Home Blog Page 4535

THE NEW-HARMONY GAZETTE. OPEN LETTER TO THE PUBLIC

1

WHY I OPPOSE THE CHANGE IN CHAPTER 17 OF THE TOWN ORDINANCE

by: Dan Barton, Publisher, of The New Harmony Gazette

January 14, 2018

It has been speculated by some in New Harmony that as publisher of the New Harmony Gazette, my opposition to the new amendment to Chapter 17 of the Town Ordinance is entirely personal. Nothing could be further from the truth. Certainly the new amendment does adversely effect my property at 505 Main Street, the same as it does all other property in the Business Historic District. However, even if I did not own the building, I would still be opposed to this onerous law and it’s accompanying extreme penalties. I will explain why.

I have always passionately supported and sometimes opposed other ideas proposed by Council people. In the past I have written on such issues as; how to best reopen the Harmony Way Bridge, the tactics and purposes proposed by WMI for the re-use of the New Harmony School, or whether the course taken by our Town Council regarding the use of the old fairground property was or was not in the best interest of our town. My concern is always the same; what is good for New Harmony, both economically and politically.

Over the last six months I have written ongoing critiques about the New Harmony Plan Commission’s proposal to change Chapter 17 of the Town Ordinance. An ordinance that would deny certain property rights to New Harmony’s Commercial property owners in the Business Historic District, now and in the future. As this is being written it awaits a vote by the Town Council. I am still opposed to its passage. Why is this bad law?

One of the Plan Commission’s supposed rationales has been based on a comparison of two unrelated elements of zoning regulation. They pit the principals of a business moving into a residential community versus a residence moving into the business community. We all must know that residential communities are concerned about businesses opening in their neighborhoods for very basic and long established reasons. There are concerns about possible air and water pollution, noise, increased traffic, parking, garbage, trash, and large numbers of customers traveling through the residential area to get to the businesses. The things that threaten the health, happiness and property values of those who must live and raise their families in those neighborhoods. There are, at this writing, far more businesses operating in the residential community than residents living in the Business Historic District. If any community is under threat it is not the Business Historic District but the residential district.

What are the reasons that have been sited by the supporters of this amendment for not allowing residential use in storefronts? From a historical viewpoint there have been none given. The reasons that have been offered have been vague. The prime example brought up over and over has been: because residents get the right to keep businesses in check through the use of a Variance Appeal Board. But, they say, businesses are denied that same right for keeping

residents out of the Business District. This is a form of a misplaced doctrine of egalitarianism, meant to be applied to human equality with respect to social and political civil rights, not business versus residential zones. Certainly the argument is not valid for the regulation of business versus residential property rights. A fallacious argument!

Zoning laws were never meant to equalize the two elements of business versus residential rights. In other words, the rationale of the Chapter 17 amendment supporters is, “No Rationale.” Whimsy!

Zoning laws are government regulated restrictions on how a particular piece of land can be used. The zones can be of any type, including housing, financial and industry. These laws are a partial attempt to solve a real problem. If people buy a house in a residential area, they do not want a loud or polluting factory or business to be opened next door to them. The problem is not the creation of the factory so much as it is the damage it does to the home owners. A house becomes unsalable and unusable if the sound, smell, or air quality around it is suddenly changed. This same reasoning does not apply to residents in a business district.

Zoning laws are not necessary for residences moving into the business area. The reasons suggested by supporters of the Chapter 17 amendment aren’t the same reasons as for residential zone restrictions. One imaginary issue that has been conjured up by the amendment supporters is that the business district could be taken over by residences. They believe that even one retail storefront converted to residential use could cause other businesses to suffer by losing customers. This fanciful image just hasn’t met the litmus test of time.

Historically, in 200 years it has never happened. It’s not happening presently, nor has it been proven that it will happen in the foreseeable future. A point of fact regarding that fear; during the Plan Commission sessions from June to the present, no one ever factually demonstrated that the very few examples of the residential use of storefronts, two that were brought to the public’s attention, ever caused any disruption or loss of business to any retailer in the Business Historic District. The two isolated incidents, both legal, were the only two occurrences mentioned by the Commission in the entire history of New Harmony. Are there people lining up at the gates of New Harmony waiting to get in and spend thousands of dollars to convert storefronts into residences? You have two out of twenty-five business properties in use as a residence in the Business Historic District, according to Commission Chair Flanders.

