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The Post House, A $42-Million Mixed-Use Development In Downtown Evansville, Officially Opens
AG Hill States Courts Should Continue Regulating Chemical Abortions
Federal courts should not use the COVID-19 pandemic as a reason to interfere in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s regulation of chemical abortions, Attorney General Curtis Hill said today.
A U.S. district court recently ruled that the FDA must suspend several of its normal rules during the pandemic — including a requirement that mifepristone, an abortion drug, be dispensed only in a clinic, medical office or hospital.
Such rules protect women’s health and “are not unduly burdensome even in the current public health emergency,†according to an 11-state amicus brief filed in a U.S. appellate court. The brief, which is co-led by Indiana and Louisiana, supports the FDA’s motion for a stay of thedistrict court’s ruling pending an appeal.
“When a woman ingests mifepristone for the purpose of aborting a fetus, she not only ends the life of her unborn child, but also undergoes significant risks to her own body,†Attorney General Hill said. “Federal and state laws require physical examinations and in-person dispensing of mifepristone to ensure that physicians check for contraindications and that women fully understand the risks.â€
Gov. Holcomb Public Schedule for August 4
INDIANAPOLIS – Below find Gov. Eric J. Holcomb’s public schedule for August 4, 2020.
 Tuesday, August 4: American Soybean Association 100th Anniversary Celebration & Historical Marker Dedication
WHO:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Gov. Holcomb
WHAT:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â The governor will give remarks.
WHEN:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 11:30 a.m., Tuesday, August 4
WHERE:         Fouts Soyland Farm. 3858 North State Road 29. Camden, IN 46917
Tuesday, August 4: Indiana Black Expo Minority Business Series
WHO:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Gov. Holcomb
WHAT:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â The governor will give remarks.
WHEN:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2 p.m., Tuesday, August 4
WHERE:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Virtual Event hosted by Indiana Black Expo. More information about the event can be found here.
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VANDERBURGH COUNTY FELONY CHARGES
Below are the felony cases to be filed by the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office today.
Eric Allen Smothers II: Domestic battery (Level 6 Felony)
Jesus Maldonado Perez: Sexual battery (Level 6 Felony), Sexual battery (Level 6 Felony)
Lamontrez Darryeon Haywood: Strangulation (Level 6 Felony), Domestic battery (Level 6 Felony), Intimidation (Level 6 Felony), Interference with the reporting of a crime (Class A misdemeanor), Criminal mischief (Class B misdemeanor)
Alondra L. Howard: Dealing in methamphetamine (Level 2 Felony), Dealing in a schedule I controlled substance (Level 3 Felony), Dealing in marijuana (Level 5 Felony), Possession of a controlled substance (Class A misdemeanor), Possession of a controlled substance (Class A misdemeanor), Carrying a handgun without a license (Class A misdemeanor)
Stacy Tyrone Worship: Dealing in marijuana (Level 5 Felony)
Monotone Jacheal Williams: Auto theft (Level 5 Felony)
James W. Fingers: Possession of methamphetamine (Level 5 Felony)
VANDERBURGH COUNTY FELONY CHARGES
 Below are the felony cases to be filed by the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office today.
Daniel W. Loosemore:Â Attempt Domestic battery (Level 6 Felony), Domestic battery by bodily waste (Class A misdemeanor)
Jessica Suzanne Johnson: Auto theft (Level 6 Felony), Possession of a narcotic drug (Level 6 Felony), False informing (Class B misdemeanor), Possession of paraphernalia (Class C misdemeanor)
Ryan Lynn Utley: Operating a vehicle with an ACE of 0.15 or more (Level 6 Felony), Resisting law enforcement (Level 6 Felony), Driving left of center (C infraction), Driving while suspended (A infraction)
James Francisco Payne: Battery against a public safety official (Level 6 Felony)
Michael Ali Miles: Failure to register as a sex or violent offender (Level 5 Felony), Failure to register as a sex or violent offender (Level 5 Felony), Theft (Class A misdemeanor)
Wesley C. Sellner: Possession of a narcotic drug (Level 5 Felony)
Morgan Lee Blankenship: Possession of a narcotic drug (Level 6 Felony), Possession of methamphetamine (Level 6 Felony), Theft (Level 6 Felony)
Indiana Sued To Extend Absentee Ballot Deadline
Indiana Sued To Extend Absentee Ballot Deadline As Pressure Mounts To Allow Voting By Mail
By Isaac Gleitz
TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS—Common Cause Indiana and the state conference of the NAACP have filed a lawsuit to force Secretary of State Connie Lawson and members of the Election Commission to count absentee votes past the current noon deadline on Election Day.
The lawsuit, filed late Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, comes as state officials are facing increasing pressure to allow no-excuse absentee voting for the Nov. 3 general election because of the health threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic that has already claimed 150,000 American lives.
Barbara Tully, president of the Indiana Vote By Mail, a nonpartisan advocacy group, is leading the charge for mail-in voting options in the general election, but she also disagrees with the noon rule.
“We have this very arbitrary deadline of noon on election day, which doesn’t speak well for voters who might not be able to get their ballot bag and drop it off until 2 p.m., and then suddenly their vote doesn’t count,†Tully said Friday during a virtual press conference called to urge no-excuse mail-in voting on Nov. 3.
