Metro
Crack shuts down all traffic on I-40 bridge
A crack on the I-40 bridge from Memphis into Arkansas shut down traffic and drivers were being rerouted to I-55, over the old bridge.
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.
There are 1758 articles by Bill Dries :
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May 2021
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Update
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City of Memphis Garbage, buses and park rangers surface in city budget discussions
It could have taken years for city crews to adequately manage garbage pick up in Area E, city council members were told Tuesday. Meanwhile, some council members appear likely to move for more funding of the Memphis Area Transit Authority and the parks division has a plan to add park rangers.
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Metro No evidence of vaccine irregularities, Harris says
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris says he’s found nothing to validate accusations that doses of vaccine were lost, stolen or misused when the county Health Department controlled distribution.
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Metro County Mayor Harris says county tax rate should hold steady
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said on “Behind The Headlines” that the estimated drop in the county property tax rate to $3.50, accounting for increases in values, should be the line to hold on the county tax rate. But county commissioners this week reviewed numbers suggesting some want to raise taxes beyond that point.
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Shelby County County Commission advances pipeline setbacks on first reading
Commissioners went ahead with a Monday vote on the Unified Development Code changes proposed by county Mayor Lee Harris. That despite the Byhalia Connection Pipeline companies urging a delay.
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City of Memphis City Council Scorecard: The new police director’s challenge
The City Council Scorecard looks at the almost unanimous vote making Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis the new head of MPD. The dissenting votes indicate Davis has cleared one hurdle but faces more to make the words that impressed most of the council match what she does as police chief.
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City of Memphis Director leaves Memphis’ solid waste division
Al Lamar’s departure follows complaints about solid waste services in Cordova, Hickory Hill and East Memphis. The problem led the city to cancel its contract with Waste Pro.
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Metro County clerk’s data processing fee could go up
The commission is trying to come up with $659,000 in funding for salaries and wages in the clerk’s office without taking the money from county reserves.
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Metro Budget Basics: A few numbers from Shelby County government’s budget season
Here’s a look at some terms to know as county commissioners begin discussing the proposed budget for the coming fiscal year.
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Metro County Commission to consider pipeline ordinance
Commissioners may decide if they want to stand down as the City Council has on changes to the Unified Development Code that would involve a setback for oil pipelines. The council delayed action on the same measure as the Byhalia Connection Pipeline companies agreed to drop lawsuits for rights of way in southwest Memphis.
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Metro Tom Lee anniversary reflects larger changes after hero’s life
The 2006 sculpture honoring Tom Lee’s 1925 rescue of 32 people from the Mississippi River is a prominent part of plans to remake the popular park. But the fate of a 1954 monument that refers to Lee as a “very worthy Negro” is uncertain.
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Elections PAC, Salinas to bring ‘Fuerza’ to state’s Latino Democrats
On The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, the two-time Democratic nominee for the Tennessee General Assembly talks about the new Latino Democratic political action committee Fuerza, for which she serves on the board.
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City of Memphis Mayor Strickland proposes police, fire retention bonuses
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland announced Friday, May 7, that he is proposing bonus pay for police and firefighters over the next three fiscal years.
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City of Memphis Emhoff, Walsh push for Biden White House jobs and infrastructure plan
The Second Gentleman and the U.S. Labor Secretary pushed Thursday, May 6, for support of the American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan proposal in Whitehaven and Downtown. They offered different definitions of infrastructure and what is necessary beyond the pandemic for economic recovery than the state’s two Republican U.S. Senators.
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Subscribers Only
City of MemphisShort-term Audubon Park golf course plans could get longer look by city
The temporary fix of cart paths on the golf course could wait to get a feel for what a larger makeover similar to that underway on the Overton Park golf course might involve.
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City of Memphis Slate of improvements — including new sign — planned for Mud Island
Memphis could soon have a daily reminder that we don’t have “time for things with no soul.”
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City of Memphis City shuffles mix of bonds for Accelerate Memphis slate
The council also approved a new seven-year lease between the city and the Withers Collection Inc., which has been behind on its rent.
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Neighborhoods Landmarks Commission won’t control Crosstown Mound for five years
The council approved the larger Crosstown overlay district without the 9-acre mound Tuesday, May 4, in the first of several votes on the blueprint for control of design standards by the Memphis Landmarks Commission.
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Update
City of MemphisDavis confirmed as new Memphis Police chief
Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis became the new leader of the Memphis Police Department Tuesday, May 4, in a council vote that was almost unanimous.
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City of Memphis City Council, pipeline companies working out terms of truce
On Tuesday, both sides in the pipeline dispute agreed to put their actions on hold until July.
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City of Memphis Byhalia Pipeline project reaches key City Council vote
What began as a more general ban of underground pipelines in the city is now a specific ordinance that allows existing underground infrastructure to be grandfathered in. It also allows companies to seek exceptions from the council to the ban.
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City of Memphis Second Gentleman visiting Memphis to push Biden’s infrastructure plan
Douglas Emhoff and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh are among a blitz by the administration to promote President Joe Biden’s $4 trillion “American Jobs Plan.”
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City of Memphis City Council starts budget ‘Super Bowl’ at convention center
The retreat Saturday, May 1, marks the first in-person council meeting in more than a year. It included new details of $16 million in bonuses to city employees in Mayor Jim Strickland’s $716 million budget proposal and a flap over whether team-building exercises and a tour of the Renasant Convention Center were open to reporters.
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Subscribers Only
City of MemphisMorgan says resetting local property tax rate could spawn tax hike move
City Council budget committee Chairman Worth Morgan said that the drop of the city property tax rate below $3 as appraised values have increased could set the stage for a tax rate hike.
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April 2021
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City of Memphis Memphis Police Chief nominee talks protest and policing in online forum
Memphis Police Chief nominee Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis met the public on a limited basis Friday, April 30, during a one-hour online Q&A session with screened written questions.
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