IS IT TRUE former Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel has not lost his appetite for political activity?…that the Old Boss has now formed a political action committee that goes by the name of “Weinzapfel for Indiana” that was registered as a PAC on December 29, 2011 just two days before he handed the keys to the third floor office to Mayor Lloyd Winnecke?…that the Treasurer for the “Weinzapfel for Indiana” PAC is none other than the former Chief of Staff for the Weinzapfel Administration Rose Young?…that the CCO has been advised that the coffers of a campaign can transfer money to the coffers of a PAC with little or no trouble?…that with an organization known as the “Weinzapfel for Mayor” registered as a campaign that is holding nearly $800,000 that one may speculate that the OLD BOSS may transfer his entire war chest to his PAC and hire himself to run this one man think tank at a pretty high salary?…that at least one person associated with the City County Observer predicted that the OLD BOSS would find a NEW WAY to personally benefit from the substantial funds held in the “Weinzapfel for Mayor” campaign fund?…that this little SNEGAL (sneaky but legal) action will be quite interesting to watch unfold?…that you can verify the existence of this new PAC on the following link?

http://campaignfinance.in.gov/PublicSite/SearchPages/CommitteeDetail.aspx?OrgID=6258

IS IT TRUE that on December 30, 2011 while still serving as the Mayor of Evansville and only 48 hours after trying to jam a McCurdy contract extension through the Evansville Redevelopment Commission that then Mayor Weinzapfel in one of his very last acts in office transferred $505,526.25 from the “Weinzapfel for Mayor” campaign fund into the newly registered “Weinzapfel for Indiana” Political Action Committee (PAC)?…that it will be most interesting next year to see just what kind of a salary that the top guy in a think tank of one pays himself?

IS IT TRUE that the Vanderburgh County Council didn’t directly include funds in their 2012 Budget so they can join the City of Evansville to pay for a much needed Information Technology Assessment Audit? …we are pleased that the City of Evansville directly put funds for this Audit in their 2012 Budget? ….we join 5th Ward City Councilmen and Budget Chairmen, John Friend-CPA call for this City of Evansville and Vanderburgh County funded department begin to do a long overdue and detailed financial assessment of this little known but important publically funded department? …we now are awaiting to see if the past Budget Chairmen and newly elected President of the Vanderburgh County Council, James Raben shall put the money on the table so this extremely important Assessment Audit can begin?

IS IT TRUE that it’s time for the Indiana State Board of Accounts to send their annual Audit Survey Questioners to each Evansville City Council members so they can express their option concerning the financial decisions and activities of the prior city administration?…that we can’t wait to get a copy of their responses?

IS IT TRUE that the real costs for the City of Evansville to do a recently announced “Satellite Water Reading” program will not be $51 million dollars but $60 million dollars?…we have been told not to care because this program shall not cost the City of Evansville taxpayers one red cent?

IS IT TRUE that it’s for the new appointed Evansville Fire Chief to review the ridiculous system wide policy that forces the emergency alarm warning system bells to be heard at all fire houses day and night? …we wonder how you would react being awakened by these loud warning alarms 24-7 even if the fire emergency don’t affect your area?

IS IT TRUE that the extremely popular J. D. Strouth is considering a run for the Vanderburgh County Clerk’s office as a Republican?

IS IT TRUE that last week the City County Observer published a list of 10 Smart Grid predictions for 2012?…that at the same time that we invited Vectren to submit articles to us to let the public know to what extent that they agreed with the predictions and what if anything they may be doing in the Smart Grid space?…that yesterday we got a response from Vectren and that it was quite practical and God forbid in the best interest of the customer base?…that Vectren’s response in a nutshell was that they had indeed considered changing out all of the electric meters currently used for Smart Meters?…that Smart Meters really only make sense to the utility and its customers if the homes and businesses that are served have Smart Appliances etc. to take advantages of the information that can flow from a Smart Meter?…that the other things that need to be in place to make a Smart Meter worth it has to do with the local grid, the rate structure, and whether or not all of the communication devices are in place to utilize the capacity of the Smart Meters?…that neither of those conditions are in place in Vectren’s service area so the decision was made not to spend over $50 Million to have whiz-bang meters sandwiched between users and infrastructure that are not yet ready to use the Smart Meter to save money?…that we thank Vectren for their response and agree with their decision to wait until there is a real benefit to move forward with this advanced technology?…that doing so would be like selling a Ferrari to a 4 year old?

