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(09/07/07 2:45am)
INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana taxpayers challenged the constitutionality of the state property tax system in a lawsuit filed Thursday.\nThe petition in Indiana Tax Court questions statewide assessment methods, the use of tax abatements and several other aspects of the state system.\nIt also argues that Indiana’s tax structure does not comply with the state constitutional requirement of a “uniform and equal rate of property assessment and taxation.” Multiple taxing districts can lead to vastly nonuniform bills for people living in the same county if they are in different school districts or townships.\n“This is a statewide issue,” said John Price, an Indianapolis attorney who filed the lawsuit on behalf of 11 taxpayers from each of Indiana’s congressional districts and seven taxpayer associations.\nPrice said many of the lawsuit’s plaintiffs would like to see property taxes abolished.\n“This case could ultimately be used to help accelerate that,” he said.\nSeveral taxpayers gathered Thursday at the Statehouse as Price filed the lawsuit. Mona and Dick Bimm of Indianapolis said property tax bills have gone from $2,000 to $12,000 over the last few years on the house they’ve lived in for nearly 40 years. They are so frustrated with the system that they may consider moving out of state, Dick Bimm said.\n“We’re going to vote with our feet,” he said.\nMona Bimm said government leaders don’t seem accountable.\n“People have been asking for help on this issue,” she said. “They ignored them.”\nThe lawsuit also asks the tax court to consider whether homeowner tax payments should be put toward the common school fund, which provides loans to schools. However, State Auditor Tim Berry said that no property tax revenue goes to the fund.\nThe lawsuit asks the tax court for several remedies, including overturning a recent income tax increase in Indianapolis because one of the councilors who voted on the matter was disqualified by moving into another district.\nThe suit also asks the court to void the deadline extensions ordered by Gov. Mitch Daniels that would have given counties more time to adopt local income taxes.
(07/19/07 4:00am)
With a Harry Potter book and movie being released within 10 days of each other, we Muggles should be as excited as if we'd just made out with Ginny Weasley after winning the Quidditch cup. Well, that'd be great, if this had been about three years ago and it wasn't time for us to pick up the final Harry Potter book and say goodbye forever. \nIt seems like just yesterday I laid in bed as a middle-schooler reading all of "Sorcerer's Stone" in one night, positive that within the next few weeks a giant man would break down my door and say, "You're a wizard, Michael," and whisk me off to Hogwarts. As I sit here wanting to write a tribute, with the movies' theme song playing full blast, I wonder where the hell to begin. Ramble about the awesomeness of everything in the magical world (Bertie Botts Every Flavored Beans, Helga Hufflepuff, The Sorting Hat)? Applaud J.K. Rowling's literary skills? Predict what happens in book seven? Discuss the books' influence on culture and reading? How bout I touch on all of 'em?\nGoing into book seven, everyone has two questions on their mind: Is Snape good or bad, and will Harry live or die? So much of the books seem to be divided into two categories of simple answers: good or bad, life or death. But I don't think these questions at hand have easy yes or no answers. I'd like to think Snape is innocent and Dumbledore is still alive. Let's face it, without Dumbledore's skills, knowledge and leadership, everyone else is screwed. But it seems too over the top for Snape and Dumbledore to have had this whole elaborate setup planned. And yes, I do recognize the irony in saying a book about magic is far-fetched. As for Harry's death, it's all about that prophecy: "... for neither can live while the other survives ..." \nA popular theory is that Harry is one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. More evidence supports this suggestion (Harry's scar, his close bond to Gryffindor, his ability to speak Parseltongue) than disproves it (the stupidity of destroying one's own Horcrux). If this theory holds true, Voldemort most likely isn't aware Harry is a Horcrux or he unwillingly made him one. If either of these situations is the case, both Harry and Voldemort would have to die, altering the prophecy that neither can survive. \n(Please note that, just for the record, while I enjoy discussing the possible outcomes of the last book, anyone who ruins it for me will be subject to my nasty Cruciatus Curse. I am willing to obtain a criminal record in order to finish book seven surprised.) \nAs for Rowling, we could sit and discuss her wonderful ideas and writing style, how she so-slightly makes hints about later plot points or how she was able to write for both adults and children. The key to her genius, however, is much simpler. The woman was able to take a simple good vs. evil plot line and extend it over 7(!) books, making each one better than the last. And there we were, an entire nation, an entire world, reading these "children's" books. People were actually reading again.\nAs we all lose the will to live July 22, fear not: There's still hope for Harry. It was announced last month that a Hogwarts theme park will be opening in Orlando, Fla., in 2009, just as I graduate and am denied a job at every place where I apply. So I'll be off to acquire employment at fake-Hogwarts. Though I've yet to decide whether I'll take the position of sitting in the moving pictures and talking to guests or assisting Ollivander the wand-maker, at least my sick fantasy of Harry's world being a "real" place will come true. Until then -- Harry, Dumbledore, Minerva, Ron, Hermy, Hagger, Tonks, Peeves and all my other old pals: Thanks for the memories I've now stored in my Pensieve, and I raise to you a glass of butterbeer. Wingardium Leviosa!
