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?

IS IT TRUE that Indiana Bill SB1320 is seeking to make entering an early stage market that struggles with cloud cover more expensive for Indiana businesses and customers who are early adopters of solar energy?…specifically this bill will allow the utilities that are regulated by the Indiana Utilities Regulatory Commission to charge people who have installed or are contemplating the installation of solar panels generate their own electricity for infrastructure associated with the generation, transmission, and distribution of electrical power?…on the surface there is nothing inherently wrong about this concept and it is already working very will in California where the amount of sunshine and the high electrical rates have precipitated a rapid acceptance of PV Solar for self generation?…what needs to be understood is that even with net metering which Indiana already has, solar adopters use the infrastructure of the utility companies when the sun sets or when the clouds reduce the output of those systems and it is only fair that the utility is paid for the service provided?…the dust up is over the anticipated amount that this may be?

IS IT TRUE this writer lives in the legislated monopoly region of Southern California Edison that has some of the highest effective utility rates in America?…at lower use levels Edison is about 20% cheaper than Vectren but the upper three tiers can be as much as double what Vectren’s one price fits all structure charges?…Edison also offers time of use rate schedules that allow solar generators to sell power to Edison during the day at higher rates that they are charged during the evening when the wholesale costs of power are much lower?…it is certain that Edison’s billing structure is much more sophisticated than anything that SB1320 is considering and it got that way through years of learning?…what many do not understand is that massive adoption of distributed generation with smart meters in place disrupts the way the electrical grid works by altering the “duck curve”, which is essentially the use vs. time profile that utilities use to make sure they have the capacity to deliver power when it is needed where it is needed?

IS IT TRUE my solar system costed just under $19,000 and has completely eliminated by electric bill?…I even got a check back from Edison at the end of the year?…part of my bill is a minimum monthly charge of $1.83 to cover the cost of Edison’s infrastructure that I absolutely need for my solar system to be cost effective?…it is expected that this fee will rise to $10 per month over the next 5 years as approval from the California Utilities Commission grants it?…that price seems fair and sufficient?…this may sound strange but I actually think I am benefiting more than I should at only $1.83 for access to what is essentially a big free battery called the grid?…as utilities seek to impose fees such as this distributed storage is currently being developed so that residential homes that are willing to invest in local energy storage can go completely off the grid?…it is also only fair that when the grid tie is no longer needed that all fees to the utilities should go to zero?…in the meantime, I encourage my Indiana friends to contact your legislators so that the fees associated with having a grid tie are not excessive or usury?…to do that effectively will take smart metering, time of use billing, and a fee that reflects the actual use of a PV generator that does not use the infrastructure nearly as much as someone who does not have solar?

IS IT TRUE it looks like the taxpayers of Evansville are about to be gouged for another demolition and cleanup bill for a bankrupted LLC?…last month it was Miller Plating eating at the public trough and this week it is that old flea market building across the street from Bosse Field?…the $300,000+ for this mess plus the Miller Plating tab will bring the total for the year to close to $2 Million?…this is a direct effect of poor public policy that allows a building owner to walk away without any obligation for the damage created by their failure to maintain their buildings and processes to acceptable standards?…it is easy to blame the offenders here, but the guilty party is the law of the land that allows for such nonsense?

IS IT TRUE the traffic patterns for the City County Observer in 2015 almost exactly mirror the patterns from last year?…the monthly page view rate was 150,000 then and it is 150,000 now?…the unique IP addresses that log onto the CCO in 2014 and 2015 are both within 1% of 13,000 per month?…we ask for the positive thoughts and prayers of our readership for our owner Ron Cosby who is battling an extremely painful and threatening medical condition?