Cohen v. Herenton: A former Willie Herenton supporter, Anthony “Amp” Elmore, is now campaigning against him, questioning his “blackness”.

Shelby County Government: The director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness, Bob Nations, is close to an agreement to give a statement in the investigation of his son. More from Eyewitness News. The retirement board OK’d a major overhaul of the pension system to stave off massive cost increases in the next decade.

Tourism: Problems in Nashville and the Gulf Coast could be tourism boosters for Memphis.

Memphis v. Nashville: The Nashville Metro Council was due to vote last night on raising the City’s minimum wage by $3/hour. Nashville has lifted its water conservation order.

Aerotropolis: The “greening of the gateways”, the planting of trees on Plough Boulevard, is the first outward sign of the aerotropolis initiative.

Germantown: The John Gray House has no historic connection to the city, but it’s a historic 19th century building. What to do?

Tennessee: The Department of Safety says there were seven traffic fatalities over the holiday weekend, down by half over last year. The state’s private colleges and universities are raising tuitions by an average of 5.56%. The State Department of Agriculture is accepting applications for a cost-sharing program to offset farming costs; State Senator Lowe Finney wants to add $10 million to its budget.

MATA: A writer for, and the publisher of, the Flyer complain about trolley service and customer service.

Politics: The budget impasse may stretch the session out two more weeks. The accusations of “pork” are flying, as in the Whiteville Correctional Facility. Local reaction to the possibility of lost infant mortality program funding; more from Fox13.

A bill to waive sales taxes for people who are receiving FEMA aid because of the flooding passed out of a House committee yesterday.

A move to make the Division of Developmental Disabilities its own Department, and rename it.
US Rep. Steve Cohen has co-filed legislation to try to stop “Slapp suits”.

West Memphis Shootings: Be careful and learn more if you are contacted for donations to the Officer Down Foundation.

Agriculture: Farms and homes along the Tipton/Shelby County line are facing crop damage from an unknown cause.

Governor’s Race: Trying to figure out who’s ahead. The Nashville City Paper tries to raise questions about the connections between the TN Valley Corridor economic development intiative and Republican gubernatorial candidate Zach Wamp. Wamp responds and also talks about Cherokee gambling. Republican Bill Haslam responds to that! More on Wamp’s response to the TVC charges in the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

Mid-South Food Bank: They received an $8000 donation from Cargill.

Eighth Congressional District: Former Speaker of the House Trent Lott is campaigning and fundraising for Dr George Flinn in the race.

Real Estate: Payroll services company Paychex North America is renewing its lease at Quince Center, but in a different space. The AutoZone property on East Shelby Drive has been sold. Abandoning homes before foreclosure is a growing trend. Fairwood Capital has bought an Atlanta hotel from Cooper Hotels. The Wolfchase Galleria is getting one new restaurant and four retailers later this year.

University of Tennessee Health Science Center: They have been awarded two Federal research grants totalling $500,000.

Blight: The Burlington neighborhood in Southeast Memphis is fighting a storm of foreclosed and neglected properties.

University of Memphis: The new vice president of business and finance will be David Zettergren.
 
 
 

Previously Posted: Leadership Memphis is recruiting for their Fall FastTrack 2010 program.

Survey Says: US manufacturing sector saw its tenth straight month of growth and construction spending rose by the largest amount in almost ten years! Gas prices continue their strong downward slide. The Memphis retail market, in Q1/2010, saw “significant” growth.

Cypress Creek: More concerns about high levels of E. coli and pesticides in the water.

MAIN STREET JOURNAL Online: Long-time contributing Finances & Economics writer Chuck Bates, host of News & Views on the Information Radio Network, has his column, On The Money, available on the website. Read it here.

Memphis City Schools: Changing demographics led the system to invest in bonds to build a new school and add classrooms to another. An unidentified number of parents were sent transfer approvals in error.

“Muslims in Memphis”: This small group is protesting US response to the Israel/Gaza incident over the weekend.

City of Memphis: The Memphis Housing Authority has received $22 million in HUD grants to redevelop Cleaborn Homes. It will soon give way to “Triangle Noir”. A New York Times article notes that years of economic gains by black Memphians have come undone in the Great Recession; more from WMC. Honorary street signs around the City cost us $130,000 over the years.

