IS IT TRUE? Part 2 July 25, 2011

IS IT TRUE that the scourge of meth has once again claimed the house of an innocent neighbor?…that it has been reported that 16 times so far this year that meth related fires have burned down a house?…that there have been 7 civilian injuries, one firefighter injury and one death this year from meth related issues?…that this count is the official count and does not include injuries to people from meth related violence that is seldom reported to the police?…that Evansville and other medium sized Midwestern cities have the perfect conditions for meth-makers?…that we just may be a meth-makers heaven?…that with our humidity, our critical mass of drug stores, and our close proximity to farms and agricultural chemicals that Evansville and cities like Evansville are to meth-makers as the Napa Valley is to wine makers?…that this is a problem in search of a solution and that the CCO encourages candidates for office and current public officials to come forward with any ideas that they may have to counter this culture killing scourge?

IS IT TRUE that the name of Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel is reported to have been thrown into the ring of consideration for the recently filled position of Superintendent of the EVSC?…that it is also reported that this suggestion was not given serious consideration?…that we are investigating this further and will report any new findings on this unexpected career opportunity?…that in a quick Google search that we could find no cases in major American cities where a mayor has ever become a superintendent of schools?

IS IT TRUE that during the last ten years that Clarksville, TN just 100 or so miles south on highway 41 has passed the City of Evansville in population?…that the population of Clarksville rose from 103,455 in 2000 to 132,929 in 2010 and is now the 9th fasted growing city in America?…that in 1960 when the City of Evansville peaked at 141,543 that Clarksville was home to a mere 22,021 people?…that Evansville was 543% larger than Clarksville in 1960 but Clarksville is now 13% larger than Evansville?…that it is hard to explain the reasons behind such a stark difference in growth?…that both cities are on navigable rivers?…that neither city has consolidated government?…that both cities have a state university with about 10,000 students?…that both cities have a private university of religious affiliation?…that both cities are in counties with a population in the 175,000 range?…that both cities have MSA’s that include parts of Kentucky?…that both cities have suffered through a killer tornado in very recent history?…that the average incomes of the cities are similar?

IS IT TRUE that as much as Clarksville and Evansville look alike on paper that finding real differences are somewhat difficult?…that Clarksville’s big brother to the south Nashville was at one time smaller than Evansville?…that Jimi Hendrix called Clarksville home for a short time?…that Jimi Hendrix Experience was the opening act for the Monkees in the Summer of 1969?…that the Monkees put Clarksville on the map with their song “Last Train to Clarksville”?…that train must have been leaving Evansville and that from a population perspective it must have been a one way trip?…that the State of Tennessee is a right to work state and that the State of Indiana is not?…that we welcome our readers input on other differences that may have contributed to the divergence of the growth and prosperity of Clarksville and Evansville?…that until convinced different that we will blame the economic effects on the Monkees and Jimi Hendrix conspiracy to promote Clarksville?

IS IT TRUE that the fortunes may have been reversed if the Monkees had recorded “Last Train to Evansville” and Hendrix had made his home on Riverside Drive.

IS IT TRUE that the City County Observer has always encouraged and printed position papers from candidates for public office on any topic that they choose at any time that they choose to submit them to us?…that there has never been any candidate position paper of substance that we have not published?…that a statement from “the Party” or from some other 3rd Party organization that is purely negative in its tone is does not constitute a candidate’s position?

IS IT TRUE that the 2011 race for Mayor of Evansville has produced three candidate position papers thus far?…that Republican candidate Lloyd Winnecke has submitted position papers on “jobs” and “transportation”?…that Democratic candidate Rick Davis submitted a position paper last week on the “parks”?…that all three of these papers were represented as the original work of the candidates and that we published all three without edit, opinion, or bias?…that we will continue with this policy with all candidates for all offices right up through election day?

IS IT TRUE that we will also publish rebuttal papers that are represented to us as the original work of the candidates?…that blanket critiques offered by “the Party” or by a “3rd Party” will not be published?…that informed letters to the editor by citizens of Evansville on any topic will nearly always be published?

