IS IT TRUE the saga of the vanishing advertisers has completely abated yesterday as no more inquiries for cancellation were received from anyone?…there is even some back peddling going on with some of the advertisers who had made such inquiries last week right after the Republican Central Committee adjourned it’s emergency meeting?…on top of that there have been enough inquiries for new ads to make up for any losses that may or may not occur due to the follies of last Thursday?…as our avatar indicated yesterday we at the CCO shall “Keep Calm and Rage Against the Machine”?…the machine in Evansville may hide within the blue teams and red teams but the reality is that “the machine” is comprised of both and we continue to smoke them out at every opportunity?
IS IT TRUE the whispers among the few supporters of the alleged political boycott are spinning a message that Marsha Abell’s speech was taken out of context?…given the utter idiocy of what was said we must say that we hope that is true as Marsha has been in an elected position for many years and should know better?…that we along with others have carefully reviewed the recording of Commissioner Abell’s speech to the Vanderburgh Federated Republican Women last week and there is no hiding from the words she chose regarding “high tech computer people not producing one dime” and “retired people take more than the put in”?…these statements were clearly the two strongest bullet points in her pitch and there is no hiding from the recorded word?…the CCO formally offers our publication to Commissioner Abell to publish a statement on what she really meant to say if she indeed was taken out of context and will publish her position paper on technology jobs, retirees, and anything else she wishes to contribute without edit, opinion, or bias?
IS IT TRUE that the downtown convention hotel has gotten another stumbling block thrown in its path and this time it came from Dunn Hospitality that filed a complaint with the Hilton organization regarding their sale of a competing franchise into the Evansville market only a short time after their Hilton Garden Inn was opened?…depending on the terms of the franchise agreement that Dunn Hospitality has with Hilton this may or may not have legs to stand on?…with some franchises a franchisee is sold a “location” and subject to another exact franchise opening across the street?…with others a franchisee is sold a territory, and with others the terms are more complicated?…we will keep an eye on this as it plays out and are curious as to what the response from Hilton may be?…in spite of that it does not yet look like construction has begun and there is no news of any permits being approved?…it has also not been disclosed exactly where and what the terms of the HCW financing are?
IS IT TRUE Mayor Winnecke and City Controller Russ Lloyd have taken the bull by the horns and made recommendations to the City Council on what should be done to reign the City Budget in by the $2 Million shortfall in tax collections that was magically discovered just a few weeks ago?…the EPD will not be cashing out accumulated comp time, the METS gas budget was cut, and a few other “non-essential” things are being tapped for cuts?…one bright spot in the revenue stream is apparently the city cemeteries that have supposedly brought in more than they were expected to?…the reward the dilapidated cemeteries are getting is that their surplus is being taken and the work needed to be done on them will be delayed again?…the cemeteries are now a profit center even when the perpetual care sold to their customers is falling well short of contractual obligations?
IS IT TRUE last night’s City Council meeting came and went without so much as a word from any elected official about rescinding the loan approved under duress to Earthcare Energy LLC?…our City Council must have bought into the senseless assertions floating around the Civic Center that IU may not put the med school in downtown Evansville if they do the right thing and rescind this loan approval?…politics is often way more about manipulation and perception than it is about substance and the failure to rescind this loan was simply cowering in the face of a mindless threat to blame?…in two weeks there will be another meeting of the city council and the IU decision will have been announced?…if the City Council fails to address this issue on April 14, 2014 we can all assume that they are as supportive of handing Earthcare $4.8 Million as Mayor Winnecke and Debbie Dewey are?…this debacle makes Commissioner Abell’s speech seem like progressive rocket science?