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Vanderburgh County recent Booking Records
Indiana Milestone: State’s Appellate Courts Led By Women.
IL Staff for www.theindianalawyer.com
When Loretta Rush was named chief justice of the Indiana Supreme Court in August, Indiana hit a milestone. For the first time, all of our state’s appellate courts were being led by women. Indiana Lawyer recently invited Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush, Indiana Court of Appeals Chief Judge Nancy Vaidik, Indiana Tax Judge Martha Wentworth and Chief Judge Robyn Moberly of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana’s Bankruptcy Court to discuss their career paths as well as the opportunities and challenges today’s courts and lawyers face. While our spirited, 70-minute roundtable narrative required editing, a full version of the conversation can be found online at www.theindianalawyer.com/judicialroundtable2014.
Chief Judge Robyn Moberly of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana (left) listens to Indiana Court of Appeals Chief Judge Nancy Vaidik speak during a roundtable about issues facing the courts and attorneys today. (IL Photo/Eric Learned)INDIANA LAWYER STAFF: The legal community’s experienced a unique moment in 2014 with women stepping into top leadership posts, or already in top leadership posts, in both our state and federal courts. Clearly, glass ceilings have been broken. Do you feel like young women in the legal practice are still encountering prejudices or discrimination?Â
CHIEF JUDGE NANCY VAIDIK:Clearly, in the law firm, big law firm field, they are still. I think the National Association of Women Lawyers just did a survey earlier this year and only 17 percent of … equity partners in law firms are females, and so there is really still a glass ceiling when it comes to firms, big law firms.
JUDGE MARTHA WENTWORTH: It’s better. When I started practicing in 1990, you could count on one hand the number of partners in law firms that were women and the same in accounting firms. It has taken more than a decade to improve that number, but it has improved. I think there is still a glass ceiling because you tend to want to be with people who are like you, and unless we get a lot of women up in the upper echelons of business and law and all of the other people that use law firms, we’re going to have, still, a struggle. But we’re not alone, anyone different will have a struggle.
CHIEF JUDGE ROBYN MOBERLY: Maybe I’m overly optimistic about attitudes. My sense is that men have adopted some of the family roles that used to strictly fall with the women, but, nonetheless, I think there’s just some realities that when you’re at child-bearing age that’s also the time in your career where you otherwise would be stepping on the gas. I don’t know how you address that. And there are responsibilities that women have that men don’t have in their lives right now. I think that’s slowly moving, but there’s just some realities that make it difficult to build and to network and to attract clients. It’s hard if you’ve got two little babies at home to be out digging up clients.
CHIEF JUSTICE LORETTA RUSH: I have a little bit more positive spin. I started practicing in the early ’80s. I was an associate, then a partner while I had kids, and I was elected on the trial court bench. When I look around now I think it’s improved by leaps and bounds. You know, we all teach or go and present at law schools. We see 40, 50 percent of the students are (women). When I see litigants come and argue in my court, a lot are women, so I think we’ve made great inroads, and I think being talented and hard working, whether you’re a man or a woman, is going to pay off.
I think more diversity within the profession and more diversity on the bench is important. If we’re going to have trust in a judiciary, we need to look like the litigants that come before us. When I look at who’s making partner and the gains from 30 years ago, it was rough. I mean 31, 32 years ago trying a jury case, even going to a small county sometimes and showing up ready to go or having your client meet you for the first time and seeing that you’re a 25-year-old female, so I’m now very optimistic. Just the four of us sitting around here today and when I look out on the landscape, I think there are major changes ahead.Â
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Ukrainian Law Enforcement Delegation Tours Indiana State Police Cyber Crime Office
December 17, 2014, the Indiana State Police provided training to Ukrainian law enforcement cyber crime investigators. Members of the Ukrainian law enforcement delegation also toured the Indiana State Police Cyber Crime Office, giving them insight into the cutting-edge forensic work performed by the Indiana State Police.
Today’s training and tour was part of an exchange program coordinated by the United States Department of Justice and College of Technology, Purdue University.
Visiting members of the delegation included representatives from the Ministry of Interior of Ukraine, Cybercrime Division as well as personnel from the Kiev National Police Academy, Odessa Police Academy, Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs, Dnipropetrovsk State University of Internal Affairs, Security Service of Ukraine, The Ukrainian Scientific and Research Institute of Special Equipment and Forensic Expertise and the Kiev National Academy of Prosecutors of Ukraine, Ministry of Justice.
