Shelby County Commission: At today’s meeting, they are expected to approve the purchase of CSX’s rail right of way for the new Greenline. A Flyer story on the Greenline.

Summer Youth Employment Program: Thousands show up for summer jobs.

TENNESSEE: Two-thirds of counties saw a rise in unemployment in February; one-quarter saw a decrease, in February. (Shelby County’s was 8.6%; up 2.5% over February, 2008.)

Delta Air Lines: Northwest Airlines will disappear as DAL finishes rebranding at Memphis International Airport.

BUSINESS: Medtronic is recalling a medical device because there is a ‘resonable probability’ of damage in use. Steve Cooper, owner of the Gold Club, has gone to court to have a ’stop work’ order lifted, so he can expand the club. J. Sweeney Homes had two homes and 55 lots bought at a foreclosure sale from original lender, First Tennessee Bank. masterIT, a Memphis based managed services company, has appeared in a global ranking of success and innovation. Smith & Nephew’s annual report warns of recession’s pitfalls but is otherwise hopeful. Southaven RV Center closes its doors.

Drug maker GTx increases bonuses and compensation packages for top executives. BancorpSouth’s CEO, Aubrey Patterson, wants better public education of the roles of commercial banks in the economy.

Business profile of Roebuck Auctions, from the CA. Also, a business profile of Jacquelyn Nerren Marketing & Research Counsel.

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

Small Business Advocate: It’s the IP today, not the physical inventory.

Memphis College of Art: A million dollar donation from the Hyde Family Foundation gives the school much needed support.

Hillel of Memphis: They held a pre-Passover seder to which anyone of any faith was invited to join in.

Overton Park: City Engineers insist the planned retention basin will have a minimal impact on the Park; users disagree.

Cordova: The Franklin Farms neighborhood has formed both a neighborhood association and a neighborhood watch program.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities: A new Associated Press study shows that HBCs aren’t meeting their own goals and mission.

Collierville: Mayor Stan Joyner says to Norfolk Southern Railway, “Watch those train speeds!” A search-and-rescue dog training program is certifying a new class.

Memphis Charter Schools: Shelby County, despite all its school problems, is one of the most restrictive environments to open a Charter School. The story of one charter school, Freedom Preparatory Academy, trying to get off the ground. A group of California activists are protesting a Memphis charter school for using paddling.

Downtown: The Center City Commission voted Friday to hire PR and marketing firms to help boost the image and salability of the Downtown.

University of Memphis: Stipends for graduate students haven’t been adjusted in at least seven years. More on crime rates at State schools and universities. Tiger Patrol’s limited service hours pose a problem for an injured student. The Freedom of Information Congress met last week and the topic was ‘Memphis Media in Black & White’. A student project to teach people about offensive language is drawing notice. And, an exhibit of Holocaust postal material is ongoing.

Reverend Jeremiah Wright: President Barack Obama’s controversial former pastor will be speaking in Memphis, this coming Friday, as the keynote speaker at a conference titled “The Obama Phenomenon: Race and Political Discourse in the United States Today.”

Re-Appraisals: The third round of notices is drawing a more mixed reaction.
 

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

Porter-Leath Children’s Home: When State money disappeared, due to tight revenues, the community and private donors — and some personal cuts — stepped in to take up the slack.

Regional Health Care Reform Summit: Meeting tries to bring awareness to the plight of the uninsured and those who are mis-insured.

Redemption 2009: A report from Saturday’s conference, which drew 5000 people!

ARKANSAS: DeAunta Farrow’s name is being removed from a toy-gun sales restriction bill named in his honor; more on WMC. Businesses that give a ‘tax refund anticipation loan’ might see new disclosure rules, in a new House bill; much more from Eyewitness News. The political upsides to the new State lottery.

Church Health Center: A report from Fox13 on the only source of health care for many Memphians.

Crime: Despite arrests, robberies in the Cooper-Young area are still on the rise. The Memphis Police Department’s newest gizmo, a license plate reader, has caught its first offender.

Economic Stimulus: More than 55 million older Americans are eligible for a $250 payment from Federal stimulus funds. Stimulus funds also freed up the TN Department of Transportation to accelerate the timetable for completion of I-385.

