IS IT TRUE? October 1, 2011

IS IT TRUE that there is a lovely quote in today’s Wall Street Journal that is attributed to a French woman named Brigitte Hautier?…that it is the kind of quote that we hope people attribute to the City County Observer’s demeanor as a publication?…that Mme. Hautier is a personal writer for people who need letters, resume’s, and other small writing tasks done who refuses to work for the government in such a job in order to have the freedom that comes with freelancing?…that her quote is as follows:

“There are people who want only free stuff, and others would rather pay and be free”

IS IT TRUE that it is truly a sad day in America, France, or even the former USSR when any government or business accumulates sufficient power over the lives of people to oppress the free flow of information?…that some people are humbled by an oppressive leviathan and others never will be?…that those in the “never will be” category founded the United States of America?…that the people that founded this country would roll over in their graves to see the power held by governments and big companies over free enterprise and the free flow of information today?

IS IT TRUE that the staff of the Governor of Kentucky was advised yesterday that due to poor and deteriorating economic conditions in the national economy that Kentucky is in for a tough economic time in the foreseeable future?…that even Governor Steve Beshear from nearby Dawson Springs was not immune from bad news?…that he is being called out for making claims to have created jobs that were announced that just never materialized?…that the whole country must be accustomed to politicians and their minions telling whoppers about job creation?…that we wonder what the statute of limitations is on an announcement about a magnificent number of jobs that never happened?…that if someone announces 500+ jobs that will be created and ten years later the number is 10 if they are liars or just suffered from delusion when the announcement was made?…that we do applaud the State of Kentucky for publishing their realistic outlook?

IS IT TRUE that there are now solar powered oil wells toiling away in parts of the earth where there is limited or no access to the electrical grid?…that we can soon expect a windmill power gas pump, or even a tidal powered drill rig?…that maybe our path to energy independence will be hastened by using alternative green energy to find or access traditional fossil fuels?…that this may be the most cost efficient use of alternative energy on earth today?

IS IT TRUE that it has now been 1,615 days since the announcement was made on May 14, 2007 that the McCurdy Hotel was to be refurbished into luxury apartments?…that it has now been 1,468 days since the Evansville Redevelopment Commission at the request of Mayor Weinzapfel approved the spending of $603,000 to purchase the parking lot?…that City Centre Properties and Scott Kosene the developers of the McCurdy project are both listed as contributors to the Weinzapfel for Mayor committee for 2010?

IS IT TRUE that in a short 39 days we will all know whether it will be Lloyd Winnecke or Rick Davis who will become the Mayor that will assume responsibility for executing the decisions that are playing out right now?…that that there are 92 days remaining in the Weinzapfel Administration?

IS IT TRUE that there are now 394 days remaining in the two years that the EPA had given the City of Evansville to present an acceptable solution to the Combined Sewer Overflow problem?…..that this plan is an expensive and complex endeavor that needs immediate attention to avoid the embarrassment and expense of another round of fines?

IS IT TRUE? September 30, 2011 Special Evening Edition

IS IT TRUE that we understand that Vectren has held meetings with both candidates for Mayor of Evansville this week to discuss the excessive difference in rates that are paid for electricity in greater Evansville as compared to every neighbor that we have on both sides of the river?…that the recently misunderstood request for an increase of $1.08 per household to make coal burning more efficient was also discussed?…that we also understand that Vectren brought in the heavy hitters to sell their position including former Vanderburgh County Sheriff and House of Representatives member Brad Ellsworth?…that it is our expectation that after speaking with both candidates for Mayor that Vectren will find some way to convince both candidates that things are just fine in River City and that Vectren shall not be an issue of any kind in the upcoming elections?…that we will patiently wait for the October 21st campaign contribution disclosures?

IS IT TRUE that we have not heard many reports regarding the shape of the parks in Evansville in the last couple of months?…that we wonder if all is well in our parks or if people are just worn out with trying to do something?…that a small area of the south side has erupted with what is being attributed to a gang skirmish this week?…that there have been 3 instances of shootings in a period of 48 hours?…that with a very few exceptions that the neighborhood seems very reluctant to talk about who the shooters have been?…that some of these neighbors legitimately do not know but that others are afraid to talk about it?…that a very wise woman posted a quoted from the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. on Facebook today that goes like this?

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter”

IS IT TRUE neighborhoods that fall into a pattern of violence do so very quickly?…that without the assistance of the neighbors in cleaning up crime that the police whose job it is to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of random violence have their hands tied?…that the mantra of nearly every police department in America is “to protect and serve”?…that we beg and encourage the good people of the south side neighborhoods who are victims of this senseless behavior to rise up and conquer their fears and to work with the authorities to make their neighborhoods to be the type of neighborhoods that all of the residents of Evansville will feel safe in and proud of?

IS IT TRUE that today’s Wall Street Journal reports that the fracking technique that is being used in oil and gas extraction may very well double America’s oil production in our lifetime?…through accessing federal lands and using advanced extraction methods like fracking there are some experts who are projecting that the United States may become self sufficient with respect to energy without supplementing our grid with what are now traditional alternatives like wind and solar?…that if people who SHOULD HAVE BEEN in the know 3 years ago would have actually been IN THE KNOW that misguided federal investments in things like Solyndra would never have even been considered?

IS IT TRUE? September 30, 2011 Part 2

IS IT TRUE that people seem to be confusing the position of the City County Observer with respect to Mayoral press releases posted on the City of Evansville’s website?…that we never claimed that the Mayor or anyone else removed any press release?…that we clearly have stated that all of the press releases from the Office of the Mayor and in particular two press releases about the Homestead Tax Credit ARE NOT ON THE CITY OF EVANSVILLE WEBSITE?…that our desire is for the City of Evansville to maintain an up to date and easy to use website that contains current and archival access to ALL press releases?…that we trust and expect that all press releases issued by the Mayor of Evansville or any other City of Evansville department are crafted and released for the purpose of informing the people of Evansville with information deemed worthy by our leaders to be released for wide distribution through the media?

