Trash Delayed for 4th of July Holiday

The Indianapolis Department of Public Works reports that there will be NO curbside recycling, residential or heavy trash collection on Monday (4 July).

All residential trash, heavy trash and curbside recycling routes will run one day behind for the entire week. All services will return to normal schedules on Monday, 11 July.

Privatization Gone Awry

The Los Angeles Times does the kind of investigative reporting the Indianapolis Star used to do (before Gannett gutted the city room). Here's their story today about privatization of Indiana's public ashttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifsistance program:

"Though the $1.37-billion project proved disastrous for many of the state's poor, elderly and disabled, it was a financial bonanza for a handful of firms with ties to Daniels and his political allies, which landed state contracts worth millions....

"All told, three politically connected firms gained from the welfare privatization effort in Indiana: ACS; the Lucas Group, a Boston-based firm that wrote the specifications for the contract; and Barnes & Thornburg, the Indianapolis law firm that lobbies for ACS and is representing the state in its suit against IBM."

Read it all here.

(And a tip of the hat to Paul K. Ogden for the reference.)

Indiana's Mean-Spirited Laws

Judges in Indiana have issued injunctions regarding implementation of two sets of legislation, according to The Indianapolis Star.

One federal judge has ordered the state not to enforce two provisions of a state immigration law that was scheduled to take effect on 1 July, and another has halted enforcement of a law cutting off funding to Planned Parenthood of Indiana and other entities that provide abortions.

New York Times Writes About Indiana's Economy

"But Indiana is no world apart, even if Mr. Daniels would like to suggest it is. Large cracks have opened in its economic foundation, a sign of just how severe the downturn remains...."

"One in three Hoosiers qualifies as low-income now, compared with one in four a decade earlier. And 58 percent of unemployed Indianans have burned through their benefits."

This Indianapolis Observer recommends reading the entire article here.

Art of the American Indians Comes to IMA

An exhibit of North American Indian art opens 2 December 2011 at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, 4000 Michigan Road, Indianapolis, running through 12 February 2012.

The Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection of North American Indian art comprises more than 800 masterpieces of Native American art from across North America and spanning more than 2,000 years.

This exhibition features more than 80 of the most outstanding works of art drawn from this collection, now held at the Fenimore Art Museum. The exhibition highlights the range of art produced by Native American cultures.

Note: the image shows a Nepcetat Mask, ca. 1840-1860, Central Yup’ik, Probably Lower Yukon River, Alaska, Thaw Collection, Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, N.Y., T231. Photograph by John Bigelow Taylor.

Tours of Former Central Avenue Methodist Church

Indiana Landmarks offers free one-hour tours of the recently opened Indiana Landmarks Center every Friday and Saturday on the hour from noon to 2 p.m.

Located at 12th Street and Central Avenue in Indianapolis’s Old Northside, Indiana Landmarks Center occupies the 120-year-old former Central Avenue Methodist Church.

The late Hoosier businessman and preservationist Bill Cook and his family funded more than $16 million of the nearly $20 million restoration and adaptation.

The one-hour tours highlight the history of the church, its influence on the city, and the restoration that adapted the three-building complex as theaters, reception halls, gallery and offices.

The free tours start in the lobby of Indiana Landmarks Center on the hour, beginning at noon, with the last tour leaving at 2 p.m. Reservations are not required for the tours, which will run through October.

To learn more about the tour of Indiana Landmarks Center and other tours offered by Indiana Landmarks, contact Gwendolen Raley, 317:639-4534 or 800:450-4534.

Broad Ripple Parking Garage

Indianapolis: "where the red carpet is rolled out for every sleazebag willing to stuff the politicians' pockets with money."

Check out this post on Advance Indiana for the details on the latest scam.

This Indianapolis Observer is no longer surprised by anything that comes out of the 25th floor of the City-County Building.

We hold these truths to be self-evident...in Indy!

