Shelby County Races: Interim Mayor Joe Ford is likely to run for new term. The Commercial Appeal looks at who’s pulled petitions to run for sheriff.

Memphis Animal Shelter: Two suspended employees have been arrested for animal cruelty — Tina Quattlebaum and Angela Middleton, supervisor and veterinarian respectively. More from Eyewitness News. A third person has been indicted but not arrested; more on that from WREG. More from the Commercial Appeal.

Memphis City Schools: With the school board’s rejection of the City Council’s 28/10/12 plan, it’s back to square one. Auditors and financial analysts argue over the effects of the payment on the City’s finances.

MCS worries that charter school applications aren’t up to the standards of City schools.

A student at Douglass High, Robert Dailey, was arrested on counterfeiting charges. More from Eyewitness News, WMC, WREG, and the Commercial Appeal.

Shelby County Government: Thanks to the State Comptroller’s Office you can now study the County’s finances online. Is the area prepared for a major disaster like Haiti’s earthquake?

Collierville: Developer of Byhalia Commons will unveil plans on Tuesday.

NAACP: They have announced the co-chairs of the 2010 Freedom Fund Gala: Elliot Perry and Susan Stephenson.

Oakland: Despite tie vote of Board of Mayor and Aldermen, City will proceed with appeal of new mayoral election.

The Bodine School: Fox13 profiles the Germantown school for reading-impaired students.

West Tennessee: Officials in Atoka are proposing to further limit the number of liquor stores. Tipton County has a new website. There will be an open workshop at Dyersburg State Community College this weekend on home energy conservation. (All stories via the Covington Leader; registration required.) DSCC is also currently hosting FASFA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) workshops for students. (via the Dyersburg State Gazette) The town of Troy will have new fire department rules following a number of accidents. (via NWTN Today) The Reelfoot Lake Eagle Festival is this weekend.

Politics: State Senator Ophelia Ford may miss the entire legislative session again, due to another illness; more from Fox13, Eyewitness News; WMC, the Commercial Appeal. Senator Brian Kelsey says, “This is not an income tax state.”

Speaker of the House Kent Williams has all but declared dead the governor’s plan to raise cable TV taxes. Republican legislators oppose it. A Memphis mother is in Nashville lobbying with Memphis police for harsher gun laws and punishments.

Jack Bailey is a Republican who hopes to unseat Rep. Lincoln Davis in the Fourth US Congressional race.

Ward Cammack’s official endorsement of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jim Kyle. The Flyer’s Jackson Baker looks at the campaign money in the governor’s race.

Desoto County: County schools have already cut $13 million in recent years, and must cut again this year. Superintendent Milton Kuykendall will take a pay cut. More on the return to the five-day work week in Southaven. News from Horn Lake’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting.

Dr Trent Pierce: An update on the doctor’s condition one year after a carbombing attack.
 

Real Estate: Mid-America Apartment Communities saw 4Q earnings rise by more than a third. The Pinebrooke Point Apartments building sold for $1.82 million. Foreclosure rates were up only slightly, but mortgage delinquency rates were up by much more.

Tea Party National Convention: Only 600 paying participants? Coverage from a number of sources as the convention begins: Nashville Scene; CNN, the Tennessean, Newsweek, the Christian Science Monitor, ScrippsNews, Los Angeles Times. The Politico on the tea party movement and the Republican Party. PJTV is livestreaming the convention. (Registration required)

The Tennessean was denied media credentials; nevertheless, they will liveblog the convention. Official convention website.

Super Bowl: A reminder from the State of Tennessee: Please don’t drive drunk or impaired!

NEW: Main Street Journal January 2010 Issue: Timely in light of Monday’s State budget presentation, senior writer Michael Roy Hollihan looks at the perfect storm of real crisis that could be forming in our State’s higher education funding.

The State Budget, TennCare Cuts and State Hospitals: State hospitals are warning Governor Phil Bredesen of “devastation” if his budget cuts go through. Along with The MED, Nashville General Hospital is also threatened. Hospitals are proposing a “bed tax”. More from Fox13 and the Commercial Appeal. Will Bredesen’s actions and words hurt the ability of The MED to raise funds from other governments?

The Tennessee Center for Policy Research has issed a policy brief on the governor’s new budget.

MLG&W: The costs of service, repair and damage from last week’s snow and ice storm were less than expected.

Consolidation & Annexation: Jacksonville’s City attorney, Rick Mullaney, talked with the Metro Charter Commission about the benefits of consolidaiton; more in the Commercial Appeal. Also, an activist group is trying to get a referendum on the August ballot reforming annexation rules.

Memphis World Trade Club: A short profile of incoming president Cannon Allen.

Green Memphis: The Flyer profiles the upcoming Wolf River Greenway and the Greater Memphis Greenline and what they’ll mean for walkable Memphis.
 

Arkansas: Governor Mike Beebe will accept the recommended scholarship amounts for the new State lottery.

