Main Street Journal - Friday, April 27, 2012

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Photo Credit: Kim Gurley  
Forward Into the Past!

 
The American Queen landed yesterday at the still-incomplete Beale Street Landing. Priscilla Presley will christen the ship today. The Riverfront Development Corporation will present final plans for the last of the work to government agencies next week. The riverboat is bringing back nostalgia. The Commercial Appeal’s rather gushy story; more from ABC24 and Fox13. Photo galleries from WREG, the CA.


County Redistricting: The lawyer asked to defend the County in the case before Chancellor Arnold Goldin, who was arguing with the Commission, Ron Krelstein, has been “asked to withdraw”.


Juvenile Court: The US Justice Department has released a report saying conditions at the court “violate the substantive due process rights of detained youth” especially in treatment of black youth. Judge Curtis Person is already implementing changes. The report finds consistent harsher treatment of black juveniles. Reactions from local parents. More from Fox13.


Municipal School Districts: The State House approved the bill to allow new MSDs and will vote today on the companion bill to allow public referenda to be held this year. More from Fox13.


Charter Schools: KIPP Memphis already operates two schools but hopes to increase that to ten schools with 4500 students by 2016.


Memphis City Schools: The first Annual Citywide High School Voter Registration is scheduled for today.


Healthcare: The TN Department of Health has barred the admission of new patients to the Faith Team Ministries home.


Politics: The State Senate unanimously passed the TN Works Act, which pays companies to retrain and rehire some workers. The Flyer’s Jackson Baker has a summary of bill status and progress as the General Assembly winds down.

The welfare drug testing bill passed the Senate on a lop-sided 24-9 vote. The bill to raise the minimum age of kindergarteners passed the Senate.


Judicial Selection: The State House approved the plan, which gives the governor nominating power and the General Assembly the power of consent, on a 70-24 vote. It’s already been through the Senate. Next year, it must again go through the Assembly and then face a Constitutional vote.


DeSoto County: Southaven’s Fire Department took possession of the first high-tech, extended cab ambulance in the County.


Governor Bill Haslam: His $31 billion budget package passed the House but minus some extra spending that had been tacked on. Bills he’s signed so far: “Saggy pants”.


Local Media: Fox13 unveiled their new lineup for their morning show, Good Morning Memphis. And it was largely a reteaming of their old anchor/reporter lineup!


Humane Society: Starting this morning and for the next 36 hours they will have an adopt-a-thon. Dozens of organisations and other animal societies are involved. More from ABC24. Society website.


Mississippi: Bars at The Square in Oxford will now be equipped with breathalysers. At the end of a long debate, the House approved a redistricting plan that kept black representation but cut some Democrats’ districts. Some Democrats still crossed over to support the plan. On a radio talk show, Governor Phil Bryant said of abortion supporters, “their one mission in life is to abort children, is to kill children in the womb”. A Republican Senate committee chairman, Hob Bryan, took the “fetal heartbeat” bill off the agenda, citing constitutionality. A gun store in Clarksdale had 48 firearms stolen; they were caught on surveillance video.


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NEW! INTERNET EXCLUSIVE! Conservatives Cannot Afford To Be Silent and Republicans Cannot Afford To Let Them is the message in this month’s column from our political/financial contributor Chuck Bates. It’s do or die.


NEW! INTERNET EXCLUSIVE! Our Tea Party contributor, Ed “Doc” Holliday has a monumental post likening the 2012 election campaign to the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War! And President Barack Obama is…General Robert E. Lee?


Internet Exclusive! Southpaw: Andria K. Brown looks at abstinence-only education, as enacted by the State, and wonders at their “modesty proposal”.
 


Unemployment: For Metro Memphis it continued to fall to 8.8%. For Shelby County specifically, it was 9.1%. For Memphis, specifically, it is 10.3%. The State report for March, 2012. (PDF document) More from the Commercial Appeal.


Javier Bailey: The troubled and controversial lawyer was disbarred this week by the State Supreme Court, on a conditional guilty plea involving case handling due diligence and questions about money. Bailey was directed by the court to pay restitution of $29,867 to 17 clients. He was the attorney who represented the family of West Memphis’ DeAunta Farrow. More from ABC24.