IS IT TRUE that posting ALL press releases, notices of public meetings, agendas for meetings, and other important public domain documents is pretty much a basic requirement to be considered a modern city?…that the City of Evansville by either sloppiness or selective posting is not fulfilling this requirement?…that if this was entirely a result of sloppiness and inattention to detail that this needs to be corrected and retroactively implemented back to when the posting started?…that running a sloppy operation within local government makes us look like Mayberry RFD to potential businesses?…that if this was sloppiness then fix it and move on?

IS IT TRUE that if the missing press releases are missing from the City of Evansville website as a result of selective posting then we are dealing with a different situation altogether?…intentionally filtering public press releases for a public website that has the look and feel of a comprehensive archive is not acceptable for the Office of the Mayor of Evansville?…that intentionally keeping a press release off has the exact same effect for a public archive as posting it and then removing it later?…that this is absolute censorship and should not ever be tolerated or condoned?…that looking the other way or doing business by the nod and wink with respect to public information is the domain of the propaganda machines of Banana Republics and Totalitarian states?…that we could give examples of the names of people who have done such things but we choose not to?

IS IT TRUE that the obligation and the responsibility to inform the public is one of the most important functions of government?…that we expect that all elected leaders will take this seriously and will be cognizant of what is released to the press?…that sometimes a little fluff is okay but that important issues NEED to be addressed in the public forum by our elected officials?…that all that we want to see from Mayor Weinzapfel or any future Mayor of Evansville is a full and accurate public archive of all press releases whether the news reflects well or not so well on the person who releases it?…that to do less reflects well on all of us?…that this latest episode from one perspective looks like filtering, suppression, and censorship?…that from another perspective it just looks like sloppiness?…the either way this needs to stop and that in order to demonstrate a commitment to openness and transparency that Mayor Weinzapfel assure that all of his press releases are online and in the archive in chronological order before he leaves office?…that if he does not do this that his successor should?…that we as citizens of Evansville have looked sloppy and/or like a Banana Republic long enough?

IS IT TRUE that some of the so called “big banks” are planning to once again inventing ways to keep their status as the “LAND OF THE FEE” intact?…that the banking industry is now starting to target debit card users as a source of FEES?…that the giant yet beleaguered Bank of America is reportedly hatching a scheme to start charging its millions of retail customers a $5 monthly FEE to use their debit cards?…that justification they and other banks are using for this coming practice is the loss of their appropriately named “SWIPE FEES” that the government restricted recently?…that when most of us were young the word SWIPE had a very different meaning and thus we deem “SWIPE FEES” to be a completely appropriate term?…that the usual line up of big banks such as J.P Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo are test marketing the new FEE?…that the only local player on the list is Birmingham based Regions Bank which will be starting to charge a $4 per month FEE tomorrow for “select” accounts?…that someday soon this new scheme will find its way to Evansville with a little jingle based on the song “LET FEEDOM RING”?

IS IT TRUE that as the FEES pile up and the cost of being a part of mainstream America increases that more and more people will be joining the unseen and uncounted part of our country that is sometimes known as the “underground economy”?…that such people and they are LEGION work for cash, draw public benefits, do no business with banks, barter for goods and services, and head to the emergency room for free health care when they are sick?…that the arguments in congress regarding companies and piles of cash leaving the United States because for the first time in our history other countries are being seen as better places to pursue dreams?…that all of this NIBBLING with nuisance FEES by both the private sector and government is driving the American economy into a situation where the “UNDERGROUND ECONOMY” is a viable alternative for mainstream American citizens?…that if this bull is not ended that many banks, government agencies, and other legitimate entities will be faced with the same kinds of decisions that the US Post Office is facing now for their failures to respond to email, online transactions, and the changing state of a competitive employment situation?

IS IT TRUE that the so called and proposed “SECOND STIMULUS” mandates that all materials used in these projects must have 100% American made materials with one exception?…that the exception is if the materials cause the cost to be over 25% higher?…that it is perfectly acceptable under this proposal to spend $124.99 Million on a $100 Million project but the government will draw the line at $125 Million?…that this is completely counter to the goals of fixing as much infrastructure as possible with the money?…that somewhere in America in a couple of year that a bridge will collapse because our government ran out of money from spending 24.9% more than was needed on other projects?…that when we buy and sell from other people that they do the same with us?…that we encourage the voluntary actions of citizens to buy American in the FREE MARKETS but realize that government mandated programs to do that only increase prices right to the edge of the law and cap our ability to do repairs?

IS IT TRUE that even local governments such as the City of Evansville sometimes do things that make us look like Bellflower, CA where city council members were being paid like Hedge Fund Interns?…that City Councilman Dan McGinn testified on Monday night that the City of Evansville is paying $95 per hour for PARALEGAL SERVICES?…that this works out to $197,600 per year at full usage?…that is double the salary of the Mayor of Evansville?…that no two department heads combined are being paid this much?…that even Mr. Tom Barnett whose salary caused quite a ruckus this year is grossly underpaid when compared to a contract PARALEGAL?…that City Council Finance Chairman JOHN FRIEND needs to get to the bottom of this and conduct another one of his FRIENDQUISITIONS so that this expense can be brought into line with even what PARALEGALS make in New York City or Chicago?…that the median salary for a PARALEGAL in Evansville, is below $50,000?…that this position should be a city employee and not a permanent consultant?