IS IT TRUE that on March 24, 2012 the City County Observer concluded collecting the necessary signatures required by the State of Indiana to request a field hearing with respect to the yet to be approved contract between the City of Evansville and Johnson Controls?…that we have not yet received any official notice of the request for a field hearing there has been a document issued that seems to imply that the request is not “necessary”?…that the justification for a field hearing not being necessary is most likely the fact that the project has been sold to the state as a “no cost” contract?…that the reason that the CCO petitioned for the field hearing is because we do not believe the assertion that the Johnson Controls contract will actually deliver the savings sufficient for it to really be a “no cost” contract?…that there will be an evidentiary hearing this Thursday, April 19th in Indianapolis at 9:30 AM in room 222 at 101 West Washington Street?…that written comments to cause #44123 will be accepted at the above address through May 2, 2012 so we encourage our readers who like us have concerns that the City of Evansville has once again rushed to sign a contract with high potential to become a “BILL OF GOODS” to send in their questions and comments?

IS IT TRUE that it was announced yesterday for the first time ever that Pulitzer Prizes were awarded to exclusively online publications?…that a Pulitzer Prize for national reporting was awarded to David Wood of the Huffington Post and that Matt Wuerker of Politico was honored with a Pulitzer for Editorial cartooning?…that NO AWARD WAS GIVEN in the category of editorial writing?…that for those who are insistent that print media is not in a dog fight with online publishing the awarding of Pulitzer Prizes to online publications in a head to head competition with print should put the purveyors of ink on notice?

IS IT TRUE that Keep Evansville Beautiful has released a rendering of a modernistic sculpture that will soon be welcoming visitors who come to Evansville by way of the airplane?…that the nearly $200,000 sculpture will be at the airport entrance with a purpose to give a good first and last impression to air travelers using the Dress Regional Airport?…that the CCO has been advocating for a positive airport experience for a long time now and that this sculpture may play a small role in a positive experience?…that one nagging question that we feel the need to bring up is “when will we be getting jetways”?…that the lack of jetways in inclimate weather guarantees a negative airport experience and that between rain, snow, cold, and humidity that inclimate weather is going on here over 200 days per year?…that a soaked or frozen visitor is unlikely to be impressed by any gateway sculpture in a way to remove the discomfort felt from not having jetways?…that we understand that donations made to KEB for a statue probably cannot be used for jetways and that jetway money should never be spent on a statue?…that we really hope that the jetways are installed before the sculpture because choosing form over function as in stadium but no sewers has become a way of life in Evansville?…that putting up a stature before investing in jetways sends the same message to visitors and residents alike and that message is that Evansville is not about substance?

IS IT TRUE that we are really wondering what has been going on with our federal government’s spending practices?…that between the arms trading to Mexican cartels, the GSA throwing over a million dollars in parties described by the Wall Street Journal as “raucous, extravagant, arrogant, and self congratulatory”, and now our secret service having “cathouse” parties with whores in Columbia before President Obama arrives it seems like there are no competent adults in charge?…that as the election approaches things like this will get tied up the chain of command and that if Washington really has become a frat house with our money that the guy who put the oblivious party animals in charge will eventually be asked to answer for these gross abuses of the public trust?…that it almost looks like the City of Evansville is running the country with all of the drinking, wasted money, and poor judgment on parade for all to see?

IS IT TRUE that the State of California in an attempt to collect some taxes that are overdue has released a list known as the 500 biggest tax cheats?…that in reality it not necessarily a list of cheaters but is a list of the 500 people or businesses that have the highest unpaid and delinquent tax bills?…that tax delinquencies are public documents and should anyone anywhere find out such information it is within their rights to publish such information?…that if you doubt this just wait to see if Pamela Anderson and Lionel Richie file any charges over having their tax delinquencies plastered on a bunch of front pages yesterday?

IS IT TRUE that the first week of the presidential campaign since it is now unofficially a two man race have really brought out the nastiness from political operatives and paid commentators?…that it was routine last week across the country to see President Obama and Governor Romney getting called idiots by people who could not hold a candle to either of these men in a cognitive thinking contest?…that President Obama and Governor Romney have both been estimated to have an IQ of between 130 and 150 with President Obama having scored 141 on an IQ test taken as a child?…that a score of 145 or three standard deviations from the mean of 100 makes both of these candidates for President of the United States 1 %ers or having a higher IQ than 99% of the population?…that they both earn more money than 99% of the general population too?…that you can disagree with either candidate, you can question the motives, the character, the honesty, or even the applicable training of either candidate?…that you can call them any name you like buy do not call then dumb, idiots, or fools because of all things they may be dumb is not one of those things?..that you should not call them poor either because they clearly are not?

IS IT TRUE that the average billing rate for a partner in a law firm has now topped $500 per hour for the first time?…that if a partner’s rates are at the top 25% point that the rate is now at $873 per hour?…that the poor underachieving partners at the bottom 25% of the billing rate curve are only knocking down a rate of $204 per hour?…that we hope these guys can find a way to survive on such rates?

IS IT TRUE that it has now been roughly 4 months since former Mayor Weinzapfel signed an agreement with Johnson Controls to make the billing for water easier and more accurate in the City of Evansville?…that this is asserted to be one of those contracts that pays for itself in savings so the normal bidding channels were not necessary to sign onto a $51 Million deal?…that private VETTING which seems to be the only kind of VETTING that ever turns up any real information in Evansville has found some unanswered questions in the Johnson Controls deal?…that some of the private VETTING has been made available to the CCO and more is on the way?…that the most glaring of the questionable claims is that over 40% of the asserted savings are “un-measurable” savings?…that it is hard to get a grip on what an un-measurable or an intangible of over $20 Million might be?…that if one commits to the numbers that one must be held accountable to the numbers and that it seems as though the Johnson Controls deal has the aura of “heads we win, tails you lose” insofar as the people of Evansville’s money is concerned?…that in a city that has rushed into deals for the McCurdy, the downtown Convention Hotel, the Earthcare Energy non-vetted loan approval, and now the un-measurable savings in the Johnson Controls deal there really needs to be a time out and reality check put into place before writing even one check for any of these projects?…that the Apple Computer Company has a slogan and it is “Think Different”?…that the City of Evansville needs to adopt a shorter slogan by one word?…that the City of Evansville’s slogan should simply be “THINK”?