IS IT TRUE? August 13, 2011
IS IT TRUE? August 13, 2011
IS IT TRUE that a Facebook post on the site called “Evansville Community Tennis Association†is gleefully stating that the materials to start building the indoor tennis courts at Wesselman Park have been ordered?…that there is some level of complication and even controversy about whether or not their contract to build anything has been breached?…that there are other details like submitting a design for approval, getting permits, getting the approval of the appropriated government bodies, etc. that should certainly be completed and verified before any materials were ordered?…that if the ECTA is delusional enough to order materials before getting written permission and permits to proceed then that tells us something?…that the post is as follows:
“I received some very good news this evening from two (2) highly reliable sources…the materials for the indoor tennis facility at Wesselman Tennis Center have been ordered!!!! Sounds like the countdown to indoor tennis by ECTA has begun!!!! WAY TO GO, ECTA BOARD and all the other non-board members who’ve devoted much time/energy and more to making this dream a reality! On behalf of our entire tennis community, THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK and DILIGENCE!!!â€
IS IT TRUE that the Evansville IceMen finally have a deal that they are pleased with that officially makes them the hockey team in the new Evansville Arena?…that the deal reflects much confidence on the part of Ron Geary and the IceMen that hockey will be a major attractor of fans in the new Arena?…that the deal is more complicated and a bit more risky than what the simple two sentence plan that the City County Observer had suggested?…that when it comes to private enterprise and negotiations that what we really wanted to see is a deal that Ron Geary and the Evansville IceMen are enthusiastic about?…that we plan on attending some games ourselves and encourage the people of Evansville to come out and support our hockey team?…that if Ron Geary is happy with the deal then the CCO is happy with the deal?…that we are even going to get out or our normal mode and offer congratulations and thanks to the Evansville Redevelopment Commission for intervening and accelerating the signing of a deal that the IceMen see as a partnership with the City of Evansville?…that we say THUMBS UP to the Evansville IceMen and the ERC?
IS IT TRUE that we are relieved and feeling safer already since we now know that both candidates for Mayor of Evansville opposed meth labs?…that at least 80% of the decisions that government makes are decisions that can be made by a rational mind and that opposing the manufacturing of meth is rational position?…that opposing meth making is not policy and that we encourage both candidates to get on board with Evansville City Councilman Dan McGinn in his crusade to disrupt the material supply chain of the key ingredient in the meth making process?…that over the counter products that contain pseudoephedrine should be prescription based
IS IT TRUE that with all of the drugs that are near the expiration date for their patents that some American drug companies like Pfizer and Merck should seize the opportunity to obsolete pseudoephedrine based medicines altogether with a new patentable formulation?…that maybe something in the Federal Lab Consortium patent portfolio would be applicable to such an effort?…that GAGE has a tech transfer agreement that enables them to make the FLC patent portfolio available to businesses within a 28 county area around Evansville?…that to do that they need the technical talent available to read and understand patents and to recognize the not yet identified potential of local businesses?…that politics and self limiting policies are keeping them from even considering such things?
Winnecke Responds to Davis’s Meth Plan
August 12, 2011
For Immediate Release: Response to Rick Davis’ Proposed Meth Solutions
Members of the Media:
I am encouraged that Rick is following our lead on this issue, but his announcement today charts an uncertain course for the city. He rightfully suggests working closely with our local legislators on methamphetamine issues at the Statehouse. However, I firmly believe this is an issue for law enforcement, and while well-intended, the idea that voluntary enforcement can discourage criminals who are already enterprising enough to circumvent current state law is highly dubious. Further regulation is only part of the answer. We must start by educating our youth, schools, and the community at large to the destructive power of meth. We must also focus on giving our police and fire departments the tools they need to tackle the problem and relentlessly pursue the people perpetrating this menace in our neighborhoods.
Sincerely,
Lloyd Winnecke
The Davis Plan: Our Meth Problem Taking A Stand
Davis Announces Plan at Home Blown Up by Meth Explosion
Evansville mayoral candidate Rick Davis has asked local pharmacies to begin voluntarily requiring a doctor’s prescription in order for local consumers to buy cold and allergy medications that are also used for making meth.
