Race to the Top: Governor Phil Bredesen credits two Memphians — Tomeka Hart and Teresa Sloyan with much of the success of the State’s application.

Metro Charter Commission: A task force is recommending that areas to be annexed be allowed to vote before the annexation.

Oakland: Challenger Scott Ferguson wins the mayor’s race. More from Eyewitness News, WMC, WREG. Some voter and official confusion.
 

City of Memphis: More on the X-52 oil additive flap and the City funds that paid for it.

Holiday Schedules: Between Good Friday, Easter, Passover and the MLK observance, trash pickup schedules will change for many. (And other Shelby County news in the article.)

The Wharton Administration: Mayor A C Wharton is weighing whether or not to get involved in the firing of J. D. Sewell. WMC has Sewell’s police employee file. Fire Station 16, where an inflammatory picture of the mayor was posted, honored him yesterday by naming a fire engine after him. More from WMC.

In related Fire Department news, Eyewitness News has a report on the very handsome salaries some command staff make.

DeSoto County: The Boy Scouts’ Camp Currier is in line for $7 million in renovations. A decision on the site for the new County jail is expected in about a month. DeSoto now ranks third in population for the state’s counties; more from Eyewitness News. (stories via the DeSoto Times Tribune) Walls town clerk Carol Grace is resigning. More on the County’s discount prescription card plan.

Shelby County Sheriff’s Office: Pursuant to new State law, they are determining which confiscated guns can be resold. More from WMC.

Politics: Democratic State Representative Mike Turner, who is also a Nashville fire captain, was caught speeding and driving on an invalid driver’s license, so he called for a fire truck to drive his car to the station? The Associated Press story. Captain Ben Leming is now the Democratic candidate in the Sixth Congressional District.

David Goetz, Finance Commissioner, is predicting the State will be $75 million short in this year’s budget.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike McWherter has lent $1 million to his campaign; more from the Commercial Appeal. He’s also called out Republicans for opposing national health care. And now rumors that fellow Democrat Kim McMillan is dropping out of the governor’s race to run for mayor of Clarksville! Republican Bill Haslam has a new TV ad running.

The farm animal cruelty bill has died in the House. A State House committee passed the “coverage assessment” (ie. hospital bed tax); it now goes to another committee before a floor vote. The “English-only driver’s license” bill continues moving through the House. A bill to prevent use of taxpayer money in local referendum campaigns has died. Does a deadlock in the Legislature mean secret corporate political donations? More on the Senate vote approving the ban on a State income tax. (All 4 Memphis Democratic senators voted against it.) More on this from the Daily News. Legislators killed a package of “predatory lending” bills put forward by Memphis-area representatives.

The TN Tea Party Coalition will be protesting natioanl health care on the Plaza in Nashville today. The Memphis TEA Party claims to have made no fundraising or expenditures in the last six months of 2009.

Germantown: Riverdale Park will host an innovative playground design.

University of Memphis: The Faculty Senate passed a motion to urge the school to stop subsidising athletics; more in the Commercial Appeal. Cutbacks in the McWherter Library’s hours are driving late-night computer students to the UC Lab and a Facebook protest. The campus chapter of NORML is looking forward to April activities. (stories via the Daily Helmsman)

West Tennessee: Community churches are banding together to help the needy by creating the non-profit Ken-Tenn Foodbank. (via NWTN Today)

Real Estate: Memphis-area home sales fell over 6% in February.

FedEx: Subsidiary FedEx Express continues to expand its international economy and economy freight services around the world. More from the Commercial Appeal.

Main Street Journal: Jonathan Devin takes us inside The Grove as Faith Baptist goes to camp.

UPDATED! Zoo & Overton Park: A collision of Sprink Break for Memphis schools and a record-breaking free day at the Zoo leads to fights, and then random gunfire in the neighborhood and the park leads to a police presence.

Mayor A C Wharton has released a statement about yesterday’s incident.

