House Republicans fast track Vote Center bill

House Speaker Brian Bosma (R-Indianapolis) recently indicated that House Republicans would be “fast tracking” Senate Bill 32, a bill that authorizes the use of Vote Centers statewide. Vote Centers, a concept piloted in Tippecanoe, Cass, and Wayne Counties, may be one means to increase ballot access for Hoosier voters, and decrease the cost of future elections.

The reason for the fast tracking is due to the cost savings and convenience to the voters as seen in the three pilot counties. The bill has sped through the legislative process to allow sufficient time for county to implement Vote Centers prior to the May municipal elections. Previous legislation from 2006 put into operation pilot vote centers in these counties, allowing voters to cast their ballots at a centrally located Vote Center of their choosing, in contrast to the traditional precinct voting process where residents are assigned to a specific polling location on election day only- by precincts. By law, precincts have no more than 1,200 registered voters to keep Election Day crowds manageable.

Tens of thousands of volunteers are recruited annually to run statewide elections, with most receiving a modest stipend for their Election Day efforts, and rental costs for polling places being incurred. While the costs of an individual polling site are modest, when multiplied by the large number of precincts statewide, election costs add up. It’s a small price to pay for democracy, but if SB 32 can bring about more efficiency with our dollars and increase voter participation at the same time, it will be a win-win result.
Vote centers, as proposed in SB 32, incentivize an increase in attendance at the polls by making the process more convenient for voters. With vote centers located across each county, county residents would be able to cast their vote in any of the open vote centers and not be limited to a certain precinct site.

“Voting Centers aim to expand Hoosier participation in our elections. They provide flexibility to the voter by expanding accessibility across the county, a convenience the previous precinct system was unable to provide,” said House Sponsor of SB 32, Rep. Randy Truitt (R-West Lafayette). “The democratic process should not be burdensome but easily accessible by any Hoosier who wants to cast their vote.”

But, vote centers benefit more than just the voter – they also benefit the taxpayer. With the creation of vote centers, the traditional precinct voting location is phased out, saving the county – and taxpayers – hard cash. Vote centers would have all of the ballots for the entire county at each voting location, and participants could pick a location and time that is right for them.

According to a recent estimate from the Tippecanoe County Clerk-elect, this arrangement has resulted in $50,000 in savings in labor alone for each election during Tippecanoe County’s pilot experience.

The City County Observer recently discovered and published the fact that Louisville’s new downtown arena called Yum Center missed the boat on being able to get good cellular service inside when 22,000 screaming fans are wanting to text each other and their unfortunate friends stuck at home in front of the television. Louisville has acted quickly to put a $2M solution in place by retrofitting 400 antennas into the Yum Center to hopefully provide coverage for three different carriers.

It seems as though the City of Louisville’s arena design group is not the only stadium or arena in the country to be dealing with the problem of signal saturation and bandwidth depletion at sporting events. In preparation for the upcoming Super Bowl the new $1.2 Billion Texas Stadium is having to do the same thing. The home of the Dallas Cowboys is doing a $3.5 Million upgrade that will involve adding 1,000 antennas and adaptively controlled bandwidth optimization equipment to as charismatic Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says “assure” that 150,000 fans can text at will. Here is a video from the Dallas Fox affiliate to describe the project.

http://www.i4u.com/44504/super-bowl-stadium-got-1000-antennas-support-150000-phone-users

It seems as though nearly every arena and stadium from Houston to Columbus to Ann Arbor has become the butt of jokes in recent years for failing to have adequate infrastructure to support the demand for cellular service during events. Locally, the Westside Nut Club’s Fall Festival is notorious for wreaking havoc on cellular reception. One Ohio State fan quipped that “cell phones and Wolverines always get killed in Columbus”.

As this is a widespread and widely publicized problem, the City County Observer is quite curious about just what the designers of the new state of the art Evansville Arena have done to assure that attendees at downtown events will be able to enjoy the events in a digital fashion that is worthy of a modern arena. Of course Evansville will not need 1,000 antennas but we will need a couple of hundred and some serious bandwidth available to satisfy the demands.

Once again, we ask and wonder, will we be able to use our new phones in the new arena or will we have to wait for a million dollar upgrade to be able to do so?

