Home Blog Page 6567

IS IT TRUE…JANUARY 8, 2014

73

 

Kathryn Martin, Knight Township Trustee
Kathryn Martin, Knight Township Trustee

IS IT TRUE that the proposed downtown Convention Hotel project groundbreaking event has been cancelled because of alleged underground mooring issues?  …we hope the proposed hotel site doesn’t have any toxic materials issues on this site?  …we hear that it may cost the city taxpayers big bucks to correct any site issues before building on this site?

IS IT TRUE we hear that Knight Township Trustee Kathryn Martin shall be filling her re-election papers to run as a Democrat Friday?  …that Mrs. Martin recently had lunch with a member of the Vanderburgh County GOP Central Committee?  …that the member of this committee asked Kathryn to consider filing for re-election as a member of the Republication  party and not as a Democratic officer holder?  …she was told if she did change her party affiliation she would run unopposed?  …she was also told if she didn’t she would have a Republican challenger?  …if anyone needs to verify this statement please call Kathryn at the Knight Township office at (812) 477-1596?

IS IT TRUE we hear that former Evansville City Councilmen and Fire Chief Keith Jarboe has decided not run for 2nd District County Commissioner?

IS IT TRUE we can’t believe that the Indiana State Board of Accounts hasn’t  released the 2012 City of Evansville audit?  …that this audit was due to be made public on November 1, 2013?  …if this audit has problems we predict that the Mayor shall blame the former Mayor for all negative findings?

IS IT TRUE it is always prudent when starting a construction project to test everything including the soil for contamination before locking in a price?…in the event where refurbishment of older buildings is concerned asbestos testing and even seismic testing will put any uncertainties to rest or shine the light of reality onto the budget?…failing to do such things in an effort to make haste or to get every photo op possible is one of the reasons that politicians are so inept at pricing and timing of projects?…it has only been a short three years since Evansville witnessed a political epiphany when arena project manager John Kish remembered to do seismic testing on the old Executive Inn only after the Haiti earthquake?…one would think that testing for soil contamination and seismic issues would be pretty basic preparation steps?…keep your ears open over the next few days for an admission of oversight from the Mayor’s office regarding the lot where the “Coming in Fall 2015” sign stands announcing a new convention hotel?…the most interesting information will be the cost of the cleanup and the amount of the delay?

IS IT TRUE it was reported last night that this latest arctic vortex has created freezing in all 50 of the United States of America (including Hawaii) for the first time since monitoring has been done?…it looks like we will be getting a break today from the deep freeze?…in a move that emphasizes just how cold it is, the Chicago Zoo took their female polar bear indoors yesterday to protect her from the cold?

IS I TRUE that after convicted swindler Bernie Madoff has been under lock and key for over 4 years for bilking investors out of $17 Billion the reparation dollars keep rolling in and one would think that those dollars would be earmarked for the victims of Madoff’s fraud?…that just ain’t true?…the same federal government that aided Madoff in carrying out his scam by ignoring warnings about him for years is lining up like pigs at the trough to capture the $2 Billion settlement negotiated from J. P. Morgan for a role they may or may not have had in benefiting from Madoff’s antics?…while Morgan found it easier and cheaper to write a $2 Billion check than to pay for a prolonged court fight, any money recovered that has Madoff’s fingerprints on it should go to the victims and not to the federal government that pays $700 for hammers and $500 for toilet seats?…the best use of any dollars taken by the feds would be to prosecute some of their own for dereliction of duty or even aiding and abetting fraud in the Madoff case?

Convenience store association says cold beer ban discriminatory

6

 by Marilyn Odendahl for the indianalawyer.comimages-10

Along with the usual reasons including giving consumers more options, providing price competition and sparking new investment in the state, Indiana convenience store owners have added a new argument to their push to sell cold beer – it’s their constitutional right.

Three gas marts have joined the Indiana Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association to file a complaint in federal court, charging that the state’s current practice of regulating beer by temperature is arbitrary and leads to discriminatory treatment that violates state and federal constitutions.

The complaint, Indiana Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, Thorntons, Inc., Ricker Oil Company, Inc., Freedom Oil, LLC and Steve Noe v. Alex Huskey, in his official capacity as chairman of the Indiana Alcohol Tobacco Commission, The Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission and The State of Indiana, 1:13-CV-0784, was filed May 14 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.

For nearly the last five years, the Indiana Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association has lobbied the Legislature unsuccessfully to be able to sell cold beer. Now the organization is turning to the courts.

Changing alcohol laws through means other than the General Assembly is not uncommon, said Scot Imus, the association’s executive director.

