The Purple Aces are trying to make their way into the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in the final match of the 2023 regular season
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NASHVILLE —Â The University of Evansville men’s soccer team will play its final regular season match of 2023 on Wednesday night.
Evansville earned a crucial three points in the Missouri Valley Conference postseason race on Friday night against the Bradley Braves. The Aces earned their second conference win and second shutout of the MVC season on their senior night. Senior forward Kai Phillip added his ninth goal of the season in UE’s 1-0 win while graduate goalkeeper Jacob Madden had his third clean sheet of the year.
Evansville hopes to get their first road win in Valley play this week as they travel to Belmont for the final game of the season. The Aces last played the Bruins in Nashville during the 2021 fall season prior to Belmont joining the Missouri Valley Conference. In the two team’s 15-game series, UE holds the edge with 12 wins and last won in Tennessee in 2016. Evansville won the team’s final meeting in 2022 in the MVC Tournament Semifinals, posing a 1-0 shutout against the Bruins at Missouri State.
Belmont comes into Wednesday’s game with an 8-6-2 overall record and a 3-4 conference record. The Bruins are coming off a tough 5-0 loss to the winners of the MVC Regular Season, Western Michigan. The 5-0 loss was the most goals conceded by Belmont since a similar defeat at UNC Wilmington on Oct. 13, 2019. The Bruins are led by sophomore forward Brock Kiper and graduate midfielder Jansen Wilson. Kiper leads the team in goals with 5 along with 4 assists while Wilson has 5 assists and 4 goals on the season.
The Aces are in a multiple-tie scenario heading into Wednesday. With seven points, the Aces are tied with Northern Illinois for the final spot in the tournament. A win against the Bruins would secure a spot in the tournament for UE. A result against Belmont could also secure Evansville the final seed of the tournament if NIU either ties or loses to Bowling Green.
FOOTNOTE: Â EPD DAILY ACTIVITY REPORT information was provided by the EPD and posted by the City-County-County Observer without opinion, bias, or editing.
I have read this agreement twice over the last three weeks after I stumbled across this legal agreement posted in the City-County Observer publication. After reading this, I was shocked as to its contents. There are numerous provisions agreement that I think will stun all Evansville taxpayers as to how this Agreement handles your taxes paid over the years. I have not been able to find out whether the Agreement was ever approved by the Evansville City Council.
I am going to share with you a couple of the most offensive provisions and see what you think about these, but as I mentioned there are numerous other offensive provisions.
OFFENSIVE PROVISION #1
Per page 12 of the Agreement and 2.3(0) reads as follows:
“Venuworks shall utilize facility staff and resources to manage and operate the SPHL (Southern Professional Hockey League) until such time as the City determines that it wants to cease operations of the SPHL Franchise or transfer ownership to a third party. During such periods in which Venuworks operates the SPHL Franchise, all expenses of the SPHL Franchise shall be deemed as Operating Expense of the Facility and all revenues of the SPHL Franchise shall be deemed Operating Revenue of the Facility.â€
All expenses for the Thunderbolts would for most Minor League Hockey Teams include such things as player salaries and housing, equipment such as hockey sticks and pucks, travel expenses to 28 away games, which also would include hotels, insurance, and many other types of expenses. My experience indicates that annual expenses for an SPHL Team are between $1,200,000 and $1,400,000 per calendar year. So, the Ford Center/Evansville taxpayers are paying all the expenses of the SPHL Team named the Thunderbolts and they report this to the public as an “operating expense of the facilityâ€. But all income that is received from ticket sales for games and advertisements on the walls around the hockey ice is considered “operating revenue of the facility.â€Â So, a major problem is that the Thunderbolts (an SPHL Team) attendance has been poor, and I suspect the advertising income is not robust. So, the Thunderbolts have been operating in the Ford Center since October 2016, starting their season the weekend of October 20, 2023. We need to see what the losses were for the 7 years ended in June 2023. It does not seem right that the Venuworks 100% owned subsidiary – VW Sports of Evansville, LLC owns the Thunderbolts is not paying any of their expenses, and assuming these are large cumulative losses from the Team staying in business then the Ford Center/Taxpayer dollars are covering all these losses. Has this arrangement with the Thunderbolts been previously disclosed to the public and what is the risk of loss to the taxpayers?
