Council member explains his position on resolutions
During an online speech to the Memphis Rotary Club, Worth Morgan also was asked about a possible run for Shelby County mayor next year.
Bill Dries
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 3909 articles by Bill Dries :
-
August 2021
-
City of Memphis -
Shelby County County Commission approves bonuses without lump-sum tax
Shelby County commissioners gave final approval Monday, Aug. 30, to $26 million worth of bonuses to full- and part-time county employees.
-
Shelby County Shelby County Commission begins redistricting process
Shelby County commissioners have inaugural session of their ad hoc redistricting group.
-
Elections Miss. Gov.: South’s response to COVID impacted by belief in ‘eternal life’
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves talked about the pandemic Thursday, Aug. 26, at a re-election fundraiser in Shelby County held at a replica of the Mississippi governor’s mansion.
-
City of Memphis Memphis prepares for remnants of Hurricane Ida
MLGW and Memphis Public Works crews are prepared to work overtime if the hurricane still has a lot of wind and rain left on its path north.
-
City of Memphis Smiley considers bid for governor
City Council member JB Smiley began telling local officials last week he was considering a bid for governor next year, starting with the August 2022 Democratic primary. The field for the race is already forming to challenge Republican Gov. Bill Lee.
-
Shelby County Shelby County Commission tries to tie up loose ends on bonuses
County Commissioners stalled on the tax rate for one-time bonuses at their last meeting and decided to give county employees pay raises.
-
On the Record Jones discusses City Council redistricting process
On The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, City Council member Martavius Jones says he intends to propose doing away with council super districts and also will call for partisan primaries in advance of city general elections.
-
Shelby County Salinas is new Shelby County Democratic Party leader
Gabby Salinas emerged as the new local party chair at an online party convention Saturday, Aug. 28, after former party chairman Corey Strong withdrew from the balloting.
-
City of Memphis Federal court rules TVA refusal to close on sale of Bellefonte plant was legal
Developer Franklin Haney’s plan to buy the Bellefonte Nuclear Plant and sell the electric power it generated to Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division started the ongoing exploration of MLGW possibly leaving the Tennessee Valley Authority.
-
Behind The Headlines Why the City Hall homeless encampment isn’t there anymore
The director of Hospitality Hub and the head of its fundraising and awareness partner Dragonfly talked on “Behind The Headlines” about the decision to move away from the tent cities and encampments that are part of the approach to homelessness in other cities.
-
Shelby County City’s representatives in D.C. differ in reaction to Afghanistan attacks
Some say the attacks demonstrate the problems in the rapid withdrawal of U.S. troops and a lack of planning.
-
City of Memphis City Council Scorecard: school masking, landmarks districts, coal ash
The City Council Scorecard looks at recent council votes that don’t seem to pack a political punch but nevertheless call for an attention to detail.
-
Update
Shelby CountyHarris ethics complaints dismissed
The two complaints were over a 2020 contract for a $1 million marketing campaign to urge Shelby Countians to wear masks.
-
Update
ElectionsTami Sawyer will not seek second term on County Commission
County Commissioner Tami Sawyer announced Monday she will not seek a second term in the 2022 county elections. Her decision means six new faces on the commission in the next election.
-
Premium
Shelby CountyCommission’s veto override of ethics panel takes another turn
Commissioners made changes Monday to the blue ribbon ethics panel it created despite a veto by county Mayor Lee Harris. The changes didn’t go down well with those who wanted the group to report directly to the commission and not the county Ethics Commission.
-
State Government Feds could get involved in state conflict over mask mandates
The state’s executive order banning mask mandates is taking fire from President Joe Biden as well as Biden’s education secretary Miguel Cardona, who this past week specifically questioned the legality of the executive order.
-
Shelby County Pipeline setback ordinance advances to final commission vote
A proposed ordinance establishing setback requirements for oil pipelines will advance to a final Shelby County Commission vote next month despite getting only five “yes” votes from commissioners this week.
-
City of Memphis County Commission supports three pro-masking resolutions
The Shelby County Commission asked Gov. Bill Lee to rescind his executive order allowing parents to opt-out of school mask mandates. It also passed resolutions supporting a countywide mask mandate and spending funds on masks for all county public school systems.
-
Shelby County County Commission approves employee pay raises and bonuses
During the spring budget season, the commission opted for the one-time bonuses over a pay raise proposed by County Mayor Lee Harris. But after the fiscal year started, the move began to grant the pay raises as well as bonuses.
-
Shelby County Regional One to get $3.6M county cash infusion, more to come
The county-owned hospital is hiring to reopen 21 beds with $2 million in city funding approved last week. The county funding will also help over the next 13 weeks as Regional One competes with other hospital systems across the country to hire skilled health care workers to meet the demand from the latest COVID surge.
-
Shelby County County Commission votes on more Regional One funding
The Monday, Aug. 23, county commission meeting also includes a resolution calling for a countywide mask mandate and another resolution calling on Tenn. Gov. Bill Lee to rescind his executive order that outlaws mask mandates in schools.
-
Shelby County County Commission Scorecard: New action overrides mayor’s earlier veto
The commission scorecard focuses on a rare veto by the county mayor and the County Commission’s vote earlier this month to override that veto. It’s another chapter in a contentious political saga as the commission enters the last year of its current four-year term of office.
-
Real Estate ‘Dramatic’ changes in local rental market meet old challenges in affordable housing
Three leaders of the federally-funded effort to help pay overdue rent and utility bills talked on “Behind The Headlines” about what the new market reality means for the city’s growth with a shortage of quality affordable housing.
-
City of Memphis Local redistricting numbers taking shape
U.S. Census figures show some County Commission districts have grown in population while others have lost population since a decade ago.
-