Photo Credit: City Council Website
If You Build It
They Will Come

 
The big issue for today’s Memphis City Council meeting will be hearing details of the start of construction on Bass Pro Shops, and two resolutions involving redevelopment of the Cook Convention Center and the Pinch District. The meeting agenda is here and the Council website is here. More on the start of construction from Fox13. The Council will also revisit the controversial issue of portraits. It’s a full slate today.

City-County School Consolidation: The next step in the process of a unified district: a new all-county school board. Noting a difference in language in some of the proposals. The shadow of integration still lingers over the County. The City schools have begun sending information to the Shelby County schools, pre-consolidation.

Germantown: The town is considering several options, after the Federal ruling on the Shelby Unified School District, including hiring a municipal school consultant. More from Fox13.

Memphis City Schools: There were 300+ layoffs between the end of May and July of this year. Even as there is a surplus of teachers, the City schools are contracted with Memphis Teacher Residency program to train more and, if possible, hire them. After furious debate, the school board approved the Race to the Top-funded contract with MTR. It is funded through the Gates Foundation to tap new sources of teachers.

Bass Pro Shops/Pyramid: The new Bass Pro Shops is expected to have a revitalising effect on the Pinch District.
 
 

Suzette York: The murdered principal Memphis Junior Academy was laid to rest yesterday. More from WMC and the Commercial Appeal.

Arkansas: Long hair? Short skirts? Saggy pants? You kids get off my lawn!

Morgan Keegan: A deal is expected to be announced by the end of the month.

Tennessee: More workers moved into than moved out of the state, according to Atlas Van Lines. Two top appointed members of the Education Department’s testing division (Dan Long, director, and Stan Curtis, the division’s assistant director) resigned suddenly last week, over the request for a waiver for No Child Left Behind.

Business: People on the Move, caught by the Business Journal. People in Business and What to Do, answered by the Commercial Appeal. And Today’s Events, enumerated in the Daily News.

Pinnacle Air Lines: Their acquisition of Mesaba Aviation is credited for a 7 percent increase in passenger count. More from the Commercial Appeal.

Amazon.com: Trying to force State tax collection on Amazon in California has led to this result..

Schnuck’s: They have ended their customer card and fuel-reward program, “Pump Up the Savings”. Accrued rewards can still be redeemed through mid-month September.

Elvis Presley Boulevard: Private investors are coming forward with funds to remake and revitalise the area.

DeSoto County: The Board of Supervisors approved a budget of $111 million for next year, which is smaller than the current budget. MDOT has updated their list of road projects for the County. If State money comes through, bike paths and walking trails will connect Central Park to Snowden Grove Park. Olive Branch holds a public meeting on their town budget tonight, which has no tax increase and a 2% raise.

Memphis in May: After the stage collapse in Indiana that killed five, officials at MIM are reviewing their own policies.

TVA: While they are cutting next month’s fuel surcharge, expect a rate hike in October.

Tennessee at War: Remains identified as eleven TN soldiers who were killed in the Mexican-American War in 1846, may yet be returned to the United States for reburial. Thanks to State and Federal money, and the National Civil War Trust, the battlefield of the Battle of Franklin has been rescued from its asphalt burial. The TN Digital Newspaper Project aims to get about 100,000 pages of the state’s newspapers from the Civil War era online in searchable formet.

Gas Prices: Sluggish economy means lower prices. The Memphis average is $3.50/gallon, according to MemphisGasPrices.com

NEW! INTERNET EXCLUSIVE: We present a special summary excerpt from Judge Samuel Mays’ ruling on the school consolidation case, a quick read that gets you up-to-date on the issues and challeges remaining.

Internet Exclusive: On The Money: Debt Deals, Tax Steals and Class Warfare: Our finanacial contributor Chuck Bates explains the debt ceiling debate and the deal that was made last week.

7: With two weekend deaths, the Shelby County heat death toll now stands at seven. Both victims had air conditioners, but weren’t using them. Officials have not released their names. More from WMC and the Commercial Appeal.

Northaven: ABC24 follows up their story on crime and gangs in the neighborhood. Man charged in Northaven gang fight that wounded two.

Bartlett: The Bartlett Area Chamber of Commerce is entering the second phase of Vision 20/20, their targetted economic development plan.

