Archive for the ‘Jobs’ Category

My 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.

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Posted in Blogging, Friends of Hoosier Access, Jobs | 1 Comment » | Read more..

I’ve already posted at length about the substantial problems that exist with HB 1153, the bill that would allow pull-tab gambling at bars (and create solid market share over night for a company in the district of the bill’s author).

Now, that measure is going to the Governor’s desk to be signed or vetoed.

I hope he vetoes it.

For too long, Indiana has seen a rampant and unchecked expansion of gambling.

Last year, it was slots at race tracks and paper games for charities and groups like the VFW.

In exchange, we were supposed to see a crackdown on illegal gaming machines and paper games at bars, and a move against so-called pea shakes.

This year, none of what was promised has happened.

None of it.

Why would the state legislature say no now?

Why would the Governor?

I hope Mitch Daniels will veto this.

Setting aside objections to gambling, there are significant provisions within the bill–like its 25% mandate provision and its distorted tax mechanism–that are bad public policy.

I suspect, however, that he won’t. (more…)

It’s a plain and simple fact that there are regional biases in Indiana.  “The Region”, or northwest Indiana, has a red-headed step-child complex and refuses to consider itself a part of Indiana while the southern portion of the state gets upset at the site of progress being dictated to them by the giant Ogre that is Indianapolis.  While central Indiana appears to be disconnected from the rest of the state believing that the world revolves around us (which it does, just face the facts!  j/k).

Well, for those of us who are disconnected from the rest of the state, it appears Lake County is making it’s own progress.  Christopher Hedges has a very interesting post about how many people come from Illinois to work in Lake County (complete with fancy graphic).  For those of us cloistered by Indianapolis related news, Lake County (specifically Gary, Indiana) is actually the 39th best place (of out 100) to find a job according to Forbes Magazine.

Now, that’s some news.

What that also tells me is that the Governor’s work to bring jobs to Indiana (even if those people don’t live here) is actually working.  And for all the crime and corruption that goes on up there, it appears Lake County is able to rise above it all.  Keep bringing the good news Christopher!