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

Shelby County Commission: They are scheduled to vote today on turning over 140 inner-city lots to a tax-delinquent developer.

Downtown: The More Space Place is an example of the Center City Commission’s retail forgivable loan program.

Politics: A look at the “guns in parks” positions of the Democratic gubernatorial candidates. The State Civil Rights Commission has actually been inactive for five years! More on possibly delaying new voting machines statewide.

US Rep. Steve Cohen was praised by the Congressional Black Caucus for his work on slavery reparations. Liberal bloggers from out of state are coming to Nashville to attempt to unseat Fifth District Congressman Jim Cooper; more from the Tennessean’s blog.

Germantown: Federal regulations may force City to charge residents an additional storm water fee.

Tennessee: Enrollment at state institutions of higher education set a record for enrollment. A trade delegation to China next month will include a large number of prominent Memphis representatives. State Senator Mark Norris is leading it and talks about previous Chinese trips.

Mid-South Fair: The new, Mississippi, model is a lot like the old one? A pre-weekend look at Memphest. More reports from the Commercial Appeal, WREG. A look at the connections between the Mid-South Fair and Memphest. Might the Mid-South Fair stay in DeSoto County after all? A report from the Fair’s Junior Youth Talent competition.

University of Memphis: Students each have a fund for printing paper costs and beginning this Summer, the remaindered funds were kept by the university instead of rolling over. A guaranteed internship program beginning with this year’s freshman students is causing upset. Student Disability Services aims to make the campus accessible to all students. (previous stories via the Daily Helmsman) A center is being formed to study the use of “hands-free helmets” for pilots to control their aircraft.

Big Weekend Events: The Taste of the Town at the Agricenter. The Nuts Over Art family arts festival at Overton Park. Also at Overton Park, Woofstock!

Collierville: Six teams are spreading around the city to get ideas for a Downtown Collierville Small Area Plan.

Arkansas: For the first time in a century, no boll weevils found in the state’s cotton crop! The new “no texting while driving law” goes into effect on Thursday. The State lottery began today with sales of scratch-off tickets.

Commercial Appeal: The daily paper has a massive roundup of crime figures and “narratives” about crime to give a more accurate picture of the city’s real crime problem. Related stories from Fox13.

West Tennesesee: The City of Dyersburg and the operator of the Dyersburg Municipal Airport are now heading to court over who will run it. (via the Dyersburg State Gazette)

Stella Marris: The opening of strip club owner Steve Cooper’s first restaurant-only project has been delayed.

Survey Says: New home sales increased, but not according to expectations. TN falls six places in Forbes magazine ranking of best states in which to do business.

DeSoto County: A Hernando mother thinks there aren’t enough school crossing guards. Police officers from Walls are going to New Mexico for training with the Department of Homeland Security. The Walls Public Library is “thriving”. Oakland (Fayette County) police are receiving four used autos from their DeSoto County brethren.

Cash for Clunkers: The US Transportation Department claims 98% of all claims have been paid or approved now.

Previously Posted: More on the opening of the Harrison Yard by Canadian National. Former mayor Willie Herenton’s child support problems. More on the upcoming Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad intermodal railyard.

Memphis City Schools: Superintendent Dr Kriner Cash scored an average 63.5 on 68 objectives in his first-year performance evaluation. The article appears to refer to this report. (PDF document) A report from Saturday’s parents forum on new MCS policies, especially “no flunk”.

UPDATED! Single Source School Funding: Read Commissioner Mike Carpenter’s press release and study the proposal itself. (DOC document) County Commissioner Mike Carpenter has released a plan for City / County school funding he says would raise County taxes a little and create a County source to fund both schools systems. More from the Daily News. County School Board chairman David Pickler says district leaders still oppose single-source funding.

Overton Square: More on last week’s meeting with the Oklahoma developers and local stakeholders.

H1N1 Virus: This flu strain has claimed a second victim in Shelby County. An email purportedly from Baptist Hospital, warning not to get the swine flu vaccine, is false and incorrect. MCS is holding parental information meetings on the virus.

Heads Up! Due to a special game at AutoZone Park, an air show pilot will be performing stunts over the Downtown this morning.

US Census: The Commercial Appeal reports some of the numbers in the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey for 2008. Some very surprising numbers, too. Community Survey webpage.

Rhodes College: Biology is the number one declared major at the liberal arts college.

