IS IT TRUE that Evansville’s Signature High School is in the news again for academic excellence?…that this time it is not for being named a TOP TEN high school in the nation?…that this time it is for setting an Indiana state record for the percentage of graduating seniors who pass an Advanced Placement test?…that 90% of the 61 seniors passed one of these tests that often result in college credit being granted to the student who passes the test?…that passing one AP exam that is recognized with 3 credits by a university saves that child or their parents between $500 and $5,000 depending on what college the kid goes to?…that the performance and ranking (7th in the United States) of Signature High School should be a badge of honor that everyone in Evansville wears proudly?…that just as we all rallied around to cheer on the Mater Dei girls basketball team to a state championship we should celebrate the academic achievements of Signature School?…that the following link is to the national rankings?

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/features/2011/americas-best-high-schools.html

IS IT TRUE that this Olympic level of academic performance from this downtown public high school does not seem to please everyone?…that there are many people in Evansville and especially within the ranks of teachers and administrators at the other public schools who openly detest Signature School?…that envy really does make for some strange statements?…that when educators start speaking poorly of academic achievement that it is time to shuffle the deck at the old schoolhouse?…that there is a valid point to be made regarding the admission process stacking the deck in Signature’s favor but there is some process in place that always seems to produce winners in wrestling at Mater Dei, football at Reitz, and basketball at Bosse?…that good programs attract good students and the same is true for Signature?…that any teacher or even private citizen of the Evansville community that denigrates the Signature School for excellence needs to have their priorities questioned and maybe even need their mouth washed out with soap?…that it is not a fluke that is able to maintain a national ranking for academic performance in Evansville, it is a process?…that the next highest ranked school in Indiana is ranked #153 and that only 5 make the top 500?…that if you want to use that phrase “it’s a good place to raise kids” as a business attraction tool for the area, that Signature School validates that claim to the kind of people that Evansville needs to attract and retain?

IS IT TRUE that the ball field idea for the Roberts Stadium location is eliciting the same negative reactions from the public at $8 Million that it did when it was $18 Million?…that even if a genie could grant the CVB and the former Mayor three wishes and go “poof there are ball fields for free” that a very large number of the people of Evansville would be opposed to them?…that the real ruckus that drives the opposition is the “magic of place” that Wesselman Woods has always had right in the middle of an urban setting?…that it is time for these ball fields that are harder to kill than Gregory Rasputin need to find another home and leave Roberts to the committee and Mayor Winnecke?…that the parrots singing the ball fields praises are beginning to sound like “the song that never ends” from Romper Room?…that Miss Peggy would be saying “Romper Stomper Bomper Boo, What does it take to get through to you” to the proponents of these ballfields.

IS IT TRUE that in yet another example of why governments should stay out of private business General Motors has now halted production of the Chevy Volt?…that yes this is the same Chevy Volt that President Obama was essentially the celebrity spokesperson for?…that furthermore it is the same Chevy Volt that GM was handed scads of dollars by the government to produce?…that yes this is the same Chevy Volt that was handed award after award by magazines seeking the favor of the Obama Administration for their pandering editorials and awards?…that if it were not for the federal bailout of GM that there would be no Chevy Volt to suspend the production of?…that this is the same Chevy Volt that will get you a $7,500 federal tax subsidy if you actually decide to purchase one for $41,000?

IT IS TRUE that just yesterday on the heels that Volt production will be suspended to balance the inventory that US Representative Michael Kelly stated that “when the market is ready the Volt will not have to be subsidized”?…that even with federal subsidies at record levels on both ends of every Volt transaction that sales have failed to meet projections by nearly 50%?…that the Chevy Volt if it were a stand-alone business as opposed to the most subsidized product in the fleet of a company deemed too big to fail that it would already be known as “Solyndra on Wheels”?…that this is what happens when governments try to force products onto the market before they are ready to meet consumer needs?

IS IT TRUE that California even allows a lone driver of a Chevy Volt to drive in the HOV lanes and avoid traffic jams?…that someday when the Volt has the range to make that worth doing and the power to keep up with the other HOV lane traffic this might be practical?…that today is not that day and Sacramento is just trying to curry favor with the Obama Administration by passing this useless law?…that this makes about as much sense as allowing the three staffers of the CCO all of whom are incapable of dunking a ball to dunk as will?…that such exemptions to rules may sound good but they make no sense and change nothing about day to day life?

IS IT TRUE that someday this country will be filled with electric vehicles and solar panels?…that day will come when the technology meets consumer needs at prices that consumers are willing to pay for the perceived benefits?…that the day that both of these things happens will be further down the road because of the Obama Administrations impotent exercise to force products to market before they are ready?…that this government meddling has probably set the solar and electric vehicle industries back by at least 5 years because money that could have and should have been spent to further develop the products was pumped into premature manufacturing facilities and marketing campaigns for snake oil?…that we must ask just who is the Carnival Barker now?

