Shelby County Commission: They are meeting in special session today to set the new property tax rate.

Metro Charter Commission: The new charter will allow citizens to vote before being annexed and more. The municipalities will keep their annexation reserves. More in the Daily News.

Memphis City Schools: Boundary and zoning changes mean new schools for hundreds of students next Fall. Mandarin Chinese is supplanting French in foreign language studies in City schools. More on the MCS Summer Debate Series next month.

Shelby County Clerk’s Office Investigation: Three men charged with bribery — W. Mark Welch, James Welch and Casey Newport — will go to trial in November.

Mid-South Food Bank: Celebrity Paula Deen brought “150,000 servings of protein” as part of her partnership with Smithfield Foods.

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital: They will have massive celebrations and public tours of their new $340 million building this Tuesday. More stories from the Flyer.

Arkansas: Former Governor Mike Huckabee has endorsed Republican Senate candidate John Boozman.

Politics: Spared the budget ax, a look at the Office of Children’s Care Coordination and what it does. The Flyer’s Jackson Baker surveys the waning days of the Legislature. A wrap-up report from the Commercial Appeal. Governor Phil Bredesen praised the Legislature for its job handling education reform; the official statement. Even so, Bredesen still decried the “posturing”.

The Legislature wrapped up very late on Thursday. But the Health Care Freedom Act (allowing citizens to opt out of Federal health care) went through a tortuous path to failure in the House. Was it a battle royale between two legislators driving that failure? An epic retelling of the day’s struggles. The House vote on the bill. Republicans are already spinning it into an election issue. A lengthy “winners and losers” list of legislation and resolutions.

The governor now has on his desk the bill to require felons to repay all court costs, fines and fees before having voting rights restores. Two bills intended to protect children from sexual predators passed the Senate at the last minute.

In the Eighth Congressional district race, Democrat Roy Herron says specifying what he’ll cut in Obama health care reform is difficult. Chris Devaney, chairman of the TN Republican Party, responds.

Burke’s Bookstore: They are celebrating 135 years of continuous business!

West Memphis Shootings: The Bonanza Steakhouse in West Memphis donated all tips and proceeds Wednesday to the families of Brandon Paudert and Bill Evans. More on how WM Police Chief Bob Paudert learned of the details of their deaths.

Governor’s Race: Insight and background into why Republican candidate Joe Kirkpatrick dropped out and then endorsed competitor Ron Ramsey. Democratic candidate Mike McWherter kicked off his “Mike Works!” campaign this week.

West Clinic: They are among the first to earn the American Society of Clinical Oncology Quality Oncology Practice Initiative Certification.

Collierville: Layoffs and some fee increases, but no property tax increase in next year’s budget.

Fred Thompson: The former senator and presidential candidate appeared on WREG’s Live at 9 to promote his book and talk politics, among other things. Part two of the interview is here.

Tennessee: President and CEO Jerry Collins of Memphis Light, Gas & Water is urging Congress to raise the debt limit for TVA above $30 billion. The names and Social Security numbers of more than 10,000 TennCare dental patients were on a laptop that’s been missing since March. TVA will be cleaning up campsites around the Nashville area where people are making their sites into permanent structures.

WUMR: Memphis’ only jazz station is beginning its weeklong “Jazz in June” radiothon this Sunday.

Memphis Zoo: Last night was the kickoff of the Summer Concert Series.

DeSoto County: The site along Old Highway 51 and Magnolia Drive will become the new County jail; more from Fox13, Eyewitness News, WMC. Citizens are demanding a stop light at US Highway 61 and Delta View Road. Former Republican rival Henry Ross is now backing primary winner Alan Nunnelee in the general election for the First Congressional District. A State Department of Environmental Quality grant helps to fund the County’s tire-recycling program.

MAIN STREET JOURNAL Online Exclusive: County Commissioner Mike Carpenter offers his alternative proposal for a Shelby County budget.

Downtown: The Center City Development Corporation will consider a couple of loans at its next meeting.

Bass Pro Shops / Pyramid: City development director Robert Lipscomb points out many flaws in the Public Accountability Initiative report.

National PTA Convention: The annual conference is in Memphis this year and giving Memphis a chance to shine.

Regional Medical Center: Interim County Mayor Joe Ford’s MED Task Force issued its report and Ford repeated his claim to have “saved The MED”. Ford claims they secured $47 million this year. More from Fox13, Eyewitness News.

Willie Herenton: After his big media event earlier this week, the local press is still reporting and analysing it. From Bill Dries of the Daily News, and Jackson Baker of the Flyer. Also the Tri-State Defender and the Daily News Blog. Memphis Mayor A C Wharton responds to Herenton’s characterisation of him, MSARC and the Animal Shelter.

Bartlett: More, and more disturbing, details on the gun incident at Shadowlawn Park. The man, Nicholis Williams, has a warrant for his arrest out.

Local Media: A “comprehensive partnership” between the Tri-State Defender and WMC-TV Action News 5 means sharing distribution channels, web sites, stories and audiences. WMC reports their side of the agreement.

Fayette County: To comply with a Federal desegregation order, an elementary school will be closed and students bussed to new schools.

HopeWorks: This private non-profit program hopes to turn around felons’ lives with career planning and job mentoring.

