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IS IT TRUE December 5, 2014

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IS IT TRUE that the Evansville Redevelopment Commission voted 5-0 in favor of the North Main bike lanes and parking space project just as they were told to by the people who appointed them?…the project in spite of all of the pretty renderings is not yet funded?…funding will be a decision that is left to the Evansville City Council?…the Council is expected to vote on a $13 Million bond issue (yes, more borrowed money for prettiness) in the Spring of 2015?… Any payments will of course have to come from the Jacobsville TIF District which spreads all incremental taxes to the homeowners in the area?…of all of the elected officials who have opined on this project, only 3rd Ward Councilwoman Stephanie Brinkerhoff Riley has question the collective wisdom of the group thinkers who are determined to spend Evansville into bankruptcy before the sewers can be fixed?…2015 looks to be a big year for borrowing in Evansville with this $13 Million, the $57 Million for the IU Medical School, and $20 Million for the long suffering hotel project the budgeted borrowing for next year adds up to $90 Million?…what an election year it is going to be for those suckling at the local government teat?

IS IT TRUE this spending binge on things that are not needed will basically put the City of Evansville’s borrowing at its credit limit for things that do not fund themselves through rate increases?…that means that every dime of the repairs to the decrepit combined sewer system will be borne by the ratepayers?…the tab for this is still in dispute but it is now expected that the EPA will approve a plan that will cost nearly a BILLION DOLLARS by the time our leaders get off their butts and do this work?…everyday people will be dealing with water bills in the range of $300 when this is all completed?…what will be excessive water bills a house in Evansville may have no value at all by the time this is done?…it did not have to be this way?…what would have avoided this yoke, would have been a well executed maintenance and replacement plan over the last 60 years?…the same goes for our crumbling sidewalks (also under consent decree) and our teeth jarring roads?…in spite of these infrastructure shortcomings there are those who think that the Old National Event Plaza, the Ford Center and convention business is going to save our bacon?…it must be nice to live one’s life riding unicorns and eating cotton candy while oblivious to the reality of day to day life?

IS IT TRUE it would be encouraging to get a sworn and notified press release from the Mayor detailing the ways that our shiny new hotel and the new medical school will not be built over or hooked up to the 90 year old decrepit sewer system?…spending this kind of money to hook into a sewer that is under a consent decree would constitute the height of ignorance?…alas, we must say that stranger things have happened in River City before, so we were compelled to ask the question?…we ask explicitly, “Mayor Winnecke, are these structures being built over and/or hooked up to sewers that will have to be replaced in the near future?”

IS IT TRUE that the lights literally went out in Detroit on Tuesday?…the reason given was that the utility in charge has not done maintenance and upgrading of its grid infrastructure in many “decades”?…this pattern of failure should sound familiar to people in Evansville when it comes to the Evansville Water and Sewer Department?…the problems in Detroit and Evansville mirror one another and are failures by local governance to pay attention to what is real?…we have long stated that Evansville is heading down the same path as Detroit and that assertion seems to be validated every month or so by some other disclosure of failures of infrastructure?…we should all be glad that the City of Evansville is not in charge of gas and electric or our lights would be going out too?

IS IT TRUE the Joseph Goebbels’ doctrine that “people will believe any lie if it’s repeated often enough and loud enough”, is the basis for why some people are buying into the narrative that stadiums and conventions will save the City if Evansville from economic failure?…Our elected leaders are repeating it often enough and loud enough and it continues to pay off for them personally and politically?…People who are out to forward their political careers say and do things that have no relationship whatever to reality or to anybody else’s interests but their own, and Evansville is just another American city where this is proved daily?…we wish our readers all a happy weekend and encourage you all to vigilantly question authority and keep on thinking for yourselves?

Copyright 2014 City County Observer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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 December 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

REP. RIECKEN NAMED TO LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEES

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INDIANAPOLIS–State Rep. Gail Riecken (D-Evansville) has been appointed to House committees for the 2015 and 2016 sessions of the Indiana General Assembly.
STATE REP. GAIL RIECKEN, 77th District, will be the ranking Democratic member on the Government & Regulatory Reform Committee. She also will serve on the Ways & Means and the Financial Institutions committees in addition to the Statutory Committee on Ethics.

Jackson Kelly Named Among Top Law Firms for Client Service

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BTI Consulting Group has recognized Jackson Kelly PLLC for demonstrating superior client service for the fourth time by naming the Firm to the BTI Client Service A-Team 2015.