Boston Company Emulates Silicon Valley Attraction Policies

By: Dharmesh Shah

Over on the west coast, companies like Google and Facebook are duking it out for top tech talent. There’s all sorts of craziness going on including 10% across the board raises and big bonuses. Back here in Boston, there’s a similar battle for talent brewing. Except, here in Boston, we’re kind of polite and a tad overly sane (there’s not enough craziness). So, nobody really comes right out and says that there’s a battle for tech talent going on in Boston. So, I’m going to go ahead and say it.

We’re working on making HubSpot a magnet for technology talent in the Boston area, like Facebook is on the west coast. We’ve got tough software problems to solve, millions of users, lots of capital, cool office space, and some of the smartest developers around.

In order to officially kick off the Boston battle for talent, we’re doing a few somewhat crazy things (crazy for Boston, at least). Here’s what we’ve got lined up so far:

a) Refer A Developer, Make $10,000. If you know a brilliant developer, refer them to HubSpot. Not only will you be helping them join a great software company in Boston, you’ll get a $10,000 bonus for yourself. Think of the gadgets you could buy! Check out the “Refer A Developer” program.

b) Many Will Enter, Few Will Emerge — With A Free iPad. Any developer that gets called in for the final HubSpot interview (you don’t even have to survive it, or be offered a job), gets a free iPad, just for playing. Oh, and before you think we’re super-crazy, know that we are notriously selective. In fact, I’m not sure that if I weren’t the founder, I’d be able to make it that far. Seriously. Our dev team is super picky.

c) $4,000 shopping spree. Any developer that joins HubSpot gets to go on a $4,000 hardware/gadget shopping spree. They get to pick out stuff that they can somewhat rationalize will make them more productive and/or happy. Popular options include the new Macbook Air, a big second monitor and one of the cool new Android phones (which we hear, can actually make phone calls). [Note to self: Now that iPhone’s available on Verizon, probably need to stop making iPhone jokes].

So, the question is, is all this craziness diabolically clever or an act of desperation? That depends. The difference between crazy and genius is whether it works.

Of course, we’ve been doing other things to build the awesome team we already have. If the company sucked, no amount of recruitment shenanigans would work, so we first made sure not to suck.

Here are some reasons why we think you (or someone you know) should check us out.

Reasons You Or Someone You Know Should Interview (At) HubSpot

1. A compelling vision that helps millions of people: Great developers like building products with broad appeal and wide reach. They like to have impact and influence. We do that at HubSpot. Our marketing software has been built for small businesses. We’re rallying against old-school marketing like junk mail, spam and cold calls. The message is resonating really well. We reach millions of users every month, and have 4,000 customers. With this kind of scale comes great challenges. Like figuring out how to store and analyze terabytes of data (and heading towards petabytes alarmingly fast). Or, creating a user experience that your Uncle Leo could use (because someone’s Uncle Leo does).

2. Shiny, Happy People: Last year, we were voted one of the best companies to work for in the Boston area by the Boston Business Journal (our friends at Google were #2). We asked people why the heck they were so happy (besides the spiked slushies), and they said, somewhat recursively, “…I’m happy because I get to work with other smart, happy, passionate people.” We have the reverse Lake Wobegon effect. Several times a week, you will walk into a room and feel you brought the average IQ down. Seriously, you will.

3. A Real Salary: We’ve raised $33 million in venture capital from some of the best VCs on the planet. We have millions still left in the bank and revenues are growing like wildfire. So at HubSpot, you don’t have to be paid in hugs and options and work on the “deferred compensation plan” (which is basically, “we can’t really afford to pay you right now — but just as soon as we get those customers/investors/grandparents/governments to give us some cash, you’ll be first in line!”). You actually get a real salary, making your friends and family proud and/or envious. We’ve heard that money is useful for buying stuff. So, come help us spend some of those venture capital dollars towards a good cause.

Note: I’m not suggesting that it’s not a good idea to work for an early-stage startup — they’re totally cool. But if you do, it should either a) be your own and/or b) be one that you are totally passionate about.

4. Options/Equity: Yep, we have those too. Every developer at HubSpot gets a stake in our future. The difference between options at HubSpot and most other startups, is that the share price has just kept going up and up and up. And, we think our best years are still ahead of us. It’s a bit like joining Facebook in the early years, only not.

5. We don’t want to just build software, we want to build entrepreneurs: We want to build a big, successful company in the Boston area. Obviously, creating great software is a big part of that. But, we’re also passionate about seeding the next generation of entrepreneurs. If you have the entrepreneurial gene, we fully expect that you’ll meet and work with your future co-founders at HubSpot. We also have one of the best startup networks imaginable.

