In case the Mayor doesn’t get his four block Medical Center downtown I would suggest using this area for a parking plaza. This parking plaza will help save the Ford Center, because free hockey tickets and hockey burn-out will never save the Center. Last year was a great year for the Ford Center. Most of the games, we didn’t even wear a coat to the game.  This year the older crowd couldn’t maneuver the ice and piles on snow on the sidewalks and streets. I helped a woman in a wheel chair during the last ACES game her wheel became caught in the ice, her husband pushing the wheel chair was not much help!  You can’t blame the City maintenance crew, temperatures and ice and snow and temperatures hanging below twenty degrees is a maintenance killer!
Mole
The city and Ford Arena need the adjacent block of 6th and locust with a double deck parking garage.  This week, I was at Bob Evans and this woman came in with a handicap mobile bike, I opened the door for her and we discussed the ACES and Ford Center she said, she was going to the girl’s game and she hoped she didn’t get another illegal parking ticket, of which I said, “welcome to the club, I have gotten them too!” She said, “one of the ACES’s girl player’s family from out of town had their Van pulled in and they couldn’t get back home, because it was a weekend!”
This is a terrible image for the Ford Center and Evansville. We don’t need meter maids handing out tickets like hand- bills at a parade. Everyone knows that parking is critical, so why make the worst of this construction blunder.
IS IT TRUE that it is now only 17 days until the $200,000 loan that the Winnecke Administration dealt from the bottom of the deck and into the hands of Earthcare Energy LLC becomes due in full?…as Earthcare Energy LLC has continued to make the nominal interest only payments of just over $300 per month to keep the note current, it will be quite interesting to see if the City of Evansville will make any attempt to collect this debt and return these taxpayer dollars to the people of Evansville or if we will see a legal battle to determine the efficacy of the poorly crafted contract signed by city officials?
IS IT TRUE it is now only 48 days until the agreement between HCW of Branson, Missouri and the City of Evansville to put a downtown convention hotel and a luxury apartment tower in downtown Evansville expires unless plans are finalized and all financing is secured?…some CCO Moles close to this process are telling us there is trouble in paradise?…this proposed $69 Million project is being paid for by $20 Million from the public coffers as an incentive, by UP TO $14 Million from ONB’s SNEGAL naming rights deal for The Centre, and the balance of roughly $35 Million by HCW in some yet to be disclosed combination of loans and equity down payment?…the appraisal for the combination of the 253 room hotel and the apartments is expected to be in the range of $35 Million so at a loan to value (LTV) of 70% which is about as good as it gets nowadays, HCW will need to cough up a down payment in the range of $10.5 Million unless something exotic comes riding to the rescue?…it will be very interesting indeed to watch this unfold as there is already an issue with the soils that insiders tell us will add about $1 Million to the cost?…the safest thing to predict right now is that the City of Evansville and the Redevelopment Commission will be extending the agreement to infinity and beyond (to quote Buzz Lightyear) to delay another egg on the face moment for FAILURE TO VET?
IS IT TRUE speaking of delays for FAILURE TO VET or even READ, the Obama Administration has kicked the can down the road on the employer mandate for companies with between 50 and 99 employees?…the can has also been kicked down the road for larger companies that will now only have to insure 70% of their workforce as opposed to the 95% under the law that was never read before it was passed?…it would be cynical to think that this latest round of delays by executive order are all about the congressional elections of 2014 and the millions of cancellation notices that would have been hitting American mailboxes just before the election, but so be it?…this delay is either about more abject incompetence on the part of the Obama Administration or about short term POLITICS and those readers are the only feasible explanations?…on the bright side, maybe this will be an opportunity to READ THE DAMN THING AND AMEND IT SO THAT THE PROMISES IN THE DARK FROM THE 2008 CAMPAIGN WILL ACTUALLY BE FULFILLED?…with a divided congress that is not going to happen, so the American people who seem to like having the wool pulled over their eyes need to deliver a united congress in 2014 as improper implementation of the unaffordable law amazingly named the Affordable Care Act has the potential to sink lot of people’s boats for a long long time?
IS IT TRUE the Civic Center Moles tell us there are job openings posted for both the Director if IT and now the City Engineer?…despite raising the salary for a Director of IT to $135,000, no acceptable candidates have applied for the job?…we know that sounds like a lot of money for Evansville but this is a job that requires an outsider and to attract the right talent may just take over $200,000?…it all comes down to whether or not Evansville wants to stay in the bush leagues on infrastructure or step up to the low end of national scales on information technology?