IS IT TRUE that the City of Evansville should take lessons from Vectren when it comes to committing to Smart Meters?…that the City of Evansville in the last moments of the reign of the OLD BOSS signed up to spend $51 Million to install the water bill equivalent of Smart Meters?…that the paparazzi were not really impressed with the red carpet smiles stating that this $51 Million was really free and that examining the documents further shows that much of what was called saving is actually an opinion that the City of Evansville is now under billing for water due to bad old meters and human error and that the FREE SMART METERS will allow the city to collect more from its customers by measuring the water correctly?…that if there was a leak big enough in one’s yard between the meter and the house that there would be a big hole in the yard to show for it show we think the OLD BOSS bought a PIG IN A POKE to get his picture in the paper and now we have to pay for it?…that we strongly encourage the Winnecke Administration to suspend the $51 Million deal with Johnson Controls until testimony can be heard from other places that installed this and a cognizant recommendation can be made by people with no political agenda?

IS IT TRUE that this writer is learning a bit about the interactions between local and state government in California?…that it on the surface seems to be nearly the opposite of Indiana?…that in Indiana the state government has at least a recent record of frugality and practicality when it comes to budgets but many of the cities have squandered every dollar they could borrow?…that in California it is the state government that has spent the place into a deep hole and that many cities have not followed the state’s lead?…that the State of California recently abolished an agency that is the equivalent to Redevelopment Commissions in Indiana?…that the cities are now squalling like a smashed cat over the fact that new projects will have to be done the old fashioned way of the referendum and bonds?…that as has often been the case, California does things first and the rest of the country will hopefully learn by watching?…that watching the results of the unwinding of redevelopment commissions is worth the eyeballs of Indiana spending some time to see how this shakes out in California?

IS IT TRUE that speaking of shaking that there was an earthquake in Illinois yesterday?…that there have been no quakes recorded in California since the abolition of redevelopment commissions but we suspect that these things are unrelated?

IS IT TRUE that today the City County Observer was treated to an Evansville Police Activity Report was once again 15 pages long for a Sunday?…that the temperature rose to a tolerable point and the 10 pages or less reports of the last couple of days are now a thing of the past?…that it was the same old litany of thieving, doping, boozing, and violence that seem to be the four things that dominate our police reports?…that it is also obvious to those who read these reports that aside from petty theft like shoplifting which seems to happen on the eastside in the retail establishments that the EPD crime reports are consistently in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Wards?…that this has been true for it seems like 30 years now?…that the crime problems in the parts of town that have them will only be solved when the people who live there resolve themselves to partner with the police and do something about this?…that the words “I didn’t see nothing” that seem to be the dominant witness statements in neighborhoods riddled with crime are a big part of the problem?…that we encourage the good people, and there are many, who live in these neighborhoods to help the police to take back their streets?

IS IT TRUE that yesterday’s column that exposed the paltry graduation rates that have been achieved by IVY Tech and USI struck a sore spot with several of our readers?…that we want to add to the perspective of just how bad this performance is?…that in a classroom that both of these supposed institutions of higher learning are charged with running that the grading scales for students are established by MINIMUM PERFORMANCE STANDARDS and in some cases shifted to reflect the “curve”?…that the “curve reflects the overall performance of the class and sets the average at the center of that which will result in a grade of “C”?…that in a Gaussian “bell” curve the letter grades are basically set by the number of standard deviations away from average that a particular student scores?…that for a typical class that a grade range of 70 – 79 will result in a “C” with 10 point ranges separating grades?…that this is the standard that the students are held to and that if a student scores below 60% that a grade of “F” results?…that is 20% below the midpoint of a gentleman’s C?…that students who make and F in a class get no credit and those that get a year’s worth of F’s are dismissed from school?

IS IT TRUE that the CCO is interested based on the graduation rates reported just what grades that IVY Tech and USI would be getting in the subject of graduation rates?…that for four year colleges that the average national graduation rate in four years is 31.4%?…that 31.4% would constitute a mid level “C”?…that to make a C a college would need only graduate 29.3% of their students in 4 years?…that to make a D that number becomes 25.1% and anything lower is an F?…that USI in the subject of 4 year graduation rates not only scores and F but needs to improve its graduation rates by 80% to even get a passing grade?…that the six year graduation rate still results in an F for USI but that they only need to improve by 33% to pass with a minimal D?…that if USI does not have a plan in place to increase these graduation rates that they most certainly should have such a plan as this is much more important to the future prosperity of this area than yet another building or shrine to those who have passed on?

IS IT TRUE that IVY Tech’s performance when placed under the same examination makes USI look like the Harvard of the Westside?…that as we mentioned yesterday only 8.7% of the students who enter IVY Tech actually complete their studies and get a credential in 3 years?…that the national average performance for getting a credential at two year colleges is 22.1%?…that when you crank out the numbers IVY Tech will have to improve their performance by a full 103% to just get a minimal D?

IS IT TRUE that there are no excuses for graduation rates like these and that these two institutions need to spend more time and efforts on their customers (students and parents) that they do on capital projects and billboards telling the world how great they are without showing their report card?…that both need to start holding their own performance up to the same standards that they expect from their students?