256 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(09/28/01 5:21am)
State employees won't receive raises next year, Gov. Frank O'Bannon announced Thursday.\nO'Bannon said the state can't afford to give raises and called it a troubling day for his administration. Outgoing Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Robin Winston described the salary freeze as "one of the most difficult decisions of (O'Bannon's) term." \n"Our state workers are dedicated public servants who provide important services to Hoosiers and who deserve pay raises," O'Bannon said at a press conference in Indianapolis. "But the current condition of our budget and the continued decline in our revenue makes it impossible this year." \nThe planned four percent raise would have cost the state about $60 million, O'Bannon said. \nFederal grants cover about half of the state's payroll expenses. The $31 million saved from the salary freeze won't begin to cover the state's structural deficit of more than $600 million.\nThe state legislature passed a two-year $20.7 billion budget than spends nearly $500 million in excess of projected revenues, State Budget Director Betty Cockrum said. A recent appellate court ruling on Indiana Medicaid payments has set the state back another $100 million, Cockrum said.\nAnd the state's financial situation has only been worsening.\nCorporate, individual income and sales tax revenues brought in $41 million less than was projected for the month of August alone. Just two months into this fiscal year, the state was $124 million short of projected revenues.\n"The governor is doing everything in his power to address this serious revenue shortfall," said state Sen. Vi Simpson, D-Ellettsville. "There are few places where he has discretion over spending, and he really doesn't have much choice."\nThe average state employee brings in about $30,000 a year, according to State Personnel Department figures. The raise approved by the state legislature this spring was meant to keep pace with projected increases in the cost of living.\nThe state has put off negotiations with unions representing its employees until 2002, O'Bannon said Thursday.\n"We have worked hard in the last four years to pay our workers salaries that compete with the private sector so we could attract the very best people and keep them in state government," he said. "In each of the last four years, we have been fortunate to have the resources to afford raises." \nO'Bannon undertook several steps in July to manage the budget administratively, including imposing a strategic hiring freeze and slicing out-of-state travel of state employees by half. The measures are estimated to save the state around $2 million.\nThe second-term Democratic governor also ordered Cockrum to postpone spending on all capital projects except those already under way or necessary for public safety. The construction freeze should result in around $167 million in saving, Cockrum said.\nAnd O'Bannon asked all state agencies to scale back their spending by 7 percent.\nThe General Assembly comes back into session in November. Simpson said state lawmakers should be more receptive to previously politically unpopular ideas, such as O'Bannon's proposal to increase the cigarette tax by 50 cents a pack.\n"We have serious problems to discuss and tough decisions to make," she said. "We have to keep all options on the table and seriously look at significant cuts to the budget. \n"It would be more preferable to many people than a general tax increase."\nThe widespread layoffs and decline in consumer confidence following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks should further depress Indiana's economy, Simpson said. She expects a sharp decrease in sales tax revenue.\nThe bleak forecast makes it necessary to rein in spending wherever possible, she said.\n"The state is no different than your family or my family," she said. "If you have less income coming in, you need to either cut back expenses or increase the income stream."\nThe governor said it is impossible to cut the budget enough to offset the deficit unless he slices into spending for education, which he touted as his main priority during his re-election campaign last fall. He said he hoped the legislature would join him in addressing the fiscal crisis so that he would not have to cut education dollars. \nO'Bannon plans to make more announcements about further spending cuts within the next few weeks.
(09/25/01 6:09am)
Circuit Court Judge Viola Taliaferro decided to evacuate the Monroe County Justice Building Monday afternoon after a bomb threat was phoned in earlier that morning.\nCounty employees left work for the day at about 2 p.m., when the building was closed down as a security precaution. Monroe County Sheriff Steve Sharp said the threat turned out to be immaterial.\nA male still at large called the Monroe County Court Services administrative office at about 9 a.m. Monday. He told an unidentified secretary that a bomb was in the building and that "they locked up my brother last year."\nThe phone call was brief and could not be traced, Sharp said. \n"We've requested information from the local phone service," he said. "We'll try to track the guy down."\nIn Indiana, calling in a bomb threat usually results in a charge of false informing, a class D felony. Under standard sentencing, it can carry up to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine. \nShortly after the phoned threat came in, sheriff's deputies cleared out the building and conducted a thorough inspection, Sharp said.\n"They didn't find anything out of the ordinary."\nAfter calmly milling outside for about half and hour, the county employees returned to work. Taliaferro, the presiding judge, decided she'd be more comfortable if dogs were brought in to scour the premises.\n"I was concerned with the welfare and safety of all of our employees," she said. "There's no way of knowing whether the threat was serious.\n"When you can only speculate, it's better not to wait and see if it's serious."\nTaliaferro said the prank was in poor taste, especially after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon Sept. 11.\n"There's no denying that (this individual was unbalanced)," she said. "This is a time of national grief. We're still in the process of mourning." \nIn keeping with emergency protocol, Sharp ordered the building evacuated and shut down for the day. Staff remained on duty at the sheriff's office and the Monroe County Correctional Facility, which are both housed in the Justice Building.\nSheriff's deputies again searched the building with explosive-sniffing dogs brought in from the Martinsville Police Department and the Crane Naval Warfare Center near Bedford. Crane loaned the specially trained dog despite being on high security alert, following an executive order issued by President George W. Bush.\n"We have a mutual support agreement with local law enforcement," said Sue Webster, Crane's public affairs officer. "And we intend to honor it in spite of everything."\nIt's not often that Crane deploys its bomb squad, Webster said.\n"I can't even remember the last time we had to," she said. "It's very rare that we have to respond to a bomb threat"
(09/18/01 5:51am)