Instead of focusing on the real issues that may be causing business losses in New Harmony, the closing of the Harmony Way Bridge, which caused a loss of 300,000 vehicles a year driving into or through our community, and the issue of too many part-time second-hand retail shops. They are caught up in a delusion of false fear. They’ve caught that most dangerous of all diseases, “Chicken Little Syndrome.”

We don’t really know what the condition of New Harmony’s businesses are. No one has been keeping or has ever developed a method of recording New Harmony’s Gross Domestic Product, the true measure of a community’s business health. Both Moody’s and The Posey County Economic Development Partnership have released the GDP numbers for 2010 to 2016 changes for Indiana, but nothing for New Harmony can be gleaned from those numbers. Interestingly, these GDP reports show Posey County with an increase in GDP of 19.5% from 2010 to 2016, 15.7% for Indiana, 16.9% for the U.S. and a dismal 9.5% for SW Indiana. So! Posey County, it

would seem, is flying. How about New Harmony? What do we really know? I asked Lynn Clark, President of the New Harmony Business Associates at the November Plan Commission meeting if anyone that she knew keeps a GDP on New Harmony, like they do on Posey County. Her answer: “I have no idea!”

The new zoning law requiring the prohibition of first floor use of commercial property as a residence in the Business Historic District is totally unnecessary. It is a heavy-handed remedy for a problem that doesn’t exist. Zoning laws are a method of increasing power in the hands of bureaucrats. They are a direct violation of property rights. This one more than any I have ever seen or heard.

It is through the use of force, heavy fines and imprisonment, that the supporters of this change in Chapter 17, can specify how people can or cannot use their property. Having a residence in the Business Historic District does not in any way disrupt the business of its commercial neighbors. In fact, in some cases, it has been argued, it would enhance business in the district by increasing it’s resident population.

I specifically asked Plan Commission Chair Flanders in the August meeting to explain to me which business or businesses were most adversely affected by the Gosh’s allowing their granddaughter to use the first floor of their commercial building on Main Street as her residence. Flanders’ answer: “I don’t know that there was any!” So here we have proof that the complaint that the use of commercial property for residence is an invalid complaint.

This Re-Zoning is unnecessarily arbitrary. It is non-objective arbitrary power held in the hands of a few. Eventually the power gets abused. The abuse occurs through bureaucrats deciding that they can better our lives through their own attempts at amateur urban planning. They zone and re-zone and violate the Rights of citizens, disrupting the lives of anyone who doesn’t fit into their scheme.

Citizens Rights are tightly bound into the concept of Property Rights. Property Rights were on the minds of our Nation’s founders when they wrote the Declaration of Independence and declared that “We the People” had a Right to the “Pursuit of Happiness.” The Right to own and use our property as we saw fit, so long as it did not infringe on the Rights of our fellow citizens. There has not been any objective proof offered by the Plan Commission or its supporters that any person’s Rights have been violated in New Harmony by the use of first floor storefronts for residential purposes, not since the inception of our town.

I have personally fought to keep this new ordinance change measure from becoming law. I do not believe that any American Right should be given up voluntarily without questioning the basis for the change or not having indisputable proof of its necessity. Though it may seem to be just a small Right, it is small as a small cog in the much larger clockwork of our Liberty is small. This amendment is bad law and a poor choice for the Town of New Harmony. Too many of our fellow citizens have given too much in our country to protect our Rights, just for us to acquiesce to the passage of bad laws, such as this one.

This law leaves itself open to political abuse. I was reading an article by writer Alan Ehrenhalt recently concerning the abuse of zoning laws. In the article Ehrenhalt describes his meeting with a county supervisor in Tucson, Arizona. Ehrenhaldt said, “Many years ago, I spent a morning in the Pima County Courthouse in Tucson, Arizona, talking politics with Conrad Joyner,

one of the County Supervisors. Joyner was running for Congress. I asked him if he expected to have any trouble raising money for his campaign. Joyner looked at me as if I had been born yesterday. “Are you kidding?” he said. “With all the zoning cases I’ve got coming up on the County Board? “ Zoning laws are rife with abuse and should be avoided whenever possible. Use nuisance laws if necessary or establish guidelines inside the Business Association, but avoid unnecessary zoning laws.

