New MSCS leader contract, school construction and state takeover
The Memphis education landscape is among the topics discussed on this week’s “Behind The Headlines.”
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 3938 articles by Bill Dries :
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April 2025
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Behind The Headlines -
Shelby County Officials seeks public comment on xAI air permit
As local groups push against xAI’s turbines as part of a fight against pollution, the Health Department director said she will schedule a public hearing on the permit for the company’s Southwest Memphis plant.
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Metro County grant panel near recommending ways to avoid future abuse
Proposed changes to how the Shelby County Commission gives funds are area nonprofits follow the federal indictment of Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. on bribery and tax evasion charges.
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March 2025
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Shelby County County Commission delays vote on MSCS advisory group
Shelby County Commissioners are still divided over whether their earlier no-confidence resolution in the Memphis-Shelby County Schools board led to plans to for a state takeover of the school system.
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Shelby County Shelby County Commission goes deep on school, xAI actions
The Monday, March 31, County Commission meeting will be a busy one. On the agenda is an advisory board for Memphis-Shelby County Schools and a call for public hearings on xAI’s permitting process.
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Metro County Democratic Party convention derails amid calls for unity
The convention to elect a local party chairman went astray over the bylaws and the 300 attendees never got around to voting on a new leader.
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State Government Taylor changing strategy to oust Mulroy
State Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Eads, and Senate leaders are asking the Tennessee Supreme Court to appoint a panel outside the legislature to investigate Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy.
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Metro Joe Murphy returns as acting U.S. Attorney for Western District of Tennessee
President Donald Trump announced Murphy will replace Reagan Fondren in the post, according to U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee. Fondren was fired Thursday in a one-line email from not only the interim position but also as a Justice Department employee.
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East Memphis Young hopes to dodge tax hike as budget looms
Memphis Mayor Paul Young also heard more concerns about xAI at the One Memphis forum Wednesday, but promised to devote its tax revenue to specific public projects in Southwest Memphis.
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Shelby County County Commission may attempt to block state schools takeover
“If we do nothing then we are really leaving ourselves at the will of the state,” said Commissioner Shante Avant.
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Education State Comptroller set to pay $3 million for MSCS audit
The money to hire and pay an accounting firm to conduct the audit is part of Gov. Bill Lee’s amended budget proposal.
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City of Memphis City floats a raft of riverfront improvements
Could recreational uses come back to McKellar Lake? Or a dock of paddle boats in the Wolf River Harbor?
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City of Memphis City Council questions truck yard, approves Wolf River-area cleanup
The City Council also approved a task force Tuesday, March 25, to make recommendations on how to deal with Wolf River bottomland that, for decades, has been an illegal dumping site and a popular area for off-road vehicles.
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Shelby County County Commissioner Mickell Lowery declares for Shelby County mayor
The May primary fields to succeed outgoing Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris could grow with no incumbent seeking reelection.
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City of Memphis Memphis City Council votes on permits for on-street parking
If 75% of the property owners in a defined area sign a petition, parking on their streets would be allowed only with a $50 permit with some exemptions.
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Metro Political Roundup: The race for Democratic chair; Tesla and townhalls
The political roundup focuses on a busy Saturday. Democrats discussed what has gone wrong in the party, and we look at some tumultuous Congressional townhall meetings of the past.
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Behind The Headlines School takeover terms still taking shape in Legislature
The legislation and local reaction to it were among the topics discussed by a reporters’ roundtable on “Behind The Headlines.”
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North Memphis Girls Inc. Youth Farm in Frayser growing along with crops
Leaders of Girls Inc. and city officials cut the ribbon Friday, March 21, on a new greenhouse to go with the 20,000-square-foot building opened in 2023. It is part of a storied Frayser landscape.
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Shelby County For years, Mayor has tried to appoint new members to ethics board. County Commission hasn’t taken a single vote
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris has produced six letters, going back to April 2021, in which he asked the County Commission to vote on new ethics board members.
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Downtown Grounding the Flyway: Construction continues on latest Tom Lee Park project
The Flyway, a boardwalk and observation deck off the river, continued Tuesday, March 18, when work crews dug two 50-foot holes and filled them with reinforced concrete.
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City of Memphis City Council sets early start to budget season in return from spring break
The council also voted on a slate of ordinances, including a $300 fee to go with the tax bill of owners of blighted properties the city has to clean up.
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Shelby County County Commission will continue giving grants, despite federal bribery case
A proposed one-month moratorium on the Shelby County Board of Commissioners’ grant program was voted down, but the commission may change how grants are made. There could also changes to the ethics board.
Related content:
County Commission has little appetite for giving itself a raise
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Shelby County County Commission has little appetite for giving itself a raise
While only two commissioners voted to get a raise, the panel showed more warmth to a proposed minimum-wage increase for county employees.
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Shelby County County Commission to mull grants moratorium, other ethics moves
The possible freeze, which follows the indictment of Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. on bribery and tax evasion charges linked to grants, is one of the items on the March 17 agenda.
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Metro D.C. Scorecard: Federal government avoids shutdown
The D.C. Scorecard tracks how Memphis’ representatives in Washington voted in the passage of a continuing resolution and looks at past trips to or near a government shutdown.
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