Ford out as County Commission budget committee chairman
After two contentious budget seasons, commission chairman Willie Brooks has changed up what is the most critical committee assignment in county government.
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 4213 articles by Bill Dries :
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September 2021
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Shelby County -
City of Memphis Elected officials react to Collierville shooting
Some of the reaction called for an immediate look at the causes of such violence as part of a national debate while others called for supporting those grieving from the loss of life, at least for now.
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Shelby County County Commission takes up proposed consolidation compromise
The second part of the City Council-County Commission move toward a consolidation charter proposal showed up unexpectedly in committee session last week on the county side. And it was panned by most of the seven commissioners present even after a compromise to consider steps short of a merger of the two governments.
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Elections Salinas sets goals for local Democrats in 2022 elections
Shelby County Democratic Party Chairwoman Gabby Salinas says a new political action committee approved for the local party is a start toward a better-organized Democratic effort in the state’s bluest county.
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BusinessFederal funds trigger new type of budget season for city and county
The Memphis City Council and Shelby County Commission are already getting requests from groups that want a share of the money.
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Behind The Headlines ‘Behind The Headlines’ talks education, pipelines
The WKNO Channel 10 program features a reporters’ roundtable discussion on a variety of topics, including passage of the first of three city ordinances out of the controversy over the Byhalia Connection crude oil pipeline project.
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City of Memphis Violence intervention program gets new director in Strickland shake-up
The head of the city’s Office of Business Diversity and Compliance is also leaving her position.
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Elections Bonner kicks off re-election bid for sheriff as others open 2022 campaigns
Sheriff Floyd Bonner says the COVID-19 pandemic has made his job more difficult but touted low crime rates in unincorporated Shelby County.
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City of Memphis County redistricters take ‘first pass’ with first maps
The Shelby County Commission’s ad hoc group on the new district lines got its first look at some proposed maps for the redistricting plan this week. The group makes recommendations to the full commission, which decides on how to deal with shifts in population within its 13 districts.
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Shelby County Consolidation charter commission proposal gets mixed reviews from commissioners
The resolution to form a commission to draft a consolidation charter showed up in Wednesday committee sessions without notice. Like the City Council, county commissioners amended it to stop short of beginning to draft a charter and to include looking at changes to local government short of consolidation.
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Business City Council makes it more difficult to build pipelines near water wellheads
The measure is one of three proposals to limit and require local government approval and regulation of new oil pipeline projects. It’s broader than the other two measures delayed Tuesday over lingering legal questions.
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City of Memphis City government’s low vaccination rate spotlights larger solid waste issues
A low vaccination rate is just one of the problems the city faces as it wrestles with chronic problems surrounding solid waste disposal.
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City of Memphis Pipeline ordinances come to council crossroads
Also on the Tuesday, Sept. 21, Memphis City Council agenda is more discussion of how to spend the council’s $20 million share of the city’s federal ARPA funds and a minimum wage for getting EDGE tax incentives.
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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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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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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 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 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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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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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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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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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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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 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 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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