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IS IT TRUE? December 13, 2011 “Mayor Elect Winnecke gets another Ball & Chain”

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IS IT TRUE? December 13, 2011 “Mayor Elect Winnecke gets another Ball & Chain”

IS IT TRUE that it has been well documented that the Weinzapfel Administration was saddled the incoming Winnecke Administration with an unholy trilogy of unfinished business?…that on Mayor Elect Winnecke’s left leg is that ball and chain labeled McCurdy debacle?…that on Mayor Elect Winnecke’s right leg is a ball and chain that carries the label the Executive Inn Dilemma?…that manacled to the left arm of Mayor Elect Winnecke is the ball and chain labeled Roberts Stadium?…that until last night Mayor Elect Winnecke at least had the use of his right arm to handle programs of his own creation?

IS IT TRUE that last night at the regular meeting of the Evansville City Council, the Director of the Department of Metropolitan Development, Mr. Tom Barnett took the stage accompanied by Luke Yeager of the Evansville Commerce Bank to affix yet another ball and chain to the right arm of Mayor Elect Winnecke?…that this time it is by introducing another Front Door Pride project that will consume resources of both the public and private sectors?…that by his own words Mr. Barnett has taught us that there are 8,000 residences in the City of Evansville that are in such a state of disrepair that they will require over $100,000 each to get them into livable condition?…that it has also been reported that the total number of abandoned homes in the City of Evansville now exceeds 10,000 and according to Mr. Barnett’s testimony before the City Council abandoning houses is a growth industry in Evansville?…that there have been SIX CENSUSES taken since the last time that the City of Evansville did not have a declining population?…that the population of the City of Evansville has been steadily shrinking since the late 1950’s?…that in such a place why on earth would anyone think that building 25 more houses makes sense?

IS IT TRUE that there are already 17 Front Door Pride houses that have been built at a cost of approximately $200,000 each?…that nine (9) of those homes are still on the market with many of them having been offered for sale at $135,000 or less for longer than a year?…that an Idea Home (and a very nice one at that) was built at a cost of between $400,000 and $600,000 depending on how one values “free” stuff and was sold to a member of the Evansville Redevelopment Commission for well under $200,000 in the same area?…that there are 40 rental units that are slated to be similar to the Front Door Pride homes that are scheduled to be built?…that given that there is not a vibrant market for homes, that what is really needed is a mass demolition project coupled with the eradication of criminal activity, and a dramatic upgrade of the neighborhood schools, we really wonder what the dickens spending nearly $5 Million to build 25 more houses will do for the area?

IS IT TRUE that at least this time the basics of clustering seems to have sunk into a few of the thick skulls that randomly dropped the first 17 houses in and around crack houses and parks full of crime?…that it is a shame that clustering was not done from the start and that the 40 pending rent houses were not slated to be owner occupied?…that even with 7 banks participating to the tune of $3.5 Million to make loans on the 25 proposed homes the risk will be borne by the taxpayers of Evansville?…that the key words “mortgages ready for the secondary market” are the clear signal that the bankers consortium will be cutting their risk and selling the 1st mortgages that they will be writing into the secondary markets, taking their fees, and whistling all the way back to the bank?…that it will be the second mortgages that will be held by the City of Evansville that will be at risk if the market does not materialize or hold value?…that given the history of the Front Door Pride program we must ask the question, “all out there who want to buy a house for $200,000 just like the houses that are not selling for $135,000 please announce yourselves”?…that we shall wait patiently while Mayor Elect Winnecke is fitted for this 4th ball and chain?

IS IT TRUE that Mayor Elect Winnecke only has a neck left for that 5th ball and chain that we are sure that the Weinzapfel Administration is crafting for him somewhere?…that Lloyd Winnecke was elected to further his own ideals and to breath accountability and transparency into the government of the City of Evansville?…that it would have been much more tasteful for soon to be Mayor Winnecke to have been able to make his own decisions with respect to the future of all of these balls and chains and a few other ideas that we are hoping he has the time, energy, and resources to implement?

