Home Blog Page 3422

JUST IN: Teamsters Local 215 Members Employed By Irving Materials Incorporated (IMI) Evansville Went On Strike

0

On Monday, June 3, Teamsters Local 215 members employed by Irving Materials Incorporated (IMI) Evansville went on strike. The strike is an unfair labor practices strike. The pickets were extended to IMI Ft. Branch on June 4, and Teamster members there have been honoring the picket lines.

Accordingly to Teamsters 215 President Chuck Whobrey “this strike was totally avoidable. Teamsters 215 members have only wanted to maintain the insurance plan (Central States TeamCare) that they have had for many years, and also to get appropriate wage increases. IMI Teamsters currently make $19.48 per hour. That is $1.60 per hour behind Teamsters employed by Concrete Supply. Teamsters at Concrete Supply have the same insurance plan IMI Teamsters are fighting to maintain. Under the company’s proposal IMI Teamsters would lose dental insurance, life insurance and retiree’s insurance. Teamster members worked without a contract for over two months in an effort to reach an agreement without going on strike. Finally, after some of the things the company did in negotiations, the local union filed unfair labor practice charges and the strike commenced a few days later. Those charges are currently under investigation by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 25”.

Mr. Whobrey also stated that “IMI as a company has benefited immensely over the years because of the Teamsters who work there. On repeated occasions IMI has been awarded contracts because their employees are represented by Teamsters Local 215. The most recent example of this happening was theCostco warehouse construction project on Evansville’s east side. The concrete work on that project was originally awarded to a non-union company. Due to the work of the Teamsters Local Union, that award was reversed and awarded to IMI. The thanks Teamster members got for this is to have the company try to take away their insurance. There are many other examples of work that IMI was awarded because of them being a unionized company. IMI needs to stop attacking the very employees that make them a profitable company”.

FOOTNOTE: This article was posted by the City-County Observer without opinon  bias or editing.

Ryan goes “Long” as the Otters win 5-4

0
Trailing by two with two on in the top of the seventh, the Evansville Otters received a clutch three-run home run as Ryan Long did just as he name suggests, went long, giving pushing the Otters to a 5-4 win against the Washington Wild Things.

The go-ahead home run was Long’s sixth of the season, giving him 28 RBIs.

The Otters were able to strike first in the third inning.

Hunter Cullen led off with a single to right field. After stealing second base, J.J. Gould grounded out to advance Cullen to third. David Cronin was able to hit a sac-fly to left-center to score Cullen, giving the Otters a 1-0 lead.

The Wild Things tied the game in the bottom of the fourth, when J.J. Fernandez knocked in Mikael Mogues, who led off with a double, on an RBI single.

Rob Calabrese hit a solo home run in the top of the sixth to break the tie for his fifth of the year, handing the Otters a 2-1 advantage.

Calabrese’s home run would end the night for Washington starter AJ Bogucki, as he finished throwing six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits, while fanning five. He ended with a no-decision.

The Wild Things responded scoring three runs in the bottom of the sixth.

After Shane Hughes led off with a single, Mogues jacked a two-run homer to right field to give the Wild Things their first lead of the game at 3-2.

Hector Roa reached on an error, Fernandez singled to put runners on the corners, and Cody Erickson singled to score Roa as Washington doubled up the Otters 4-2.

In the top of the seventh, Cullen and Gould singled to lead off the inning, Cronin’s bunt advanced them to second and third, and Long hit one over the fence in right field.

After getting one out in the seventh, Otters starter Jake Welch was pulled when he walked Shane Hughes. He finished with a no-decision, tossing 6.1 innings, surrendering only four runs -three earned – with no walks and four strikeouts.

Abraham Almonte relieved Welch, getting Mogues to ground out and Roa to strikeout ending the seventh.

Taylor Wright relieved Almonte in the eighth with a runner on third and two outs, ending the inning with a strikeout to Drew Bene.

Brett Marr led off the bottom of the ninth with a single, but Carlos Castro rushed in from first base to record a bunt-popout by Blake Adams. Danny Hrbek struck out Hughes and Mogues for his 26th and 27th strikeout, earning his fifth save of the season.

Wright earned the win, earning his 27th strikeout as well.

 

EPD REPORT

0

EPD REPORT

Vanderburgh County Recent Booking Records

0

https://www.vanderburghsheriff.com/recent-booking-records.aspx

“READERS FORUM” JUNE 19, 2019

8

We hope that today’s “READERS FORUM” will provoke honest and open dialogue concerning issues that we, as responsible citizens of this community, need to address in a rational and responsible way.

WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND TODAY?

Todays “Readers Poll’ question is: Do you feel its time for the taxpayers of this community to start holding our public officials accountable for their bad business decisions?