Once again, I urge the New Harmony Town Council to reject the change in the current Chapter 17 Ordinances. Let’s not go down this path!

FOOTNOTE: This letter is posted by the City County Observer without bias, opinion or editing.

AG Curtis Hill Announces Expansion Of Human Trafficking Investigations Unit

0

As the nation marks Human Trafficking Awareness Month, Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill today announced the expansion of the Office of the Indiana Attorney General Investigations Division’s Human Trafficking Investigations Unit (HTIU).

The HTIU works to:

  • raise public awareness of human trafficking;
  • educate Hoosiers on how to address human trafficking in local communities;
  • collaborate with schools, teachers and students to spread knowledge of at-risk factors and recruitment techniques – and how to report warning signs;
  • alert employers and businesses in industries prone to human trafficking to the signs and effects of this crime; and
  • work with county prosecutors and law enforcement at all levels — local, state and federal — to fight these crimes affecting communities statewide.

The Attorney General is assigning additional investigators and attorneys to this unit who possess extensive law enforcement experience. They include former police officers and prosecutors, all of whom who will provide educational, investigative and prosecution support to private and public agencies throughout Indiana. Beyond catching and prosecuting criminals, the unit also aims to prevent the occurrence of further human trafficking activity and the suffering it brings to individuals and communities.

“The predators engaging in this deplorable criminal activity need to know they will be sought out, captured and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Attorney General Hill. “Victims trapped in this illegal enterprise who are desperate for a better way of life need to know there is help and hope.”

The National Human Trafficking Resource Center can be reached at 1-888-373-7888. The organization lists tips on its website intended to help citizens recognize possible warning signs of human trafficking so they can notify authorities anytime they believe they have spotted victims in need of aid.

Human trafficking — whether labor trafficking or sex trafficking — is one of the largest and fastest-growing criminal industries in the world, just behind the drug trade. In the United States, statistics suggest 71 percent of labor trafficking victims entered the United States on lawful visas. Further, 83 percent of sex trafficking victims are U.S. citizens. Both forms of human trafficking recruit from marginalized groups: labor trafficking from immigrant populations and sex trafficking from women and children. The typical age of children pulled into commercial sex is as young as 12 to 14. Research indicates that individuals who have been previously traumatized as children or adults are at an increased risk for re-victimization, exploitation and other manipulation.

Supreme Court To Hear Sales Tax Collection Case

0

IL for www.theindianalawyer.com

The Supreme Court agreed Friday to wade into the issue of sales tax collection on internet purchases in a case that could force consumers to pay more for certain purchases and allow states to recoup what they say is billions in lost revenue annually.

Under previous Supreme Court rulings, when internet retailers don’t have a physical presence in a state, they can’t be forced to collect sales tax on sales into that state. Consumers who purchase from out-of-state retailers are generally supposed to pay the state taxes themselves, but few do. A total of 36 states and the District of Columbia had asked the high court to revisit the issue.

Large brick-and-mortar retailers like Walmart and Target have long bemoaned the fact that they have to collect sales tax on online purchases because they have physical stores nationwide. Meanwhile, smaller online retailers, who don’t have vast networks of stores, don’t have to collect the tax where they don’t have a physical presence.

Internet giant Amazon.com fought for years against collecting sales tax but now does so nationwide, through third-party sellers on its site make their own decisions. But the case before the Supreme Court does directly affect other online retailers, including Overstock.com, home goods company Wayfair and electronics retailer Newegg, who are part of the case the court accepted.

States say the court’s previous rulings have also hurt them. According to one estimate cited by the states in a brief, they filed with the high court, they’ll lose out on nearly $34 billion in 2018 if the Supreme Court’s previous rulings stand. The Government Accountability Office, which provides nonpartisan reports to Congress, wrote in a report last year that state and local governments would have been able to gain between $8.5 billion and $13 billion in 2017 if they could require out-of-state sellers to collect tax on sales into the state. All but five states charge a sales tax.

