Category: Indiana Writers Group

(Jan. 1, 2011) — The thinking here about what is wrong with this Legislature has centered on gambling. That is gambling not in the gestalt but in the specific — state sanctioned, licensed and taxed. And no, this is not a sermon. Moral concerns are only part of it. A citizenry putting its faith in…

For immediate release (446 words). Every day each of us makes choices that influence our own health: what we eat, how much we exercise, whether we take our medications. These are by nature private choices and private responsibilities. Some health choices, however, are collective. Outdoor air quality compromised by industrial pollution or mosquito control are…

Editors:  Next week’s column is released early to accomodate holiday publication schedules (546 words) Light is a central component of the religious holidays that we celebrate this time of year. As the days shorten and the cold weather comes upon us, our faith traditions pay homage to the divine light that affirms our highest hopes.…

For release Dec. 21 and thereafter (670 words) Changing the selection process for the Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) board is no silver bullet, but it is an essential step toward transformation of the state’s largest school system. The elected board has had decades to shake things up and failed. It’s time to give the mayor…

This time of year, with children all over Indiana asking pointed questions about a man in a red suit and white beard, might be a good time to ask whether a beloved figment of our imagination is real — No, Mayor Ballard, there is no such thing as mass transit. A stack of independent research…

The Central Indiana Transit Task Force has identified several problems in the Indianapolis region, including a weakening regional center, congestion and air pollution. But the Task Force’s proposal to spend $1.3 billion improving transit, nearly half of which would go to a commuter-rail line from Noblesville to downtown Indianapolis, is the wrong solution to these…

For the use of the membership only) Napoleon had journalists pegged: They’re the ones who ride down from the hills after the battle to shoot the wounded. This journalist accepts that characterization. Indeed, it should be applied to this critical assessment of the battle that has been the Daniels administration. First, there is no argument…

For release Dec. 14 and thereafter (554 words) On Monday Dec. 5, Charles Evans, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, was the keynote speaker at the annual Indiana Economic Outlook sponsored by the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University at the Horizon Convention Center in Muncie. Rumor…

Editors:  The following column was first published on May 16, 2005. It is being reposted because of pertinence to economic-development proposals before this General Assembly (266 words). “Lilly Seeks Tax Breaks on Cascade of Projects.” — the Indianapolis Star, May 16, 2005 At first glance, the headline prompts the thought that if a company the…

When Feds Spend Highway Money, Taxpayers Get Fleeced For release Dec. 7 and thereafter (680 words) Right before his inauguration in 2009, Barack Obama invited the nation’s governors to meet with him in Philadelphia to discuss the nation’s economic problems. Gov. Mitch Daniels teamed up with his buddy, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, to start a…