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EVSC Board Executive Session June 18th

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The Board of School Trustees of the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation will meet in executive session at 4:00 p.m. on Monday, June 18, 2012, in the John H. Schroeder Conference Center in the Superintendent’s office in the Technology and Innovation Center, 951 Walnut, Evansville, IN. The session will be conducted according to Senate Enrolled Act 313, Section 1, I.C. 5-14-1.5-6.1, as amended. The purpose of the meeting is for discussion of collective bargaining, (2)(A); initiation of litigation or litigation that is either pending or has been threatened specifically in writing, (2)(B); purchase or lease of property, (2)(D); and job performance evaluation of individual employees, (9). The public School Board Meeting will follow at 5:30 p.m. in the Board Room at 951 Walnut Street, Evansville, IN.

Chicago: An Author’s View of America’s Most Corrupt City

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Excerpts:

“Emerging from the squalor and decay of the seventies and eighties, Chicago grew for the first time since 1950—by more than 100,000 people over the decade. The unemployment rate in the nation’s third-biggest city was lower than in its two larger rivals, and per-capita income growth was higher. Chicago’s metropolitan area racked up 560,000 new jobs, more than either New York’s or Los Angeles’s in raw numbers and over twice as many on a percentage basis.”

“But despite the chorus of praise, it’s becoming evident that the city took a serious turn for the worse during the first decade of the new century. The gleaming towers, swank restaurants, and smart shops remain, but Chicago is experiencing a steep decline quite different from that of many other large cities.”

“Begin with Chicago’s population decline during the 2000s, an exodus of more than 200,000 people that wiped out the previous decade’s gains. Of the 15 largest cities in the United States in 2010, Chicago was the only one that lost population; indeed, it suffered the second-highest total loss of any city, sandwiched between first-place Detroit and third-place, hurricane-wrecked New Orleans.”

“The demographic disaster extends beyond city limits. Cook County as a whole lost population during the 2000s; among America’s 15 largest counties, the only other one to lose population was Detroit’s Wayne County.”

“Chicago’s economy also performed poorly during the first decade of the century. That was a tough decade all over the United States, of course, but the Chicago region lost 7.1 percent of its jobs—the worst performance of any of the country’s ten largest metro areas. Chicago’s vaunted Loop, the second-largest central business district in the nation, did even worse, losing 18.6 percent of its private-sector jobs, according to the Chicago Loop Alliance.”

“Cook County treasurer Maria Pappas estimates that within the city of Chicago, there’s a stunning $63,525 in total local government liabilities per household. Not all of this is city debt; the region’s byzantine political structure includes many layers of government, including hundreds of local taxing districts. But pensions for city workers alone are $12 billion underfunded.”

“What accounts for Chicago’s miserable performance in the 2000s? The fiscal mess is the easiest part to account for: it is the result of poor leadership and powerful interest groups that benefit from the status quo. Public-union clout is literally written into the state constitution, which prohibits the diminution of state employees’ retirement benefits.”

“Another reason for Chicago’s troubles is that its business climate is terrible, especially for small firms. When the state pushed through the recent tax increases, certain big businesses had the clout to negotiate better deals for themselves.”

“More important is that it hands the 50 aldermen nearly dictatorial control over what happens in their wards, from zoning changes to sidewalk café permits. This dumps political risk onto the shoulders of every would-be entrepreneur, who knows that he must stay on the alderman’s good side to be in business. It’s also a recipe for sleaze: 31 aldermen have been convicted of corruption since 1970.”

“Chicago’s notorious corruption interferes with attempts to fix things. Since 1970, 340 officials in Chicago and Cook County have been convicted of corruption. So have three governors. The corruption has been bipartisan: both Governor George Ryan, a Republican, and Governor Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, are currently in federal prison. A recent study named Chicago the most corrupt city in the United States.”

“But an even greater problem than outright corruption is Chicago’s culture of clout, a system of personal loyalty and influence radiating from city hall. Influencing the mayor, and influencing the influencers on down the line, is how you get things done. There is only one power structure in the city—including not just politicians but the business and social elite and their hangers-on—and it brings to mind the court of Louis XIV: when conflicts do arise, they are palace intrigues.”

“It’s easy to see how fiascoes like the parking-meter lease happen where civic culture is rotten and new ideas can’t get a hearing. Chicago’s location already isolates it somewhat from outside views. Combine that with the culture of clout, and you get a city that’s too often an echo chamber of boosterism lacking a candid assessment of the challenges it faces”

“Chicago also needs something even harder to achieve: wholesale cultural change.”

