Memphis City Schools: The ‘Stay in School Challenge’ rewards students with perfect attendance with a $300 MLG&W voucher. Two cases of tuberculosis were confirmed at Hamilton High School. Superintendent Kriner Cash is featured in TIME magazine this week, talking about teaching homeless students; more from WREG.

Bartlett: Work on the railroad crossing at Stage Road is very nearly complete and the road will re-open shortly.

Shelby County Schools: Administrators go back to school. Well, leadership academy actually.

Morgan Keegan: Brokerage firm ordered to repay $268,000 to investor by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. This is the largest arbitration award in the case to date. More in the Daily News.

Memphis Area Legal Services: A reminder they will be offering free legal clinics this weekend in five locations across the city.

BUSINESS: Shares of most Memphis publicly traded companies rose with this week’s Wall Street rally. Pinnacle Airlines and the IRS reached a $3 million settlement on back taxes; more in the Commercial Appeal. Wal-Mart donated $423 million last fiscal year. More by the CA on Buckeye Technologies cutting executive pay.

The change by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to ‘mark-to-market’ accounting guidelines is expected to benefit Memphis banks.

A professional profile of Tom Merriam at Argyle Benefits Consultants, in the Daily News. And a professional profile from the CA of Stephen Wood of Russell Investments.

People in business, from the CA, for Friday.

West Memphis 3: Jessie Misskelley Jr is going before the Craighead County Circuit Court to argue for a new trial. WMC has more.

The Economy: Thrift shopping is returning in popularity. As is coupon clipping, which really can save money if done right.

MISSISSIPPI: Governor Haley Barbour plans a statewide meeting of State and local officials to divvy up the Federal stimulus funds; WREG has more.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car: Their leadership academy, hosted by Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Memphis, trains high-school sophomores and juniors in maximising potentials.

DeSoto County: TLC Learning Academy in Southaven offers parents live streaming webcasts of their precious snowflakes while in their care. The race for mayor of Horn Lake is heating up. A group of Olive Branch ministers endorse Mayor Sam Rickard for re-election. Hernando’s DeSoto County Museum is hosting the Sixth Annual Old Tyme Bluegrass & BBQ Festival this Saturday.

Fayette County: The County Commission approved the hiring of an engineer to come up with plans for a new County Sheriff’s auto repair shop and an animal shelter.

Forest Hill Cemetaries: Clayton Smart, accused of stealing millions from customers, was denied a bond reduction. More from WMC, WREG, the Daily News and the Commercial Appeal.

UPDATE: Main Street Journal: In our latest issue, Joe Saino wonders, Competition or More of the Same? and Michael Roy Hollihan looks to Nashville, The State Legislature and our Future: Can Anyone Know What’s to Come? Also, Richard Thompson on How Journalism in Memphis is Adapting: Changes at the Commercial Appeal and the Flyer.

ARKANSAS: State revenues fell short by $20 million in March. Governor and legislators work out deal to split the State’s projected $300 million revenue surplus. Senate committee approves only allowing names and ZIP codes of concealed carry permit holders public. Senate approves increase in per-student funding for schools, adding $70 million; they also upheld Marion’s exemption from the recent cigarette tax increase, as a ‘border’ city; and additional restrictions on the use of inmate labor fails. And the House passed a ban on ‘absentee lobbying’.

Shelby County Commission: The Daily News’ Bill Dries illuminates a fascinating discussion over windfalls for church/state TIFs and legislative stalemate.

Collierville: As a result of this year’s budget cuts, city code enforcement officers find themselves taking on new jobs.

POLITICS: Race is no longer a predictor of outcomes in Shelby County politics. A minor kerfuffle breaks out in the House over a Democratic representative’s comment about Rep. Brian Kelsey. The Shelby County Election Commission is undergoing some big changes, and Jackson Baker has the details. Senate bill prohibits unauthorised dissemination of autopsy materials. House votes to exclude online meeting and chat rooms from the State’s open meetings laws; more from the Daily News. And, they also approved allowing current and former judges to carry guns; and attempt to add legislators to this failed. More on that in the Daily News.

Speaker of the Senate and Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey, who cannot raise funds for a possible gubernatorial run while the Legislature is in session, wants to remove that ban on lawmakers.

Memphis Talent Dividend Summit: A Tri-State Defender report on Tuesday’s conference on the importance of secondary education in the health of cities.