6. We’ll Raise Your Currency: HubSpot has an exceptionally strong reputation. We’re known for hiring kick-ass people and not suffering fools. So, if for some silly reason, you decide to leave us someday, the fact that you’ve been on the HubSpot team is going to wonders for your credibility (not that you needed help on that front).

7. Strict “No Jerks” Rule: We don’t hire jerks. Period. If your normal disposition is to be negative and cranky, and it can’t be explained by a temporary lack of caffeine, you won’t fit in at HubSpot. We’re intense at HubSpot, but it’s a good intense. The reason for the “no jerks” rule is simple — for those of us that are not jerks, working with jerks is a whole lot of suckiness. Life is short. Why work with jerks?

8. Cool Stuff Shopping Spree: We got tired of arguing about whether this MacBook Pro or that Thinkpad was better. Or whether big second monitors really did help productivity (they do). So, every developer that joins HubSpot gets $4,000 to go buy stuff. You decide what’s going to make you super-productive. [Oh, and if you just happen to want to buy that latest Android tablet because you’re thinking about doing a side project some day, I say go for it. ]

9. Office Space For Happy Humans: The nice thing about having lots of customers and fast growing revenues is that we can afford to invest in great working conditions. We work in a well lit, comfortable, fun, cool office space. Don’t take our word for it, check out some photos, or just come visit [we have HubSpot.tv every Friday at 4pm — and there’s free beer].

10. Hyper Transparency: One of the core components of HubSpot’s culture is hyper transparency. Every employee in the company has access to most of the company’s critical data — including financials. This includes customers, revenue, burn-rate, cash in the bank, valuation of last venture round, notes from “strategic” meetings, plans for future financing. Just about everything. Our default position is: “Unless you have really good reason to keep it secret, don’t make it a secret.” We trust ourselves to use all of this information wisely, and so our default mode is “open”.

11. The “Take What You Need” Vacation Policy: Over a year ago, the topic of a vacation policy came up in a management meeting. We didn’t have a policy, and someone suggested we should have one. Our CEO pushed back, with a “why”? Net result: We decided our policy would be to have no policy. Members of the team take as much vacation as they need. There’s no approval, no paperwork, no tracking, no accruing — nothing. Contrary to what some outsiders may have believed, the company did not die. It’s working great.

12. Friends In Cool Places: We believe in being an active member of the startup community inside and outside of Boston. As such, we’re well connected with a bunch of startup celebrities: Drew Houston (DropBox) — he’s on our advisory board. Jason Fried (37signals). Joel Spolsky (Stack Overflow), Mike McDerment (Freshbooks). Adam Smith (ex-Xobni). Alexis Ohanian (Y Combinator, Reddit) — also on our advisory board. Eric Ries (we’re major lean startup fans). Rand Fishkin (SEOmoz, and SEO Extraordinaire). Hiten Shah (KissMetrics). Dan Martell (Flowtown). If that isn’t enough name dropping for you, we’ve got more. So, what’s the point of all of this (other than showing off)? Well, we learn from all of these great entrepreneurs. We hang out with them for beers. They come do guest talks at HubSpot. It’s awesome.

13. Ping Pong: Yes, we have a table, that’s not a big deal. What we’re proud of is that our CEO, CTO, our VP Platform, VP Customer Happiness, VP Sales all play ping-pong. Heck, even our CFO can play ping pong and chances are he can kick your ass. [Feel free to challenge him, but don’t let him charge you for a beer — they’re free at HubSpot].

14. We’re Good Peeps: I know this one’s a tad subjective, but ask around. If you know anyone that knows HubSpot (and you should), ask them about the people. Chances are they’ll say good things.

OK, I could drone on and on, but I think, you get the point. We’re a fun place to work, growing crazy fast and all modesty aside the place you want to be if you’re awesome and can code. You’ll be the envy of your friends and family (“what, you got a job at HubSpot — that’s cool!”).

I’ll even make the initial process painless for you. Just go to this page and enter your email address and a URL of some page that shows me your awesomeness. I’ll personally check you out and see if it’s worth going to the next step. If you ask me nicely, I’ll even tell you what your odds are of making it to the final interview and getting the free iPad.

What do you think? Any other ideas for attracting great developers? Did you think this set of ideas was diabolically clever or a tad too desperate? Would love to read your comments.

