Captain Jennifer Hunt is being promoted to the rank of Inspector. Hunt, a 12 year fire department veteran, will be the first female promoted into that position. Captain Hunt will assume her role in the Inspection Division which is responsible for inspection of businesses and enforcing the City’s Fire Prevention Code. Hunt’s first day in the Inspection Division will be May 7th and she is excited about the challenge of her new assignment.
EFD Captain to Get Promotion
Shark Tank Episode: Energy and Gold from the Same Device
Mark Sullivan made some pretty outlandish claims about his idea that has not yet been tested in the real world and got laughed off of Shark Tank. This part of the segment starts at 18:30 and runs to 25:00 in episode 11 of this year’s Shark Tank. Enjoy, this may hit pretty close to home for some folks in Evansville.
In all fairness to Mr. Sullivan and the sharks, Mr. Sullivan really does have a patent on his idea.
IS IT TRUE May 3, 2012
IS IT TRUE May 3, 2012
IS IT TRUE the Evansville City Attorney has stated that the bonds will be sold to fund the $4.8 Million loan to Earthcare Energy by the middle of next week?…that just as the situation at the Riverhouse has run into some real problems due to having undisclosed material information come to the table after the initial loan approval, the Earthcare Energy deal has had new material information discovered or disclosed after the 5 – 4 vote to approve the $4.8 Million loan was approved?…that when material information changes occur, the lending institution whether it is a bank or the Evansville City Council needs to take a step back and digest that information?…that one member of the Evansville City Council whose name is Councilman Jonathan Weaver is on record as saying that “We had to take the best information we were provided at that time, and we now have new (other) issues to tackle.”?…that this is one of the most misinformed and ignorant statements possible?…that when material information is made available after the fact that was either withheld or undiscovered that any prudent person or lending institution would reconsider a decision based on the new information?
IS IT TRUE that the normally rational and intelligent voice of the Evansville City Council, Dr. H. Dan Adams is quoted as saying that “with my limited resources of vetting, I have found no smoking gun.”?…that one must ask, are arrests a smoking gun, are bankruptcies a smoking gun, are untested products a smoking gun, are tax liens smoking guns, and are patents claimed that do not exist smoking guns?…that if those five things are not “smoking guns†then there must be a blind spot when it comes to smoking guns?…that the real problem lies with the “limited resources of vettingâ€?…that this deal has been turned down by 6 or 7 banks according to GAGE president Debbie Dewey, has attracted exactly ZERO private investors, and has not sold a single unit in spite of the fact that there are multiple distributors authorized to make sell these products?
IS IT TRUE that it is time for the other two members of the Evansville City Council namely Dan McGinn and John Friend to come forward and let us all know why they were not in favor of this deal?…that both of these gentlemen Councilmen have been candid in private about what they think about this deal but that it is now their duty to make that known before a check is issued?…that there was a rush to vote and now there is a rush to fund prior to the City Council meeting of May 14, 2012?…that no patent exists, no contracts have been shown, no test results have been published, and no track records of the principals have been verified?…that the people of Evansville who are disgusted with this foolishnes sneed to pick up the phone and call their City Council members and let them know that this is not good public policy and that it is not acceptable?
IS IT TRUE that if the people of Evansville fail themselves on this deal that they deserve what they get today, tomorrow, and into the future?…that finally there is no Power Purchase Agreement in place with Vectren at the present time and that Earthcare does not even have the ability today to try to capture the energy that they claim makes the Langson device valuable?…that Vectren has nothing to lose by signing this agreement that will allow them to triple their money on power if and we do mean if it works except their self respect if this turns out like the other dozen businesses that this management team has presided over?…that Vectren which is usually a prudent business will suffer much embarrassment along with their shareholders if this deal does not deliver as advertised?
Snake oil energy salesmen & green bamboozlers
By: Katie Fehrenbacher
When a friend of mine who follows clean power and greentech closely sent me Bloomberg’s story on Rocketjet, I burst out laughing. We have an unspoken contest over who can send each other the worst scams in the energy and green industries. Rocketjet’s hopes for perhaps crowd-funding its water atomic engine that will kick off a “Free Energy Era†is one of the more obvious ones — enough to draw the attention of the often straight-laced Bloomberg, and also to become a mini-symbol of all that could go wrong with the new crowd-funding act.
