http://www.vanderburghsheriff.com/recent-booking-records.aspx
IS IT TRUE MARCH 14. 2017
IS IT TRUE we told you so? Â …for many months we have been telling our readers that the City of Evansville Employee Health Insurance had around a $7 to $8 million dollar deficit with very little money in the rainy day fund to bring these medical bring bills currently? …every time we brought this subject up people in the Mayors and Controllers office said: “we don’t know what the hell we are talking about”? …we wonder how our tax and spend City Council Finance Chairmen is going to explain this issue away since City Controller Lloyd spilled the beans on this issue at last night Council meeting? Â …we can’t wait to hear the political spin that tax and spend McGinn put on this issue?
IS IT TRUE at last nights City Council meeting City Controller Russ Lloyd publicly disclosed that the city’s Employee Health Insurance deficit is a whopping $7.5 million as of this week? …City Controller Lloyd said the city is going to move around $3 million dollars from the Computer Services Department (that is currently held in escrow) in order help pay off some of the current $7.5 million dollar Employee Health Insurance deficit?  …we wonder why at least one City Council member didn’t have the political guts to come forward and tell the truth about this problem?  …we are very appreciative that City Controller Lloyd came forward and finally told the truth about the city insurance deficit problems?  …we also predict you will be stunned to hear what the City Employees Healthcare deficit will be in three months from now?  …we hope you finally realizing why we keep harping about the city spending our hard earned tax dollars on fun and games and political pork barrel capital projects?  …we just don’t have enough money to pay our current operating expenses unless we borrow money from the Evansville Water and Sewer Department, take money from another City Department account or get an advancement from the  Riverboat Fund to make ends meet?
IS IT TRUE it was announced at Monday night Council meeting that the city will start paying down the City Employee Healthcare deficit from the Computer Services Department fund in two installments this year from the Local Income Tax fund? Â …Controller.Lloyd said the city will move $3 million from this fund to help pay down the City Employee Healthcare deficit? Â …he also stated that the City is now funding the Computer Services Department from money in the Local Income Tax fund? Â …we are now wondering if City Council and the Mayor are quietly planning to ask the State to increased the percentage of the Local Income Tax fund without our knowledge?
IS IT TRUE we are extremely surprised to hear that members of the local FOP are talking about conducting a “VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE” against Evansville Chief of Police Billy Bolin? Â …we are told that this subject will be discussed at Wednesday night FOP Â business meeting? Â …this meeting will be closed to the media and the public? Â …we are also told if the FOP membership hold such a vote against Chief Bolin and it passes it could be extremely damaging to his professional reputation and future effectiveness as Police Chief?
IS IT TRUE we are extremely pleased that Evansville City Council tabled the request for a tax phase-in of Gabe’s superstore? …we take issue with tax and spend City Council Finance Chairmen Dan McGinn all-out push to approve this request? …Councilmen Dr. Dan Adams got it right when he suggests if Gabe’s request is approved it will open a floodgate of requests from other Shopping Centers throughout Evansville?… The council shall continue the discussion during the April 10 meeting?
IS IT TRUE we are extremely disappointed that City Council approved a preliminary resolution to grant Hemang Shah, with Kinship Hospitality a $750,000 tax benefits to his company that plan to build a hotel in Downtown Evansville? …recently Hemang Shah announced that he is building a 139-room Hyatt Place hotel without any public assistance? … last night Mr. Shah did a turnaround and announced that his company needs the $750,000 Â tax credit because of unexpected costs overruns concerning the demolition of the old Scottish Rite building in downtown Evansville? Â …this seems like a personal problem and not a problem for the taxpayers of Evansville?
FOOTNOTE: Â Todays “READERS POLL” question is: Are you disappointed in the Evansville City Council and the Mayor for withholding information about the current $7.5 million Employee Health Insurance deficit?
Channel 44 News: Report Shows Financial Demands of Alzheimer’s
Report Shows Financial Demands of Alzheimer’s
A new report from Alzheimer’s Association shows growing costs and impact the disease has on American families and the economy. The cost for Medicaid for those with Alzheimer’s is up to $913 million in Indiana. Total payments for these patients…
Immigration, Refugees Are Topics Of USI’s Continued Series On Civility
Immigration, Refugees Are Topics Of USI’s Continued Series On Civility
This month, the University of Southern Indiana is exploring these topics as it continues its speaker series related to civility and the public square with a noted expert on immigration and refugees to the United States. Dr. David W. Haines, professor emeritus of sociology and anthropology at George Mason University, will present “Refuge in America,†at 7p.m. Monday, March 27 in Carter Hall in University Center West. Previous speakers in the series included author and social critic Os Guinness and Senator Richard Lugar and Congressman Lee Hamilton.
