Girls IHSAA Basketball Finals Moves To Fort Wayne

Indianapolis will not play host to the girls high school basketball finals in 2010. The IHSAA is moving the girls' finals to Fort Wayne's War Memorial Coliseum. "Neither Indianapolis venue used in recent years - Conseco Fieldhouse, which hosted the girls state finals from 2001-2008, nor Lucas Oil Stadium, which hosted in 2009 - was available for use on next year's date," WTHR reports. Fort Wayne beat out competing bids submitted by IU and Ball State University. Indianapolis' financially-struggling CIB must not be cancelling events yet, a threat it has made if taxpayers aren't compelled to pay higher taxes and divert more state revenues to support the facilities leased to the professional sports team owners.

Where's My Nonprofit Job?

Once upon a time, a common refrain you would hear from someone working in the nonprofit world is "the pay isn't so hot but the job is very rewarding." Well, that's not at all true in the Indianapolis nonprofit world. Fellow blogger Paul Ogden has a great run down of the big six-figure salaries area nonprofits heads are pulling down. Many of these jobs are funded largely by government contributions. Here's who they are and what they're earning based on the most recent tax returns the organizations filed that are publicly available:

• Maxwell Anderson, President, Indianapolis Museum of Art ($394,209)
• Mark Myles, President, Central Indiana Corporate Partnership ($382,133)
• Robert Bedell, President, Indiana Convention & Visitors Association ($353,777) (Bedell has retired and subsequently been replaced by Don Welsh, who I'm sure earns a comparable salary)
• Jeffrey Patchen, President, Indiana Children's Museum ($344,345)
• Simon Crookall, President, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra ($250,224)
• Ron Carpenter, President, Children's Bureau of Indianapolis ($178,298)
• Greg Charleston, President, Indianapolis Arts Council ($170,391)
• Tamara Zahn, President, Indianapolis Downtown, Inc. ($198,284)
• Lloyd Wright, President, Indianapolis Public Broadcasting ($180,451)
• Danny Dean, President, Indianapolis/Marion Co. Library Foundation ($178,907)
• Susan Williams, President, Indiana Sports Corporation ($137,719)
• Cindy Porteous, Executive Director, Indianapolis Parks Foundation ($112,219)

Often, local media will rely on these organization heads for their opinions on taxpayer-financed projects, such as the Capital Improvement Board facilities, funding for the arts, and economic development incentives to some private businesses. If it involves an expenditure of taxpayer money or raising taxes for one of their projects, they're out front advocating for it. The irony is that many of these organization heads' salaries are financed, in part, by our taxpayer money. In the case of the ICVA, IDI, CICP and the Indiana Sports Corporation, for example, most of the funding comes directly or indirectly from government sources. It doesn't seem right that these nonprofits can take money paid by all taxpayers and turn around and use that money to pick winners and losers in the endless game of government spending and taxation for the benefit of a select few. Also, salaries of the government-funded nonprofits heads often exceed salaries persons with comparable responsibilities within government are paid.

Latest Casualty Of War In Iraq Hits Close To Home

WISH-TV's Jennifer McGilvray brings news of the sad loss of Army Spc. Chancellor "Chancy" Keesling, the son of Indianapolis' Gregg and Jannett Keesling. His parents share the tragic ending of his life by suicide on Friday. He had arrived in Iraq for his second tour of duty just two weeks ago. His parents say he was reluctant to return to Iraq but went because of his duty as a soldier. My heart goes out to Gregg and Jannett. I had the pleasure of helping them start their business, Keys To Work, many years ago after Gregg returned to Indiana with his family from Jamaica where he owned and operated a vacation resort. Gregg is one of the most optimistic and determined persons I've had the pleasure of knowing, and he and his wife have done great work in Indianapolis in helping less-privileged people pull themselves up. True to their professional calling, Gregg and Jannett are planning to give all donations made in Chancy's honor to a local homeless woman named Mary Anne.

Tully Hearts Carson

Star political columnist Matt Tully has some glowing things to say about U.S. Rep. Andre Carson in the Sunday edition. In a short period of time, he has grown into "a top-notch lawmaker" Tully opines. Tully offers five reasons why Carson has earned this distinction. The short version:

• He's a loyal Democrat who almost always votes with his party, while still reaching out to Republicans.
• He meets with constituents throughout his district.
• He is in tune with his district.
• He has assembled a strong congressional staff.
• He has a certain star quality.