Investments and Innovation Save Bloomington Manufacturing Jobs

According to Inside Indiana Business, General Electric’s Appliance manufacturing facility in Bloomington, Indiana has made investments and improved efficiencies to not only save the 550 jobs that were slated for elimination in 2008 but to add 200 more jobs during the next two years. Dirk Bowman, who was the plant manager when GE made the initial decision to shutter the place is now general manager for all of the plants for GE. Bowman expressed particular delight in seeing the Bloomington facility turn things around with innovation and upgrading the skills of the workforce to once again face the future with optimism for prosperity.

The full text of the article along with some video interviews is available on the following link:

http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/advanced-manufacturing.asp?ID=277&Detail=True

IS IT TRUE that the City County Observer has received lots of emails regarding further follow-up on the expenses of the Weinzapfel for Mayor Committee?…that we previously disclosed that a couple of candidates who were listed as recipients seem to have some disagreement with what they actually received?…that our reader and frequent commenter Outside_Observer posted the following?

“Actually–this is incredibly easy to verify. Just check those other Democrats’ own campaign filings to see if the Weinzapfel “contributions” show up. If they appear, then this story probably isn’t going anywhere. If there is a discrepancy, then Weinzapfel and his backers might have a serious problem. Hmmmmm……wonder why the Courier hasn’t picked up on this story?”

IS IT TRUE that we agree completely with the post from Outside_Observer and intend to go to the appropriate government office to verify whether or not the following candidates that the Weinzapfel for Mayor Committee listed on their expense disclosure reported a contribution of the same amount on their own disclosure documents?…that 18 local candidates received a total of $12,700 from the Weinzapfel for Mayor Committee according to the disclosure documents?… that the total is a paltry amount when compared to the total contributions made by that committee?

IS IT TRUE that the following list of contributions were listed in the expense section of the Weinzapfel for Mayor Committee’s disclosure document?…that we will make haste in either verifying these contributions or reporting on any discrepancies that we find?

Mike Goebel: $3,000 Indiana House of Representatives
Trent Van Haafton: $1,000 United States House of Representatives
Russ Stillwell: 1,000 Indiana House of Representatives
Gail Riecken: $1,000 Indiana House of Representatives
Bob Deig: $1,000 Indiana House of Representatives
Patty Avery $1,000 Indiana Senate
Stan Levco: $1,000 Vanderburgh County Prosecutor
Jonathan Weaver: $850 Vanderburgh County Assessor
Troy Tornatta: $500 Vanderburgh County Commissioner
Stephanie Terry: $500 Vanderburgh County Council
Mara Robinson: $250 Vanderburgh County Auditor
Steve Smith: $500 Indiana House of Representatives
Hayden Barth: $100 Vanderburgh County Council
Rick Riney: $100 Township Trustee
Bob Mangold: $100 Township Trustee
Tim Taylor: $100 Vanderburgh County Council
Kathryn Martin: $100 Township Trustee
Mary Hart: $100 Township Trustee

IS IT TRUE that the University of Evansville Purple Aces delivered another pleasant Sunday surprise win?…that yesterday’s win over the Bradley Braves keeps the Aces above the 500 mark with a 10 – 9 record?…that a winning 2010 – 2011 season is a definite possibility?

IS IT TRUE that balloons, bands, and billboards were the feature distractions at Vanderburgh County Commissioner Lloyd Winnecke’s announcement party for his candidacy for Mayor of Evansville under the Republican banner last Saturday morning at Central High School?…that during his speech that Commissioner Winnecke mentioned a need for “laser focus” in the area of job creation?…that from a 10,000 foot perspective that is pretty well known?…that specific policies with details in a job creation plan is step one in knowing where to focus that laser?…that the City County Observer welcomes position papers on job creation from Commissioner Winnecke, from Vanderburgh County Treasurer Rick Davis, and from anyone else who decides to toss their hat into the Mayor of Evansville ring this year?…that the CCO will publish any such plan from any candidate on the front page the day it is received?

By: Bill Hazelip

The article was front page titled, “US Factories Buck Decline.” The Factory in the article, is Whirlpool! The City is Cleveland, Tennessee. The paper is the Wall Street Journal! Here is a link to the story: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704029704576088412618821224.html

Why, would one of the World’s largest newspapers contribute a two page article with a photo and bar-graphs for this story?

