Watkins confirmed as new city court judge
City Council also endorsed a general plan for athletic fields by Christian Brothers University on 7 acres at the intersection of Avery Avenue and South Hollywood.
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 4091 articles by Bill Dries :
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April 2021
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City of Memphis -
City of Memphis Fairgrounds redevelopment price goes up as city preps bonds to finance
A timetable for the Fairgrounds conversion has the new youth sports complex opening in the fall of 2022.
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City of Memphis Mike Ryall named interim MPD chief as new candidate joins the mix
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland announced Monday, April 5, that he is appointing police Deputy Director Mike Ryall as interim director effective immediately.
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City of Memphis Fairgrounds financing, MLGW contract, trash troubles top council agenda
The April 6, council session includes a vote on $75 million in revenue bonds for the Fairgrounds renovation as well as a vote on the $520,000 contract to explore alternatives to TVA as MLGW’s electric power supplier. And council members review a month of vocal complaints about trash pickup.
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City of Memphis Plan detailed for slowing Riverside Drive traffic
Memphis River Parks Partnership has city administration approval for a plan to slow traffic on Riverside Drive while keeping it open to auto traffic.
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City of Memphis Mud Island preps for Memorial Day opening
The river park’s closing last year due to the pandemic allowed Memphis Parks Partnership to save some money that is going into improvements, such as repairing the Riverwalk and resodding the south lawn.
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City of Memphis Behind the Headlines: Getting vaccine to the isolated
Rev. Keith Norman of Baptist Memorial Health Care and Meritan CEO Melanie Keller talked about the vaccine outreach to the homebound and homeless on “Behind The Headlines.”
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Shelby County White says Germantown schools transfer bill gets all sides to the table
On The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, state Rep. Mark White acknowledges the bill doesn’t address many of the complexities of the local schools merger and demerger that kept the three namesake Germantown schools in the Shelby County Schools system.
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City of Memphis MICAH calls on Strickland to open up police director selection process
Social justice group seeks to be part of the discussion and decisions about police reforms and the selection of the next Memphis Police director.
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Update
City of MemphisCity disputes Waste Pro claim it rejected Good Friday pickups
The Thursday, April 1, press release from the company is the latest salvo in an exchange between the city and the company that went public last week.
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ElectionsShelby GOP chairman won’t seek another term
Tutor says the next local party chairman has a chance to win back countywide offices in 2022 that Republicans lost due to what Tutor says was the result of anti-Trump sentiment.
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City of Memphis Lawsuit cites six years of spotty garbage pickup in Cordova
Six Cordova homeowners have filed a civil lawsuit against the city and MLGW seeking $38.8 million in damages for a group of 35,000 households.
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March 2021
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City of Memphis MLGW board approves contract that gets TVA process back on track
The $520,000 consulting contract is a close but not exact match of the one the City Council rejected last October. The rejection stalled the process of considering an exit from TVA by six months. The new contract goes to the council for approval next week with price estimates due by the end of this year.
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Shelby County Ford grant investigation poses broader questions
A February exchange of letters between County Mayor Lee Harris and County Commission Chairman Eddie Jones shows there are difficult questions about whether the legislative duties of Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. should be limited when he hasn’t been charged with a crime.
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City of Memphis Strickland nominates county EOC administrator as city court judge
If approved by the Memphis City Council, Carolyn Watkins would fill the vacancy created by the January death of City Court Judge Teresa Jones.
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City of Memphis‘Stringing us along': Trash talk in Memphis-Waste Pro showdown
Better weather and a relentless barrage of complaints about garbage piling up seem to have been the breaking point in the city’s relationship with Waste Pro USA. The chairman of the City Council said it felt like the private waste company was “stringing us along.”
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Shelby County Shift in Shelby County reappraisals would be first in the state
Property appraisal expert discusses how the proposal to move to reappraisals every two years instead of every four years would set a precedent for other major cities.
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Shelby County County Commission Scorecard: Split verdict on pipeline indicators
The County Commission Scorecard looks at two pipeline-related resolutions voted down by the commission. One could return for reconsideration. The other could change the specific route of the pipeline through southwest Memphis.
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City of Memphis City Council ‘adamantly’ opposes open gun carry bill backed by governor
The bill in the Tennessee General Assembly seeks to allow the open carrying of handguns in the state.
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City of MemphisPipeline Players: Who’s who in the controversy over the Byhalia Connection Pipeline
Here are the key figures and organizations involved in the Byhalia Connection Pipeline project and its opposition.
Related story:
Rocky legal terrain lies between Byhalia pipeline positions and reality
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Behind The Headlines MLGW board to vote next week on next step in TVA process
MLGW President and CEO J.T. Young on “Behind The Headlines” says the new contract with a consultant involves Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland as a mediator between the utility board and the council.
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City of Memphis Strickland touts PILOTS during joint meeting on incentives
The four-hour online joint meeting of the two legislative bodies Thursday, March 25, was mostly questions and answers. The group agreed to start talking about proposals to change incentives at the second April 15 session with plans for a third joint meeting.
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City of Memphis City Council Scorecard: Pet problems, same-night minutes and council grants
The Council Scorecard looks at the surprise that led to the defeat of an ordinance banning retail dog and cat sales in the city and the parliamentary maneuver that means there won’t be any move to reconsider the vote.
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Update
City of MemphisWaste Pro says it wants out of contract as city suspends payments
Waste Pro, the company at the center of sanitation complaints in Cordova, is looking to end its contract with the City of Memphis. Meanwhile, Mayor Jim Strickland said there’s been no formal notice to the city and the city moved to end the contract with a 20-day notice last week to either fix the problems or consider the contract ended.
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Shelby County Ford, Harris trade words over investigation into commission grant
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and a representative of County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. sparred Wednesday, March 24, over accusations that Ford violated the county charter with a 2019 grant and Harris’ involvement in the allegation.
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