I will give Tully that Carson is a top-notch politician, which doesn't necessarily translate into being a top-notch legislator. It is much too soon to draw that conclusion. Regardless of his performance, Carson will have an easy ride politically, at least through the next election. Unless Republicans split Marion County down the middle in the next redistricting, the likelihood of Carson facing serious opposition any time in the foreseeable future is slim to none regardless of how good or bad he performs. His grandmother's dismal performance during her long tenure in Congress is proof of that. Gerrymandering has its benefit for incumbents.

Jeffersonville Mayor Apologizes To Family Of City Attorney Found In Trash Can

You could see this one coming from a mile away. The City of Jeffersonville's top attorney makes a complete fool of himself, awakened by city police in his neighbor's garbage can after a night on the town with some friends to celebrate one of them passing a real estate license exam. Although city police didn't ticket city attorney Larry Wilder for public intoxication or disorderly conduct, a police officer snapped some priceless photos of Wilder which found their way to the news media and on to the Internet. Today, Jeffersonville Mayor Tom Galligan called a press conference to apologize to Wilder's family, as demanded by Wilder, because at least one, if not more, of the city's police officers "ignored" their oath and "allowed personal or political motivations to interfere with their work." The Jeffersonville News and Tribune's Matt Thacker reports on Galligan's statement to the press:

Jeffersonville Mayor Tom Galligan on Sunday apologized to Larry Wilder’s family for pictures taken of the city council’s attorney passed out in a trash can Wednesday morning.

Galligan said it is still under investigation who took and distributed the photographs, but Jeffersonville Police Chief Tim Deeringer confirmed they were taken by a camera issued by the police department.

“When someone becomes a police officer in the city of Jeffersonville, they take an oath to protect and serve the people of this city,” Galligan said at a press conference on Sunday afternoon. “Earlier this week, one or two officers ignored that oath and allowed their personal or political motivations to interfere with their work.”

Wilder said in an interview with The Evening News on Friday that he wanted the police officer who took the photos to apologize to his children. The apology, instead, came from the mayor.

“I apologize personally — and as mayor — to the children and family of Larry Wilder for the pain that you have endured at the hands of one or two errant officers,” Galligan said.

Galligan said he called the press conference because several citizens approached him with concerns that a similar situation could happen to them if police officers wanted to embarrass them.

He said police officers should treat everyone with “dignity and professionalism” and called the unknown officer who took the photos a “renegade.”

Galligan would not comment whether the police officer(s) involved would be disciplined. When asked if this was a matter for the police merit board to handle, he said, “it’s going to be a matter for the mayor.” However, he did have ominous words for the officer(s) involved.

“We are going to take appropriate action to ensure that no police officer will be comfortable abusing their authority again,” Galligan said.

Galligan said it may be three or four officers involved but that it is more likely one or two. Four officers responded to the call, according to police records.

Galligan hints that the responsible police officers will be disciplined for their actions. Which action is worse: failing to charge Wilder with public intoxication; or taking pictures of Wilder and disseminating them to the news media? Wilder would have automatically faced a disciplinary action before the Indiana Attorney Disciplinary Commission if police had charged him with public intoxication and he had been convicted. The Commission takes abuse of alcohol by members of the bar very seriously. All of us know someone who has tied one on, particularly college students, who upon acting up in public, wound up being arrested, charged with public intoxication and taken to the tank to dry out. In Wilder's case, one of the responding police officers walked him home. Apparently, police didn't check Wilder's blood alcohol level.

For his part, Wilder apologized on Friday. He told Thacker, “I take responsibility for my conduct.” “I’ve made a mistake. I’ve embarrassed myself. I’ve embarrassed my family, and I’ve embarrassed my clients.” Wilder insists he is not a drinker and only recalls having three or four drinks at a Louisville restaurant. “I can’t tell you what happened. I wish I could,” Wilder said, explaining that he cannot remember anything after 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. According to earlier reports, a limousine dropped off Wilder at his home around 5:00 a.m. Wednesday morning. His neighbor discovered him around 7:00 a.m. The city council must still decide what to do about Wilder's continued employment as the council's contracted attorney.

Personally, I think the police could have justified their actions if they had taken the photos of Wilder in anticipation of filing charges against him for public intoxication. If that had happened, I would not see why the photos would not have become public documents accessible by the media. For whatever reason, no charges were made against Wilder and it leaves the appearance, as Mayor Galligan suggests, police were simply trying to embarrass him for personal and political motivations. I think Mayor Galligan and his police department also owe it to the public to explain why no criminal charges were filed against Wilder. If there is important information missing here that would explain the inaction, it is in the public's and Wilder's interest to clear the air.

