IS IT TRUE? September 3, 2011

IS IT TRUE that the ownership of a long time Evansville business has finally made the jump not only out of Evansville but out of the United States altogether?…that the legacy Evansville business once known as Creative Press that was located in Downtown Evansville until INDOT bought their building is has been bought out by a British based business?…that just a few years ago that local ownership ceased to exist when Menasha Corp. bought Creative Press and placed it into a corporate entity known as Cortegra?…that when an out of town entity buys a locally owned business that the profits are no longer available to create local wealth?…that Creative Press was for many years an Evansville owned business that provided jobs, pride, and profits to the local economy an locally controlled wealth to the owners?…that when the company was sold to an American company outside of Evansville the local profit and wealth part of that equation evaporated except of course for the check that the owner got?…that now that a British company owned Cortegra that the profits will no longer serve to even add to the American wealth?…that this is just one more example of local wealth being acquired and all future wealth being relocated to some other place?…that recently there has been a whole string of companies many of which are in legacy industries that have been bought right out of Evansville?…that in a very short span of time Creative Press went from a locally owned business to a foreign owned subsidiary of a subsidiary?

IS IT TRUE that the consolidation of Local 7 WTVW and News25 WEHT is progressing with timetables being set for Local 7’s move across the money saving bridge?…that these two stations through the years have had such distinctly different demeanors in presenting news, sports, and weather that choosing which one to watch was more about what kind of mood you were in as opposed to which team commanded ones loyalty?…that News25 has been a traditional style news source that seems to fancy itself as a mini-national news source with local stories?…that Local 7 (previously Fox 7) has really mixed it up with some zaniness and a more gloves off and jesters hat on presentation?…that both stations have filled the needs of the community and that the City County Observer hopes that both news teams can somehow continue to broadcast in their own styles?…that when this move is complete these stations like Creative Press will be out of state, out of local control, and subject to the financial management oversight of detached owners?…that we wonder what will become of the Local 7 studio in Downtown Evansville?

IS IT TRUE that Friday has passed and that there is no agenda available for next week’s meeting of the Evansville Redevelopment Commission?…that the expectation of all is that there will be some substantial discussion regarding the VETTING interviews that both the Kunkel Group and Prime Lodging have now subjected themselves to?…that any gut feelings or insider information that was developed in those meetings is a closely guarded box of secrets?…that not even Mole #3 has been able to get any tangible information about how these interviews have gone for the bidders?…that there have been a few pieces of info trickle out but that nothing has two source credible verification so the “Mole Nation” shall remain quiet?…that the other topic of interest that we are expecting to hear about is the intention of the ERC with respect to the McCurdy Hotel?…that while owning up to the financial reality may be the right thing to do our expectation is that either the word “McCurdy” shall not be uttered or that this albatross will be kicked down the calendar by another 3 months for the next administration to deal with?

IS IT TRUE? Part 2 September 2, 2011

IS IT TRUE that the manager of the Evansville Airport (EVV) that has been repeatedly identified as one of the vital needs to promote economic prosperity and even viability is coming out swinging to get the jetways that have been needed for years to make the EVV experience better and more competitive?…that Doug Joest is actually showing some leadership and publishing some pricing for these essential features of a modern airport?…that it seems as though the price is about $1.5 Million for 4 jetways?…that is only $375,000 each?…that is less than the area Ford dealers are paying per year to buy the naming rights for the Ford Center?…that all 4 jetways will cost $500,000 less than the CVB was wanting to pay for just one ballfield?…that each jetway cost about as much as the “art” for the Ford Center?…that all of the jetways cost as much as 7 Front Door Pride houses?…that given these comparisons we are seriously wondering about the sense of priority with respect to local government spending during recent history?

IS IT TRUE that if 6% bonds were issued with a 20 year term that the payment would be $10,746 per month?…that this is a sponsorship opportunity at less than the cost of a billboard with a captive pedestrian audience if there ever was one?…that you Mr. CEO can sponsor one jetway at the Evansville airport for a paltry $2,686 per month?…that this sponsorship would completely pay for the jetway in 20 years?…that if this can be done with some sense of urgency and without concerning ourselves with waiting around for years to get approved for federal reimbursement then we can have these jetways now while interest rates (and sponsorships) are low instead of waiting around for the federal government to subsidize them and attach a bunch of strings to the project?…that the CCO would jump at the opportunity to help Doug, Diana, and the team at EVV in trying to make something happen the old fashioned way to get some jetways?

