It’s that time of year again when thick budget books dominate life for those in the Memphis and Shelby County governments.

But this year’s budget season on both sides of the Civic Center Plaza is more than line items and bottom lines on paper. The deliberations that ultimately determine how much you will pay in property taxes and at what rate go beyond the plans in the books of estimates, projections and the recurring and one-time revenue sources.

2. Questions Kick Off City Budget Hearings - Thursday, April 25, 2013

Memphis City Council members opened budget committee hearings Tuesday, April 23, on the clock and with lots of questions about what seemed to some like different budget numbers from last year at this time by the administration of Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr.

3. Red Deluxe Adds Two New Clients - Monday, March 25, 2013

Memphis-based ad agency Red Deluxe is starting off the year with two new clients on board.

The agency is now working with New Hampshire-based College for America and the Washington-based ALS Association.

4. ‘Teacher Town’ - Saturday, March 23, 2013

There was a time not too long ago when teacher residency programs in Memphis were exercises in isolation. The new teaching recruits in and out of those programs often talked of being overwhelmed in their new school and career environments. But in the larger maelstrom of changes to the face of local public education, the residency programs are growing across all the different types of public schools emerging in advance of the August merger of city and county schools.

5. East Memphis Squatter Removed From Home - Monday, March 11, 2013

A woman who allegedly moved into a foreclosed East Memphis mansion is facing aggravated burglary, property theft and criminal trespass charges.

Tabitha Gentry, who also goes by the name Abka Re Bey, was arrested by Shelby County Sheriff’s deputies Thursday, March 8, on the warrants when she left the house at 600 S. Shady Grove Road.

6. Special Master Has Tight Five-Month Window - Thursday, March 07, 2013

The special master appointed by U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays to oversee the schools merger knows the political and fiscal dealings of large local government entities.

7. Cash Talks of ‘Perfect Storm’ During Reform - Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Kriner Cash says there were big “distractions” that began just before he became Memphis City Schools superintendent four-and-a-half years ago that created a “perfect storm” for his efforts to “transform” the school system.

8. Final Bell - Saturday, January 19, 2013

From the moment he became Memphis City Schools superintendent, Kriner Cash had competition.

“I’ve been fighting since I got here,” he said in the early stages of what winds up as a five-year tenure that officially comes to an end July 31.

9. Cash’s Turbulent Tenure Full of Surprises - Monday, January 14, 2013

Kriner Cash came to the city as Memphis City Schools superintendent in July 2008. He began with an informal census that organized the school district’s student population by how many students were overage for their grade level, how many had no primary care physician and how many had access to no pre-kindergarten services.

10. Cash Exits At Critical Juncture In Merger - Friday, January 11, 2013

Countywide school board members approved Thursday, Jan. 10, a severance package that ends Kriner Cash’s tenure as superintendent of Memphis City Schools.

Cash will remain through the end of July as an employee in an advisory capacity. At the end of July he gets six months of regular pay and $17,000 in moving and legal expenses as well as a letter of recommendation from the school system.

11. School Board Takes Up Merger Issues Thursday - Thursday, January 10, 2013

The countywide school board meets in special session Thursday, Jan. 10 to take up 10 more recommendations on the merger of Shelby County’s two public school systems.

The recommendations are the latest to go to the board from a steering committee composed of administrators from both school systems. The steering committee is making its recommendations on the set of merger recommendations made last August by a consolidation planning commission.

12. Study: People Worldwide Living Longer, But Sicker - Friday, December 14, 2012

LONDON (AP) – Nearly everywhere around the world, people are living longer and fewer children are dying. But increasingly, people are grappling with the diseases and disabilities of modern life, according to the most expansive global look so far at life expectancy and the biggest health threats.

13. Entrepreneurs, Create Your Own Maps - Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Entrepreneurialism is the last frontier – an uncharted region with unprecedented, unforeseen, unknown dangers, challenges and rewards.

All adventures begin with a new map, just like the territory you charted in your business plans. You drafted this plan in the ardor of a visionary impulse, tempered with a will to thrive as you grow.

14. Highpoint Church Buys Briarcrest’s East Memphis Campus - Friday, November 09, 2012

After seven years of leasing space for its worship services, Highpoint Church has acquired Briarcrest Christian School Systems Inc.’s property at 6000 Briarcrest Ave. for $7.25 million.

