Mayor Young shakes up city leadership
Mayor Paul Young has named a new No. 2 at the COO post and a new CFO as well as an interim city engineer.
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 4390 articles by Bill Dries :
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June 2026
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City of Memphis -
City of Memphis Memphis City Council approves $5M for AutoZone Park
The Memphis City Council approved $5 million for repairs and renovation work at AutoZone Park. It will take a broader look at multiple uses for the ballpark that is home to the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds.
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City of Memphis Solid waste pay raise, 11 amendments complicate city budget
The city’s new fiscal year starts July 1. Here are the issues and budget amendments that the City Council will work through at their last regular meeting in June.
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Behind The Headlines City and county budget seasons are winding down. Here’s what two local leaders have to say.
The Shelby County Commission is looking at a possible tax increase while the Memphis City Council is expected to keep the city’s tax rate the same.
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Elections T.J. Hardaway to run write-in campaign for late father’s state House seat
Hardaway, who was appointed to the District 93 seat in time for May’s special legislative session, announced his bid for a full two-year term.
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Shelby County Tami Sawyer suspended as clerk, Stanton appointed as interim
General Sessions Court judges suspended their clerk with pay two days after she made her first court appearance on federal theft, wire fraud and money laundering charges.
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Tami Sawyer indictment renews Republican push for state intervention
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Shelby CountyTami Sawyer indictment renews Republican push for state intervention
One of the Republican contenders for governor says it’s time “to shake up the court system in Shelby County.”
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Public Safety ‘Bigger than the devil’: Hernandez Govan is back in custody, only this time it’s federal
A federal magistrate judge denied Govan’s request for bail following a hearing that detailed explicit threats of violence, extortion and a criminal history spanning decades.
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Shelby CountyCan a Court Clerk be suspended? Otis Jackson was in 2011.
General Sessions Court Clerk Tami Sawyer pleaded not guilty this week to federal charges. Her attorney said she plans to continue working as clerk while awaiting trial.
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Public Safety Tami Sawyer indicted, faces federal corruption charges
The Shelby County General Sessions Court clerk was seen in custody at the Odell Horton Federal Building.
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MetroJudicial candidates blossom during election year spring
Also in this political roundup, Green campaigns at Da Sammich Shop, Blackburn calls for a “revisit” on a Nashville data center and Rose pans Starbucks incentives, along with a look at the FISA extension and immigration funding.
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Shelby County County Commission sets (tentative) property tax rate
Commissioners delayed votes on operating and capital budgets to a June 29 meeting that will also include a final vote on the property tax hike.
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Shelby County County Commission has major decisions to get budget and tax rate across finish line
Adding more funding to county reserves is competing with a scaled-down lawsuit settlement, more spending and a basic tax rate that has been reduced by the state for the new fiscal year.
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Behind The Headlines Reporters address SpaceX promises as Elon Musk company goes public
The local face of SpaceX has been making a lot of news as the Houston-based company goes public with a record-setting IPO. The local controversies against that backdrop were discussed on “Behind The Headlines.”
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Downtown Flyway completes Tom Lee Park transformation
The 220-foot-long boardwalk two years in the making offers an elevated view of the Mississippi River just beyond the edge of Tom Lee Park.
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EducationProposed Treadwell school project in question
Commissioners suggest funding should go to existing schools in need of repairs.
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State Government State vows to speed up roadwork on Elvis Presley Boulevard
TDOT Commissioner Will Reid and Mayor Paul Young met twice this week after a stormy public meeting in Whitehaven recently, where those involved in the joint project told residents it wouldn’t be completed until 2031.
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City of Memphis City Council questions need for AutoZone Park money
The council delayed a vote Tuesday on financing changes to AutoZone Park for two weeks. The new funding will help the park meet Major League Baseball’s minimum standards for its minor league ballparks.
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Shelby County Souls to the Polls rally mixes political optimism with hardcore organizing
Outrage over the redrawing of congressional district lines is fueling get-out-the-vote efforts in Memphis. The formal effort went public Sunday with a Souls at the Polls rally, where candidates were seen but not heard.
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City of Memphis Tax season drumbeat grows louder at City Hall
City Council members have some amendments to Mayor Paul Young’s budget, and they could move closer to closing out the budget season at Tuesday’s council day.
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Shelby CountyVote-A-Rama and the War Powers Act. Wanda Halbert’s quest for a recount. Lamar Alexander on ‘Newt’s World’
From vote-a-rama to recount-a-rama, Tennessee’s representatives in Washington had a busy week and more in this week’s political roundup.
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City of Memphis Connecting the new housing dots and vacant lots in North Memphis neighborhood
Working a few lots at a time with different developers, the City of Memphis is beginning to connect the vacant lots in North Memphis neighborhood to form a pattern of redevelopment.
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City of Memphis Renovated Bickford Aquatic Center makes a splash
The renovated Bickford Aquatic Center opened Thursday, June 4, in North Memphis just in time for summer.
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Shelby County County commissioners consider keeping $2.69 property tax rate
Shelby County commissioners talked Wednesday, June 3, about leaving the county property tax rate at $2.69. It’s a discussion they’ve had in past budget seasons with different rates. But this year’s decision may be different.
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Neighborhoods ‘If this were Poplar Avenue, … this would have been completed years ago’
A standing-room only crowd in Whitehaven heard that the Elvis Presley Boulevard project, begun in 2013, may last another five years.
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