 SPONSORED BY DEFENSE ATTORNEY IVAN ARNAEZ.
 DON’T GO TO COURT ALONE. CALL IVAN ARNAEZ @ 812-424-6671.
MUSGRAVE AND OWEN TO CO-HOST NEWLY REORGANISED TRI-STATE VOICES PROGRAM
The City County Observer and the law firm of Woods and Woods, LLP is pleased to announce the return of Tri-State Voices to ME TV Tri-State. The program is ½ hour long and can be seen on channels 36.1, 20.1, WOW 105 and Time Warner 3 and 14 every Sunday morning at (time). Episodes are also available online at City-CountyObserver.com and the Tri-State Voices Youtube Channel.
Weekly episodes will feature current topics and issues of importance to the Tri-State region. Hosts will be Mark Owen and Cheryl Musgrave.
Mark Owen served two terms on the Vanderburgh County Council, one unexpired term as a Vanderburgh County Commissioner and twelve years as Democratic Party Chairman. Owen chaired successful campaign committees for former Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel and US Congressman d Ellsworth. Owen previously served as Executive Director of the Board of Public Works, Chair of the Board of Directors for Southwestern Healthcare, Inc. and is currently a Commissioner on the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Commission. Owen works as a Broker Associate for F.C. Tucker Emge Realtors.
Cheryl Musgrave served ten years as the Vanderburgh County Assessor, two and a half years as Vanderburgh County Commissioner, and was appointed by Governor Mitch Daniels as Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance. Ms. Musgrave currently serves on the Vanderburgh County Board of Zoning Appeals and the Evansville Redevelopment Commission. She operates her own consulting firm, Musgrave Consulting LLC.
The first show airs on Sunday, February 15, 2015 and will feature the controversial residency ordinance. This ordinance requires all city board appointees to be residents of the City of Evansville. The residency ordinance was initially passed by City Council, then vetoed by the Mayor. The Council then voted to override the veto only to have the mayor file a lawsuit. This is a developing story and we look forward to hearing the discussion regarding this legal and political issue.
Evansville Regional Airport Welcomes New Service from United Airlines
Evansville Regional Airport announced  that United Airlines will be adding three daily flights from Evansville, IN (EVV) to Chicago, IL (ORD) beginning on June 4, 2015. These flights will be operated with Embraer 145 50-passenger jet aircraft. The flights became available for sale this past Saturday. Passengers can visit united.com to book their tickets.
The scheduled flight times are as follows:
Departing EVVÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Arriving ORD
6:39a                                                 7:55a
10:24a                                               11:40a
3:36p                                                 4:52p
Departing ORDÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Arriving EVV
8:30a                                                 9:51a
1:45p                                                 3:06p
7:10p                                                 8:31p
“EVV is thankful for the investment that United Airlines is making in our region. The estimated annual economic impact to a community for adding three regional jet departures is $12 million,†stated Dianna Page, Director of Marketing and Air Service Development. “As a Star Alliance Partner, United Airlines further connects us to the world. There is virtually no where you can’t get to from here with the addition of this missing puzzle piece.â€Â The Star Alliance includes 27 different airlines from around the globe and serves 193 countries.
“On behalf of the City of Evansville, I would like to welcome United Airlines to the Tri-State region. I am extremely excited about the new air service to Chicago and the additional options it will provide to business and leisure travelers, including more connections to cities out west and international flights,†said Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke. “These three new daily flights to Chicago will have a tremendous economic impact on our region and demonstrates that United sees great potential for future growth in the Evansville market.â€
“In addition to giving our region additional connectivity and flexibility to cities we already serve, many more worldwide destinations are now available,†added Executive Director Doug Joest. “Completing our runway project over a year ahead of schedule made it possible for this additional service to be initiated this year.â€
About United:
United Airlines and United Express operate an average of 5,055 flights a day to 373 airports across six continents. In 2014, United and United Express operated nearly two million flights carrying 138 million customers. United is proud to have the world’s most comprehensive route network, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates nearly 700 mainline aircraft, and this year, the airline anticipates taking delivery of 34 new Boeing aircraft, including the 787-9 and the 737-900ER. United is also welcoming 49 new Embraer 175 aircraft to United Express. The airline is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 193 countries via 27 member airlines. More than 84,000 United employees reside in every U.S. state and in countries around the world. For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter or connect on Facebook. The common stock of United’s parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the NYSE under the symbol UAL.
