IS IT TRUE that today’s headline in the area’s most widely read print media newspaper boldly states “SCHOOLS GET GOOD REPORT CARD”?…that such headlines that are factually accurate yet send a very inaccurate message serve as a mechanism to enable the people of Evansville to be lulled into a false sense of security with respect to the performance of the EVSC?…that it has been stated that perhaps as many as 90% of people who read newspapers for the most part get their news and make decisions on what to read based on HEADLINES?…that this being the case that there are many citizens of Evansville who saw this headline and are feeling good about a report card that would result in ACADEMIC PROBATION and INELIGIBILITY TO COMPETE IN SPORTS if one of the students carried it home?

IS IT TRUE that when the EVSC schools are gleaned from the article the report card given the 34 schools in the report is 5 A’s, 2 B’s, 13 C’s, 5 D’s, and 9 F’s?…that when one takes these grades and assigns each school equal weighted value (as they should be), then assigns a number on the traditional college 4.0 scale that the combined performance shows that EVSC has a GPA of 1.67?…that such a score at even the easiest universities will result academic probation and ineligibility for extracurricular activities?…that the NCAA will not allow any freshman to participate in sports with a high school GPA below 2.0?…that if the EVSC was a college athlete that it could not even sit on the bench with a GPA of 1.67?

IS IT TRUE that the private schools, the parochial schools, and Signature School all got an A?

IS IT TRUE that that the headline writers and the EVSC get this need to put positive spin on negative performance honestly?…that earlier this year that a group of designated local leaders held a discussion with respect to what grade Evansville would get for its investment community activities with respect to angel and venture investing?…that this group courteously negotiated among themselves that Evansville is a 3 out of 5 or a gentleman’s C in angel and venture investing?…that there were some people in the room who know about such things that kindly expressed that the score is really a 1 or 2 (D or F) but that the GroupThink overwhelmed knowledge in awarding a C?…that the reality of the situation is that the score should reflect the actuality and that reality is ZERO?…that the propensity to grade ourselves as acceptable when the score is clearly a ZERO (F) and the need to proclaim that all is well in a headline when the numbers are really no more than a solid D is part of the problem when it comes to Evansville ever becoming competitive nationally in anything?

IS IT TRUE that the first steps to prosperity will only come when the people in charge of Evansville take their head out of the sand and local mainstream media ceases to be an enabler in spreading the myths that result in people thinking things are fine when ACADEMIC PROBATION and a score of ZERO is the reality?

IS IT TRUE we would like to take this opportunity to tell Mike Duckworth, Vanderburgh County Road Superintendent and the Vanderburgh County Surveyor, BILL Jeffers thanks for doing an outstanding job for the public good?

IS IT TRUE that it’s time for the Evansville Housing Authority to start considering to market the large vacant lot located at Lincoln and Governor for new site for affordable homes?

IS IT TRUE that we hear the 1st Ward City Councilman, Dan McGinn-Attorney shall be meeting with the City of Evansville Controller this Friday to review the entire budget of the City of Evansville General Legal Counsel in detail. …we wonder way Councilman Dan McGinn, Attorney has not been afforded the opportunity to to view this budget request in detail for the last 9 months? …City Councilman Dan McGinn, Attorney has pledge that he will make his findings available not only to area media but also to every Evansville City Council member? …we can’t wait to see a detail breakdown in the overall expenses of this department but how much his key people are being paid by the taxpayers to fund this important department?

IS IT TRUE: Part 2 August 29, 2011

IS IT TRUE that the gasoline prices in Evansville last weekend went particularly out of sight when compared with what was being charged in Kentucky?…that Evansville gas magically jumped up in price by roughly 30 cents per gallon to $3.79 in the middle of last week?…that just across the bridge in Henderson the price on Saturday was as always which is 10 cents less that it is in Evansville?…that a longer trip into the Commonwealth of Kentucky yielded an even greater differential?…that in Madisonville, KY and points south that the price of gas was only $3.49 on Saturday?…that either the people of Evansville got hosed by the stations because the Frog Follies was in town or we have another case of being fast to respond to upward price pressure but very slow to respond to dropping commodity prices?

