IS IT TRUE May 17, 2013

IS IT TRUE there have been some interesting results of some recent City County Observer reader’s polls that a couple of years ago would have been unthinkable?…the voters in our poll on whether to do a mediocre job of repairing the sewers vs. a fully compliant job of eliminating the raw sewage discharges resulted in a 5 to 1 margin of victory for spending the extra $245 Million and doing the job right the first time instead of doing a chicken$#!^ job that only corrects 76% of the problem?…for a populace that routinely is reluctant to support projects proposed by the Office of any Mayor of Evansville this is a surprise and a major step forward?…it is also a strong reflection on the types of projects our elected leadership over the past 60 years has been proposing?…perhaps it is really true that the people of Evansville (at least the CCO readership) understands that critical infrastructure is worth the investment and frivolous spending on fun and games is not?

IS IT TRUE our readers also have voted by a 7 to 1 margin that blight elimination in Evansville is best described as random acts of blindness with no planning as opposed to good planning with effective results?…the third option “Denial, Evansville has no blight” got one vote more than “good planning” got?…that our readers voted by a 30 to 1 margin in favor of full disclosure and transparency by releasing the gunshot map that sent the Reverend Adrian Brooks into a frenzy?…our readers support the release of the upcoming Ford Center audit that the Mole Nation tells us has some former elected officials in a state of panic by a margin of 17 to 1?…our readership favors a referendum on all of the $100 Million or so of public spending on non essential items like the hotel, the water meters, and Roberts Park by a 5 to 1 margin?…if it goes to referendum and if our readership is representative of the block of voters that will turn out the “fun and games” referendum will fail by a margin of 7 to 1 or roughly the same margin that former Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel defeated his strawman Republican opponent David Nixon in 2007?…what these results seem to show is that the CCO readership is fiscally conservative yet practical enough to support spending on critical infrastructure that will make Evansville a more viable place to live and do business?

IS IT TRUE another issue of alleged stealing from a public entity has been disclosed and this time Castle High School is the victim?…it has been alleged that an employee of the school misappropriated about $140,000 for personal use?…the embezzlement list just seems to keep growing in the Tri-State and such things do not reflect well on the region?…as with other such instances we support a fair trial and a just punishment should the allegations turn out to be true?…we do wonder when SNEGAL (sneaky but legal) misappropriations of public dollars will be reclassified to rise to the level of illegality that would result in prosecution?…it is legal (but it shouldn’t be) for an elected official like a Mayor to get large campaign donations from companies doing work for the City that the Mayor was elected to lead?…the spending reports for projects like the Ford Center and the campaign finance reports from elected officials at the time expose significant campaign contributions from both construction and professional service firms that were chosen to supply goods and services for the project?…every dollar that was laundered through the project into the campaign coffers of any elected official is a dollar that could have been used to fix potholes or make a down payment on our $815 Million sewer repair?

IS IT TRUE that the sewer project that Evansville is about to embark on is a treasure chest opportunity for any politician that wants to exploit the SNEGAL laundering of money through the project and into their campaign coffers?…the City County Observer would like to encourage the Evansville City Council to adopt a resolution ASAP that would make it a prosecutable fine for any business bidding on and publicly financed work in Evansville from making any contribution at all to any sitting politician that is or has been in the food chain of funding for the past 20 years?…it may be legal for politicians to benefit from this money laundering scheme but it is an abuse of the public trust for them to do so?…Evansville can set a standard of excellence and an example for the nation by taking this action?

IS IT TRUE May 16, 2013

IS IT TRUE the Evansville Police Department responded last night to a situation a 1,400 South Grand Avenue that was believed to involve a person holed up with high powered ammunition and armor piercing bullets?…the suspect in this case was about to be served with two warrants for violent crimes?…the EPD did everything right this time in their preparation, their evacuations, and succeeded in taking the perpetrator into custody without a shot being fired?…there were some teargas charges fired but in the end this ended peacefully and without having any risk of innocent people being hit by stray bullets?…this incident will not make the “gunshot map” that set off a disagreement between Evansville Police Chief Billy Bolin and the Reverend Adrian Brooks but maybe it should make a new map called the “successful intervention map”?…for the EPD to execute this extraction so perfectly took accurate information with respect to the address and as much citizen cooperation as was possible?…that means the people in the immediate area had to trust the police enough to provide that information instead of the usual “I didn’t see nothing” nonsense that the EPD is often faced with on the south side?…we hope this incident inspires the Reverend Brooks to reverse his prior position on transparency of the location of crimes and support the open public communication that is required to keep morons with weapons from using them or paralyzing the populace inside the City of Evansville?

IS IT TRUE the City County Observer has been reflecting a bit on the different plans that the Evansville Sewer and Water Utility and the EPA have for eliminating discharges of raw sewage into the Ohio River?…the large price difference of $245 Million is the cost of solving this legacy problem in an excellent way or settling for mediocrity to save a few bucks that can be spent on frivolous things?…the sewers of Evansville currently have about 50 “activations” per year where raw sewage is discharged into the Ohio River?…the EPA’s plan calls for the number of discharges of sludge to be reduced to 4 per year that would require eliminating 92% of the discharges?…as every professor can tell you a grade of 92% will earn a grade of A?…the Evansville Sewer and Water Utility on the other hand intends to submit a plan to the EPA to put correct the sewers to a level that 3 times as many “activations” or 12 per year are to be expected?…that would involve setting a goal and designing a system that only eliminates 76% of the current discharges of raw sewage into the Ohio River?…any professor can also tell you that setting a goal to score a 76% is planning for mediocrity and will result in a grade of C?…the CCO hopes that the people of Evansville are disgusted enough with this goal of a C to take the City of Evansville to the woodshed with phone calls, emails, text messages, and letters demanding that for once our city sets a goal to get an A in keeping crap out of our streets and out of the Ohio River?

IS IT TRUE leaders of local economic development agencies and chambers of commerce when asked about the most important assets that the City of Evansville and SW Indiana have always proudly point to the mighty Ohio River?…the Ohio River is the reason there is an Evansville and is touted as a recreational haven and a great location for attracting investment?…the CCO agrees with this assessment of the Ohio River?…civic leaders also are quick to point out just how underutilized the Ohio River is when it comes to leveraging the potential that it has for both commerce and recreation?…maybe these folks should rub a few brain cells together and conclude that we should not expect much prosperity to flow from a natural asset that is regularly bombarded with discharges of raw sewage?…maybe the Ohio River is underutilized because it is full of $#!^?…hopefully our leaders both public and private will come to their senses and realize that the key to creating prosperity and goodness from the Ohio River depends on ceasing the legacy practice of dumping raw sewage into it?…hopefully our leaders will realize that planning to spend $545 Million to get a C in raw sewage discharges is a fools game and will simply result in higher water bills for all, a still polluted river, and a discharge a month for the people of Evansville?…it is time for Evansville to get off the couch and resolve to do just this one thing with excellence?…excellence is just as contagious as mediocrity?…doing this sewer project right may actually set off an epidemic of civic pride that has been missing in Evansville during most of our lives?…the infamous “pall” over the town memorialized by the Courier and Press editorial may begin to lift it we can only set a goal to get an A in eliminating raw sewage discharges?