City Council: Councilman Kemp Conrad proposes witholding the 3% pay raise for City employees. The Council is mulling over where and how to cut the budget to make room for the possible $57 million payment to MCS.

Swine Flu Fears: The US Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control have created a Federal website to disseminate information about the swine flu outbreak; it also includes information for small businesses. The Shelby County Health Department says cases will be “inevitable” here. WMC has a “Swine Flu Info Center” webpage. Sales of Tamiflu going up, but prophylactic use is warned against. More in general from the Daily News. Companies FedEx, Delta Air Lines and UPS are making changes to practices and flights into and out of Mexico.

County Commission: The Commission is expected to vote today on whether they need to investigate the reappraisal process and hold a public forum to explain it to the citizens.

Politics: The Secretary of State’s website has begun offering an RSS feed of all pending rules and regulations changes for all State departments. A look at the “truce” in the TN Democratic Party that resulted in a split of powers and duties. Rep. Steve Cohen speaks some more on the Herenton challenge, via WREG’s Live at 9. State Senator Jim Kyle, a Democrat, says he won’t announce a decision on running for governor until after the current legislative session is over; more from WMC.

The “English first driver’s license testing” bill has died in a House committee; more from Fox13. A bill to widen elibility for charter schools is headed for a full Senate vote; the House votes today. The handgun carry permit database closure bill is headed for a full House vote; the CA’s take. House Speaker Kent Williams used his committee vote (something he’s rarely done) to advance a bill giving parents access to the medical information of their children. A Senate committee advanced a funding bill for the TN Ethics Commission, though whether the Commission will still exist hasn’t been decided.

Red Light Cameras: Study done in TN shows they don’t produce the safety results claimed and, in Chattanooga, accidents actually increased.

Main Street Journal: One last article from the April issue: Chuck Bates writes about The Case for Non-Intervention in the American economy. The Table of Contents here, with links to all other online stories.

ONLINE ONLY! Main Street Journal publisher Jonathan Lindberg explains The Politics of Herenton.

Coming next month, our direct, no-apologies interview with Bartlett Mayor A. Keith McDonald.

Arkansas: Valuable archaeological sites are beign vandalised by thieves and druggies. A website funded by a Massachusetts gay-marriage activist group printed the list of names and addresses of people who signed a petition asking for a statewide vote banning adoption or fostering by unmarried couples; another group wants that information kept private.

The Downtown Mural: A story in the New York Times on the history and unveiling of the new mural on Union.

Dollar Stores: Some advice from Eyewitness News on what to buy and what not to buy from dollar stores, if you are pinching pennies.

Collierville: More on the racist flyer left at a baseball tournament, including a redacted picture of it. Both the police and the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Department will investigate the incident; this story has the complete flyer, so be warned. City’s firefighters (the Special Operations Response Teams) trained to rescue workers trapped in a construction ditch, a response to last year’s tragedy.

Mississippi: US Senator Thad Cochran is urging his colleagues to approve former governor Ray Mabus as Secretary of the Navy. State House - Senate reconciliation committee agrees, finally, on a cigarette tax hike to 68 cents a pack; more from the CA. The Federal government approves the State’s use of stimulus funds for public schools and colleges. Governor Haley Barbour will call the Legislature into a special session to discuss regulating the State’s ability to use eminent domain.

Survey Sales: Consumer confidence took a healthy jump in April, says the Conference Board. International air travel is still declining, according to the International Air Transport Association. Challenger, Gray & Christmas report that teen summer jobs will be in short supply this year, possibly the worst since the mid-Fifties.

Mike Fleming: Longtime conservative radio talk show host (Remember “Napalm in Your Coffee?”) was suddenly laid off by WREC/AM600 on Tuesday. More in the Commercial Appeal. Parent company Clear Channel laid off over 500 people nationwide.

Second Amendment: More and more Memphis women are choosing to go armed.

Business: Valero used higher margins to increase earnings in 1Q 2009. Shoaf Motor Sales is closing its doors and auctioning off the last of their inventory. Wright Medical Group reports a 4% increase in net sales for the first quarter; more from the CA. Hollywood Feed plans two more Memphis stores. Supplier of wood chips to Anheuser-Busch, Millington-based Beechwood Corporation is closing its doors.

People in Business, from the CA.

Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz: The Memphis law firm has been recognised by MultiCultural Law magazine for its workplace diversity and support for women.

Banking: SunTrust chairman James M Wells III receives polite welcome at the shareholders meeting. Instead of a rewards dinner for employees, Regions Bank will encourage employees to do a day of service in Binghamton.

