Applications Now Being Accepted for K-12 Student and Teacher Awards Applications are due March 8, 2019
Applications are now being accepted for the President’s Environmental Youth Award (PEYA) and The Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators Award (PIAEE).
EPA is seeking PEYA and PIAEE awards applications that highlight environmental stewardship in a variety of areas, including the following: environmental sustainability: a healthy school environment including projects that reduce food waste in school cafeterias; environmentally friendly agriculture practices; reducing human contributions to ocean litter and how to prevent it; school gardens; recycling; or using STEM to teach environmental education.
The PEYA program recognizes outstanding environmental stewardship projects by K-12 youth, promoting awareness of our nation’s natural resources and encouraging positive community involvement.
PEYA is an annual award administered by the Office of Environmental Education at EPA. Since 1971, EPA has recognized young people for protecting our nation’s air, water, land, and ecology. Each year the PEYA program honors a wide variety of projects developed by young individuals, school classes (kindergarten through high school), summer camps, public interest groups, and youth organizations to promote environmental awareness. Through environmental education and stewardship activities, students develop the critical thinking skills experience to make informed decisions and take responsible actions to address difficult environmental issues.
EPA will select up to two winners in each of EPA’s 10 Regions – one regional winner for Grades K-5 and one regional winner for Grades 6-12. Winners of this year’s awards will be invited to a ceremony in Washington, D.C. in mid-2019, and have their project mentioned on EPA’s website.
All student projects must be sponsored by at least one adult over the age of 21. The application and eligibility information are available at:Â https://www.epa.gov/education/presidents-environmental-youth-award.
For more information, please contact PEYA@epa.gov.
The PIAEE is an annual award program administered by the Office of Environmental Education at EPA. Since 1971, the EPA has recognized exceptional K-12 teachers employing innovative, interactive approaches to environmental education. It is one of the most important ways EPA and the Administration demonstrate commitment to environmental stewardship efforts created and conducted by our nation’s teachers.
PIAEE awardees will receive an award of up to $2,500 to be used to further the recipient’s professional development in environmental education. The teacher’s local education agency will also receive an award of up to $2,500 to fund environmental educational activities and programs (and not for construction costs, general expenses, salaries, bonuses, or other administrative expenses).
EPA will select up to two winners in each of EPA’s 10 Regions.
“IS IT TRUE” DECEMBER 27, 2019 NON PROFiT Draft
IS IT TRUE it been reported in the Evansville Courier and Press that the salaries of Josh Armstrong and two (2) other full-time staff members of the Downtown Evansville Improvement District (EID) add up to $257,000 per year or about 37 percent of the EID yearly budget?
IS IT TRUE it’s been alleged by several reliable sources that the EID Board Of Directors just approved giving their CEO Josh Armstrong a $10,000 raise increase?  …the reason is given why Mr. Armtrong received such an astonishing raise increase was to bring his yearly salary up to the level that other EID CEOs are paid?  …there are over 1000 EIDs throughout North America, most are concentrated in downtown areas?  …that Louisville, Fort Wayne, Cincinnati, and Dayton have  EDI’s?  …we wonder which one of the 1000 plus EIDs did the EID Board of Directors use to guide the decision to increase Mr. Armstrrong yearly salary?
IS IT TRUE we wonder if any of the 345 non-profits organizations registered in Evansville, Indiana have increased any of the annual salaries of their CEO’s $10,000?
IS IT TRUE The Downtown Alliance says the EID, funded mostly through additional property tax fees tied to property valuation, is expected to raise around $625,000 per year to cover programs including business recruitment, safety, beautification, and marketing efforts. Alliance Director Joshua Armstrong says “the sustainability of a downtown organization has always been a challenge in Evansville, and this is the tool that creates the sustainability that unlocks continued transformational urban growth. Over 1,000 such districts are at work across the U.S.â€
IS IT TRUE that the EID Board Of Directors members are President Jeff Justices-AIA the  President of Hafer And Associates since 2004He serves on the Southwest Indiana Chamber’s Board of Directors, Deaconess Hospital Foundation Board of Directors, Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation Foundation Board of Directors, Habitat for Humanity, just to name a few. Phillipp Roberts has risen to senior vice president and regional director of Hilliard Lyons, residing in Evansville, overseeing four additional regional offices,  Stephanie Morris, Broker Manager of Tucker Realty and Brad Ellsworth Director of Vectren-South of Center Point Energy?