IS IT TRUE? December 13, 2011 “Welcome to the Hotel Solyndra”

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The Mole #??

IS IT TRUE? December 13, 2011

IS IT TRUE that money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources?…that this confuses some people into thinking that Illegal sources means money that was gotten from illegal activities like selling drugs, stealing, gun running, or whoring?…that illegal sources is not the same as illegally acquired and can apply to lots of transactions that are deemed to be ethically challenged or sneaky?…that illegal sources are usually recognized by a chain of transactions that circumvents some law or procedure that is inconvenient?

IS IT TRUE that If any politician were to write his campaign fund a check from the government it would clearly be an illegal source of money and may lead this guy to the fate of several former Governor’s of Illinois?…If that same politician pulls the strings and provides the support to get the government to write a check to a crony who then makes a campaign contribution to the very politician that brokered the deal, that the money is magically transformed into a perfectly legal campaign contribution ?…that it seems as though such circular transactions meet is the very definition of money laundering?…that when money that is clearly an illegal source passes through a set of hands via a contract with a government and then winds up in the campaign coffers of a politician that the honest intent for that money has been circumvented?

IS IT TRUE that in the case of the McCurdy, the City County Observer believes that in the beginning that the Weinzapfel Administration and City Centre Properties both had honorable intentions?…that the CCO in no way believes this was a set-up to transfer money from the get go?…the fact that CCPLLC failed, did not pay their taxes regularly, and that the City of Evansville received no benefit at all is what makes the campaign contributions so blatantly offensive to the taxpayers of Evansville?…that every transaction was carefully SNEGAL and no one will be jailed but the only winner in this little money triangle is the Weinzapfel for Mayor campaign?…that the City of Evansville lost money and the Evansville Redevelopment Commission looks like buffoons over this series of events?…that thus far City Centre Properties has lost money and unless a buyer comes through at a price from heaven CCP LLC appears to have taken a beating from this little experiment?…that the only entity that benefitted financially from the whole McCurdy debacle is the Weinzapfel for Mayor campaign fund?…that Mayor Weinzapfel’s campaign fund came out with cash in the bank for doing nothing and everyone else associated with this deal came out a loser?

IS IT TRUE that for these reasons the City County Observer calls upon Mayor Weinzapfel and any other local politician to return all of the contributions that any campaign fund that benefits their political careers has received as a result of the McCurdy debacle?…that these contributions started in 2007 and continued through 2010 per public record?…that we have no idea about 2011?…that one would have to wonder about the judgment and ethical challenges associated with any individual that did not see this situation as tainted?

IS IT TRUE that we get it that if some law firm or construction company earns a couple of million bucks on a project that went well and benefitted the community like the Ford Center that it is standard practice and in some circles even expected that a political contribution will be forthcoming?…that these are contributions that raise interests but this is not the same as benefitting from a failed project where everyone else loses?…that while we do not approve or condone private money buying influence through campaign contributions we do understand how everyone involved can come out a winner in such transactions?…that such things simply serve to raise the price of public works in much the same way that the strings attached to government dollars do?…that once again it is a singular politician benefitting financially from a completely failed project in which every investor and the taxpayers lost that rises to the level that the contributions should reimburse the losing taxpayers to the level of the total of the contributions?

IS IT TRUE that in a case like Solyndra where a fundraiser for President Obama was a shareholder of Solyndra that legal or not, the deal stunk to high heaven?…that at least Solyndra actually employed some people for a time and tried to make a go of the business?…that it would also be appropriate for President Obama’s campaign fund to give any political contributions that it received as a result of Solyndra and failed deals like it back to the taxpayers of the United States of America?…that the Solyndra mess and the McCurdy debacle are too alike for comfort except the McCurdy’s numbers are smaller?

Welcome to the Hotel Solyndra
Such a Lovely Place
The ERC lost their Face

They’re Livin it up at the Hotel Solyndra
Its only been four years
Now they act like Steers

Okay folks finish the song please.

