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A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL THE CITY OF EVANSVILLE, IN CO-SPONSORED By MOSBY, WEAVER AND RILEY

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Councilwoman Missy Mosby
2nd Ward Councilwoman Missy Mosby
3rd Ward City Councilwoman Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley
3rd Ward City Councilwoman Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley

RESOLUTION C-2013- INTRODUCED BY WEAVER, MOSBY AND RILEY OF THE CITY OF EVANSVILLE COMMON COUNCIL.

A RESOLUTION BY SELECT MEMBERS OF  THE COMMON COUNCIL THE CITY OF EVANSVILLE, IN

WHEREAS, in 2011, The Indiana General Assembly adopted House Joint Resolution No. 6 (“HJR 6”), which would add a new section 38 to Article 1 of the Indiana Constitution, to read as follows:

“Section 38. Only a marriage between one (1) man and one (1) woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Indiana. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of married for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized”; and

WHEREAS, to become affective, HJR 6 must be agreed to by the 2014 General Assembly and ratified by a majority of the State’s voters voting on the question at the November 2014 general election; and

WHEREAS, IC 31-11-1-1(a) already provides that, “Only a female may marry a male. Only a male may marry a female”; and

WHEREAS, on August 21, 2013, a coalition of Indiana businesses and groups announced the formation of Freedom Indiana, a bi-partisan statewide organization that opposes HJR 6; and

WHEREAS, the Freedom Indiana coalition partners include Eli Lilly and Company and Cummins Inc., each of which made a significant financial investment in the campaign to have the Indiana general assembly reject HJR 6; and

WHEREAS, a Ball State University poll shows that 58% of Hoosiers oppose the Constitutional Amendment and only 38% support it; and

WHEREAS, Indiana, Purdue, Ball State, Butler and DePaul Universities have all expressed opposition to the Constitutional Amendment; and

WHEREAS, the Democrat controlled City-County Council of Indianapolis passed a similar Resolution and it was endorsed by Indianapolis’ Republican Mayor; and

WHEREAS, the Common Council recognize that discrimination in any form adversely impacts the ability of industry to attract the best employees; and

WHEREAS, it is the intent and obligation of the Common Council to promote economic development and to insure that industry is not discouraged from doing business in the City of Evansville; and

WHEREAS, the Common Council calls on Mayor Winnecke to join in this Resolution.

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED,

THE COMMON COUNCIL OF EVANSVILLE, INDIANA HEREBY urges the General Assembly of the State of Indiana to reject the proposed State Constitutional Amendment permanently defining marriage.

PASSED BY the Common Council of the City of Evansville, Indiana, on the 9th day of December, 2013 on said day signed by the President of the Common Council and attested by the City Clerk.

Constance Robinson, President of the Common Council, City of Evansville, Indiana

Attest: Laura Windhorst, City Clerk

Presented by me, the undersigned City Clerk of the City of Evansville, Indiana, to the Mayor of Evansville, this day of December, 2013, at o’clock .m. for his consideration and action thereon.

Laura Windhorst, City Clerk

City of Evansville, Indiana

Having examined the foregoing resolution, I do now, as Mayor of the City of Evansville, Indiana, approve said resolution and return the same to the City Clerk this day of December, 2013, at o’clock .m.

Lloyd Winnecke, Mayor City of Evansville, Indiana

 APPROVED AS TO FORM BY TED C. ZIEMER, JR., CORPORATION COUNSEL

New research on teens says parenting, social ties play bigger role than biology

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st marys logo

 

Having involved parents and feeling connected to school increase the likelihood that a teen will get sufficient sleep, a new study finds.

Previous research has suggested that developmental factors, specifically lower levels of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin, may explain why children get less sleep as they become teenagers.

But this study — published in the December issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior — found that social ties, including relationships with parents and friends, may have a more significant effect on changing sleep patterns in teens than biology.

“My study found that social ties were more important than biological development as predictors of teen sleep behaviors,” David Maume, a sociology professor at the University of Cincinnati, said in a news release from the American Sociological Association.

Maume analyzed data collected from nearly 1,000 young people when they were aged 12 to 15. During these years, the participants’ average sleep duration fell from more than nine hours per school night to less than eight hours.

He found that parents’ oversight of teens — especially in establishing a bedtime — had a strong effect on healthy sleep habits.

“Research shows that parents who keep tabs on their kids are less likely to see them get into trouble or use drugs and alcohol,” Maume said. “My findings suggest a similar dynamic with sleep. Parents who monitor their children’s behavior are more likely to have kids that get adequate rest. Given that children generally get less sleep as they become teenagers, parents should be ever more vigilant at this stage,” he added.

