Andrea Neal column for Nov. 23 and thereafter710 words INDIANAPOLIS – If you’re one of the many Hoosiers hoping for big property tax relief in 2005, prepare for disappointment. The Property Tax Replacement Study Commission, after six months of research, has decided now’s not the time to dramatically reduce our reliance on what many consider an archaic revenue source. In its Nov. 15 report, the commission declined to endorse any plan that would cut half…

Andrea Neal column for release Nov. 17 and thereafter. INDIANAPOLIS – The arrest of a former security officer for conspiring to rig a scratch-off game may sound like small potatoes in the $664 million business that is the Hoosier Lottery. But with the legislature poised to consider even more gambling expansion in the 2005 session, Hoosiers would be wise to ask hard questions about our fourth largest revenue source: Has the proliferation of gambling contributed…

Andrea Neal column for Nov. 9 and thereafter730 words INDIANAPOLIS — Gov.-Elect Mitch Daniels is taking a victory lap around the state to thank voters for their support. Before he puts RV1 to pasture, I hope he’ll come to my neighborhood on Indy’s north side. We were among those hard hit by property tax reassessment and my neighbors and I want to make sure he understands our plight before Inauguration Day. If he comes to…

Andrea Neal column for release Nov. 4 and thereafter690 words INDIANAPOLIS –- If one message stands out as defining Mitch Daniels and his quest to be governor, it was this: "Every garden needs weeding at least every 16 years." On Tuesday, Indiana voters weeded the garden, making Daniels the first Republican governor since Robert D. Orr’s term ended in 1988. As Daniels himself promised in his short and upbeat acceptance speech, big changes, "courageous decisions"…

Andrea Neal column for Oct. 19 and thereafter730 words Editors: This is the last of three columns focusing on specific issues in Indiana’s governor’s race. INDIANAPOLIS – By now, every Hoosier has heard the statistic. The average Indiana worker earns only 88 cents for every dollar earned by the average American. The challenge for Indiana’s next governor? Turn that statistic into a competitive advantage. After all, it doesn’t cost as much to do business here.…

Andrea Neal column for Oct. 12 and thereafter740 words Note to Editors: this is the second of three columns analyzing issues in the governor"s race. INDIANAPOLIS –- A bar graph on the Indiana Department of Education website tells better than words the state of Hoosier education: lagging. The graph shows 17 years’ worth of SAT scores, comparing Indiana’s average to the national average. In every year, our students scored below their national peers. Average is…

Andrea Neal column for Oct. 5 and thereafter720 words (Editors: This is the first of three columns focusing on issues in the governor’s race. The next two will concern education reform and capitalizing on Indiana as the crossroads of America). INDIANAPOLIS – The author Javier Salcedo said, "Bureaucracy is the art of making the possible impossible." In Indiana, we’ve experienced a more sobering truth: Bureaucracy is the art of making the illegal possible. Bureaucracy, not…

Andrea Neal column for Sept. 14 and thereafter740 words (Note to editors: This is the second in a two-part series).When the Southwest Sullivan School Corp. closed Graysville Elementary School in a cost-saving move, residents got mad. Then they got creative. Concerned citizens asked Ball State University to sponsor a charter school in their southwest Indiana town. Rural Community Academy opened its doors Aug. 17. with 90 students from kindergarten to grade six. The school is…

Andrea Neal column for Sept. 7 and thereafter740 words (Note to editors: This is the first of a two-part series. The second part looks at the Ball State charter school experience).INDIANAPOLIS – When the Indiana General Assembly passed a charter school law in 2001, it carved out a unique responsibility for one man: Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson. With a stroke of the governor’s pen, Peterson became the only mayor in the state — the only…

Andrea Neal column for Aug. 31 and thereafter740 words INDIANAPOLIS — In Indiana, the average teacher earns $44,966 a year. A low-level accountant gets $38,122. The average state employee receives $32,461. A part-time legislator, counting salary and expense stipends, makes $45,221. Such salary statistics may explain the typical Hoosier reaction to legislative pay raise proposals. "Say you’re kidding" is how the Lafayette Journal and Courier summed up its reaction to the latest one. When a…