Police have now determined that 40 SUVs were vandalized in Bloomington and on campus over the weekend. The Bloomington Police Department has made one arrest and is now following leads in an investigation into the rash of vandalism.\nBloomington Police Cpt. Joe Qualters said more than 60 SUVs and a few high-end vehicles such as BMWs have been targeted by vandals since the beginning of September. Vandals struck 22 SUVs in town and about 18 on campus over the weekend.\nQualters said the police are focusing on apparently related cases of vandalism involving slashed tires and defacement with spray paint. While a few luxury cars have been hit, the vandals appear to be targeting SUVs.\nCiting a lack of concrete evidence, Qualters couldn't say whether the acts have been perpetrated by radical environmentalists, as some victims speculate.\n"Obviously, there's something with SUVs in particular," Qualters said. "But no one's claiming responsibility, and they've left nothing on the vehicles to indicate that it's political. \n"We can't surmise anything. You can draw your own conclusions."\nSo far, police have only made one arrest.\nEarly Saturday morning, two citizens spotted a man kneeling down by a hissing tire at the corner of 11th and Grant Streets, according to the police report. They called out to him and he took off running, the report said.\nThe citizens chased after the man and briefly detained him, according to the report. After a brief struggle, the police report said one of the pursuers suffered a cut on his hand, which he told police the suspect inflicted.\nAccording to the police report, the suspect then took off again before the citizens detained him once more and brought him back to the scene of the crime. Officer Bill Jeffries arrived on the scene at 4:06 a.m. and made an arrest, the report said.\nJeffries could not locate the sharp object the man allegedly used in the act of vandalism and during the subsequent flight, the police report said. According to the report, Jeffries took the suspect back to the station for questioning, where he told investigators that he had simply been returning home from a bar.\nMussie F. Debessay, of 406 E. 11th St., a 27-year-old graduate student, faces a preliminary charge of criminal mischief, a class D felony. He was bonded out of the Monroe County Correctional Facility Sunday afternoon on $500 cash bail and $2,000 surety, a prison spokesman said.\nQualters said the department doubts that the some 40 acts of vandalism over the weekend could have been committed by a single man. They plan on taking the suspect back in for questioning to determine if others were involved, Qualters said. \nMost of the vandalism took place between 8th and 11th streets and Grant St. and Park Ave., Qualters said. The police have beefed up their nightly patrols in those and other neighborhoods.\nOn campus, much of the vandalism took place along the 7th Street corridor, IU Police Department Sgt. Chad Bennett said\nQualters urged anyone who observes suspicious behavior to call the Bloomington Police Department at 339-4477.
(09/13/01 4:28am)
City officials have scrapped plans to put a police gun range near the Blucher Poole sewage treatment plant on the city's rural northern outskirts. Bloomington Mayor John Fernandez said he was pulling the proposed $150,000 appropriation from the $48 million budget to defuse a potential controversy.\n"Providing our police officers with a firing range for adequate and effective training is important and needs to be addressed," he said. "But I want city council members to focus on the city's budget, which funds high-quality programs, services and investments in a fiscally responsible manner."\nThe city council voted on the budget proposal Wednesday evening. While most councilmen expected the "status quo" budget to pass, the result of the final vote was not known by press time.\nAt the preliminary budget hearing last Wednesday, the council voted in favor of the mayor's proposal 3-0-4. Two members left after the meeting stretched on long after 2 a.m.\nBloomington Chief of Police Mike Hostetler said the range is sorely needed for his officers, who now have to travel to other counties to train. The police have been without a local facility for firearms training since 1998, when Indiana University evicted the Sycamore Valley Gun Club from its property.\nBut many residents didn't take kindly to the proposed site at Bottom Road. Neighbors said it would disturb the peace and quiet of the rural area, reducing property values and causing lead pollution.\nAnd environmental critics said the shooting would disturb a nearby wildlife refuge, including a nesting site for great blue herons.\nCouncilman Tim Meyer proposed an amendment transferring the $150,000 to the sanitation department. The department has been strapped for cash and recently made an unpopular proposal to increase garbage collection sticker fees. \n"I think the amendment addresses the concerns of council members and of the public," Meyer said. "The decision to take the Bottom Road firing range site off the table gives us a little more time to consider the longterm needs of police firearms training, and a little more leeway as we look at the issue of funding sanitation services."\nResponding to rising gasoline and landfill usage costs, department officials considered raising trash stickers to $1.50 and yard waste stickers to 50 cents. The department was only $16,000 in the red last year, and Fernandez said the additional funding should take its proposed hikes off the table. \nFernandez and others insist that the gun range isn't off the table. It just won't be at Bottom Road. "Both issues need full council attention," Meyer said. Our community deserves the highest quality public service training and environmental protection."\nThe city already invested $100,000 into the range in the 2001 budget. After a suitable location is determined, Fernandez said he would ask the council to approve the appropriate funding from the city cash reserve, which is roughly $6.7 million.
(09/06/01 10:33pm)
After two hours of heated debate Wednesday, the Bloomington city council approved a controversial $600,000 subsidy to the financially troubled Buskirk-Chumley Theatre. It\'s part of a planned $1.2 million acquisition of the downtown landmark, which is deep in debt.
(09/06/01 4:00am)
Despite its stylistic cinematography, "Jeepers Creepers" falls flat.\nIt's a jumbled mess of cliches culled from better horror films ranging from "Duel" to "Terminator." It's only redeeming qualities are its promising opening and edgy ending.\nWhile it clearly has more artistic ambition than the run-of-the-mill teen scare flick, the scariest thing about "Jeepers Creepers" is how little work went into the screenplay -- there's even a psychic to give expository dialogue that couldn't be shoehorned into the plot. \nIt opens on a stretch of highway in, a sparsely populated backwoods straight out of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre." Siblings, played by Justin Long and Gina Philips, affectionately bicker while taking the long road back from spring break.\nLong and Philips would doubtless be well-suited for an Old Navy commercial, but neither can act. They portray Darryl and Trish as annoyingly shrill and unsympathetic characters.\nAs the two verbally spar, a massive, rusty old van edges up behind them. The unseen driver maniacally honks his horn and tries to run them off the road. \nAfter a close shave, they notice the van by a dilapidated church. A figured shrouded in a trenchcoat dumps what appears to be a corpse into corrugated steel pipe. \nDarryl convinces Trish that they need to go back to see if anyone's still alive. He predictably slides down the rat-infested pipe to discover dozens of preserved corpses pinned to the walls and ceiling.\n"Jeepers Creepers" cruises so long as the audience can only imagine the bogeyman -- once it's revealed to be a winged beast, it runs out of gas. They soon find that the flesh-hungry monster can't be killed with shotgun blasts or a few tons of speeding metal.\nAs the inaugural film produced by Francis Ford Coppola's Zoetrope studio, "Jeepers Creepers" is especially disappointing. It's pretty standard slasher fare, even with a demonic villain who sucks tongues out of decapitated head.
