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Friedlander to retire in August

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Dave Stafford for www.theindianalawyer.com

Indiana Court of Appeals Judge Ezra Friedlander will retire in August, the court announced Monday, about a year-and-a-half before he would have faced mandatory retirement.

A statement from the court says Friedlander submitted his resignation to Gov. Mike Pence, effective Aug. 31. In his letter to the governor, Friedlander wrote, “It is my hope that I have been of valuable service to the citizens of the State of Indiana. I personally value having been able to be of service to the citizens of our State.”

Friedlander will turn 75 – the mandatory retirement age for Indiana appellate judges – in December 2016. His retirement will come in his 50th year in the practice of law, a career that has included more than 22 years on the appellate bench. Friedlander has indicated that he plans to seek senior judge status.

“I thought 50 years was a good time,” Friedlander said. “When you’ve done something for 50 years, it’s a good milestone.”

Friedlander was appointed by Gov. Evan Bayh and joined the Court of Appeals in January 1993. He was retained by election in 1996 and 2006. He has written 3,000 majority opinions and voted on more than 6,000 other cases. He said his career highlights include the opportunity to work with the court’s outstanding members past and present, and with the Indiana Supreme Court. He is especially proud of having started the Conference for Legal Education Opportunity summer internship program, or CLEO.

Friedlander said he is submitting his resignation now to give the governor and the Indiana Judicial Nominating Commission adequate time to appoint his replacement. The merit selection process to fill the judicial position will include an application and interview. The final selection is made by the governor. The Judicial Nominating Commission will release details about the process on March 2.

Court of Appeals Chief Judge Nancy H. Vaidik said, “Judge Friedlander will be greatly missed for many reasons including his solid and sensible judicial opinions, his consummate collegiality, and his dedication to bringing diversity to the legal profession.”

Before his appointment, Friedlander’s private legal practice included significant trial and transactional work, mainly representing small businesses. He also served as a deputy prosecutor in Lake County and Marion County and was corporation counsel for the Indiana secretary of state, in which capacity he drafted Indiana’s then-new Not-For-Profit Corporation Act.

Friedlander’s many legal and community activities include service on the Indiana State Bar Association Board of Governors and as chairman of its Young Lawyers Section; the Indiana Bar Foundation; the Indiana University Foundation board of directors and Dean’s Advisory Board of the College of Arts and Sciences. He and his wife, Linda, are current members of IU’s Herron School of Art advisory board. He has two children and four grandchildren.

The Court of Appeals is Indiana’s second highest court. The 15-member court is asked to consider about 4,000 cases per year and decides about 2,000 by majority opinion each year. Members are appointed from geographic districts, but its three-judge panels do not sit by district. Friedlander represents the court’s second district, which comprises 19 central Indiana counties.

Governor Pence Signs Legislation to Shorten ISTEP Test

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Indianapolis – Governor Mike Pence issued the following statement after he signed into law SEA 62, the bill which allows the Indiana Department of Education to shorten this year’s ISTEP test, which would have been more than 12 hours for third graders. The bill passed unanimously in both houses.

“Hoosier students, teachers and parents can breathe easier now that this year’s ISTEP test will be significantly shortened. I commend the Indiana General Assembly for their unanimous support of this measure, and applaud the efforts of House Speaker Brian Bosma and Senate President Pro Tempore David Long in moving this legislation in time to impact this year’s ISTEP test. I also am grateful for the collaboration between our administration, the Superintendent and the Department of Education to achieve this reform. Our success in shortening the ISTEP test should reassure Hoosiers that we can accomplish much for our kids, teachers, and schools when we work together.”

A photo of the Governor signing SEA 62 can be found attached to this release.

 

 

 

AG Zoeller urges FCC to uphold telephone privacy;  block trade group efforts to add loopholes to robocall ban

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INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller today met with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), urging the agency to block efforts by industry groups to weaken federal telephone privacy laws.

The American Bankers Association (ABA) and the Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) recently proposed changes to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) that would create exceptions to the ban on robocalls to consumers’ cell phones, likely resulting in more unwanted calls.

Zoeller and Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, along with the attorneys general of Illinois, New York, Tennessee and Utah, voiced their opposition to these changes in a formal letter sent to the FCC last week.

