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 4279 articles by Bill Dries :
Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. and Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris agreed earlier this month to settle Bonner’s lawsuit against Harris with a “confidential” deal for an $18 million amendment to the sheriff’s budget for the current fiscal year.
A new proposal would require receipts for money spent and a 5-year ban on new grants if nonprofits don’t follow the rules. The commission also set the stage for budget hearings.
One commissioner is proposing to put more conditions on the $2.6 million the body allocates for grants days after Mayor Lee Harris warned that funding grants is a great share of the county’s budget.
The nearly 9 minutes of footage is from the body camera of one of the MPD officers who used pepper spray on No Kings marchers.
U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen said Friday that he is exiting the August Congressional primaries after the Tennessee General Assembly redrew the state’s district lines, dividing Memphis among three Congressional districts and drawing Cohen out of the 9th District seat he’s held for 20 years.
In this political roundup, new congressional districts shake up contenders with August primaries around the corner. Plus, a senator explains what he’s learned from “JFK to Trump.”
The quick shift from the May elections to the August elections is the main topic of discussion on this week’s “Behind The Headlines.”
The $55-million renovation offers an expanded look at the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and of the movement since his death in 1968.
Redistricting plans mean an “aggressive timeline” and overtime costs for the Shelby County Election Commission, Linda Phillips told reporters Tuesday.
Pearson declares ahead of a Friday filing deadline for the congressional seats with new district lines.
The resolution is not binding on state lawmakers, who have already passed the controversial plan. Council members also take a look at affordable housing in Orange Mound.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has called a special session of the Tennessee Legislature to consider redrawing the lines of the state’s nine Congressional districts in a bid to turn the state’s largest and only blue district red in this year’s midterm elections.
Trump posted Thursday on social media that he had talked with Gov. Bill Lee about a special session of the Tennessee legislature. Lee hasn’t commented. Blackburn, Rose call to ‘flip Memphis’ in wake of Supreme Court rulingRelated content:
The calls to eliminate Tennessee’s only Democratic-held U.S. House seat follow Wednesday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that changes the Civil Rights Act standards for drawing legislative districts.
Lowering the property-tax rate a few cents and another proposed school, the third of his tenure, highlighted Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris’ final budget proposal.
In a three-page letter, Young writes that the ordinance “seeks to enlarge the Council’s authority in direct contravention of the charter.”
This political roundup dives into the surprising number of write-ins in the Shelby County primary races, a short — and litigious — history of redistricting in Tennessee and more.
The Memphis River Parks Partnership announced the change Friday, May 8, as it honored recipients in the 5th annual Tom Lee Poetry and Spoken Word competition.
Habitat for Humanity recently hit a milestone in Uptown: Two homes it finished building in February had their appraisals match their costs, which isn’t a given when talking about affordable housing in Memphis.
“We have specific needs, and we need a representative in Congress that can speak to those needs,” Memphis Mayor Paul Young told The Daily Memphian Thursday.
TJ Hardaway heads to Nashville to take his seat in the state House for an anticipated Thursday vote on a Republican plan to redraw the boundaries of the state’s nine Congressional districts.
Primary elections in Shelby County draw the lowest voter turnout. Considering that, overall turnout in Tuesday’s election was higher than expected.
The winner of the Democratic primary will meet former state Rep. John DeBerry, the Republican nominee, in the August general election race to succeed outgoing Mayor Lee Harris.
Shante Avant, Karen Streeter and Lashanta Rudd won seats on the County Commission with their win in Tuesday’s Democratic primaries. Which County Commission races were set or decided before the first vote was cast?Related content:
Most in the 11-candidate field talked about specific changes to the office that issues new vehicle tags, car titles and collects registration fees in addition to issuing marriage licenses and business permits.