IS IT TRUE we are puzzled why Mayoral candidate Gail Riecken hasn’t taken Mayor Winnecke to task about his decision not to explain the details of the newly re-designed Downtown Hotel to City Council? Â …this is a great opportunity for Mrs. Riecken to start the debate on open government?
IS IT TRUEÂ that Mayoral candidate Gail Riecken is in the political battle of her career and must take every opportunity to call out the Mayor on his bad public policy decisions? Â …the Mayor not giving City Council and the public an update of the design changes of the downtown Hotel is a prime example of bad public policy?
IS IT TRUE we are also extremely puzzled why the President of City Council Dr. Dan Adams hasn’t demanded that the Mayor make a detailed presentation of the Downtown Hotel? … does he believe that if he forces the Mayor to make this  presentation to City Council in public he would lose the support of the local Unions and the business community?
IS IT TRUE it’s our opinion that Dr. Adams has nothing to lose by demanding Winnecke to make the Hotel redesign plans available to City Council because the Unions aren’t supporting him anyway?
IS IT TRUE that the Redevelopment Commission (ERC) member Stan Wheeler suggested the City Council do away with the Homestead Tax Credit at a recent City Council meeting? …he claims by doing this the City would have more money to spend on much needed projects? …ERC minutes would show that Mr. Wheeler voted yes on nearly every spending project that came before that board? …It’s public knowledge that Mr. Wheeler is considered to be the UNION lobbyist when it comes to jobs that benefit unions? Â …Mr. Wheeler was appointed to this position by City Council?
IS IT TRUE if Mr. Wheeler wants to save tax money he would push to make needed cost reductions in the proposed Downtown Hotel by taking out the frills?
IS IT TRUEÂ it’s our opinion if our city officials take away our Homestead Tax Credits it would only give them more money to waste on more pork barrel or rat hole projects?
Please take time and vote in todays “Readers Poll”. Also we just posted the current City County Observer TRI-STATE VOICES TV show for you’re viewing pleasure. Copyright 2015 City County Observer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Indianapolis – Governor Mike Pence and First Lady Karen Pence hosted a Mile with Mike event at the Department of Natural Resources’ Capital Campout at Fort Harrison State Park. The Capital Campout is one of more than a dozen outdoor camping experiences hosted by governors across the nation to promote outdoor recreation as part of Great Outdoors Month 2015. Governor Pence declared June as Great Outdoors Month in the state of Indiana and read the proclamation, found in full attached, at today’s event.
“Great Outdoors Month is a perfect opportunity for our Mile with Mike effort and to share with young Hoosiers the importance of being healthy, getting exercise, and enjoying Indiana’s many outdoor recreational activities,†said Governor Pence. “I’m thankful to the organizations, public agencies, and businesses that work every day to create exceptional experiences for Hoosiers at the many state parks and trails Indiana offers.â€
Capital Campout participants from the LeGore Boys and Girls Club, Christel House Academy, Crossroads of America Council’s Boy Scout Troop 123, and Central Indiana Girl Scout Council’s PEARL Meadowlark Community Troup 7538 hiked around Delaware Lake with the Governor and First Lady after the campers participated in fishing, horseback riding, outdoor cooking, and a variety of other activities. Since 2013, the Governor and First Lady have participated in Mile with Mike events across the state of Indiana to encourage health and exercise among Hoosiers.
“Being outside today for Capital Campout reminded me of my own youth, camping and having fun at state parks all over Indiana,†said First Lady Karen Pence. “We had a great time today sharing with these young people how much fun they can have enjoying outdoor activities all over our state.â€
The Capital Campout is made possible by Indiana State Parks and Great Outdoors Month founding sponsor, The Coleman Company, which donated camping supplies, gear, and funding. Other Indiana Capital Campout sponsors and partners include the American Recreation Coalition, the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation, Camptown, Inc., Go FishIN, Indiana State Park Inns, Friends of Fort Harrison State Park, Hoosier Trail Rides, Mt. Comfort RV Center, the Recreation Vehicle Indiana Council, Inc., Kroger, Revolution Foods, Boy Scouts of America and Girl Scouts of America.
“Indiana’s Capital Campout is one of several tools that the Indiana Department of Natural Resources is using to encourage youngsters to get outdoors,†said DNR Director Cam Clark.