Just Another Chicago Politician

Surprise, surprise, surprise. Transparency and accountability were key buzzwords during The One's "Yes We Can" rock concert tour last year. As it turns out, it was the same old empty rhetoric Americans have been dealt by politicians of all stripes for too long. Liberal political reporter Michael Isikoff discovers that President Obama's pledge for openness in government has already been closed in commenting on the Administration's decision to block the release of the identity of White House visitors, in this case, coal executives lobbying the President on clean coal technology. "The refusal, approved by White House counsel Greg Craig's office, is the latest in a series of cases in which Obama officials have opted against public disclosure," Isikoff writes.

"It's amusing to watch the Washington political establishment feign shock, now that President Barack Obama's reform administration has used a clay foot to vigorously kick one inspector general and boot another out the door," writes Chicago Tribune political columnist John Kass. Kass continues:

What's the big surprise? What strange, exotic land do they think Obama comes from?

Do they think Obama learned his politics in Narnia, while cavorting with gentle forest creatures, some of which have hooves and serve tea and cakes to journalists and well-mannered English schoolgirls on snowy winter afternoons?

Did Obama learn politics in Camelot, the magical kingdom where federal czars sit at a great round table, all for the good of the simple peasants? Or did he learn politics along that famous highway, you know, the one that's always paved with good intentions?

No. Obama learned his politics in Chicago.

And now all of Washington can learn it, too.

Clinton Calls For Federal Pullback Once Recession Ends

President Bill Clinton asked Democrats to do something history tells us will not happen when he spoke to the Democrat's Jefferson Jackson Day fundraiser at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Indianapolis last night. "[Clinton] called on Democrats to support a pullback of such aggressive federal involvement in the private economy once the recession ends," the Star's Bill McCleery writes. "First we had to build this bridge over troubled waters," Clinton said. "But then we will have to have substantial reduction in the deficit."

I don't recall Democrats calling for a rollback of federal power after the Great Depression from which the U.S. economy only recovered because of World War II, not because of FDR's New Deal and the expansive role of the federal government over our daily lives he brought about. Someone passed along a summary of comments political commentator Dr. Charles Krauthammer made to the Center for the American Experiment recently that suggests Clinton is proposing a path for Obama and the Democrats that at least Obama has no intention of following:

Obama has a ruthless quest for power. He did not come to Washington to make something out of himself, but rather to change everything, including dismantling capitalism. He can't be straightforward on his ambitions, as the public would not go along. He has a heavy hand, and wants to 'level the playing field' with income redistribution and punishment of the achievers of society. He would like to model the USA to Great Britain or Canada.

His three main goals are federal control of energy, public education, and national healthcare. He doesn't care about the auto or financial services industries, but got them as an early bonus. The cap and trade will add costs to everything and stifle growth. Paying for free college education is his goal. Most scary is healthcare program, because if you make it free and add 48,000,000 people to a Medicare-type single-payer system, the costs will go thru the roof. The only way to control costs is with massive rationing of services, like in Canada. God forbid.

Krauthammer added that he believes Obama is a "narcissist" with a huge ego who cannot take criticism well. He views himself not as President of the United States but as ruler of the world Krauthammer opines. Krauthammer warned that the U.S. faces hyper inflation from spending trillions that we don't have, noting that no country has ever spent itself into prosperity.

Hopefully, the country will take the direction suggested by former President Clinton, but I don't see that happening. Krauthammer's assessment of Obama is very chilling to say the least. I also suspect the Clintons will part company with Obama when it becomes politically expedient to do so.

Is IMPD Earning The Public's Respect?

The Star's Jon Murray has a report today suggesting that IMPD is regaining the public's respect allegedly due to its "swift response" to corruption uncovered within the department over the past year. Murray writes:

Some community leaders who had feared escalating corruption say the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department's swift response to the scandal has begun to ease suspicions in the neighborhoods that need police protection most.

Beyond the launch of the department's "integrity plan," announced in July, the community leaders are heartened by improvements in transparency and outreach by IMPD to community organizations.

"They're keeping the leadership in the black community in the loop and informed," said the Rev. Charles Harrison, board president of the Ten Point Coalition, a faith-based group founded to address youth violence.

His assessment of residents' faith in police? "Not where we want it to be, but it's better."

William T. Benjamin, IMPD's deputy chief of investigations, sees the return of polygraph testing as a key confidence builder, both inside and outside the department. The Indianapolis Police Department had used random testing for sensitive positions, but it was dropped in the 2007 merger with the Marion County Sheriff's Department.

"We are policing ourselves," Benjamin said, noting that the officers accused of wrongdoing were just a fraction of the force of 1,600.