Haines received his master’s degree in Southeast Asian studies and a doctorate in anthropology from American University. Prior to coming to George Mason University in 1997, he worked for the federal government’s refugee resettlement program and served as a senior manager at the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission.
He is a two-time Fulbright scholar (South Korea in 2004 and Western Europe (England, France, and the Netherlands) in 1987-88), a past president of the Society for Urban, National, and Transnational/Global Anthropology (SUNTA), convener of the Wind over Water comparative project on East Asian migration, and a founding member of George Mason’s Diversity Research Group.
Publications include several edited volumes on refugees and immigrants, two historical monographs (one on Vietnamese kinship and the other on refugees in the United States), and numerous articles in professional journals on migration, kinship and governance. Teaching areas include East Asia, information technology, refugees and migration. He was a recipient of George Mason’s Teaching Excellence Award in 2003.
He also is currently co-president of the Association for the Anthropology of Policy and has two texts forthcoming this year: a 2nd edition of An Introduction to Sociocultural Anthropology and Introducing U.S. Immigration.
The presentation is free and open to the public. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. and seating will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Burns Promoted to Banking Center Manager at First Security Bank in Owensboro, Kentucky
First Security Bank has promoted Ladona Burns to Banking Center Manager at the 313 Frederica Banking Center. Burns will be responsible for the customer service and day-to-day operations of the banking center, as well as loan and deposit growth in the Owensboro market. She joined First Security Bank in June of 2015 and most recently worked as a Private Banker.
Burns has held various banking leadership roles in cash management, customer service, loan processing, and consumer and real estate lending. She currently serves as Secretary of the Board of Directors at St. Benedict’s Homeless Shelter; is a Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce Ambassador; and she will graduate from Leadership Owensboro in May 2017.
“Ladona has been a tremendous asset to the First Security team and our customers since joining us. She leads the way in customer service, and we look forward to her ability to help more clients with their credit and deposit needs,†said Amy Jackson, Chief Operating Officer.
About First Security Bank:
First Security Bank is a $570 million asset bank with 11 banking centers in Owensboro, Bowling Green, Franklin and Lexington, Kentucky, as well as Evansville and Newburgh, Indiana. With more than 140 employees, in its four markets and corporate office, First Security Bank has differentiated itself from larger competitors with its focus on relationship banking and the ability to make credit and other business decisions locally.
Court Must Reconsider Sanction For Probation Violations
Court Must Reconsider Sanction For Probation Violations
Olivia Covington for www.theindianalawyer.com
An Indiana trial court must revisit the sanction it imposed pursuant to an agreement on a Washington County woman who violated her probation. The Indiana Court of Appeals held Monday that the trial court had discretion to determine what the appropriate sanction should be.
In Derrian N. Hampton v. State of Indiana, 88A04-1608-CR-1862, Derrian Hampton pleaded guilty to Class C felony aiding burglary and was sentenced to three years in the Indiana Department of Correction, with one year and 185 days suspended to probation. A year after her sentencing, the state moved to revoke Hampton’s probation, alleging that she had violated various aspects of her probation.
A subsequent agreement between Hampton and the state, tendered to the Washington Superior Court in November 2015, stayed her commitment in the DOC until a June 2016 review hearing. If Hampton met all of her monetary obligations and completed all probation terms by the time of the hearing, the Agreement held that she would not have to serve her suspended sentence in the DOC and instead would return to probation subject to the original terms. The agreement also held that the trial court could not change its terms without consent from both parties.
When it came time to appear for the hearing, Hampton still had not fulfilled her monetary obligations and had also failed to call the drug screen line on occasion, so the trial court ordered her to serve her 550-day suspended sentence, less credit time. The judge also denied her “Motion to Correct Error Alternatively Motion to Reconsider,†prompting the instant appeal.
On appeal, Hampton argued that the trial court abused its discretion in approving the agreement because it improperly shifted the burden to her to show future compliance and removed judicial discretion with regard to sentencing for her probation violations. But Judge James Kirsch, writing for the unanimous appellate panel, held in a Monday opinion that Hampton’s appeal of the November 2015 approval of the agreement was untimely.
After the agreement was approved in November 2015, Kirsch wrote that it became an order of the court imposing the 550-day sanction for probation violation. However, Hampton did not file a notice of appeal or motion to correct error within 30 days of the agreement becoming an order, thus forfeiting her right to direct appeal. But, the trial court’s subsequent actions are still reviewable because Hampton filed an appeal of the denial of her Motion to Correct Error Alternatively Motion to Reconsider within 30 days, Kirsch said.
