IS IT TRUE? December 11, 2011

IS IT TRUE that Indiana University basketball is back?…that last night’s upset of the #1 ranked and miraculously talented Kentucky Wildcats by the Hoosiers is that statement win that was needed to erase any doubts about whether or not IU could play with the upper echelon teams?…that last night’s game that IU won at the buzzer with a three point shot is how IU vs. UK basketball games should be?…that great rivalries require that both teams are good and in recent history IU has not been living up to their end of the rivalry bargain?…that it was not really the last three pointer that did it for IU last night, it was the string of 7 straight three pointers when the faster and bigger Wildcats were dominating the other end with easy layups off of breaks?…that the shooting skill, the discipline, and a few good bounces are what put the Hoosiers in a position to win the game at the buzzer?…that the City County Observer would like to congratulate and give a cheer to the IU Hoosiers and acknowledge the talent of the UK Wildcats who start 3 freshmen and 2 sophomores?…that we would not be a bit surprised to see a March Madness rematch of these teams?…that would really be a trip back to the future?

IS IT TRUE that the UE Purple Aces and the Evansville Icemen both seem to be settling in to crowds of about 3,500 per game?…that the Lady Aces need to do a little marketing, ticket giveaways, or something to bolster the sub 500 attendance numbers that seem to be the norm?…that with drawing power of under 500 that UE may want to consider having the Lady Aces games at Carson Center or a high school gym to save on the rent at Ford Center?

IS IT TRUE that a group of well healed individuals are looking into joining the INDIANA Municipal Power Agency (IMPA) group in order to provide local electric rate payers service at “not-for-profit rates”?…that Jasper, Huntingburg, Tell City, Washington, Paoli and Scottsburg are some of the cities involved in taking on the Vectren type monopolies in order to help electric rate payers save a great deal of money in the overall electric bills?…that if you would like to learn more about the IMPA please go to this link http://www.impa.com/ ?

IS IT TRUE that it was quite rewarding for the CCO today to see that the editor of the Courier and Press has actually acknowledged in an editorial that the Weinzapfel Administration has laid three rotten eggs named the McCurdy, the downtown Convention Hotel, and Roberts Stadium?…that we were beginning to think that the CP was making and drinking the Kool-Aid for breakfast every morning and were slow to see the reality of the messes that are being left for the Winnecke Administration to clean up?…that for those of you who missed it here is a link? http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/dec/11/learning-the-lessons-of-redevelopment-challenges/ ?…that readers of the CCO will find these words to be familiar?

IS IT TRUE that the three rotten eggs could well have been three triumphs if there had really been a comprehensive plan that was thought out and vetted?…that the Ford Center alone went smoothly and on budget precisely because it was planned, vetted, and managed?…that everything else was left swinging in the breeze?…that if there had been planning, analysis, and vetting that the three rotten eggs could have and perhaps should have been three more triumphs?…that only the City County Observer among local media has served as an investigative and analysis driven educator of the public?…that cheerleading by the media literally circumvents the reason that there is a free press?…that when the press panders to charismatic politicians that they willfully neglect the most important roll of a free press?…that a free press is not free when it locks itself into the jail of creating propaganda or ignoring obvious wrongs?

IS IT TRUE that if all of the Evansville media would have done their job in exposing pie in the sky schemes from day one that the three rotten eggs would not exist but something good might?…that if the Evansville media that existed in 2007 would have done their job that there would have never ever been a City County Observer?…that if the Evansville media would have done their job we would not have the head of the Evansville Redevelopment Commission muttering about needing to get a refund on the McCurdy…that one start on the refund should be that the Weinzapfel for Mayor campaign that is holding some $700,000 should reimburse the City of Evansville for every dollar that it collected from City Centre Properties LLC, its owners, and affiliated businesses?…that the money trail goes from the ERC, to CCP, to the Weinzapfel for Mayor campaign fund?…that this sort of transfer of cash make SNEGAL look like an honest broker?…Mr. Goldman that an audit of all funds that ending up in the Weinzapfel for Mayor coffers that are sourced in the McCurdy debacle should be demanded to be returned to the people of Evansville and it should happen before January 1, 2012?…that the other entities that profess to be media need to follow this money trail too?

IS IT TRUE? December 10, 2011

IS IT TRUE that we are beginning to hear reports of encouragement from one City Council member to another that it is time to “GO WITH THE FLOW” and get on board with ziplining the recommendation of the Evansville Redevelopment Commission to fund the Kunkel Group to move forward post haste in getting the public money committed to stick that first shovel in the ground at the corner of MLK and Walnut?…that this “friendly” advice started a couple of weeks before last Tuesday’s announcement of the ERC’s recommendation?…that it has even been said that the real driving force behind shoving this through quickly is local organized labor?…that local labor need not fear who is the eventual builder of the downtown Convention Hotel because the RFP had a provision in it that requires the builder to sign a Project Labor Agreement so the local trade unions will get all of this work no matter whether Kunkel, Prime, or some future entrant to the mix gets this deal?…that local labor won the day the RFP was written anyway so it would be best to do the right thing all around with the taxpayer’s money?