IS IT TRUE that one or our readers has supplied us with a response they received from Indiana Senator Jim Tomes to a recent inquiry about how the state government may be able to represent the people of Indiana regarding the excessive pricing of electricity by Vectren?…that the text of that response is as follows?

“Your thoughts and opinions are an important part of the legislative process and I respect your comments. I understand your feelings very well. During the last legislative session (which was my first session), the lobbyist for Vectren came into my office to make introductions. I spoke very direct to them. I explained that I understand their situation with federal government mandates that imposes more cost on them to comply with more emission controls. However, I pointed out that my first concern is the ratepayers and the folks who are struggling, deciding whether to pay their electric bills or buy groceries. There is a lot more to all of this than what was in the newspaper article. I will always do my best to keep the citizens’ interest first in line. If I may ever be of assistance to you, please feel free to contact me. Sincerely, Jim Tomes State Senator 200 West Washington Street Indianapolis, IN 46204 (317) 232-9489 senator.tomes@iga.in.gov”

IS IT TRUE that as long as big business pays people to go into the offices of our legislatures and our legislators receive them, governmental will continue to defer to big business?…that Vectren is but one of many companies that employs lobbyists to pester elected officials to do what they want them to when it comes to a rate increase?…that most private businesses that employ lobbyist actually have to compete in free markets?…that the free market for electricity in SW Indiana does not exist?…that the former USSR was about as free of a market as we have here when it comes to electricity?…monopolies that are granted by the state would make Karl Marx proud but have no business engaging in advertising or lobbying?…that all of those dollars spent on billboards, advertising, sponsorships, and LOBBYING are really paid for by the ratepayers money?…that government granted monopolies seem to act very much like governments and that is something that we already have enough of?

IS IT TRUE that the only local elected official that seems willing to even question Vectren on behalf of the people of SW Indiana is State Representative Gail Riecken who is currently doing speeches at civic meetings to advise citizens of their rights when it comes to questioning their utility bills?

IS IT TRUE that we are cautiously relieved about how the hurricane was handled as it made its way up the Atlantic coast?…that it seems as though the advanced planning and warnings along with evacuations were handled about as good as they could have been?…that the Mayor of New York City, Mr. Michael Bloomberg did a particularly masterful job of constant communication as did New Jersey Governor Chris Christie?…that Mayor Bloomberg was particularly animated when speaking about the two idiots who paddled out into the New York harbor in kayaks?…that these fools of course capsized and were saved by a first responder boat that risked their own lives to save these fools bacon?…that both of these idiots were cited legally for their kayak ride?

IS IT TRUE that the east coast and parts near are not out of the woods yet?…that there is a dam in New York state that is weakened and is teetering on breach?…that this takes our memory back to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina where the breach of a levy started that whole mess that made our country look inadequate in responding to a natural disaster?…that with up to date and adequate infrastructure that the aftermath of Katrina would have been much less disastrous?…that if this dam in New York breaks even though it is in a lightly populated area that it could have some rather nasty repercussions?…that it seems as though the entire nation including Evansville is inadequate when it comes to maintenance of infrastructure or even parks?…that the same mentality that smiles and bobs its head approvingly at the prospect of spending $18 Million on 8 ballfields when the other 50+ ballfields are not even being mowed is pretty much a throwaway mentality?…that such ways of doing business do not work in Evansville nor do they work anywhere else?

IS IT TRUE that yesterday’s IS IT TRUE regarding the question of what is a “Mainstream Democrat” got us quite a few responses?…that it is pretty universal among the readers of the City County Observer that the one thing that Evansville “Mainstream Democrats” really do not have a grasp of is what a “Mainstream Democrat” is?…that there are plenty of registered democrats in Evansville and its surrounding cities that would be classified as RIGHT WING REPUBLICANS if they were given a questionnaire?…that the old saying of “to thine own self be true”, doesn’t seem to be followed within local “Mainstream Democrats”?