Well, lets see what they have to say:

“Although, the labor costs would be lower in Mexico, Whirlpool found lots of reasons to stay in Cleveland, Tenn.. It already had a trained work force there and wouldn’t need to pay severance costs. Freight costs would be lower since most of the plants products are already sold in the USA. Also, our country looked safer than Mexico, with all of their drug-related violence. But most of all the local community leaders and political leaders got involved to keep the industry in Cleveland, Tennessee.”

Whereas, our City political climate is always, “what can business do for us, ” the model of Cleveland was, ” what can we do for Whirlpool!” The plant in Cleveland which hired over 1600 laborers was old and in need of repairs. The leadership of Cleveland approached Whirlpool with $30,000,000 in incentives, and tax breaks! The leadership of Cleveland knows it is easier to keep an industry, than to replace an industry. Whirlpool responded with a bid to build a new 120 million dollar plant for its cooking products.

Locally, Evansville’s Whirlpool manufacturing operation was unique in every way. It possessed the top engineering, design and labor force in the industry. Plus, two Universities and trade schools. Our location is near the center of the country’s population. The large production plant was located next to an Airport, on a major rail line, a north to south major highway and next to two interstates, a manufacturer’s dream location And the present facility was keep in good shape by the local management. So, why did Whirlpool have such a change of heart for Cleveland, but not Evansville?

We can’t blame the local unions this time, they already made concession after concessions. Plus, they were willing to make even more if they could keep the company here. No, it was simply no leadership from our city government! It was not present, not now or in the past six years. Never, can I remember when local government was so distance from the needs of businesses and manufacturers in Evansville. When Whirlpool needed the most attention, our City officials were busy putting together a 117 page study for an arena which the citizens of Evansville did not want, and expanding more recreational facilities for a city that has lost a third of its population in my life time. The Mayor was much too busy for Whirlpool and the other dozen industries that have closed their doors during his term. Most City officials would be crying in their beer, but we lost that business too, so lets just order more wine and wonder why?

There is an old cliche’ throw the bums out! Our city Council members should not be asked to resign, they should do it voluntarily so the new Mayor can some make some progress without all of this never-ending political baggage!

I spent 40 years at Whirlpool, 17 in the plant and 23 in Corporate Management.

The Vanderburgh County Veterans Council had a busy year in 2010

By: Stephen Melcher

The year started off with a letter from Mark Acker. Mark is the Veterans Services Officer for Vanderburgh County. In his letter, he indicated his retirement and requested the Veterans Council to recommend and endorse the current Assistant Director Jay Ball to the Director position. After his promotion, he will be the Services Officer and Tami Fehn-Cassidy, currently the Secretary should be appointed Assistant Director.

The Veterans Council is interested in continuing the quality of service provided by Mark and his staff, therefore the Council recommend and endorse the appointment of Jay Ball to Veterans Services Officer and Tami Fehn-Cassidy to Assistant Veterans Services Officer. Jay has 12 years experience in his position and Tami has 5 years experience. Jay and Tami know the veterans, the community, and the system. This would ensure the continuation of services to the veterans, their spouses, and their children. Mark’s passion for our Veterans over the past 26 years will be missed!

After several months the County Council finally promoted Jay Ball to Services Officer. Tami, (not a veteran) was not promoted to Assistant Services Officer, as stated by the Council; due to the hiring freeze. The county hiring freeze put a hold on the Veterans Services office. The Veterans Council tried to convince the County Council to move Tami to the assistant director’s position so the Secretary position would open up to a Veteran. In order to have a smooth transition, Tami & Jay would have been available to train the incoming Secretary if they had been promoted sooner.

In December, 2010 Jay Ball turned in his retirement letter to the County Council & County Commissioners effective 21 January, 2011. The County Council after receiving his letter promoted Tami to Assistant Director in January 2011 and gave the o.k. to hire Paul Dupont, a veteran as Secretary starting on 31 January 2011. Paul will remain Secretary until he can take the position as Director in a few months. This then will leave the position of Secretary open for a Veteran to fill as soon as possible!.

Larry Bucshon, Candidate for 8th District Congress, was at the 1 April, 2010 Council meeting for a presentation on issues important to veterans. A question and answer session followed. Trent Van Hafften, Candidate for 8th District Congress, was at the 2 September, 2010 Council meeting for a presentation on issues important to veterans. A question and answer session followed.

In July, 2010 Chris Cook Superintendent of Cemeteries for the City of Evansville reported that both Civil War Cannons in Oak Hill Cemetery had been repaired and in place for Memorial Day services.

