IS IT TRUE that Evansville’s former Whirlpool plant has landed a new tenant called GBT-USA that is a Netherlands owned start-up company in the USA that will be providing turbine blades for the wind power industry?…that the commitment at this time is to invest $3.5 Million to create 40 positions in what will essentially be a pilot manufacturing plant?…that if all goes well there is a possibility that an additional 400 jobs may be placed in Southern Indiana with a manufacturing based investment of $40 Million?…that it is quite impressive that this foreign owned company can create jobs for only $85,000 per job?…that in a country where the Obama stimulus plan has been called out for spending $278,000 to create each job that it claims to have created, GBT-USA is a bargain and a great opportunity for Evansville?…that the City County Observer congratulates the economic development team that worked to put together the $3.0 Million incentive package from the State of Indiana and the $647,500 of incentives from the City of Evansville to sweeten the pot?…that as we predicted earlier “The Future my friend is Spinning in the Wind”?

IS IT TRUE that one of the most interesting discussions at the Evansville City Council meeting last night revolved around the legal costs associated with the Arena Project?…that project manager John Kish in response to a question posed by City Councilman John Friend informed the entire council that he legal costs now total $1,663,453?…that when asked if this was typical and justified Mr. Kish responded with a resounding YES with a tone and demeanor that sent the message of “how could you even ask”?…that Mr. Kish supported that assertion by stating that the legal teams had produced 1,200 pages of work?…that a quick calculation results in a price of $1,386 per page?…that each IS IT TRUE that we write is about a 30 minute exercise and is about one page?…that by that metric each IS IT TRUE should result in a payment to the author of $2,772.42?…that one can only wish to be paid that much money per hour and to have someone think that it is a colossal bargain?…that if we are paying attorneys by the page or even paying for articles by the page that a rate of between $100 and $150 per page is much more typical of the going rate per page for authors and lawyers?

IS IT TRUE that the roster of law firms that were paid for doing work on the Ford Center project sounded like that list of contributors to the Weinzapfel for Mayor campaign?…that according to Mr. Kish that the lion’s share of the money went to the Indianapolis firms Bingham McHale ($1.4 Million) and Barnes and Thornburg ($115,000)?…that several well known Evansville firms were named as providers of legal services that were all under $25,000 each?…that we really wonder if there was any way that all of the legal fees could have been earned by Evansville firms?…that we wonder if this kind of bond expertise exists here?

IS IT TRUE that Mr. Kish also asserted that the target of 21% of contracts being awarded to Women and Minority businesses has been met and that a bonus has been earned was both applauded and met with skepticism?…that Councilman Dan Adams asked for a list of the businesses that are WBE’s and MBE’s and for a location of each business?…that Mr. Kish committed to supply this list to the City Council?…that we are absolutely riveted at the prospect of learning that WBE’s and MBE’s were successful bidders on $26.8 Million worth of the contracts let to build the Ford Center?

IS IT TRUE that Mr. Kish went through an example with respect to architects involved with the design of the Ford Center?…that Populous was the prime architectural contractor but that some local input was also hired?…that hiring local firms was alleged to have increased the cost?…that Kish sounded very concerned about stringing out payments so that all of the subcontractors are paid in a timely manner?…that we wish that Mr. Kish and the people that pull his strings were just as concerned for securing payment for Evansville based Klenck Construction?…that while he spoke of Bingham McHale (Indianapolis Law Firm) being paid about $500,000 to develop the RFP for the hotel as a sound investment a local business is now in a compromised position to receive payment for real work?…that this is profoundly disappointing?

IS IT TRUE? September 13, 2011

IS IT TRUE that it has been widely reported that the economic development announcement that is bringing Governor Daniels out of Indianapolis has raised the hopes of laid-off people who build things all around Evansville?…that the farewell concert at Roberts Stadium attended by Mole #6 gave us all a hint as to just what this project may involve?…that Mole #6 would like everyone to get up and listen to Bob Dylan’s “Blowing in the Wind” and to hold that thought until the announcement is made one hour from now?

IS IT TRUE that the Evansville City Council was treated to another 10 minute speech on the much needed legislation regarding the details of just how one gets grandfathered in to “coop” athletic racing pigeons in the city limits?…that this time it was not a gang of pigeon heads that dominated a large portion of time in the Council meeting?… that this time it was two City of Evansville employees who smiled and rambled ad nauseum about where, how far, how often to clean the cage, and other details that are meaningless to all but a handful of people who live here?…that some things do not merit a pair of speeches before the City Council and that these racing pigeons are a perfect example of something that should be delegated to a committee?…that when the human cooing started the old movie line “they’re back” came to mind?

