Cohen v. Herenton: Willie Herenton is claiming racial disparities in the awarding and effects of the lottery scholarships.

Unemployment: The state’s unemployment rate held steady at 10.7%; more from WMC. The state’s unemployment situation was the 8th worst in the country in 2009. Memphis is beginning to recover from the recession, according to msnbc.com and Moody’s Economy.com; more from Eyewitness News.

The Wharton Administration: Mayor A C Wharton is letting it be known he’s eager to see the Beale Street mess settled. Minority contractors hope for better treatment under new mayor Wharton. Mayor Wharton has made some appointments to local government, including promoting his personal Shelby County bodyguard to “security coordinator for the library system”.

Metro Charter Commission: They heard from Indianapolis mayor Stephen Goldsmith about making consolidation work. More from the Commercial Appeal.

Beale Street Music Festival: The Flyer has a fully annotated list of the this year’s acts. Official website here. More from Fox13, Eyewitness News, WMC, WREG and the Commercial Appeal.

Tire Redemption Program: Starting Monday, resident of Shelby County can again turn in tires for a one dollar bounty.

Politics: The Tennessee Hospital Association is calling for a 3.5% “enhanced coverage fee” to help offset cuts to TennCare. State Senator Ron Ramsey is proposing a per-vehicle tax to replace the State’s gasoline tax. A bill to name a portion of I-240 after Isaac Hayes. Video excerpts, from the Flyer, of TN Democratic Party Chairman Chip Forrester’s appearance in Memphis last week.

Shelby County Attorney General Bill Gibbons is expected to officialy file his papers to run for Tennessee governor today.

Eighth Congressional District Democratic candidate Roy Herron is already responding to proposed robo-calls before the NRCC has made them. Two Republican candidates in the Eighth — Dr Ron Kirkland of Jackson and Shelby County Commissioner George Flinn — spoke before the Shelby County Republican Women of Purpose.

Did Harold Ford sound out Karl Rove about a party switch in 2006? (Skip to last two paragraphs.) More here. And Jackson Baker speaks to why Ford quit.

Foreclosure: A graphic presentation of January foreclosure rates in the Mid-South.

Arkansas: The fiscal session is expected to end this week quietly.

Redbirds: The Flyer looks at the history of the business of the franchise and its stadium, as well as the new management team.

Tennessee: An otherwise tight-lipped Department of Education says, we are on of 16 finalists for Race to the Top funds; more from TN.gov, Nashville City Paper, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, the Commercial Appeal. Handicapping the odds. Bill Frist comments. The State press release. More here, from PostPolitics.

More data coming out from the MTSU polls of Tennesseans’ views: We are more optimistic, overall, than the nation but worry about the economy. (Many more findings at the link.)

Crime: Beware of a Craigslist identity theft scam involving rentals in the U of M area. The East Raines Luxury Apartments are being closed, because they are a “haven for crime”.

Bartlett: The Bartlett Express’ annual Progress issue features: the Family Assistance Commission; the City’s Solid Waste Department; Saint Francis Medical Partners - Bartlett; First South bank. Two boys, aged 14 and 13, drove the family’s vehicle into a MATA bus on Wednesday; more from the Commercial Appeal.

West Tennessee: Obion County officials condemned a US Department of Transportation denial of a $35 million grant for the Cates Landing riverport.

TVA: They are proposing a “peak use surcharge” for using electricity during high demand periods.

Main Street Journal: Joe Saino has some Questions Concerning Consolidation.

Downtown: The Flyer reminds readers of the little-used or -mentioned 1994 panhandling ordirnance that’s still on the books.

Lent: Jen-sized has your Catholic fish fry directory.

Shelby County Government: Interim Mayor Joe Ford’s Small Business Task Force unveiled a new public service announcement to let local small business know about contracting opportunity with the County; more from Eywitness News, WMC, WREG, the Daily News. A related story on the impact of the film business in Memphis, from the Daily News.

Adult-Oriented Businesses: WREG reviews the new County ordinance that an Appeal Court judge has approved; more here.

University of Memphis: The new University Center will have its grand opening on Monday. Offical website here. A campus anti-Sudanese genocide group, Operation Broken Silence, will take part in a national campaign to bring attention to this issue. The observance of Women’s History Month continues.

Memphis Police Department: A Federal judge has ordered 28 officers be promoted to lieutenant.