The main reason the Evansville Icemen lease was not extended by the Winnecke Administration and the Evansville Icemen were forced to leave the Ford Center is that the five-year lease that the Evansville Icemen played under was excessive and would not allow the Evansville Icemen to have any positive return on investment. Many times, the Evansville Icemen sat down with the Mayor and the Executive Director of the Ford Center, Scott Schoenike asking to modify the original five-year lease. The response from Schoenike was that we were not performing well, that we had to do better, and that they thought they could do better. Hence, Schoenike thought the answer was to buy an SPHL Franchise which they ended up doing. Schoenike was Big-Time Wrong. The Evansville Icemen’s average over the first four years of the lease was an annual average attendance of 5,172 per game which caused us to be ranked 3rd out of 27 teams in the ECHL, as for season ticket sales, we also were ranked 3rd out of 27 teams, and finally each year of our lease, the Evansville Icemen ranked 1st out of 27 teams as far as group sales were concerned. The bottom line is that the Winnecke Administration thought we were not doing good and that they would do better with an SPHL Team. We were forced out and after a year of going dark, the Evansville Icemen lost all their players because they became “Free Agents†and we started afresh in October 2017 in an arena in Jacksonville with new players and a new coach. We had a great season with an average attendance per game of just over 6,000, which ranked us 3rd out of 27 teams in the ECHL, plus we made the playoffs and had a reasonable positive return on investment. Our second year was even better. I sold the Team in July 2019 to an excellent group of Jacksonville businesspeople.
The new Jacksonville Icemen Team under new ownership has done well as I thought they would, and I just learned that they averaged 7749 per game for the season covering 2022-2023 and this ranked them 1 out of 28 teams in the ECHL. I am very happy for them. The arena in Jacksonville only holds about 8,000 people (compared to 9,000 people for the Ford Center) and the Mayor of Jacksonville and the management company of their arena were cooperative, positive, and helpful in assisting us in a great launch in Jacksonville, Florida (incidentally, about 200 of our Evansville Icemen fans drove down to the Jacksonville Arena for our first game in October 2017!! As I look back to the media coverage of the “negotiations†between the Evansville Icemen and the Winnecke Administration, it is very disappointing to me that all the television stations and the Courier and Press newspaper only reported the positions of the Winnecke statements and all our positions were ignored. Only the City-County Observer covered the growing dispute in a balanced way.
OFFENSIVE PROVISION #2
Per Page 16 and 17 of the Agreement and 4.4(i) (ii) (iii) and (iv)
“Venueworks†Capital Investment
Venuworks will make a capital investment of not less than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000), for the purchase of a new production camera system for the Facility. Specific items to be purchased with funds from Venuworks will be determined to the mutual satisfaction of both parties.
The city will repay Venuworks for the actual investment amount over the five-year term, in the form of sixty equal monthly payments.
The amortized repayment shall be an operating expense to the facility.
The parties recognize the equipment procured through the interest-free loan will serve as collateral for the loan; the parties will execute a separate promissory note for the loan which will become part of this Agreement.
Venuworks may, in its sole discretion, assign the City’s obligation to repay the Capital Investment Loan to the financial institution selected by Venuworks to finance the investment.
Ron Geary thinks that borrowing from the management company as of May 1, 2021 is an indicator that the Ford Center must be short of cash and possibly an indication that additional bond financing may not be available – plus on September 17, 2023, the City Council voted to “Lease Rental Revenue Bonds†for the Ford Center to raise approximately $9,000,000 for needed capital repairs and equipment – The Ford Center is approximately 12 to 13 years old and should have been accumulating reserves over the years to pay for such needed capital repairs and maintenance rather than renaming streets as part of the Revenue Bond – What does the Ford Center Balance Sheet look like as well as OperatingÂ
Profit or Loss for said last 8 years?
Contradictory to the provision on Pages 16 and 17 referred to above via 4.4(I) (ii) (iii) and (iv), please see 5.8 page 20 states that 5.8 Capital Improvements; Capital Equipment
“The obligation to pay for capital equipment purchases shall remain with the City and will not be considered operating expense.†Â
Obviously 4.4(i) (ii) (iii) and (iv) violate 5.8.
