IS IT TRUE December 28, 2012
IS IT TRUE the City of Chicago just recorded its 500th murder for 2012 and there are three days to go?…this is a 15% increase over the total for all of 2011?…we are sitting on baited breath for the scholarly reports on how the gun ban has worked during its first year at reducing homicides for the City of the Big Shoulders?
IS IT TRUE that the biggest failure on the part of government during 2012 is not in Evansville, Indiana?…the distinction for colossal and unmitigated failure for 2012 lies squarely within that three ring circus in Washington DC known as the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the White House?…this cast of self serving partisan babies could not even come to an agreement to avoid the fiscal cliff that the congress created in 2010 as a poison pill to follow the election of 2012?…this batch of clowns that does not seem capable of ordering a meal if they have to agree on what to eat did manage to get the fiscal cliff and the maxing of the nation’s debt limit to happen at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve?…this is such an unbelievable coincidence that the only rational conclusion is that the Treasury Secretary manipulated notes offered in the federal debt auction next Monday (they are held every Monday) for the purpose of political sensationalism?…that to hit the debt ceiling on that day was clearly a deliberate act that could have easily been delayed by a week or two or even three?…this insulting knife in the nation’s back should be exposed for what it is, not that it makes much difference in the long run?…the CCO three stooges award for 2012 goes overwhelmingly to the trio in charge and that trio is Senator Harry Reid whose leadership in the Senate produced absolutely nothing, Representative John Boehner who couldn’t even get the dogs on his dog sled to pull in the same direction, and to President Barack Obama for politicizing our economy for the insane purpose of furthering class warfare in a way that does next to nothing?…this cast of idiots makes the government of Evansville look intelligent and noble?
IS IT TRUE that closer to home we do have a list of 8 things that were good for the CCO’s internet traffic but make you just shake your head in disbelief?…among those things that will be profiled fully in a standalone article are in no particular order, the Maingate booze fest, the Earthcare Energy fiasco, Mourdock’s special speech, the City’s accounting nightmare, the EPA planning slip, the Johnson Controls Lazarus moment, the Roberts Stadium debacle, and the illiterate infatuation with building parks?…we also have a list of 6 things that deserve recognition as making positive steps including the Mayor’s focus on litter, a renewed awareness of health problems, shaking off a coma to end the Earthcare deal, the defeat of consolidation, the change of ownership of the McCurdy, and the denial of the $32 Million fee increase that Vectren requested for dense pack technology?…all of these will be profiled in detail along with any other worthy subjects that are sent our way by then?
Just wait for the change orders for the Roberts Stadium. Winnecke sells the doors and windows, the ole bait and swith routine…the council members held hostage…”we simply can’t let the stadium set there wide open…” Boy, it might look like 1990 all over again, 4.5 million grew to 18 million, i.e. the rennovation of Robert’s…remember the lowering of the original floor by 12 feet…into the Ohio River basin. Who was the Engineer on that project???
I agree with everything you’re saying minus the lowering of the floor. For what they were doing at the time, that was a perfectly fine design and it worked. The water table really isn’t even that high there, it’s just that the first design was already several feet into the ground.
It was Rector and the C&P who claimed the arena was “leaking water” but the presence of water pumps does not constitute that as long as they are working which they did for 99.9% of the time. Now though, with the new arena open, the focus should have been on a new target market of small, expo, and mid-sized events that do not have a designated facility here. To do that, you would have to eliminate the water pumps expense so that these tenants could afford the rent. That really wasn’t that big of a deal. Ask any contractor. Every single one of them gave me a quote between $400,000 to $500,000.
What I’d like to know from John Friend before I consider supporting him for mayor or even as a current councilman is the following…
1. How is selling the doors justification for you to approve demolition? The doors and windows weren’t even removed until after Klenck got approval to begin demolition and you could have gone out there today and the gates were open for residents to get trapped inside the facility. I watched an old man with handicap plates drive all the way into the demo area and up on the bricks on the east side of the facility.
2. Do you plan on calling out the false report from the Roberts Stadium Task Force or will you just the mayor get away with it?
3. Why didn’t you ever take the position that the innkeepers should have been used on Roberts? What tourist project would be better and cheaper?
One other thing I would like to ask you Councilman Friend if I may…
In 1995, you took the position that naming rights to Roberts Stadium would be an excellent source of funding…
http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=827491
Now, all 3 of the sponsors that you mentioned are still present in Evansville AND all three have expanded or maintained operations since that time period. At the time, Mr. Boberg, who is still with the Parks Dept told you that the public would have no appetite for taking Hank’s name off the arena. Although I mostly agree with this statement, I also believe it’s irrelevant because naming rights to the entire arena is worthless given that the brand name for the facility was already established and arena after arena, stadium after stadium, and ballpark after ballpark has shown that naming rights to facilities already named are worth pennies.
However, I would like to know why you didn’t come out publicly once more in support of selling naming rights to the gates. Winnecke has always told us that he is some marketing guru because of his days at 5/3rd but has yet to prove that in any capacity. You on the other hand have demonstrated time after a time that you have a complete grasp of the city’s finances and desire to keep them from getting out of control. So, wouldn’t you agree that if you were placed in charge of the RMS project that naming rights would have been a fair chunk of revenue towards the $4-4.5 million estimated renovation costs?
Wouldn’t you agree that the fact that the Wilson Auctions banner was left on Gate 1 for months after the auction is a testament to the strong value that gate, which is now the last one standing, had? And wouldn’t you agree that a gate, which had plenty of room to set up permanent displays and even had room above it for storage and/or meeting area would be a better value than naming rights to the building itself or the lousy “corridor of champions” wall that Hillard Lyons sponsored?
Basically, what I’m asking you is this: Why didn’t you take a more aggressive stance on the financial advantages of renovating Roberts?
According to the SCOTUS ruling on the DC gun ban, the Chicago ban and any other similar ban is patently unconstitutional. It’s already being challenged on several fronts. It won’t last.
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