Political Roundup: Heading to the first election since 2020
April marks the deadline to register to vote in the May 3 elections, the filing deadline for the August ballot, and the start of early voting ahead of the May 3 election day.
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 4095 articles by Bill Dries :
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April 2022
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Shelby CountyBureaucratic traffic jam backs up new car tags and license plates
The Daily Memphian readers chime in to share their experiences, which sometimes involve mail delivery issues. But County Clerk Wanda Halbert says there are other problems within county government.
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Elections Lawsuit challenges limited opening of early voting sites before Easter
The Memphis Branch NAACP, along with two other organizations, has filed a lawsuit against the Shelby County Election Commission.
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March 2022
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On the Record MATA project funding included in White House budget proposal
On The Daily Memphian’s On The Record podcast, Rep. Steve Cohen talks about the proposed system, in which buses would have their own lanes and would be timed to hit green lights.
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Elections Political Roundup: Walking local party lines
As some Democrats pledge to try to censure Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland for endorsing a Republican candidate for state Senate in the August primaries, local Republicans have their own internal differences.
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Elections What change in the DA’s office could look like on first day
On The Daily Memphian’s On The Record Podcast, the three Democratic primary contenders for Shelby County District Attorney General discussed what happens in the prosecutor’s office on day one if they upset incumbent Amy Weirich in August.
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Update
State GovernmentLee proposes $20 million for riverfront dock expansion
The budget amendment also includes $10 million for the National Civil Rights Museum, $2.5 million each for the Brooks Museum of Art and the Leftwich Tennis Center and $100,000 for the Southern Heritage Classic.
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City of Memphis Fourth Street becomes Ida B. Wells Street
Signs for the permanent street renaming were unveiled Monday for a section of Fourth Street between Union Avenue and E.H. Crump Boulevard.
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Shelby County County Commission approves paying cost overruns on juvenile detention center
The $13 million in additional funding found from a group of seven county budget line items brings the total cost of the project to around $30 million including the $3 million the county paid for the Old Getwell building that is being renovated.
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City of Memphis Strickland hopeful for local share of state sales tax revenue
As the end of the current legislative session nears in Nashville, Strickland said his long-held goal of getting a share of the sales tax revenue is “inching along.”
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Shelby County County Commission Scorecard: The making of a new school board member
The County Commission Scorecard chronicles the three rounds of votes that made Charles Everett of Westwood the newest Memphis-Shelby County Schools board member representing District 6.
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Real Estate Watch: Downtown office needs shift as workers return
Downtown Memphis Commission President Paul Young talks on Behind The Headlines about saving tax incentives for Class A office space, why incentives for residential development are still necessary despite a rise in rents and an RFP on Beale Street.
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Update
City of MemphisFirst Lady visits St. Jude, talks about Ukraine humanitarian effort
More children with cancer are coming to the city from the Ukraine war zone next week. First Lady Jill Biden made the visit to St. Jude Friday afternoon and talked privately with four children and their families airlifted this past Monday from Poland to Memphis.
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Metro Jill Biden to welcome Ukrainian patients at St. Jude
First Lady Jill Biden will be in Memphis Friday, March 25, for a tour of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
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Elections Democrats call for censure of Strickland over endorsement
Strickland’s backing of Brent Taylor in the state Senate District 31 primary follows endorsements by Tennessee Republican U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty.
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MetroAppeals court rejects Graceland’s claim on FedExForum noncompete
The Wednesday, March 23, ruling is the latest chapter in a legal saga that began in 2018 after Graceland sought to build a 6,200-seat arena in Whitehaven.
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City of Memphis City Council questions Soulsville TIF
Several Memphis City Council members said Tuesday, March 22, they don’t think it is large enough or generates enough property tax increment to get much going in terms of economic development in the Soulsville area.
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City of Memphis Strickland says city through ‘first quarter’ of MLGW-TVA decision
The three returning and two new MLGW board members breezed through City Council approval Tuesday, as a move to hire an energy consultant was put on hold.
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City of Memphis City Council approves bond refinance to save $11M
The transactions will save the city money. The council also dealt with MLGW pay thresholds and approved a resolution calling for the cancellation of student loan debt.
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City of Memphis State bill on pipelines would not undo city ordinances, council told
Council members withdrew a resolution Tuesday, March 22, opposing the bill in Nashville after amendments were made. The bill would still limit the council’s ability to regulate convenience stores with gas pumps.
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ElectionsCity Council Scorecard: Party lines, residency majority holds and a new code
This edition of the council scorecard catches up to a council vote on President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, another chapter in the police residency debate and rewriting the city code of ordinances for the first time in 37 years.
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Elections MLGW commissioners to step down from board amid political house cleaning by Strickland
Longtime MLGW board members will not be reappointed by Mayor Strickland. The decision follows an investigation by the Institute for Public Service Reporting that found all five board members were serving after their terms had expired.
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Elections Charles Everett named to school board seat
Charles Everett, a Tennessee PTA leader and co-founder of Uplift Westwood, is the new District 6 Memphis-Shelby County Schools board member.
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Elections Moody claims 2020 city mask mandate flap shows Harris’ ‘lack of leadership’
Moody’s campaign to upset incumbent county Mayor Lee Harris points to letters exchanged by city and county attorneys highlighting issues between local leaders and jurisdictional lines, specifically over the city’s possible role in contact tracing.
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Elections The political past of Tigers basketball
Two former Tigers basketball players have sought elected office before with one winning and the other coming close.
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