New Tradition to Launch at UE Winter Commencement

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At the University of Evansville’s 2011 Winter Commencement ceremony, 76 students will receive 80 degrees. As the first class of graduates to participate in a new tradition, they will also receive a symbolic gift: a blank key bearing UE’s logo.

Winter Commencement will take place at 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 14 in the UE Student Fitness Center. A reception, sponsored by the University of Evansville Alumni Association, will follow in the Class of 1959 Gallery and Lounge in the Ridgway University Center.

Beginning with this year’s Winter Commencement, each UE graduate will receive a gift of a blank key from the Alumni Association. The key, which can be customized to fit a lock of each graduate’s choosing, symbolizes that a UE education and connections to UE alumni can unlock a world of opportunities.

John David Lutz, chair of the Department of Theatre and a 1964 UE graduate, will present students with keys after they cross the stage to receive their diplomas.

This year’s Winter Commencement speaker is James Berry, UE associate professor of anthropology, who was named the 2011 Outstanding Teacher of the Year at May’s commencement exercises. The Alumni Association presents this award annually to a faculty member who is nominated by students, faculty, or administrators for his or her exemplary teaching abilities.

Berry came to the University of Evansville in 1978 after earning his PhD in anthropology from Indiana University. He also holds a Master of Arts in anthropology from IU and received his undergraduate education at the University of Minnesota.

During his 33 years at UE, Berry has received the Dean’s Teaching Award for the College of Arts and Sciences and the Sydney and Sadelle Berger Award for Service.

Source: evansville.edu – will also be live streaming the event

VHS Pet of the Week: “Luigi”

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Greetings from Luigi, a 1-year-old neutered Lab/Corgi Mix. Luigi is a cuddly dog who really prefers the company of his family. He does not like to be left alone and is working on his crate training. Luigi loves to run and play so an active family with children would be ideal for him. Luigi will do best in a home with another dog. He prefers the company of others and might not get so scared when left alone if he has a K9 companion to pal around with. He does ask that he get to meet any potential K9 roommates before going home. Luigi is a medium size dog which can be hard to tell from his photos, perfect size for a family looking for a K9 companion. For more information on Luigi and how to make him a member of your family, visit www.vhslifesaver.org or call (812) 426-2563.

Downtown Today: 12/13/2011

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Time 8:30 AM – 9:30 AM
Subject DESIGN REVIEW
Location 318
Recurrence Occurs the second Tuesday of every 1 month effective 12/13/2011 until 12/13/2011 from 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM
Reminder 15 minutes
SARAH @ 7825
Categories ROOM 318

Time 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Subject PTABOA
Location 301
Recurrence Occurs the second Tuesday of every 1 month effective 12/13/2011 until 12/13/2011 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Reminder 15 minutes
TIFFANY COLLINS @ 5269
Categories ROOM 301

Time 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM
Subject SUBDIVISION REVIEW
Location 318
Recurrence Occurs the second Tuesday of every 1 month effective 12/13/2011 until 12/13/2011 from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM
Reminder 15 minutes
KATHIE @ 5228
Categories ROOM 318

Time 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Subject ENFORCEMENT/TREATMENT SUBCOMMITTEE
Location 318
Recurrence Occurs the second Tuesday of every 1 month effective 12/13/2011 until 12/13/2011 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
Reminder 15 minutes
CYNTHIA OWEN
Categories ROOM 318

Time 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Subject VANDERBURGH ALCOHOL BOARD
Location 301
Recurrence Occurs the second Tuesday of every 1 month effective 12/13/2011 until 12/13/2011 from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Reminder 15 minutes
Scott Bedwell 812-882-1292
Categories ROOM 301

Time 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM
Subject ELECTRICAL BOARD
Location 318
Recurrence Occurs the second Tuesday of every 1 month effective 12/13/2011 until 12/13/2011 from 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM
Reminder 15 minutes
LINDA PENDELETON @ 7880
Categories ROOM 318

Hunden’s Powerpoint Presentation to the ERC

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The City County Observer makes the Powerpoint presentation that Hunden Strategic Partners made to the Evansville Redevelopment Commission available to our readers without bias, edit, or comment. We encourage all of our readers to reach their own conclusions from this information.