IS IT TRUE that next week our daily IS IT TRUE columns and weekly guest appearance on the Les Shively radio show on WGBF 1280 am will be coming to you from Silicon Valley, California?…that some of the differentials of lifestyle like litter per mile, internet speed, number of venture dollars available, etc. may just find their way into the column each day?…that we may just be checking out what it takes to expand and syndicate the City County Observer to other cities across America?…that we are certain that Civic Centers, Redevelopment Commissions, elected bodies, appointed boards, and dilapidated infrastructure across the nation could make CCO clones with focus on good local governance something that concerned citizens will embrace?

IS IT TRUE that this morning just across the Warrick Co. line that the download speed achieved from a highest cost WOW connection was 8.52 Mbps and the upload speed was 1.11 Mbps?…that this test location is a new group of houses with underground utilities and optical fiber connections?…that these speeds grade out at a C- with 59% of the services in the USA being better?…that the upload speed in particular is only about 33% of what the global average is?

IS IT TRUE that July 30th is the day that we should be granted access to the information on communications between VenuWorks and the powers that be regarding things like preferred seating in the Arena, upcoming shows, contracts with UE sports, and even the not yet signed contract for VenuWorks to manage the Arena?…that we are quite curious to learn these answers?

IS IT TRUE that the 4th day of reckoning for the McCurdy Hotel project will be on July 31st that for all practical purposes means Monday August 1, 2011?…that it has now been more than 4 years since that whole ordeal was proudly announced?…that if we were placing a wager that we would bet on another extension of at least 6 months so that the election is over and the reign on Mayor Weinzapfel is too?…that lots of cans are being kicked down the road lately?…that with proper (or for that matter any) planning would have been put into place that the people of Evansville would not be enduring these embarrassing fiascos?…that if the developer is not standing in the next ERC meeting with a solid financing plan and a construction schedule that commences before September 1, 2011 that it is time to rescind this deal just like the Woodruff deal was and see who else may be interested in this project?…that as some pieces of stone are hanging on by a thread and some caulk that there is some urgency in taking some immediate action?

IS IT TRUE that the Evansville Redevelopment Commission is meeting tomorrow and that we are sure that some vetting of the downtown Convention Hotel proposals will be on the agenda?…that as we stated over the weekend that project manager Mr. John Kish has already polluted the vetting process with prejudicial statements and should not be consulted on who to hire to do the vetting?

IS IT TRUE? Part 2 July 24, 2011 Mayor’s Letter to IEDC Supports EB-5 Requirements

IS IT TRUE that the EB-5 program is a program instituted by the United States government in November of 1990 for the purpose of attracting foreign capital and expertise to the good old USA?…that all locations within the United States are eligible to utilize this program?…that Evansville, Indiana is a part of the United States of America?…that therefore Evansville is eligible to EB-5 investment?

IS IT TRUE that the minimum investment per qualified immigrant under the EB-5 program was established at the beginning of the program to be $1,000,000?…that the minimum amount is reduced to $500,000 in cases of investment in “targeted employment areas,” which are either rural areas or areas which experience unemployment of at least 150 percent of the national average rate?

IS IT TRUE that on April 4, 2011 that Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel of the City of Evansville sent a letter to representatives of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation?…that the purpose of this letter was to support the designation of Census Tract 17 in the City of Evansville as a Targeted Employment Area?…that this letter was clear that the reason for this support was to aid Woodruff Hospitality LLC in developing a Hyatt Place Hotel next to the new Arena?…that the letter also contained speculation with regard to employment levels that are also requirements for approval of EB-5 investments?

Evansville Hyatt Mayors ltr of support 4-4-2011

IS IT TRUE that Woodruff Hospitality proposed EB-5 financing and that John Kish and Mayor Weinzapfel were not only aware of this but were actively doing things to achieve the Targeted Employment Area status that would reduce the investment level requirements for the foreign investors?…that prior to entering the underwriting phase for EB-5 projects that the land must be secured?…that the deal for Woodruff Hospitality to “close” with the City of Evansville for the land was predicated upon Woodruff Hospitality LLC successfully raising approximately $3 Million of up front equity?…that the reason that the Woodruff Hospitality deal went south had nothing to do with the EB-5 program?…that the real problem was that the $3 Million was never successfully raised?

