News Briefly
Georgia on my mind
Tennessee officials are still considering Georgia’s pitch to run our state’s new lottery, saying they’ll give the Peach State an answer by Sept. 1. In the meanwhile, a big-shot consultant who knows a lot about lotteries has determined Tennessee would get nearly a quarter of a billion dollars more over seven years if it goes with Georgia. That’s because Georgia would be able to get our system up and running quicker and with lower costs. Much negotiation remains to be done, although all indicators are pointing toward the likelihood of a deal.
Gerry House improving
For several hours every morning, one man holds more Tennesseans in the palms of his hands than any other: WSIX morning jock Gerry House. News of his sudden illness—he was diagnosed Friday as suffering from bleeding in his brain—shocked and saddened the city. House has had two operations thus far and a third is planned. He’s still in intensive care, although his doctor said a full recovery is expected.
Keg party starts at noon
The latest edition of the Princeton Review lists the University of the South, located an hour and a half from Nashville in tiny Sewanee, as one of the top 10 party schools in the nation. Sewanee joins other notorious party institutions such as the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Colorado in Boulder. We’ll drink to that.
UT finds interim president
University of Tennessee is expected to select former president Joe Johnson as interim president this week. Johnson, who served as UT president throughout most of the ’90s, replaces John Shumaker, who was hounded out of office after chronic overspending, repeated plane trips to Birmingham (where it was said he had a lady friend) and who-knows-what-else. Since his departure, Shumaker has reportedly been seen at Sewanee, drowning his sorrows.
