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Otters rally to push win streak to five

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The Evansville Otters rallied to score four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning Friday, en route to their fifth win in a row, beating the Windy City ThunderBolts by a final score of 7-5.

 

Evansville local Vinny Santarsiero started for the Otters, making his first professional appearance since 2018, when he pitched in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.

 

The ThunderBolts would score two runs (one earned) in the top of the first after some early wildness from Santarsiero, who would succeed in limiting the damage after the Bolts loaded the bases with only one out.

 

The Otters would tie the game at two in the bottom of the third, as J.R. Davis grounded into a 4-6-3, run-scoring double play, followed by a wild pitch that scored Miles Gordon from third.

 

Santarsiero settled down by pitching scoreless second and third innings, but after an infield single and throwing error put Jairus Richards in scoring position with two out in the top of the fourth, Reid Bukowski came on to relieve Santarsiero and face former Otter catcher Rob Calabrese.

 

Calabrese would single home an unearned run in the at-bat, before Bukowski got a 4-3 groundball to end the inning. Windy City would regain the lead with the base hit, making the score 3-2.

 

The ThunderBolts would extend their lead in the top of the fifth, when Peyton Isaacson singled home Brynn Martinez with one out, pushing their lead to 4-2.

 

The Otters came back within one in the bottom half of that inning, as Riley Krane delivered a sac fly to center with the bases loaded, which scored Miles Gordon.

 

Bukowski would pitch into the seventh inning, until he was relieved by Samson Abernathy with two out in the bottom of the seventh. Abernathy would strike out the last batter in the inning.

 

In the top of the eighth, Rob Calabrese came to the plate with a runner at third and singled home his second run of the night, as Windy City pushed their lead back to two in a 5-3 game.

 

In the bottom half of that inning, Bryce Denton would leadoff with a bloop double to right, followed by a walk issued to John Schultz. After a sacrifice bunt from Justin Felix put runners at second and third with one out, Miles Gordon singled home a run to make it a 5-4 game.

 

After Andy DeJesus hit a soft liner to second, J.R. Davis would work a 3-0 count and be intentionally walked to load the bases for Riley Krane.

 

Krane stepped up to the plate with two out and the tying run at third. With a 1-0 count, Krane laced a ball out to the wall in right center field for a go-ahead, three-run triple. Krane’s clutch triple put the Otters up 7-5.

 

That score would hold for a final as Logan Sawyer came on to pitch a 1-2-3 ninth and earn his fifth save of the season.

 

Samson Abernathy earned his first win of the season, while the loss went to Neil Abbatiello.

 

The Otters will look to extend their winning streak to six games Saturday night, as they honor the Negro Leagues alongside the Evansville African American Museum. Following the game, the Otters will also host a firework show. First pitch will be at 6:35 p.m, with a 6:20 p.m. pregame show on Frontier League LiveTV.

Senators Braun Introduce IRS Customer Service Improvement Act

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Senators Braun Introduce IRS Customer Service Improvement Act

WASHINGTON - Senator Mike Braun has introduced the IRS Customer Service Improvement Act that will require the IRS to prioritize federal taxpayers over representational work during tax filing season. Cosponsors of this bill include Senators Boozman (R-AR), Cruz (R-TX), Cramer (R-ND), Scott (R-FL), Inhofe (R-OK) and Rounds (R-SD).

While President Biden has requested $80 billion for the IRS to double the workforce at the IRS, many current IRS employees are spending much of their time on the job completing tasks unrelated to their official duties, called taxpayer-funded union time.

WHAT IS TAXPAYER-FUNDED UNION TIME?

Taxpayer-funded union time is when federal employees perform representational work for a bargaining unit in lieu of their regularly assigned work. In other words, federal employees performing taxpayer-funded union time are paid by federal taxpayers to do union work versus the duty stations jobs they were hired to perform.