IS IT TRUE that if Woodruff Hospitality would have been successful in raising $3 Million that the deal with the city would have closed and the hotel project would now be awaiting the completion of the underwriting process and the funding process to consummate?…that if on July 3, 2011 that Woodruff Hospitality would have “closed the deal” with the City of Evansville, that in about 4 or 5 months the EB-5 loan (if approved) would fund and the hotel would break ground?…that under that scenario the grand opening would have been SUMMER of 2013?

IS IT TRUE we really wonder why a funding program that was perfectly acceptable to Mayor Weinzapfel and John Kish until July 5th is now the subject of negative speculation about “them foreign investors”?…that we wonder why EB-5 was just fine before so why is it such a tempest in the teapot now?…that it all once again comes down to Woodruff Hospitality LLC not finding success in raising the local money needed to close the deal?…that Prime Lodging LLC has submitted in their financial package letters stating that they have $3.5 Million in equity that is ready to go?…that the Kunkel Group has submitted a statement from Mr. Ben Kunkel regarding his intention to invest $2 Million in the project if his business is chosen?

IS IT TRUE that the “key money” program with Hyatt is what it is and will be equally available without regard to which developer “wins” the bid?…that the “key money” is paid upon opening the hotel and not as up-front equity?

IS IT TRUE that if the Evansville Redevelopment Commission wants to do something that should be quite simple to establish the viability of these developers that they need to ask these prospective developers to “SHOW ME THE MONEY”?…that this would be the up-front equity money and not a fully funded loan?…that no financial institution whether EB-5, a hard money lender from California, or a local bank is going to fully commit or close a loan without both a contract with the City of Evansville AND the transfer of property on which the hotel will sit?

IS IT TRUE? July 24, 2011

IS IT TRUE that we are wondering why every time we open the paper or turn on local news that Arena project manager John Kish is standing in front of a camera expressing skepticism for the EB-5 financing that has been proposed by Prime Lodging LLC while singing the praises of the financing that the Kunkel Group is proposing to get from Acer, a private hard money lender from Irvine, California?…that we thought that the purpose of VETTING these proposals was to hire or assemble a competent team of professionals to determine which proposal is the best proposal for the people of Evansville to co-invest with?…that no committee or firm has been hired to do this VETTING yet?…that the City County Observer believes that it is premature and prejudicial for the project manager to be advocating for either proposal at this time?…that the best answer that could possibly come from the mouth of Mr. Kish, the Mayor of Evansville, the City Council, or the Evansville Redevelopment Commission is as follows?

“The responses are being taken under review and it is our intention to evaluate every aspect and option of each proposal in a formal VETTING PROCESS that will be carried out by an outside objective professional firm. No further questions please”

IS IT TRUE that that opinions expressed this week by Mr. Kish on camera and in print are not consistent with a project manager that has even a shred of objectivity?…that these statements and the demeanor with which they were made have already polluted the potential for a fair vetting process that includes Mr. Kish?…that it is time for Mr. Kish to recuse himself from this process and to leave the entire vetting process to a professional firm that he has no choice in making and the decision on which proposal to choose to others?…that Mr. Kish seems to have already made his recommendations with his words and actions of the last week?…that if there are only two things that the people of Evansville deserve from this process is that it is both fair and equitable?…that Mr. Kish’s rush to judgement and to the cameras was neither?

IS IT TRUE that there are plenty of things that can be easily verified up front to start shining a bit of light on each proposal?…that one of those things is the probability of success for the senior debt proposed?…that another is whether or not “key money” from the Hyatt Corporation can be used as up front equity and how much it really is?…that another would be to scale the drawings of the proposals and see if the sizes of the features are even feasible for the proposed uses?…that another most important consideration is just how solid the proposed equity money is and when it is available to be deployed for these purposes?…that another feature of interest is just how accurate the renderings are with respect to the $8 Million public investment that the RFP committed to invest?…that at least one member of the Evansville City Council is planning to propose that a performance bond of between 3% and 5% ($1Million – $1.6 Million) of the project cost be placed up front?…that this will separate the real from the imaginary when it comes to the financing of the downtown Convention Hotel?

