IS IT TRUE that Evansville Fire Chief Charles Connelly was asking City Council to discuss and approve his Merit Ordinance Amendments at last Council meeting?  …that the name of City Council member Stephanie Riley appeared on the ordinances as the sponsor?  …that Ms. Riley told City Council attorney Scott Danks that she never gave anyone permission to put her down as a sponsor of this ordinance?  …at that point City Council Attorney Danks told the  Mayors attorney, Ted Zimmer that this resolution submitted to change city ordiance will not be discussed until the Mayor finds a council member to sponsor it?

IS IT TRUE December 13, 2013

IS IT TRUE that several members of the Mole Nation have advised the City County Observer that Mayor Winnecke has commissioned a polling center to determine whether or not the people of Evansville have an appetite to see their tax money spent on Roberts Park?…it is important to note that every one of the Moles that have told us about this poll have been Republicans during the recent past and would be more probably to support Mayor Winnecke than randomly chosen participants?…there is a sure fire way to produce a poll that has the kind of results one wants and that is to do a poll of your supporters and cronies?…we would not be one bit surprised to see a press release from the Mayor’s office in the near future touting a poll that concludes that the public wants Roberts Park and is willing to pay for it?…the only real poll worth listening to in these sort of matters is at the ballot box?…since Roberts Park is roughly a $10 Million project it should be placed on the ballot next November along with Centennial Park and the Mesker Amphitheatre with not to exceed budget numbers disclosed?…if a referendum at the ballot box results in approval then the Mayor can go ahead with his fun and games projects?

IS IT TRUE an ad hoc contest broke out on the CCO comment section yesterday for a slogan for Roberts Park since the Mayor has said much more about the park during his administration than he has about the IU Medical School?…this ad hoc contest was in the spirit of Andrew Smith’s slogan “Sewers before Stadium” and there were several very clever entries?…among the best were “Dogs before Docs”, “Mutts before Meds”, and “Canines before Campus”?…the one that takes the award was actually an entry from DrChaos that was modified slightly by the CCO editor?…that one would be “Bitches before Stitches” which pretty much sums up local governments obsession with fun and games over substance during the last 10 years?

IS IT TRUE in a bit of good news yesterday it was announced that Evansville will once again host the NCAA Division II national basketball championship?…the last time the “little dance” came to town was 2002 when the tournament was held at Roberts Stadium?…with the local flavor of having Owensboro’s Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers progress to the final game Roberts drew respectable crowds of about 2,500 spectators per game?…it will be interesting to see if the same tournament at the Ford Center will equal or exceed the 2002 crowds at Roberts?…this tournament was started in Evansville and hosted at Roberts for many years back when the University of Evansville, Kentucky Wesleyan, and Southern Illinois were all competitive nationally?…to this day two of the top five crowds for a Division II title game were played in Roberts Stadium with each drawing over 11,000 fans?

IS IT TRUE the editor of the CCO got a call from Evansville Tuesday asking about how Angel Investing and Venture Capital works in California?…of course the answer is quite well but we could always use more as start-up companies are always in need of cash?…the companies of the Coachella Valley Innovation Hub have indeed attracted over a million bucks in outside investment during 2013 and one has gone public with a current valuation of $46 Million?…the caller became frustrated at hearing that and expressed disappointment that the campaign promises of 2011 by Mayor Winnecke to put together an Angel Investing group and utilize the Tech Transfer agreement between GAGE and Crane that was signed in 2008?…that across the country cash investment is the lifeblood of entrepreneurship and without it home grown entrepreneurs with either move to where the money is or will set their ambitions aside and assimilate into the hourly work crowd?…in the spirit of Samuel L. Jackson’s credit card commercial we ask those of you of means “WHAT START UP HAVE YOU INVESTED IN THIS YEAR?”…if as we expect the answer is ZERO, that explains much about the difference in outcomes when it comes to the creation of wealth and jobs through local efforts?