Federal File: New hire?; Mass appeal; Signing off; Kudos

Digger Phelps, the former basketball coach at the University of Notre Dame, apparently was seeking a job in the Education Department last year, and officials confirmed he was being considered for an advisory post.

That job went to someone else, but Mr. Phelps apparently continued browsing elsewhere in the Bush Administration. The Washington Post reported last week that he will be tapped by the Office of National Drug Control Policy to head the Administration's "weed and seed'' initiative.

The new interagency program, which appeared in Mr. Bush's 1993 budget proposal, is designed to rehabilitate inner-city communities plagued by drugs and violence. The E.D. budget includes a $56 million contribution...