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.
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There are also questions about whether the move back to masks is legal, given the governor’s recent executive order. Related story:
Health Dept. Director: Shelby County mask mandate ‘needs to happen quickly'
The letter circulating Tuesday warns of “catastrophic” effects that could “affect health care at every level.” Meanwhile, the city council is urging Gov. Bill Lee to rescind his executive order to allow parents to opt out of school mask mandates.
Shelby County Schools leaders, however, say the school system’s mask mandate remains in place despite the executive order that also includes mask mandates by school systems. Shelby County Commissioner Van Turner is suggesting the county should take the issue to court.
The second council meeting of September could see final votes on all three of the ordinances. The council also made some key amendments to two of the proposals that impose local regulations on crude oil pipelines proposed for the city.
The earliest the City Council could vote on setting up a charter commission is its Sept. 7 meeting.
Forming a charter commission to look at consolidated government could move from discussions to a vote later on Tuesday depending on how the discussion goes and whether it shows there are seven votes supporting it.
Leaders of a political action committee pushing for a metro charter commission say such a group is necessary to explore a more efficient local government.
Tennessee’s two Republican U.S. senators were highly critical of President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw U.S. military forces before his speech Monday, Aug. 16. They were more critical after the speech.
One of the county’s most vocal advocates for a new voting system with hand-marked paper ballots says the push for such a system isn’t part of the national political movement that contends Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election.
Greater Memphis Chamber chief public policy officer Bobby White said planning construction could take a decade or more, most likely across the administrations of several presidents, governors and mayors.
The data will help determine how districts are drawn for the Tennessee General Assembly and Congressional districts as well as the Shelby County Commission and the Memphis City Council.
The first step toward consolidation shows up on the City Council’s committee list for next week.
All four House Republicans from the Shelby County delegation signed Sexton’s call for a special session.
Shelby County Commissioner Mick Wright says even with recent changes in state laws this year, it’s unclear where the health department’s authority to issue mask mandates and require other measures ends and where decisions by elected officials begin.
Tennessee’s two Republican U.S. Senators telegraphed their “no” votes well ahead of Tuesday’s vote, which was delayed over the weekend by Hagerty.
The Shelby County Commission voted Monday, Aug. 9, to override the veto of a new ethics advisory panel the commission would appoint.
A proposed used-car lot in Raleigh has become symbolic of a much larger change in the council’s consideration of what development goes where and under what conditions.
The delay comes after all seven city mayors in Shelby County came out against the switch from a four-year reappraisal cycle to the two-year cycle approved earlier this year by the Shelby County Commission.
The delays to the Aug. 23 commission meeting followed a rancorous debate among commissioners and between commissioners and anti-maskers who taunted one commissioner online before Monday’s session.
The veto override by the commission is the latest chapter in an ongoing dispute between County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. and Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris.
The Shelby County Commission delayed action Monday, Aug. 9, on a resolution requesting a countywide mask mandate.
The commission is the latest body to take up a call for a countywide mask mandate that would come from the Shelby County Health Department. The health department amended its latest health directive Friday to require all K-12 students in all schools – public and private – across the county to wear masks as the school year begins. Also on Monday’s agenda is a veto override.
City Council member Chase Carlisle distinguishes between the case for consolidation and the case for drafting a consolidation charter. He also acknowledges getting the votes to form a charter commission will not be easy.
Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division has issued the second of three RFPs — requests for proposal — in its process of determining whether to stay with the Tennessee Valley Authority or leave it for another electric power wholesaler.
Shelby County commissioner’s exploratory committee for Memphis mayor is another indication that county Mayor Lee Harris will seek re-election next year.