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Hidden in Plain Sight

 
While the numbers over a five year trend show crime is down, a study of numbers from the last year alone show crime is up dramatically in Memphis! Some categories of crime have gone up by 200%.

Transition Planning Commission: The commission voted 12-6 not to lobby the General Assembly against municipal school districts. They also might outsource student bussing. ABC24 reports on the Yacoubian poll on teacher and administrator opinions. A merged school system will allow MLG&W to start charging for water now provided gratis to MCS schools.

MCS Superintendent Dr Kriner Cash: He has withdrawn his name from consideration for the superintendent’s job in Charlotte-Mecklenberg County. The report from the Charlotte Observer. ABC24 looks at local teacher opinion. More from the Commercial Appeal, WMC, ABC24 and Fox13.

Memphis Budget: More councilmembers are waffling about their position on Mayor A C Wharton’s proposed budget.

State Senator Mark Norris: More on the Norris speech to the Shelby County Legislative delegation, and his defense of the suburbs’ school districts. The Flyer’s Jackson Baker traces that modern impulse all the way back to E. H. “Boss” Crump.

Municipal School Districts: The State Senate has sent its amended version of the bill allowing municipal referenda to create MSDs and implement them back to the House, setting up a conference committee which might allow its passage.

Education Reform: The Tri-State Defender has in-depth examination of the Parental Contract and the Parental Report Card bills. More from ABC24.

Memphis Animal Shelter: They will team up with the TN branch of the Urban Search and Rescue to identify and train search and rescue dogs. More from ABC24.

Election Season: The Shelby County Election Commission has certified the ballot of the August 2 election.

Solar Industry: A bill that would have increased taxes on solar businesses from virtually nothing to a minimal amount is dead for the session.

Politics: Fighting the law to keep the Occupy protesters off public lands by attacking a perceived threat to the homeless. Governor Bill Haslam may go along with the Legislature’s desire to end the gift tax. House Democrats unveiled an “alternative budget” for the State. (Link. PDF format.) The TN Dems’ press release on their budget. The House also approved, 80-18, a bill that would allow criminal prosecution for harming a fetus if in the first eight weeks of development. The bill to drug-test welfare recipients is “assured of passage” after some tweaks. The House passed a bill that would cut a person’s unemployment benefits if they turn down a job offering at least 75% of their former salary. More from the Tennessean. A proposal to require ethics disclosures for the State’s 3000+ planning commissioners. More legislative briefs.

The Senate Finance Committee cleared the path for the full Senate to give the TN Regulatory Authority a complete overhaul. More from the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

State House District 81: Now that Representative Jimmy Naifeh is retiring, a total of six candidates to replace him, including four Republicans.

Religious Freedom on Campus: Christian students at Vanderbilt are trying to get the attention of the university’s board to get them to rescind the “take all comers” rule at the school. The Senate is trying to craft a State law to make that happen. Fourteen religious groups at Vandy say they are “unwilling or unable to comply”. The Senate approved, 29-0, a law to allow free expression of “permissible” opinions in the classroom.

Tennessee Medical Association: Two Memphis doctors–Keith G. Anderson and Wiley T. Robinson–have been named to executive positions. More from the Commercial Appeal.

Memphis Junior Roller Derby: Yes, there is such a thing and it’s the fastest-growing sport for young women. There is also Memphis Roller Derby for adult women.

Second Amendment: The struggle over property rights versus 2A rights is nearing a full House vote. The NRA is trying hard to get that floor vote.

First Horizon National: The company saw a twelve cents per share net in quarterly profits. They are also increasing their stock buyback program. Shares still fell by 8%.

Memphis Farmers Market: It’s a full day again with a pet adoption and, for kids, Lima Bean Respect Day and a focus on greens.

NEW! INTERNET EXCLUSIVE! Tomeka Hart and Separate Schools: Regular contributor Mick Wright shows that Tomeka Hart, candidate for the Ninth Congressional District, working with Darrell Cobbins, doesn’t have the best interests of Shelby County’s surburban residents in mind when it comes to schools.

New! Internet Exclusive! Achievement School District Blog: The Communications Director of the ASD, Jeremy Jones, inaugurates an informational blog for us with updates on developments, plans and events for the six schools in Memphis they’ll direct. We’ll be updating the blog here as new entries (PDF document) get posted.

Unemployment: The unemployment rate continues its downward trend, to 7.9%. More from the Commercial Appeal. Why black unemployment will likely remain high in Memphis.

