Extravagant Travel as Tip of the Iceberg

"For some time, Indianapolis has been a wide open town where public corruption can breed, a place where elected officials won't [ask] tough questions when it comes to the misuse of the public's money."

This Indianapolis Observer (still steaming over the parking meter give-away and fuming at the Broad Ripple Parking Garage boondoggle) reluctantly agrees with Paul K. Ogden's assessment.

Read all his comments (spurred by John Clark's globetrotting on the public dime) here: IBJ Reports Airport CEO John Clark's Extravagant Travel.

UPDATE:
"The Indianapolis Airport Authority announced late Monday afternoon that CEO John D. Clark III has stepped down, effective immediately." - from IBJ.com 19 March 2012

Bock Bier at Das Deutsche Haus

Spring beer is celebrated at the St. Benno Fest in the Athenaeum, 401 East Michigan Street, Indianapolis. It all begins at 7 p.m. 28 April in the auditorium.

Following the traditions of the founding families, St. Benno and his goat, Herr Bock, will officially tap the keg with the ceremonial chugging of two beers.

Party and dance with Polkamotion and then Get Your Yodel On with St. Benno in the yodel contest at 9 p.m.

The Athenaeum Foundation and the Athenaeum Turners have partnered with Sun King Brewery and Yelp! for this fund-raiser, which benefits the care and maintenance of the Historic Athenaeum.

Tickets are $5 in advance and $10 at the door.

Bye, Peyton!

However, "it’s a fair guess that Manning will choose his next destination based on who gives him the best chance to win."

See Picking Peyton Manning's Next Stop in the New York Times.

Daniels Talks to Breshear

Your Indianapolis Observer has been in Louisville, Kentucky, for a couple of days.

Yesterday, when she met Gov. Steve Beshear of Kentucky, he told her he'd been in talks with Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels about improving bridge connections between our two states.

Today, IBJ.com writes about the agreement they reached involving (no surprise, eh?) tolls for those of us crossing between states.

Read it all here.

Indiana Artisan Marketplace

Check out the latest creations of Indiana's best artists and artisans at the Indiana Artisan Marketplace.

The second edition of the showcase takes place 31 March and 1 April in the Expo Hall at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, 1202 East 38th Street, Indianapolis.

Admission is $10 (plus that $3 parking fee collected by the fairgrounds). Hours on Saturday are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

More than 125 vendors from Indiana -- plus an additional 75 from Kentucky -- will be featured. There'll be both art and food for sale, plus Indiana music, arts and crafts demonstrations and tastings.

Congrats to a Pair of Indy Chefs

The 2012 semifinalists for the James Beard Award have been announced -- and there are two Indy chefs on the list.

In the running for Best Chef: Great Lakes are our own Regina Mehallick of R Bistro and Greg Hardesty of Recess.

If you haven't eaten at either place yet, get thee a reservation pronto!

(Winners will be announced 7 May.)

Fourth World Film Festival

Whatcha doing on 30 March? The Herron School of Art and Design at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis will present the Fourth World Film Festival, a 29-hour movie marathon, beginning at 5:30 p.m. that day, with the last film starting at 8:30 p.m. on 31 March.

The festival will run in the Basile Auditorium in Herron's Eskenazi Hall, 735 West New York Street, Indianapolis.

The collection of 15 thought-provoking yet entertaining movies examines social justice themes of Fourth World economies. The festival is a tie-in to Herron's Couched Construction exhibition running through 19 April.

(Photo, courtesy of Herron, from Darwin's Nightmare)