IS IT TRUE JANUARY 22, 2016

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IS IT TRUE the Evansville City Parks Board just approved a partial ban on smoking in City Parks?  …this ban includes all tobacco and electronic cigarettes starting on April 1, 2016?  …we are amazed that the Parks Board did not include golf courses and attached parks, Wesselman  Park, Howell Par-3 courses, Mesker Park Zoo and Botanic Gardens?  …it looks like special interests and back room politics ruled the day at Wednesday Parks Board meeting?  …we can’t wait to hear the comments from our readers on this issue?

IS IT TRUE that Evansville Water and Sewer Utility Board and City Council will meet with the State Board of Accounts on February 1, 2016 to discuss items in the 2015 Audit?  …we are pleased to hear all members of the new City Council are invited to attend this Audit Exist Conference with the State Board of Accounts?  …when we get an official copy of this audit we shall make it public?

IS IT TRUE the State Board of Accounts still hasn’t released the City of Evansville 2015 audit? …we can’t wait see if SBA will address the alleged $6 million deficit that City of Evansville had at the end of 2015? …we look forward to see if City Controller Russ Lloyd Jr or former Councilman John Friend was right about this issue?

IS IT TRUE at this coming Monday City Council meeting Finance Chairman DAN McGINN will be presenting a resolution asking Council to  approve a lease between the Evansville Redevelopment Commission and the Evansville Brownfields Corp. relating to the Downtown Convention Hotel Project? …this seems like a back door way of putting money in Brownsfields coffers?

IS IT TRUE that former Mayor Wienzapfel was responsible for writing contract between the City and IceMen not Mayor Winnecke?  …the more we hear about the working relationship between the IceMen  and the management of the Ford Center maybe it was for the best for IceMen to re-locate to Owensboro?

IS IT TRUE that St. Mary’s Medical Center has been included on a list of the best hospitals in the country?  …St. Mary’s Medical Center has received the Healthgrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence this week for the third year in a row?  …we also consider St. Mary’s Medical Center media relations Department the best in our region?

IS IT TRUE we know that the Winnecke Administration will get a big kick out of this coming CCO Editorial on Monday?

IS IT TRUE we have been approached by some “Mover and Shakers” in Owensboro, Ky. to publish a City County Observer edition in Owensboro, Ky?   …we are seriously considering it?

IS IT TRUE that today “READERS POLL” question is; Do you feel its ethical for elected officials to allow themselves to be wined and dined by vendors who conducts business with the City of Evansville?

IS IT TRUE starting Monday January 25, 2016 the IS IT TRUE articles shall be posted on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays?

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45 COMMENTS

  1. When I had my RMSF, St. Mary’s did an excellent job in not just caring for me but also being attentive to my wife’s needs.

  2. The Casino exemption to the smoking ordnance didn’t past “muster”,– on the face of it, this– “except”– ban seems just as faulty.

  3. With VenuWorks managing the Ford Center, will it ever make any money?
    I am beginning to wonder if the reason for the extremely over priced concessions, is primarily due to Venuworks’ high overhead. As long as prices remain as is, other than a handful of concerts, attendance for the UE games and/or any hockey team will never improve.

    • It does not mater who manages the Ford Center. The reality that has been proven is that the costs associated with a $127 Million arena just don’t work for professional hockey in Evansville. If UE puts out a series of teams as good as this year’s team, the local fans will come around. Winning sells tickets.

      • I agree with you, Joe. More winning teams make for more seats sold. I wonder if a hockey team that wins more games, even if they are in a lower-ranked league, might make for more hockey fans, too.

        • See Otters for your answer. To the best of my knowledge and that is only through 4 years ago, the Otters are a perennial loser when it comes to making a profit. They are locally owned and the owners must be okay with losing money every year. They are in a very low end league, dally with success every few years, and is an overall good time, yet they lose money. They play in a 100 year old stadium that can’t be very expensive.

          The Ford Center is a top shelf facility in a town that does not have the disposable income to support top shelf entertainment. This is why they may find success in Owensboro that they didn’t in Evansville. It is sort of sad. Roberts would have been perfect. The water was already coming in. Just add cold air.