Memphis Multi Modal Conference: The city will host this event on logistics, distribution and transportation in two weeks. Many high-profile speakers are planned.

The Commercial Appeal: Daily News writer Bill Dries, a former CA reporter, writes in The Memphis News about the arrival of current Editor in Chief Chris Peck and the many changes to the paper since. A very detailed, explanatory piece that is absolutely a must-read. Daily News publisher Eric Barnes writes his thoughts on the decline of the daily and newspaper journalism in general. And they report on the circulation declines at the CA, and how the paper has used electronic editions to make their circulation numbers go up.

The University of Memphis: The Campus School has been rated the best elementary school in the city and among the best in the state, according to TCAP. A report on the Zombie Massacre this past weekend. (NOTE: The main photo may not be work safe for some.) The university has a team to respond to bee problems.

Memphis in May: MATA will be extending Downtown trolley hours to handle the crowds. Art exhibits will bring honored nation Chile to the forefront.

Real Estate: Industrial vacancies actually dropped in the first quarter. Home prices dropped sharply in February, though less sharply than previously, according to the Standard & Poor’s / Case-Shiller index.

Germantown: The Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved renovations and repairs to the Germantown Athletic Club worth over $600,000. They also, as the Beer Board, approved the sale of beer by GPAC and Walgreen’s.

Shelby County Election Commission: The new chairman wants to purge voter rolls as his first priority.
 
 

Junior Achievement of Memphis and the Mid-South: They are setting off on a “Small Biz Bike Tour” to promote awareness of JA and hopefully raise money. You can follow them on Facebook and Twitter!

Tennessee: The University of Tennessee may sell the president’s home as a cost-saving measure. State employees who smoke, or have a smoking spouse, will be forced to pay a $600 surcharge on their insurance; original reporting from WREG and the Daily News. The Department of Education will begin a five year study on the effectiveness of the pre-K programs in the state.

DeSoto County: Crape myrtles will spruce up Central Parkway near schools. Political campaign signs are drawing notice, not the good kind either, in Olive Branch.

Memphis Sexual Assault Resource Center: Shelby County AG Bill Gibbons had noted staffing deficiencies there as early as February. The City’s residency requirements had caused the termination of a number of experienced nurses!

Higher Education: Area colleges and universities are deciding how to spend the Federal stimulus monies coming their way.

Commercial Appeal: Simple precautions will help keep swine flu worries to a minimum. President Obama is off to a halting start on some fronts but the real measure will come later on.

(Lang Wiseman’s) Random Thoughts: Some selected lessons from the blogsite of the book, Freakonomics.

That’s My B: Party afterglow and lefty lessons of 24.

16 Balls in the Air: The power and joy of being a yes-mom and the surprises of sudden growth.

artbutcher: Hey, he’s famous!

Bigger Than Your Head: Proving he’s not always Mean Ol’ Mr. Snarky-Mouth. And the wine of the week.

Persian Pit Bull: Let down by the KFC. Also, a report from the event for Mid-South Spay / Neuter Services.

Haaaaave You Read My Blog? Goodbye to Chuck. Some very good news.

55-40 Memphis: Fewer than half of people who sign up for Twitter stay with it?

Eskapadez: A weekend update with injury, and a good idea for later this year?

The Flypaper Theory: An open letter to MS US Rep. Travis Childers.

Squeaky Wheel Seeks Grease: Ouch. A broken nose. And a long, picture filled report on the trip out to Boomershoot.

One Half Amazing! A brief recap, with lots of links from last week’s TechFuel events.

Notes from Memphis: More on the arts park.

Smart City Memphis: A statistics-filled argument that Memphis isn’t dense enough.

Rustmeister’s Alehouse: The journey of cigar discovery continues. Also, actor Michael Caine is “going Galt.”

Radio Sweethearts: Back from the Boston / New York working honeymoon!

Mitch Holmes: The U of M’s Student Government Association is irrelevant but it could be made effective again. (via the Daily Helmsman)

Pretty in Pink Megan: Shopping for dresses. The final menu for the wedding.

Mediaverse: Richard posts on the firing / laying off of WREC’s Mike Fleming. On $5 Cover and the Commercial Appeal.

Long Tall Animals: A huge photo-report from the Zombie Massacre! (Some photos may unsettle the unprepared.)

I’ll be the one in heels: Laundry day! And an enthusiastic book recommendation.

The Ominous Comma: The strange and dangerous Dr Toboggans appeared at the Zombie Massacre. There is video evidence.