Fighting Back

Faced with the fact that I have no other choice than to cough up an additional $1,600 this year to pay for the tax and spend policies of Mayor Bart Peterson and his corrupt Democratic pals running the city-county government, it's time to alter my own spending. The first item on the chopping block is my AT&T land phone. I kept it around an extra year because the telecommunications industry made all sorts of promises about all the extra benefits and saving we consumers in Indiana would receive after the legislature enacted telecommunications deregulation legislation last year. It's more than a year later and AT&T has offered customers in my area nothing. I have had to squabble from time to time with AT&T long distance, which for some reason keeps trying to fraudulently bill me for long distance calls I never made. I checked with the 3-in-1 plan offered by Bright House, which is no bargain at all. It would actually wind up costing more than the separate services I receive from it and AT&T. Go figure. So getting rid of the land line will save about $456 a year. That still leaves $1,144 in savings I'll need to eke out.

For me, it's pretty easy to find a place to eke out that additional savings. As someone who eats out a lot, I could easily cut back on the amount of dining out I do and produce the additional savings of $25 a week I will need. The better part in cutting back on eating out is that I will also be paying less in the food and beverage tax Mayor Peterson hiked to build Jim Irsay's $700 million stadium. Although that tax is currently generating more than expected, all that extra money is needed to pay for all the cost overruns, which are at least $50 million to date. Further, Mayor Peterson has no plan for how we're going to pay to maintain the new stadium when it opens next year because his good pal, Fred "Sell Out" Glass negotiated a stadium deal which requires Irsay to pay us no rent or maintenance, and he gets to keep all the concession revenues and proceeds from the stadium-naming rights. So if everyone does like me and cuts back on eating out, we'll create a major funding crisis for the new stadium. Perhaps then the Mayor and Glass will reopen the lease negotiations with Irsay and explain to him that "we tried our best to give it all to you for free, but now we're going to have to ask you to kick in a few of your own pennies."

Feel free to share your ideas for cutting back on your spending to finance Mayor Peterson's tax and spend policies. Perhaps we should encourage as many business owners as possible to close up shop and move to neighboring counties, or at least halt any future hiring of new employees. Let's explain to businesses thinking about relocating here to reconsider their decision. Unless you want to take a ride on the Titanic, Indianapolis is not the place to start a new business. I think the best, long-term solution is one that will force the city to its knees financially, leading to a temporary state take-over--a receivership of sorts for a bankrupt business. Only then will we be able to bring about a complete structural overhaul of this broken government.

Atkins Time Out For Prayers

An article in today's Star discussing how business owner Jeanne Atkins leads her employees in voluntary prayer is not striking a responsive chord with Indiana's GLBT community, which is still fuming over her treatment of her gay son's partner of 25 years after her son was stricken by a severe stroke. "I thought we all need prayer in our lives," said [Adkins], adding that "participation is voluntary and those who don't attend aren't thought of any differently." This is the same woman who denied her son's lover visitation rights and said she would rather her son not recover from his stroke than return to a gay lifestyle with his partner of 25 years. As the Star's Katie Merlie explains the prayer practice at Atkins Elegant Desserts:

"I pray for my strength, my joy and my wisdom," said the member of St. Luke Catholic Church who is a devout Catholic and attends Mass daily. "Prayer is my
strength."

So at 3 p.m. each day -- which is between shifts and allows employees who are leaving for home or just starting their workday to participate -- a handful of her 150 workers gather in the lunchroom. Many are still wearing the white coats and hair protectors that are required dress on the production line. Several don't speak English so an interpreter translates Atkins' words into Spanish.

"You're making God's heart smile," Atkins told the 36 employees at the June 28 prayer time. The group read aloud a prayer titled "You Are Mine" in Spanish and English, and Atkins recited from a little blue book where names of those needing extra prayer are handwritten, sometimes with notes about their special need.

Joe Mazero, Atkins vice president of operations, often leads the prayer in the lunchroom where employees sit at tables or line the walls surrounding the room.

Jane Bernhardt started working for Atkins in October and has attended just about every prayer time.

