Indiana

Death By the Numbers

Posted on December 22, 2010
As we get ready to close down the year, there has been a lot of talk about Indianapolis’ homicide rate and what exactly is that number?   Well, like most things, the number you get depends on who you ask? The number a lot of people like to cite is 117...

Political Two For Tuesday

Posted on December 21, 2010
Two big political news items Becky Skillman is getting out of the race for Governor and Public Safety Director Frank Straub was re-appointed with bi-partisan Council support.   So without further adieu let’s dive into some analysis shall we… Becky Bows Out Lt...

Monday Morning Musings

Posted on December 20, 2010
Today is going to be a composite post,  lots of interesting things but no overriding main theme, just my collective thoughts and impressions.  Enjoy. Let’s Be Frank Indianapolis Public Safety Director Frank Straub’s re-appointment is up for a vote tonight at the City-County Council...

Skillman Drops Out of Race for Governor

Posted on December 20, 2010
Lt. Governor Becky Skillman just announced she is not running for Governor of Indiana.  Here is the statement put out this morning… INDIANAPOLIS ? Lt. Governor Becky Skillman today issued the following statement on a gubernatorial run in 2012. ?With much disappointment, I am announcing today that I will not be a candidate for Governor [...

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Early Figures

Posted on December 20, 2010
Quick note.  I’m told by state officials that the general population census figures for the state of Indiana are expected to be released tomorrow morning.  They are not expected to show any major change in the state’s population that would lead to a decrease in the size of its Congressional delegation...

Saturday Morning Posts

Posted on December 18, 2010
I thought the gossip, rumor and innuendo might slow down a bit this week, but it didn’t.  So with that said, here we go. With Eric Holcomb being named as the “front runner” to replace Murray Clark as the head of the Indiana Republican Party, speculation is being drawn that it’s a sign that Mitch [...

Thursday?s Thoughts

Posted on December 16, 2010
Here are the latest little political tidbits for your amusement and entertainment. My very reliable Republican sources are telling me the apparent front runners to replace Murray Clark as the head of the Indiana Republican Party are Ann Hathaway and 6th District Chair Ted Ogle...

Next Time Step Up or Politely Shut Up!

Posted on December 15, 2010
By a vote of 202-27, Marion County Republicans Tuesday night chose Kyle Walker as their new County Chairman.   Walker ran against Lawrence at-large Council member Gary Conner. While I thought a number of Conner’s positions on issues were a bit unorthodox and incompatible with Marion County, I have to give him credit for running...

Lugar and Me

Posted on December 14, 2010
I spoke with U.S. Senator Dick Lugar this past weekend while he was visiting the University of Indianapolis.  We chatted about the tax battle in Congress, the START nuclear treaty, DREAM Act and of course, a primary challenger for 2012. You can hear his comments below...

Good Bayh

Posted on December 13, 2010
You can imagine I stayed up all night thinking about that one.  Not really.  But when I saw the story break that Evan Bayh was not going to run for Governor of Indiana in 2012, I was somewhat surprised, but not really shocked at all.  Anyone who’s been paying attention since February should have seen [...

Greg Ballard 2.0

Posted on December 11, 2010
When my political counterpart Amos Brown of Radio One can?t yell racism and instead has to argue on the merits, you know something is going on.  Amos, like me and several hundred other people were at Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard?s re-election announcement Saturday morning at the Indiana War Memorial...

There She Goes

Posted on December 10, 2010
Indianapolis City-County Jackie Nytes told me Thursday night that she is not going to run for another term.  This is really bad news for the city because in my six years of covering city-county government I’ve always found Jackie to be thoughtful, articulate and overall what a good local representative should be...

I?ll Vouch For This

Posted on December 09, 2010
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett unveiled the details of school reform at Wednesday’s meeting of the Education Roundtable. The main goals include… Identifying and rewarding great teachers and principals...

The Secret of My Success

Posted on December 08, 2010
Well, I did it.  I got a job! You might recall less than a week ago I expressed my outrage at the thought of extending unemployment benefits because if you’ve been out of work for 99 weeks, then maybe the problem is you.    My criteria were pretty simple: no legal, governmental or media related work, [...

Did Bisard ?Stack the Deck??

