News Briefly
May the force be with her
Nashville’s former acting police chief, Deb Faulkner, has gone to work for the state, where she will fight fraud and abuse in TennCare. Her title: assistant director of program integrity. In making the announcement, Gov. Phil Bredesen said he plans to make “substantial reforms” to TennCare in coming weeks, and a “vigilant focus on potential fraud and abuse must be part of anything we do.” Faulkner was one of six finalists considered for the permanent police chief job; shortly after a new chief was appointed, she resigned.
Phil Bredesen, Live!
The governor’s budget address to the legislature Monday night proposed pumping additional dollars—approximately $300 million worth—into not only primary and secondary schools but higher education institutions in Tennessee. Bredesen also proposed approximately $350 million in cuts to some TennCare pharmacy benefits, the idea being that the perennially messed up health insurance program can’t gobble up all of our precious dollars. The speech came as Bredesen’s approval rating, according to recent poll numbers published in The Tennessean, are perched at an astonishingly high 72 percent.
Janet Jackson rocks Channel 5
Deb Turner, general manager at the CBS affiliate here, acknowledged to the morning newspaper that she didn’t like the halftime show at the Super Bowl either and has sent a letter to CBS management expressing her feelings. Upset callers were said to be flooding the station to lodge protests.
It’s presidential primary time in Tennessee
Wesley Clark, John Kerry and John Edwards are all planning to make forays into the Volunteer State between now and Feb. 10, the date of the primary. Edwards vows to spend every day in the state between now and the primary; Clark is scheduled to ride around the state in a bus for at least two days.