  4. Several of us bantered the smoking ban over cocktails at F’s Steak House earlier this month. The conventional wisdom was the smoking ban was an excellent idea in all of the City Parks, including those new weird vapor things you see in people’s mouths. It’s a disgusting habit, and people can’t stand seeing that when you have your run through the park, or sometimes an evening stroll.
    The exceptions are a good idea though. There’s just too many times when business and things are discussed on the golf course, or maybe you’re having an event at the Mesker Zoo or the Botanical Gardens, and sometimes someone may want to have a cigar after dinner. So several people thought it was a good idea to exclude those facilities and venues from the City Parks smoking ban.

    • Don — Totally disagree with you here. There is no need to make exception for “things discussed on the golf course or for a desire for a cigar”. Sounds like you are making an excuse for you or your friends and not considering the others in the community who can not tolerate such garbage. There will be a time when this generation of smokers will be looked upon like all those smokers in the 1950s who waved cigs in everyone’s faces and cig ads were in all magazines. The times they are a changin’. Don’t buy in to the sales pitch.

      • Hi Martha:
        My comments were meant in satire. I thought maybe the “F’s Steak House” was a tip-off. Along w/ fat cats having cocktails. F’s downtown closed in the mid-90’s.
        The smoking ban should extend to all public properties, including the casino, bars and taverns, golf courses, the Zoo and any building other than a person’s home.
        Smokers and smoking is repulsive, and smokers drive up the health care and health insurance costs for everyone else who is a responsible, personally-accountable person.

  5. (Editor…CCO readers share two passionate traits; readers interested in City/County local politics, and readers interested in the give and take of national politics.
    The IIT offers the pure, dominant local opportunity to discuss City/County politics and issues.
    But if Editor also included a daily cartoon/editorial highlighting the national political issues next to the IIT on the front page – which Editor does quite often – readers WILL chime in w/ comments in that section too. Acknowledgedly those comments would be off-topic in the IIT. Overall CCO page views will also rise with the additional outlet for national commentary, and readers will become stickier. Just two bits.)

    • I agree, DB. I think the upcoming presidential election would bring a lot of discussion, and if there are two separate topics offered, then there would be no problem with off-topic comments. I think there may be a problem with civility, but hopefully posters will stop short of the line. I’m ready to square off when you are.

      • (LKB….you may be right on the civility. Are Trumps comments civil? I don’t know. But it is the fourth year national election cycle…and a CCO front page daily cartoon dealing w/ national politics…will ALWAYS draw an audience to express their opinion.)

        • I’m for anything and everything that will get loonpilot commenting on here again.

          Running down Hillary may not be as sexy as bashing Big O to him but it’s got to be getting awful lonely out there in no-comment land….

          • I’ll step up and try to get him started Big R,—Former Attorney General of the United States Mukasey says,– ” Criminal Charges against Hillery Clinton are justified.”
            —there, that should do it.

          • Looks like she’s a gonner.

            I’ve never known a Republican to be wrong before….

          • General David Petraeus, a great military mind and important asset, got probation and permanently blackballed from all government work for much less. His crime was showing classified information to his mistress/authorized biographer and not securing printed documents at his house with the proper safe.

            Hillary flouted State Department regulations and put tons of classified information on easy to hack home brewed servers. Assuming she gets the nomination, she’ll be the first nominee of a major party to be under acknowledged FBI investigation while running for the White House.

            The larger question in all of this is why does Hillary rate better treatment than Petraeus?

          • I don’t doubt she can run, the question remains,—will she be Criminally charged?
            In a worse case scenario, for her Candidacy, her actions would not be deemed by the Voters as irrelevant, but, they will understand that for the “good” of the Country she will be pardoned by the next president. At this point, the FBI and the Justice dept. hold all the cards, not Hillery.

          • I’m beginning to think we are making Don Becker’s comment about national and local the comment of the day.

            But the off topic thing scares me to death.

            It got me banned for almost a year on here.

            Stay conservative Crash, we were almost there in 2000….

          • Yes, having your own secure email server is much more severe than lying to start a war that cost us 5 trillion and 10 k lives. That’s not counting the innocent Iraqis dead, probably over 500k. You people need to get your damn priorities straight.