Clark said other efforts include the Indiana Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights; Indiana State Parks’ new centennial curriculum that includes opportunities for free visits to state parks for participating students; Discovering the Outdoors Field Trip Grants to schools; GoFishIN workshops; hunter, boater and archery education; and hunting heritage activities.
Technology is what makes the world go round and for nearly 70 students in Evansville and the surrounding area, technology is all they are going to talk about and do this week. The students are enrolled in the EVSC’s week-long Creativity Camp at Highland Elementary School.
The camp, which is sponsored by Highland’s PTA, is for students entering grades 3 through 6 and includes five, week-long tracts: Photography, iPad Video/Stop Motion Animation, 3D Printing, Minecraft and Coding. Each tract is taught by an EVSC licensed teacher and gives students a hands-on and up-close look at different technology programs and software. In each tract, students will work on projects that they will complete by the end of the week.
Another Creativity Camp is scheduled for next week at Scott Elementary School.
More information on each tract can be found below.
Beginning Photography, Art Room: Students will learn basics of digital photography and photo editing using Apple iPads and Adobe Photoshop. We will experiment with composition and various lighting techniques. Student will learn basics in photo editing using selection techniques/masks and adjustment layers. Students will create and bring home a digital portfolio of their work.
iPad Video: Lights, Camera, iPad! and Stop Motion Animation, Room 23:Â Students will learn to shoot video and edit on the iPad. Emphasis will be placed on the tools to create and edit video on the iPad and the week will culminate with a video creation produced and edited by the participating students. As part of Stop Motion Animation, students will learn the workflow of creating a Stop Motion movie. Students will work in a small group to write a story plot and animate it using an iPad Stop Motion app. Time will be spent building the scene background, taking LOADS of pictures with the iPad, recording sound effects and editing the movie. Students will enjoy a movie premiere on Friday where they will reveal their Stop Motion film to the class.
| 3D Printing and Engineering, Room 16: Students will get the opportunity to work through the engineering design process while working on their problem solving skills. Students will be presented with real world problems and create ideas to solve them. They will then use computers to design solutions. Did we mention that they will be able to print them on our state of the art 3D printer? Not only that, but students will have access to 3D scanning, which can allow them to scan and print themselves.
Minecraft Mania, Room 20: In their quest to become Minecraft Masters, students will become problem solvers and leaders! Students will be asked to develop their leadership skills throughout our game-playing, using role-playing, goal setting, problem solving techniques and more. Activities will also include curricular connections, including language arts and math. |
Coding is Cool, Media Center: In this class students will learn the basics of computer coding. We will starting with the common points of all computer coding and then progress into the basics of HTML and how to create a simple website. Following this students will explore coding for robotics application – both drag and drop and Javascript. Students will test their robotics code using Sphero robotic balls. At the end of the week students will have a better understanding of the language programmers use to “talk†to computers. They will also have coded a simple website as well as controlled a robot with code.
Jennifer Nelson for www.theindianalawyer.com
The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the decision to grant a variance to a company seeking to build an upscale dog and cat boarding and day-care facility on the northwest side of Indianapolis. A hotel located next to the property objected, fearing noise from the animals would deter business.
The case, I-465, LLC v. Metropolitan Board of Zoning Appeals Division II of Marion County, Indiana, Jeffrey R. Baumgarth and The Myers Y. Cooper Company, 49A05-1409-PL-403, was before the appellate court for the second time. Previously, The Myers Y. Cooper Co., which wants to build the pet facility, appealed I-465 LLC’s petition for judicial review after the Marion County Board of Zoning Appeals granted Myers’ request for the variance. I-465 LLC owns the Hilton Homewood Suites Hotel directly west of the proposed facility. HRC Hotels, I-465 LLC’s parent company, did not participate in the public zoning hearing, but was the party to petition for judicial review.
The Court of Appeals determined that I-465 LLC did have standing to pursue the petition despite its parent company filing the petition. The case went to the trial court, which denied the petition for judicial review and affirmed the variance.
In Thursday’s decision, I-465 LLC appealed, arguing that the variance should not have been granted. It claimed its business would be hurt by the pet facility because patrons would not want to stay next to a facility where dogs would be out barking.
