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Indiana League Names State Representative Gail Riecken 2014 Outstanding Hoosier Legislator

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INDIANAPOLIS –The Indiana Credit Union League has named State Representative Gail Riecken (D-Evansville) as Outstanding Hoosier Legislator for 2014. The award is given during the League’s annual convention to honor a legislator who has gone the extra mile to support credit unions and their 2.2 million members.

Since joining the Indiana House of Representatives in 2008, Gail Riecken has proven to be a strong credit union supporter. Throughout her time in the House, Rep. Riecken has been a key member of the House Financial Institutions Committee working on a wide range of issues impacting credit unions. In 2014, Rep. Riecken took the lead in initiating and passing legislation (HB 1235) that would allow credit unions to offer prize-linked savings (PLS) programs to their members. As a strong consumer advocate, Rep. Riecken recognized the potential of PLS programs for Indiana and offered to carry the legislation necessary to help these programs expand by ensuring that they would not run afoul of state gaming and lottery laws.

“We really appreciate Rep. Riecken’s willingness to champion credit unions in the Indiana General Assembly and her tremendous efforts this year to pass prize-linked savings legislation,” said League President John McKenzie. “She always works closely with us on financial services legislation to maximize the benefit or minimize the harm for credit unions,” added VP Governmental Affairs Chris Beaumont.

Rep. Riecken accepted her award at the Indiana Credit Union Political Action Committee Luncheon with more than 150 in attendance.

Survey: Corporate counsel use buying power to control costs

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IL for www.theindianalawyer.com

Corporate chief legal officers are using their buying power to get lower fees or alternate fee arrangements from outside counsel, and they’re also keeping more work in-house, according to the 15th annual Altman Weil Chief Legal Officer Survey.

The survey found that in the last year, 36 percent of corporate legal departments reported receiving discounts of at least 10 percent from outside counsel. In the 2013 survey, just 28 percent of chief legal officers reported such savings.

“The impact of the recession on in-house law departments has been twofold,” said Altman Weil principal and survey author Daniel J. DiLucchio. “Internal department resources have been constrained in many cases, but at the same time law departments have gained more leverage over external resources. Chief legal officers are buyers in what is currently a strong buyers’ market.”

Along with targeting outside counsel pricing, CLOs also are controlling costs by managing the distribution of work to law firms. This year, 40 percent of those surveyed have shifted law firm work to in-house lawyer staff; 36 percent shifted work to lower-priced firms; and 34 percent reduced the total amount of work sent to outside counsel. Of all cost-control efforts undertaken in the last 12 months, CLOs report shifting work in-house yielded the greatest cost reduction.

“Law departments usually can do work less expensively in-house if they have the resources in place,” DiLucchio said. “And when they do it themselves, they can also inject staffing and process efficiencies that their outside counsel may not offer.”

The survey also asked what law departments have done in the last 12 months to increase efficiency in the delivery of legal services. Two-thirds indicate they have increased their departments’ use of technology. More than half have undertaken a restructuring/reorganization of internal resources, and 45 percent have made greater use of paralegals and other paraprofessionals. The in-house effort that yielded the greatest improvement in efficiency was the reorganization of internal resources.

The survey found just 4 percent of CLOs are satisfied with the traditional legal service delivery model. “Chief legal officers may have mixed opinions about the best model for the inside-outside relationship, but the fact that only 4 percent are content with the status quo is an unambiguous indicator that the old model is not sustainable,” says DiLucchio.

Forty-three percent of CLOs say they don’t really care about a law firm’s delivery model as long as they get the results they want at a competitive price. Forty-two percent of CLOs say they like to work with firms that offer innovative service delivery, although other selection factors may take precedence. An additional 9 percent of respondents actively seek out law firms that offer innovative approaches to service delivery.

The survey also indicates a mixed picture for in-house counsel staffing. Among respondents, 42.6 percent said they plan to add in-house staff in the next 12 months, slightly higher than last year. However, 11.5 percent reported plans to decrease their legal departments – more than twice the number who reported planned cuts in 2013.

