63 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(01/12/10 1:55am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana lawmakers would have guidelines for redrawing state political district maps next year if a bill that cleared an Indiana Senate committee Monday becomes law.The Senate Elections Committee voted 6-2 Monday to advance the bill, which would stress the preservation of traditional neighborhoods and keep so-called communities of interest together. Bill supporters said the guidelines could prevent gerrymandered legislative districts created for partisan reasons.Others said the bill doesn’t go far enough because it would not explicitly prohibit political data from being used when creating state Senate and House legislative districts.The state constitution requires Indiana lawmakers to vote on new legislative maps after the U.S. census every 10 years. That’s expected to make the 2010 legislative campaigns more intense – especially in the narrowly divided House – because the parties in power will draw new maps in 2011 following the 2010 census.Redrawing maps is often a partisan process designed to protect incumbents or carve out new territory based in part on voter registrations or voting patterns.Bill sponsor Sen. Connie Lawson, R-Danville, said her proposal would provide simple criteria for those making the maps. The bill calls for legislative districts to be drawn to preserve local communities of interest based on cultural, ethnic, geographic and socioeconomic similarities. The guidelines also say districts should be compact, have simple shapes and respect county boundary lines when possible.“This is an attempt to set some reasonable, rational guidelines,” Lawson said.But the bill also would allow districts to deviate from the standards when appropriate. Lawson said that exemption was needed because lawmakers must deal with federal guidelines and other factors could come up.Others said that could defeat the intent of the proposal and lead to maps based on politics.“It’s so vague that it basically doesn’t exclude what I think is the big problem people perceive about redistricting – that it’s all driven by politics,” said Sen. Tim Lanane, D-Anderson.June Lyle, state director for AARP Indiana, said political districts that are spread over large geographic areas can make voters feel detached from their representatives. Districts drawn along political lines can lead to less moderate candidates, she said, and “safe seats” where representatives are not considered as responsive to voters as those in competitive districts.Julia Vaughn of the watchdog group Common Cause Indiana noted that other states use independent commissions to set political boundaries. That’s been proposed in Indiana, but some say it would take several years to implement a new system. Vaughn said Lawson’s bill could be a good step forward in the meantime.“Criteria is something that is particularly doable this year to impact the process in 2011,” Vaughn said.All six Republicans on the Senate committee voted for the bill, while two Democrats voted against it. The legislation now moves to the full GOP-controlled Senate for consideration. It’s unclear whether the bill will gain traction in the Democrat-led House.
(11/20/09 7:13pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana's unemployment rate of 9.8 percent in October is slightly above September's adjusted jobless rate of 9.7 percent.State officials said the change is statistically insignificant.Numbers released Friday by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development show that Indiana's October jobless rate stayed below the national unemployment rate of 10.2 percent for that month.Indiana had been above the national rate from October 2008 until September 2009.
(11/20/09 7:04pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana's unemployment rate of 9.8 percent in October is slightly above September's adjusted jobless rate of 9.7 percent.State officials said the change is statistically insignificant.Numbers released Friday by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development show that Indiana's October jobless rate stayed below the national unemployment rate of 10.2 percent for that month.Indiana had been above the national rate from October 2008 until September 2009.
(11/17/09 12:53am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana hopes to win $250 million or more in competitive federal stimulus grants for schools – money the state superintendent says it deserves because of recent changes lawmakers made to education policies.The state has altered some education rules to get in line with President Barack Obama’s administration and the federal Department of Education’s $4 billion “Race to the Top” grant program.Charter school caps proposed during the legislative session were shot down after critics said it would hurt Indiana’s chances of garnering some of the money. And the budget lawmakers approved this year eliminated a legal roadblock that prohibited teachers from being judged on student achievement. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has warned that such restrictions would hurt a state’s chances.State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett, a Republican, said the recent changes strengthen Indiana’s application.“Our reform efforts already under way closely mirror the pillars of “Race to the Top”, because they have been crafted with the goals of increasing accountability, freedom and competition in our schools to increase students’ academic achievement,” Bennett said.Bennett, who took the job in January, has repeatedly said that he isn’t afraid to make changes quickly. Critics have objected to some of his plans, though. A proposal that would make it easier for people outside the education field to become teachers, for example, has met resistance from educators across the state.State Department of Education spokesman Cam Savage said Indiana school districts will likely have the option to opt out of any programs that are funded with the competitive grants if they do not agree with the plan’s goals.“For those who do, there’ll be more money,” Savage said.Only 10 to 20 states are expected to win money from the “Race to the Top” program because of its requirements. Applications were made available last week, and federal guidelines based on population show that Indiana could be up for $150 million to $250 million. But the state could apply for more.State officials aren’t yet saying exactly what programs will be proposed, although they have been working with schools to develop plans. The ideas will reflect the four goals of the “Race to the Top” — tougher academic standards, better ways to recruit and keep effective teachers, a method of tracking student performance and a plan of action to turn around failing schools.“We’ll be very bold in what we propose,” Savage said. “We’ll have an aggressive program that really attempts to move the needle on student achievement.”That could mean using grant money for programs such as state funded pre-kindergarten, said John Ellis, executive director of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents. The stimulus money is only a short-term solution and would not cover future costs of running such a program. But Ellis noted the cash could cover the cost of creating a blueprint, which schools could implement as the economy improved and budgets became less tight.“This is a lot of money,” Ellis said of the grants. “If this helps us bridge the gap to meet some of those needs, we cannot ignore that.”The grants will be awarded in two rounds. Indiana will submit its application during the first one, which has a Jan. 19 deadline and will make awards in the spring. That could help the state avoid competition from states still making policy changes to align with the Obama administration guidelines.Applying early could also give Indiana a second shot if it falls flat in the first round, since applications for the second round aren’t due until June 1 and awards will be made by Sept. 30.Savage noted that Duncan has highlighted Indiana as a state that is working toward reform.“We think we’re in a great position,” Savage said.