"I believe in prayer and that prayer changes things," Bernhardt said. "It's a very important part of my life."

Before and after prayer time, Atkins stops and talks with employees about
events happening in their lives and encourages them to come to the next prayer time.

"When people tell me that our prayers have helped, I just love it," she said.

I can't believe Atkins made God's heart smile when she cut off her disabled son from the person he loved more than anyone else in this world. It's funny how some people of faith develop such a warped sense of family values. Hat tip to several AI readers who pointed the article out.

National GOP Meltdown Continues

Republicans in Congress, President Bush and would-be presidential candidates are contributing equally these days to the national meltdown of the GOP. Last week, Senate Republicans teamed up with xenophobic Democrats to ensure defeat of critical immigration reform legislation backed by the President. Today, President Bush commuted the prison sentence of convicted felon, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, insultingly calling a 30-month prison sentence for the convicted liar "excessive". The reputed front-runner for the 2008 GOP nomination, former senator and TV actor, Fred Thompson, liked what President Bush did today. ""I am very happy for Scooter Libby," Thompson said. Meanwhile, Andrew Sullivan suggests Thompson, who has quite a reputation as the lady's man, is a switch-hitter. That ought to be enough to seal his fate with the Christian right.

Wade Steffey Case Closed?

If you believe a report prepared by The Rimkus Consulting Group, Inc., Wade Steffey's death is all very explainable. He got drunk at a fraternity party at which no witnesses reported seeing him drink, stumbled back to Owen Hall to retrieve his coat from a dorm room where he had left it earlier and where he consumed alcohol with other students before heading to the party with those same students, was unable to get into the locked dormitory, made numerous, unexplained phone calls on his cell phone, went around to the back of the dorm, climbed down into a pit outside a utility vault, found an exterior door open or unlocked, kicked off one of his shoes outside the door, kicked the other shoe off after he entered the room, climbed behind a transformer by either going over or under a cable running from the wall to the transformer, and then inserted his left ring-finger into a recessed conductor and electrocuted himself to death. The area where Steffey's body was found was as narrow as 13.5" and no wider than 2 feet. The hole into which he stuck his left ring-finger had a diameter of 0.88". That's one freak accident.

Death was caused by accidental electrocution. We knew this the day after his body was found because the Tippecanoe Co. Coroner announced this finding before a medical examination of Steffey's body had been completed. Toxicology results show his blood alcohol level was greater than .08 but less than a lethal level, whatever that's supposed to mean. If the toxicology report indicates a blood alcohol level, then just tell us what it was--not that it was more than the legal limit but less than a lethal level. It's surprising they could even make that finding after his body went unnoticed for two months. The autopsy was conducted by Dr. Allen Griggs. He is a part-time pathologist who doubles as a personal injury attorney in Martinsville and has been contracted by the Marion Co. Coroner's office to assist Dr. Joye Carter with autopsies.

The report finds nothing unusual about the failure of a Purdue staff member to discover Steffey's body days after he disappeared by opening an interior door, turning on an interior light and looking into the room. Steffey's shoe was found outside the vault in the pit two days later by a volunteer worker but police did not make a connection to Steffey's disappearance. The report skips over the fact that his body was discovered two months later after students returning from spring break heard a cracking noise coming from the room. I guess the electrical current didn't really get fired up until two months later, given the maintenance worker neither heard nor smelled anything unusual when he originally checked the room.

I encourage you to read the report. It's as convincing as the Warren Commission Report on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

UPDATE: Toxicology experts tell the Lafayette Journal Courier the blood alcohol level claim is suspect. It reports:

Two other toxicology experts, not involved in the Steffey case or with the Rimkus report, agreed. Michael Evans, president and chief executive officer of the American Institute of Toxicology Laboratories in Indianapolis, said a body, particularly one that has not been discovered for nine weeks, can produce alcohol after death.

"The blood-alcohol level obtained at the time of autopsy may not reflect the blood-alcohol at the time of death. You have to take those things into account before you start making a statement," Evans said.

"Maybe there are other explanations for the alcohol being present in the blood, like fermentation or contamination."

