METRO/ REGION

SCHOOL MONEY Superintendent Rick Smith told Hamilton County commissioners Tuesday that new buildings aren’t the only education costs of population growth. Part of the challenge is paying personnel who will teach students in them. That’s why he’s asking commissioners to release about $1.2 million the county’s been holding in escrow since last year. At least another $1 million more is scheduled to be collected this month. Last February commissioners set aside post-2009 payment-in-lieu of tax funds designated for education for school capital projects and maintenance.

OCCUPY’S 100TH On the 100th day of the Chattanooga Occupy movement, the camp of protesters on the courthouse lawn is fairly quiet. The ranks are thinning. The picket signs are stacked neatly inside a tent. In the first week of Occupy, protesters say there were as many as 50 campers rallying for more jobs, lower college tuition, campaign reform, higher taxes for the rich and an “end to corporate personhood,” as one sign reads. But now many of those Occupy supporters are sleeping on mattresses at home or hitting the road, and only 10 or so diehards are left, depending on the night.

JEFFERSON AWARD Bobby Dunn is usually the first one at the fields of the Harrison Recreation Association, and he’ll be the one to turn out the lights after dozens of local children and teens have finished playing baseball. As the volunteer league president, he’s been turning out the lights for 25 years. In that time, he’s overseen and personally coached players as young as 3, often through their high school years. His dedication to the kids is one of the reasons he is one of this month’s winners for the Jefferson Award.

BUSINESS

FORECLOSURE SETTLEMENT Major banks agree to pay more than $20 billion to settle disputes with state regulators over how they foreclosed, or threatened to foreclose, on millions of residential properties. The agreement will provide Tennessee more than $120 million of refinancing, foreclosure counseling and other help to those who lost or could lose their homes to foreclosure.

IN LIFE

ROMANTIC MOVIES Romance, like beauty, can be in the eye of the beholder. The American Film Institute listed “Casablanca” as the top romantic movie of all time, followed closely by “Gone With the Wind” and “West Side Story.”

SPORTS

BRAVES COUNTRY Several hundred fans gathered Thursday inside and outside the Taco Mac restaurant on Broad Street, waiting to meet members of the Atlanta Braves. Players Freddie Freeman, Jason Heyward, Cory Gearrin and hitting coach Greg Walker visited as part of the annual Braves Caravan. “Amazing. Really great fans,” Freeman said. Atlanta pitchers and catchers report to spring training Feb. 19.