IS IT TRUE November 5, 2014

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IS IT TRUE today is the first day that the 2015 City of Evansville elections are fair game for comments, speculation, and aspiring candidates to make themselves known?…one would think that in a rational world given the level of contention between the Office of the Mayor and the City Council during the three ring budget circus that 2015 should be a very interesting year in Evansville politics?…with and 8 – 1 democrat majority in the City Council and a self proclaimed republican mayor it should be time for a realignment of some kind into a coalition that is willing to work together instead of fighting like cats and dogs?…the reality of the situation is however that the City of Evansville is for the most part a yellow dog democrat bastion so after all of the wailing and gnashing of teeth we expect that the election of 2015 will return more of the same to the City Council even if a few names change?…as for the mayoral race things are shaping up as a repeat of the 2007 election that saw former democrat mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel defeat a place holder republican by an 85 – 15 majority?…this time unless the direction of the city changes dramatically in the next couple of months Mayor Lloyd Winnecke may well face a lesser democrat candidate than Nixon provided for Weinzapfel in 2007?…the real fireworks if there are going to be any could come in a republican primary if some candidate with a head for numbers and a proven track record in business comes forward to challenge our current mayor whose background in PR has been on full display for three years now?

IS IT TRUE the CCO hopes for two spirited primaries that force discussions on how to move toward an Evansville that has functional sewers, pot hole free roads, sidewalks where they should, real public safety and an appropriately sized parks department?…we also hope to see long range planning and using our existing assets like the GAGE Technology Transfer Agreement with the Federal Labs for the common good?…these are things that Mayor Winnecke has neglected to get a handle on and quite frankly these are not the kinds of problems that are solved with soundbites and PR campaigns?…the problems facing Evansville need cognizant thought and deliberate actions?…as long as people with limited thinking capacity and a need for applause continue to be elected these problems do not have a snowballs chance in a fire of being solved?…we hope that a herd of thinking people with track records of accomplishments in the real world come forward and run for local office?…there are a few now, but there are not enough such people to make the system work smart?

IS IT TRUE the parent company of Rolls-Royce in Indianapolis is planning to reduce its global work force by 2,600 over the next 18 months?…a spokesman with Rolls-Royce North America has been quoted as stating that the cuts will affect Indiana workers and are expected to take place early next year?…the company currently employs 4,500 in Indianapolis and the planned he reductions will impact administrative, operations, management and engineering positions?…we wonder if it will take any locals by surprise that the reduction in sales of Rolls Royce products will actually hit home right here in Indiana?…the increasing interconnections between economies is something that schools just don’t seem to prepare people for here in the heartland?

IS IT TRUE the World Bank reported on Oct. 9 that the share of the world population living in extreme poverty had fallen to 15% in 2011 from 36% in 1990?…the International Labor Office reported that the number of workers in the world earning less than $1.25 a day has fallen to 375 million 2013 from 811 million in 1991?…it is sort of stunning that this news seems to have escaped public notice, but it means something extraordinary?…this proves that the past 25 years have witnessed the greatest reduction in global poverty in the history of the world?…the credit for this massive in reduction in poverty goes to the spread of capitalism, and in particular to the adoption of capitalism in India and China which had long been impoverished and under the thumb of centralized planning and dictatorships?…we hope our new congress and President Obama take note of the goose that lays the golden eggs of poverty mitigation and starts to turn the pendulum of the United States back toward capitalism from our recent drift toward socialism?

Letter to the Editor:  In Support of Tony Goben for District 76

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Today November 4th,  2014 marks the day for an opportunity to redirect the focus on the needs and wants of District 76.  It has become evident during her four-year tenure that Wendy McNamara has essentially lost sight of the big picture.  She neglected the focus from when she originally took office.

How can a person who represents any group of people possibly rationalize taking a non-vote on equal rights?  The way she played politics with the subject of the same-sex marriage initiative registered as disingenuous.  McNamara has changed the platform of debate ultimately killing the bill.  In fact, it took the work and efforts of someone else, the Honorable Judge Richard Young, to save it.

