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

Africa in April: Reports on this past weekend’s festival, honoring Mauritania, from the Commercial Appeal.

Beale Street Music Festival: Over 34,000 tickets have been sold.
 
 
 

Downtown: What was that smell and that strange black oil on the Wolf River Harbor recently?

POLITICS: It seems Harold Ford Jr will get involved in local politics, just not in Memphis. Gubernatorial candidate and Shelby County DA Bill Gibbons has hired a Middle TN campaign director, Laura Roberts. Former TN Democratic Party chair Doug Horne confirms he’s not running for governor. Jackson Baker on TN Rep. Brian Kelsey’s appearance before the Dutch Treat Luncheon and he also reports from the Coon Supper. More on Supreme Court Chief Justice Janice Holder’s controversial remarks last week.

Two Memphis Reps. file a bill capping interest rates on small consumer loans.

DeSoto County: The Commercial Appeal looks at the mayoral race and the aldermen races in Southaven. They also look at the aldermen races in Olive Branch; so does WMC. Horn Lake will honor Arbor Day this Friday. US Rep. Travis Childers faced down a group of middle-school students and educational fun was had by all! A Federal court has sent a discrimination lawsuit against the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Department back down to US District Court; more from Eyewitness News. Hernando has received a grant to extend Lee’s Summit Park trail.

Leadership Memphis: They are sponsoring a ‘conversation’ by Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton, Shelby County Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Deidre Malone and Memphis City Council Chairman Myron Lowery on consolidation.

Farmers Market: This season’s opening day was a huge success.
 

MISSISSIPPI: New law will make sure teachers are trained to spot suicide warning signs. The State Board of Education has named a conservator for the Tate County school system. A review of the various tax law changes passed this session.

Mississippi Outdoors, from the Commercial Appeal.

Collierville: Long-sought drainage improvement project gets the green light.

Germantown: After layoffs, budget cuts and salary reductions, City finds money for civic groups.

TENNESSEE: So far, 131 road and bridge projects have been approved for Federal stimulus funds. State’s unemployment rate for March rises to 9.6%. The TBI will now add warrant searches to teacher background checks; more from WMC. The Department of Corrections released two audits saying they are not in compliance with some regulations. Officials are evaluating the cap on prescription drug prices for people on TennCare. Automobile accidents are the number one killer of kids in TN.

Memphis Union Mission: More potential neighbors are complaining about a possible move into the Knight-Arnold / Lamar area.

University of Memphis: President Shirley Raines says to expect a 5% rise in tuition costs as well as cuts; the TN Board of Regents say maybe not. More on that from Fox13. Students will get their own garden plots if they want them, starting next year. Wall Street Journal writer Lee Hawkins on the rising new black overclass.

Save Libertyland: Despite all the progress made on the Fairgrounds, they are still fighting to save the old theme park.

Survey Says: Senior level executives prefer pay raises to increases in vacation or other compensation / benefits, says NFI Research. And workers says they’d prefer losing vacation time or taking salary cuts to getting laid off or terminated, according to 2009 Annual Work+Life Fit Reality Check.

UPDATE: Main Street Journal: From our April 2009 issue, another article now online: Mick Wright gazes upon Obama’s Brave New World.

Previously posted: Shelby County historian Ed Williams III writes on The Way Things Were: The Shelby County Courthouse and Keeping Lean: What can we learn from Collierville? by Senior Writer Michael Roy Hollihan. Also, publisher Jonathan Lindberg on Deja Vu: What the Governor’s race of 2010 and the Senate race of 2006 have in common. You can read the Table of Contents here.

Memphis City Schools: The Commercial Appeal reports on previous problems with cell phone abuse by the schools administration. Members of the City Council and Board of Education went on a retreat to discuss the school funding issue; more on the story from WMC. More on the teacher background checks by the TBI.

Theater Memphis: They have announced their 2009-10 season, starting in August with The Sound of Music.

Delta Air Lines: They no longer outsource reservation calls to India. Delta Air Lines has begun converting some Pinnacle Airlines planes to their livery.

FedEx: They are hosting a conference, beginning today on ‘The Global Green Initiative: Transportation in Transformation’. Previous CA story.

