Indiana at 200 (63): Elwood Haynes
by Andrea Neal The date was July 4, 1894. The location was Pumpkinvine Pike, three miles east of Kokomo. Elwood Haynes had hauled his newfangled carriage — a horseless one, no less — to the edge of the city for a test drive. He unhitched the horses that towed it there, mounted the driver’s seat Read the full article…
Backgrounder: Zoning
by Craig Ladwig The Pulitzer Prize winner David Mamet, writing his political confessions for the Village Voice, famously argued this: In the abstract, we might envision an Olympian perfection in our courthouse, “but any of us who has ever been at a zoning meeting with our property at stake is aware of the urge to Read the full article…
Shreds and Snippets
Good Jobs First — An analysis of more than 4,200 economic-development incentive awards in 14 states including Indiana, finds that — holy crony capitalist! — big businesses were awarded 90 percent of the dollars. These are the same businesses that are least loyal to the local economy, most likely to demand more benefits than they Read the full article…
McCarthy: The IBJ Insults our Intelligence
AN INSULT TO THE INTELLIGENCE of the taxpayer, that’s the effect of parts of an Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ) article, “Fiscally Fit,” about the Pacers’ financial outlook. I’ll give you three quotes: “And the stadium deal the Pacers struck with the city’s Capital Improvement Board (CIB) last year has freed the franchise to make investments it Read the full article…
The Outstater: Coolidge in the Voting Booth
“To live under the American Constitution is the greatest political privilege that was ever accorded to the human race.” — Calvin Coolidge THE PUBLIC OPINION POLLS TELL US that next week’s local elections will advance those candidates with the most governmental-political experience. That makes sense, right? We want officials, Republican or Democrat, experienced at governing. Read the full article…
Pickerill: When Is a Republican not a Republican?
by John Pickerill Since being elected chairman of a county Republican Party two years ago, I’ve heard a lot of people claim how they’ve been a “registered Republican” for a number of years. That always puzzles me. According to Indiana state law, there’s no such thing as a registered Republican (or Democrat or any other Read the full article…
