Little Nuggets

Sometimes I come across things and I think, that's just like here. Or, the good folks of Memphis should see this.

'Cause, you know, it's nice to have some perspective.

For instance, what if the Pyramid, our Pyramid rather, was part of a golf course? Hmm, maybe I should go back and do the Mud Island survey again. There's not much land, so it might need to be a miniature one.

Or, you know how there was a proposal to permit wine sales in grocery stores in Tennessee? The same thing is happening in New York. The governor has proposed selling wine in grocery stores in order to raise revenue from licensing fees.

From the NYTimes:

“'It would be like a dream come true,' said David Grotenstein, the general manager for Union Market, which has two high-end stores in Park Slope, Brooklyn. 'It’s like the lost cross-merchandising element of retail — we seem so backward and primitive here in New York.'"

I know people saying the exact same thing here. And, the exact opposite thing, too.

Friday Morning Filing

File under "horrifying": The Palm Beach County Courthouse in West Palm Beach, Florida, has such a bad mice problem that they've been seen falling from ceiling tiles and staffers have to check their handbags for "stowaways" before leaving for the day.

Under "invasive": Passengers at Tulsa International Airport are among the first in the country to go through full-body scanners instead of metal detectors.

From USAToday: "The machines use electromagnetic waves to create pictures of energy reflected off people. The metallic-looking images show outlines of private body parts and blur passengers' faces. Two Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screeners in a closed room near the checkpoint view the images on computer monitors and relay information on radio headsets to checkpoint screeners."

Under "off-beat" or "ouch": A dispatch from the international yoga championship — who knew there was such a thing? — where yogis trash-talk, young girls arch back and put their toes in the mouth, and the goal is enlightened bliss.

Under "red wrigglers": About composting in New York, or any place, really, where you compost inside.

Under "stimulus package": States will be responsible for doling out federal stimulus funds and that could slow down the process (especially if local elected officials call for rejecting said funds). Highway building funds must be deployed within 120 days or they are sent back to the federal government. But other funds just need to be spent by 2010.

Post-Hot Odds and Ends

Now back to our regularly scheduled seriousness ...

Speaking of regular schedules, more than half of U.S. TV stations will shutdown their analog signals February 17th, as originally planned, according to USAToday.

Though President Barack Obama wanted to delay the switch from analog to digital until June, many stations in small and medium sized cities will shut down analog signals in February. The major broadcast networks, mostly in larger cities, have pushed their plans back to June 12th.

On a personal, selfish note, I would love it if they would go ahead and make the switch in February. I've made the switch and though most of my channels come in crystal clear, Channel 5 — yes, Joe Birch, I'm talking to you — generally looks like a cubist painting.

I'm talking blocks of color, maybe you can make out a face or a sitcom set, but mostly not. And I've heard, though I don't have this confirmed, that they're not yet broadcasting their digital signal at full strength.

On a more unselfish note, waiting is probably not a bad idea. It doesn't hurt anyone to wait, and it gives people who aren't ready a little more time to get there. All the funding for the converter box coupon program has been used. I think the boxes cost about $50 and though that's not a huge amount, I could see it being cost-prohibitive, especially now.

Last month, statistics showed that about 5 percent of U.S. households weren't ready for the switch. That doesn't sound like a lot, but it comes to about 5.8 million families.

You could say, TV is a luxury, and that's true. But when you think about how many people get their news from television (I hate to admit it, but it's true), it behooves us to make sure they don't get left behind.

— Here's another interesting story, also from USAToday: A Chinese house-hunting group is looking for the American dream, at a bargain.

"More than 40 affluent house hunters from across China will begin a trip to Boston, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles on Feb. 24 in search of cheap homes to buy. Their goal: to find investment property and housing their children could use when they go to the USA to study or work. Their budget: $300,000 to $800,000 apiece."

— "Not to freak you out or anything," says a Slate reporter at the beginning of a piece about regenerating — and potentially immortal — jellyfish. Having watched the video, I can say that, yes, it does freak me out. It is freaky!

Did I say we were going back to seriousness? I think I might have lied. Sorry, an immortal jellyfish is too good (bad?) not to share.

Friday morning odds and ends

— Don't Pet the Panda: A panda in Beijing bit his third tourist in two years, after a man jumped in the panda's pen to retrieve his son's toy. Despite their obvious cuteness, pandas have large molars and strong jaws and will attack if provoked.