          • It’s funny.
            If there were a general election debate between GOP Donald Trump and DEM Hillary Clinton once we are past the Primaries, the Anti-Hillary crowd only wants two types of questions:
            1. Questions about emails.
            2. Questions about Bill Clinton’s infidelity

            Do they want questions in that debate about POLICY?
            Nope.
            Do they want questions about, say…what the US’ engagement w/ say….Turkey regarding Middle East affairs…..or for that matter, ANY national or international affairs issue?
            Nope.
            No questions about policy or international issues?
            (Right. Only questions about EMAILS and BILL CLINTON’s sex life.)

            The Anti-Hillary crowd knows Trump knows nothing on any issue…..and they are scared of “Ok, Mr Trump, you have THREE MINUTES to answer this policy question.”
            “What!!!??? Three minutes!!! This is a recipe for disaster! He doesn’t know!!!”

            And they don’t want to highlight Hillary Clinton knows those areas as well as anyone. So…..”Well, we gotta stick to Hail Mary passes….EMAILS and BILL CLINTON’s sex life…so only questions in that area, please.”

            It is THAT desperate.

          • …..this is why CRASH only talks about emails and the FBI.
            Everytime he talks about H.C., it’s about emails or her husband’s sex life.
            And if the FBI says, “Nope, no criminal act here.”
            Well…..that balloon will pop. (Uh…what else we got?”)
            Crash….all you got….it’s a Hail Mary pass.
            No other plan.

          • Please feel free to answer in totality. I have a law degree, and am very familiar with the procedure for handling classified documents. The first thing the government does is they sit you down, and you sign a piece of paper in which you acknowledge that you are criminally liable for both the illegal transmission of classified information that comes through your position, aka espionage, and following the proper protocols for storing that classified information, aka secure handling of classified material. You then sign another document with the agency you work for in which security procedures are explained, and you agree to adhere to those procedures. I guarantee you that there is a piece of paper she signed in which the proper State Department protocol was explained, and in that explanation, home-brewed servers and personal emails were not permitted. Karl Rove got nailed on that one in the courts and now its SOP across the government that personal email cannot be utilized to conduct government business.

            18 USC 1924 is pretty clear in these matters as well, and the contents of 18 USC 1924 is also made to be acknowledged by all government employees upon accepting positions where they will be privy to classified information:

            (a) Whoever, being an officer, employee, contractor, or consultant of the United States, and, by virtue of his office, employment, position, or contract, becomes possessed of documents or materials containing classified information of the United States, knowingly removes such documents or materials without authority and with the intent to retain such documents or materials at an unauthorized location shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.

            State Department Security Protocol deems the placement of classified information outside of proper vault storage/State Department servers, as removing those documents, and the SOP Security Agreement everyone signs before dealing with classified information means she was briefed, and acknowledged she was briefed.

            The only question here is what combination of prison, probation, or fine, unless there’s one law for General Petreaus and another for Hillary Clinton?

          • I not only do not have a law degree Willie, but I never realized it was Donald Trump that chopped down the cherry tree and said he could never tell a lie until my ex-mother-in-law sat me down and explained it to me last Saturday.

            So you have one-up on me at the starting gate.

            This is what my dull brain has conceived from this Karl Rove manufactured odyssey Will; The State Department only banned what she did after she had left the State Department, she had transmitted no classified information on her private server even though it was classified later and as you stated above, when Karl Rove did the same thing in the White House, it did not lead to at least one day of the little beady-headed criminal spending it in jail.

            Now, I realize you lawyers know what you are talking about because you even seem to be able to appoint presidents now-a-days, but this is Big Time Up There Will. And if it wasn’t, Reagan would have been in jail for Iran-Contra, Shrub and Cheney for exposing Valarie Plame and if Karl Rove has never spent a day in the slammer, well, you guys in your profession are making yourselves irrelevant.

            Lawyers lawyer Will, Hell you know that. That’s why we executed Japanese soldiers for waterboarding our America soldiers, then made it legal, and now it’s not.

            Heck Will, you guys are our front line of compensation if we find out we had a relative on the Titanic. But when it comes to Up There, (Washington), you need to get back into the wading pool before you drown….

