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?

IS IT TRUE that during the past week that the City County Observer has made many subtle improvements most of which were suggested by our readers?…that the font of the content part of the articles has been enlarged to accommodate reader requests that have been stating that it was too small for a while now?…that a couple of color changes have been made to draw attention to article content?…that our tab bar has been expanded to make more information at the touch of a tab for our readers?…that the blogroll has eliminated several links that no one ever used and is being expanded to include links that our readers requested such as links to crime maps, sex offenders, and outstanding warrants?…that the number of words as the teaser for each article has been truncated to allow us to have more current articles in the home page?…that we will be changing the word Evansville on the mast head to Evansville-Vanderburgh County to reflect the top local issue on the 2012 ballot which is CONSOLIDATION?…that the CCO has secured the writing services of a chef to tell our readers all about some cool recipes and Lifestyle Lil is being brought back from the dead to tell our readers about social life?…that we hope that our changes will be well received and will further enhance our ability to serve our readership?

IS IT TRUE that Evansville’s Jeff Overton will be arriving in the Palm Springs area to compete against the world’s most skilled golfers in pursuit of a substantial payday if he can beat their butts in the Humana Challenge that was formerly called the Bob Hope Desert Classic?…that President Bill Clinton will be here during the later part of the week and will be having breakfast with certain leaders of the area on Thursday?…that CCO columnist and Managing Director of the California Innovation Hub for Renewable Energy Joe Wallace is hoping for an invitation to that breakfast?…that after being named one of the 12 to watch in the Coachella Valley for 2012 that Joe (Mole #1) may just get to have breakfast with President Clinton?

IS IT TRUE that the graduation rates of USI and IVY Tech were published and that the performance with respect to how many students that enter actually graduate in a reasonable time frame is simply abysmal?…that IVY Tech that has programs designed to be completed in two years currently has an 8.7% graduation rate over 3 years?…that such a graduation rate is a slap in the face of the taxpayers of Indiana?…that many of the 91.3% who do not graduate in 3 years end up saddled with debt that ruins their lives?…that USI has a graduation rate of 14% in the 4 years that college is designed to take to graduate and only 32.2% graduate in 6 years?…that national rates are 31.4% and 56.1% respectively making the USI graduation rate basically half of the national rate?…as far as IVY Tech goes the national graduation rate is 22.1% or nearly TRIPLE what IVY Tech is graduating?…that these two paltry and embarrassing performances should serve as evidence that bricks and mortar do not really help in the education process as each institution has built building after building with no improvement in graduation rates?…that IVY Tech was more than 50% better in graduation rates before they build the palace on North 1st Avenue?

IS IT TRUE that if one wants to know why college loans are defaulting at record rates that appalling graduation rates like these should be examined?…that when some student that either had no business in college in the first place or did not receive sufficient motivation to believe in the value of education winds up in dire financial straits over college loans for attending a place that added no value to their lives it is no wonder that they can’t pay off the loans?…that this is probably going to be the next financial meltdown that the USA will have to endure?…that a bunch of classes on credit that yield no tangible life advantages is not much different than an internet stock with no revenue or a nothing down home loan on a million dollar trailer that had its price collapse to $30,000?

IS IT TRUE that every American has some skill or potential?…that federally guaranteed debt always seems to distort that skill, inflate prices, or even worse damage or destroy the people that these programs were designed to help?…that this recession should be an opportunity to hit the reset button and restore practicality and sanity to life in these United States?

IS IT TRUE that this writer was treated to a Foreigner concert in Rancho Mirage, CA last night with a free ticket from the guitar player for the band?…that I was innocently sitting at the bar eating fish and chips when the guitarist sat down in the seat next to me and started visiting with his cousin who was one seat away?…that he was bringing them some tickets for the show and when I saw there were extras I interrupted the family reunion and offered him $50 for a ticket?…that he just laughed and gave me a 4th row center ticket?…that the last time I knew someone who sat front row center for a concert it was Evansville City Councilman John Friend who somehow scored 4th row center tickets to the Bob Seger concert at the Ford Center?

IS IT TRUE that the La Quinta High School choir joined Foreigner on stage to sing the backup lines to “I want to know what love is” and were presented a check for $1,000 for their hard song’s work?…that at the end of the encore a member of the audience was selected by ticket number as the winner of a new guitar autographed by the band?…that the winner was offered $5,000 for it in the lobby afterwards and turned the offer down with a resounding “hell no man”?

IS IT TRUE that the first reading for a stronger smoking ordinance for the City of Evansville has been scheduled for January 23rd?…that the second and third readings along with a vote are set for February 13th so all eyes are on Martha Caine, the City Council, and Casino Aztar top man Ward Shaw to see what our stronger smoking ordinance will be looking like come February 13th?

IS IT TRUE that shades of last year’s Indiana Democrat contingency vacation to Urbana, IL are in the air with the upcoming floor discussion of the Right to Work bill and any amendments that are attached to it?…that it seems to us at the City County Observer that the zealots on both extremes of this issue seem to be involved in self serving propaganda campaigns?…that the constructive way to proceed is for both sides and the middle to read the objective evidence set forth in scholarly studies that were done for the purpose of correlating cause and effect between Right to Work and prosperity?…that what has been going on in the country during the latest recession alone is not a scholarly study and should be discounted?…that this decision should be based on 20 year or more improvements or lack thereof when it comes to Right to Work states vs. non Right to Work states?…that there are lots more emotion driven opinions out there than there are scholarly studies and that this is not a decision that should be made based on emotion?…that we hope that tangible evidence is presented and that a decision is made with all legislators present and that the vote is not along strictly partisan lines?