15. Seeking Foundation Grants the Right Way - Friday, October 19, 2012

Part one of a three-part series on proposal writing. If there is a mythical “pot-of-gold” in the nonprofit world it is the foundation grant. Many start-ups – as well as established nonprofits – look to grants from foundations as a cure-all; the answer to all fundraising problems. You can spot this tendency when you hear phrases such as “Bill Gates has a foundation, let’s submit a proposal.”

16. Kriner Cash Not Picked for Florida School District - Thursday, September 27, 2012

The Duval County Schools board began looking for a new superintendent in May. And when the seven-member board made its decision Tuesday, Sept. 25, in Jacksonville, Fla., Memphis City Schools superintendent Kriner Cash was not chosen.

17. Gates, Buffett Again Top Forbes' Billionaires List - Thursday, September 20, 2012

NEW YORK (AP) – Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates remains the nation's richest man by far, as the tech and philanthropy giant took the top spot on the Forbes 400 list for the 19th year running, with a net worth of $66 billion.

18. Local Entrepreneurs Will Soon Have ‘Urban Workspace’ - Tuesday, September 18, 2012

A shared open work space, modeled after incubators in Los Angeles and New York City, is on the brink of being launched in Downtown Memphis.

Urban Workspace Powered by Cricket Wireless, located in the City House Memphis Condos at 6 W. G.E. Patterson Ave., will provide an affordable, shared working environment for freelancers, entrepreneurs, small businesses and startups eager to collaborate and share resources. The co-working facility opens Oct. 1.

19. National Civil Rights Museum Gets Social Media Upgrade - Friday, September 14, 2012

The National Civil Rights Museum is upgrading its website and social media presence with a $549,547 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

With the more robust presence on Facebook and Twitter, the museum will also launch a discussion in those forums and others called “Preparing To Excel.”

20. City Council Approves Amended UDC - Thursday, July 19, 2012

The Memphis City Council at its Tuesday, July 17, meeting approved third and final reading of the amended Unified Development Code that covers Memphis and unincorporated Shelby County. However, there were some last-minute amendments that might call for another vote at the council meeting in August.

21. Council Sends Sales Tax Hike To November Ballot - Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Memphis City Council members added a half percent local option sales tax hike proposal to the Nov. 6 ballot in Memphis at their Tuesday, July 17, meeting.

The council approved the referendum ordinance on third and final reading.

22. Herenton Wants Juvenile System Charter School - Friday, July 06, 2012

Former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton wants to open a charter school that draws its students from those youths in the custody or care of the Memphis-Shelby County Juvenile Court.

Herenton talked about the still forming proposal for a charter school under the name W.E.B. DuBois Academy this week as he returned to City Hall. He sought City Council support for a Memphis City Schools collaboration with charter school operators offered by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. MCS leaders declined to participate last year.

23. Hart Discusses Congressional Bid With The Memphis News - Monday, July 02, 2012

Countywide school board member Tomeka Hart talked with The Memphis News editorial board this month about her candidacy in the Aug. 2 Democratic Congressional primary – a challenge of incumbent Congressman Steve Cohen in the 9th District.

24. Teachers: Leaders In Inspiration - Friday, June 01, 2012

It’s an unusual person who can reflect on the life-changing events in their past and not think of a teacher.

Almost everyone can visualize that one teacher who made a critical difference, who was the difference between success and something else. If you were lucky, like me, you had more than one teacher to inspire, guide or push you to your limits.

25. School Board TEI Briefing Postponed - Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Countywide school board members will get a briefing later on the Teacher Effectiveness Initiative, the Memphis City Schools teacher professional evaluation and development program that is about to be expanded to include Shelby County Schools system teachers.

26. MCS Teachers Receive Report Cards - Wednesday, May 16, 2012

With the school year almost over, Memphis City Schools teachers have their grades from the first school year of TEM – the Teacher Effectiveness Measure system approved by the state to evaluate teacher performance.

27. Called to Serve - Monday, April 23, 2012

It’s hard to spot changes on the Midtown campus of Rhodes College.

The campus’ landscape is thick with old and massive trees in a part of town known for its impressive canopy of trees. And the difference between new and older buildings on the campus is intentionally hard to tell because the Gothic stone structures are built with rocks from the same quarry in the same style.

28. Westside School Looks for New Legacy - Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Bobby White knows how many people identify Westside Middle School. And it goes back to the school’s existence as a high school.

