The coffee is brewing and the bacon is on the stove, so now I can get back to blogging. I misplaced my jail overcrowding notes, but I should be able to find them by the end of the day and get that story to you. Meanwhile, Judge Rueben Hill came under fire this week for […]

Let me start by saying it’s nice to be back. I had a great time with my son and revisiting old haunts in that other Capitol City across the border. However, all good things must come to an end. Although I was gone for 10 days, that doesn’t mean I wasn’t paying attention to what […]

A lot of you have been asking me to come back and get back to work covering the issues facing Indianapolis and Marion County. I’ll be back Sunday with a lot of things to talk and write about. I’ll dissect the Mayor’s 2008 Budget address. While the Mayor did make some valid points in his […]

I’m still on vacation back home in Illinois spending long overdue time with my son. I know there is a lot happening back in Indianapolis and I’ll address when I get back. But from what I’ve been e-mailed so far I don’t which is more unsufferable, the heat or the political atmosphere. Let me know […]

I’m taking some time off and will be gone until August 13. I’ll have some interesting items when I get back, but for now I want to leave you with a few things to ponder. Indianapolis’ credit rating has been downgraded. Moody’s Investor Services has lowered the city’s bond rating to Aa1 from AAa because […]

If you’re like me this morning, you went through the roof when the story about how thieves had stolen copper from Gleaners Food Pantry that led to the spoiling of hundreds of tons of food that would have gone to families in need in our area. I gave myself a few minutes to yell but […]

Indianapolis City-County Council Member Ike Randolph may face a censure from the full Council for abstaining to vote on the last week’s public safety tax. During the somewhat heated exchange, Randolph told the Council he was abstaining because the tax increase would fund his pay raise negotiated in the most recent fire fighter contract. City […]

I compiled this data on crime, taxes and schools today while thumbing through this weekend’s Indianapolis Star. Car jackings – up 145%. Homicides – up 12% (The full list is here. Warning, it is a partisan blog.) Robberies – up 11% Aggravated Assaults – up 34% IPS Seniors Who Graduate and without passing the Graduation […]

There’s nothing worse than starting out the week with bad news, but here it is. All my early analysis of the property tax mess in Indiana is telling me not much is going to change after the reassessment. At best, there may a 5-10 percent drop in your bill if you’re lucky. So if you […]

The Mayor’s Office is apparently complaining about the news and media coverage of the public safety tax increase, accusing a lot of us, me in particular, of sensationalizing the tax and going for the more inflammatory headlines and stories. This is not the first time the Mayor’s office has complained about media coverage and it […]