Unemployment: Shelby County’s unemployment rate for December rose to 10.3%, the highest metro rate in the state. The City of Memphis now has 11.1% unemployment. More in the Business Journal, the Commercial Appeal. More in the Daily News.

Juvenile Court: Four employees lost their jobs, due to budget cuts.

Memphis Firefighters: Mayor A C Wharton has expressed his concern at the number of firefighters with criminal and felony records.

Downtown: Next week, the Center City Commission’s Design Review Board will study Phil Woodard’s plans for a South Bluffs office building. The new Humphreys School of Law is having an impact on business and the social feel.

Real Estate: Memphis had only the 45th highest foreclosure rate of 203 metro areas studied.

Sanitation Workers: During disciplinary hearings some workers are saying union representatives misled them about not working in the cold.

Politics: Bayron Binkley has declared as an independent in the race for governor.

The State Senate voted to override Governor Phil Bredesen’s veto of a bill limiting which restaurants must post calorie counts; more from the Nashville Scene, the Knoxville News-Sentinel. A fight has been set up between the houses of the Assembly over spending hundreds of millions of the State’s reserves.

The Nashville Scene looks at the state of the medical marijuana movement in middle Tennessee. Via the Knoxville News-Sentinel, a roundup of legislative news. The Senate passed a bill guaranteeing a constitutional right to hunt and fish that will go up for voter referendum in November. Check out the “Ben Nelson Act to Ensure Political Integrity”. Democrats abandon a plan to deny health insurance to smoking State employees.

The Shelby County Republican Party will have RNC Chairman Michael Steele as the keynote speaker for their Lincoln Day Gala on March 6.

Super Bowl: How your Super Bowl party can benefit Habitat for Humanity.

Tennessee: The Chattanooga Times Free Press looks at the shift in importance of metropolitan areas to the state.

Tea Party Nation Convention: The bad news keeps building as the Federation for American Immigration Reform pulls out as a sponsor. Then a new sponsor jumps in. US Representatives Marsha Blackburn and Michelle Bachmann have both withdrawn because of the convention’s “for-profit” status. Much more from Nashville PostPolitics and the Commercial Appeal.

Memphis in May: The poster, featuring 2010 honored country Tunisia, was unveiled. Official website here.

Zippin Pippin: Crews have begun dismantling the local icon.

University of Memphis: Questions about security at the new Humphreys School of Law. A look at alumnus Nick Pappas and Youth Town. The new Memphis Research Consortium is gearing up for fundraising. (all via the Daily Helmsman)

Millington: Union University MBA students gave tips for a profitable civic center.

Looney Ricks Kiss: The architectural firm received five Best American Living Awards awards.

Harold Ford Jr: The races heats up as Senator Kirsten Gillibrand denies she’s a “Chuck puppet” and Ford says she’s “cracking up”. The chairman of the NY Democratic Party is calling for a truce. Three female TN State representatives sent mysteriously similar, unsolicited pro-choice testimonials to NY newspapers.

2010 Census: Shelby County’s smaller communities will monitor census progress to make sure they’re getting their fair share.

NEW! Main Street Journal: Looking for an outstanding Jewish education for your children? You should seriously consider The Margolin Hebrew Academy. Website here and Rabbi Gil Perl’s blog is here.

Shelby County Mayor’s Race: The Tri-State Defender looks at the early shape of the mayoral race. The Flyer’s Jackson Baker profiles another candidate, Republican Tom Guleff.

Memphis City Schools: More, from the Tri-State Defender, on the push against guns in schools from the police and MCS administration. The Division of Nutrition Services had a food fair to find new menu items for the schools.

Second Amendment: A proposed outdoor gun range in an already established Tipton County neighborhood is drawing protests from those neighborhoods.

Mayor A C Wharton: He’s racking up the travel miles, promoting the city. Also, he’s talking with advisors to see who to support (US Rep. Steve Cohen or former Memphis mayor Willie Herenton) in the Ninth Congressional District race.

Healthy Memphis Common Table: The Daily News profiles the healthy living and healthy communities activist group and its director, Renee Frazier.

Midtown: The New York Times’ travel section looks at the center of “indie Memphis:”.

Shelby County Head Start: They have received a $1.6 million grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services to open an Early Head Start program.

Dr Trent Pierce: New details are emerging in this carbombing case. More from Eyewitness News.