Overton Square: Adding to their holdings in the Square, Loeb Properties is acquiring the Yosemite Sam’s club. A short history of the club. No word from Memphis Heritage if they will try to save the 99 year old building. More from ABC24.

State Education Reform: The TN Virtual Academy, the State’s first online-only, virtual school is now open–to students and to criticism. It currently has 2100 students enrolled.

Shelby County Schools: The Truancy Reduction Initiative hopes to take enforcement up a degree by going after teachers and administrators, too.

Memphis Police Department: MPD Colonel Lori Bullard has been hired away and will now be the Assistant Commissioner of Driver Services for the State of Tennessee, with her old boss, Larry Godwin; more from WMC. She will be in charge of efforts to streamline the process for obtaining photo ID in drivers stations ahead of next year’s elections. The COACT (Community Action) units are to be disbanded in favor of community policing. There are 16 COACT units, but only 8 are funded. More from WMC and the Commercial Appeal.

Mississippi: Repairs on Highway 78 at the Marsall/DeSoto County line are welcome news to travellers. The rumors of students in Senatobia being graded on their school supplies are not true. And plans for Highway 72, which has been worked over for decades, will widen the last stretch of road.

Politics: Finance Commissioner Mark Emkes says the State’s nascent $28 million budget/revenue surplus should be saved, just in case. The longer, more detailed, Associated Press story. The TN Republican Party has “condemned” an effort to abolish the Electoral College in favor of direct election of presidents. East TN State Senator Ryan Haynes claims he was the victim of “Facebook fraud” and had his identity briefly stolen; the problem is now corrected.

Governor Bill Haslam: A loan guarantee that Haslam failed to report and then assigned to a friend is raising questions and predictable Democratic outrage.

Representative Steve Cohen: He is one of 69 members of Congress calling for the closure of the controversial School of the Americas.

Real Estate: New home permits in Shelby County were up 12% in July. The TN Housing Market survey report for the second quarter of 2011; the news isn’t good. (PDF document)

Internet Exclusive: Bloomberg’s Money: What Does It Mean For Memphis? New contributor Craig Harper tells us what to expect with Mayor Bloomberg’s grant to Memphis for fighting “juvenile handgun violence”.

Internet Exclusive: China – Capitalism in a One Party System: State Representative Mark White returned from a trip to China with observations on how can you keep a one-party state happy when the young have tasted democracy?

Joe Spake’s Daily Buzz: The rest of the day’s news, from all sorts of eclectic places.

Smart Stuff 4 Work: The pursuit of happiness and making people believe you have an answer. (via the Daily News)

The Worldly Investor: We’ve seen recession before. (via the Daily News)

Paul Armentano and Paul Kuhn : Is marijuana the state’s largest cash crop, and should we legalise and tax it? (via the Tennessean)

Michael Gunter Jr: Advice for parents sending their kids off to college for the first time. (via the Tennessean)

Dr Manoj Jain: The silent killers are often easily treatable if the victims know they have them. (via the Commercial Appeal)

Commercial Appeal: Making excuses for the failure to improve student performance. Arguing that all online retailers who sell in-state should pay taxes?

Midtown, Middle Class, Medium Rare: Perserverance and “jazz sounds better in cooler weather”.

Memphis Lagniappe: Some brief bits about the closing of Yosemite Sam’s.

MAKE IT HAPPEN: Powering through the illness and the payoff.

Lean Left: Thoughts on Perry or Bachmann versus Obama.

Hustle and Sew: A couple of projects: Bomb Pop crochet eyeglass case and heart-shaped earmuffs.

Floating, Floating, and Floating with Travilis: Spiderman memes. (NSFW) “Indie Travis” and the life he wants to live, including theme song.

East Memphis Moms: News from mommyland, East Memphis chapter. Also, tips and recommendations on grocery shopping out east.

Dinner Belles: If you don’t know about Lit, then repair the deficiency in your kitchen education! When freezing is smarter than fresh.

Commontaries: A short, pungent thought on Matt Pepper.

Born-Again Hippies: Personal memories of Overton Square in its heyday.

bethgsanders: The blessings box and an aside on typography, too.

Bigger Than Your Head: Great wines, transparency and great music-making. Latina lesbians and wine marketing.

Benito’s Wine Reviews: German rieslings and glass stoppers.

Air Traffic Mike’s: He falls in love … with green beans. Chili cheese-dog pizza.