IS IT TRUE? November 6, 2011 Politics
IS IT TRUE that Mole #3 is hiding in the basement due to the recent threats made against the CCO and is hedging on its commitment to release his predictions today?…that Mole #3 is not accustomed to the nasty talk no action world of politics and is fearing for the safety of its family as official retirement is near and its identity will soon be known?…that Mole #3 is thinking more about safety and a nice life in Florida than about politics today but that we will continue to twist its arm to follow through so we can post the predictions as we have been planning for months?
IS IT TRUE that our new competitor “the Infinity Mole†is made up of the first 100 voters in our polls that have been posting for about 24 hours?…that the Infinity Mole now has made projections on 7 members of the Evansville City Council and that we are expecting this to conclude today for all races but the race for Mayor of Evansville that will be left open until the real polls close on Tuesday night?…that we hear that early voting is approaching 10,000 ballots?…that we are encouraging the acceleration of the opportunity to vote early tomorrow?…that here is a little contest that may be of interest?…that there is a chance that there will be more early votes cast in 2011 than there were total votes cast in 2007?…that is a reflection on the level of interest that the people of Evansville have in this year’s candidates?
IS IT TRUE that today’s Courier was full of interesting and nostalgic articles about back in the day when Evansville was a significant player in the manufacturing world?…that manufacturing began leaving the Midwest years ago with some firms heading south and others heading offshore?…that there are a number of reasons for that including government regulations, the high cost of utilities, labor costs, diminishing skills in the workforce, and of course blight and decrepit infrastructure?…that the manufacturing of the 1950’s and the manufacturing of today are as different as a crop duster and a fighter jet?…that in reality manufacturing did not leave the Midwest, but the Midwest did abandon manufacturing?…that the actions of that abandonment are a failure to increase skill levels, the failure to adapt from the boring dogma of old time factory jobs to the clean and efficient processes of today, the failure to keep cities clean and beautiful, the failure to adequately maintain or replace infrastructure, the failure to provide equity capital to young people with vision, and whatever brain dead inactions that lead to a place like the Evansville region being ranked 368th out of 370 in internet performance?
IS IT TRUE that relativity and comparison are what attracts outside investment?…that no company that needs to be at the leading edge of internet performance will even answer a phone call from Evansville?…that the stark reality is not so much that we are only ahead of two regions it is that 367 are ahead of us?…that as educated populations go we also are bouncing off of the bottom?…that when and only when these kinds of problems are solved that this region can even be on the radar screens of attractive outside investments?…that we once again remind our readers that the legacy of the office of Mayor of Evansville is 52 years, 13 administrations, and 4 last names?…that rather than write a dissertation on the myriad of mistakes made locally, on this Sunday we shall quote the Bible as healing and prosperity from the inside is the only real cure for the problems of the Midwest and the City of Evansville?
Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’†Luke 4:23
IS IT TRUE that Jared Dwyer wrote an accurate assessment of the problems behind brain drain and it is on the link at the bottom of the page?…that his assertion is simply that there are no opportunities of interest that offer an educated young professional a career based reason to be here?…that we concur with Mr. Dwyer and encourage our readers to read what he has written?
IS IT TRUE that we agree with both of the candidates for Mayor of Evansville that “machine politics†and even “machine lifestyle†is substantially responsible for the malaise that we find ourselves in?…that the CCO does not make endorsements of candidates?…that what we do encourage our readers when considering who to vote for in any of the 2011 elections is to REJECT AND REPUDIATE ALL MACHINE CANDIDATES?…that if both candidates for any office are perceived by yourself to be a COG IN THE MACHINE then do not validate their candidacy with your vote?…that when General Sherman made his march to the sea that his goal was to leave no piece of the machine that made war against the union of the United States functional?…that the 2011 elections may just be an opportunity for Evansville to do the same?…that the CCO encourages all of Evansville to THINK DIFFERENTLY, TO VOTE WISELY, AND TO RESOLVE TO MAKE THIS PLACE BETTER IN THE FUTURE?
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/nov/06/stodgy-region-will-lose-young-graduates/
After reading the article by Jared Dwyer from the Courier, it struck me that the health professions are the only ones that I see growing in this area, in part because of the aging population and to some extent because of environmental problems, and slight inbreeding of the population, that is, a concentration of families that stay in the area.
I think John Blair hit it when he said that people here are taught not to make waves. That translates into squashing individual thinking so, for example, start-ups have a more difficult time selling new concepts and the public has a hesitancy to support them right out of the box. It also may have something to do with the lack of transparency. People don’t want others to know that they made mistakes or that they are thinking outside the box. (Transparency issues)
In addition, there seems to be a lot of similar types of businesses formulas that work inn Evansville. And for me they are getting old which speaks to the brain drain and the picture that new firms have in moving here. If new business types are slow to catch on, they are reluctant to be tried.