Today’s “Readers Poll†question is:  Who’s the most effective State Senator in our area?
If you would like to advertise on the CCO please contact us at City-County Observer@live.com
“IS IT TRUE” December 29, 2019 NEWSPAPERS
IS IT TRUE that tomorrow’s CCO “Community Service Awards” luncheon is completely sold out? ...that book author Joe “Jack” Wallace has just flown in from California to attend our “Annual Awards Luncheon” at Tropicana-Evansville on Friday? …that Joe “Jack” Wallace will be signing his book entitled “Working Outside The Box” at this event? …that  Holly K. Dunn will also have autograph copies of “Sole Survivor”?  …”Uncommon Heart” authored by Olympian Anne Audain will also be available to those in attendance?…it looks like its book signing time in ole Evansville
IS IT TRUE that since the first newspaper was published in 1690 through the turn of the century defined by the year 2000, newspapers have served as the most important medium for holding politicians accountable in an objective and fair manner?…the journalists of old were all about accuracy, fairness, checking their sources, and of course being good citizen businesses?…capitalism has rewarded newspaper owners with status, prestige, and profits turning names like Hurst, Bingham, and Scripps into household names?.
IS IT TRUE newspapers have always been seen as game-changers in exposing corruption and government waste in a fair and honest manner?…sometime around the turn of the century things began to change?…with the widespread availability of the internet, cable news, and the opinion obsessions that followed, newspapers changed from their humble but noble calling into mass disseminators of the same national stories intermingled with biased opinion pieces about things that local people are not in tune to?…the downfall is near complete now as many small papers have folded, dozens of large papers have had to seek bankruptcy protection, and the one the street journalist corps has been depleted to the point of being ineffective?…this has prevailed in nearly every town in America and the fall-off in subscribers and advertisers has punished the editors and publishers for selling their souls for partisan ideology?
IS IT TRUE it is time for good journalism to make a comeback and it is of concern where a young cub reporter can learn the skills that made newspapers great?…the first lesson should be to focus on what impacts the people of the town that a paper claims to serve?…local papers have fallen into the trap of fawning over pet projects of local politicians without questioning the financial sustainability associated with such things?…newspapers have even put on sufficient blinders to make them believe that moving some jobs from one street to another street in the same town constitutes creating new jobs?…it doesn’t if anyone is thinking straight?
IS IT TRUE that one newspaper even believed that a 150 room hotel would create over 800 direct jobs?…one would have to be really bad at math to believe that a hotel with 65% occupancy that rent for $120 per day could survive with $320 per room day in labor costs? …this nonsense all happened right here in River City and the only publication to call all of this out was the City-County Observer?…the real question is why has the cognitive ability of reporting turned into mush?…the survival of news reporting depends on getting back to honest reality about local interests?
IS IT TRUE we could go on for several pages about biased TV journalism is a topic for another day? ..the harsh reality is that between biased reporting and intentionally reporting falsehoods, the business of reporting the news has turned off nearly everyone?…with Facebook and other social media making every human being a reporter without any truth filters, we are becoming an amazingly misinformed nation but most of us don’t seem to know it?
IS IT TRUE that it is no secret that the newspaper industry has been falling on hard times for at least a decade?…from the New York Times to every daily news based paper in the country the struggle to survive has meant cuts to staff and the associated lowering the bar when it comes to quality?…it seems as though any small to medium-sized daily paper that once captured a reader’s attention for a half-hour a day is now only capable of keeping one’s attention for less than 10 minutes? …we are being told by friends in the mainstream media if the out of town conglomerate that owns the Evansville Courier and Press don’t pay strict attention to the business at hand they could be forced to publish online only? …we hope that this doesn’t happen because we also enjoy reading a printed newspaper?