Transition Planning Commission: They heard from the committee that is proposing closing 21 various schools. There are no immediate plans to close any schools. More from WMC.


John Willingham: He has an interesting idea: hook up stationary paddlewheelers in the Mississippi River and plug them into the local electrical grid!


Southaven Mayor Greg Davis: The civil audit of Davis by State auditors may be nearing an end.
 
 


Crime: The Flyer looks at officers deaths in the past decade. An inmate at the Shelby County Correctional Center was caught trying to smuggle marijuana into the center.


Tennessee: Part of State Highway 385, already named Nonconnah Parkway, will now be named in honor of former governor Winfield Dunn. The state has received a competitive grant, Gear Up, to encourage seventh-graders to go to college.


TN Technology Development Corporation: The corporation is being placed to be the “lead advocate for the state’s innovation agenda” as LaunchTN.


Business: The economy is “growing moderately” says the American Trucking Association. Taylor Berger is becoming a big name in the Memphis restaurant industry. Local business is “going green”, says the Memphis Bioworks Business Association.

The Business Journal reports on People on the Move. The Commercial Appeal covers both What to do and People in Business. And the Daily News has both Today’s Events and Inked.


Brother International: They have earned a Energy Star rating for their Bartlett facility, from the Federal government.


Delta Air Lines: President Ed Bastian refused to address rumors about his company buying an oil refinery.


Wunderlich Securities: Six former Morgan Keegan executives are among the first pickups they company has scored.


Fred’s: Through their stores, the company has raised almost $640,000 for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.


Arkansas: A Social Security Administration worker has pleaded guilty to selling personal information.


Foreclosure: Area foreclosures were down again last month versus year-ago figures.


Picture of the Day

Hey, Mayor Wharton! Message for you, from FIX MEMPHIS by Cort. © 2012. Used with permission.

Opinion and Blogs

MemphisConnect: Guest poster Ben Adams makes a rather well-documented case that Memphis is a city of assets.
 
 


Bigger Than Your Head: Don’t let the name (”Dr. Pauly Bergweiler Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese 2009″) fool you. The wine of the week.


Best Memphis Burger: Your Memphis in May Downtown burger guide.


Dining With Monkeys: Team Oster heads out for Do Sushi to celebrate Mom’s birthday.


Empty Oven: She notes this is National Infertility Awareness Week, which has touched her life pretty profoundly.


East Memphis Moms: Some suggestions for vacationing on the Gulf of Mexico. Looking for something to do on Mother’s Day?


Fertile Ground: It’s official, they’re Midtown hipsters. They now have chickens.


hootenany: Cooking with the Green Egg to great success, including pork tenderloin, apple crisps and biscuits!


In the South, it’s a religion: Help her get to 10,000 page views and she has a surprise!


Mediaverse: Thoughts on Fox13’s “new old” morning show with its familiar lineup.


Ben Ferguson: He discusses the important issues. (via Fox13)


The Rant: A long jeremiad in which he appears to agree with capital punishment, though it’s not clear. (via the Flyer)


Creme de Memph: He takes you on a photo-tour of the Elmwood Cemetery.
 
 
 
 


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


Linda S. Wallace: Advice on thinking about what you say and how you say it. (via the Tri-State Defender)


Tarrin McGhee: Readin’, writin’ and ‘rithmetic is now becoming Touch, Talk, Read, Play. (via the Tri-State Defender)


Money Matters: Do not die without having a will in place. (via the Tri-State Defender)


Commercial Appeal: Is a separate court system really the best solution for veterans? KIPP Memphis and Porter-Leath “should be” a match made in heaven.


Bill Minor: Did new legislation set up the state as the next Nevada-style marriage mill? (via the Desoto Times Tribune)


Memphasis: He makes it clear, with humor and derision, he’s on the side of science and reason. (via the Daily News)


FUNdraising: How do we build communication and community? (via the Daily News)


Martin Harshberger: Never be afraid to hire a consultant, if you need one. (via the Daily News)


John Branston: He chronicles the City’s erratic, indifferently funded and variable commitment to the Mississippi River as a civic investment. (via the Flyer)


Amanda Meyers: Talking to infants is crucial to their development as healthy adults. (via the Flyer)