http://www.vanderburghsheriff.com/recent-booking-records.aspx
IS IT TRUE JANUARY 3, 201
We hope that todays “IS IT TRUEâ€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?â€
IS IT TRUE that Evansville Police Chief Billy Bolin held a press conference today to address recent shootings and other acts of violence in our fair city?  …Chief Bolin will discuss the police department’s ongoing efforts to address violent crime as well as staffing changes being made to combat the growing problem of gun crime in our neighborhoods?  …we hope he will announce that he starting a “Special Crime Fighting Unit“ to take on the criminals head because they causing uncontrollable crime in our community?
IS IT TRUE we hope that the Mayor, every local law enforcement official, officers of the local FOP, area preachers, Civic groups, members of the Evansville Neighborhood Associations, concerned citizens and members of the Evansville City Council will support Chief Bolin’s new initiative on crime fighting? Â …it takes a city to fight crime?
IS IT TRUE its about time that Mayor Winnecke and City Council spend some time and money addressing the murder, suicide, and illegal drug problems of this community?  …we hope they will forget about spending anymore money on future feel good capital projects for a while?
IS IT TRUE that yesterday Mayor Winnecke did a “Ride Along” with with an officer assigned to patrolling neighborhoods?  …we remember that a couple of years ago when the Mayor ran for re-election he was marketed as the “law and order” candidate? …just two years later he felt compiled to do a “Ride Along” with an Evansville police officer so he can get an idea about whats going on in the streets? …it might be time for every City Council member to do similar?
IS IT TRUE that 8th District Representative Larry Bucshon just added his opinion about the growing problems of violent crime and illegal drugs use in Evansville? …that Bucshon declared that “cracking down on the flow of drugs from Mexico can help reduce crimes in Evansville’s recent spate of killings”?  …all we can say about the Congressmen statement is “tell us something we don’t know” and send us some Federal money to help us fight crime?
IS IT TRUE that the new year started the same way the old one went out in Evansville with another person getting shot and later died bringing the murder total to 11 in three months and a day?…now we know what the residents of St. Louis, Baltimore, and Detroit feel like, because our short term murder rate is right there next to them? …no one would have ever dreamed that such a thing was possible here in River City?
IS IT TRUE that with the two murders that happened on the last two days of the year the murder rate for Evansville in the last 3 months of 2017 increased to 38 per 100,000 raising Evansville to the 5th highest murder rate in America?…only St Louis, Baltimore, Detroit, and New Orleans have higher murder rates than Evansville did in Q4 of 2017? …it is time for Evansville, Indiana to get its act together and become the friendly Midwestern city that it always claims to be?…being rated along with Detroit for murder and being the suicide capital of America isn’t consistent with the whole “great place to raise kids” narrative that Evansville has been telling the world for years?
IS IT TRUE that true to form, another murder occurred during the last several days and this one was right behind the Donut Bank on Green River Road?…the lawless violence has spilled out of the inner city and into suburbia, but the band plays on?…the 4th quarter of 2017 places Evansville solidly as the 6th most likely place to be murdered in America?…this goes well with the longstanding distinction of being the most likely place to commit suicide?…that and the 70+ heroin overdoses should capture the attention of every citizen such that they demand a departure from a vacuum of nothing but fun and games capital projects?
IS IT TRUE that Henderson is catching the Evansville virus of people getting shot for reasons that are unknown?…on New Year’s Eve, a party invitation that was distributed on social media drew strangers from other cities like a light bulb attracts moths?…this mixture of locals and unknown people from afar led to a disagreement and a fight that included a shooting and a trip to an Evansville hospital for multiple bullet wounds to the abdomen?…the person who lives in the house where the party was held ended up getting shot for his generosity of holding a party?…this should be a lesson for everyone to keep their social gatherings to those they know and be suspicious of unknown people packing guns?…the Tri-State has something very wrong tearing at the fibers that hold society together?…just a few short years ago murder was not a common occurrence in greater Evansville?
IS IT TRUE our men and women in blue are doing a professional job on our behalf? Â …its obvious they need additional resources to help combat this new wave of violent crime in our community? Â …we urge the Mayor and Members of City Council to step up and immediately invest more money to hire more police officers and purchase additional state of the art crime fighting equipment?
