Unemployment: Officially, in this report, Memphis lost 7500 jobs between 2004 and 2009. But read closer: the city lost 31,5000 jobs, or 5%, from our peak in 2006!

Foreclosure: From First American CoreLogic, achart showing foreclosure rates for the ZIP codes in the eight-county Memphis metro area.

Rebuild Government: A scanty discussion of the motives and financing of the “change local government” group.

City of Memphis: The EPA and the State of Tennessee are taking the City to court over “discharge of pollutants from the city’s sanitary sewer system and two wastewater treatment plants” into the Mississippi River and other waters.

Wells Fargo Lawsuit: The local attorney for Wells Fargo in their suit by the City and County of mortgage lending practices, Jef Feibelman of Burch, Porter & Johnson , is profiled in the Daily News.

Memphis Animal Shelter: Mayor Wharton has appointed Matthew C. Pepper as the new director. More from Fox13, Eyewitness News. Also, comments from his former employer in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Former director Ernest Alexander was arrested in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on animal cruelty charges here in Shelby County. And more from Fox13, Eyewitness News.

More on the arrests of other shelter employees for animal cruelty, from Eyewitness News and WMC.

Memphis Sexual Assault Resource Center: Manager Betty Winter has retired; an interim director is already in place.

Shelby County Sheriff’s Race: The Flyer’s Jackson Baker looks at the current field of candidates to replace Mark Luttrell.

Germantown: The City is considering a new rate schedule for its storm water fees.

Politics: The Madison County Republican Party’s straw governor’s poll showed Zach Wamp the winner; he also won the Jackson County straw poll. Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Haslam made his first major media buy and fellow candidate Zach Wamp called it “desperate”. Meet independent candidate for governor June Griffin. Via the Daily News, a handy breakdown of fundraising by the major Republican and Democratic gubernatorial candidates.

Republican Ninth Congressional District candidate Charlotte Bergmann attended the Tea Party Convention in Nashville. The national Republican party expects to pick up three House seats, maybe five, this November in the Mid-South.

Even the sponsors of “wine in grocery stores” legislation don’t expect it to pass this year.

Former State Senator Paul Stanley blogs from … his mission trip to Haiti!

State Senator Ophelia Ford: Fox13’s Les Smith has more on her absence from the Legislative session.

Elvis: Beginning next month, the legendary singer’s effect on media portrayals of celebrity will be an exhibit in the Newseum in Washington.

National Tea Party Convention: Memphian and local tea party organiser Mark Skoda is organising a national conservative political action committee. More from WPLN, the Daily Caller and Politico, Salon, the Commercial Appeal, Nashville City Paper, Knoxville News-Sentinel. Commentary from various political types.

Evidence of the diverse and and still-coalescing nature of the tea party movement. Judson Phillips downplays his role. John Zogby reads the tea leaves of who is a tea partier and why. Voter registration drives.

MSNBC video of Sarah Palin’s keynote speech on Saturday night. Many news and blog links on the speech. PJTV has many videos from the convention. A report on Andrew (BigGovernment.com) Breitbart’s speech and another.

Hickory Ridge Mall: A progress report on the work of World Overcomer’s Church Outreach Ministries. Story was also covered by Fox13, Eyewitness News, WMC.

Agriculture: Farmers in TN and MS expect to plant 18% more cotton acreage this year.

Harold Ford Jr: Ford’s pro-NRA and pro-gun rights speech has disappeared from the NRA site. Ford posts a statement on jobs and economic policy on his blog. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand urges Ford to “come clean” on his Merrill-Lynch bonus. Ford must be getting more famous; his appearance contract was posted to The Smoking Gun website and Maureen Dowd interviewed him for the New York Times.

Pinebrook Pointe: The new owners aren’t wasting any time getting improvements and renovations under way.

NEW: Main Street Journal January 2010 Issue: Editor and publisher Jonathan Lindberg looks at the game-changing nature of Sheriff Mark Luttrell’s mayoral run.

Timely in light of Monday’s State budget presentation, senior writer Michael Roy Hollihan looks at the perfect storm of real crisis that could be forming in our State’s higher education funding.

Memphis City Schools: Despite a lot of organising, the “Surge on the City Schools” didn’t attract a single parent. A brief overview of the present school funding payment situation, from Eyewitness News.

Consolidation: The Flyer reports on the pro-consolidation presentation from representatives of Jacksonville, Florida.

Boy Scouts of America: In their 100th year, local Scouts will collect canned and non-perishable food items this Saturday for the Mid-South Food Bank.

Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare System: Two of their hospitals received “Golden Seal of Approval” awards.

Regional Medical Center: Interim County Mayor Joe Ford is encouraging County employees to make paycheck contributions to help out. The County Commission will take up the issue of funding sources again today.

Red Light Traffic Cameras: The city of Cleveland, Tennessee, is taking theirs down because they aren’t profitable.

Tennessee: Some state hospitals are asking for a bed tax to help shore up TennCare and some may be forced to close. Almost one-third of Federal stimulus money in TN went to Oak Ridge National Laboratories and related projects. Some money distributed from there by the Department of Energy ended up in Shelby County. The state’s largest National Guard unit deployed to Iraq.

