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Executive Inn Bidder, White Lodging to Expand Presence in Pennsylvania

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Fort Wayne Covention Hotel

Executive Inn Bidder, White Lodging to Expand Presence in Pennsylvania

MERRILLVILLE, Ind., Nov. 17, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — White Lodging Services
Corporation is pleased to announce the addition of the Courtyard by Marriott
Philadelphia Valley Forge/Collegeville to the company’s management portfolio.
Located in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, this acquisition is White Lodging’s third
property in the state and the 32nd contract with the property’s owner, Apple
Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT).

“We value our partnership with Apple REIT, and we will work hard to keep earning
their trust and loyalty,” commented Dave Sibley, president and CEO of hotel
management services for White Lodging.
A borough in Montgomery County, Collegeville is 30 miles north of Philadelphia.
The Courtyard by Marriott Collegeville is located in the Providence Corporate
Center and is a short drive to Ursinus College and large employers such as
Pfizer Pharmaceuticals’ global campus, a GlaxoSmithKline research and
development facility, Quest Diagnostics, and others.

The Courtyard by Marriott Collegeville is a five-story, 132-room property and,
in addition to queen and king rooms, the hotel offers suites with separate
sleeping and living areas. All rooms have small refrigerators, spacious work
areas and complimentary high-speed Internet access. On site is the Courtyard
Cafe, which serves a morning breakfast buffet as well as made-to-order
breakfasts. For events or meetings, this property has 3,200 square feet of
flexible meeting space.

Perfectly situated for business and pleasure travelers, the Courtyard by
Marriott Collegeville is minutes from the Valley Forge Convention Center, the
Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, Valley Forge National Park, and several
shopping destinations.

White Lodging Services Corporation was established in 1985 and is headquartered
in Merrillville, Indiana. White Lodging is a fully integrated hotel ownership,
development, and operations company – a recognized leader that has defined and
cultivated the ability to achieve consistent, sustainable growth among premium
branded mid- to large-scale hotels across the country. Their current managed
portfolio consists of 151 hotels in eighteen states and encompasses
representation of the following leading brands: Marriott International, Hilton
Worldwide, Hyatt Global, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, InterContinental Hotel
Group, and Carlson Hotels Worldwide.

For more information about White Lodging, please visit www.whitelodging.com or
call 219-472-2900.

SOURCE White Lodging Services Corporation

An IBD/Crohns Disease Awareness & Fundraiser is being held at Club Royale on December 4th, 2010

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An IBD/Crohns Disease Awareness & Fundraiser is being held at Club Royale on December 4th, 2010.

We are seeking items for the chinese auction and help with side dish items for the bbq plate luncheon. If you can help in any way it would be greatly appreicated.

This will be an all day event with live entertainment (singer/acoustic performers, comedian, aritistic dancers) beginning at 12 noon and continuing throughout the day. There will be a silent auction, photography and canvass art sale, 50/50 raffle and decorated cake competition. We also plan to have a BBQ plate luncheon if we get enough donations of sides dishes.

I have attached two personal stories and their fight with IBD and Crohns, namely Hilary’s Plight and Kasie’s Story. We hope to use the fundraiser to create much needed awareness about these awful diseases. Proceeds from the event will be used to help with medical expenses and costs that these individuals so desparately needed. A flyer for the event is also attached.

Help is needed with getting auction items as well as volunteers for the event.

Alternatrely, monetary Donations can be made during the event or
at any Old National Bank to the CROHNS TREATMENT FUND

If you have any quesitons on how to help or make donations please contact me at 812-499-7718.

Thank you for your support!
Mike Millard

THE DARK SIDE OF TOOTH WHITENING: The Price You Pay for that Cheshire Cat Smile

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THE DARK SIDE OF TOOTH WHITENING

By: Ted Huppert DDS: Guest Dental Columnist

It seems like everyone is whitening their teeth these days. There are commercials on television and radio, endless ads in the print media, and kiosks in the mall, all devoted to whitening teeth. But is there a problem? Well, maybe.

