https://www.vanderburghsheriff.com/jail-recent-booking-records.aspx
New Utility Bill Assistance Program For Renters And Landlords
 EVANSVILLE, IND. – The Evansville Water and Sewer Utility (EWSU) is raising awareness about a new assistance program for renters who have fallen behind on their water and sewer utility bills due to the negative impact of Covid-19. The Indiana Emergency Rental Assistance Program(IERA), through the Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority (IHCDA), will pay past due utility bills, up to 12 months past due, incurred after April 1, 2020 for qualifying renters.Â
The program was launched statewide in March 2021. In April, EWSU Customer Service Representatives began contacting customers with delinquent accounts who have signed up for payment arrangements to notify them of the new assistance program.Â
When a renter applies for assistance their utility account is placed on hold for 60 days and EWSU will not charge late fees or shutoff service while the application is pending. However, customers are encouraged to continue making payments on new bills. Landlords may apply for rental assistance on behalf of a tenant or encourage the tenant to apply. Landlords may not evict tenants while the application is being processed.Â
Qualifying renters may receive up to $2,000 in assistance per household. The assistance may be applied to water, sewer and trash bills, as well as gas and electric bills. Any unpaid deposits, disconnect fees or reconnect fees are the responsibility of the renter. The assistance cannot be used for utilities included in the tenant’s rental lease agreement. Renters may qualify for an additional one-time benefit of $750 once they have received the maximum benefit from the Indiana Emergency Rental Assistance Program.Â
Interested renters and landlords should go to IndianaHousingNow.org to create an account and submit an online application. Applicants will receive a request for additional documentation at the email address provided. Information is also available on our website ewsu.com. Look under General Information and click Assistance for Tenants or Assistance for Landlords.Â
Applicants without email may dial 2-1-1 to apply for assistance in English or Spanish through Indiana 211, a free and confidential service that helps Hoosiers find resourcesÂ
Commentary: The Minimum Wage And The Coming Flood
Commentary: The Minimum Wage And The Coming Flood
written by John Krull
TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS—Much ink and hot air have been thrown at the subject of a federal minimum wage increase in recent months.
Too much, in fact.
Conservatives rail that increasing the minimum wage will drive the prices of fast food to astronomical heights. Progressives argue that not increasing the minimum wage degrades the value of honest work and allows employers to exploit workers.
As is so often the case with these symbolic debates, both sides have a point.
It is, after all, one of the curses of our times that so many people are convinced that because they have a grasp on a piece of the truth, they own the whole of it.
The reality is more complicated.
It also is more alarming, because understanding that reality makes clear just how little we are doing to prepare for the challenges ahead.
Knowing facts will help here.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the percentage of Americans earning the federal minimum wage or less declined last year.
In 2019, 1.9 percent of American workers earned $7.25 per hour or less.
In 2020, the percentage dropped to 1.5 percent.
The drop wasn’t the result of any innovative government program or bold new venture by American businesses.
Economists have been warning for the better part of a decade that the world is headed toward a labor crisis. Those economists project that, by the year 2030, there will be a significant labor shortage—one perhaps as great as 25 percent.
The economists are not likely to be wrong about this. In some ways, this is just a math problem. Everyone who will be in the workforce nine years from now is alive today. If there are fewer people who are of working age, due to slowed birth rates and other factors, and there are more people who cannot work, because of greatly extended life spans and other developments, then determining whether there will be a shortage—and, therefore, a crisis—is simply a matter of crunching numbers.
This shortage—this crisis—will transform the ways we work and live.
If there are not enough bodies to do the work we need to be done, then countries, states, and communities will start competing to recruit and hold onto labor.
That will drive up wages.
Actually, it will do more than that.
One of the barriers that historically has prevented low-wage earners from taking advantage of better opportunities has been, for lack of a better term, transition costs. Too often, workers haven’t been able to afford to move to other places to secure greater compensation or to take time away from work to get jobs that pay better.
The pressure to secure labor is going to force communities that want to survive, much less thrive, to induce workers the way they long have lured companies. They’ll offer packages to subsidize moving and training costs to attract workers to their city, their state or their country.
The relationship between business and labor also will be altered.
Put simply, when workers are scarcer than jobs, labor’s leverage will increase dramatically. Expect savvy companies to start seeking out ways to collaborate more with workers—and to start demonstrating that such companies are attuned and attentive to their employees’ concerns.
We’re already seeing signs of that.