Hunden_Powerpoint_for_111711_meeting_with_ERC

An Open Letter to the President, Encourage Green Innovation Don’t Destroy It

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President Barack Obama

An Open Letter to the President, Encourage Green Innovation Don’t Destroy It
By: David Anthony, 21 Ventures: A Venture Capital Firm in the Green Investment World

Since the days of Queen Isabella, who some say was the first venture capitalist in history, venture capital has driven exploration, innovation and market opportunity. It has led to numerous important inventions and technologies in use today. Imagine for a moment that without venture capital, the search engine –- not to mention the computer — might not have been invented.

Venture capital is the fuel that drives innovation in many sectors vital to the health and growth of the US economy. As a cleantech venture capitalist, I am in a unique position to understand the circumstances threatening American innovation and with it, the U.S. economy.

Since the 1970’s, the role of venture capital has been to nourish entire new industries, including biotech, software development and online retail. In 2008, VC-backed companies employed 11% of the private sector work force – over 12 million people.

Cleantech needs as much venture capital support as it can get. It is an emerging industry aimed at solving the biggest problems such as climate change and our dependence on foreign oil. However, many of its products and services are still not commercially viable. The only way an industry with no immediate revenue stream can build the technology of tomorrow is through investment. Direct government support can only go so far, and it is the venture capital and angel community that will pick up the slack.

Recently, VC investment in cleantech companies has skyrocketed reaching $5.6 billion last year. If the VC industry implodes, cleantech falls with it.

The U.S. government, under the leadership of the Obama administration is undermining the green economy by a). misappropriating government stimulus money aimed at job creation and b). levying unfair taxation on the venture capital community – the very source within the private sector that generates job growth.

Stimulating job growth can only be achieved when the government is willing to support those sectors of the economy that hold the promise of growth like renewable energy and cleantech. It is a known fact that the biggest players in the economy fall behind the small, more nimble players when it comes to innovation and job creation.

Take the automobile industry, whose propensity to ship jobs out of the country has laid waste to cities like Detroit. The industry’s stubborn refusal to innovate, which has even been documented in film,
brought it to the brink of collapse recently. Yet, when push came to shove, the government stepped in to save these dinosaurs with enormous wads of taxpayer cash. Additionally, policies like Cash for Clunkers were designed to augment their bottom lines. The federal government even took control of 60
percent of General Motors.

Why pour federal dollars into propping up companies that refuse to innovate? Is this not a misallocation of resources at a time when so many new, pioneering companies are desperate for support? In 1998, both Google and eBay were tiny companies with fewer than 30 people working for them. Had it not been for venture capital (and the federal government’s support of these VCs), those startups would have faded away into obsolescence.

The Missed Opportunity In the Stimulus

at the stimulus package today, one can see that it was a missed opportunity of gigantic proportions. $80 billion in stimulus funds were dedicated to cleantech – in effect making the government the country’s largest venture capital firm. Yet, instead of using this massive investment to encourage a new crop of innovators, the majority of the funds were funneled to big corporations.

To keep our economy strong, we must invest in America’s longterm competitiveness. Government support must be directed at small startups and research universities – and not at the big fish. This approach has worked for the country in the past, and it can work again today.

We must return to the days when American innovation flourished thanks to government-sponsored research conducted by universities and national laboratories. The federal government typically invested between $250,000 to $2 million on seed projects encouraging venture capital firms to step in and invest in the best and most promising of the government sponsored ventures.

This goes all the way back to the post-WWII period, when Vannevar Bush convinced Harry Truman to continue government support for science and technology research during peacetime. As a result, we got the Internet, Yahoo , Google, Fairchild Semiconductor and a long list of successful companies.

The government also wants to level new taxes on “angel investors” – individuals who invest in startups and entrepreneurs. At the same time, new legislation will impose additional regulation on these individuals,
ostensibly to “protect” them from bad investment choices like those that brought down the housing market.