The Supreme Court first adopted its physical presence rule on sales tax collection in a case dealing with catalog retailers in 1967, a year that states pointed out in their brief was “two years before the moon landing and decades before” the first online retail transaction. The high court last considered the issue in 1992.

The National Retail Federation, which represents both internet and brick-and-mortar sellers, said Friday it welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to take the case.

“Unfortunately, antiquated sales tax collection rules have resulted in an uneven playing field that’s making it harder for Main Street retailers to compete in today’s digital economy. This is a basic question about fairness, which all of our members deserve whether they’re selling in stores or online,” federation president Matthew Shay said in a statement.

The case the Supreme Court agreed to hear Friday comes from South Dakota, which has no state income tax and relies on retail sales and uses taxes for revenue. In 2016, South Dakota lawmakers passed a law requiring out-of-state sellers to collect and turn over sales tax to the state. The state’s highest court struck down the law, citing previous Supreme Court decisions.

Overstock.com said in a statement Friday that it “looks forward to the opportunity to convince the Supreme Court to confirm its prior rulings protecting the free flow of interstate commerce from overreaching state tax laws.”

The Supreme Court will probably hear arguments in the case in April.

Adopt A Pet

0

Ava is a female gray tabby cat. She was adopted from VHS and then recently returned. Ava is around 4 ½ years old. She is now adoptable at River Kitty Cat Café. Visit her Wednesday-Sunday with your paid reservation. Her adoption fee is $40 and she’s spayed, vaccinated, and ready to go home today! Contact Vanderburgh Humane at (812) 426-2563 or River Kitty at (812) 550-1553 for adoption details!

This Week at USI

0

11 a.m. Monday, January 15

Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Luncheon to feature keynote from Dr. Johnnetta Cole

Dr. Johnnetta Cole, president emerita of Spelman College and Bennett College for Women and past director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, will be the keynote presenter at the University of Southern Indiana’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Luncheon at 11 a.m. Monday, January 15, 2018, in Carter Hall. Tickets are sold out, but a free overflow room will be available in University Center 2217-2218. Cole will also attend an “Up Close and Personal” question and answer session directly following the event in University Center 2217-2218 that is free and open to the public.

Cole will be available for media interviews at 10:40 in University Center 227, located directly next to Carter Hall. Please contact Ben Luttrull, media relations specialist, at 812-461-5259 or bluttrull@usi.edu if you wish to attend and speak with Cole. Read More

7 p.m. Friday, January 19

USI to hold first screening in French film festival

The University of Southern Indiana’s College of Liberal Arts, World Languages and Cultures Department, and USI Society for Arts and Humanities will host the Tournées Film Festival, a French film festival beginning January 19 and continuing on Fridays through February 23. The first film, My Life as a Zucchini, will be screened at 7 p.m. in Forum One. The film festival is free and open to the public. A discussion will follow each screening. More Information

9 a.m. Saturday, February 10

Hearts on Fire 5K

The ninth annual Hearts on Fire 5K, part of the Romain Screaming Eagles Running Series, will be held on Saturday, February 10 on the USI campus. This event a features an athlete division Run/Walk starting at 9 a.m. followed by a Cupid Fun Run (kids run) at 10:15 a.m. A portion of the proceeds from the Hearts on Fire 5K will be used to offer programming and provide professional development opportunities for student clubs within USI’s Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education. More Information

10:30 a.m. Friday, February 16

International Food Expo

The University of Southern Indiana Center for International Programs will host its annual International Food Expo at 10:30 a.m. Friday, February 16 in Carter Hall. Tickets can be purchased in advance for $10 from the Center for International Programs Office in the University Center East, Room 1235, or at the door on the day of the Expo for $15. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to a local charity. For additional information, contact Nicole Vernon at nmvernon@usi.edu or 812-228-5092. More Information

EPD investigation underway following police action shooting in 100 block of S Grand Ave.

0

Evansville Police are investigating a police action shooting in the 100 block of S Grand Ave.
The incident began when a citizen called 911 to report an assault in progress.
The individual who was shot by police has been taken to a local hospital with non- life threatening injuries.
The investigation is ongoing.

All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court if law.

