Today’s record breaking warm weather reminded me of one of the more crazy times I spent at the University of Tennessee.

It was a three day stretch in early March 1974. Like today - it was unseasonably warm and after months of cold, dreary weather, the warm stretch of days was a great break from the monotony of winter and studying.

It was so warm - especially at night — that it seemed the natural thing to go outside and enjoy ourselves. And boy did we ever.

The Knoxville Police Department helped out by shutting down Cumberland Avenue from around 21st street to 17th street. The only traffic on the strip those 3 nights were people. And the occasional car filled with — naked people.

Streaking had reached Knoxville. And it turned Cumberland Avenue into a spontaneous party.

Those of you old enough to remember streaking know it was a fad that swept the country. It inspired a song by Ray Stevens.

Even the Oscar Awards that year had an unscheduled streaker…prompting presenter David Niven to quip: “Just think: the only laugh that man will probably ever get is for stripping and showing off his shortcomings.”

But it was on college campuses that streaking reached epidemic proportions. So much, that Time Magazine ran a spread on the craziness..

Here’s a part of an article from its March 18, 1974 edition:

“At Stanford University, a fraternity man entertaining a coed in his room responded to a knock at the door and was confronted by seven nude males, each carrying a golf bag. “May we play through?” asked one. In Knoxville, Tenn., vowing that they would not be “outstripped by any state,” scores of University of Tennessee students raced nude down Cumberland Avenue, even taking to the roofs to sit atop a second-story billboard and astride an ornamental bull.”

I remember that billboard and all the guys lined up on it. As I recall it - they mooned the crowd more than once. I remember the bull too and the couple on it. But we won’t get into too many details about that.

Knoxville and UT students embraced streaking so much that America’s most trusted man, then CBS anchor Walter Cronkite tagged Knoxville with a dubious distinction. It’s even on the City of Knoxville website:

In 1974 Walter Cronkite designated Knoxville as the “Streaking Capital of the World.” It was in the spring of that year that an estimated 5,000 people on Cumberland Avenue took their clothes off… stripping on the “strip”.

Streaking was fun. It was silly. It was a great way to take our minds off some serious stuff.

The war in Viet Nam was winding down, but young people were still dying. Richard Nixon was President and in the midst of scandal. We all needed a break.

Thank goodness for streaking.

More speculation about UT President John Petersen and whether he will be retained by the Board of Trustees.

The Tennessean ran this story today. It offers nothing new, but allows the newspaper to stay out in front of the story - should it actually become a story.

We’ve been musing about the issue for weeks. Our sources say the decision has already been made, but so far Board Vice Chair Jim Murphy is keeping his cards close to his vest, saying no decision has been made.

On Friday, Young Broadcasting, Inc. - the company that owns WATE, WKRN in Nashville, and a number of other TV stations around the country - filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection.

Since the announcement, a number of friends have called or visited with me about the repercussions - both to me personally, and to our operations at WATE.

The conversations have mostly started in hushed, pat on the back, it’ll be fine tones.

“Is everything OK?” they ask in a whisper, as if someone had just died in the family.

The answer is, at least for now, yes.

We are under Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection to reorganize our company’s sizeable debt. We’re told by management that operations will not be impacted.

Over the past year or so, we’ve - through layoffs and attrition - gotten about as lean as possible in anticipation of Friday’s action.

We are all hopeful that that means no layoffs in the immediate future. Of course, given today’s economy anything is possible, but for now we’ll take management’s word that no one is losing a job.

Also, despite rumors to the contrary, WATE is making a profit and doing as well as can be expected in today’s down economy.

That goes for our news operations as well.

We remain a competitive alternative to the other stations in the market, and committed to delivering accurate, relevant news to East Tennesseans.

So, before you begin writing our epitaphs, be aware that WATE is not going away.

– Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale and Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam were both in the audience last night for Governor Bredesen’s State of the State address.

For two men whose stars seem to be headed in different directions, you would not have known that from the attention they received from those on the House floor.

Both men were greeted warmly by a number of lawmakers.

– UTK’s new Chancellor Jimmy Cheek, also made the rounds last night. He was being escorted by UT V-P Hank Dye.

–Also in the crowd, ORNL’s Thom Mason and Billy Stair. The two, along with UT President John Petersen met with Governor Bredesen last Friday after the Governor’s speech to the Knoxville Chamber Partnership.

I asked Stair why the meeting? His answer (with a smile) ,”We’re just scheming.” It turns out the “scheming” had to do with the Governor’s call for a Solar Institute.

–State Senator Tim Burchett may have a new calling (aside from his desire to be the next Knox County Mayor) - TV field producer. While we were busy interviewing local lawmakers for their reaction to the Governor’s speech, Burchett was busy lining up Lt Governor Ramsey and House Speaker Williams for our cameras.

–T-DEC spokeswoman Tisha Calabrese-Benton (a former Ch. 6 Asst. News Director) took time from her communications duties to attend last night’s address.

Since the ash spill in Roane County, she’s been busier than normal answering questions from reporters. She wasn’t fazed by talk of a 4-day work week for state employees. It’s one of the possibilities facing state government if revenues continue to fall.

“Does that mean your reporters won’t call me on my 3-day weekend?” she asked?

UT Vice President Hank Dye says John Petersen was with Governor Bredesen last night at a scheduled function and that was why he wasn’t at UT celebrating Pat Summitt’s 1,000th victory.

Dye was responding to our post regarding Petersen’s noticeable absence from the festivities.

“If you’d have asked me, I could have told you where he was,” said Dye this morning. The post was written at midnight. I doubt he would’ve appreciated the call at that hour.

Still, it explains why Dr. Petersen wasn’t part of the events at Thompson Boling Arena.

