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 2198 articles by Bill Dries :
Shelby County commissioners voted Monday, Jan. 24, to make a return of federal oversight of Memphis-Shelby County Juvenile Court a part of its legislative agenda in Washington D.C.
The commission’s Democratic majority approved a $25,000 grant to fund a playground at the center in Midtown. People on both sides of the abortion issue had a lot to say before the vote.
“The longer it takes, the more expensive it gets,” one Shelby County Commissioner said of the project last week.
The current policy bars police car chases for misdemeanors including traffic offenses.
The Memphis Police Department doesn’t engage in high-speed car chases unless in pursuit of a dangerous felon. But one City Council member says the policy should change.Related stories:
Here are the basics of the MPD pursuit policy from the police manual.
The two key votes of the week in Washington D.C. were in the Senate. But the discussion among the city’s representatives in Washington included both U.S. House members who represent Memphis.
The podcast debut sets the stage for the interviews that are an integral part of The Daily Memphian’s coverage of politics and government.
As he filed his qualifying petition Friday, Jan. 21, Moody said he hopes the May Democratic mayoral primary remains a one-on-one matchup with incumbent Mayor Lee Harris.
Three county commissioners voted against the $1.44 million purchase of 180,000 tests in 90 kits with two tests a piece. One cited comments by Dr. Ben Carson on Fox News earlier this week complaining that more tests would mean a rise in COVID cases.
Shelby County commissioners meet in special session Wednesday, Jan. 19, to approve $1.4 million in funding to buy 15,000 COVID self-test kits at a unit price that comes to 180,000 tests.
The name change approved Tuesday changes the street’s name on city maps and as a mailing address.
Calling it a “terrible reality,” Memphis City Councilman Worth Morgan said that “people are not being held accountable for fleeing from police.”
The state has lowered the percentage it expects to make on investments that finance pension funds. By state law, the city of Memphis must lower its discount rate as well in the spring budget season.
Candidates who won’t be on the ballot until August are actively campaigning along with those in partisan races whose first hurdle is the May county primaries.
On Tuesday, Jan. 18, District Attorney General Amy Weirich will talk about how her office prosecutes reckless driving and drag racing cases.
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said the raises approved this month for 200 corrections center guards are being funded in part by fees the Justice Department is paying the county as it closes down a privately run federal prison. And he said more raises and bonuses are coming for others.
Josh Spickler, of the criminal justice reform group Just City, said on WKNO’s Behind The Headlines that there is another side to allegations the county’s criminal justice system is a ‘revolving door.’
A nine-page letter from Capitol Hill questions a central tenet of TVA’s pitch for Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division to remain the federal agency’s largest customer for electric power.
The Judiciary Committee scrap over Mathis’ nomination was part of a larger issue about blue slips used to express support or opposition by Senators on federal appeals court nominees when the home-state Senators are not of the president’s party.
The former county commissioner has pulled petitions to seek a return to the County Commission or to run for Juvenile Court Clerk.
A Chancery Court lawsuit preserved the stalemate between the Shelby County Election Commission and the Shelby County Commission over a way forward in the controversy.
Edmund Ford Jr. said he was “sort of offended” after an executive from The Commercial Appeal complained to the commission over Ford’s treatment of a reporter.
Shelby County Health Department director Dr. Michelle Taylor also complained about employers requiring a test for workers who have quarantined for the recommended five days to return to work after initially testing positive for COVID.
The first Council Scorecard of the new year chronicles a rare defeat of an appointment from the city court clerk’s office and a few notes about the start of the second half of the current council’s four-year term.