Business: Eighty-six jobs will be lost when International Paper closes its Jonesboro plant and moves to Olive Branch; more in the Daily News and the Commercial Appeal.

Efforts at a boycott of British Petroleum, to punish it for the Gulf oil spill, may be hurting other businessmen instead. The entrepreneurial path is tough for women.

A business profile of Fundcraft Publishing of Collierville, in the Daily News, and also a professional profile of commercial real estate broker Leah Fyfe Stokes of CB Richard Ellis Memphis.

From the Daily News, Today’s Events.

Delta Air Lines: They will offer first class seating on additional flights out of Memphis. The Commercial Appeal also has the story. Delta has expanded its reach into Southeast Asia with Vietnam Airlines.

GTx: The question is: Why has Pittco Investments (the investment arm of J. R. “Pitt” Hyde III) spent $2.45 million since early May buying a large stake in the company as its value has declined by two-thirds? More information from the Daily News.

EmergeMemphis: A successful company birthing as RedRover moves into its own space. RedRover also picked up three awards from the International Academy of Visual Arts.

Germantown: The director of the Great Hall, Brian “Chip” Scott, has abruptly resigned just three weeks into the job. The other top choice for the job, Chuck Porter, will take over.

West Tennessee: Former First Lady Laura Bush will be guest speaker at Union University’s annual Scholarship Banquet in October. An Army assessment of the economic impact of American Ordnance’s operation of a plant near Milan. If you’re driving in Dyersburg, don’t be surprised by the police speed trailers. The Dyerburg/Dyer County annual Juneteenth celebration will be next Friday and Saturday. The group Veteran Defenders of America have “pinned” Jim Harding (State Senate District 27 Republican candidate) as a national spokesman.

Real Estate: The May foreclosure rate in Memphis was down over last year and last month. Rajiv Grover, dean of the Fogelman College of Business and Economics at the University of Memphis, calls Memphis a “real estate city”.

British Petroleum: A Southaven gas station was the victim of reported violent protest against the oil company. The Commerical Appeal calls the incident “isolated” and possibly a prank.

Mississippi: The number of foreclosure actions dropped last month. President Barack Obama has nominatedMississippi Supreme Court Justice James E. Graves Jr. to the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Fertile Ground: A visit to Putt Putt Golf and Games.

Cwabs! Another data point in the “Comcast sucks” tapestry.

Thoroughly Modern Medusa: She got the gig of photographing Noah and Amanda’s wedding and we get to see all the pictures!

The Intersection of Madness and Reality: Thoughts on the baffling Senate victory of Democrat Alvin Greene.

The Conservative Zone: Thoughts on gun control sparked by an article in the CA.

I Love Memphis: What’s your favorite song that name-checks Memphis?

Speak to Power: The three bloggers who run this site will speak to the Democratic Women of Shelby County this Saturday. Felons should be allowed to vote, even if they still owe society. None of this is illegal, but they’ll ask questions anyway! Thoughts on the Herenton campaign. Annexation in a consolidated Shelby County would be irrelevant, wouldn’t it?

Notes from Memphis: She’s still around the Alps and sends back these photos.

MemphisShelby Inform: An intriguing proposal to turn around Memphis schools.

Mediaverse: Taking local media to task for the Herenton press circus this week.

Pretty in Pink Megan: Getting your hair color right. She has fallen under the spell of jorts.

Paul Ryburn’s Journal: Read Paul’s mind, win a beer! Some food news and other downtown bits. The new media triumvirate: Twitter, Facebook and your blog. The secret to locking down a mayorship on Foursquare.

moodyredhead: A not-too-brief lesson in telephone manners.

MemphisConnect: As they celebrate twenty years, an interview with Pezz.

No Rococo: Her variation on a Cambodian rice noodle salad.

River City Mud Company: He thinks Herenton showed his true self at his media event, and Derek’s appalled.

Ramblings of the Mad Cow: Your cute kitty moment of the day. Check surrounding posts for more kitty-overdose.

scribblescrawl: This post captures the transcendence of a live rock show remarkably well.

Smart City Memphis: Some thoughts and a bit of “I told you” about John Elkington, Mayor Herenton and Beale Street. A look at the Mid-South Angel Network. Thoughts on politicians putting their names on construction signs.

16 Balls in the Air: Some idle fantasies of a summer day. The Tennessee Rennaisance Festival is perfect for boys.

Minrose Gwin: Fifty years of fighting against racial segregation and disparities has still produced only limited results, she argues. (via the Commercial Appeal)

Commercial Appeal: The DeSoto County jail site selection process was “government at its best”. Although Beale Street exists to cater to a range of baser desires, it’s bad business to let them run uncontrolled.

Dan Conaway: “Memphis is et up with unique.” (via the Daily News)

John Branston: Regarding the Pyramid and Bass Pro Shops, what other option is there? (via the Flyer)

Randy Haspel: A lefty looks at Ronald Reagan. (via the Flyer)

Flyer: Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron Ramsey has some catching up to do in Memphis.

Reginald Tate: The State Senator says Shelby County “fared well” in the recent State budget. (via the Tri-State Defender)

Carlee McCullough: Tips on starting a business from a City of Memphis Contract Compliance officer. (via the Tri-State Defender)

Ask Myron: Honoring some of the foundational artists of popular music. (via the Tri-State Defender)