Steve Dalton Has a New Job
Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008My former rival, new friend and fellow blogger Steve Dalton has announced a new job. Steve blogs at Dalton’s Briefs and Porter County Politics. Details below.
Note to Friends: This official release goes out today. Although I will be active in this new role it is not full-time, I will be working on a consulting basis for Cender. Many of you getting this note are involved with me on other projects and none of that will change. I am pretty excited to be working closely with Karl Cender and his team of pretty terrific municipal and planning consultants. Refer us some work!
Cender and Company – July 2, 2008 (Merrillville, IN)
Please join us in welcoming Steve Dalton to Cender and Company as Business Development Director.
Cender & Company L.L.C. provides a range of financial advisory and general consulting services to municipalities throughout Indiana. Services include but are not limited to bond financial advisory services, municipal budget assistance, capital projects planning, utility rate studies, cost of service studies, economic and tax impact studies, fiscal impact analyses; land use planning, redevelopment planning and tax increment financing (“TIF’) analyses.
Let’s Have a Discussion
Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008That was the simple message of an invitation sent today by the Puckett for Congress campaign to the Donnelly for Congress campaign up here in Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District. Since last week Luke Puckett has been holding townhall meetings around the district. These meetings have been a chance for voters to talk to the candidate and the candidate to talk to the voters. However, Luke Puckett wants to add another dimension to these meetings starting tomorrow night.
With Congress out for the Independence Day holiday, and Joe Donnelly home from Congress and on the campaign trail, the Puckett campaign has suggested that a joint townhall meeting be held after a parade tomorrow night in Walkerton, Indiana. The meeting is not supposed to be a formal debate, but rather a simple get together were voters can hear both candidates answer their questions side-by-side.
In a statement today unveiling the proposal, Puckett said:
“As I have traveled across the Second District holding town hall meetings I have found it to be an effective use of my time to be able to listen and talk with voters about the most pressing issues on their mind. But I think these town halls would be an even more effective use of the voters’ time if they could hear the different approaches Joe Donnelly and I have to their concerns.”
I sincerely hope that in this day of sound bytes and carefully staged events Joe Donnelly takes Luke Puckett up on this opportunity to have a public conversation about the issues that 2nd District Hoosiers care about.
Post-Mortem on a Strange Law
Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008Representative Terry Goodin (D-Crothersville) authored a bill—that ended up passing the Democrat controlled House, the Republican controlled Senate, and was signed into law by the Republican Governor. This law required that stores that planned to sell sexually explicit materials to pay a $250 fee and register with the Secretary of State saying what types of materials that they planned on selling. The expressed reason for this law was to help localities with zoning issues.
Well, this law died an ignominious death by being declared unconstitutional (regarding the first amendment) by U.S. District Court Justice Barker.
The post-mortem after the jump.
A $95,200 fine — for this?
Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008This week, a local developer and the City of Bloomington clashed in small claims court over “one or two balloons” affixed to a leasing sign at MeadowCreek apartments. The city’s planning department ruled the balloons to be “illegal temporary signage”, and ordered Renaissance Rentals to pay $952 for the violations, or one percent of the potential fine of $95,200. For its part, Renaissance Rentals claims the balloons were a decoration, not a sign. Before we go further, let’s look at the offending signage, thanks to the street view feature of Google Maps.
Seriously? $95,000 for this? You’re kidding, right?
(Read more after the leap) (more…)
Dan Quayle Respects Barack Obama
Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008But he’s voting for Senator John McCain for President.
RENO, Nev. (AP) - Former Vice President Dan Quayle said Tuesday he respects Democrat Barack Obama “because he beat the Clintons” and fears Republican John McCain has an “uphill battle” to defeat Obama in November’s presidential election.
Quayle also acknowledged that he expected Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republican Mitt Romney would meet in the general election.
“I don’t think anyone saw, including myself, the Barack Obama movement” coming, he said.
“I have a lot of grudging respect for what he did because he beat the Clintons, something we couldn’t do in 1992,” said Quayle, a former GOP senator from Indiana who served under President George H.W. Bush. “The Clintons were very convincing in the campaign they ran. So I thought she would be the candidate.
Airing on a TV Screen Near You
Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008You may have already seen these, but just in case you haven’t:
“About the Future”
“Better State”
(Below the fold) (more…)
Buyer Backs “Cash Prize” Energy Incentives Advocated by Mike Sodrel & John McCain
Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008If a cash prize of ten million bucks is enough incentive to for private industry to put a man in space, then a few hundred million in prizes can probably do wonders for hastening the development of new technologies when it comes to energy.
From WIBC:
Fourth District Representative Steve Buyer is trying to rally public pressure on Congress to open up more land for oil drilling.
In a series of Indiana appearances, Buyer is talking up a bill he filed in May to do exactly that. The eight-term Republican says more drilling would bring prices down even before any oil starts moving, because OPEC nations and the futures market would respond to the shift in policy.
Buyer says the nation needs a comprehensive energy strategy, including the pursuit of biofuels, solar and wind power, nuclear power, and conservation. But he says the U-S should use existing energy sources now, while waiting for alternatives to come online.
He’s also endorsing similar suggestions from Republican presidential nominee John McCain and former GOP Congressman Mike Sodrel to offer cash prizes for researchers who deliver energy breakthroughs.
