News Briefly
It's Powerball time
The big lottery kahuna is here: POWERBALL. Played in multiple states, Powerball has more people participating and, hence, more money at stake. For instance, the jackpot in this week's Powerball is $90 million. Powerball is the last major game to be introduced by lottery officials here. Because of the huge potential windfall, the game is expected to draw significant participation from residents of Mississippi, Arkansas and Alabama, which don't have lotteries.
Purcell and school board kiss, make up
In part because of an exhaustive story in The Tennessean that examined why the school system is getting financially reamed, Mayor Bill Purcell and the school board met early this week to do the communication thing. Next year's projected schools budget is 3 percent lower than the current year's. Over $40 million must be slashed. Some school board members have claimed they were blindsided by the mayor's call for cuts, but Purcell's lengthy presentation Monday apparently calmed nerves.
Meanwhile, higher ed still bites
In the wake of TSU president James Hefner's dishonesty and financial mismanagement, MTSU president Sidney McPhee's sexual harassment of a subordinate, and the two recent presidents at the University of Tennessee who were forced to leave for various shenanigans, the only new development on the higher education front is that Tennesseans are realizing our system is truly pathetic.
It's draft day
Will the Titans pick a defensive end in this weekend's NFL draft? Will they go for a running back to help out should Eddie George have to go elsewhere? How about another defensive back? Team officials were playing it close to the vest in this annual guessing game, which only serves to fire up the fan base at a time of year when there's very little interest on the pro sports front.
