District 6 candidates pay attention to wage gap
Women in the U.S. earned 78 percent of what men made in 2013, up from 77 percent in 2012.
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Women in the U.S. earned 78 percent of what men made in 2013, up from 77 percent in 2012.
A lack of documentation will cost many people in the United States their health care coverage, including many Hoosiers.
In a previous version of this story, Jeff Petermann was listed as having dropped out of the race. Petermann recently indicated he is running as a Constitutional Conservative.
A new bill proposed by Rep. Todd Young, R-Ind., could have an effect on how federal social programs could be funded.
President Obama will address the nation Wednesday to lay out the national strategy to contain the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a Sunni militant terrorist organization in the Middle East.
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals declared on Thursday gay marriage bans in Indiana and Wisconsin unconstitutional, a decision that could be sent to the United States Supreme Court upon appeal.
Rep. Eric Turner, R-Cicero , will have his leadership role in the Indiana General Assembly revoked next fall.
President Obama is set to announce a new executive order to provide many of the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in America a better path to citizenship without fear of deportation.
Labor Day weekend is not only a marker of summer’s end — it also kicks off election campaign season.
Bloomington City Council member Chris Sturbaum used his opening remarks at the council’s meeting Wednesday night to discuss his ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
Proposals for the City of Bloomington’s 2015 budget took place during four meetings this week, with each of the city’s 19 departments delivering presentations and requesting an average $146,388 increase in their budgets.
State history was made in downtown Indianapolis earlier this week.
An IU professor was chosen to be an ecological civic leader earlier this month .
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Ivy Tech Community College-Bloomington’s fundraiser for the Center of Civic Engagement brought in a renowned civic leader Thursday night. Secretary of State. Four-star army general. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, twice. Statesman Colin Powell spoke at a sold-out event at the Bloomington Monroe County Convention Center.Powell’s speech was a part of Ivy Tech Community College-Bloomington’s O’Bannon Institute for Community Service, a three-day event celebrating the service done by the school.The former Secretary of State was the keynote speaker for the institute’s fundraising dinner, which raises money for Ivy Tech’s Center for Civic Engagement.Powell’s speech focused on leadership and his stances on the many issues facing the United States and the rest of the world, including wealth distribution, health care, the Ukraine and Crimean incidents and immigration reform. He emphasized that the United States has the power to fix its issues.“My message to you is to have faith in this great country of ours,” Powell said. “Just remember it is our country, not the people in Washington or in Indianapolis or anywhere else. It is our country and we’re the ones who have to shape it.”Powell said he enjoys traveling to places within the country to discuss issues with citizens because of their optimism, especially in a time of partisanship.“I only wish I could bottle up the kind of confidence and optimism I see and take it back to Washington, D.C., and pour it over the heads of our politicians and tell them, ‘You better get going, they’re getting mad out there,’” he said. “(I’ve) never seen Washington as dysfunctional as it is now.”Audience member Linda Scott said she really enjoyed hearing Powell speak.“I come to this every year and I thought he was very inspiring,” Scott said. “I didn’t expect him (to tell) so many funny stories and to tell funny stories about the presidents he served. I always thought of General Powell as being more serious.”Powell shared a few stories from his latest book “It Worked For Me: In Life and Leadership,” which features anecdotes ranging from his life growing up in Bronx, New York, to being a general, to serving former President George W. Bush. He joked about missing his airplane the most from his time as Secretary of State.He also talked about his newest endeavor as a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley. Powell said it is his favorite way to keep up what is happening in technology. Aside from discussion about his own civic engagement, Powell also praised the work of Ivy Tech and other community colleges. “I love community colleges,” Powell said. “I think you have an essential element to the American education system.”Previous keynote speakers for the dinner include former first lady Laura Bush and political strategists James Carville and Mary Matalin.Powell was the first African-American secretary of state under President George W. Bush and the first African-American man on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He also worked on the National Security Council for former Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.Other events for this year’s O’Bannon Institute include a speech from former first lady of Indiana Judy O’Bannon, workshops on food shopping and growing and panel discussions called Do Something Personally, Do Something Locally and the Politics of Food.