(07/08/07 10:32pm)
INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana State Police on Friday mourned the death of a popular trooper as they worked to piece together details of the roadside shooting that claimed his life.\nMaster Trooper David Rich, 41, was shot in the chest Thursday after he stopped to help a Michigan man he thought was stranded, police said. The shooter then reloaded his shotgun and killed himself, state police Sgt. Tony Slocum said.\n"We might not ever know the reason why," Slocum said. "It obviously doesn't make sense to us at this point."\nInvestigators said Rich, an 18-year state police veteran, was on his way home Thursday around 4 p.m. from the Peru, Ind., post when he spotted a sport-utility vehicle parked along U.S. 24 about 40 miles southwest of Fort Wayne. Rich, who was not wearing a bulletproof vest or a uniform, pulled his unmarked car behind the SUV and approached the vehicle.\nRich did not radio dispatchers when he stopped, which is not uncommon when a trooper stops to check on a motorist and does not suspect unusual activity, Slocum said.\nPolice believe Rich displayed his police identification as he walked up to the driver's side window of the SUV. He had unholstered his handgun, which was found next to his body, along with his police badge and police radio, Slocum said Friday.\nJoseph M. Vultaggio Jr., 21, of Gaylord, Mich., likely shot the trooper with a shotgun aimed out the partially opened window before turning the gun on himself, police said Friday.\nOtsego County, Mich., Sheriff James McBride said the suspect's father reported that his son had stolen the vehicle around 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The next day, the father provided more detail about the vehicle, enabling the department to enter it into the computer system as stolen.\n"That's about the time everything else started going down in Indiana," McBride said Friday.\nVultaggio had been arrested and convicted for a misdemeanor DUI charge in 2004 in Michigan.\nHis father said he had no idea why his son had taken the SUV or why he headed to Indiana.\n"I'm sorry for the other family that they've had to go through this," said Joseph M. Vultaggio Sr., declining to comment further.\nRich was from a law-enforcement family; his father is former Miami County Sheriff Jack Rich, a retired state trooper, and his brother is state police Capt. Bob Rich.\nSlocum said Rich and his family are well-known and respected in the area, and that they were overwhelmed with support from the troopers, law enforcement officers and the community. Slocum said troopers are mourning their fallen brother while trying to perform police work required of them.\n"We still have a job to do," he said. "We're still going to stop and assist broken-down cars. If someone calls 911, we're still going to get there as fast as we can – just with a heavier heart."\nFuneral arrangements were pending for Rich, who also is survived by his wife Connie, their 7-year-old daughter Lauren and 4-year-old twins Carson and Connor. Gov. Mitch Daniels on Friday ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in parts of Indianapolis and Wabash County on the day of funeral services.\nRich is the first state trooper killed in a line-of-duty shooting since December 2003, when Trooper Scott Patrick was fatally shot after he stopped to a check a vehicle parked on an exit ramp along Interstate 80/94 in Gary. Darryl Jeter of Chicago was convicted of murder and was sentenced last year to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
(06/07/07 12:19am)
INDIANAPOLIS – More Indiana schools have slipped into academic watch and probation statuses, with nearly 75 percent of the state’s public high schools dropping into the lowest two categories of the state’s five-tier ranking system.\nThe new classifications, released Wednesday, show that 11 percent of schools were ranked higher in 2006 than 2005, while 57 percent stayed in the same category and 32 percent earned a lower ranking.\nThe three school corporations that fell into the lowest category – academic probation – are among the poorest in the state. They were Indianapolis Public Schools, Gary Community School Corporation and the School City of East Chicago. An average of 78 percent of students in those districts qualify for free or reduced-priced lunch programs for low-income families.\nThe 33 corporations in the top category – exemplary – averaged about 17 percent of students on free or reduced-price lunches.\nThe state rankings are based on the same test scores used to measure progress under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. But Indiana’s ranking system also measures improvement over time, holding schools to a higher standard, said Suellen Reed, the state’s superintendent for public instruction.\n“It is encouraging to see the number of schools that are maintaining a good standing despite steadily increasing expectations,” she said. “Many schools are making the changes needed to boost student achievement, but we’d certainly like to see a greater degree of improvement across the board.”\nThe Department of Education puts each of Indiana’s schools and districts in one of five categories: exemplary progress, commendable progress, academic progress, academic watch and academic probation.\nUnder Indiana law, schools on academic probation are eligible for more state aid but face consequences that become more serious the longer the school stays in that category. Charter schools and accredited nonpublic schools are also placed into categories, but they are exempt from consequences under the law.
