Funding The MED: Local legislators and officials from The MED are in Nashville, fighting for funding.

Kelly English: The chef from Restaurant Iris will appear in the Food Network program, The Best Thing I Ever Ate.

Shelby County Schools: Even though they’ve moved, many families want to stay in County schools, rather than transfer to Memphis City schools.

County Pension Fund: More on the slight loss in value of the fund in January.

Sivad: Fox13 remembers the great host of Fantastic Features. A film festival in his honor is coming up; here’s another website. Watch the opening of Fantastic Features.
 

Collierville: The Board of Mayor and Aldermen vote to modernise the town’s warning systems. (via the Collierville Independent)

Arkansas: Tea party protesters show up when Senator Blanche Lincoln files her candidacy papers.

Business: The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book for the Eighth District says there are signs of economic improvement; related Associated Press story. Report here. Aluma-Form is expanding its manufacturing capabilities.

Verso Paper’s sales were down while earnings were up for 2009.

A business profile of Patty Cakes Cafe, from the Collierville Independent. A professional interview with James “Jami” Ferrell, the founder of The Ferrell Law Firm, in the Daily News.

From the CA, People in Business and What to Do.

Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC: With the assistance of Memphis Area Legal Services, they are starting Homeless Experience Legal Protection, to provide pro bono legal service to the homeless.

Real Estate: According to the Memphis Area Association of Realtors, January home sales were down almost a quarter! Latting Road Partners LLC, of which Rusty Hyneman is a partner, has been ordered to pay Cadence Bank over $2 million.

West Tennessee: The Madison County Non-Profit Agencies Committee meets later this month and early words is that money will be very tight. Among the ten towns selected for the Tennessee Downtowns revitalisation program are Milan and Martin. The Tennessee Health Care Campaign has scheduled a regional conference in Dyersburg next weekend. (via the Dyersburg State Gazette) The TN Emergency Management Agency will conduct reviews of buildings and other critical infrastructure in Obion, Lake, Weakley, Dyer, and Gibson counties for earthquake preparedness. (via NWTN Today) Two minors have been arrested in connection with the community playground fire in Covington.

Spirit of Memphis The “community engagement meeting” hopes to fight the perception that Memphis is a “miserable” city.

Funeral Consumers Alliance of the Mid-South: For folks looking for green burials.

DeSoto County: The Southaven man, Bo Robberson, who wants crosses on benches in the new County courthouse removed, had his day in court … on charges of shoplifting and disorderly conduct. The Commercial Appeal picks up the story. County officials presented their wish lists to the national legislative delegation from MS.

Survey Says: TN has been selected by Site Selection magazine as one of the top five states for economic development performance in 2009; they also ranked us 9th for corporate expansions. A slight majority of Tennesseans object to the Obama administration’s major initiatives; more in the Business Journal and the Commercial Appeal. Here’s a shocker: the media is over-estimating the tea party movement’s importance. Memphis is ranked 9 for new and expanded corporate facilities.

Victorian Village: Two of the historic homes will re-open now that a new manager has been hired.
 
 
 
 
 

Main Street Journal: Joe Saino has some Questions Concerning Consolidation.

Tire Redemption Program: It will resume on March 8! More from WMC, the Commercial Appeal.

The Wharton Administration: Long lines still persist at auto inspection stations and the City is considering more changes to address that.

Beale Street: City Council chairman Harold Collins is open to a settlement of claims over money that turns Beale over to the City. Also, the thirty-year old buttresses on Gallina Building have developed an iconic status.

Sexually-Oriented Businesses: The County Commission is preparing to start enforcement of the new, restrictive ordinances controlling SOBs, after a court rejected another appeal.

Cohen v. Herenton: Local ministers react to Willie Herenton’s letter on his positions, especially gay marriage. More on the letter itself from WMC. Herenton has loaned his campaign a small, unidentified amount of money. US Rep. Steve Cohen has filed a bill to transfer $10 billion in “unspent” TARP funds into job training and public works projects, available to cities like Memphis!

Memphis City Schools: Make-up days for snow days have now been scheduled; more in the CA. Administrators have a major school rezoning plan upcoming. The competition and struggle between the MCS and Memphis Police over who will control school security is actually helping police/school relations. The board of education has set the parameters of how Superintendent Kriner Cash’s evaluation will be determined.

