Cornell Law Review Clears up Treasury Regulation #7872
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode26/usc_sec_26_00007872—-000-.html
Money Magazines Best Places to Live: How does Evansville Compare?
Only 4 Hoosier Cites in Top 100
Indianapolis suburbs Noblesville, Brownsburg, Westfield, and Plainfield all were selected into the middle of the pack of the best places to live in the United States. Thirty one other Hoosier cities from little Yorktown with a population of 8,759 up to Indianapolis were evaluated for inclusion in the top 100 but did not make the cut.
The top 10 in order were Louisville, CO; Milton, MA; Solon, OH; Leesburg, VA; Papillion, NE; Hanover, NH; Liberty, MO; Middleton, WI; Mukilteo, WA; and Chanhassen, MN.
Some interesting metrics published about Evansville in comparison to the average of the top 100 cities named are as follows:
1. Evansville’s median family income of $47,811 is less than half of the $99,975 for the top cities.
2. Evansville’s state sales tax of 7% is 22% higher than the 5.75% average of the leaders.
3. Evansville’s auto insurance premiums are 31% lower than the top ranked cities.
4. Evansville’s 10 year Job Growth rate is negative (-8.12%) as compared to the leading cities that enjoyed and average Job Growth Rate of 24.63%
You may investigate the full range of topics used to rank the cities on the link below.
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2011/snapshots/PL1822000.html
Growing Power Speaker Coming to Evansville
Good Food Manifesto available on link
Urban Seeds a non-profit organization in Evansville, IN would like to invite the public to attend a key note speaker event coming to Evansville on Saturday, September 3 at 2 pm. If you have any questions, please contact me at the number below. And please feel free to peruse our website and see more about our organization. Thanks so much!
Contact Information:
Heidi Krause
President
Urban Seeds
1501 Adams Ave.
Evansville, IN 47713
812-401-2967
www.urbanseeds.com
IS IT TRUE? Part 2 August 15, 2011 “Insurance and Meth Lab Control”
IS IT TRUE? Part 2 August 15, 2011
IS IT TRUE that the City County Observer and its quest for good public policy will be at the lectern at the Northside Kiwanis Club tomorrow?…that civic organizations area also taking note of the style and substance that the CCO introduces into the local discussion?…that in a load speed test that the CCO website was measured to load in 2.03 seconds, a full 30% faster than the website of the Courier and Press?…that lots of candidates for office and their advocates are contacting the CCO about what needs to be done in Evansville to make it a better place?…that we expect to see the demand for more information to start focusing on the two candidates for Mayor of Evansville within days?
IS IT TRUE that the City County Observer has been supplied with a supplement to the FOIA request that we had made regarding the $100,000 fee that Old National Insurance received for serving as the insurance advisor to the Evansville Redevelopment Commission for the Arena project?…that in the 10 page insurance consultancy contract between the ERC and ONI there is a provision in Exhibit A under Compensation section B that commits that ONI will not receive a commission for the policies brokered for the ERC?…that should put to rest the theory of being paid to tell the ERC what to buy and then getting a commission for selling it to them?…that the sum total of the compensation for ONI as per contract is $100,000?…that a very pertinent question would be “if ONI had worked for a commission only instead of a consulting fee, would the ERC have paid more or less money than the $100,000 that was paidâ€?…that the total premiums for the coverage recommended by ONI appears to be $321,050?…that ONI’s fee of $100,000 amounts to 31% of the insurance premiums?…that this seems like it is a bit higher than most commission structures that our insurance industry friends receive?
IS IT TRUE that we will investigate this further and publish whether the ERC saved money or spent more than it would have on commissions by doing the fixed fee insurance contract with ONI?
IS IT TRUE that Democratic candidate for Mayor of Evansville was sighted in front of the old abandoned fire house on Columbia Street near Hose House #10 that Mayor Weinzapfel wanted to close this morning with a camera crew in tow?…that we are interested to learn whether a commercial was being shot for the Davis campaign or whether yet another position statement was being made?
IS IT TRUE that in 2003 that the State of Oregon was busting 39 meth labs each month?…that the State of Oregon took the bold step of becoming the first state to pass a law requiring prescriptions for PSE products such as Sudafed and Claritin-D?…that in the following 3 years after making the meth making ingredients “by prescription only†that the State of Oregon only had 46 meth lab incidents?…that this is an annualized decrease in meth lab incidents of 96.7%?…that if that is not evidence of success that should be emulated then we wonder what will it take to get other states on board to do this?…that we stand beside our fundamental belief that this meth problem needs active legislative changes to make headway?…that if educating people was going to work it would have worked already?