All tooth whiteners are bleaches and they all use one of two whitening agents, hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide, which converts to hydrogen peroxide in the mouth.
The only difference is the concentration of the bleach. Everything else—flavor, color, delivery system, viscosity (the gooeyness)—is marketing.

Right now, the most popular technique for whitening is the one-visit zap, in which a tray is used to hold a strong bleaching agent against the teeth for a proscribed period of time. Then, the tray is removed from the mouth and the bleaching agent rinsed away. Presto! White teeth! The thing is, the bleaching agent must be strong to act so quickly, and frequently, the result is tooth sensitivity to cold, sweets, and all sorts of things. Fortunately, the sensitivity is usually temporary and will go away by itself, although in some cases, desensitizing toothpaste will be helpful. There may also be temporary redness or soreness of the gums.

There is a system that is employed in the dental office setting in which the teeth are isolated and the gums covered with a protective material, then the bleach is applied to the teeth and often warmed with a heat lamp or laser, although some studies indicate that the warming does not enhance the bleaching. This system is usually quite effective and has less chance of unwanted side effects because of the operator’s control over the placement of the bleach and the time of the exposure.

There are also at-home techniques in which a tray is made from an impression of the patient’s mouth and the patient uses a bleaching product at home whenever it is convenient. These products are usually not as strong as the one-visit bleaches, so repeated use and occasional touch-up may be necessary. They are safe and effective, although as with the one-visit bleaches, temporary tooth sensitivity and gum soreness can occur.

Back to the mall. There are currently tooth-whitening kiosks in some malls where the customer is guided through the bleaching technique by an attendant, who is generally wearing scrubs and/or a clinical jacket, but who may or may not have any dental training whatsoever. Many states have already or are in the process of passing legislation to make this illegal because of the possibility of doing irreversible harm to the consumer. At first, the vendors were accused of practicing dentistry without a license. But they got around that by having the customer place the tray in the mouth themselves. “Hey! We aren’t practicing dentistry! We don’t touch the customer!” Laws are being enacted to include loading of the trays and instructing the consumer in the definition of practicing dentistry. These places are potentially dangerous. Avoid them.

Is bleaching safe? Right now, if done properly, it seems to be. The bleach does not weaken the enamel or make it more prone to decay. What we aren’t sure of is exactly how far into the tooth the bleach penetrates. The enamel of the teeth is very hard, but the dentin which underlies the enamel is much softer and actually has micro-tubules that run all the way down to the tooth pulp. The dental pulp—the nerves and blood vessels inside the tooth—is a sensitive organ, and if bleach should penetrate into the pulp, damage may occur. As far as I know, this has not been shown to happen. But, I would use some discretion if younger people want to bleach their teeth. The pulp chamber shrinks as we age, so the younger the patient, the larger the pulp chamber is, which makes it closer to the surface of the tooth. The bleach would not have to penetrate as far to reach the pulp in young patients. For adults, bleaching is safe.

Can you overbleach? Yes, you can. Using bleach too frequently will not necessarily physically harm the teeth. But tooth enamel has a natural translucency and a degree of fluorescence, which means it will glow under black light. Cool! Overbleaching can mask those properties, making the teeth white, but unnaturally flat and opaque, as if the teeth were painted with white-out. That looks creepy.

What about the whitening toothpastes and mouthwashes? They do contain bleach and they do lighten a little, but if they contained enough bleach to significantly whiten the teeth, a prescription would be required to get them. They can make a good follow-up to maintain whiteness after professional bleaching however.

So, go ahead and whiten if you wish. It won’t do you any harm as long as the bleaches are used as directed. Just be careful not to overdo it. For a picture-perfect smile, you need to know when to quit.

IS IT TRUE: November 18, 2010

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The Mole #??