“Allowing industry groups to chip away at our country’s telephone privacy laws is bad for consumers,” Zoeller said. “It’s the state attorneys general who hear endless complaints from their citizens about unwanted calls and who are responsible for prosecuting bad actors. These lobbying attempts will give violators more legal loopholes to avoid penalty for invading peoples’ privacy.”

The TCPA is one of two federal laws aimed at reducing the number of unwanted telemarketing calls to consumers’ phone lines. Pursuant to the TCPA, automated calls or “robocalls” and text messages to consumers’ cellphones are unlawful unless the consumer has given “prior express consent.”

The ABA’s petition asks for exceptions to the “prior express consent” rule, allowing them to robocall people in certain situations, and the CBA’s petition aims to add legal protection to callers who claim they robocalled the wrong person.

Zoeller said these proposed rule changes would only make it easier for telemarketers to violate consumers’ telephone privacy rights.

He said telephone privacy violators often say they called the wrong number in attempt to avoid penalties. One of the largest volumes of complaints the Attorney General’s Office receives, for example, is about debt collectors who have the wrong number. Zoeller proposed legislation this year that aims to improve transparency in the debt-collection process and curb the amount of illegitimate and harassing calls made to consumers.

Allowing trade groups to make piece-meal changes and exceptions to the robocall ban, Zoeller said, would reverse the progress that has been made in recent years to reduce unwanted and harassing calls, which remains a top priority for many Hoosiers. The Indiana Attorney General’s Telephone Privacy Division received nearly 13,500 complaints in 2014 about unwanted calls, more than half of which were about robocalls.

Zoeller reminded Hoosiers to sign up for Indiana’s Do Not Call list, which helps to deter unwanted and fraudulent calls and text messages, by visiting www.IndianaConsumer.com or calling 1.888.834.9969. Consumers who are registered on the Do Not Call list and receive an unwanted call can file a complaint by visiting www.IndianaConsumer.com.

A copy of Zoeller’s letter to the FCC is attached.

IS IT TRUE February 24, 2015

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IS IT TRUE the first and foremost thoughts today at the City County Observer are with our owner and publisher Ron Cosby who is going to undergo surgery at 10:30 am in an effort to correct a very painful and threatening condition?…we would appreciate your good thoughts and prayers for a successful procedure?

IS IT TRUE quite frankly it would be a good tribute to Mr. Cosby, if every homeowner in Vanderburgh County would think fondly of him every time that property taxes are paid, as it was Ron Cosby in the early stages of the CCO who sprung the story of how former Mayor Weinzapfel, current Mayor Winnecke, and a host of other elected officials colluded behind closed doors to take away our Homestead Tax Credit?…as is typical with news that shines unfavorably on the fair haired tools of the machine, the mainstream local media waited until the CCO had broken the story to even bother to report it?…the same pattern is true for many of the SNEGAL stunts exposed first by the CCO over the last several years?

IS IT TRUE the State of Indiana has a slight uproar going on over it’s contemplation to eliminate the “common construction” wage laws that have dictated the wages of construction workers who are fortunate enough to be placed on public construction projects?…the reality of the impact of such a law is not likely as bad as it’s opponents are saying?…the federal government of the United States pioneered such laws in the early years of the Great Depression (1930’s) with a law known as the Davis-Bacon Act?…the Davis-Bacon Act is what sets the “prevailing” wage for construction projects that have federal money associated with them?…the State of Indiana is still subject to Davis-Bacon laws and all of the major cities in Indiana get federal money as part of their general fund, which will assure that prevailing wages are required for any public projects in those entitlement cities?…the law Indiana is contemplating may allow a small town to build a pole barn with local labor at a true market wage which is typically lower than the federal prevailing wage, but it will have no impact on projects like the Ford Center, Lucas Oil Stadium, or even the IU Medical School?…those kinds of projects in entitlement cities will still be required to pay federal prevailing wages which are often more than double what the market rate is for these skills?