About Evansville Regional Airport:
Evansville Regional Airport offers daily service to Chicago, Charlotte, Dallas, Detroit and Atlanta through American Airlines, Delta Airlines and starting June 4, 2015 United Airlines. Facilities include 3 runways, 10 carrier gates, 4 jet bridges, spacious terminal with free wifi and parking lot to accommodate 1000 + cars.
ST. MARY’S HOSTS FAMILY FOUNDATIONS COURSE
St. Mary’s is hosting a free Family Foundations course presented by Youth First in March. Family Foundations is designed to help couples establish positive parenting skills and adjust to the physical, social and emotional challenges of parenthood.
This course will meet each Monday starting March 9 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. in the Gift Conference room, located just off the lobby of the Hospital for Women and Children.  This class is for couples expecting a baby and currently in the 3rd trimester. A follow-up four week course will be offered for class participants later in the Postpartum period. Couples are encouraged to join in this class full of fun activities.
Registration is free, but limited, and can be made here. Door prizes are given weekly.
For more information call Laura or Marge at 812.421.8336 or Terry at 812.485.6016.
Brought to you by Women’s Fund of Vanderburgh County, St. Mary’s, Deaconess and The Women’s Hospital.
Holly’s House announces 2015 Board of Directors.
Holly’s House, a local child and adult victim advocacy center, has announced their 2015 Board of Directors. Elected Officers are: President, Kathy Boyd, Boyd Electric; 1st Vice President, Tim Huelsing, South Central Media; 2nd Vice President, Jonathan Boyd, Fifth Third Bank; Treasurer, Micah Prellwitz, Harding, Shymanski & Company; Secretary, Sacha Armstrong, Kiplinger & Gray; Past President, Jackie Russell, Old National Wealth Management. Board members are: Liz Adams, Combinatorics Consulting; Sarah Dauer, Shoe Carnival; Sarah Flamion, Exact Target; Amanda Gonterman, Vectren Corporation; Elissa Hewins, Federal Social Security Office; Mary MacCauley, Berkshire Hathaway Realty; William J. Millikan, M.D., St. Mary’s Medical Group; Elizabeth (Missy) O’Daniel, Community Advocate; Katie Perkins, Edward Jones; Chris Pugh, Evansville Police Department; Greg Schulten, Express Employment Professionals; Sam Tanoos, Allstate Insurance Company; Mike Wingo, Toyota Motor Manufacturing of Indiana. Holly’s House President Emeritus and Co-Founders are Detective Brian Turpin, Sexual Violence Unit, Evansville Police Department, and Holly Dunn Pendleton, Motivational Speaker/Advocate and spokesperson for the organization.
Governor Pence Takes Steps to Ensure Shortened ISTEP Test
Indianapolis – Today, Governor Mike Pence signed Executive Order 15-04 to shorten the length of the 2015 ISTEP test, which will be administered in March.
“Doubling the length of the 2015 ISTEP test is unacceptable and requires an immediate solution,†said Governor Pence. “As soon as I learned of this issue, I vowed to support efforts to shorten the test while preserving the accountability that Hoosier students and families deserve.â€
The Executive Order, crafted in full consultation with legislative leaders, calls for a nationally recognized assessment expert to review the ISTEP test. It also directs the consultant to present the recommendations before the State Board of Education.