  • In the fiscal year 2019, 1,421 Treasury employees used taxpayer-funded union time and consumed 353,820 hours of taxpayer-funded union time.
  • Of these 1,421 Treasury employees on taxpayer-funded union time, 350 IRS employee job categories are classified as customer service representatives/contact representatives. Of these 350, 46 were greater than or equal to 80%of TFUT hours versus overall work time.

THE IRS HAS A CUSTOMER SERVICE PROBLEM

The Taxpayer Advocate Services (TAS) is an independent organization within the IRS that works to identify and fix systemic problems affecting taxpayers. In the 2020 report for taxpayers, the TAS found that poor customer service and personnel problems were among the top challenges facing the IRS.

  • In its 2020 report to taxpayers, TAS documented the top challenges facing the IRS, and many of these challenges concerned poor customer service and personnel problems.
  • For example, one such challenge concerns telephone and in-person service that is in part due to a “lack of staff.”  The TAS found that the IRS received more than 100 million calls, but only answered 24 million; calls averaged 18 minutes of hold time, and face-to-face assistance declined from 4.4 million in 2016 to 2.3 million in 2019 and 1.0 million in 2020.
  • As another example, TAS found that while the IRS processes most amended returns in a timely manner, some returns nevertheless linger for months, generating over a million calls that the IRS cannot answer and thousands of TAS cases annually.

Given these and other challenges, the IRS should focus all available staff to the pressing needs of taxpayers, but at the very least during tax filing season.

THE IRS CUSTOMER SERVICE IMPROVEMENT ACT:

Senator Braun’s bill would prohibit staff at the Internal Revenue Service from leaving their duty stations during filing season to do taxpayer-funded union official time.

QUOTES:

“The pressing needs of American taxpayers should be the top priority for IRS staff, at the very least during tax filing season,” said Senator Braun. “While President Biden has requested $80 billion to muster an army of bureaucrats at the IRS, currently many IRS employees are spending their work time completing unrelated representational work on the taxpayer’s dime. This bill will focus all available staff to complete the duties of the positions for which they were hired, rather than union work, during tax season.”

“Arkansans consistently express to me their frustrations with the IRS, particularly its customer service which is clearly lacking,” said Senator Boozman. “It should almost go without saying that, during tax season, IRS employees should be fully devoted to fulfilling their mission to help Americans meet their tax responsibilities. Our bill requires the agency to ensure it is prioritizing taxpayers’ needs.”

“The American taxpayer expects federal employees to be using their time on the job to perform the duties they were hired by the country to do,” said Senator Cramer. “At a time when the agency is already experiencing a backlog, our bill would require IRS employees, during tax season, to complete the primary responsibilities of the positions they were hired for before they participate in taxpayer-funded union time.” 

“President Biden has requested $80 billion to increase the budget of the IRS, but simply throwing more money at a bloated, inefficient government agency won’t fix it,” said Senator Cruz. “Every tax season, hardworking Americans file their taxes expecting timely refunds to support their families, yet this expectation goes unmet, and refunds are held up for months. I am proud to join Sen. Braun in cosponsoring this bill to protect taxpayer funds and to ensure that the American people receive the service they not only expect but deserve.”

“Throughout my time as Governor and now as Senator, my focus continues to be on making government more efficient so Americans get the best return on their tax dollars,” Senator Rick Scott. “I’m glad to join Senator Braun to introduce the IRS Customer Service Improvement Act, which puts the needs of taxpayers first.” 

“The federal government works for you—the taxpayer—and should accordingly prioritize taxpayer assistance over taxpayer-funded union time,” said Senator Inhofe. “Federal taxpayers in Oklahoma deserve to be given all of the IRS’ attention during tax season—it’s as simple as that. I am proud to cosponsor Sen. Braun’s IRS Customer Service Improvement Act to support Oklahoma federal taxpayers and improve IRS customer service.” 

BACKGROUND:

Taxpayer-funded union time (TFUT), also known as “official time,” is when federal employees perform representational work for a bargaining unit in lieu of their regularly assigned work. In other words, federal employees performing TFUT are paid by federal taxpayers to do union work versus the duty stations jobs they were hired to perform.