— President-elect Barack Obama has asked Congress to push back the switch to digital television, citing problems with the converter coupon program (for one, it's out of money). If you use an antenna for your TV and already have a converter box, I would suggest hooking it up. If you don't, well, you might get a reprieve. From Obama's letter (via The Washington Post):

"Millions of consumers could now be forced to spend their own money to navigate this federally mandated transition," the letter says. "This economic climate is not the right time to ask consumers to dig deeper into their own pockets to pay for the miscalculation by the federal government. "

— Big Budget Bust? A study out of New Mexico says that film incentive programs don't pay off. From Governing.com:

"It would be easy to conclude that New Mexico's program of tax incentives for film and TV producers has been a big success. The state is hosting roughly 10 times as much film production as it did a decade ago. Albuquerque is now home to some of the largest soundstages in the world, and Sony Pictures Imageworks plans to move its special-effects operations to a new location there.

But a look at the numbers suggests that all this new activity has come at considerable cost. During the past fiscal year, according to a recent study, New Mexico granted $38.2 million in tax rebates for TV and movie production, but in return saw only enough increase in economic activity to generate $5.5 million in public revenue. 'For every one dollar in rebate,' the study concluded, 'the state only received 14.44 cents in return.'"

Not a very good rate of return. And the story notes that all but 10 states have created film-incentive programs over the last 5 years.

— And just for fun: The NYTimes says the mustache is back. I don't necessarily believe them (or maybe I don't want to) but that's what they say:


"It, like the beard, enjoyed its most widespread popularity between 1850 and 1900; John Wilkes Booth, it must be conceded, had a beaut. But today, the mustache cannot shake its ties to the sexy-yet-buffoonish machismo of the mid-1970s, epitomized by Burt Reynolds, Sam Elliott and the Village People, ’stache sporters all."

Retail, Robotic Pets, Revamping the Work Week

Sorry, internets, I know I've neglected you today. Over here at the Flyer, we've been working like little elves to get our various year ends/year begins issues out and ready to go before the office closes for the holidays.

It is exhausting.

At any rate, here are some interesting stories that you've probably already read, but if you didn't, here you go:

— The NYT had a story about Emeryville, California, yesterday, a town across the bay from San Fran that built its economy on being a retail mecca:

"It is also one of many American cities that hitched its wagon over the last several decades to what seemed like the limitless ability of American shoppers to spend money. Now that faith in the retail engine is being sorely tested. Consumer spending dropped 7.8 percent in November, according to the federal government, and many economists think it will fall further as consumers are buffeted by losses in the stock market, declines in home values and the unsettling fear that they may lose their jobs."

The town was once steel mills and factories and reinvented itself with retail after those industries left for other countries. The town banded together with a redevelopment agency, tax incentives, and a plan that basically gave land to developers. It was successful until this latest downturn, which has seen area businesses post declines and the city thinking of raising taxes.

— Slate has a story about the best robotic pet for Christmas. Now, to be honest, I don't really see the point in having a virtual pet when you could have a real pet, but between mountains of dog hair, crazyloud barking at anything more than dust, and, oh, crazyloud barking, I am beginning to come around to the idea of taking the batteries out of your pet when you're tired.

Writer Daniel Engber got the chance to petsit and realizes his membership "in a sad demographic that includes shiftless magazine editors, small children and senior citizens. We're the sorry lot that adores animals but is too lazy, uncoordinated, or inform to take care of them."

Engber surveyed a wide spectrum of robot/pets and had this to say:

"As much as I enjoyed the exercise, it soon became clear that at every price point, a robot pet can be described by its signature combination of essential robot qualities: It's annoying, disturbing, offensive, pathetic, or scary — or some mixture thereof. In the end, though, one fake animal whirred and purred his way into my heart."

It was the Pleo, which is an 8-inch-high, automated Camarasaurus. (Just to cut to the chase.)

(If you're looking for more of a robot doll — the kind for kids! — than a robot pet, click here.)

— More employers are looking to the four-day work week to cut costs. From BusinessWeek:

"Like many companies, Pella is looking to cut expenses because of the economic downturn. But instead of laying off more workers, the Iowa manufacturer of windows and doors is instituting a four-day workweek for about a third of its 3,900 employees. Chris Simpson, a senior vice-president at the company, acknowledges it's an unconventional move. But Pella believes the economy could turn around faster than most people expect, and it doesn't want to be caught short of experienced workers. "Our contention is, consumer confidence will rebound," says Simpson. "If there's a [government] stimulus package of some kind, we think people are going to respond."