If you would like to advertise in the CCO please contact us at City-County Observer@live.com

Footnote: City-County Observer Comment Policy. Be kind to people. Personal attacks or harassment will not be tolerated and shall be removed from our site.
We understand that sometimes people don’t always agree and discussions may become a little heated.  The use of offensive language and insults against commenters shall not be tolerated and will be removed from our site.
Any comments posted in this column do not represent the views or opinions of the City-County Observer, our media partners or advertisers.
“

Channel 14 TV Reports The Sale Of Ellis Park

0

Channel 14 TV Reports The Sale Of Ellis Park

 New Owners Plan To Invest $100 Million Dollars

Sale of Ellis Park approved, new owners plan to invest $100 million
Ellis Park (WFIE)
By Jill Lyman | June 17, 2019 at 3:33 PM CDT – Updated June 18 at 2:36 PM

Henderson, Ky. (WFIE) – Ellis Park is getting new owners, again.

Tuesday, The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission approved the purchase by Ellis Entertainment LLC. They also granted their racing license, and approved adding 900 new racing machines, making a total of 1,200.

Representative of Ellis Entertainment LLC, Bob Beck, says a purchase agreement has been signed with current owners, Saratoga Hospitality.

Final closing is expected by the end of June.

Ellis Entertainment LLC representatives say they work with Laguna Development Corporation out of Albuquerque.

We spoke with officials from the company back in May when we first reported the possible sale.

According to the company website, LDC manages and operates casinos, restaurants, hotels and retail businesses in the Pueblo of Laguna reservation.

Saratoga just purchased Ellis Park last year.

Ellis Entertainment LLC representatives say they plan to invest $100 million dollars into Ellis Park.

That plan includes a brand new facility in front of the current one, as well as restaurants, and a hotel.

Officials say they hope to do the work in phases and have a new facility open by November 2020.

Kevin Greer, Managing Partner for Ellis Entertainment said, “We are both honored and excited for the opportunity to purchase Ellis Park, one of Kentucky’s oldest and most revered racetracks. We appreciate the knowledge and support the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has provided us while we prepare torestore Ellis Park to its rightful place as one of the Bluegrass State’s premier racing facilities.”

“We remain committed to the upcoming racing season at Ellis Park and ensuring that it is one of the most successful the property has seen in years,” said Daniel Gerrity, President of Saratoga Casino & Hospitality Group. “We look forward to working closely with Ellis Entertainment in the coming months to ensure a seamless transition of ownership.”

Jospeph Payton was at the meeting in Florence, Kentucky. He’ll have more on the plans for Ellis Park tonight on 14 News.

Copyright 2019 WFIE. All rights reserved.

FOOTNOTE:  This article was posted by the City-County Observer with permission of the management of Channel 14 News-Evansville.  For additional up-dates concerning the sale of Ellis Park please go to Channel 14 News. The City-County Observer would like to command Channel 14-Evansville for doing an incredible job in reporting this extremely complicated news story with accuracy.

FROM CHANNEL 14 NEWS -Sale Of Ellis Park Approved, New owners Plan To Invest $100 Million

0

 FROM CHANNEL 14 NEWS

Sale Of Ellis Park Approved, New owners Plan To Invest $100 Million

Sale of Ellis Park approved, new owners plan to invest $100 million
Ellis Park (WFIE)
By Jill Lyman | June 17, 2019 at 3:33 PM CDT – Updated June 18 at 2:36 PM

Henderson, Ky. (WFIE) – Ellis Park is getting new owners, again.

Tuesday, The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission approved the purchase by Ellis Entertainment LLC. They also granted their racing license, and approved adding 900 new racing machines, making a total of 1,200.

Representative of Ellis Entertainment LLC, Bob Beck, says a purchase agreement has been signed with current owners, Saratoga Hospitality.

Final closing is expected by the end of June.

Ellis Entertainment LLC representatives say they work with Laguna Development Corporation out of Albuquerque.

We spoke with officials from the company back in May when we first reported the possible sale.

According to the company website, LDC manages and operates casinos, restaurants, hotels and retail businesses in the Pueblo of Laguna reservation.

Saratoga just purchased Ellis Park last year.

Ellis Entertainment LLC representatives say they plan to invest $100 million dollars into Ellis Park.

That plan includes a brand new facility in front of the current one, as well as restaurants, and a hotel.

Officials say they hope to do the work in phases and have a new facility open by November 2020.

Kevin Greer, Managing Partner for Ellis Entertainment said, “We are both honored and excited for the opportunity to purchase Ellis Park, one of Kentucky’s oldest and most revered racetracks. We appreciate the knowledge and support the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has provided us while we prepare torestore Ellis Park to its rightful place as one of the Bluegrass State’s premier racing facilities.”