IS IT TRUE: November 18, 2010

IS IT TRUE that the final hearing for US Incubator to have a chance at constructing three windmills for its “Peace Monument Windmill Project”, is TODAY at 4:30 PM in the Civic Center in Room 301?….that this saga has been going on for over half a year now?….that the Evansville Board of Zoning Appeals has been hopelessly deadlocked on the decision on just how a windmill can be allowed to be constructed within the City of Evansville?…that these particular windmills are residential and do not create high levels of noise?…that they are proposed to be within an Enterprise Zone near the Lloyd Expressway?….that it would be quite difficult to intentionally make this location louder or more blighted looking?….that the City of Evansville is well equipped legally to approve cellular towers by the score, billboards in the hundreds, satellite dishes on every building strong enough to support them, …..that wind energy is one of the projected leading job creators of the next decade?….that not having policies that are well enough defined to even grant a citizen of Evansville the permission to install residential windmills sends the message that the City of Evansville is not interested in the jobs of the future?…that as long as regressive policies like this continue to rule the day in Evansville that the “brain drain” will continue along with the decline of populations and wages?

IS IT TRUE the Front Door Pride program and Tom Barnett are out to get their hands on another $1.5 Million? ….that the proposal to borrow $2 Million will go to the Evansville City Council for consideration next Monday?….that $1.5M is slated to go to Front Door Pride?…that what we will be getting for $1.5 Million IF APPROVED is 3 houses in Goosetown and an undefined set of incentives to get artists to move to Goosetown and set up shop?….that nearly every gallery that has come to town and settled in a retail space in Goosetown has gone out of business?…that half of the Front Door Pride homes that are listed at half the construction cost still sit unsold after two years?….that the problem is not the houses or even the art, the problem is the crime and the schools?…that Goosetown will work only when Goosetown is safe, clean, free of the smell of sewers, and the school system that serves the area has acceptable performance?…that throwing $2 Million, $10 Million, or even $127.5 Million at an area where crime, cleanliness, basic infrastructure, and the schools are unacceptable will not solve this problem in a sustainable way? ….that spending $100,000 plus on an exotic “green” alley won’t solve it either?

IS IT TRUE that the City of Louisville just opened their new Arena, now known as Yum! Center with an 88-73 win over defending NCAA Runner –Up Butler Bulldogs?….that the Yum Center has over 22,000 seats for basketball and every seat for every University of Louisville game is sold out for the first year?…that Yum Brands paid $13.5M for a 10 year deal for naming rights to the Louisville Arena?….that the City County Observer’s Louisville based Mole tells us that nearly every door, suite, popcorn stand, and locker room in the building has a paying sponsors name associated with it?….that Mole #L1 predicts that well over $100 Million in naming rights have been sold in the Louisville Arena?….that the campaign to sell these naming rights had a staff working for over a year prior to the ribbon cutting to secure these deals?

IS IT TRUE that the Evansville Arena with its 11,000 seat capacity and $127 Million price tag is across the board about half of the Yum Center in every category?….that given that ratio that the marquee naming opportunities for the Evansville Arena should be expected to scale accordingly?….that would mean that there are over $50 Million in naming opportunities that can be identified in the new Evansville Arena? … that a search of the Evansville Arena website makes no mention of naming rights opportunities?…..that with the potential for around $50 Million of naming rights opportunities to be sold that a concerted effort to sell sponsorships with a chairperson and a committee or even a paid professional team should be underway?….that the only reference in an archive search is that project manager John Kish is quoted in “hoping” that someone will buy the naming rights to the Evansville Arena?….that the City County Observer as one of the fastest growing internet traffic sites in Evansville has not been approached or been told of any naming rights programs that exist?….that the CCO would not know who to call to name so much as a floor tile?….that the naming rights efforts today remind us of the Executive Inn replacement efforts of 2007?

Matt Justak: A High Impact Young Professional’s View of the 2010 Election

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Matt Justak on the 2010 Elections

My journey as a Political Director for the Vanderburgh County Republican Party has been a roller coaster ride that I will never forget.

Fun, strenuous, unpredictable, erratic, and downright remarkable are words to describe my time serving the local GOP. I just completed working on the most historic Republican Election since Mayor Russ Lloyd Sr. took office in the early 70’s. So many headlines to take away from November 2nd, “Indiana now has two Republican U.S. Senators”, “The Bloody 8th is all GOP”, “Hermann takes down twenty year incumbent”, and the list goes on and on.

I started working for this grass roots organization in the summer of 2009. Keep in mind, this was when Obama’s popularity was at an all time, and the notion of a Republican come back was laughable. The cover for the May 2009 issue of Time Magazine pictured the GOP Elephant logo, with the caption “Endangered Species”.