(09/28/09 4:19pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>NASHVILLE, Ind. — Arson has been ruled as the cause of the fire that destroyed the Little Nashville Opry concert hall in southern Indiana's Brown County.Investigators announced their findings during a Monday morning news conference in Nashville, nine days after the fire.Wayne Dixie of the federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms said the fire was intentionally set and started near the stage area. No one was immediately blamed for the arson and Dixie asked that anyone with information to contact investigators.The fire broke out the night of Sept. 19 hours after a concert finished at the hall, which opened in 1975. No injuries were reported.
(09/18/09 3:36pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana's unemployment rate dropped to 9.9 percent in August, but state officials say its too early to tell whether the decline marks the beginning of a trend.Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers released Friday show Indiana's jobless rate fell from 10.6 percent in July, putting it among just four states with measurable rate decreases over the month. More than 307,000 Indiana residents were looking for work in August, down from 332,000 in July.The Indiana Department of Workforce Development says it's too early to tell whether the decline is just a temporary blip. Agency Commissioner Teresa Voors says the drop is welcome news, but added that data from the next few months will help determine whether the state's economy is rebounding.
(07/02/09 12:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana General Assembly passed a two-year state budget Tuesday, narrowly avoiding a large-scale state government shutdown that would have begun just after midnight.The Democrat-led House voted 62-37 for the $28.7 billion budget late Tuesday afternoon, and the Republican-ruled Senate passed it 34-16 about two hours later. The bill was quickly signed into law by Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels.“Like any compromise, this budget has its defects,” Daniels said in a statement moments after the Senate passed the bill. “But it meets the fundamental condition I laid down in January and every day since: to limit total spending enough to preserve our surplus and thereby protect taxpayers against the tax increases happening in virtually every other state.”Daniels had warned lawmakers and the public that besides essential services such as state police and prisons, most of state government would shutdown beginning at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday if a new budget or stopgap funding measure was not in place.It was the closest lawmakers had come to such a deadline since 1993, when they also passed a budget on June 30 – the last day of the fiscal year – by overriding a veto by then-Gov. Evan Bayh.“We’ve done it yet again,” said Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne. “Let’s pray that times get better and the next time we have a budget, we’ll have a little bit more to deal with, better times to talk about.”The General Assembly did not pass a budget by a regular session deadline of April 29, forcing a special session that began June 11.The bill would increase overall spending on public schools by 1.1 percent in the first year and 0.3 percent the second. It would keep operating spending for public colleges and universities essentially flat, but provide more than $600 million in bonding authority for higher education building projects.Total state funding for all eight IU campuses was cut by 4.5 percent for fiscal year 2010 and by 1.5 percent for fiscal year 2011. A one-time allocation from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act makes up the difference from the state budget cuts, so total IU funding will remain consistent at about $600 million. The state and federal funding represents about 23 percent of IU’s overall $2.7 billion budget.The bill would leave a projected surplus of $1 billion at the end of two years, which Daniels said was needed as a cushion against a lingering or new economic downturn.The votes followed impassioned debate in both chambers, with many Democrats blasting the plan because it would result in spending cuts to numerous rural and urban school districts with declining enrollments.They also said there was a growing resentment against Indianapolis, because the budget included money for the city’s struggling sports agency but did not steer help to projects that some Democrats wanted in their districts.“What about Gary, Indiana? Stop treating it as a stepchild, as a reject of the state,” Democratic Rep. Vernon Smith said of his home city near Chicago. “I came to tell Indianapolis that you are not the center of the world. I love Gary, and Gary counts.”House Minority Leader Brian Bosma and other Republicans said a budget bill passed previously by House Democrats would spend too much, erode the state’s surplus and force drastic cuts in services or a tax increase.“I can tell you who the biggest winner is in Indiana, and that is the taxpayers because legislators were willing to swallow difficult medicine,” said Bosma, R-Indianapolis. “We have to be frugal when times are tough.”Republican leaders noted that state tax collections have plummeted in recent months, and a revenue forecast issued in May predicted the state would take in about $1.1 billion less through June 2011 than predicted in April.“I’m going to ask you to vote yes even though you hate this budget,” said Senate Appropriations Chairman Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville. “This budget passed by the General Assembly is better than no budget.”House Speaker Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, said Democrats had done all they could to at least secure larger overall spending increases for schools than was included in a budget bill previously passed by Senate Republicans.In the House, 14 Democrats joined all 48 Republicans in voting for the budget. Thirty-seven Democrats voted against it. In the Senate, 30 Republicans and four Democrats voted yes, and three Republicans and 13 Democrats voted no.