IS IT TRUE that digging a bit deeper into the expressed reservations of Sara Miller who cast a NO VOTE and making the details of her objections to going forward is a task worth doing before calling for a funding vote?…that we think that everyone from the CEO of the CVB right down to the lowest paid workers at The Centre understand that downtown Evansville needs this hotel to compete for conventions?…that most people also understand that the Ford Center will be fine without a hotel as Roberts Stadium was for over 50 years?…that if there is to be a prosperous and tasteful downtown Convention Hotel that he time to set that platform into place is right now?…that even if the determination is that Sara Miller is right and that this needs to start over that the prosperity of10 years from now is dependent on getting this right and that Ms. Miller has made some very valid points?

IS IT TRUE that City Councilman John Friend, CPA is the right person to head a discovery committee to prepare a recommendation for the City Council when this comes to a vote?…that releasing the Hunden findings are a key place to start this discovery?…that for the ERC, the DMD, and the Weinzapfel Administration to keep these findings secret is the financial equivalent of withholding evidence or obstruction justice?…that if those findings reflect well on the ERC decision and if Councilman Friend’s discovery create a glowing report that the funding proposal should sail through the City Council with a 9 – 0 vote and the shovel can hit the earth?…that if the Hunden findings and Councilman Friend’s discovery do not reflect well on the ERC recommendation that it is time to start the RFP process over again and that the Winnecke Administration is the group to do it?

IS IT TRUE that there is a wonderfully correct bumper sticker that was seen on this writer’s recent trip to the left coast that simply stated “California, ITS ALL TRUE”?…that it is good to be back even if it is 50 degrees colder?…that missing out on the ERC meeting this week after having written so much about valuation, the prospects for financing, and the convalescent home for pigeons actually stung a little?

IS IT TRUE that there has always been a little piece of this writer’s mind that hoped that the obstacles with the McCurdy would be overcome in spite of the clusteryouknowwhat that the project was but that now it is time to turn the page and get on about finding something that is both positive and achievable for that block?…that without regard to bought and paid for appraisals, Hunden findings, or opinions of the last days of the administration that this guy stands by the previous analysis that at the end of the day the market value (not to be confused with construction cost) of the downtown Convention Hotel as proposed is between $18M and $22M inclusive of everything?…that Fort Wayne understood this but Evansville does not seem to get it?…that when a financial incentive package is put together to relieve the builder/operator of any obligation higher than that we may actually have a project with a business model that will yield prosperity?…that this guy gives a big thumbs up to Sara Miller for taking the stand that she did and hopes to see a working business model come forth in the future?…that this is not about WHO, this financial reality is about HOW?

IS IT TRUE? December 9, 2011

IS IT TRUE that Indiana’s best known technology entrepreneur Scott Jones of Cha Cha is reportedly continuing to raise a ruckus over the difficulty in reaching the tech centers of Boston and the Bay Area because there are no direct flights from Indianapolis to either of the tech and venture capital hotbeds?…that what Scott realizes that many others don’t is that direct access is one of the keys to accessing talent and capital which are really the only currencies of value in growing a technology based economy?…that the CCO hopes that Indianapolis heeds Scott’s call and does something about such flights and hope furthermore that Evansville will find a way to attract or maintain a commuter flight to Indianapolis that will allow the folks down here in the capital of Western Kentucky to leverage any direct flights that Indianapolis is able to put into place?…that there is no reason whatsoever for a trip to the west coast to consume and entire day and leave the traveler exhausted?…that the access to talent and capital have stifled Evansville for decades and will continue to do so unless this problem is solved?

IS IT TRUE that the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) has passed a resolution encouraging the 2012 legislative session to pass the Right to Work initiative?…that like it or not Right to Work seems to be the wave of the future so the only question is how many years behind the 8-ball Indiana will be?…that rather than fight a tide it is much easier and more productive to learn to surf?…that there will be many studies with self fulfilling conclusions?…that the studies that are snapshots of this very year will conclude that Right to Work is not such a great thing?…that studies that go back 30+ years and compare the growth and lifestyle changes will make Right to Work look better?…that a real simple non-scientific metric would be to just compare any Midwestern state to Alabama, Mississippi or Georgia?…that today at least in Indiana’s case our unemployment is lower and wages are similar (except SW Indiana of course)?…that over the course of the last 30 years the Right to Work states have made dramatic progress growing from agrarian economies to modern economies and they have done this at the expense of the Rust Belt?…that understanding this and making an informed decision without the benefit of adrenaline or prejudice will be one of the most important outcomes of the 2012 legislative session?