“I have spoken to several neighborhood associations during this campaign and I also held 8 Town Hall meetings this year, and I have been continually told what a plague meth labs and meth use are in our community,†said Davis, 42, the current Vanderburgh County Treasurer. “Meth labs are a danger to our public safety officials; they are a danger to unsuspecting neighbors; and they are a danger to innocent children who are growing up surrounded by dangerous, toxic chemicals being brewed in their homes.â€
Our community is also paying a heavy toll from other costs associated with meth labs, including taxpayers paying for crime-scene cleanups/hazardous waste disposal; meth-lab explosions that are a danger to unsuspecting neighbors and their property; drug treatment/burn patient treatment; foster care/counseling services for children of parents who are addicted to and/or dealing meth.
Already this year, law enforcement officials in Vanderburgh County have seized about 75 meth labs. The Federal government formerly budgeted about $480,000 per year to help our state’s local governing units clean up these hazardous, toxic and highly volatile meth labs. But due to budget cuts, that funding was stopped in February 2011, putting the cost of cleanup on the backs of local taxpayers.
Yet one fact remains: Meth cannot be made without pill tablets containing pseudoephedrine. Davis said it’s time to clamp down on the key ingredient and make it harder for illicit drug dealers to manufacture their product locally.
“We have to make a stand, and we need to make it now,†said Davis. “If I am fortunate enough to be Evansville’s next mayor, I plan on traveling to Indianapolis and testifying to our state representatives regarding the need to make over-the-counter medications containing methamphetamine precursors a prescription drug in Indiana. However, we cannot wait until 2012, when the state legislature convenes. We need immediate action and we need to be proactive.
Indiana State Rep. Gail Riecken joined Davis in calling for the prescription requirement to purchase pseudoephedrine products. She said she will help take a lead in the 2012 legislative session in an attempt to make the prescription requirement a state law.
Every day that goes before our state legislature can meet to decide whether or not to require a prescription to purchase these drugs means the threat of rolling meth labs being driven around our neighborhood streets, not to mention children going to bed with highly-volatile explosives in their homes,†said Davis. “On behalf of our public health and welfare, I beg local pharmacies to start requiring a doctor’s prescription in order to purchase these drugs.â€
If the state legislature does not act favorably, Davis said he would propose to the City Council members that they create an ordinance requiring a prescription in order to purchase pill tablet products containing pseudoephedrine.
Current state law now requires identification in order to purchase over-the-counter allergy drugs such as Sudafed.
Indiana law restricts the amount of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine purchases to 3.0 grams in a 7-day period.
“Locally, this law just doesn’t matter – not when someone can easily drive to Kentucky or Illinois within a half hour to 45 minutes,†said Davis. “People are driving to nearby states like Kentucky and Illinois to avoid this law, or they’re paying people to buy these drugs for them. Requiring a prescription will make it harder for these drugs to be made locally.â€
Davis said the request does not include pseudoephedrine products in liquid or gel cap form, because meth cookers do not use those products to make the dangerous drug. “So consumers may still purchase Sudafed, just in a different form. And there are scores of other allergy medicines that consumers may purchase to help ease their symptoms.â€
According to a 2009 Rand Corporation Study, society’s cost of meth is between $16 million and $48 million.
Requiring a prescription for pseudoephedrine products has been an overwhelming success in the state of Oregon.
The number of meth labs dropped from 192 in 2005 to 10 in 2010, a 95% decrease in meth lab seizures for an entire state!
Other Indiana communities, including Terre Haute and Vincennes, have also asked that local pharmacies require a prescription in order to purchase pseudoephedrine products.
Eradicating these drugs, which were originally prescription-only until 1976, in our community is also bound to help drop property crime rates in the city, said Davis, who noted that the essential goal is to reduce explosions, toxic waste, injuries and death from meth-related crimes.