Posted on December 07, 2010
There’s a trick some comedians will use at open mic night contests.  If you’re playing a room you’re not familiar with, you invite all your friends, scatter them throughout the club and make sure they laugh loudly at all your jokes.   If they do it right, you win the contest...

The People v. David Bisard

Posted on December 06, 2010
For the past few days I’ve been trying to get my arms around the decision by the Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police to pay for the legal defense of David Bisard.    We all know the story, Bisard is accused of reckless homicide for killing one motorist and injuring two others back in August...

Sunday Morning Post

Posted on December 05, 2010
As always there’s nothing like a few Sunday morning tidbits to get the week started.   I do plan to expand on some of these items this week, particularly the Mayor’s re-election bid and the Indianapolis FOP’s decision to pay for David Bisard’s legal defense...

Happy Thanksgiving

Posted on November 25, 2010
As tradition dictates, I want to wish you all, friend and foe alike, a Happy Thanksgiving.  I hope you are able to spend time with friends and loved ones, and if not, maybe it’s time to go get some.   I’ll be back in a few days. And by the way, if there’s one thing for [...

School Scuffle

Posted on November 24, 2010
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels had some tough words on Tuesday for school officials as he spelled out his 2011 legislative agenda. Daniels labeled complaints by school officials who say they don’t have enough money because of tax caps and reduced revenues as “outrageous whining”...

Tuesday?s Tidbits, Part One

Posted on November 23, 2010
Today may be a double post day.  There are some developments taking place this afternoon that I’m going to try to blog about later, but we’ve got a couple items this morning that need attention. $chool Daze Franklin and Perry Township Schools are announcing major budget cuts in the wake of property tax caps and [...

Up In Smoke

Posted on November 22, 2010
Here we go again!   The anti-smoking people are back and they are pushing for a total smoking ban at both the state and local level here in Indianapolis, however it seems their efforts have already gone up in flames even before they were able to really get out of the gate...

Out of Work, Out of Luck!!!

Posted on November 21, 2010
A good friend of mine has been out of work for a while.  He’s been doing some things on the side to keep himself afloat, but he hit a wall a while back.    He was getting discouraged and then an opportunity to manage another friend’s business for a while came along...

Rabid Responses

Posted on November 19, 2010
I know this is going to sound a little odd, but I really am looking forward to Rev. Al Sharpton bringing his Negro, oops, National Action Network to Indianapolis next year.   Not because I’m going to love watching these guys walk right up to the legal line and be the attack dogs for the Democratic [...

Rev Al & Me

Posted on November 18, 2010

Organizing Thoughts

Posted on November 17, 2010
The nice part about Organization Day is all the gossip and other tidbits of information you get to pick up along the way.  So with that said, here we go… Although all eyes were on House Speaker Brian Bosma Tuesday and his announcement to “get to work” and appointing two Democrats to committee chairmanship, a [...

In Their Own Words

Posted on November 16, 2010
Here’s some audio from last night’s council meeting following the 15-14 vote to approve the parking deal.    I’d have written more but it was late and I needed to get to bed. Mike Huber (City) Paul Bateman (Yes Vote) Ed Coleman (No Vote) Ryan Vaughn (Yes Vote) I’ll have some analysis a little later in [...

Dear Men and Women of IMPD

Posted on November 15, 2010
Are you a good cop?  Are one of the 90-plus percent of the men and women of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department who do their jobs everyday with no issues?  Are you the officer who used his body as a human shield when the gunfire started this past summer during Expo weekend?    Are you the [...

Is It Too Late or Too Early for Mass Transit?

Posted on November 14, 2010
I have always found the mass transit discussion in Indianapolis to be a fascinating one.  I grew up up in Chicago and mass transit was just a part of  daily life.   My father would load my brothers and me on the bus and subway and take us to what was then called Comiskey Park to [...

Making the Right Choice

Posted on November 13, 2010
I took a little break Friday to attend a bi-monthly luncheon sponsored by the GEO Foundation For School Choice.  It was a very informal event, but while there I got the chance to reconnect with one of my former students. As some of you know I teach part-time for Ivy Tech Community College...

You Can Call Him Al, Again

Posted on November 12, 2010
Just when I thought we on the verge of having a serious discussion about police conduct and community-police relations, one of the world’s greatest race hustlers may be making a return engagement to Indianapolis to stir up the masses, collect a check, and then bolt like a thief in the night...

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