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

IS IT TRUE? September 1, 2011

IS IT TRUE that the “Mole Nation” tells us that Republican candidate for Mayor of Evansville is having a minor medical procedure taken care of?…that we wish him the best of fortune and a rapid return to full activity?…that we send good vibes to Mr. Winnecke to come back from this little procedure with the drive and stomach to take on the last two months of a tough campaign?

IS IT TRUE that the Mole Nation and others are telling us that Mr. Winnecke is getting a little grief for his moment of complete honesty at the Harrison High School town hall meeting where he declared that he disagrees with the Republican Party’s assumed position on gay rights?…that Mr. Winnecke did impress some of the students with his support of gay rights?…that there are many things that the City of Evansville needs in a leader and that allot of them involve breaking with tradition to do the right thing?…that for a Republican to openly support gay rights is not exactly mainstream but the City County Observer sends kudos and a big thumbs up to Mr. Winnecke for expressing his beliefs?

IS IT TRUE that holding the party line even when it is narrow minded and just plain wrong is part of what is wrong with Washington and it is refreshing for Evansville to have a Republican candidate for Mayor who supports gay rights running against a Democratic candidate who is an NRA member?…that the extremes are the problem and that we are quite pleased that our candidates for Mayor have both shared with us that they are willing to break ranks to support what they believe in?

IS IT TRUE that the Southwest Indiana Coalition for Economic Development has released its long awaited study and plan to tell this region what to do to make a prosperous economy more probable?…that this plan in many ways points out the low hanging fruit that many of us know about and have been overwhelmed by the masses who thus far have not seemed to care enough to act?…that we should not need an expensive study to tell us to pick up litter and keep our properties looking their best?…that the unfortunate truth is that we do indeed need this tutorial in being attractive for our suitors?…that the plan has identified certain strengths that our economy seems to have as platforms on which to build?…that this is once again low hanging fruit that many of us already know but that somehow things just do not happen?…that we should not have to pay someone to tell us that we have a large number of plastics companies and that is a potential strength to build upon?…that we shouldn’t but we must need to be reminded of the obvious?

IS IT TRUE that it is refreshing and uplifting to see that both of the candidates for Mayor of Evansville have overlap in their own multiple plans with the long term economic plan that Greg Wathen released yesterday?…that only with written commitment and diligence will any of the best laid plans of mice and men actually materialize?…that nowhere in any of these economic transformation plans is there a reference to ball games and temples to sport?

IS IT TRUE that the Evansville CVB has passed an ethics policy that designates $30 as the most that can be spent on a Christmas Party meal?…that it is a sad shame that a policy was even needed?…that the pendulum may have swung too far in the other direction to the point that board members will not make a point of attending?