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IU Swimming Best Is Still Ahead

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Ray Looze has a NCAA swimming title in his Indiana coaching sights.

It could come with the men, who have won six national championships, but none since 1973. They do have two straight top-three finishes.

It could be for the Hoosier women, who have never won a national title, but whose consistent excellence — five straight top-10 national finishes — makes that an annual possibility.

One this is clear — with 10 Big Ten coach-of-the-year awards and nine conference championships on his 18-year Hoosier resume, Looze is not going anywhere, not to USC, his alma mater searching for a new coach, or any place.

“I’m excited about where we’re going as a program,” Looze says. “It’s one of the best programs in the country, and we’ve got unfinished business here. I think the institution and the kids and coaches would really like to bring that national title back.”

A lot of Looze’s excitement centers on Bruno Blaskovic, the Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships for 2020. In March, he won the conference 50-meter freestyle, was the runner-up in the Big Ten 100 butterfly, and also was part of the Hoosiers’ winning 200 and 400 medley relay teams, as well as the winning 200 and 400 freestyle relay squads.

The junior from Croatia was seeded third in last month’s NCAA tourney meet for the 50 and 100 freestyles, and 10th in the 100 butterfly before the event was cancelled because of Covid-19.

“He’s learning how to win a lot — in practice, in the classroom, in races,” Looze says. “You saw in his Big Ten performance he still had a full beard at the time.”

Figure that beard will be shaved off by the time competition returns.

“I think Bruno was going to be one of the best swimmers in the NCAA this year,” Looze says. “It’s a shame we couldn’t share that with the rest of the world. He’ll have a shot at the A final at the World Championships.

“Maybe this extra year is not a bad thing. It gives them another year to close the gap on the more established people.”

Former IU swimmers Lily King and Cody Miller, both Olympic medalists with more international victories in their plans, are swimming at an undisclosed private pool that Miller jokingly described via social media as, “Batman’s Lair.”

Their quest to thrive at the Tokyo Olympics, set for this summer, has been delayed a year because of the pandemic.

Looze says King, a world record holder who won a pair of gold medals in the 2016 Olympics in Rio, is doing Cross Fit training three times a week and swimming four times a week.

“That’s a lot less than she’d normally do,” Looze says, “but more than probably 99 percent of people are doing.

“For these athletes who are record holders or Olympic gold medalists like Lily, their degree of dedication and sacrifice is as high as it could be. We’re just making sure we’re safe in how we go about that. To the best of our abilities, given what she is, we follow the guidelines of health and safety.”

If the Tokyo Games were still on, Looze says, Olympians such as King and Miller would be, “Training very intensely right now. They don’t want to get completely detrained.”

Looze adds that another former IU swimmer and Olympic hopeful, Annie Lazor, had taken a year off before returning to competition.

“She said, I don’t think there’s a big difference between taking three months or a year off. Either way, you’re starting at Square One. It will be interesting.”

As far as Indiana training, Looze says, “Everybody is on the sideline right now. In swimming, we usually take August as a break time. We’re looking at it now as that break, but I have a feeling this will be a much larger break.

“When we do get to return to training, and we will, this will end sometime, I don’t think it will be a situation where you ring a bell and everybody can come back right away. It will be a gradual return for everybody.

“I’m preparing myself that it won’t be until the fall that we have a normal resumption of training. We’re trying to keep people as fit as possible now. Once we get them back, then build them up.”

UE Appoints Beverly Brockman as New Schroeder Family Dean of Business

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Beverly Brockman, PhD, has been appointed Schroeder Family Dean of the Schroeder Family School of Business Administration (Schroeder School) at the University of Evansville.

The appointment comes at the end of a nationwide search conducted by WittKieffer, an internationally prominent search firm, and a committee chaired by Martha Stilwell, Interim Associate Dean of the Schroeder School. The search committee included faculty, administrator, student, and trustee representatives.

“We are very happy to welcome Dr. Beverly Brockman as our next Schroeder Family Dean,” said Stilwell. “Dr. Brockman has an impressive academic record in both teaching and research, as well as administrative experience at an AACSB-accredited school. In addition, she has the visionary and leadership capabilities necessary to continue moving the Schroeder School forward in fulfilling our mission of preparing globally aware business professionals. We believe her passion for experiential learning and interdisciplinary collaboration are a great fit for UE, and we look forward to working with Dr. Brockman to continue providing a top-ranked business education at a small, private university.”