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Uber, a website mobile application that assists people in finding rides, expanded to Bloomington last week. Passengers are able to pick up a ride on short notice through the app, which matches them with available Uber drivers.“We’re really excited to be in Bloomington,” said Chris Nakutis, general manager for Uber in Indiana.Uber has multiple ride options, including uberX, which allows everyday drivers to pick up riders, and uberBLACK, which partners riders with professional drivers in black vehicles. Only uberX is available in Bloomington now. Nakutis said he predicts other Uber options will be available in Bloomington by the next school year. Uber users are able to see available cars on the app, including a profile of the driver and car and real-time movement of the car. Uber also recruits drivers. All drivers must go through background checks, be insured, be over 23 years old and have a car 10 years or younger.“When we think of Uber, we think of simplicity, safety and reliability,” Nakutis said. “We want to make sure that people know we aren’t some random app picking people up.” Nakutis said the average wait time in Indianapolis is four minutes. Bloomington is one of the smallest cities Uber serves, Nakutis said. Because drivers can pick up uberX riders at their convenience, there is no limit to how far uberX rides can go, Nakutis said, noting that many people have taken Uber rides from Indianapolis to Bloomington or from Indianapolis to Chicago. Those rides, Nakutis said, led to the expansion to Bloomington, as well as Bloomington residents and IU students using it in other cities.“A lot of people who use Uber in Chicago and New York City came from IU,” Nakutis said. “They’d say, ‘Oh, I’m going back to Bloomington.’”He added many Uber employees are IU graduates. Nakutis said last spring, Uber was only available in 12 cities, Indianapolis not being one of them. It now serves 96 places worldwide.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Monroe County Plan Commission unanimously passed a zoning ordinance Tuesday night that formally defines and sets requirements for truck stops and plazas. The ordinance is part of the county’s plan to prepare for the expansion of Interstate 69 from Indianapolis to Evansville. Requirements passed by the planning commission include that truck stops must be located within 2,000 feet of the center line of the nearest interstate highway exit or entry ramp, be 7,000 feet apart and have separate fueling areas for regular vehicles and trucks. Truck stops must also have a minimal parcel size of 10 acres, have dedicated left or right turn lanes and be designed to prevent any spills that could happen in the plaza.Implementation of electrified overnight parking spaces will be another major requirement of all potential Monroe County truck stops. These spaces will provide heating, air conditioning and other necessary energy without forcing the truck driver to leave the truck idling.The Plan Commission is an advisory body to the Board of County Commissioners. The ordinance passed by the Plan Commission will be sent to the Monroe County commissioners next. Wilson presented design ideas from truck stops in Crawfordsville, Ind., and Aurora, Col. Scott Wells, plan commission member, said even though he initially did not want truck stops in the county, he liked how the ordinance was written. One concern of the commission was that requirements for the truck stops were made rigorous enough to deter the construction of too many truck stops in the county.“We’ll either have the best truck stop or truck plaza in the state, or even surrounding states, or not because it’s going to cost more to do it right,” Wells said.Wells said the Indiana Department of Transportation has reported the interstate expansion will bring 8,000 more trucks to the area.John Irvine, commission president, said that prospect as well as Indiana Department of Transportation not allowing rest areas between Indianapolis and Evansville would cause problems for truck drivers.He said federal law requires truck drivers to pull over for the night. If they cannot do so at a truck stop in Monroe County, truck drivers and other drivers on the interstate will have to pull over to other commercial areas to sleep.Wells also expressed concern about traffic congestion and noise and light pollution if truck stops are built.“It’s not a great situation,” Irvine said. Another issue the commission noted was the lack of places for truck stops to be built. “There are not a lot of good sites with good sewer and water,” Wells said, noting that many good places have been taken along I-37. Jim Faber, member of the League of Women Voters, was the sole member of the public in the audience for the meeting.He said he approved of the requirements but wasn’t sure if they would be implemented.“I think it’s great,” Faber said. “I don’t think they will get any in, but it’s great.