IS IT TRUE that Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel was granted the opportunity to highlight his accomplishments in a sit down interview with WTVW reporter, Lauren Matter that lasted a full 5 minutes and is available for viewing on the following link (http://tristatehomepage.com/fulltext?nxd_id=232766)?… That during this interview the words “I” and “ME” were distributed as freely as glasses of Opus One at a CVB Christmas dinner?….that some of the phrases uttered by Mayor Weinzapfel when talking candidly with Lauren were “We have transformed the City of Evansville”, “the Voters of Evansville have trusted me for 2 elections and I think they would for a 3rd”, “we have fixed the flooding problems on the southeast side”, “one of my goals is that I leave the city in better shape than I received it”, and finally “Now that I have made my announcement not to run for Mayor others may come forward”?

IS IT TRUE that if one believed all that was said in that interview that the only logical conclusion is that Mayor Weinzapfel has transformed Evansville from hell to heaven in his two terms of office?…that when contrasting that with Democratic Candidate for Mayor Rick Davis’s statement at his first Town Hall meeting last night at the C. K. Newsome Center the discrepancies really start to magnify?…that when Mr. Davis was asked several questions by his capacity crowd regarding “when will our sewers be fixed”, his most poignant response was “there is a smell in Evansville that greets visitors who come here”?…that everyone in the room and even everyone in Evansville knows the smell Mr. Davis was referring to?…that the smell is the smell of raw sewage that has lit up the noses of Evansville for 50 years now?….that anyone that says that the combined sewer issue is solved is either lost their sense of smell, having a moment of delusion, or intentionally minimizing the most expensive civic project that City of Evansville will have to deal with after 2012?

IS IT TRUE that just yesterday, it was announced that the City of Evansville has submitted to a consent decree of the United States Department of Justice that calls for the City of Evansville to pay $490,000 in fines and do over $500 Million in repairs to the sewer system?…that does not sound like the EPA and the DOJ share Mayor Weinzapfel’s opinion that the sewers are fixed?….that words are not sufficient to vanquish the turds that continue to plague the City of Evansville when we experience heavy rains?….that the question that needs to be asked by the people of Evansville is the question posed to the American people by Ronald Reagan during the 1980 presidential election?…that question was and is “ARE YOU BETTER OFF TODAY THAN YOU WERE 4 YEARS AGO”?

IS IT TRUE that those among us who are better off considering the fact that Evansville has been “transformed” into a city with less people, lower earnings, more crime, higher unemployment, escalating public debt, and a growing blight problem, should just raise a toast with a well aged glass of Opus One?….that the rest are finally coming to the realization that there are serious problems with the infrastructure, the educational attainment, the air, the water, etc. etc. etc. that will be left for the next Mayor of Evansville to deal with?

IS IT TRUE that the City County Observer agrees wholeheartedly with one thing that Mayor Weinzapfel said in his interview?…that we agree that it is time for someone else to take the reins and run the city?…that the transformation of Evansville is by no means complete?…that the transformation of the City of Evansville is finally at a point where it can START?

$490,000 in Fines and Over $500 Million in Repairs to be Borne by the People of Evansville

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, January 6, 2011

City of Evansville, Indiana, Agrees to Upgrade Sewer Systems to Comply with Clean Water Act

WASHINGTON—The city of Evansville, Ind., has agreed to make extensive improvements to its sewer systems that will significantly reduce the city’s longstanding sewage overflows into the Ohio River in a comprehensive Clean Water Act settlement with federal and state governments, the Justice Department, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the state of Indiana announced today. The agreement would resolve allegations made in a lawsuit filed by the United States and Indiana in September 2009 against Evansville for alleged violations of its Clean Water Act discharge permits.

Evansville’s sewer system has a history of maintenance and system capacity problems that result in it being overwhelmed by rainfall, causing it to discharge untreated sewage combined with storm water into the Ohio River. Under this settlement, the city will improve operation and maintenance, as well as develop and implement a comprehensive plan to increase capacity of its sewer system to minimize, and in many cases, eliminate those overflows. Costs may exceed $500 million. The plan must be fully implemented by calendar year 2032 or 2037, depending on Evansville’s financial health. Additional measures to improve the capacity, management, operation, and maintenance of its separate sanitary sewer system to eliminate overflows of untreated sewage will begin immediately.

In addition, the city will take immediate steps to upgrade the treatment capacity of its two wastewater treatment plants. In total, the measures undertaken by the city of Evansville and required by today’s settlement will help eliminate over four million pounds of pollutants and hundreds of millions of gallons of untreated overflows discharged into the Ohio River and Pigeon Creek every year.

