Photo Credit: YouTube
Goof or Threat?

More on the odd furor that has erupted over a nearly year-old video on YouTube, made by Cordova High School students. It was made on school property but nothing illegal or improper occurs. The video link, which has now been taken private. And the Drake and Zeke radio show link which ignited the situation. (Which still has the video. Language warning!)

Municipal School Districts: The State House voted Tuesday on a bill allowing Shelby County’s suburbs to schedule and hold referenda on MSDs this year. This came after the State Senate approved a similar bill. The bill was crafted so that, while it only applies to Shelby County, it is still a State-wide bill and therefore constitutional. More from ABC24.

Memphis Politics: At last, a regular link to WREG’s Informed Sources, their political discussion show. And, a reminder that the Daily News/WKNO talk show, Behind the Headlines, is also available archived online. Both are excellent viewing.

Education Reform: Teachers are divided over which of four evaluation models to use. A new group, Clergy United for Memphis Schools, came out in support of teachers in these pressured times.

Republican Presidential Primaries: Backers of Rick Santorum’s campaign in Tennessee were disappointed he’s dropped out of the race. More reports fom the Commercial Appeal. It’s moot now, but Santorum delegates to the GOP convention this Summer were complaining about delegate assignments.

Politics: The State Senate will vote on two competing plans to appoint State judges. House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick says that proposed changes to the TN Regulatory Authority by the Haslam administration will make the agency “less political”. Despite strong opposition and certain legal challenges, the bill to drug test welfare recipients continues to advance. The law that disbands the Court of the Judiciary heads to the governor for his signature. The bill to raise the limits on PAC fundraising is dead. A compromise bill to discipline judges is headed to the governor.

Second Amendment: Four proposals, all replacing the supposedly dead “guns in trunks” bill, were moved out of a State House subcommittee yesterday. Speaker of the House Beth Harwell says the bills will make a floor vote. More reports from the Tennessean, the Associated Press.

Great Streets/Healthy Communities: A partnership of Urban Land Institute Memphis and Partnership for Active Community Environments at the University of Memphis seeks “approximately 10 engineers, planners, policy makers and developers” to help with a video project as well as “pedestrians, bicyclists, elderly, children, wheelchair users, bus riders and drivers”. The ULI website.

Governor Bill Haslam: He believes his veto power is so weak there’s little point in using it. The Nashville Scene wonders if he’ll ever be “brave enough” to do so. He didn’t try to veto the “classroom discussion of scientific controversy” bill and it became law anyway. And the Scene criticises that. More on the so-called “monkey bill” from the Tennessean, the Commercial Appeal. Haslam’s press release.

Abortion: Two Tennesse legislators–US Congressman Marsha Blackburn and US Senator Bob Corker–are part of the opposition to a sex trafficking bill that also includes abortion referral.

Chattanooga: The question of whether they will be a “Bessie Smith Strut” at Riverbend comes down to obtaining liability insurance.

Mississippi: The State Senate approved the voter ID law, House Bill 921; more from the Associated Press, the Commercial Appeal. An abortion bill, Senate Bill 2771, would outlaw abortions if a heartbeat is detected. Another bill approved by the Senate would start schools no earlier than the third Monday in August. Governor Phil Bryant is leading a leading a trade delegation to South Carolina next month. A new law would allow the State’s colleges and universities to waive out-of-state tuition in some cases.

Hats Into Rings: Reformist education lobbyist Lee Harrell has entered the GOP primary for District 66, north of Nashville. The candidacy of Shelley Breeding, a Democrat running in the new District 89, is being questioned on residency requirements. The CA has an unofficial but complete list of all the candidates in Shelby County in the August 2 election. Ernest Chism won’t run for re-election for either Germantown Board of Mayor and Aldermen or the Shelby County school board.

Internet Exclusive! Hotel Chisca: The Downtown Memphis Commission’s Paul Morris makes the case that it’s now or never for the Hotel Chisca. Either we save it now or knock it down!

Downtown: Environmental Court Judge Larry Potter ruled that the City of Memphis can repair a retaining wall and then tear down the building at 118 Madison Avenue. The new Railroad and Trolley Museum opened this week.

“Check Engine Light”: Joe at MemphisShelbyInform encountered this problems before an auto inspection and has rare praise for Congressman Steve Cohen.

University of Memphis: Is Tiger basketball coach Josh Pastner leaving for a position at LSU? The Tiger Rag story that started the speculation.

Millington: Three candidates are announced for the August 2 new part-time mayoral office.