Well, a lot has changed since then: Obamacare, Cap & Trade, Mayor Weinzapfel’s attempt at taking away our Homestead Tax Credit–then having Governor Daniels overrule him and giving it back, building a Downtown Arena without a referendum, and many other political miscalculations that have happened within the Democrat Party, both national and locally, has fueled a Republican comeback for the ages. Add this to our great slate of candidates who ran on the 2010 ticket, and it was an unstoppable avalanche that was bound to happen. You see, Chicago Politics mixed with Left Winged agendas is a dangerous potion, and will never ever adhere to the Hoosiers that make up the great state of Indiana. We are hard-working, honest, conservative, Americans who aren’t standing on the sideline waving the white flag for our Government to swoop in and fix things. I believe this was the message sent to Washington D.C. on November 2nd.

Again, it starts with the great slate of candidates and campaigns.

Sure the National-Anti-Incumbent-Wave helped a whole lot. But how do you explain a former Vanderburgh County Sheriff, running for U.S. Senate, losing in his own backyard, by 4,000 votes? How do you explain an ex-State Representative losing his old district in the 8th Congressional Race? How does Nick Hermann, in a rematch with Stan Levco from 4 years prior, swing 9,000 votes to secure a victory? How on earth does Wendy McNamara, first time running, defeat a State Senator in a HEAVY democratic district?
You can blame it on the conservative wave, the Tea Party Movement, and so on, but with the questions listed above, you have to accredit the candidates one-hundred percent for winning their races.
I was just happy to go along for the ride, and help them out with whatever they needed. Whether if it was to stuff envelopes, set up a fundraiser, make voter ID phone calls, put out 4×8 yard signs, hand out flyers at the Fall Festival, or find volunteers, I was content on serving them with the reward of winning their election. And, as history panned out on November 2nd 2010, that reward came to fruition.

With the proper guidance from our Chairman, Wayne Parke, and generous support from other Central Committee members, I was able to put together a solid GOTV plan that involved contacting would be Republican voters, and reminding them to get to their polling place. Judging by the polls leading up the Election Day, we knew this would be a special day and we wanted to leave zero doubt in turning out the vote; which is a stark contrast from 2008, when I volunteered my time helping out the Party. This go around, people were angry, motivated, and generous to give up an hour or two of their time to ensure victory on November 2nd. Aside from the Mitch Daniels campaign, I did not see this kind of intensity in 2008.
We hope that this momentum carries over into 2011 for the Municipal Elections (Mayor & and City Council seats). Perhaps it is time for the first time in over 40 years for Republican candidates to have an opportunity to assume power and lead the City of Evansville to prosperity. Ronald Reagan once ask the question “are you better off than you were 4 years ago”, and the American people responded by electing him to be their President.

The people of Evansville should ponder the question “are you better off than you were 40 years ago”? The harsh reality is that with respect to crime, wealth, earnings, population, educational attainment, economic growth, basic infrastructure, and listening on the part of elected officials that Evansville has been on a continuous downward spiral. Perhaps 2011 will be time to change leadership.

Editor’s Note: Matt Justak is prototype of the type of young person that Vanderburgh County’s future depends on. He is a young bright educated professional who has found a way to throw himself into an effort that he believes in that can make a positive difference to Evansville and Vanderburgh County. Unlike some of these locally grown young professionals who leave town as fast as they are accredited, Matt has chosen to seek his fortune right here. As we are kicking off a series of profiles of young professionals, Matt is our first profile.

Court upholds sentence in slaying of Spencer County Teen Attorney General committed to seeking justice in Roy Lee Ward case

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Court upholds sentence in slaying of Spencer County Teen
Attorney General committed to seeking justice in Roy Lee Ward case

INDIANAPOLIS – A court has rejected the latest appeal of a death row offender and agreed with the State of Indiana that the original sentence should remain intact.

On November 10, a judge in Spencer Circuit Court denied the post-conviction relief petition of Roy Lee Ward stemming from the slaying of a 15-year-old girl in 2001. In the ruling, Special Judge Robert Pigman of Vanderburgh County rejected every claim that Ward’s defense team had raised.