(06/07/09 9:27pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS – Gov. Mitch Daniels said Indiana’s schools are “among America’s luckiest” because they have so far avoided cuts during the recession.But only some Indiana schools would find four-leaf clovers under Daniels’ budget proposal.Suburban schools with booming enrollments would see funding increases, while urban and rural school districts that are losing students would see decreases. Whether that approach is a fair way to distribute money is at the heart of partisan squabbles dominating budget talks as lawmakers prepare to start a special session Thursday.But Democrats and Republicans are also arguing about the school funding numbers themselves.The Republican governor said his two-year budget would give schools an average funding increase of 2 percent in each of the next two years, and more than 70 percent of traditional public schools would see an increase from 2009 to 2011. But Daniels’ budget relies heavily on federal stimulus money to provide those increases. That money – around $400 million – will run out in two years.Democrats said Daniels’ numbers aren’t accurate and argue stimulus money shouldn’t be considered school funding because it should only be used on one-time expenditures.When stimulus money isn’t factored in, 58 percent of Indiana’s traditional public school districts would lose money from 2009 to 2011, according to an Associated Press analysis of school funding numbers provided by the Daniels administration. Those figures do not include charter schools.Daniels and other Republicans said it makes sense for schools to receive less money if they are losing students because they don’t need as many teachers and administrators.“The money follows the child,” said Rep. Jeff Espich, R-Uniondale. “There are winners and losers.”The losers aren’t happy.The state’s largest district, Indianapolis Public Schools, warns that steep cuts could send it into a “death spiral” as more parents flee to the suburbs with their children, leaving shuttered schools and out-of-work teachers in their wake.The district of 34,000 students is expected to lose nearly 2,000 students in each of the next two years. Under Daniels’ formula, IPS would lose nearly 11 percent of its funding from 2009 to 2011. When stimulus money is factored in, the district would see a cut of about 4 percent.IPS Superintendent Eugene White, who has made major changes in an effort to turn the district around, said cuts proposed under Daniels’ budget would be massive. The district has already laid off 300 teachers and closed several schools.“This would be devastating to the Indianapolis Public Schools,” White said. “Quite frankly, we have come too far to rebuild a district devastated by this.”House Speaker Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, noted that Daniels eliminated part of the school funding formula that helped soften the blow of enrollment declines over time. He said the proposed cuts were too deep.“You shouldn’t just fall off a cliff,” Bauer said.The winners under Daniels’ plan would be fast-growing districts like Hamilton Southeastern Schools in the Indianapolis suburb of Fishers. That district would see about an 11 percent increase from 2009 to 2011, not counting stimulus money.Growing school districts say they need that cash to build new schools, hire more teachers and accommodate a crush of new students.“We just want the best distribution system that the state can create that would include fully funding growth,” said Tim Ogle, superintendent of the Avon Community Schools Corp. Avon schools have nearly doubled in 10 years, and enrollment is now at 8,380.Finding a fair way to divvy up limited resources will be a challenge as lawmakers meet in a special session to hammer out a new budget before the current one expires June 30. Democrats who control the House said they will start meeting Tuesday to craft their own budget – one that won’t penalize shrinking schools as harshly.“Basically, we’re trying to cause no harm,” Bauer said.