In conclusion
In light of the two items I previously discussed and the many various items in the other 38 pages of the Management Agreement, plus the fact that the City of Evansville has incurred almost 1 billion dollars worth of debt in the last 12 years and needs another $300 to $400 million of additional debt to finish up the sewer and water needs of the City. Furthermore, I attended the debate on the evening of October 18, 2023, at Southern Indiana University and listened to the three Candidates for Mayor. Based upon my personal experiences with the Winnecke Administration and their use of “shifting sands†bait and switch techniques and daily “heavy-handed†management style of Mr. Scott Schoenike of Venuworks and overall dealings by the City in bad faith, it is critical that the taxpayers of Evansville must elect Michael Daugherty as Mayor for sure on November 7, 2023 AND that on his day of being inaugurated as Mayor of Evansville which I believe is January 2, 2024, he must engage a nationally based forensic audit firm to do a complete audit ASAP not only on the Management Agreement discussed in this letter but probably many other areas of the City of Evansville financial dealings.
We need an entrepreneur who has learned how to fight the problems and solve them ASAP like Michael learned how to develop a business and after 14 years of hard work, how to retire early after the sale of his business, and to help his hometown of Evansville.
Also, after discussing all this information with my wife, my entrepreneurial son, and daughter, our 9 grandchildren, and my fondness for Evansville taxpayers that if Michael Daugherty is elected Mayor, I will immediately come out of retirement and seek to have another ECHL Hockey Team ready to play in the Ford Center as soon as October 2024. This will be difficult, but I am prepared to fight through all the obstacles, challenges, and attacks that may come my way. Evansville Taxpayers deserve better than what they have dealt with over the last 12 years!
D. WILLIAM MOREAU, JR.CEO/PUBLISHER OF THE INDIANA CITIZEN WILL BE THE CCO 2023 AWARDS LUNCHEON SPEAKER
(LUNCHEON IS SOLD OUT)
Steve Hammer and County Commissioner Ben Shoulders Co-Chairmen of the 2023 “Community Services Award Luncheon” are excited to announce that D. William Moteau a highly regarded and nationally known attorney and newspaper President/Publisher of the  Indiana Citizen will be the 2023 City-County Observer “Annual Community Service Awards Luncheon” speaker held at BALLY’S-Evansville.on November 1, 2023, at noon.
Co-hosts Hammer and Commissioner Ben Shoulders also announced that at this event the City-County Observer will be bestowing three (3) “Community Service Awards†winners to deserving individuals who are well-known and highly respected public servants and community volunteers.  We shall also be honoring a “Male” and a “Female” person of the year.  Well-known “Mega Preacher and Publisher of “Our Times newspaper, Dr. Adrain Brooks will be the events Master Of Ceremonies.
PROFILE OF D. WILLIAM MOREAU, JR.
“As chair of the Firm’s interdisciplinary Higher Education Practice Group, Bill led a team of more than 50 lawyers firmwide who regularly represented traditional, nonprofit colleges and universities on the vast array of issues they confront daily. Bill provided legal and strategic advice to presidents, senior administrators and general counsel on governance, public affairs, government relations, communications, crisis management, personnel, presidential transition, dispute resolution, federal research development and fundraising issues, drawing on his 12 years as a trustee of his undergraduate alma mater, Purdue University.
As a trustee at Purdue, he was the only lawyer on the 10-member Board and chaired its Finance Committee, which provided oversight of budget, project financing, and investment matters. He also served on the search committee that identified and recruited Martin C. Jischke to be Purdue’s 10th President.
In addition, Bill served as a gubernatorial appointee to the Community College Policy Committee which led to the development of Indiana’s community college system. He was the former chair and remains a member of the Board of Advisors of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and serves on the Indiana State University President’s National Advisory Board. He was the Firm’s representative to the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA).
Bill’s government relations practice involved representing clients before countless local, state and national administrative, executive, legislative, and regulatory bodies. From city halls to county government centers to the Indiana State House to the U.S. Congress and the White House, clients entrusted Bill with their most complex matters across a broad spectrum of issues, including intellectual property, environmental, tax, healthcare, insurance, trade practices, research and development, program and capital funding, securities regulation, public access, affordable housing, civil rights, and higher education initiatives. He was the managing partner of our Washington, D.C. office for 3 1/2 years.
While an undergraduate at Purdue, Bill was the managing editor and editor-in-chief of the student daily newspaper, was the recipient of a full-tuition Pulliam Scholarship, joined the Society of Professional Journalists, and was inducted into the leadership honoraries Iron Key and Omicron Delta Kappa. Following a stint as a newspaper reporter, Bill became a graduate student in American Government and a journalism teaching assistant at Purdue before moving to Washington, D.C. While working full-time on Capitol Hill, first in the House of Representatives and then for the Senior Senator from Indiana, Birch Bayh, he attended law school at the Georgetown University Law Center, where he was named a Teaching Fellow and an associate editor of The American Criminal Law Review. Bill’s full-time public service also included serving as chief of staff for Evan Bayh when he was Indiana’s Secretary of State and during his first term as Governor.