MISSISSIPPI: Racial infighting over top executives in the State’s Democratic Party. State budget difficulties may force Legislature into an unprecedented second session in May or June.

Mississippi Outdoors for March 30, from the Commercial Appeal.

FedEx Forum: WREG’s Mike Matthews has a report on the Forum’s missing floor of parking and the never-happened intermodal bus transfer facility. In other Forum news, the NCAA Tournament is bringing big bucks into the city.

DeSoto County: Quick looks at the four candidates for mayor of Hernando and the four candidates for the Board of Aldermen. More on the Entergy tax mix-up that is proving a windfall to Hernando. The Jellystone RV Park seeks to add Yogi Bear to its presence in Horn Lake and increase business. Southaven receives two grants, totalling more than $230,000, for civic and police improvements. A misdemeanor arrest last year brings a civil rights lawsuit against the County. Former addict opens A Bridge to Recovery, an outpatient alcohol and drug (and other issues) treatment facility in Southaven.

Survey Says: Shelby County’s February 2009 commercial numbers (ie. mortgages and loans) are described as ‘very flat’. Personal income fell .2% in February, says Commerce Dept; they also say that personal spending rose by the same amount in the same period. More on that in the Daily News. In a national ranking of hospitals, both Methodist University Hospital and Baptist Memorial Hospital - Memphis ranked among the top 125. Fidelity Investments figures the average retired couple in 2009 will now need $240,000 for medical expenses beyond Medicare.

Fertile Ground: Kids creatively adapt to infirmity. An interview with a great explorer. Her husband is a keeper.

MAKE IT HAPPEN: She turned 31 over the weekend and has a post about it.

Secret Agent Mom: Behold, the creepy tree fungus!

55-40 Memphis: Was it a greed or sloth bubble that fueld the past twenty years?

Author of Y’all’s Destruction: On teenagers putting nekkid pictures of themselves on Facebook, etc., — get over it.

Urf! Well! That sure taught them.

vibinc: A brief report from the anti-climactic Shelby County Democratic Party Convention.

Martina Ballard: What the various penalties are for carrying various weapons on campus.

moremittenz: A pair of quick recipes for quacamole and hot artichoke dips.

Whine and Candy: Regrets on taking the wrong class and then a reconsideration. Powerpuff Girls!

what would you ax it? A apology for the long absence.

theology & geometry: Lindsey is one of many taking part in Project 365, a kind of everyday photo documentary. She has too many pictures to link, so just go here and start clicking. Much photo-goodness awaits.

The Conservative Zone: Good news for the game store; and Rep. John Murtha’s slap in the face to every Marine and sailor out there.

Sassy Molassy: The strangest metaphor for Memphis you’re likely to encounter for a while.

Mediaverse: He has a new project, Eyes, to promote photojournalism. Kool-Aid and Coach Cal; the white privilege conference.

LeftWing Cracker: A defense of Del Gill; congrats to Van Turner, new chairman of the SCDP; and a COMMAND DECISION.

Lean Left: Thoughts on Obama, lobbyists and the ACLU.

Friends for our Riverfront: Dispelling the myth of blacks and ‘green’. The history of Memphis is laden with efforts to keep the city green, open and public.

Otis Sanford: President Obama’s plan to have private investors buy bad bank debts has an interesting precedent in Memphis’ history.

Commercial Appeal: Earth Hour is for Mother Earth. Don’t weaken the Water Quality Control Act. Applause for all the changes and delays in the various gun bills in the Legislature. Mississippi’s lost opportunity to raise tax to replenish fund to rebate other taxes. The Shelby County School system’s selection of John Aitken as new superintendent is a ’stay the course’ option.

Wendi Thomas: Looking at and discussing white privilege.

Chris Peck: Plans for making Memphis a greener city.

Crime in Memphis, TN: Does Shelby County need a 10 strikes law?

Confessions of a West Tennessee Liberal: Information on the JUSTPEACE MEMPHIS program.

Commontaries: Thoughts on Coach Cal. Does the President hate white people?

BEEB: She attended a photography workshop in Santa Fe last week!

Bigger Than Your Head: Their first rose of the season and thoughts on Whole Food; meet the Queen of Risotto.

Complacencies of the Peignoir: Starbucks woolgathering.

Fore Left! The Freedom Towers new name and a trial for President Bush … in Spain?