City Council approves Old Daisy lease, gets look at Oak Court Mall plans
Plus, the Memphis City Council also sent the first installment of capital funding to start the redevelopment of the old Southwest Twin drive-in.
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 3920 articles by Bill Dries :
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July 2025
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City of Memphis -
City of Memphis City Council to vote on new lease for Old Daisy
The Memphis City Council could also approve some specific standards for MATA to report how it’s spending city money.
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Shelby CountyCounty commission considers putting all school board seats up for reelection in 2026
Commissioners will discuss putting all nine Memphis-Shelby County Schools board seats on the ballot. Some say this amounts to a voter recall of the board.
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MetroCommission races shaping up. Mayoral hopefuls’ campaign filings. Memphis loses desegregation leader.
Also in our political roundup: Mick Wright says he won’t seek office in 2026. And a top administrator to Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert promises to run for office next year.
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Behind The Headlines The Blvd’s $300 million plan just piece of neighborhood’s bigger pie
The pastor of The Blvd talked about the project on “Behind The Headlines,” with the CEO of Crosstown Concourse and the Meharry Medical College official who’s leading the Nashville college’s reach into Memphis.
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Metro How Memphis’ two Congressmen voted on the $9B federal funding takeback
The D.C. Scorecard tracks the votes of U.S. Reps. Steve Cohen and David Kustoff in the Friday, July 18, final vote on the $9 billion spending-cut bill that the Senate approved Thursday.
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City of MemphisThe Old Daisy has been centerstage for the messy history of Beale Street control. Here’s the story.
Disputes over who controls Beale Street revolve around the Historical Daisy. The old theater is home to the Beale Street Development Corp. and has witnessed more than a century of intrigue and politics on the street that gave birth to the blues.
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Metro D.C. Scorecard: Memphis US reps split on Big, Beautiful Bill
The One Big, Beautiful Bill of tax and spending cuts cleared the U.S. House of Representatives in a 218-214 vote.
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Metro How Blackburn and Hagerty voted on $9B clawback bill
Tennessee’s senators voted against amendments from Democrats that failed in the run-up to approval of $9 billion in federal-funding cuts to public television and the U.S. Agency for International Development programs.
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Public Safety Steve Mulroy says stores with coin-operated game machines are gambling with law
A court ruling determined these coin-operated mechanisms seen in some local convenience stores are, in fact, slot machines.
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City of Memphis Memphis City Council member to launch campaign for governor
“And I don’t just plan to run — I plan to win,” she said.
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MetroCouncil members jostle for share of xAI money. A Tennessee Republican has his own money. Blackburn’s been busy.
Our political roundup also looks at a push to pretty up Plough Boulevard; a possible contender for Shelby County mayor, and reactions to the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation.
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City of Memphis Blight, animals and parks: New leaders take position at key city divisions
One of the three confirmed city directors is in charge of a completely new division to tackle garbage and trash collection. Plus, the City Council approved a bonus for retired city employees.
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DowntownNew plans for the Old Daisy
When it comes to revitalizing the historic theater, settling a 10-year old legal dispute is a first step.
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City of Memphis Memphis Parks appoints new director
Mayor Paul Young has tapped a Memphis native who is returning to the city after working similar jobs in Oakland and Pasadena, California.
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City of MemphisCity puts teeth in blight fight
The City of Memphis could soon have a faster path to the demolition of blighted properties. And neighbors will have a louder voice in calling attention to nuisance properties.
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Behind The HeadlinesCandidates ‘have the responsibility for turnout’
The Shelby County Election Commission chairman and the elections administrator talked about low voter turnout and election off year mechanics on “Behind The Headlines.”
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City of MemphisCity Council Scorecard: Setting the budget past the impasse process
The City Council Scorecard tracks how the 13 council members voted on the critical events of the budget season.
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State Government Bartlett native is new TDOT head
When searching for a new leader of the Tennessee Department of Transportation, Gov. Bill Lee didn’t have to look far.
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State GovernmentD.C. Scorecard: The ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ and its many amendments
The D.C. Scorecard tracks the votes of Tennessee’s two U.S. senators on the spending bill and its several dozen amendments now bound for a House reconciliation process.
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City of MemphisTrump taps familiar face for U.S. attorney of Western District
Dunavant was the chief federal prosecutor for West Tennessee during the first Trump administration.
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June 2025
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Shelby CountyCounty Commission re-mixes budget on eve of new fiscal year
A special meeting of the Shelby County Commission Monday was delayed for two hours in a dramatic rewriting of a key budget provision.
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Shelby CountyPolitical Roundup: Lowery stumps, red state strategies and new voter numbers
The Political Roundup looks at some sparks in the early field for Shelby County in the 2026 county elections and examines the political divide over what kind of a relationship a majority Democratic or blue city should keep with leaders of a red state.
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Shelby CountyCounty Commission Scorecard: Tracking budget and tax-rate votes
The County Commission Scorecard tracks the set of seven votes on a new county property tax rate that brought the county’s budget season to an end.
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Shelby CountyThe making of Shelby County’s budget and tax rate
The Commission meets in special session Monday, June 30, to vote on a budget amendment that would undo some of the $23.4 million in amendments it made to Mayor Lee Harris’s budget proposal.
Related content:
County Commission Scorecard: Tracking budget and tax-rate votes
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