29. Cash Says Charlotte Job Offers More Reform Work - Friday, April 13, 2012

Memphis City Schools superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash said he feels like his time in Memphis is growing short even if he doesn’t get the job as superintendent of Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina.

30. Groups Voice Support Of Effectiveness Initiative - Thursday, April 12, 2012

As Shelby County’s two school systems moved from a consolidation question to a consolidation process and then a reformation that includes the possibility of municipal school districts, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been consistent.

31. Teacher Evaluation Sparks Debate Among Educators - Wednesday, April 11, 2012

The schools consolidation planning commission hasn’t made any decisions yet about teacher pay and benefits or suggestions about how many teachers the merged school system might need.

But when it got its first look at the human resources overview last week, there was immediate discussion about which direction to go in teacher evaluation.

32. Leaders Examine School System Options - Tuesday, April 10, 2012

The idea that the consolidation of Shelby County’s two school systems will involve a choice between what one of the existing school systems has over what the other has is an oversimplification.

But there are some choices to be made by the consolidation planning commission.

33. Deputy MCS Superintendent Resigns Under Controversy - Thursday, March 15, 2012

Deputy Memphis City Schools Superintendent Irving Hamer announced his resignation Wednesday, March 14, from the school system effective at the end of April.

34. ASD Spells Out School Changes - Thursday, March 01, 2012

Now that the state’s Achievement School District has named the three Memphis City Schools in which it will run charter schools and three others that will be run by the state as neighborhood schools, the move to a swift transition by August begins.

35. Status Update: Facebook to Go Public, Raise $5B - Thursday, February 02, 2012

NEW YORK (AP) – Facebook made a much-anticipated status update Wednesday: The Internet social network is going public eight years after its computer-hacking CEO Mark Zuckerberg started the service at Harvard University.

36. Who’s Making ‘The Ask’? - Friday, January 20, 2012

How do you ask for money? More specifically, how do you ask people to give to a nonprofit organization or institution you believe in?

Do you ask folks you know? Family members? Co-workers? Do you write a letter to Bill Gates? Do you ask colleagues after a business meeting or friends after yoga class? What do you say? How much do you ask for? What happens if you ask for a gift and find out someone else already asked?

37. MCS Included in Gates Fdtn. Education Report - Monday, January 09, 2012

SEATTLE (AP) – Once-a-year evaluations aren't enough to help teachers improve, says a report by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that includes comments about Memphis City Schools.

38. US Airways Adds Memphis Service - Friday, January 06, 2012

Memphis will be one of 11 new destinations for US Airways starting March 25.

The new service between Memphis International Airport and Reagan National Airport in Washington is part of a new strategy by US Airways to focus on its core service areas of Washington as well as Philadelphia, Phoenix and Charlotte, N.C.

39. Gates Testifies in $1B Lawsuit Against Microsoft - Tuesday, November 22, 2011

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – Microsoft's Windows 95 rollout presented the most challenges in the company's history, leading to several last-minute changes to technical features that would no longer support a rival software maker's word processor, Bill Gates testified Monday in a $1 billion antitrust lawsuit filed by the creator of WordPerfect.

40. Congress About to Kill High-Speed Train Program - Friday, November 18, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) – Congress is on the verge of killing funding for President Barack Obama's signature high-speed rail program, but it may have some life in it still.

Republican lawmakers are claiming credit for killing the program. But billions of dollars still in the pipeline will ensure work will continue on some projects. And it's still possible money from another transportation grant program can be steered to high-speed trains.

41. State Issues Report Card on Teacher Effectiveness - Tuesday, November 01, 2011

The Tennessee Higher Education Commission issues its fourth annual report card on teacher effectiveness Tuesday, Nov. 1.

It uses data gauging the effectiveness of graduates from teacher training programs across the state. The data will reflect different data than the previous three years, as the state increases teacher effectiveness standards in keeping with the state’s First to the Top initiatives.

42. Schools Planning Group Maps Path - Friday, October 28, 2011

The schools consolidation planning commission will probably hire a consultant sometime next month and the group should begin making the first decisions on what a consolidated school system looks like early next year.

43. Steve Jobs and Shades of Yellow - Friday, October 07, 2011

Editor’s Note: “From the Blog” is a new weekly feature that highlights some of the enterprising work our staff posts on The Daily News blog, blog.memphisdailynews.com.