Tim Eastly, adjunct professor of chemistry and environmental technology at Youngstown State and Kent State universities in Ohio, said it is very difficult to approximate blood-alcohol results from a person dead that long.

"After nine weeks, I would hold those alcohol results highly suspect," he said. "At autopsy, it's rather tricky for an autopsy technician to get an uncontaminated sample. If there is trauma to where the pulmonary cavity may have been interrupted or torn, it could very well be that some of the alcohol could have been contributed by microbes in the digestive track."

Smith Is Going To Stick Around After All

Sen. Sam Smith (D-East Chicago) earlier announced his intention to resign his Indiana Senate seat to devote more time to his family funeral home business. The AP is reporting this afternoon that Smith had a change of heart, and he is now going to stay put the remainder of his term. Smith had sought the appointment of his wife to fill his seat, but party leaders balked. "In the time since I announced my intention to resign, I have been approached by numerous members of the community who have expressed their thoughts on my decision and encouraged me to reconsider," Smith wrote in a letter to Long. "These comments from my constituents, along with my continued commitment to the Indiana Senate and citizens of my district, have helped guide my decision to fulfill my term in the State Senate."

Fourth Of July Tax Protest Planned

Advocates for the Fair Tax are holding a 4th of July protest at the Governor's residence at 46th & Meridian from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Americans for Fair Taxation are organizing the protest, which is intended to promote replacing the property tax with a sales tax. Proponents of this plan say it can be accomplished without an increase in the sales tax rate. While I'm all in favor of shifting away from property taxes, I'm having some problems with the proponent's math at this point. I'm assuming they plan to extend the sales tax to cover everything, including services, in order to accomplish this. Advance America's Eric Miller is proposing a constitutional amendment to repeal property taxes in Indiana. Do you think he will join the protest at the Governor's residence?

I just found out my property tax bill has been hiked 67% from $2,400 to over $4,000 annually. This is appalling when you consider my home's assessment increased by a little over 25%. That tells me I'm paying higher taxes because spending by our local units of government in Marion County is completely out of control. This problem can only be corrected if we throw out the current failed leaders who've been running our city-county government for the past 8 years. Mayor Peterson's and his Democratic-controlled council's answer is to double your income taxes and provide no property tax relief. He wants you to believe the failure of the legislature to allow him to consolidate more local government functions is to blame for your higher tax bills. Yet, he can't point to a dime in savings from the consolidation of IPD and the sheriff's department after he promised us millions in savings. You must pay more because he chose to erode our tax base with give-aways to his wealthy real estate developer friends, shifting the tax burden to those least able to pay. You know what his priorities are? What are your priorities? Please feel free to comment on your own tax bills. Please indicate in which township and neighborhood you live.

French Lick Casino Headed To Bankruptcy?

Indiana gaming expert Ed Feigenbaum discusses the new French Lick casino's precarious financial situation in his latest edition of the Indiana Gaming Insight. He posts some of his disuscussion at the Indiana Daily Insight. Feigenbaum writes of a looming bankruptcy if things down turn around quickly for the casino:

Recall that the Indiana Gaming Commission first granted the Orange County Operating Agent contract to a subsidiary of Trump Entertainment, Inc. (or one of its assorted permutations), and as Trump proceeded through bankruptcy recovery, the Daniels Administration became concerned (even as Wall Street wasn't) about the company's financial ability to pull off the project.

Impatient with Trump, the Gaming Commission quickly switched gears and awarded the project to an Indiana consortium, which spent almost $400 million renovating the two grand hotels in great style and building a serviceable casino. But they have spent a considerable amount of time and resources in fighting assorted legal battles (some of which continue, despite a much-ballyhooed buyout of one partner by the other).

And we have kept readers informed of a little known matter: the financial solvency of the current Orange County team. While all of Indiana's publicly owned casinos are working on preparing their respective second quarter and mid-year 2007 results (which will be available in a period ranging from a few days to a few weeks, dependent upon the casino), the French Lick casino owners had yet to even release year-end 2006 numbers as of the time Thursday night when we went to press with the most recent issue of our gaming newsletter. They have received several waivers and extensions of time from the bondholders and those behind their line of credit, but those behind the revolving line of credit finally put their foot down and barred any further drawdowns from that revolver until they see the numbers.

