Indy Native Makes Good

You probably already knew this, but (as the Indianapolis Business Journal points out in "Eight@8" this morning):

"Angela Ahrendts was born and raised in nearby New Palestine, Ind. (pop.: 2,055), and got her degree at Ball State in 1981. On Tuesday, she was appointed senior vice president at Apple Inc. (market cap: $453 billion), reporting directly to CEO Tim Cook. Ahrendts has become an overnight sensation in the tech world, giving up her ridiculously lucrative job ($26.3 million in 2012) as CEO of high-end fashion label Burberry to take over Apple’s retail operations."

You go, girl!

Hoosiers Sounding Like Idiots (it's a meme)

"Obamacare has proved to be not just ideologically divisive but linguistically fertile. There’s seemingly no event or passage in American history to which it can’t be compared." writes Frank Bruni in The New York Times.

"The terrorist attacks of 9/11? Check. Back when Mike Pence, Indiana’s Republican governor, was still in Congress, he summoned that day’s horror to characterize the Supreme Court ruling that upheld the Affordable Care Act."

Really, Gov. Pence? Having the Affordable Care Act upheld by the Supreme Court is like flying planes into the World Trade Center?

Stutzman Sticks Foot In Mouth

"Marlin Stutzman was, until today, a little-known Republican back-bencher, representing northeast Indiana in the House. But with just one off-message statement that he was quickly forced to retract, he became the prominent public face of the House Republicans who are refusing to re-open the United States government."
(read the rest here)

This Indianapolis Observer hates it when the elected representatives from the Hoosier State prove themselves to be uneducated country bumpkins. How could the party of Richard G. Lugar have devolved to this level?

The Death Spiral

The Indianapolis Star is going to source most of its news and features from USAToday -- except for an undefined bit of "local coverage" that seems to be metro- rather than city-oriented.

This Indianapolis Observer thinks that thunder you hear is Gene Pulliam rolling over in his grave.

Exodus Refugee Fundraiser

Here's a meal you won't be able to duplicate at home: local immigrant-owned restaurants will cater the annual fundraising dinner of Exodus Refugee Immigration.

"Home at Last in Indianapolis" set for 6 p.m. 26 September in the Athenaeum, 401 East Michigan Street, Indianapolis. Tickets are $35 in advance, or $45 at the door.

Three women who were refugees will speak at the gathering, which also includes entertainment and a cash bar.

Exodus Refugee has a long history of welcoming refugees from many countries, cultures, languages, faiths and political opinions. It began in 1981 with the mission to serve the legal needs of immigrants and Cuban refugees, who had arrived as part of the Mariel boatlift in 1980.

(Image courtesy of Exodus Refugee)

Yet Another Example of Ballard's Mis-Management of City Resources

According to Gary R. Welsh, the Indianapolis Public Safety Director has ordered 150 Indianapolis police officers and homeland security department personnel to immediately abandon the $18 million, public safety regional operations center at the former Eastgate Consumer Mall the Ballard administration rushed into use for the Super Bowl in 2012.

This Indianapolis Observer wonders why the mayor thinks this kind of waste of taxpayer money is perfectly fine.

UPDATE:
Check out the contract, as reported by Paul K. Ogden: "A review of the of the 25 year lease costing taxpayers over $18 million reveals it is so one-sided as to leave the City with no contractual recourse against the Landlord."

Here We Go Again

IBJ.com reports, "Indianapolis officials hope to include plans for a new downtown luxury hotel in their bid for the 2018 Super Bowl, but they’re not sure all the pieces for a deal—potentially on Pan Am Plaza—can be put together before a bid presentation for 32 NFL owners in May."

As Indy taxpayers should know, we (not the hotel owner or operator who profit from the venture) invested $48.5 million in the JW Marriott complex beginning in 2006.

There's no telling how much it would cost us to build yet another 4-star hotel -- at a time when downtown hotel occupancy is said to be well below 65% (city-wide occupancy in 2012 was a paltry 59%).

As the IBJ reported, "The idea is already meeting serious resistance from local hotel officials, who fear a new property will make it harder to fill their own beds."

This Indianapolis Observer thinks that the city leaders are, once again, selling off their children's futures to line their own pockets (and score Super Bowl tickets) today.