Issues associated with cyber crime know no borders. Forging working relationships with foreign governments allows all concerned to work together to detect and prosecute persons responsible for computer crimes, including network intrusion, online child exploitation, and online fraud.
For additional information about today’s event, please contact ISP Lt. Chuck Cohen at ccohen@isp.in.gov or Purdue Professor Dr. Marcus Rogers at rogersmk@purdue.edu
Operation ELF is Coming to Town!
- If you are speeding this holiday season, that glowing red light behind you is probably not Rudolph pulling a sleigh. Santa knows if you’ve been speeding, he knows if you have drank, he knows if you’ve been bad or good, so buckle up for goodness sake!
Vanderburgh County sheriff’s deputies and Evansville City police officers assigned to Operation ELF will be watching for aggressive drivers until the New Year. Drive safe and stay off Santa’s naughty list this year!
A special thanks to Mr Phil Montooth, Detectives Andy Lasher and Mike Robinson
IS IT TRUE December 18, 2014
IS IT TRUE we have been told by reliable sources that Evansville Chief Police Billy Bolin has informed his men that the City will not be cashed out for earned comp time again this year?  …the police Department can’t afford to change the oil in police cruisers for rest of the year and now earned comp time owed to our outstanding men and women in blue for this year won’t be paid to them by the city because of budget issues?…the priorities of the Winnecke Administration are on par with a teenager on prom night?
IS IT TRUE that the Old National Bank’s $14 Million contribution for the downtown hotel hidden behind a nonsense naming rights deal for The Centre is coming apart at the seams a full year after all of the beautiful people danced around a golden shovel to celebrate what was a dubious decision to begin with?…AS THE CITY COUNTY OBSERVER HAS SAID FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR, the value of these naming rights is much less than $14 Million, ONB is a public company with shareholders and regulators, and they will not be allowed to pay more for naming rights than the advertising is worth?…the Ford Center which is a larger venue with more exposure got a naming rights deal for $400,000 per year for 10 years?…one thing is for certain and that is that the naming rights for The Centre is LESS THAN WHAT THE FORD CENTER NAMING RIGHTS ARE WORTH?…when we find out just how short the pile of cash is going to be, we will learn just how much more money HCW will be asking the City of Evansville for?…it is time to put a stop to this madness and forget about a convention hotel until a private company will build one?…maybe a medical school will make that happen and maybe it won’t?…WE TOLD YOU SO?
IT TRUE the attorneys for Mayor Winnecke and for the City Council disagree on how the so called “home rule” ordinance will apply when it comes to the Evansville Water & Sewer Utility Board?…that particular five member board are all appointed by the mayor and that right now four of them live outside the city limits and will not be eligible to serve according to the City Council’s interpretation of the rules?…Utility Board membership is governed by state statute, and there is no residency requirement period, in direct contradiction with the City Council’s opinion?…the Water and Sewer Utility has many customers who live outside the city limits, that are already incensed over being charged a 35% premium over what city residents pay?…in the case if this particular board, it is quite possible that seating a new board that is made up of only city residents may just set off some “taxation without representation” sentiment among the county dwellers who pay that 35% premium?…we are looking forward to seeing the opposing attorney’s opinions tested to see if sanity will prevail in the political appointment process?
IS IT TRUE that the revelations about the edicted increase in the assessments in the Orchard Parke neighborhood with a basis of comps from brand new homes targeting a different demographic is not the way to comply with the constitutional mandate for market value assessments?…assessments are easily appealed and any homeowner who has a solid argument based on recent sales or comps will prevail in the appeal process?…it is up to the homeowner to challenge any assessment that is out of line and the process to do so is quite simple?…we encourage any of our readers who believe their assessments are out of line to formally appeal their assessments?…this writer has done this several times with a 100% success rate?