IS IT TRUE when former CCO editor and celebrated innovation CEO from Palm Springs, California was asked about the CCO publishing a printed newspaper his answer was surprising?…Mr. Wallace quickly pointed out that newsrooms across the country that are delivering print products are on a 20-year shrinking spree with some newsrooms having less than half of the reporters they had 10 years ago?
IS IT TRUE we are told by reliable sources that business tycoon Ron Geary will be in town today to meet a group of well-heeled business people to discuss a possible multi-million venture capital opportunity in Evansville proper? Â …we are pleased to hear if Mr. Geary decides to move forward with this mega capital venture he will not be asking for any governmental handouts?
IS IT TRUE we are told that the CVB board will once again hire an out of town search firm to hire a new Executive Director?
“READERS FORUM” FEBRUARY 27, 2019
We hope that today’s “READERS FORUMâ€Â 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?
HERE’S WHAT ON OUR MIND TODAY.
Recently the Republicans Legislature rejected a proposal authored by Representative Ryan Hatfield (D-Evansville) that would have funded a pedestrian bridge over U.S. Highway 41 in Evansville near Benjamin Bosse High School?  We agree with Mr.Hatfield that “We have a pedestrian bridge for nearly every other high school in town and it is time we protect Bosse students too.”
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND TODAY?
Todays“Readers Poll†question is: Should the Republican-controlled State Legislature approved a pedestrian bridge for Bosse High school students?
Please go to our link of our media partner Channel 44 News located in the upper right-hand corner of the City-County Observer so you can get the up-to-date news, weather, and sports.
If you would like to advertise on the CCO please contact us at City-County Observer@live.com
FOOTNOTE:  Any comments posted in this column do not represent the views or opinions of the City-County Observer or our advertisers.
Proposal to Allow 192% Interest on Payday Loans
FEBRUARY 26TH, 2019 
MEGAN DIVENTI INDIANA
Senate Bill 613 is causing controversy over whether a 192% interest rate on certain Payday loans would be allowed. As of now, to be considered a “loan shark†a company has to charge 72% interest or higher.
If a company is caught charging anything higher than that it’s considered a felony crime, but a bill that just passed in the Indiana Senate could change all that.
“If you are going to do something like this, like a payday loan, you take all the measures and be really cautious about this,†says Oana Schneider, Tri-State Better Business Bureau.
You’ve probably seen ads for Payday loans or fast money. For many it’s a short-term solution for having a bit more cash until their next payday, but these loans come at a higher cost.
“Sometimes people don’t realize that this is going to open the door to what we call a debt cycle,†says Schneider. “You will get a loan and you will not be able to pay it on time and the interest rate is going to be really high and that means you will keep postponing this and getting more loans to pay off the first loan and then get another one to pay off the second loan that helps you pay the first loan.â€
Approximately 12 million Americans use Payday loans each year. Now Hoosiers who are living paycheck to paycheck could be hit harder as lawmakers discuss Senate Bill 613.
The bill would allow two new types of loans.
This includes loans between $605 and $1500 for six to 12 months with annual percentage rates as high as 192%.
The other type is an installment loan of up to $4,000 with repayment periods up to four years out and interest rates of 99%. Under those terms, as soon as you borrow $100, you already owe an additional 99 in interest.
“So when you don’t have the money and you go to one of these places its very important to know the interest rate is going to be high because they know that you are in a critical condition and they will try to take advantage of that,†says Schneider.
Senate Bill 613 now heads to the House. Experts say limiting the amount you borrow and keeping documentation is critical if you are seeking a Payday lender.
In Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana, Payday loans are heavily regulated but legal.
Just this month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reached a settlement with Indiana and Kentucky over Payday lender Cash Tyme. The company was found guilty of violating the Consumer Protection Act of 2010 by not disclosing details of their loans.