"Apparently if companies want to win contracts in Indianapolis, they need to make political contributions and hire the right attorneys and lobbyists." -- Paul K. Ogden

Read it all here: http://www.ogdenonpolitics.com/2011/06/city-accused-of-steering-lucrative.html

Mass Transit

It's absolutely insane that Indy has no credible public transportation (there's not a bus line within three miles of my house).

Check out CIRTA.us, sign the petition and help Indianapolis get the level of public transport we need.

Central Indiana Regional Transportation Authority (CIRTA) is a quasi-governmental organization (IC 36-9-3) that is working to bring more transportation options that will better connect the urban core of Indianapolis with suburban and rural communities in Marion, Hamilton, Hancock, Shelby, Johnson, Morgan, Hendricks, Boone, Delaware and Madison counties.

World Archaeological Congress to be in Indy

"Indigenous People and Museums: Unraveling the Tensions" is the topic for an Inter-Congress of the World Archaeological Congress to be held 22-25 June in conjunction with the Eiteljorg Museum's 18th Annual Indian Market and Festival.

The Museum Studies Program at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art are the local sponsors.

The conference logo (pictured) is derived from a thematic element in the Eiteljorg Museum's Mihtohseenionki permanent exhibition. The name of that exhibition means "The People's Place" in the language of the Miami nation, one of the main groups living in the Indiana region before contact with Euroamericans. The thematic element is based on ribbon work of a member of the Miami nation and represents the Miami throughout the exhibition.

DeLaney Leaves Julian Center

Ann DeLaney, the longtime executive director of The Julian Center, an Indianapolis shelter for domestic violence victims, is stepping down, reports IBJ.com.

What originally was to be a two-year term morphed into a 15-year run for DeLaney, who has juggled the not-for-profit center’s leadership position with her prominent role in politics, her law practice and her bankruptcy trusteeship.

Media and Public Affairs

The School of Public and Environmental Affairs of Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis will offer undergraduate students a new major in Media and Public Affairs starting in fall 2011.

The major is intended for those who will work in the policy arena, teaching when and how to deploy traditional and new media tools to achieve their goals. Courses are an interdisciplinary mix of public affairs, journalism, political science, informatics and liberal arts.

The news release says that students who graduate with this degree will be prepared for careers as public information officers; government affairs personnel for private or nonprofit organizations; public administrators at the local, state and federal level; lobbyists; representatives of trade organizations, and reporters for various media.

Preview Germany at the Indiana State Fair

Interested in what'll be in the "Willkommen to Germany" exhibit at the Indiana State Fair 5-21 August? Plan to attend the program portion of tomorrow evening's meeting of the Indiana German Heritage Society. It's open to the public.

Justin Armstrong (project manager for the Germany exhibit at the fair) and Martin Baier (chair of the Indianapolis-Cologne Sister City Committee) will talk about the project at 7:30 p.m. 8 June in the Athenaeum, 401 East Michigan Street, Indianapolis.

This year, the Indiana State Fair Commission, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation and the local Indiana-German community are partnering to develop an 8,000 square foot exhibition featuring German cultural activities, performing arts, and business displays. One of the main goals of the Exhibition is to showcase the existing partnerships between Indiana and Germany, including the many sister relationships between cities in Indiana and Germany.

For questions about IGHS or tomorrow's program, contact Claudia Grossmann at the Max Kade Center, 317:274-2330.

Big Ten Chooses Indianapolis

Indianapolis will play host to the Big Ten Conference football championship games through 2015, outbidding Chicago in a fight to lure the prestigious new event, reports IBJ.com.

Indiana Violated Federal Medicaid Law

The Health and Human Services Department has rejected the state of Indiana's request to block Medicaid recipients from receiving care at Planned Parenthood, according to Huffington Post.

Indiana lawmakers passed a bill in May that prevents Medicaid from contracting with any entity that provides abortions, which effectively cut millions of dollars in funding from Planned Parenthood. But Donald Berwick, head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, sent a letter to Indiana's Medicaid office today (1 June) saying that the bill violates federal Medicaid law because it discriminates against Planned Parenthood for reasons other than its ability to provide quality health services.