As a reminder to all of our readers – the northbound right lane on the Twin Bridges will be closed this morning for electrical work. This restriction is expected to last from 9am-11am.

After the northbound lane is completed, workers will be moving to the southbound right lane. This lane is expected to be closed for two hours as well. Estimated times: 11am-1pm.

If you plan on crossing that “money saving bridge” today, plan ahead!

Dear Vanderburgh County Democratic Party Leaders:

I must now move forward to bring to resolution the pending charges against some of the Central Committee officers. I have sent shortened, summarized versions of the charges to the named officers.

I would like to have a meeting with the named officers of the VCDCC along with the leaders of the VDP this week. I am proposing Friday, February 10, 2012, at 1:00 PM. Ii has been suggested that we meet in the VCDCC headquarters conference room, if it could be made available to us. If it is not available to us, I will select another site in Evansville.

It is my goal that the officers named in the charges, individually or collectively, with counsel from you leaders, can come to a proposal for the resolution of the charges. I will submit any such proposal(s) to the Eighth District Democratic Party Central Committee.

I incite the officers named in the charges to bring one council or counsel if desired.

I assure all of you that, while I have thoughts as to what I think it will take to resolve these issues with the 8th DCC, I have no preset agenda for resolution. I only want these issues resolved in the best interests of all Vanderburgh County Democrats. It has festered too long.

If no resolution is proposed or any named officer fails to submit a proposed resolution acceptable to the 8th DCC, I will appoint a fact finding committee to interview all relevant witnesses, review any relevant evidence and submit findings of fact, with or without recommendations, to the 8th DCC for the resolution of any charges remaining unresolved.

Please confirm this communication as soon as you can. If you wish another email address for the Party communications, please advise me. If I don’t receive notice as to availability of the VCDCC headquarters by Wednesday, I will arrange another site in Vanderburgh County and notify you.

Thank you for all you do for our Party.

S. Anthony Long,
Eighth District Democrat Chair

“…And our duty as a party is not to our party alone, but to the Nation, and, indeed., to all mankind. Our duty is not merely the preservation of political power but the preservation of peace and freedom.
So let us not be petty when our cause is so great. Let us not quarrel amongst ourselves when our Nation’s future is at stake. Let us stand together with renewed confidence in our cause–united in our heritage of the past and our hopes for the future–and determined that this land we love shall lead all mankind into new frontiers of peace and abundance.”
This was the last lines of JFK’s speech he was to give at the Texas State Convention on the night of 11/22/63.

The City County Observer has had the privilege to view the bar bill that has been represented to have been for the party of Democrat City Council members who gathered at the Maingate Bar on Main Street on January 23, 2012 right after the City Council meeting where presentations by Casino Aztar and a Colorado based consultant regarding the upcoming vote on a comprehensive smoking ordinance were made.

The receipt that is represented to have been for a party of 8 on January 23, 2012 is dated February 1, 2012 and time stamped 2:29 PM. This receipt has been alleged to have been paid by Josh Smith, a consultant from Indianapolis who along with attorney Krista Lockyear joined the gathering of 6 Democrat members of the Evansville City Council at the Maingate after the City Council meeting. Mr. Smith is also stated to be a friend of Councilwoman Missy Mosby.

The bar tab for the party of 8 includes 33 beers and 13 alcohol based drinks for a total of 46 drinks that were ordered and charged to the table. The total charges were $212.00 and the tax was reported to be $6.74 for a total of $218.74. It has been pointed out that the Indiana sales tax on a $212.00 bill should have been $16.96 to reflect the 8% rate that is the law of Indiana. No additional taxes were on the bill.

In previous correspondence Councilwoman Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley has stated that she paid for her own drinks and City Council President Connie Robinson state that she went home early. Accepting those statements as truth that leaves a total of 46 drinks to have been consumed by 6 people some of whom provided testimony regarding the content and volume of Councilman Lindsey’s alleged consumption of alcohol. It is a challenge to the CCO to understand how a gathering where an average of nearly 8 drinks per person were consumed would possess sufficient unimpaired judgement to count and measure what they were drinking themselves much less to keep count of what others were drinking.

The CCO recently received the following statement from Mayor Winnecke’s Chief of Staff, Steve Schaefer:

Regarding the below post this morning, I wanted to let you know that I did receive a message from Ms. Caine yesterday (Wednesday, February 8th) regarding her offer to make a comment pertaining to the investigation.  Her offer was forwarded to the Evansville Fire Department, who is handling the investigation.

 

IS IT TRUE? February 9, 2012 PART 2 “The Meltdown of the Democrats Continues”

IS IT TRUEthat Evansville City Councilwoman Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley has supplied the CCO with a copy of a portion of her bank statement that reflects that she paid personally in the amount of $24.50 to the Maingate Bar for whatever food and drink that she enjoyed at the January 23rd after party that followed the City Council meeting?…that this amount is quite consistent with a few drinks and a meal?…that based on this and her words we accept the fact that Councilwoman Riley did not accept drinks and food from the Indianapolis based consultant who treated as many City Council members who would let him that night?