As an example, he pointed to the 1963 bulletin issued by the Indiana Alcoholic Beverage Commission that authorized liquor stores to sell cold beer. The Indiana Supreme Court upheld the cold beer sales in 1964, and the Legislature finally followed suit when it incorporated the language of the bulletin into the 1979 Acts.

However, Attorney General Greg Zoeller maintains alcohol laws are the purview of the General Assembly rather than the judiciary. The attorney general’s office is representing the ATC and defending the statute, which as Zoeller pointed out, is the current decision of the elected members of the Legislature.

“This subject has been debated in the legislature for a number of years and it will be the state’s position that the legislature is the proper forum for any changes to our laws and not the courts,” Zoeller stated May 14 in response to the complaint.

Constitutional grounds

In their complaint, the Indiana plaintiffs focus on the single issue of whether the regulation of beer by temperature is constitutional.

“We are the only state in the union regulating who can sell beer based on temperature,” said John Maley, Barnes & Thornburg LLP partner, who represents the plaintiffs. “There is no rational basis for this 50-year-old disparate treatment, particularly when liquor stores adjoining the convenience stores can sell chilled beer and adjoining convenience stores can sell only warm beer but can sell chilled higher-content drinks such as wine.”

The group asserts the state’s limitations on sales of cold beer violate the equal protection clause and the equal privileges clause of the U.S. Constitution. Also, the filing charges Indiana’s practices violate the equal protection clause of the state’s constitution.

Finally, the complaint contends that the law also violates Article 1, Section 1 of the Indiana Constitution.

This section echoes the Declaration of Independence in its provision, noting that all people have the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The convenience store association then points to the Indiana Supreme Court decision in Herman v. State, 8 Ind. 545, 558 (Ind. 1855), which determined that “the right of liberty and pursuing happiness secured by the constitution, embraces the right, in each compos mentis individual of selecting what he will eat and drink.”

The complaint by the Indiana retailers comes several months after a similar group in Kentucky was successful in making their argument against a state statute. Those plaintiffs charged that barring grocery and convenience stores from selling liquor and wine while permitting drugstores and others to do so is differential treatment that violates the equal protection provisions of the U.S. and Kentucky constitutions.

In Maxwell’s Pic-Pac, Inc. v. Dehner, 887 F.Supp.2d 733 (2012), the U.S. District Court Western District of Kentucky at Louisville agreed.

“Here the attenuated or non-existent relationship between the Statute’s classification and any number of potential legislative goals leaves the Court with no other conclusion than that the Statute offends the Equal Protection Clause and, for that reason, must be struck down as unconstitutional,” Judge John Heyburn II wrote for the court.

The defendants in the Indiana case have until July 5 to respond to the complaint. A pretrial conference has been scheduled for July 24 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Debra McVicker Lynch.

To John Livengood, president and CEO of the Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers, the pivot to the judicial branch is the equivalent of a Hail Mary pass by a team that could not get to the 20-yard line.

States have the right under the 21st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to make laws regarding how alcohol is sold, Livengood said. Consequently, he believes the convenience stores have an uphill battle ahead.

Legislature will act

Under Indiana law, package liquor stores with a liquor dealer’s permit can sell warm or cold: liquor, beer, wine and malt beverages. Yet, they cannot offer much beyond that other than tobacco products, bar supplies and lottery tickets.

Convenience stores, defined as selling goods that may include milk, bread, soda, snacks and automotive fuel, are allowed to sell alcohol under a beer dealer’s permit. Indiana statute prohibits holders of beer dealer’s permits to offer beer that has been iced or cooled.

Changing the Indiana Code to enable more retailers to sell beer cold always comes back to the basic question of “What is good public policy?” said Sen. Ron Alting.

altingAlting

The Lafayette Republican is the current chair of the Senate Public Policy Committee and served in a leadership position on the Interim Study Committee on Alcoholic Beverage Issues during the summers of 2008 and 2009.

In the end, the committee unanimously recommended to the General Assembly that only package liquor stores be allowed to sell beer cold.

“I just don’t buy this that we’re living in prehistoric times here,” Alting said, referring to a criticism of Indiana’s alcohol laws.

In fact, he said the businesses that are complaining do not realize how good they have it under current statute and, he warned, they should be careful what they wish for.

While some legislators have introduced bills easing the limits on cold beer sales, other legislators have floated bills that added restrictions on grocery stores, convenience stores and pharmacies. These attempts would have required the food and drug stores to segregate the alcohol into a separate area where access was restricted to adults 21 and older.

However, Imus said the previous measures proposed in the Statehouse included lifting restrictions on liquor stores. He called it absurd that liquor stores can’t sell limes to go with the Corona beer.