Center City Commission: An update on the search for a new executive director.

Germantown: Beginning Monday, several town meetings will be streamed live over the internet.

Millington: A report on Mayor Richard Hodges’ State of the City Address.

The Regional Medical Center: After his first week on the job as new CEO, Dr Reginald Coopwood has already set his first goal. City of Memphis employees may be given an option of giving part of their paycheck to The MED. It may waive co-pays and deductibles for Shelby County employees who have procedures done there.

Mississippi: The Legislature considers a shorter school year; more from Eyewitness News. The State Senate has killed a bill to place advertising on school busses. Changes proposed by the House would shift the costs of ethics investigations onto the perpetrators through fines. Another bill would let the MS Music Commission to raise private funds for struggling musicians.

Air Travel: Cheap fares may be a thing of the past.

Collierville: The long-term plan for the town’s downtown is in first draft form and nearing unveiling. They are considering installing synthetic grass in W. C. Johnson Park.

Business: In February, Fred’s sales were up 3%. The owners of the Shelby Forest General Store are still looking to sell.
A business profile of Bonne Terre, which is -reopening with new owners, from the DeSoto Times Tribune. From the Daily News, a business profile of Snowflake Technologies, a former subsidiary of LuminetX.

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

FedEx: Morgan Keegan has raised its rating of the company’s stock. Fortune magazine rated them 13th most admired corporation.

Best of Home Expressions: The expo is this weekend and Antiques Roadshow star Gary Sohmers is expected to be a big hit.

DeSoto County: How families will deal with the Saturday “make up day” for schools. Anita Rainey has stepped down as Horn Lake’s planning director; more in the Commercial Appeal. The County Election Commission has added three precincts in Horn Lake and Olive Branch.

Memphis Living Legends 2010: The New Sardis Baptist Church honored seventeen Memphians for their “many contributions to our community … invaluable to our African American Heritage.”

American Institute of Architects: The Memphis chapter has awarded its Francis Gassner Award to Joey Hagan.

at home she’s a tourist: Did you know yesterday was a National Day of Action? Neither, apparently, did most people….

Just A Girl in the World: This Spring is Project: Patio, where she has a beer at every bar and restaurant in Memphis with a patio. See if she left anywhere out. Good luck!

La Vie Quotidienne: Meet Grayton, the cat.

Downtown Memphis Blog: Walgreen’s and beer.

Cwabs! The “unnecessary blues” are, hopefully, a temporary thing.

sharp stick in the eye: Spring cleaning vignettes.

The Gates of Memphis: Your neologism of the day: anturban.

The Memphis Liberal: A hyper-local blog post on how miserable it is in the Summer and Tillman area.

Weeden Arts Watch: Meet Rodney Coleman, UrbanArt’s newest project coordinator.

What is a Carbunkle Trumpet? He’s looking forward to all the big events this Spring!

Lang Wiseman: Random Thoughts: Some more lessons in Life Math.

Memphis Outsider: A weekend of bookstore, taquerias and METAL! A review of Taqueria Michoacan.

What’s Going on Back There: Walt is learning his words and is rather exasperating now.

MemphisConnect: Have you checked out Church Health Center Wellness?

Quite Swimmingly: The Linden Avenue protesters are gaining momentum.

Paul Ryburn’s Journal: Some Downtown news. That’s a single serving of beer?

polar donkey: Thoughts (and a chart, of course) on “miserable”.

Blue Collar Republican: A highly detailed and linked post on the possible links of “radical Islam” to Memphis.

artbutcher: A good week for rejections.

Dining With Monkeys: A very good review of Tycoon Asian Noodle Shop.

Commercial Appeal: Once again, cautious support (if the money can be found, of course), this time for Victorian Village. They approve the shifting of students between schools to alleviate crowding and improve efficiencies.

Tony Nichelson: Priorities, empowerment and enforcement are needed to stop domestic violence. (via the Tri-State Diamond)

Brittany Jackson: Why women are like diamonds. (via the Tri-State Diamond)

The Rant: This year’s Winter Olympics were underwhelming. (via the Flyer)

John Branston: Tourism is not a panacea for a city’s ailing economy. (via the Flyer)

David Morton: The numbers for a “fair tax” (a national sales tax) do not add up to tax savings. (via Chattanooga’s Chatterati)