IS IT TRUE that yet another politician has been caught in a pay for sex scandal?…that this time it is former member of the State House of Representatives Brian Hasler who represented Evansville for 8 years that is accused of offering money for sex?…that some of the actions that elected officials from President Clinton down to Representative Hasler get caught in would make one think that they have no sense of justice or appropriateness at all?…that it is not a crime to give away sex so the thing that really gets these rascals in trouble is turning a hook-up into a transaction?…that at least the Alpha President was not ever accused of paying?…that it must be his charming personality?

IS IT TRUE that there is finally healthy dissension within the ranks of the Evansville Redevelopment Commission?…that ONB Commercial Loan VP Sara Miller voted no on the basis that she has seen nothing to lead her to believe that either of the proposals to build a downtown Convention Hotel will lead to a profitable business?…that it took courage for her to say this and that her vote needs to be taken seriously by the Evansville City Council as they decide whether or not to fund the ERC recommendation?…that the absolute worst thing that could happen would be to get a hotel to the 90% completion point and see the developer run out of cash or to finish the hotel and find it in bankruptcy during the first year of operation?…that is why Ms. Miller is finding her way and looking out for the taxpayer’s interest?…that bankrupt and inoperable hotels of the type and size being considered are available all over the country right now for less than $5 Million?…that going forward without explicit endorsement of the construction plan and the business plan by a competent entity which the ERC is clearly not puts at least $8 Million taxpayer dollars in harm’s way and paves the way for the new hotel to join the McCurdy on the roles of abandoned structures in Evansville?…that the people of Evansville are counting on City Councilman John Friend to use his CPA to do a deep examination of the reasons for Ms. Miller’s NO VOTE and to explain this clearly to the City Council whenever they deliberate on funding this recommendation?

IS IT TRUE? December 8, 2011

IS IT TRUE that John Corzine former Governor of New Jersey and the beneficiary of several pre-election Air Force One visits in his re-election campaign now has a new quote attributed to him over the bankruptcy of the company he headed after being defeated by Chris Christie?…that his words now “I simply don’t know where the money is” when questioned about what happened with MF Global which is becoming a second round of Lehman Brothers meltdown?…that the CCO wonders just how many elected officials on all levels would have to utter the words, “I simply don’t know where the money is” if they were pressed to reveal what is going on with their budgets and stashes?

IS IT TRUE the rank and file political types from both parties are quietly talking among themselves concerning the Mayor Elect’s decision to openly push Vectren Executives as members of his transaction and swearing in team?…that one wonders why he would open embrace anybody as important members of his political team and advisors from Vectren since he should be aware of the negative opinions that the masses presently have towards this company? …now all eyes shall be focused on how many individuals from Vectren shall show up on his final campaign financial report?…that many of the Mayor Elect’s supporters are extremely disappointed that he didn’t take a strong public stance against the proposed fee increases sought by Vectren?…that maybe the finance report will shed light on why he didn’t?

IS IT TRUE that the selection for the new Evansville Chief of Police is all but over?… that all eyes are turning to whom shall be selected as the next Assistant Chief?…you can expect an interesting candidate to be selected that shall please many of the Rank and File?

IS IT TRUE it’s be reported that there a good pool of qualified candidates are vying to become the next Evansville Fire Chief?…that no one should be surprised to hear that a past Fire Chief shall be one of the two finalists for this position? …that you can rest assure that the present Evansville Fire Chief and his key people should begin to start packing his office to return to the ranks?…that we predict whoever is selected as the next Evansville Fire Chief the old way of back room political wheeling and dealing are over?…you should not be surprised to hear that the new Fire Chief shall make an extremely popular pick as his Assistant Fire Chief?

IS IT TRUE that the political star of Vanderburgh County Sheriff Eric Williams seems to have taken a tumble last night with some of the caucus votes going to Crooks instead of Skates?…that the reason given for this was because Sheriff Williams signed the “best friends for life” pact supporting Democrat City Councilwoman Connie Robinson’s endorsement of Mayor Elect Lloyd Winnecke?…that the 24 who chose Crooks may have been a majority for Mr. Skates if it had not been for the 23 who supported a party officer who supported a Republican….that all actions have consequences and Sheriff Williams will have a consequence along with the other 22 who pinky shook to support Councilwoman Robinson?

IS IT TRUE that the CCO now has it on good authority that there is no details commemorated in a bound folder that would be called a study by Hunden Strategic Partners?…that there is indeed a powerpoint presentation that said very little about one of the bidders and said very little that would be encouraging about the other bidder?…that maybe Sara Miller was on to something when she was deliberating on how to vote?