IS IT TRUE the Evansville Museum of Arts, History, and Science made the New York Times yesterday with an article about the newfound Picasso in the box?…we now know that the fortunate discovery did not happen because someone local made the discover but because a New York based art auctioneer traced the piece to Evansville and placed a call looking for it?…the first reaction of the locals was to tell him he had the wrong number but upon thinking things through they looked and voila there was the Picasso in the Box?…the estimate of the value for the Picasso in the Box is between $30 Million and $40 Million based on the experience of the auctioneer?…the tax value of the Picasso in the Box at the time it was donated to the Evansville Museum was $20,000 a mere 50 years ago?…if the same appreciation were to occur over the next 50 years this piece of art would be worth $80 Billion?…that may sound like a reach buy imagine the laughter that would have been aimed in the direction of anyone projecting a value of $40 Million for this in 1963?…This Picasso in the Box was worth only 4 or 5 times the annual salary of an average wage earner in 1963 but that today it is worth about 1,500 times the average annual salary of an Evansville family?…that selling an appreciating asset like an original Picasso is about par for the course in the City of Evansville where our leaders wish to spend over $2 Million per ball field or $1 Million to demolish a perfectly usable stadium?…with judgment like this it is no wonder that Evansville is depreciating, losing people, and seeing its wage base eroded?…this Picasso in the Box has the potential to be a game changer when it comes to tourism?…this Picasso in the Box is worth 4 times the estimated value of the entire art collection of the Evansville Museum?…that the CCO expects that local politicians will find some SNEGAL way to get their grimy hands on this money?

IS IT TRUE that there is no place in the Civic Center that will accommodate a unified county council of 15 members?…in the event that unification passes there will need to be a construction project in the civic center to accommodate 15 elected officials in a single venue?…this will involve moving walls, building furniture, refurbishing a chamber, and all of the IT and recording devices to go with it?…the two questions that our Moles are searching for is where it will be and how much it will cost?

IS IT TRUE that on again off again candidate for Vanderburgh County School Board was spotted at a fund raiser for Gail Riecken at a prominent home in Evansville’s Historic District?…the Mole Nation is telling us that we can soon expect a mea culpa from Ms. Ragland about her withdrawal from the race?…the same Moles are telling us she is now willing to serve another term?…that her eligibility will be something that will have to be determined by a real judge as opposed to an election board or a long time school board attorney?…it is time for E. Lon Walters to step up and do something real about his challenge to her eligibility to serve?

IS IT TRUE that the United States Treasury has announced a plan to buy $40 Billion of securities on the open market to prop up the economy and to encourage banks to lower interest rates and make loans?…this is a destructive way to devalue the currency and will in all likelihood do absolutely nothing to get the banks lending?…what it will most certainly do is take toxic notes out of the hands of banks and into the hands of the American people?…it will also devalue the American dollar even further than it already has been?…there is no reason at all to believe that this action will spur any hiring in the short run?…this program is authorized to be executed at will over a 3 year period making this quasi bailout carry a price tag of nearly $1.5 Trillion?…this is another years deficit and nearly the total of the $1.7 Billion in quantitative easing that has already happened with no appreciable results?…that it was Dr. Einstein who made the statement that “doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity”?…that insanity very accurately describes the economic policy of the Obama Administration in nearly every way?

IS IT TRUE that we are wondering why the auction company that auctioned off Roberts Stadiums contents last month hasn’t removed the massive and unsightly advertising signs they have posted in both entrances and attached to the Stadium building since the auction is long over? …some of our readers also are wondering why haven’t the people at “KEEP EVANSVILLE PRETTY” come forward to request to the city that these massive and unsightly signs be removed from the Roberts Stadium property soon as possible?…that a simple “FOR SALE” sign is what is needed as it is clear from the escalation in the price of demolition and the range of bids that the City is clueless on the real numbers that this boondoggle park may cost?…if the City is as far off with its estimate for Roberts Park as it was on the demolition then we taxpayers are looking at a $30 Million tab to get this unnecessary park built?

IS IT TRUE one could break things down to help these fly by the seat of the pants children come up with a cost?…the easy place to start is the proposed footbridge over the Lloyd Expressway to connect Roberts Park to the State Hospital grounds?…if the bridge at Aztar spanning Riverside Drive and the bridge to nothing at the Centre are an indicator then the bridge alone will be $3 Million when paired with the demolition of $1 Million will only leave between $2 Million and $4 Million to meet Mayor Winnecke’s winging estimate of $6 Million to $8 Million to do the entire project?…the next question to shine a bit of light on the subject is just how much removing the Roberts Stadium parking lot and filling that large space in will be?…that I would not surprise anyone if just the demolition, the bridge, and removing the parking lot will eat up the Mayor’s entire budget?…the new mantra for Roberts Park needs to be “BINDING QUOTE BEFORE WRECKING BALL”?…the minute that the first wrecking ball hits the building the rational solution of selling the stadium at auction is no longer viable?…thinking is a good thing buy the political leadership of Evansville does not seem inclined to engage in such things?

IS IT TRUE the Vanderburgh County Council has deferred judgment on whether or not to go along with the unanimous recommendation of the Vanderburgh County Commissioners to remove just under $10,000 from the budget that was presupposed to be going to the Human Relations Commission?…as it turns out the County has been paying more than its contractually legal amount to the HRC for a number of years now?…the amount that the County is obligated to pay is 9% of the total budget or $3,500 less than has been recommended by the Commissioners?…for some unknown reason the County seems to have been paying over 35% more than they are obligated to for years?…this could all have been avoided by first sticking to the contract, second by the head of the HRC showing the respect of an annual report and maintaining a working relationship with the County, and third the HRC tempering its zealousness in bringing a complaint against the Evansville Rescue Mission?…the real question that still has not been asked is “just how much money is needed by the HRC to carry on its necessary work?”…this number may be more or less than the budget has traditionally been?…that government social programs seem to have a way of growing unabated and then screaming with pain when there are questions raised regarding budget cuts?…this year and this economy are times that all government spending needs to be questioned without impunity and right sized as the private parts of this country have already been?