Strickland outlines plan for spending federal ARPA money
The outline includes major funding for an expansion of broadband to parts of the city where connections were a problem as schools went to virtual learning last year.
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 3974 articles by Bill Dries :
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August 2021
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City of Memphis -
Elections Gov. Bill Lee faces six possible challengers in 2022
Dr. Jason Martin of Nashville, a likely contender in the Democratic primary for governor, campaigned in Memphis this past weekend.
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City of Memphis Hernando DeSoto Bridge reopens fully
The Hernando DeSoto Bridge reopened to all traffic — eastbound and westbound — 84 days after is was closed when Arkansas bridge inspectors noticed structural damage to a box beam on the north face of the span.
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City of Memphis Council to consider moving coal ash dumping out of Memphis
Two resolutions come up in council committees Tuesday, Aug. 3. One urges TVA to keep coal ash from the old Allen Fossil plant out of the city, another seeks to have the ash taken outside the eight-state region where a system of aquifers provides water for Memphis and other cities.
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Public Safety A tale of two crime discussions
A common presence at the two July town hall meetings within two days of each other was the city’s new police chief, who is feeling her way through different discussions on what is the most effective response to violent crime.
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Elections COVID gets political as fired state health official visits Memphis
Dr. Michelle Fiscus spoke Saturday, July 31, at a local forum in Binghampton following a state Democratic party rally nearby. Democratic party leaders say Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s handling of the COVID pandemic will be an issue in 2022 state elections.
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Elections Election commission chief says Democrats want ‘cloudy elections’
Shelby County Election Commission Chairman Brent Taylor said on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, that local Democrats want disputed election results, referring to the push for paper ballots, which he believes will lead to chaos.
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Elections Harris re-election speculation and ‘People’s Summit’ stir political pot
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris says it is too early to announce whether he will run for a second term. But local Democrats are anxious for an answer. Meanwhile the local Democratic party has a two-way race for a new chairman next month and the coalition for a “Moral Budget” talked about tax rate regrets at the “People’s Summit” in Whitehaven.
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July 2021
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Behind The Headlines As pandemic returns, so does debate over masks, other mandates
The pandemic’s return to Memphis was among the topics discussed in a reporters’ roundtable on the WKNO program “Behind The Headlines.”
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Metro Eastbound Hernando DeSoto Bridge lanes to reopen early
The Tennessee Department of Transportation plans to move up the reopening of eastbound lanes of traffic on the Hernando DeSoto Bridge to Saturday evening, July 31.
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City of Memphis City Council requires masks, limits attendance at sessions
A week after welcoming the public back to its sessions at City Hall, the Memphis City Council is reinstituting pandemic measures starting with the Tuesday, Aug. 3, committee sessions and the full meeting of the council later in the day.
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City of Memphis Consolidation talk returns 11 years after last voters nixed last effort
The first step would be a commission to draft a charter for a combined city of Memphis and Shelby County government covering Memphis and unincorporated Shelby County but not the six suburban towns and cities.
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Metro TDOT: Bridge reopens eastbound by Monday morning
Eastbound traffic will resume by Monday, Aug. 2, and westbound lanes will reopen Friday, Aug. 6. Crews will continue some work on the Hernando DeSoto Bridge even after the span across the Mississippi River resumes.
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Metro City Council Scorecard: The impact of Memphis 3.0 where commercial and residential meet
The Council Scorecard follows the saga of a used car lot in Raleigh that has come to symbolize the complexity of trying to move toward less-intense commercial development on major roads that have neighborhoods just behind them.
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Arts & Culture NCRM plans for 30-year anniversary
The National Civil Rights Museum plans to mark its 30th anniversary in late September with a “community celebration.”
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Metro Hernando DeSoto Bridge to reopen starting Sunday
The Tennessee Department of Transportation is expected to announce a more specific reopening schedule Wednesday, July 28.
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Shelby County Commissioner warns ethics advisory group might clash with Ford probe
The County Commission will soon have a panel of five to advise on ethics. One commissioner warns it could be seen as conflicting with the ongoing special prosecutor’s investigation into a 2019 grant proposed by Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr.
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Shelby County Election Commission chairman says County Commission not cooperating on voting machines
Brent Taylor says the County Commission decision to take its own bids on a new voting system “effectively bypasses” the Election Commission and “doesn’t indicate a willingness to work cooperatively.”
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City of Memphis TVA rethinks coal ash disposal plan
The surprise announcement last week at City Hall of a plan to truck the waste to a landfill near Memphis International Airport drew immediate criticism from City Council members. TVA isn’t pulling the plan but says will seek more public input.
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Shelby County County Commission keeps tax rate at $3.45, Brooks is new chairman
The commission also delayed the second of three votes on the Byhalia Connection Pipeline ordinance after it was amended.
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Update
ElectionsNew voting machines rejected as County Commission moves to rebid
Shelby County commissioners Monday voted down a new touch-screen voting system that includes a paper trail and moved to cut the Election Commission out of the process by taking new bids on a system that primarily uses hand-marked paper ballots.
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Business Commissioners approve Taylor as health director, Mitchell-Sims for judicial vacancy
Shelby County commissioners chose Dr. Michelle Taylor as the new head of the county’s Health Department Monday, and they picked Judicial Commissioner Danielle Mitchell-Sims to fill a General Sessions judge vacancy.
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On the Record Cohen discusses meeting Hagerty, and more
He also blasted the disqualification of U.S. sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson from the Olympics after she smoked marijuana. “It’s only performance-enhancing if you are in the Coney Island hot dog-eating contest.”
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Shelby County County Commission returns from five-week break
Monday’s commission agenda includes confirming a health director whose nomination is in trouble, possibly reopening the contentious question of a property tax hike, a long-delayed decision on a voting system for the county, and appointing a new judge.
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Transportation & Logistics Bridge won’t reopen until early August
The initial estimate was a late July reopening for the Hernando DeSoto Bridge. TDOT officials also upped the number of replacement plates to be installed aside from the damage that prompted the closing of the interstate bridge from 16 to 17.
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