The formerly anonymous Douglass T. Davidoff has unveiled his identity as the man behind TRIB, short for “The Review of Indiana Blogs.” He runs a public relations practice and was formerly communications director for the Indiana Democratic Party. He remained anonymous “so that TRIB could stand on its own, without allegations of partisanship.” More on the future of TRIB is forthcoming.

Adding to his long list of conservative credentials, U.S. Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) is a finalist for the “Citizen of the Year” award from townhall.com. Here’s a teaser from the article:

By the end of the 2005 congressional session, Capitol Hill had witnessed a legislative year in which the [Republican Study Committee] had made its mark in a big way. Among conservative circles, Mike Pence and the RSC were no longer an after thought. In fact, to many conservatives, Pence and the RSC are now looked to as the true remnant of Reagan-esque conservatism in the nation’s capitol – a remnant that they hope will be the catalyst for another Republican revolution reminiscent of 1994.

If the events of 2005 are any indication, the RSC’s role as an impetus for change is well on its way to realization.

If the RSC succeeds in changing the GOP from within, it will be due in no small part to the charisma and character of its leader, Mike Pence.

Via Doug Masson I found the Washington Post carried a recent article on Indiana’s sectarian prayer in an article titled “Judge Upholds Prayer Limits in Ind. State House.”

The fight between the city of Indianapolis and a local dominatrix is going to federal court. A federal judge has agreed to hear the case involving Melissa Donaghy and the city. Earlier this month, the city sued Donaghy, saying she was operating an adult business in a residential neighborhood. Donaghy filed a petition and the case was transferred to federal court. She’s arguing the city is violating her first amendment rights to freedom of expression by shutting down her business. Insert your own joke here.

Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war. Although it looked like they were making progress, the Stadium Building Authority has filed an eminent domain lawsuit against the NK Hurst Bean Company. The Authority had been in talks with the bean company over land it wanted to use for the new stadium and convention center. Authority Chairman David Frick says they offered NK Hurst nearly four million dollars and a chance to stay at the site, but because of deadline pressures to complete the new stadium and convention center on time, they had to start legal proceedings. I also learned that in a letter addressed to NK Hurst, the Authority said the suit was also being filed because the Indiana General Assembly may change the law on eminent domain to make it tougher for local governments to take private property. And they want to make sure the current law applies to this litigation. That may backfire because I’ve spoken to two state lawmakers today who are furious with the authority and are not only adamant about passing a tougher eminent domain law, but also are considering making it retroactive. A spokesman for NK Hurst says they will fight the suit. I’ll have more details Monday and Tuesday on my radio program. Newstalk 1430, WXNT (5-9 a.m.)

The Courier & Press‘ Jennifer Whitson provides a helpful update on legislation being drafted for the consolidation of Evansville and Vanderburgh County. Following signs that Indianapolis legislators would sponsor pro-consolidation bills Rep. Dennis Avery, D-Evansville, decided to take charge in the effort. But Avery remains beholden to Sen. Vaneta Becker’s plan to put the issue on two ballots rather than one, a development previously discussed here at Indiana Barrister.

Indiana House Republicans may have to scale back some of their plans to provide Hoosiers with property tax relief. Speaker Brian Bosma told me this morning on Newstalk 1430, WXNT that because of the state’s recent budget shortfall, their plan to assume the child welfare portion of your property tax bill will have to be adjusted. House Ways and Means Chairman Jeff Espich said the child welfare portion of the tax bill would amount to an average five percent savings in tax bills. The state budget experts told lawmakers that revenues would come in about $70 million below estimates putting the end of year fiscal shortfall to $200 million. No word yet on whether Governor Daniels will use some of the $250 million collected from tax amnesty to offset the shortfall.

In every government administration there must exist watchdogs, and Gov. Daniels’ administration is no exception. But there is a fine line between helpful watchdog and partisan shrill and I worry that Taking Down Words (TDW) is crossing that line. Based upon this short article in Inside INdiana Business about Daniels’ plan to consolidate legal services in state agencies, TDW writes:

Next thing you know, Daniels will be sending the work to outside firms. Bet he won’t be able to find many in Indiana that don’t have a glut of conflicts. Hello, law firms in other states? Do you have any attorneys who’d like to suck money out of Indiana? Super!

It’ll be interesting to watch what happens as they metaphorically kill off attorneys who’ve been handling detailed, agency-specific legal issues for years.

Is this kind of analysis really serving the public interest? Without any specifics TDW is drawing overly broad and presumptious conclusions. As the article specifically notes, “changes are being handled on a case-by-case basis.” In other words, highly specialized agencies or services will likely retain in-house attorneys while generalized and overlapping ones will be consolidated in the attorney general’s office. But there is no way to know for certain yet, making TDW’s brash claims unfounded. If Daniels were to endorse more cute puppies and children, I’m starting to get the impression that TDW would suddenly oppose them.

A new blog in Indiana is focused on a single issue – Indiana Privatization. In the creator’s own words, the blog, found at www.ServingHoosiers.org, “aims to highlight the issue of Gov. Daniels’ plan to privatize much of state government in Indiana by selling off the Toll Road, outsource $1 billion worth of FSSA work, the long-term leases of state hospitals in places like Richmond and Logansport, as well as privatization of many prison services.” Privatization will be a central issue with the general assembly in 2006 and this blog appears to be an interesting source for information, at least from a leftist perspective.

Meanwhile Leo Morris notes that the Reason Foundation has also listed privatizing toll roads as one of the biggest issues in 2006. It cites a New York Times article reporting that “nearly two dozen states have passed legislation allowing their transportation systems to operate pay-as-you-go roads, and in many cases, letting the private sector build and run these roads.”

Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi told me this morning on Newstalk 1430 WXNT, that he wanted to change the Rules of Court Evidence for Indiana to make it easier to prosecute domestic violence cases.

Brizzi says he wants lawmakers to change the rules so that “prior inconsistent statements” can be used in court for substantive purposes. A prior inconsistent statement is a statement made by a witness that contradicts a later statement. Currently such statements can not be used to determine the innocence or guilt of a defendant, but only to impeach their testimony (in other words show they are not believable.)

To protect due process rights, the individual making the statement must be available for cross examination. And then the judge or jury can weigh the evidence and determine which one they want to believe. Brizzi says such a change in the rules of evidence will make it easier to prosecute domestic violence cases because victims will report abuse to police and later change their stories because they were intimidated by their abuser.

Brizzi says he got the idea after making a trip out to San Diego and studying the California system for handling domestic violence. Keep an eye out on this one.