He was admitted to practice before all Indiana courts, U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Indiana, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, where Bill successfully argued a landmark case challenging the validity of the Gary-Chicago Airport Compact, which Bill helped to negotiate (137 F.3d 474 (1998)). Trained as a litigator and an appellate advocate, he was recognized by his fellow lawyers as a Master Fellow of the Indiana Bar Foundation and by his election as the board chair of SCG Legal, an international network of 148 law firms practicing in 82 countries, including every U.S. state capital. In 2017, he was named a recipient of the prestigious ‘Leadership in Law Distinguished Barristers Award’ by The Indiana Lawyer. He regularly represented nonprofit organizations and individuals who cannot afford a lawyer; in 2015, the Firm honored Bill as the winner of the Joseph A. Maley Pro Bono Award.
Away from the practice of law, Bill was deeply involved in local and national efforts to promote civic engagement and end homelessness.
As someone who has always been an active citizen, Bill devoted a portion of his life to supporting organizations and causes that try to energize the body politic. He currently serves of the Board of Advisors for the Center on Congress at Indiana University and the National Advisory Committee of IU’s Center for Civic Literacy and was a founding advisory board member of Purdue University’s Institute for Civic Communication.
In 2000, the then-Mayor of Indianapolis, Bart Peterson, asked Bill to lead a year-long, inclusive effort to draft the community’s 10-year plan to address the challenge of homelessness. The culmination of that task was Indianapolis’ ‘Blueprint to End Homelessness,’ which is still hailed as a national model. Mayor Peterson then asked Bill to chair the board of the nonprofit responsible for implementing the Blueprint, the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention (CHIP). Bill is the only Emeritus Chair in CHIP’s history. His relentless advocacy for policies and programs to end the scourge of homelessness has led to his election to the boards of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, HVAF of Indiana (dedicated to serving homeless veterans), and the Reuben Engagement Center. Bill has spoken widely on the topic including delivering a seminar at Harvard and has been quoted extensively in the news media. Many organizations serving the homeless have been gracious in acknowledging Bill’s tireless efforts, most recently with a lifetime achievement award named in his honor. Bill and his wife, Ann, fund an annual fellowship that supports a graduate student’s training in advocacy for the homeless, for which they received the ‘Spirit of Philanthropy’ Award from IUPUI.
In 2015, Bill was chosen by Purdue from among 350 nominees to be one of 10 ‘Old Masters’ in recognition of his civic and professional achievements
IU to host Taylor Swift conference for the (master)minds
By Sydney Byerly, TheStatehouseFile.com
Updated
Photo by Ashlyn Myers, TheStatehouseFile.com.
More than 1,000 Swifties and scholars—and Swiftie scholars—have already registered for a conference focusing on the pop icon at Indiana University in November.Indiana University’s Arts and Humanities Council aims bigger than the whole sky with the “world’s first†Taylor Swift-themed conference, hoping to bring Swifties and scholars together to root for the anti-hero and discuss the global pop star’s timeless qualities.Â
“Taylor Swift: The Conference Era†will be held in Buskirk-Chumley Theater near the Bloomington campus on Nov. 3 and 4, with other Swift-inspired events on Nov. 2 and 5 around campus.
“A brainchild of the IU Arts & Humanities Council, the conference includes speakers who will reflect upon the icon’s cultural relevance and her influence on pop culture, the economy, gender, fandom, politics, music theory, history and more,†IU said in a news release.
Natalia Almanza, the council’s program coordinator, told WISH-TV that “the forum will look at Swift as a businesswoman, addressing the technical engineering and lyricism of her work with a feminist lens.â€
While the official list of big names speaking at the conference has yet to be announced, we can tell you that scholars from IU’s Jacob School of Music and the Kelley School of Business, podcast hosts, and people who work in the music industry are among the 30-plus presenters ready to show you incredible things and eager to talk about Swift’s notorious reputation.
Turns out, Swift doesn’t even need to walk into the room to make the whole place shimmer—she just needs to be brought up. According to IU, more than 1,000 Swifties and scholars have registered for the event, already selling it out for Saturday, Nov. 4 (likely because these tickets were cheaper and easier to acquire than the ones on Ticketmaster).
Hannah Smith is a junior at IU and Swiftie since seeing her at the Fearless tour stop in her hometown of Evansville.