More of the Green Stuff

Been busy this morning, but didn't want to overlook these:

— USAToday has a story about three companies that have made technological advances in solar, wind, and geothermal energy production. It's definitely worth the read if you're interested in alternative energy. (It even includes a simple explanation of how these forms of energy are "collected.")

— On a similar note, NPR did a story about president-elect Barack Obama's so-called "green team," picking Nobel laureate Steven Chu to lead the Energy Department.

"Obama said his energy appointees will aim to make public buildings more efficient, modernize the electricity grid, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and preserve natural resources."

The story notes that Chu has been an advocate for reseearch into global warming and the need for carbon-neutral renewable sources of energy.

— NYT's science blog Dot Earth the last meteorological year — from December through November — was cooler than recent years, but still warmer over all (since temperature record keeping began in 1880). Look for the scary graphs.

— A little off topic, but still interesting, from Slate: How foreign car factories have transformed the American South:

"Time was, the Big Three were the U.S. auto industry. No longer. Over the past two decades, enticed by cheap labor and massive incentives, a second auto industry has emerged: nonunion, Southern-based, and foreign-owned. Large plants, with names of Asian and European carmakers emblazoned upon them, now dot the Southern landscape. By moving aggressively into Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, Georgia, and Texas, foreign manufacturers — call them the 'Little Eight' — have transformed the economic geography of the nation's auto industry and the political debate surrounding its future. ...

"Today's Southern solons have watched their local economies blossom thanks to a younger, more-vibrant auto industry unencumbered by the Big Three's legacy costs and union work rules—a sort of anti-Detroit that has the flexibility and ability to turn profits by making the types of cars that Americans actually want to buy."

Friday morning odds and ends

— Thursday's Tunica Caberet auction netted the state almost $25,000. By comparison, September's Platinum Plus auction yielded $60,000 for the state. Both strip clubs were closed following nuisance claims and Environmental Court judgments.

— Two neighborhoods in Milwaukee are considering printing their own currency to promote shopping at local businesses (sort of like this, but not.) Downtown retailer Divine Mafa had a similar idea a few months ago in which he would give people $10 in Divine bucks for $8 American currency. A story in the Chicago Trib. says there are at least 2,000 local currencies all over the world, but I think it's almost always a hard sell.

— My internet is a slow, slow place, full of turtles, molasses, and spinning beachballs. Just thought I'd mention that as I waited for a page to load.

— In November, the most American jobs were lost since 1974, resulting in the highest unemployment rates in 15 years. 24,000 jobs were cut from auto dealerships, 82,000 from construction, and 36,600 from hotels.

— In addition to MIFA gift cards (similar to what the Church Health Center does), MIFA is currently taking gift donations for homebound seniors. The gifts will be given to 1,000 seniors during a special Christmas Day Meals delivery. Suggested gifts include: blankets, stationery, postage, winter caps, sweaters, gloves, crossword puzzles, playing cards, or dominos. For more info, call 529-4551 or email ascott@mifa.org.

Odds and Ends

— I don't know whether to be shocked or ashamed: USAToday's Report: Mass Media Harms Kids

I think it's mostly TV, but we all get painted with the same brush. The studies, done over 28 years, said that heavy media exposure increases the risk of obesity, smoking, drug and alcohol use, attention problems and poor grades, and that 93 percent of studies found that children with greater media exposure had sex earlier.

On the other hand ... at least they're well-informed.

— On a somewhat related note, if you're interested in plan B, Oxford, Mississippi, or Walgreens pharmacies, here's a first-person account about that.

— The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. has been in a recession since last December. I think the only person surprised by that information is John McCain.

— And this morning, the City Council's public safety and homeland security committee discussed the possibility of having Shelby County deputies patrol in Memphis with county sheriff Mark Luttrell and MPD head Larry Godwin.

Godwin said he was concerned "about the drain on the sheriff's department" and that they would have to figure out how the county officers would file reports.

"It would require those officers working for MPD, answering our dispatchers," he said. But more on that later ...

Friday morning odds and ends

— The Midtown North Collaborative will host a one-day community market and Thanksgiving celebration tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (perfect for those of us who aren't early risers). Though it's late in the season for produce, the market will feature late falls items and "late fall items and baked goods including greens, sweet potatoes, pies, jams and jellies."