IS IT TRUE public investment in projects like the Ford Center, the proposed downtown hotel, and the IU Medical School is dependent on the wealth created from private production and private profit?…what happens when governments large and small fail to inspire free market profits (the sources of taxes) while constantly increasing public spending is that you don’t have enough of the one to support the other?…when well intentioned TIF districts do not collect enough incremental taxes to pay for the projects they were asserted to have the economic impact to pay for, they cross what is respectfully known as the Thatcher Line?…British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher famously said in a radio interview that “the problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money to spend?”…this has been formalized as the Thatcher Line: the point at which the burden of government begins to overwhelm the ability of the private sector to pay for it?…dear readers, it seems as though Evansville’s Thatcher Line lies about $77 Million of additional debt from where we are right now and the City of Evansville’s bond counsel knows it?…it seems with the revelation that the downtown hotel is over budget again that a choice will have to be made in the near future on which project the City can afford to borrow money to give away for?…if logic prevails, and with the City of Evansville that is a stretch, it is time to admit this financial problem and put the hotel on indefinite hold?
IS iT TRUE we hear that an  extremely well known and highly respected business person has decided to run as Republican in the First Ward City Council seat  …that Councilman McGinn’s challenger has a great chance to upset McGinn because he is a bone fide conservative that shall have broad base appeal with the First Ward voters?  …that Councilman McGinn has lost a great deal of his broad support because he has turned in a political mouth piece for the Mayor and has lost his independent zeal?  …McGinn has of late been a one issue Councilman?  …all he talks about is spending millions of taxpayers dollars on Mesker Zoo.
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EDITORIAL: For the 4th Time, the CCO Told You the Numbers Wouldn’t Work
Mathematics Does Not Lie, Â So Why Do Our Leaders Keep Lying to Themselves
Four years ago the City County Observer published an editorial that exposed the fact that the valuation of the downtown convention hotel that was proposed at the time would not exceed $20 Million. We were scoffed at for that opinion, yet proven right by three deals in a row all of which came unraveled when the financing fell apart over VALUATION. Â We followed that up with perhaps as many as 100 articles that called out the City of Evansville and particularly the Evansville Redevelopment Commission for failing to have a competent vetting process in place. We hoped that our elected leaders would actually elevate their financial skills to at least a sophomore business student level and learn something about valuation and vetting. Â Alas, that has not happened and another valuation based debacle has been exposed with yesterday’s confession that the funding for the convention hotel is once again on the verge of collapse.
A year ago, elected officials by the score were congratulating themselves on striking a deal with Old National Bank to buy the naming rights to the Centre for $14 Million with all of the proceeds going to subsidize the convention hotel. When questioned about such a stratospheric value in these pages and the fact that Old National is a public company that has shareholders to answer to by the CCO, we were dismissed again by the golden shovel team. Well folks the valuation chickens just came home to roost, EXACTLY AS THE CCO PREDICTED.
Yesterday’s news was filled with the typical finger pointing associated with delays with HCW blaming the City of Evansville and ONB for not delivering the cash, and the Mayor’s Chief of Staff blaming HCW for not having their finances in order. Â Who is telling the truth? Probably none of them, they never have when it comes to this project. Â This is typical for a project that has been mired by inaccuracy, fluff pieces by local media, and down right delusion from lots of people who should know better.
The reality of the financial valuation of a 250 room hotel with 60% occupancy and a $100 per day rate has not changed one iota since 2010 when the CCO first called out the City for visions of grandeur without basis. Â The price paid for the naming rights for the Ford Center was $400,000 per year. Â The Ford Center has 4 times as many seats and double the number of events that the Centre has so it seems very generous to assume with that as a comp, how the Centre’s naming rights could exceed half of what was paid to name the arena. Â That would calculate to $4 Million for 20 years. Â County Commissioners past and present have acknowledged that the naming rights have been on the block for over 10 years with no interested party. Â One even stated that the naming rights were worthless.
Bob Jones, the CEO of Old National knows the valuation and has sent the expert opinion to HCW. Â Soon, this truth will come out and the ERC and the City Council will be faced with a demand for more than the $20 Million they have already committed to the project. We doubt that they will do any vetting because they simply refuse to learn how. Â We also doubt that there will be 5 votes to move forward with a subsidy that is higher than $20 Million in an election year. Â The potential for this hotel, that our former mayor said would come free if we only built an arena, to go away for good has never been higher. Without 5 people on the City Council with the will to vet projects and who understand the mathematics of valuation, Evansville will keep making these same mistakes over and over and over and over, etc.
In closing, we would like to ask why a valuation for the naming rights to the Centre was not done before the self congratulatory golden shovels were brought out and a press release was distributed? It could have been done and it should have been done, but that would have required a willingness to face reality instead of a camera.