“As a student and a Swiftie, it’s so exciting that IU is hosting an event like this,†Smith said. “I’m really hoping to go so that I can connect with other Swifties and meet new friends.â€
Graphic by Sydney Byerly, TheStatehouseFile.com.
Call it what you want, but the Arts and Humanities Council is leaning in fearlessly to offer a full experience for Swifties by scheduling the conference around other inspired events in Bloomington.
On Nov. 2, Swifties can watch a lineup of different musical groups as they perform covers of Taylor Swift throughout all her eras. To close out the midnights manifest for the weekend, Swifties can visit a Taylor Swift Artist Market at the Cook Center for Public Arts and Humanities on Nov. 5 to purchase artwork in screaming color.
Now, IU isn’t the only college that’s taken notice of Swift’s lyrics: “Honey, life is just a classroom.†Colleges across the country have started offering Swift-inspired courses that study her lyrics, legacy and pop culture reign.
Among them are the Berklee College of Music, the University of Texas at Austin, Arizona State University, New York University—where Swift received an honorary degree and gave the class of 2022’s commencement address—and Stanford University. Stanford has two course offerings, “All Too Well (Ten Week Version)†and “The Last Great American Songwriter: Storytelling with Taylor Swift through the Eras.â€
Franklin College chemistry professor Dr. Hilary Florian said it’s nothing new for educators to try to find ways to get students to speak now and stay engaged in class.
Florian currently teaches a first-year seminar class called “From Frankenstein to Freddy: A Journey through the Horror Genre,†a topic she chose hoping to have her students interact with the material and participate more.
“I think using pop culture and entertainment as a medium for teaching deeper skills is catching on as professors and teachers realize that there are effective ways to communicate these skills within the context of subject matter that our students care about,†she said.
Florian said any time a teacher can make a student forget they’re learning, that’s oftentimes when “the best and most effective learning happens.â€
“For many of the skills we hope to teach our students, like critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, writing, etc., oftentimes the subject material doesn’t really matter,†she said. “What matters is student engagement and investment in their learning, and this happens best when they are passionate about what they are learning, like with horror or Taylor Swift.â€
Long story short, everything has changed, so events and class offerings like this may become a more common occurrence. Swiftposium, a hybrid academic conference organized by scholars from seven universities across Australia and New Zealand, is set for 2024.
To see Swift in person, you don’t need to grab your passport or our hand, just wait until November 2024 when Swift returns to the Hoosier State to sold-out crowds, bringing her record-breaking Eras Tour to Lucas Oil Stadium.
Or you can always meet her at midnight on Friday to celebrate the release of 1989 Taylor’s Version.
FOOTNOTE: Sydney Byerly is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
Lloyd Winnecke Announced as Next CEO for Evansville Regional Economic Partnership (E-REP)
Evansville, Ind.( September 28, 2023) – The Evansville Regional Economic Partnership (E-REP) is pleased to announce the appointment of Lloyd Winnecke as its next Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Tara Barney, who is retiring in 2024. Winnecke’s appointment was unanimously approved by the E-REP executive committee and is set to take effect in January 2024.
With a distinguished career in public service and a strong record of economic development, Winnecke is uniquely positioned to lead E-REP into the next era of economic growth and innovation. He brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to community development and the prosperity of the Evansville region.
“Lloyd’s proven leadership and dedication to not only Evansville but the entire region makes him the ideal choice to carry on the unbelievable work of Tara and E-REP,†said Curt Begle, chair of E-REP and president of Health, Hygiene, & Specialties at Berry Global. “As we look to the future, we are confident that Lloyd’s expertise will build upon the high-value E-REP has created and will continue that trajectory.â€
Barney, who has served as the CEO of E-REP and its predecessor organization for nearly six years, led the strategic merger of six organizations now under the E-REP umbrella. Since serving as CEO, Barney has been awarded several prestigious leadership awards including the 2023 Women of Distinction by the Girl Scouts of Southwest Indiana and the 2021 Woman of Empowerment Award from the Junior League of Evansville. She has also been recognized as one of Indiana’s top 250 most influential business leaders. She will continue to lead the organization until her retirement, ensuring a seamless transition of leadership.