“Evansville’s inadequate and aging sanitation infrastructure allows potentially harmful sewage and storm water overflows into the Ohio River,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. “As a result of this settlement, Evansville will implement significant measures to achieve the requirements of the Clean Water Act. Like other settlements we have reached in municipalities across the country with outdated sewer systems, this settlement will protect public health and improve the water quality for the local community.”

“By reducing the volume of sewage and polluted runoff entering the Ohio River, this settlement will improve water quality and protect the health of people that use the river,” said EPA Regional Administrator Susan Hedman. “The comprehensive plan will improve the performance and sustainability of Evansville’s sewer system and significantly reduce basement backups and overflows.”

In addition to improving its sewer system, Evansville has agreed to pay the U.S. a civil penalty of $420,000 and the state of Indiana a civil penalty of $70,000. Evansville will also implement an environmental project that will connect homes with failing septic systems to the city’s sewer system at a cost of more than $4 million. Failing septic systems often contribute significant pollutants that can impair local water quality.

Evansville is located in Vanderburgh County on the north bank of the Ohio River in southwest Indiana. Evansville’s sewer system serves a population of approximately 163,000. Thirty-nine percent of Evansville’s total sewered area is served by combined sewers while 61 percent is served by separate sanitary sewers. The combined sewers are located in the older, downtown portion of Evansville and lack sufficient capacity to transport all of the combined sewage that it receives to Evansville’s two wastewater treatment plants during rainfall. As a result, Evansville commonly discharges the combination of sewage and storm water through one or more of its 22 combined sewer overflow outfalls on the Ohio River and Pigeon Creek.

In the past, the U.S. has reached similar agreements with numerous municipal entities across the country including Jeffersonville, Ind.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Indianapolis; Nashville, Tenn.; Mobile, Ala.; Jefferson County (Birmingham), Ala.; Atlanta; Knoxville, Tenn.; Miami; New Orleans; Toledo, Ohio; Hamilton County (Cincinnati), Ohio; Baltimore; Los Angeles; Louisville, Ky.; and northern Kentucky’s No. 1 Sanitation District.

Once the consent decree is lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, it will be subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court. A copy of the consent decree will be available on the Justice Department website at www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html

By: Mark A. Aselstine

When people visit Napa for the first time, there are a few wineries which immediately grab their attention, one of the most common is Opus One. Aside from the obvious architectural differences between Opus One and the rest of the wineries in Napa, both the style of the wine and the history of the winery set it apart from all others.

It’s easiest to tell a story by starting at the beginning, with Opus One that means the early 1980’s when Robert Mondavi and Baron Phillipe de Rothschild met and decided that a joint venture would be an amazing project for the preeminent families of French and American wine to take on together. To get the venture off the ground Mondavi offered 35 of his best acres in his To-Kalon vineyard to the project.

After purchasing a parcel of land the dual proprietors decide to name the winery in Latin, giving it the best chance of being recognized by both English and French speaking consumers. Opus as many people know, means the great musical work of a composer.

The more recent history of the winery has been more mixed with the unfortunate passing of both of the original owners and the well documented public offering of the Mondavi corporation.

So what should you expect from the wine? It’s a balancing act with Opus One. In many ways the winery has the impossible task of taking the French wine philosophy of balance with fruit that seems to struggle for full ripeness versus the classic Napa wine that is in many an attempt to control ripeness as grapes can often over-ripen which leads to fruit bomb wines that are more characteristic of cheaper wine from South America.

In many ways the winery has settled on using hand crafted wine techniques such as hand sorting grapes and only gravity flow processes in an attempt to allow the fruit to truly be the attraction.

In the 2007 we have begun to see the type of quality in the wine that we’d all expect. Not only does the wine give off some of the natural Napa flavors imparted by the former riverbed that the vines grow in, but the wines are grown and harvested in a way that keeps the alcohol content at a manageable level. This manageable alcohol content gives the wine a certainly old world feel and creates the type of food friendly wine that is expected in France.

Would I suggest the wine? Of course, although I prefer the traditional bigger California wines it is interesting to see the affects that growing and winemaking practices can have on wine. Try a bottle of Opus One to see all the iterations that are possible in Napa.

Want more wine information? Want to join a real wine club that is interested in more then just taking your money for their real business? Use promo code EZine at Uncorked Ventures to take 10% off your first wine club order just for reading this article!