Without the action of Executive Order 15-04, Indiana schools are expected to experience a significant increase in testing time this March, largely because a pilot test, as recommended, was not administered by the Indiana Department of Education in either May or September of 2014. When asked in September if combining the required pilot test with the ISTEP test would add time and questions, the Department stated it would “add a few questions.†Below is a table depicting the length of time expected for the 2015 ISTEP test.
| Grade | 2014 Online/Paper Operational Total Time | 2015 Online/Paper Operational Total Time | Change in Total Time from 2014 to 2015 |
| 3 | 5 hours, 9 minutes | 12 hours, 30 minutes | 7 hours, 21 minutes |
| 4 | 5 hours, 9 minutes | 11 hours, 55 minutes | 6 hours, 46 minutes |
| 5 | 5 hours, 9 minutes | 11 hours, 32 minutes | 6 hours, 23 minutes |
| 6 | 5 hours, 9 minutes | 11 hours, 40 minutes | 6 hours, 31 minutes |
| 7 | 5 hours, 9 minutes | 11 hours, 47 minutes | 6 hours, 38 minutes |
| 8 | 5 hours, 9 minutes | 11 hours, 15 minutes | 6 hours, 6 minutes |
The Governor also reiterated his support for school accountability today.
“We grade students every day in Indiana. We should be willing to grade schools once every year,†said the Governor. “Our administration is committed to maintaining accountability within our schools and ensuring the best possible education for each and every Hoosier child.â€
COA: Ex-husband entitled to legal fees for former wife’s contempt
Dave Stafford for www.theindianalawyer.com
The ex-husband in an acrimonious domestic relations case is entitled to $9,000 in legal fees a trial court awarded to him as well as judgments in his favor on parenting time and child support, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Monday.
Both the former spouses had been sanctioned for contempt in In Re: The Marriage of: Meleeka Clary-Ghosh v. Michael Ghosh, 29A04-1406-DR-275, but the largest was against former wife Meleeka Clary-Ghosh for failing to pay school fees for their daughter and her ex-husband’s resulting legal fees.
“The fact that the multiple contempt petitions were addressed at a single hearing and in a single order does not preclude the trial court from awarding Michael attorney fees. The trial court clearly took into account Michael’s conduct when it crafted its attorney fee award and in fact, ordered him to pay a portion of Meleeka’s attorney fees. We cannot conclude the trial court abused its discretion when it ordered Meleeka to pay a portion of Michael’s attorney fees,” Judge Michael Barnes wrote for the panel.
The appeals panel also affirmed the trial court’s modification of parenting time and child support and the denial of Clary-Ghosh’s request for appointment of a parenting time coordinator.
Barnes wrote that although Clary-Ghosh pointed out evidence showing that she and Ghosh did not get along, this fact alone is insufficient to establish that the trial court abused its discretion in denying her request for the appointment of a parenting time coordinator. “It was well within the trial court’s discretion to directly address the issues raised by the parties in an effort to reduce future litigation instead of appointing a parenting time coordinator. Meleeka has not established reversible error on this ground.â€
IS IT TRUE February 10, 2015
IS IT TRUE the City of Evansville is seeking input from the public on how best to devise a plan to make the roads more friendly for pedestrians and bicycles?…it is encouraging to see the City at least showing some semblance of respect for planning but we have been down this town hall meeting path before without decent results so forgive us if we look upon this with jaded perspective?…from a pedestrian perspective, it all starts with sidewalks and much of the City of Evansville is plagued by sidewalks that are so bad that one can’t walk a single block without encountering missing pieces or discontinuities that are massive enough to cause even the most attentive pedestrian to trip?…the sidewalks have been the subject of a federal consent decree for over 10 years now and not a darn thing has been done about them?…the reality is that Evansville’s sidewalks are in terrible condition and have been for years so any plan that does not address sidewalks is not a plan at all, and any elected official that needs a neighborhood association to tell theme the sidewalks are in bad shape is out of touch with reality?
IS IT TRUE being bicycle friendly is a little bit more difficult to understand in a place that is designed for the automobile with some roads dating back to the horse and buggy days?…one thing that the powers that be need to understand about being bicycle friendly is that a thin stripe of paint added to the side of a road that is too narrow to begin with does not make a safe bike lane?…in the world of bicycle friendliness, size matters?…any designated bike lane that is not at least 4 feet wide excluding the storm drain is not a safe bike lane?…the other and more difficult issue is teaching the driving public how to be aware of bicycles that share the blacktop with them?…the safest bike lanes are ones that do not share blacktop with motorized vehicles and that is much more like a second sidewalk than the paint built bike lanes?…the path that may someday circle the City of Evansville is a good idea for biking and pedestrians and does indeed constitute a good start?…it must be pointed out that this good start has taken more than 15 years to become half reality which doesn’t really reflect a commitment to being bicycle or pedestrian friendly?