IS IT TRUE the McCurdy Hotel once again on the tips of all of the political tongues with yet another promise to start construction in a couple of months?…this time the stumbling block is that the City of Evansville has a lien on the building for the $800,000 that the Weinzapfel Administration squandered on one of his campaign donors in Indianapolis who failed to deliver?…this lien is supposedly a stumbling block to signing a financing deal?…people who are closing deals on houses have to satisfy simultaneous release conditions on a regular basis and this deal should be no different?…if the Kunkel Group can really show loan approval for a set of plans that is sufficient to refurbish the McCurdy Hotel into luxury apartments and make it part of the closing documents, that should be sufficient?…this does not mean that the City of Evansville should release the lien on another promise?…the City is of course saying they need to keep the lien so they will not lose the $800,000?…that claim is absolute nonsense as the $800,000 and the $603,000 for the parking lot are ALREADY LOST?…the only variable is when the City has a moment of lucidity and admits that the Weinzapfel Administration squandered $1.403 Million taxpayer dollars on one of his campaign contributors who failed the people of Evansville?

IS IT TRUE the City of Evansville and it’s City Council scoffed at the financing mechanism called EB5 back in 2011 when there were several bids to build a new hotel in the works proposing to attract EB5 investors from China or India?…in their xenophobic zeal to avoid seeing wealthy foreigners come to Evansville with money to fund projects and hire people, our leaders started the chain of failures that has lead to an empty lot?…in the event that the McCurdy were turned back into a historic luxury hotel, EB5 funds could well have made that happen too?…this financing mechanism has been used to fund well over $200 Million of projects in the Greater Palm Springs area in the last 3 years and could well have done the same in Evansville?…it has brought many wealthy educated new citizens and their money with them?…we wonder if the members of the City Council and the former Mayor who rejected EB5 as a viable funding source think it has been worth it to sooth their xenophobic fears with an empty lot and a rotting old hotel?

IS IT TRUE the CCO is in possession of the Welborn Health Study that is a follow up to the one from 2008 that basically showed that the population of greater Evansville is too fat, smokes too much, abuses drugs and alcohol, and suffers from poor mental health?…this new study concludes that in spite of the 2008 call to action by Welborn, the tar and feathers of being called the most obese city in America, and a perennial bottom dweller on the Miserable Index, NOTHING HAS CHANGED?…that study and further examples of how Ron Cosby and the CCO have tried to effect positive change shall be the subject of more IIT paragraphs in the coming week?

EPD Activity Report

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 DON’T GO TO COURT ALONE. CALL IVAN ARNAEZ @ 812-424-6671.

Vanderburgh County Recent Booking Records

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SPONSORED BY DEFENSE ATTORNEY IVAN ARNAEZ.
 DON’T GO TO COURT ALONE. CALL IVAN ARNAEZ @ 812-424-6671.

MISINTERPRETING BRIAN WILLIAMS’ MISREMEMBER

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Eric Allie / Cagle Cartoons

Independent’s Eye by Joe Gandelman

So NBC’s Brian Williams is off his anchor desk for six months — wanna bet it’ll be a LOT longer than that? — and has gone from being a respected anchor to a godsend to comedy writers, internet ridicule, and Jerry Seinfeld punch lines.

Up until this month, Williams seemed to be a 21st century anchorman descendent of David Brinkley and Walter Cronkite. His anchor stint and credibility were cut short when he admitted he “misremembered” being shot down in a helicopter in Iraq in 2003. NBC put him on unpaid leave, amid reports that there may be more instances of (ahem) memory flaw.

Williams wasn’t merely the brand name for NBC News. His narrative was what the network was aggressively selling.

He was someone who had “been there.” A recent NBC ad in The Week showed a front shot of Williams smiling with his hand on the shoulders of a serviceman and declared: “Some battle scars are worn on the inside. And for anyone who’s been there, there’s a secret. It doesn’t harden you, it makes you more human. He’s been there. He’ll be there. NBC Nightly News: 10-Years with Brian Williams.”

The Internet is now exploding fake photos of Williams “there.” Williams in the death car with JFK in Dallas…. on the moon…at Yalta with World War II allied leaders…with Lincoln and his generals. Soon we’ll likely see Williams “there” with Clark Gable on the set of Gone with the Wind after the shoot — or with John Wilkes Booth after the shoot. You Tube has a Hitler “Downfall” parody with the murderous Nazi raging upon learning that Williams is gone.

Many analysts blame William’s progressively transforming himself from the NBC Peacock into Pinocchio on his slipping into the entertainer mode, appearing on talk shows, and even lobbying to replace Jay Leno. But that doesn’t explain it.