In order to grant the variance, Myers had to prove five elements: 1) The approval will not be injurious to the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare of the community; (2) the use and value of the area adjacent to the property included in the variance will not be affected in a substantially adverse manner; (3) the need for the variance arises from some condition peculiar to the property involved; (4) the strict application of the terms of the zoning ordinance will constitute an unnecessary hardship if applied to the property for which the variance is sought; and
(5) the approval does not interfere substantially with the comprehensive plan adopted under the 500 series of this chapter.
The Court of Appeals unanimously decided Myers Cooper had established the five elements required to justify the variance. The BZA’s decision was supported by adequate findings, which in turn were supported by the evidence, and therefore not clearly erroneous.
AGs to call on major phone carriers to act quickly to offer technology to consumers
INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller thanked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today for responding to the calls of state attorneys general and members of the public to allow phone carriers to block robocalls and robotexts before they reach residential landlines or cell phones.
At its commission meeting today, the FCC approved changes to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, including recognizing call-blocking filters as legally allowable if requested by customers, and other updates to help reduce unwanted robocalls, scam text messages and telemarketing calls. More information about the updates can be found here.
Zoeller has been urging the commission to pass these rule changes, specifically the proposal to allow call-blocking, since last September. Zoeller and Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster voiced their support for these long-awaited rule changes in a letter submitted to the FCC on Tuesday, ahead of the commission’s scheduled vote today.
The next step, Zoeller said, is to urge phone carriers to offer the service to their customers. Zoeller and Koster will lead a group of attorneys general in a letter to the four major phone carriers – Verizon, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile – informing them of this rule change and encouraging them to offer robocall blocking to their customers as soon as possible.
“Today’s ruling by the FCC is the first step in a return of the privacy that Hoosiers expect, and we will hopefully see an impact soon in an appreciable reduction in the unwanted calls and texts many people are bombarded with on a daily basis,†Zoeller said. “But we have to be sure the benefits of call-blocking technology actually reach consumers, and that responsibility lies with the phone carriers.â€
In the lead up to the FCC’s vote today, Zoeller has been asking Hoosiers to contact the FCC about unwanted calls and urge support of call-blocking. The Indiana Attorney General’s Office received more than 13,000 complaints about unwanted calls last year, a majority of which were about robocalls.
Indiana has been a leading state in protecting consumers’ telephone privacy rights. Alongside Missouri, Indiana has hosted No Call Summits for the last two years to focus on efforts to reduce unwanted calls and prosecute violators.
Indiana residents can sign up for the state’s Do Not Call list or file a complaint about an unwanted call or text by visiting www.IndianaConsumer.com or calling 1.888.834.9969.
(WASHINGTON, DC) – On Thursday, Eighth District Congressman Larry Bucshon, M.D. voted to pass Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), legislation that establishes and exerts Congressional authority over the process by which the Administration can negotiate and consider trade agreements.
“To be clear, TPA is not a trade agreement. TPA is legislation that asserts the will of Congress and the American people on any potential trade agreement negotiated by the Administration. I don’t believe the President should have the authority to negotiate a trade deal without input from Congress or American workers. I also firmly believe the American people have the right to review any potential trade agreement negotiated by the President before it’s considered by Congress. I support TPA for these reasons. It allows Congress to set what the President can or can’t negotiate, ensures the American people can review any agreement for 60 days before it reaches Congress, and gives Congress an up or down vote,â€Â said Bucshon. “Free and fair trade is critical to Indiana’s economy. It allows our farmers and manufacturers to grow and make products right here in Indiana that will be sold around the world. Trade exerts American leadership around the world, it helps create American jobs, and it grows the wages of workers. One in five Hoosier jobs is linked to trade; we can expand and support those jobs by opening up Indiana-made products to foreign markets that house 96 percent of the world’s consumers.â€Â Â
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BACKGROUND:
Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) is not a trade agreement. Instead, TPA establishes the process by which the Administration can negotiate and consider trade agreements and is needed in order for U.S. trade negotiators to get the best deal possible for the American worker.
TPA asserts Congressional priorities and prerogatives into trade negotiations by establishing nearly 150 negotiating objectives. To ensure transparency, TPA will require that the President make any trade agreement public to the American people for sixty days before it can be submitted to Congress. The House of Representatives can turn-off TPA if the House determines the proposed agreement has not met the negotiating objectives. Finally, TPA makes sure that Congress has an up or down vote on any final agreement.