IS IT TRUE that the Mole Nation (meaning more than 5 moles) is telling us that some devout “Mainstream Democrats” are planning a fund raising event for the Republican candidate for Mayor of Evansville?…that we wonder if this event if it is actually held will be sanctioned by or attended by any of Evansville’s “Mainstream Republicans”?…that this place gets more interesting every day?

IS IT TRUE that crossing party lines is a healthy exercise in the electoral process?…that rather than “Mainstream Anything” what this city, state and nation really needs are people who think before they vote and have the capacity to make decisions based on something more than sound bites and appealing physical features?…that for once the City County Observer hopes that the Evansville City Council will have balance and cognitive thinking ability so that our next mayor is made better by the City Council as opposed to just telling them what to do?

IS IT TRUE: PART 2 August 28, 2011 “A Brick has an IQ of ZERO”

IS IT TRUE that the team of professionals lead by Mr. Mike Alley that took on the Herculean task of trying to rescue Integra Bank should be thanked and admired for their efforts even though Integra ultimately was taken over by the FDIC?…that this team could have taken the path of least resistance as humans routinely do and just found other jobs or even gone to the beach 2 years ago when this challenge crossed their paths?…that taking the easy road and never taking risks are par for the course in the Midwest and are among the biggest contributors to brain drain, shrinking population, and abandoned neighborhoods?…that for taking on this task, disrupting their own lives to pursue a noble but difficult effort, and for sticking it out until the end that the City County Observer salutes this fine group of professionals and wishes them well in the future?…that we hope their future is right here in Evansville as the value added and lessons learned from the Integra experience may have made them one of the best teams to handle future financial calamities available?…that one only improves by taking on the difficult or impossible task as opposed to sitting comfortably at the helm of a ship in a safe harbor?

IS IT TRUE that it seems as though that Evansville and every village in driving distance has been opening new and beautiful centers that are dedicated to entrepreneurship and training?…that has been over $100 Million invested in bricks, steel, and mortar over the last several years in hopes that these carefully placed inanimate objects will somehow become the catalyst through which economic transformation will occur?…that bricks, mortar, steel, wood, and other things like that have never ever transformed anything?…that once upon a time in Arizona a city called Lake Havasu they reconstructed the London Bridge in the desert in hopes of becoming a tourist attraction?…that they even built English Pubs and invested in places that sold fish and chips?..that Havasu City after all of these years is still not London and that it was the lake that attracted visitors before the London Bridge and after the London Bridge?…that on my last visit the Pub was closed and the fish and chips place was selling snow cones but the lake was still beautiful and the wave runners were still great fun?…that the stones of London Bridge were a flash in the pan?

IS IT TRUE that there are places in America that are consistently churning out entrepreneurs and the companies that they found that transform places and the way that we live?…that most (no all) of these places have active and vital sources of venture capital?…that all of these places have atmospheres that encourage risk taking and even reward failure when that failure was from taking on a monumental task?…that most entrepreneurial success in such places always seems to start in a garage or a dorm room as Apple, HP, Dell, Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn all did?…that each and every entrepreneurial business that has transformed the way people live has been about the spirit of the dreams of these entrepreneurs and their willingness and ability to “go for it”?…that the vital ingredients to such success are not bricks, mortar, or even a cool décor?…that critical business infrastructure like internet speed, availability of professional talent, access to capital, and a desirable lifestyle are what matters?…that all bricks have the same IQ and that is zero?

IS IT TRUE that one can reproduce Harvard University brick by brick and stone by stone on the banks of the Ohio River and it will do absolutely nothing unless the people, the intellectual curiosity, and the atmosphere can be reproduced?…that unless the professors, the staff, the “je ne sais quoi”, and the students that make Harvard what it is can be attracted that the bricks and stones will do nothing but look pretty and grow moss?…that bricks and stones are more expensive than talent?…that one can only wonder what could happen in a place like Evansville if several hundred million dollars were committed to doing what really matters in the economic transformational process?