Livengood countered the loss of cold beer sales would be a devastating blow to Hoosier liquor stores. Other states that have a viable package liquor store industry typically provide something to those entities that is not available to the other retailers, he said. While some states may make liquor and wine sales exclusive to liquor stores, Indiana has chosen to make these stores the proprietor of cold beer.

Alting is doubtful the convenience store owners will prevail in their lawsuit. He sees the state as clearly having the right to regulate alcohol but concedes no one can be certain of what the court will decide.

And if the court agrees with the convenience store association, Alting said the Legislature will not just sit back and pop a cold one.

“It would bring a lot of bills drafted by a lot of colleagues in the House and Senate,” he said.•

Justices block gay marriage in Utah

18

 

Proposition 8 rally outside of the Supreme Court

Jennifer Nelson January 7, 2014

The Supreme Court of the United States issued an order Monday stopping gay marriage in Utah. The justices stayed a permanent injunction that struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage.

“The application for stay presented to Justice Sotomayor and by her referred to the Court is granted. The permanent injunction issued by the United States District Court for the District of Utah, case No. 2:13-cv-217, on December 20, 2013, is stayed pending final disposition of the appeal by the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit,” the justices wrote in the order in Herbert, Gov. of UT, et al. v. Kitchen, Derek, et al., 13A687.

Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, whose office asked for the stay, said in a statement, “There is not clear legal precedence for this particular situation. This is the uncertainty that we were trying to avoid by asking the District Court for a stay immediately after its decision.  It is very unfortunate that so many Utah citizens have been put into this legal limbo.

“Utah’s Office of Attorney General is carefully evaluating the legal status of the marriages that were performed since the District Court’s decision and will not rush to a decision that impacts Utah citizens so personally.

“I believe this was a correct decision by the Supreme Court.  There is an order to the legal process and this decision is just another step in that process.  Both legal teams have much work to do before the case is presented before the 10th Circuit Court on an expedited basis.  I believe the stay indicates an interest by the Supreme Court in this case and as I have said before, pursuing the legal process to get a final answer from the highest court benefits all citizens of Utah,” Reyes said.

More than 1,000 gay and lesbian couples had gotten married since a federal judge ruled Dec. 20 that the ban on same-sex marriage violated gay and lesbian couples’ constitutional rights.

USI’s Warhol collection goes on display January 23

0

Opening reception includes gallery talk, photo booth

January 07, 2014 | Wendy Bredhold
Article Photo
“Andy Warhol: Photographs and Prints from the University Collection” opens Thursday, January 23, and will be on display in the University of Southern Indiana’s McCutchan Art Center/Pace Galleries through March 9.In addition to the two-dimensional images, Warhol’s interactive installation “Silver Clouds” will also be exhibited. The installation recalls the silver foil and reflective surfaces designed for The Factory, the studio where Warhol’s art was produced.Warhol (1928-1987) was among the most notable and influential 20th century artists. He worked in photography, printmaking, sculpture, painting, and filmmaking. The inspiration for many of Warhol’s well-known silkscreen and acrylic portraits came from the thousands of Polaroid prints taken of Warhol’s “superstars,” celebrities and socialites who visited his busy studio.

An opening reception will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, January 23. Kristen Wilkins, assistant professor of photography,
who curated the photographic display, will present a gallery
talk at 6:30 p.m.
Dennis Hopper, 1977 Polacolor Type 108 4 1/4″h x 3 3/8″w Gift of © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. University of Southern Indiana Art Collection, 2008.001.058

Photo Credit: Andy Warhol

Also during the reception, attendees will be able to have their pictures taken in a Polaroid-type format photo booth

and the resulting images will then become part of the exhibit.   The reception is free and open to the public and refreshments  will be served.

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts has donated 100 Polaroid photographs, 50 gelatin silver prints, and six colored screen prints to USI through The Andy Warhol Photographic Legacy Program, launched in 2007, which honored the 20th anniversary of the foundation by making substantial gifts of Warhol’s photographic works to university and college museums, galleries, and art collections across the United States.

The McCutchan Art Center/Pace Galleries, located in the lower level of the Liberal Arts Center, is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call the Art Center at 812/228-5006 or Kathryn Waters, USI professor of art and director of the McCutchan Art Center/Pace Galleries, at 812/464-1933.

Official announcement of the 2014 PEF/EVSC Summer Musical

0

EVSC

Thursday, January 9, 2014

3:30 p.m.

On stage in The Aiken Theatre, Old National Events Plaza (formerly The Centre)

                     715 Locust Street, Evansville IN  47708

 

A news conference is planned to announce the 2014 Public Education Foundation/Evansville  Vanderburgh School Corporation Summer Musical, introduce the directing staff, and give information regarding auditions.  We also have a special announcement regarding future shows.