44. Bill Gates Tops Forbes List of Richest Americans - Thursday, September 22, 2011

LOS ANGELES (AP) – America's economic woes don't appear to be hurting philanthropist Bill Gates, who tops Forbes' list of the 400 richest Americans for the 18th year in a row.

45. Cash Explains Reform Efforts to Republicans - Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Memphis City Schools Superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash says two public school systems in Shelby County competing against one another and being compared to each other is a “false dichotomy.”

In remarks this month to the Midtown Republican Club, Cash continued to emphasize his ongoing plans for education reform locally. But for the first time, he talked about the reforms in a countywide context.

46. Priming to Improve Your Business - Tuesday, August 02, 2011

Knowledge is stored in an associative manner. In plain English, that simply means pieces of information that somehow relate to each other are linked in your brain. For example, if I say the word Graceland to most longtime Memphis residents, it will probably trigger a series of linked thoughts: Elvis, Lisa Marie, airplane, stone fence, graffiti, Whitehaven, tourists, and so forth and so on.

47. Business: It’s About Time - Monday, August 01, 2011

Time is currency and never more so than in small business. How you and your employees use it may determine success or failure. It is instructive to note Bill Gates and Fred Smith had the same 24 hours in the day as us. They have global businesses. We have certain areas of Shelby County.

48. Bloomberg Grant Highlights Big City Challenges - Monday, July 18, 2011

When the nonprofit foundation of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg went looking for cities to award grants for innovation, foundation leaders didn’t just give out an address and wait for applications.

49. Drug Stops HIV Among Hetero Couples, Not Just Gays - Thursday, July 14, 2011

ATLANTA (AP) – An AIDS drug already shown to help prevent spread of the virus in gay men also works for heterosexual men and women, two studies in Africa found. Experts called it a breakthrough for the continent that has suffered most from AIDS.

50. Study Session - Monday, June 27, 2011

By the end of this week, the fate of Lambuth University in Jackson, Tenn., should be known. Thursday, June 30, is the day the private United Methodist Church-affiliated institution is scheduled to close.

51. ‘Innovation Conference’ Comes to U of M - Friday, May 20, 2011

The University of Memphis Saturday will host some of the city’s most dynamic, innovative dreamers, thinkers and doers during TEDx Memphis 2011.

The day-long event will take place from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the FedEx Institute of Technology’s Fogelman Executive Center, 330 Deloach St.

52. Special Coverage: Mid-South Flooding - Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Coverage of the rising waters in the Memphis area

Police Manually Checking Memphis River Gauge

The gauge that is the official measurement of the Mississippi River at Memphis has been on the blink since last week as the river has approached historic levels.

53. Poll: Finances Dictating College, Career Choices - Thursday, April 21, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) – No matter how many subjects they're acing, most college students these days find economics a grind. Tricky financial calculations influence everything from what school they attend and what major they choose to how quickly they finish their degrees – or whether they graduate at all.

54. Poll: Students Optimistic Despite Money Doubts - Tuesday, April 19, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) – For young people who came of age in the recession, the American dream of life getting better for each new generation feels like a myth.

A majority expect to have a harder time buying a house and saving for retirement than their parents did. More than 4 in 10 predict it will be tougher to raise a family and afford the lifestyle they want, according to an Associated Press-Viacom poll of Americans ages 18 to 24.

55. Turning Ideas Into Revenue - Thursday, March 24, 2011

Welcome to this occasional series of columns on intellectual property, designed to provide the Greater Memphis business and entrepreneurial community with insights into this extraordinary asset – what it is, how it can be turned into revenue and strategies to minimize the risk and expense of legal challenges involving it.

56. Senate GOP Leader Vows Action on Pentagon Budget - Thursday, March 17, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) – The top Republican in the Senate says he's confident that Congress will adopt the Pentagon's budget when a stopgap funding bill runs out in April.

Sen. Mitch McConnell says that while he'll support a three-week temporary spending measure in a vote this week, any further legislation to fund the government will have to include the $500 billion-plus Pentagon budget.

57. Warren Buffett Says Economy Keeps Improving Slowly - Thursday, March 03, 2011

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Billionaire Warren Buffett said Wednesday the U.S. economy continues to improve and doesn't need as much government help as it is currently getting.

Buffett appeared Wednesday on CNBC four days after releasing his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shareholders and discussing his insatiable appetite for big acquisitions like last year's purchase of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad.