IS IT TRUE that Evansville may be the only city in America with a population of over 100,000 people with absolutely no large arena style venue during the period of time after Roberts Stadium is mothballed (September 17th) and when the new Arena opens (November 1st)?…that we really wonder what the urgency was to do this so fast?…that this makes about as much sense as a small town with a single fire truck mothballing that fire truck 6 weeks before the scheduled delivery of a new fire truck?…that we wonder just where the fire is there powers that be?…that this is just one more example of READY, FIRE, AIM playing itself out for the entertainment of the people of Evansville?

Base Closure turned Business Park creates 15,000 Jobs from an $18 Million EB-5 Deal

Excerpts from the Sacramento Bee Article of March 2011:

“McClellan Air Force Base lost 12,000 jobs when it closed in 2001 along with 29 other California military bases. Today 15,000 people work at McClellan Business Park, a residential and industrial development, thanks partly to $18 million invested by 36 immigrants looking for a quick path to U.S. residency.”

“The U.S. government is high on EB5 as a way to jump-start depressed areas. In the last four years about 4,000 immigrants have invested $2 billion in the United States, resulting in about 40,000 jobs.”

“Any immigrant without a criminal record can apply, as long as they make a $1 million investment – or $500,000 in areas where unemployment is 150 percent of the national average.”

“California Military Bases, the regional center that recruited investors to McClellan Business Park, has signed up more than 400 foreigners who have invested more than $212 million and helped create more than 6,000 jobs, said founder Pat Hogan.”

“The Americans who have benefited from the program include Dennis Rodriguez. Rodriguez, 51, had been out of work 14 months before he found a job at McClellan Business Park. He now earns $19 an hour as a welder for Polar Service Centers, a tanker-truck company that ships chemicals, cement and other products. “We’re a Cinderella story,” Rodriguez said.”

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/03/20/3487280/millionaire-visas-seen-as-job.html#ixzz1SyDmTRgM

Citing Evansville’s proud history of an acclaimed park system and the recent designation of the Evansville Region as the nation’s most obese, Democratic candidate for Mayor of Evansville, Rick Davis is proposing to put the recreation back into the Evansville Parks and Recreation Department.

Davis referred to one of his own personal ways of maintaining a healthy weight by running as one of the ways to get Evansvillians off of the couch and outside engaging in physical activity. He went on to propose a program that would invest $150,000 per year to create 50 summer jobs for young people to instill pride of community.

Candidate Davis mentioned part of his inspiration as the recent publicity regarding drug addicts needles in our parks and the general failure to do routine maintenance. Davis’s entire press release is available on the following link.

Rick_Davis_Plan_for_ImprovedParksRecreation

IS IT TRUE? July 23, 2011

IS IT TRUE that the results of the poll over at the Courier & Press show that 58% of the respondents do not want foreign money borrowed to build a downtown Convention Hotel in Evansville?…that we are shocked and amazed that the citizens of Evansville would have such prejudice against the greenbacks from another culture being used to fund a project here?…that there must be some misunderstanding of the question as it was asked?…that Mayor Weinzapfel, the president of USI, and Greg Wathen just travelled to Germany in an attempt to attract some “foreign” money to invest in the local economy?…that if all of the businesses that were funded with “foreign money” from Sabic to Toyota that employ people here packed up and left town that we estimate that at least 25,000 jobs would be lost?

IS IT TRUE that this is a teaching moment and that the lesson to be taught is that investments from other cultures and other countries are both necessary and stabilizing in a world that is increasingly volatile?…that businesses and the countries that depend on business taxes are very reluctant to attack places where they are making a profit?…that the color of money is considered to be green the world over and that if the people of Evansville are having a hard time understanding this that the EVSC and the private schools in this community need to start teaching something about the benefits of foreign money coming here to young people?