Downtown Today: 8/15/2011
Time 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM
Subject COMMERCIAL REVIEW COMMITTEE
Location 318
Recurrence Occurs every Monday effective 8/1/2011 until 8/29/2011 from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM
Reminder 15 minutes
KATHIE HOLLEY @ 5228
Categories ROOM 318
Time 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM
Subject PORT AUTHORITY
Location 307
Recurrence Occurs the third Monday of every 1 month effective 8/15/2011 until 8/15/2011 from 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
Reminder 15 minutes
ROBIN HAYES
Categories ROOM 307
Patent issued to engineering professor is first for USI
University of Southern Indiana President Linda L. M. Bennett has announced the issuance on August 2 of U.S. Patent No. 7,991,351 which relates to improved technology for access between wired and wireless networks. The patent is the first issued to a faculty member working with USI’s Center for Applied Research.
Dr. Paul A. Kuban , associate professor of engineering, is the inventor of an interface that makes the fixed networks found in automotive networks, medical instrumentation consoles, and factory automation systems accessible to the latest standard in wireless networks, incorporating access control, encryption, mesh networking, and other features.
“One of the growing roles of the University is to drive innovation as well as education in the region,” Bennett said. “As our internationally accredited engineering program has grown, we have increased faculty and applied research, providing novel solutions to real problems that will help our region thrive economically. We are pleased that Paul Kuban’s innovation has been recognized with a patent.”
The technology in Kuban’s invention can be applied in many scenarios. For instance, it would allow diagnostic codes from an automobile to be translated directly to a mechanics computer without having to connect the car to the computer. In a medical setting, the technology would allow continuous monitoring of a patient who is being wheeled from a patient-care room to the operating room.
“The wireless network is secure,” Kuban said, “and would automatically track the patient as he is moved from one room to another. There would be no need to disconnect anything.”
The product is called the CAN-Bee Interface, the name reflecting the creation of the Controller Area Network (CAN) to ZigBee Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) interface. The interface integrates conventional hardware components and custom firmware.
The Controller Area Network is used worldwide as the fixed network in automobiles, medical instruments, and factory automation systems. It has been in use since the 1980s. Kuban said the installed base of this wired network is vast and continues to grow.
The IEEE (Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers) established in 2003 the wireless standard 802.15.4 which forms the foundation for the growing ZigBee WPAN platform.
The CAN-Bee Interface is low cost, low power, efficient, and secure.
Kuban said the manufacturing cost is approximately 5 percent of the present sales price of existing products with similar capability.
“The CAN-Bee Interface combines the power of the installed CAN infrastructure with the simplicity, compatibility, portability, and multi-faceted feature set of the latest wireless standard, enabling easy ZigBee accessibility to hundred of millions of existing CAN nodes,” he said.
Potential applications include low-cost control system penetration through factory firewalls multipoint, cable-free vibration analysis of heavy machinery integrated vehicle and household automation systems and secure, reliable, re-configurable hospital patient-monitoring systems.
The interface has been tested successfully in a factory automation environment and on board heavy-duty earth-moving equipment. It is available for demonstration to prospective licensees.
Dr. Susan J. Ellspermann , director of the USI Center for Applied Research, said the University pursued the patent in partnership with the Indiana University Research and Technology Corporation (IURTC), which assists researchers in realizing the commercial potential of their discoveries. A nonprofit agency that operates through IUs Office of Engagement, IURTC has the expertise to facilitate the process with the patent office, patent attorneys, and other resources.
Dr. Bill L. Brizzard, director of technology transfer for IURTC, managed the process for USI through a memorandum of understanding. “It’s quite an accomplishment to receive a patent,” Blizzard said. “We already have had some interest in this invention, and we are confident of its prospects for development into a commercial product.”
Along with Kuban, representatives from IURTC will present information about the CAN-Bee Interface September 28-29 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, at a technology showcase sponsored by the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center. They will attend similar events in other cities.
Prior to joining USI in 1996, Kuban received two patents related to audio processing in cellular telephones. He completed a master’s degree in electrical engineering at Purdue University and a doctorate in computer science and engineering at the University of Louisville.
Kuban conducted research that led to the invention of the Can-Bee Interface during a sabbatical in 2005 while working toward his doctoral degree. He began working with the Controller Area Network in 2004. After reading about the ZigBee WPAN that was relatively new at that time, he began developing a gateway to enable those two networks to work together.
In addition to teaching, Kuban advises students who compete in the Mini Baja car competition sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers. He also is faculty advisor for the USI Wrestling Club.
A guitarist, Kuban is a member of the band Hoosier Daddy, a rhythm and blues group. Using technology based on the CAN-Bee Interface, he has devised a wireless switching system for synthesizers and amplifiers he uses while playing in the band.
UE Named Among “Best in the Midwest”
The University of Evansville has once again been named among the best colleges in the Midwest by The Princeton Review. UE is one of 153 institutions recommended in the education services company’s “Best in the Midwest†section of its annual list, “2012 Best Colleges: Region by Region.†The feature is available here.