Every President since FDR has been granted TPA or a similar policy to negotiate trade agreements.
TPA highlights:
Extensive background on TPA, including statements of support and full text of the bill, can be found here –www.bucshon.house.gov/tpa.
Stating today the City County Observer shall be running a series entitled “LET’S FIX IT.” The article is written by well known political activist George Lumley  from Vanderburgh County.
George is married 31 years to wife Nancy.  They have two grown children.  He is a semi-retired Certified Public Accountant.  He graduated from Indiana University with a B.S. in Business Management with honors.  He was Honorably Discharged from the U.S. Air Force and Kentucky Air National Guard (non- combat role).
Past work experiences include Auditor for the State Board of Accounts and management positions in manufacturing, utility construction, and transportation.
Finally George is a self proclaimed “champion of the underdog and the little guy“.  We hope you will enjoy this detailed and eye opening article about blight in our community by George Lumley.
Tax sale for Blighted Properties Re-defined In Senate Enrolled Act No. 415
By George LUMLEY
Sounds terribly quiet. Is no one in Vanderburgh County/City of Evansville working on this? All the fuss last year about the tax sale properties, tax sale zombie homes being sold and resold by the county and now no one here is showing interest in pursuing the legislated fix to the problem before another tax sale? Maybe I am just out of the loop?
Are you familiar with the pictures of the falling down houses and stories of tax sale nightmares? When I say falling down I don’t mean a little ragged looking. Chimneys are actually falling off, roofs are caving in, and walls are falling against neighboring houses. Many of these houses are the tax sale nightmares that have been sold for taxes over and over with some people getting the very last of the useful life from the dwelling and the final owner left holding the bag. The trash bag that is.
Save these houses you say. People could use them.  Some of them, yes, but many are just too used up and rotted away to save. Like the Styrofoam cups I seem to accumulate from buying an occasional soda with a fill-up, there are so many. They are cheap, and no one wants them. There is no economical reason to wash and repair them. It is a throwaway society with new being more desirable and often cheaper than repairing the old.
At some point trash has to be recognized as trash and hauled to the dump. And who is going to pay for that? We are talking about a nightmare zombie house, it’s a pipe dream if you think the last owner has money saved up for this final burial expense. Just like the couch and other trash in the alley, it becomes a government job and our collective expense. No need to point the finger and find every excuse, legal and otherwise, to avoid the expense and push it down the road to someone else’s budget. The asset is used up. It’s time to haul the trash off and put the bill in the accounts payable pile.
Why am I hearing about the city’s cost of maintaining these abandoned properties and all the related government expense of fire runs, police runs, etc. but little about fixing the problem – getting rid of the structures? Why nothing about how we are going to use this grand legislative overhaul of the tax sale process related to the vacant and blighted homes to quit selling them at the tax sale and actually solve the problem by taking possession of and eliminating them.
One of several provisions of Senate Enrolled Act No. 415 provides that some vacant or abandoned properties, the tax sale zombies, can be pulled from the regular tax sale after the May 10th tax payment deadline, and sold by the County Auditor at auction after a 30 day notice. And it provides that the County Auditor issue a deed at that time conveying a fee simple interest to the buyer.  There is no waiting and the buyer takes possession while the prior owner has no right to redeem.  Could we be selling those properties right now? No summer mowing cost? Why not? Sounds simple, why are we not doing that?
I volunteered to help and attended a public meeting on blight in April sponsored by the Department of Metropolitan Development. The blight problem was blamed in part on the tax sale law. I offered the idea that this new SB 415 would give the city new effective tools to remove that perceived roadblock and the city should plan for its passage. This was dismissed quickly with a statement indicating that the bill had no hope of passing. The meeting seemed to me to be merely a sales pitch for funding a public land bank.
Let’s fix that. Speak up and ask the candidates and elected or appointed officials why we are not using the tools available to fight the vacant and abandoned home issue plaguing some of our neighborhoods. Ask why city/county officials are thumbing their nose at this tax sale reform rather than grabbing ahold and running with it for the betterment of this area.
Can you help me?
Sincerely
George Lumley
Posted without editing, opinion, or bias
