Bill Dries
Reporter
Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for more than 40 years.
There are 2825 articles by Bill Dries :
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November 2018
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City of Memphis The Memphis City Council’s deadlock over filling a vacancy on the body began to read like a political whodunit, even while the council was in the process Tuesday of taking more than 100 votes on the appointment. The usual suspects of race, political power and political deals were all mentioned and hinted at during the standoff between council members backing Raleigh Community Development Corp. executive director Rhonda Logan and Flinn Broadcasting sales manager Lonnie Treadaway. -
City of Memphis Rallings says answer to police shootings is to support law enforcement
Memphis Police Director Michael Rallings led a chorus this week of the law enforcement agencies who have an agreement with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to investigate fatal shootings by police: Leave the agreement as it is. -
City of Memphis City Council vote marathon ends without council appointment
Memphis City Council members took more than 100 separate votes on an interim council member Tuesday in a meeting that stretched past midnight before chairman Berlin Boyd recessed the meeting and the decision until the Dec. 4 council session. -
City of Memphis City Council to fill first of three vacancies
Memphis City Council members will fill a vacancy at their Tuesday session and elect a new chairman and vice chairman for 2019. -
Neighborhoods Riverfront strategy moves to connect best-known features
For all of the planning and man-made features that went into the new Mississippi River Park and its River Garden, including people-sized bird nests, there is another new feature that park planners didn’t anticipate. -
City of Memphis Seven file for City Council appointment
Seven citizens including the mother of former Memphis City Council member Bill Morrison, the leader of Latino Memphis and the former Shelby County Probate Court clerk have applied to fill Morrison’s vacant District 1 council seat. -
City of Memphis City Council turnover begins before 2019 elections
With a proposal to extend City Council term limits rejected, the stage is set for the first significant change on the 13-member council since nine new members were elected in 2007. -
City of Memphis THDA grants aim at gap between housing cost and appraised value
Three Memphis nonprofits will be part of a two-year trial program to make up the gap between what it costs to build or rehab a house in some parts of the city and what the appraised value is. -
City of Memphis Mud Island positions eliminated as management prepares to launch new strategy
Memphis River Parks Partnership eliminated the full-time positions of five to six employees at Mud Island River Park as the organization moves to more centralized management of the riverside and prepares for significant changes in the park this spring. -
City of Memphis Strickland ponders hotel-motel tax limits
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland told 120 hospitality industry leaders Wednesday he would like to see more agreement among them before he commits to anything like an increase in the city hotel-motel tax to fund Memphis Cook Convention Center improvements beyond its coming $175 million overhaul. -
City of Memphis Johnson doesn’t want to consider implications of MLGW switch from TVA
At $1 billion, the new TVA Combined Cycle plant has been described by Tennessee Valley Authority president Bill Johnson as a “Rolls Royce Lamborghini” and “the most technically advanced plant in the world.” -
Metro Numbers, trends from Election Day Nov. 6
The day after the last election of 2018 in Shelby County was down time for politicos in the thick of statewide and district campaigns that in some cases began two years ago. And contemplation about why some efforts fell short and others didn’t. And some efforts that were still in limbo. -
Neighborhoods Eight apply for open City Council seat so far
The head of Latino Memphis and the former Shelby County Probate Court clerk top a list of eight citizens who have applied to fill a vacancy on the Memphis City Council. -
Metro Majority of Shelby County voters turn out for the vote
For the first time in 24 years a majority of Shelby County voters showed up for an election other than the presidential general election. -
Neighborhoods TVA head tells City Council Bellefonte power plan ‘risky’
Tennessee Valley Authority’s leader told the Memphis City Council Tuesday that the cost of activating the Bellefonte nuclear plant in Alabama as a source of electricity for Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division would be “incomprehensible” and come with significant risks. -
City of Memphis Both sides of partisan divide push Memphis voter turnout
At his next-to-last campaign stop in his bid for the U.S. Senate Monday evening, former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen had trouble getting in the door of Jim Neely’s Interstate Barbecue in South Memphis. -
City of Memphis Ballot Basics: Election Day
Polling places at 166 Shelby County precincts are open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. -
City of Memphis Council session features Fullilove exit, head of TVA, South Cordova de-annexation
The Memphis City Council will be down two members when it meets Tuesday in an Election Day session. -
City of Memphis Eight Catholic priests with Memphis assignments on list of abuse allegations
Three of eight former Roman Catholic priests connected to the Catholic Diocese of Nashville accused of child sexual abuse and dismissed from the priesthood had church assignments in Memphis. -
Metro Top statewide contenders expected in Shelby on election eve
With no partisan primaries on the Nov. 6 ballot, it’s not clear whether voters will shift to blue or further solidify the state’s status since 2000 as a red or Republican state. -
Metro Past the Election: Issues remain after the last election of 2018
The last election of 2018 will decide winners and losers in numerous local, state and federal offices and three city referendums. -
Metro Ballot Basics: Early voting turnout
A total of 188,668 Shelby Countians cast early ballots during the early voting period that ended Nov. 1. The largest turnout day was the last – 20,332 – the only day that topped 20,000. -
City of Memphis Tom Lee Park remake goes beyond park borders
The remade Mississippi River Park with its own “River Garden” opens in a week. The River Line trail running along the east side of Wolf River Harbor to Big River Crossing will debut the same day. Mud Island River Park is closed until the spring after a season of experiment and minor tweaks. -
Business Convention Center bids come in below $175 million target
The rebidding of the renovation of the Memphis Cook Convention Center has come in below the $175 million the city has to spend on the project. -
City of Memphis Local GOP tables attempt to censure Billingsley
Shelby County Republicans tabled a move Thursday evening to censure Republican county commissioner Mark Billingsley for showing support for Democratic state Senate nominee Gabby Salinas.
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