It looks like a deal may be announced this afternoon between the Stadium Building Authority and the NK Hurst Bean Company. The Authority meets in its public session about 3 p.m. My sources told me “Abdul, it’s in your best interest to be there.” Us media folks have pointed to several possible signs as evidence of a possible deal. The weekend meeting between the two parties where “progress was made.” Rep. Dave Wolkins not pulling down his bill which would make eminent domain tougher for local governments to acquire private property.

Advance Indiana notes that Indiana’s own Mike Pence is the crucial player in the race to succeed ousted GOP House Majority Leader Tom Delay:

Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), the chairman of the House Republican Study Committee, threw his support tonight behind outsider Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) in the race to succeed Tom DeLay as House Republican Majority Leader. Pence’s support is considered pivotal, given the independence many of the more than 100 conservative members of the HRSC have shown in recent showdowns with the House GOP leadership on budgetary matters.

The NK Hurst folks and Stadium Building Authority met for more than eight hours Saturday. No details were released on the talks but a source close to the negotiations told me “although there was no final agreement reached…the discussions were very positive.” Stay tuned…

Discussions between the Indiana State and Convention Building Authority and the NK Hurst bean company began this morning at 9 a.m. A spokesman says the Authority is making several proposals. There’s no timeline for the negotiations to end, but some members of the Authority may make themselves available to the media afterwards. If they do, I’m there.

The U.S. Department of Transportation adopted its final rule (pdf) regarding Indiana’s time zone yesterday. The pink shaded areas will observe Central Daylight Savings Time, while the remainder of the state will observe Eastern Daylight Savings Time (click on the map to enlarge it). Blogger Doug Masson, who created the map to the right, has been Indiana’s leading pundit on the issue from the outset and offers a full roundup of links here. He also gives a fuller account of his position here. But in my opinion the finest article on the subject of Daylight Savings Time was penned by In the Agora‘s Zach Wendling in a piece titled, “A Bad Plan for Indiana.” Here’s a portion:

Forcing other people to switch their clocks also has tragic results. The ill effects of sleep deprivation combined with loss of light levels decreases traffic safety. One Canadian study found a 17% increase in traffic accidents the morning after the spring advancement. A trial in the U.S. of year-long DST in 1973 was repealed upon the evidence of increased school bus crashes in the morning. A recent study in the UK found that their DST system causes hundreds of extra traffic fatalities every year, including a 50% increase in pedestrian deaths after the October switch. Are Hoosiers willing to accept these costs?

On the economic front especially, Daniels and other advocates of DST claim that Hoosier businesses lose money every spring because firms outside the State can never tell what time it is here. We would benefit from being synchronized with either Chicago or New York they say, and thankfully the debate over which one has so far stalled our switch (even Daniels hasn’t made up his mind). But if synchronization were so important, why isn’t the entire world synchronized? As Daniels himself likes to point out, we live in the age of globalization, yet every country has a unique daylight saving scheme – or none at all. Somehow, global commerce survives. Hoosier businesses can as well. And let’s not forget that changing the clocks twice a year carries significant costs as well – to both individuals and corporations.

At least one GOP effort to thwart Mayor Bart Peterson’s plan to consolidate local government maybe dead. State Sen. Mike Young’s SB 1, better known as “Indy Works Better Together” would consolidate local government by turning more power back over to the townships. The bill was already facing an uncertain future in the Senate and now State Rep. Phil Hinkle (R-Indianapolis) told me Wednesday that the bill would be virtually dead on arrival in the House. Hinkle says there is little support among the House lawmakers he’s spoken with to take up the issue. Stay tuned…

State Senate Pro Tem Bob Garton says his chamber will address the issue of free lifetime health care for lawmakers before the session ends. House Speaker Brian Bosma ended the practice for State Representatives elected or re-elected in 2006. Senate leaders say their situation is somewhat different because half of them are elected in ’06 and the other half in ’08. They have hinted at possibly eliminating the health care benefit for any State Senator elected after 2008. Stay tuned…

House Speaker Brian Bosma has ended the free lifetime health care benefit for 100 members of the General Assembly. This space was the first to tell you last week that Bosma was considering ending the insurance benefit for any State Representative elected or re-elected in 2006. It is estimated the free health care for lawmakers, their families, ex-spouses and widows runs into the millions of dollars. No word yet on whether Senate Pro Tem Robert Garton will end the benefit for lawmakers in his chamber. Garton has his first weekly media availibility Wednesday morning, so I’m sure someone will ask.

The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) will be joined by the Indiana State Medical Association (ISMA) and the Executive Board of the Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation (ITPC) to ask the Indiana House of Representatives to support Governor Daniels’ proposed 25 cent cigarette tax increase. The meeting will take place tomorrow, Wednesday, January 18, at 11 a.m. in room 101 of the state capitol.

Indiana’s last cigarette tax increase occurred in 2002, when it was raised from 15.5 cents to 55.5 cents. Prior to 2002, the cigarette tax had not changed in 14 years. Despite the 2002 increase, Indiana’s cigarette tax remains the lowest in the Midwest, while Indiana ranks number 7 in the country for smoking.

Last Wednesday I posted about dueling bills in the statehouse providing for consolidation of Evansville and Vanderburgh County. The community group leading the charge for consolidation – a group on whose board I serve – has officially endorsed House Bill 1344, filed by Rep. Phil Hinkle, R-Indianapolis, over House Bill 1394, filed by Rep. Dennis Avery. Hinkle’s bill specifically provides for consolidation under a mayor and single legislative body, whereas Avery’s bill only generally calls for consolidation within the county.

It is no secret that the vast majority of the area’s legislative delegation opposes consolidation, in whole or in part. Avery’s bill permits them to feign support while still offering an “out” from consolidation after its inevitable passage. Therefore you can imagine the Evansville delegation was perturbed by Rep. Hinkle’s involvement in the issue. “I just think it’s not very considerate for people from other areas to file legislation that affects (Vanderburgh County),” Avery said. But Hinkle was chairman of a summer legislative study committee on government efficiency and an understandable ally of consolidation efforts.