The BTI Client Service A-Team is limited solely to law firms considered by clients to deliver the absolute best levels of client service and is the only law firm ranking based solely on direct, unprompted feedback from corporate counsel. In-depth interviews with more than 300 corporate counsel reveal Jackson Kelly delivers better client service than over half of the law firms serving the world’s largest clients. The full results of this study are now available in BTI Consulting Group’s 14th annual report, The BTI Client Service A-Team 2015: The Survey of Law Firm Client Service Performance.

Client Focus, Industry Insight, National Reputation. Jackson Kelly PLLC is a national law firm with more than 200 attorneys located in twelve offices throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Colorado and the District of Columbia. With a focus on companies working in and around the energy industry, the Firm works with its clients to help resolve their operating challenges by teaming to develop and implement strategies that minimize risks, quickly and effectively. Focusing on clients’ industry-specific needs, the Firm serves a wide variety of corporate and public clients and enjoys a national reputation in business, labor and employment, litigation, government contracts, tax, safety and health, permitting, natural resource and environmental law. The Firm’s clients and peers recognize its commitment to providing superior client service as Jackson Kelly has repeatedly been selected as a Go-To Law Firm for the Top 500 Companies in the U.S. and is regularly named to BTI’s Client Service A-Team.

VANDERBURGH COUNTY FELONY CHARGES

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SPONSORED BY DEFENSE ATTORNEY IVAN ARNAEZ.
DON’T GO TO COURT ALONE. CALL IVAN ARNAEZ @ 812-424-6671.
Below is a list of felony cases that were filed by the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday, December 02, 2014

Dwayne Green, Jr.                   Strangulation-Level 6 Felony
Battery With Moderate Bodily Injury-Level 6 Felony
Domestic Battery-Class A Misdemeanor
Criminal Trespass-Class A Misdemeanor

Don Hancock                          Battery with Moderate Bodily Injury-Level 6 Felony
Domestic Battery-Level 6 Felony

Janet Mclemore                     Obstruction of Justice-Class D Felony
Obstruction of Justice-Level 6 Felony

Steven Sapp                              Failure to Register as a Sex or Violent Offender-Level 6 Felony

Shelby Tompkins                     Theft-Level 6 Felony

For further information on the cases listed above, or any pending case, please contact Kyle Phernetton at 812.435.5688 or via e-mail at kphernetton@vanderburghgov.org

Under Indiana law, all criminal defendants are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.

Meet a St. Mary’s Associate Who Gives Back:  Dawnelle Neighbors 

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Dawnelle Neighbors

When you meet Dawnelle Neighbors for the first time,
you immediately notice her compassionate and welcoming presence that is a hallmark of the “St. Mary’s Experience.” As the Coordinator of Women’s Services for the St. Mary’s Wellness Center, she organizes the class offerings at the center, schedules appointments and greets visitors.

Classes at the Wellness Center include Ballroom Dancing, Pilates, Tai Chi and Yoga, in addition to Massage Therapy and Reflexology. Dawnelle teaches classes on Drumming. There are different types of Drumming, including Meditation Drumming and Recreational Drumming. Dawnelle says, “The only rule to Drumming is that there are no rules!”

 

For 13 years, Dawnelle has also given back through the Foundation’s Annual Campaign for Excellence (FACE). She has been inspired to give, because she has witnessed how these donations have helped St. Mary’s Associates and patients who are facing financial challenges.
Dawnelle shares, “We had a young woman who needed physical therapy, but couldn’t afford to pay for treatment. She was able to receive treatment through our women’s therapy program because of the FACE Campaign.” 
“It’s a pleasure to know that by contributing, I have been a part of helping others. I feel very blessed to be a part of St. Mary’s and the “St. Mary’s Experience.” I think that anyone who works in healthcare, whatever their position may be, has to view their role as a form of ministry. I don’t think of it as a job, I think of it as a ministry to help those in need.”

 

“I feel that when I give, it’s taking care of our St. Mary’s Family and our community.”  

 

And Dawnelle is only one of the 1,200 Associates in the St. Mary’s Family who supports the FACE Campaign. Thank you to all of our Associates for your contributions to this important and impactful effort.