(05/07/07 4:00am)
INDIANAPOLIS – Pamela Bless thought she had found an exciting education answer when she enrolled her three children in a new online charter school slated to open this fall.\nInstead, she’s wondering where her 13-year-old triplets will end up after the Indiana General Assembly decided not to fund the schools.\n“My kids were as or more disappointed than I was,” said Bless, of Greenwood, Ind. “They feel that it’s a statement that children are not important to officials in state government.”\nVirtual charter schools have teachers and lessons like traditional public schools but offer most instruction online to students at home. Ball State University had proposed opening the Indiana Virtual Charter School and Indiana Connections Academy this fall with a total of about 2,200 students.\nThe budget proposed by the GOP-led Senate would have allowed the two schools to open. Democrats who control the House, however, objected to having any state money go to such programs, and the budget approved late Sunday – the last day of the session – explicitly stated that virtual charter schools cannot receive funding from the state or any distribution of property taxes.\nThe decision left parents scrambling to sort through their options, said Julie Price, with the newly created group Indiana Families for Public Virtual Schools.\n“They are angry beyond words, they are upset beyond words,” Price said. “They are panicked and they don’t know what to do for next year.”\nIf the virtual schools use private funding, they will not be able to open as public schools chartered by Ball State, said Larry Gabbert, director of the university’s Office of Charter Schools.\n“At this point we don’t have plan B,” he said.\nRon Brumbarger, chairman and CEO of the Indiana Virtual Charter School, urged parents to wait a few weeks while the school considers ways to open its online doors.\n“Shame on our legislature for being shortsighated and disappointing these 2,000 students around Indiana,” Brumbarger said. “Shame on our legislature for not being forward thinking for how to create a competitive Indiana instead of slamming the brakes on innovation. They should be embarrassed.”\nOpponents of virtual charter schools said the programs were unproven and would have taken more than $11 million annually from traditional public schools. Other critics said the online instruction would be a form of taxpayer-funded home schooling because students work at home with a parent or other learning coach.\n“We have a responsibility to fund and maintain public schools,” said Rep. Joe Micon, D-West Lafayette.“We don’t have a constitutional requirement to publicly fund those who choose to home school their children.”\nBall State’s Office of Charter Schools has said some students who enrolled in virtual charter schools come from home-schooled backgrounds, but not the majority of them because many home schooling parents want to be free of state regulations that the schools must follow.\nMiranda Anderson of Mount Vernon, Ind., said that if virtual charters don’t open, she plans to continue home schooling her third-grade daughter, Elizabeth, who has attention deficit disorder. But Anderson hopes the Indiana Virtual Charter School will be around to give her daughter contact with a teacher, a better curriculum and more access to children her own age.\n“I am really hoping that that will be an option for us,” Anderson said.\nOther parents are continuing to fight for virtual charter schools by contacting lawmakers even though the legislative session is over, Price said.
(04/12/07 4:00am)
INDIANAPOLIS – The Senate on Wednesday approved a two-year budget proposal that would steer more money to education and a bill that would overhaul Indiana’s property tax system.\nBoth bills now head to joint House-Senate conference committees, where lawmakers from both chambers will work to hammer out compromises before the regular legislative session comes to a close at the end of the month.\nSenate Appropriations Chairman Robert Meeks, R-LaGrange, said the bills help property tax payers and give Indiana a balanced budget.\n“I think the Senate has passed two of the most significant pieces of legislation in recent years,” Meeks said.\nHouse Speaker Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, has said there are common elements in the budget and property tax proposals that could pave the way toward a House-Senate compromise.\nSen. Lindel Hume, D-Princeton, was equally optimistic Wednesday, saying the House and Senate have kept lines of communication open on important issues, including the budget.\n“That is a good sign,” he said. “We’re all working for the good of the state of Indiana.”\nThe GOP-controlled Senate voted 36-13 for a $26.3 billion budget plan that would provide more money to universities, prisons and Medicaid while capping overall spending increases at a maximum of 4 percent each year.\nMeeks said the budget was fair and responsible.\n“We attempted to take care of the needs of the people of Indiana,” he said. “We have done that.”\nRepublican Gov. Mitch Daniels said Wednesday he hoped the final version of the budget would be similar to the Senate’s.\n“This budget holds spending growth to 4 percent, as I asked, and therefore balances without a tax increase while adding strongly to education funding,” he said.\nBasic spending on schools – always a top priority among lawmakers – would grow by 3.5 percent the first year and 3.4 percent the second. That’s lower than the 4 percent increases House Democrats proposed in their version of the budget, but more than schools have received in recent years.\nDaniels has proposed phasing in full-day kindergarten over three years, eventually mandating that all elementary schools offer it. House Democrats put that plan in their budget bill at an initial two-year cost of $160 million.\nBut the Senate budget plan would make full-day kindergarten optional and allocate about $93 million toward the programs. Meeks says when that money is combined with federal funds, every school district that wanted full-day classes could offer them.\nThe Senate’s budget proposal dovetails with its plan to restructure the state’s property tax system, which passed on a 44-5 vote.\nUnder that bill, the state would assume all school operating costs, largely ending the practice of subsidizing local property taxes. It would allow counties to use local income taxes instead of property tax increases.\nThe Democrat-controlled House failed to pass a property tax restructuring plan earlier this session, leaving it to the GOP-led Senate to revive the issue. Members of both parties have labeled property tax relief and restructuring as a top priority as homeowners brace for tax increases expected to average 15 percent this year.\nSenate Republicans said if all elements of the plan were implemented and all counties adopted maximum allowable income tax increases by 2010 – and dedicated all of one increase to homesteads – average property taxes for homeowners would be 62 percent lower than they would have been.\nThe plan would increase the homestead credit from 20 percent to 28 percent for property taxes payable this year. Supporters say that would reduce homeowner bills by an average of 5 percent this year.\n“There are some significant tax reductions that can be accomplished with this,” said Senate Tax Chairman Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville.