The market will be held in the parking lot of the Hollywood Community Center at 1560 N. Hollywood Street (north of Chelsea). The Midtown North Collaborative plans to begin a weekly small-scale farmers market next spring and through the summer.

— A painting by artist Danny Broadway graces this year's holiday card from the Church Health Center. The suggested gift from each card is $10 and the cards can be sent in memory or in honor of someone.

Public Relations and Communications Coordinator Jeff Hulett says, "Once we get their list of people they want to send the cards to, as well as what they want to say, we have an army of volunteers who hand-inscribe word for word what they want to say. And then we mail it for them."


For more information about the Church Health Center holiday cards, call 272-7170 or visit churchhealthcenter.org.

— Local government is set to receive $12 million in HUD neighborhood stabilization grant money, only those funds can only be used to buy and renovate foreclosed properties, demolish blighted structures, and create land banks for redevelopment.

But with the economy the way it is, the idea of people buying property as a way out of the foreclosure crisis is a little suspect. AlterNet says to "Keep It Simple: Stop the Foreclosure Crisis with the Right to Rent."

From the story:

"Congress can temporarily modify the rules on foreclosure to give families facing foreclosure the right to rent their homes at the market rate for a substantial period of time. Rep. Raul Grijalva proposed such a change in the Saving Family Homes Act, which would allow homeowners the option to remain as renters for up to 20 years following a foreclosure.

This bill would immediately give families security in their home, so that if they like the home, the neighborhood, the school for their kids, they would have the option to stay in the house for a substantial period of time. This also has the great benefit for the neighborhood that homes will remain occupied."

It also gives banks an incentive to negotiate with the homeowner, something that, even now, people close to the crisis say banks are not eager to do.

— On the opposite side of the issue, USAToday has a story about several areas that escaped the mortgage crisis altogether. They are mostly small cities surrounded by rural areas that never saw any of the housing boom and where many of the residents own their home outright:

"Some mortgage-free clusters are in declining areas that have suffered job losses and dwindling populations for years. Residents who remain often have lived in their homes far longer than the conventional life of a mortgage.

Others are in thriving retirement communities popular with seniors who earned enough equity on the sale of their old homes to buy their retirement nests without borrowing money.

Being mortgage-free doesn't shelter people from a worldwide recession. Although their homes are paid for, they're still feeling the pain of a sinking stock market, threatened pensions, layoffs and credit squeeze."

Odds and Ends

Some things for you newshounds to keep on your radar:

— The City of Memphis administration and the City Council will have a joint retreat this Saturday morning.

— There is also an Environmental Justice Conference (sponsored by the Sierra Club) Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Church of the River. The conference is entitled "Surviving & Thriving Now & In the Future." Might be worth a look. Pre-registration is required.

— The state's 2008 report card on education will be released Monday, November 10th, at 10 a.m.

Some other things that might interest:

— From USAToday: Cities rack up public artwork with bike racks. It's fun; it's utilitarian; it promotes a healthier, greener lifestyle. What's not to like? I liked the temporary bike racks that musician David Byrne did in NYC.

— The NYT's A.O. Scott calls "Soul Men" — which filmed briefly in Memphis — a raucous, rambling comedy: "It is also something of a bittersweet experience for fans of Isaac Hayes, who has an extended cameo as himself, and Bernie Mac, who plays Floyd Henderson, half of a has-been vocal duo reunited for one last show." For the rest of the review, click here.

— The Memphis Farmers Market's 2008 Winter Dinner Tour — in which six chefs try to create locally sourced meals through winter and spring — begins Sunday, November 9th, at the Majestic. For reservations, call 522-8555.

Monday morning odds and ends

— USAToday has a piece on non-profits and the current economic environment. Charitable giving to Catholic Charities, Meals on Wheels, the Salvation Army, and Goodwill are all down, and worse are situations where fundraising is dependent on certain corporations.

From the story:

"Lehman Bros.' September filing for bankruptcy court protection could take a financial toll on non-profits as disparate as Doctors Without Borders, an international group that supplies emergency medical aid, and the Grand Street Settlement, an organization that provides education and social services on Manhattan's Lower East Side.

