IS IT TRUE February 21, 2013

IS IT TRUE the Evansville Redevelopment Commission (ERC) has voted to authorize carving the single block that Evansville City Administrations have been dreaming of a convention hotel sitting on for 5 years now into its own little Tax Increment Finance (TIF) District?…assuming that any future hotel will be granted the maximum 10 year tax abatement this makes the amount of money that can be collected by this new TIF limited to the non-hotel revenue from the complex?…it has been estimated that the taxes collected by this TIF will be less than $100,000 per year?…this is a drop in the bucket compared to the interest on the debt already incurred to build the Ford Center or the up-front cash incentives that will be required to close a deal with the Branson, Missouri based hotel developer that is in discussions with the Winnecke Administration right now?…this amount of money committed to be squirreled away to cover the City of Evansville’s anticipated incentive package is equivalent to a 14 year old squirreling away $50 for the purchase of a future automobile?…this is cute and thrifty for a teenager dedicated to hoarding enough money to buy a car but in the City’s case this is a fairly insignificant piece of the whole pie that is still a raw undeveloped parcel of land in downtown Evansville?…this looks a little bit desperate for every red cent that can be allocated to a hotel project?…every dollar that goes into this TIF is a dollar that the rest of the business owners and residents of Pigeon Township will get to pay for with a tax increase?

IS IT TRUE this new TIF is subject to approval of the Evansville City Council?…this would be a good time for our City Council to stop insulting each other and to put their Tom Terrific thinking caps on and figure out how this TIF effects this deal and how it effects the citizens of Evansville who own property in the Pigeon Township?…any member of the City Council who is not able to recite with understanding the potential unintended consequences of established this micro-TIF before casting a vote is undeserving of your future vote?…in cases like this a written test for the City Council is in order?…as a Washington based corporate site selector stated in a conversation in Monterrey, CA last night “the United States can no longer afford to have bumbling idiots in elected office”?…that echo’s a famous comedian George Carlin who always attributed this problem of fools in office to the fools who voted for them?…it is time for all of the people of this country to once again learn the process often called THINKING?

IS IT TRUE that the University of Vermont has released an in depth study of the happiest states in America?…in the Tri-State the State of Kentucky checked in at #28, Illinois was #31, and Indiana followed those two closely at #33?…that of course the happiest state is the State of Hawaii which should surprise no one who has been lucky enough to visit?…7 of the top 10 are western states while 7 of the bottom 10 come from the south?…the Midwestern states as they often do in nearly everything dominate the middle of the rankings?…as cities go the happiest city in America is Napa, California and the least happy is Beaumont, TX just on the Louisiana border?…Louisiana was ranked dead last for happiest?

IS IT TRUE the Purdue University Technical Assistance Program established a staffed field office in Evansville’s Innovation Pointe Building soon after it opened in 2007?…that during late 2011 the powers that be up in West Lafayette decided to close that office which served a multitude of counties in SW Indiana for “financial” reasons?…yesterday an email went out from the Purdue TAP program claiming to have provided an economic impact of $35 Million to Dubois County (Jasper) alone during the term from 2007 to 2012?…as that happened when a paid staffer was on the payroll making things happen it is unlikely that results like this will be sustainable with the magic invisible hand from West Lafayette managing things in SW Indiana?…that closing an office that could not have been costing much more than $100,000 per year over money and then claiming to have made a $35 Million impact sounds more like the antics of a politician than an academic institution?…if one of the initiatives of Purdue is to impact all of Indiana that field offices is the only way to do so?…the closing of a regional field office that created the impact that Purdue claims in a single county is one colossal mistake if Purdue really wants to impact economies?…claiming such success after closing the office is unbelievably disingenuous?

IS IT TRUE that the mental giant aka Vice President Joe Biden is in the news again for suggesting that a shotgun blast or two is what is needed for Americans to protect their lives and property?…such a correct opinion from the “trial balloon floater” for the Obama Administration is both welcome and unexpected?…the federal marketing plan for shotguns started a couple of weeks ago with President Obama releasing a photo of himself shooting at skeet?…that photo op and Biden’s yesterday while they made sense in the words chosen also seem to have an undertone aimed at tinkering with the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution as both events have promoted shotguns but made it clear that so called assault weapons are not needed?…while it is comforting to know that shotguns are in vogue in Washington that does not change the fact that there is a concerted effort to alter away or interpret away traditional interpretations of the 2nd Amendment?…President and Vice President Shotgun have one thing wrong?…with a shotgun cocking it is usually enough to send an intruder scurrying for the door and no blast is needed?…the one downfall of a shotgun is however the shot pattern which can easily pepper the bodies of two people standing next to each other?…if the intruder has a hold of your spouse and you come to protect them with a shotgun blast as Shotgun Biden has suggested there is a high probability that you will shoot your spouse too?…a pistol or a rifle will not come with that problem?…we must ask “say it ain’t so Joe, we need pistols and rifles too”?

IS IT TRUE that the editorial by the Courier and Press on Sunday where City Council President Connie Robinson was lightly chastised for implying that rude or childish behavior by other council members in her own words can “go to hell”?…while Robinson’s frustration with the recent dust up over the credentials of David Garrett may have gotten the best of her the real firestorm that the both the CCO and the Courier have been recently provided is how two members of the City Council use foul language on each other in email exchanges?…the editor of the CCO responded to a comment yesterday with rhyming words with some of the garbage we have seen that has gone back and forth between council members when discussing official business?…there are even words designed to intimidate other council members into resigning?…President Robinson’s words were absolutely a breath of fresh air compared to what we have been provided by multiple sources between other City Council members?…we are still choosing to refrain from publishing this foul exchange of emails but do reserve the right to do so at some future point if it becomes a continual problem between council members with each other or certain council members and other people?…we hope that all 9 of our City Council members learn to exercise restraint and civility in carrying out their duty to run our city?…if they do not and if crude language and intimidation tactics continue it may very well be appropriate to release the emails of the offending elected officials?