The Budget story is by Paula Wade of the Commercial Appeal, and finally answers a few questions on the state budget that should have been answered long ago. It's also reasonably balanced, no small feat considering that Paula makes no secret of her, ah, intense support for a state income tax. According to the story, the state's budget looks much larger than it is because it counts every penny that comes in, even when the money is earmarked and not ever really under state control (e.g., UT football ticket revenues). Well, OK. Why do they do this? I think it's for the same reason we have so many unnecessary flyover ramps on I-40 as it passes through downtown: it's somebody's effort to make the state look bigger to outsiders. The main news: The number of inmates in state prisons grew 39 percent in the past five years. Tenncare is not a drain on the budget (can this be true?). And this big one: more than 85 percent of the state's budget is "dedicated to items required by court order, federal law or the state constitution." Huh. Why do we even bother electing a legislature? (A related story on yesterday's antitax rally in Nashville is stuffed in the State/Local section, I guess in favor of the garbage-eating bear story).

Michael Silence reports on community activism, with a helpful list of websites. (The Sentinel might want to consider an index of these sites as a permanent part of its own website as an inexpensive way of bolstering its community role. It could even offer free webpages, as many other local papers do.) Big insights: local government is not very friendly to citizen involvement (duh); small numbers of people can have an effect anyway if they're persistent; and there's more and more of this kind of activism going on. (This is probably a spinoff of less trust in the authorities to do their job, along with things like talk radio and the Internet, but Silence doesn't go into that. It might make a good followup). There's a nice sidebar containing tips on how to do things, but it leaves out one great resource: the reference department at the main Knoxville Public Library, who can find anything.

In State & Local, J.J. Stambaugh appears to be claiming the immigrant beat. That's a good career choice: the issue is growing here, and it's readily transferable elsewhere, too. The story focuses on Knoxville's new and already overburdened INS operation, which has been forced to limit itself to dealing with criminal aliens and employers who exploit illegal immigrants. Suits me. Stambaugh's interviewing manner must be sympathetic, as the agenti in charge is led to say something unwise about Central and South American countries, which surely isn't anything that the INS or State Department want in print.

The Business secton features a big Larisa Brass story on the Pellissippi technology corridor. Has it worked? Yes and no. It's fairly successful so long as you don't judge it by the initial promises to duplicate the Research Triangle. Nice inside column by David Moon, pointing out that although Knoxvillians are always complaining, outsiders who come here usually love it and don't want to leave. Like, er, Whittle folks.