Task Force’s 1-year mark comes with questions
A year since the presidential executive order that created the Memphis Safe Task Force was announced in the Oval Office, its impact and future are still being debated, touted and condemned.
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 4432 articles by Bill Dries :
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September 2026
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Behind The Headlines -
State Government State House hopeful bounced as write-in candidate
Kyler Gilkey was declared ineligible at Monday’s deadline for write-in candidates in the Nov. 3 election. It’s the latest wrinkle in a complex political puzzle. Meanwhile, five other contenders did qualify.
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Elections State House hopeful’s write-in bid killed by ‘sore loser’ election laws
Kyler Gilkey’s second bid for public office this year was shut down by the Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office because it was his second attempt at a state House of Representatives seat, albeit a different one.
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City of Memphis City Council ponders pickleball displacement
Memphis Parks Director Justice Bolden provided more details on the roller derby’s future as council members pressed him about the league's displacement.
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City of MemphisMemphis tensions spill into viral Reaves-Young showdown
As residents weigh in online, debates over SpaceXAI, the Safe Task Force and city leadership collide in one highly public exchange.
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City of Memphis City Council members plan to ask Task Force to leave
On the one-year anniversary of the executive order that created and sent the Memphis Safe Task Force to the city, relatives and friends of those rounded up in the El Corralon nightclub raid told the council that raid and others have split families.
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Shelby County Lowery picks first 5 positions in new administration
Two weeks into his term as County Mayor, Mickell Lowery has made his first five appointments to his administration. The selections represent what Lowery calls a “culture shift” in county government.
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Shelby County Jail contract, clerk funds, judge appointment approved at first commission meeting
The County Commission authorized up to $6.1 million in funding to stabilize the Shelby County Clerk’s Office and approved a $37.9 million contract for healthcare at county jails.
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City of Memphis Pipkin could go pickleball
The company that developed pickleball courts in a Bartlett movie theater two years ago wants to do the same at the Pipkin Building in Liberty Park.
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State Government Interim state rep calls off write-in campaign for late father’s seat
Interim state Rep. T.J. Hardaway is backing a write-in effort by Kyler Gilkey, who had been seeking the District 84 seat vacated by veteran legislator Joe Towns Jr.
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City of Memphis City Council returns to data center discussion with multiple proposals to regulate them
A trio of proposed ground rules for future data centers in Memphis is on a busy City Council agenda.
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Shelby County County Commission to vote on new chair, Clerk’s Office funding and more
The Shelby County Commission, with eight new members, meets for the first time Monday to elect a new chair and vote on funding for the jail, a new health care contract for county prisoners and more.
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Behind The Headlines Buckner says new jail could unfold one unit at a time
Shelby County Sheriff Anthony Buckner discussed getting ahead on jail maintenance, a new “step-down” unit for prisoners with medical conditions and a return to using a former federal prison in Millington on “Behind the Headlines.”
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Shelby County Clerk’s office working Saturday to catch up with car title backlog
New Clerk La Sonya Hall announced the measures to clear a backlog of an estimated 2,600 car titles left over from previous clerk Wanda Halbert
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Shelby County Edmund Ford Jr. federal sentencing delayed for fifth time
The latest delay, which the judge granted Friday, Sept. 11, is the fifth since Ford pleaded guilty in February.
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State Government Matthew Szalaj claims Democratic nomination for TN House — and only 1 person got to vote
A single member of the Shelby County Democratic Party’s executive committee picked Szalaj to be the nominee for the Tennessee House of Representatives seat left vacant when Joe Towns Jr. was elected Criminal Court clerk.
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Shelby CountyRichardson charges are latest in recent string of allegations against elected officials
Ten days into the new Shelby County Commission’s four-year term, two commissioners have been formally charged with crimes, while two other local officials are part of investigations.
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Shelby County Special judge appointed in Sugarmon vandalism case
The campaign-sign vandalism case returns to court in October. Commissioner Erika Sugarmon has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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Public SafetyFederal prosecutors talk strategy in racketeering cases targeting street gangs
The U.S. attorney for the Western District of Tennessee and the assistant U.S. attorney general dive into the ongoing efforts by the Justice Department to end street gangs with racketeering cases.
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Shelby County Wanda Halbert leaves behind car title backlog, new clerk says
After a week in office, Shelby County Clerk LaSonya Hall says she has found dozens of crates of car titles and registrations awaiting processing — some dating back to June.
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Shelby County County commissioner jailed same day as first commission meeting
The six-year old tax charges came to the surface the same day Will Richardson participated in his first meeting as a Shelby County commissioner.
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City of Memphis Orange Mound land trust breaks ground on first of a dozen new homes
The first new home is on Marechalneil Street near Deadrick Avenue and supports Mayor Paul Young's goal of 10,000 new or renovated affordable housing units by 2030.
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City of Memphis City calls off extension of road into Pidgeon Industrial Park, for now
The city announcement Tuesday, Sept. 8, cites “legitimate concerns” from Southwest Memphis residents near the planned extension of the road connected to a SpaceXAI data center.
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State GovernmentMemphis legislative delegation faces major shake-ups
Beyond the races for state House and state Senate, the Nov. 3 ballot will also affect who goes to Nashville next year to represent the city in the Tennessee legislature.
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Elections Chaz Molder backs data center pauses in campaign for Congress
The Democratic nominee in the 5th Congressional District and outgoing Mayor of Columbia, Tennessee, talked about a wide range of issues on “Behind The Headlines.”
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