Community Congress on Crime: About 300 people attended last night’s first meeting and offered suggestions to Mayor AC Wharton. The next meeting is Thursday. The Commercial Appeal also reports. In a related story, the push for tougher gun laws in Shelby County.

Main Street Journal: Our February 2009 issue is now out! You can peruse the Table of Contents here. Chuck Bates presents Part Two of Socialism Not Seen Since FDR.

Mid-South Fair: Officials in DeSoto County say it will be the safest fair in many years.

ARKANSAS: Bills on teen driving and seat belt usage passed the State Senate; also, Freedom of Information exemptions. A bill resembling Memphis’ scrap metal regulations has been introduced in the Legislature, a bill increasing the minimum wage, and a bill to expand the range of crimes for which a DNA sample is taken was also introduced. And, yet another bill would limit access to police auto accident reports to within three months of the incident.

BUSINESS: Stringer’s Garden Centers has decided to not sell its Midtown location. arGentis Pharmaceuticals has received European ‘orphan drug status’, which gives the company market exclusivity. Grocers and liquor stores are fighting over wine sales. SuperLo Foods has filed for a permit to open another store at Hickory Commons on Winchester. Secret shopper programs help companies improve customer service.

Moriah Woods office park is doing well despite the recession.

Adams and Reese are now ranked among the nation’s largest law firms.

People in Business, from the CA, for Tuesday.

Commercial Appeal: WMC attempts to interview editor Chris Peck about the paper’s controversial concealed carry permit holder database, with no success.

Memphis City Council: Steve Lockwood, of Frayser Community Development Corp., estimates hundreds of millions to fight foreclosure in Shelby County. They will also consider an employee buyout scheme.

Dr Trent Pierce: His recovery is going well.

Foreclosure: Foreclosed homes can be a good deal, if you know where and how to look.

Bartlett: The Faith Baptist Church is setting up a ‘Faith Stimulus Package’ to assist congregation members during the recession, by offering large discounts or free services to other members as needed.

TENNESSEE: Family farms are smaller and fewer these day; more from the Daily News. The state’s flu season has been unusually light so far, but is showing signs of rapidly growing worse. The recession is pushing back plans for more prisons.

WDIA: A brief profile of Bill Thomas, program director of WDIA during the Sixties, who helped create the station’s community involvement mission that defines the station to this day.

Mississippi Outdoors: News for fishers, hunters and outdoorsmen from the Commercial Appeal.

Shelby County Schools: Chimneyrock Elementary students will stay with the County, giving the City system time to build a new elementary in eastern Shelby County and begin the process of new middle and high schools.

DeAuntae Farrow Shooting: Today’s Federal trial was cancelled as the two officers and the City of West Memphis filed appeals with the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. More on the story from Eyewitness News, WMC.

POLITICS: Now that the Federal stimulus bill has been passed, it’s down to figuring out when the money will be handed out, to whom, and how; benefits may not show up until Summer or Fall. Communities and governments are already fighting over the division of the money. Educators and legislators are proposing to take the State’s education budget out of the general budget to fight out how to divide the money and find new revenues.

Memphis Fire Museum: They received a $3,000 grant from the Rotary Club of Memphis to fund fire safety education in local schools.

Wal-Mart: Judges in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals have agreed to allow the company a new hearing on whether or not to consolidate the many single class-action lawsuits against them, regarding pay discrimination.

Minglewood Hall: A review of the debut concert in Memphis’ news concert hall, and an appreciation of the space itself.

Previously Posted: If you were a victim of the Feb. 5, 2008, tornadoes you can claim those damages on your IRS return this year. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will suspend foreclosures on certain homes and other properties through March 6. More on the Hilton Garden Inn in Cordova. Further reporting on the difficulties of historically black colleges and universities in the recession. More on the consolidation of UT Medical Group’s offices on Union Avenue.

Memphis Veteran’s Medical Center: On the heels of US Rep. Steve Cohen’s call for an inquiry, they announce they will review the firing of Dr Sidney Ornduff.

Good Morning Memphis: An interview with Dr Ron Davis, of the Jamar Institute, which educates and empowers ‘change agents’ for community development. Learning to decipher the nutrition labels so that your kids eat healthy. Redbirds president Dave Chase on getting ready for the new season.

Crime: No surprise to many, burglaries in the city rose more than 12% last year.

DeSoto County: The school system will switch to ‘block (or 4 by 4) scheduling’ next year. The cities of Walls and Horn Lake continue their annexation battle. The fire destruction of the Mid-South Animal Rescue League has unleashed an outpouring of donations, help and aid.

Memphis Public Library: Hard times means less money for buying books, and a greater popularity for the public library system.

Memphis International Airport: Local businessman Roy Kent, co-owner of Top Priority Transportation, hopes to start up a shuttle service between the airports in Memphis and Little Rock; more from Eyewitness News, WMC, the Daily News. A bicycle caused a bomb scare because of a band’s name on a bumper sticker; more in the Commercial Appeal. Situation is ‘all clear’ now.

The chairman of the Memphis Airport Authority, Arnold Perl, says the ‘aerotropolis’ is finally gaining traction, according to a Memphis Chamber of Commerce report.

Survey Says: HNTB Corp. says two-thirds of Americans would pay more taxes for better infrastructure maintenance.

TERRA House: The state’s greenest house, located in Uptown Memphis, a demonstration of sustainable technologies and practices, is due to open late next week.

Minglewood Plaza: More on Midtown’s new 1500 seat concert hall.

Smart City Memphis: A checklist of things that build a great city.

The Flypaper Theory: Thoughts on the Commercial Appeal’s concealed carry permit database.

Rustmeister’s Alehouse:: Criticism of the Commercial Appeal’s Chris Peck and his defense of what the paper’s doing publishing the concealed carry permit holders database.

Brain Release Valve: Near-Earth space is more crowded than you might think.

Commercial Appeal: Students will compete in a global world so why shouldn’t they learn more than English? Calling for a better advertised, expanded, more responsive MATA.

Alpha Patriot: An introduction to the Legislator’s Guide to the Issues, from the Tennessee Center for Policy Research.

artbutcher: A report from the art criticism symposium held Saturday, and a couple of perceptive comments.

Bigger Than Your Head: A rapturous tasting of Trivium cabernet sauvignon and the search for a great pinot noir.

Fore Left! What was bad for the goose is OK for President Gander? A. C. also has the secret items slipped into the stimulus bill.

I’ll be the one in heels: Let her tell you about her favorite author / idol, Jen Lancaster, and the sweet surprise Twittering about it got her!

Mediaverse: Memphis: Why you should never, ever use talking ads on a website. Also, what kind of jobs will the Federal stimulus money create?

Notes From Memphis: A recommendation for facials; Downtown pictures and castagnaccio!

Virginia T. Lodge: The head of the Department of Human Services writes in defense of private contractors collecting child support payments for Shelby County.

Paul Ryburn’s Journal: Good tapas on South Main; a Monday update; his trivia team throws a party; and, judging a dessert contest and winning the panhandler war.

Pretty in Pink Megan: Valentine’s gifts and a Louis Vuitton bad. Wedding planning continues apace.

Secret Agent Mom: Two families in one house equals adjustments.