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 3981 articles by Bill Dries :
The head of the Tennessee Coalition of Open Government says it’s “implausible” the Tuesday secret meeting was legal. And one of the county commissioners who attended said the “ton of information” presented should have been heard by the public.
State environmental officials are helping in the effort to find leaks and resolve water problems.
The County Commission Scorecard looks at the big picture of a lingering contract for managing court cases and a complex amendment to a county purchasing goal for locally owned businesses that came to an abrupt end.
The council votes next week on the further use of a PILOT extension fund already being tapped for $62 million for four Downtown parking garages. Meanwhile, one of the banks involved in financing the garages wants some more loan guarantees, which includes a proposed TIF.
The moratorium is a reaction to plans for a smoke shop on McLean Boulevard across from Snowden School in Midtown.
The order doesn’t become effective until it is signed by the mayor.
Legal questions prompt delay of consideration on three measures.
Commissioner Tami Sawyer withdrew her resolution Monday to change grooming standards for county public safety employees.
The Tuesday, Feb. 23, council session also includes final votes on a set of ordinances cracking down on illegal street racing and possibly a continuation of council discussions with MLGW about the city’s water crisis.
County leaders also talked about battling social media misinformation that is crowding testing sites and leading some to book appointments at multiple sites.
A group of smaller utilities that are also part of TVA want to be able to use TVA transmission lines if they break with TVA. MLGW is considering leaving TVA as well and filed along with the city to intervene in the lawsuit, saying the decision could affect its decision to stay or leave.
For a while, the good times rolled when Memphis had its own Mardi Gras. Then Yellow Fever happened. This year, as the pandemic takes a toll on Fat Tuesday, we look at 1870s images that recall a citywide celebration.
Potholes are popping up in the aftermath of last week’s ice and snow, but the City of Memphis has a plan in place to handle them.
The County Trustee’s office is the exception, staying open for the last week of county tax filing season. Some county employees will be working from home if possible as the administration decides on a day-to-day basis when to open the buildings.
When the city’s water system became a crisis last week, Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division was several months underway with a five-year $142.4 million overhaul of water system infrastructure.
The commission is also slated to take up a resolution by Mick Wright that calls on the state of Tennessee to send the National Guard, with the assistance of logistics industry professionals, to oversee the vaccination process in Shelby County.
Long lines marked most of the eight sites the city operated Sunday, Feb. 21, to give families with no or slow-flowing water a case of bottled water per car.
On The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, city Parks Director Nick Walker says community centers would remain free but with fees for specific programs. He also talks about “open play areas” like David Carnes Park in Whitehaven.
But a cutoff to large industrial water customers is a possibility if water pressure problems persist, MLGW President and CEO J.T. Young said Friday. Related article: Street clearing effort moves beyond major thoroughfares
Memphis, Light, Gas and Water’s water pressure situation has improved since Friday, but the utility organization’s president J.T. Young said it’s still “a critical patient.” He may have a better timetable Sunday on lifting the boil water advisory. Meanwhile, City Council members look at the water crisis.
About 700 students are affected. Rhodes President Marjorie Hass says the campus was having water pressure problems and made the move to help students and also answer MLGW’s call to conserve water during the crisis.
The city’s street plowing operation continues at least through Monday but begins to include less busy streets this weekend. Sun and warmer temperatures will help in the effort. But snow is still the dominant feature of the cityscape.
Low water pressure in Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division’s water grid prompted the utility to issue a rare boil water alert Thursday afternoon.
On “Behind The Headlines,” SCS board chairwoman Miska Clay Bibbs also said she is hearing from a lot of parents who will opt to continue online classes for their children — so many that she says it is possible some schools may have more teachers than students.
Here’s a review of some of the bills that would change elections in Shelby County and Tennessee. Some of them have been proposed before and others are new in the wake of the 2020 presidential election year.