(09/05/01 5:46am)
Bloomington Mayor John Fernandez presented his budget to the city council in mid-July, calling for a 7.7 percent increase in spending, financed through a property tax levy increase of 2.16 percent.\nCity Controller Tom Guevara said the levy increase shouldn't have much effect on the average taxpayer. He said most businesses and homeowners will realistically see no more than a 1.67 percent increase in local property taxes.\n"We've come up with a very conservative estimate based on how much money we need to raise for the budget," Guevara said. "It's set outside from the assessed value. Most people might even be looking at a flat rate."\nFernandez stressed that the property tax hike is well below the statutory maximum of five percent. Abiding by a campaign pledge, the mayor has kept property tax increases well below the statutory limit since he was first elected in 1995. \n"It's important that we manage the city and do it in a way that's fiscally responsible," Fernandez said. "We can provide services and make capital investments without raising property taxes in any significant way, allowing our economy to remain vibrant."\nIn his budget, Fernandez proposed to strengthen public safety by hiring three more firefighters, another police dispatcher and an additional police officer. He also promised a $6 million park improvements bond and more than $450,000 for sidewalk upkeep and renovation.\nThe city is also giving employees an average raise of 3.5 percent to remain competitive with the private sector and keep pace with inflation. Guevara said the city also faces unavoidable increases, such as rising energy, utilities and insurance expenses.\n"Although it is not unusual to experience significant cost increases in any one of these areas, it is unusual to experience dramatic price increases for all at the same time," Guevara said. "These expenses are unavoidable, but not necessarily unmanageable."\nAs for capital investment projects, the city plans to spend about $675,000 on alternative transportation programs, including a downtown bicycle pathway. The city will continue funding of "Transportation 2000" projects, such as widening College Mall Road and the extensive construction planned for West Third Street next year. \nGuevara said the city is also looking to establish a "Rainy Day Fund" under a new state law. The controller's office already holds $6.7 million in reserves -- roughly 30 percent of the city's general fund.\nThe city also hopes to retire a pair of high-interest bonds for recent renovations to police headquarters and public parks. While the early retirement take $750,000 of the 2002 budget, Fernandez said it will save Bloomington taxpayers nearly $150,000 by the 2003 fiscal year.\nA strong reserve, Guevara said, will improve the city's credit rating and make it eligible for lower interest rates on loans for capital projects and other expenditures. The state legislature passed the law this spring to allow municipal governments to set aside money for unforeseen contingencies.\nThe city council recently amended the mayor's proposal to include a $100,000 increase in the police department's budget. Most of the money will fund slight pay increases and overtime pay for neighborhood patrols under a Bloomington Housing and Neighborhood Development grant. The budget supplement also includes a request for about $49,000 for an extra Information Technology Services support technician.
(08/31/01 5:41am)
After nearly a decade, inflation has caught up with the city's sanitation department.\nDepartment officials are seriously considering increases in trash and yard waste disposal sticker fees, which have held steady since 1993. The city also plans to start charging for its semi-annual large item pickup, which will be increased in frequency under a tentative plan.\nIt's unlikely that local residents will embrace the fee hike with open arms. But the sanitation department has been operating in red for the past few years, and city officials say they have little choice.\nPublic Works Deputy Director Toni McClure said the department was $16,000 short of breaking even last year.\n"We're not at risk of bankruptcy," she said. "But when you have to spend more than you have coming in, it obviously causes you to take notice."\nMcClure said it is necessary to address the revenue shortfall now because the department's financial forecast isn't looking any better. \nFuel prices have shot up in recent years, as have wages and health insurance costs. Annexation and development have increased the volume of waste handled by the sanitation department. And the Monroe County Solid Waste District, which takes care of Bloomington's trash disposal, is increasing its charges on large items and electronic products. \nTrash stickers, which must be attached to all cans or bags of trash, now sell for $1 apiece. \nCity councilman Tim Meyer, who sits on a task force studying the problem, said the city would probably levy a 50 percent increase on the stickers. Yard waste stickers, now 25 cents apiece, will likely double in price.\n"It's a bitter pill," he said. "It's difficult for people, especially for people on fixed incomes. But we can't raise property taxes, and people have come to expect a certain level of service."\nFormer councilman Jim Sherman devised the sticker system, implemented in 1993 along with a free curbside recycling program. A 1990 state law required each county to reduce its volume of solid waste by 50 percent in 2001.\nCity sanitation workers collect recyclable items free of charge every two weeks. And although it costs the city roughly $475,000 a year, officials have no plans to start charging for the service anytime soon.\n"We have a strong commitment to recycling," McClure said. "It's an environmentally sound concept that we need to promote as a community."\nCouncilman Jason Banach, who also sits on the task force, favors paying off the department's balance out of the city's general fund. While he's opposed to a property tax increase, he said he doesn't like the use of trash stickers as an incentive to recycle considering that most Bloomington citizens are already eco-sensitive.\nBut while McClure stresses that nothing's been finalized, she said an increase in fees is the most straightforward solution.\n"Landlords and commercial groups wouldn't like paying for services they aren't receiving," she said. "This is essentially a service fee. Raising taxes would be the easiest thing to do certainly, but we want to make sure that people are paying for the services they're using."\nThe sanitation department receives about $700,000 annually from the city's general fund. It takes in about $550,000 with trash and yard waste stickers. Annual department costs total around $1.3 million.\nThe task force has no timetable for an official recommendation. But Meyer said it should present a proposed change to ordinance to the city council soon. \nMeyer said the city would also allow residents larger 40-gallon trash cans and ban oversized 80- or 90-gallon cans. The sanitation department also hopes to make the city's wood chipper available for resident use for a nominal fee to cut back on the amount of yard waste sent to compost heaps.