Teens also had longer and better quality sleep when they felt they were a part of their school or had friends who cared about school and were positive, social people.

“Teens who have pro-social friends tend to behave in pro-social ways, which includes taking care of one’s health by getting proper sleep,” Maume said.

When teenagers have trouble sleeping, doctors often recommend prescription drugs to address the problem, he noted. “My research indicates that it’s necessary to look beyond biology when seeking to understand and treat adolescents’ sleep problems,” Maume said. “Such an approach may lead to more counseling or greater parental involvement in teens’ lives, both of which are less invasive than commonly prescribed medical solutions and, at least in the case of parental involvement, cheaper.”

More information

The National Sleep Foundation has more about teens and sleep.

Notre Dame Sues ObamaCare

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Yesterday, the University of Notre Dame filed a religious challenge to the U.S. health-care overhaul in Indiana federal court.

The complaint Notre Dame filed yesterday, alleging that the law’s requirement health plans cover birth control violates Roman Catholic teaching, is a re-filing of a lawsuit dismissed in December on procedural grounds.

The Notre Dame case is among 86 lawsuits attacking Obamacare on religious grounds, according to Erin Mersino, trial counsel at the Thomas More Law Center, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, a Christian-based public interest law firm.

Forty-one of the cases involve primarily Catholic nonprofit groups such as Notre Dame and take issue with the birth control mandate, Mersino said. The other 46 were brought by for-profit entities whose owners argue the contraception provision violates their religious freedom, she said.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 26 agreed to hear two cases from the for-profit group involving the craft store chain Hobby Lobby Stores Inc., and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. They, too, claim an exemption from covering employees’ birth control on religious grounds.

epd activity report December 4, 2013

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EPD PATCH 2012

epd activity report December 4, 2013

IS IT TRUE December 5, 2013

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Mole #3 Nostradamus of Local Politics
Mole #3 Nostradamus of Local Politics

IS IT TRUE December 5, 2013

IS IT TRUE the Evansville City Council has taken the steps to let the State of Indiana know that they oppose a constitutional amendment that would ban same sex marriage?…the CCO has long supported a person’s right to choose to enter into a contract of marriage with anyone one wishes?…what would be preferable is to get the government out of the marriage business altogether?…we wonder except for the collection of licensing fees and taxation programs that treat married and single people differently why on earth any government ever got into the business of who can marry who in the first place?…the move by the City Council is a move that discourages a new law regarding the State of Indiana regulating marriage?…we commend the Evansville City Council and Mayor Winnecke for opposing this proposed amendment to the Indiana Constitution?…we further commend Mayor Winnecke for breaking with the largely Republican position of trying to use legislation to control marriage?…the CCO says thumbs-up to the City Council and Mayor Winnecke for their stand to keep the government the hell out of people’s bedrooms?

IS IT TRUE that now that that is finished we would like to see the Mayor and the City Council get back to the business of fixing Evansville’s problems and put the distraction of the State of Indiana’s obsession legislating their opinion of morality aside?…it was nice to see these guys agree on something but it would be better to see them work together to do something constructive in Evansville like balancing the budget, having easy audits, creating jobs, and fixing the infrastructure?

IS IT TRUE as Evansville hunkers down for a day of snow and cold it is a good time for people to start thinking about just what should be included in a comprehensive area plan and a downtown master plan?…it is plain as day when examining published words on the City of Evansville website that at one point in time more than 10 years ago someone recognized that without planning THINGS WILL HAPPEN BY CHANCE?…CHANCE is probably the best word to describe development in Evansville for at least the last decade?…CHANCE even ruled the roost here when there was an up to date plan in place so one can understand how the usefulness of a plan is questioned here?…successful cities all use a plan?…random and capricious development is not the best way to grow or refurbish a City and we encourage everyone who cares anything about the future of Evansville to send this message to your City Council members and the Mayor?…before barging forward randomly it is time to reflect and plan as both candidates for Mayor in 2011 pledged to do?…December is a good time to keep promises?

IS IT TRUE President Obama and the White House are appearing to be in an all out effort to enroll the young and healthy people who thus far are not signing up for ObamaCare?…the President himself channeling a cell phone salesman said yesterday that “I don’t know what your bills are. I have noticed that Sasha and Malia seem to spend a lot of time on iPhones. My suspicion is that for a lot of you, between your cable bill and your phone bill, you’re spending more than 100 bucks a month?”…he seems to have been taught well as basic cable and basic phone plans do indeed add up to roughly $100 per month?…the President continued saying, “The idea that you wouldn’t want to make sure that you’ve got the health security and financial security that comes with health insurance for less than that price, you guys are smarter than that. And most young people are, as well?”…this is where the disconnect comes into play?…contrary to what the President may think about the cost of health insurance under ACA the CCO has not heard a single instance of any plan that is less than $100 per month?…if the subsidies are applied that may be the case but there is the problem of “can someone who qualifies for a subsidy afford to pay $100 per month?”

