vote on pay raises for some of the county’s top elected officials and the political perils of raising your own pay while preparing to run for re-election.
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City of Memphis Watch: MATA says on-demand ride-share service outperforming expectations
On “Behind The Headlines,” the bus transit system’s CEO and its new chief of staff say the ride-share service in the Whitehaven, Boxtown and Westwood areas is being used much more than the bus route system in the area was.
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City of Memphis Consolidation seldom mentioned at joint city-county meeting
A Thursday, Dec. 9, joint session of Memphis City Council members and Shelby County commissioners drew sparse attendance from the two bodies.
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