To be effective in this position, one must be available.  It is a daunting task to be an executive for the EVSC and then represent District 76 while being gone often on trips, meetings and other out-of-town events. She is getting rewarded handsomely to the tune of about $140,000 per year for two part-time jobs!  If her job is so vital to the EVSC, how can they not have her around for 4 months out of the year??? Certainly, there is a conflict of interest here.  The expectations to serve as the Representative of District 76 are not being met when this is the dynamic.

Working in education, how can someone remain silent on the Governor’s decision that would have allotted for $80 million for low income students in the state?  McNamara basically said she was fine with denying a better future for nearly 6,000 students.  A decision bearing that much importance and with that much at stake, yet she kept silent?!  Remember that empty house reference I spoke of early?!

There’s a saying that you can judge a person [or perhaps render a verdict] in regards to the company they keep and as well by the ones who oppose them.  Tony Goben is running for State Representative of District 76.  He is endorsed by the Indiana State Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), the Indiana State AFL-CIO, United Auto Workers and United Mine Workers, Laborer’s International, and the Carpenter’s Union, in addition to the Indiana Teachers’ Association and the American Federation of Teachers.

RED FLAG! … Someone who is employed by EVSC and has the education background is NOT endorsed by their own trade organizations and groups?!  It is no surprise that Goben is endorsed by such strong, plentiful organizations.  He is a man of caring, reason and honesty.

Between the public perception of McNamara being more of a representative as an overbearing, condescending, pretentious individual and the lack of action and poor execution of taking up for the needs and wants of District 76, let’s put someone else in office.

Goben is a home-town, home-grown gentleman who will serve District 76.   So come Tuesday, November 4th, 2014, are you going to make a choice to make a change with the needs and wants of District 76 in mind? Or are we going to accept a sub-par selection like McNamara?  Take a Stand for positive change and vote for Tony Goben!

Thomas Sieg

Newburgh

POSTED BY CCO WITHOUT BIAS,  OPINON OR EDITING

LETTER TO THE EDITOR CONCERNING ALLEGED MISINFORMATION CONCERNING EVSC 2014 SALARIES

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I am writing in order to clarify the controversy surrounding the published 2014 salaries of EVSC administrators by CCO yesterday.  I decided to follow up on the information that I read in City-County Observer after Marsha Jackson, Communication Director, implied that the figures posted in the CCO were erroneous, and that the Publisher of the CCO was aware of it. I called the EVSC  switchboard and was referred to Paul Neidig, who works out EVSC the Chief of Staff’s office. Mr. Neidig told me that the figures in the link are for the 2014-2015 school year.  He said that there had been some miscommunication about that with the person who picked the information up from his office, but they had contacted that individual and given the correct information. I also questioned Mr. Neidig about the 2011 employment contract for the Superintendent of EVSC that is published in CCO and was assured that it is the current, in-force employment contract that Dr. Smith is presently working under.

I then called the Publisher of CCO, and relayed to him what Mr. Neidig had told me. The CCO publisher told me that he had no conversation with MR. Neidig or anyone else at EVSC concerning the 2014 salary figures being wrong, as they had been furnished to him by a highly reliable source whose identity he will not divulge. He went on to tell me that he had not been given any information about any miscommunication about the time period those salary figures covered, and that he deeply resented EVSC Communications Director Marsha Jackson’s implications that he had purposely misled his readers.  He also shared with me that he has received several complaints that a high ranking EVSC employee told a couple EVSC athletic coaches to make some popular athletes wear “Kiefer For School Board” shirts during todays school session.  He went on to say if this was true he going to file a formal complaint with the State Election Commission concerning this issue.

I can’t understand Mr. Neidig’s stance on  the dates for the Superintendent’s employment contract, because it appears to be unchanged since 2011.  The contract renewal date is June 30, 2014.  One thing that I do know for sure is that exchanging personal barbs on CCO is not proper professional conduct for the very well paid EVSC COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR Marsha Jackson while she is “on the taxpayer’s clock.”  She has politicized her position by spinning propaganda to make her “big boss” look good to the public.

I have also been told by more than one person about EVSC Attorney Mr. Pat Shoulders calling them on behalf of Chris Kiefer. It isn’t very professional of him to be campaigning for any one member of the board, as he works for the entire school board. It appears to me that there is an “insider culture” that exists between the board and top administrators at EVSC,  which aims at maintaining the status quo in the $300 million plus taxpayer-supported corporation.  That is never a good thing for the taxpayers or the public interest.