IS IT TRUE that the highlight of the meeting was as he always is another inquisition of Ford Center project manager John Kish by City Councilman and Chairman of the Finance Committee John Friend?…that some people have gotten so used to the “Battle of the Alpha Johns” that they are recording the interlude for later viewing?…that the biggest surprise of the inquisition last night was not a pleasant surprise at all?…that the biggest surprise came when Mr. Kish revealed that the demolition work done on the Executive Inn parking tower is contractually the obligation of Woodruff Hospitality LLC whose contract with the ERC to build a hotel was rescinded for non-performance?…that situation brought out questions regarding Klenck Construction, a locally owned business was going to be paid?…that Mr. Kish was adamant that the invoice for the work done by Klenck that was authorized by Woodruff Hospitality LLC would remain the responsibility of the shareholders of Woodruff Hospitality LLC even though the work was done on land now owned by the City of Evansville?

IS IT TRUE that Mr. Kish intimated that this may become a legal issue that needs to be negotiated by those two parties?…that Mr. Kish went on to state that Klenck Construction cannot legally place a mechanics lien on the property because it is owned by a municipality and that the legal precedent for his position is a 30 year old case involving one Mr. Bob Green and the very parking garage that was just torn down?…that all of this may indeed be the truth and that it may indeed be legal but in a situation where the City of Evansville clearly benefitted from the word that was done on its property under an agreement between the City of Evansville and the contractor Woodruff Hospitality LLC, it seems usury and disingenuous for the City of Evansville and the Evansville Redevelopment Commission to take advantage of what was a good faith arrangement that went bad?…that the little smirk on Mr. Kish’s face when telling this story was not appreciated by some of the viewers of the meeting of the Evansville City Council?

IS IT TRUE that we shall address more on the “Battle of the Alpha Johns” in IIT Part 2?…that we never want to see a competent local provider get caught in the middle of politics and hosed for payment on a big public project like the Ford Center?…that many friends, family, and sympathizers with locally owned businesses may just remember this SNEGAL hosing and hold it against the Ford Center?…that we hear that the amount is substantially less than 1% of the cost to build the Ford Center and even less than the legal bills paid to Indianapolis firms that all contributed to the Weinzapfel for Mayor Campaign?

IS IT TRUE? September 12, 2011 Special Evening Edition

IS IT TRUE that the new and beautiful entrance to the Evansville Zoo has a made by the government albatross hanging around its neck in the beauty department?…that Republican candidate for Mayor of Evansville recently cited the Evansville Zoo as his preferred attraction to bring tourists to Evansville?…that just around the corner from the Zoo that the first thing you see is grass that is 5 feet tall, a highway size barricade, and rusty heavy equipment?…that with all of the improvements that have been made at the Zoo recently that one would think that the next step would be taken to get rid of ugliness and eyesores that give a bad impression of the entrance?…that given the state of our parks under this administration that we are not the least bit surprised?

IS IT TRUE that we are hearing that VenuWorks says that the online resellers do not have the tickets that they are openly offering to sell online?…that we suspect that VenuWorks is technically truthful and that the paper tickets will be distributed after the general sales begin?…that people who have commitments to get tickets have most likely listed these tickets and will sell them at a profit?…that it has been said that “artists use lies to tell the truth, but politicians use the truth to tell lies”?

IS IT TRUE that Google has just completed a $273 Million data center that could have been just about anywhere in the world in a remote village in Finland?…that the two driving forces in the decision to choose Finland were the cold climate and the low cost of electricity?…that the only reason that the cold climate is viewed favorably is because the coldness minimizes the need to run the air conditioning to cool down the servers that are big consumers of electricity?…that the cost for electricity in Finland is 6.95 cents per kWh or roughly half of what it is right here in Evansville, IN?…that Henderson is still cheaper than Finland but as we have all been told when they implement EPA regulations their price could increase dramatically?…that it is widely rumored that Facebook is planning to install a similar facility in Finland to the tune of over $500 Million?

IS IT TRUE that data centers like these are the basic units required to compete in the growing field of Cloud Computing?…that for Evansville and the United States of America to be on a collision course with being uncompetitive in this new and leading edge technology is a very poor situation?…that to the extent that the drivers of being uncompetitive in a growing vital technology is sourced within government that this is poor public policy?…that as much as the ability to make weapons, vital products, and food is in our national interests, it is also in our national interest to be able to store and process our own data and the programs that process it?…that we wonder what good the internet is if we cannot afford to access it because of government policies?…that this whole mess reminds us of the Dr. Suess poem about the Hotch Hotchers and the Bee?…that in the entire community the only work was done by the Bee and that many layers of bureaucracy were employed to watch the Bee work?…that the house of cards fell and real life examples of such lunacy seem to be falling apart too?

IS IT TRUE that Evansville has been treated to another meth related fire followed by multiple arrests yesterday?…that 1672 South Kerth Avenue went boom last night due to a reaction gone bad?…that we are certain that the pseudoephedrine that was used in the reaction was acquired legally at some local drug store with over the counter availability?…that we wonder if the gun that was found at the scene was also gotten by legal means?