New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd said NBC knew Williams was a “ticking” time bomb with his “pathological..Hemingwayesque” embellishments but no one pulled him in. On his blog, NYU Journalism Professor Jay Rosen notes that signs suggest NBC was complicit as far back as 2003 in knowing Williams’ account wasn’t entirely accurate.

The r-e-a-l reason Williams became what he has become is that he’s the latest example of someone whose career advanced because of solid journalistic or pundit qualities, which were changed by his weakness and our 21st century media culture.

To advance and market his brand (his personality) he jettisoned the some qualities that allowed him to advance to that level. He won fame and fortune but left other virtues behind. We’ve seen this before.

Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly was a solid, award-winning local journalist who advanced to ABC News. When he left ABC for the syndicated Inside Edition show biz news show he slowly began shedding his former persona, which you can see it in his infamous “WE’LL DO IT LIVE!!” off-the-air-rant on You Tube. Today, he’s Fox News’ biggest bombastic money maker and the solid journalist of old only shines through in some serious interviews.

Chris Matthews was once a superb print political columnist. Once he got on MSNBC he turned into the interrupting, cartoonish caricature who shamelessly nags and hypes viewers to buy his latest book. Also on MSNBC: one-time listenable liberal talker Rachael Maddow is often unwatchable, opening her show with a looooooong lead (you scream “Get to the point!!!”) and repeating concepts several times — while formerly serious liberal writer Chris Hayes now smugly states beliefs rather than attempts to seriously make a case.

Once Williams and others break into the top ranks, our media culture becomes like a massive Cuisinart. And many don’t have strong enough ingredients called “principles” and “professional standards” not to lose their original, more serious qualities.

You might be tempted to paraphrase Shakespeare and say, “The fault, dear Brian, is not in our stars but in ourselves.” But I’d amend that to add: “…and in being absorbed, re-shaped, changed, and homogenized by our media/entertainment culture.”

The real lesson here is in another quote from The Bard: “To thine self be true.”

MARK MARCHINO PROMOTED TO EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ST. MARY’S WARRICK HOSPITAL

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St. Mary’s Health is pleased to announce that Mark Marchino, PT, DPT, MHS, OCS,has been promoted to Executive Director at St. Mary’s Warrick Hospital.  He will be responsible for all Inpatient and Outpatient Operations.

Marchino started with St. Mary’s in 2010 as the Director of Physical Medicine, Diabetes & Wound Care Services. He most recently had responsibility for Physical Medicine, Urgent Care, Occupational Medicine Clinic, Occupational Medicine & Urgent Care Billing, Healthy Lives, St. Mary’s Return to Work, and Associate Health Services.

Prior to joining the St. Mary’s family, Marchino was the Director of Rehabilitation Services at Gibson General Hospital in Princeton, Indiana. He graduated from the University of Evansville with a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Physical Therapy and went on to earn an Advanced Master of Health Science degree from the University of Indianapolis.  Marchino has been a Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist since 1995.  He received his Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree from the University of Montana in 2010.

Catch the Latest Edition of “The Indiana State Police Road Show”

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SPONSORED BY DEFENSE ATTORNEY IVAN ARNAEZ.
DON’T GO TO COURT ALONE. CALL IVAN ARNAEZ @ 812-424-6671.

Indiana – Catch the latest edition of the “Indiana State Police Road Show” radio program every Monday morning at your convenience.

This week’s show features Captain Dave Bursten, of the Indiana State Police Public Information Office. Bursten discusses the recent cyber attacks that have been in the news and gives tips on preventing identity theft.

Download the program from the Network Indiana public websites at www.networkindiana.com. Look for the state police logo on the main page and follow the download instructions. The ISP Road Show can also be viewed via YouTube.

Go to https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu5Bg1KjBd7H1GxgkuV3YJA or visit the Indiana State Police website at http://www.in.gov/isp/ and click on the YouTube link. This 15 minute talk show concentrates on public safety and informational topics with state wide interest.

The radio program was titled “Signal-10” in the early sixties when it was first started by two troopers in northern Indiana. The name was later changed to the “Indiana State Police Road Show” and is the longest continuously aired state police public service program in Indiana.

Radio stations across Indiana and the nation are invited to download and air for FREE this public service program sponsored by the Indiana State Police Alliance and Cops for Kids, a subsidiary of the Indiana State Police Alliance.

Answers for the puzzle

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