IS IT TRUE? October 13, 2011

IS IT TRUE that some of what seems to be a growing number of thieves in the City of Evansville reportedly stole several of the power cables that are used to get the electricity to the carnival rides at the Fall Festival?… the cables are solid copper and are 200 feet long each?…that a recent purchase of a single jacketed #6 copper cable with 3 wires and a ground that was 140 feet long cost well over $200 so these thieves made off with a pretty good haul?…that the gauge and type of cable that it takes to run a ride should be pretty rare in the scrap dealer market and that it good brains are turned on we bet these thieves will be caught?…that the crime of stealing seems to be getting completely out of hand along with other crimes?…that the City County Observer would like to encourage every person in Evansville to do two things each day?…that first pick up three pieces of litter and second please try to make it through the day without stealing something?…that yesterday there were 32 reported incidents of thieving just to the EPD?

IS IT TRUE that the whole Solyndra caper is beginning to really unravel not only as a politically motivated allocation of government loans to a private company but as testament to the long believed axiom that government money and good business just do not mix?…that one of the latest revelations that is being put forth in the investigation is that the Energy Department subordinated the debt that it issued to Solyndra to some existing private debt?…that it is being asserted that it is not legal to subordinate government debt to private debt?…that this is a particularly interesting plot that is thickening because the City of Evansville through the Evansville Redevelopment Commission has some debt on the books that is subordinated to private debt and the McCurdy Hotel and we suspect a few other places?…that we wonder if federal law and City of Evansville practice are in line with one another or do we have yet another law that is not up to date with laws of superior government entities like we did with the 2nd Amendment of the US Constitution?

IS IT TRUE that the City Council of Topeka, Kansas repealed the local law that lists domestic violence as a crime?…that the entire motivation for taking such action was to save the cost of prosecuting such crimes?…that of all of the idiotic things that any governing body has ever passed this one takes the cake?…that next we can expect threshold exemptions for stealing and a whole litany of trip triggers that would save the City of Topeka some cash?…that we finally found something that makes removing light bulbs from street lights that was recommended by the President of the Evansville City Council look harmless?…that if you are having even a slight spat with your spouse then don’t go to Topeka for vacation or you might just get a whooping?…that this is a lesson in how NOT TO BRAND A CITY?

IS IT TRUE that Vectren put out an announcement yesterday that gas costs which are by regulation passed directly to the ratepayers at cost are down so heating bills are expected to be down in the service area by about $10 over the entire heating season?…that works out to 2.2%?…that natural gas spot market prices can be quite volatile and actually fell 3.5% yesterday?…that natural gas prices have trended down for a couple of years and have dropped over 40% in the last 2 years?…that Vectren actually makes its money on the delivery of the gas and that the price of the gas itself has no effect at all on Vectren’s earnings?…that we are glad to be saving the $10 and have already allocated that to one Kobe Beef Hamburger at the Bonefish Grill, but if you really want to give solid credit to the drop in natural gas prices that the “fracking” process deserves the praise for increasing the supply, the extractable reserves, and putting $10 in your pocket?…that Vectren has decoupling in its gas business and buys gas on our behalf, calculates the cost to do so and bills us at cost making all of its profits from the transmission and distribution?