“It has been an honor of a lifetime to lead the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership and work in an industry I love,†said Barney. “Lloyd is the right leader to continue the important work of moving the Evansville region forward and has been part of implementing E-REP’s strategic plan from its inception. He knows this work, and I am confident he will take E-REP and this region to the next level.â€
During his 12 years as mayor, Winnecke has been at the center of many collaborative projects that are improving the quality of life in Indiana’s third-largest city. From the interchange at the Lloyd Expressway and U.S. 41 to the Deaconess Aquatic Center to the Kinney Family Penguins of Patagonia exhibit at Mesker Park Zoo, Lloyd has helped align public and private sector priorities for the betterment of the region.
“I am honored to have the opportunity to serve as the CEO of the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership. I look forward to working closely with the dedicated E-REP team and our community partners to further our mission of driving economic growth and prosperity for the Evansville region,†Winnecke said. “Tara has set a high standard, and I am committed to building on her legacy and taking our region to new heights.â€
Winnecke grew up on the northside of Evansville, attended Central High School and graduated from the University of Evansville with a degree in Communications. He spent 18 years in television news, 13 years in corporate communications at Fifth Third Bank and 12 years as mayor. He and his wife, Carol McClintock, are very active in the community and spend many, many nights attending benefits for non-profit organizations. They are huge cheerleaders for the community. Winnecke’s first official day as E-REP CEO is January 8, 2024.
Barney announced her retirement in earlier this year and a search committee was formed to conduct a nationwide search. The search committee was led by Vice Chair Beth McFadin Higgins of McFadin Higgins and Folz, LLP, and Vice Chair Christine Keck, Vice President of National Government and Regulatory Affairs, American Water.
“We were impressed with the quality of candidates and interest in our region from across the country as far as Texas. It shows we are making a name for ourselves in the Evansville region and are excited to have found hometown talent that will continue to lead this work forward,†said Begle.
About the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership
The Evansville Regional Economic Partnership (E-REP) leads economic development efforts for the Evansville, Indiana region and elevates the overall quality of life through transformational projects, planning, advocacy, and business engagement. Additionally, E-REP supports the attraction, startup, and growth of regional businesses.
169 ON THE TERROR WATCHLIST STOPPED AT THE BORDER. HOW MANY DID WE MISS?Â
(Senate Republicans urge President Biden to address the rise in terrorists crossing the southern border)
October 31, 2023
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Mike Braun joined a group of Republican senators led by Senator Todd Young in sending a letter to President Joe Biden expressing deep concern about the rise in terrorists crossing the southern border and asking for plans to bolster border and internal security measures.
The senators wrote in their letter, “Our Southern border is a matter of deep national concern and insecurity. With rising violence and economic crises around the world pushing many people towards our borders, the record levels of illegal crossings and the spike in Border Patrol apprehensions of individuals matching the U.S. terror watchlist are alarming.
“In fiscal year 2023 alone, 169 migrants with positive terrorism watchlist matches were apprehended along our Southern border.
“This represents a tenfold increase from the figures reported in fiscal year 2021.
“Although the exact affiliations and identities of these individuals remain classified, the marked increase is alarming. Even if these apprehensions represent a minority, the potential devastation from a single individual with malign intentions cannot be overstated.â€
The recent brutal and reprehensible attacks by Hamas against Israel underscore the importance of vigilance against global terrorist groups both internationally and domestically. As President of the United States, we expect you to take every necessary step to ensure the protection of the homeland and to both prioritize and resource this task accordingly. However, the nature of the foreign challenge, combined with vulnerabilities at home—starting at our Southern border—warrants a proactive and comprehensive assessment.
Our Southern border is a matter of deep national concern and insecurity. With rising violence and economic crises around the world pushing many people towards our borders, the record levels of illegal crossings and the spike in Border Patrol apprehensions of individuals matching the U.S. terror watchlist are alarming. In fiscal year 2023 alone, 169 migrants with positive terrorism watchlist matches were apprehended along our Southern border. This represents a tenfold increase from the figures reported in fiscal year 2021.
Although the exact affiliations and identities of these individuals remain classified, the marked increase is alarming. Even if these apprehensions represent a minority, the potential devastation from a single individual with malign intentions cannot be overstated.
Given the current geostrategic challenge and potential threats, we request that your Administration provide Members of Congress a senior-level classified briefing to discuss your plan and intentions to support the security of the homeland, including clarification to the following:
Given the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, and the possibility that Hamas or other regional terrorist organizations may seek to expand the conflict and incite further violence against the United States, how have you assessed any changes in threats to the homeland?
What proactive initiatives are underway to bolster the security protocols at our Southern border, especially in light of the increased apprehensions related to the U.S. terror watchlist and threats of violence by leaders of U.S.-designated terrorist organizations?
