The Federal Stimulus: Some of the money in the stimulus bill will go to local renewable energy projects like turbines in the Mississippi River.

Soup Sunday: The Annual Youth Villages fundraiser drew 2000 to the FedEx Forum Sunday. More from WMC.

City of Memphis: Preparing to receive proposals for a new convention center. Mayor Willie Herenton has stopped the voluntary buyout plan for City employees. The Commercial Appeal uncovers some unusual charitable donations made by Allied Waste Industries to various Memphians and events, alleging it was connected to receiving the City’s solid waste contract.

John Elkington and Performa Entertainment are having problems just in Memphis. The Flyer links to a story out of Birmingham. The murder of two Yemeni store clerks has brought a representative of the Yemen American Association from New York to Memphis.

POLITICS: A Commercial Appeal report on House Speaker Kent Williams’ whirlwind tour of Memphis over the weekend; he called funding health insurance and deciding how to spend Federal stimulus money the two most important things facing legislators right now. And Jackson Baker reports that the whole train wreck of the ‘Kent Williams becomes Speaker’ fiasco was Rep. Gary Odom’s powerplay to get in line for the Speaker’s job next. Shelby County Commissioners and Mayor A C Wharton are trying to push two proposed changes to State gun laws, part of their push for a ‘tough on crime’ attitude in Shelby County.

The newly appointed treasurer of the TN Democratic Party, Bill Freeman, has made “heavy” contributions to Republican candidates and campaigns; same Associated Press story in the Commercial Appeal. Ninety-nine percent of US Rep. John Tanner’s campaign contributions cam from out of his district? A failed Democratic challenger in another race, Roger Byrge, has filed suit for a post on Rep. Stacey Campfield’s blog alleging drug use.

A committee of state legislators has prepared a list of proposed changes to TN’s death penalty practice; more on WMC. The nation’s governors are debating whether or not to accept Federal stimulus money.

December sales tax collections were down 2 to 12 percent around Shelby County.

MISSISSIPPI: A bill has been introduced in the State House to change the way juries in murder cases are picked. Nominations are closed for the 2009 Women of Distinction awards this Friday. The Secretary of State has opened a regional office in Hernando. The Associated Press says Mississippi’s ‘leadership’ doesn’t reflect national diversity. Later this year, the first State-operated veteran’s cemetery will open; more on WREG.

Mississippi Outdoors, from the Commercial Appeal.

Bellevue Baptist Church: They are heading up a partnership with many churches, hospitals, medical supply houses and medical practices to bring a mobile dental clinic out into the community.

‘On the Edge of Happiness’: A new web-only soap opera series, written and created by Memphians, is due to launch tomorrow. Each fifteen-minute ‘webisode’ can only be seen on the internet; view the series trailer now.

REAL ESTATE: The multifamily housing market was fairly stable last year, but is expected to be more turbulent this.

DeSoto County: Despite financial errors found during the court proceeding, Horn Lake maintains it is stable enough to annex. The Army Corps of Engineers is mandating life vests at four North Mississippi lakes to see if they improve live saving. Walls and Horn Lake will hear some time before March 16 the chancellor’s ruling in their annexation fight; more on WREG.

Previously Posted: More on the the Diversity Developer Incubator, from the Daily News. Wright Medical posted a 4Q loss and revised its 2009 outlook downward. More on Tennessee’s ‘greenest house’; also, from WMC.

UPDATED! Main Street Journal: Two new articles from the February issue are now online! Read Rescued: The Fight to Save Our Historic Buildings by Lance Allen and The Battle: The Shelby County Schools System is Still in the Fight for Special School Districts by Michael Roy Hollihan.

You can peruse the Table of Contents here. Chuck Bates presents Part Two of Socialism Not Seen Since FDR.

School Menus: Memphis City schools here and Shelby County schools here.

Memphis City Schools: They are holding ‘Demand Parent Summits’ through the end of the school year to increase parental involvement.

ARKANSAS: The grocery tax cut proposed by Governor Mike Beebe appears to be in limbo due to the recession, but he got his partial birth abortion ban. The Presbytery of Arkansas (i.e. the Presbyterian Church) has approved ordination of gay ministers, deacons and elders; more on WMC.

Metropolitan Memphis Hotel & Lodging Association: At their 11th annual conference, they heard that Memphis has more rooms but less demand, and that occupancy fell to just over 55% last year.