Business: Mixed reviews for President Obama’s small business plans in his State of the Union speech.

From the Commercial Appeal, What to Do and People in Business.

International Paper settled a Mississippi lawsuit involving a deadly explosion. Inman Construction has been acquired by the EMJ Corporation. Once again, American Paper Optics gets another high-profile 3-D job.

Memphis Airport International: FedEx plan to either demolish or build new hangars; more in the Commercial Appeal. FedEx will also be using one of their new Boeing 777s to transport pandas from Washington to Chengdu, China. Cargo traffic numbers were up in 2009.

The MED: Bill Dries of the Daily News looks at City Council resistance to also providing funding. The MED is bracing for more bad news from Governor Phil Bredesen’s State of the State address next week because if cuts are as severe as expected the “close The MED” option comes into play.

Mississippi: Entergy is warning customers of possible power outages. On Thursday night, the County schools announced they will be open today.

The State House passed a law requiring prescriptions for some cold medicines; more in the Commercial Appeal. Cost-cutting at the State’s colleges and universities may cost 1000 jobs.

Playhouse on the Square: A look at the new facility and the opening show, Pippin.

West Tennessee: The H.O.P.E. (Helping Our People Endure) program helps the troubled in tough times. The Northwest Tennessee Regional Port Authority is awaiting word of its $35 million grant for an intermodal facility. (via the Dyersburg State Gazette) The Dorena-Hickman Ferry is closed until next week, due to high waters on the Mississippi. The Discovery Park of America project is back on track. UT-Martin received a check for $43 million. (via NWTN Today.com)

DeSoto County: The county’s unemployment rate for December was 7.7%. The Memphis Indoor Model Airplane Classic is actually held in Southaven now and the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals will be using R/C airplanes to engender interest in aviation into a new generation of kids.

The Chockley Blogs: A busy weekend for Chip, Connor and Chloe.

Smart City Memphis: Does changing government make for a changed city? Win $50,000 for innovating Memphis and making it a better place! They offer a change agenda for Memphis.

short + rose: She’s nearing thirty and worrying about the upcoming forks in the road.

Commercial Appeal: Z-bo. If you want, celebrate and even demand diversity in the nation, why are you then expecting unity of thought and action?

Dr Scott Morris: The people in Haiti need our help and dont’ forget that Memphis’ poor also still need our help. (via the Commercial Appeal)

Geoff Calkins: The MED is far more than just the “gunshot hospital”. (via the Commercial Appeal)

John Branston: He profiles Virginia McLean and June West, two women aiming to preserve parts of Memphis. Also, John has a confusing column on freakonomics. (via the Flyer)

A. C. Kleinheider: The political nihilism of Harold Ford Jr. (via the Flyer)

Linda S. Wallace: Age discrimination is a very real problem in the recession. (via the Tri-State Defender)

George E. Hardin: Are Democrats becoming fickle and fair weather towards President Obama? (via the Tri-State Defender)

Ask Myron: Thoughts on “Pants on the Ground” and William Hung! (via the Tri-State Defender)

Brittany Jackson: Teens and parents must have “the sex talk. (via the Tri-State Defender)

Scribblescrawl: Kerry heads on down to Range USA and shoots some zombies! And a postscript.

Pretty in Pink Megan: The best makeup combination for breakout skin.

vibinc: Governor Bredesen’s indifference on health care reform gobsmacks him.

What is a Carbunkle Trumpet? Thoughts on turning forty, though to judge by the photos, he’ll have fun doing it.

Author of Y’all’s Destruction: I’d like to see someone try this experiment.

artbutcher: A short poem on teaching and beavers.

Air Traffic Mike’s: The art and science of making pancakes.

Thoroughly Modern Medusa: Christiana Leibovich is one of the funniest persons she knows.

The Soundcheck and the Fury: Creating mix CDs to go along with the novels you’ve written. Neat idea!

Persian Pit Bull: After twenty stops, the participants in the BBA Tour list their Top Five joints.

Memphis Rock-N-Romp: Take a moment and fill out their opinion survey.

Just A Girl in the World: It looks like things with Mr Risky Business are getting more serious.

I Love Memphis: The Breakfast Brackets challenge now enters Round Two: Bryant’s versus The Arcade. Stacey of Fertile Ground was also there.

Complacencies of the Peignoir: Her blog reaches its end.