While TFUT is authorized by 5 U.S.C. § 7131, it was intended to be limited in nature.

Instead, and as OPM noted in October 2020: “Large amounts of official time allocated to agency employees conducting activities on behalf of unions have resulted in the widespread diversion of resources from agency mission-critical functions. In many cases, where agency union representatives serve as full-time union officials, agencies are no longer able to rely on employees even for a portion of their duty time, to complete the duties of the positions for which they were hired.”

Taxpayer-funded union time at the IRS:

Diversion from agency mission is particularly acute at the Treasury and the IRS, the latter of which faces systemic customer service challenges.  In fiscal year (FY) 2019, 1,421 Treasury employees used TFUT and consumed 353,820 hours of TFUT—a decrease from the FY2016 total of 481,500 hours.

  • Associated compensation costs were $17.27 million(FY2019)(a decrease of 3.1% from the FY2016 costs of $22.4 million).
  • In addition, Treasury allows labor organizations or individuals on TFUT free or discounted use of government property—the value of which at Treasury was an additional $2.5 million (FY2019).
  • Treasury also supplied “other agency expenses” valued at $343,364(FY2019).
  • Of these 1,421 Treasury employees on TFUT, 350 IRS employee job categories are classified as customer service representatives/contact representatives. Of these 350, 46 were greater than or equal to 80%of TFUT hours versus overall work time.
  • Of these 1,421 Treasury employees on TFUT, 204 IRS employee job categories are classified as internal revenue agents. Of these 204, 12 were greater than or equal to 80%of TFUT hours versus overall work time.

Customer Service Challenges at IRS:

The Taxpayer Advocate Services (TAS) is an independent organization within the IRS that works to identify and fix systemic problems affecting taxpayers.

In its 2020 report to taxpayers, TAS documented the top challenges facing the IRS, and many of these challenges concerned poor customer service and personnel problems.

For example, one such challenge concerns telephone and in person service that is in part due to a “lack of staff.”  The TAS found that the IRS received more than 100 million calls, but only answered 24 million; calls averaged 18 minutes of hold time; and face-to-face assistance declined from: 4.4 million in FY16, to 2.3 million FY19, and 1.0 million in FY20.

As another example, TAS found that while the IRS processes most amended returns in a timely manner, some returns nevertheless linger for months, generating over a million calls that the IRS cannot answer and thousands of TAS cases annually.

  • Given these and other challenges, the IRS should focus all available staff to the pressing needs of taxpayers, but at the very least during tax filing season.
  • While the volume of Treasury staff is small in comparison to its overall employee population (87,336 in FY2019), the agency is agreeing to official time in a manner that is not in keeping with the statute.  Federal law authorizes official time for employees representing the union in CBA negotiations.  Agencies and unions may also grant official time for other purposes, but only if “reasonable, necessary, and in the public interest.”
  • Given statutory expectations, and customer service challenges faced by the IRS, Treasury should ensure that the IRS focuses all available staff to the pressing needs of taxpayers, but at the very least during tax filing season.

The IRS Customer Service Improvement Act:  

  • Amends 5 U.S.C. § 7131 to prohibit staff at the Internal Revenue Service from leaving their duty stations during filing season to do taxpayer-funded union official time.
  • In other words, during IRS filing season, the priority must be serving federal taxpayers with the highest quality service and not doing representational work.
  • Supersedes existing Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) which prevent stalling of renegotiations. Going forward CBA terms cannot authorize official time use during tax season.

Juneteenth

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Juneteenth, an annual holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, has been celebrated by African-Americans since the late 1800s.

But in recent years, and particularly following nationwide protests over police brutality and the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and other Black Americans, there is a renewed interest in the day that celebrates freedom.

The celebration continues to resonate in new ways, given the sweeping changes and widespread protests across the U.S. over the last year and following a guilty verdict in the killing of Mr. Floyd.

Here’s a brief guide to what you should know about Juneteenth.