BUSINESS: Well, some good news to report — Autozone’s common stock hits a 52-week high! Cal Western Packaging has secured a government contract worth $27 million. With the slump in the housing market, Lowe’s 4Q profits were down and J. C. Penney’s 4Q profits also fell, by half. Wal-Mart has settled a lawsuit by black drivers. Integrate Technologies, led by friend of the City Mayor Reginald French is seeking bankruptcy protection. Luminetx is trying to raise capital. The Shops of Wolflake is gaining some interesting new tenants.

TGI Friday’s is using two-for-one coupons sent via email to customers who signed up to improve daily traffic — and it’s working.

The Can-Am Spyder three-wheeled motorcycle is proving very popular. A business profile of Harrison Wholesale, a wholesale roofing company. And a business profile of the Memphis City Blues wine bar in the airport. Also, Breakaway Running, from the CA and, lastly, Tropical Smoothie Cafe, whose Memphis location leads the chain nationwide.

First Tennessee Bank is preparing to lay off 55 employees in the Mid-South. SunTrust Bank, on Thursday, is hosting a ribbon cutting at its newest regional branch.

People in Business, from the CA, for Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Shelby County Communities: Lakeland is still holding public meetings to decide the design for the new Canada Road. Germantown’s old emergency call dispatch center is getting a makeover. Collierville is looking at a three-pronged plan to meet a $3 million shortfall in the City’s budget.

TENNESSEE: State to begin inspection of amusement rides this year. Northwest TN is still cleaning up from the ice storms last month!

University of Memphis: Student-designed ‘green home’ to open soon.

Greater Louis Street Missionary Baptist Church: Using the personal collections and items of its members, they create a black history museum for Black History Month.

Survey Says: According to BusinessWeek magazine, Munford is the number four ‘Best Affordable Suburbs of 2009′. And, LPS Applied Analytics says that defaults on ‘Jumbo’ mortgage loans are on the rise. The Labor Department says consumer prices rose by .3%, the first rise since last summer. SurveyMemphis sees hard times ahead for local business for a while this year.

Stanford Group: The collapse of the investment giant will have a ripple effect on the City’s charitable agencies and non-profits.

vibinc: He re-outs himself and does some refocusing on his blog.

Mediaverse: Memphis: Thoughts on Commercial Appeal stories on Black Mondays and the solid waste disposal contract.

The English Major Bookstore: She’s organising her first-ever poetry night!

Smart City Memphis: State and national Republicans appear to be tone deaf — or deaf — and in real political danger.

The Gates of Memphis: Your new word for the day: viewshed.

Walt’s World: The Fit-It Crew and Walt’s really excited about his upcoming vacation trip.

what would you ax it? A collection of his Project 365 photos. And the taste-testing of wacky international drinks continues with Yeo’s soursop juice drink, with photo hilarity.

Weeden Arts Watch: A huge, unexplainable collection of photos, some from downtown Memphis. Just go and marvel.

bitter/books: Continuing his tour of local thrift stores, he goes to the AmVets on Elvis Presley.

A View From the Middle: Markus blogs about podcasting.

theology & geometry: It seemed like a really good idea at the time and resulted in chocolate strawberrries! Plus the coolest picture of vitamin E you’ll see this week!

16 Balls in the Air: Marvelling at Number 3’s growth and recording Number 4’s 18-month old vocabulary.

My Midtown Memphis: Does anyone know what’s going to replace the old Bellsouth building being demolished on Madison, across from Minglewood Hall?

Commercial Appeal: The pressure is on seven community groups to use public awareness to repair pollution damage. Democratic State legislators threatening to withhold Federal stimulus funds from certain Republican districts is ‘unworthy’. Even though it’s too early to be sure of the early indicators, the current crisis should be used to facilitate City - County merger. They argue that the new appointee to the Shelby County Commission should be a Republican, as was David Lillard. They want you to call your legislator about recent gun bills.

Paul Ryburn’s Journal: A shout-out for the Court House Deli. A crawfish pie eating contest. And a giant Saturday update post.

Toilet of the Day: A quickie review of Lobster King and their bathroom.

Chris Peck: He has some interesting ideas of what adapting to hard times means.

Otis Sanford: A tale of the poor squeezed customer and the ‘fat cat’ CEO with the big salary.

Wendi C. Thomas: A brief description of the little remembered school protest: Black Mondays.

queenbee: Belonging to a meal swap group and tips for buying in bulk.