58. Gates: Spending Cuts Don't Have to Harm Learning - Tuesday, March 01, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) – Even in the midst of large spending cuts, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said Monday that schools can improve the performance of students if they put more emphasis on rewarding excellent teaching and less emphasis on paying teachers based on seniority and whether they have a master's degree.

59. Forums’ Message: Schools Vote More Than About City - Monday, February 21, 2011

In the Bartlett Station Municipal Center last week, Memphis City Council member Shea Flinn asked for a show of hands among the several hundred people at the Mid-South Tea Party forum on schools consolidation.

60. Schools Forums Hit Other Notes In Controversy - Friday, February 18, 2011

Shelby County Commissioner Mike Ritz says Germantown leaders and taxpayers should form a municipal school district now if they are going to.

“I think what they need to do is get immediately very selfish for themselves,” Ritz said at a Memphis Area Association of Realtors forum Thursday.

61. From Private to Public - Monday, January 31, 2011

Those who run for and hold elected office will tell anyone who listens that running for office and governing are two different points on the same line.

In the gap between them is a middle ground of appointed officials, citizens who serve on boards and commissions, and those involved in a growing number of private institutions tackling the same public policy questions.

62. Haslam Chimes in on Local Issues - Monday, January 31, 2011

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam has a warning about his developing set of regional economic development strategies.

“The days where government was able to be seen as somebody who was always giving something are gone, quite frankly,” Haslam told a group of 40 business and civic leaders at the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. “They’re gone for at least the foreseeable future.”

63. Wharton Sets Stage for Budget Proposal - Friday, January 28, 2011

Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. set the stage Thursday for a coming budget proposal that will include cuts in spending and reductions in services.

His state of the city address at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital came two weeks before a panel of advisers will make recommendations on streamlining city services.

64. Wharton Sets Stage for Budget Proposal - Thursday, January 27, 2011

Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. set the stage Thursday for a coming budget proposal that will include cuts in spending and reductions in services.

His state of the city address at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital came two weeks before a panel of advisers will make recommendations on streamlining city services.

65. Cash Reform Agenda Clashes With Referendum - Thursday, January 27, 2011

Two years into an aggressive reform agenda for the Memphis City Schools system, MCS Superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash had a lot of points to cover on the next phase of that reform. But a lot of frustration came through as well this week.

66. Haslam Readies for Office - Friday, January 14, 2011

Bill Haslam’s title will change from Tennessee governor-elect to governor when he takes the oath of office Saturday.

But before then he has traveled across the state, including a stop this week in Memphis where he toured the Memphis Bioworks Foundation and got a face full of questions from reporters about the schools standoff that could land on his new desk the day he takes office.

67. Time to Cheer the Past Year - Thursday, December 30, 2010

Perk up, Memphis.

Think of 2010 as a splash of cold water on your face, a big cup of black coffee, a ray of sunshine from the dawn of 2011 in your eyes. Now you’re awake. You can bitch about your aches and pains, call in sick, roll over and pull the covers over your head. Or you can get the hell up, kiss somebody you love and get out there and positively change your city.

68. MCS Charter Surrender Vote Still On, So Is Search For Compromise - Tuesday, December 14, 2010

The Memphis City Schools (MCS) board is scheduled to vote Monday Dec. 20 on a charter surrender resolution.

The board approved the item for its agenda at a Monday evening meeting that included the first debate among the nine board members about the controversial response to possible special schools district legislation for Shelby County Schools.

69. Gates Foundation Teacher Study Reaches Halfway Point - Tuesday, December 14, 2010

In the large bowl of alphabet soup that is education reform, it is known as MET.

The letters stand for Measures of Effective Teaching.

MET is a two-year research study funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in seven school districts, including Memphis City Schools.

70. Lewis Returns to City Schools Board - Thursday, December 09, 2010

The newest face on the nine-member Memphis City Schools board is familiar nevertheless.

It’s been four years since Sara Lewis decided not to seek re-election to the board.

71. Hutchison School Receives Major Gift for Leadership Program - Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Hutchison School’s leadership program has been bolstered by a “seven figure gift” announced by the school Monday from alumna and Hutchison trustee Abbie Ware Williams and her husband, Duncan Williams, president and CEO of Duncan-Williams Inc. investment banking firm.

72. An Overdue Thank You to Memphis - Friday, November 26, 2010

I’m thankful for home.