Tax Season: The Memphis IRS will have an open house to assist taxpayers, this Saturday. And if you need help with your taxes before the extension deadline, New Olivet Baptist Church will have trained volunteers available.

National Civil Right Museum: Funding for the museum may be in jeopardy in next year’s State budget.

Mississippi: May tax collections for the State fell well short of forecasts.

Inner Circle: This small-group forum of small business owners helps them share problems and solutions. Founded by Michael Synk of In-Synk.

Business: Mid-South businesses have been slow to adopt the workplace health clinic. Banks want to lend, but small business doesn’t want to borrow yet. The Corrections Corporation of America has been fined by the State of Idaho and ordered to fix certain programs at their prison. Six hundred jobs will be lost when New Albany, MS, business Caye Home Furnishings closes its doors.

Efforts to protest the Gulf oil spill by not buying BP gasoline products will actually mostly hurt local businessmen.

Memphis Newsmakers, from the Daily News. And in the Commercial Appeal, People in Business, What to Do and Done Deals.

Medtronic: The company has started posting physician payments above a set limit to its website in a broad disclosure move. More on this move from the Daily News.

Metro Charter Commission: Are you ready for 17 to 25 metro commissioners under a new charter? Drawing the districts is a sticking point.

West Tennessee: The city of Jackson is due to vote on a daytime curfew for minors; more in the Commercial Appeal. Dyer County’s Great American Cleanup last month piled up 172,000 pounds of trash. (via the Dyersburg State Gazette)

Bank of Bartlett: Some customers have been hit by California hackers and identity thieves.

Streets Ministries: Former University of Memphis basketball coach John Calipari has donated one million dollars to them.
 
 

Fayette County: The principal of Fayette-Ware High School, Sonny Hicks, is fighting a fake, defamatory Facebook page set up in his name.

DeSoto County: Alan Nunnelee was the runaway winner of the Republican First Congressional District primary; more from Fox13 and the Commercial Appeal. Meanwhile, US Rep. Travis Childers was talking jobs in Horn Lake. The Hernando Board of Mayor and Aldermen rescinded its previous approval of a construction route for the Notting Hill development.

Flood Recovery: FEMA is due to close five Disaster Recovery Centers tomorrow and transition four more into Disaster Loan Outreach Centers. Repairs to the water treatment plant in Nashville will cost more than $40 million.

First Tennessee Foundation: Though their Leadership Grants program, which encourages bank employees to sit on non-profit boards, they’ve given $80,000 to 95 organisations across the state.

Synovus Financial: They have completed the charter consolidation of their many banks, including Trust One Bank in Memphis.

Community Foundation of Greater Memphis: Their Give 365 initiative pools money from many small donors into a group-decided large gift.

Memphis Rock-N-Romp: The next one’s coming up on the 19th.

Midtown Stomp: How Not to Act in a Retail Store, part three.

Quite Swimmingly: She’s deactivated her Facebook and Twitter accounts! And then Facebook kindly fixes that mistake.

Mediaverse: Some critical thinking on that New York Times story about African-Americans in Memphis.

Downtown Memphis Download: Meet some of the downtown’s endangered gems.

Doug Johnson at Work: His one-year blogiversary and a trip to the Caribbean.

a field guide to urban memphis: Let’s play what is this creature in her compost?

Brain Release Valve: No, this is not the result of a low-orbit ion cannon.

The Chockley Blogs: Another family went to the Memphis Zoo this weekend. And a family trip on Memorial Day turns into parking on I-40 for four hours.

Ramblings of the Mad Cow: Your bit of funny for today — the Iron Man spinoff, Iron Baby.

Rustmeister’s Alehouse: He takes the Commercial Appeal to task for their anti-Second Amendment editorial the other day.

Shaun Fossett: Why Jackson’s WBBJ gets a raw deal on satellite telesion.

Reginald Milton’s A Fresh Look: Thoughts on saving the Union Avenue Methodist Church.

Smart City Memphis: Another report from the Memphis Zombie Massacre last Friday.

Ray and Dana Branson: To build wealth, spend down. (via the Daily News)

The MakeShift Revolution: A quick-n-easy pizza crust for your next make-your-own pizza party.

Jackson Sun: It’s time the State got serious about nuclear power.

Commercial Appeal: Don’t be cruel; get started on cleaning up Elvis Presley Boulevard. And be fair and accurate in flood mapping.