IS IT TRUE? PART 2 September 7, 2011

IS IT TRUE that the consolidation committee as was expected adjourned last night?…that now the 30 day countdown starts during which both the Evansville City Council and the Vanderburgh County Commissioners will have to pass identical proposals to send this plan to a voter referendum?…that about the only good thing that can be said about this plan is that the voters get to make the choice?…that there are at least five members of the Evansville City Council who are expressing reservations about this plan?…that their frustrations with the shallowness of the touted details of any tangible cost savings are shared by many?…that even people who support the idea of consolidation are scratching their heads in disbelief at how the consolidation committee has dodged proposing anything of substance?…that they even worded the proposal in a way that the biggest opportunities for saving can’t even be touched for 10 years?…that the consolidation committee acted more like a POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE formed by government employees to advocate for government employees that as a merger committee whose job was to identify cost savings from efficiency enhancements?

IS IT TRUE that at least one member of the Vanderburgh County Commissioners, that being Commissioner Stephen Melcher is on record as opposing this without having threshold rejection?…that the plan does not have threshold rejection so count Commissioner Melchers vote as a great big NO?…that as County Commissioner and Republican candidate for Mayor of Evansville Lloyd Winnecke has been supportive of consolidation that it looks like this really will come down to what Commissioner Marsha Abell chooses?…that the CCO predicts that neither Commissioner Abell or Commissioner Winnecke will ever win a county wide race if they vote for this particular consolidation plan?…that annexation by ballot is not the way to go about such things AND that punting all of the real work to 10 years down the road is no way to write a consolidation plan?…that it is time to start over?

IS IT TRUE that Louisville is home to the #1 ranked boutique hotel in America and has been for 2 years running?…that 21C Museum Place has ranked at the top of Conde’ Noste’ Magazines list for two years in a row?…that 21C Museum Place has a three month waiting list for its nearly $300 per night rooms?…that 21 C Museum Place is now being franchised across the United States?…that 21C Boutique Hotels was started with LOUISVILLE MONEY from the Brown-Forman family?…that this same family recently purchased the entire block of abandoned buildings right next to the YUM Center for $4.8 Million with intention to refurbish the classic Cast Iron Facade Buildings for an additional $40 Million?…that two of these family members use the word “CHARITY” to describe their decision to invest $44.8 Million in their downtown?…that we wonder if anyone of significant means in Evansville is paying attention?

IS IT TRUE that outside money seldom invests in places that will not invest in themselves?…that the sooner that Evansville investors step up with cash to put into Evansville projects and form Angel or Venture groups to invest in Evansville companies that the sooner outside money may warm up to Evansville?…that until then we can always pick up litter, paint over graffiti, blow smoke about our attractiveness up our own backsides, and hold our lucky rabbit’s foot while wishing upon a star that a white knight from afar will rescue us from our plight?…that this is the year to put some real change of leadership into place and next year is the year to hold our new leaders feet to the fire so that the old ways do not take over again?

IS IT TRUE that Venture Connections of Louisville, Kentucky has provided equity financing in the amount of nearly $30 Million since New Year’s Day of 2011?…that this group is made up of both Angel Investors and Venture Capital Firms?…that 20 years ago that Louisville and Evansville were equals in equity investments through organized groups and that number was exactly ZERO?…that Evansville after being told time and time again in paid studies, federal government sponsored studies, and by individuals who have participated in such groups elsewhere that this is an essential function to foster entrepreneurship still sits at ZERO?…that there will be Evansville entrepreneurs at today’s meeting of Venture Connections in Louisville?…that Evansville lost a company to Louisville over this very thing?…that another business that is in the multi-billion dollar alternative energy space would have come to Evansville if investments were available?…that the losses just keep mounting up from having no Angel Investment Group or Venture Capital firm?