Since 2005, Lehman's charitable foundation gave more than $1.5 million to fund Doctors Without Borders' relief efforts for the Asian tsunami and other disasters. The foundation also gave thousands of dollars to Grand Street's College and Career Discovery Center, which carries the Lehman name.

Jennifer Tierney, development director for Doctors Without Borders, awaits word on whether Lehman's bankruptcy filing will affect a pending application for additional funding. 'We really don't know what the implications will be,' she says."

— The Washington Post has a slideshow guide to understanding how we got to the current economic crisis. A quick breakdown: In the beginning (the 1990s), most people with good credit already had homes, so lenders enticed people with bad credit to buy homes. The loans were packaged together as investments and, after 2001, interest rates were low so investors wanted something with a higher rate of return. The credit bubble begat the housing bubble, which, with people taking equity out of their houses to buy other things, created another credit bubble. Definitely worth checking out.

— And here's a fun story from Reuters about income inequality in U.S. cities rivaling that of African cities. The data comes from a UN report published last week:

"'The authors (of the study) find that though the cities in the United States of America have relatively lower levels of poverty than many other cities in the developed world, their levels of income inequality are quite high,' the report said.

In the United States and Canada one of the key factors in determining levels of economic inequality is race, the report said."

Bail-Out Bust

I am having a hard time reading about the economy. I just don't have the stomach for it, especially since there's nothing I can do about it anyway.

But it's always good to be informed, so to that end, here are some links.

— Business Week asked several economists about the possibility of a recession. The short answer is ... yes.

— The NYTimes tries to answer the question: Is your money safe? The short answer, if it's FDIC, should be.

(If you are thinking about moving some capital around, here's one question and answer from that piece:

"Q. Is it time to buy stocks?

A. Like gambling? This is a great time to make bets on the wide price swings that we’re seeing in some stocks and entire sectors of the market. Just be prepared to lose big, as plenty of professionals have done of late.")

— Kiplinger's has a list of 10 Things That Will Change once the smoke clears. Things like bigger mortgage down payments, fewer financial firms, greater scrutiny of executive compensation, and higher long-term interest rates.

Here's Kiplinger's take on buying now: "Investors with cash, the patience to wait out a gradual recovery and a heart stout enough to withstand periodic wild swings, will be in the catbird seat. They're positioned to make a bundle, snapping up undervalued assets -- businesses, real estate, securities, etc. Even out-of-work talent will go cheap to employers savvy enough to nab it."

— And the Wall Street Journal's Brett Arends is saying it's time to cut your expenses because that's the one thing you can control: "This is now a financial war: You versus the economy. And most Americans are badly prepared. They have far too little cash on hand to cope with a major downturn."

Oh, and just to add another take on things, here's what he says about investing now:

"Ordinarily in a panic like this I'd be urging people to invest. My usual approach is that the worse people are panicking, the more aggressively you should buy. And that might still be the right thing to do.

But the political and financial situations right now are chaotic."

Transportation Odds and Ends

— From BusinessWeek: The 65 mpg Ford that won't be sold in the U.S. and why. It looks cute, but you won't see it on American roadways, so don't fall in love.

— From Next American City: Amtrak can't handle rising ridership. (It sounds a little bit like the MATA situation here in Memphis.)

— More about bag-check fees and crowded overhead bins from USAToday.

Odds and Ends

— The Globe and Mail explains McCain's strategy for dividing America into rural (red states) and urban (blue states) areas under Karl Rove's playbook. The concept was written about as the urban archipelago during the last election (or was it the one before?) and the idea was that it wasn't a contest between red or blue; it was a contest between cities and rural areas.

If I remember correctly, blue states are blue because their large cities (where more minorities and more well-educated people call home) dominate their rural areas. Red states are red because the number of rural residents outnumber the urbanites.

— Speaking of red and blue states, Strange Maps has a map of the U.S. broken down into whether people there use the term "coke," "pop," or "soda," for those non-medicinal, non-alcoholic, fizzy concoctions (that, for the record, I call coke. But then I grew up in Atlanta). One note — no one calls a coke a pepsi, but people call a pepsi a soda, a pop, or a coke.

— If anyone knows any comely or handsome young Rhodes students who might be interested in a non-paying modeling gig, would you please have them email me at cashiola@memphisflyer.com? Actually, students who attend any of the city's other fine institutions of higher education are welcome to email me, as well.

Yes, I know this is skeezy, but it would be way more skeezy if I was walking around telling people I think they should be a model.