The reality is that the legislation makes it much more difficult for firms like mine to solicit investments from high net-worth individuals. It deprives a class of smart and self-made millionaires from tax benefits their higher net-worth neighbors will enjoy. Angel investors are people with a high level of understanding and sophistication, and are responsible for most of the initial investments in startup companies today. Leveling new regulations and taxes on them is likely to shrink this source of investment in our economy.

It’s still not too late to change the course. Our country can no longer afford to prop up the big boys, while leaving the little guys to fend for themselves. With economists like Paul Krugman proposing additional stimulus spending, we must be quick to learn the lessons of the first stimulus plan. And there is still time to design tax codes and regulations that encourage, rather than discourage, innovation.

American innovation is our greatest resource, and nurturing it is the only way we can maintain our lead over fast-developing countries like China, India and Brazil. Mr. President, the country’s innovators
are counting on you to make this right, before it’s too late.

Sheriffs Rescue Child Wandering Around with no Clothes in Trailer Park

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Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Department was summoned to the Westbrook Trailer Park on N. St. Joseph Avenue where they discovered a toddler with no clothes wandering around in the 40 degree weather.

The child’s mother Michelle McCarty was found to be under the influence of narcotics and has been charged with Neglect of a Dependent which is a Class D felony. The child was turned over to the Department of Children’s Services

Sheriff’s Find Child Wondering Around Unattended

IS IT TRUE? December 12, 2011 Special Afternoon Edition

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McCurdy
This Was Meant to be a HOTEL!!!

IS IT TRUE? December 12, 2011 Special Afternoon Edition

IS IT TRUE that Vectren customers will have an opportunity to voice concerns and complaints directly to Vectren CEO Carl Chapman?…that this will take place at the Coliseum at 6:00 pm TONIGHT?…that customers will have 5 minutes each to speak?…that we have only seen reference to this event from one other local media outlet?…that this outlet was not the C&P?…that this meeting is being sponsored by Valley Watch?…that we realize that this is last minute but the CCO encourages all of our readers to attend if possible and even more importantly spread the word to everyone they come into contact with today?…that we expect a low turn-out due to the lack of publicity?…that this comes just days before the IURC is expected to announce their decision regarding the most recent fee hike request?…that this is the last chance for Evansville residents to show Vectren and the IURC that we mean business?

IS IT TRUE that Vectren Corporation has another public notification in the Courier and Press classifieds regarding a “REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF CHANGES IN ITS GAS COST ADJUSTMENTS”?…that this meeting of the Indiana Utilities Regulatory Commission will be in Indianapolis at 9:30 am on January 5, 2012 at the PNC Center on Washington Street?…that this news comes out on the very day that it was announced that a former head of the IURC has been indicted for ethics violations?

IS IT TRUE that the lot at 610 E. Franklin was cleared over the weekend?…that this was due to the diligence of 3rd Ward City Councilwoman Elect Stephanie Brinkerhoff Riley?…that Councilwoman Elect Brinkerhoff-Riley has been behind the scenes on this project all along?…that she has been frustrated by all of the bureaucratic restrictions that the city had to wade through in order to force the removal of such an obvious danger to this neighborhood’s children?…that we understand the lot owner told the city that the insurance company had denied the claim for the fire that caused this mess?…that once it was admitted that the owner had no money the city began taking bids for clean-up last week and that as of this weekend the project was complete?…that we would like to congratulate and thank Councilwoman Elect Brinkerhoff-Riley for her persistence regarding this matter?…that we hope this is an indication of good things to come for the residents of Evansville’s 3rd Ward?…that the CCO has been harping on this pile of rubble for 6 months now and that it is good to see something finally getting done about it?