Schools Closed Tomorrow

0

Due to the hazardous road conditions resulting from the past few days of winter weather in our area, the EVSC will be CLOSED Tuesday, January 16, 2018. All scheduled activities for Tuesday will be cancelled.

Police arrest 1 adult and 3 juveniles- age 13-16- following armed Sunday morning convenient store robbery

0

Evansville Police arrested one adult and three juveniles on armed robbery and theft charges early Sunday morning. The adult, SARA KIBIN ,26, is in the Vanderburgh County Jail. The juveniles, age 13- 16- and 16, are being housed in the Youth Care Center.
Police were called to the Circle K gas station at Weinbach and Washington just before 6:00am for a report of a person with a gun inside the store. During the robbery, a juvenile male pointed a gun at the clerk while the others in the group stole beer.
Responding officers spotted the suspects in the 1400 block of S Lincoln Park Dr. The suspects dropped the beer and took off running. They were caught in an apartment a short time later.
Police recovered the stolen beer and a replica handgun.
All four suspects face robbery charges.

Noe scores 22 as hot-shooting Drake defeats Aces in road trip finale

0
  Graduate guard hits six three-pointers as Aces end three-game road swing

 

DES MOINES, Iowa - In its final game of a three-game road trip, the University of Evansville women’s basketball team shot 41% from the field and hit nine three-pointers, but fell to hot-shooting Drake, 107-66, on Sunday afternoon in Des Moines, Iowa.

“You have to be on top of your game and ready to go against a team like Drake. You can’t afford to have “bad” anything,” said Aces head coach Matt Ruffing. “You have to give Drake credit. They’re high-powered and they’re so good. We settled too much for outside shots and I wish we could have attacked more. I thought we struggled on both ends today and that number 66 should be a lot higher.”

Graduate guard Hannah Noe paced Evansville with 22 points on six made threes while sophomore guard Macie Lively added 12 points on 5-8 shooting from the field. The Bulldogs were led by Becca Hittner, who scored a game-high 23 points and gathered nine rebounds and four assists.

Drake sprinted out of the gate, out-scoring the Aces 13-3 to open the game and force an Evansville timeout. A three-pointer by Noe just past the halfway point of the quarter cut Drake’s lead to 10 at 19-9, but the Bulldogs then went on a 19-4 run to end the period. In the opening quarter, the Bulldogs shot 76.5% (13-17) from the field while hitting five of their six three-point attempts to take a 38-13 lead after 10 minutes of play.

The Aces battled in the second quarter as Drake continued to shoot 50% from the field. With 1:48 left in the second quarter, Evansville trailed 65-28, but the Aces manufactured an 8-0 run to close the period and narrow the Bulldogs’ lead to 65-36 at the halftime break.
To open the third quarter, Drake put together a 17-5 run to take an 82-41 lead midway through the quarter. Following the run, the Aces responded by closing the frame on a 12-7 spree, trimming the Bulldogs’ advantage to 89-53 heading into the fourth quarter. During the run, Noe tallied five of Evansville’s 12 points including a layup that ignited the run for the Aces.

Evansville saw some success defensively in the fourth quarter as the Aces held Drake to 44.4% (8-18) shooting and just 1-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Junior center Kelsi Scott helped convert for the Aces as she went to the charity stripe six times during the fourth quarter and made five of six attempts. Of Scott’s nine point in the contest, seven came in the final 7:07 of the fourth quarter. After Scott’s last two free throws cut Drake’s lead to 102-64, Drake answered with a pair of layups and an and-one free throw before Aces’ freshman guard Kayla Casteel hit a layup to wrap-up the scoring as the Bulldogs grabbed the 107-66 win.

The Aces committed their second-least amount of turnovers on the season with 12 against Drake, who turned the ball over 11 times themselves. The lowest turnover total for UE this season was on December 14 when Evansville recorded just 11 turnovers in a 96-59 win over Oakland City.

For the first time in 2018, Evansville returns home to Meeks Family Fieldhouse to take on Illinois State on Friday at 7 p.m. before closing the weekend against Bradley at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

EPD ACTIVITY REPORT

0

EPD REPORT

1...4,5344,5354,536...7,352Page 4,535 of 7,352