“In considering the complicated procedural history of this case, let us not forget the innocent victim, Stacy Payne, who was killed in a horrifically violent manner by an intruder in her own home, and let us not forget her family. My office is committed to obtaining justice in this case and ensuring that the laws of this state are carried out and the rulings of the trial court are upheld,” Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller said. Zoeller’s office represents the State of Indiana when offenders appeal their convictions and sentences.

Ward stands convicted and sentenced to death for the July 11, 2001, murder and rape of 15-year-old Payne in her Spencer County home. Ward attacked Payne in the presence of her younger sister and fatally slashed her with a knife, and he still was holding the knife when police arrived.

Ward was first convicted and sentenced to death in 2002; but the Indiana Supreme Court reversed the convictions in 2004 due to pretrial publicity. He was retried, convicted, and again sentenced to death in 2007; and his convictions and sentence were affirmed on appeal.

Ward then filed an appeal called a petition for post-conviction relief (PCR) in Spencer Circuit Court, raising numerous and varied claims, all of which the post-conviction court – Judge Pigman – rejected in the recent ruling. Zoeller’s office, through Deputy Attorney General James B. Martin and Deputy Attorney General Kelly Miklos, represented the State in the appellate case.

Next, Ward can ask the post-conviction relief court to reconsider its own ruling, and from there he could seek to appeal again to the Indiana Supreme Court. He has 30 days to initiate that process. Once the post-conviction relief process is exhausted, Ward then could attempt to bring a federal habeas corpus petition in the federal courts.

“The costs of capital punishment litigation concern me greatly. The prolonged appeals of death row offenders can drag out for years before the sentence is carried out, and the costs of the legal defense to which they are entitled is significant for the public. Most concerning is the toll the interminable delays take upon the victims’ families with no sense of finality in sight,” Zoeller said.

Earlier this week, Zoeller moderated a Criminal Justice Summit at the University of Notre Dame that focused on the costs and financial impact of the death penalty in Indiana. Several expert panelists from the prosecution, defense and courts offered their assessment of capital litigation in Indiana and expressed concerns about prohibitive costs. A Rutgers University economics professor, Anne Morrison Piehl, Ph.D., presented a study that suggested some possible areas of containing costs: by limiting the types of defense expert witnesses who can be called to testify in capital murder trials, or capping the fees they can charge, or developing more aggressive audit procedures after the fact.

Zoeller noted that approximately 75 attorneys and law students attended Monday’s Criminal Justice Summit, and he hopes it sparks discussion in the legal community and Legislature about death penalty costs, as all levels of government in Indiana wrestle with revenue shortfalls due to the economy.

Reader Cites Concern Over National/Local News Differences, Calls Local Tax Non-Increase Out for Deceptive Tactics

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To the Editor of the City County Observer:

Is anybody else concerned about the blatant differences in federal/national news coverage vs. local?

Nationally, I have read all sorts of reports about renewing the Bush tax cuts. But renewing the Bush tax levels is talked about in the media across the political spectrum as a tax cut, specifically one that needs to be paid for. Over and over and over, despite challenges to that “tax cut” label. The reports focused on a fundamental point that the policy proposal comes at a “cost” to governmental budgets and that the recent election results carried a message about concerns over debt levels.

Can’t I then assume then that a planned reduction in property taxes that is postponed due to government action, should be properly labeled a tax increase, right? And surely, a report about new debt will mention recent election results, right?

We just had an amazing Courier & Press report about Evansville, planning a new bond offering. In the story per city controller, Jenny Collins, “[They are] taking a property-tax rate that originally was to expire Jan. 1 2011 and extending it to 2013”. She said, “taxes will not rise to pay for the project but neither will they fall as soon as they otherwise would”. (http://www.courierpress.com/news/2010/nov/16/city-looking-borrow-2-million-parking-garage-repai/)

Ok, I see how this works?

Nationally: If we’re scheduled to get an increase in taxes, and arguments are made to extend the reductions – that is a new “tax cut”. And any politician that supports that proposal is regularly peppered for specifics of where to get the money from.

