Shelby County Commission: Commissioner James Harvey went back to college as an adult and got his diploma after 30 years; he also drop a big political signpost.

Tennessee Watchdog: The folks behind the Tennessee Center for Policy Research have opened up Tennessee Watchdog, dedicated to “investigative reporting and watchdog journalism”.

NEW & UPDATED! Single Source School Funding: A meeting today of City councillors and County commissioners along with Memphis school board members blew apart after school board president Tomeka Hart effectively shot down both the Carpenter and Ritz proposals. The Daily News has more on the story.

County Commissioner Mike Ritz has released his single-source funding proposal, ahead of the October 7 vote on the subject. Here’s the proposal itself (DOC format) and a summary of funding levels and the property tax changes required (DOC format). The Daily News discusses his proposal.

Commissioner Mike Carpenter’s counter-proposal’s press release and the proposal itself. (DOC document)

Politics: Knoxville mayor Bill Haslam is campaigning in Memphis regularly. The State Senate District 32 primary races are already decided but the State must still hold an election for the parties and you get to pay for them.

Rep. Mike Turner, head of the State House Democratic Caucus now says he has declined consideration for president of the State Employees Association; more here. Some of the Republican gubernatorial candidates react to the Bloomberg “gun show sting”; more here. Shelby County District Attorney and Republican candidate Bill Gibbons has released his “5 point plan” for Tennessee if elected governor.

US Senator Lamar Alexander believes health care reform costs passed down to the states will force cuts to education or force creation of an income tax. US Rep. Steve Cohen held an open conference call that attracted over 4000 listeners and questioners. He was also involved in the passage of some legislation which the CA is glad to report.

Supporters of wine sales in grocery stores, claiming to be consumers and not lobbyists, have formed a PAC: Red, White and Food.

Ryan’s Ranch: This nonprofit organization has secured land for a family retreat in Mississippi for children with disabilities.

What To Do This Weekend? The Bartlett Campus of the Tennessee Baptist Children’s Homes holds its 6th Annual Fall Festival this Saturday. (via the Bartlett Express) The Indie Memphis Film Festival is already underway; more in the Commercial Appeal. MemphisConnect offers you a whole bunch of fun activities! What about the Agricenter Fall Festival, which this year is merging with the Showcase of Dogs into one mega-event?

Germantown: The Board of Mayor and Aldermen will meet Tuesday with the Memphis Tomorrow Group to listen to a presentation on consolidation.

Real Estate: The Memphis multifamily market improved somewhat in Q3/2009. Federal stimulus funds will help Shelby County to “weatherise” up to 2000 homes in the coming year.

Vesta Home Show 2009: It’s this weekend and this year’s theme is eco-friendly, green homes.
 

Memphis Fire Department: The Number 11 Fire Station on Union Avenue will get a substantial makeover soon.

Million Man March: Next weekend is the 14th anniversary of the milestone march on Washington and Minister Louis Farrakhan will be in Memphis to observe it. More from the Commercial Appeal.

DeSoto County: The Hernando Police Department is now on Facebook. Questions and more questions bring the architects of a new County Jail before the Board of Mayor and Aldermen.

West Tennessee: The Union City Council voted to raise property taxes by 29 cents to meet budget needs. Goodyear Tire and Rubber union members praised the decision by the Obion County Commission to buy Goodyear tires for all County vehicles. (stories via NW TN Today)

Millington: The town’s development practices have earned them a coveted Benchmark III rating in the State’s Three-Star program.

Sun Records: Owner Shelby Singleton passed away Wednesday in Nashville. He bought the label from Sam Phillips long ago.

The Lowery Administration: Mayor Pro-tem Myron Lowery is opening City Hall for another open house this Saturday. Rumors are about that CAO Jack Sammons may join a Wharton administration, if he wins the mayoral election, says WREG’s Mike Matthews.

Memphis City Schools: Superintendent Dr Kriner Cash finally comments on the incident at White Station that wasn’t report to police by saying to wait on facts and process before rushing to judgment.

Shelby County Sheriff’s Department: They have reached an agreement with the Corrections deputies’ union. (via the Shelby Sun Times)

Second Amendment: The organisers of gun shows in Nashville say they don’t welcome but don’t mind background checks. The Commercial Appeal picks up the story. More on the Germantown man cited for carrying a gun into a posted park; more reports from WMC. The 6th Annual Gifts for Guns gun turn-in event is Saturday.

H1N1 Virus: Hospital and other public health officials across Mississippi are choosing not to use the nasal spray version of the swine flu vaccine, FluMist.

Land Use Control Board: The Gray’s Creek project was rejected for not conforming to the land use plan, among other business.