(08/30/01 5:53am)
Bloomington Mayor John Fernandez plans to invest $1.2 million into the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre, a downtown landmark that has been financially beleaguered for the past few years. The mayor proposes using tax money to pay off the theater's debt.\nAfter a three-year period, the city would either own the theater or reserve to right to manage it for a nominal fee. The city council is expected to give final approval to the controversial proposal next Wednesday.\n"It has the support to pass," said Council President Patricia Cole, D-District I. "And I've heard mostly positive things from my constituents."\nFernandez has offered to put up about $600,000 from the city's general fund, or main checking account. The expenditure is being considered as part of the 2001 budget. \nThe remaining money would come from tax increment financing, or property taxes culled from downtown businesses. Fernandez said the subsidy -- which has the support of downtown merchants -- is intended to promote the arts as a tourist attraction and maintain Bloomington's quality of life.\n"The arts are an important part of this economy," he said. "A study the tourism center did in 1996 found that the arts bring in $20 million each year, which I would call a solid return. This is a solid investment that supports our local cultural economy -- and it also enriches lives."\nAlthough it's a flashpoint of heated debate, the mayor's proposal easily passed the city council's preliminary hearing with a 7-1-1 vote. Councilman Jason Banach, R-District II, dissented, while Councilman David Sabbagh, R-District V, abstained.\nWhile he's a longtime supporter of the arts, Banach said he doesn't feel that the project makes much economic sense.\n"I don't know how much I buy into the economics," he said. "I think we've gone overboard trying to sugarcoat a lot of this. It's being touted as a low-cost, low-risk investment. If that were true, there would be people fighting to buy the place."\nSabbagh said Wednesday that he still hasn't made up his mind.\n"I needed more financial information," he said. "And I suppose I still need more financial information."\nLocal conservatives have decried the subsidy as an inappropriate use of taxpayer money.\n"If ticket sales don't maintain the venue, taxpayers shouldn't be coerced to pay for it," said Jim Billingsley, president of the Monroe County Taxpayers Association, a government watchdog group. "Contrary to what the mayor may think, this isn't New York City or Chicago... or even Indianapolis. \n"It's sad to say, but this community can't support such a venue." \nThe Buskirk-Chumley, which serves as a venue for music and other performing arts, rests at the location of the historic Indiana Theater. The Kerasotes movie theater chain bought the venue in the mid-1970s and donated it to the Bloomington Area Arts Council after it opened its College Mall location.\nThe arts council embarked on a $3.2 million renovation project three years ago to restore a balcony and make other interior improvements. With major donor support, the council paid off $2 million in debt but since has been unable to break even.\nThe city plans on contracting the Lotus Education and Arts Foundation to manage the theater for the next three years. Fernandez, who has no plans to run for re-election, said he hopes the next city administration will hire an outside agency to run the theater.
(08/30/01 5:51am)
Students returning for the fall semester have clogged up city streets.\nThe problem is particularly pronounced on College Mall Road, where the city is conducting a massive construction project slated to take 18 months. \n"We've definitely seen an increase in traffic," said Max Marsh, a resident of Windermere Woods, which lies on the west side of the much-used street. "It's posed a problem."\nSince mid-June, local contractors have been working on the $5.6 million construction project. It will widen College Mall Road to two lanes in each direction from north of Second Street to north of Moore's Pike, an improvement that city officials and business owners say is needed to ease traffic congestion.\nThe street redesign also calls for the addition of sidewalks, bicycle paths, a traffic signal at Buick Cadillac Boulevard and a widening of bridges at Buick Cadillac Boulevard and Covenanter Drive. Bloomington-based Weddle Brothers Construction is handling the project, which is scheduled for completion in December 2002. \nThe city is encouraging use of alternate routes to access College Mall Road, such as Clarizz Boulevard. City Project Inspector Sam Dean asked drivers to proceed slowly and with caution.\n"There haven't been any accidents that I'm aware of," he said. "But the workers on the site have told me of some really close calls. Some people drive too close for comfort.\n"I want to stress that people should please show the workers some respect."\nDean said the work is on schedule. And area merchants have no complaints about the project.\n"Weddle Brothers is a local company," said Vickie Temple, owner and manager of Bloomington Hardware. "They're the same people we see in the grocery store and at the ballfields. They've treated us like neighbors because they are our neighbors."\nWeddle and city officials have met with the business owners monthly to keep them updated on the project. Merchants say they appreciate the level of involvement they've had in the process.\n"It's always challenging to deal with street construction," said Danise Olana, marketing director of the Monroe County Bank, which has a College Mall location. "But Weddle Brothers has been great -- they've done everything they can to accommodate us. \n"And we always know what's going on."\nAt an informational meeting before the onset of the construction project, Weddle on-site superintendent Mark Nethery promised merchants that he'd keep their businesses open. But the project has rankled some residents, who are mostly concerned with the noise.\nIndianapolis-based contractor R. H. Marlin, Inc. is now installing a sanitary sewer main underneath the road. To take advantage of decreased usage of sewer and water lines, the subcontracted utilities company starts work as early as 1 a.m.\n"We can live with the noise," said Marsh, who serves as chairman of the Windermere's liaison with the city's engineering department. "But it's the complaint I've heard most often from my neighbors." \nFor more information and regular updates, visit \nhttp://www.city.bloomington.in.us.
