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 4076 articles by Bill Dries :
Shelby County Sheriff’s deputies and General Sessions Court Clerk Tami Sawyer clashed over whether her private security guard could carry a gun inside the D’Army Bailey courthouse.
The five-year-old development on the site of the city’s second shopping mall will likely be completed in 4-6 months.
Housing and Urban Development grants could reach an estimated 100 to 120 senior citizen homeowners.
Also in this roundup, the first forum among contenders for Shelby County sheriff and the race to succeed Wanda Halbert is filling up.
On “Behind The Headlines,” Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said he has tried to meet with federal officials from the Memphis Safe Task Force to talk about his concerns ICE agents are racially “profiling” Memphians.
Memphis Mayor Paul Young said he wants to sustain the drop in crime.
Sheriff Floyd Bonner faults Mayor Lee Harris for problems at the County Corrections Center and not being responsive in assisting with problems at the jail.
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris says the number of jail deaths calls for dramatic change that could include the county or the state taking over the county jail currently run by Sheriff Floyd Bonner.
There were some sparks and plenty of claims disputed Wednesday, Dec. 3, during the forum at LeMoyne-Owen College. The same five contenders who showed up last month for a Germantown forum took the stage in Soulsville.
MATA’s trustee said rider numbers are up. In other action, council members took steps to stop dumping in the Wolf River Bottoms, but balked at some strong limits suggested for city contracts to manage city parks.Related content:
The move from being appointed to becoming civil servants would change library employees’ status.
The council also gets an update on the Memphis Area Transit Authority’s three-month, no-fare experiment.
Memphis found a new deputy chief financial officer. Now, the city must find a new leader for its library division as Keenon McCloy retires after 18 years.
Also in the roundup: Amber Huett-Garcia opens Commission campaign, Marie Feagins’ bid for county mayor and Steve Cohen on a successor.
The number of National Guard members moved closer to the 1,000-troop limit set by federal leaders as local elected leaders said ICE agents in the city could be their next target in court.
Centenary United Methodist Church in Soulsville is 160 years old this year. With a new marker to celebrate Centenary’s legacy, church members say the congregation’s history is not just about the past.
“I think the opportunity is for anyone to get in — anyone who has a vision for the county in any regard,” Feagins told The Daily Memphian.
Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis presented the latest crime numbers for the first full month of the Memphis Safe Task Force. She also talked about the MPD’s relationship with the task force including on immigration arrests.
The County Commission ultimately extended benefits for a severely injured Shelby County sheriff’s deputy.
The “interfund tax anticipation note” solves the short-term cash-flow problem for county government. But long-term financial concerns around county reserves remain.
Also in the political roundup, one county mayoral contender calls out current Mayor Lee Harris’ administration for its funding shortfall and another calls for change in the government’s relationship to the school system.
A clean-up in Raleigh, MLGW division budgets, restrooms at the Shell and crime stats are expected to be up for discussion on Tuesday at City Hall.
The county administration blames the shortfall on the Memphis Safe Task Force and federal government shutdown.
Artwork installation stands at the crossroads of historic neighborhood.
State Rep. Justin J. Pearson talked about his tenure in the Tennessee House of Representatives and his views on the Memphis Safe Task Force on “Behind The Headlines.”