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Bloomington Center for Global Children had its first “Let’s Celebrate Literacy” event Saturday, featuring activities for children and families to emphasize reading at an early age. Sierra Roussos, the center’s director and co-founder, said she was looking for a way to celebrate Week of the Young Child in order to benefit the community in general. Week of the Young Child is an annual event by the National Association for the Education of Young Children that recognizes the needs of early childhood. This year it ran from April 6 to 12. “Literacy in preschool really comes in different ways, especially talking to your children,” Roussos said. “That’s what this event is about.” Roussos said reading to children, using an enriched vocabulary and providing synonyms for words a child uses helps them develop stronger literacy skills as they mature.The Bloomington Center for Global Children opened last year after Roussos and her husband Daniel expanded Bryan Park Preschool for Global Children in 2009.The idea for a global children’s program in Bloomington grew from the Roussos family wanting to provide more for their younger son while they lived in New York City. With that experience, they became more interested in the earlier years of childhood development.The center also includes programming in other languages.“I grew up in France, and felt unfortunate as an American at the lack of multilingual options,” Roussos said.The center provides full Spanish immersion for its students, who range in age from six weeks to 6 years old. Merideth Lulich said her 4-year-old son enjoys coming to the center, adding she likes that her child is learning Spanish. “I can see at home what he’s learning,” she said.The Center for Global Children is licensed for 76 children, which Roussos said will be a number they maintain to promote a family-like atmosphere for the children.The center emphasizes diversity tolerance as one of its main goals.“We teach tolerance and appreciation for the similarities and differences of others. We emphasize the virtues of respect, collaboration, self-regulation, communication and happiness,” the center’s website says.Roussos said this was the first Week of the Young Child event in Bloomington.The event featured a reading by Chris Shaw, a Bloomington attorney who wrote and published a children’s book last year about Bloomington titled “The Fish on the Dome.” Shaw, who has lived in Bloomington for 10 years, said he wrote the book for his son.“This place is great for kids,” Shaw said.Information about how parents can help their children during early development was distributed by United Way.The “Let’s Celebrate Literacy” event included yoga for families, which Roussos said ties in with the center’s goals for teaching children to be in touch with their emotions. The center also has a garden for the children to learn how to grow and eat organic food.Lulich said her child enjoys being at the center.“He hates leaving the house, and he hates leaving here,” she said. “He definitely has fun here, which is important for his age.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Farmer House Museum needed help developing solutions to everyday problems for nonprofits.IDEAS Network, which stands for Initiating, Development, Evaluating, Activating and Sustaining ideas, is a part of Creative Indiana, an organization whose mission is to strengthen the usage of creativity throughout the community. At this month’s IDEAS network event Wednesday night, seven people gathered to help the museum find ways to raise funds and make sure it can be preserved in the future. Ladi Terry started both initiatives, which she operates through her business, Success Work. Terry works in the creative field, working for a variety of nonprofits specializing in implementation of creativity. She is also studying for a master’s degree in creative development from Buffalo State College in Buffalo, N.Y.IDEAS Network facilitates monthly public meetings to help organizations, specifically nonprofits, come up with creative ways to solve problems they face. “My goal is just to help people realize that creativity is a skill that can develop, just like any other skill,” Terry said. The Farmer House Museum was started by Ed and Mary Ellen Farmer, who wanted to ensure the home built in 1869 would be preserved in the community. The house and its items were turned over to the community to become a museum in 1999. The displays in the house are of everyday items dating from 1875 to 1975, including clothing, pictures and 100 years of greeting cards. Museum Director Emily Purcell came to IDEAS Network Wednesday night to help create ways to solve some of the museum’s problems, most notably with increasing the museum’s endowment and strengthening awareness of the museum. Terry said IDEAS Network typically only helps organizations come up with solutions, but if they want to hire her to help carry out the plans, they can.