IS IT TRUE it looks like the Evansville Department of Metropolitan Development is coming out of a 7 year coma under it’s new leader Kelley Coures, with respect to the McCurdy Hotel?…the City of Evansville is now saber rattling about enforcing fines and code violations unless the current owners (the Kunkel Group) follow through on their promises to start the refurbishment process?…we must all be reminded that the problem that is now in Kunkel’s lap got there through a contorted series of events started by a starry eyed Mayor of Evansville who recruited an out of town developer to take on this task with an oversized public incentive of $800,000 and another $603,000 gift of a parking lot?…let it also be etched in stone that this out of town developer never missed a chance to donate to the campaign fund of that former mayor while missing property tax payments on the McCurdy Hotel?…the historic building after the march of the octogenarians to their new quarters has fallen further and further into disrepair from neglect and vandalism that it may just be that this ship has sailed and it is time to swing the wrecking ball?

IS IT TRUE the same economic forces that have made the financing of the Phantom Convention Hotel impossible thus far are the same forces that have plagued every effort to refurbish the McCurdy Hotel?  .. .the sad reality is that both projects cost more to build than they are worth and private financiers will not touch these projects with a ten foot pole even with a substantial subsidy?  …in the case of the $24 Million Phantom Hotel that is now targeted to cost $36 Million the sad story has played itself out 4 times and is about to have a 5th go around with a dramatically lesser design?  …the McCurdy does not have the luxury of being dumbed down to save money on construction with it’s structural needs, infrastructure requirements, and mold mitigation?  …the reality is that the McCurdy will cost north of $12 Million to refurbish and when it is finished it will only have a value of a fraction of that?  …the only certainty with the McCurdy is that a delusional few years of city governance will be costing the taxpayers of Evansville at least $1,403,000 plus the cost to demolish it should it come to that?  …the McCurdy is a prime example of rubbish for public policy?

IS IT TRUE now that the dust has settled and the fires are out down at Marina Point there are many answers being sought about how the fire got started and who is responsible for all of the property losses that the alleged kicking over of a kerosene heater started?  …the one thing that the taxpayers of Evansville can be certain of that will happen is that lawsuits will be filed and insurance investigators will be on the scene?  …let the truth unfold should be the mantra surrounding this unfortunate occurrence?  …it has been reported that the fire that started the rest of the fires is now the subject of a criminal investigation?  …with investigators, police, and lawyers getting into the mix, we hope some truths come out soon?

IS IT TRUE we wonder if the EFD fireman assigned to operate the Fire Boat at Inland Marina fire had  a certified boat operator license?  …the Inland Marina Jon Boat and Fire Boat water nozzles not only can pump many of gallons of water per minutes but also has a 100 foot range?  …we wonder how many gallons water can the EFD Fire Boat pump per minute? …we wonder how many yards can the EFD Fire Boat pump? …if the EFD would had allowed Coast Guard Licensed Boat Captain Ron Riecken to use the Inland Marina Fire Boat and Jon Boat to help fight the boat fires the overall damages would had been substantially less?

IS IT TRUE there is much celebration among some circles about the reduction in the federal budget deficit this year?  …while it is a fact that the federal deficit has been reduced to half of its high of over $1 Trillion per year, the reality is that we as a country are still borrowing money to make ends meet?  …we dare our readers to try this for an extended period of time?  …we also would like to see the amazement on an audience’s faces if a financial planner advised them to borrow money to overspend by 30% and then congratulated them the next year for borrowing half as much to make ends meet?

IS IT TRUE charter high schools like Evansville’s Signature School and Bowling Green’s Gatton Academy routinely send their graduates to elite universities with two years of college credits already earned?  …lower ranked high schools that do not have the luxury of choosing their students routinely graduate students who need two years of remediation to be ready to take for credit freshman classes?  …it is disturbing that such a mental capacity differential can exist between graduates of public schools? …graduating seniors that can’t fill out a job application because of abysmal reading skills, show up for appointments on time, or balance a check book are prepared to do nothing but be a drain on society for the rest of their lives unless they right their own course?  …Morton Marcus was right in his weekly column that the best place to invest in training is at the high school level and that should extend to young adults who graduated from high school with no life skills whatsoever?

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