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IS IT TRUE? October 20, 2011 Just What is Job Creation

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IS IT TRUE? October 20, 2011 Just What is Job Creation

IS IT TRUE that it was announced yesterday that Berry Plastics will be closing down its facility in Madisonville, KY and that the 124 jobs in that plant will be either eliminated or transferred to other Berry locations?…that we are sure that the executive team at Berry Plastics has carefully considered what is best for their business model and that at the present time and based on future projections that this decision is right for Berry Plastics?…that about 20 jobs will be added at the former Rexam facility in Vanderburgh County that was acquired by Berry about 6 weeks ago?…that Madisonville, KY while not within the defined Evansville MSA is very much a part of the Evansville region of economic influence and that many of the dollars earned by those 124 people would have been destined for Evansville retail establishments, Evansville based entertainment, and Evansville health care facilities?…that the net employment in Vanderburgh County will soon be plus 20 yet the Evansville region will see a change of minus 104?…that Evansville’s small gain is at the expense of Madisonville’s large loss?

IS IT TRUE that if this restructuring would have occurred as a result of the closing of a facility that is more than 100 miles away that today we would be treated with smiling politicians and economic developers claiming to have created 20 jobs?…that if we are as a country all in this together that such celebrations should never take place and the disingenuous claims of “creating” jobs from conditions more conducive to economic cannibalism should be seen as just what it is, political posturing?…that a similar no gain situation occurs when a foot doctor from Newburgh moves his or her office to Evansville?…that unless that move results in additional business and hiring that the net change to the MSA is a great big zero?…that expansions from other places is fair game for celebration and that our gain is also a gain for the home office?…that we wonder just how many of the jobs that have ever been claimed as “created” were really just moved from one place to the other?…that we have been treated to this locally when the Ford Center is touted for jobs “created” when it really just moved those jobs from Roberts Stadium to the downtown?… that this is SNEGAL reporting and that even a kid can figure this one out?

IS IT TRUE that the Board of Zoning Committee that was scheduled to meet at 4 PM today will not be having a quorum?…that the possibility to pass something that will allow for a pole barn indoor tennis facility in Wesselman Park has just been punted until November 17, 2011?…that this is safely beyond election day so the threat of votes will not be able to be used by opponents of the indoor tennis facility this time around?…that we are still gathering information with regard to SNEGAL or even SNEILLEGAL shenanigans regarding the scheduling of meetings to discuss the requirements to even consider moving forward with the current proposal?

IS IT TRUE that the Bank of America is no longer the largest bank in America from an asset management perspective?…that all of the stunts that they have pulled including the recent $5 charge per month for debit cards is catching up to them?…that is what happens in the FREEMARKET where COMPETITION flourishes and consumers have a choice?…that we predict that the Bank of America will be backing off of the $5 per month fees soon?…that if the Bank of America had a monopoly that they would raise the fees to $10 and tell its fee payers to go pound salt?

Rick Davis Releases October 11th Letter to the IURC Regarding Vectren

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Rick Davis

Oct. 11, 2011

Dear Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission:

Recently Vectren Energy Delivery announced its intention to request a fee increase charged to its residential customers. The fee increase is proposed to pay for a $32 million project at its power plant in Posey County, which is designed to increase efficiency in the the coal-fired generating plant.

Vectren already has the highest rates in the state of Indiana and their demand for a guaranteed 7.3% return is unrealistic in today’s economy. Families are struggling to make ends meet. Many people simply cannot afford yet another fee hike. Vectren’s rates are significantly higher than the second-place Indiana utility.

I also question the “fairness” of the proposed fee hike. “Why should the person living in an apartment or small house be asked to assume the same burden as someone living in a mansion? It is simply not fair. The person in the mansion benefits more from the use of less coal than the person in an apartment.

I feel that Vectren’s high rates are undermining Evansville’s competitiveness as a place to live and do business. Vectren’s rates have been escalating for the past decade to the level that they are significantly higher than our neighboring cities. It is time to put the brakes on this alarming trend because it is undercutting our ability to attract new business to Evansville.

Please let me know when the IURC will hold hearings for Vectren’s proposed fee increase. I also ask that you hold any such fee or rate increase hearing in the City of Evansville so our residents can testify without having to drive more than 3 hours to Indianapolis.

You may phone me at (812) 598-7123 or email me at pickrickdavis@mac.com if you have any information concerning the proposed Vectren fee hike. I also submitted this request via email.