(08/29/01 5:59am)
After six years, the city has pulled the plug on a program for troubled youth.\nThe Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department announced Tuesday that it's discontinuing Project Breakaway, an after-school mentoring and recreation program for at-risk youth. \nOriginally funded by a federal grant, Project Breakaway was first conceived of as a substance-abuse prevention program.\nLocal funding -- mostly from the parks department -- has supported the program for the past three years. Mick Renneisen, director of the parks department, attributes the program's demise to a counselor shortage.\nThe parks department ran the program in coordination with the county school system and Youth Services Bureau of Monroe County, a juvenile delinquency prevention group. The bureau withdrew counselors after losing several master's degree-level interns, director Ron Thompson said. \n"The city is really disappointed that one of our partners in a direct-service program for at-risk youth has walked away," said Bloomington Mayor John Fernandez. "Project Breakaway was an innovative program with several success stories. Our goal is to continue serving at-risk youth with a variety of diverse recreational programs."\nThompson said the bureau would be interested in resuming the program in the spring, when it hopes to have filled its vacancies. But for the moment, its resources are spread too thin. \nThe parks department would also consider re-launching the program, Renneisen said. But at its monthly meeting Tuesday, the Board of Parks Commission approved the department's request to redivert the funding into other youth programs.\n"Our department will continue to develop recreational programs geared to help youth who are considered at-risk," Renneisen said. "However, we won't be able to provide the individual and family counseling component that Project Breakaway provided."\nReneisen touts new social services planned by the department, including Rhino's After School and Leave Out ViolencE, or L.O.V.E., a community-based arts outreach program founded in Canada. The planned after-school programs feature a number of after-school activities, such as arts projects, rock climbing and nature hikes. \nProject Breakaway served as many as 40 children referred by county schools on a budget of about $200,000 annually. Attendance was voluntary, and the program mainly served students in area middle schools.
(08/29/01 5:40am)
State and local government officials gathered at City Hall Tuesday for IU's announcement of the opening of three new state-of-the-art computer technology labs. The politicians -- including Indiana Lt. Gov. Joe Kernan -- praised the research facilities as infrastructure for a burgeoning information economy in Indiana.\n"The Indiana of today is much different from the Indiana of tomorrow," Kernan said. "There's no time to sit back and let the grass grow."\nKernan lauded the Pervasive Technology Labs, which have been funded by a $30 million grant from the Lilly Endowment. Pervasive computing is one of the fastest-growing areas in information technology. It involves connecting high-speed computers with "smart" devises ranging from modern kitchen appliances to personal digital assistants.\nKernan and others said the research facilities might put Bloomington in a position to be the technology hub of the Midwest. \nDescribing the labs as an opportunity for economic development, University officials said they plan to partner with private firms and later commercialize some academic innovations.\nMany noted that cities such as San Jose, Calif., and Boston have thrived economically in recent years because of the influence of nearby institutions of higher education. They credited research at Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with the the booming high-tech entrepreneurship in such areas.\n"If it weren't for the intellectual power of universities and research institutions, technology corridors such as Silicon Valley and Route 128 would not have developed," said Scott Jones, chairman of the Indiana Technology Partnership and chairman of Indianapolis-based Escient Technologies, LLC. "While we may not be able to duplicate the same entrepreneurial volume as those areas overnight, we're expecting Pervasive Technology Labs to contribute to this same kind of synergy for information technology in Central Indiana." \nPublic universities have made many recent innovations in information technology. Two graduate students at Stanford created the widely popular Google search engine in their spare time, and the multi-purpose Smart Card uses technology developed at Florida State University. \n"We hope these labs will provide a strong foundation of economic growth," Bloomington Mayor John Fernandez said. "We must thank IU for taking a leadership role in the new economy." \nAs mayor, Fernandez has actively courted high-tech firms and pursued technology initiatives, such as the installation of fiber optic cables under city streets. With the slew of recent layoffs locally in the manufacturing sector, he stresses the need of embracing the dawning information economy.\n"The change in the economy is hard -- often it's painful," Fernandez said. "And we'll be as well-positioned as any city in the country. We have to work to leverage the resources we have to help start new businesses that will provide family wages"
(08/28/01 5:35am)
Otis Elevator Co. is considering laying off 460 employees from its Bloomington plant. Company officials met with workers and union representatives Monday to explain that an increasingly competitive marketplace might necessitate mass layoffs.\nTo cut production costs, Otis plans to transfer the production of low-rise elevators and elevator parts to a factory in Nogales, Mexico and outside suppliers. Otis Vice President of Communications Mark Granato said the Bloomington plant will focus on manufacturing high-rise elevators and contracted maintenance, which is where the company makes most of its money. \nWith about 780 employees at the S. Curry Pike plant, Otis is one of Monroe County's largest employers. Because of market pressures, the Connecticut-based company has laid off about 200 people in the area in the past few years. \nOtis -- which outsources almost all of its manufacturing abroad -- laid off 43 employees in January. With a souring economy, it had planned to cut more than 200 hourly workers.\n"I regret the necessity of these actions," Otis Vice President and Senior North America Area Executive Ray Moncini said in an office memo distributed Monday. "But they are required to insure the viability and competitiveness of Otis' North American operations. \n"I am fully aware of the personal impact these actions will have on employees affected by the transfer of production from Bloomington. At the same time, it is critically important that we meet our commitments to our customers and maintain a safe and productive work environment."\nThe company has immediately entered into bargaining with Local 826 of the International Union of Electric Workers, which represents more than 500 Otis employees. Union local president Claude Wood could not be reached for comment by press time Monday. \nBarring a 11th-hour deal, Otis plans to phase out the employees over a 15-month period.\n"I am disappointed by the potential loss of well-paying jobs from our community," said Bloomington Mayor John Fernandez. "As Bloomington continues to deal with profound changes in the economy it is important to continue exploring other economic opportunities for the community."\nFernandez said that the city is working on a transition plan to ensure that laid-off employees will receive the training they need to re-enter the job market. But he cited the need to embrace a changing economy. \n"We must also continue efforts to expand and diversify our economic base," he said. "We've been able to balance upheaval in our manufacturing sector with other new business development."\nThe city will maintain a distance from the collective bargaining, Fernandez said. \n"It's essentially a labor-management process," he said. "We have limited economic development tools at our disposal. But if we're approached, the city will do everything it can to play a constructive role.\n"We could try to coordinate state and federal support."\nLocal 826 reached a three-year deal with Otis in May that included a 60-cent raise and better pension benefits. On average, the workers make $16 an hour. \nGranato said Otis hopes to come up with an acceptable severance package for the laid-off workers in the next few weeks. The bargaining period is expected to take about 15 days.\nWith more than 63,000 employees in more than 1,700 locations worldwide, Otis is the world's largest elevator company. It was founded in Yonkers, N.Y., and is now a subsidiary of United Technologies.\nThe Bloomington plant has been open since 1965.