IS IT TRUE that the most successful angel investment group in the United States was bombarded with just over 620 business plans last year from entrepreneurs seeking funding from their group?…that a full 500 (80.6%) of these plans were rejected without consideration?…that left 120 (19.4%) that were actually read in depth and given serious consideration?…that of these 620 business plans that only 16 (2.6%) or 1 of every 40 was selected to receive funding?…that 50% of those are expected by the investment group to fail during the early stages?…that the average investment is about $500,000 per business and that the largest of the investments was in the $1.5 Million range?…that nowhere in the investment criteria for this or any angel group of record is there a metric for the number of jobs created?…that the criteria is clearly that the investment needs to be within 50 miles of the investors, have a protected technical content, a coachable management team, AND a feasible exit strategy?…that the point we are making is that investing in start-ups is risky business that involves extensive technological vetting and financial vetting skills and even then the failure rate is over half?

IS IT TRUE that Evansville has no active visible angel or venture investor groups within 50 miles and thus local entrepreneurs are at a loss for where to submit a business plan?…that rightly so, that Mayor Winnecke made the formation of an angel investment group a priority during the campaign of 2011?…that angel investment groups do not access public money as a funding source and are not even particularly interested in government funding programs for their portfolio companies as such things often come with conditions and goals that are not compatible with a good business plan?

IS IT TRUE that it was announced yesterday that the City of Evansville is making a substantial loan with an opportunity at sharing in future profits of a start-up energy company from Texas named Earthcare Energy?…that the big part of the announcement are the 120 jobs that may be placed in the Park 41 complex by Earthcare Energy when and if manufacturing is established?…that the company website shows a fairly impressive management team but refers to no product installations whatsoever?…that there is a short “white paper” describing the technology proposed that was apparently written by a company from Nevada named Langson Energy who is referenced as a granting a license to Earthcare Energy in a July 2011 press release?…that a search of patents and trademarks at the website for the United States Patent and Trademark Office under the name Earthcare Energy yielded no results?…that you may confirm this at www.uspto.gov?

IS IT TRUE that the City of Evansville is making a loan of $5 Million, covering 2 years of rent on 60,000 square feet that is worth approximately $250,000, and that the State of Indiana is kicking in $1.16 Million of incentives for what looks to be a full out start-up company?…that is has been reported that the CEO still has a day job as an airline pilot?…that Mayor Winnecke is breaking new ground with this deal and will either come out of this looking like a visionary or a fool with little margin for anything in between?…that the CCO hopes that the VETTING done on this company was 1,000 times better than the VETTING done by the previous administration on downtown convention hotel development?…that we wish this venture well and hope to see it succeed?…that this type of daredevil investing is necessary in places where there is no private investment entity willing to support entrepreneurship?…that we would be most curious to know if Earthcare Energy attempted to raise capital through private channels and what the results of the private VETTING efforts were?

IS IT TRUE that a short 16 years ago that Senator Richard Lugar was all up in arms about negative campaigning and even ran an ad to encourage his then fellow Hoosiers to join him in taking a stand against negative campaigns?…that was then and this is now?…that the ghost of elections past should visit Senator Lugar’s Washington home and remind him of how he advocated for clean and honest campaigns back before he had become a Washingtonian?…that Senator Lugar’s latest round of commercials against his primary challenger Evansville’s favorite son Richard Mourdock are anything but positive?…that the City County Observer would like to encourage each and every person planning to vote in the Republican primary to give strong and thoughtful consideration to each of these men and to cast a ballot for the one that truly has the best interest of SW Indiana in his heart and mind?

IS IT TRUE that one of our beloved comment writers jumped on us yesterday for repeating a passage about the failure to fund and start an audit of the IT Department?…that this person should remember that one of our trademarks is to bring things up on a recurring basis and that our repeated reminders of the McCurdy Fiasco and the Executive Inn Dilemma lead to action on the part of the former Mayor’s Evansville Redevelopment Commission?…that maybe we should rephrase our repetition to something like “IS IT TRUE that it has now been 61 days since the 2012 editions of city and county government were installed and still there is no appropriation of the funds to begin the audit of the IT Department”?…that we could even name names and remind people that a new long term contract was handed out by County Commission during the waning days of the Weinzapfel Administration?…that we could also state that City Councilman and Chairman of the Finance Committee John Friend, CPA was all over this oversight in 2011 and may just be simmering to get on it again?…that there will be some reminder on a recurring basis until this necessary action is funded and done?

IS IT TRUE that the open seat in Indiana House of Representatives District 64 has a strong contender throwing his hat into the ring?…that sources tell the CCO that Tom Washburne who makes his home near Darmstadt will be making a strong push for this seat?…that Mr. Washburne brings with him the practical analytical skills of a Purdue engineering degree along with an understanding and interest in government from a career in law and banking?…that this guy worked his way up the old fashioned was as a kid from Princeton who bagged groceries and made his spending money in local retail?…that it will be interesting to see who the Democrat party will slate against Mr. Washburne in this newly bordered district that has long been receptive to practical people with conservative leanings?

IS IT TRUE that the CCO is wondering just what the fruits of the “all hands on deck” bus trip to the Crane NAVSEA Center will be?…that true to his expression during the 2011 election that Mayor Winnecke seems to be trying to muster some local interest in reviving the Partnership Intermediary Agreement between GAGE and Crane that seemed to have gone into hibernation after the 2009 Freedom Festival?…that between the renewed interest in the Crane deal, the realization that the Federal Lab Consortium is the real source of intellectual property, and the Kauffman Foundation running a seminar at USI that GAGE had scheduled for 2009 that GAGE seems to be encouraged to go back to its original mission during the early days of the Winnecke Administration?