(04/05/07 4:00am)
Sometimes it's difficult to figure out where to look if you're interested in exploring new musical styles. Maybe you'd like a glimpse into something that's full of turntable tricks, samples and great production that pays its respects to the relaxed sounds of France. Well, dear reader, Wax Tailor is for you. Aside from having one of the best pseudonyms imaginable, Wax Tailor (JC Le Saoût) has pieced together a series of slick albums, EPs and singles after breaking away from the French rap group La Formule.\nOn Hope & Sorrow there exists a fearless flow and abundance of great beats that are likely to entice hungry hip-hop fans or anyone who has an appreciation for interesting music in general. Wax Tailor creates intricate musical pieces comprising obscure audio clips, guest vocalists, scratching and downright funky drums. Whereas Wax Tailor's previous album, Tales of the Forgotten Melodies, was an interesting exercise in stretching samples as far as they could go, Hope & Sorrow is an example of when an already appealing artist breaks through and creates something that is undeniably great. \nThe songs on the album have much more focus than Wax Tailor's previous efforts. Development of the tunes is critical, as Tailor doesn't give everything away immediately. Instead, he allows the songs to become familiar and draws the listener into a foot-tapping or head-nodding frenzy while new elements are injected subtly and precisely to complement the mood being evoked. Wax Tailor also manages to make the songs more accessible to the average ear with this effort.\nSharon Jones, Voice, Charlotte Savary, ASM & Marina Quaisse and Ursula Rucker all contribute their unique vocal timbres to the album with outstanding results. Though each of the vocalists provides the album with something special, the wonderful Sharon Jones shines the brightest in "The Way We Lived." The track not only contains some soulful vocals from Jones, but it sounds almost like the soundtrack to a carnival played in slow-motion on a broken Victrola with a soggy drum set providing the beat.\nMost of the album contains a dark vibe that contrasts well with lively percussion, smooth vocals and various other well-placed accents. The album's title, Hope & Sorrow, is certainly fitting based on the morose accompaniments highlighted by the bright vocals and other embellishments. However, Hope & Sorrow doesn't leave you feeling anything except satisfied.
(04/05/07 4:00am)
Well, if anyone was wondering if Good Charlotte still sucks, take one guess. \nKarma's a bitch, because we're still forced to be subjected to this trash disguised as legitimate music. This is their fourth release in their 11-year existence and it seems like an eternity of headaches.\nFrom the get-go, we find the boys trading in pseudo-punk-rock guitars for dance beats that seemed to have been vomited out by a sleazy executive who works at Epic. Well, the pop-punk thing didn't work, so let's try something even worse. The new sound doesn't help their cause. It's the same old manufactured defecation.\nIt seems a little ironic when Joel Madden sings about plastic, shallow and empty people on "Misery." And if things couldn't get worse, the single off Good Morning Revival, titled "The River" (where I'll drown to stay away from listening to this), features none other than the pussified lead singer of Avenged Sevenfold, M. Shadows. Please don't make me listen to City Of Evil again.\n"Keep Your Hands Off My Girl" sounds like The Faint, if they sucked. Madden's voice sounds like a guy who got kicked in the nuts and they overdubbed it to sound natural. \nThere's very little variety in these 13 tracks. Every song sounds like the anthem to Hot Topic and Target. And with lyrics like, "Take a look at my life, all black. Take a look at my clothes, all black," you'd think you were listening to something a gothic, DDR-playing teenage outcast would write in her diary. But these guys are damn near 30!\nThis is the worst thing I've heard so far this year. I'd recommend it to 12-year-olds who want to get made fun of and people who can't think for themselves. Even the most masochistic of people will find themselves bashing their heads against the wall until they're out like a light bulb.
(04/05/07 4:00am)
If there's one Bloomington tradition that I've grown to enjoy as much as any, it might have to be Live from Bloomington's yearly compilation album and Club Night. Each year, songs from the best artists that Bloomington's music scene has to offer are compiled on an album and they perform at events that benefit the Hoosier Hills Food Bank. This year a staggering 19 tracks fill this CD to the brim and provide a way for fans of Bloomington music to flex their charitable muscles while purchasing a quality compilation.\nThe compilation contains a wide variety of musical styles to choose from. If you're looking for hip-hop, 2 Mics and a Kit and Butterfly Toungz have you covered. In the mood for jazz? (X)-tet's smooth "A New Place" is for you. Perhaps you're in the mood to dance to a song about cheerleaders. Yes, Totally Michael made the cut this year as well.\nThe diversity of the compilation is its biggest selling point. Part of what I love about Bloomington is the volume of great music that exists in our area. The compilation captures the variety and personality contained within the Bloomington scene perfectly. \nHowever, listeners may notice that the compilation tips a bit in the favor of rock music. Whether it's the driving "Telephone Thought Support" by Trio in Stereo, the frantic saxophone and keyboard frenzy provided by Prizzy Prizzy Please, or Husband & Wife's subdued "Down with Political Monkey Business" to close the compilation, there is no arguing the representation of rock music on the compilation -- though this is not a shortcoming, as all of the bands are interesting and Bloomington seems to cater more to the rock crowd anyway. The volume of rock music just makes the doses of other styles all the more refreshing when they appear on the compilation.\nThe CD is retailing at various locations in town for $5 and the money goes toward a good cause. If you're new to Bloomington's music scene or are interested in hearing some of the B-hive's best, this is a great purchase. Live from Bloomington 2007 helps continue the long-standing tradition of bringing together philanthropy and music in our town.