Hispanic Business: A man, Tobey Becton, has been arrested and another man, David Cortez, is being sought in connection with a recent string of Hispanic business robberies. More from WMC, WREG.

Conventions: 2010 promises to be a bad convention year for Memphis.

Industrial Development Board: Technicolor’s $45 million expansion will be included in their PILOT tax abatement.

Politics: An MTSU poll shows the six major candidates for governor are still unknown to most Tennesseans. The General Assembly is serious this year about finishing on time.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Haslam has released his plan for 10-13 regional “Jobs Base Camps” to coordinate jobs development. (PDF document) Haslam is accusing his rivals of playing politics with his Pilot Oil fortune as Democrats join the game. Democratic candidate Mike McWherter says he’ll put his fortune into a blind trust. Republican Zach Wamp will remain in Congress while he campaigns.

State lawmakers took a break to head to practice some firearms shooting. “English-only” small workplace bill advances unanimously in House committee. The House is considering legislation to give mothers of stillborn babies a birth certificate. The Senate Education Committee actually keeps a pledge made 85 years ago! A bill to allow drive-through beer sales is, with modifications, moving forward. A bill would freeze the legislators’ per diem at $185/day.

Harold Ford Jr proposes a deficit reduction idea. State Comptroller Justin Wilson has given tens of thousands of dollars to various state Republican interests in the past couple of years.

Mississippi: The State Senate votes to restore $82 million in budget cuts; more in the Commercial Appeal. They also voted to shorten the school year by five days. Ole Miss‘ Student Leadership Advisory Council will select the students for the committee to choose a new school mascot.

Beale Street Music Festival: The full music lineup has been announced.
 
 

Tennessee: State and national officials think Tennessee is in line to receive the Race to the Top funds. A study is going forward on a third bridge across the Mississppi River, location to be decided..

University of Memphis: Student philanthropy group Up Til Dawn raised over $1 million for St Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The campus will celebrate Women’s History Month.

Millington: The West Tennessee Veterans Home Steering Committee wants to build a 150-bed veterans’ care facility in the town.

sharp stick in the eye: Check out the DIY wall-length bookshelp they made!

short + rose: Knitting geekery or, as she calls it, “porn for knitters”.

Speak to Power: Digging a little deeper into the weird legislative parental-custody goings-on with Rep. G. A. Hardaway. Press passes for bloggers? Civilisation continues to crowd out the frontier….

Sassy Molassy: An interview with A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True author Brigid Pasulka.

Quite Swimmingly: Linden Avenue rant and some fear over chest pains.

Pretty in Pink Megan: Planning to stop planning her spontaneity Looking forward to Palm Beach.

Mediaverse: Some much-needed cold water on the “miserable” kerfuffle. And he points to some things to remember about the MTSU/Obama poll.

Jesus is Hot: Another Doctor Who fan is made.

Memphis Lagniappe: Restaurant Iris will be part of The Food Network’s The Best Thing I Ever Ate on tomorrow’s episode!

MemphisConnect: Trying hard to stay on schedule for being miserable. A symposium is coming up later this month on encouraging citizenship and civic engagement in students.

patio worship: A quick and simple quinoa salad recipe, but beware the picture above it.

theology & geometry: Go ahead, y’all, ask her anything.

Commercial Appeal: The State falls short on the National Practitioner Data Bank. The mayors are right that they should have been consulted all along on funding The MED, but should pay up anyway.

Wendi C. Thomas: She walks down the same column material so many, many others have now: miserable. (via the Commercial Appeal)

Because I Said So: Planned birth dates take some of the fun of being a dad out of the process. (via the Commercial Appeal)

Can’t Stop: A review of the “recovery sock”, a compression garment for runners.

Fertile Ground: Stacey is doubting her parenting and could use a little bucking up.

Haaaaave You Read My Blog? There’ still time to vote for your favorite actor and actress in the March Move Madness Elite 8.

The Tale of a Southern Belle: A girls’ weekend out in Nashville.

Barefoot in Memphis: A very brief review of Mosa.

Air Traffic Mike’s: If this doesn’t bring a big goofy grin to your face, I don’t think I want to know you.

a field guide to urban memphis: Traffic jam.

16 Balls in the Air: Boys at that age just have a fascination with poop and stuff.