Listen to Redistricting 101 with the County Commission’s consultant
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.
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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November 2021
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Shelby County -
Metro Political Roundup: Lee says pandemic and related litigation continue
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.
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Shelby County County mayor and sheriff pay raise proposal does poorly in test vote
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.
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Shelby County County Commission takes first of 3 votes on pay raise for mayor and sheriff
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.
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Elections Commissioners propose 21% pay raises for county mayor, sheriff
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.
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Shelby County County Commission rearranges $2.25 million of ARPA funding
Left unresolved is $7.9 million in ARPA spending for FedExForum that commissioners delayed action on.
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City of Memphis City Council to punt consolidation charter commission into new year
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.
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Metro City redistricting process comes back to life
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.
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City of Memphis Jamita Swearengen is new council chair
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.
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City of Memphis Council approves pipeline ordinance that ‘covers the universe of potential routes’
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.
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Metro Smiley, Lamar call for curfew
Smiley called for working “together collectively to make a difference” and said a curfew would be a temporary measure.
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Metro Ford’s ‘gender mess’ tirade is latest from veteran councilman
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.
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City of Memphis Jones says City Council should have intervened to stop Ford tirades
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.
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Metro Strickland calls Young Dolph slaying ‘horribly tragic’
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland spoke Thursday morning about the death of rapper Young Dolph.
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State Government How city representatives voted on ‘Build Back Better’
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.
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City of Memphis Tennessee Equality Project calls on council to take action against Ford
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.”
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City of Memphis Ford says he meant no offense, didn’t understand ‘she/they’
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.”
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Shelby County County Commission Scorecard: Pay raises and district lines
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.
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City of Memphis City Council Scorecard: End of the pipeline and no gas on Broad
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.
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Memphis' Crime Crisis
Behind The HeadlinesBehind The Headlines: Strickland on crime
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.
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Behind The Headlines Behind The Headlines: Thompson and Gillespie have differing views of special session
State Representatives John Gillespie and Dwayne Thompson spoke on this week’s “Behind The Headlines.”
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City of Memphis City tweaks streets closings for Saturday’s St. Jude marathon
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.
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Update
BusinessComcast awards $65,000 in grants to four nonprofits for Internet access
Comcast’s grants are designed to help close the access gap for low-income households.
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December 2021
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North Mississippi City’s representatives in D.C. closely watching Supreme Court arguments on abortion
Reaction from the city’s two Congressmen and the state’s two U.S. Senators fell along party lines on the long-running political issue of access to abortions.
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City of Memphis Council session has police, fire residency on agenda
Memphis City Council members talk about a new bid to allow police officers and firefighters to live outside Shelby County at a special committee session Monday, Dec. 6.
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