Comments
Proposal to Allow 192% Interest on PayDay Loans FEBRUARY 26TH, 2019 MEGAN DIVENTI INDIANA The Indiana Senate is voting on a measure that would allow Payday lenders to charge interest rates on small loans at very high levels. Senate Bill 613 is causing controversy over whether a 192% interest rate on certain Payday loans would be allowed. As of now, to be considered a “loan shark†a company has to charge 72% interest or higher. If a company is caught charging anything higher than that it’s considered a felony crime, but a bill that just passed in the Indiana Senate could change all that. “If you are going to do something like this, like a payday loan, you take all the measures and be really cautious about this,†says Oana Schneider, Tri-State Better Business Bureau. You’ve probably seen ads for Payday loans or fast money. For many it’s a short-term solution for having a bit more cash until their next payday, but these loans come at a higher cost. “Sometimes people don’t realize that this is going to open the door to what we call a debt cycle,†says Schneider. “You will get a loan and you will not be able to pay it on time and the interest rate is going to be really high and that means you will keep postponing this and getting more loans to pay off the first loan and then get another one to pay off the second loan that helps you pay the first loan.†Approximately 12 million Americans use Payday loans each year. Now Hoosiers who are living paycheck to paycheck could be hit harder as lawmakers discuss Senate Bill 613. The bill would allow two new types of loans. This includes loans between $605 and $1500 for six to 12 months with annual percentage rates as high as 192%. The other type is an installment loan of up to $4,000 with repayment periods up to four years out and interest rates of 99%. Under those terms, as soon as you borrow $100, you already owe an additional 99 in interest. “So when you don’t have the money and you go to one of these places its very important to know the interest rate is going to be high because they know that you are in a critical condition and they will try to take advantage of that,†says Schneider. Senate Bill 613 now heads to the House. Experts say limiting the amount you borrow and keeping documentation is critical if you are seeking a Payday lender. In Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana, Payday loans are heavily regulated but legal. Just this month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reached a settlement with Indiana and Kentucky over Payday lender Cash Tyme. The company was found guilty of violating the Consumer Protection Act of 2010 by not disclosing details of their loans.
FEBRUARY 26TH, 2019 MEGAN DIVENTI INDIANA
Senate Bill 613 is causing controversy over whether a 192% interest rate on certain Payday loans would be allowed. As of now, to be considered a “loan shark†a company has to charge 72% interest or higher.
If a company is caught charging anything higher than that it’s considered a felony crime, but a bill that just passed in the Indiana Senate could change all that.
“If you are going to do something like this, like a payday loan, you take all the measures and be really cautious about this,†says Oana Schneider, Tri-State Better Business Bureau.
You’ve probably seen ads for Payday loans or fast money. For many, it’s a short-term solution for having a bit more cash until their next payday, but these loans come at a higher cost.
“Sometimes people don’t realize that this is going to open the door to what we call a debt cycle,†says Schneider. “You will get a loan and you will not be able to pay it on time and the interest rate is going to be really high and that means you will keep postponing this and getting more loans to pay off the first loan and then get another one to pay off the second loan that helps you pay the first loan.â€
Approximately 12 million Americans use Payday loans each year. Now Hoosiers who are living paycheck to paycheck could be hit harder as lawmakers discuss Senate Bill 613.
The bill would allow two new types of loans.
This includes loans between $605 and $1500 for six to 12 months with annual percentage rates as high as 192%.
The other type is an installment loan of up to $4,000 with repayment periods up to four years out and interest rates of 99%. Under those terms, as soon as you borrow $100, you already owe an additional 99 in interest.
“So when you don’t have the money and you go to one of these places its very important to know the interest rate is going to be high because they know that you are in a critical condition and they will try to take advantage of that,†says Schneider.
Senate Bill 613 now heads to the House. Experts say limiting the amount you borrow and keeping documentation is critical if you are seeking a Payday Lender.
In Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana, Payday loans are heavily regulated but legal.
Just this month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reached a settlement with Indiana and Kentucky over Payday lender Cash Tyme. The company was found guilty of violating the Consumer Protection Act of 2010 by not disclosing details of their loans.
