Photo Credit: US Drought Monitor
Water, Water, Nowhere to be Found

 
Parts of the State are in a state of “severe drought”. The progress of drought conditions across the State. Learn more about drought conditions. Lack of rain is a big problem in the Mid-South.

Firefighters are checking on the elderly during the heat wave. Trying to stay cool.

Federal Hearing: Judge Hardy Mays has set Monday as the date for a status coference with all parties to the school consolidation/suburban school districts case. Now that six municipalities have set dates for school district referenda, the issue is “ripe”, in legal parlance. County mayor Mark Luttrell talks with the Tri-State Defender about the County’s lawsuit.

Juvenile Court: Former mayor and current charter school head Dr Willie Herenton wants to open a charter school for students in the Juvenile Court system.

Planned Parenthood: Despite cries of their demise after the County switched Title X health care to Christ Community Health Services, Congressman Steve Cohen hooked them up with a three-year $395,000 Federal grant to keep them operating. The grant will give them about half of the lost State funding. More from ABC24.

Shelby County Elections: New library cards being issued by the Memphis Public Library system will also serve as a legal voting ID; and it is free. A pair of public meetings with members of the Election Commission, State officials and concerned Democratic voters seems to have cleared up any accusations of improper purging of voter rolls.

Innovation Delivery Team: The Tri-State Defender has a a long examination of the three-pronged strategy for the two focuses for Mayor A C Wharton’s plan for rehabilitation.

Affordable Care Act: According to the New York Times, the Act will cost Tennessee $716 million in 2014.

Politics: The newly- reconstituted TN Regulatory Authority can’t meet because it doesn’t have an executive director nor three of five board members. Democratic State Senator Rosalind Kurita lost her Federal appeal over her ouster as the candidate in a State primary in 2008.

Farmers Markets: The Boys and Girls Clubs are getting schoolkids interested in the Garden to Groceries program, to encourage good eating habits and smart business.

Real Estate: Mortgage rates hit a new low this week. It is now at 3.62% for 30-year mortgages.

Catholic Charities: They are expanding their outreach to the community’s poor with mobile pantry.

DeSoto County: Former president Bill Clinton will be the VIP guest of honor at the debut of the MyCar all-electric auto by GreenTech in Horn Lake. Olive Branch will spend over $420,000 on street repairs. From the Commercial Appeal, there’s Top of the News and the community Bulletin Board.

Internet Exclusive! Operation Broken Silence: This anti-human trafficking organisation has been working to raise their profile in Shelby County and helping to get Shelby County governments to be aware of the problems of human trafficking here at home.

Nashville: The Metro Transit Authority is looking to buy or lease between 10 to 20 used busses to beef up their fleet for expanded routes later this year.

Blight: Trash in South Memphis has been piling up since May.

Downtown: The Memphis Music Commission is sponsoring daily musical events on the Main Street Trolley.

Lakeland: The school system resource center for the community. Former mayor Jim Bomprezzi says the city cannot afford its own school district. He warns that residents may end up paying more than Memphians.

Team Taboo: As the team is looking to recruit more members, and some members are making new videos, Club Elements faces court.

Memphis Police Department: The police and the Mid-South Peace & Justice Center are working together to create community dialogues to address some citizens’ issues with the police.

Cordova Annexation: Where will the children go to school? Residents are organising, claiming they want to vote on the annexation move. A public meeting will be held for residents to answer their questions. Mayor A C Wharton is working to “make it right”. Residents are “shocked”.

Millington: The fifth annual National Youth Baseball Championship will be sponsored by HotelPlanner.com.

Business: The Commercial Appeal is running a contest you can vote in for the “100 Things to Eat in Memphis Before You Die”.

The Business Journal covers People on the Move. You’ll find Inked and Today’s Events covered by the Daily News.

Fred’s Comparable year-over-year sales were down 4% for June. More from the Commercial Appeal.

FedEx: The complete acquisition of Rapidao Cometa, of Brazil.

Delta Air Lines: Memphis is trying to keep their former hub, increase flights and reduce fares, but the company saw increased efficiencies from the reduced flights.

Walgreen’s: They have acquired the USA Drug chain (operating as Super D Drugs in the Mid-South), which will strengthen the chain’s presence in the South.

Mississippi: The smoking ban at Ole Miss may be hard to enforce.

Shelby County: Learn more about how the County and its departments work by attending the Shelby County Citizens’ University.

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

Bigger Than Your Head: The wine of the week.

Confessions of a West Tennessee Liberal: How to decide between school board candidates?

Creme de Memph: The last three carriage steps in Memphis.

Dining With Monkeys: Team Oster straps on the feed bag and heads out to Chow Time, but she won’t ever go back. She finds things more to her liking at Mango’s.

Doug Johnson at Work: Someone’s been on vacation in Hawaii. Sunday morning quiet time.

Floating, Floating, and Floating With Travilis: He got the job but notices something odd during orientation…. Guys, maps and losing your way.

hootenany: Happy birthday, America.

I Love Memphis: When it’s hot, find a pool. Kerry can help wit that. Food trucks out on the Ridgway Loop? Anyone else remember this vintage commercial?

I’ll be the one in heels: Things she’ll miss about Memphis after living here for 26 years.

Living Loud in Midtown: Fourth of July in Midtown. He leads an interesting, adventure-filled life.

MAKE IT HAPPEN: Twenty days of bronchitis.

Tennessean: Why the discovery of the Higgs boson such a big deal. (BTW, a short, clear video that actually makes the explanation understandable!)

Michael Haynes: Can there be such a thing as too much liveliness downtown? (via the Knoxville Metro Pulse)

Frank Cagle: A satirical syllabus for biology classes thanks to the TN Legislature. (via the Knoxville Metro Pulse)

Cyril F. Chang: A rather even-handed analysis of the choices we face in healthcare under Obamacare, or not. (via the Commercial Appeal)

Commercial Appeal: If the cost of college keeps going up for families and students, how can we expect more people to go to college? The planting of 1000 trees is good for the greening of Downtown Memphis.

Memphis Flyer: Allowing the municipalities to go forward with municipal school districts would create “multiple train wrecks”.

Memphasis: They’re not racists, they just use race and are motivated by race? (via the Daily News)

FUNdraising: Unlease your people’s creativity and energy with “Stop. Look. Listen.” (via the Daily News)

Charles Sims Jr You need to factor in the costs of long-term caregiving into your retirement plans. (via the Tri-State Defender)

Dr Timothy Moore: Health insurance is no substitute for eating the right foods. (via the Tri-State Defender)