Reporter
Bill Dries covers city government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for more than 40 years.
There are 1523 articles by Bill Dries :
The landmark 1962 U.S. Supreme Court ruling Baker vs. Carr, out of Shelby County, is still standing after last week’s ruling by the high court in another redistricting case — Rucho vs. Common Cause, according to Memphis attorney John Ryder.
The first Memphis City Council meeting of the new fiscal year Tuesday will feature some high dollar amounts and a couple of nonfiscal items lingering from the old fiscal year.
Although they are running for different council seats on the October Memphis ballot, Sherman Greer and Craig Littles represent a new push by candidates for city office to move city priorities more toward youth programs. Greer and Littles are basing their push on their experiences as children in similar programs.
Robert “Prince Mongo” Hodges is back as a candidate for mayor of Memphis. The candidate, who claims to be from the planet Zambodia, has been running for office since the late 1970s. He joins a field of 15 potential contenders.
The environmental group among those urging Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division to look at possible changes to the utility’s relationship with the Tennessee Valley Authority is pushing a $250 million, five-year weatherization program for Memphis. Friends of the Earth launched the “Memphis Save Energy, Save Dollars” program with a rally Saturday.
The founder of Operation HOPE was in Memphis Thursday to keynote the closing day of city government's symposium on minority business. Bryant also outlined his goals for sustaining the nonprofit that works with financial institutions and some of the world's biggest corporate names.
Mayor Jim Strickland talks about improving MATA as former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young discusses how a mass transit system was built there beginning in the 1970's.
M&M Enterprises of Memphis will lead private redevelopment of the Fairgrounds, the city announced Tuesday.
Steven Adelman is accused of bouncing a $19,000 check for a show at the New Daisy Theatre, which has been closed since January.
Seasonal workers for the Shelby County Election Commission will be paid a minimum of $15 an hour by agreement of Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and Shelby County Commission chairman Van Turner.
The annual political picnic in southwest Memphis might be considered an enclave of old guard Memphis politics. But picnic host Sidney Chism warns veteran politicians have to make their case to win support from the new generation of activists and voters.
Tami Sawyer talks about the Brandon Webber shooting, MATA funding and other issues on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast.
The Sept. 19 Arlington municipal election ballot features a challenge of incumbent Mayor Mike Wissman, the return of a former mayor running for alderman and the chairman of the school board running unopposed. Another school board incumbent, meanwhile, did not file by the deadline.
Work begins this summer on the reconfiguration of Memphis Zoo parking designed to end the 30-year practice of parking on the Overton Park greensward.
The philanthropist supporting the remake of Tom Lee Park says there have been a dozen changes to plans by the Memphis River Parks Partnership since the Memphis In May International Festival raised objections to the plan this spring.
The Shelby County Election Commission will vote Thursday afternoon on adding a sales tax increase referendum to the Oct. 3 Memphis ballot.
The South's first black millionaire was remembered Tuesday, on what would have been his 180th birthday, with a Beale Street parade where the heart of his business empire once stood.
A light City Council agenda Tuesday got a bit lighter with delays in decisions on a controversial Whitehaven planned development and amendments to the Unified Development Code.
Memphis City Council members delayed a vote Tuesday setting up Tourism Development Zone funding to partially finance an $80 million expansion of Graceland.
Memphis City Council members return Tuesday to Graceland’s expansion plans, specifically a delayed development plan outlining the terms of the expansion in Whitehaven.
With several Juneteenth observances in different part of the city Saturday, candidates in the October Memphis elections were moving among them and other events on their summer political calendars.
Returning some amount of city government funding to Shelby County Schools would not necessarily mean a return to state requirements to keep that funding level.
The city's minority business service center in the recently renovated and reopened Universal Life Building has been renamed the Fred L. Davis Innovation Center.
A day after protesters clashed with police over the fatal shooting in Frayser of a 20-year-old man by U.S. Marshals, new details began to emerge and the victim's family began seeking answers.
Arlington Mayor Mike Wissman has made official his bid for a third term, filing his qualifying petition Tuesday with the Shelby County Election Commission.