“Being named one of the ‘Best in the Midwest’ by The Princeton Review is a terrific honor because our inclusion in this list was largely determined by student input,†said UE President Thomas A. Kazee. “When our students responded to The Princeton Review’s surveys, they called the University of Evansville ‘a place where the faculty will know you and really care about you.’ They praised small, discussion-based classes where they feel ‘a strong push towards critical thinking and challenging boundaries.’ The Princeton Review’s recognition demonstrates that we are succeeding in our core purpose of providing students with life-transforming educational experiences.â€
The 153 colleges that The Princeton Review chose for its “Best in the Midwest†list are located in 12 states. The company also designated colleges in the Northeast, West, and Southeast as the best in their locales. Collectively, the 629 colleges named “regional best(s)†constitute about 25 percent of the nation’s 2,500 four-year colleges.
Said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s senior VP/publisher, “We’re pleased to recommend the University of Evansville to users of our site as one of the best schools to earn their undergrad degree. We chose it and the other terrific institutions we name as ‘regional best’ colleges mainly for their excellent academic programs.â€
“From several hundred schools in each region, we winnowed our list based on institutional data we collected directly from the schools, our visits to schools over the years, and the opinions of our staff, plus college counselors and advisors whose recommendations we invite,†Franek added. “We also take into account what students at the schools reported to us about their campus experiences at them on our 80-question student survey for this project. Only schools that permit us to independently survey their students are eligible to be considered for our regional ‘best’ lists.â€
The recognition from The Princeton Review follows another honor awarded earlier this month: The University of Evansville was ranked #304 in Forbes’ Top Colleges, a list of the nation’s 650 best undergraduate institutions.
ERC Meeting Agenda: August 16, 2011
No Mention of Downtown Hotel in Agenda
agenda_08-16-11_erc
IS IT TRUE? August 15, 2011
IS IT TRUE? August 15, 2011
IS IT TRUE that with regard to the ongoing vetting process to see which (if any) of the two respondents to the most recent RFP to build a hotel in downtown Evansville we have not yet been authorized by either the Kunkel Group or Prime Lodging to publish any Dun and Bradstreet report, personal financial statement of the principals, or any other vetting style document?…that we are hearing and even getting comments and emails from supporters of each proposal and that with only one exception the form of the comments is negative toward the other bidder?…that in complex and long term matters like this the fact that one thinks that his opponent is inexperienced and incapable is not the only key to winning this bid?…that if one of these bidders is disqualified for any reason it does not mean that the other one will vet well and get the job?…that the lack of positive statements backed up by performance and financial track record is leading us to think that there is a reasonably high probability that the City of Evansville is heading for the back to the drawing board option?
IS IT TRUE that our vote would go to the bidder that is able to convince us on paper with a verifiable history of a prosperous hotel project and operator on their team?…that we will be trying to start doing some real comparison’s of the two proposals and start posting that information this week?…that we expect that London Witte will be doing the same?
IS IT TRUE that the two candidates for Mayor of Evansville are starting to get attention from the civic organizations of Evansville?…that their lives are going to be getting busier as the voting public turns its attention from summer vacations to the fall elections?…that this will bring a thirst for knowledge about the details of the plans to tackle the real economic realities that Evansville will be facing in the coming years?…that the major economic realities that should be dominating the discussion are rooted in things like jobs, relevance, attractiveness, infrastructure, and education?…that of all of the talking points and abstract plans submitted thus far that the missing piece of the plans is always things like HOW and WHO will implement the outcomes?…that historically planning in Evansville has been infrequent but pretty good?…that where Evansville has always come up short has been in providing proper funding and focus so that the right HOW and WHO is in place?…that we are certain that in the next 10 weeks that we shall hear lots of good ideas that may find their way into plans?…that the questions of HOW and WHO need to be answered because presently the City of Evansville does not have salary brackets that are sufficient to attract the right WHO to the party for the new problems that need to be tackled?
IS IT TRUE that one of the most poignant comments heard or read over the weekend with respect to the meth related statements that the candidates for Mayor of Evansville released was regarding meth education?…that this comment was basically “if 17 house explosions in 6 months is not enough for the people of Evansville to be educated about the perils of a culture of meth, then what is it going to takeâ€?…that we agree that the meth problem in the City of Evansville and beyond is a large enough problem that it will not be solved by education alone?…that solving the meth problem whatever that turns out to be is a job that is crying out for GOOD PUBLIC POLICY?…that it will take both continuously implementing GOOD PUBLIC POLICY and education to get this scourge of meth under control in Evansville, Indiana?
Lease Agreement between ECTA and Parks Department for Wesselman Courts
Agreement Available for Examination
In an attempt to allow our readers to read the lease and to make their own judgments with respect to the compliance of the ECTA with the terms of the lease agreement with the Evansville Parks Department, we are posting the lease on the following link.
Please review to your hearts desire and express your opinions with respect to the rights that the ECTA may or may not have to proceed with the tennis courts as they have proposed at their own expense.