I hope I have shed some light on the controversy surrounding the information concerning EVSC’s back room political wheeling and dealing and the fuss about the 2014 administrative payroll.  Whatever your take on the situation is, I hope you will see fit to vote your conscience today, if you have not already voted.

Respectfully,
Laura K. Blackburn

POSTED BY CCO WITHOUT BIAS,  OPINON OR EDITING

Vanderburgh County Recent Booking Report

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

http://www.vanderburghsheriff.com/recent-booking-records.aspx

EPD Activity Report November 4, 2014

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

EPD Activity Report

Impaired Driver Disregards Stoplight and Injures Evansville Woman 

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SPONSORED BY DEFENSE ATTORNEY IVAN ARNAEZ.
DON’T GO TO COURT ALONE. CALL IVAN ARNAEZ @ 812-424-6671.
This afternoon at approximately 1:15, a suspected impaired driver disregarded a traffic signal at US 41 at Baseline Road and injured an Evansville woman. user29376-1415060139-media1_5378aa_240_180_PrsMe_

Preliminary investigation revealed Reinaldo D. Castro, 34, of Tampa, FL, was driving a 2015 Nissan Altima northbound US 41 when he disregarded a red traffic signal and collided into a 2008 Nissan that was traveling westbound on Baseline Road. The driver, Sandi Hillenbrand, 62, of Evansville, was taken to Deaconess Hospital where she is currently being treated for non-life threatening injuries. Further investigation revealed Castro was impaired. He was taken to the Vanderburgh County Jail where he refused to submit to a chemical test. Castrol was arrested and is currently being held without bond.

Arrested and Charges:
• Reinaldo D. Castro, 34, Tampa, FL
1. Driving While Intoxicated Causing Serious Bodily Injury, Level 6 Felony
2. Driving While Intoxicated – Refusal
3. Disregarded Traffic Control Device

Investigating Officer: Master Trooper Randy Huddleston, Indiana State Police

DCS Supervisor’s Testimony did not sway case against ather

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Marilyn Odendahl for www.theindianalawyer.com

Allowing a child services supervisor’s hearsay testimony about a father’s fitness to retain his parental rights was, at most, a harmless error, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.

Allen County Department of Child Services Supervisor Heather Rouns testified at the trial to terminate H.B.’s parental rights to his son, D.B.M. She told the court the father had stopped communicating with her office and had not given the agency a valid address.

H.B.’s attorney objected, arguing the supervisor’s testimony was hearsay.

The agency’s counsel countered that Department of Child Services employees routinely rely on hearsay when monitoring parents. It is an acceptable hearsay because it is part of their job.

After the Allen Superior Court terminated H.B.’s parental rights, he appealed, again raising the issue that the supervisor’s testimony was inadmissible hearsay.

The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s ruling in In the Matter of the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of D.B.M. (minor child) and H.B. v. Indiana Department of Child Services, 02A03-1405-JT-171.

The unanimous panel noted the supervisor’s testimony supported the other evidence presented. She reiterated the testimony of the case worker and the guardian ad litem that the father had not spent any time with D.B.M and that D.B.M. was thriving in his foster-care placement.

Even if the supervisor should not have been allowed to testify, her testimony was cumulative of the other evidence, making any error a harmless one.

The court noted it could not examine whether exceptions for public or business records applied because an evidentiary foundation was not laid on the issue.

Thank You from Tom Spangler

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To everyone who has supported, contributed to, or volunteered for my campaign: thank you. It has been an exciting journey, one that I never imagined myself taking. People often ask me what it’s like on the campaign trail, what an average day looks like. The truth? There is no average day. Things are constantly changing and every experience is a new one.

I would also like to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers for my wife, Penny, over the last few weeks. She is doing much better and has once again been working hard for me along the way.

Please do not forget to vote tomorrow, and remember that you have an opportunity to change Congress. You can send a message to Washington, D.C. that big money does not buy your vote.

Sincerely,

Tom Spangler

Posted by the CCO without opinion, editing or bias

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