(08/27/01 6:03am)
For the next two weeks, not being buckled up likely means a ticket. \nLocal law enforcement agencies are participating in Operation Pullover, a statewide initiative to step up enforcement of seat-belt laws. In Indiana, anyone under 12 or in the front seat of a car must wear a seat belt.\nSince Sunday, officers have patrolled busy intersections throughout the city. At red lights, they pass stopped cars on foot and issue a $25 ticket to any motorist not wearing a seat belt. \nThe Bloomington Police Department has received nearly $40,000 in grant money this year to pay officers to work overtime during peak driving hours. The crackdown runs for two weeks through Labor Day weekend ending Sept. 8.\n"A seatbelt could mean the difference between being injured and being dead," BPD Capt. Mike Diekhoff said. "We're very committed to public safety."\nThe state awards $400,000 annually to local law enforcement agencies. In 2000, it amended the grants with a stipulation that the money be spent on enforcing seat-belt laws. Previously, police spent the funds on purchasing new equipment and other expenses.\nIn 1999, Bloomington police officers wrote just 299 tickets for seat-belt violations. They issued 2,272 the next year.\nAccording to the National Highway Transportation Safety Association, the percentage of Hoosier drivers who buckle up rose from 21.6 percent in 1987 to 62.1 percent in 2000, when the Indiana Supreme Court upheld a law allowing police to ticket motorists for not wearing their seat belts.\nWith the beefed-up enforcement, traffic fatalities in Indiana have dropped 13 percent. \n"We've had the largest decrease in the history of the state," said Jerry McCory, director of the Governor's Council on Impaired and Dangerous Driving. "When seat-belt usage goes up, the number of fatalities goes down."\nBut McCory and other officials acknowledge they have a long way to go.\nIndiana scored a D+ for seatbelt use in a recent report from the National Safety Council, a nonprofit organization that researches safety issues. The council gave 18 other states Ds and Fs. \nDiekhoff admits that Hoosiers have a fierce independent streak that causes many to shun buckling up. But he thinks that people are finally beginning to understand the seriousness of wearing a seat belt. \n"Some people think of it as a personal choice," he said. "But statistics show that there are fewer fatalities in traffic accidents when you're wearing a seat belt. Look at Dale Earnhardt -- they're saying he might not have died if his belt hadn't snapped." \nOperation Pullover schedules four two-week blitz periods each year, usually during holidays. The last crackdown -- near Memorial Day in late May -- resulted in more than 500 citation, Diekhoff said.
(08/27/01 5:55am)
Phil Worthington can't rest without earplugs and a nightly sleeping pill.\nHe's so disturbed by the loud noise in his neighborhood that he's even insulated his walls.\n"I'm not going to invest in (my home) anymore," he said. "I'm eventually just going to have to move away."\nWorthington, who's lived in Bloomington for 16 years, experiences the same routine every year. IU students move back into town in the fall and blast loud music to the wee hours of the morning from their cars and rental houses.\nWith its "Quiet Nights" initiative, the city hopes to crack down on noise in the next few weeks and establish a tone of neighborly behavior. The city is paying the Bloomington Police Department $70,000 in overtime to beef up nightly neighborhood patrols. \n"We've got 30,000 new people in town all of sudden who may have forgotten about our noise ordinance," said BPD Capt. Mike Diekhoff. "We don't want to let it get out of hand, and we want to let people know what we're doing."\nFor years, police have stepped up enforcement of the noise ordinance at the beginning of the fall semester. In the case of raucous house parties, they issue $50 tickets to everyone on the lease regardless of whether they are at home at the time of the violation. It's a policy that many students say is unfair.\nThe fine is intended as a deterrent, Diekhoff said.\n"Obviously at any major university you have this situation," Diekhoff said. "And there are always going to be rowdy people who like to party. We're not asking them to knock it off. But we want to let them know what's acceptable."\nDiekhoff said the noise problem is pronounced in neighborhoods near campus, where students live among families and lifelong Bloomington residents. Students generally keep different hours and fail to realize when things are getting out of hand, he said. \n"It's a completely different lifestyle for a family of four," he said. "We're just asking for some consideration for people who live here year after year."\nDuring the initiative, officers drive around neighborhoods with their windows rolled down to listen for loud noise. When they suspect a violation, they log the address into the computer and return in 15 minutes. If the noise hasn't died down to an appropriate level, they issue a ticket.\nNo warning is necessary. It's considered a noise violation when music can be heard from a neighbor's property or a public place, such as a sidewalk.\nWith loud talking, officers can also arrest perpetrators for disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor that can carry up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. But they must first issue a warning in such cases.\nBloomington Mayor John Fernandez pushed for funding of the initiative last year. The city previously gave about $28,000 annually for the police department's "party patrols," which take place at the start of the school year and during weekends leading up the the Little 500.\n"The principle behind 'Quiet Nights' is simple," Fernandez said. "Part of being a good neighbor is not intruding on your neighbors' peaceful enjoyment of their own home. Basic civility includes not keeping your neighbors up at night."\nThe city's Housing and Neighborhood Development department is also spearheading an educational campaign. Sometime this week, the city will mail brochures concerning city ordinances to all off-campus students.\nDean of Students Richard McKaig said University officials have been in talks with neighborhood associations about the upcoming review of the student code of ethics. The University might expand its disciplinary authority over off-campus students, he said. \n"They're very concerned about what they view as student-incurred disruptions," he said. "Most involve noise or alcohol"