UPDATED! RebuildGovernment: Anti-consolidation group Save Shelby County (website here) have offered an ethics primer to the “Metro Charter Commission discussion support” group. County Commission candidate Terry Roland issued a press release stating his opposition to the Metro Charter Commission and RebuildGovernment as agents of consolidation.

Memphis v. Nashville: Nashville’s alternative transportation experiments continue with WeCar, an open-membership, vehicle-sharing program.

Shelby County Commission: Commissioner Henri Brooks sparks up and gets into high dudgeon.

David Kernell: The judge hearing the case of Kernell’s alleged hacking of vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s email account has denied a request to dismiss a charge from defense attorneys. More from Eyewitness News. The Main Street Journal has an archive of early stories on this case.

Germantown: The Kiwanis Club’s famous all-you-can-eat Pancake Day is this Saturday! The Tennessee Shakespeare Company is bringing an all-female Julius Caesar to City Hall this week. (stories via the Germantown News)

Tennessee: A breakdown of the potential numbers and costs of national health care and increased TennCare. A majority of students across the state are reading at or below proficiency. Thirty-eight people have been charged with defrauding TennCare.

Television: Former area native and now television producer Cal Boyington is trying to bring some shows to the Mid-South. Emma Armstrong of BBDO, speaking to the American Advertising Federation Memphis, says broadcast television is far from over.

iAirport Cities Conference and Exhibition: A major delegation from the city and county is headed to Beijing for this international trade show, and to accept the hosting duties for the 2011 exhibition. In fact, landscaping work is already underway out at the airport.

Business: Swoozie’s (which operates one Mempis store) has gone out of business. National Drayage Services will handle intermodal services for Carrier Services of Tennessee. GlaxoSmithKline is launching a free vaccine service.

A business profile of website developers Click-Boom, from the Germantown News. And, a Commercial Appeal business profile of Strategic Alternatives LLC, a coffee-shop apparel company.

From the Daily News, people in business. Also, People in Business and What to Do, from the Commercial Appeal.

National Federation of Independent Business: They are warning businesses in five Mississippi River states that the Federal government will inspect 180 businesses for violations of illegal immigrant hiring laws.

Arkansas: West Memphis police and other officials are upset they can only keep $250,000 of $2 million seized in a drug bust; more from WREG.

Mississippi: Entergy has gotten State approval to raise rates but couple with another approved change rates will balance out. More from WMC. Tax collections for March may actually exceed projections! And the State’s unemployment rate dropped to 12%. The governor signed new laws for releasing people acquitted via insanity.
 

Financial: BankTennessee has formalised their lending and credit oversight arrangement with the Federal Reserve of St Louis. More from the Daily News, the Commercial Appeal. Paragon National Bank is marking their fifth anniversary by helping customers donate to one of five different charities.

Recording Academy Memphis Chapter: They will host a one-day professional development conference in April.

Quite Swimmingly: A catch-up post that is, unfortunately, mostly bad news.

The Intersection of Madness and Reality: Lamont Sanford: a true black American loser-hero. (mild language alert)

The Conservative Zone: Thoughts on politics, hate speech and labels.

Steve’s Nude Memphis Blog: This post is all over the place but entertaining along the way. Maybe.

What is a Carbunkle Trumpet? His favorite shirt nears the end of its life.

Joe Spake’s Weblog: Thoughts on the never-happened Midtown Target.

The MakeShift Revolution: Now that she’s the mother of a bolter, she’s not so judgmental of moms who use a leash.

Commercial Appeal: Blaming former mayor Herenton for a lack of administrative oversight.

Beverly Marrero: The State Senator disagrees with the Freedom from Coercion Act just passed in the Senate. (via the Commercial Appeal)

DeSoto Time Tribune: Looking to Tennessee and their successful “Race to the Top” application.

Jackson Sun: Now that the State has won the “Race to the Top” results are expected.

Tennessean: Decrying the “violent tone” in politics, but mostly blaming Republicans.