Although the appellate panel “appreciated†the trial court’s reasoning as to why it had to impose the 550-day sanction – that is, because the agreement did not grant the judge the authority to change its contents – Kirsch wrote that such reasoning “is not in accord with Indiana law.â€
Trial courts retain continuing authority over their own orders during probationary periods, Kirsch wrote, so the Washington Circuit Court was required to determine the appropriate sanction to impose against Hampton under the Indiana Supreme Court’s direction in Woods v. State, 892 N.E.2d 637 (Ind. 2008). That case found that agreements that purported to remove a trial court’s sanctioning discretion were “constitutionally suspect.†The Indiana Court of Appeals reached a similar conclusion in Sullivan v. State, 56 N.E.3d 1157 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016).
In the instant case, the state argued that the agreement with Hampton was similar to a plea agreement, but Kirsch wrote that such an argument was rejected in Woods. Thus, while the Washington Superior Court correctly found that Hampton violated the terms of her probation, the appellate panel reversed the imposition of the 550-day sanction and remanded to case back to the trial court to determine the appropriate sanction.
Attention Artist Members (Current & Potential!)
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Work-From-Home Scams Appear To Be Increasing In Indiana
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INDIANAPOLIS - The Consumer Protection Division (CPD) of the Office of the Indiana Attorney General is warning Hoosiers about an uptick in work-from-home scams that can compromise personal or sensitive information. In just the last few weeks, the CPD has received multiple complaints from Hoosiers who have been contacted via email by scammers offering to hire them for work-from-home positions. If you receive an email offering a work-from-home position, you should look for several red flags. Often, the scammer offers high-paying jobs with wages ranging from $20 to $24 an hour. The jobs also are touted as allowing flexible work hours. Emails from scammers typically request private information commonly needed during a hiring process such as your phone number, a copy of your state identification and bank account information. You should never send such information via email. In many instances, scammers will send links to websites set up to appear to represent professional businesses. Despite appearing legitimate, these websites are often simply part of the ruse. Another tell-tale sign occurs when consumers are told they need to buy specialized equipment — with reimbursement promised once the victim begins the job. Two strategies are often used by scammers. In the first, the scammer may direct victims to a “preferred vendor,†requesting the victim send payment to that person. In the second, scammers may send a counterfeit check to the victim, directing them to cash it and then send money to a different address to pay for equipment. One complainant said a scammer started with one tactic and switched to the other, prompting skepticism. Unemployed Hoosiers searching for jobs are among the most susceptible to these fraudulent practices. The CPD is warning Hoosiers who are searching for employment through career sites to use their better judgement when responding to emails with job opportunities. Another red flag would be any person attempting to conduct a job interview via text message. If Hoosiers receive an email containing any of the aforementioned red flags, it is important that they do not respond. The threat to consumers begins when they engage with the person sending the email. Just as you wouldn’t answer a phone call from an unknown number, the CPD advises Hoosiers to ignore these emails to avoid the risk of being scammed. Even if you don’t send any sensitive information, you still face risks by engaging. Do not reply to these work-from-home job offers, and most importantly, never send private or personal information via email. To file a complaint or gather more information, visit IndianaConsumer.com. |
This Week at USI
6 p.m. Monday, March 13
New York Times interactive media designer to speak at USI
Renda Morton, interactive media designer for The New York Times, will give a lecture at 6 p.m. Monday, March 13 in Kleymeyer Hall located in the lower level of the Liberal Arts Center at the University of Southern Indiana. Morton will discuss what a user-centered design process is and how designers use it at The New York Times. Read More
Monday, March 13 – Thursday, March 16
USI Dental Hygiene Clinic to repeat free dental cleanings for veterans
The University of Southern Indiana Dental Hygiene Clinic will provide free dental cleaning, fluoride and X-rays for military veterans on March 13, 14, 15 and 16. The USI Dental Hygiene Program collaborates with Southwest Indiana Area Health Education Center (SWI-AHEC) and USI’s Veteran, Military & Family Resource Center to offer these special clinic hours for veterans. USI Dental Hygiene faculty will supervise the students who will be working in the clinic.Appointments are required and can be made by calling 812-464-1706. Proof of military affiliation and a picture identification is required. Read More
3 p.m. Thursday, March 16
USI hosts Franklin Street Association founder for annual Celebration of Engagement
University of Southern Indiana Outreach and Engagement will host its third annual Celebration of Engagement at 3 p.m. Thursday, March 16 in University Center East on the USI campus. The event will feature talks by University officials and a keynote address from Amy Word-Smith, CEO of Lamasco and Dapper Pig and founder of the Franklin Street Events Association. Read More
Now through April 8
New Harmony Gallery to host Print Invitational inspired by 1800’s publication
The New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art is hosting the exhibition, The Disseminator of Useful Knowledge Print Invitational and Exchange now through April 8. Works in the exhibition were inspired from the 1800’s New Harmony publication, The Disseminator of Useful Knowledge. A closing reception for the exhibition will be held at the gallery from 4 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 8. The Disseminator of Useful Knowledge Print Invitational and Exchange is free and open to the public. Read More