(04/04/07 4:00am)
INDIANAPOLIS – A proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage failed to pass a key House committee Tuesday, and some lawmakers said the proposal is dead for this year.\nThe House Rules Committee voted 5-5 on a resolution supporting the amendment, with five Democrats voting against it and four Republicans and one Democrat voting for it. Since there was not a majority of votes for the resolution, the measure failed to pass.\nCommittee Chairman Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, said the emotional issue is over for this legislative session.\n“I consider the matter dispensed with,” Pelath said. “We took a vote and the matter is dispensed with.”\nResolution sponsor Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Wheatfield, agreed that the proposal appeared dead.\n“I think the voters of the state of Indiana should have a right to express their views on the issue,” Hershman said, “but I have never criticized anyone for their stance either for or against this, and I’m not going to start now.”\nHowever, the issue could come up again next year.\nAmending Indiana’s constitution requires a resolution to pass consecutive, separately elected General Assemblies and then be approved in a statewide vote. The Legislature passed the proposal in 2005, so if it is approved either this year or in 2008, it could appear on the November 2008 ballot.\nSeveral lawmakers who voted against the proposal worried about the second section of the amendment, which states that says state law “may not be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents of marriage be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups.”\nSome Indiana companies and university employees have lobbied lawmakers, saying that part of the amendment could stop domestic partner benefits. \nPelath said the state should not change the constitution without knowing all the consequences of the amendment.\n“Once the constitution’s amended, you don’t get a second shot,” he said.\nBut supporters of the constitutional amendment say the proposal would simply stop courts from forcing the government to provide same-sex benefits. They say it does not prohibit the government, public employers or anyone else from voluntarily offering such benefits, and that domestic violence statutes would not be affected.\nRep. Eric Turner, R-Marion, said concerns over domestic violence laws and domestic partner benefits are unfounded. He said that argument was an effort by opponents to delay the implementation of the proposed amendment.\n“I don’t buy the argument,” he said.\nLawmakers have been heavily lobbied on the issue by supporters and opponents. They have heard from gay rights organizations and conservative family associations. They have been bombarded with e-mails and phone calls. They have seen hundreds come to Statehouse rallies – more than 1,000 people supporting the amendment last week and more than 200 opposing the amendment in February.
(03/28/07 4:00am)
INDIANAPOLIS – More than 1,000 people packed the Statehouse on Tuesday to support a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage. Advance America founder Eric Miller urged lawmakers to repeal property taxes and support a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.\n“It’s not a Republican or Democrat issue,” he said. “It’s right versus wrong.”\nAmending Indiana’s constitution requires a resolution to pass consecutive, separately elected General Assemblies and then be approved in a statewide vote. The Legislature passed the proposal in 2005, so if it is approved this year or in 2008, it could appear on the November 2008 ballot.\nRepublican Rep. Jackie Walorski urged House Speaker Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, to allow a vote on the resolution so the decision will be left up to voters.\n“Mr. Speaker, we want to vote on this issue,” the Lakeville, Ind. lawmaker told the crowd.\nThe House Rules Committee has heard from both supporters and opponents about the proposed resolution but has not taken a vote. Committee Chairman Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, said Tuesday that he has not scheduled a meeting to vote on the matter.\nAmong the committee’s options are voting on the amendment without changes, or voting first to remove a provision that critics say could have unintended consequences. Proponents have said that if any of the language is changed, it would restart the lengthy amendment process. Pelath has said it may be possible to remove a part of the proposed amendment and still have another part continue on course, but said the question needed more analysis.\nThe proposed amendment has two sections. The first section states that marriage in Indiana is the union of one man and one woman. The second includes a phrase that says state law “may not be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents of marriage be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups.”\nSome opponents say the second provision is vague and could be used to nullify domestic violence laws that apply to married and unmarried couples. They also fear it could eliminate domestic partner benefits offered by some companies, universities and other employers.\nSupporters of the amendment say the second provision simply means courts cannot force the government to provide same-sex benefits. They say it does not prohibit the government, public employers or anyone else from voluntarily offering such benefits.\nResolution sponsor Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Monticello, told those at the rally that opponents have tried to obfuscate the proposed amendment by saying the second part is vague or hard to understand.\n“They’re wrong,” Hershman said.
(03/28/07 4:00am)
INDIANAPOLIS – Some Indiana Senate Republicans said Monday they want to crack down on illegal video gambling machines statewide by stepping up enforcement and enacting stricter penalties.\nSen. James Merritt, R-Indianapolis, and Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, said they want to amend a charity gaming bill to include new provisions against the machines, sometimes called “Cherry Masters.”\nTheir proposal would set aside money to hire 25 more state excise enforcement officers to investigate illegal gambling. It would also increase penalties to include the possible revocation of licenses for selling tobacco, alcohol or lottery products.\n“This is a different approach,” Long said. “It’s worth talking about.”\nCherry Masters look like slot machines but are unfair to players, said James Maida, president of Gaming Laboratories International, a New Jersey company that tests gambling devices for many states. Maida told the Senate Rules Committee that the machines can be programmed to pay far less than a typical slot machine and give players a disadvantage.\n“It’s worse than chance because it’s not even random,” he said.\nIndiana State Excise Police Superintendent Alex Huskey said the provision tying the machines to tobacco and lottery sales could be a benefit, especially when trying to get the machines out of places like truck stops.\n“That would certainly help us,” he said.\nThe committee, chaired by Long, discussed the provisions Monday but did not vote on them. Long said the committee could meet again later this week or next week to decide whether to move forward with the proposal.\nSeveral bar owners and the Indiana Licensed Beverage Association support legalizing electronic gaming machines at bars and taverns, and some lawmakers support efforts to regulate and tax the machines instead of cracking down on them.\nLong and Merritt’s proposal could be inserted into a charity gambling bill that would make several changes for nonprofit organizations. The bill would create an annual charity game night license so that organizations could hold up to three gaming events per week with some restrictions. The bill would also allow nonprofit organizations to sell pull tabs and some other gambling devices year round.\nMeanwhile, the Senate on Monday approved several amendments to a bill that would allow slot machines at Indiana’s two horse-racing tracks. That bill would allow each track to pay a $400 million licensing fee to install up to 1,500 slot machines.\nThe $800 million raised by the fees would have been put into various funds, including an Indiana Life Sciences Fund to promote university research. But one of the changes the Senate approved Monday would instead funnel the money to the state’s general fund, where lawmakers would allocate the money through the typical budgeting process.