“These organizations have good reason to fear reprisal for not toeing the line. When Daley signed his disastrous parking-meter deal, an advocacy group called the Active Transportation Alliance issued a critical report. After a furious reaction by the Daley administration, the organization issued a groveling retraction. “I would like to simply state that we should not have published this report,” said executive director Rob Sadowsky. “I am embarrassed that it not only contains factual errors, but that it also paints an incorrect interpretation of the lease’s overall goals.” Sadowsky is no longer in Chicago.”

Link to full article:

http://city-journal.com/2012/22_2_chicago.html

IS IT TRUE June 14, 2012

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The Mole #??

IS IT TRUE June 14, 2012

IS IT TRUE there is a legal ad in today’s Courier and Press that discloses the city council will hold a public hearing on June 25 to discuss additional appropriations in excess of the budget for 2012?…the excess amounts include $1M for the general fund, $1M for parks, $2M from county option income tax, and $1M from riverboat?…thus makes the City County Observer wonder about the budget process of the past administration but also piques our interests about the spending habits of the current administration?…it is only June and $5 Million is being discussed that would cause adjustments to the budget that Mayor Winnecke inherited from Mayor Weinzapfel?

IS IT TRUE that Mayor Winnecke is having his 52nd birthday party on Saturday night the 16th of June at the Mesker Park Zoo?…this milestone is a fundraiser for Mayor Winnecke being held on City of Evansville property that is being hosted by a multitude of local movers and shakers?

IS IT TRUE that the City of Evansville received a favorable credit rating on some parks bonds that is enabling the refinance of some old debt?…the savings over the next 10 years from this positive move will amount to about $800,000?…while saving $800,000 is a frugal and A+ step on the part of the Winnecke Administration and Controller Russ Lloyd Jr. this should not be a license to go out and spend $800,000 on frivolous things?…these savings and other saving opportunities should be used to establish a fund to start the work on the combined sewer overflow problem that the EPA is still breathing down the City of Evansville’s neck to correct?…the responsible thing right now is for all found money to go toward these repairs which are needed to get Evansville back from the brink of being a 3rd World City?

IS IT TRUE that we are pleased to see that the old Hilliard and Lyons Building seems to be reopened?…that we are wondering however what is going on with the McCurdy Hotel project as the Vanderburgh County Assessor’s website still shows that it is owned by City Centre Properties and that two tax installments are now overdue and penalties have been assessed?…the windows are still open, the grass is beginning to grow, and the bats, pigeons, rats, and snakes are taking over for another summer of jungle life?…that Mayor Weinzapfel’s beanstalk even looks to be making a comeback?…if old buildings like this are to be returned to any functional usefulness that time is of the essence?…the longer the McCurdy sits there in an abandoned state that the more expensive the eventual repair bill will be and the less likely the prospects for a full refurbishment become.

IS IT TRUE that there is a pretty clever description of the state of today’s economy in a column authored by Edward Lazear?…he compares the economy of the last several years to a baseball game in which two pitchers named Bush and Obama have occupied the pitcher’s mound?…that President Bush was pulled from the game after only a few innings after giving up 4 runs largely due to pitching mistakes?…that the manager (the American people) handed the ball to President Obama who vigorously took the mound and threw his best pitches?…that President Obama got knocked out of the park and has given up 5 runs in 3 innings and is now under management scrutiny?…at a conference on the mound that President Obama told the manager the only reason he has pitched so poorly is because that Bush fellow had him in a 4 run hole when he started pitching?…the manager is now faced with the decision of whether or not to change pitchers again as there are only a few innings left in this game?…it seems as though we need both better pitching and some decent batting to get out of the jam we are in?

2011 Audit Confirms Chaos and Bumbling in City of Evansville Finances: Republished from October 2012

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Evansville Financial Controls for 2011

The audit contains the following findings with regard to financial oversight of the City of Evansville during 2011:

1. Fund balances were not reconciled to bank balances for the entire year of 2011. As of July 31, 2012 City officials were still unable to reconcile the ledger to the bank account. (Indiana laws require monthly reconciliation)

2. A materially correct annual report for 2011 was not presented for audit.

3. The City’s financial system was not able to produce basic reports.

4. The auditors were not able to obtain records for which the detail matched the control for 2011.

5. The controls over the receipting, disbursing, recording and accounting of the financial activities due to weakness in input and oversight.

6. Contracts with the City of Evansville and SMG have not been audited since 2005 (7 years).

7. The City of Evansville filed their annual report past the dealine to do so.

8. Utility funds were co-mingled with general funds as were parking fees and a buy money fund. These funds are required to be kept separate.

9. Substantially all of the accounts of the City of Evansville (over 20) were overdrawn at some time in 2011. This is forbidden yet the same thing was cited in the 2010 SBA audit.

