IS IT TRUE the Riverhouse has a new owner that paid a whopping $475,000 for the dilapidated 83 room hotel?…the new owner is a well known Evansville businessman named George Yerolemou who has taken on a couple of renovations and seems to be making a go of the businesses he has placed in them?…the first project for Mr. Yerolemou that is familiar to most of us old timers is the old Holiday Inn on the North side that at one time had the hopping Red Baron Lounge?…that Mr. Yerolemou seems to have split the old Holiday Inn into two businesses?…that one of those businesses is an Econolodge hotel/motel that appears to cater to travelers but the other half has been converted to a motel looking pair of buildings that are more of a permanent lodging sort of place?…Yerolemou has expressed his intention to do an extensive renovation of the River House and bring it back with a flagship brand like a Hampton Inn or Best Western and be the “best of its type” in the Evansville market?…that if George is to achieve “best of type” with the Hampton Inn brand he had better have some very deep pockets and some serious ability to operate a hotel because the Hampton Inn out by the airport may just be the best current hotel in Evansville?

IS IT TRUE that an interest in the downtown hotel by a private developer is a positive thing for the City of Evansville?…that if the developer can pull this off in total for a reasonable price that he may just see some financial success?…the key term here is reasonable because the occupancy and rate for such a brand is fairly predictable which means that if this refurbishment can really become “best of type” for a net price of well under $10 Million then Yerolemou will have pulled off a feat that many have thought impossible?…that given his record of converting old places into profit centers the CCO thinks George has a decent probability for success?…that his experience in the restaurant business may just lead to another profit center in the old restaurant that has been through several brands during the last few years?…this venture has the potential to pollute the appraisal waters for any new downtown convention hotel that may be pursued up at the former ROCK PILE?

IS IT TRUE that the Koch Family who own and operate Holiday World have finished their due diligence period on the old Kentucky Kingdom and have decided not to bite off that project?…that the Koch’s example of being willing to put in a period of due diligence, invest what is necessary to do a thorough analysis, and make an informed decision is a good lesson in real business vetting that the City of Evansville may just be able to leverage?…it is good (not for Louisville) to see sanity prevail for the right reasons and that we hope to start seeing more sanity when it comes to local government projects?…that we hope the Office of the Mayor, the Evansville City Council, and all of the appointed boards that only seem to know how to spend money need to take a lesson from the private sector on vetting and sanity?

IS IT TRUE that we wish all of you fathers out there a Happy Father’s Day and much joy in the coming year?

IS IT TRUE a pretty large number of the Mole Nation are telling the City County Observer that the Winnecke Administration is having meetings with Johnson Controls to negotiate changes to the deal that was shoved through in the last days of the Weinzapfel Administration?…one of the best negotiation chips would be to verify some of the numbers that have been coming out of private vetting efforts by Councilman John Friend and others?…these numbers suggest that the contract in its present form does not pay for itself with savings and would therefore have the possibility of being voided?…it would be very favorable to start from scratch without another of Weinzapfel’s albatrosses around Mayor Winnecke’s neck as opposed to starting with the albatross and trying to lighten the load to a level that the City of Evansville can bear the load?

IS IT TRUE that the presidential election between Mitt Romney and President Obama just seems to be getting tighter?…that a month ago the popular vote was only projected to be a couple of points apart but that the electoral projections all still had President Obama in a commanding position?…that two weeks ago enough states turned “too close to call” to take both candidates below the magic number of 270 electors?…that yesterday for the first time after polls for Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, and Florida were all moved from “too close to call” to “leaning Romney” putting Romney over 270 electors in any projection for the first time?…this may be the first time in the political career of President Obama that he has been behind in a projection?

IS IT TRUE it will be quite interesting to see if the Greek election this weekend sends that country in a direction to pull out or be kicked out of the Euro Zone creating the potential for a tidal wave of governments in Europe to run out of money?…that it has been reported that the Greek people are already engaged in a cash run on the banks and are hoarding their money in Euros?…the reason they are doing so is because it is expected that a return to the Drachma would be accompanied by a devaluation of up to 50% immediately and the Greeks prefer to have Euros if such a thing occurs?…the run on the banks may just be the last straw to cause the European banks to cut Greece off?…the only reason we mention such things is because it is widely speculated that defaults of European countries will have a negative effect on the American economy which will in turn influence the presidential election?…the City County Observer is truly sorrowful to see the economy of the United States and an American presidential election so under the influence of what the Greeks do?…this is truly a humbling experience to live through?

IS IT TRUE the recent crime reports seem to be getting thicker and the particularly disturbing statistic in the City of Evansville is the THREE MURDERS IN THREE WEEKS statistic?…murder is still uncommon in Evansville but that this summer is not starting out well?…that the people of Evansville seem to have grown accustomed to hearing about theft, meth labs, and arson as we have more than our share of such things but murder is still a sad surprise?…that we hope this is just an outlier month and that murder along with witnesses who are unwilling to cooperate with the police do not become a way of life in Evansville?…that it is a slippery but short slope to being like Gary or South Chicago when murder and “I didn’t see nothing” witnesses become a part of day to day life?…that the CCO would like to say “please Evansville, do not slide down that slope”?