(03/22/07 4:00am)
INDIANAPOLIS – Public transportation systems need to be explored further as Indiana deals with traffic, pollution and energy challenges in the near future, lawmakers said during a hearing on the subject Wednesday.\n“It’s all a matter of priorities,” said Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington. “We control our own destiny.”\nRep. Terri Austin, D-Anderson, who helped organize the meeting, said much attention has been focused on Gov. Mitch Daniels’ latest roads proposals, but not much time had been devoted to the topic of public transportation.\nDaniels had proposed seeking private developers to build and operate two tollway bypasses: the 75-mile Indiana Commerce Connector, which would loop around part of Indianapolis, and the Illiana Expressway, which would span 50 miles of northwestern Indiana. But some lawmakers criticized the plans, and Daniels has since said that he would back off the proposals if they prove unpopular with the public.\nAustin said new roads aren’t the only answer to Indiana’s transportation problems.\n“Mass transit must play a part in any future plans,” she said.\nOn Wednesday, lawmakers heard from national, state and local transportation advocates.\nWilliam Millar, president of the American Public Transportation Association, said mass-transit systems such as light rail have become more popular as service improves and gas prices increase.\n“While we all love our cars, it gets expensive to operate them,” Millar said.\nThe South Shore commuter railroad in northern Indiana had more than 4 million passengers last year, the largest number since 1957, said Gerald Hanas, general manager of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District. Hanas said many employees take the commuter railroad to work in Chicago.\n“It’s an important part of the regional economy,” he said.\nBut the Indiana Department of Transportation cautioned that rail services and other mass transit options can be expensive. INDOT Chief of Staff Gil Viets said the department’s job is to find the best solutions to transportation while considering costs. Sometimes, he said, roads are the best option.\n“The capital costs of other modes of transportation can be very high,” he said.\nThe General Assembly is considering several bills dealing with mass transit this year, including one that would require INDOT to conduct a feasibility study of a commuter rail system from Muncie to Indianapolis. Another bill would require INDOT to commission six regional studies on mass transit and would establish a mass-transit legislative study committee.
(03/07/07 5:00am)
INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana hospitals and surgery centers reported 77 serious medical errors in 2006, according to a preliminary report released Tuesday by the state Department of Health.\nThe report shows 23 cases of severe bed sores, 21 cases of leaving a foreign object in a surgery patient and six deaths or serious disabilities from medication errors. Nine surgeries were performed on the wrong body part and two were performed on the wrong patient.\nThe mistakes are rare considering the overall number of medical procedures, officials said. Indiana hospitals and surgery centers logged more than 1.7 million surgical procedures in 2005, and there were 3.7 million patients discharged from hospitals.\nBut the serious mistakes included in the report should never happen, advocates said.\n“Any one person harmed by medical care is one too many,” said Betsy Lee, director of the Indiana Patient Safety Center.\nHealth officials said more medical errors could be reported to the Department of Health by June 30, when the reporting period for 2006 ends. The department plans to issue a final report in August.\nState Health Commissioner Judy Monroe predicted that the number of reported errors would rise over the next few years as hospitals learn more about logging such mistakes.\n“We are requiring health care providers to report errors not to punish them, but instead, to help to improve patient safety,” she said.\nGov. Mitch Daniels, who issued an executive order in 2005 requiring hospitals to start reporting medical mistakes, said only a fraction of the medical errors that occurred in Indiana may have been recorded this year.\n“It’s a new system,” he said. “Not every facility got up to speed as fast as some.”\nIndiana’s Medical Error Reporting System tracks 27 types of mistakes – including deaths from medication errors, surgeries on the wrong person or body part, patient suicide attempts and releasing infants to the wrong people.\nIndiana is only the second state – Minnesota was the first – to adopt a medical error reporting system based on the 27 mistakes. In Minnesota, the number of reported mistakes has increased each year since the system started in 2003.\nHealth officials cautioned that mistakes reported at individual hospitals may not be able to tell a patient much about a particular facility because serious mistakes are so rare. Monroe suggested that patients ask their doctors and nurses about common hospital problems, such as bed sores, and find out how they are trying to prevent them.\nThe most reported errors came from the hospital with the most patients and the most surgical procedures: Clarian Health Partners, a large organization that includes Methodist, IU and Riley Hospitals. The hospitals recorded more than 100,000 surgical procedures in 2005 and reported a total of 15 medical mistakes in 2006.\nClarian Health Partners’ report included four deaths or serious disabilities associated with medication. Three premature infants died at Methodist Hospitals in September 2006 after an overdose of blood thinner.\nKenneth Stella, president of the Indiana Hospital and Health Association, said the preliminary report released Tuesday can help hospitals share information to help prevent medical mistakes.\n“Gathering the data is only a first step in the improvement process,” he said.