Locally: If we’re scheduled to get a decrease in taxes, and arguments are made to extend the higher levels – it’s basically just reported as something that’s going to happen.

Unlike the national story, the Republican in the story didn’t even make the fundamental case for labeling this an increase in taxes – although he probably should have. But don’t get me started about the difference between our local political parties.

To add to the convoluted nature of this “tax increase”… We’re planning to extend an old property tax rate that was apparently, initially added specifically for city parking garages. The extension of bonds totals $2 million. But only 1/4 of that amount is to be used for, “repairs”, of the garages!

The rest is to be used for, “building three more houses in the city’s Front Door Pride program and providing incentives to attract artists and entrepreneurs to the Evansville Arts District”?

Here’s a heads up to the media, please don’t treat us like we’re fools, waiting to be bonded into oblivion.

Questions:
1.) Exactly what are the incentives, and how could they outperform the bond requirements?
2.) Does this have a chance of bringing jobs?
3.) Doesn’t DMD already have a budget for “incentives”?
4.) Have they already maxed out their credit card, like the visitors bureau is trying to?
5.) Why hasn’t the garage repairs been done through an operating expense, like most “repairs” are?
6.) If we follow the Stadium story line, significant “repairs” justifies simply building new. Was this considered?
7.) Not only is Evansville building homes and selling them well below construction costs, we’re bonding out those costs! So we all pay interest on that deficit amount, too?
8.) How many years will the bonds extend?
9.) Are these bonds federally subsidized?
10.) Is it prudent to charge every homeowner with a 100K assessment $45 to “repair” garages they can’t use, to build homes they can’t buy, and to help “entrepreneurs” they haven’t met?

The lack of reporting of the basic fundamentals involved, or answering basic questions, or being consistent seems unconscionable. To me, convoluted stories like these are basically political division, served on a silver platter. As evidence, just look at the political sniping that starts on the comment boards.
Earlier I read an editorial today in the WSJ entitled “Who Stole Election Day?”, by Eliot Cutler, an independent candidate that recently lost his election bid. He has an interesting story to tell. But his story amplifies my concerns that the state of elections, general public electoral education, and good government are mired locally in the Courier & Press reporting. It seems in this case, just about enough to get out a fact or two and to stir the pot.

On the other hand, maybe we just get what we pay for? (“Top 5 Companies in the Publishing Industry With the Lowest Operating Margin (SSP, MEG, VCI, TRI, WPO)” -http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Newsfeed/Article/121704067/201011061035/Top-5-Companies-in-the-Publishing-Industry-With-the-Lowest-Operating-Margin-SSP-MEG-VCI-TRI-WPO-.aspx)

Dan Effinger
Evansville, IN

IS IT TRUE: November 17, 2010 Part 2

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The Mole #??

IS IT TRUE that Dan McGinn (R) City Councilman from the First Ward will be announcing on Les Shively’s radio show tomorrow that he will not be a candidate for Mayor of Evansville in the 2011 Election?….that Councilman McGinn has been the winner of every City County Observer Reader’s Poll that we have posted for the Republican nominee for Mayor of Evansville?….that Councilman McGinn has been a champion of the people of Evansville in calling questionable spending to task?….that the buzz will soon be about only two Republican candidates both of whom are veteran politicians?…..that unless a new face comes out that the Republican contenders appear to be confined to County Councilman Russ Lloyd Jr. and County Commissioner Lloyd Winnecke?…..that Councilman McGinn would have been a great candidate?…that we cross our fingers that Councilman McGinn chooses to run to keep his seat on the Evansville City Council and continues his vigilance in stamping out wasteful spending?

IS IT TRUE that new City County Observer columnist County Commissioner Stephen Melcher has advised us that he will not be entering the race for the Democratic nomination for Mayor of Evansville?…that Commissioner Melcher has every intention to continue pursuing his passion for leadership in the Vanderburgh County Commissioners and as the Commander of the local Veterans Organization?…that Commissioner Melcher has been a consistent and steady hand at the plow of Vanderburgh County leadership for many years and we wish him success for many more?…that the City County Observer is looking forward to his columns on Veteran’s Affairs and maybe even some guest editorial pieces on other issues on which Commissioner Melcher wishes to write?…that Commissioner Melcher has run strong in our Reader’s polls and would have made a great candidate in what is shaping up to be a spirited campaign?