IS IT TRUE that many years ago in the days of our youth that Channel 25 crossed the money saving bridge for a new headquarters in Henderson?…that back then it was Channel 50?…that it has been revealed that the recent changes at WTVW Channel 7 will now be changing locations from their longtime home in downtown Evansville and into the Henderson headquarters of WEHT News 25 in Henderson?…that there will be another building available in downtown Evansville when this move plays itself out?

IS IT TRUE that CCO “MOLE #3” is hearing that many political types are spinning the name of Evansville police officer Billy Bolin to replace the Honorable Chief of Police Brad Hill as the next Chief? …that the Billy Bolin supporters are making the following argument why he should be appointed as the next city of Evansville Chief of Police? …that they state that under Billy Bolin’s watch that the department morale shall improve quickly because the rank and file know that he is fair and not afraid to make tough decisions? …they also are saying that the African-American community has a great deal of respect for Mr. Bolin because of his street work on the South Side, Bosse High School as their Liaison Officer, and has experience as a South Sector Crime Prevention Officer? …that they say he not only enjoys an excellent relationship with the top brass of the Vanderburgh Sheriff’s Department but with the rank and file members of that Department? …that they state that Mr. Bolin enjoys an excellent personal relationship with Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Nick Hermann? …they also point out that Mr. Bolin’s leadership involvement with the “GUNS AND HOSES” fund raiser is also a major reason why their candidate should be appointed as the next Evansville Chief of Police?

IS IT TRUE? September 2, 2011

IS IT TRUE that it was pointed out to us by several readers who spend time reviewing the police reports posted daily in the City County Observer that the number of meth related arrests seem to be increasing?…that meth related arrests are reported sometimes as much as 5 per day and rank right up there with shoplifting and domestic disturbance on the frequently reported crimes?…that today is Friday before a three day weekend and we expect that the lines of meth heads will be forming at every pharmacy in town to legally purchase the maximum allowed amount of pseudoephedrine that the law allows?…that the CCO, law enforcement, and the pharmacies that are profiting from these sales know full well that much of this medicine is not going to be used to treat an allergy?…that the exploding house phenomena is now by our count up to 28 houses in Evansville this year?

IS IT TRUE that if a terrorist had been buying illegal or controlled explosives like dynamite, lesser forms of dynamite like M-80s or cherry bombs and using them in some way to blown up houses that the authorities would have Evansville on lock down and it would be a nationally publicized case?…that the Unabomber took 20 years to kill three people and cause 24 injuries and that earned him national attention and an extended manhunt?… that the Unabomber was one of the first people to be designated as a “domestic terrorist” by the FBI?…that the Unabomber in his 20 years of creating mayhem did just about the same amount of damage to life and property that Evansville’s “Meth Head Population” has done since New Year’s Day 2011?…that there are good reasons that enriched uranium, dynamite, plastique, and cluster bombs are not made available in retail outlets to the general public?…that as unfortunate as it is these same reasons apply to the pseudoephedrine based allergy medicines?…that the reason that the CCO supports following Oregon’s lead in making these chemicals prescription based is not about keeping meth heads from getting meth?…that our reasons for supporting this are so the meth heads do not blow up houses and cause injury and death while cooking it?

IS IT TRUE that as much as patience is a virtue that too much patience leads to laziness and complacency?…that Evansville has been “patient” with regard to demanding a solution to the Combined Sewer Overflow problem for over 50 years?…that the result is a fine and a federal order to get off of our patient-complacent butts and repair this?…that the EPA is being patient by allowing Evansville 20 years to find a way to design, implement, and pay for this problem?…that if the people of Evansville and the government had been as patient as the EPA back in 1960 that this problem would have already been solved?…that patience in many cases leads to complacency, which leads to settling for less than the best, which leads to being uncompetitive, which leads to low wages, which leads to poverty, which leads to dilapidated housing, which leads to the breakdown of civic pride, which leads to crime, which leads to the flight of wealth, which leads to brain drain, which leads to the situation that Evansville is experiencing RIGHT NOW?…that it is complacent places that pay $260,000 to an outside firm to validate their obvious problems with a “study”?…that in most cases endemic complacency leads to study after study with the same conclusions followed by no action?