Brockman comes to UE with more than 20 years of experience in higher education. Most recently, she has served at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) as the George Lester Nation Centennial Professor of Entrepreneurship. In addition, for the past nine years, she has served as Department Head for the Marketing & Entrepreneurship Department in the Rollins College of Business at UTC.

Brockman earned her PhD in marketing from the University of Alabama and her master’s and bachelor’s degrees from the University of Kentucky.

Coming to UE, Brockman brings with her experience in innovation and entrepreneurship, including establishing Solution Scholars, a self-sustaining interdisciplinary business research student consulting venture. While at UTC, she also oversaw the establishment of UTC Research Services and worked with a team to establish the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, helping to develop the center into a stand-alone, self-sustaining unit.

Throughout her years of experience, Brockman has been nominated or received many awards, including the Carolyn Thompson and Roger Brown UTC Community Engagement Award, Deans Merit Award, Max Finley Merit Award, and Faculty Development Grant.

“I am very excited about my upcoming move to UE! It presents a tremendous opportunity for personal growth, as well as a chance to contribute to higher education in a different way than I have in the past,” said Brockman. “There are some wonderful opportunities to build on the strong programs already in place in the Schroeder Family School of Business. For example, I think there are opportunities for distinct program development in entrepreneurship, connecting with UE’s Center for Innovation and Change, and leveraging its ‘Ashoka Changemaker Campus’ designation.”

The Schroeder Family School of Business Administration currently educates 250 students in seven programs of study, including accounting, finance, global business, logistics and supply chain management, marketing, management, and economics. The AACSB-accredited business school is ranked #4 among small, private schools by U.S. News & World Report with the Finance and Accounting programs ranked #2 and #3, respectively. The Class of 2019 achieved 100% placement in graduate school or full-time employment by September 30, 2019, and earned an average starting salary of $49,720.

The South May See the Largest Share of Coronavirus Misery

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The South May See the Largest Share of Coronavirus Misery

STATELINE ARTICLE

By: Christine Vestal

It looks increasingly likely the South will endure more death and economic loss from COVID-19 than any other region in the country — and not just because Southern governors were slow to shut down businesses and order people to stay at home.

Southern poverty rates are high, social welfare programs spotty and health care infrastructure threadbare. Last year, 120 rural U.S. hospitals closed their doors; 75 of them were in the South.

And emerging data from some cities and states shows that black people — more than half of whom live in the South — are contracting and dying from the virus at a disproportionately high rate.

Because of poverty and limited access to health care, African Americans more often have underlying health conditions — such as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, obesity and asthma — that increase the risk of death from COVID-19. In addition, African Americans more often work in essential frontline jobs that make social distancing impossible.

“The South is expected to be hit hard, because African Americans are expected to be hit hard,” said Dr. Harry Heiman, a professor at Georgia State University’s School of Public Health. “There’s no getting around that.”

Still, he and other advocates for low-income people say it’s not too late for elected leaders in the South to enact policies that could substantially improve the region’s chances for recovery.

Medicaid Politics

Expanding Medicaid is at the top of every advocate’s wish list. Of the 14 states that still refuse federal money to extend the low-income health plan to thousands of adults, nine are in the South.

Medicaid expansion, which would provide health insurance to hundreds of thousands of low-income people with the federal government paying 90% of the cost, is the best way for Southern states to boost their budgets, according to a study by researchers at Harvard University published last month in response to the coronavirus crisis.

“There is no moment in recent memory more critical than now to bolster Medicaid,” they wrote. “Covering more people in Medicaid is a rapid way to bring needed resources into the health care system and infuse federal dollars into state economies on the verge of a major downturn.”

At a news conference earlier this month in Montgomery, Democratic U.S. Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama urged state leaders to expand Medicaid now with the promise that more federal money would be coming soon to pay the state’s 10% share. In the meantime, federal stimulus money could be used to pay part of the costs, he suggested.

In response, a spokeswoman for Republican Gov. Kay Ivey’s office reportedly said “all options are on the table,” adding that to “expand Medicaid, there must be a stable source of revenue for the required state match, whether that be now or three years from now,” according to The Anniston Star.

Other than that, Southern governors who have resisted Medicaid expansion for more than a decade have either remained silent since the crisis began or reaffirmed their opposition to an offer of millions of federal dollars.

Short of expanding Medicaid to low-income adults, state advocates are urging Southern governors to seek federal permission to make it easier for people who do qualify for Medicaid to enroll and stay enrolled and for more doctors and other medical professionals to provide services under the program.