IS IT TRUE in a meeting of Cover California held yesterday something was revealed that makes it just how much of a panic there is about ObamaCare’s inability to attract the young and healthy?…even the California exchange that by all accounts is working smoothly is not attracting the young and healthy?…the discussion that this writer attended was along the lines of “the poor and destitute will be fine, the rich will be fine, but the middle class is going to be adversely effected financially by the ACA (didn’t hear the word ObamaCare even once)?”…there was a desperate tone with regard to enrollment of the young and healthy?…an effort was disclosed to use social media and iPhone apps to get the young and healthy to sign up for ACA offered health insurance at the Coachella Fest which is a 3 day rock music festival held every April at the Indio Polo Fields?…I raised the question about the March 31 deadline to sign up vs. the April event dates and was told “THE ENROLLMENT DATE WILL BE EXTENDED SOON, WE MAY GO TO CONTINUOUS ENROLLMENT SO WE NEVER STOP SELLING TO YOUNG PEOPLE?”…there were even discussions of offering commissions for those who sign target groups up?…this shows first and healthily an understanding of the cash flow of the program, but also a panic at the demographic sign up problems in the only large population state that actually has a working program in place?

One Millionth Customer Expected To Enter Ford Center Tonight !

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ford center

VenuWorks of Evansville, the firm that manages the Ford Center & Victory Theatre, is expecting the One Millionth Customer to walk through Ford Center doors tomorrow night during the IceMen Hockey game. The facility opened its doors just two years ago in November of 2011 and will soon have entertained One Million people. According to Executive Director Scott Schoenike, “VenuWorks has a unique prize package to recognize the one millionth customer.” Schoenike went on to say that the economic impact for Evansville has been calculated to exceed 82 million dollars over the first two years.

Ford Center continues to play a vital role in increasing the quality of life and it’s as important to VenuWorks mission as Evansville’s economic impact.

Jackson Kelly featured with national first-tier rankings in mining and natural resources law

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 Jackson Kelly PLLC has received national first-tier rankings in mining law and natural resources law.  This is according to the recently-released U.S. News Media Group and Best Lawyers® 2014 “Best Law Firms” rankings.

In addition, the following practice groups were ranked tier one in Charleston, W.Va.: Administrative/Regulatory Law, Banking and Finance Law, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Commercial Litigation, Corporate Compliance Law, Corporate Law, Criminal Defense: White-Collar, Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, Employment Law – Management, Energy Law, Environmental Law, Financial Services Regulation Law, Government Relations Practice, Health Care Law, Labor Law – Management, Legal Malpractice Law – Defendants, Litigation – Banking & Finance, Litigation – Bankruptcy, Litigation – Environmental, Litigation – Labor & Employment, Litigation – Mergers and Acquisitions, Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Defendants, Mediation, Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants, Mergers & Acquisitions Law, Mining Law, Natural Resources Law, Oil & Gas Law, Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants, Public Finance Law, Real Estate Law, Securities/Capital Markets Law, Tax Law, Water Law and Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers.

In Colorado, the firm was honored with tier one rankings in Energy Law.

In Lexington, Ky., the firm received tier one rankings in: Construction Law, Environmental Law, Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Defendants and Product Liability Litigation – Defendants.

In Morgantown, W.Va., the firm received tier one rankings in the following categories: Commercial Litigation, Criminal Defense: White-Collar, Employment Law – Management, Labor Law – Management, Litigation – Labor & Employment, Public Finance Law, Tax Law, Trusts & Estates Law and Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers.

The firm’s Pittsburgh, Pa. office had first tier rankings in Mining Law and Natural Resources Law.

These rankings, which are presented in tiers, showcase more than 10,000 different law firms ranked nationally in one or more of 80 major legal practice areas and in metropolitan or state rankings in one or more of 118 major legal practice areas.  National and metropolitan first-tier rankings will be featured in the “Best Law Firms” standalone publication.

Jackson Kelly PLLC is a national law firm representing leading global corporations, national companies, entrepreneurs and individuals in areas of law such as environmental, business, labor and employment, federal and state workers’ compensation, civil litigation and occupational safety and health. The firm has offices in Colorado, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Central High School Government Students to Discuss VOICE

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EVSC
Thursday, Dec. 5

9:15 – 10:30 a.m.

Central High School, 5400 First Ave.

 

Students in Jill Hahn’s college-level government class at Central High School will have the opportunity tomorrow to meet with representatives from Leadership Evansville to discuss VOICE, a community-wide effort, led by Leadership Evansville, that allows citizens to share their ideas, hopes and visions for Evansville.

