IS IT TRUE DECEMBER 14, 2018

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We hope that today’s “IS IT TRUE” will provoke honest and open dialogue concerning issues that we, as responsible citizens of this community, need to address in a rational and responsible way? 
IS IT TRUE that the four buildings owned by the Kunkel Group that have been put into a receivership by legal authorities are learning just what it means to be managed by a receivership?…among other things they have been notified to pay their rent to the receivership and not to the entity they had been paying their rents to?…the same goes for lodging any complaints they may have?…the reality is that these four properties may still be owned by the Kunkel Group but they are not managed by the Kunkel Group and may have limited equity remaining above the debt that is secured by these four properties?
IS IT TRUE that the City-County Observer reiterates its remorse for the situation that the Kunkel Group finds itself dealing with after being the best company when it comes to revitalizing downtown Evansville?…it all started with an incentive plan launched by the Weinzapfel Administration to motivate refurbishment of living quarters in downtown Evansville?…of all of the businesses that jumped on the downtown bandwagon the Kunkel Group was the leader and they are the ones bearing the brunt of the burdens associated with fixing up downtown properties in a stagnant area?…we are concerned that the worst may be yet to come by looking at the travails of the McCurdy Hotel and the old Welborn building?…the words “we are from the government and we are here to help” seldom work out for anyone but the government?
IS IT TRUE that the Evansville Vanderburgh Regional Airport has completed the massive renovation project in the terminal and it is looking very good?…these improvements after the installation of the boarding ramps a few years ago bring the Evansville airport up to the standards expected by discriminating travelers?…we congratulate the airport management and the other agencies that worked together to get the airport into exemplary shape and hope that more flights are made available to the benefit of local businesses and travelers?
IS IT TRUE we are told if John Hayden, CPA decides not to run for the 3rd Ward City Council seat that former Democrat Steve Melcher may run for that seat as a Republican?
IS IT TRUE over the years the TIF Districts have become a black hole of lost tax monies and they are now considered a political and financial boondoggle?  …taxpayers are told that TIFs have no financial impact on us., but that just isn’t true.? …somehow politicians, the media and even experts have fooled us about the value of the TIF Districts?   …they deny the very questions that should be asked first?  …the questions are “what is the TIF tax dollar impact on taxpayers and what is the benefit?   …the bottom line is that Governmental capital projects should be planned, prioritized and executed. before using TIF monies? …that over the years our elected officials have turned Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) is a boondoggle and a black hole with the taxpayers holding the bag?
IS IT TRUE TIF’s Districts capture property tax dollars from increased property tax assessments, those taxes above a certain base assessment set at the inception of the TIF?  …property taxes collected in the TIF Districts become the award to the TIF?  …TIFs are formed by local elected officials for special projects.?  …when a mayor needs extra money to pay for a new sports center, medical school or hotel getting money from the TIF District is an easy answer?
IS IT TRUE it’s obvious the taxpayers and members of the Evansville City Council need to have an accurate and detailed breakdown down of the profit and loss statements for the 2017-18 Thunderbolt hockey season?  …its also obvious that the taxpayers and City Council members need to know where is the Ford Center getting the money to cover any possible losses incurred by the Evansville Thunderbolts?
IS IT TRUE that the cost of complacency is about to come crashing down on the customers of the City of Evansville Water and Sewer Utility?…long needed replacements of old cast iron water pipes is finally underway and the cost of the project is staggering?…the latest estimate for replacing just 1.5% of the pipes that need replacing will increase the price of the average water bill in Evansville’s service area by $412 per year per customer?…that works out to just under $40 per month to replace just 1.5% of the pipes?…that if we could just do that 66 more times all the pipes would be replaced and we may be good for another century?
IS IT TRUE we would like to thank Lora Niemeier Chief Deputy City Clerk City of Evansville for sending us the agenda in a timely manner?
Todays “Readers Poll” question is: Do you think the voters will elect three individuals from the same business to serve on the Evansville City Council?
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11 COMMENTS

  1. Could be wrong but I think Melcher is in the 5th ward. Last time the ward districts were redrawn his residents was put in the 5th. Again could be wrong

  2. Don’t expect to see this reported in the right-wing Trump-suckup mainstream media:
    ………………………………………………………

    TRUMP INAUGURATION SPENDING UNDER CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION BY FEDERAL PROSECUTORS

    Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York are investigating Donald Trump’s inaugural committee, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday

    The Journal reports the criminal probe is misspent funds and also is examining whether some of the committee’s top donors gave money in exchange for access to the incoming Trump administration, policy concessions or to influence official administration positions

    Giving money in exchange for political favors will run afoul of federal corruption laws. Diverting funds from the organization, which was registered as a nonprofit, could also violate federal law

    “In April raids of Mr. Cohen’s home, office and hotel room, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents obtained a recorded conversation between Mr. Cohen and Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a former adviser to Melania Trump, who worked on the inaugural events. In the recording, Ms. Wolkoff expressed concern about how the inaugural committee was spending money”

    “The inaugural committee has publicly identified vendors accounting for $61 million of the $103 million it spent, and it hasn’t provided details on those expenses, according to tax filings”

    “The committee raised more than double what former President Barack Obama’s first inaugural fund reported raising in 2009, the previous record. Trump’s funds came largely from wealthy donors and corporations who gave $1 million or more—including casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson, AT&T Inc. and Boeing Co. , according to Federal Election Commission filings”

    The federal government has a key cooperating witness in the investigation

    Mr. Mueller has also probed whether any foreign money flowed to the inaugural fund, which is prohibited from accepting foreign funds. In August, the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, on a referral from Mr. Mueller, obtained a guilty plea from a Washington consultant who admitted he used a U.S. citizen to serve as a “straw purchaser” so that a “prominent Ukraine oligarch” could attend the inauguration

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-inauguration-spending-under-criminal-investigation-by-federal-prosecutors-11544736455?mod=e2fb

      • Don’t expect to see this reported in the right-wing Trump-suckup mainstream media

        (NOTE: The report from the OIG and DOJ proves more than a right-wing blog intent on cover-up)
        ………………………………………………………

        No Evidence FBI Tried To Destroy Text Messages

        The Justice Department’s watchdog found NO EVIDENCE the FBI intentionally destroyed text messages of two former FBI officials involved in the Hillary Clinton email investigation.

        Instead, the inspector general faulted an FBI-wide software failure that has resulted in large portions of FBI text messages not being archived.

        Thursday’s report examines a gap in messages from December 2016 through May 2017 from the phones of former FBI agent Peter Strzok and ex-FBI lawyer Lisa Page. The FBI ultimately managed to recover thousands of the messages.

        https://oig.justice.gov/reports/2018/i-2018-003523.pdf

    • Yes he did but like I said I think he was gerrymandered out. If I’m wrong won’t be the first time and won’t be the last

      • My confusion was when Melchers dad was alive he lived in the 5th Ward. Steve inherited his dads house. That’s when it was moved to 3rd Ward.

  4. Just think what your water bills would be without Weinzapfel’s smart meter deal with Johnson Controls. Has anyone ever heard how much that has saved us and how they were going to pay back many returns.

  5. This extremely important and profound speech will never be reported in the liberal main stream media that insists the US to conform to the cultural demands of any and all immigrants:
    ………………………………….

    Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has urged migrants to “completely abide by the laws, customs, traditions, and culture” of the countries they move to, or — better yet — to work on making their home countries worth staying in.

    “Every country has the right to protect its people and their interests,” the Arab leader told the World Youth Forum in Sharm-el-Sheikh, explaining that Western countries had the right to uphold human rights “in a framework that preserves [their] national interests.”

    The former army general told his audience in no uncertain terms: “[I]f you go to another country as a guest, you must completely abide by its laws, customs, traditions and culture. You must abide by them completely. If you are not willing to do this, don’t go” — advice which would have provoked outrage from the left-liberal commentariat had been issued by a Western leader.

    “Instead of asking me why countries [in the West] close their gates to us, you should ask yourself why the people of Afghanistan don’t take better care of their own country. Why have they been killing one another for 40 years?” he continued provocatively.

    “This happens in other countries as well – in Pakistan, in Egypt, in Syria, in Libya, in Iraq, in Yemen, and in Somalia. We fight amongst ourselves in our own countries, and then we expect countries that work day and night to achieve progress to protect their people and to maintain a certain standard of living for them — we demand that they let us in so we can have part of their [success],” he added.

    “Do you expect them to open their doors so that we can go there demanding to keep our own culture?”

    Al-Sisi chided migrants who “demand to go [to the West] with your culture which you consider to be non-negotiable. You say, ‘this is how we are and you must accept us [because of] human rights’. No.”

    “Don’t expect them to open the door for you so you can go into their country and cause trouble. No.”

    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2018/12/14/egyptian-president-migrants-must-abide-laws-customs-traditions-culture-west/

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