In addition, the NAACP and other advocates for African Americans are calling on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to publish more national data on the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths, by race, to inform a more targeted public health response. Some cities and states already have started releasing more data.

Local and national public health officials are calling for increased testing and intensive public outreach campaigns in rural and urban low-income black communities, as well as more money for face masks and other personal protective gear for frontline workers to tamp the spread of the virus.

Historic Inequities

Fifty-eight percent of African Americans live in Southern states and the District of Columbia. And Southern states have the highest percentages of black populations in the country.

High rates of chronic disease, combined with long-standing policies in most Southern states that limit access to health care and other social programs for low-income residents, put the entire region at risk, Heiman said.

“You really have this tragic mix in the South of populations who are at increased risk for acquiring coronavirus infections because of their socioeconomic and health status, combined with urban neighborhoods and rural communities without the health care infrastructure needed to protect people,” Heiman said. “That’s all combined with the highest uninsured rates in the country.”

In addition, low-income people and African Americans are much more likely to have jobs deemed essential, according to new research by the Kaiser Family Foundation. They are bus drivers, grocery store workers, police and other frontline service workers who cannot isolate.

Many also are living in overcrowded, substandard housing that contributes to the spread of the disease, the report said.

While most of the underlying conditions causing higher rates of COVID-19 infection and death among black and low-income populations can’t be cured overnight, advocates insist political leaders could make a big difference in people’s lives as the region recovers from the crisis.

“The ideological distaste for the Affordable Care Act by many of the South’s political leaders and the Trump administration, has put them at a significant disadvantage to respond to this crisis,” said Joan Alker, executive director of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. This crisis could force that to change, she said.

“People in the South don’t just need Medicaid to cover coronavirus treatment, they need it to deal with high rates of chronic disease and to keep rural hospitals afloat. The coronavirus crisis is going to subside, but the economic crisis will be around for a while.”

In general, Southern governors argue that their states can’t afford to expand Medicaid, because they don’t have the money in their limited budgets to pay for even 10% of the bill.

Delayed Shutdowns

The first COVID-19 cases in the country were detected in Seattle in late January, and the outbreak quickly spread throughout the state. New York and other major U.S. cities were next to experience outbreaks.

With the exception of New Orleans, most of the Deep South seemed to be spared initially. Even Atlanta, with one of the largest international airports in the country, did not appear to suffer immediately.

But in late February, two funerals in a small Georgia city 200 miles south of Atlanta set off a chain reaction that quickly overwhelmed local hospitals with COVID-19 patients.

Albany, Georgia, population 75,000, had the state’s first major outbreak, rivaling on a per capita basis those in New York, Seattle, and other major cities.

Now similar hotspots are being detected throughout the South. And the virus is seeping into rural communities where many local hospitals are ill-prepared to treat more than a handful of patients at a time.

Lee County, Alabama, on the Georgia border, reported an early outbreak, as did Moss Point, Mississippi, a predominately black town on the state’s Gulf coast, among other small Southern towns.

But even as it became clear that the South would not escape the virus and the Trump administration declared the coronavirus crisis a national emergency March 13, some governors waited weeks to shut down businesses. And in many Southern states, restrictions on businesses are looser than in other parts of the country and messages to the public are reportedly unclear.

Ivey, the Alabama governor, waited until April 4 to shut down certain businesses and order residents to stay at home.

In Georgia, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp issued a limited stay-at-home order April 2, and the next day his administration told local officials who had closed their beaches to reopen them.

In Arkansas, Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson is still refusing to issue a stay-at-home order. In an interview on PBS NewsHour, he explained that his state was taking a targeted approach to limit the spread of the virus. Schools and shops — including bars, restaurants, tattoo parlors, barbershops and hair salons — are closed, but otherwise, the state is open for business.

“We want to do things that actually work and make a difference,” Hutchinson said. “And our social distancing, our wearing masks is what is working in Arkansas.”

Racial Disparities

Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath laid bare the vulnerability of people living in poverty and highlighted huge health disparities between black and white New Orleanians devastated by the 2005 storm.

The coronavirus crisis is already spotlighting many of those same issues.

In the District of Columbia, black residents make up 45% of the population and nearly 60% of coronavirus deaths.

In Louisiana, African Americans are 32% of the population and more than 70% of coronavirus deaths, as of April 6.

And more than a quarter of black people in the United States are low-wage workers, compared to 16% of whites, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. This puts them at greater risk of exposure to the virus and income loss.

Before the crisis, 23% of black people had incomes below the federal poverty level, compared to 10% of white people.