SAVE THE DATES
6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 21
Uber co-founder and serial entrepreneur, Oscar Salazar, to present at USI’s Romain College of Business speaker series
The University of Southern Indiana will present “Innovation in Legacy Industries,†a talk by Dr. Oscar Salazar, early architect and founding Chief Technology Officer of Uber, the popular rideshare technology platform. The program will kick off at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 21 at the Physical Activities Center on the USI campus. Mr. Salazar’s campus visit is hosted by the USI Romain College of Business and made possible through private gifts to the USI Foundation. Read More
7 p.m. Wednesday, March 22
Dr. Martin Blaser to present annual Shaw Biology Lecture
The University of Southern Indiana will host “Missing Microbes: Antibiotic Overuse Fuels Modern Plaguesâ€, the 2017 Shaw Biology Lecture by Dr. Martin J. Blaser on 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 22 in Mitchell Auditorium. Blaser is a professor of medicine and microbiology at New York University and director of the Human Microbiome Program at NYU Langone Medical Center. The lecture is free and open to the public, and is underwritten through the USI Foundation. Read More
7 p.m. Monday, March 27
Immigration, refugees are topics of USI’s continued series on civility
Dr. David W. Haines, professor emeritus of sociology and anthropology at George Mason University, will present “Refuge in America,†at 7p.m. Monday, March 27 in Carter Hall in University Center West. This presentation is part of the University of Southern Indiana speaker series related to civility. Previous speakers in the series included author and social critic Os Guinness and Senator Richard Lugar and Congressman Lee Hamilton. The event is free and open to the public. Read More
Registration Open – June 5-9
USI, SWI-AHEC partner with EVSC for Public Health Camp
The Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation’s Southern Indiana Career and Technical Center (SICTC), in collaboration with Southwest Indiana Area Health Education Center (SWI-AHEC), is hosting a one-week summer public health camp, Go Viral: Be a Disease Detective. The camp is for students currently in the seventh and eighth grades in Gibson, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh and Warrick counties who are interested in exploring epidemiology and careers in public health. Read More
US House Passes Bill To Restrict Legal Claims Against Companies
US House Passes Bill To Restrict Legal Claims Against Companies
IL for www.theindianalawyer.com
The U.S. House has approved a bill that would make it harder for individuals or groups to bring legal claims against companies in consumer disputes, employment discrimination cases and other areas.
Lawmakers approved the Republican-sponsored measure, 220-201, Thursday night. The bill heads to the Senate, where its prospects are less clear.
The legislation is the latest in a flurry of business-friendly moves by Congress and the Trump administration. Changes mandated in the bill could help reduce legal costs for businesses by putting up more hurdles to bringing class-action lawsuits in federal court.
Supporters say the bill is needed to curb abuses in class-action suits that often result in a huge payday for lawyers.
“The class-action litigation system has morphed into an expensive enterprise where lawyers are often the only winners, and American businesses and consumers are the losers,” said Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and the bill’s primary author. “Trial lawyers often profit at the expense of deserving victims.”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, representing business interests, also supported the legislation.
Consumer groups and civil rights advocates said the bill penalizes those who have been mistreated by corporations.
“This devastating Republican attack on our federal and state civil courts will severely restrict the hallowed right of the American people to have their day in court when they are wrongfully injured or defrauded,” said veteran consumer advocate Ralph Nader.
The bill would ensure that “judges’ and juries’ hands are tied by absentee politicians in Washington, greased by corporate campaign contributions,” Nader said.
Nader and other critics point to a history of cases in which class-action suits enabled consumers to recoup losses and compelled companies to stop selling unsafe products. A recent example: a suit by Volkswagen owners in the U.S. who won about $11 billion in compensation from the German company in its emissions cheating scandal.
But it’s also common for consumer victims in class-action settlements to walk away with minimal compensation, such as coupons or gift cards, while law firms receive multimillion-dollar payouts.
The bill would require individuals seeking to form a legal class to show that each of them suffered the same type and magnitude of personal injury or economic loss as the group’s leader. Attorneys in winning class-action suits couldn’t collect payment from companies until after the individuals in the class are paid.
Republican lawmakers have long cherished the idea of overhauling the legal system. They’ve looked to rein in trial lawyers—key campaign donors as a group to Democrats—whom they portray as greedy and abusing a system tilted toward them. Corporations and businesses, which tend to donate more heavily to Republican candidates, are championed by the GOP lawmakers as bearing excessive legal burdens and costs that raise prices for consumers.
“Today, Republicans are championing big corporations with legislation aimed at eroding class actions, an indispensable tool for citizens to hold powerful interests and big corporations accountable for their misdeeds,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a written statement.