News Release

Type of Crime: Embezzlement / Theft
Case Number: 11-00130
Date of Crime: January 3, 2011
Location of Crime: 318 Main Street
Victim: GAGE
Investigator: T. Bickel
Supervisor: A. Chandler

SUMMARY

On January 3, 2011, Officials from the Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville (GAGE) notified the Evansville Police Department in reference to missing funds from their business. A GAGE employee, Julie M. Gorman, was believed to have purchased numerous gift cards using GAGE funds for her personal use over a lengthy period of time.

The EPD was told that Gorman was confronted by her supervisor and she admitted to doing this. An investigator with the Financial Crimes Unit was assigned this case and is in the process of completing a criminal case file to be presented for review by the prosecutor’s office.

By: Andy Dillow

How Your “Financial Responsibility” Can Raise and Lower Your Insurance Rates

At its foundation, insurance pricing is quite simple. Insurance companies are concerned about risk of future
loss. Low risk means low prices. High risk means high prices. Simple.

In the real world, things get complicated because companies use so many different factors to predict risk. These “risk predictors” are based on the statistical analysis of large groups of people sharing the same characteristics.

For example, statistics show that drivers with speeding tickets are more likely to have accidents than drivers
without. Drivers with tickets represent greater risk and, therefore, pay more for auto insurance.
Similarly, statistics also show that home owners with recent claims are more likely to have additional claims
before home owners with no previous claims will have their first. Therefore, home owners with prior claims
experience represent higher risk and pay more for home insurance.

It’s all factual statistics. And every kind of insurance – auto, home, life, etc. – uses some set of risk factors to determine eligibility and price. Naturally, insurance companies are constantly trying to improve their ability to predict risk of future loss. The better they get at it, the more competitive they can be … offering lower prices to people who are statistically least likely to have future claims and charging more for people who are statistically most likely to have future claims.

How You Handle Money Becomes A Risk Predictor

To that end, most insurance companies (92% according to a recent industry report) have added another “risk
predicting factor” to their analysis of auto, home and other personal lines of insurance … It’s the level of
financial responsibility you demonstrate. Why have they done this? Because statistical analysis shows a connection between financial responsibility and insurance claims. And, like I explained above, predicting risk is all about statistics.

Oversimplified … a statistical analysis of financial responsibility shows that people who pay their bills on time
and have good credit, tend to have fewer claims and smaller losses. This holds true for both auto and home
policies. At the other end of the spectrum, people who demonstrate lower financial responsibility tend to have
the highest and most frequent claims. Therefore, people who demonstrate the best financial responsibility represent lower risk and will tend to get lower insurance rates than average. Likewise, people who demonstrate poor financial responsibility represent higher risk and will pay more for insurance.

The direct impact your history of financial responsibility will have on your insurance rates will vary from
company to company and situation to situation. But the lesson is clear … if you pay your bills on time and
maintain a good credit history, you will most likely reap the benefits of lower insurance prices, too.

Davis said he wants to hear from Evansville residents regarding important issues facing the City of Evansville, and said he wants to hear how his neighbors would like to move the city forward.

“When I talk to residents of the City of Evansville, they tell me they feel like they’ve not had significant input in projects the city has undertaken or is planning,” said Davis. “I want to listen to what our neighbors have to say about how their tax dollars are being spent. I want to see how, together, we can make Evansville better.”

The first Town Hall will be held Thursday at the C.K. Newsome Center, 100 E. Walnut St., from 6 to 7:30 p.m. All of the Town Hall meetings will be moderated by retired television personality Hal Wolford.

Wolford is best known locally for his “Back Roads” television series, which aired on WEHT Channel 25 from 1987 to 1998.

“I think having Hal host these meetings is a bonus because he knows so much about Evansville and the entire Tri-State area,” Davis said.

Davis will be holding Town Hall meetings throughout the city to listen to as many views as possible.

“No matter where you live – south, north, east or west – we are one city,” said Davis. “Your opinion matters to me. I want to hear from you. Please feel free to come and express your views.”

Davis, 41, was elected the Vanderburgh County Treasurer in 2008 and previously served as the Chief Deputy in the Vanderburgh County Recorder’s Office from 2002-2008. He is a 1987 graduate of Reitz High School and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications/Emphasis in Journalism from the University of Southern Indiana. While working full-time, Davis went to night school and earned his Master of Science Degree in Public Service Administration from the University of Evansville in 2006.

Davis began his professional career in the newspaper business. He served as a reporter and editor for several Tri-State newspapers, including The Evansville Courier & Press, The Henderson (Ky.) Gleaner, the Newburgh Register and The Boonville Standard.

