Indiana

Sunday Morning Posts

By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz

I have some follow-up to a few items from yesterday. I hope you find them interesting…

Local Stadium Bailout?

• If anyone is looking for the state to help bailout the new Lucas Oil Stadium and its operation costs, forget about it for now. Governor Mitch Daniels says it unlikely the state will get involved. City officials however say they are confident that if they have to have discussions with the Indianapolis Colts, the Colts will be “good corporate citizens.”

Poll Watching

• Although he says he doesn’t put too much faith in polls, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels Saturday questioned the Indy Star poll which put him just four points ahead of Jill Long Thompson. Speaking to a gathering of Hamilton County Republicans Daniels said several other independent polls show him with at least a 15-point lead. He used the analogy, “if you have five thermometers and four of them say it’s 85 and one says it’s 35, the odds are there is something wrong with that one thermometer.”

Budget Delay Denied

• City of Indianapolis budget officials say there’s no reason to delay passing a budget. Council Democrats have introduced an ordinance postponing passing the budget until November 17. They argue the Mayor should wait until he has a better idea of what the city’s finances will be from the Department of Local Government and Finance. However City Controller Dave Reynolds says they have accounted for possible changes in the levy, so there’s no reason to delay passing the budget.

Ranker and File

• Barack Obama may like JLT, but that affection doesn’t seem to be trickling down to the rank and file in Indiana.  The word is that Obama’s foot soldiers aren’t promoting JLT’s candidacy as they go door to door.  As one reportedly said, “we don’t want her to be a drag on our efforts.”  This isn’t good news because JLT scaled back a lot of her operations, in part, because she said they were being duplicated by the Obama campaign.

Full post as published by Indiana Barrister on September 21, 2008 (boomark / email).