Sincerely,

Rick Davis
2233 Bismark Ave.
Evansville, IN 47720

Drug Task Force Takes Makes 4 Arrests on Drugs and Weapons Charges in Jacobsville

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Drug Task Force 10202011

IS IT TRUE? October 20, 2011

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The Mole #??

IS IT TRUE? October 20, 2011

IS IT TRUE that we would first like to congratulate Evansville’s favorite major league baseball team, the St. Louis Cardinals on winning a very well played and well coached game in last night’s opening game of the World Series?…that we know that Evansville will be tuned in tonight and rooting for the Cardinals to extend their series lead to 2 – 0?

IS IT TRUE that the cheapest face value tickets at the World Series are standing room passes at $50 each?…that these are very difficult to come by?…that the resale price of these tickets starts at about $250 from dealers and scalpers?…that selling that stadium out in a recession is an impressive feat?…that winning teams have a way of doing such things and that we extend best wishes and good luck to the Evansville Aces and the Evansville Icemen to be championship contenders as the financial success of the Ford Center does not depend on the plushness of the seats or the convenience of the parking?…that the financial success of the Ford Center depends on the competitive level of our local teams?…that winning takes talent, focus, and that certain yet undefined quality called “edge”?

IS IT TRUE that there is a new book out that addresses the attraction of exceptional talent?…that the first conclusion is that if one, or one’s HR department can’t recognize exceptional talent that is sitting in the next office how can such talent ever be attracted?…that in this book exceptional talent is defined as someone who is more than 5 times more productive in a given field than the average worker?…that Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein were both diagnosed as dumb in early elementary school?…the J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter author) was turned down by a score of publishers before signing for $2,500?…that Sylvester Stallone’s manuscript for “Rocky” was dismissed by Hollywood?…that it seems as though extreme talent is something that corporate America, our educational system, and even creative industry executives are simply blind to?

IS IT TRUE that the US Special Forces absolutely depend on finding such people and have identified the intangibles of resilience, tenacity, and mental agility as more important than brawn?…that the most important indicator that the Special Forces people look for is a willingness and ability to improvise solutions when faced with a seemingly impossible task?…that those who “doggedly follow procedures” need not apply?…that the few places that seem to “get it” have a hard time keeping up the pace?…that in the 60’s at the University of Utah a computer scientist named David Evans had an uncanny ability to identify such people and to put them on research teams?…that among those recruited were high school troublemakers, itinerant musicians, and the educated unemployed?…that from this group other than some great research came co-founders of Adobe Systems, Pixar, and Netscape?…that two specific things that headhunters looking for game changers search or are stand-up comic ability (folks that can tell jokes) and college debaters?…that direct experience was determined to have very little influence on being an exceptional talent?…that the ending conclusion on corporate America is that they are good at finding people who are competent at defined tasks but exceptional at nothing?…that the other thing that people of exceptional talent always do is to live and work in a way that is DISRUPTIVE TO THE STATUS QUO?…that governments are even less capable of recognizing such people with the sole exception of special forces?

IS IT TRUE that the 2010 census has just released the fact that the Washington DC area has passed San Jose, CA as having the highest median income in America?…that this passing of the torch is very symbolic that we now reward those who consume taxes more than those who create the products and make the investments that enable the taxes to be paid and people to be employed?…that the average federal government employee including benefits is now reported to earn $107,843 per year?…that the average job in Evansville, Indiana is roughly one-third of that?…that it really makes you wonder just what in the $%&@ we are doing?

USI set to host GLVC Championships Saturday

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The University of Southern Indiana has the opportunity to claim a Great Lakes Valley Conference title on its own campus for the first time since 2004-USI won the GLVC Volleyball Tournament at the Physical Activities Center-when the Screaming Eagles host the GLVC Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships Saturday at the USI Cross Country Course.

USI’s men, ranked sixth in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association Top 25 poll, are searching for their seventh straight GLVC title and their league-best 19th in the program’s 33-year history.

The Eagles, whose 18 league titles are the most of any sport in GLVC history, are 6-0 against NCAA Division II teams this season and 2-0against conference opponents.

Junior Michael Jordan (Indianapolis, Indiana) has stepped into the number one runner spot for theEagles throughout the season. Jordan has twice been named the GLVC Runner of the Week and is among the favorites to capture this season’s individual title.

In addition to USI, No. 17 Bellarmine University is the only other nationally-ranked team in Saturday’s 13-team men’s field. The Knights were third at last year’s GLVC Championships.