FedEx: Both Houses of Congress pass the extension of the FAA Reauthorization Act, which delays a new labor law.

Business: Wal-Mart has settled an employee meal break lawsuit. Monogram Food Solutions has been ranked in the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies.

A business profile of Sonic Delivery, a freight forwarding company, in the Daily News. A look at how MyMD North Family Medicine helps to serve the under-served populations of the Memphis area with medical needs.

The Small Business Advocate says, “Market solutions, not socialization, should be focus of health debate.”
People in business, from the CA, for Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Done Deals, from Sunday’s CA.

Memphis Zoo: Another report, this from the Commercial Appeal, on the upcoming Teton Trek exhibit.

Habitat for Humanity: They are looking for volunteers for the VESTA Home Show. A semi-related story on housing: using campgrounds as a way station between homes.

Judge D’Army Bailey: The Commercial Appeal interviews him on the eve of his latest book, The Education of a Black Radical, about its subject and his personal history.

Mississippi: Despite a thirteen percent gap between the budget and revenues collected so far this year, State agencies are requesting $1.2 billion more in the 2011 budget! Governor Haley Barbour warns some fees will have to be raised. Beginning November 1, all school districts will have to print their performance, scores and graduation rates (and much more) in their local papers. Just for the first eight months of the year, liquor sales in the state are up by one-half million dollars. A look at the State’s process for getting citizen initiatives onto the ballot.

Mississippi Outdoors — the hunting, fishing and wildlife news — from the CA.

National Civil Rights Museum: An interview with president Beverly Robertson on the status of renovations of the museum.

Midtown: Union Centre, at Union and Cleveland, is getting a large electronic billboard in exchange for a rotating group of large outdoor art. Better picture of that art here, on Facebook. (via Tom Guleff) More from the Business Journal.

Financial: Local banks are beginning to warm to mergers with other banks and acquistion of failed banks. First Horizon National scored well in InformationWeek’s 500 list.

Bartlett: The next phase of the widening of Appling Road is about to start.

Stanford Financial Group: The messy cleanup.

The Ominous Comma: Oh dear, it seems new Dr Toboggans activity is imminent.

Confessions of a West Tennessee Liberal: The ISSUES FIRST campaign is trying to — gasp! shock! — make issues rather than personalities the focus of the mayoral campaign. This is a list of their u[coming activities.

Left Wing Cracker: He runs down all the candidates for mayor, with special emphasis on the leaders. Interesting thoughts….

MAKE IT HAPPEN: Pictures from a bachelorette party!

My Memphis Attorney: A handy-dandy reference guide to Memphis coffee shops!

Friends for Our Riverfront: The architects working on the Mud Island River Park will show their three proposals a couple of times this week.

Haaaaave You Read My Blog? Nic Cage as Superman? Be grateful, very grateful, it never happened….

Bless the Printing Press: The lure of the second bike.

Jen-sized: Great books of literature and their a**hole heroes.

Fertile Ground: Stacey was suitably impressed by the Dalai Lama. Also, her experience with (exercise) Boot Camp.

Doug Johnson at Work: Thoughts on the Pyramid. And, another milestone in his weight loss efforts.

Divers and Sundry: Most Star Wars fans have heard of the “Turkish Star Wars movie”. Now, you can watch it. But beware, only five minutes in and it’s already incomprehensibly bizarre.

16 Balls in the Air: Shining your light so others may see. Thirteen years and still learning.

Commercial Appeal: The fist bump: good or bad? The city’s major purveyor of self-image and perception warns that perceptions aren’t realities. The penalties should be harsh for owners who don’t control large, dangerous animals. The Federal government should be able to tell banks what products to offer, for the consumer’s benefit.

The Memphis News: The collapse of Stanford Financial Group still echoes around Memphis.

Chris Peck: He ties together a story they’re doing and the Dalai Lama’s visit last week into a karmic package. (via the Commercial Appeal)

Wendi C. Thomas: Religion says we must have government health care. (via the Commercial Appeal)

Otis L. Sanford: Jerry Lawler: nice guy but not mayoral material. (via the Commercial Appeal)

James Overstreet: Wealth Solutions LLC is more than ready for the markets to recover. (via the Commercial Appeal)

Blue Collar Republican: Questions about the swine flu vaccination.

cbduke: Charles is back to blogging after a long lapse, with many tales … and pictures. And this is just part one.

Born-Again Hippies: A personal story of health insurance reform and the Church Health Center.