Author, Scholar, Activist Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor To Keynote 2019 Mandela Day
Dr. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, author and assistant professor of African-American Studies at Princeton University. A widely sought-after author and speaker, Taylor was named one of the 100 most influential African Americans in the United States by The Root in 2016. She is the author of From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation, which won the Lannan Cultural Freedom Award for an Especially Notable Book in 2016. She is also the editor of How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective, which won the Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ nonfiction in 2018. Her writing has been published in the New York Times; the Los Angeles Times; Boston Review; Paris Review;Guardian; The Nation; Souls: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture and Society; Jacobin and beyond.
 “From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation†– 2019 University of Southern Indiana Nelson Mandela Social Justice Day Keynote Address. This event is free and open to the public, and includes a moderated question and answer period following the address.
 6 p.m. Tuesday, February 26
USI Performance Center. A map of campus featuring the Performance Center can be found on the USI website at USI.edu/map.
PARKING: Media members are free to park in any available parking spot on campus.
NELSON MANDELA SOCIAL JUSTICE DAY: The mission of the Nelson Mandela Social Justice Day and Speaker Series is to raise dialogue at USI around current issues of human and civil rights, public service, and activism through diverse, dynamic, nationally, and internationally known public intellectuals and academics. Keynote speakers are augmented with a day of educational opportunities for the USI community. Previous speakers include Tia Oso, Dr. Cornel West, Tim Wise and Dr. Alex Lichtenstein.
Mental Health Bill Advances Out Of Senate, But Concerns About Privacy Follow
By Erica Irish
TheStatehouseFile.com
 INDIANAPOLIS — A comprehensive mental health and school safety bill is off to the Indiana House for review after a 29-20 vote in the Senate Tuesday.
Senate Bill 266, authored by law enforcement veteran Sen. Michael Crider, R-Greenfield, said even though the measure underwent extensive changes and expansions that he did not want, it serves as a critical first step to averting school violence caused by students.
“I sat in my office across from parents from Noblesville. I saw the looks on their faces,†Crider said, referring to the May 25 shooting at Noblesville West Middle School in which a 13-year-old student shot his teacher and a classmate. “Someone knew that student was having issues. It’s incumbent upon us as policymakers to try and figure out ways to try and address that situation.â€
But the bill survived by a close margin, with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressing their concern with how certain provisions will interfere with the lives of children.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that we have an element of mental health problems in our state and in our country,†said Sen. Jim Tomes, R-Wadesville. “But sometimes I wonder if we don’t have more of an issue of a lack of moral character.â€
If signed into law, SB 266 would allow the state to award secured school grants to schools seeking to partner with mental health professionals outside the school community or provide internal counseling services.
Students who would benefit from these programs would have to first receive consent from a parent or guardian, and schools that receive dollars to expand mental health services would have to disclose the available resources to parents.
Legislators like Tomes, however, say these provisions don’t do enough to protect individual privacy. Tomes pointed out a clause in the bill that outlines intervention rules at the state level. For example, the bill would require the Commission on Improving the Status of Children in Indiana to develop a behavioral health plan for individuals from birth to age 22 regarding “(1) comprehensive mental health services; (2) early intervention; and (3) treatment services.â€
“These are children. They’re not specimens,†Tomes said. “Is this some major government program or experiment we’re going to conduct?â€
His colleague Sen. Mike Young, R-Indianapolis, dubbed the measure “Senate Bill 1984†when voicing his opposition, referring to the classic novel by George Orwell that describes a world regulated by “thought police,†propaganda and an invasive government called “Big Brother.â€
Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, also warned the parental consent requirement could spur conflict between schools and families. He said if a school identifies a child as a “dangerous person†based on their behavior and the parents refuse to consent to in-school treatment, the district might be left to a difficult choice.
“You know what the school’s going to do?†Taylor asked. “Kick them out.â€
But for single parents like Sens. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette, and Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores, who each spoke from personal experience as single fathers, said schools are one of the first places where mental health issues can be discovered and treated.
“When you’re a single parent and you’re working, you’re not spending the most time with your children,†Bohacek said. “The schools are.â€
FOOTNOTE: Erica Irish is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
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