USI’s women, ranked 19th in the latest USTFCCCA Top 25 poll, are looking to capture the conference title for the first timesince 2009 and their third in the last four years. The Eagles have won fiveconference titles in the program’s history, all of which have come in the last 13 seasons.

Senior All-American Jackie Henderson (Schererville, Indiana), a two-time GLVC Runner of the Week, is among the favorites to capture the women’s individual title this season. Henderson was second at the GLVC Championships last season as the Eagles lost the team title to Bellarmine by just two points.

Henderson led the Eagles to a first-place finish last weekend at the Fast Cats Classic by finishing first in the 107-competitor field.

In addition to USI, No. 17 Bellarmine is the only other nationally-ranked team in Saturday’s 13-team women’s field. The Knights edged the Eagles at the Greater Louisville Classic in their only other meeting this season.

The women’s 6k race is slated for 10:30 a.m., while the men’s 8k race is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Below are a list of frequently asked questions for Saturday’s meet.

Frequently Asked Questions
Admission prices: Admission is free of charge.

Location: The USI Cross Country Course is located at the Broadway Recreation Complex on the south end of USI’s campus.

General Spectator Parking: General spectator parking is located near the USI Baseball Field and Strassweg Field, both of which are located at the south end of Bennett Lane. To get to Bennett Lane, take University Boulevard and turn left onto Bennett Lane, which runs in front of the Physical Activities Center. (See Campus Map)

Team/Media/Handicap Parking: Team, media, handicap, and meet administrator parking is available at the Broadway Recreation Complex. To access the Broadway Recreation Complex, go south on Schutte Road. At the stop sign, take a right and the complex will be on the right-hand side. (GPS Address: 7560 Broadway Avenue, Evansville, IN 47712)

To get to the course from parking lot: Follow the USI-Burdette Bike/Walking trail south to the USI Cross Country Course.

Zoeller, top experts discuss ways to protect military while they protect us

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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – As Indiana prepares to deploy more than 3,000 National Guard troops in the coming months, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller gathered local, state and national leaders to discuss ways to protect servicemembers from financial scams.
Zoeller hosted the second Annual Civil Justice Summit, “Consumer Protections for Military Personnel and Their Families,” on Wednesday at Indiana University School of Law in Indianapolis.

“Members of our armed forces and their families have different financial needs and can fall victim to fraudulent businesses looking to take advantage of servicemembers’ steady paychecks,” Zoeller said. “Our goal is to help provide financial education to those families and also crackdown on scams that prey on our vulnerable servicemen and women. It’s important we use the resources available to protect those that we ask so much of.”

Summit participants received an overview of the consumer protections in place to protect military personnel from financial scams and addressed ways to strengthen the legal assistance programs available to them.

Holly Petraeus, director of the Office of Servicemember Affairs for the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, was among the featured speakers. A longtime advocate for the military, Petraeus promotes financial education for those who serve and their families.
“I am pleased to be here with Attorney General Zoeller to speak about consumer protection for military families,” Petraeus said. “Servicemembers have volunteered to serve our country and often face unique financial challenges while doing so. The Office of Servicemember Affairs is dedicated to seeing that military families’ financial concerns are heard at the consumer agency and we are happy to work with state officials on military issues.”

Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, who also serves as a captain in the Delaware National Guard, joined the summit to address the various consumer protections provided under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) and state law.
“We have a duty to protect those who protect us,” Biden said. “The men and women who serve our country should not have to worry about losing their home while they are overseas on military duty.”

The federal act mandates that military personnel on active duty in wartime are entitled to mortgage relief, including a lower interest rate on their mortgages and foreclosure protection. Biden also discussed ways to strengthen the SCRA and expand the protections it gives to servicemembers and their families.

Zoeller has been working with the Indiana National Guard and Adjutant General R. Martin Umbarger, who also joined the summit, to protect Hoosier servicemembers from identity theft while they are deployed. Zoeller recently launched a website, www.indianaconsumer.com/military, giving military families easy access to resources.

EVSC Kids Provide Meal for Salvation Army

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What: Harrison High School’s Center for Family and Community Outreach
Partners with Salvation Army to Provide Meal and Bring Awareness to Salvation Army
(innovative use of regular English class uses Project Based Learning to teach
students practical applications of their knowledge, and help others in the process)

When: Friday, Oct. 21
11:30 a.m. (meal served)
(Other photo/video ops at different times listed below)

Where: Salvation Army
1040 N. Fulton Avenue

Background:
A student team comprised of three girls in Erinn Jankowski’s English 12 class at Harrison High School will be deep in chicken pot pie and cookies this Friday, as they see their dream project come to fruition.