IS IT TRUE that the preferred financing method for this downtown Convention Hotel would be if a local bank such as Old National that has a vice president on the Evansville Redevelopment Commission would make the loan to one of the two local companies that actually stepped forward to make a bid?…that we wonder if Old National or one of the other local banks has been approached to finance this deal and what the answer was?…that we are sure as we have published extensively that there is a real problem with the value of the collateral being too low?…that once again Evansville businesses are forced to seek financing elsewhere because Evansville people and businesses will not invest in Evansville?…that the interest on the loans for the hotel will be between $1.3 Million and $2.0 Million depending on which financing materializes?…that this is money that could have stayed in Evansville to be re-circulated?…that due to the conservative nature of our people and businesses that this money which could have employed people here, increased earnings here, and been loaned out to other businesses here, shall be gone forever to foreign shores?…that it is a darn shame when foreigners (or Californians) are the only people who have enough faith in an Evansville project to invest in Evansville?

IS IT TRUE that amid all of the hubbub over the EB-5 foreign investment that Mole #69 tells us that there was a letter sent to the IEDC on City of Evansville letterhead and signed by Mayor Weinzapfel on behalf of Woodruff Hospitality LLC?…that this letter is to certify that the Census Tract in which the hotel will be is indeed a Targeted Employment Area?…that this letter also set forth the number of jobs created by the hotel to be nearly exactly the number that will be required to get an EB-5 project approved?…that this letter seems to make it quite clear that Mayor Weinzapfel was not only supportive of EB-5 financing but that he thought it to be a viable solution and was working to assist Woodruff Hospitality LLC in obtaining it?…that sending Mr. Kish forth into the City of Evansville to disparage the viability of this financing mechanism after supporting it is a disingenuous flip-flop?

IS IT TRUE that between CCO Moles and interested parties it is beginning to sound as if both the Kunkel Group and Prime Lodging may be very challenged to emerge from the VETTING PROCESS successfully?…that tag team inquisitions and newspaper interviews attacking financing sources do not a VETTING PROCESS make?…that we are also hearing that most of the actions that are thought to be VETTING are nothing more than the GOOD OLD BOY network playing at real business again?…that is a darn shame?

Whatever happened to a USA that accepted foreigners yearning to be free

IS IT TRUE? July 22, 2011 Part 2

IS IT TRUE that it has been reported that the first publication of the RFP for the new downtown hotel was published in the Evansville Courier on July 4, 2011?…that the contract with Woodruff Hospitality LLC and the authorization to issue a new RFP were voted on and unanimously approved by the Evansville Redevelopment Commission in their July 5, 2011 meeting?…that there must have been some presumption of what the vote was going to be for the RFP to have been published before the authorization to do so was granted?…that the RFP could have and should have been held until the ERC authorized it and rescinded the Woodruff Hospitality LLC contract?…that we hope that the acceptance of any bids is not legally compromised by this rush to publish?

IS IT TRUE that there is a poll in today’s Courier and Press that asks the question Do you think foreign investors should be involved in the financing of the proposed Downtown hotel?…that this question alone in the way it is posed is prejudicial and implies that in some way that money borrowed from foreign nationals should be rejected?…that the answer “NO” is gathering 64% of the votes?…that the government of the United States of America borrows money from foreign sources on a regular basis to fund the operation of our country?…that anyone or any entity that rejects the premise that foreign money should not be borrowed for domestic projects is completely out of touch with the reality of today?…that all federal, state, and local government employees get at least a part of their paychecks because foreign money was borrowed to keep those paychecks from being returned for insufficient funds?…that if foreign money could not be borrowed this country would be in dire straits very quickly?…that the very nature of the question invites outsider hating small minds and that this is not an attribute that Evansville should be identified with?