“We remain committed to the upcoming racing season at Ellis Park and ensuring that it is one of the most successful the property has seen in years,” said Daniel Gerrity, President of Saratoga Casino & Hospitality Group. “We look forward to working closely with Ellis Entertainment in the coming months to ensure a seamless transition of ownership.”

Jospeph Payton was at the meeting in Florence, Kentucky. He’ll have more on the plans for Ellis Park tonight on 14 News.

Copyright 2019 WFIE. All rights reserved.

FOOTNOTE:  This article was posted by the City-County Observer with permission of the management of Channel 14 News-Evansville.  For additional up-dates concerning the sale of Ellis Park please go to Channel 14 News.

Poor Health And Lack Of New Business Hurting Hoosier Economy, Chamber Says 

0

Poor Health And Lack Of New Business Hurting Hoosier Economy, Chamber Says

June 17, 2019  

By Abrahm Hurt
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS–Indiana’s healthy economy could be undermined by a low growth of new businesses and high smoking and obesity rates, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce said in a report issued Monday.

“Our unemployment levels have been below the national average and our surrounding states for a long time,” said Kevin Brinegar, Chamber president and CEO. “But if we’re not generating new business at a fast-enough rate, we’ll have challenges down the road.”

The chamber’s Indiana Vision 2025 Report Card was developed by a statewide task force of community, business and education leaders and was released in 2012. Brinegar, in a press conference to discuss the report, focused on the business and health factors.

The report assesses the state’s overall health and includes 33 goals in four critical areas—outstanding talent, attractive business climate, superior infrastructure, and dynamic and creative culture.

The chamber’s report found that Indiana continues to struggle in the Kauffman Foundation Index, which measures new entrepreneurs, and total employment at firms less than five years old. The state ranked 47th out of the 50 states in both categories.

In 2017, 0.199% of Hoosier adults started a new business compared to the U.S. average of .331%. The total employment for firms that were zero to five years old was 8.1% while the U.S. average was 11.2%.

Conversely, Indiana ranks fifth in job creation for existing businesses that are six years and older.

The Vision 2025 report found there is a $6.2 billion annual business impact in health care costs and lost productivity from smoking in Indiana.

“That’s real money that’s not going into wages, salaries, benefits, health insurance, training and planned equipment modernization,” Brinegar said. “It’s just going out the window.”

Indiana’s adult smoking rate increased to 21.8% in 2018 from 20.6 percent in 2016, which is now 44th worst among the 50 states. The Indiana Chamber would like to see smoking levels in Indiana reduced to less than 15% of the population.

Adult obesity levels also increased from 31% in 2015 to 33.6% in 2017, which is 39th worst among the 50 states.

In the 2019 session, Indiana legislators took no action on measures aimed at reducing rates of tobacco use and vaping, including higher taxes and raising the smoking age from 18 to 21.

How to tax and regulate vaping products will be studied by lawmakers in a summer study committee.

Brinegar said the Indiana Chamber still supports higher tobacco taxes and raising the age to purchase tobacco products.

“The best way to deal with it is to not get them to ever start,” he said. “When you consider that 95% of all individuals who’ve smoked throughout their lives started before age 21, it’s really key to focus on raising the age as well as raising the tax.”

Gov. Eric Holcomb said during the session that there isn’t much support for a tax increase among legislators, which is why he didn’t pursue a higher tax on tobacco products.

Brinegar said addressing the obesity increase is much tougher than the smoking.

He said the state used to have a wellness tax credit that would help offset the cost for employers that set up wellness programs, and the chamber has been trying to get that re-established.

Brinegar said support for trails, the cultural opportunities, the outdoor opportunities that are being done with things like the Regional Cities Initiative and the focus on quality of place will help as well.

On Monday Indianapolis business leaders, legislators, and the chamber met to discuss the report card in a regional forum.

Upcoming forums will be in Hammond, Evansville and Fort Wayne. The forum allows the chamber and others to discuss results, share best practices and receive feedback.

FOOTNOTE: Abrahm Hurt is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalists. 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Ruling for IU In Black Student’s Discrimination Suit Upheld

0
A 7th Circuit Court of Appeals panel affirmed the denial of a black student’s discrimination suit against Indiana University, finding no abuse of discretion in resolving discovery disputes regarding her classmate’s demographics.

Catherine Wanko, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Cameroon, began her dentistry studies at IU in the fall of 2014. When she failed two of her courses during the 2014-2015 school year, Wanko was given a second chance to pass one of her classes during the summer.

When Wanko was unable to meet the score requirements during the remediation class, she was informed she would have to repeat her entire first year curriculum. Wanko was dismissed from the school altogether when she failed to complete her second attempt the following school year.

In 2016, Wanko sued IU, challenging it discriminated against her based on race when it failed to promote her to the second‐year curriculum. She specifically alleged that a few other students in similar situations who were not black were promoted, while she was not.

