Little Rock, Ark. — Lawmakers on Monday begin what could be the last week of the state’s first fiscal session, taking up legislation to set the amounts of scholarships to be funded by Arkansas’ lottery.

If the lure of millions of dollars won’t work on some, the Arkansas Lottery Commission now offers the opportunity of converting non-winning scratch-off tickets into points to purchase items from the commission’s Internet store.

By COLLEEN JENKINS & JOHN MARTIN ST. PETERSBURG TIMES D. Howard Stitzel was a friend of Dorice “DeeDee” Moore, the woman charged with the murder of Polk lottery winner Abraham Shakespeare. The body was found in the back yard of Stitzel’s law practice.

Poll shows majority still backs lottery

Arkansas lawmakers are taking up the job of deciding how much the scholarships funded by the lottery will be.