I’m in a serious relationship with this city. Unlike our casual visitors who have their one-night stands on Beale Street, love us and leave us during Memphis in May, lust after our barbecue from afar and sing our songs around the world, I wake up every day with Memphis.

73. Planning for Success - Friday, November 19, 2010

Editor’s Note: Part Two of a Two-Part Series

Last week we discussed the first steps of planning for fundraising success. This week will cover timelines, roles and responsibilities, the development team and identifying qualified prospective donors.

74. Bread Co-Founder Gets Beale Brass Note - Tuesday, November 16, 2010

The brass notes on Beale Street are moving at a swifter tempo this fall.

The late Memphis musician and songwriter Jimmy Griffin will get a note on the street’s Walk of Fame in a ceremony Saturday at 3 p.m. near the New Daisy Theater.

75. Bill and Melinda Gates Visit Hamilton, Ridgeway High Schools - Thursday, November 04, 2010

For the one-year anniversary of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s announcement it would invest more than $90 million in Memphis City Schools, the famous heads of the charitable foundation made a surprise appearance in Memphis.

76. Bill and Melinda Gates in Memphis Today - Wednesday, November 03, 2010

Bill and Melinda Gates are in Memphis today to get a first-hand look at the school system in which the Microsoft founder's charitable foundation has invested $90 million.

77. Philanthropy Begins at Home - Thursday, August 19, 2010

Ray’s Take: Bill Gates and Warren Buffet recently announced they were two of 40 billionaires who were making a pledge to give away at least half their fortune upon their death or soon thereafter. I couldn’t read this story without wondering how this made their kids feel.

78. The Float Begins - Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Ahead of the G-20 in Toronto, the Chinese government relented and began a gradual adjustment of its currency, the yuan.

In 2005, while the global economies were still relatively strong, China ended an 11-year peg to the dollar. From mid-2005 to mid-2008, the yuan appreciated 21 percent against the greenback. In July 2008, as the Great Recession accelerated, China re-pegged the yuan to the dollar to support local exporters.

79. Zoo Poised for Millionth Visitor - Monday, June 21, 2010

The Memphis Zoo this month is poised to welcome its millionth visitor for the year, a feat achieved by only a handful of American zoos.

Only once before has the zoo reached this milestone – in 2006, when more than a million visitors passed through its gates.

80. US Education Secretary to Speak in Memphis - Friday, June 04, 2010

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will speak at the National PTA Convention in Memphis June 11 at 5:30 p.m.

The 114th Annual National PTA Convention will be held June 10-13 at the Memphis Cook Convention Center.

81. Memphis Integral in Race to the Top Effort - Wednesday, March 31, 2010

When Tennessee made its pitch to federal officials for $500 million, Memphis school board member Tomeka Hart was part of the five-person Tennessee team.

And as the state formulated its proposal for the Race to the Top funding, Teresa Sloyan of the Memphis-based Hyde Foundation worked with Hart and others to put together the “ask.”

82. Race to Top Funding Awarded to Tennessee - Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Tennessee always had an inside track on winning a share of federal Race to the Top funding.

The $500 million application from the state and a similar application from Delaware were chosen in the opening round of the grant program, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

83. Tennessee Selected as a Race to the Top Recipient - Monday, March 29, 2010

The Wall Street Journal reports Tennessee has won a share of federal funding from the Race To The Top education reform program.

The $500 million application from the state and a similar application from the state of Delaware were picked in the opening round of the grant program, according to the report.

84. Appeals Court Ruling Raises More School Funding Issues - Friday, January 15, 2010

In the 19 months since the Memphis City Council voted to cut funding to the Memphis public school system, much has changed beyond the borders of the legal issue it raised and the lawsuit it prompted.

85. Race to the Top - Monday, January 11, 2010

The age of No Child Left Behind in national education is about to give way to another moniker.

The Race to the Top program is a race between states to get a share of $4.35 billion in federal stimulus money for an education reform effort.

86. Teacher Evaluations At Heart of Funds Talk - Thursday, January 07, 2010

The numbers are approximate. But they serve the point Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen wanted to make a week before the Tennessee Legislature began its special session on education.

Take a group of 100 Tennessee high school students and apply the percentages for what happens to Tennessee students.

87. Pressure Mounts to Stop Antibiotics in Agriculture - Monday, January 04, 2010

FRANKENSTEIN, Mo. (AP) – The mystery started the day farmer Russ Kremer got between a jealous boar and a sow in heat.