(05/07/09 9:02pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS – More Indiana schools have slipped into academic watch and probation status, and the state is sending assistance teams to help 31 schools stuck for years in the lowest rung of the state’s five-tier ranking system.State Superintendent Tony Bennett said Wednesday that teams of three to five people will recommend changes in schools that are entering their fourth year of academic probation. Those schools have been in that category since state rankings began in the 2005-2006 school year.Bennett said he hopes the teams are in place before this fall. Those teams could include community representatives, teachers, superintendents, local officials or special consultants.“It’s a resource,” he said. “We are going to put a sense of purpose and a sense of urgency into the delivery of this resource and service so that it’s very clear to schools, school corporations and school communities the importance of moving the needle.”The 31 schools, which are largely clustered in urban areas, will also have to give parents the choice of transferring their children to another school in the district next year. Chuck Little, executive director of the Indiana Urban Schools Association, said the state assistance teams could help.“They’re long overdue,” Little said. “If they really can bring some assistance, I know it will be welcome and put to good use.”The teams can help schools revise their improvement plan and recommend changes such as allocating resources to boost performance. Bennett, a former superintendent, said the teams will help local school officials stay focused on the big picture.“Sometimes we lose sight of what it takes to be globally competitive because we are focused on the day-to-day things that occur in schools,” Bennett said. “We can’t lose sight of our need to compete.”School superintendents are focused on accountability, Little said, but improving performance can be more complicated when some students start school unprepared and don’t have full-day kindergarten or other programs that get them ready to learn.“It’s very difficult learning that needs to take place with youngsters who do not have the frame of reference,” Little said.Bennett also said Wednesday he wants to reward schools that are improving on measures such as graduation rates. He said he would announce a program as early as next week that would give schools “real incentives” to improve using a “significant” amount of money the Department of Education has saved in its budget.More details on that program will be announced soon, Bennett said.“We’re very excited about that,” he said.New 2008 state data released Wednesday show that about 70 percent of public high schools, 64 percent of public middle schools and 35 percent of public elementary schools fell into the state’s lowest two categories – academic watch and probation.About a quarter of Indiana’s public schools fell into a lower category in 2008 than 2007. And about 19 percent moved into higher categories, while the rest stayed in the same tier.The state rankings are separate from federal accountability measures required under the No Child Left Behind law. The federal progress goals only account for performance on statewide exams, while the state rankings give credit to schools for both performance and improvement over time. Consequences of the federal law only apply to schools receiving certain federal funding, while the state consequences apply to all public schools except charter schools.Only schools in the lowest category of academic probation face consequences such as possible restructuring under the state law. Indiana had 138 public schools on probation in 2008, up from 127 a year before.
(04/10/09 1:11am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS – A top state senator said Thursday he would likely drop his proposal to double Indiana’s alcohol tax statewide to help fund the agency that runs the major Indianapolis sports stadiums.Senate Appropriations Chairman Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, told The Associated Press that he was probably going to amend his proposal next week to remove the statewide tax hike and instead give Marion County an array of taxing options to fund the Indianapolis Capital Improvement Board. That could include a local alcohol tax, he said.Kenley says he suggested the statewide alcohol tax increase last week, thinking it might help the plan win votes. Kenley’s proposal would have funneled money to cities and towns around the state.Indianapolis would have put its $8 million share toward its cash-strapped Capital Improvement Board, which runs Lucas Oil Stadium and Conseco Fieldhouse along with the city’s convention center.
(04/03/09 3:46am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS – A plan to double Indiana’s alcohol taxes and rescue the struggling agency that runs major Indianapolis sports stadiums cleared its first Statehouse hurdle Thursday despite less-than-enthusiastic support from those who are being asked to pay for the proposed bailout.Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard told lawmakers the city needs the rescue package, but he isn’t keen on raising the city’s food and beverage taxes as proposed. Executives from the Indiana Pacers and Indianapolis Colts said the plan was a good start, but they have not yet agreed to pay the $5 million requested under the plan. The hospitality and convention industry told lawmakers they don’t want hotel taxes raised, and bartenders and brewers said they oppose higher taxes on booze.The plan’s creator, Republican Sen. Luke Kenley of Noblesville, said everyone has to share the pain.“I don’t know how else we’re going to do it,” Kenley said. “You can’t levy a big tax against anybody in an economy like this. You’ve just got to get everybody to take a little bite and live with it.In a statement released Thursday night by Colts senior executive vice president Pete Ward, the team said it will continue working with Kenley and other legislators to find “an appropriate solution to this situation.”