But after the initial guffaw, Rocketjet got me thinking: why are there so many snake oil salesmen and scam artists in the energy space? Other gems that have emerged in recent years are the solar developers at Matinee Energy (awesome piece by the Phoenix New Times on these folks), biofuel company Cello Energy, which was sued in court for fraud, the oft-discussed capacitor maker eeStor, which has over-promised and never delivered, and the biochar ponzi scheme Mantria, whose lead investment broker funnelled other people’s funds into, among other things, his own penchant for prostitutes (another amazing local report covered those guys).
And yes, I know all sectors have their own charlatans. The web, in particular had more than its fair share in the 90′s dotcom boom. But the green energy sector has its own specific brand of snake oil salesman that benefit from the difficulties of knowing and proving breakthroughs in science; the optimism of investors who want to give their funds to investments that have a higher aim; and the fact that a major breakthrough in the trillion-dollar energy markets could actually be a massive financial opportunity.
Some of these energy scams have the imaginative do-gooder power and infrastructure buildout of the monorail scheme. Put the money into building out the infrastructure-heavy project and it’ll bring jobs, revitalizing a depressed area, and also save the planet (misplaced clean power projects or factories come to mind for this type).
Other energy scams involve a breakthrough that is so large that it’s, well, not scientifically possible. Things that tout free, infinite clean energy are often too good to be true. And these companies aren’t even necessarily scams, but perhaps over eager or incorrect scientists. There’s been more than a few times when scientists have called BS on venture-backed green startups.
The problem with these colossal-sounding breakthroughs is that they are near-impossible to prove even to other scientists. Take eeStor, which probably wouldn’t consider itself a scam, but which promised huge gains for its ultracapacitor yet never publicly proved its technology nor showed off or commercialized its tech.
Even for a seasoned energy investor, it’s hard to distinguish between an outright scam, a really bad idea and a high-risk project. The majority of some investors’ green portfolios could be allocated to super high-risk startups, which probably won’t work and won’t ever make money. But those wouldn’t necessarily be scams — just investors with a high tolerance for risk (and it’s easier if it’s high risks with other people’s money).
There’s also just the reality that energy entrepreneurs that are trying to crack the very difficult greentech world are sometimes a little “out there,†to begin with. As Bill Gates put it, the world needs hundreds of “crazy energy entrepreneurs†that think their idea alone can solve the energy problem. The energy problem is really, really hard, and will need quite a few amazing breakthroughs to deliver progress.
That’s the real problem with the outright energy scams. The crazy energy entrepreneurs we so need and love won’t be able to get the funding or partnerships they need if the bad apples tarnish the sector. But at the end of the day, they do make for some pretty fun reading.
Bicentennial Park – Public Open House Design Charrette Tonight
There will be a public meeting to review and comment on plans for Bicentennial Park on Thursday, May 3rd from 7pm to 9pm at the Old Post Office. The meeting is an open house format, which will allow participants the flexibility of arriving and leaving at their convenience. To that end, there will be no formal large group presentation. Members of the design team and the Department of Metropolitan Development will be present to review the plans with attendees and receive comment and feedback on the proposed design. The design team includes RATIO Architects, Bernardin Lochmueller & Associates, Hafer and Associates and Bill Gaisser Designs/Architecture.
Thompkins State Champions in Jr. Academic Super Bowl
For the second year in a row, Thompkins Middle School earned the highest score in the state in the area of social studies in the Indiana Junior Academic Super Bowl competition. In addition, in Class 1, North Junior High School placed in the top 10 in the state in the area of science and in Class 4, Glenwood placed in the top 10 in science and social studies. The competition is supported by the Public Education Foundation and facilitated by the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation.
The teams earned the rankings after competing in the Junior Area Academic Super Bowl Competition last Saturday at Helfrich Park Stem Academy. The state classification is based solely on the total scores received by each school and then are compared to other scores from across the state.
Middle School Academic Super Bowl competitions are composed of four subject matter rounds – English, science, social studies and mathematics – and a sixth interdisciplinary round in which questions may come from any and all of the subject areas. This year’s theme was “Colonial and Revolutionary America.
How can Cross-Cultural Psychology Benefit your Business?