Todays “Readers Poll” question is: Do you feel it time for the Mayor and City Council to spend money on starting a kick ass “Special Fighting Crime Unit” in the City of Evansville?
Please take time and read our articles entitled “STATEHOUSE FILES, CHANNEL 44 NEWS, LAW ENFORCEMENT, READERS POLL, BIRTHDAYS, HOT JOBS†and “LOCAL SPORTSâ€.  You now are able to subscribe to get the CCO daily.
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EDITOR’S FOOTNOTE:  Any readers comments posted in this column do not represent the views or opinions of the City County Observer or our advertisers
Workforce Development, Opioid Crisis Among Lawmakers’ Top Priorities
TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS — Without one overarching goal for the 2018 legislative session, which starts Wednesday, key Republican and Democratic lawmakers are setting their own agendas.
Gov. Eric Holcomb and the four Republican and Democratic leaders of the Indiana Senate and House of Representatives discussed their goals for the 2018 session of the General Assembly on No Limits, WFYI-FM’s twice a week public affairs program hosted by John Krull, publisher of TheStatehouseFile.com. The program aired Tuesday.
Holcomb, Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, Senate Minority Leader Tim Lanane, D-Anderson, and House Minority Leader Terry Goodin, D-Austin, each laid out the biggest challenges facing the state and how lawmakers plan to tackle the issues.
Workforce Development
Holcomb and fellow Republicans are focusing on workforce development.
“Workforce development is the issue of the day,†Long said in the interview, which aired Tuesday. “There are obviously some other very important issues for the state as well but that one dominates our thinking today.â€
Long said both the House and the Senate must work together to find programming that can be implemented for K-12 students, as well as for the existing workforce to skill people up for the future.
“Really, we have such a non-advanced manufacturing history, and it’s all advanced manufacturing today, which isn’t running a drill press—it’s running a computer that runs a drill press or a line,†Bosma said. “So we have to retool what we have traditionally thought about in education, in workforce for the modern economy and bring people.â€
House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis. Â Photo by Alexa Freeman, TheStatehouseFile.com
Holcomb introduced his goal to develop a skilled and ready workforce in November.
“We have the good problem of having over 96,000 jobs—high-wage, high-demand jobs—where we know where they are exactly around the state of Indiana, region by region by region, that are unfilled currently,†Holcomb said.
“Before we connect people with a job, we’ve got to connect them with the skillset to get hired and that’s what we’ll be completely and laser-like focused on in 2018 is building the system for students and adults to be able to get attached to those jobs that are waiting for them right now.â€
One step Holcomb has already taken toward this goal is the implementation of nextleveljobs.org, a website for Hoosiers to search for jobs posted by Indiana employers.
Holcomb said more than 240,000 Hoosiers have visited the site since its August launch, and more than 12,000 applicants have been processed through.
Opioid Epidemic
Both parties agree fighting the opioid epidemic must be a key objective in this year’s session.
“Every state in the country is dealing with the opioid crisis,†Long said. “We’ve never seen anything quite like it. The damage its doing to our families, obviously to our infrastructure as far as being able to deal with it, whether it’s in the healthcare area or law enforcement. It’s extremely challenging.â€
For Lanane and the Senate Democrats, he said combatting the crisis is their number one priority.
Sen. Tim Lanane, D-Anderson. Photo by Adrianna Pitrelli, TheStatehouseFile.com
“I don’t think we took all the action that we needed to in the last session,†he said. “We did some good things but the situation did not improve much, and we still have some work to do on that front.â€
Lanane said this work includes adding sufficient treatment facilities and resources to provide treatment for individuals, something he said Indiana does not have currently.
“I know it’s a short session we’re heading into and traditionally we don’t like to reopen budgets and do such things,†Lanane said. “And maybe there’s some monies available without doing that, but I think we truly need to look at what are the resources that are available throughout the state to handle this.â€
“We’re not anywhere close to solving it,†Long said. “I don’t think anyone else is either.â€
Redistricting
A major discussion point from 2017 is returning to the 2018 session, and Lanane said it’s time for the state to move if it wants to prevent gerrymandering any further.
“We think that when it comes to electoral reform there needs to be an independent redistricting commission,†Lanane said. “There’s been some bipartisan support for the idea of this redistricting commission. We will have our own redistricting commission bill which I will offer and that it is a bill supported by our entire caucus.â€
Rep. Jerry Torr, R-Carmel, offered a bill last year that would have created a nonpartisan redistricting commission to redraw state and congressional districts. The bill died in committee.