Millington: Red light traffic cameras on Highway 51 got their second reading approval. (via the Millington Star)

Forest Hill Baptist Church: They are celebrating their centennial this year.

Tennessee: Sunday is Black AIDS/HIV Awareness Day; free testing available. The Department of Human Services is looking for local non-profits and government agencies to volunteer for the Summer Food Service Program, providing nutritious meals to needy children.

University of Memphis: Student and employees of the school are helping homeowners south of campus fight foreclosure. The Student Health Center has a free on-campus service, Tigers Feel Great Fitness Program. The recession is causing students to move to cheaper alcohols and beer outlets.

Student Debt: A new law goes into effect later this month, requiring cosigners for credit cards if the person is under 21. More from Eyewitness News.

Delta Air Lines: They will probably close their Cincinnati crew base sometime later this year. Their air traffic numbers continued to decline in January.

Business: Dollar General picked up a strong buy recommendation from an investment analyst; they will open 600 news stores this year, employing thousands. Target’s January sales just barely increased. Good news for Macy’s in January, all around. Buckeye Technologies completed its strongest quarter in 18 months. Fred’s blames ice and snow for a slow January. Wurzburg has filed for Chapter 11 reorganisation. Cellular South’s success is due in part to leveraging its sports marketing. CVS has five more stores planned for the area in the next 18 months.

This story in the Daily News about the business rebound along Madison Avuenue credits the trolley?

People in Business and What to Do, from the CA.

Secret Service: They are opening a new branch office in Memphis to fight high-tech crime.

Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons: The Flyer interviews him on his new book, No Surrender! A Battle Plan for Creating Safer Communities.

Nashville: Metro Nashville schools is working with the State Department of Education to turn around their two lowest performing schools; one may become a charter school.

Harold Ford Jr: A “who called who first” dispute in a meeting between New York Governor David Paterson and Ford. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is looking to head Ford off at the Democratic State committee level. Ford is supplementing his income with paid speaking gigs. Republican National chairman Michael Steele and Ford “spar” at a Little Rock joint appearance.

Survey Says: Truckers rate I-40 the best interstate in the nation. Production is going up but the job rolls aren’t shrinking.

Mississippi: The State House has passed a bill that changes the deer hunting season. The Senate passed an animal anti-cruelty bill which now goes to the House. The Senate approved bills to allow “performance-based budgeting” for State agencies and to raise penalties for violations of the Open Meetings Act. Legislators restored $45 million cut from the Mississippi Adequate Education Program. The State won a lawsuit against Eli Lilly.

Smart City Memphis: Targeting entrepreneurs and start ups. Arguing “regressive” and “fair” taxation. Deciding what to keep when it comes to buildings.

Reginald Milton’s A Fresh Look: Corey Maclin is having a Super Bowl par-tay!

Pretty in Pink Megan: In which she helps out a reader and her wedding.

Paul Ryburn’s Journal: Brick may have changed the course of the American space program!

North Mississippi Commenter: An unusual bill before the Legislature. He wants to know what other Super Bowl parties are cooking.

Midtown Stomp: A report from the Swine & Wine Dinner.

Left Wing Cracker: Wishes for Senator Ophelia Ford to get well, and step aside in the meantime.

AlphaPatriot: Thoughts on the tea party movement and avoiding the GOP.

Dining With Monkeys: Stacey and the boys hit up the Kwik Shop Grill on Parkway.

I Love Memphis: And Kerry tries out Local Gastropub downtown before a basketball game.

Lang Wiseman: Random Thoughts: Flexible optimism.

Vegan Crunk: Vegan candy/energy bars.

Weeden Arts Watch: He shares a lot of photos taken at the new Humphreys School of Law.

Commercial Appeal: Guaranteed universal health care is the civil right issue of our time. The Memphis reaction to funding The MED is a rare bird — bipartisan political support.

Geoff Calkins: Voters shouldn’t elect Herenton just because he’s black. (via the Commercial Appeal)

Charles A. Langston: He schools the paper on how to accurately understand and report scientific debates. (via the Commercial Appeal)

John Branston: Books on media, new and old. (via the Flyer)

The Rant: The annual disparaging of new music. (via the Flyer)

Zach McMillin: Why he left professional neutrality at the Commercial Appeal to advocate for a new City-County form of government he’s passionate about. (via the Flyer)

The Flyer: A look at The Marijuana Project at Ole Miss.

Kevin E. Brumfield II: The “Dress For Success” program is only looking at the surface of kids today. (via the Tri-State Defender)

Tony Nichelson: African-American culture is on the brink of collapse. (via the Tri-State Defender)

Brittany Jackson: How parents and kids can have that all-important sex talk. (via the Tri-State Defender)

Reginald Tate: The State Senator says the people deserve to know what was going on with foreclosures in Memphis and Shelby County. (via the Tri-State Defender)