If you are gearing up for back-to-school time, you'll want to keep in mind the upcoming Tennessee sales tax holiday. From August 7-9, 2009, you can shop with out paying sales tax on certain items.

Items that are exempt include clothing under $100, diapers, school supplies, and computers under $1,500. Some art supplies -- including clay, paints, and drawing pads -- are also exempt. For more information, check out the resources below:

• Sales Tax Holiday Details
• Back to School in the Mid-South
• Memphis Area Discount Stores

Okay, before I say anything else, here is a little disclaimer. My use of an apostrophe (or lack thereof) in the term, "farmers market," in no way represents my views on how it should be punctuated.

Whew. That's out of the way. It may seem silly but there are some pretty strong opinions out there regarding the use of apostrophes in farmers market. I had no idea until I began researching the farmers markets in the Memphis area and was corrected a couple of times and in a couple of different ways.

Interestingly enough, there are three prominent markets in Memphis and each one punctuates it differently. There is the Memphis Farmers Market, The Agricenter's Farmer's Market, and the Farmers' Market at the Garden.

It is my personal opinion that "farmers' market" is most accurate but I acknowledge that "farmers market" is more common.

But never mind. Today's post was not meant to be a rant about punctuation but rather some information about the best places to get fresh produce in Memphis. So here you have it -- a listing of Memphis area farmers' markets. Enjoy!

Although July 10th will come and go with Mayor Willie Herenton still in office, it is looking increasingly likely that the fifth term mayor will resign on July 30th. The biggest indication that it will really happen? The fact that Charles Carpenter has now said he is entering the race for Memphis Mayor.

Carpenter has served as Herenton's campaign manager for all five of his races. He is also known to be one of the mayor's confidantes. If he is throwing his name into the hat, he must be pretty certain that Herenton is really on his way out.

Professional wrestler, Jerry Lawler, has also announced his intent to run. The last time he ran for Memphis mayor, he only garnered 12% of the vote.

If you are losing track of how many people are planning to run for mayor, check out this list of declared candidates, complete with brief biographies of each one.

On Monday, The Memphis Zoo celebrated the birth of a healthy baby elephant. On Wednesday, the celebration turned to sorrow when the baby elephant died.

According to zoo officials, the baby fell down and her mother tried to help her up. When she did, she accidentally wounded the calf with her tusk. The wound proved to be fatal and the calf died about an hour later.