The corporate boycotts of Georgia and other states engaged in voter suppression efforts have less to do with companies developing social consciences than they do with companies understanding what is necessary for them to survive. They can’t afford to alienate potential pools of labor, so they’re not going to insult Black voters or engage in anti-gay persecutions or pursue any social or political agenda that might cost them workers.
This coming age of labor shortages will require countries, states and communities to dispense with wage suppression measures such as Indiana’s right-to-work law and other anti-labor measures. The new model for successful economies will be one of cooperation and a more nuanced balancing of interests.
Arguing about the federal minimum wage is a bit like arguing about where a dam will break when the water pressure is building at every point along the wall.
The important thing is that a flood is coming.
But then, it’s easy to fight about something like the minimum wage.
Fights are always easier to find than solutions.
FOOTNOTE: John Krull is the director of Franklin College’s Pulliam School of Journalism and publisher of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
The City-County Observer posted this article without bias or editing.
Ivy Tech To Hold ‘Night ‘O ASAP’ Annual Event Tonight
Ivy Tech To Hold ‘Night ‘O ASAP’ Annual Event Tonight
What: Ivy Tech ‘Night ‘O ASAP’ Annual Event
Celebrating students who completed their associate degree in 11 months through the Associate Accelerated Program
When: TONIGHT, 7 p.m.-8 p.m. (program time)
(Arrival, mingle, and meal 6-7 p.m.)
 Where: Ivy Tech Main Campus, Koch Student Center (Commons area)
3501 N. First Avenue, Evansville
 Background: Tonight’s event is a celebration of those students who will graduate on Tuesday from Ivy Tech, who are enrolled in the Associate Accelerated Program, more commonly called ASAP. This program allows a student to complete an associate degree in just under one year. Last May, these students were high school graduates, and this May they are college graduates!
100% of the ASAP graduates in the seven years of this program, who desired to earn their bachelor’s degree, have been accepted into four-year universities. The credits they earned will transfer into the other universities, placing them at junior status!
While the program is always rigorous and operates on a cohort basis with one class going through the program together each year, this year’s was particularly challenging, balancing face-to-face and virtual classes. Despite the challenges brought about due to the pandemic, this class graduates with the highest GPA of any of the 7 cohorts, at just above 3.7 GPA! Nearly all of the ASAP grads will graduate with honors.
The official four-year graduation rate for students attending public colleges and universities is 33.3%. The six-year rate is 57.6%  But to put in context, these graduates will have the potential to have earned their bachelor’s degree in just under 3 years. One member of Cohort V, just graduated from USI and has been accepted into a Master’s Program. In five years, that student will have earned three degrees!
Ivy Tech is now enrolling for the next cohort which begins in June. More information is available at www.ivytech.edu/asap
Interviews will be available. Live shot friendly, as well, if you come at 6 (students and families will be arriving at that time, and the meal will start at 6:30. Program starts at 7 p.m.)
HEALTH DEPARTMENT UPDATES STATEWIDE COVID-19 CASE COUNTS
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Department of Health announced today that 495 additional Hoosiers have been diagnosed with COVID-19 through testing at state and private laboratories. That brings to 736,480 the number of Indiana residents now known to have had the novel coronavirus following corrections to the previous day’s dashboard.
To date, 13,090 Hoosiers are confirmed to have died from COVID-19, an increase of 21 from the previous day. Another 417 probable deaths have been reported to date based on clinical diagnoses in patients for whom no positive test is on record. A total of 3,457,544 unique individuals have been tested in Indiana, up from 3,454,998 on Monday.
A total of 10,208,588 tests, including repeat tests for unique individuals, have been reported to the state Department of Health since Feb. 26, 2020.
To find testing sites around the state, visit www.coronavirus.in.gov and click on the COVID-19 testing information link.
Hoosiers age 12 and older can receive a COVID-19 vaccine; individuals younger than age 18 are eligible for the Pfizer vaccine only. To find a vaccination clinic near you, visit https://ourshot.in.gov or call 211 if you do not have access to a computer or require assistance. Appointments are preferred, but walk-ins are accepted at most sites.
Click It Or Ticket Campaign
Troopers Reminding Motorists To ‘BUCKLE UP’!
| Ninety percent of motorists can be found wearing their seat belts. Unfortunately, the small percentage of people who choose not to buckle up make up a disproportionate amount of the fatalities that occur every year on Indiana roads.