Two Senate Republicans— John Ruckelshaus, of Indianapolis, and Mike Bohacek, of Michiana Shores—have already filed a bill for the upcoming session to create a commission of lawmakers and the public to draw legislative district boundaries following the 2020 census.
Lanane said he also aims to ease the voting process for Hoosiers by introducing legislation that would extend polling hours by one additional hour and implement same-day registration.
Minimum wage
The fight for an increase in minimum wage will also continue into the 2018 session.
Senate Bill 121, authored by Democratic Sen. Frank Mrvan, of Hammond, would increase the minimum wage paid to certain employees in accordance. If passed, minimum wage would rise from $7.25 to $10 an hour after June 30, 2019. It would also make gradual increases each year in accordance with increases in the Consumer Price Index.
As the new House minority leader, Goodin said his goal is the same as always: to make Indiana a better place to live, work and raise a family. But in order to live, he said Hoosiers must earn enough money to be able to survive and raise a family.
“I think what we need to do is work with [Indiana Economic Development Corporation] and other groups that bring in potential employers and let them know, ‘Hey, if you’re going to come to Indiana, you need to pay a living wage,’†Goodin said.
FOOTNOTE: Shelby Mullis is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
Group Pushing for Medical Marijuana Resolution in Owensboro
Pro-medical marijuana groups in Kentucky are making a push to show lawmakers in Frankfort, Kentucky cities support legalizing medical marijuana.
Several people, all in support of legalizing the drug for medicinal use, addressed the Owensboro City Commission Tuesday.
The group says the overwhelming majority of Kentuckians support legalizing the drug. Their hope Owensboro, along with every major Kentucky city will send a resolution to Frankfort to show their support of the drug.
Owensboro Mayor Tom Watson says, for this resolution to make sense, it should be approved on a county level. He says he doesn’t have all the answers but there are positives along with negatives to legalizing medical marijuana.
Indiana Gambler Loses In Tax Court
Marilyn Odendahl for www.theindianalawyer.com
In a case of first impression, a northwest Indiana man failed to convince the Indiana Tax Court that his blackjack playing was how he earned his living and, therefore, he should be eligible for certain gambling-related deductions from his state income taxes.
Nick Popovich began his career as a professional blackjack player in 2002. He had long played the game and spent several months practicing at home and learning new gambling techniques. Even so, he lost more than $200,000 that first year and lost another $450,000 in 2003. However, in 2004, his luck changed and his net winnings totaled $44,200.
In filing his taxes for 2004, Popovich reported his gambling profit but then carried forward a net operating loss from his 2003 gaming activities. He subsequently calculated his 2004 Indiana adjusted gross income tax (AGIT) liability to be zero.
The Indiana Department of State Revenue then audited Popovich and determined he was not a professional gambler during the 2004 tax year.
Popovich appealed but the Tax Court affirmed Friday in Nick Popovich v. Indiana Department of State Revenue, 49T10-1010-TA-00053.
The tax court established a two-part test to determine whether Popovich was a professional gambler.
First, the court relied on Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Groetzinger, 480 U.S. 23 (1987), in figuring out if Popovich’s time at the blackjack table was a “continuous and regular†activity. In rejecting his arguments to the contrary, the court pointed to inconsistencies in Popovich’s own recordkeeping as well as large amount of money from unexplained sources flowing in and out of his checking account.
“Having weighed the credibility and reliability of the evidence regarding Popovich’s time spent gambling and the source of his livelihood during 2004, the Court is unconvinced that Popovich’s gambling was regular and continuous,†Judge Martha Wentworth wrote. “At best, the evidence in this case shows that Popovich gambled no more than five days per month, which, based on this fact alone, suggests that his gambling was sporadic, not continuous and regular.â€
Second, the court turned to nine factors from federal Treasury Regulations to assist in discovering whether Popovich engaged in gambling to make a profit.
While the court found Popovich did develop an expertise about blackjack and that he believed he could earn a profit by gambling, it found the bulk of the factors favoring the revenue department. In particular, the court held he was not gambling to earn an income, he did not engage in gambling regularly and he long considered blackjack an enjoyable activity.