State officials have resisted changes to Indiana’s voting laws, keeping the noon deadline in place when the Election Commission approved no-excuse absentee ballot voting in the June 2 primary. The original May 5 primary was delayed a month because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which so far has claimed 2,765 lives, while another 66,154 have been diagnosed with the disease, according to the Indiana State Department of Health.
The lawsuit says “even in the best of times the Noon Election Day Receipt Deadline disenfranchises voters, this is not the best of times. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has created a number of new and significant challenges for voters and election officials, including serious health risks to in-person voting and significant delays in mail-in ballot delivery.â€
In the June primary, there were delays in the transmission of ballots to voters and then back to election officials, resulting in thousands of otherwise valid ballots being rejected because they were received past noon on Election Day, the lawsuit says. In Marion County, 1,514 ballots were rejected and 435 were rejected in Hamilton County, even though they were postmarked before June 2.
“The expected increase in the number of Indiana voters using a mail-in option for
the November 3, 2020 election due to the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with continuing
delays in mail delivery, mean that even more voters face likely disenfranchisement because of an inability to comply with the Noon Election Day Receipt Deadline,†the suit says.
The lawsuit asks the court to order the Election Commission to allow ballots to be counted for up to 10 days past the election as long as they were postmarked by Nov. 3.
The deadline won’t be as big an issue if state election officials continue to resist allowing more Hoosiers to cast their ballots by mail.
Indiana is among a handful of states where residents need to have a valid reason why they can’t vote in-person. A registered voter can get an absentee ballot if they will be gone or working during all 12 hours that the polls are open. Thirty-four states have no-excuse voting by mail.
During Friday’s virtual press conference, Tully was joined by Pierre Atlas, a Marian University political science professor, and two former lieutenant governors, Republican John Mutz and Democrat Kathy Davis, who urged state election officials to allow mail-in voting in November.
“We have gathered here for the purpose of urging the election commission and the governor to act,†Mutz said, adding that the Election Commission needs to give local election officials plenty of time to set up processes to mail out the ballots and then count them when they are returned.
“This is a fundamental aspect of democracy, and we should not be going around trying to restrict it, given where we are today where voting could be dangerous,†Atlas said. “What we’re talking about is guaranteeing the fundamental right of all Americans… to have the right to vote securely and safely in the middle of a deadly pandemic.â€
Nine Democrats—one from each of Indiana’s congressional districts—have also signed a petition calling for the state’s Election Commission to meet.
Mutz and Davis rejected arguments that have come from President Donald Trump that voting by mail will lead to widespread fraud. Both said that they have never seen cases of voter fraud in their years in politics.
Wednesday, at his weekly virtual press conference to discuss the state’s handling of the pandemic, Gov. Eric Holcomb said that Hoosiers will have opportunities to vote safely in person in November because of early voting options.
Mutz, who served as lieutenant governor under Republican Robert Orr in the 1980s, said he believes the resistance from officials like Holcomb and others to mail-in voting comes from Washington D.C.
“I think local officials are concerned about what Donald Trump will think,†he said, and Davis agreed.
FOOTNOTE: Isaac Gleitz is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
Gov. Beshear Provides Update on COVID-19
Gov. Beshear Provides Update on COVID-19
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 2, 2020) – Gov. Andy Beshear on Sunday updated Kentuckians on the state’s continuing efforts to fight the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19).
“We’ve made it to August, and while I know we all hoped months ago when this pandemic first arrived in Kentucky that we’d be closer to a decisive victory, we remain at war with the coronavirus,†the Governor said. “We need everyone in this fight, to save lives, to save our economy, and to help get our kids back in school. I know we have what it takes and that we’ll do what it takes because we care about one another.â€
Case Information
As of 1 p.m. Aug. 2, Gov. Beshear said there were at least 31,185 coronavirus cases in Kentucky, 463 of which were newly reported Sunday. Eleven of the newly reported cases were from children age 5 and younger.
“We appear to be seeing what we all hope is a plateau in the alarming growth of coronavirus cases in the commonwealth,†the Governor said. “It shows that wearing a mask, social distancing, and not traveling to virus hot spots is working. We need to see this trend continue to avoid having to make more hard choices and sacrifices.â€
Unfortunately, Gov. Beshear reported two new deaths Sunday, raising the total to 742 Kentuckians lost to the virus.
The deaths reported Sunday to include a 56-year-old man from Oldham County and a 70-year-old woman from Muhlenberg County.
“This is a pivotal time for Kentuckians. Tomorrow, we begin a new week in a new month, a month in which we will implement Healthy At School guidelines as students and teachers return to classrooms,†said Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner for the Department for Public Health.
“I’m cautiously optimistic we have blunted our steep COVID-19 escalation with the mask requirement, restriction of gatherings to 10 or fewer people, bar closings and restaurant capacity restrictions. This is a prolonged challenge, though,†Dr. Stack said.
“As we continue to fight COVID-19 with personal choices that include responsible decisions about travel, crowd sizes, thorough and frequent hand-washing and wearing face masks, there’s still a need to keep other public health considerations in mind, conditions that don’t care that there’s a global pandemic going on.â€
For additional information, including up-to-date lists of positive cases and deaths, as well as breakdowns of coronavirus infections by county, race and ethnicity, click here.
More Information
Read about other key updates, actions, and information from Gov. Beshear and his administration at governor.ky.gov, kycovid19.ky.gov and the Governor’s official social media accounts Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
Kentuckians can also access translated COVID-19 information and daily summaries of the Governor’s news conference at teamkentuckytranslations.com.
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