Noticeably absent from the post-game festivities celebrating Pat Summitt’s 1,000th victory was UT President John Petersen.

New UTK Chancellor Jimmy Cheek took part in the celebration. So did Men’s and Women’s Athletic Directors Mike Hamilton and Joan Cronan. SEC Commissioner Mike Slive made an appearance. Even Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam took part in the ceremonies. But no Dr. Petersen.

Perhaps I’m reading more into this than there is. Maybe Dr. Petersen had a more pressing engagement than something as historic as Summitt’s 1,000th victory? Or maybe he was there, and just didn’t feel like taking part in the ceremonies.

Or maybe he wasn’t invited?

I’ve been hearing rumors for months now, that Petersen would not be retained by the UT’s Board of Trustees. He’s currently working without a contract.

An independent evaluator was in town this week for Petersen’s 5-year performance review.

The President issued his own self assessment today. It was - as self-assessments generally are - a positive statement of his time here. He did say, however, that there would likely be cuts in his administration because of the current budget crisis.

One wonder if those cuts might begin with Dr. Petersen himself.

Not all the jockeying for position at Saturday’s UT-Memphis game was on the basketball court. Sources tell me a couple of gubernatorial candidates were also vying for attention.

The Haslam family has courtside seats, but Mayor Bill was no where to be seen early in the contest.

His republican opponent, Congressman Zach Wamp, however, was visible. He sat with UT President John Petersen, just a row or two away from the Haslam seats.

I’m told it wasn’t too long before the Mayor did show up with his wife and claimed the front row.

A friend, who was at the game, says it was hard not to notice the two men.

I wonder what Dr. Petersen was thinking?

Former State Representative Bob Booker of Knoxville says he doesn’t pay too much attention these days to the happenings in Nashville or state government.

But 40 years ago, he was very much a part of the scene.

As one of the few Democrats in East Tennessee, Booker found himself in a unique position to make history.

At stake was the Speaker’s post. Bill Jenkins - an upper East Tennessee Republican (who would later become Congressman) - was vying for the position against Democrat Pat Lynch of Winchester. Both parties had 49 members.

The lone Independent was J.P. Kimbrell of West Point. He would wind up voting for Jenkins, but prior to the vote, he was very much a question mark.

So the Republicans needed an insurance vote.

They found it in Booker, who says he had grown unhappy with his own party because he felt he was being taken for granted.

And besides, he says, he had a number of Republican friends in the Knox County delegation. He would often ride to Nashville for sessions with two of them, Jack Comer and Archie Weaver.

And he considered Bill Jenkins a “good friend.”

When the vote for Speaker came, it was done alphabetically. Booker was one of the early votes and when he uttered, “Bill Jenkins,” as his choice, he says “people were aghast!”

His vote and the other Republican votes made a majority - allowing Jenkins to become the first Republican Speaker of the House in Tennessee since reconstruction.

I asked Booker if he ever regretted his decision?

“Lord no,” he said. “I was re-elected after that vote with flying colors. No, I never regretted my decision.”

Booker served three terms in the State House, but he says he eventually grew tired of the atmosphere in Nashville and joined former Knoxville Kyle Testerman’s administration in 1972.

“These days I rarely pay attention to the folks in Nashville,” says Booker. But certainly on that day back in 1969, Nashville paid alot of attention to Bob Booker.

Our newsroom could use a new carpet.

If you’ve ever been around reporters for any time at all, you know that we can be a messy bunch. After years of wear and tear, the carpet in the six newsroom has lots of stains from spilled coffee, soft drinks and food.

I doubt though that our managers are too worried right now about the carpet. They’re more concerned about putting a good news product on the air. And they’re worried about the economy, about ad revenues and about not laying off people.

That’s the difference between private business and government. When times get tough you don’t buy carpet, not for the newsroom, or the sales department or especially the general manager’s office.

You hunker down, work hard and wait for better times.

It’s different in government. Or so it seems.

How else can you explain UT administrators’ decision to move forward with a half million dollar renovation that would provide some of the highest paid employees at UT with new carpet and new furniture?

How else can you explain the project - once approved - allowed to go nearly hundred-thousand dollars over budget?

Lloyd Daugherty of the Tennessee Conservative Union says the reason these things happen is because its not their money.

“It’s an insult to the parents, an insult to the kids at school and it’s a slap in the face of taxpayers and much of the faculty who’re underpaid,” he said. “This is a classic example of people taking money that’s not their own and wasting it.”

Alot of the folks who’ve called our newsroom, e-mailed us, or posted comments on our website about this story, agree with Daugherty.

But not everyone.

One poster said WATE should be ashamed of itself for pandering to our viewers over such a “negligible” story.

Surely, the poster is right, half a million dollars compared to what the University is facing in cuts is negligible, but I don’t think the story is.

We reported that - among other things - the University spent $35,000 on a table and chairs for its conference room. In the big picture, 35-grand is a drop in the bucket, but it does speak to a bigger issue.

“Does it solve the problems at the University if we don’t have that table? Absolutely not” Lloyd Daugherty says. “Does it save the nursing school? No. But it’s a symbol of what’s going on and it’s a symbol of the attitude the administration has.”

And that - a majority of our viewers say - is the story.

But we could still use some new carpet.

I was pumping gas early Saturday morning; and as I filled my tank, the clerk was busy changing the sign from $4.59 to $4.99 a gallon for unleaded.

“Are you going up on prices again?” asked a customer. “Yes, sir,” said the worker, who didn’t look too happy. He’d probably already been yelled at by irate customers and was expecting another tongue lashing.

“Bless your heart,” said the customer.

Then the customer thought a moment and said, “Better yet, bless my heart!”