IS IT TRUE a new housing program announced that it has finished a group of three homes that are now ready to sell in the Glenwood neighborhood?…these homes have asking prices that are slightly below $100,000 and are reportedly energy efficient that will keep money in the pocket of the homeowners as opposed to going right up the chimney?…according to Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke there have been 33 homes built in the Glenwood area in recent history that has raised home ownership by 17%?…doing the math on that one yields a number of only 194 owner occupied homes in the Glenwood neighborhood?…that approach taken in Glenwood was to obliterate an entire block of dilapidated homes and replace them all with newer efficient homes?…that this program has been done in a way that is attractive to the target market from a price, size, and transformational perspective?…that whomever designed the Glenwood program must have learned something from the failures of Front Door Pride that has not been so successful?

IS IT TRUE according to two websites, one of which is the website for Hope, there are still 6 Front Door Pride homes that are for sale?…the houses as they have always been are tasteful and priced at under $135,000 when over $200,000 was spent on each home?…Civic Center Moles tell us that a FDP home was purchased recently by another person who in on the City of Evansville payroll?…this makes most of the homes purchased from the FDP program having been sold to City employees, relatives of elected officials, cronies of politicians, or people who are in some cases all of the above?…the Front Door Pride program is an example of redistribution of local money from the general population to the select few?…it seems that when local government gets involved in anything it turns into crony deals and this is just another example of crony capitalism played out right here in River City?

IS IT TRUE the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) scandal that involved members of a legendary and successful football coaching staff covering up criminal acts of cruelty to children is winding down?…a decision on what to do with respect to Penn State is expected from the NCAA soon?…if Penn State would have paid for a new suit, a plane ticket, or even some extra meals for a player that the games they won would be forfeit and they would be stripped of NCAA titles?…what happened when football took priority over the innocence of young boys when people looked the other way certainly rises to a level that is so far above giving a player a plane ticket that if Penn State is not stripped of every football victory and title for as long as the old “I didn’t see nothing” routine was going on then something is seriously wrong with the NCAA infractions committee?

IS IT TRUE that it is earnings season on Wall Street when public companies announce their results for the second quarter of 2012?…that there have been plenty of words of guidance to lower the expectations on the basis that the stalled world economy is negatively effecting corporate earnings?…we will soon learn just how much that the private sector has been hit by the stubborn recession?…the fact that President Obama just said that “the private sector is doing fine” did not make it so?…When this and the next earnings season that will be announced in late October have been disclosed we will all have a better understanding of why corporate America has not been hiring as they are under extreme political pressure to do?…that the General Electric Corporation whose chairman Jeff Immelt sits on the White House jobs council presides over a company that pays not US taxes and has more than half of its workforce outsourced?

IS IT TRUE that the Evansville Fire and Police Chiefs each are paid a salary of about $92,000 a year?…that Mayor of Evansville is paid approximately $98,000 per year?…both Chiefs have the use of city owned vehicles which they use 24/7?…that the Mayor of Evansville doesn’t have a city owned vehicle and he doesn’t receive any allowance for using his personal car for city business? …the CCO believes both Chief’s salaries should be frozen until the Mayor of Evansville has seen sufficient increases to be paid at least 20% more than those who report to him?…the City Council should take a long look at increasing the Mayor’s salary and benefits so that the highest elected office in the City is paid competitively with those who report to him?

IS IT TRUE that as long as the City of Evansville expects the Mayor to actually run the business affairs of the City as opposed to entrusting such things to a professionally trained City Manager that the Mayor should earn more than his or her reports?…that if the State of Indiana and the City of Evansville ever adopt modern management principles like hiring a City Manager to run the City and letting the Mayor do ceremonial tasks like kissing babies, dining out with sister city Mayors, and backslapping then the Mayor should be paid like a City Manager even if they are clueless about doing such a job?…that in Louisville that has a City Manager that is paid about $300,000 per year to manage the City that the ceremonial role of Mayor still pays a ceremonial salary of $100,000?

IS IT TRUE that the presidential campaigns are getting pretty darn dirty pretty early this year?…that the outright lies and character assassination games usually do not start until the last weekend before the election?…that the Romney campaign is now openly calling President Obama a liar?…that the Obama campaign has flat out accused Mitt Romney of committing a felony?…that both of these things are easily vetted and the accusers on both sides should be tarred and feathered and barred from future political involvement if they are doing what in childhood was described as bearing false witness?…that if Mitt Romney has truly committed securities fraud that the Justice Department should file criminal charges against him as they did against Bernie Madoff and let a jury decide?…that if this accusation turns out to be false that a criminal charge should be brought against all of the people in the Obama campaign that went to that extreme position to try to get a couple of polling points?…that it is one thing to call someone a liar (both candidates have earned a multiple Pinnochio awards already) in a campaign without evidence but it is quite a different one to accuse someone of a felony?…that accusing someone of a felony for personal gain constitutes the criminal charge of slander?

IS IT TRUE that the McCurdy Hotel still owes two installments of property taxes and a penalty?…it has been over 4 years since a smiling Mayor Weinzapfel announced the deals to convert the McCurdy to apartments and that a 4 Star Convention Hotel would be located in downtown Evansville if an Arena was built?…this is just another example of the old adage that failing to plan is the same as planning to fail?

IS IT TRUE that many Evansville taxpayers are quite interested to see exactly how the recommended raises for 10 and only 10 City of Evansville employees with play out at next Monday’s meeting of the Evansville City Council?…the real interesting thing prior to the meeting is whether or not public pressure will get Councilman John Friend to rescind the resolution or if a live vote will determine the outcome?…the City of Evansville is pretty much damned if they do and damned if they don’t on this issue?…that just a little bit of thought up front would have tossed this issue first to a third party to evaluate the salary schedules that the City has shackled itself will prior to making any recommendation for such large percentage raises for a select few?