The big one is getting bigger in California. For the first time, the state is joining a multi-state lottery. That means more people buying tickets which means bigger pots of money for the winner. Sacramento bureau chief Timm Herdt (therdt@VenturaCountyStar.com) is planning a Page One story tomorrow on the Mega Millions lottery, why the state is doing it, and what will happen when tickets go on sale tomorrow. We'll also talk to some lottery sellers and to you ... the folks plunking down their bucks to try to win millions.

Looks like we might run the story on Page One tomorrow about the independent high school counselors ... the ones parents are hiring to help their kids through the college admissions process.

We'll also take a look at a story that staff writer Sue Davis (sdavis@VenturaCountyStar.com) is putting together on the move this summer by the city of Thousand Oaks and the Calleguas water district to prove they've got great tap water. They're bottling it to show it's as good as anything you spend money on in the store.

County reporter Charles Levin (clevin@VenturaCountyStar.com) is following on reports the county is demanding the state guarantee reimbursement for this fall's special election.

Off the wires, we will look at the guilty verdict out of Mississippi this morning in the 40-year-old civil rights case; the follow on the Senate's rejection again of U.N. ambassador-nominee John Bolton; and President Bush's meeting today with the Vietnamese prime minister.