The boar gored Kremer in the knee with a razor-sharp tusk. The burly pig farmer shrugged it off, figuring: “You pour the blood out of your boot and go on.”

88. 2009 Year In Review - Monday, December 28, 2009

2009 was a year without a script – and plenty of improvising on the political stage.

It was supposed to be an off-election year except in Arlington and Lakeland.

2008 ended with voters in the city and county approving a series of changes to the charters of Memphis and Shelby County governments. Those changes were supposed to set a new direction for both entities, kicking into high gear in 2010 and ultimately culminating two years later.

89. Wrap-Up Bill Clears Senate Hurdle - Monday, December 21, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) - A pre-holiday package that wraps up Pentagon spending, extended unemployment benefits and other must-pass measures awaits one final vote in the Senate before it reaches President Barack Obama's desk for his signature.

90. Gates Grant Helps Define Effective MCS Teachers - Monday, November 23, 2009

Even as Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda Gates, were announcing a $90 million, seven-year grant to Memphis City Schools last week, the school system already had an important clue about the effort to define an effective teacher.

91. AP Poll: Americans Fret Over Health Overhaul Costs - Tuesday, November 17, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) - It's the cost, Mr. President.

Americans are worried about hidden costs in the fine print of health care overhaul legislation, an Associated Press poll says. That's creating new challenges for President Barack Obama as he tries to close the deal with a handful of Democratic doubters in the Senate.

92. Hyde, Frist Stress Importance of School Reform Plan - Monday, November 02, 2009

The possibility of tens of millions of dollars in private funding for the Memphis City Schools system isn’t as important as the reform plan the school system is pursuing along with the money.

That’s what philanthropist J.R. “Pitt” Hyde told a Greater Memphis Chamber gathering last week at the University of Memphis.

93. Teacher Overhaul Must Reward The Good, Purge the Bad - Monday, October 19, 2009

The value of the Memphis City Schools system’s proposal to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is in more than what it proposes to do: It offers a precise measurement of teacher quality.

MCS Supt. Kriner Cash has applied this kind of analytical approach to the long-suffering school system since he arrived in Memphis more than a year ago.

94. Internal Affair - Monday, October 19, 2009

One in five of the Memphis school system’s new teachers quits after a year in the classroom. After three years, 40 percent of the new hires are gone. For those who do hang around, the process of becoming – and remaining – a teacher is the story of a system within the school system.

95. Funding Floodgates Burst Open for Schools - Monday, August 24, 2009

Memphis City Schools Superintendent Kriner Cash had a very good week last week.

The Shelby County Commission approved $41 million in school construction funding for MCS as well as $29 million for county schools. The tax-free federal funding is a non-interest loan, in effect, to be used within three years and repaid within 15 to renovate existing city schools and build new ones.

96. Memphis Schools in Running For Multi-Million-Dollar Gates Grant - Thursday, August 20, 2009

Memphis City Schools is one of five finalists that could receive part of $500 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to improve teacher effectiveness.

A team from the school district traveled to Seattle earlier this month to make their case, and made an impression. Memphis, is a finalist, along with systems in Hillsborough County, Fla., Omaha, Neb., Pittsburgh and Los Angeles charter schools.

97. US House Rejects Most Obama Weapons Cuts - Friday, July 31, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives went along with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates' plans to kill the over-budget F-22 fighter jet but has rejected his efforts to cut off several other big ticket items.

98. Memphis Chamber Reps. Attend Conference in D.C. - Monday, July 13, 2009

The Greater Memphis Chamber has been selected by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for a Competitive Workforce to attend the three-day Business LEADS Institute today through Wednesday in Washington.

99. Obama Signs Bill to Cut Wasteful Defense Spending - Tuesday, May 26, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama granted the Pentagon new power to rein in wasteful defense spending Friday, a change he said was long overdue.

Standing with leading congressional players on the South Lawn of the White House, Obama signed the weapons acquisition overhaul bill, which passed unanimously in both the House and Senate this week. The president said the bill will crack down on defense programs with huge cost overruns and increase competition for contracts.

100. White House: Obama Wants to Cut $17B from Budget - Friday, May 08, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama asked Congress on Thursday to eliminate or trim 121 federal programs for a savings of $17 billion in the coming budget year. Many of the proposed cuts have already been rejected by Obama's allies in Congress, including some programs that his predecessor, President George W. Bush, repeatedly sought to end.