Here is the schedule for the Rick Davis For Mayor Town Hall meetings:

Thursday, Jan. 6, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., C.K. Newsome Center.
Monday, Jan. 10, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., at Independence Baptist Church, 2301 W. Virginia St.
Thursday, Jan, 20 from 6 to 7:30 p.m., at McCollough Library, 5115 Washington Ave.
Thursday, Jan. 27 from 6 to 7:30 p.m., at Oaklyn Library, 3001 Oaklyn Dr.

For more information about the Town Hall meetings call Bill Denton, campaign chairman, at 499-6312.

A complete campaign schedule may also be found at pickrickdavis.com

IS IT TRUE that Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Evansville Convention and Visitors Bureau Joe Vezzoso was quoted yesterday in the Evansville Courier and Press as saying that it does not matter who ordered the Opus One ($250 bottle of wine)?…that it really does matter because the $1,250 for the five bottles of Opus One are what made the 2010 Board Christmas Party dramatically more expensive than the same parties in the years 2006 – 2009?….that some would argue that those five bottles of wine are what really rankled the public with respect to the cost of this dinner?…that those five bottles are what turned and expensive dinner into and excessive dinner?….that Mole #31 along with a casual observer of the Bacchanalian Fest has already told us who ordered the Opus?….that as a fondly remembered elementary school teacher once said “a hit dog always howls”?

IS IT TRUE that every member of the board of directors of the Evansville Convention & Visitors Bureau that attended the Bacchanalian Festival to themselves at Biaggi’s where $3,079 was spent on dinner for 14 have now resigned or seen their term expire?…that at this particular time that this is what is best for the EVCB?….that it did not have to be this way?…that this 25 year tradition of wining and dining the board of directors of the ECVB that resulted in the last 5 dinners costing over $10,000 and culminating in this year’s over the top example of conspicuous consumption is just one more case of bad public policy finally played out for all to see?

IS IT TRUE that we wonder if the 7th board member who missed this year’s dinner Mike Roeder attended the Christmas dinners during 2006 – 2009 and what he thought of them?…that we would also like to have confirmation that acting Executive Director Bob Whitehouse neither attended nor had detailed knowledge of the costs and atmosphere of these prior feasts of gluttony?

IS IT TRUE that bad public policy leads to self indulgence?…that even the most talented and well intentioned people can get caught up in excitement of self indulgence that comes from bad public policy?….that any system that rewards a volunteer board of directors with an annual dinner in which public money is spent on $2,000 worth of alcohol on a small group of people is a FAILED SYSTEM?…that David Dunn was correct in his assertion yesterday that he no longer believes that the system works?…that it is understandable that Mr. Dunn and maybe others will withdraw their services from public volunteerism because of the bad taste in their mouths from this experience?….that these six former members of the board are in some ways victims of a FAILED SYSTEM just as the people of Evansville who ultimately picked up the tab are?…that a bad system is the real problem and that continued vigilance will be needed to keep another bad system from being established at the CVB and also to examine other entities that have volunteer boards filled by political appointments?

IS IT TRUE that the six former board members of the ECVB are talented and good people who carry on their private businesses and careers to the betterment of themselves, their employers, and to the region in which they have chosen to work and live?….that the City County Observer recognizes that these people were put onto the board of the ECVB for the right reasons?…that those reasons include success in the private sector, visionary perspectives, diligence, and civic pride?…that we wish all of these people continued success and minimal negative impact to their lives and businesses?…that it is time to get on with life and to make something positive of this profoundly negative situation? …that maybe good public policy will emerge from the lessons learned from this culmination of 25 years of bad public policy?

IS IT TRUE that the Evansville Convention and Visitors Bureau has a golden opportunity to resurrect itself in a form that promotes and practices good public policy?…that good policy is to finally get serious about hiring an Executive Director to lead and manage the future board of directors as opposed to the board leading the Executive Director which seems to have been the practice in recent history?….that the entire business model of the ECVB needs to be revisited?…that the County Council, the County Commissioners, and the Mayor of Evansville now have the responsibility to establish a foundation for going forward?….that good public policy and NOT POLITICS AS USUAL should be the criteria for the selection of the new board?….that that age of CRONYISM should end in Evansville and that a new age of MERIT should be adopted?…that our elected leaders need to lead right now without acquiescence and without self serving agendas to put this house in order?

“We have transformed Evansville and I have put it on a path to success” –Quote by Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel

The Toughest Job in Evansville has to be Editor of the “Evansville Business Magazine!”

Our Civic leaders, are celebrating the announcement of two, “Dollars Stores,” which will soon be built in Evansville.—-This is not good news, it is bad news! Because, “Dollar Stores” follow the economies of the cities that are on the demise. Recently, at Eastland Mall, one of the largest department store manager’s asked me “where are the people?” I told him to go to Walmart, Target, Dollar Store and you will see the economy of Evansville.

