Bill Dries
Reporter
Bill Dries covers city government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for more than 40 years.
1166 articles by Bill Dries :
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October 2018
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An effort to have the federal Department of Homeland Security conduct a cyber-security threat assessment of Shelby County’s touchscreen voting machines and a have a special master review the county’s voting system has been denied in Memphis Federal Court. -
Voter registration court case details linger
The day after Chancery Court ordered the Shelby County Election Commission to continue verifying incomplete voter registration applications so eligible people can vote by Election Day Nov. 6, NAACP leaders said they were prepared to begin contacting those prospective voters. -
TN ACLU questions Shelby County voter purges
The Tennessee chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union wants a review of voters purged from the Shelby County election rolls and possible restoration of any voters who may have been purged since May 2017 solely for missing several elections. -
Jenkins rules against election commission, orders immediate voter registration remedies
Shelby County Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins ruled Thursday in favor of the Memphis Branch NAACP and the Tennessee Black Voters Project in a lawsuit that will require the Shelby County Election Commission to give potential voters a chance to fix their voter registration applications so they can cast ballots on the Nov. 6 election day. -
Voter registration controversy goes to court Thursday
The third lawsuit filed this month over elections in Shelby County goes before Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins Thursday morning in Chancery Court. -
City General Services multi-plex opens at Walter Simmons site
After years of preparation, the city of Memphis on Thursday, Oct. 25, will formally open the new city maintenance yard it has been planning through two administrations. -
Strickland says city economic development reform plan circulating
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland’s administration has a proposal for changing the city’s approach to economic development that is making the rounds with other organizations involved in attracting businesses. -
Council funds ‘public information campaign’ on referendums
Memphis City Council members voted Tuesday to use the council’s government affairs account to fund a “public information campaign” on the three city charter amendment referendums on the Nov. 6 ballot. -
Bredesen, Blackburn chart different courses in Senate bid
It’s not just that Phil Bredesen and Marsha Blackburn have different views on many issues. The Democratic and Republican contenders for the U.S. Senate seat on the Nov. 6 ballot differ on what’s at stake in the statewide race. -
Ballot Basics: Early voting
Early voting in advance of the Nov. 6 election day continues through Nov. 1 at 27 locations across Shelby County. You can find those locations and hours at www.shelbyvote.com, the website of the Shelby County Election Commission, along with a sample ballot. Here are some other basics about early voting in Shelby County. -
SCS leaders mark five years of improved performance
The lyrics to “We are the World” were a bit of a stretch for students at A.B. Hill Elementary School. But “SpongeBob SquarePants” was a cross-generational hit during a celebration Monday for their move from a Level 1 to the top Level 5 for student academic growth in a single year. -
City Council to consider Overton Square hotel back-up plan
Plans for a hotel at Overton Square would include some acreage for stacked townhomes or apartment buildings if the Memphis City Council approves an amended version of the hotel plan on Tuesday. -
Herenton says ‘gloves are off’ in his 2019 candidacy
After nearly six months of silence since former Memphis mayor Willie Herenton announced he would run for mayor again in 2019, his aspirations came to life Wednesday as early voting began in the Nov. 6 general election. -
Glitches, suspicion overshadow heavy start of early voting
When the first day of early voting in advance of the Nov. 6 election day had ended Wednesday, Shelby County election commissioner Norma Lester offered her verdict on how it went with a brief Facebook post. “Don’t know any other way to say it except the first day of Early Voting was absolute HELL!” she wrote. “Hoping for a better Second day.” -
Ballot Basics: Memphis’ three city charter referendums
Here are the three city charter amendment referendums on the Nov. 6 ballot in Memphis in the order that they appear on the ballot. -
City panel begins closer look at economic development fees
The city committee trying to build a better way of pursuing economic development will meet later this month with the two organizations that play the major roles in the existing system – the Greater Memphis Chamber and the Economic Development Growth Engine. -
Chamber leaders talk public policy and private competition
Public policy and competition in the business world can co-exist with business taking the lead in creating new jobs, says one of the new set of leaders of the Greater Memphis Chamber. -
Fairgrounds TDZ plan goes to Nashville next month
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland's administration will take its Tourism Development Zone plan for the Fairgrounds to the Tennessee Building Commission for approval next month. -
‘Drafting error’ in term limits question draws fire from Herenton
A “drafting error” in the city referendum that would extend city council and mayoral term limits from two consecutive terms to three would bar former Memphis mayor Willie Herenton from running for mayor again in 2019. -
Freedom Awards match turbulence of 1968 with today
Former Vice President Joe Biden told several thousand people at the National Civil Rights Museum Freedom Awards Wednesday, Oct. 17, that the gains made by the movement honored in the museum are “under siege.” “Once again, we need your energy,” Biden said as he accepted the award at the Orpheum theater. -
Shelby County Election Commission sifts through incomplete voter forms
The Shelby County Election Commission won’t finish entering a flood of approximately 24,000 voter registration applications onto voter rolls by the time early voting starts Wednesday, Oct. 17. -
Early voting in Shelby County opens in midterm elections
Shelby County voters begin casting ballots in the last election of 2018 Wednesday, Oct. 17, as early voting opens before the Nov. 6 election day. The 27 early voting sites across Shelby County are all open from Wednesday through Nov. 1. The midterm general election cycle typically sees a higher turnout than the August county general and state and federal primary elections. -
Jackson: Midterms about ‘mood to fight back’
Rev. Jesse Jackson knows the National Civil Rights Museum well. The two-time Democratic presidential contender, close associate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and leader of the merged civil rights groups Rainbow-PUSH has been there often since the museum opened in 1991. -
Riverfront survey finds support for Riverside Drive lane closures
Additional parking along Riverside Drive, better access to the riverfront and improved safety are more important than keeping the Downtown thoroughfare at four lanes, a new survey for the Memphis River Parks Partnership shows. -
Rhodes Democratic and Republican leaders push issues
When Jess Gaughan spoke last month at the start of an aborted debate that became a forum for Democratic Senate nominee Phil Bredesen at Rhodes College, the leader of Rhodes' Democrats didn’t get the same attention she might have.
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