Are you interested in learning how organizational psychology could benefit employee communication, market-entry analysis, and human resource practices and policies in your business? The Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library will host Cross-Cultural Psychological Literacy: A Science-Based Approach to Global Business.
The program will take place on May 9 and again on June 13 at 6:00 pm in the Large Group Room at Central Library.
The interactive presentation will cover:
How societal cultures can be compared based on their values, pratices, use of time.
How cross-cultural literacy can inform market-entry decisions, employee communications, marketing and branding, HR policies, etc.
Countries that can be discussed in-depth: US, China, Japan, Thailand, Signapore, Netherlands, Switzerland, Argentina, and Mexico.
This program is presented by organizational scientist Jan Aylsworth, who uses scientifically valid frameworks from the social sciences to help organizations avoid and resolve issues related to culture-of-origin.
For more information, call 428-8218 or visit www.janorgpsy.com.
IS IT TRUE May 2, 2012
IS IT TRUE May 2, 2012
IS IT TRUE that the Evansville Redevelopment Commission has finally formally placed the contract with City Centre Properties to refurbish the McCurdy Hotel into apartments on formal notice that they are in default?…that it took no less than three years for this artesian well of knowledge to burst from the collective body that has presided over what has been perhaps the two most impotent projects in the history of the City of Evansville?…that this should have happened in either 2009 or 2010 but there just always seemed to be some reason to keep extending the deal while that last signature was perpetually two weeks away like a carrot on the end of a stick to get a jackass to pull the plow around the field just one more time?…that brings up the question of just what will happen with the McCurdy now?
IS IT TRUE that attorney Ted Ziemer has been quoted as saying that Fifth Third Bank has initiated foreclosure actions to protect a $2 Million mortgage that they hold against the McCurdy?…that Fifth Third is in the first position and will someday (do not hold your breath) be able to force an auction to get as much of their $2 Million as possible if they choose to do so?…that it seems as though between the $1,403,000 put into the project so far by the City of Evansville and the $2,000,000 loan taken out by City Centre Properties against the McCurdy that $3,403,000 has been spent on this project and the upstairs windows have not even been closed?…that this money is down the proverbial rat hole and outside of a miracle or a compromise the McCurdy may be heading to the auction block like its next door neighbor the Riverhouse did?…that we must remember that the Riverhouse only brought a bid of $350,000 at that auction and that it is still owned by the bank that repossessed it?…that we hope for a better fate for the McCurdy?
IS IT TRUE that it has been widely publicized that the Kunkel Group along with Bloomington developer Randall Lloyd have intention to complete the task that City Centre Properties choked on?…that we hope that this is as easily done as said?…that we are sure that the City of Evansville and the ERC will be enthusiastic to cooperate any way they can because if Fifth Third takes the auction route the City of Evansville will be getting exactly nothing for the $1,403,000 that the last administration sunk into this un-vetted project with an un-vetted developer?…that it would appear that the fate of the McCurdy is in the hands of whomever at Fifth Third makes decisions with respect to repossessed properties?…that if Fifth Third has any reason to believe that an auction or a for sale sign will result in a sale at over $1.5 Million that this will probably be the route that they take?
IS IT TRUE that the Kunkel and Lloyd team could then pick the McCurdy up at that auction and the City of Evansville will be out of the deal and out of our money?…that the Kunkel and Lloyd team could create a cooperative effort between three entities to pick up the pieces and move forward?…that from a private enterprise perspective that getting the City out of the deal would be preferable?…that the only financial reason to want to keep the City in this deal is to get some additional incentives from the City or to have the City intervene with Fifth Third to grease the skids?…that we seem to remember that Fifth Third owes the City of Evansville some money from a loan made to their predecessor’s predecessor back in the early 1980’s when the Fifth Third building was being built?…that some convoluted pact of debt swaps could make this attractive to Fifth Third and clear the way for Kunkel and friends to move forward?…that at this point in time and the absence of a white knight that Kunkel and Lloyd are probably the last hope for the McCurdy to be standing in 5 years?…that being the case we encourage the powers that be to grease whomever and whatever needs greasing and get this show on the road?…that this project has thus far been a showcase for why government should stay the hell out of what private business should be doing for a profit?