IS IT TRUE? Part 2 – August 12, 2011: Crimes, Credit, and Hockey
IS IT TRUE? August 12, 2011
IS IT TRUE that a case of rape is being investigated by the Evansville Police Department?…that this alleged crime has been reported to have taken place in the 800 block of Southeast 2nd Street?…that it has furthermore been reported in the neighborhood that access to the victim was made by climbing to the 2nd floor and forcing entry through a window?…that this crime has the neighborhood association of the Historic District on high alert making sure that all of the residents of this unique and valuable area of Evansville are aware and on the lookout for the perpetrator?…that anyone who has any information that may lead to the arrest of a suspect should call (812) 435-6072?
IS IT TRUE that the census tract immediately to the south of the Arena that includes the forthcoming downtown convention hotel has the worst violent crime rating of any census tract in all of Vanderburgh County?…that the rating for this census tract is 3 on a scale of 100 meaning that 97% of all census tracts in America have better rates of violent crime?…that if there is not a targeted effort to improve that ranking that fear of the Arena will continue?…that to really make the downtown a destination that it not only needs to have at least a 50 ranking on violent crime but that the perception of safety at all times needs to be pervasive?…that statistics do not lie, that this 3 ranking is what it is, and that this is something that needs to be dramatically improved?
IS IT TRUE that Mole #40 tells us that the Evansville IceMen along with their owner Ron Geary were in a celebratory mood last night on the upper level of the Maingate bar just across from the new Arena?…that there were some well dressed gentlemen making a presentation to the IceMen and their families?…that Mole #40 was not close enough to see the presentation but that the IceMen and Mr. Geary seemed to be pleased?…that a positive demeanor from the IceMen and Mr. Geary may just be a good sign with respect to the discussions that have drug on with the City of Evansville’s legendary negotiating team?…that maybe today we will be treated to a deal that will assure the people of Evansville that there will actually be hockey in their hockey Arena this year after all?…the we along with many others have our fingers crossed?
IS IT TRUE that the City County Observer would like to seek permission from both Prime Lodging LLC or Verville Construction and the Kunkel Group to publish their current Dun and Bradstreet reports?…that according to Dun and Bradstreet their reports include things like “Likelihood this company will experience financial stress in the next 12 monthsâ€, “Likelihood this company will not pay on time over the next 12 monthsâ€, “Timeliness of historical payments for this companyâ€, “Payment performance trend over the past 90 daysâ€, and any public findings with respect to pending legal issues?…that this is the kind of information that has been available all along and should have been accessed and utilized by the Evansville Redevelopment Commission as a sort of pre-vetting condition?…that we will not be publishing any D&B report on any business without prior written permission to do so from a corporate officer?
Youth Resources is proud to Welcome Area Students Back to School!
• The Youth Resources Teen Advisory Council is open to all area public, private and parochial school high school students. Meetings are held every other Friday at 5:55 a.m. at Ivy Tech Community College’s Koch Student Center. THE FIRST MEETING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR IS August 19th! Information and applications are available at www.youth-resources.org/Teen-Advisory-Council.aspx.
• Youth Resources Make A Difference Grant applications for funding for individuals ages 5-18 and student groups to plan and implement youth-led community service projects are available at www.youth-resources.org/Make-A-Difference-Grants.aspx.
• Youth Resources Vanderburgh County Teen Court Program is a perfect fit for high school students inter-ested in serving as jurors, bailiff, prosecuting and defense attorneys for a real juvenile court case. THE FALL TEEN COURT VOLUNTEER TRAINING WILL BE HELD Thursday, September 22, at Youth Resources at 6:00 p.m. (Please RSVP to hillary@youth-resources.org.) For more information and upcoming training dates, check out www.youth-resources.org/Teen-Court.aspx.
• The collaboration between E-VSC and Youth Resources allows E-VSC middle and high school students to participate in YR’s summer TEENPOWER programs at no cost to E-VSC students. Stay updated on appli-cation availability at www.youth-resources.org/Teen-Power.aspx.
Please call Youth Resources at 421-0030 or visit www.youth-resources.org for more infor-mation on these leadership development and service opportunities. Stop by and see us at 4451 North First Avenue in the lower level of First Federal Savings Bank!
Attorney General’s statement on school vouchers lawsuit hearing
INDIANAPOLIS – Today a court heard arguments in a legal challenge to Indiana’s new school vouchers law, House Enrolled Act 1003 (Public Law 92). Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller’s office is defending the new state statute from the plaintiffs’ legal challenge.
