MLGW pushes full recovery to Saturday; council member ‘incredibly frustrated’
Some elected leaders are already promising a long-term review of why outages continue to cripple the city for days at a time.
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 4052 articles by Bill Dries :
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February 2022
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City of Memphis City Council Scorecard: Union Station’s hotel and trust in Midtown
The Council Scorecard follows the latest turn in the path of a mixed-use project on prime Midtown commercial real estate on Union Avenue. The council is concerned about approving the hotel before residential or retail permits are issued.
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Metro Mathis federal appeals court nomination clears Senate Judiciary by narrow margin
Andre Mathis’ nomination as a federal appeals court judge advances to the full Senate as Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee again opposed Mathis as “unqualified” and talked Thursday in Washington of “street talk in Memphis.”
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Shelby County South Memphis economic development groups get $1 million county grant
In other action, the commission approved funding for the Shelby County Sheriff’s office to up recruiting deputy jailers, environment justice initiatives and a continuation of several pandemic initiatives.
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Metro Six days out: Why 28,000 MLGW customers are still without power
MLGW pushes back its estimate to have all customers restored and begins looking to fix smaller outages.
Related story:
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City of Memphis Liberty Park already booking events as construction hits halfway point
The $56 million Memphis Sports and Event Center is the centerpiece of Liberty Park, which sits on the grounds of what was once the Libertyland theme park.
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City of Memphis More than 38,000 remain without power
The utility missed its goal by about three percentage points, with more than 40,000 homes and businesses still without power as the temperature goes above freezing in the city.
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Business National Civil Rights Museum to include Corporate Equity Center
The center, funded by AutoZone, has a specific goal of increasing Black representation in corporate C-suites and senior executive leadership.
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Elections Political Roundup: Big Ballot beckons candidates
Contenders seeking a place on the ballot of more than 100 races and potentially hundreds of candidates can begin pulling and filing qualifying petitions Monday in the second of three elections this year. Meanwhile, the May county primary ballot continues to take shape with its own overlapping deadlines.
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Shelby County County Commission mulls filling Katrina Robinson’s state Senate seat
The commission debated Monday whether it should fill the District 33 seat Robinson was expelled from last week by fellow Senators. Part of the argument is whether it amounts to an endorsement of the Senate action.
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City of Memphis Cohen asks Lee to seek federal disaster aid for city
The push for a state request for federal aid comes as MLGW’s damage estimate from the ice storm has already exceeded the threshold for seeking assistance.
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Shelby County County Commission to consider pandemic contracts
The meeting Monday will also include votes on , environmental justice funding and a transportation consultant, plus other matters linked to the county’s share of federal American Rescue Plan Act funding.
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City of MemphisThough argument could be made to move City Hall, that’s not in Mayor’s plans
The City of Memphis plans to take 60,000 square feet of office space in 100 N. Main when it is redeveloped.
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Metro Watch: Robinson expulsion from Senate calls to mind past dilemmas
This week’s vote by the state Senate to expel Memphis Democrat Katrina Robinson based on her conviction on federal charges is among the topics on a reporters roundtable on “Behind The Headlines.”
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Shelby County County Commission Scorecard: COVID tests, CHOICES playground and Juvenile Court
The County Commission Scorecard finds basic ideological differences remain on the 13-member body, as it moves into the home stretch of its four-year term.
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City of Memphis Test of new city solid waste strategy starts Monday
Interim city solid waste director Chandell Ryan said the citywide system has now caught up and is ready to move ahead with a new trial system in the area that includes Berclair, Chickasaw Gardens and Binghampton.
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ElectionsWeirich, Gov. Lee post fundraising advantage over challengers
The dollar figures are among the campaign finance reports covering the past six months. They also show Republican county mayoral contender Worth Morgan has a balance of $159,540.
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City of Memphis Union Station hotel approved by City Council with conditions
The council moved to bind approval for a new Midtown hotel to other parts of the project, calling for retail and residential development before a certificate of occupancy can be issued for the hotel.
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Shelby County Morrison, Sawyer disagree on bipartisanship and county lobbying firm
Commissioner Brandon Morrison wants the county commission to rehire the lobbying firm it has used in the past and called for a “compromise to purple.” Commissioner Tami Sawyer said the call for bipartisanship “makes absolutely no sense at all.”
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City of Memphis City Council approves $5M for Tom Lee Park redesign
The ARPA funding is in place of Tourism Development Zone revenues the city pledged as part of a $10 million contribution toward the $62-million redesign of Tom Lee Park currently underway.
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City of Memphis City Council to vote on $5 million for Tom Lee Park
Council members also will meet Marvell Mitchell, the CEO of a local software company, who is the new leader of the city division that keeps track of how much business city government does with minority contractors and businesses.
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January 2022
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City of Memphis New Memphis Fire headquarters opens on familiar ground for firefighters
The headquarters is part of a plan for a fire campus in the area where generations of Memphis firefighters have trained.
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Shelby County Ballot Basics: Laying out the 2022 election year
After no elections in 2021, Shelby County voters go to the polls three times this year in a series of elections with almost 200 races total and many more candidates in those races. Here is an overview of what’s ahead for voters.
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City of Memphis Cruise line arrivals push waterfront plans
Viking Cruises will begin traversing the Mississippi River in June, joining two other cruise lines docking in Memphis. The city plans a $62 million Waterfront District to meet the demand.
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Elections Political Roundup: Primary growing pains and a ranked-choice voting ban
There are now five potential contenders in the Democratic primary for Shelby County mayor with about three weeks to the filing deadline to get on the ballot. Here’s a rundown of the latest filings and a few other campaign notes.
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