IS IT TRUE that the scores in the recent report card for our schools make it obvious that there needs to be some sense of urgency about repairing them so that our public schools can get A’s by both state and federal standards?…that to be asked to have patience when the future of our children and grandchildren in being fiddled away by Nero like administrators is not acceptable?…that as much as the City of Evansville needed an outside intervention to tell it what to do to become competitive that the public schools need an outside intervention to tell them that C’s, D’s, and F’s are not acceptable and the time to raise those grades is RIGHT NOW?…that Evansville does not have the luxury of wasting another generation of our children as we have wasted the best and brightest of the last 50 years of generations?

IS IT TRUE that studies like the one that Greg Wathen just published depend on execution to achieve results?…that execution depends on having capable and energetic people on the executive teams to get it done?…that patience and complacency in the area of education binds the hands of well meaning people with good plans and makes our community unattractive?…that if we can’t keep the most capable people that we grow and we are not able to attract capable people from the outside world that this little corner of Indiana will really become a lost cause?…that if patience and complacency continue to rule the day in Evansville that those who are left in 2020 will need to appeal to St. Jude, the patron saint of lost causes for help because the capable people will all be gone?

IS IT TRUE that we are finally beginning to see some good plans now all we need is a sense of urgency to implement them and 117,400 people to buy into making them happen?

IS IT TRUE? Part 2 September 1, 2011

IS IT TRUE that Mole #11 is telling us that the Administration arm of the Evansville Police Department is trying to petition the safety board to raise the number of deputy chiefs from 2 to 3?…that this is in anticipation of the current chief and assistant chief being removed after the new mayor is elected?…that the thing that is suspicious about this action if it materializes is that a case was made and approved a few years back to “trim the fat” off the department when they had too many deputy chiefs?…that at that time they went from 4 to 2 under the guise of rightsizing and saving taxpayer money?…that this may be a prime example of the top brass trying to keep their positions by making “end of administration” changes before the new Mayor of Evansville takes the reins?…that if 3 deputy chiefs is the right number that this action should have been taken already when the Weinzapfel Administration was in charge of the budget?…that the City County Observer urges extreme diligence on the part of all public boards and elected officials in the next 4 months as unnecessary changes or expansions may be made for purposes other than making Evansville a better place to live?

IS IT TRUE that we are waiting for the 3rd Ward candidates for Evansville City Council and the at-large candidates to make their position known on the malaise that is going on in the 3rd Ward with respect to sewers collapsing, unmitigated toxic piles of rubble at 600 Franklin Street, garbage all over Garvin Park, and the newly refurbished fountain at Garvin Park having no water in it?…that remaining mute when there is low hanging fruit to be had is not becoming of a candidate for office?…that we also have a report of an accident with injuries that occurred on the bike path due to debris removal being ignored?…that an article and pictures will be published in a couple of days?

IS IT TRUE that Memphis Light, Gas, and Water commissioned a study on the cost of utilities in regions served by approximately 50 different utilities for the year 2010?…that Vectren Corporation that serves 141,000 customers in SW Indiana was one of the utilities that was included in the survey?…that the water and sewer providers for this area did not participate so a complete picture of our utility cost comparison is not possible in the study?…that the comparison of electricity for a number of monthly uses as well as gas are ranked from the cheapest to the most expensive?…that the rates used were prior to the recent increase that Vectren was granted but that we do not have knowledge of any other increases either so we will go with the 2010 numbers?…that Evansville/Vectren ranks 39th out of 44 electrical utilities that were surveyed for a typical use of 1,000 kWh per month?…that the lowest cost place Jackson, MS comes in at about half price of Vectren?…that the other local places in the top ten are Louisville, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Peoria, and Lincoln?…that all of these are roughly half the price of Vectren’s electricity and that all are competitors with Evansville for economic development?…that if Henderson was on the list they would have been #1?…that Henderson is our biggest and most capable competitor for projects?

IS IT TRUE that in the same study the price of residential gas was also included and that Vectren scored much better?…that Vectren ranked 8th out of 33 gas utilities studied for the cost of a typical months use of natural gas?…that of the 7 cities with better gas pricing that only Huntsville, AL is a comparable and competitive city to Evansville?…that of the 7 that offer better gas prices that only 3 are significantly better and that they are from warm climates where gas has limited demand?…that the price of gas is not an issue in El Paso, Los Angeles, or Austin because for the most part it is only used for cooking and to knock the chill off when occasionally gets below 40 degrees?

Memphis2010ElectricityComparison