(02/17/09 4:57am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS – A state Senate committee approved two proposals Monday that supporters say would make Indiana elections more accessible and meaningful.One bill would allow Indiana citizens to register to vote online if they have a valid driver’s license or state identification card. Sen. Connie Lawson, R-Danville, said a secure Web site would allow people to register to vote or change their voter registration information quickly and easily.Currently Indiana allows people to download voter registration applications online, but they must print and mail the forms.Washington and Arizona, meanwhile, allow online voter registration. Voters in those states can go to a Web site, enter personal and driver’s license information and then register to vote or change their voter registration information.Indiana’s proposed system would work in a similar way, using Bureau of Motor Vehicles information to verify that a person is eligible to vote. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles, secretary of state’s office and county voter registration office would be involved in processing applications.“It will make voter registration more accessible to people,” said Julia Vaughn, policy director for the government watchdog group Common Cause of Indiana.Another legislative proposal would create a committee to study Indiana’s primary presidential election dates.The committee would be charged with studying whether the state should move its primary election date from the beginning of May to earlier in the year so the state has more of a say in presidential races. The group would study the cost of a date change and whether voters would have a better chance of having their voices heard. It would also look into the possibility of joining other Midwest states to hold a regional primary.Last year’s Democratic primary race between then-Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton marked the first time in four decades that Indiana’s late primary played a significant role in a presidential campaign.“Voters were really excited to be able to participate in a primary ... that had so much meaning, at least for one party,” Vaughn said. “It increased voter participation. There was just more meaning to people’s vote.”Sen. Sue Landske, R-Cedar Lake, said a change could be made for the 2012 presidential campaign.“We have plenty of time to work on this issue,” Landske said.The Senate Elections Committee unanimously approved both proposals, which will now move to the full Senate for consideration.
(01/09/09 2:55am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS – New estimates show that Indiana’s limits on property tax bills will have less of an impact on taxpayers and local governments than previously thought.The Legislative Services Agency estimated last March that caps on property tax bills could reduce revenue to local governments by about $524 million in 2010, when the caps will be fully implemented. The new estimates show an impact of about $403 million, or $121 million less than previously thought.That’s good news for some local governments that feared being hit hard by the caps, but it also means that savings to taxpayers aren’t as great as previously estimated.The new numbers could hurt some counties, but will help many others. In Marion County, for example, the projected revenue impact of the caps fell from $111 million under the old estimate to $63 million under the new figures. Vanderburgh County saw the impact fall from $6.5 million to $5.5 million.The latest figures reflect updated property tax assessment and levy data, revised growth rates and other factors.The property tax plan passed during the 2008 legislative session will cap property tax bills to homeowners at one percent of their home’s assessed value by 2010, with two percent limits on rental and agricultural property and three percent on business property.Republican leaders in the Statehouse want to approve a proposed constitutional amendment that would put those limits into the state constitution. If the Indiana General Assembly approves the proposed constitutional amendment in either 2009 or 2010, the question would appear on the ballot for voter ratification in 2010.But Democrats and local government officials want to wait to see the impact of the caps before making them more permanent. The revised numbers could come into play as lawmakers debate the issue.Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, said Thursday morning before the new numbers were released that lawmakers should move quickly to pass the constitutional amendment. He said local governments need to know that legislators are serious about making the property tax caps permanent.“We’re asking local government to make changes and to be less reliant on property taxes,” Long said. “The sooner we lay down the gauntlet and say we’re going to go forward with the caps and it’s going to go to the voters in 2010, the sooner people can start budgeting and planning for the future at the local level.”
(10/08/08 2:41am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS – Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jill Long Thompson is spending the week touting her economic plan to voters around the state – trying to draw attention to her campaign after about a month without television advertising.If Long Thompson can’t afford to hit the airwaves, it makes sense for her to hit the road in hopes of earning news coverage from local newspapers and television stations, said political analyst Brian Vargus.“She has to go out and just do what she can,” Vargus said. “What else can she do?”Long Thompson said her fundraising is going well and that she will be back on the air “very soon.” She said she always anticipated that her campaign would be off the air for a time before Nov. 4, when she faces Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels and Libertarian Andy Horning in the general election.“I have always believed that both television advertising and personal connections with voters are very important,” Long Thompson said. “You have to have both.”Daniels has outraised and outspent Long Thompson. Quarterly campaign finance reports filed June 30 showed that Daniels spent nearly $7.3 million and still had $2.8 million left, while Long Thompson spent about $1.5 million and had a balance of $1.5 million.Daniels has run television commercials continuously since March. Long Thompson aired her first general election commercial in July but hasn’t run a commercial for about four weeks.On Tuesday, Long Thompson spoke to a group of about 200 Rotary Club members in Indianapolis, touting an economic recovery plan she said would simplify the state’s tax structure and give companies incentives for creating good jobs. She has scheduled visits this week in Terre Haute, Lafayette, Jeffersonville, Evansville, East Chicago, Fort Wayne and Mishawaka to talk about aspects of the plan.Long Thompson said voters seem to like her message. A statewide poll released last week found that of 600 likely voters, 47 percent supported Daniels and 46 percent supported Long Thompson. That’s within the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.“I have spent considerably less than Gov. Daniels, and we are in a virtual dead heat,” Long Thompson said. “I think it reflects that my campaign is resonating with voters all across the state, but I also think it is a reflection that Gov. Daniels’ policies are not working.”Daniels campaign spokesman Cam Savage said that Daniels’ policies are working and noted that the governor has been ahead in all the polls, even if the margins are slim in some surveys. Daniels will be traveling the state before the election, talking to voters about his vision for the state, Savage said.“He’ll be on the road throughout the last few weeks, just like he always is,” Savage said.More campaign commercials from both Daniels and Long Thompson could crop up as Election Day nears. While it’s important for candidates to be on the air in the month before the election, the last two weeks are particularly important, Vargus said.“It’s still a long way until the election,” Vargus said.