“All we can do is start this process, but it’s amazing,” Terry said. Other monthly IDEAS Network events included deciding names of events for My Sister’s Closet and helping WonderLab strengthen its gift shop.In two hours, seven people, including new Bloomington citizens and museum board members, brainstormed an array of ideas to help the museum. These included using social media to advertise for the house, making online digital tours and organizing events such as tea time and dancing events. Preserving the spirit of the Farmer family is very important to Purcell and the board.“I think most of these ideas they would really like,” Purcell said. “The dance and connecting with the world, especially.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Cool temperatures and light rain did not stop more than 70 people from gathering on the Monroe County Courthouse lawn for a Child Abuse and Neglect Awareness event Tuesday. The annual event, sponsored by the Monroe County Department of Child Services, brought people together to raise awareness about helping abused children. “What we’re doing today is very simple, but effective,” said Harmony Gist, director of Monroe County Child Services.Organizations tailored to children such as Wonderlab, Magic Inc., Community Partners for Child Safety, Youth Services Bureau of Monroe County and Safe Place gave information to attendees about how to help abused children. Bloomington fire and police departments were also present. April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, instated by President Ronald Reagan in 1983 to raise awareness about the issue. Speakers at the event included Tiffany Coleman, a Bloomington resident who dealt with a lifetime of foster care, abuse, molestation and abandonment. She spoke of the effects of abuse in her adult life.“Sometimes I catch myself asking a lot of questions at work,” she said. “Sometimes I catch myself questioning my parenting choices.” Coleman said many people helped her in school, such as teachers, a principle and a guidance counselor, to help her survive her abuse.“I encourage you to be an advocate for your kids and support your kids,” Coleman said. “You can be that person in your child’s life.” Monroe County circuit court judge Steven Galvin also spoke at the event, pushing for reform of where money is spent to treat child abuse.“We spend millions of dollars on consequences,” he said. “Every day, we spend money on what happened to children instead of focusing on preventing that abuse and neglect.” Galvin advocated for investment in early-year development of children and families. He said if the community focused on those problems, other issues in their lives would be avoided later on, such as health problems, premature mortality, low educational achievement, mental illness, crime and substance abuse. “If this community can’t do it, no one can,” Galvin said. Speakers were followed by a candle-lit procession and a performance by the Saint Charles Children’s choir. Last year, Indiana had more than 25,000 reported cases of child abuse or neglect. “People say, ‘Oh, these things won’t happen here,’” Kelli Shannon, resource development coordinator for Court Appointed Special Advocates, said in an interview. “But they do.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Last week’s rainfall caused prospective damage to crops for area farmers.A three-day span of storms put Monroe and 11 other counties under a flood warning from Wednesday to Friday.“It puts us behind in field work,” said Jeff Bailey, a farmer outside of Bloomington.Bailey has seen some prospective damage done to his crops due to the flooding. His wheat crop in particular is starting to contract diseases that stunt growth.Bailey and his family grow corn, beans and wheat and raise cows and swine. He ships his crops to sellers straight from his field.The diseases will make his plants shorter, Bailey said, but will not affect how the wheat would taste or affect the nutritional value of the crops.In past incidents like this, Bailey has monitored his crops and used pesticide spray to counter damage.“We’ve had a lot worse,” Bailey said, recalling major flood damage in 2008. “This rain is what we usually get in March.”Joseph Nield, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Indianapolis, said rainfall varied across the state with some regions receiving two inches and other regions, such as southern Indiana, receiving four to six inches.Nield said that what constitutes as flooding varies in different situations.“This flood was about the amount received in a short time,” Nield said. Because it is still the beginning of the growing season, the lack of existing vegetation to collect rain runoff makes water accumulate faster on the ground. Otherwise, flooding standards for the National Weather Service are met by receiving more rain than the ground can handle in a season.“Our soils have been relatively wet with the rain and snow,” Nield said.Damage to the soil was due to the winter, which also made Bailey’s livestock very ill. He said his livestock are also not eating substantial grass because of ground conditions.Bailey said he is hoping the cold could kill insects that would otherwise eat his crops.Nield said there is rain in the forecast for tonight, but that it will not bring as much rain as the previous storms have.Bailey said that although flooding does create damage, it will even out moisture levels in the ground which he said are currently too soft.