IS IT TRUE we are not Joe Wallace….but we too are truthaholics…we do not represent the opinion of one person and instead are the product of a group consciousness.…we are people who love this community.…we believe fundamentally that to fix a problem, we must admit it exists….we strive for a level of discourse that is both honest and productive.…we do not shy away from topics that are uncomfortable ….we will ask the hard questions and ask the reader to help find the answers?
IS IT TRUE we cannot emulate Joe Wallace.…this column will change….we recognize the immeasurable asset to the City County Observer that Joe Wallace has been for the last five years….it is with no small amount of nostalgia that we bid him farewell and wish him the best in all future endeavors.…Mr. Wallace has been since 2012 the CEO and Chief Innovation Officer of the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership and Managing Director of the Coachella Valley Innovation Hub in Palm Springs, California….his intelligence and ingenuity has received an enormous number of accolades…. the City County Observer is both proud of his personal accomplishments and his work for this publication?
IS IT TRUE the City County Observer is expanding….we have new contributors who will continue to bring a daily column of topics for our readers’ discussion and comment….the weekends will continue to be an open forum, but with a new feature for readers to submit topics for future daily discussions….Tri-State Voices, a project of the City County Observer, began airing on Sundays at 11:30 am, with the first episode on February l5th….these programs, hosted by Mark Owen and Cheryl Musgrave, will start appearing on our website in the near future….viewers will be able to comment on and discuss the content, as well as suggest topics and guests for future shows….the first episode took on the controversial Residency Ordinance, and the second episode hosted all four Democratic At-Large candidates for City Council?
IS IT TRUE the City County Observer exists for more than reporting the news…. intelligent debate has always been one of the main reasons readers come to read and stay to talk….time has demonstrated that strictly enforced guidelines are necessary for commenters….we will no longer edit comments to remove objectionable content, and inappropriate comments will simply be removed with the author receiving a warning via email….it is important that a consistent standard be applied and personal attacks against other commenters or the publisher removed….repeated violations to our policy of reasonableness will result in the poster being banned from commenting….pointing out that someone of an opposing view is drunk or in need of medication is irrelevant to the discussion….some of this country’s best thinkers have been both?
IS IT TRUE the City County Observer is launching a monthly, printed publication called The Evansville Post in April of this year….The Evansville Post will differ from the City County Observer website by providing in-depth articles about our government and our community….our new publication will include a monthly spot light on local businesses, interviews with local activists, a “From the Street†section where the public is interviewed about hot topics, a community calendar, an editorial section and more….the first edition of The Evansville Post will include 300 word essays from this year’s local candidates on themselves and the meaning of civic virtue….The Evansville Post will circulate to more than 150 locations in the area….this printed newspaper will be complimentary, and interested parties may request the addition of their location to the circulation route….the City County Observer will carry an E-edition of The Evansville Post on its website?
IS IT TRUE the Winnecke administration postponed an administrative hearing set for yesterday regarding a 2013 repair order for the McCurdy….the hearing officer could have imposed a $5,000 fine that reoccurred monthly until the ordered repair was made.…the hearing was postponed until March 12th allowing The Kunkel Group time to demonstrate it has the necessary $12 million to repair and renovate the building.…the postponement does not indicate a faith in The Kunkel Group so much as a fear that the City of Evansville become responsible for the structure….the City already has a lien on the McCurdy in the amount of $1.4 million that it has promised to waive should The Kunkel Group demonstrate its financing for the project is in place….the imposing of a $5,000 per month fine on The Kunkel Group if unpaid would have ultimately resulted in a larger lien on the property….a lien the City intends to waive….the postponed hearing is an example of this administration being the first to blink in a staring contest….every month that the McCurdy is left to the elements is another month that the City gains ground on a raze order at the expense of taxpayers….there was no valid reason to delay an administrative hearing that largely consisted of a paper tiger in action….this administration will likely push this issue beyond November before it becomes clear that the structure is unsalvageable?
IS IT TRUE WLWT Channel 5 out of Cincinnati, an NBC affiliate, aired a story on February 24th with a headline Ohio River Most Polluted Body of Water in U.S. for 7th Year in a Row….the story, which found its way to Facebook in the Evansville area demonstrates ignorance and sensationalism at its highest….the story accurately states that the 23 million pounds of chemicals dumped in the Ohio River in 2013 is down from the high point of 33 million pounds in 2006….the reporting also cites that the annual Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) National Analysis does not account for the volume of water in the river that dilutes the chemicals….the media outlet loses its credibility when it fails to explain that the River’s ranking also does not account for dilution by volume, and that the Ohio River is found by the US Environmental Protection Agency to be safe for drinking, aquatic life and recreation….the Ohio River is the third largest river by volume in the United States….of the 10 rivers on the most polluted list, 7 are not found on the list for the 20 largest rivers by volume….Evansville residents are better off living on the Ohio River than most of the other nine rivers listed as the most polluted….while we should strive for a cleaner Ohio River, we need to avoid hysteria?
IS IT TRUE we thank you for your support and look forward to bringing you the news in a way that not only brings you into the discussion but makes you feel compelled to participate?