IS IT TRUE when we made it known yesterday that some self made American billionaires had topped the charts with charitable donations, the CCO comments came under a barrage of attacks from people who seem to have such hate and envy for billionaires that they denigrated those who have made billions of dollars in charitable donations?…some even made statements about how this did not hurt the billionaires and they deserved no praise for their generosity?…speaking for myself, this collection of envy and hate reminded this writer of why I left Evansville in 1982 and again in 2011?…such an outpouring of hate for perfectly good people who happen to have made allot of money through entrepreneurship and job creation is more of a turn off than a canoe trip through Bee Slough?…a hungry person in need of a meal or an at risk child whose life can be saved with a mosquito net (Bill Gates’ idea that he paid for by the millions) does not judge the source of the funds that feed, clothe, and protect them from the elements?…our readers should not either?…if you hate someone who directs their wealth to feed a hungry child and provides medicine for the masses, while creating jobs and wealth that benefit this country, you need to take a good long look in the mirror?
WIN A $200 PHOENIX NIGHTCLUB AND EVENT CENTER VIP COUPON FOR 15 PEOPLE.
Let the “MOLE” search contest begin.  Today is the second CITY COUNTY OBSERVER find the CCO “MOLE” contest.  The  CCO “MOLE”  shall be placed somewhere in a current article  located in todays edition.  The first reader that locates the “MOLE” shall win an impressive prize.  The CCO “MOLE” shall be embedded in the CCO at exactly at 9:00 this morning.
This contest will be weekly and is designed to challenge our readers .
Posted below is an example of the CCO “MOLE” that shall be placed in one of our current articles.  When you find the article that the “MOLE” is located in,  you need to immediately contact the business who sponsoring the contest in order to collect your prize .  Only one prize shall be awarded per weekly contest. No family member of employees of the City County Observer are eligible to win.
This weeks contest is sponsored by the newly remodeled and upscale PHOENIX NIGHTCLUB  AND EVENT CENTER.  Thewinner of find the CCO “MOLE” contest shall receive a  $200 dollar “VIP SIDEBAR” area coupon.  This coupon includes a private “VIP SIDEBAR” section for up to 15 people. The winner and their guests will  be escorted through the front door with no wait and shown to their exclusive reserved “VIP SIDEBAR” section. There is no cover charge for anyone in your party. You will be catered and pampered by one of PHOENIX  VIP hostesses, and you will have the option of bottle service or individual drinks. No one outside of your group is allowed in your private “VIP SIDEBAR” area without your permission. Your area is red roped off and you will truly treated like VIP’s you really are.
When you find the CCO “MOLE” that is embedded in one our current articles posted today you must call Chris COLE General Manager of  PHOENIX NIGHTCLUB AND EVENT CENTER at 1-812-760-6024 soon as possible to claim your prize.  Happy “MOLE” hunting!
(Washington, DC) – On Monday, Congressman Larry Bucshon, a physician from Southern Indiana, released the following statement after the Administrationagain unilaterally delayed part of ObamaCare.
“As the President tells the American people his signature law is a success that is working, his Administration unilaterally delays it again. Why are hardworking families expected to face the burden of higher premiums, huge deductibles, and restricted physician networks, while other parts of the law are delayed at the whim of the President?
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“I agree with the President – businesses shouldn’t have to deal with this disastrous law, but neither should families. He should join with House Republicans to delay this train wreck for the families who are struggling to find the affordable coverage they were promised.
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“If the President has the power to delay the law for some Americans, he can certainly delay it for everyone. Why is he waiting?â€
An Indiana man convicted of stealing the Social Security numbers of more than 10 people must be sentenced to less time in prison because of a recent Supreme Court of the United States decision, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a five-page opinion Friday.
Timmothy Williams’ sentence will be significantly reduced, the Circuit Court ruled, because he was sentenced under guidelines calling for longer incarceration that were revised after Williams committed the crimes.
Williams pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Hammond, to an 11-count indictment charging him with identity theft, making a false statement to an IRS agent and aggravated identity theft. He was sentenced to 56 months in prison, compounded by an additional 24 months because there were more than 10 victims. In a per curiam opinion, a panel of the Circuit Court ruled that there would have been no constitutional problems with the sentence under prior 7th Circuit precedent.
“While this case was on appeal, however, the Supreme Court held that applying the guidelines in effect at sentencing violates the ex post facto clause if it raises the defendant’s imprisonment rage,†the court wrote, citing Peugh v. United States, 133 S.Ct. 2072, 2078 (2013).