Marine Corps League 1090 Color Guard participated in the parade and presented the Colors for the ceremony at Old National Bank patio, for The 4th of July Freedom Celebration. Commander Melcher was the MC and gave the main address.

Veterans Day: The Veterans Council ceremony was held on 11 November, 2010 at Oak Hill Cemetery. Commander Melcher the MC and the main address given by Barb Kortz member of the Marine Corps League 1090, Devil Dogs and Woman Marines Association. A special tribute from JR Shembre a member of the Disabled American Veterans. Mayor Weinzapfel gave the Mayor’s Veteran of the Year Award to Paul Dupont.

The Veterans Council gave a special “Thank You” to the Rotary Club for the renovation of the Women’s Bathroom in the Coliseum. (Mark Acker did the contracting for the project $ 28,000.00) They are looking into raising funds to redo the men’s bathroom.

Stephen R Melcher
Commander Vanderburgh County Veterans Council
US Army Veteran
Sgt First Class E-7

Indiana Kelley School of Business graduate and CEO of Cisco Systems John Chambers joined GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt and Xerox CEO Ursula Burns for a panel discussion on the state of the American economy and the vital aspects of innovation and freedom to solve our current economic crisis. The two minute introduction brings together what has made our nation great and exposes what our political leaders are missing when it comes to leading a sustainable recovery. Here are some excerpts.

“The American Dream, the Dream of Progress on Your Own Terms and Merits is in Trouble”

“It is time to Re-embrace Change and Celebrate another great American Tradition, the Comeback”

It is not too late to change course”

“The American Culture of Freedom and Innovation is Under Threat like Never Before”

“Innovation has Created New Job Opportunities”

“In Washington, some Lawmakers have forgotten what has made America Great”

Please watch the 2 minute introduction to the panel discussion.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid59348424001?bckey=AQ~~,AAAABh3C_dE~,zBkXqCU8KVZ251m5EVgAOpsRSvnZ05Pp&bclid=738892232001&bctid=741795037001

IS IT TRUE that the City County Observer article about the poor planning that led the City of Louisville to have to embark upon a $2 Million upgrade to assure that the new arena is capable of supporting the demand for cellular phone service during events has struck a sore nerve among our readers?….that several readers have let us know that during the world famous Westside Nut Club Fall Festival that it is near impossible to place calls or send text messages in a timely manner?…that on any given night the number of people attending the Fall Festival is roughly equivalent to the number of seats in the new Evansville Arena?…that during normal times that the cellular service along Franklin Street is better than the cellular service along Main Street?…that one reader also pointed out that Roberts Stadium did some retrofitting several years ago to correct a problem with limited cell phone service in the stadium?….that at least Roberts has the excuse that there were no cell phones when it was built and that cell phones were limited in use during the major remodeling?

IS IT TRUE that unless special provisions are already in the works to accommodate the simultaneous access to the internet and/or the cellular network for 10,000 fans, that Evansville is headed for a cost overrun and a cell phone limited venue?…that one of our readers called this yet another example of READY, FIRE, AIM?….that the City County Observer truly hopes that our reader that made that comment is wrong and that the design of the new Evansville Arena already has accounted for the 200 or so antennas and the bandwidth that will be required to enhance that arena experience with timely text messaging and handheld access?…that there will be no acceptable excuse if our reader is right about this one as nearly everyone has handheld devices now?

IS IT TRUE that the recent financial disclosure statement filed by the Weinzapfel for Mayor Committee has local Democrats scratching their heads in confusion?…that of the $367,930 that the Weinzapfel for Mayor Committee spent a whopping $194,214 (53% of all expenses) was turned over via contribution to the Indiana State Democratic Central Committee that is located in Indianapolis?….that another $23,250 was destined for the Indiana Senate Democratic Caucus that is also in Indianapolis?…that an eye popping $217,464 of the $367,930 spent under the guise of running for Mayor of Evansville ended up in the coffers of Indianapolis based Democratic political entities?

IS IT TRUE that the Weinzapfel for Mayor Committee did make some contributions to local candidates for office in 2010?….that the financial disclosure reports that 17 candidates received a total of $12,200 (3.32% of the total spent) from the Committee?…that the Vanderburgh Country Democratic Party was graced with a total contribution of $6,200 (1.69% of total spent) from the Weinzapfel for Mayor Committee?…that candidates for office that are in other parts of Indiana received contributions totaling $6,250 from the same committee?