IS IT TRUE that the statements made by three people all swearing to have honest knowledge of what Al Lindsey was drinking that night are inconsistent?…that Councilman Jonathan Weaver’s statement said that Lindsey was drinking “Curt John Specials” which consist of vodka, orange juice, cranberry juice, and club soda?…that Councilman John Friend, CPA who made no statement has told us face to face that he was drinking Curt John Specials?…that Weaver’s statement was clear that Al stuck with one kind of drink all night?…that Ted Miller, who was at the table stated that Lindsey was drinking Jim Beam (whiskey) straight up but the bartender’s statement was that Lindsey had “Beam & Sprite”?…that of the 5 people interviewed that three of them swear that Lindsey was drinking three different kinds of drinks?…that the only thing that these conflicting statements proves is that the witnesses against Captain Lindsey were apparently so impaired in their observation that they saw three different things?…that thus far the mass and rapid consumption of 46 portions of alcohol by the Democrat City Council members and their friends is the only thing that seems certain?

IS IT TRUE that there was a table of people from Indiana Smokefree Communities at the Maingate that night that included Martha Caine, Director?…that Ms. Caine stated to the CCO that she was not asked to provide a statement by the EFD investigator?…that she also told us that she contacted Mayor Winnecke’s Chief of Staff Steve Schaefer volunteering to make a statement about what she saw and heard?…that the call for Martha and her friends to make sworn statements never came?…that this odd practice of only interviewing known hostile witnesses makes this investigation look more suited for Guantanamo Bay than for an EFD tribunal that will determine if a distinguished career will be terminated over conflicted and exclusively hostile information?

IS IT TRUE that the Mole Nation is unanimous that hell is getting ready to reign down on the Vanderburgh County Democrat Central Committee?…that come high noon on Friday when the filing deadline for the 2012 primaries has passed between 3 and 6 resignations will be tendered?…that these will be marquee names who may be seen as the poster children for the infighting, bickering, backstabbing, and malaise that the Vanderburgh County Democrat Central Committee has been known for during the past 8 years?…that we also have it on good authority that the Bauer Haus has STILL NOT BEEN PAID FOR THE CHICKEN?

IS IT TRUE that the City County Observer is seriously considering starting a legal expense fund so that Al Lindsey will have the resources to defend himself against Kangaroo Court and political retribution that he has been subjected to?…that this can’t be the first time that a fireman has been fingered for consuming alcohol on duty?…that we call upon anyone who has knowledge of such events to come forward and state what was the action and what was the consequence?…that in cases like this precedent should be followed because there is no place in a system of justice for political retribution or emotion?

IS IT TRUE that a very derogatory comment was made with regard to the CCO and even flatly accused us of making up the story about the receipt from the Maingate?…that our response is that if you EvansvilleTruth will reveal your real name we will bet you $1,000 that we can produce a copy of the receipt that was used by the EFD tribunal that decided that Captain Lindsey should be terminated?…that we of course cannot guarantee that the receipt that they were given by the Maingate accurately reflects the consumption of the group of revelers on January 23, 2012?

INDOOR AIR POLLUTION DROPS BY 95% IN VANDERBURGH COUNTY; HARMFUL AIR QUALITY IN EVANSVILLE CITY WORKPLACES

Indoor Air Pollution 20 Times Higher in Places with Indoor Smoking in Evansville vs. Smoke-Free Establishments in Vanderburgh County

Evansville, Ind. – A new study indicates that indoor air pollution in smoky Evansville restaurants and bars was found to be 20 times higher for restaurants and bars that are now smoke- free in Vanderburgh County.

According to Dr. Mark Krahling, from University of Southern Indiana, the average level of fine particulate air pollution was 272 μg/m3 in the Evansville venues that allowed smoking compared to just 12 μg/m3 in smoke-free places in Vanderburgh County.

The announcement was made by the local Smokefree Communities coalition. The study, conducted before and after the July 2011 Vanderburgh County smoke-free air ordinance went into effect, used state-of-the-art air pollution monitors to measure the levels of fine particulate air pollution in five restaurants and bars in the County and found a 95% decrease in indoor air pollution from 242 μg/m3 to 12 μg/m3 .

“We’re thrilled to report that the air quality has dramatically improved,” said Martha Caine, Executive Director of Smokefree Communities. “This study clearly demonstrates the health benefit of Vanderburgh County’s smoke-free air law,”

The concentration of fine particle air pollution, PM 2.5, was measured using a TSI SidePak AM510 Personal Aerosol Monitor. PM 2.5 is particulate matter in the air smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter. Particles of this size are released in significant amounts from burning cigarettes, are easily inhaled deep into the lungs, and cause a variety of adverse health effects including cardiovascular and respiratory morbidity and death.

The study also indicated that employees and patrons in smoke-filled workplaces are being exposed to indoor air pollution levels more than seven times higher than air quality levels designated as healthy by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Smokefree Communities worked in conjunction with the University of Southern Indiana to collect the data as part of an evaluation of smoke-free policies.

“The results from this study provide clear evidence that the law has been highly effective in improving air quality in indoor environments and protecting workers and the public from the health harms of secondhand smoke,” explains Caine. “Our recommendation would be for the City of Evansville to adopt a comprehensive smoke-free air ordinance.”