IS IT TRUE there is one more thing about being pedestrian friendly that is manifested annually in downtown Evansville and that is the fact that snow and ice removal is part of being pedestrian friendly?…in the year 2015 Yukon Cornelius is still seen occasionally searching for the Bumble in downtown Evansville among the pedestrians who have been planted flat on their butts by snow and ice accumulation?…as we said earlier, being bicycle and pedestrian friendly is a great goal but it is a goal that Evansville is woefully behind on?…being pedestrian friendly also depends on reliable and safe public transportation which the METS is not delivering?
IS IT TRUE the University of Evansville basketball Aces have hit a mid-season slump that may jeopardize their quest to get to 20 wins during the regular season?…the meltdown against Bradley where the Aces squandered a 17 point lead over a less talented opponent AT HOME looked more like last year’s Aces and not the team that was victorious over the #12 Northern Iowa team?…the talent is here for 20 or even 25 wins and a post season appearance this year?…it remains to be seen if that talent will manifest itself into a successful season even though it did start out with a bang?…we encourage our readers to get out to the Ford Center and join the 3,000 die hard fans that seem to attend every game to cheer the Aces to some more wins?
IS IT TRUE McDonald’s announced yesterday that their sales for the fourth quarter of 2014 were off by a full 1.8% from the 2013 performance?…on the bright side, it is possible that Americans have decided to eat healthier and that is the source of the fall in sales at McDonald’s?…on the other side this may reflect a drop in disposable income?…we do not know which it is but we do doubt that the American public has started a health food binge?…the reality with McDonald’s is that food has not been a priority for many years now?…the soul of McDonald’s has transitioned into the process of delivering the food and the mass marketing to appeal to kids who in turn badger their parents into shopping there?
Please take time and vote in todays “Readers Poll”
Copyright 2015 City County Observer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Air Quality Forecast
Air quality forecasts for Evansville and Vanderburgh County are provided as a public service. They are best estimates of predicted pollution levels that can be used as a guide so people can modify their activities and reduce their exposure to air quality conditions that may affect their health. The forecasts are routinely made available at least a day in advance, and are posted by 10:30 AM Evansville time on Monday (for Tuesday through Thursday) and Thursday (for Friday through Monday). When atmospheric conditions are uncertain or favor pollution levels above the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, forecasts are made on a daily basis.
Ozone forecasts are available from mid-April through September 30th. Fine particulate (PM2.5) forecasts are available year round.
| Monday February 9 |
Tuesday February 10 |
Wednesday February 11 |
Thursday February 12 |
Friday February 13 |
|
| Fine Particulate (0-23Â CST avg) Air Quality Index |
good | good | moderate | good | good |
| Ozone Air Quality Index |
NA* | NA* | NA* | NA* | NA* |
| Ozone (peak 8-hr avg) (expected) |
NA* | NA* | NA* | NA* | NA* |
* Not Available and/or Conditions Uncertain.
Air Quality Action Days
Ozone Alerts are issued by the Evansville EPA when maximum ozone readings averaged over a period of eight hours are forecasted to reach 76 parts per billion (ppb), or unhealthy for sensitive groups on the USEPA Air Quality Index scale.
Particulate Alerts are issued by the Evansville EPA when PM2.5 readings averaged over the period of midnight to midnight are forecasted to reach 35 micrograms per meter cubed (µg/m3).
Forecast statistics documenting the reliability of these air quality forecasts are compiled on a monthly, seasonal (May through September for ozone), and an annual basis.  Compilations of these statistics are reported in Vanderburgh County Health Department’s Annual Report and available on request.
Current conditions of OZONE and FINE PARTICULATE MATTER are available in near real-time on the Indiana Department of Environment Management’s website.
National and regional maps of current conditions are available through USEPA AIRNow.
Vanderburgh County Recent Booking Records
SPONSORED BY DEFENSE ATTORNEY IVAN ARNAEZ.
 DON’T GO TO COURT ALONE. CALL IVAN ARNAEZ @ 812-424-6671.