The school produced requested spreadsheets of the demographics and grades of Wanko’s former classmates, which included GPA, grades, race, and gender of each student, but no names. Wanko was one of two black students who failed both classes during the 2014-2015 school year, with the exception that while Wanko unsuccessfully completed her remediation course, the other student was successful and therefore allowed to proceed.

Unsatisfied, Wanko moved to compel production of the actual student records and argued the ones provided were unreliable. The motion was denied, and IU was granted its motion for summary judgement by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.

Southern District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt held that the provided spreadsheet information was sufficient and that Wanko had not shown a good-faith reason why she could not respond to IU’s motion for summary judgment. Pratt also concluded that Wanko could not succeed on her discrimination claim because she could not identify a similarly situated, non‐black student who received better treatment.

On appeal, Wanko asserted that the district court erred when it overruled her objection to the denial of her motion to compel, as well as her motion to postpone summary judgment. But the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals found no issue with the determination in Catherine Wanko v. Board of Trustees of Indiana University, 18-2767.

First, the 7th Circuit found no reason to conclude decisions made by the magistrate judge and the district court rejecting Wanko’s argument that the spreadsheets were unreliable to be beyond the bounds of discretion. It came to a similar conclusion on the denial of her motion to postpone summary judgment.

“Wanko certainly has a need for information about her fellow classmates (races, grades, etc.), and without such information could not meaningfully respond to a motion for summary judgment. The problem for Wanko is she already has this information in the spreadsheets IU provided,” Circuit Judge Daniel A. Manion wrote for the panel. “Having rejected Wanko’s argument concerning the veracity of those spreadsheets, the district court reasonably concluded Wanko had no need for the actual student records.”

Therefore, the 7th Circuit found Wanko did not provide a good-faith reason for her failure to respond to the university’s motion. It was not an abuse of discretion for the court to deny Wanko’s Rule 56(d) motion and rule on IU’s motion for summary judgment, the panel concluded.

King Named Female IU Athletes Of The Year

0

The Indiana University Department of Athletics on Tuesday that women’s swimmer Lilly King and men’s soccer’s Andrew Gutman have been named IU’s 2018-19 Athletes of the Year.

“Indiana University Athletics has a long and rich history of students who have separated themselves with their extraordinary athletic accomplishments, and Lilly King and Andrew Gutman are members of that elite list,” said IU Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Fred Glass. “Each was honored nationally as the best in their sport this season, and each led their team to a Big Ten title and NCAA Championship success. Congratulations to Lilly and Andrew on being named IU Athletes of the Year.”

King is the first athlete in school history to be named IU Athlete of the Year on four occasions, while Gutman is the ninth men’s soccer player to earn the accolade.

King will leave Bloomington as one of the finest athletes in the history of Indiana University. During her senior season, King completed her four-year sweep of both the 100 and 200-yard breaststrokes at the NCAA Championships, giving her eight titles in her illustrious career to become the first woman in NCAA history to win eight breaststroke championships.

“Lilly King has been the most transformative swimmers in Indiana university’s women’s athletic history,” IU head swimming coach Ray Looze remarked. “The win this prestigious award four years in a row is very humbling given all the great athletes produced each year by Hoosier athletics. It has been a blessing to coach her these past four years.”

The Evansville, Ind. native also won four more Big Ten titles in 2019, bringing her career total to a staggering 16. King also earned a remarkable 16 All-America honors in her four seasons at Indiana. She was also a four-time First-Team All-Big Ten and three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree.

A two-time Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year award winner, King was named Big Ten Swimmer of the Year three times and was also tabbed the 2018-19 Honda Sports Award winner for swimming and diving.

After a standout senior season for the Hoosiers, Gutman earned the most prestigious honor in all of collegiate soccer, as he was named the winner of the 2018 MAC Hermann Trophy.

A unanimous First-Team All-American and selection as Big Ten Defender of the Year and First-Team All-Big Ten, Gutman also earned First-Team All-North Region accolades this past season. Gutman led the Hoosiers with 11 goals on the season to go with nine assists.

“Andrew had a special senior year leading our team to championship success on and off the field,” Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley said. “It’s very difficult for a defender to be named national player of the year. Andrew will be remembered as one of the elite players of Indiana soccer.”

Along with all his offensive efforts, Gutman was one of the best defenders in the country, helping the Hoosiers post a NCAA-best 15 shutouts on the season and allow just 13 goals on the year.

For his career, the Hinsdale, Ill. native started all 90 matches he appeared in for the Hoosiers, scoring 20 goals with 17 assists. Gutman also earned All-America honors is 2017 and was a four-time All-Big Ten and All-Region honoree, as well as a two-time Academic All-Big Ten standout.

1...3,4213,4223,423...7,285Page 3,422 of 7,285