— USAToday has a story about how to get things for free, and not just with Freecycle, either. They do mention couch surfing, which Flyer writer Shara Clark did a story on a few weeks ago.

— And, yeah, I'm on Facebook now. If anyone cares.

Odds and ends

— Cities shaming prostitutes and johns to put the kibosh on the practice. We used to do this here, don't know if we still do. (Actually, I don't know if the MPD ever SENT LETTERS HOME!)

— California bill to reduce sprawl and encourage people to build housing closer to where people work.

— Bob Corker is visiting Georgia (the country, not the state) to view damage and humanitarian operations.

— A new book says that sports stadiums often fail to live up to their promise of economic revitalization and that only team owners make out well in the end.

odds and ends

— The committees of Mayor A C Wharton's Sustainable Shelby met in a digital congress yesterday to vote on the initiative's priorities. Using a "clicker" — it looked just like a little remote — members of the initiative ranked the various committee's recommendations from 1, strongly disagree, to 7, strongly agree.

No surprise, there were a lot of 7s in the house (and only four recommendations out of 52 got a majority of 5s).

To begin, Wharton called sustainability "plain good business" and reminded the assembly of the kickoff meeting in March. At that meeting, Joe Cortright said that if we could get citizens to shave 2 miles off their daily drive, it would save a combined $280 million. (That they could then spend on other things.)

"There is no doubt that sustainable communities do more than improve the environment," Wharton said. "They result in considerable savings that lead to economic growth."

The complete agenda will be presented at a Sustainable Shelby Call to Action public meeting Tuesday, July 8th, 2:30 p.m. at the Botanic Garden.

— Is mixed-use enough? Architect Keith Ray argues that omni-use is required to revitalize areas.

— Related to yesterday's post about infrastructure, Houston has just approved five light rail lines, to be completed by 2012. If I recall correctly, 2012 is the year that Memphis' light rail line, announced eight years ago and scheduled to run down Lamar to the airport, might be done.

odds and ends

— Next week, NPR's Steve Inskeep will begin a new series on growing cities by visiting Karachi, Pakistan. To hear a preview about the series, "The Urban Frontier, click here.

— The Memphis Police Department is urging women to "be on alert" because of a series of home invasions/incidents of sexual battery in apartment complexes near Quince and Kirby, Macon and Sycamore View and Trinity and Germantown.
In several of the assaults, victims have opened the door because of a knock and then been forced inside at gunpoint. In at least four of the nine home invasions, victims have reported a sexual battery. One victim reported a rape.
The suspect is described as a black male, approximately 6 feet tall, and 170 lbs. He may drive a dark colored Chevrolet Cobalt.

— "Carbon chastity" and a call for nuclear energy, among other things.

— Stonehenge = very large headstones. Radiocarbon dates from human cremations in and around the stones indicate the site was used as a cemetery from 3000 BC until after the monuments were erected. Researchers estimate up to 240 people were buried there.

odds and ends

— BusinessWeek has an article and sort of fun slide show about "traffic stopping" parking garages (in that way that parking garages aren't really fun at all, despite what a certain Union Avenue establishment would have you believe).

— The City Council's capital improvement budget wrap-up will be next Wednesday, May 28th, at 4:30 p.m.

— Healthy Memphis Common Table is seeking an executive director. The 501(c)(3) is the "health improvement collaborative for the Mid-South," working on nutrition, fitness, medical and poverty initiatives. For info on the organization, click here. For information on the position, click here.

— And the UrbanArt Commission is seeking art enhancements for Colonial Middle and Riverwood Farms K-8. For more information, click here. The proposal deadline is June 27th.

odds and ends

— And then there were three: Dr. Tiffany Anderson and Dr. James Williams have both withdrawn their names from consideration for MCS' next superintendent.

— The Redbirds will wear pink jerseys for their game this Sunday against Oklahoma in support of breast cancer awareness. After the game, the, er, pinkbird jerseys will be auctioned off on ebay, with proceeds going to both the Komen Foundation and the Memphis Redbirds Foundation.

— A former MLGW employee was indicted for allegedly defrauding the utility out of tens of thousands of dollars. The employee (again, allegedly) authorized and made payments on customers' MLGW accounts using nonexistent bank accounts, and for this service, customers paid her a fee. (If I'm understanding this correctly, I assume her fee was smaller than their utility bills.)