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.
1258 articles by Bill Dries :
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November 2018
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The development company with a plan to supply Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division with electrical power from the Bellefonte Nuclear Plant has put that plan on the back burner. -
St. Jude Memphis Marathon expects 70,000 runners, spectators
Memphians will see the first totems of the St. Jude Memphis Marathon around 10 p.m. Friday, when road closures begin Downtown in preparation for Saturday's races. Organizers expect approximately 70,000 people – from runners to well wishers – to attend the annual fundraiser for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. -
Interest high in two Memphis City Council vacancies
Former Memphis City Council member Edmund Ford Sr. is among six applicants for the District 6 seat held by his son Edmund Ford Jr. -
Election Commission certifies November election results, concerns remain
Shelby County election commissioners put the last election of 2018 to rest Monday evening, but not questions and concerns about the conduct of the Nov. 6 elections. -
MATA changes security service, orders review after shooting at north terminal
The Memphis Area Transit Authority has changed the security company it uses at its north terminal and ordered a review of security procedures after a security guard shot a passenger near the terminal last week. -
Election Commission sorts provisional ballots on way to certifying Nov. 6 election
Just under 1,000 provisional ballots cast on Nov. 6 but not counted until almost three weeks later will be the center of attention on Monday, Nov. 26, as the Shelby County Election Commission certifies the results of the last election of 2018 in Shelby County. -
Council opens applications to fill two more vacant seats
At least one of the spectators who watched the Memphis City Council vote more than 100 times to fill a vacant council position Tuesday will be among those vying for an appointment to one of two other open council seats. -
Palazzolo says close re-election bid reflects suburban shift
In his sixth bid for elected office in Germantown, Mayor Mike Palazzolo says he didn’t take challenger John Barzizza for granted. -
City Council’s District 1 deadlock spawns theories
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. -
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 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 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. -
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. -
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 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. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
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.” -
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. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
Ballot Basics: Election Day
Polling places at 166 Shelby County precincts are open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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