In response to your comments about the loss of manufacturing jobs, the loss of manufacturing jobs can be attributed to most of our other problems. As David Coker put it in another article, “There is a collective mndset in this community that to an extent rewards mediocrity and is incredibly resistant to change and new ideas and new people.”
Jonathan Weinzapfel has stood up to this “collective mindset.” He is the only mayor that has taken on the drainage problems on the Southeast Side of Evansville. He has built a roughly $100 million arena which just yesterday had a dauble header of UE Basketball and an IceMen Hockey Match. The IceMen Hockey match had over 8,000 in attendance. There have been miles of streets repaved and miles of sidewalk replaced. Our cemetaries are better maintained. Our unemployment is 2% below the national average. Mead Johnson has expanded. American General and Berry Plastics both have placed their world headquarters in Evansville.
The point of all this is that 20 years Frank McDonald II started talking about a new stadium and ran into opposition so he remodeled Roberts. i have been in Roberts very few times since them to me it is not a comfortable, enjoyable place to be. Russell Lloyd Jr, and Sr. really didn’t anything of signifance and it can probably be attributed to the opposition they knew they would run into. Evansville years ago received as a bad labor town and a lot of that was undeserved but one can easily see whenever somebody wants to do something different the attacks and yelling and screaming begin. Businesses simply do not have to put up with that, they can go elsewhere.
The thing of it is, is that the “collective mindset” that Coker was talking about does not go unnoticed. Stores, businesses all know about this area and avoid it. Politicians cater to the “collective mindset” when they run for election and that exacerbates the problem.
It will take having the right people in the position of leadership to lessen the effects of our reputation.
Well thought out post there HighRoller. What you are essentially saying is that Evansville is so stuck in the mud that it can’t be fixed without outside intervention or insider deals.
The work that Weinzapfel took on with the sewers was with the gun of the EPA at his head. Who put the gun to his head at this point in history? It seems as though the people of Evansville put that gun to his head by resisting anything that may cost them a dime or disrupt their commute. Chalk up the progress to the EPA and the need for the intervention to a small minded population.
As for the Arena, Weinzapfel really did buck the tide to build it. He did a masterful job of finding the right consultants to write the things needed to avoid a referendum that would have never ever passed. If this really works out in the long run and pays for itself as Roberts came to do then he deserves a medal. I hope it performs better than the Centre, the Victory, or the zoo that all are subsidized every year. I would not bet on this happening.
Weinzapfel’s problem is that he came to think he was above accountability. Beating David Nixon by such a margin gave him the big head and he acted like a dictator in his second term. His big head is what gave him the confidence to defy a referendum for an arena but also to hold secret meetings about the homestead tax credit, to really blow it on the hotel and McCurdy, and to think had first dibs on the office of mayor this year. He tried to change the machine by joining it. Sorry Jonny, that never works.
Coker seems to be a smart guy and an astute observer. His observations are right on target. Poor guy should have taken his mom elsewhere years ago and lived a decent life. Evansville has sucked the life out of him.
So, who among us should lead? It will take more than a salesman with a slick brochure to get Evansville on a competitive track.
I disagree about the sewers. The sewer work on the Southeast was not ordered by the EPA. Now, the combined sewer overflow is being ordered by the EPA but that is something entirely different. The Southeast Side sewer projects did not have to be done and could have been ignored by Weinzapfel like they have been by every Mayor prior to him.
“What you are essentially saying is that Evansville is so stuck in the mud that it can’t be fixed without outside intervention or insider deals.” How you can get that out of what I wrote is beyond me.
What the point of whtat I wrote is basically that Cokers statement is correct, “There is a collective mndset in this community that to an extent rewards mediocrity and is incredibly resistant to change and new ideas and new people.â€
That this collective mindset is what causes the problems that we have in this community. That it is incredibly hard to progress or make things better in this city because whenever one tries to change anything there becomes a tremendous fight.It would be different if it was a rational fight but most times its not; its just a fight to be a fight. The part I wrote about Weinzapfel is that he went up against this collective mindset and has accomplished a lot in his 8 years in office.
Is it true:
Vectren reports Q3, 2011 results?
http://www.insideindianabusiness.com
November 4, 2011
News Release
EVANSVILLE, IN, — Vectren Corporation today reported net income for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2011, of $95.0 million or $1.16 per share, compared to net income of $88.3 million, or $1.09 per share for the same period in 2010.
Summary results
— Year to date in 2011, utility earnings were $92.8 million, or $1.13
per share, compared to $90.3 million, or $1.11 per share, in 2010.