BUSINESS: A look at the local garden store business. UT Medical Group will now manage Harbor of Health. The Small Business Administration will increase the size of surety bonds by 150%.

First Horizon lost nearly $82 million in 1Q 2009. The Daily News says $65 million.

A business profile of the makers of Firefly, software for editing websites, in the Daily News. And from the CA, a business profile of Skyline Exhibits Mid-South.

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

Done Deals in this week’s CA.

Shelby County: Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Carolyn Wade Blackett was publicly reprimanded for an eight year delay in a death penalty case; more from Fox13. Filings in the Shelby County Courthouse remain steady in 1Q 2009. The final round of appraisal notices go out this week!

ARKANSAS: The first meeting of the Lottery Commission will be next month. State Sen. Kim Hendren has declared a run against US Senator Blanche Lambert-Lincoln.

REAL ESTATE: The local industrial and office industrial sectors declined in 1Q 2009. Thirteen thousand households went through mortgage bankruptcy since 2007. Another CA story on local foreclosures.

Shelby Farms: A report from the Commercial Appeal on Sunday’s Earth Day celebration.

Crime: A text message purporting to be from Regions Bank claiming you have an urgent voicemail is likely a hoax. A South Memphis neighborhood is fighting to get the City to install a traffic light.

Midsouth Security Community: Their monthly meeting has presentations by the Memphis police and Shelby County Sheriff Mark Luttrell. It begins at 5PM. In a related story: Sheriff Luttrell is also reminding people of their rights in eviction cases, to prevent ’surprise evictions’.

Web 2.0: Two local news sources have entered the world of Twitter: Daily News and WMC. From the CA’s Small Business Advocate: The new social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) may not be appropriate or even good for your business.

MemphisInvest.com: More reporting on the promotional bus tour of the city with potential investors and entrepreneurs.

On the Beach: Real life ways networking helps in a job search and, in this case, did he make the right call?

Eskapadez: Unemployment hits close to home. The discipline of the long-distance blogger. And Twitter hits the mainstream.

Carbunkle Trumpet: Tales of his 5 year old nephew, J-bob and all the bad lessons he’s learning from Uncle Carbunkle.

vibinc: Informed thoughts from someone in the biz, on COGIC and conventions in Memphis.

The English Major Bookstore: Sunshine, Psalms, coffee and Spring.

Steve’s Nude Memphis Blog: A long - VERY long — post on cars he’s owned filled with reminiscences and stories of past adventures.

Squeaky Wheel Seeks Grease: Lefties deliberately mis-report the tea party tax protests. Advice for others from the woman you annoy.

Chris Peck: On blacks living ‘green’. (via the Commercial Appeal)

Tom Hrach: People who read newspapers online need to support their daily paper. (via the Commercial Appeal)

Wendi C. Thomas: Cell phone abuse in the City school system is not ‘chump change’. (via the Commercial Appeal)

Jerome Wright: Candidates for office in DeSoto County need to be honest and forthright instead of making empty pledges in these tough times. (via the Commercial Appeal)

Pretty in Pink Megan: The bachelorette weekend was a success. Lots of pink was involved.

My Midtown Memphis: Some neighborhood meetings on crime in the Midtown area.

My Memphis Attorney’s Life and Work: Thoughts on technological innovation.

Midtown Stomp: He’s back with a report from the Seattle Taste of Washington!

Commercial Appeal: The Child Impact Statement Reporting System is important. Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey is talking out both sides of his face on the Tennessee Plan. MCS Superintendent Kriner Cash shouldn’t threaten closing schools. The more restrictive and difficult to enforce bill allowing handgun carry in establishments that also serve alcohol is preferable. Chastising the suburban mayors for not offering an alternative plan to consolidation.

Otis L. Sanford: Comparing Memphis with some other place, this time in reference to COGIC’S move, and wondering why. (via the Commercial Appeal)

Left Wing Cracker: A report from Norma Lester’s campaign kickoff, as she seeks Deidre Malone’s County Commission seat.

I’ll be the one in heels: Watching another mother get out-persevered by her son.

Seth Guess: Thoughts on the Wednesday tax protests. (via the Daily Helmsman)

Commontaries: Thoughts on Judge Blackett and President Obama.