 

Conour appeal focuses on defense withdrawal, sentencing terms

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Dave Stafford for www.theindianalawyer.com

Convicted fraudster and ex-attorney William Conour’s appeal of his conviction and 10-year sentence on a federal wire fraud charge argues the court failed to investigate his defense counsel’s withdrawal. His appeal also claims that the court wrongly imposed “suspicionless” searches and other conditions of supervised release following his imprisonment.

Conour, 67, also challenges standard supervised release requirements that he not consume excessive amount of alcohol, among other things, after his prison term is up. The Bureau of Prisons projects his release will be in March 2022. He is seeking oral argument before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Conour is being represented by two federal public defenders from the Central District of Illinois.

Once a leading personal injury and wrongful-death attorney, Conour was sentenced in October 2013 after he pleaded guilty in July of that year to defrauding former clients. The government says Conour stole nearly $6.8 million in settlement proceeds from 36 former clients or beneficiaries.

He resigned from the bar in June 2012 rather than face a disciplinary proceeding filed in May 2012.

“The district court abused its discretion by failing to conduct any inquiry into the reasons behind defense counsel’s motion to withdraw during the restitution proceedings after Mr. Conour had been sentenced,” despite the office’s statement that conflicts existed between Conour and his public federal defender, Conour’s brief says.

“The district court’s failure to conduct a sufficient inquiry and to permit defense counsel to withdraw severely prejudiced Mr. Conour. This court should reverse and remand for further proceedings.”

Various public defenders had appeared for Conour at the time the District Court for the Southern District of Indiana became aware the agency was holding $2,512 from a Conour trust fund while he also was subject to the court’s restitution order.

“The district court abused its discretion by failing to address trial counsel’s motion to withdraw until after making substantive rulings regarding restitution and garnishment,” the brief says.

At some point during the restitution phase, Conour was filing pro se motions in the court of Chief Judge Richard Young while he also was represented by a public defender, which led Young to strike his pro se pleadings in multiple instances.

“The court did not ask whether defense counsel could continue to adequately represent Mr. Conour, despite the conflicts of opinion on restitution and loss and the conflict of opinion on the garnishment action” regarding money the office held in Conour’s name, the brief says. Conour had sought that money for his commissary fund at the Morgantown, West Virginia, Federal Correctional Institution, but Young ordered the public defender’s office to turn the money over to the court.

The appeal brief says Conour and his defenders consistently disagreed with restitution calculations and the court’s garnishment of funds the office held in his name.

Separately, Conour’s appeal brief argued the District Court abused its discretion because he was never granted an opportunity to object to a special condition of supervised release that made him subject to “suspicionless” searches.

“(T)he special condition at issue here authorizes not only the search, but the seizure of any contraband found,” the appeal brief says. “The basis for this broad authority to seize is not contained in the record, which is problematic.”

Prior to his conviction, though, Conour had been jailed and had his bond revoked for dissipating assets without first seeking court approval, which had been a term of his pretrial release. Limited restitution has been made, and Conour still owes victims more than $6 million.

Conour’s brief also argues that a condition requiring him to “truthfully answer all inquiries (by) the probation officer and follow the instructions of the probation officer” would violate his rights under the Fifth Amendment.

The brief also attacks special terms of release it contends are generally overbroad in federal sentencing. For instance, Conour’s terms of probation include that he support dependents, regularly work and not frequent places where illegal substances are sold, among other things.

Conour’s youngest children will be legal adults when he’s released, the brief says, and he will have no dependents at that time. The brief also raises the hypothetical instance of Conour getting into trouble for frequenting a store where a clerk sells heroin.

“The concerns … are not meant to be absurd or picayune,” the brief says. “They are meant to illustrate the fact that Mr. Conour, like other defendants, has been subject to conditions that should at least be more particularly crafted because they pose a penal risk if violated.”

The government’s reply brief is due Jan. 2, 2015.

Dr. Bucshon’s Subcommittee Assignments for the 114th Congress

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(WASHINGTON, DC) – Congressman Larry Bucshon, a physician from Southern Indiana who was recently selected to serve as a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce for the 114th Congress, will serve on three of the influential panel’s subcommittees. Bucshon will join the Subcommittees on Environment and Economy, Health, as well as Oversight and Investigations.

