IS IT TRUE August 15, 2012

IS IT TRUE the assertion that clawback provisions placed in a contract between the City of Evansville and companies that are offered incentives will put us at a competitive disadvantage is a hopelessly flawed argument?…it sort of redefines the word incentive to have no exchange of obligations and to have all one sided word of mouth deals made with the taxpayer’s money?…we are sure that companies that are complete mercenaries that want to arrange incentive auctions to shake down cities are just fine with no accountability in this demented race to the bottom?…the argument against accountability is defeated by the fact that the State of Indiana actually has accountability and still wins plenty of attraction projects?…that intentionally failing to take contractual actions that establish accountability is either cowardly, lazy, or both?…it also makes this place look dumb and desperate?…we hope the Evansville City Council takes notice of this unacceptable way of doing business and changes their ways?…that this gives us a hint at why there is no capability to VET anything within local government as VETTING is a moot activity if accountability is abandoned?

IS IT TRUE the Fraternal Order of Police are hosting a County Candidates night tonight at 6 PM at 801 Court Street?…the notice of this meeting went out to some important political leaders via email at 10:40 last night when most everyone is asleep?…if there is a sparse showing of candidates to this event that the FOP will have no one but themselves to blame because less than 24 hours notices is not even a courtesy notice?…we hope that this late notice was across the board as opposed to the candidates that the organizers do not support?

IS IT TRUE that the Ellis Park Race Track in Henderson, Ky. shall sometime in September of 2012 have a new partner?…that the New York based Saratoga race track has been highly rumored to be investors in the new gaming machine venture soon to be launched at Ellis Park?…it is also rumored that Saratoga Race Track out of New York may make an offer to outright purchase Ellis Park in the near future?

IS IT TRUE there is a bad habit forming in the 4th Ward in the 600 block of Sweetser Avenue of having multiple gun wielding and shooting incidents in the same week?…summer always seems to be plagued by violence in that part of Evansville but this year is taking the cake?…the EPD seems to be doing a good job of responding to these criminal acts?…the real problem will not be solved by having the EPD on 24/7 patrol in every area that has seen violent acts because there is simply not enough EPD officers to maintain vigil over a large area of Evansville?

IS IT TRUE that a study by Valley Watch has looked into the question of where the Evansville region would rank in terms of air pollutants if it were a state?…the size of the State of Evansville for purposes of the study is a circle with a radius of 62 miles centered in downtown Evansville?…that would roughly just beyond Madisonville, KY to the south, Owensboro to the east, Vincennes to the north, and a couple of counties into Illinois to the west?…that such a small State of Evansville would rank as the 3rd worse polluter in the United States just slightly behind Ohio?…if the circle were opened up to make the State of Evansville equivalent in acreage to Kentucky or Indiana that it would certainly rank 2nd and most likely 1st as the worse place in the country for air pollutants?…you can see the entire data set assembled by Valley Watch at http://valleywatch.net/?