Redevelopment: New Rules?
For release noon Feb. 1 and thereafter (800 words); note South Bend and Fort Wayne pegs. Carmel’s Center for the Performing Arts opened its doors last weekend with a glamorous debut. Featuring Indiana limestone and Italian stone beneath a Palladio dome, the center will last 500 years or longer, its website says, “creating a legacy Read the full article…
BACKGROUNDER: Union PLAs
For immediate release (667 words) (Jan. 28, 2011) — Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) are collective-bargaining agreements that establish terms of employment for a specific project. PLAs typically require a contractor to hire workers through union halls and to follow union rules on pensions, working conditions, and conflict resolution. Non-union workers are usually required to Read the full article…
Religious Freedom Isn’t Free
For release noon Jan. 25 and thereafter (782 words) Last weekend we observed “Religious Freedom Day” in the United States. The celebration commemorated the same day in 1786 when Virginia passed its “Statute of Religious Freedom.” Written by Thomas Jefferson, it protected what would later be enshrined in the First Amendment in the Bill Read the full article…
Evaluating Indiana Lawmakers
For release noon Jan. 18 and thereafter (663 words) A public school teacher I know makes the claim that teachers would consent to performance pay for their profession if state legislators accepted merit pay for theirs. As a practical matter, the two careers aren’t comparable. Teachers work full-time and can be assessed on results achieved Read the full article…
Indiana’s GOP: Is it Roll-Back Time?
For release noon Jan. 11 and thereafter (549 words) One of Indiana’s most respected Republican politicians, a conservative by the popular measure, acknowledged recently that he had made a “whopper” of a mistake in public policy many years ago. Alas, one man’s mistake, if he is powerful enough, is another man’s disaster. This particular one Read the full article…
The Essential Constitution
Editors: For release noon Jan. 4 and thereafter (675 words); column is tied to Jan. 6 event in Congress. Note date reference in graph 6 Naysayers have dismissed the Republican plan to read the Constitution aloud at the start of the 112th Congress as “cosmetic,” a “media event” and “meaningless political theater.” Similar objections have Read the full article…
