Racing Commission pospones decision in simulcast debate\nINDIANAPOLIS -- The state Horse Racing Commission postponed a decision Wednesday over whether to cut off simulcasts of Kentucky thoroughbred races in Indiana unless all betting parlors are allowed to televise them.\nInstead, the commission asked the Indiana Department of Gaming Research to study all sides of the ongoing dispute and analyze the economic impacts involved for both states and their pari-mutuel industries.\nThe debate stems from Kentucky officials' refusal to allow races to be televised at Indiana Downs' betting parlors in Clarksville, Ind. and Evansville. The Kentucky Horse Benevolence and Protection Association maintains allowing the simulcasts could hurt that state's nearby racetracks and betting parlors.\nCurrently, Hoosier Park in Anderson, Ind. and its three off-track betting parlors carry races from all four Kentucky tracks. Hoosier Park is mostly owned by Kentucky's Churchill Downs.\nIndiana Downs, located in Shelby County, Ind. also carries races from the four Kentucky tracks. But the Kentucky Horse Association, which under federal law has veto power over where Kentucky racing can be shown, has refused to allow simulcasts at the Indiana Downs OTBs.\nJoe Gorajec, executive director of the Indiana Horse Racing Commission, recommended the panel seek more economic analysis before deciding what to do. The Department of Gaming Research was asked to report its findings to the commission by June 21.\n"This is a very, very complicated issue," Gorajec said. "I sense the commission is struggling with this issue and I think they are struggling for good reason."
Souder hopes IPFW will become training center on warfare response\nFORT WAYNE -- U.S. Rep. Mark Souder wants IU-Purdue University Fort Wayne to become a model center for training executives how to respond during chemical or biological warfare.\nSouder, R-Ind., has requested $3 million from the 2005 federal budget as seed money to develop the program, which is supported by IPFW Chancellor Michael Wartell.\nTraining top government, business and military executives how to cooperate during an emergency "is as important as first-responder training," Wartell said. During a disaster, he said, "the last thing you want the top executive doing is calling 911."\nSouder said ample training was available for disasters in major cities, but smaller communities do not have those resources.\n"The question is, 'Who is going to train these people? Who's going to provide technical assistance to them?' Probably there are going to be a few regional centers around the country," Souder told The Journal Gazette for a story Wednesday.
Justice Department may monitor primary to protect Hispanic vote\nEAST CHICAGO, Ind. -- The Justice Department may monitor next month's primary election in East Chicago to make sure Hispanic voters' rights are protected, Lake County, Ind. officials said.\nThe Department's Civil Rights Division has requested credentials that would allow officials to visit polling places May 4, Lake County Election Board Director Sally LaSota said Tuesday.\nLaSota said Justice Department attorney Luz Lopez-Ortiz made the request in a recent phone call to her office. She said Lopez-Ortiz apparently wanted to make sure people were available to assist Spanish-speaking voters.\nThe Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund filed a federal lawsuit last October alleging election officials conspired to persuade Hispanics to vote by absentee ballot and limit their access to the polls in the 2003 Democratic primary.Attorney's Office is investigating similar allegations.\nThe lawsuit seeks to overturn the election of Mayor Robert Pastrick, who defeated challenger George Pabey, who is of Puerto Rican descent.\nAbout half of the northwestern Indiana city's population of 31,700 is Hispanic, according to the 2000 Census.\nElection Board attorney James Wieser said the county agreed last fall to provide at least one bilingual assistant in each of East Chicago's polling places last November, a practice that apparently will continue next month.\nThe results of last year's mayoral primary remain under scrutiny, with the Indiana Supreme Court considering whether to order a special election.\nJustices heard arguments last week from attorneys for Pabey, who lost the mayoral nomination by 123 votes in 2003, and nine-term incumbent Pastrick, who won the primary and ultimately reclaimed the office.