10. In the section of the audit of the use of federal funds, a Disclaimer was noted as were material weaknesses in internal controls and non-compliance of financial statements.

Link to SBOA Audit

http://media.courierpress.com/media/static/gh56ftfg2.pdf

This is a developing story;

EVSC Releases Spring 2012 ISTEP+ Results

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The results of this spring’s ISTEP+ tests taken by Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation’s students in Grades 3-8 show two-year gains in the English/Language Arts and Mathematics scores in grades 3, 4, 5, and 6.

“We are pleased to have several schools and grade levels scoring above 90% passing ISTEP this year and also to have some big gains in percent passing in the past year. We also have some pass rates that are less than what we desire and we are working on interventions to help raise those numbers,” said Superintendent David Smith. “All students come to the EVSC with different abilities and we are proud that we take each of those children where they are and find ways to motivate and educate them to do their very best.”

Top 3 Schools With
Highest % Passing E/LA

Third grade
Highland: 95%
Scott: 95%
West Terrace: 92%

Fourth grade
Scott: 98%
Oak Hill: 94%
Highland: 91%

Fifth grade
Cynthia Heights: 92%
Oak Hill: 89%
Scott: 84%

Sixth grade
Scott: 92%
Oak Hill: 87%
Plaza Park: 81%

Seventh grade
Perry Heights: 77%
Helfrich Park: 70%
Plaza Park: 67%

Eighth grade
Plaza Park: 73%
Thompkins: 71%
Perry Heights: 70%

Top 3 Schools With
Highest % Passing Math

Third grade
Scott: 92%
Highland: 91%
Oak Hill: 84%

Fourth grade
Scott: 93%
Oak Hill: 91%
Highland: 83%

Fifth grade
Scott: 98%
Highland: 93%
Vogel: 91%

Sixth grade
Oak Hill: 94%
Scott: 93%
Plaza Park: 84%

Seventh grade
Perry Heights: 76%
Thompkins: 76%
Helfrich Park: 73%

Eighth grade
Plaza Park: 79%
Thompkins: 75%
Helfrich Park and Perry Heights: 69%

Smith said the EVSC is enhancing and honing interventions that target academic performance and also social and emotional issues that may be aggravating student performance on the tests.

“Now, more than ever, teachers and administrators are relying on individual student data – focusing on this information in Performance Management sessions, Student Support Groups, and Personal Learning Communities (PLC), bringing everyone together to discuss attendance, social/emotional behaviors, and academic performance – to provide supports to help all students. We want not only those who are struggling to continue to see their test scores climb; but also those who are already passing the test,” Smith said.

Sculpt EVV Winners Announced

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Exhibition on display through April 2013

Accompanied by drum rolls from the Boom Squad, officials representing the Sculpt EVV juried outdoor sculpture exhibition announced its winners during the Art EVV art and music fair on June 9 in the Haynie’s Corner Arts District.

The winners were:

$20,000 Purchase Award Winner: Saul Melman for Best of All Possible Worlds
$10,000 Best-in-Show: Amelia Toelke for Comings and Goings
$5,000 Second Place: Scott Ross for Attic Frame
$1,000 Third Place: Tom Scicluna for Scheme
$500 People’s Choice: Jonathan Hils for Emperor’s New Clothes

During the event, USI students led tours of the 0.3 mile sculpture walk and discussed the artists and their sculptures. Winners of Sculpt EVV were chosen from among 12 sculptures selected for the exhibition by juror Marilu Knode, executive director of Laumeier Sculpture Park in St. Louis.

Sculpt EVV is on display and open to the public through April 21, 2013. People can enjoy the exhibition by starting at the first site at Washington and Parrett streets next to the Bokeh Lounge. Sculpt EVV maps available at each site will guide visitors around the exhibition.

Sculpt EVV is a partnership between the City of Evansville, the University of Southern Indiana, the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana, and the Evansville Bicentennial Committee. The Best-in-Show winner for Clay EVV, a companion exhibition organized by Alisa Holen, USI assistant professor of ceramics, was Erin Furminsky for Push. Clay EVV is on display in the Adams Gallery, 56-58 Adams Avenue, on Friday and Saturday through July 6, 2012.

BECKY DEIG EVANS: An Excellent Life Too Short

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Becky Lynn Deig Evans, O.D., age 29, of Evansville, passed away Sunday, June 10, 2012 at her home.