Cory Kuhlenschmidt, President of the PEF Board of Directors, Dr. David Smith, Superintendent of the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation, Amy Walker, Executive Director of PEF, and Jack Schriber, Community Outreach Coordinator for the EVSC, will speak briefly and answer questions.

Contact at the event: Amy Walker, PEF Executive Director, 812-480-7406

The mission of the Public Education of Evansville, Inc. (PEF) is inspiring and rewarding student-centered innovation in public education.  PEF board, supporters and staff believe that high quality public education is fundamental to the economic, cultural and civic health of our society; and that all students deserve the best possible public education in order to realize their full potential.

Follow PEF on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Public-Education-Foundation-of-Evansville-Inc/), Twitter (PEFEVV), and at www.pefevansville.org

For More Information Contact:  Amy Walker, Executive Director, 812 422-1699 (office) or 812-480-7406 (cell).

 

Sullivan sworn in as State Representative for House District 78

0

 

image011STATEHOUSE – State Representative Holli Sullivan (R-Evansville) was sworn in today by Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Massa to serve House District 78. She will fulfill the remaining term of former State Rep. Suzanne Crouch who resigned from her seat earlier this month to serve as the new Indiana Auditor of State.

 

Rep. Sullivan was joined at the ceremony by her husband Chad, their three children Dalton, Savannah and Sawyer and her parents Homer and Ann Fruit.

 

“The opportunity to serve our community at the Statehouse is quite an honor,” said Rep. Sullivan. “Getting sworn in on the first day of session is an exciting experience I can honestly say I will never forget. The next few months will be an exciting challenge, and I look forward to collaborating with and learning from my fellow legislators in order to best represent House District 78 on the issues that matter most. Suzanne Crouch did an amazing job representing our district and set a great example for me to follow.”

 

Rep. Sullivan graduated from the University of Missouri and is an industrial engineer and owner of Onward Consulting, LLC. She is a graduate of the Richard G. Lugar Excellence in Public Service series and a board member of the Minority/Women’s Business Enterprises Board. Before starting her own business, Rep. Sullivan worked in management at General Motors and Toyota.

 

Rep. Sullivan will serve on the Elections and Apportionment Committee, the Insurance Committee and the Select Committee on Government Reduction.

 

Speaker of the House Brian C. Bosma (R-Indianapolis) was also present at the swearing in ceremony held in the House Chamber today.

“I have no doubt that Rep. Sullivan will serve District 78 with passion and fortitude. Her technical background and experience as a small business owner are great additions to our caucus, and I look forward to having the opportunity to use her expertise to keep Indiana moving forward,” said Speaker Bosma.

 

 

Wood Memorial High School Teacher Arrested for Child Seduction

0
Gibson County – Indiana State Police arrested a 32-year-old Wood Memorial High School teacher this afternoon for Child Seduction after a criminal investigation determined he had an inappropriate relationship with a high school student.

Indiana State Police Detective Tobias Odom initiated a criminal investigation on December 19, 2013, after receiving information that Wood Memorial High School teacher Kyle Scott, 32, of Newburgh, had an inappropriate relationship with a student in December.

During the investigation it was determined that between December 12-18, 2013, Scott had allegedly sent several inappropriate text messages to the student, which included at least one picture and video. The investigation also revealed Scott allegedly fondled the student on at least one occasion.

After reviewing the criminal investigation the Gibson County Prosecutor’s Office issued an arrest warrant for Scott. At approximately 3:45 this afternoon, Detective Tobias Odom arrested Scott at his residence without incident. He was taken to the Gibson County Jail where he is currently being held on a $10,000 bond.

ARRESTED AND CHARGE:
• Kyle F. Scott, 32, 5800 Glen Lake Drive, Newburgh, IN
1. Child Seduction, Class D Felony

Investigating Officer: Detective Tobias Odom, Indiana State Police

-30-
RINGLE

Register with Nixle.com to receive news releases and other information from the Indiana State Police

All criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until, and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.For full details, view this message on the web.

I-65 Northbound Still Closed Between the 76 and 95 Mile Markers

0

ISP

 

Northbound I-65 between exit 76 in northern Bartholomew County and exit 95 in Johnson County remains closed because of icy conditions and will remain closed at least for the next few hours. INDOT and Indiana State Police officials will make a determination later this afternoon if the road can be re-opened or remain closed until tomorrow when the forecasted warmer temperatures will allow salt and other materials to work more effectively to melt the ice. If the decision is made to re-open later today, an updated release will be forwarded. Again, only the northbound lanes are effected by this closure as the southbound lanes remain open.