On June 19, 1865, about two months after the Confederate general Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, Va., Gordon Granger, a Union general, arrived in Galveston, Texas, to inform enslaved African-Americans of their freedom and that the Civil War had ended. General Granger’s announcement put into effect the Emancipation Proclamation, which had been issued more than two and a half years earlier on Jan. 1, 1863, by President Abraham Lincoln.

The original celebration became an annual one, and it grew in popularity over the years with the addition of descendants, according to Juneteenth.com, which tracks celebrations. The day was celebrated by praying and bringing families together. In some celebrations on this day, men and women who had been enslaved, and their descendants, made an annual pilgrimage back to Galveston.

Celebrations reached new heights in 1872 when a group of African-American ministers and businessmen in Houston purchased 10 acres of land and created Emancipation Park. Space was intended to hold the city’s annual Juneteenth celebration.

Today, while some celebrations take place among families in backyards where food is an integral element, some cities, like Atlanta and Washington, hold larger events, like parades and festivals with residents, local businesses and more.

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation Awards Behavioral Health Support to Youth First, Inc.

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Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation Awards Behavioral Health Support to Youth First, Inc.  Gift Equips School Social Workers with HIPAA-Compliant Telehealth Tools

Evansville, IN – On June 18, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation presented $78,574 to Youth First, Inc. The grant provided HIPAA-compliant Zoom licenses and certification training in telehealth for Youth First’s mental health professionals.

Youth First partners with 92 schools across 11 Indiana counties. Youth First Social Workers follow behavioral health best practices to proactively meet with individual students, facilitate small groups, and present to classrooms and large groups as well as consult with parents, teachers, and other community agencies. They are easily accessed by any enrolled student, and services are always free of charge. When school buildings closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis, this low-barrier access to crucial mental health support was threatened.

Thanks to the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation grant, Youth First has now equipped its clinical team with HIPAA-compliant telehealth tools and training to continue their critical work. Through this funding, their proven model of building life skills for mental health resilience and brokering community resources to meet basic needs can continue, if and when school buildings are closed, or students or staff are quarantined or ill. These telehealth tools allowed Youth First’s services and programs to be delivered uninterrupted this past school year, despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. These virtual platforms will continue to be used in situations where services can’t be delivered in person.

“The Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation is proud to work with community partners like Youth First to overcome barriers to accessing mental and behavioral health services for our local youth,” said Dr. Kimberly Roop, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s Medicaid Plan President in Indiana. “We continue to support telehealth as an important part of a whole-health approach to care, connecting people with mental health services in the way that is most convenient for them.”

“Though COVID-19 severely disrupted our lives, it also sparked improvements in the way Youth First serves schools, students, and families,” said Parri O. Black, President & CEO of Youth First. “This investment from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation ensures Youth First can provide high-quality remote support for thousands of young people whenever it is needed.” 

 In Indiana, data from the State of the Nation’s Mental Health report shows significantly fewer mental health diagnoses last year, particularly among children and adolescents, compared to 2019.

  • 10 percent overall drop for young children
  • 5 percent overall drop for adolescents
  • 13 percent drop for young children diagnosed with ADHD
  • 9 percent drop for adolescents diagnosed with ADHD

These findings are part of a report based on Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield claims from 1.8 million Hoosiers. 

About Youth First, Inc.:
Youth First’s mission is to strengthen youth and families through evidence-based programs that prevent substance abuse, promote healthy behaviors, and maximize student success. Youth First partners with 92 schools across 11 Indiana counties to provide 64 Master’s level social workers who assess needs, develop and implement prevention plans, and connect students and their families to vital resources. Youth First also offers community programs involving parents and caregivers to strengthen families. For more information about Youth First, please visit youthfirstinc.org or call 812-421-8336.                                    

About Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation 

Through charitable grant making, the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation LLC, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, promotes Anthem’s inherent commitment to improving lives and communities. Through strategic partnerships and programs, the Foundation addresses the social drivers that will help create a healthier generation of Americans in the communities that the company serves. The Foundation focuses its funding on critical initiatives that make up its Healthy Generations Program, a multi-generational initiative that targets: maternal health, diabetes prevention, cancer prevention, heart health and healthy, active lifestyles, behavioral health efforts, and programs that benefit people with disabilities. The Foundation also coordinates the company’s year-round Dollars for Dollars program which provides a 100 percent match of associates’ donations, as well as its Volunteer Time Off and Dollars for Doers community service programs. ®ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield names and symbols are registered marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. To learn more about the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, please visit http://www.anthem.foundation and its blog at https://medium.com/anthemfoundation. 

 

Ivy Tech Community College Providing New Tuition Model and Free Textbooks for Students in 2021-2022 Academic Year

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Ivy Tech Community College Providing New Tuition Model and Free Textbooks for Students in 2021-2022 Academic Year

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Ivy Tech State Board of Trustees recently approved a new tuition model for the Community College. The new approach, Ivy+, is focused on making college more affordable, ensuring students have equitable access, transparency of cost, on-time completion, and a seamless experience.

Ivy Tech becomes one of the first schools in Indiana and the first community colleges in the country to adopt this new tuition model. Ivy+ transforms the tuition structure by including the cost of textbooks as a regularly assessed fee. Ivy+ will also charge the same tuition rate for full-time students enrolled in 12 or more credits. If a student takes 12 credits, 15, or even 24 credits in a given term, the cost of tuition will be the same for the student. Part-time students will see their tuition frozen for the next two years and will continue to pay per credit hour.

As part of the Ivy+ rollout, Ivy Tech will cover the cost of textbooks for students in the 2021-2022 academic year through the federal government’s Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF).

“Research shows that 65 percent of college students forgo buying a textbook with the biggest reason that they cannot afford them. Often financial aid and scholarships do not cover course materials. Our goal is to ensure every student has their textbooks the first day of class,” said Sue Ellspermann, Ivy Tech President. “Ivy+ makes us the only state institution that is not only freezing the cost of tuition, but significantly reducing the cost of attendance at a time when we need many more Hoosiers to earn a quality college credential to launch a high-wage career.”

For more information, visit IvyTech.edu/Tuition

 

 

VLADIMIR LENIN MEET COVID-19

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redline

VLADIMIR LENIN MEET COVID-19

GAVEL GAMUT By Jim Redwine

Margaret Thatcher said the problem with socialism is you eventually run out of other people’s money. Thatcher noted this truism long before ’Ole 19 brought about payments of trillions of dollars to people to not go to work. These trillions were not created as a gift from the gods but are borrowed from future generations. Such largesse with the earnings of contemporary small business owners and yet-to-be-born taxpayers may cause warm fuzzy feelings but the concept of something for nothing is a zero-sum game. It can lead to an attitude of entitlement. Unlike teaching folks to fish, entitlement can instill a belief that fish will hook themselves and that if someone else has caught a fish they must share it. A moral society has an obligation to care for those who cannot care for themselves. But it is immoral to foster an attitude that the able-bodied have no obligation to contribute. Even worse is the idea that those who do have means must not deserve them so it is okay to take their property without paying for it.

According to the office of the Attorney General for the State of California, a large number of folks who frequent retail establishments such as CVS, Walgreens, and Target in the San Francisco area simply take items off the shelves and leave without paying. This attitude of “what’s mine is mine and so is the” may be infecting the American psyche beyond the land of free love and tent cities on the public streets. Evidence of this creeping social virus can also be found on our public roads and byways.

Some people apparently assume all the world is their trash can and dump their refuse on the rest of us. How difficult could it be to carry a trash bag in a vehicle and occasionally put the filled-up bag in one of the large containers that populate every public park or roadside rest stop? Once again it is the entitlement thing. The thought process may go something like this:

“I am going to shoplift some items or buy some beer or fast food and then dump the refuse on my fellow citizens. It is okay because I should not be expected to be responsible for my own mess. After all, I either didn’t pay for it to begin with or bought it with COVID-19 money I didn’t earn and may not need.”