IS IT TRUE that local Democratic candidates were challenged to raise contributions in 2010?…that it is difficult for a local candidate with a limited budget to compete for funds when one big solicitor is taking nearly all of the political contribution chips off of the table with a perpetual fundraising machine?…that the hard working loyal volunteers for the Democratic Party in Vanderburgh County are now without a place to volunteer?…that the party headquarters is now as deserted as the shell of the Executive Inn still standing across the street awaiting the wrecking ball?…that the foundation of the party is expressing confusion over the fund allocations of the Weinzapfel for Mayor Committee?… that some are expressing disbelief?…that some are beginning to express anger and ire?….that this sounds like a classic recovery process that will ultimately end with acceptance and moving on?…that the local Democratic Party is slowly but deliberately moving on into the arms of the campaign of Vanderburgh County Treasurer Rick Davis as he seeks his party’s nomination for Mayor of Evansville?…that the lopsided contribution pattern of the Weinzapfel for Mayor Committee has really let local Democrats know where his allegiance is?…that would be where the money went?…that is Indianapolis?

Evansville and Vanderburgh have made Progress but are still not a Smokefree Workplace City and County

This year Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Agency (ITPC) celebrates its tenth anniversary of fighting back against the number one preventable cause of disease and death—tobacco use. Over the last ten years Indiana has moved a long way toward becoming a tobacco-free state. The success of the program is due to the first-rate tobacco control program and trained tobacco control professionals that work at the community-level, including Evansville-based Smokefree Communities and the Empty Pack Coalition.

Indiana’s tobacco control program has seen tremendous progress in reducing the toll of tobacco use on Hoosiers. In light of the tenth anniversary here is an overview of some of the successes:
• Smoking rates for high school youth have dropped by 42 percent, resulting in 49,000 fewer youth smokers.
• Adult smoking rates have decreased from 27 percent to 23 percent. This historic low rate means there are 208,000 fewer smokers in Indiana.
• Per capita cigarette consumption in Indiana has declined by 40 percent, meaning those who smoke are smoking less.

These declines in youth and adult smoking will continue to save Hoosiers money. These reductions in smoking will save $3 billion in future health care costs, including $512 million in savings to Medicaid.
In Vanderburgh County, significant progress has been made; together our faith, health and community organizations have made major strides to address our high smoking rate. During these past ten years we have seen a major shift in smoke-free policies.
When ITPC, Smokefree Communities and Empty Pack began, there were no tobacco-free campuses for our schools and hospitals. Today, our parents know their children are protected from deadly exposure to secondhand smoke when attending a public school in Evansville. Today, all patients and families are protected with tobacco free policies when on the grounds of all of our major hospitals while they receive the best care that can be provided by our city’s health care teams. That’s good common sense.

Today, smokers that desire to quit can get free help from the Indiana Tobacco Quitline. This essential service has helped more than 60,000 Hoosiers quit tobacco since it began just four years ago. In Vanderburgh County more than 1,500 smokers called the quitline since 2006. Our local doctors, nurses, dentists and employers are using this service to encourage their patients and employees to make a decision to become tobacco free.

But the battle to save Hoosiers from the destruction that tobacco levies on Evansville families is far from over. The programs provided by Smokefree Communities, Empty Pack and the nearly 2,000 other organizations statewide working to reduce tobacco use are still necessary and needed more than ever. As the social acceptability of tobacco use has changed and quitting resources are more available, ITPC and its leadership are vital to our continued success.

The last decade has proven what some thought was not possible–to change Hoosier culture and social norms about smoking. While many successes have occurred, much work remains to protect Hoosiers from the deadly harms of tobacco. This is why our health community and our faith leaders have joined in support with the Hoosier Faith and Health Coalition, to celebrate the successes and to continue the fight for improving and sustaining our tobacco-free progress.

Co-authored by:
Timothy Flesch, President and CEO, St. Mary’s Medical Center, 485-4827
Linda E. White, President and CEO, Deaconess Health System, 450-2250
Dr. Ray Nicholson, Vanderburgh County Health Officer, 435-5684
John Herring, Jr., Carver Community Organization’s Empty Pack Coalition, 812-402-3170 Ext 2107
Rev. Adrian Brooks, Memorial Baptist Church, 812-422-7676
Rev. Rabon Lindell Turner, New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 425-3498
Rev. Dr. George Huffsmith, First Baptist Church, 812-425-8296