The numbers are important because the financial covenants commit the OC team to meet certain EBITDA margins . . . and their has been some skepticism about whether those targets have been hit. And while our reports about the seriousness of the situation have gone largely unheeded -- much like our first in-depth report a few months ago about the looming property tax crisis in Marion County and elsewhere -- on Friday the French Lick partners released a financial report that indicates they are down to less than $10 million in cash . . . and could seek bankruptcy protection if they can't find additional financing shortly.

Recall that liquidity concerns on the part of the Governor's Office and Gaming Commission led them to dump Trump . . . even as Wall Street seemed to have had no such problem with Trump. While we tend not to get hysterical about things, we do like to pat ourselves on the back occasionally, and this is one of those times.

More On Legislators Heading To Greener Pastures

The Northwest Indiana Times' Patrick Guinane takes a look at three Northwest Indiana legislators who've left the legislature recently and started careers as lobbyists. Unlike at least two dozen other states, Indiana has no cooling off period restricting former lawmakers from lobbying the legislature after they retire. Guinane writes:

The transition from Indiana legislator to lobbyist is a simple, lucrative leap that three region lawmakers have made in less than a year.Crown Point Democrat Bob Kuzman is the latest Statehouse power broker to walk through the revolving door. He resigned his House seat Tuesday, a week after starting as a governmental affairs partner at Ice Miller, the state's third-largest law firm.

While more than two-dozen states mandate a cooling-off period of at least a year, Indiana and Illinois allow former legislators to slide straight into jobs predicated upon their ability to influence past colleagues.

Gov. Mitch Daniels has imposed rules prohibiting most former executive-branch employees from lobbying state agencies for one year after leaving the administration. But the Republican governor doesn't plan to push reluctant lawmakers to follow suit.

"If the Legislature decides to lift its own standards, apply some of these same principles, I'd be happy to see that," Daniels said.

Don't expect that to happen anytime soon. Lawmakers routinely rejected past efforts to limit their career paths, including a one-year lobbying ban that languished in the House in 2005. Whenever such restrictions come up, detractors are quick to note that Indiana employs a part-time Legislature, one that pays a base salary of only $11,600 plus another $25,000 in annual expense reimbursements.

What really disgusts me is when lawmakers complain financial hardship prevents them from continued service in the legislature. "It's difficult to support a family and be down here," House Speaker Pat Bauer told Guinane, ignoring the fact that the part-time job earns lawmakers more than most Hoosiers make from their full-time jobs. Guinane's explanation of lawmakers' pay is completely misleading. The average lawmaker takes home over $40,000 a year, with the $11,600 base pay being paid up front during the first 2 months of the year. While the additional income is partially for expense reimbursements, it does provide additional income to the lawmakers.

The account of Rep. John Aguilera's retirement is particularly troublesome. He left the legislature ostensibly to run for mayor of East Chicago against the incumbent Mayor George Pabey. Interestingly, he wound up with a $65,000 part-time consulting contract to lobby the legislature instead. "But Aguilera eventually curbed his mayoral ambitions and took a $100-per-hour consulting contract with the city," Guinane writes. "The job sent him back to Indianapolis, where he earned nearly $65,000 this spring lobbying for East Chicago on riverboat gambling and property tax issues," he added.

It's All About Property Taxes

There's plenty of information in today's Star about the skyrocketing property taxes homeowners are feeling this year in Marion County. Here some items of note:

• The average tax bill is 34% higher than last year's bill;
• Only 20% of the tax bills have been mailed--others will take up to a week to arrive;
• Assessments on homeowners increased on average about 22%;
• Sen. Luke Kenley asks why Mayor Bart Peterson isn't proposing to use an increase in the county option local income tax to offset property taxes instead of new spending;
• Matt Tully thinks the legislature is to blame for Marion County's property tax problem, which contradicts about everything else I read in the Star today.