Rep. Bucshon released the following statement regarding his new posts:

“I am looking forward to joining these important Subcommittees to help continue the committee’s bipartisan record of success,” said Bucshon. “As a physician, I will have the unique opportunity to help shape healthcare legislation that expands access and improves quality of care for all Americans. I am also pleased to join the Subcommittees tasked with exploring the intersection of regulations and the economy to protect vital jobs and our environment as well as rigorous oversight of agencies like HHS, EPA, and FDA to protect taxpayers.”
Upon announcing the new assignments, Committee Chairman Fred Upton said:

“Our subcommittees are truly the legislative and oversight engines of the Energy and Commerce Committee, delivering an impressive record of bipartisan accomplishment. They ask the tough questions, explore big ideas, and generate policies to grow our economy and get bureaucracy out of the way so America can thrive in the 21st Century,” said Upton. “The members who will serve on each of our subcommittees will together offer a mix of policy experience and expertise, dogged oversight to protect taxpayers, and fresh new ideas to modernize cumbersome agencies and laws. I am excited about the good work our team will deliver in the coming year.”

Bucshon’s statement following his appointment to the full committee can be found here – http://bucshon.house.gov/press-release

Must Read IS IT TRUE For December 4, 2014

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IS IT TRUE the media and the “official” cost of living increases defined by the government since 2007 have been low enough to justify giving people on Social Security increases below 2% per year?…this “official” absence of inflation has also been used as propaganda to placate the reality of slowly decreasing wages for the middle class?…the reality on the wage side is that the average American family has seen their earnings decline from about $55,000 per year to $51,000 per year in real dollars during that time period?…it is time to question the accuracy of the algorithm used by the government to use facts to lie to us?…the exclusion of many of the things we buy for day to day living from official COLA data paints a false picture of inflation in the United States?…the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics just released some real data that seems to blow the “official” inflation numbers out of the water when it comes to how middle class America lives?

IS IT TRUE since 2007 home internet services have increased by an average of 81.3%?… During that same time period cell phone bills have increased by 49.1%?…health insurance in spite of and including the changes for the ACA (Obamacare) have increased by 42.1%?…rents have increased by 26% while owning a home has decreased over the same period by 11.5%?…that can only happen when owning a home is either undesirable or when banks are not lending for homes?…healthcare is up by 24.2% while the cost of education has risen by 22.9%?…the two things that seem to reflect the “official” inflation rates are eating at home (+12%) and owning a pet (+10.5%)?… Those numbers are so close one would have to suspect that lots of people could be eating dog food at home, because communications, entertainment, and healthcare consumed all of our money?…furniture, clothing, eating out, and alcohol all saw price decreases without consideration for quality?…we should all be relieved to learn that the cost of a land line for phone calls did decrease in that period by 30.7%, as land lines began their exit from our day to day lives?…it is a testament to the forces of free markets to see the prices of what we choose to buy increase while the things we seldom purchase decrease?…it is a slap in the face of reality for our government to base its “official” inflation numbers on things we do not buy while ignoring the things we need?…we are not surprised by this at all?…this mirrors the obsolete way unemployment rates are calculated which tell us unemployment is under control while the participation rate has fallen to all time lows?…it is no wonder people no longer believe what comes out of Washington?

IS IT TRUE that Indiana University decided to break from tradition and establish a satellite branch of their university, a tradition or unwritten policy that IU would not go where other universities are established, i.e. University of Southern Indiana and the University of Evansville?

IS IT TRUE that we are excited and trilled to know our region is going to have a higher education facility dedicated in training new medical doctors and nurses?

IS IT TRUE that the taxpayers of our City will be shelling out about $57 million dollars for this downtown project without any ownership in the facility? … we hope that in someway the downtown Medical School will help  Evansville to become a booming metropolis like Indianapolis? ….Indianapolis’ downtown was on life-support until the Baltimore Colts decided to re-locate to Indy and we do not expect anytime soon to be landing a major sports franchise?

IS IT TRUE that our moles indicate that someone other than the city will own the newly built $90 million dollar I U Medical School facility and lease back to Indiana University?

IS IT TRUE that the $57 million that the local taxpayers are shelling out on this project does not include the infrastructure necessary to support the facility such as new sewers and other utility costs will exceed an additional $10 million dollars?

IS IT TRUE WHEN THE PEOPLE FEAR THE GOVERNMENT THERE IS TYRANNY? …WHEN THE GOVERNMENT FEARS THE PEOPLE THERE IS LIBERTY?

IS IT TRUE  we would appreciate if you would take time and vote on our “READERS POLL”?

Copyright 2014 City County Observer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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