Copyright 2014 City County Observer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Vanderburgh County Recent Booking Reports
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EPD Activity Report December 17, 2014
SPONSORED BY DEFENSE ATTORNEY IVAN ARNAEZ.
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ST. MARY’S NORTHBROOK TO HOST MEMORIAL BLOOD DRIVE
By Jacob Rund
TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS – Amanda Banks officially stepped into her husband’s Senate seat Tuesday, taking the oath from Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush as her husband serves in Afghanistan.
Jim Banks, who was reelected in November, will miss the 2015 session due to his service in the Navy Reserves.
In adherence with state law, a caucus of precinct committeemen voted on Dec. 4 to elect Amanda Banks to temporarily represent her husband’s district in his stead.
“It’s an exciting day,†Amanda Banks said. “I’m really looking forward to this opportunity to serve and represent the district.â€
Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R- Fort Wayne, called the swearing in – the first ever under a state law that allows lawmakers to take a leave of absence – a significant event.
“This is a historic moment in the sense that I don’t think we’ve seen in modern times, maybe ever, a situation… where we are seeing his (Jim Banks’) spouse step forward,†Long said. “I will say that Amanda has a great deal of experience and history in politics, knows the district well and I know she will do an outstanding job.â€
Amanda Banks, who majored in public policy at Indiana University, spent several years before the birth of her children serving in the fields of both government policy and communications. Her past work experience includes stints as a federal policy analyst for Focus on the Family and as a communications manager for the Indiana-Ohio region of the American Red Cross.
“I think I have a lot to offer from my experience there,†Banks said. “I’m a full-time mom, I’m a military wife, and I think those perspectives will bring a fresh view to this Statehouse, to this body, and I look forward to offering that.â€
Banks said Tuesday that her legislative style should line up closely to that of her husband’s.
“I think it’s going to be very similar. We share the same conservative values,†she said. “I can’t imagine there’s not anything we’ll disagree on, but it will be small if it is.â€
Banks made it clear that both her husband’s deployment and her election to take his place in the senate were not anticipated circumstances.
“My husband’s deployment was a surprise,†Banks said. “Being here today and being sworn in as a state senator is also a surprise. I am grateful that I have this opportunity while Jim is serving our country, I can serve our state.â€
“This is an interesting moment in time and in history,†Long said.
Sen. Mike Delph, R- Carmel, and Sen. Karen Tallian, D- Portage, were also sworn in to their senate positions Tuesday, after they were not able to attend to original swearing-in ceremony.
Jacob Rund is the assistant editor of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
ST. MARY’S WELLNESS CENTER TO OFFER HEARTMATH® RESILIANCE ADVANTAGE PROGRAM
St. Mary’s Wellness Center at Epworth Crossing will present HeartMath®, the Resilience Advantage Program – Skills for Personal and Professional Effectiveness in January.
This HeartMath high impact program delivers a practical skill-set to respond dynamically and effectively to pressure, emotional challenge and change. Fifteen years of client results show significant, sustained improvements in health costs, productivity, stress levels, resilience, cognition and emotional well-being.
At the program’s core are easy-to-learn self-regulation tools and resilience-building practices that help individuals become more balanced, aware, and high functioning. Benefits include: Ability to focus, process information and solve problems, regenerative sleep, increase vitality and resilience while reducing stress, worry, frustration & fatigue.
A key component is the award-winning emWave® technology, real-time monitoring of the impact of emotions of physiology and cognitive state.
* Recognize subtle stress signals before they become chronic.
* Learn powerful techniques to boost performance, resilience and quality of life.
* Be less reactive, think clearly and make good decisions under pressure
HearthMath® will be led by Wellness Coordinator Helen Emge Shymanski, a Board Certified Holistic Health Practitioner and certified health coach. Shymanski has been professionally trained through Duke University Integrative Medicine, HeartMath®, and the Institute of Integrative Nutrition.
The program is a four-hour package series. Participants have a daytime option across four different days:
* Tuesday afternoon: January 20th, 27th, and February 3rd and 10th from 12:00 – 12:50 p.m.
The cost is $110 per person and includes the required HeartMath® Manual. Please call 812-485-5725 by Tuesday January 13th to register. For more information, visit StMarysEpworth.com/classes.