(08/23/01 5:32am)
Indiana received a $2.9 million federal incentive grant Wednesday for lowering its legal threshold for impaired driving. A new law went into effect July 1 that lowered Indiana's blood alcohol content limit for drivers from 0.10 to 0.08.\n"Lowering the level for impaired driving is a critical part of keeping Indiana's roads safe for all citizens," Gov. Frank O'Bannon said in a press release. "The legislation I signed this year also increases the penalty for operating a vehicle while intoxicated from a Class C to a Class A misdemeanor." \nSen. Tom Wyss, R-Fort Wayne, proposed similar legislation every year in the past decade. Lawmakers finally passed it in this spring's session, after the federal government threatened to withdraw millions of dollars in highway funding. Indiana joins 23 other states and the district of Columbia in adopting the .08 statute. \nState Rep. Peggy Welch, D-Bloomington, authored the version that made it into law\nLocal law enforcement officials doubt the lowered limit will result in a sharp increase in arrests. But they tout the law as a way to keep drunk drivers off the streets.\n"I don't think it will dynamically impact the system," said Monroe County Prosecutor Carl Salzman. "But it's helpful in that it gives us more tools to battle drunk driving."\nSalzman said his office has only dealt with a few .08 cases thus far. \n"I hope it will get people to think before they get behind the wheel," he said. "The .08 law has the same suspension provisions -- from automatic three-day suspension to up to three years. That's what really convinces people, the loss of license.\n"You really can't get around without a license."\nBloomington Police Chief Michael Diekhoff said the law hasn't dramatically affected enforcement.\n"It doesn't really affect us," he said. "But when an officer pulls someone over, he won't be as generous toward someone who might be close to the legal limit. We used to just have to let them go."\nIt's the police department's standard policy to first ask a suspected drunk driver to take a dexterity test. If the officer judges the suspect to be severely impaired, he only then administers a breathalyzer test.\n"We now have lower standards," Diekhoff said. "It used to be if the foot went down twice; now an officer might (administer a breathalyzer test) if the foot goes down once."\nThe department made 376 operating while intoxicated arrests last year and 354 in 1999. Diekhoff said he doesn't anticipate any stark rise in that figure.\n"We'll enforce the law the same," he said. "We just won't give anyone any breaks."\nAccording to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, serious impairment starts at the .04 blood alcohol content level. A typical 170-pound man would have to consume four drinks over the course of an hour to reach a .08 blood alcohol content, while an average 137-pound woman would need three drinks.\nUnder the new law, operating a motor vehicle with a .08 or .09 blood alcohol content is a class C misdemeanor punishable with up to 60 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Driving with a blood alcohol content in excess of .10 is now a class A misdemeanor that can carry up to a year in jail.
(08/22/01 4:28am)
The Monroe County Council backed down on its plan to cut off funding to the Bloomington Hospital Ambulance Service Monday. With a 6-1 vote, it reinstated the county's annual subsidy of $118,136 to the service, which has run a deficit for years.\nHospital officials greeted the decision with relief. The service already rests on shaky financial ground.\n"We're glad to have the funding from the county," said Larry Bailey, the hospital's chief operating officer. "It's only a small portion of the budget, but there's also the symbolism."\nThe ambulance service has run up a deficit nearing $1 million, which the hospital will pay off out of its own general operating budget. Bailey said the hospital has recently imposed cost-cutting measures on the service that should save around $100,000.\n"We'll be tightening our belt here and there," he said. "There are no cuts in coverage, but trips out to the Lake Monroe area will be curtailed somewhat."\nWhile the 22-year-old ambulance service has been in the red for at least a decade, director David DeGroote said the deficit has spiraled in recent years because of Medicaid refusals to pick up ambulance run charges. Three years ago, DeGroote said the deficit stood at only $80,000.\nThe council unexpectedly killed the much-needed subsidy at its Aug. 15 budgetary meeting with a 4-3 vote. Councilman David Hamilton proposed zeroing out the subsidy to divert funding to the city-county emergency dispatch center.\nThe council pointed out that the hospital, a not-for-profit entity, can collect fees from township fire departments to cover costs. But the move -- widely viewed as an unnecessary cut of a vital public service -- sparked public outrage.\nAnd hospital officials later noted that the ambulance service's contract runs out at the end of the year. Bailey publicly suggested cancellation of the service as an option.\nAfter a number of angry phone calls and e-mails, the council took up the subject again Monday at its afternoon budgetary hearing. It reinstated the subsidy with only Democrat Scott Wells dissenting.\nWells said he wanted to cut funding to $60,000 and spend the remainder on hiring two new guards at the Monroe County Correctional Institute. Even Hamilton shied away from his original proposal.\nThe service, which has an annual operating budget of $2.5 million from several sources, makes about 19,000 runs a year. Roughly 8,000 runs are made as assisted medical transports, while the lion's share is emergency medical runs.\nThe hospital maintains three ambulances 24 hours a day and two others at peak hours, Bailey said. The service employs about 48 people full-time and 34 part-time. \nFor the 2001 fiscal year, the service received a $115,000 subsidy from the county. It requested only a $3,000 increase, less than the pace of inflation.\nThe deficit threatens to swallow up hospital resources, Bailey said. Officials are now looking at seeking alternative revenue sources and stepping up lobbying efforts at the statehouse.