With the possibility of hundreds of thousands of individuals having entered the country undetected in the past two years, what measures are being implemented to address this significant blind spot and to ensure that potential threats are identified and neutralized?
How are key national security agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), being primed to preemptively detect and counteract threats from designated terrorist organizations, especially those that stem from potential border vulnerabilities?
Are there plans to conduct a comprehensive review of current security protocols to identify potential loopholes or areas of improvement?
What collaborative steps is the Administration taking with our neighbors to enlist their support in sharing information and intelligence against designated terrorist organizations, given mutual security objectives and possible vulnerabilities?
How is the Administration working to track and block financial channels that may support terrorist activities and infiltration at our Northern and Southern Borders and ports of entry?
Hamas’ devastating attack, combined with its ties to entities such as the Iranian government and Hezbollah, underscores the necessity for a comprehensive assessment of its potential to reach targets beyond the immediate region. Its active publication of digital propaganda, reminiscent of ISIS strategies, further complicates this picture and potentially expands its scope of influence. These narratives, capable of reaching audiences beyond the Middle East, have the potential to inspire or influence disaffected individuals within our borders and those of our allies and partners.
In addition, FBI Director Christopher Wray has commented about the challenges posed by “copycat†actors, noting on October 13, “[I]n this heightened environment, there’s no question we’re seeing an increase in reported threats, and we’ve got to be on the lookout, especially for lone actors who may take inspiration from recent events to commit violence of their own.â€Â Indeed, numerous acts of terror on U.S. soil, reminiscent of the ISIS-driven attacks in San Bernardino, Orlando, and New York from 2015 to 2017, have primarily been executed by domestic individuals or lawful immigrants, rather than foreign infiltrators. The call for a “Day of Rage†by Hamas leadership must be seen as an incitement to violence, and underscores the need to remain vigilant against “copycat†actors or radicalized individuals. International terrorist organizations likely recognize that their effectiveness is increased by inspiring individuals already within our borders as opposed to breaching them.
Given these considerations, we urge you to reassess, reinforce, and bolster our border and internal security measures. In light of the seriousness of these potential threats and the likely need for additional resources, we request that you ensure senior administration officials brief Members of Congress no later than November 8 with any findings and recommendations, to ensure a coordinated and informed response.
The consequences of lapses in security can be catastrophic. We must be proactive and not wait for tragedy to strike before taking decisive action. We stand ready to support any measures and initiatives that prioritize the safety and well-being of our nation and its citizens.
It was his final one. Raban died in January at age 80.
He was a writer’s writer, a novelist, an essayist, a book reviewer … and a travel writer.
He didn’t much care for the last designation, even though his travel books earned him the widest acclaim. He thought it too limited a description of what he did and what those books were—deep, personal dives into places and experiences, less guidebooks than literary explorations of the way landscape and culture shape us.
Raban wrote with an honest wryness, unafraid to present himself as foolish or unlikable. He cast an uncompromising eye on the cruelties and folly of which human beings are capable, without sparing himself from such scrutiny.
That is what gave his writing its poignance and power.
I first read him more than 40 years ago, when I picked up a copy of the book that established his reputation, “Old Glory: An American Voyage.†It is the story of Raban’s journey down the Mississippi River in a small boat, a trek that reveals both those parts of America that are eternal and those that are ever-changing.
An Englishman, Raban grew up fascinated by Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn and the mighty Mississippi. When he came to voyage down the river, he was in his late 30s, traveling through a late 1970s America riven by the Vietnam War, the fall of a disgraced president, economic upheaval and cultural tensions.
He viewed this nation—our nation—as it tried to stumble its way forward with an outsider’s penetrating gaze, respectful but unblinking. Not much got by him.
When I bought “Old Glory†all those years ago, I was looking for a diversion. I was attending graduate school in St. Louis at the time. The romance of the big river beguiled me.
Raban’s book, though, was a revelation.
It taught me different ways to travel, to seek out and see the ways the places where people live mold the contours of their lives. It taught me to linger and to listen, to wait for communities and people to reveal themselves.
But Raban also showed me the inherent and intimate value of writing—of the ways stringing words together helped one sort through complicated moments and make sense of the often-mystifying life around us.
That’s what this, his last book, does.
It is a memoir that runs on two tracks.
