Democratic Walkout? — I was also told over the weekend that House Democrats would likely caucus for a good chunk of the day on Monday, pushing things to the wire a bit more as we reach the Tuesday adjournment deadline. Stay tuned.

Womacks v. Peterson — Expect an announcement Monday from Marion County Auditor Marty Womacks involving possible litigation with the Mayor’s Office. You may recall last year Womacks threatened to sue the Mayor over alleged violations of state law that requires the auditor’s signature on purchases. Womacks and her attorney David Brooks have alleged in the past the Mayor’s Office has been stamping documents with her signature, but without her permission. I would not be surprised if a lawsuit is finally filed in this case.

Another Endorsement for Felix — Hamilton County Prosecutor Candidate Paul Felix recently received the endorsement of the Noblesville Fraternal Order of Police. This is Paul’s second endorsement by police. The Carmel FOP endorsed him in November 2005.

Although I spent the weekend being a stand-up comic, I made an effort to keep an eye on what was going on here in Indiana. Here’s my analysis of the three big issues I’ve been following…

Major Moves — The current belief among pundits and politicians is that Major Moves will pass, but no one is quite sure how it will happen. On the House side, State Rep. Dave Wolkins says while he likes the plan, his constituents are opposed to it so he may vote against it. On the Senate side, State Senator Earlene Rogers has said she will vote for the plan after getting assurances for funding of the Northeast Regional Development Authority. The sticking point is still I-69, specifically whether the section between Indianapolis and Bloomington will be a toll road and whether I-69 will go through Perry Township in Marion County. The Governor said on Friday that Indiana needs to tell the world it will compete, not retreat, in the global market place. He made those comments after announcing a new trade mission to Asia and the expected creation of 1000 jobs in Lafayette thanks to Toyota.

Indy Works — There are two competing plans before the Conference Committee; the House/Mayor Peterson version and the Senator Mike Young/Township Trustee version. The House/Mayor version consolidates the Township fire departments with IFD while the Young/Township version has a more collaborative set-up and it also allows the trustees to opt out of any cooperative agreement. Since one version consolidates the fire departments and the other doesn’t, I don’t see a compromise here. What I do see happening is Mike Young being removed from the conference committee (either by choice or by necessity) and something going forward. I am told there are at least 45 votes in the House Republican Caucus for consolidation; the issue is the other seven from Marion County.

Property Tax Relief — All I can say is that there are still 48 hours for something (very small) to happen here.

There are now five days left before lawmakers are scheduled to adjourn, here’s what I know so far…

Major Moves — Unless Governor Daniels is willing to bend on I-69, Major moves will not pass. Two issues that have lawmakers up in arms are the proposed route through Perry Township and making the road a toll road between Bloomington and Indianapolis. Sen. Robert Meeks has told the press that there is no way the Senate will pass Major Moves with the I-69 as it stands now. So now the ball is in Mitch’s court and the next major move is up to him.

Indy Works — There will be two competing versions of the Mayor’s fire consolidation proposal offered today in the Government Consolidation Committee. The version endorsed by the Mayor and Speaker Brian Bosma consolidates the fire departments while the version that will be offered up by State Senator Mike Young and the Township Trustees will call for collaboration. There are potentially three votes for the Mayor and Speaker’s plan and one for the Trustee plan. It takes four signatures to get a bill out of conference committee so the big question now will be to see who gets removed in the event an agreement cannot be reached.

Property Tax Relief — The more time goes by, the less likely I think Hoosiers will see property tax relief. Sen. Luke Kenley told us Wednesday that on a scale of one to 10 (one being no tax relief, 10 being paying no more property taxes) this session will likely produce tax relief that ranks about a 3.

Dancing Lawmakers — You haven’t lived until you’ve seen lawmakers dance to the “Grease Megamix”, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and “Come on Eileen”. Just take my word for it.

Tune in tomorrow for more…

There are six days to go before lawmakers adjourn. Here’s the latest…

Major Moves — This doesn’t look good. Between Northern Hoosiers being upset over the leasing of the toll road to a private company and south central Hoosiers mad over I-69 expansion, State Senator Robert Meeks says the votes don’t look good for the project. He says I-69 may have to move in order to get the Perry Township support and subsequent votes necessary to pass. The Governor’s Office opposes any delay and moving I-69 would add three to six years on the project.

Property Taxes — To say the House and Senate are worlds apart on property tax relief is putting it mildly. One could say they are at least a galaxy away. The Senate wants long-term relief that increases income taxes, but freezes the levy. The House wants short-term relief and local governments to cut back on their spending.

Indy Works — This is still in a holding pattern. I am hearing however Democratic Pat Bauer may hold up the bill because he thinks it would make a political issue and weaken Phil Hinkle, Mike Murphy and Larry Buell. I also hear Sen. Mike Young may put his practical nature aside and kill the new fire consolidation bill. This is what I hear. There is a conference committee this morning, I’ll get more details. Stay tuned.

That’s the scoop, for now. Stay tuned!!!