(02/28/07 5:00am)
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Senate approved a plan Tuesday to outsource the state’s lottery and use the money to encourage life sciences research and provide college scholarships for students who stay in Indiana after graduation.\nThe bill, which cleared the Senate on a 27-20 vote, allows Gov. Mitch Daniels to lease the Hoosier Lottery for 30 years to a private company, which would run it and collect the profits. In exchange, the company would pay the state at least $1 billion upfront and give the state annual payments of $200 million.\nSupporters said leasing the lottery to a private entity could bring in money to help spur the economy and retain the state’s best students. But opponents said those laudable efforts should not be funded by the leasing of the lottery, which they said was often played by poor residents wasting money on a shot at a big jackpot.\n“The lottery’s a very regressive tax,” said Sen. David Ford, R-Hartford City. “We take more money from the lower income strata of society than the upper income.”\nThe upfront payment would be split among two or three initiatives.\nAbout $400 million would fund $5,000 annual college scholarships for high-achieving students. However, students would have to repay the money unless they lived and worked in Indiana for three years after graduation.\nAnother $600 million would go toward the Indiana Life Sciences Fund under the proposal. Public and private universities could apply for research grants under the fund, which supporters said would attract top researchers and faculty members to the state.\n“I want to tackle the problems we have with brain drain today and I want to widen our economy,” said bill sponsor Sen. James Merritt, R-Indianapolis. “I believe this is a quality plan to do so.”\nAny leftover money from the upfront payment would go toward a pension relief fund to help cities and towns deal with firefighter and police pensions.\n“This is a tremendous opportunity to move Indiana forward at very little risk,” said Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville. “Why not take that risk?”\nThe bill prohibits a private company from using keno or other video drawings to expand gambling. It also limits the amount of growth in profits the company can take in each year, and specifies that all advertising must be approved by state gaming officials.\nSome senators wondered why a private company would agree to pay the state more than $1 billion to run a lottery with so many strings attached.\n“If you were ever sold a pig in a poke, this was it,” said Sen. Lindel Hume, D-Princeton. “There’s got to be more to this. The other shoe is going to have to drop somewhere along the line.”\nThe bill next moves to the House for consideration. Democrats who control that chamber have criticized the proposal, and the draft of the state budget proposed by House Democrats blocks outright the leasing of the lottery.
(02/20/07 5:00am)
INDIANAPOLIS – More than 200 people attended a Statehouse rally Monday to send a message to lawmakers: If the state’s constitution is amended to ban same-sex marriage, it would affect more than gay couples.\nCandace Gingrich, who works for the Washington, D.C.-based Human Rights Campaign and is a half sister of former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, told the crowd that the amendment would affect all unmarried couples in Indiana.\nThe proposed constitutional amendment has two sections. The first says that marriage in Indiana solely applies to the union of one man and one woman, and the second says that the state constitution and laws cannot be construed to provide marriage benefits to one couple or group.\nGingrich said lawmakers need to understand what the second part of the amendment would do.\n“They need to read the fine print,” Gingrich said. “We’ve got to educate people about the second line of that amendment.”\nProponents say the amendment is needed to protect the sanctity of traditional marriage from lawsuits and activist judges.\nCritics say the measure is discriminatory. In addition, they believe that the second provision is vague and could be used to nullify domestic violence laws that apply to married and unmarried couples, as well as contracts that unmarried senior couples sometimes have to retain inheritances and share legal, financial and health care decisions. \nCollege student Lisa Sklar, a lesbian who spoke at the rally, said she has the same hopes and dreams as others and would one day like to have a wife. She said she plans to leave Indiana after graduation and move to a more understanding state.\n“I will not settle for being a second-class citizen in the state of Indiana,” she said.
(02/20/07 5:00am)
INDIANAPOLIS – Lawmakers watched clips of violent beatings, topless strippers and other adult material Monday as they considered a bill that would restrict the sale of certain video games to young people.\nThe video game clips, provided by a supporter of the bill, filled a big-screen television in the Indiana Senate chambers that typically shows mundane information about legislation up for debate and how senators voted.\nSen. Brent Waltz, R-Greenwood, said he was shocked by the clips and complained that they should not have been shown in the Senate chambers during a meeting open to the public.\n“I am absolutely totally appalled – first by the content and second that you would bring that kind of filth into this Senate chamber,” Waltz told the supporter. “You ought to be ashamed of yourself.”\nCommittee chairman Sen. David Ford, R-Hartford City, took responsibility for the decision to show the clips. He said that although he could have handled the situation differently, lawmakers needed to realize the graphic content of some video games. \n“My thought was you needed to know what you were voting on,” Ford said.\nThe bill cleared the Senate Technology Committee 5-2 and now moves to the full Senate for consideration.\nThe legislation could impose fines of up to $1,000 if retailers sold or rented video games rated mature to those under 17 or games rated adults only to those under age 18.\nOne video game clip showed a character urinating on victims and setting them on fire while a narrator made racial comments. Another featured a character gunning down people in church, while another “rewarded” players who reached a certain level with video clips of real topless strippers. Many of the games included bloody beatings or shootings, as well as explicit language.\nSteve Stoughton, president of the Center for Successful Parenting, said he brought in the clips as an example of games that are rated M, or mature, which may be suitable for people ages 17 and older. He said most parents do not realize the graphic nature of some games that their teenage children might be playing.\n“They have no idea, really, what their children are watching,” he said. “It’s an issue that isn’t going to go away.”\nRetailers and the video game industry spoke against the bill, saying voluntary restrictions are working.\nMajor video game retailers already check the identification of people who buy rated M games to make sure they are 17, said Grant Monahan, president of the Indiana Retail Council.