One navigates Raban’s rehabilitation from a devastating stroke a dozen years ago, and his struggle to discover how much of his life and capacity would remain after he was afflicted. The other traces his father’s days in the service in World War II, which coincided with the elder Raban’s courtship and marriage to his wife—and the birth and early years of the writer-to-be.
At first, these two narratives—one epic in scope, the other as personal as a trip to the bathroom—seem an odd match.
But then the connection becomes clear.
These are stories of two men, linked by blood, confronting forces larger than they are, trying to find a way back to a life each covets. It is a book both about holding on and about letting go, about loving life and realizing that it must and will end.
Life’s stream has carried me a long way since I first plucked Raban’s “Old Glory†from a shelf. The bookstore where I bought it no longer exists, part of the process by which the world remodels and reinvents itself again and again.
Much of observing time ramble forward I have found satisfying. With all its joys and sorrows, life is an endlessly illuminating experience.
But one part of it I never expected to be as disquieting as it is—that of saying farewell to writers who have meant something to me.
I’ve read most of Raban’s books, many of them as soon as they were published and always with satisfaction. I never sought out a chance to meet him, even though we had friends in common.
I’m not sure why. Maybe I thought there would always be time. Maybe I preferred just to know him in print.
His last book makes clear that even though good books endure, those who write them do not.
As goodbyes go, Jonathan Raban’s is one of the most elegant I’ve read.
John Krull is director of Franklin College’s Pulliam School of Journalism and publisher of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students. The views expressed are those of the author only and should not be attributed to Franklin College.
Federal dollars to fund weatherization extension program for qualified CNP customers
 Evansville – Oct. 30, 2023 – CenterPoint Energy, in collaboration with the City of Evansville and JD Sheth Foundation, today announced the launch of an enhancement to the company’s already existing, income-qualified neighborhood weatherization program. The enhancement program has been funded by a $600,000 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant awarded to JD Sheth Foundation by the City of Evansville. It will allow customers who had been assessed and approved to receive weatherization assistance but were placed on a deferral list due to additional home repairs needed, to have those repairs addressed and receive CenterPoint Energy’s weatherization services.
“One of JD Sheth Foundation’s five pillars is to promote energy efficiency, including supporting projects which help individuals to manage their energy usage through energy-efficient practices,†said Jaimie Sheth, CEO and Founder. “We are thankful to the City of Evansville for awarding the ARPA dollars, which will assist so many of those in need to make critical repairs needed to live in a more energy-efficient and safe environment.â€
CenterPoint Energy offers income-qualified weatherization services at no cost to assist electric-only, or combination of natural gas and electric, customers in identifying ways to make their homes more energy efficient. Eligible customers will receive a home assessment, during which CenterPoint Energy may install smart thermostats, high-efficiency showerheads, faucet aerators, pipe insulation, and/or LED bulbs. The energy technician will also review with the customer if any additional home improvements should be made, such as adding or replacing attic insulation, and identifying air infiltration and duct sealing.
“CenterPoint Energy is pleased to work with the city and JD Sheth Foundation to further extend the reach our neighborhood weatherization program has in the Evansville community,†said Richard Leger, Senior Vice President, Indiana Electric at CenterPoint Energy. “We currently have an exhaustive list of qualified customers who have previously applied for the weatherization program services, but due to other challenges with their home, have been unable to benefit from our program. The funds through JD Sheth Foundation will allow for remediation of these issues, so CenterPoint Energy’s weatherization services can be provided.â€
Customers can schedule their appointments online at centerpointenergy.com/smartsavings or by calling 1- 866-240-8476 to speak to a customer service representative.
Trick-or-treating is a great way for families to connect with their community, but we all should remain cautious as children travel between houses to collect treats this Halloween.
To prevent accidents, the Indiana State Police (ISP) encourages Hoosiers to practice the tips below.
Keep costumes short to prevent trips and make sure children wear light colors or reflective tape.
Make sure children of all ages trick-or-treat in groups and those under the age of 12 are accompanied by an adult.
Map out a safe route for children to visit familiar homes so parents can predict their child’s location.
Encourage children to trick-or-treat while it is still light outside. If children are out after dark, make sure they have flashlights and travel on well-lit sidewalks.
Remind children not to eat any of their treats until they get home.
Check all treats in a well-lit area at home and only eat unopened candies and other treats that are in their original wrappers.
ISP also encourages Hoosiers to partake in Halloween festivities during established neighborhood trick-or-treat times and at community events to prevent accidents and better maintain community safety.
To view local Halloween events across Indiana, click here.
