Bill Dries
Reporter
Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for more than 40 years.
There are 3395 articles by Bill Dries :
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August 2020
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The late afternoon vote is still to come, but it looks like the healthy early voter turnout will simply move around the numbers and not significantly change the totals in Thursday’s stage-setter for the bigger election in November. -
Voter turnout low through morning rush hour
Polls opened in Shelby County at 7 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, and close at 7 p.m. The ballot is a mix of state and federal primary and local races for a clerk's position and five school board seats. Early voter turnout was almost as high as the total turnout in the same election cycle four years ago but low through the morning rush hour.
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Elections Ballot Basics: Election Day Aug. 6
Here’s what to expect if you are voting today, from pandemic preparations to what to do if your absentee ballot didn't arrive. And what to expect on your ballot.
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City of Memphis City Council Scorecard: The canceled residency referendum and the door prize
The scorecard highlights a pivotal vote in the police reform debate and why both sides in the discussion still have separate paths to pursue.
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Elections State Supreme Court OKs absentee August votes, but limits absentee for November
On the eve of election day, the state's highest court rules the expanded access to absentee ballots for the August elections means all of those votes will be counted. But for November, absentee ballots will not be open to all who have general concerns for their health if they vote in person instead of by mail. There was a dissenting opinion on the court.
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City of Memphis Council residency aftermath signals shift on how to address crime
Memphis Police Director Michael Rallings says the City Council decision to take residency off the Nov. 3 ballot leaves voters out of a critical decision. The vote is a challenge to Mayor Jim Strickland’s core philosophy on fighting crime after he dramatically upped the number of new officers he believes is necessary.
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City of Memphis Residency issue removed from November ballot, goal of 2,800 police force delayed
Two proposals with common political ground were before the council Tuesday.
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Airport area business park gets council approvals
A set of 14 alley and street closures near Memphis International Airport approved Tuesday, Aug. 4, by the Memphis City Council set the stage for a business park to be developed on the land. -
City of Memphis Trump TVA shake-up could complicate MLGW-TVA issue
President Trump's shake-up of the Tennessee Valley Authority board appears to have nothing to do with the coming decision by Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division on whether to stay with or leave the federal agency.
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City of Memphis MLGW-TVA final report says utility ‘too large’ to depend on MISO alone
Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division is “too large” to depend exclusively on the most-often mentioned source of power should MLGW leave the Tennessee Valley Authority, but the city-owned utility still could save up to $122 million a year under certain options recommended in the final version of a consultant’s report.
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Metro Police residency, larger police force intersect at City Council Tuesday
The competing items are both up for discussion at an afternoon council committee session with a final vote by the council later Tuesday on doing away with the November ballot question that would allow police officers to live outside Shelby County.
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Elections Sethi campaigns with Cruz in Cordova in tight U.S. Senate primary
Republican Senate contender Dr. Manny Sethi and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas portrayed rival candidate Bill Hagerty as a political insider despite having President Donald Trump’s endorsement.
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Elections Early voting tops 81,000 ahead of Thursday election day
The early voting period ended Saturday afternoon and includes a larger than usual absentee ballot count. Election day is Thursday with polling places open until 7 p.m.
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Analysis
State GovernmentAllegations of wrongdoing nothing new for Shelby politicians in Nashville
The recent indictment of state Sen. Katrina Robinson isn't a first for local members of the state legislative delegation, though it is different in that the charges are not connected to her duties as a state senator.
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Podcast
City of MemphisPolice force of 2,800 key to community policing, city experts say
Phyllis Betts and Richard Janikowski have set a new bar for growing the Memphis Police Department ranks to 2,800. They talked on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast about calls for more police amid calls locally for changing the fundamentals of policing and even the share of government funds devoted to policing.
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Elections Early voting countywide tops 62,000 with two days left
Meanwhile, the hard-fought statewide Republican primary race for the U.S. Senate is being seen by partisans on both sides of the close race as about the conservative movement in the state.
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July 2020
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City of Memphis Council to discuss resolution backing larger Memphis police force of 2,800
If approved, it would call on Mayor Jim Strickland to submit a plan by Oct. 6 for getting to 2,800 police officers by the end of 2023.
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video
ElectionsNew voting system to wait until after November presidential election
On "Behind The Headlines," Shelby County Elections Administrator Linda Phillips says some upgraded digital scanners that are part of the new system will be used in the August vote count and again in November. She expects the November presidential general election Shelby County to be a record-setter in terms of turnout.
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Public Safety Strickland administration pushes for police force of 2,800, end of bid to kill residency referendum
The two-pronged effort comes as two criminal justice consultants instrumental in the Blue Crush police strategy are again working with the city and recommending a police force larger than the goal of 2,300 officers by the end of this year.
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Elections Cohen’s role as vocal Trump critic figures prominently in bid for eighth term
The Congressman faces former Shelby County Democratic Party chairman Corey Strong in the Aug. 6 primary. Strong is critical of Cohen’s style; Cohen says Strong and past challengers don’t understand the job.
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Metro MLGW extends moratorium on late utility payment cutoffs
Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division won't be cutting off utilities for those late on their bills. Customers now have until Aug. 24 to pay their bills or work out a payment plan with MLGW.
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City of Memphis Memphis Rep. Steve Cohen attends John Lewis funeral
The Memphis Congressman said calls at the Atlanta funeral to continue the struggle for voting rights are appropriate in the current political environment.
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Elections State Supreme Court weighs expansion of absentee voting
The state's highest court heard the state's appeal of the recent expansion of mail-in absentee voting ordered last month by a Nashville Chancery Court. The state says absentee ballots are a privilege and not a right. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit argue that in the current pandemic, in-person voting is a choice for voters between their health and their right to vote.
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Elections Deadline to apply for absentee ballots is Thursday
By the 4:30 p.m. Thursday deadline to apply, the Shelby County Election Commission could process 20,000 requests for mail-in ballots that could be a major factor in the August elections.
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Elections Cohen’s campaign track record
Through seven Congressional campaigns, incumbent 9th District Democrat Steve Cohen has posted some impressive percentages in the primary that counts in the majority Democratic district within Shelby County.
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