You may have seen the blurb on the Drudge Report about how the Indianapolis Airport is run by foreigners, I’m sorry, “furreners”! It is true that BAA Indianapolis, LLC, that manages the airport and it’s security, is owned by BAA plc, which owns and operates several airports in the United Kingdom. However, BAA has been doing this since 1995, more than 10 years. The last time I flew out of the airport I didn’t see tea and crumpets or a torch or fag (that’s a lighter and cigarette). And Couplings and Benny Hill were not on the inflight movies. I don’t know what Drudge is trying to prove, but I wish the xenophobia would really go away. But then again most people who are xenophobic couldn’t spell it, so go figure.

There were a lot of little things going on yesterday. Here they are…

Police Merger Suit?

I’m told that a number of Marion County sheriff’s deputies are mad as hell over Sheriff Frank Anderson offering early retirement to some of the higher ups in his department and allowing them to retire with their salary based on their last three years of service as opposed to five. I’m told litigation may be filed soon to block the pension plan. The officers believe it will force them to make bigger contributions to the pension fund and place in financial jeopardy down the road.

Civil War or Civil Disobedience?

I mentioned yesterday how there may be a civil war brewing the Marion County Republican Party. That blurb stirred quite a few phone calls and e-mails. Upon closer investigation what occurred was the head of MCGOP, Mike Bieberstine filed challenges to filing petitions of about a dozen precinct committeemen in Lawrence Township. Apparently the committeemen, many of whom had ties to former Lawrence Mayor Tom Schneider, did not live in the precincts they filed in, which is necessary under Indiana election law. However, since Bieberstine does not live in Lawrence he could not challenge the filings, so the committeemen got to stay. However that could not stop someone from filing a lawsuit later and having the committeemen removed later. I spoke to Bieberstine yesterday and asked why would the head of the local GOP try to remove his fellow Republicans from the ballot? His response was that he wanted everything to be above board and these guys, in his opinion, were circumventing the process and he wanted to keep everyone honest. Good luck, Mike.

Brainard on Regionalism

Although Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard and I have had our differences in the past, I have to give credit where it is due. In a speech to downtown Indianapolis Republicans, Brainard said that a regional transportation system will be crucial to the area. He also said and elevated system may be the way to go. He said while it would be the most expensive to build it would be the cheapest to maintain. He also said as the region continues to grow, expand and become inter-connected, it will take regional solutions to address the areas needs. I agree whole heartedly.

Brizzi and Bucks

I poked my head in Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi’s fundraiser last night at St. Elmo’s. A decent crowd and they raised nearly $350,000. They’re going to need every penny of this race is going to be as intense as everyone thinks it will be.

Mitch and Heineken

The Governor was also at Brizzi’s event. I noticed his beverage of choice was “Heineken.” I jokingly asked him if it was ironic that while fighting to lease the toll road to a Spanish-Australian conglomerate, he’d drink a Dutch beer. The Governor joked back, “Abdul, it’s a global economy.”

The Indiana House of Representative has suffered a setback in its quest to reinstate sectarian prayers. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has denied the chamber’s request to lift a federal court’s ruling barring prayers that invoke the names of specific religious deities. House Speaker Brian Bosma says he’s not surprised at the ruling. In its opinion, the 7th Circuit ruled the issues were so important in the House prayer case that it wanted to hear oral arguments. Those arguments will likely take place this summer.

Sometimes I spend a lot of time putting a show topic together for my radio program. I will go to a meeting, do research and conduct interviews. And sometimes, topics just fall out of the sky. My other friends in the media are reporting that Lucas Oil, a manufacturer of automobile lubricants, will likely be announced as the company to get the naming rights which could be worth about $50 million to the Colts, because they get to keep the money under the terms of the lease agreement.

Now think about this for just a second. I think it is rather ironic that a manufacturer of lubricants gets the naming rights to the Stadium. Lubricants. That’s what Lucas Oil makes, lubricants. Now while they make lubricants for automobiles, you also use lubricants for other things. Think about it for a second. What else do lubricants get used for? Need a hint, let’s look at some facts about the Stadium and how it applies to the taxpayers.

First, the Colts are “contributing” $100 million to the project. Well that’s not right, because they’re getting back $48 million as part of the breaking of the lease agreement. So now they’re contributing $52 million. The Colts have also been guaranteed a portion of the ticket sales from non-football events, up to $3 million per year if my memory serves me correctly. The Stadium Building Authority is also taking over maintenance. And remember, when the deal was being negotiated, the Colts balked at the $3 ticket tax to help pay for the Stadium and did not want to reserve a number of low-cost seats for you and your family, even though every time you go out to eat you’re helping foot the bill. And here’s the real kicker. There is an ordinance before the Indianapolis City-County Council that would let the Colts use the city’s credit rating to purchase municipal bonds to build the stadium. While the Colts would pay the bonds back, they would save about $55 million in interest payments over the life of the bonds. Thanks in part to the taxpayers of Marion County. And remember, we’ve been told this isn’t the Colts Stadium and that they will only be there less than two dozen days a year. Whatever!