IS IT TRUE that if we do not wish to see private businesses borrow foreign dollars to invest in and around Evansville, Indiana that there are several companies that we need to just close today?…that GE Plastics sold their plant in Mount Vernon to SABIC?…that the source of these funds was and is substantially from Saudi Arabia?…that Toyota that employs nearly 5,000 people directly and by some estimates another 5,000 in supplier businesses is a Japanese company?…that the original investment was foreign money?…that Governor Daniels, Mayor Weinzapfel, Greg Wathen, and a host of other economic development professionals regularly travel overseas in hopes of enticing “foreign money” to come to Evansville to help in the “job creation” process?

IS IT TRUE that the management of the City County Observer has been approached to expand into a daily print newspaper?…that some of the investment dollars being considered are foreign money?

IS IT TRUE that rejecting a funding source because it is offshore is not only un-American it is self limiting and an indicator of prejudice?…that we are better than this Evansville?…that this is not the time to question where a private developers loan is coming from?…that this is precisely the time to do what can be done to find a hotel developer with a secure funding source by any legal means they see fit?…that fanning the fires of xenophobia is no way to move Evansville toward a prosperous future?…that if we are relying on local financing to carry our pail of water, we will be thirsty without any hotel for many years?

Xenophobia: is defined as the “hatred or fear of foreigners or strangers or of their politics or culture”. Xenophobia can manifest itself in many ways involving the relations and perceptions of an ingroup towards an outgroup, including a fear of losing identity, suspicion of its activities, aggression, and desire to eliminate its presence to secure a presumed purity.

What is this EB-5 Program and is it right for the Downtown Evansville Hotel Project

The City County Observer has done some searching regarding the details of the EB-5 Program that has been proposed by Prime Lodging LLC as a primary financing source for the new downtown hotel. Excerpts from the article and a link to the discussion follow:

“Although it has been around for many years, the U.S. EB-5 visa immigrant investor program is now becoming an exciting potential source of capital for hotel development, acquisition and renovation projects. Some high-profile hotel projects are now being funded using this program, such as portions of the W Hotel and Residences Hollywood, one of the largest public-private partnership in California”

“approximately $118 million in financing is now being raised using the EB-5 investment program to finance construction of a 377-room hotel tower now being developed adjacent to L.A. LIVE to house both a Courtyard by Marriott® and Residence Inn by Marriott. In New York, another EB-5 investment program is seeking to finance a new Westin Hotel in the Flushing area of New York City”

“The good news for hotel developers and owners is these EB-5 investors are most interested in real estate development projects. And hotel development is one of the best investment options for the EB-5 investment program. That is because hotels create jobs in the U.S. (which is one of the key criteria for an EB-5 investment), and because hotels are an attractive asset class to the Chinese investors that currently are the majority of all applicants for the EB-5 visa program.”

“EB-5 is an immigrant investor visa category created in 1990 for foreign nationals who invest in a new commercial enterprise that will benefit the U.S. economy and create at least 10 full-time jobs. The name comes from the fact that this visa is the 5th category of employment based (EB) visas. Ten thousand visas are set aside annually for investors and their immediate family members under the EB-5 visa program. An EB-5 applicant will receive a visa for himself or herself, his or her spouse, and all of their children under the age of 21.”

“In order to qualify for an EB-5 Visa, an investor must invest at least $1,000,000, or $500,000 for a project in a “targeted employment area” (as discussed below), in an enterprise that will create at least 10 new full-time jobs for U.S. citizens and legal residents.”

http://hotellaw.jmbm.com/2011/07/eb-5_fundamentals.html

WNIN Kids Fest, presented by Bunny Bread will be held on Saturday September 17, 2011 from 10a-2pm. Last years, Kids Fest was a blast and we want you to join us this year for the fun.

2011 Kids Fest characters are

Cat in the Hat sponsored by MHS
Clifford the Big Red Dog sponsored by Barnes and Noble
Curious George
Princess Presto from Super Why
Abby Cadabby
A special appearance by the Bunny Bread Bunny.

On the Carpenter Home Stage sponsored by MDWise, we have some great acts from our community.

Tales and Scales
Revolution Gymnastics
Rawhide N Ruffles
VT Elite Fashion Club
Brice’s Taekwondo
Boom Squad, Inc