“In defending the state law, we contend Hoosiers’ elected representatives in the Legislature followed the Constitution when they devised a system for the benefit of students that offers families more educational options. Using the new state choice scholarships, more than 150 students already have enrolled in different accredited schools that start this week; and any injunction would be extremely disruptive to their education while this litigation is pending,†Zoeller said.
In Marion County Civil Superior Court 7 today, Indiana Solicitor General Thomas M. Fisher argued the State’s case in opposition to the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction. Judge Michael Keele took the case of Meredith v. Daniels under advisement and will rule at a later date.
IS IT TRUE? August 12, 2011
IS IT TRUE? August 12, 2011
IS IT TRUE that what the City County Observer truly seeks is to promote good public policy?…that when it comes to the Arena deals that are being negotiated good public policy constitutes having contracts that add strength and enhances the probability of success for the private businesses that are to be the major tenants of the Arena?…that today the subjects of most interest that are indeed private and for profit are VenuWorks, the Evansville IceMen, and the two respondents to the RFP to build a hotel?…that all three of these need to be vetted well for staying power so that a revolving door of teams, developers, and promoters due to poor up front choices?
IS IT TRUE that all VenuWorks, the IceMen, the Kunkel Group, and Prime Lodging are all relatively young businesses that are stepping up to assume risks in new and unproven markets?…that all of these businesses are in this fracas because they see an entrepreneurial opportunity to prosper by leveraging the people of Evansville’s investment in the new Arena?…that the Arena is a 50+ year asset and is not sitting on wheels so the threat of moving the Arena to Louisville is just not real?…that the City of Evansville is a municipality that has the authority to tax to meet its obligations and is assumed to have established staying power?…that the City of Evansville through a series of public meetings and committee sessions made the decision to borrow $128 Million to build the new Arena?…that the pro-forma developed and presented during those meetings included a hockey team, a management company, and of course held the assumption that a 4-Star hotel would be right next door?…that the survival of VenuWorks, the IceMen, and the hotel developer/operator are quite important to the City of Evansville?
IS IT TRUE that any deal that is made with any of these businesses or future businesses that involve dates at the Arena that does not promote and enhance the success of these businesses is a bad deal for the City of Evansville?…that it is a general rule that start-up businesses do not necessarily make a profit until the third to fifth years?…that the Arena itself needed to consider this during the planning stages and needs to consider this for ITSELF in the formulation of these contracts?…that the City of Evansville needs to make deals with companies that have solid business plans, depth of knowledge, and solid financial backing?…that to expect emerging businesses to assume all of the risk associated with the large risk that the City is taking is unwise?
IS IT TRUE that the City County Observer fully agrees that in the long term that the Arena needs to operate in a manner that it can fulfill the promises made by the Weinzapfel Administration during the public meetings that “NO TAX INCREASES†will be needed to fund the Arena operation?…that to expect that the Arena will cash flow in year 1 is unrealistic?…that the Arena secured over $30 Million in borrowed money to cover soft costs like the start-up period’s operational shortfall?…that we doubt if the early private investors have such a luxury?…that deals made now that kill the early investors in the “Arena dream†are deals that will kill the long term viability of the Arena?…that if the City of Evansville really wants a “WHITE ELEPHANT†downtown that the certain way to do this is to enter into agreements that do not allow VenuWorks and the Evansville IceMen to make a profit?…that we should all remember the BlueCats and what happened to them due to excessive costs and low attendance?…that if one thinks it was difficult for hockey to get a foothold in Evansville, one needs to imagine a second team deciding to come here if the IceMen fail?…that the same goes for VenuWorks?
IS IT TRUE that we expect to see the month of August end with solid deals on the table that allow both VenuWorks and the IceMen to believe in their business model and to feel as though the City of Evansville is their partner as opposed to their warden?…that we expect to see the month of September end with a good agreement in place with a thoroughly vetted hotel developer?…that to expect anything less would be to give up on the City of Evansville?…that we hope our expectations are met for the long term success of the people of Evansville as the myriad of other legacy problems comes home to roost upon the next administration?