Bubble Guppies Live! Ready to Rock Rolls into Evansville
Hit preschool show teaches kindergarten readiness skills through musical adventure at
Old National Events Plaza
Put on your water wings and jump into a swimsational adventure! VStar Entertainment Group, Nickelodeon and Koba Entertainment present the U.S. debut of the live theatrical production Bubble Guppies Live! Ready to Rock. Based on Nickelodeon’s hit preschool series Bubble Guppies, the show swims into Old National Events Plaza on April 6, 2018. Tickets are on sale now at www.bubbleguppieslive.com.
The Bubble Guppies are getting ready to rock ‘n’ roll with some totally fin-tastic tunes, but when a special band member goes missing, the show can’t go on. With a little help from Mr. Grouper and giggly little fish, Molly, Gil, and the whole gang embark on an adventure as they search every corner of their underwater world for their missing friend. Featuring rockin’ music, comedic high jinks, and audience participation, the Bubble Guppies will leave no stone left unturned and no bubble left unpopped in order to get the show on the road. Including a wave of playful characters, energetic song and dance and theatrical magic, Nickelodeon’s Bubble Guppies Live! Ready to Rock will have kids, parents and grandparents singing and dancing along with this rousing interactive show!
Bubble Guppies Live! Ready to Rock is based on Nickelodeon’s Emmy® award-winning preschool series, Bubble Guppies. Created and executive produced by Jonny Belt and Robert Scull, and co-developed by Janice Burgess, the interactive CG-animated series set in a vibrant underwater environment follows a group of diverse preschoolers with colorful fish tails who go on adventures discovering their world. Bubble Guppies is set to a soundtrack of catchy, educational pop songs and features a curriculum that infuses the core elements of kindergarten readiness including: math, literacy, the arts, science and socio-emotional development. Bubble Guppies currently airs on Nickelodeon.
Senator Tomes Pushes For CBD Oil Legalization
IL for www.theindianalwyer.com
A state senator has filed a bill that would officially legalize the sale and possession of cannabis oil in Indiana.
Republican Sen. Jim Tomes of Wadesville filed the bill last week with the goal of making the product readily available throughout the state, WTHR reported.
“When we’re done, CBD will be as easy to obtain as baby aspirins,†he said.
The proposed legislation clarifies that CBD oil is not included under the term “controlled substance†in Indiana, making the products legal.
The bill comes six months after an investigation by the TV station revealed that Indiana State Excise Police confiscated CBD products from dozens of stores statewide and cited them for marijuana possession without the knowledge of the governor’s office, the attorney general or state police.
The oil comes from cannabis plants and doesn’t contain THC, which is what causes the “high†that marijuana gives. Tomes said his constituents have told him the oil has improved their medical conditions and reduced their pain without the serious side effects often seen with prescription painkillers.
“These are families that have the horror and the anguish of dealing with medical conditions and, if that’s not bad enough, now we’re in a turmoil of what’s going to be legal and what’s not,†Tomes said. “I want this bill to just cut to the chase, just get rid of all of this unknown and just make this product legal for them.â€
Blessing Ceremony To Be Held For St. Vincent Happy Wheels Cart
Donated by Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Ohio Valley
WHAT:Â Â A blessing ceremony will be held for the new Happy Wheels Cart that was donated to the St. Vincent Hospital for Women and Children by the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Ohio Valley
WHEN: Tuesday, January 9, 2018 at 10 a.m.Â
WHERE:  St. Vincent Hospital, 3700 Washington Avenue, Evansville (Pediatric unit of the hospital)
DETAILS: Â The Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Ohio Valley recently donated a Happy Wheels Cart to the St. Vincent Hospital for Women and Children. The cart is designed to support families with hospitalized children. Volunteers stroll the hallways and provide comfort items as parents focus on their children. The cart includes items for children and their families, such as complimentary coffee, juice boxes, snacks, coloring books, small toys, toiletries and other items.
A blessing ceremony is being held on the pediatric unit of the hospital for the new cart at 10 a.m. on January 9. Besides taking care of the immediate needs of the parents and children, these small tokens from the Happy Wheels Cart provide simple reminders to the families that the St. Vincent staff supports them during a challenging time.
To donate items for the Happy Wheels cart or to volunteer, contact the Ronald McDonald House at  812-402-7642.
HOT JOBS IN EVANSVILLE
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