DeSoto County: Plans are underway for Saturday’s Earth Day commemoration in Hernando. The State Legislature passed a retroactive version of the Horn Lake hotel tax, which was accidentally expired last Summer. Tech schools will be added to the roster of County schools next Fall. The Board of Supervisors is considering wireless internet for some rural residents.

Dutch Treat Luncheon: The featured speaker this Saturday is Amy Weirich, Shelby County District Attorney. More information here.

Shelby County Commission: Commissioner Henri Brooks is pushing for testing every inmate in the County Jail upon release for HIV, to prevent community spread.

Overton Park Conservancy: The Flyer has a long article on the park, and the efforts to raise and allocate the money to maintain it.

Memphis City Schools: Grahamwood Elementary School is the first in a series of Farm to School Network schools that let students grow their schools’ vegetables.

Pat Summitt: The UT women’s basketball coach addresses her decision to step aside. The Tennessean writes a history of Summitt, and the CA has another. She will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom; more. Reaction from UT fans. And a tribute video.

Tennessee: The TBI reports an overall drop in crime, for the third year, though murder increased. A University of Memphis/Sparks Bureau of Business Economic Research study claims that “hundreds of millions” of dollars will enter the Memphis economy, and thousands of jobs, with the final enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. You can read the study. (PDF document)

Shelby County Corrections Center: WREG has a report claiming to uncover an enormous amount of illegal inmate behavior. An unrelated report on an inmate, Martez Wright, who was posting to Facebook from his cell!

Africa in April: This year’s honored country is the Republic of Mali. Festivities began yesterday. More information here.
 
 

Representative Steve Cohen: He is announcing a Federal procurement fair (DOC format) this Monday, for businesses that want to network with Federal agencies.

Business: From the Daily News, Inked and Today’s Events. People on the Move, in the Business Journal. From the Commercial Appeal, People in Business and What to Do.

Pinnacle Airlines: CEO Sean Menke is resigning on June 1. He will be succeeded by John Spanjers, Pinnacle’s COO. Spanjers will get a pay increase. More on Menke’s resignation from the Daily News, the CA, WMC.

Yarnell’s: The company had a major celebration with the restart of ice cream production. More from the Associated Press.

Mississippi: A new law allows for quicker weddings.

Islam in Tennessee: The lawsuit trying to block the construction of a mosque and community center in Rutherford will, at last, go to trial next week.

Nashville: With the Metro Arts Commission setting aside $75,000 for public art, a memorial to the Sixties Civil Rights movement might be coming. A driver’s license examiner, Larry Murphy, has been charged with assisting illegal immigrants in getting genuine drivers licenses.

Memphis International Airport: Monthly passenger totals are still dropping steeply with the changes behind Delta’s withdrawal of its hub.

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.

Yeah, and another thing: A personal rememberance of Levon Helm, on his passing yesterday.

What is a Carbunkle Trumpet? His top ten reasons why No Reservations should come to Memphis. Any more?

vibinc: In which he makes fun of Republicans.

Urf! Congratulations on four years of writing his own column in the CA.

theology & geometry: Twenty year old mix tapes with bonus singalong!

The Soundcheck and the Fury: Want to read the first paragraph of what might be his next story?

The Gates of Memphis: He’s glad to see signs of change in Memphis.

The Conservative Zone: Thoguhts on Battletech and Adepticon.

Squeaky Wheel Seeks Grease: She’s restarted her blog just in time for her fifth blogiversary. She gets tired of idiotic commenters and takes action.

Memphasis: Did the State Legislature really “vote to devolve”? (via the Daily News)

FUNdraising: The ABC’s of making a fundraising pitch. (via the Daily News)

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

Tennessean: The so-called “don’t say gay” bill

Gail Kerr: It’s time for the Southern Baptists’ Richard Land to move on. (via the Tennessean)

Commercial Appeal: An example of the paper making wildly over-inflated comparisons, tied to sympathy, to make a third, unrelated, point. The paper that never investigates or critiques FedEx calls the NRA bullies for standing up for a basic Constitutional right.

Frank Cagle: He makes the claim that Bill Haslam is the most powerful governor in 100 years. (via the Knoxville Metro Pulse)

Chattanooga Times: Will the State’s widening of 2A rights drive off potential business?

Chattanooga Free Press: Which should come first for a business:social justice and community welfare or profit?

Charles Sims, Jr: What is an IRA rollover and how can one benefit you? (via the Tri-State Defender)

Chef Timothy: Are you a sugarholic? It’s not healthy at all. (via the Tri-State Defender)