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 City Council could vote on the resolution, so far backed by a group of council members, at its meeting next week. It is not binding on Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee. See The Daily Memphian’s full coverage of the Memphis Safe Task Force
County Commissioners got their first look at two resolutions offering different responses to the coming deployment of National Guard troops to the city.
A “threat to democracy” vs. making Memphis “the most safe city in America,” area leaders give their thoughts on what the National Guard deployment can mean for the city.
For now, the 2026 Republican primary has no candidates for Shelby County mayor. Where does that leave the race? Also in the political roundup, more reaction to the National Guard coming to the city and a golf net at Audubon.
Ahead of the roll call vote, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn spoke in favor of Dunavant, calling him an “experienced prosecutor.”
To the dean of the School of Public Health at the University of Memphis, its mission begins — but doesn’t end — with data.
The arrival of National Guard troops in Memphis is the most rigorous test yet of Mayor Paul Young’s strategy for working with Republicans at the state and federal levels in the Tennessee’s bluest city.
“If (Trump) will say ... after the National Guard leaves and tells the world that Memphis is the safest city in the world, Donald come on,” U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen said Friday.
A new federal racketeering indictment unsealed Thursday in Memphis federal accuses six alleged Ghost Mob gang members of conspiracy to murder and attempted murder in the aid of racketeering for a 2020 incident firefight with a rival gang.
The Memphis City Council delayed a vote to halt the building of a new $1.9 billion campus for the county-owned hospital, a move that will slow down county funding.
The trust controlling city funding to the Memphis Area Transit Authority is the result of discontent by City Council members as well as the City of Memphis administration about the bus system’s interim leadership.
Palazzolo seriously considered a bid for county mayor in the May 2026 Republican mayoral primary.
The Shelby County Commission has approved a resolution that rules out the New Chicago area of North Memphis from being the site of any new jail county government may decide to build.
After a motion to move all board elections to the 2026 ballot failed on a tie vote, the commission voted to try again in two weeks on a proposal for the 2030 ballot.
The vote came after harsh words were exchanged between Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr.
Mayor Paul Young cut the ribbon on a new Riverside Drive that works for those on foot, on bicycles and in cars and narrows down access to parking for Tom Lee Park.
City Council members will talk about next steps for the city’s bus system as one member calls for talks with County government on Regional One Health’s campus rebuild.
Reporters’ roundtable looks at the problems plaguing Memphis Area Transit Authority, and the new trial for former Memphis Police officers convicted in Tyré Nichols’ death.
The Shelby County Commission is scheduled to vote on cutting short the terms of some Memphis-Shelby County Schools board members and a new jail resolution that would rule out the old Firestone plant site.
Also in the political roundup, County Mayor Lee Harris has connections to several contenders on the 2026 ballot and U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen signs onto the Epstein files discharge petition.
The Memphis Zoo is expanding its program to offer free admission on Tuesdays year-round.
Former public official DeAndre Brown and his wife Vinessa Brown were charged with misusing $1.38 million in public money. The pair ran the Lifeline to Success non-profit, which is now also under scrutiny.
Also in the Political Roundup: Jerri Green at Wiseacre and one less contender for Shelby County Mayor.
The departing MATA board members appear to have been surprised by City Council members asserting a role in hiring the new permanent CEO. One former member called the move “insulting.”
Proponents of a plan to move the Shelby County Jail to the former Firestone plant say the site’s status as a brownfield is a positive for the project.