Already, far more African Americans are losing their jobs as a result of the crisis compared to the rest of the population, Heiman said, which will make their chances of recovery even more tenuous.

In many Southern states, racial health disparities are stark. In Alabama, where maternal death rates are the third-highest in the nation, black women die at more than twice the rate of white women. And in every other key indicator of overall health, black residents score lower than white residents.

Nationwide, African Americans have higher rates of obesity, heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, asthma, and other chronic diseases compared to the rest of the population. Making matters worse in the South are long-standing policies that prevent many African Americans from getting access to health care.

“In Alabama, poverty and poor health are a legacy of decades of racist public policies that have excluded people of color from health care,” said Jim Carnes, policy director of low-income advocacy organization Alabama Arise.

“We’re thinking of COVID as a high-stakes stress test on our system,” he said. “It’s revealing weaknesses and gaps we’ve always known were there. The question is whether the light will be bright enough this time that our officials will be forced to face reality and address it.”

Child Discovered In A Neighbor’s Koi Pond

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The Vanderburgh County Coroners Office and the Evansville Police and Fire Department responded to the 5000 blocks of Conlin ave. In reference to a deceased 2-year-old child.

According to Vanderburgh County Coroner, Steve Lockyear the child was discovered in a neighbor’s Koi pond. AMR paramedics and Firefighters attempt to resuscitate failed and the child died at the scene at 16:28 hours.

The investigation is ongoing and the Evansville Police Department can provide updates.

An autopsy is scheduled at 13:00 hours 04/14/2020. 

AG Curtis Hill Secures $100,000 In Restitution From Used-Car Dealerships Accused Of Violating Indiana Laws

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Attorney General Curtis Hill announced today that four Indianapolis-based used-car dealerships have paid $100,000 total in restitution after the Office of the Attorney General alleged they violated Indiana consumer and motor vehicle laws. 

In an amended complaint filed in July 2016, the office alleged that the dealerships – Circle City Auto Exchange, Inc.; Circle City Auto Connection Inc.; Circle City Sales & Service Inc.; and Empire Auto Group Limited – violated the Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act and the Indiana Salvage Motor Vehicles Act. The dealerships were accused of selling more than 200 used motor vehicles without obtaining the proper title brands required after the dealerships purchased the vehicles at salvage auctions after major accidents.

These vehicles were declared “total loss” by their previous owners’ insurance companies, but they did not contain a title brand of “salvage” or “rebuilt.” In Indiana, when a vehicle is determined to be a “total loss” after an accident, the insurance company or owner must apply to the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) for a “salvage” title. For a “salvage” vehicle to be eligible to be operated on Indiana roads, the owner must then apply for a “rebuilt” title, provide certain documents to the BMV and submit the vehicles to police inspection.

After purchasing the vehicles from the salvage auction, the dealerships would apply to the Indiana BMV for clean titles, according to the complaint. This clean title designation significantly affected the perceived value of the vehicles, resulting in consumers paying more than the vehicles were worth, Attorney General Hill said.

Additionally, the dealerships did not properly rebuild those vehicles for use on Indiana roads in accordance with state law, the complaint alleged. The dealerships also misrepresented the mechanical quality, safety and performance of the vehicles, while charging consumers excessive prices for them, according to the complaint.

Many consumers who purchased these vehicles from the dealerships experienced mechanical and safety issues soon after buying them, the complaint says.

“Any business or person that deceptively sells vehicles to Hoosier consumers will face consequences,” Attorney General Hill said. “Hoosiers deserve truthful information about the vehicles they are purchasing.”

A consent agreement in the case was approved in Marion County Superior Court. The court granted judgment against the dealerships for $100,000 in consumer restitution.

The money was paid to the Office of the Attorney General, which will distribute it to consumers who purchased vehicles from the dealerships and were harmed by the alleged violations of the dealerships. Consumers who purchased such vehicles can expect to receive a restitution claim form from the Office of the Attorney General in the coming weeks.

Empire Auto Group Limited is the only one of the four dealerships that are still in operation.

OLD NATIONAL EVENTS PLAZA NOMINATED FOR PRESTIGIOUS STELLA AWARD

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Old National Events Plaza has received its first Stella Awards nomination for Best Convention Center in the Standalone Facility, Midwest category. The Stella Awards program distinguishes hotels and suppliers from around the globe that consistently deliver quality service and innovation to meeting and event professionals. Nominees, finalists and the ultimate winners include the very best hotels, convention and conference centers, convention and visitor bureaus, destination marketing organizations, destination management companies, airlines and cruise lines.

