IS IT TRUE June 20, 2013

IS IT TRUE when the Winnecke Administration took over the financial helm of the City, the hospitalization fund had $5,700,000, and now, after eighteen short months of their stewardship the fund has a negative balance of $1,300,000, a difference of $7,000,000?… we wonder how the Winnecke administration is going to replenish the fund balance and whether or not having the right balances in the proper accounts even matters anymore?

IS IT TRUE that the part in yesterday’s IS IT TRUE about the fair haired golden hotel being handed $37.5 Million in tax dollars and the refurbishment of the Riverhouse being denied even a basic tax abatement really struck a chord with many of our readers?…these hotels are only 5 blocks apart and the Riverhouse is only a block from the ONB Building that received a very generous tax abatement and proceeded to sell the building at a profit and lease it back?…our readers are nearly in unanimous agreement that equal treatment should be given to these two hotels if there is even a shred of fairness in the tax abatement system practiced by the Winnecke Administration?…a tax abatement recommendation starts with a graded score sheet and then proceeds to a vote of the City Council with a supposedly unbiased score?…only when an application for tax abatement reaches the City Council can “the games begin” of “gee guys that scored only four years but we really like this one so let’s give em 10 years” or even “I know this thing scored for 10 years but we don’t like this dude so let’s send him home empty handed”?…the shenanigans and good old boy nonsense with respect to tax abatements are not supposed to happen in the grading process but it would seem like there may just be some closed door deals being made before the scoring process is made public?…certain members of the City Council should have a keen interest in how this scoring process is kept free of outsider influence and how these applications scored relative to one another?

IS IT TRUE both the Indiana University Hoosiers and the Louisville Cardinals have now been eliminated from the College World Series?…the Cardinals were eliminated in two games without recording a single win and finish the year tied with LSU for 7th Place in the College World Series?…yesterday’s loss to Oregon State will place the Hoosiers into a tie for 5th Place in the College World Series with the loser of the North Carolina vs. North Carolina State game today?…the CCO is proud to be supporters of both the Hoosiers and the Cardinals and hope they both become fixtures in future College World Series?

IS IT TRUE it has now been roughly five years (1,825 days) since that fateful summer of disaster bound decisions made by the Weinzapfel Administration with regard to announcing projects that had no real substantive developers engaged to make them happen?…the projects that have been dying on the vine for 5 years now include both the McCurdy Hotel and the new downtown convention hotel?…it would really be ironic if Mayor Winnecke holds a big kick off announcement for an amped up convention hotel project on the exact 5th anniversary of the Weinzapfel announcement?…we would not even be surprised to see the former mayor show up and smile for the cameras when an announcement finally comes and when the golden shovels and gilded hard hats are dusted off for the obligatory picture of silly politicians digging the first shovel of dirt?…we wonder what private investors who are competitors of subsidized projects think of government welfare fueling their competitors businesses?

IS IT TRUE June 19, 2013

IS IT TRUE the Democrat love fest held last night at the Vanderburgh County Democrat Headquarters went off without City Councilman Al Lindsey who was true to his word and avoided even the possibility that a Sunshine Law violating conversation would be brought up?…Mole #17 tells us that Councilwoman and Earthcare slayer Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley also did not attend the meeting leaving 6 Democrat members of the Evansville City Council who were willing to risk attending to get whatever they get from such a love fest?…our Moles tell us that there were indeed no conversations that even bordered on violating Sunshine Laws in this meeting that WAS NOT AN OFFICIAL CAUCUS since the precinct committee leaders were not all invited?…we must wonder since by all accounts this was neither a love fest or a lobbying fest and little aggravation surfaced among the attendees if someone’s agenda got aborted by Councilman Al Lindsey’s courageous stance?

IS IT TRUE that word is on the street that some progress announcement will be made regarding the long suffering downtown convention hotel project kicked off by a boastful former Mayor in 2008?…we are quite interested to see just how bold the Winnecke Administration is going to be about recommending a public subsidy for this plethora of private businesses?…it seems when it comes to downtown Evansville with its subsidized apartments, incentivized condos, free façade programs, and now subsidized hotels, restaurants, parking garages, and retail space if there is a single business in the downtown that is not on some form of public welfare?…even banks and a for-profit utility are in on getting tax abatements on their building projects?…we wonder if without corporate welfare if there would be anything at all downtown except official government business like courts, lawyers, permitting, and council meetings?

IS IT TRUE that the United States is a nation of laws and that we all are entitled to equal protection under the law?…when it comes to local laws that hand out corporate welfare in Evansville these laws are not being applied equally?…there are currently two hotel projects in downtown Evansville with the fair haired favorite hotel being recommended for a $37.5 Million influx of corporate welfare from the taxpayers but the other project that is being done by ENTIRELY PRIVATE MONEY getting turned down in committee for even a simple tax abatement?…this “other” project of course is next door to the McCurdy Hotel that has been another unmitigated disaster handing out incentives to cronies of our former Mayor and yielding nothing but a $1.4 Million lost and a festering graffiti covered building that gets worse every day?…it seems as though the owner and developer of the former River House is the only human being that has gone forward with a downtown construction project without some kind of subsidy and he can’t even get a simple tax abatement?…this turns equal protection on its head and the grantors of tax abatements should be ashamed of themselves for this UNEQUAL DECISION?

IS IT TRUE the events surrounding the alleged beating of Robert Evidon by EPD Officer Mattingly are starting to unfold a little bit and that justice should be administered by the court system?…in a related situation it has not been questioned as to why Officer Mattingly had his brother riding shotgun in the EPD cruiser with him last Saturday night?…assuming that Officer Mattingly’s brother was not an on duty uniformed officer while riding along with an on duty policeman we wonder just what the liability to the City of Evansville would be if one of these non-officer joy riders (there are others) were to ever get into the line of fire and get injured or killed?…we understand that some people may enjoy a ride in the police cruiser and some officers may enjoy a friend or relatives company while on duty but it seems as though a Saturday night in Goosetown is not the place for any ride alongs?…it does not seem like good public policy to allow joy riders of any sort in EPD cruisers when they are on official protective duty?