Becky worked as a Doctor of Optometry; was a member of St. Philip Catholic Church and a 2001 graduate of Mt. Vernon High School, 2005 graduate of Indiana University and a 2009 graduate of the Indiana University School of Optometry. She was a member of the Academic Fraternity Beta Sigma Kappa while at Indiana University. Becky was an avid Indianapolis Colts fan, loved the Beatles and enjoyed playing softball. She loved her dog, Boomer, whom she had since her time in college. She was also a member of the Indiana Optometric Association.

Surviving Becky are her husband, Elliot Evans; her parents, Bob and Bambi (Schemel) Deig of Mt. Vernon; sister, Brittney (Brandon) Givens of Mt. Vernon; brother, Brandon (Amber) Deig of Evansville; grandparents, Nellie Deig, Wilma Walden (Gorman) Brothers, Edward Schemel and David and Pam Armitage; her great grandmother, Jacqueline Sherrill; nieces and nephews, Keirra Lynn Deig, Adonis, Keaton and Gavin Givens. Also surviving are Becky’s father-in-law and mother-in-law, Don and Sue Evans; sister-in-law, Amy Evans; brothers-in-law, Dirk and Bryce Evans; many other loving nieces and nephews from the Evans family and many friends.

Becky was preceded in death by her grandfather, Marcellus “Sally” Deig, grandmother, Shirley Schemel; uncle, Patrick Schemel and a brother-in-law, Craig Evans.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 A.M. on Thursday, June 14, 2012 at St. Philip Catholic Church, Rev. Tom Kessler officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.

Friends may visit with the family from 2:00 until 8:00 P.M. on Wednesday at Pierre Funeral Home, 2601 W. Franklin Street and from 9:00 A.M. until service time on Thursday at St. Philip Church.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Becky Deig Evans Optometry Scholarship Fund, c/o Posey County Community Foundation, 402 Main Street, Mt. Vernon, IN 47620.

Condolences may be made online at www.pierrefuneralhome.com.

IS IT TRUE June 13, 2012

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The Mole #??

IS IT TRUE June 13, 2012

IS IT TRUE sometime during the next week depending on a couple of outside factors the City County Observer will pass another internet traffic barrier?…that it is inevitable that the CCO will enter the realm of the top 300,000 trafficked websites in the world?…that the number of websites out there worldwide recently topped 400 Million?…that places the CCO in the top 0.08% of websites worldwide with respect to traffic?

IS IT TRUE that the whole Johnson Controls line of questioning has us wondering just what can be done when an outgoing administration signs a legal contract during its final hours that turns out to be enough different than it was represented to be at the time of signing that the best solution is to tear up the contract and start over?…we are not saying that is the case with the Johnson Controls deal?…what we are encouraging is for a complete VETTING job including a rigorous financial analysis to be done to see if the numbers in the contract stand up to scrutiny and practical assumptions?…if they do then Mayor Weinzapfel did a good job (in a vacuum) and we can all look forward to having our water meters read through the internet?…the real question becomes what happens if this turns out to be a dud that the Winnecke Administration really prefers not to go forward with?…we think there should be some kind of mechanism to automatically require VETTING of everything that is passed above a certain price threshold in the lame duck days of any administration?…that this $50 Million plus deal would certainly exceed that threshold?…if it really is not a contract that solidly pays for itself with tangible and measurable savings that it should be subject to cancellation?…that what has been shown thus far certainly look like there is a high potential for exactly that outcome?

IS IT TRUE that lame duck elected officials have often pulled plenty of stunts that are less financially impactful than the Johnson Controls deal may be to Evansville?…there was a real concerted effort by the Weinzapfel Administration to jam through yet another deal for the McCurdy in a last minute special meeting of the Evansville Redevelopment Commission?…that the ERC which took 4 years to learn their lesson blocked this effort and sent former DMD Director Tom Barnett stomping out of the room mad as a hornet?…we wonder what would happen if an outgoing President of the United States pardoned Charles Manson and others like him?…we hope that such an executive action could be overturned by saner minds?…that alas we do not think executive privilege has changed much since the words “give us Barabbas” were uttered in Jerusalem?…that does not say much for the advancement of governance?

IS IT TRUE that economist Milton Friedman predicted the fall of the Euro within 10 years at the time it was launched?…that while Friedman may have missed his timing it appears that the probability of Greece and other European countries with excessive debt is getting pretty high?…that when Greece runs out of Euros which they most certainly will that they may return to the Drachma to avoid a devolution into a barter system?…Cypress just requested a banking bailout similar to Greece for the same reasons and that Spain is on the same path?…we should take a lesson from these countries that are several years ahead of us on the debt to GDP curve and right the American ship now?…that counter to what pundits and extremist party hacks say, the escalation of debt started in 2007 under President Bush and has continued unabated under President Obama?…that while these two presidents have different ideologies they pretty much look the same to a financial analyst?