The team is part of the Center for Family & Community Outreach that Jankowski started to help students truly engage with the subject of English and realize the practical applications of their learned knowledge, and then put it into action helping non-profit organizations in this community. This is a regular English class, taught in such a way as to incorporate all of the objectives of the English core curriculum, but in a very practical Project Based Learning environment. Last Friday, the student groups met with 11 non-profit organizations they have partnered with and did official presentations of what they would like to do for the organizations they had selected, after having performed site visits and interviews.

Now, the presentations are becoming reality. The students in this team said they went to the Salvation Army and were surprised at the many needs that they could help with. While there they cleaned, folded clothes, worked in the kitchen, and bussed tables – realizing that there are many ways to make a difference – but the biggest is to “give of their time.” Their desire with this project is to bring awareness to the Salvation Army, what it does, and what its needs are. Sandra Appler, director of development, after seeing the presentation to her organization last week said, “it was amazing how much they have done in nine weeks. One student said she learned ‘it’s not about cans (all the can drives that are done for their soup kitchen) it’s about people and giving of ourselves!’”

One of the students in the group has a desire to one day be a pastry chef, and she also attends culinary arts classes at the Southern Indiana Career & Technical Center. So, they decided to also partner with the students there to cook the food for the Salvation Army. All food was donated by the Fresh Market. For additional information go to: mrsjankowski.weebly.com

Timetable:
7:40 a.m.: Culinary Arts class begins preparation of the meal (1901 Lynch Road, Southern Indiana Career & Technical Center – contact there: Chef Ed Ellis)
10:15 a.m.: Culinary Arts delivers meal to Salvation Army location, 1040 N. Fulton Ave.
10:30 a.m.: Workers served lunch
11:30 a.m.: Lunch served to individuals and families coming to the kitchen

Downtown Today: 10/20/2011

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Time 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Subject IBTR
Location 318
Reminder 15 minutes
Tiffany Collins @ 5269
Categories ROOM 318

Time 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM
Subject BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS
Location 301
Recurrence Occurs every Thursday effective 10/6/2011 until 10/27/2011 from 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM
Reminder 15 minutes
Sharon Evans @ 4982
Categories ROOM 301

Time 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Subject BOARD OF ZONING
Location 301
Recurrence Occurs the third Thursday of every 1 month effective 10/20/2011 until 10/20/2011 from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Reminder 15 minutes
KATHIE @ 5228
Categories ROOM 301

Vectren Petition & Rates Subject of Press Conference

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State Representative Gail Riecken, City Councilman John Friend, and County Commissioner Stephen Melcher held a press conference in the Civic Center today to announce that the Indiana Utilities Regulatory Commission will be holding a hearing with respect to a rate request made by Vectren to install dense pack technology in two turbines at their A.B. Brown Generating Facility.

Also attending the meeting and available for questions was Mr. Don Mottley, a disabled American Veteran who has been collecting signatures on a petition initiated by Councilman Friend to bring meetings of the IURC to Evansville and to hold Vectren rates flat until other utilities “catch up” to Vectrens when EPA compliance upgrades are installed. Vectren officials have consistently stated that other areas will equalize with Vectren that was a voluntary early adopter of EPA requirements.

Mr. Mottley stated today that over 90% of the people that he has asked to sign the petition have done so and that the only people refusing to sign have been Vectren employees or Vectren contractors who fear losing their work if their signatures are discovered on this petition. He also raised the issue of how campaign contributions from utility companies are made to the Governor who then appoints members of the IURC who seem to favor utility positions. Mr. Mottley agrees with Commissioner Melcher that these positions should be elected.

Councilman Friend responded to questions from the audience that SW Indiana ratepayers pay more than 60% higher rates than the average across Indiana and that across the money saving bridge in Henderson residents only pay about 38 cents on the dollar what Evansville families do for electricity. He expanded that Vectren’s rates keep property values down and that in the commercial area for every dollar of utility payments that local government loses 30 cents in taxes due to lowered valuations.

Representative Riecken said that she hoped that over 500 people will attend the hearing on November 28th at 6 pm in the Locust Room at the Centre.

Very Confused Chicken in the Voting Both: Red? or Blue? Which will it be?

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