The meeting will help introduce an economic project that the students will work on with Mayor Winnecke and the City of Evansville beginning next semester. The project, which awarded Hahn an Olan W. Davis State Economic Award, asks students to look at Evansville and research what would be needed for continued growth. The project allows students to think outside the box, take an interest in their community, and help retain the youth of the city.

Going forward, students will think of an activity, event or place, research it, determine if there would be interest and then research similar projects around the U.S. Students will then present their projects to a board of individuals and the best three will be presented before Mayor Winnecke.

 

 

Use state funds to help hungry Hoosiers‏

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INDIANAPOLIS – I recently read an insightful item I wanted to share with my fellow citizens of Indiana House District 77.

The column below was issued Thanksgiving week by State Rep. Greg Porter (D-Indianapolis). Rep. Porter is the Ranking Minority Member of the House Ways & Means Committee of the Indiana State Legislature:

In November, millions of families in Indiana and across the nation saw their Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits cut through a planned phase-out of a temporary increase in funding that originally took place during the 2009 recession.

Unfortunately, this cut in what used to be known as the food stamp program could not have come at a worse time for Indiana. Our state’s unemployment rate still exceeds the national average, and too many of the “new” jobs being created carry wages around the poverty level. Many do not include any essential benefits such as health care.

In addition, more ominous trouble for the SNAP program looms, as the Republicans in control of the U.S. House consider even more cuts over the next decade.

Under such dire circumstances, it would be good to report that our state is ready to step into the breach and offer some relief for those facing persistent hunger.

That is not the case. Those who control the executive and legislative branches in Indiana state government have done little to nothing, preferring to engage in symbolic gestures rather than take tangible steps to stop hunger.

Last February, the majority leadership of the Indiana House decided to “highlight” an area of “charitable need” by having representatives provide daily testimonials about the great work that food banks do across our state and placing a drop-off box for food donations. In the days before Halloween, the governor chose to raise money for the hungry by selling pumpkins on the Statehouse lawn.

However, when it came to actually doing something substantive for the cause of food insecurity, there was a gigantic chasm between the rhetoric expressed and the actions that were actually undertaken.

Based on the governor’s recommendation, only $300,000 was appropriated to our state’s food banks for each year of the biennial state budget, despite repeated attempts by myself and other House Democrats to provide more. That is $300,000 in a $14 billion state budget.

These same leaders have shown a demonstrated zeal when it comes to bestowing tax breaks to those who do not really need them. But when it comes to addressing one of the most persistent un-met needs of our state, the silence from our leaders is truly deafening.

      Hopefully, all hope is not lost, and we can try again to address a need that is NOT going away. I have two suggestions that could make a real difference in addressing the hunger problem in our state.

First, even though 2014 is not a budget year, our state has a $2 billion surplus in the bank. A small fraction of this surplus could be directed to food banks as a “supplemental appropriation.” Even a ten-fold increase would be only $3 million. That wouldn’t be remotely enough money to make up the $98 million we are losing through reductions in SNAP, but it still would be a respectable start.

Secondly, the governor could ask the State Board of Finance at its next monthly meeting to transfer money to food banks. This group—consisting of the governor, state auditor and state treasurer—has almost unlimited power to transfer money between funds for almost any reason they choose.

In recent years, governors in our state have been very nimble in using this board for exactly this purpose. Not long ago, Gov. Pence secured a transfer of almost $150 million in Family & Social Services Agency (FSSA) funds to help clean up an accounting mistake involving local option income tax allocations.

If the State Board of Finance can make these transfers for political reasons, policy preferences or correcting clerical errors, surely the same approach can be undertaken to ensure that something as essential as alleviating the hunger pains of our residents.

Now that we are in the heart of the holiday season, I truly hope that public officials in our state realize that there is an opportunity here to take substantive action on a problem that afflicts too many people in our state.

Rather than empty public relations gestures, I think the time has come to take more direct action to help stop hunger. We have the chance…and the ability…to do so much more.

State Rep. Greg Porter (D-Indianapolis) is Ranking Minority Member of the Indiana House Ways & Means Committee. He represents the citizens of Indiana House District 96.

Notice of Vanderburgh County Redevelopment Commission Meeting

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Vanderburgh_County_in_seal

 

The Vanderburgh County Redevelopment Commission will hold a meeting on Wednesday December 18, 2013 at 9:00 a.m. in Room 307 of the Civic Center Complex located at 1 N.W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. to consider matters relating to Vanderburgh County’s economic development participation in the Shell Building to be constructed within the Vanderburgh Industrial Park as well as other Commission business matters.

 

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