Council moves on MLGW reflect skepticism utility is moving fast enough
The city council voted last week to seek a legal opinion key to the question of Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division cutting ties with the Tennessee Valley Authority.
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 3946 articles by Bill Dries :
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January 2020
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City of Memphis -
Elections Bipartisan division, frustration simmer beneath county’s blue surface
The jury is still out on whether Memphis will see much of the presidential campaigns a week away from the Iowa caucuses. But the divide over impeachment and social issues in a divided America is still evident in a blue county within a red state.
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Spirit of MemphisLost Coliseum files reveal Prince, Queen and an entire era of music history
A team from the Memphis Public Libraries has digitized some of the trove of files they found last year in the mothballed Mid-South Coliseum.
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Shelby County Bonner offers alternative on residency requirement for deputies
The Shelby County sheriff is suggesting a more specific residency requirement, with limits, than the one that failed on first reading Monday before the Shelby County Commission.
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Elections Alexander reveals how he plans to vote on Trump impeachment witnesses
U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee revealed his decision Thursday night on calling witnesses as part of the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.
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Podcasts Politics Podcast: Hitting the reset button on the transit issue
Shelby County Commissioners Tami Sawyer and Mick Wright talk about the effort to get some kind of county funding for the city bus system back on the road and what that means in terms of accountability and what taxpayers can afford.
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February 2020
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City of Memphis Sawyer and Wright call for cleaner, more direct route to MATA funding
The Shelby County commissioners chairing the ad hoc committee sorting out county funding for city buses talked on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast about eliminating some of the bells and whistles that have emerged to get to the funding.
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City of Memphis U.S. Census mounts campaign-like effort in Memphis
The recent formal opening of the local U.S. Census office came as new immigration restrictions are finding a place in presidential campaign rhetoric.
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Elections Monday marks busy day on local political calendar
As the Iowa presidential caucuses get underway Monday, it also marks the last day to register to vote in the March 3 Tennessee presidential primaries and the first day for candidates in the August state and federal primaries to pull and file their paperwork to get on the ballot.
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City of Memphis The Politics of Garbage: A backlog of leaves bumps into complex past
The city's response to a backlog in picking up leaves reveals just how politically volatile the city's most basic service can be -- and has been -- for decades.
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City of Memphis Who you gonna call for animal problems? It’s somebody new
Memphis Animal Services has worked out an arrangement that changes who receives calls about animal-related issues.
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City of Memphis City Council returns to topic of MLGW-TVA relationship
The city council takes another look Tuesday at the relationship between Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division and the Tennessee Valley Authority. And the residency issue for city employees is back as well.
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Elections Democratic presidential contenders look toward Tennessee
The morning after the Iowa Democratic caucuses, the presidential contenders were waiting on delayed results but were also making campaign moves in March Super Tuesday primary states including Tennessee.
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City of Memphis Sheraton plans upgrade of city’s original convention center hotel, seeks tax breaks
The owners of the Sheraton convention center hotel will seek a 30-year PILOT – payment in lieu of taxes – incentive for a major renovation of the 600-room, two-tower hotel.
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City of Memphis City Council approves delayed Civil Service Commission reappointments
But the council vote on one of the two commissioners was less than unanimous. Council member Worth Morgan questioned whether appeals to the commission of firings and disciplinary actions are creating a culture City Hall should be avoiding.
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City of Memphis Rallings, bridge activist clash at council over police residency
At stake is a possible move to take a ballot question off the ballot in November that would expand residency requirement for police and firefighters.
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Elections Bloomberg opens Memphis HQ as August ballot starts to take shape
Early voting in the state’s presidential primary is a week away.
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Elections Iowa app problems cast shadow on local voting discussion
Shelby County Commissioners' decision regarding a new voting system for August ballots isn't the final word, but a recommendation for the Shelby County Election Commission.
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Elections Alexander, Blackburn vote not guilty in Senate impeachment trial
The acquittal votes were expected, but there were differences in the reasoning offered by the two Republican Senators. Also reaction from the city's two Congressional representatives.
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City of Memphis What’s moving forward and what’s on hold at the Memphis Zoo?
On the WKNO Channel 10 program “Behind The Headlines," zoo president and CEO Jim Dean discusses plans for the Overton Park institution.
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Metro Politics Podcast: Impeachment, State of the State and more
This edition of the Politics Podcast features a roundup from a busy week in local, state and national politics.
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Elections Surrogates blazing trail for Democratic presidential contenders
The campaigns of several Democratic presidential contenders are looking for votes in the state's largest base of blue voters. But so far, it has been surrogates speaking to Memphians.
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City of Memphis What comes after MLGW rate hike? That’s the topic of discussion
After winning approval of multi-year rate hikes for gas, water and electric, leaders of the utility division are still talking about efficiencies and accountability with the Memphis City Council members who approved those rate hikes.
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City of Memphis Civil Service Commission reappointment prompts rare council split vote
The split vote on the civil service reappointment could be seen again as more of the civil service commissioners reach the end of their three-year terms.
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Metro Son of city employee pleads to federal mail fraud and conspiracy charges
The son of a Memphis city employee accused of defrauding the city out of possibly more than $84,000 in a lawn-mowing scam has pleaded guilty to federal charges in the case.
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