(10/01/08 1:36am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS – The Republican National Committee has started running TV commercials in Indiana supporting John McCain – the most visible GOP response to Democrat Barack Obama’s push to turn this traditionally red state blue.Democrats said the ads, coming five weeks before the election, are proof that Republicans finally realize Indiana might be up for grabs, as some recent polls suggest.“They believe John McCain is in trouble in this state,” said Jonathan Swain, Obama’s communications director for Indiana. “This isn’t a state that they feel is solidly in their column right now.”Republicans have been confident that McCain would win Indiana, but say it was simply time to respond to Obama’s efforts.“You can’t let millions and millions of dollars of negative ads go unanswered,” said Luke Messer, co-chairman for McCain’s Indiana campaign.The RNC’s independent expenditure unit started airing the ads Tuesday in all major Indiana television markets except the Louisville, Ky., area, said Brad Todd, a spokesman for the unit.The ads, titled “Worse,” focus on the country’s economic crisis and are also running in the battleground states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia. The ads will run initially for eight days and will cost $5 million to air in the six states, Todd said.Obama’s campaign spent about $6 million on TV commercials in Indiana leading up to the May primary and has run at least $1.5 million in television ads since June. Obama has made five stops in the state since mid-July, and the campaign has set up more than 30 offices around the state.McCain hasn’t visited the state since July 1, and the campaign has no field offices, relying on state- and county-level organizations to build support.Three polls conducted in September showed either a tight race between Obama and McCain, or McCain slightly ahead.Swain said Obama is doing something new to many Indiana residents – actively competing for Hoosier votes.“Barack Obama was committed to Indiana from the beginning,” Swain said. “Meanwhile, Republicans have really taken this state for granted.”Republicans say Indiana voters’ values are more in line with McCain’s.“We’re going to work hard and take nothing for granted,” Messer said. “We’ve got to earn the vote of every Hoosier in the state, and that’s what we intend to do.”The GOP has history on its side. Indiana, which carries 11 electoral votes, last went Democratic in the 1964 Lyndon Johnson landslide. George W. Bush won with 60 percent in 2004 and 57 percent in 2000.
(07/28/08 12:04am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>MARTINSVILLE, Ind. – Jim Lankford’s corn crops used to stretch to the White River. Now the river has stretched itself through his crops.The river eroded a new route for itself during June’s flooding, a channel with steep 12-foot banks at the edge of some of Lankford’s corn fields about 30 miles southwest of Indianapolis. The flood spread rocks in other spots, making it look as if Lankford planted soybeans in a gravel road. Elsewhere, silt is piled up like sand dunes and uprooted trees still litter cornfields more than a month after the floods.“It’s the worst I’ve ever seen in my life for this area,” the 62-year-old farmer said.The flooding that swamped large areas of the Midwest took with it some of the region’s most valuable resource: soil.Now farmers and environmentalists are at odds over what to do with erosion-prone land – take their chances planting crops on marginal land in hopes of good yields and high grain prices, or plant trees, native grasses or ground cover that act as a natural flood buffer.The floods may have caused up to $3 billion in crop losses in Iowa and $800 million in crop damage in Indiana, according to estimates from agriculture secretaries in those states.Erosion damage is harder to tally.In Wisconsin, flooding damaged about $2.8 million worth of conservation structures, such as dams, levees, ditches and waterways, said Don Baloun, a farm conservationist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service in Madison, Wis.Some land in Illinois is still submerged.“It could be fall for some of our counties on the Mississippi River before we see what kind of damage farmers did experience as far as erosion,” said Donald King of Illinois’ USDA’s Farm Service Agency.Erosion robs farmers of the nutrient-rich topsoil their growing plants need.“It takes thousands of years to form one inch of topsoil,” said Jane Hardisty, Indiana’s state conservationist. “Within a day, we lost it. It’s just devastating.”It’s also an issue downstream, where sediment diminishes water quality. Scientists think the “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico –oxygen-depleted water off the Texas-Louisiana coast that can’t support kill marine life – is likely to be worse this year partly because of the flood runoff.States have set up programs to keep their soil. Missouri, for example, has nearly halved its rate of soil loss since the mid-1980s, when it dedicated a special tax that generates $42 million a year for soil-conserving practices such as terraces, retention ponds and grazing rotations.The conversion of row-crop land to pastures over the last 20 years in northern Missouri also has helped conserve the precious few inches of top soil left in that part of the state, said Bill Foster, who heads the state’s soil and water conservation program.