Now do you see the irony of a lubricant company getting the naming rights to the Stadium? While I have always thought the Stadium/Convention Center were good ideas for the economic growth of Indianapolis and the region, I also think the Colts should have picked up a lot more of the tab and not the taxpayers. As more information about the deal became public and I looked at what the Colts were getting and what the taxpayers were giving up, I thought someone was getting screwed. And now it looks like I’ll have the lubricant to prove it.

P.S. If the new stadium is called the Lucas Oil Stadium Field, the acronym will be LOSe.

There a lot of little things going on today in and around town, here’s the latest…

Crime — Kidnapping could be added to the list of possible charges against the two juveniles involved in the carjacking on Indy’s northwest side as there were two children in the car when the suspects took the vehicle.

More Crime – According to a Democratic blog (Taking Down Words), Melina Kennedy, the Democratic candidate for County Prosecutor would create a new “Tax Crimes Unit” to go after tax cheats. That function is usually done by the state Department of Revenue. Currently the Prosecutor’s Office does about 12 noteable tax cases a month.

Major Moves — I ran into Sen. Robert Meeks at the Capitol this morning. Expect a lot more amendments when it comes to Major Moves, from both the D’s and the R’s.

Indy Works — Did the Mayor of Indianapolis meet face to face this morning with the Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives over proposed fire consolidation. A good source tells me “yes.” I’ll try to have details soon.

Stepping Down — The City of Indianapolis’ Faith-based Coordinator is stepping down. Emerson Allen leaves the job on Friday. He says he’s off to the private sector, but wants to stay involved working in the community.

Like I said, there’s a lot going on today…

You know I have come under attack from a lot of people in my life, most of them were misinformed and this time is no exception. Apparently the American Family Association of Indiana has an issue with yours truly. They were in attendance at this week’s news conference where the Statehouse press corps witnessed Congressman Dan Burton (Danny) go after me and accuse me of being a devil’s advocate and remind me that he had been in office “longer than I had been alive.” He’s been in public office since 1966, when the Flinstones went off the air. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that while it’s quite remarkable he’s been in office for 40 years, most people on public aid only get two. While folks like Brian Howey offered the straight facts of the exchange. The AFAIN offered this account in an e-mail to their members…

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Yesterday, US Representatives Mike Sodrel and Dan Burton joined State Senator Mike Delph in a statehouse press conference on the issue of judicial restraint. Rep. Sodrel has authored a bill (H.R. 4776) that limits the jurisdiction of federal judges in order to prevent their intervening in the day-to-day operations of a state legislature. This is a reaction to Judge David Hamilton’s siding with the Indiana Civil Liberties Union in its desire to censor religious speech in opening prayers.

One of the things you probably won’t hear in the media about this press conference is the banter back and forth between a fairly new Indianapolis talk show host and these three legislators. The liberal talk show host, who thinks quite a bit of himself, had his ears pinned back when Congressman Burton decided he had enough of his sniping at the bill.

Burton stepped in front of Rep. Sodrel to get to the microphone and said something like, “look, I don’t know who you are, but I’ve been in the state and Federal legislative branch for nearly forty years and I have never seen the type of scenarios you are trumping up. They just don’t exist and to put them up as a devil’s advocate argument is a disservice to the many members in both political parties who oppose this awful ruling. There is a real attack on religious freedom here and this bill addresses it.”

It was classic Dan Burton at his best. Experienced reporters and political veterans know that Rep. Burton can stand up to opposition, quickly dig in and defend his principles in a heated moment as well as anyone in the US Congress.

Congressman Sodrel’s bill already has 33 co-sponsors from eighteen different states. He expects the bill to see some action in Congress.
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Although these guys at AFAIN think they know me (because I do think highly of myself), they obviously don’t know me if they think I’m a liberal. I am consistent when it comes to my belief that less government is better whether that applies to my Dad’s business or girlfriend’s uterus. I figure anything going in or out of either of those two things has something to do with me. I was surprised when they claimed I had my “ears pinned back” by the Danny. That reference seemed a little “Brokeback Mountain” if you ask me, which would seem odd coming from this particular group.

I thought I asked Danny some pointed but honest questions. And from my 16 years of media and politics when a politician starts an answer with how long has been in office, that usually means he has no clue about what he is talking about. I cannot say if that is the case with Danny because I don’t know him that well.

What I do know is that his rant has become the standing joke at the Capitol. I’ve had a number of lawmakers approach me asking me “who was I” and telling me how long they had been in office.

I don’t what Danny’s issue was that day or why the AFAIN decided to go after me. In all fairness, they did not identify me by name. But I doubt if there are many people named Abdul-Hakim Shabazz over at the AFAIN , so they probably did not want to misspell my name. I appreciate that.

What I will say though if this was “classic Burton” as they described in their mass e-mail, after 40 years of that model, maybe the voters in the 5th District and the people of Indiana might want to upgrade.