(08/22/01 3:31am)
Baxter Healthcare Corp. completed its $219 million acquisition of Cook Pharmaceutical Solutions Monday, a few months ahead of schedule. The Fortune 500 company cleared all applicable regulatory hurdles to take over the former division of Cook Group, Inc. -- the Bloomington-based medical supplies titan.\nCompany officials first announced the sale at a Cook Group suite in the Fountain Square Mall in downtown Bloomington in late June. Phyllis McCullough, a Cook executive vice president, said the company hopes to return to its original focus on minimally invasive medical devices such as stents and catheters.\nBut, McCullough said, the private $3 billion firm plans to keep its other divisions off the market. \nAs part of the deal, Baxter has purchased Cook's 11-acre manufacturing and office site on Curry Pike. The property includes a recently expanded 120,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art pharmaceutical manufacturing facility. \n"We are pleased to have concluded this transaction so quickly," said Joel Tune, general manager of Baxter's Global Drug Delivery business. "The acquisition of Cook Pharmaceutical Solutions broadens the range of products and services we can offer our global pharmaceutical company partners and supports our strategy of becoming a complete provider."\nBaxter officials said the Deerfield, Ill.,-based pharmaceutical giant hopes to cement its position as a full-time provider in the intravenous and other drug-delivery markets. Cook Pharmaceutical Solutions packages and labels prescription drugs in vials and pre-filled syringes.\nBy 2005, Cook Imaging President Jerry Arthur said the Bloomington facility should generate $250 million annually in intravenous sales. Arthur formerly presided over the pharmaceuticals division, which has expanded its staff from 170 to 300 in the past two years.\nRanked 258th on the Fortune 500 list, Baxter reported nearly $7 billion in sales internationally in the last fiscal year. Since the June purchase, its stock has wavered around the $54 level.\nBaxter has rehired the plant's 300 employees, who will receive comparable salaries and benefits. The only significant change is that the freshly minted Baxter employees will receive group health insurance instead of access to Cook's treatment centers.\nBaxter spokesman George Rafeedie said the company expects a seamless transition. An interim management staff has been visiting with the facility's employees since late June, he said. \n"We've had a steady stream of meetings," he said. "We hope for the further integration of our 300 new team members. And from the employees' point of view, they can look forward to working with a high-gross company and global growth."\nBloomington Mayor John Fernandez welcomed Baxter to the city's business community.\n"This is an exciting development for our community," he said. "Baxter has a strong component of community in its mission statement. And it has great potential for expansion."\nAt the June press conference, Baxter officials said they hoped to eventually expand the facility. \nCook officials said they plan on using proceeds from the sale to build the company's new headquarters. Construction is already underway at Park 48 just west of Bloomington.
(08/02/01 2:36am)
Bloomington police officer Randy Gelhausen has served on the force for three years.\nHe's never seen a day like Tuesday.\nGelhausen and officer John Kovach were investigating a case late Tuesday afternoon at Peoples Park on Kirkwood Avenue. Kovach was questioning a suspect at the park, while Gelhausen talked with his supervisor on a cell phone in the parked police cruiser.\nThe windshield suddenly shattered with a violent bang. Shocked, Gelhausen ran his hand over his torso to see if he'd been shot.\nAlthough Gelhausen had been showered with shards of glass, he wasn't bleeding. And he hadn't been shot. A large middle-aged man had hurled a bicycle at the cruiser.\nKovach rushed over and helped Gelhausen subdue the suspect, whom the police later identified as 50-year-old Bloomington resident John Merchant. The suspect -- described as about six-foot-three and roughly 200 pounds -- struggled with the officers for several minutes before they were able to handcuff him.\nBackup shortly arrived, and the officers hauled him over to the cruiser and attempted to frisk him for weapons, police said. The suspect repeatedly kicked at the officers, who had to force him to the ground and put him in restraints.\nThey took him to the Monroe County Correctional Institute, but he complained of internal injuries from a medical condition. So officers escorted him to the Bloomington Hospital, where he is still being held. A physician recommended he be held for physical and psychological testing, a hospital spokesman said.\nPolice said they filed preliminary felony charges of criminal mischief and assault of a police officer. Merchant, who turned out to have an outstanding warrant from Morgan County, also faces a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest.\nWhile police did not conduct any toxicology tests before turning the suspect over to the hospital, Gelhausen said he could smell alcohol on Merchant's breath. They later found an empty liquor bottle in a knapsack they recovered on the scene, which has been admitted for evidence.\nEyewitnesses testified that Merchant, who had been riding the bicycle north along Dunn Street, started shouting expletives when he saw the officers. Police suspect the bike might be stolen property.\nMerchant provided scant explanation for the strange act of violent aggression.\n"I'm sick of police fucking with the people in Peoples Park," he told Gelhausen after he had been taken into custody.\nIn addition to shattering the windshield, Merchant caused extensive damage to the cruiser's hood and quarter panel. Bloomington Police Sgt. Bill Parker estimates the cost of repair to be about $2,500. \nDespite the shock of the incident, Gelhausen was back patrolling the streets Wednesday.\n"It was just bizarre," he said. "You expect that sort of thing on the job, but still"
(07/26/01 4:02am)
A planner from Michigan has accepted the position of director at the Monroe County Planning Department, which has been vacant for 15 months. The directorship has been plagued by high turnover in the past few years.\nRobert Cowell, who's been working in the private sector, will officially start work Aug. 6.\nFormer plan director Leo Sims left for a higher-paying private job in May last year. Since then, Chief Deputy Planner Mary Myers Ogle and Planner Gregg Zody have taken turns filling in.\nIn 1998, Kevin Buchheit left the post for a consulting job, and interim director Dave Hall took off for the private sector soon after. Sims stayed on the job for a few months, until he received an offer from a private planning consulting firm in the Los Angeles area.\nDistressed at this game of musical chairs, the Monroe County Council raised the planning director's salary from $47,000 to $55,000 this April. While the statewide average for such a position is only $44,000, council members worried about further flights to the private sector.\nIncreased fees cover the cost of the $8,000 salary.\nCowell received his bachelor's degree in Aeronautics from St. Louis University in 1989. He completed a master's degree in Urban Planning from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville in 1994.\nMost recently, Cowell worked as a principal planner for McKenna Associates Inc., the largest planning firm in Michigan. Earlier, he served as manager of the planning division in Jefferson County, Miss., a fast-growing suburb of St. Louis with a population of 200,000.\nAs manager, he supervised the division's 10 staff members and oversaw a $300,000 budget. Cowell said he's pleased to return to public service.\n"I feel that my management and technical skills are best used in the public sector," he said. "As a consultant, you come to provide your services and leave. I have personally found more satisfaction in planning for the community where you live.\n"After visiting Monroe County last year, my wife and I decided that it would be a great place to live and work."\nMonroe County Commissioners President Brian O'Neill said Cowell was the county's "first choice." Several dozen applicants were considered for the post.\n"He has the right credentials and experience," O'Neill said in a press release. "His references were excellent; and he impressed the entire interview committee with his informed and thoughtful responses. \n"It was obvious he had studied our community and was already familiar with the special challenges and opportunities planning presents in Monroe County."\nCowell will oversee the staff of the planning department, which reviews proposed developments for their compliance to county zoning laws. He'll also work on proposed amendments to the 1997 county zoning ordinance and the 1995 county comprehensive land use plan.