Roads: The Commercial Appeal runs a series from their cousin company, Scripps Howard News Service, on America’s “killer roads”. They look at the numbers. Call for more reporting on dangerous roads (and tout their own website). Tips for safer driving.

A WMC story on potholes in Mid-South roads. The TN Department of Transportation will assume responsibilities for repairing the Collierville-Arlington Road.

Ace Hardware: They are opening their first store in the Memphis area in 10 years, with the help of the family that owns Stewart Brothers Hardwarein Midtown; they will open in Germantown this Friday.

DeSoto County: State Line Road will get some needed repairs. A look at the Republican primary for the First Congressional District seat. County officials and the Memphis Metropolitan Planning Office to met to discuss the regional “Imagine 2035″ transportation plan. The Boy Scouts of America held Scouting University training this weekend in Southaven. In a move just coming to light, Olive Branch re-instated the former pay of the City Engineer … and then some.

Memphis Medical Society: They announced the election of new officers and three new board members.

Homelessness: The Memphis News reports on local activists working on new strategies to help fight homelessness.

Business: Easy Way Food Stores is closing its Crosstown location; more in the Flyer.

What to Do for Saturday and Sunday; People in Business for Sunday; and Done Deals.

West Tennessee: The Dyer County Election Commission decides to vigorously prosecute felons who voted. Fewer Dyer County employees are seeking health-care cost reimbursements. (stories via the Dyersburg State Gazette)

University of Memphis: The creativity and bad nutritional value of student cooking continues. The Memphis Institute for Leadership Excellence held a pep rally for Memphis Friday. (stories via the Daily Helmsman)

Memphis Zoo: Lancer Hospitality has taken over concessions there, and expanded the food options.

Bellevue Baptist Church: The church’s program of “satellite campus churches” gets a closer look with Bellevue Arlington.

Arkansas: Black farmers in the state are being urged to “light a fire” under Senator Blanche Lincoln, to speed up a budget proposal that contains money for “injustices” by the US Department of Agriculture. The Department of Human Services admits to troubling problems with children left in “bad” homes.

Mississippi: The dizzying rounds of budget cuts and restorations continues. More from the DeSoto Times Tribue; further reports from Fox13. More on Cities and Counties asking the State to repeal the Section 42 developers’ tax breaks. And the possibility of advertisements on school busses and tougher animal cruelty laws.

Mississippi Outdoors — the hunting, fishing and wildlife news, from the Commercial Appeal.

Left Wing Cracker: Lauren and her chili. And, a tribute from a friend.

Wendi C. Thomas: She reacts negatively to Herenton’s campaign kickoff. (via the Commercial Appeal)

Otis L. Sanford: Mark Luttrell’s entry into the County mayor’s race gives new hope to Republicans and some Democrats. (via the Commercial Appeal)

Chris Peck: Plugging Jersey Boys and the Orpheum while also praising Memphis. (via the Commercial Appeal)

Fred Jones Jr: When it comes to fixing out city’s problems, we are “them”. (via the Commercial Appeal)

Commercial Appeal: Noting Memphis’ air cargo supremacy. Painful education cuts in Mississippi might spur legislators to reconsider merging some school districts. The Memphis City Schools have a lot of expensive, carefully drawn plans that a State takeover would threaten. The new Greenway and Greenline walking/biking trails mean new connections for Memphis neighborhoods.

Geoff Calkins: What else can Memphis sell to Green Bay besides the Zippin Pippin? (via the Commercial Appeal)

A. C. Kleinheider: He has struggled to define the tea party movement’s leader and settles on Sarah Palin. (via Nashville PostPolitics)

Memphis News: A unified approach is needed to fight homelessness.

Only in Memphis: Thoughts on Governor Bredesen’s remarks about West Tennessee colleges and universities.

One-Half Amazing: Three questions your customers want you to answer.

Memphis Shelby Inform: A look at the PILOTS that have been granted for Shelby County.

Pretty in Pink Megan: Five of her favorite things … right now. Oh ladies! Shoe sale!

scribblescrawl: Computer problems and showers of sadness.

sharp stick in the eye: Another run at the fabric headboard.

Smart City Memphis: Will I-269 be a driver of economic segregation?

The Chockley Blogs: Your hilarious “things kids say” post for the day.

The Tale of a Southern Belle: She’s now able to fit into old jeans. And learn a little bit about her two-years-ago self.

Urf! Second choice on career day isn’t all bad, is it?

The Soundcheck and the Fury: “This is my blog.”

The Shelf Life: How Melissa Anderson Sweazy came to writer her wedding book, Veiled Remarks.

The Ominous Comma: Happy third anniversary, Brent!

The Intersection of Madness and Reality: The Blindsiding of Haitian children.

Downtown Memphis Download: Pictures from a Memphis LOST party.

Can’t Stop: How runners can avoid stupid mistakes and becoming a smart runner.

at home she feels like a tourist: A proposal for the Museum of Contemporary Art at the Pyramid. Yep, you read that right.