Several years ago, I could see our demise and future as I traveled the East Coast, I visited cities like Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, Wilmington, Newark and on and on! Upon my return, I would tell my wife, I have just seen the future of Evansville, it is bleak and evitable.

The East Coast cities tried to save themselves by promoting internal civic projects, which cost their industries even more dollars. Between high labor cost, taxes, utilities, high transportation costs, these businesses one by one left these cities. In our paper,— Mead Johnson announces another 50 high paying jobs will be leaving Evansville. It sort of reminds me of my employer, who once had 5 production plants, 7 warehouses and their Consumer Affairs and refrigeration headquarters in Evansville. Little by little, they left. —warnings to the local unions and to the city, were ignored. The same warnings by Chrysler, Bucyrus Erie, and those who made us the furniture capitol of the world and the refrigeration capitol of the world, meat packers, bakeries, bottlers, beer producers, etc., etc., etc., they all left.

Today, we try to save our economies by building schools for a declining student population and building an arena which most of the people opposed. We keep adding public construction jobs as if they will save our economy. We close our eyes at the logistical and engineering blunder of the arena and downtown hotel. We even pretend the use of the arena is for basketball. And in a panic, we celebrate at the artist’s rendering of a replacement hotel that looks more like it belongs next to a Cracker Barrel Restaurant, instead of a grand downtown hotel. We are rapidly being conditioned to expect less!

We are slowly delegating ourselves to bottom fishing and being content when someone pulls up a carp for dinner.—When did we lose our pride? The pride, which was once Evansville? Perhaps, it was something as simple as when we let the unique Mesker Merry-go-Round leave town, or the UE basketball team, which seems to lose every year!— or when we lost our National Weather Bureau.– I think of the weather station leaving each day, when I see the report out of Paducah or listen to one of the “Weather Channel” reporters refer to us as Evansville, Illinois. Meanwhile, we wait for the next economic shoe to drop and wonder. — Which abandoned strip mall will house the next “Dollar Store!”

Bill Hazelip

2010 Bacchanalian Fest Over the Top
Can’t Five People Fit in a Minivan for Trips to Tennessee?

The article that we were working on and preparing to publish prior to the crash of our server was about the receipts for the Christmas parties for the Evansville Convention and Visitors Board of Directors for the immediate past. Those expenditures have been as follows:

2006: $1,836.07
2007: $1,765.00
2008: $1,357.33
2009: $2,167.04 (15 people, 9 bottles of wine, 22 alcoholic beverages: Most expensive wine was $65.00 per bottle)
2010: $3,079.00

TOTAL FOR 5 YEARS OF CHRISTMAS PARTIES FOR ECVB: $10,205.00

Details were not available for years 2006 – 2008. In each year the tab was covered by the Executive Director of the ECVB.

A group of five people that included board members David Dunn and Joe Vezzoso, architect Mike Shoulders, Gray Loon’s Jon Ruthenburg, and Executive Director Marilee Fowler did charter a plane to visit little league complexes in Knoxville and Chattanooga at a cost of $2,542.90 on January 11, 2010.

Today the City County Observer experienced what is known as a meltdown on the site that hosts our servers. This happened because our traffic has spiked this year with the most interesting news and the launch of our new website for “good news” the Community Observer. To be specific our server host has reported that we exceeded 40,000 accesses during the last 24 hours which crashed the server. We have been advised that we should be up and running again in the next 24 to 72 hours. We will also be expanding our capacity to serve you, our readers over the course of the next month so that your access to our original content is not interrupted. Please understand that this is just one of the growing pains when rapid growth occurs.

The article that we were working on and preparing to publish was about the receipts for the Christmas parties for the Evansville Convention and Visitors Board of Directors for the immediate past. Those expenditures have been as follows:

2006: $1,836.07
2007: $1,765.00
2008: $1,357.33
2009: $2,167.04 (15 people, 9 bottles of wine, 22 alcoholic beverages: Most expensive wine was $65.00 per bottle)
2010: $3,079.00

TOTAL FOR 5 YEARS OF CHRISTMAS PARTIES FOR ECVB: $10,205.00

Details were not available for years 2006 – 2008. In each year the tab was covered by the Executive Director of the ECVB.

A group of five people that included board members David Dunn and Joe Vezzoso, architect Mike Shoulders, Gray Loon’s Jon Ruthenburg, and Executive Director Marilee Fowler did charter a plane to visit little league complexes in Knoxville and Chattanooga at a cost of $2,542.90 on January 11, 2010.

Best Regards,

Your City County Observer Staff