— Year to date in 2011, nonutility earnings were $3.4 million, compared
to a loss of ($1.9) million in 2010. Excluding ProLiance, earnings
from all other nonutility businesses were $28.7 million in 2011,
compared to $8.0 million in 2010. The 2010 year-to-date results
include charges related to legacy investments totaling ($6.9) million
after tax.
— ProLiance’s results in 2011 were a loss of ($25.3) million year to
date, compared to a loss of ($9.9) million in 2010.
— Third quarter 2011 consolidated net income was $35.3 million, or $0.43 per share, compared to net income of $16.4 million, or $0.20 per
share, in the third quarter of 2010. . . . . . . . . . . . . . (more)
__
Something I have always thought is that we are subidizing the losses that Vectren encurs with ProLiance; our rates are higher to make up for the losses at ProLiance.
Vectrens Rates are approved by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission and the member of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission are appointed by Mitch Daniesls.
Vectren can not continue to reap these high profits off of the same customer base year after year. Their customers are revolting as we speak.
Vectren’s best option for future success is to expand its current customer base.
“that the CCO does not make endorsements of candidates?…that what we do encourage our readers when considering who to vote for in any of the 2011 elections is to REJECT AND REPUDIATE ALL MACHINE CANDIDATES?…that if both candidates for any office are perceived by yourself to be a COG IN THE MACHINE then do not validate their candidacy with your vote?”
Could somebody explain the above to me. You say that the CCO does not make endorsements but we encourage our readers to REJECT AND REPUDIATE ALL MACHINE CANDIDATES..that if both candidates for any office are perceived by yourself to be a COG IN THE MACHINE then do not validate their candidacy with you vote? Is that not an endorsement?
I mean it is very obvious who the CCO wants you to think is part of the machine so basically you are endorsing Walters because Mosby is part of the Machine, you are neutral on the 3rd Ward Race, you are endorsing Grafton in the 5th Ward because Friend is a part of the Machine. You are not endorsing Weaver in the At Large Race because he is considered in with the current administration. I mean how could anybody that reads and believes the opinions in the City County Observer not take that statement as an endorsement for Walters, Grafton and not Weaver.
That if in effect, the City County Observer suceeds in this, they will have not only removed a machine but created a new one. Because, baically, a machine is a political organization that controlls enough votes to retain power. That if the city county observer suceeds the Weinzapfel machine will be no more but there will be a new Machine controlled by Rick Davis and the City County Observer.
Is it not true that this community should be very wary of this new machine?
Thank you for doing exactly what we have encouraged our readers to do. You have decided for yourself who the machine candidates are. We have never made any endorsement or stuck a machine badge upon anyone. You just did. Please vote according to your own beliefs.
And yes there may be the parts of a new machine after the election. The people of Evansville should be as wary of any new machine as they should have been of the old machine.
Editor:
“……REPUDIATE ALL MACHINE CANDIDATES” what is your definition of a “machine”? Are all machines bad? What are examples of machines in Evansville/Vanderburgh County? Good
or Bad?
If voters votes differently, 10 of the 11 seats up for election are currently held by Democrats. Good year for Repulicans?
Think for a minute which party has controlled Evansville since the 2003 election. Think for another minute how much worse the economy in this town is today than it was in 2003. Do you want another eight years of the last eight years? Of course not. Voting for the same crooks in the same party again and again has made this town worse off. I can’t help but think that Evansville would be one hell of alot better off if Russ Lloyd had won that election of 2003, simply because that man is as honest as the day is long, and the screwball mayor we got instead enriched himself first and his cronies second, and the citizens of Evansville suffered from his totalitarian regime. Now he is paying the price for his greed, which was worse than that of the greedy capitalists on Wall Street.
Think for a minute about the people who have been born in Evansville who were told when they were tiny children that they would be serving on the City Council when they grew up, simply because Grandpa ran the town during the Depression. How did the multitudes become so complacent as to crown these people as Evansville Royalty, while the vast majority of the voters in this town actually think it is OK to submit to surfdom in the Kingdom of O’Daniel and Mosby?
You are neglecting to mention that the fact that this country had a financial meltdown in September, 2008. Evansville’s unemployment is also 2 points below the national average.
Evansville in a lot of respects is faring better than other cities in Indiana. We have not had to lay off any police or firemen. We have given our policemen a raise; I doubt if any other city in Indiana has been able to do that. Both Mead Johnson and Berry Plastics have added employees.
Are you talking about the same Russ Lloyd that during the summer of 2003, when we had a huge storm and portions of the Southside side had sewage floating around in the street, refused to go down and talk to these people. The same Russ Lloyd that while Mayor, there was at least one year that the parks and cemetaies weren’t cut until Memorial Day. The same Russ Lloyd that pulled the plug on the baseball because he ran into opposition.
If so, I would have to respectfully disagree and say that I don’t think things would be better.
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