“If we lose very many more inches of soil, we won’t be farming,” Foster said. “It’s critical to keep in place.”The Farm Service Agency’s Conservation Reserve Program also helps. The $2 billion-a-year federal program pays farmers not to plant crops, instead returning land to its native state. That saves an estimated 450 million tons of soil each year.However, that program isn’t without controversy. Environmental groups recently sought a federal court injunction to stop hay production and cattle grazing on some conservation land. A judge in Seattle ruled that the USDA did not conduct an appropriate environmental review, but said a reversal would be unfair to farmers and ranchers counting on using that land.Conservation program officials announced earlier this month that farmers in flood-damaged areas of 16 states could graze livestock on conservation land to help them cope with rising grain prices and flood damage.“Our CRP land is vital to the balance we promote at USDA between production and preservation,” Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer said. “I commit this resource knowing that we must redouble our conservation effort at every future opportunity.”One of the program’s founders, Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., wants to also allow farmers to plant crops on more stable conservation land.Environmental groups say there are risks to opening up conservation program land to planting. Marginal land planted with ground cover or trees acts as a natural flood barrier, said Sara Hopper, director of agricultural policy for the Environmental Defense Fund. Planting crops could mean less protection against floods, she said.“It’s going to make a bad situation worse, particularly over the long run,” she said.Lankford, the Indiana farmer, faces a difficult decision for his flood-damaged land.He could replant corn in an effort to make money off the field, but that would take cash to rebuild a breached levee and haul hundreds of truck loads of topsoil to replace his lost land. He could also consider the conservation reserve program, or he could simply abandon the affected field.Another big flood could come again next year, he said, or not for another hundred years.“Traditionally, farmers are optimists, and I know I’m that way. They always think ‘Well, next year will be better,’” Lankford said.“You know there’s risks. Sometimes it’s worse than you think.”
(02/28/08 4:36am)
INDIANAPOLIS – A bill that would allow bars and taverns to offer pull tabs and other low-stakes gambling narrowly gained approval Wednesday in the Senate.\nTavern owners have argued that they should be able to offer the games, which are already allowed at charitable fraternal organizations or clubs. Those organizations have long offered pull tabs under a bingo license, and the General Assembly created a specific license for them last year. Bill supporters said tavern owners deserve equal treatment.\n“All they’re asking for is a fair, level playing field,” said Sen. Jim Arnold, D-LaPorte.\nThe Senate voted 26-21 for the bill, which had already cleared the House.\nThe bill’s author, Rep. Dennis Tyler, D-Muncie, said before the Senate vote that he would likely seek to have the bill put in a conference committee, where Senate and House members could work out compromise legislation.\nPull tabs, which typically cost $1, are paper games that pay off when symbols underneath tab windows on the back sides of cards match winning combinations shown on the front sides. Other games such as punchboards and tipboards, which also pay out prizes, would also be allowed.\nBesides fees for obtaining licenses to offer the games, excise taxes on the ticket sales also would be collected. Lawmakers have estimated that if the bill becomes law, it would generate between $5 million to $25 million in annual tax revenue.
(02/20/08 3:59am)
INDIANAPOLIS – A majority of lawmakers in the Indiana House have signed a petition showing their support for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage – despite a decision by House leaders not to give the proposal a hearing this year.\nRep. Jim Buck, R-Kokomo, said Tuesday that representatives wanted to do something to show voters that they support the amendment. He said some lawmakers, both Republicans and Democrats, have been criticized for not doing enough to push for the proposal.\n“We could demonstrate with our signatures our reaffirmation to those in our districts that we do support it,” he said.\nDemocrats hold a 51-49 majority in the House. Most Republicans and seven Democrats signed the petition, which had 55 signatures Tuesday. Buck said more representatives could sign onto the petition later if they chose.\nHouse Speaker Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, said the amendment is unnecessary and that lawmakers should focus on property tax relief during this short legislative session.\nThe proposed amendment has been assigned to the House Rules Committee, where chairman Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, said he will not give it a hearing. Pelath notes that an Indiana law already bans same-sex marriage, and that a court ruling has upheld that law.\nRep. Eric Turner, R-Marion, said he will continue to fight for the amendment until the legislative session ends in mid-March, even if that means looking for creative ways to revive the proposal, such as suspending procedural rules.\n“Things can be voted on right up to the last minute,” Turner said. “I think we need to look at every opportunity.”\nBoth supporters and opponents of the amendment have pressured lawmakers about the issue. Supporters say the state needs to amend the constitution to prevent activist judges from overturning state law banning gay marriage. Opponents say the amendment would write discrimination into the state constitution and that it could have unintended consequences.\nAmending Indiana’s constitution requires a resolution to pass consecutive, separately elected General Assemblies and then be approved in a statewide vote.\nThe General Assembly passed the proposal in 2005, when Republicans controlled the House, but would have to pass again this year to be on the November ballot in 2008. If the proposal fails this year, the earliest the measure could be on the ballot is 2012.