Finalists in each category are determined by public vote, as well as votes from industry professionals. Winners are selected by an expert panel of judges overseen by the editors of Northstar Meetings Group’s leading publications, Meetings & Conventions and Successful Meetings.

“During these unprecedented times, convention centers like Old National Events Plaza face an uncertain future along with the rest of the hospitality community.  This nomination is even more special and important in light of current events, and we would be honored for our community, partners and customers to help support our campaign to be named Best Convention Center in the Midwest category,” said Alexis Berggren, General Manager.

To vote for Old National Events Plaza as Best Standalone Convention Center in the Midwest, visit https://bit.ly/2UZyoyT  and register to submit. All registered voters are entered to win an Amazon Gift Card. The Stella voting period closes on May 15, 2020.

For more information about Old National Events Plaza please visit www.oldnationaleventsplazacom. To learn more about The Stella Awards please visit Stella-Awards.com.

 

EPD REPORT

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EPD MEDIA REPORT

“Right Jab And Middle Jab And Left Jab” APRIL 14, 2020

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“Right Jab And Middle Jab And Left Jab” APRIL 14, 2020

“Right Jab And Middle Jab And Left Jab” was created because we have a couple of commenters that post on a daily basis either in our “IS IT TRUE” or “Readers Forum” columns concerning National or International issues.
The majority of our “IS IT TRUE” columns are about local or state issues, so we have decided to give our more opinionated readers exclusive access to our newly created “LEFT JAB and Middle Jab and RIGHT JAB”  column. They now have this post to exclusively discuss national or world issues that they feel passionate about.
We shall be posting the “LEFT JAB” AND “MIDDLE JAB” AND “RIGHT JAB” several times a week.  Oh, “LEFT JAB” is a liberal view, “MIDDLE JAB” is the libertarian view and the “RIGHT JAB is representative of the more conservative views. Also, any reader who would like to react to the written comments in this column is free to do so.

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JUST IN: Nursing Home Deaths Soar Past 3,600 In Alarming Surge

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Nursing Home Deaths Soar Past 3,600 In Alarming Surge

| Associated Press

More than 3,600 deaths nationwide have been linked to coronavirus outbreaks in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, an alarming rise in just the past two weeks, according to the latest count by The Associated Press.

Because the federal government has not been releasing a count of its own, the AP has kept its own running tally based on media reports and state health departments. The latest count of at least 3,621 deaths is up from about 450 deaths just 10 days ago and represents at least 16 percent of all deaths from COVID-19.

But the true toll among the 1 million mostly frail and elderly people who live in such facilities is likely much higher, experts say, because most state counts don’t include those who died without ever being tested for COVID-19.

In addition to an Indiana outbreak at a nursing home in Anderson that has killed 24 and infected 16, outbreaks in just the past few weeks have included one at a nursing home in suburban Richmond, Virginia, that has killed 42 and infected more than 100, and one at a veteran’s home in Holyoke, Mass., that has killed 38, infected 88 and prompted a federal investigation. This comes weeks after an outbreak at a nursing home in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland that has so far claimed 43 lives.

And those are just the outbreaks we know about. Most states provide only total numbers of nursing home deaths and don’t give details of specific outbreaks. Notable among them is the nation’s leader, New York, which accounts for 1,880 nursing home deaths out of about 96,000 total residents but has so far declined to detail specific outbreaks, citing privacy concerns.

Experts say nursing home deaths may keep climbing because of chronic staffing shortages that have been made worse by the coronavirus crisis, a shortage of protective supplies and a continued lack of available testing.

And the deaths have skyrocketed despite steps taken by the federal government in mid-March to bar visitors, cease all group activities, and require that every worker be screened for fever or respiratory symptoms at every shift.

But an AP report earlier this month found that infections were continuing to find their way into nursing homes because such screenings didn’t catch people who were infected but asymptomatic. Several large outbreaks were blamed on such spreaders, including infected health workers who worked at several different nursing home facilities.

This past week, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that regulates nursing homes issued recommendations urging nursing homes to use separate staffing teams for residents, and to designate separate facilities within nursing homes to keep COVID-19 positive residents away from those who have tested negative.

Dr. Deborah Birx, who leads the White House coronavirus response, suggested this past week that as more COVID-19 tests become available, nursing homes should be a top priority.

“We need to really ensure that nursing homes have sentinel surveillance. And what do I mean by that? That we’re actively testing in nursing homes, both the residents and the workers, at all times,” Birx said.

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