West Clinic: Doctors there are testing a new experimental drug that may be a major breakthrough.

Howell Marketing Strategies: Their next “Leveraging the Conversation” panel discussion is later this month, on using new social media to promote and grow your business. Also, an article on Glen Gilmore of Gilmore Business Network, who will be speaking.

Downtown: Are plans for the remodelling of Mud Island too much retail space for the area? The Center City Commission picks the ten Memphis landmarks most in need of help. The Health Department is studying emissions from barges travelling the Mississippi River.

Business: Strong September sales for Fred’s; more from the Daily News. Macy’s, too, had a better than expected September.

People in business, from the CA.

Tennessee: A State website on the history and culture of the people of this state goes live today. Of the “Daniels class” enrollees who faced being cut from TennCare rolls, so far this year 84,000 have been cut; more here. Overall TennCare enrollment is up this year. The State Supreme Court has ruled it is OK for TennCare to bill your estate for the costs of prior services. Governor Phil Bredesen says the state will need a full decade to climb out of the recession.

FedEx: The Commercial Appeal looks at the Customer SErvice Center during National Customer Service Week.

Planned Parenthood: The Memphis Catholic Diocese says that a proposed relocation of their clinic is too close to Memphis Catholic High School.

Financial: SunTrust Bank has hired Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. to manage its substantial real estate portfolio.

Survey Says: Jobless claims hit their lowest levels of the year. Mortgage rates hit a record low. The recession economy may be a factor in worker illness.

Mid-South Fair: Problems with securing the Tunica site, and favorable feedback on this year’s Fair, may mean the Fair will come back to Southaven next year.

Arkansas: Adams Field, the Little Rock National Airport, is ranked poorly for on-time arrivals.

University of Memphis: The deadline to apply for the state legislative intership program is today. The University of Memphis Alumni Association’s Homecoming Parade and Pep Rally scheduled for today has been cancelled.

MEDWeek: A report on the weeklong series of events wrapping up today that promote minority business development.

Previously Posted: More on the reduction of listing prices for Memphis homes; the Commericial Appeal also picks this up. More on the expansion of the Unilever plant in Covington and the jobs it will bring. More on Memphis International Airport’s on-time arrival rating. Two of the ten finalist firms in the TNInvestCo plan are from Memphis.

Lean Left: Thughts on meeting other bloggers in real life. Do you know your ’stans? Take the test.

Jen-sized: PCs and Macs and who cares?

Haaaaave You Read My Blog? No reason for this post, except that it’s a Family Guy corn maze!

From the Rainbows: Prepping the house for sale continues, project by grueling project.

Fertile Ground: Her boys borrowed her iPhone and made some movies.

Smart City Memphis: Our next mayor needs to blow up some old myths. Do you know some myths that need blowing up?

Cwabs! You know you’re official when you have a badge and you know you’ve lost weight when you compare old ones.

cbduke: Planning and training for the marathon runner.

a field guide to urban memphis: Is bombing the Moon science?

55-40 Memphis: The problem with Memphis is all the inbreeding.

LeftWing Cracker: Tennessee Democrats outside of Memphis don’t know what a Democrat is supposed to be.

Listwork: What she learned at bookclub. It’s silly, not academic, so don’t worry….

The English Major Bookstore: I think the connection she’s looking for is “sloth”.

Pretty in Pink Megan: Advice on choosing a Fall / Winter coat.

MAKE IT HAPPEN: She’s not kidding; it’s a post filled with randomness.

The Tale of a Southern Belle: She’s considering plates as wall decorations. Also, the winner of her most recent giveaway.

Wendi C. Thomas: On her personal blog, if you are black and want to be a movie extra, she has the details on how it can happen.

Ben F. Jones: He decries the “unbalanced scrutiny” of media coverage of payments by City government to outside legal counsel. (via the Tri-State Defender)

Brittany Jackson: One foot in high school and the other in college. (via the Tri-State Defender)

John Branston: Turns out, former mayor Herenton’s vacation payout wasn’t a first, but isn’t likely to recur. (via the Flyer)

Aaron Shafer: A skate park on Mud Island would be a positive step for Memphis. (via the Flyer)

Commercial Appeal: Children’s minds are like sponges that will absorb all sorts of lessons. The single source funding impasses involving schools and taxes should be ended, for the good of the children.

Student: Revisited: Hey, a dictionary is a book, too!

theology & geometry: Get a sneak peek at the daily paper’s next “True Crime” supplement! She drinks Drank so you can avoid it.

The Ominous Comma: The dangerous Dr Harold Toboggans has at last unleashed his Mind Over Memphis upon us.