Perhaps there is no direct connection to socialism, COVID-19, and people who are too lazy to properly dispose of their own trash, but my guess is it’s an apt tautology. Anyway, in a few more years of dolling out other peoples’ money, our federal, state, and local governments will run out of ink, and maybe our society will then care for those who cannot care for themselves but will respect others who can work enough to require them to do so. Also, that newly engendered sense of self-worth might encourage them to pick up their own trash.

For more Gavel Gamut articles go to www.jamesmredwine.com

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Lazor, King to Represent Team USA in Tokyo

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Lazor, King to Represent Team USA in Tokyo

OMAHA, Neb. – Indiana Swim Club pro swimmer Annie Lazor and 100m Breaststroke world-record holder Lilly King secured spots in the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 by finishing first and second, respectively, in the women’s 200m Breaststroke final at the 2020 Olympic Trials at the CHI Health Center on Friday night.

The Wave II eight-day Trials competition serves as the sole qualifier for pool swimmers on the U.S. Olympic Team for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The top 16 times out of the preliminary heats will form the semifinals for all events at 200m or less, with the top eight semifinalists advancing to the finals. In events 400m or longer, the top eight swimmers out of the preliminary heats will head straight to the finals.

Athletes will earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team roster at each of the eight finals sessions.

200m BREASTSTROKE

Annie Lazor stuck to her race plan and closed the final 100 meters at 1:12.17, the fastest in the eight-lane final field, to win the women’s 200m Breaststroke and secure a spot on Team USA for the Olympics. She touched first at 2:21.07.

Her training partner and Olympic gold medalist Lilly King took the race out quickly and held on to the second spot and will compete in the 200m Breaststroke in Tokyo. She finished second with a time of 2:21.75.

FINAL RESULTS

WOMEN’S 200m BREASTSTROKE

  1. Annie Lazor – 2:21.07 #
  2. Lilly King – 2:21.75 #

Advanced to Olympics #

The final preliminary session is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday morning with Hoosier representation in both the men’s and women’s 50m Freestyle and the men’s 1500m Freestyle.

@IndianaSwimDive

For all the latest on Indiana University swimming and diving, be sure to follow the team at @IndianaSwimDive on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Prelims Wrap Up on Day Six at Olympic Trials

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Four current and future Hoosiers took to the pool on the penultimate morning of preliminary heats on day six of the 2020 Olympic Trials at the CHI Health Center on Friday.

The Wave II eight-day Trials competition serves as the sole qualifier for pool swimmers on the U.S. Olympic Team for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The top 16 times out of the preliminary heats will form the semifinals for all events at 200m or less, with the top eight semifinalists advancing to the finals. In events 400m or longer, the top eight swimmers out of the preliminary heats will head straight to the finals.

Athletes will earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team roster at each of the eight finals sessions.

800m FREESTYLE

In-bound freshman Mariah Denigan finished 15th in the 800m Freestyle preliminary heats with a time of 8:42.79 to close out her first Olympic Trial experience.

100m BUTTERFLY

Hoosier All-American Brendan Burns took 31st in the 100m Butterfly prelims with a time of 53.39. Olympic Trial finalist Corey Gambardella placed 35th at 53.58 and rising senior Van Mathias finished 48th at 54.18.

FINAL RESULTS

WOMEN’S 800m FREESTYLE

  1. Mariah Denigan – 8:42.79

MEN’S 100m BUTTERFLY

  1. Brendan Burns – 53.39
  2. Corey Gambardella – 53.58
  3. Van Mathias – 54.18

The evening session will begin at approximately 9 p.m. tonight with Hoosier representation in the finals in the women’s 200m Breaststroke.

HEALTH DEPARTMENT UPDATES STATEWIDE COVID-19 CASE COUNTS

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EPD DAILY ACTIVITY REPORT

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EPD

EPD REPORT

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