For full details, view this message on the web.

Hotel Groundbreaking Delayed: No new date announced

22
Local Government Team Photo: A Flock of SNEGALS
Local Government Team Photo: A Flock of SMEGALS

The prematurely scheduled groundbreaking for the downtown convention hotel project will be pushed back, the Redevelopment Commission was told this morning. A new date has not been set.

Construction of the hotel, a 257-room Hilton DoubleTree, is expected to take about 18 months and no permits to start construction have been issued to date. The overall project is to cost about $71 million, and it is to include the hotel, apartments, a parking garage, sky bridges and renovations to the convention center.

The City Council last year agreed to sell bonds subsidizing $20 million of the project’s cost. Old National Bank is providing financing up to $14 million according to the naming rights agreement signed by the Vanderburgh County Commissioners. This leaves roughly $37 Million that developer HCW of Branson, Missouri will have to come up with in a combination of cash and loans for the projects financing to be secured.

IS IT TRUE January 7, 2014

44
Mole
Mole

IS IT TRUE that the City County Observer has come out of the gate rapidly in 2014 with the pageviews, unique visitors, and visits all up by over 33% over the numbers for these metrics in 2013?…at this rate of growth the CCO should attract over 1.5 Million pageviews and 180,000 unique readers in 2014?

IS IT TRUE the Civic Center Mole tells us that the Evansville Redevelopment Commission has given its blessing to a contractor to respond to the RFP issued by Indiana University for a medical school in Southwest Indiana?…this contractor is named USHealthRealty/Skanska and was granted this privilege by the ERC without the benefit of a competitive round of bidding?…Skanska sounds quite familiar as that is the company that was once knows as Industrial Contractors that was acquired and merged into an international construction company?…Industrial Contractors as many of our readers may remember was the recipient of a no-bid contract to refurbish the EVSC headquarters several years ago?…with good old boys in charge of local government bad old practices just seem to become habits?

IS IT TRUE that other construction news a pipe burst in the nearly brand new North High School during yesterday’s deep freeze?…the other older schools have not reported such instances?…we hope that the contractor of the new NHS will honor the damages under warranty and the EVSC will not be out any more money than has already been spent out at the new NHS?

IS IT TRUE as the CCO predicted the Evansville City Council voted Councilman John Friend, CPA to be the new President?…Friend commanded an unexpected 9 – 0 vote?…Councilwoman Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley was named the Vice President by a vote of 7 – 2 with the peanut gallery council members Jonathan Weaver and Missy Mosby dissenting?…the CCO is hoping that the new City Council will adopt a resolution soon to ban the City of Evansville from making loans to companies through any SNEGAL agencies without knowledge and approval of the full City Council?…we furthermore hope to see some official VETTING procedures adopted?…if newly elected President John Friend is to show his mayoral mettle a perfect way to start winning over the people of Evansville would be to issue position papers and then lead an effort to cease the fiat spending of the executive branch of local government?

IS IT TRUE the State of Indiana has decided not to take over management of the Glenwood Leadership Academy after seven straight failing grades?…this is no surprise as the state wants nothing to do with actually taking over failing schools and making them better?…what the state wanted was to threaten failing schools with being taken over and that they have done?…we will not take any future threats or saber rattling from the state seriously if they allow 7 serial failures with nothing but barking into the wind?…the one thing we do know is calling a failing school and “academy” does not make it an academy?…if Glenwood is to change it will be the parents of the students that attend Glenwood that will change its performance?…the EVSC has proven it is powerless to fix Glenwood and the State of Indiana is to cowardly to even try?…it is up to the parents and their children to put the “Academy” in the building as opposed to just on the building?

IS IT TRUE Florida State University completed an undefeated season last night to become the National Champions of college football?…only three teams managed to get through the season with only one loss?…those teams are Michigan State, Central Florida, and the Louisville Cardinals?…there are still people alive who remember the Evansville Football Aces defeating the Louisville Cardinals?..this year the Cardinals drew an average attendance of 55,000 while going 12 – 1 and seeing their coach hired away by the Texas Longhorns for $5 Million per year?…back 60 years ago the football programs as UE and UL were on par with one another?…they have taken different paths as have the cities of Evansville and Louisville?

IS IT TRUE that County Commissioner Joe Kiefer shall be elected president of that board for 2014 at this evening re-organization meeting?  …we can expect to see a more open, likable and objective person leading the County Commission this year? …we wish President Kiefer the best this coming?

1...6,5666,5676,568...7,296Page 6,567 of 7,296