(02/19/07 5:00am)
INDIANAPOLIS – Lawmakers watched clips of violent beatings, topless strippers and other adult material Monday as they considered a bill that would restrict the sale of certain video games to young people.\nThe video game clips, provided by a supporter of the bill, filled a big-screen television in the Indiana Senate chambers that typically shows mundane information about legislation up for debate and how senators voted.\nSen. Brent Waltz, R-Greenwood, said he was shocked by the clips and complained that they should not have been shown in the Senate chambers during a meeting open to the public.\n“I am absolutely totally appalled – first by the content and second that you would bring that kind of filth into this Senate chamber,” Waltz told the supporter. “You ought to be ashamed of yourself.”\nCommittee chairman Sen. David Ford, R-Hartford City, took responsibility for the decision to show the clips. He said that although he could have handled the situation differently, lawmakers needed to realize the graphic content of some video games. \n“My thought was you needed to know what you were voting on,” Ford said.\nThe bill cleared the Senate Technology Committee 5-2 and now moves to the full Senate for consideration.\nThe legislation could impose fines of up to $1,000 if retailers sold or rented video games rated mature to those under 17 or games rated adults only to those under age 18.\nOne video game clip showed a character urinating on victims and setting them on fire while a narrator made racial comments. Another featured a character gunning down people in church, while another “rewarded” players who reached a certain level with video clips of real topless strippers. Many of the games included bloody beatings or shootings, as well as explicit language.\nSteve Stoughton, president of the Center for Successful Parenting, said he brought in the clips as an example of games that are rated M, or mature, which may be suitable for people ages 17 and older. He said most parents do not realize the graphic nature of some games that their teenage children might be playing.\n“They have no idea, really, what their children are watching,” he said. “It’s an issue that isn’t going to go away.”\nRetailers and the video game industry spoke against the bill, saying voluntary restrictions are working.\nMajor video game retailers already check the identification of people who buy rated M games to make sure they are 17, said Grant Monahan, president of the Indiana Retail Council.
(02/14/07 4:34am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Teenage drivers would be required to get a lot more practice behind the wheel -- and would be banned from using cell phones while driving until age 18 -- under a bill that cleared an Indiana Senate committee Tuesday.\nThe legislation would also eventually move the age requirement for a driver's license to 16 1/2.\nSupporters say such restrictions will improve safety by giving beginning drivers more practice. But some lawmakers questioned whether the bill, which passed the Senate Transportation Committee on a 5-4 vote, would work.\n"This is another example of government trying to overstep its boundaries," said Sen. Mike Delph, R-Carmel .\nThe bill would require teens applying for a license to have at least 50 hours of supervised driving practice, with 10 of those hours at night.\n Sen. Vaneta Becker, a Republican from Evansville, said logging that much practice could be a struggle for some teenagers and their parents.\n"How do kids get this?" she asked. "What if they don't have parents that drive?"\nTom Zachary, who owns a driver's training company, said he offers six hours of training for $399. At that rate, getting 50 hours of training would cost more than $3,300.\nOther states already have tougher restrictions on teen drivers, Zachary said.\n"We're not blazing a trail here," he said. "We're trying to catch up."\nBill sponsor and committee chairman Sen. Tom Wyss, R-Fort Wayne, said most teenagers have someone they can turn to for driving practice.\nAdvocates said traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for people ages 15 to 20. Inexperienced drivers can hurt people in other cars as well, Wyss said.\n"I just think it's an important issue," he said. "We're seeing too many kids dying."\nThe bill would move the age requirement for a driver's license in stages from the current 16 and one month to 16 and six months by 2010. Drivers would not be allowed to use mobile phones or other hand-held electronic devices while driving until age 18.\nThe bill's chances in the Republican-controlled Senate are uncertain.\nSenate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, said a cell phone ban for teenagers may gain traction among lawmakers, but that his caucus hasn't discussed the other aspects of bill, such as the 50 hours of training.\n"Properly preparing your children is a parental responsibility, in my opinion," Long said.
(02/09/07 3:41am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana Senate leaders are pushing for a bill they hope will encourage sixth-grade girls to become vaccinated against a sexually transmitted disease that can cause cervical cancer -- legislation they say is a good balance between parental rights and protecting women's health.\nThe bill as drafted would give parents information about the link between human papilloma virus, or HPV, and cervical cancer, and would state that an HPV vaccine is available.\nThe original version of the legislation would have required most girls be vaccinated, although it included no penalties if they did not get the series of three shots. A Senate committee watered down that bill to help address concerns from some parents, who said such a requirement would interfere with the way they raise their children.\nBetween 2000 and 2003, 1,093 Indiana women were diagnosed with cervical cancer, with 347 dying of the disease, said Sen. Connie Lawson, a Republican from Danville who is sponsoring the Senate bill.\n"We're losing too many mothers and daughters and sisters and friends to cervical cancer," Lawson said Thursday. "Why would we risk anyone's health or life when we have the capability to help prevent our future generations from getting this possibly fatal cancer?"\nGardasil, made by Merck & Co. and approved by the federal government in June, protects girls and women against strains of HPV that are responsible for most cases of cervical cancer. A government advisory panel has recommended that all girls get the shots at ages 11 or 12, before they are likely to be sexually active.\nAt least 18 states are debating whether to require the vaccine. Republican Gov. Rick Perry recently used an executive order that bypassed the legislature to make Texas the first state to mandate the vaccine for schoolgirls. Some Texas lawmakers want to try to override the order.\nIndiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said Thursday that he would not issue such an executive order. He questioned whether he has that power as governor, and said the issue should be left up to the General Assembly.\nSenate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, said the Senate bill puts the conversation about the vaccine where it belongs: between parents, their children and their family doctors.\n"You've got a bill in place right now that protects parental rights while still providing information about the vaccine," he said.