State Sen. Kelsey indicted
Republican state Sen. Brian Kelsey has been indicted on federal campaign finance charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office in Nashville.
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 4093 articles by Bill Dries :
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October 2021
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Public Safety -
Ford Megasite Watch: Road to $5.6 billion Ford plant bypasses state’s automotive corridor
Two economic development veterans with experience in the state’s Middle Tennessee auto corridor talked on Behind The Headlines about the coming ‘gold rush’ of growth related to the Ford plant that they say will reach Memphis.
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City of Memphis Redistricting and reelection: uneasy coexistence surfaces
An ad hoc group is drafting recommendations on new district lines for the Shelby County Commission.
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Elections Billingsley will not seek county mayor’s office next year
County Commissioner Mark Billingsley has decided not to run for county mayor next year — another piece in a political puzzle still taking shape less than a year from May county primary elections.
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City of Memphis Ruling on use of TVA transmission lines confirms MLGW thinking on possible split
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruling confirms MLGW’s belief that if the city-owned utility leaves the Tennessee Valley Authority it would not be able to use TVA transmission lines but would have to create a new transmission system.
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Metro Hagerty and Blackburn again reject moving voting rights bill in Senate
Tennessee’s two Republican senators voted against the procedural motion this week that would have brought a Democratic voting rights bill to the Senate floor for a vote.
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Elections An early look at Memphis City Council redistricting
The new district lines will reflect a drop of 16,000 Memphians by the U.S. Census count and populations gains in three of the seven single-member City Council districts as well as drops in the head count in the other four districts.
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City of Memphis $21 an hour EDGE minimum wage proposal goes down in council vote
The higher minimum wage for EDGE tax break incentives was well short of seven votes Tuesday, Oct. 19, on the Memphis City Council. Opponents of the measure defeated a move to delay the outcome but there may still be some life left in the call for higher pay for tax breaks.
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City of Memphis Robberies of MLGW tree-trimming crews get City Council’s attention, more
In other action Tuesday, Oct. 19, the council delayed a final vote on a comprehensive downzoning plan and approved funding for the start of the next phase of construction on the South City development.
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Elections Redistricting hits snag as City Council debate continues
The council tabled a move to put an ad hoc working group in place, similar to what the Shelby County Commission already has up and running. The delay came after a discussion about motives, snakes, the city’s method of redistricting and protecting incumbents.
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City of Memphis City Council approves projects to spend ARPA allocation
Most of the early proposals for the council’s share of ARPA funding took a cut in their dollar figures in the compromise worked out by Chase Carlisle and Edmund Ford Sr.
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Shelby County County Commission approves most federal COVID aid use
Commissioners approved the plans for using $58 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding, but several challenged Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris’ plans for the remaining $10 million.
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Shelby County Early Head Start funding stirs embers of SCS-Porter-Leath friction
The SCS sub-contract with Porter-Leath for Head Start services was abruptly terminated this summer with each entity going its own way in providing the services. But county commissioners heard a lot of opposition from SCS about Early Head Start funding to the nonprofit Monday.
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City of Memphis City Council taking final vote on downzoning 20 areas
The Tuesday, Oct. 18, City Council session also includes a vote on further commercial uses of the Annesdale Mansion and a vote on raising the minimum wage to qualify for economic development tax break incentives.
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State Government Memphis area reacts to the death of Colin Powell
Rep. Antonio Parkinson tweeted: “The passing of Secretary Powell is a huge loss to Black America... He was a hero at every turn.”
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Shelby County County Commission races show activity ahead of new district lines
District 3 commissioner Mick Wright opened his re-election campaign over the weekend. Races where the incumbent commissioner is term limited are also showing signs of life.
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Shelby County County Commission to vote on how to spend $52M in ARPA funds
The approval of the spending, which includes $19.1 million for Regional One Health and $4.4 milion to expand health care access to uninsured Shelby Countians, is county general fund money available as the federal ARPA money goes to account for lost county revenues in the pandemic.
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Public SafetyHalf a century later, the memory of Elton Hayes still echoes today
In October 1971, three Orange Mound teenagers went for a ride that ended with law enforcement officers beating one of them to death in a ditch off Lamar Avenue. Fifty years later, no one has been convicted in the killing.
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OpinionDries: Tales told by a headstone’s date
Fifty years after the death of Elton Hayes, a journey to his grave tells the story of the differences between Black and white in the Memphis of 1971 and the Memphis of today.
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Shelby County Crosby leaves as county finance director after two tumultuous budget seasons
Mathilde Crosby is leaving county government to return to the private financial sector.
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City of Memphis Redrawing of SCS districts grows more complex
Meanwhile, the Shelby County Election Commission has underlined with a resolution that it needs to have redistricting maps for the school board and the Shelby County Commission no later than Nov. 8 to be ready for the 2022 county elections.
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Behind The Headlines Watch: Tax break incentives never far from controversy and questions
A reporters roundtable on the WKNO program “Behind The Headlines” looks at the most recent chapter in a long-running civic discussion about tax break incentives for economic growth.
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Spirit of Memphis Former First Lady calls for persistence during Freedom Awards
Former First Lady Michelle Obama was joined by Poor People’s Campaign founders Rev. William Barber and Liz Theoharis in an awards ceremony that was for the most part conducted live in an Orpheum theater without an audience.
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Metro Coronavirus numbers continuing downward trend in Shelby County
Numbers are moving downward in every age group, Shelby County Health Department Director Dr. Michelle Taylor said.
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Behind The Headlines Watch: Merger aims to bridge gap in affordable housing
The leaders of the two housing and community groups talked on “Behind The Headlines” about a larger scope and plan for affordable housing in a city that needs about 40,000 new units of the housing.
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