IS IT TRUE that the time is RIGHT NOW to be soliciting bids to design a solution to the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) problem that the City of Evansville is afflicted with?….that the two year clock is already ticking on restarting the fines for non-compliance?….that this is the biggest infrastructure project that the City of Evansville has ever had to deal with?….that the long arm of the federal government with the EPA will not take kindly to having two years pass with no plan produced?….that it took good leadership and the best negotiator that money can rent to get the two year extension on designing a solution and a 20 year extension on implementing said solution?….that taking the full term to fix this debilitating problem is NOT MANDATORY?….that the test or true leadership will be in fixing this problem and not in postponing a solution?….that there should be an RFP in the development stages and that a design group should be hired within no more than three months?

IS IT TRUE that the Evansville Arena is something that some people want and other’s don’t?….that functioning sewers, clean air, and pleasant smells 12 months a year is something that every citizen of the City of Evansville NEEDS AND DESERVES?….that the needs of all should take priority over the wants of the few?….that the #1 job of the next Mayor of Evansville will be to push an acceptable solution to the CSO problem to completion?….that if the current Mayor of Evansville does not get this started that his successor will have only 10 months and no budget to do it with?

Bain Forecasts Holiday Sales Growth of 3%

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Santa Clause and his Reindeer

Bain Forecasts GAFO Sales Growth of 3% for the Holidays

With cautious optimism, Bain is forecasting GAFO sales growth of 3% for the holidays.1
It’s going to be a good season . . . at least compared to the last few Although signals are mixed, we are heading into the season with relatively strong momentum versus last year. Among the positive signs: Retailers are stocking slightly more inventory and are planning to increase holiday hiring over last year, some consumers are excited about shopping (or at least about jumping on bargains), and the economy is on a gradual albeit bumpy road to recovery. Underlying our forecast, which is at the high end of publicized estimates, are results that will vary widely by GAFO segment and consumer tier. The purpose of this newsletter is to highlight holiday sales trends and to clarify conflicting signals. We plan to distribute updates every two to three weeks throughout the holiday season to keep you informed as new data emerge.

For the full text of the article click on the following link.

http://www.bain.com/bainweb/PDFs/cms/Public/Bain_2010_Retail_Holiday_Newsletter_1.pdf

CCO Alexa Ranking Rises to #45,317 in America Passes Vectren at #57,330

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Here is what Alexa.com says about the City County Observer:

“City-countyobserver.com has a three-month global Alexa traffic rank of 730,224. The time spent in a typical visit to the site is about 34 minutes, with 56 seconds spent on each pageview. The site has attained a traffic rank of 45,317 among users in the US, where almost all its audience is located. Visitors to this site view 12.0 unique pages each day on average. About 35% of visits to City-countyobserver.com are referred by search engines.”

Having observed the rapid rise of the City County Observer on Alexa and having received an unsolicited syndication offer from a Manhattan publisher we became curious with regard to how we stack up against other local media outlets for internet traffic. To the best of our ability here is a list of the top internet media traffic sites in the Greater Evansville region.

1. Courier and Press #7,774
2. WFIE Channel 14 #29,334
3. City County Observer #45,317
4. Tri-State Media #86,441
5. WEHT Channel 25 #86,669
6. City of Evansville #125,263
7. WTVW Fox 7 #145,283
8. Owensboro Messenger #245,547
9. News4U no ranking
9. Henderson Gleaner no ranking
9. Vincennes Sun no ranking

We also track our performance using Google Analytics. Our latest Google Analytics performance numbers for the past two weeks are as follows:

11,687 Visits
33,194 Page Views
41.6% Bounce Rate
Visits from 45 states and 35 countries

Top Cities:
Evansville, IN
New York City
Newburgh, IN
Houston, TX
Indianapolis
Chicago
Atlanta
Washington DC
Los Angeles
Denver

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