The panel remanded United States of America v. Timmothy Williams, 13-1260, to Northern District Chief Judge Philip P. Simon with instructions to resentence Williams to 30 to 37 months in prison.
For the second year, the Culinary Arts program at the EVSC’s Southern Indiana Career and Technical Center has been named to the Hospitality 100 – an annual list of the best secondary school culinary programs in the United States. The list, which is compiled by a team from the National Center for Hospitality Studies at Sullivan University in Louisville, Ky., is comprised of high schools and tech centers that excel in the areas of Culinary Arts, Baking & Pastry Arts and/or Hospitality Management
As part of the process, the team conducts research to establish schools with strong hospitality enrollment and influence in their community. The committee also looks for programs that are members of organizations such as SkillsUSA, Pro Start and Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA). In addition, the team visits schools that they deem to have strong hospitality studies programs to get a first-hand look.
“The designation confirms what students in these programs are learning at the high school level is rigorous and relevant to what they would be learning in college,†said Ed Ellis, lead chef and advisor for the culinary arts program. “It also gives credibility to our program, and more importantly, to our students.â€
The Culinary Arts program at the Southern Indiana Career & Technical Center currently offers students the ability to earn 14 dual credits from Vincennes University; additionally the students qualify for the Jump Start Program at Sullivan University and can take early entrance exams for Johnson Wales University. These options allow students to complete their degrees in half the time and at a lower cost than traditional students.
Scientist with Sabic will travel to Fairlawn Elementary School tomorrow morning for a fascinating science presentation for the school’s fourth and fifth graders. The presentation, which will begin at 8:15 a.m. is focused on science and how students can help the environment.
Subject:Â Ch 7 Report Sent:Â Tue, Feb 11, 2014 1:08:52 AM
I arrived home in time to see a report on Channel 7 by Kayla Moody that was obviously recorded before she talked to me. I have called the station and complained about the inaccuracy but wanted to also communicate with Council. The station confirmed that Ms. Moody texted them while I was on the phone with them, saying that her earlier recorded segment was wrong. The 6:30 news report made it look like I was there to complain to Council which was a total fabrication.
Ms. Moody said that I was at the Council meeting tonight to raise the issue of a leak by Council regarding the Berry project that caused problems with Berry. This is not true. I did communicate to Council that we need to be careful and not make information about a project public until the company approved it, but that email went only to Council and I did not share it or say anything to Ms. Moody or any member of the press about any potential or actual issue that may have resulted from the advance notice.
IS IT TRUE a regular CCO Blogger posted this comment in yesterdays IIT post?  …that Mr. Biden post really caught our attention since we made reference in yesterday IIT about City Councilman Jonathan Weaver attending Republican Mayor Winnecke  “GALA†fundraiser last Friday at the Centre?  … after looking at Joe Biden’s post we are extremely puzzled why the State Democratic Party Chairmen John Zody, 8th District Democratic Chairmen Tony Long and Vanderburgh County Chairmen Rob Faulkner  hasn’t conducted a formal investigation on possible party disloyalty issues concerning City Councilmen Weaver’s and other precinct and ward leaders actions during the course 2 years?  …attached below is an extremely interesting article for your review and comments?
 JoeBiden says:
February 10, 2014
Press, apparently that rule only applies in Vanderburgh County;
State Democratic Central Committee removes Henry County Chair
Unanimous vote comes after investigation, finding of party disloyalty
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Democratic Party State Central Committee met today and unanimously voted to remove Henry County Chair Steve Clark from his position as a result of failed leadership that included multiple violations of party rules.
Clark was barred from holding any party office sanctioned by the Indiana Democratic Party for a term of five years. The Henry County Vice Chair will assume the Chair’s responsibilities until the party reorganization meeting on March 7.
Clark was removed from office following a formal investigation into allegations that he allowed Democratic party officials to openly support the Republican mayoral candidate in New Castle in 2007, leading to the election of the first Republican mayor there in 56 years.
A Jan. 19 report summarizing the investigation found that “[t]he Hearing Officer came away from the hearing with the clear but sad conviction that the Henry County Party is in disarray. Individuals on both sides of the controversy are good and sincere people, but the hostility between factions in the County Party is extensive and alarming.â€
Party rules allow for the removal of a party officer for neglect of duty; willful violation of the party rules; conviction of a felony; disloyalty to the party; or any other course of conduct that does not promote the best interests of the party or creates dissension within the party.