It’s a concern that the Indiana State Police- Fort Wayne Post is working to address this spring by participating in the national Click It or Ticket enforcement campaign. From May 17 to June 6, troopers will be out in greater numbers seeking to educate motorists about the importance of wearing a seat belt. The high-visibility patrols are paid for with funds from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), administered by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI). Between 2015 and 2019, seat belts have saved more than 69,000 lives in the U.S., according to NHTSA. Despite knowing the benefits, people still refuse to buckle up, a choice that too often can end in tragedy. Last year, more than 800 people were killed on Indiana roads, of which, 565 occurred in passenger vehicles. Sadly, 364 of those, or 6 out of 10, were not wearing seat belts. Out of any age group, male drivers, particularly those between the ages of 15 and 34, were the most likely to be found not wearing a seat belt at the time of a crash. Additionally, individuals not wearing seat belts were three times more likely to get injured in a crash when the driver was speeding and seven times more likely when the driver was impaired. “If the pandemic has taught us anything it’s that life is precious,†said Devon McDonald, ICJI Executive Director. “We expect more people will be venturing out and taking road trips this spring and wearing a seat belt is still the best way to keep you and your loved ones safe on the road.†According to the department, troopers will be writing citations and conducting high-visibility patrols during the day but especially at night, when unrestrained driving is at its peak (midnight to 4:00 a.m.). Under Indiana’s primary seat belt law, troopers can stop and cite drivers and passengers just for failing to wear a seat belt. Drivers can also be cited for each unbuckled passenger under the age of 16, and children under eight must be properly restrained in a federally approved child or booster seat. Throughout the campaign, troopers will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt enforcement, which means anyone caught not wearing one will receive a citation. Parents and caregivers can choose the safest car seat for their child by visiting TheRightSeat.com, or to find a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician, who can inspect and assist with the installation of a car seat, visit www.childseat.in.gov.
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SWIRCA Brewfest 2021 Tickets On Sale Now
Evansville, IN – The 17th annual “SWIRCA BrewFest†will take place at Historic Bosse Field on Saturday, October 16, 2021, from 6-9 pm. Brewfest is the only festival around that features craft, domestic, and imported beers, wines, and spirits all in one place. Vendors from all over the Midwest come to share their craft and passion for making outstanding adult beverages while also supporting a great cause.
To celebrate Brewfest’s return, SWIRCA & More will be offering special ticket pricing for General Admission and SIP tickets. Tickets are on sale now with Early Bird General Admission tickets at $25 and SIP tickets for $45. General admission tickets will increase to $30 starting June 1 and will increase again to $35 on July 1. SIP tickets will increase to their pre-event price of $50 on July 1. VIP tickets will be $70 and Designated Driver tickets will be $10. Patrons are encouraged to take advantage of these special ticket prices.
VIP ticket holders will receive an extra hour of tasting beginning at 5 pm, a special entrance line into Bosse Field, access to an exclusive VIP area with special food, a private bar with specialty drinks, a souvenir tasting glass, premium parking, special entertainment, and massage therapists to ease those tired muscles. If VIP is not your style, but getting an extra hour of tasting sounds good, the “SIP†ticket is right for you. SIP (Somewhat Important Person) ticket holders get into the event at 5 pm but will not receive the other perks exclusively held for VIP. There will also be a great merchandise to purchase at the event including lanyard koozies, t-shirts, and hats. This year Brewfest is encouraging patrons to bring their own pretzel necklaces to wear and eat during the event. The winner of the Best Pretzel Necklace Contest will receive two general admission tickets to Brewfest 2022.
General Admission ticket holders will receive unlimited beverage tastings, an exclusive commemorative glass, food from local vendors, and entertainment. Tickets can be purchased online at www.swirca.org/brewfest and at the SWIRCA & More offices located at 16 W. Virginia Street. This unique festival is a charity event to help raise funds for SWIRCA & More. Join us to celebrate a fun-filled evening of food, drinks, and entertainment.
Southwestern Indiana Regional Council on Aging (SWIRCA & More) is a not-for-profit, 501(c)3, a public service organization that focuses its efforts on empowering seniors and people with disabilities to remain living safely in their own homes by providing information and support services. SWIRCA & More is Indiana’s 16th Area Agency on Aging covering a six-county area including Gibson, Perry, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh and Warrick counties. For more information on SWIRCA, visit www.swirca.org or call 812-464-7800.
FIGHTING OFF CYBERSCAMMERS
Todays cartoon is published bY the CITY-COUNTY OBSERVER with permission of DARYL CAGLE SYNDICATE CARTOONS, INC
Daryl is America’s most widely syndicated editorial cartoonist (along with the other CagleCartoonists).
Daryl is a past president of the National Cartoonists Society and the National Cartoonists Society Foundation.
HOT JOBS IN EVANSVILLE
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