Shelby County 911: The board approves a plan to spend $2 million on upgrades to centers around the county.

Good Morning Memphis: The literary significance of hiphop. Stretching your entertainment dollar. The Tour de Griz is Memphis’ newest bike race. Overton High School is hosting the annual Arts Fair fundraiser. Family law questions when mommy and daddy aren’t married. The Memphis Zoo has some kids events upcoming.

Memphis NAACP Centennial Freedom Fund Gala: A report on the organisation’s centennial celebration. And they announced a widening of their mission to include more general ‘human rights’.

Shelby County Re-Appraisal Anger: County Property Assesor Cheyenne Johnson sent a letter to Deidre Malone (PDF document), chair of the County Commission, asking that no more job cuts happen in her office, claiming due to the “expected controversial nature” of this year’s reappraisals they “expect a dramatic increase in the number of informal reviews and appeals.” However, in this February 4 story in the Commercial Appeal, she says her office isn’t “… anticipating a significant change in the overall value of property in Shelby County.” Commissioners are upset.

Assessor Cheyenne Johnson appeared this week on WREG’s Live at 9. Eyewitness News also gets more information on the numbers.

Do you have problems with this year’s reappraisals, good or bad experiences, opinions or viewpoints on the process or its purpose? Email it to the Main Street Journal and we’ll collect the best into a discussion page on this site. We want to hear from you!

University of Memphis: Volkswagen group of America donates $1 million the school’s STEM program.

Oakland: More on the TBI’s investigation of mayor Bill Mullins. It appears to center on work done by Mullins’ business on city-owned vehicles. The Daily News has more.

Survey Says: Late payments on loans continue to rise, says the American Bankers Association. The Center for Labor Research and Education at the University of California Berkeley says the number of uninsured will grow without changes to national health policy. Good news; the Institute for Supply Management says their manufacturing index rose for the third straight month in March. The US Labor Department reports an unexpected rise in new jobless claims. The Commerce Department reported a 1.8% rise in factory orders for February.

TENNESSEE: New, higher tobacco taxes will help cause 30,000 Tennesseans to quit smoking, and save the State various medical and treatment programs. Governor says he has received ’serious inquiries’ about an industrial megasite in Haywood County. A State audit of the veteran’s home system found some problems but nothing major.

Daily Helmsman: An explanatory and bitter response to the anger their earlier headline (’John Calipari now officially dead to Memphis’) caused.

Haaaaave You Read My Blog? Tiger Watch, part one and part two.

theology & geometry: The really sweet tale of the missing ring.

Commercial Appeal: Support for the governor’s conservative, four-year budget plan. Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s appearance shouldn’t overshadow the rest of the conference he’s speaking to.

The Shelf Life: Flipbooks go digital. City of Thieves by David Benioff is in paperback. And funny/depressing bathroom reading.

The Gates of Memphis: Thoughts on the impending Greenline.

The English Major Bookstore: Rainy day thoughts. She loves her store!

The Daily Docket: Bill Gibbons’ appearance on Knoxville’s WATE.

Memphis Flyer: Republicans should get over it and help the Shelby County delegation get legislation passed.

Steve’s Nude Memphis Blog: A long list of interesting quotations to ponder.

Squeaky Wheel Seeks Grease: A scattershot update.

Weeden Arts Watch: A video of the Raines Road mural and a shoutout for the downtown mural.

Carbuncle Trumpet: Goodbye, Coach Cal.

Whine and Candy: Temporary single parenting fun and a bonus movie review!

Shane of Memphis: Living downtown is hard on the feet.

Ashley la Rouge: Her one hundredth post is about family, fabric shopping and memory.

John Branston: The departure of Coach Cal is but one marker of an ending era.

Confessions of a West Tennessee Liberal: A thank you to some County Commissioners for supporting JUSTPEACE MEMPHIS.

Fertile Ground: Thoughts on the newest changes at the Children’s Museum of Memphis.

artbutcher: A warning, kids. Drinking and art don’t mix!

LeftWing Cracker: Someone doesn’t like Rep. Brian Kelsey. And Brutean thoughts on Coach Cal.

Rustmeister’s Alehouse: Putting to rest the American guns to Mexico canard.

Misty J. White: Co-founder of Save Libertyland! argues for a history-based, imaginative redevelopment of the Fairgrounds.