          • WILLIE HAYS is throwing Hail Mary passes. Little else.
            Your arguments are preposterous and wrong.
            How? Read Regulator’s comments. Regulator slammed the door on you Willie.
            Your “legal analysis” is not legal at all.
            Your words are aspirational. (This is what “you hope will happen.” Like I said, “A plan to beat Hillary that’s so poor, it starts out with a Hail Mary pass: Emails.”)
            There’s a big difference between aspirational and legal. (And as Regulator points out, at this level, Rove and Reagan’s deeds proved even “legal” means next to nothing.)

          • To Don, it’s not a “Hail Mary Pass.” If she were any other federal employee, she would have been fired and asked to never return to government work. Probably, no prosecution because such a breach would be to embarrassing to be made public, but if it were to be made public, any other federal employee would be charged faster than a Kardashian can produce a sex tape.

            The classification procedure is clearly outlined. Breaking it, at very minimum, automatically revokes your privilege to see such classified material, pretty much forever.

            First off, the State Department procedural changes that you talk about after Hillary left is bs. No agency permits its employees to create home brewed servers to store their workplace product. Period.

            Secondly, the security procedures are established between agencies, as they often share information. In those procedures, every employee is instructed that they must secure their data either through the old school vault method or on secure government servers. You are walked through those procedures the moment you are hired for that job. You sign paperwork acknowledging what those procedures are. She placed DSS in a hell of a bad position, one that no boss should ever put their subordinates. Either calling out your boss and risking your career or going with the flow and having to explain why you didn’t do your job. Not exactly an inspiring choice for a Chief Executive.

            Personally, I don’t like any of the candidates, and have no vested interest in anyone winning. The Republican, Trump’s a joke, Cruz is a sycophant, Rubio’s a chameleon, Christie’s a blowhard, Jeb’s a Bush, Kaisch is a poor man’s Rubio, Carson can’t string together a complete sentence, and the others are make up your own joke.

            On the Dem sided, Hillary’s as big a joke as Trump. Her “experience” is giving the middle finger to the classification system, Libya’s a train wreck, the Russian reset needs to be reset. She’s had two ’90’s and doesn’t realize she’s in the 2010’s. Sanders is just as bad. Someone who talks about how much more the federal government needs to do and spend by more taxation, ie his Medicare for all plan, but he’s never worked an honest job in his life.

            Yeah, with this bunch, we’re screwed. I wouldn’t be proud to be defending anyone in this lot, either party.

          • “I wouldn’t be proud to be defending anyone in this lot,”

            On the other side of the coin Willie, they would all probably be unanimous in wanting a public defender instead of you.

            As loonpilot used to say, just sayin….

          • You can make your loonpilot comments until the cows come home, but the larger question is that if I’m so out of orbit, then can you answer the following questions:

            Can you name any other federal employee who conducted their classified business utilizing a private email account on a home brewed server between 2008-present?

            Can you name any business who would permit their employees with access to sensitive corporate data to conduct corporate business through a private email account on a home brewed server?

            Of course, Hillary’s argument doesn’t pass the smell test for classification. It smells like a BFI truck cleaning up after Octoberfest.

            The larger problem, and it’s one that you’re too obtuse to notice, is the liberal argument for federal intervention in everyday lives in areas as large as let’s say health care is that the private sector has failed to provide a level playing field and therefore needs to step in so that everyone is treated fairly.

            However, how can Hillary advance such a liberal argument to a great many of the nation’s problems when it’s obvious that she abused the power that was previously entrusted to her?

            Just like Winnie and the Tammany Hall machine at the Civic Center, people get pissed when you take their money in taxes for the “collective good” only to see the ilk in charge run off and place themselves above the law. Having such a standard bearer as the national candidate for a liberal party is not a good idea.

      • The candidates are not civil toward each other so why should the comment section be any different.

  7. No point in publishing a CCO for Owensboro. They have only a fraction of the corruption Evansville does. What would there be to write about?

      • It’s an AHL team that doesn’t play 365 days of the year. It’s a well run city, and Evansville being the Tri-State’s service hub is shifting to Owensboro. Now, there’s just not much to write about, but they should revisit it periodically, especially if Owensboro’s government starts acting like the Civic Center, correction Tammany Hall.

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