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 :
Between the vocal debate on police residency at its last meeting in 2021 and the Tuesday, Jan. 4, session, Police Chief C.J. Davis has come out in a Daily Memphian op-ed in favor of a broader residency requirement for police. Neighborhood leaders oppose proposed gas station in BinghamptonRelated story:
Calvin Williams lost much of his support for the appointment when he told council members his 2007 conviction on federal bribery charges was about his refusal to implicate Black elected officials.
City Council members have delayed the first reading on a police residency referendum until April to see if the Tennessee General Assembly passes a law banning such residency requirements for public safety employees statewide.Related story:
The council also approved medical office space on Covington Pike, and delayed a vote on a controversial retail development with gas pumps at Broad and Tillman.
The assistant to Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland is expected to formally get into the race starting with the May Democratic primary.
Memphis City Court Judge Tarik Sugarmon will run against incumbent Juvenile Court Judge Dan Michael. Meanwhile, Marcus Mitchell is running for Juvenile Court Clerk County Commissioner Brandon Morrison is running in a new district.
Shelby County Health Dept. Director Dr. Michelle Taylor told Shelby County commissioners Wednesday, Jan. 5, that state health officials are also watching the strain on hospitals and public health institutions closely.
The plaintiffs are taking the city and Memphis River Parks Partnership to court over the $61 million Tom Lee Park redesign.Related story:
Ken Moody opened his challenge of County Mayor Lee Harris Thursday in Overton Square with an attack of Harris’ leadership, similar to how Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland campaigned in his 2015 upset of incumbent AC Wharton Jr.
The top five include property taxes, redistricting, pay raises, a takeback on critical race theory and the strategic battle for a new commission chairman.
Strickland asked Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, in a letter dated Thursday, to list the bridge project as one of the state’s long-term infrastructure priorities. He cited the three-month shutdown last year of the Hernando DeSoto Bridge as well as the advanced age of other bridges at Memphis across the Mississippi River.
Shelby County Schools board member Bibbs is seeking a County Commission seat. Meanwhile Commission Chairman Brooks is aiming for the Shelby County Register’s job.
“Behind The Headlines” features a discussion of the year’s major events. The reporters’ roundtable found the long shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic crossed even those events that seemed unconnected to the global public health crisis.
The MPD has gone from 2,449 officers a decade ago to slightly more than 1,900 today. The problem is national but also unique to Memphis in some ways.
The top five votes by the Memphis City Council include what happened after a crude oil pipeline plan was withdrawn and the council’s do-over on the work toward a possible MLGW split from TVA.
The Daily Memphian compares top pay and pay ranges for the county’s six law enforcement agencies and finds that the area’s smaller police departments pay more.
County commissioners will get their second briefing from the Health Department in a week about the effect the new Omicron variant is having on local hospital capacity.
Republican mayoral contender Worth Morgan emphasized his differences on crime with Democratic incumbent Lee Harris. The three Democrats seeking to challenge Republican District Attorney Amy Weirich in August said the prosecutors office would change profoundly if any of them upset Weirich.
The Tennessee Housing Development Agency begins taking applications online Monday, Jan. 10, for $168 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding for those behind on their mortgage payments specifically because of the pandemic.
The money will mean raises of up to 20% for guards working at prisons run by the county administration.
The first Council Scorecard of the new year chronicles a rare defeat of an appointment from the city court clerk’s office and a few notes about the start of the second half of the current council’s four-year term.
Shelby County Health Department director Dr. Michelle Taylor also complained about employers requiring a test for workers who have quarantined for the recommended five days to return to work after initially testing positive for COVID.
Edmund Ford Jr. said he was “sort of offended” after an executive from The Commercial Appeal complained to the commission over Ford’s treatment of a reporter.
The former county commissioner has pulled petitions to seek a return to the County Commission or to run for Juvenile Court Clerk.
The Judiciary Committee scrap over Mathis’ nomination was part of a larger issue about blue slips used to express support or opposition by Senators on federal appeals court nominees when the home-state Senators are not of the president’s party.