Congratulations to Greg Mackay, who held on to his job as Knox County's Election Coordinator  today.

Mackay - who is a Democrat - won the post despite a majority of Republicans on Knox County's Election Commission.

The vote broke down along partisan lines - 3 to 2 - with Republican Paul Crilly crossing the aisle and casting the deciding vote for Mackay.

Crilly's vote will be seen by some Republicans as a betrayal.  There were a number of solid candidates for the job, with R's on their resumes.

I've written before how news stories sometimes bleed into our personal lives. And how we try not to let our feelings affect how we report those stories.

In the case of the murder-suicide today of Erik Webb and his estranged wife, Sarah, that is a very difficult thing to do. 

It is very difficult to report this story without a deep sense of sadness.  I knew them both.  Not well, but well enough to see both their faces now, in my minds eye, in happier times. 

A lot has already been said and written about Bill Lockett's admission that he embezzled money from his former law firm.  So much so, that one wonders if he can actually continue to serve as law director.

Lockett says he stole the money because of financial pressures created by a sick child. He admitted his wrong doing this week, because his former law firm discovered the theft and threatened to blow the whistle if he didn't.

He had no other choice.

We can all sympathize with a parent struggling to cover the costs of medical care for a sick child. 

TVA Inspector General Richard Moore says a preliminary report on the Roane County Ash Spill should be out in the next week or so.

Moore - speaking on Tennessee This Week - says TVA will have an opportunity to respond to the Inspector General's review before a final report is submitted.

The I. G. also talked about the procurement card scandal uncovered by his office.   He says TVA administrators are taking appropriate actions to make sure it doesn't happen again.

A UT Board of Trustees committee will discuss the possibility of selling the President's House at a meeting in Nashville on May 5.

The home, in Sequoyah Hills, was sold to UT  back in 1960 for $60,000.  At the time, it was appraised at $90,000. It's value is considerably higher today.

It's also a very expensive perk.  It's annual budget for maintanance and staff is $180,000.

UT's Gina Stafford says the idea of selling the house actually came up in 2007.

So, I get an e-mail today asking why Larry Van Gilder had slammed me in his weekly Halls Shopper News column?

I hadn't - at that point - read the column.  I quickly read the column.

Larry was complaining about the use of the word "drastic" in describing Knox County Commissioner Mark Harmon's proposal to reduce the Knox County fleet, by a "local news anchor."

He didn't think it was an appropriate descriptor.

He may be right, though some surely will argue the point.

-- It was a who's who of Republicans at tonight's Lincoln Day Dinner.  And why not, not one but all four of the major GOP candidates for governor were on the program.

Bill Gibbons, Bill Haslam, Ron Ramsey and Zach Wamp each had 7 minutes to make their appeal to the gathered crowd.

I asked newly elected Knox County GOP chairman  Ray Jenkins who was responsible for letting the candidates know when their time was up - he said Judge Dale Workman had that duty.

We talk with Speaker of the Senate, Ron Ramsey this Sunday on Tennessee This Week.  The Republican State Senator from Blountville talks about his run for Governor and if the legislature is focused on the budget.

Also on our program is the newly elected Mayor of Farragut, Ralph McGill. McGill talks about his agenda of being more "business-friendly" to developers.

And in the Final Word, it's George Korda and Cortney Piper.

Tennessee This Week airs Sunday at noon on WATE.

A viewer from Maryville is upset over the Obama Administration's High Speed Rail Corridor Designations. 

Here's the map.  Gary Wynn points out that the President leaves Tennessee out of the mix for any targeted stimulus money regarding light rail.

"A lot of Tennesseeans are angry, he said. "And those that don't know about it should be angry. However; without media attention, I'm afraid that we'll be left out in the cold on this one, and the problem will fade away."

A U.S. Navy Laboratory is reporting a potential breakthrough in cold fusion.

Read more here.