I've got one small suggestion for Murray, who generally does an outstanding job with his reporting at the Star. Don't rely on Rev. Harrison for advice on how IMPD is doing. Remember when the ministers shook down the City for money back when Bart Peterson was still mayor, threatening to shut down construction on Lucas Oil Stadium? Mayor Greg Ballard gave Rev. Harrison and those other ministers what Mayor Peterson didn't give them--money. Yeah, Harrison's Ten Point Coalition received a $170,000 "crime prevention grant" from the City earlier this year, one of the $4.5 million the City doled out despite tough budgetary times.

Murray might have spoken to 70-year-old Mary Minton and her 72-year-old ailing husband. This past Thursday, IMPD, the Sheriff's Department and U.S. Marshal's fanned out across the City doing warrant sweeps according to WRTV. Minton says police, looking for someone at another address down the street from her home, barged in and ordered her ailing husband (he's had four strokes) to the floor. "I want them to come in here and tell me that they're sorry," Marye Minton said. "Not on the phone, don't send me a letter. Come in my door, like you sent your men in my house." To be fair, the officers who made the mistake work for Sheriff Frank Anderson and not IMPD.

City Deal To Enrich Tadd Miller Will Hurt CIB Financially

So the City has been over at the State House begging and pleading for a $47 million a year bailout of the Capital Improvement Board. More recently, it announces a deal to invest more than $20 million of taxpayer funds in young Tadd Miller's $65 million plan to redevelop the old Bank One operations center into a mixed use apartment/retail complex. Aside from the fact that the City broke a state law that would require it to pay "fair market value" when it agreed to pay much more than that, $18.5 million, to purchase a parking garage next to Tadd Miller's planned project, there's a bit of another problem. It seems the City will also be shutting down roughly 1,000 parking spaces on the vacant Market Square Arena site. Who gets the revenues from those parking spaces? The CIB. How much will the CIB lose annually? About $750,000. Here's what the IBJ's Cory Schouten is reporting:

The city has agreed to help a developer revitalize the vacant former Bank One operations center in part by acquiring an adjacent parking garage for $18.5 million. City officials say appraisals to support the purchase price count on a shift in parking demand after the city shuts down a gravel parking area where Market Square Arena once stood.

But the closure of the roughly 1,000-space MSA lots would leave the beleaguered CIB, which already is lobbying for a legislative bailout to cope with a $47-million budget deficit, with another revenue hole to fill.

The five-acre parking area, which is owned by the city but operated by CIB, raked in about $730,000 in 2007 and $789,000 in 2008. For comparison, the CIB-owned 2,400-space Virginia Avenue Parking Garage lost $611,000 in 2007 and $597,000 in 2008, thanks to subsidized spaces for the Indiana Pacers, WellPoint Inc. and various city departments.

The plans call for the city to let expire a variance allowing a gravel parking surface at the MSA site. If the city won’t renew the variance beyond August 2010, the CIB would either have to pave the lots or cease the parking operation, said Barney Levengood, the board’s executive director.

Levengood said it’s too early to tell whether the revenue from the lots will be factored into 2010 budget projections for the CIB, whose fate rests with state lawmakers meeting in special session.

Plans to shut the lots should come as no surprise since all previous bids relating to the redevelopment of the MSA site called for closure, said Robert Vane, communications director for Mayor Greg Ballard.

“None of the plans had gravel surface parking with revenues going to the CIB,” Vane said. “The only difference between then and now is that we believe we have been successful in securing development in the area.”

Still, losing the revenue would be another blow for the CIB. It recently has been saddled with the $20-million annual expense of operating Lucas Oil Stadium and has agreed to pick up the $15 million cost of operating Conseco Fieldhouse for the Pacers.

You see how it works? The City shuts down the 1,000-space parking lot to force more people to park in the garage the City is buying, which coincidentally will be operated by Tadd Miller's new development company. So what if it costs the CIB money. City officials have already assumed the state legislature and City-County Councilors are going to screw over taxpayers and make them shell out at least another $20 million a year to bail out the CIB. Not $47 million? Nah, the CIB, which has been running deficits for ten years, just made up that number hoping to get somewhere in between. Remember how it went on a spending spree this past year before publicly seeking a bailout, hiring new workers and handing out big pay raises to its top executives?

Yep, helping Tadd Miller, a big contributor to Republicans and the Ballard campaign committee, will cost you dearly. I put the price tag conservatively at $30 million. Yes, you are spending about $30 million so he can build a $60-$65 million apartment/retail complex. So much for Mayor Ballard's promise to put an end to corporate welfare. That promise was broken just like his pledge to stop operating city government for the benefit of a few big law firms and to end the practice of appointing lobbyists and persons doing business with the City to boards and commissions. City hall is for sale. If you contribute when asked and engage a connected law firm to assist you, who knows how much taxpayers' money you can walk away with. Let your imagination roam freely.