(01/10/08 4:54am)
INDIANAPOLIS – A new report ranked Indiana among just 10 states where teacher salaries were equal to or higher than pay for comparable jobs and gave the state higher overall marks in education than the national average.\nIndiana received an overall grade of B-minus, while the nationwide score was C, according to the “Quality Counts 2008” report by Education Week and the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center.\n“The report reflects our relentless push to set the right expectation for Indiana’s students and schools through high academic and accountability standards,” said Suellen Reed, Indiana’s superintendent of public instruction.\nThe annual report ranks states in several categories, including performance from kindergarten to 12th grade, school finances, teacher quality and education standards. This year, a new section of the report compared teacher pay to the salaries of workers in 16 other fields, including counselors, nurses, computer programmers and accountants.\nThe report found that public school teachers nationwide made 88 cents for every dollar earned by workers in the other fields. In Indiana, however, teachers made $1.02 for every dollar earned in the other fields studied.\nIndiana teachers may do better than those in other states when it comes to pay equity, but the state is still losing some would-be teachers to higher-paying jobs – especially in special education, speech pathology and other technical fields, said Dan Clark, deputy director of the Indiana State Teachers Association.\n“It doesn’t resolve the question of how do we compete with higher-salary professions,” he said.\nThe Quality Counts report also found that nationwide, teachers’ salaries were more compressed than other professions, meaning they had less of a chance than workers in other areas to earn above-average salaries.\n“Quality teaching matters more to student learning than anything else schools do,” said Research Center director Christopher B. Swanson. “Yet the importance of teachers is not adequately reflected in either their salaries or their career trajectories over time, and it is clear that states could be doing far more to address the issue.”\nIndiana received its highest grade, an A, in the category of standards, assessments and accountability. Indiana’s education standards, which outline exactly what students in each grade should learn, have been honored before.\nThe 2007 Quality Counts report ranked Indiana first in the nation for quality standards, assessments and accountability. In 2005, Indiana was one of only three states that received an “A” rating for standards in both math and English, according to the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, an education reform group.
(11/01/07 4:00am)
Ween has been troubling rock's serious mentality for the past 17 years. It is rare to come across a rock band with such a consistent sense of humor and flair for genre experimentation. Ween is known for keeping fans on their toes. Each album is categorically schizophrenic, bouncing from pop to country to easy listening to rock to lounge music, without hesitation. Their latest creation La Cucaracha is a musical-genre hodgepodge that keeps the listener engaged.\nOn La Cucaracha, Ween is more playful than on 2003's Quebec. The first track "Fiesta" revs up the listener with fluttering trumpets backed by upbeat drumming. It could pass for the theme song of some old-school comedy troupe. As an instrumental opener, it leaves you guessing about where the rest of the album will go.\nThe two tracks that follow keep the playful attitude rolling. "Blue Balloon" has a steady, dream-like tempo. The lyrics "Can the father's love reach the child above the clouds / So as to dance the day up high / Way up high, above the blue balloon" and rhythmic percussion makes it seem as though the listener is floating in a field of tall grass. The wind noises in the background help the imagery as well. \n"Friends" takes an amusing stab at techno while using synthesizers and echoing voice effects to maintain the previous track's dreamy feel. The catchy song forces you to bounce along and chant the refrain "Friends in life are special / Do you want me as your special friend?"\nThe party demeanor staggers with the fourth track. "Object" brings poor choices regarding casual relationships into question. It's not an optimistic song, but the album as a whole spans multiple emotions as well as music types. \nLa Cucaracha's standout track "My Own Bare Hands" has lyrics ranging from sensible to incomprehensible. Hard-guitar riffs and gruff singing make it a rock classic. Sprinkled with obscenities, the song isn't groundbreaking, but it is hilarious. Lines such as "I'm gonna be your lawnmower / And cut your fuckin' grass" will make you smile unless you are too easily offended by playful profanity.\nThe album definitely keeps your attention. The songs cover country, reggae, light rock, new age, techno and classic rocking out. If you're new to Ween, you might find them intimidating. But don't worry, the experience is well worth the possible confusion.