IS IT TRUE that the website OpenSecrets.org gathers an posts records on the activities and intentions of Political Action Committees all across the country?…that it was discovered on this public website today that the new PAC that we wrote about calling themselves “MAINSTREAM DEMOCRATS OF EVANSVILLE” is now listed?…that the purpose for this PAC is recorded as “To raise money to support Democrat candidates deemed mainstream moderates by the Committee”?…that sounds very much like an organization that has a small committee of people with a self interest that are intent to financially support those that the committee in charge “DEEM” to be worthy of support?…that is it very likely that even though they use the word Democrat in their name the candidates that they choose to support may not hold traditional Democratic ideology at all?…that in their defense this list of PACS is full of self interested groups on personal missions?…that we are quite interested to find out if this is a PAC or an NC-PAC?…that an NC-PAC is a PAC that is not connected to a particular political party and typically can’t have the name of a political party in its name?…that the “MAINSTREAM DEMOCRATS OF EVANSVILLE” sounds more like a connected PAC than a non-connected PAC?…that we must wonder if that connection is to the Vanderburgh County Democratic Central Committee?…that we also will be watching closely to see how many local Republicans may be DEEMED to be “democratic candidates that are mainstream moderates” by the DEEMING COMMITTEE?

IS IT TRUE that the Evansville Redevelopment Commission cancelled their meeting for today due to lack of a quorum?…that we will not have to wait until the next regularly scheduled meeting to learn about the VETTING PROCESS results with respect to the downtown Convention Hotel and the intentions with respect to the McCurdy Hotel?…that if there are any pieces of earth shaking news that they can always call a special meeting?

IS IT TRUE that the US Center for Disease Control is reporting that the number of adults that smoke has dropped down to only 19%?…that even though Evansville and Indiana smoke in higher numbers that those numbers have now drifted into the low 20’s?…that all of this means that 80% +/- of adults do not smoke?…that we wonder if the Evansville City Council will awaken to this fact any time soon?

IS IT TRUE? September 6, 2011 Special Afternoon Edition

IS IT TRUE that the online poll held by the Courier Press yesterday posing the question, “How well do you think Evansville is positioned to bring jobs to the community” has been taken off of the front page and that the percentages have changed ever so slightly?…that at the time of writing that only 6% of the respondents are reported to have selected the answer “very well” when that was at 7% yesterday?…that the other 94% either chose “needs work” or “faces serious disadvantages” with a full 57% choosing “faces serious disadvantages”?…that there had been 358 votes cast and that it seems as though the people who responded have a good grip on the reality of Evansville’s present capacity to attract outside businesses?

IS IT TRUE that the Evansville Redevelopment Commission meeting tomorrow may shed some light on the short term intentions with respect to the McCurdy Hotel?…that if the agreement with City Centre Properties is rescinded for failure to perform that a chain of events may be started that results in an auction of the property to satisfy the 1st Mortgage held by 5th 3rd Bank?…that if this happens there is an overwhelming probability that the City of Evansville will lose the entire investment of $1,403,000 and that some other party will own the McCurdy?…that if this unfolds in this manner that there should be a thorough audit of the process that allowed such a thing to happen?

IS IT TRUE that the other option that is available to the Evansville Redevelopment Commission is the do nothing option that will effectively kick this can down the road to the next Mayor of Evansville to deal with?…that we are betting that scenario two will be chosen as politicians and their appointed officials will put a negative consequence off as long as physically possible?…that businesses in most cases would never have invested and then subordinated the investment the way the ERC did the McCurdy investment of the people of Evansville’s money?…that if any banker did this with their employers cash investment that this would be a banker looking for a job in something other than banking?

IS IT TRUE that it has now been 1,591 days since the announcement was made on May 14, 2007 that the McCurdy Hotel was to be refurbished into luxury apartments?…that it has now been 1,444 days since the Evansville Redevelopment Commission at the request of Mayor Weinzapfel approved the spending of $603,000 to purchase the parking lot?…that City Centre Properties and Scott Kosene the developers of the McCurdy project are both listed as contributors to the Weinzapfel for Mayor committee for 2010?

IS IT TRUE that in a short 61 days we will all know whether it will be Lloyd Winnecke or Rick Davis who will become the Mayor that will assume responsibility for executing the decisions that are playing out right now?…that that there are 114 days remaining in the Weinzapfel Administration?

IS IT TRUE that there are now 418 days remaining in the two years that the EPA had given the City of Evansville to present an acceptable solution to the Combined Sewer Overflow problem?…..that this plan is an expensive and complex endeavor that needs immediate attention to avoid the embarrassment and expense of another round of fines?