Bartlett: The president of Herbi-Systems, Kenny Crenshaw, was named the Bartlett Area Chamber of Commerce’s Entrepreneur of the Year. Mayor Keith McDonald, along with other community education officials, warned legislators in Nashville that “primary control of [the unified] school system would lie with [Memphis] as opposed to the other municipalities”. The town is planning a budget for next year that, even with a possible new school district, won’t see tax increases.

New Madrid Quake: We are in the becentennial of that event and the National Earthquake Conference is happnening here.

Aerotropolis: US Senator Lamar Alexander, speaking at this week’s Mid-South Aerotropolis Conference, said we “have what it takes to be the best aerotropolis in the world”. Proponent John Kasarda urged Memphis to look beyond our blighted present to what we can become. More reports from ABC24, WMC.

Memphis Economic Club: Notes from Art Laffer’s speech and an earlier private meeting on Monday.

Business: Businesswoman Carolyn Hardy is interviewed on WREG’s Live@9. The secret code names for the State’s economic development schemes to bring various businesses to the state. Small business lending in the state has increased by $172 million since they tapped the Federal Small Business Lending Fund; more from the CA. The NFIB survey of business optimism showed a 2 percent drop, the first decline in six months.

People on the Move, from the Business Journal. The Daily News reports Memphis Newsmakers and Today’s Events. And the Commercial Appeal reports What to Do and People in Business.

Cracker Barrel: The board of directors have proposed another “poison pill” plan to protect the company from investor Sardar Biglari. More from the Tennessean.

Pinnacle Airlines: The pilots union plans to picket today over delays in paying pilots.

Nashville: The Metro schools have proposed a $723 million budget for the 2012-13 school year. The I-24 bridge downtown will be closed for the next 13 weekends.

DeSoto County: A new Hernando director of planning has been chosen in Jared Darby. Two new House districts and a new Senate district mean a larger voice for the County in Jackson. Horn Lake will now try to fill the Chamber of Commerce’s executive director position.

TVA: They are stockpiling cold river water to prepare for a hot Summer season of cooling reactors.

Internet Exclusive: Southpaw: When he came to Memphis in the days before his assassination, Rev Dr Martin Luther King saw the city as a launching point for radical change, a point mostly lost to popular history. We can still be those people and that city!

Internet Exclusive: What Is “Stand Your Ground”? Regular contributor Craig Harper looks at Tennessee’s “Stand Your Ground” law, telling you what it is and what it covers. Clear and factual information.

Jerm’s Baby Blog: His little baby is suddenly three years old.

Just a Girl in the world: She has a list!

Lean Left: Their blog isn’t dead and he posts a screed on Thomas Kincade.

LeftWingCracker: Get drunk with other Democrats this Thursday. Every other week.

Living Loud in Midtown: A long weekend, a banana sundae, bike news and a lot of links to explore.

MAKE IT HAPPEN: She admits she injured her shoulder…four weeks ago!

matters of merrymaking: Easter Sunday in an orange dress. And the Overton Square Crawfish Festival.

Memphis Foodie: He heads into the Kwik Check on Madison and discovers a “a pretty freaking good sandwich”.

MemphisConnect: The East Buntyn ArtWalk is this Sunday. Forty regional artists in a variety of media.

Mr Brame’s Blog: He’s posting a poem a day in April for National Poetry Month! Tuesday’s entry is William Butler Yeats’ The Lake Isle of Innisfree. And a bonus entry for the opening of baseball season.

David M. Hilliard Jr: The religion or religiosity of a presidential candidate isn’t the best test for fitness. (via the Tennessean)

The Fox13 Insiders: Kevin Gallagher and Mark Skoda take on Tuesday’s tough issues.

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

Commercial Appeal: Memphis is better off with a smaller Pinnacle Airlines than with no Pinnacle at all? “Coaches, teachers and school administrators” need an attitude check on bullying.

John Branston: Thoughts on “right-sizing” locals sports and their venues. (via the Flyer)

J. Eustis Corrigan Jr: For start-ups, the “choice of entity” discussion can be decisive. (via the Daily News)

Guerrilla Sales & Marketing: People remember your successes and not so much your failures. (via the Daily News)

Cole Epley: How he learned about the shooting at ServiceMaster’s East Memphis HQ shows how much the news reporting landscape has changed. (via the Memphis Business Journal)

Knoxville News-Sentinel: They support retaining what they admit is an unconstitutional process for choosing judges.

State Representative Janis Sontany: Honoring Representative Lois DeBerry on several fronts. (via the Tennessean)

Bill Minor: The MS Economic Council’s Blueprint Mississippi would be a plan to use education to get the State off the economic bottom. (via the Desoto Times Tribune)

Dale Lilly: Gerontophobia is fear of something you cannot avoid. (via the Desoto Times Tribune)