IS IT TRUE that the termination of the deal at the McCurdy and the discovery period coming for a new downtown Convention Hotel that the time to ponder what really makes sense is upon us?…that a study has indicated that there is only a need for 160 hotel rooms in downtown Evansville?…that a simple pro-forma indicates that the only realistic way for the McCurdy to justify the investment needed to refurbish it is AS A HOTEL?…that uniqueness brings business and that a vintage beautiful hotel would be unique and perfectly placed on the Evansville riverfront?…that the McCurdy square footage is just about right for the 160 rooms that downtown Evansville currently needs?…that the 6 block walk to the Centre can easily be solved with a couple of shuttles?…that in a few years when the convention business base becomes established that it may just be a good investment to supplement the McCurdy with a new 4 Star hotel that will complement the high class facilities that we already have like the Ford Center, the Centre, and the Central Library?…that this is a good plan that minimizes public investment and will be more upscale in the long run?…that we hope the McCurdy now and 4 Stars when it is prudent catches on among the “powers that be”?

IS IT TRUE? December 12, 2011 Part Two “Local Stuff”

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Political Contributions for no Substance

IS IT TRUE? December 12, 2011

IS IT TRUE that the readers of the City County Observer who have responded to our current reader’s poll are voting by a margin of 10 to 1 in favor of the Evansville Redevelopment Commission demanding the return of every dollar that the Weinzapfel for Mayor campaign received from any company or person directly associated with City Centre Properties LLC?…that for City Centre Properties LLC to accept the incentive check from the City of Evansville and then turn around and give money to Mayor Weinzapfel’s campaign fund without performing the task that they were incented to do is not consistent with the spirit of incentives and basically turned the “Loft Program” pioneered by Mayor Weinzapfel into a money funneling operation where the City of Evansville’s money ended up in the campaign coffers of the Weinzapfel for Mayor campaign while nothing was done for the City of Evansville?…that the CCO suspects that with the principles and the associated companies that the total that the Mayor’s campaign coffers enlarged as a result of the McCurdy debacle is somewhere in the neighborhood of $25,000 or more?…that these contributions clearly should be returned to the City of Evansville as they were ill-gotten in the big scheme of things?

IS IT TRUE that the Evansville Convention and Visitors Bureau recently sent out a promotional brochure hoping to attract tourists to Evansville?…that there was one little problem with the brochure and that was that word “Indiana” is reported to have been spelled incorrectly?…that we are sure that there is some fat in someone’s frying pan over this little oversight?

IS IT TRUE that following up on the first paragraph we wonder just how much money was contributed to the “Weinzapfel for Mayor” campaigns during the last 8 years by companies and individuals who materially benefitted from City of Evansville projects?…that we would not be surprised if such contributions exceed $1 Million if all of the construction companies, their owners, law firms, consultants, and other beneficiaries of contracts with the City of Evansville are tallied up?…that many other local politicians have lined their pockets with such contributions as well?…that this is no different than the Wall Streeters bankrolling the campaigns of national politicians while benefitting from federal contracts?…that it would be easy to sit back and smugly say “that’s just the way things are done”?…that the practice of laundering government dollars into the pockets of politicians is the epitome of SNEGAL and undermines belief on governments?…that we wonder if the people of Evansville, Indiana, and the United States will ever demand that this practice be stopped?…that you may contact Mayor Weinzapfel to demand the return of McCurdy sourced contributions on the following link?

http://www.evansvillegov.org/Index.aspx?page=1682&recordid=1

IS IT TRUE that the people of Evansville can take a huge step by calling, emailing, and sending letters to the Mayor of Evansville to return all contributions that he received as a result of the McCurdy project to the City of Evansville?…that this is a clear case of underserved benefit while some of the other cases really are “just the way things are done”?

IS IT TRUE that another corporate headquarters has announced that they are leaving Vanderburgh County last week?…that Champion Labs is following Mead Johnson Nutritionals to greater Chicago for their corporate headquarters?…that we wonder how many of the powers that be were blindsided by this announcement?…that we also wonder what the reason’s were as Chicago is clearly a more expensive place to maintain an office?…that when Mead Johnson made their move the two biggest reasons were TALENT and AIR TRAVEL?…that we suspect that these may be the issues behind Champion’s departure as well?

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