Indy on a Downward Spiral?

"Once, Indianapolis was a place where visionary and determined leadership across the community and across parties transformed an overgrown small town and backwater state capital known as 'India-No-Place' into arguably the best performing large Midwest city and one of the few holding its own or even leading the rest of America. Today, as this contract [selling off the parking meters for 50 years] helps illustrate, Indianapolis is more and more just another city. That’s disappointing. I certainly hope for the best, but it will be interesting to watch Indy’s performance going forward in this new civic era for the city."

This from The Urbanophile, a blog by Aaron M. Renn, an urban analyst.

Sigh! This Indianapolis Observer reluctantly concurs.

UPDATE:
Sheila Suess Kennedy has penned an opinion piece for The Indianapolis Star (printed 6 December) saying much the same thing: "[T]he fact that Indianapolis gave an insider a sweetheart deal is less distressing than the fact that this transaction was yet another piece of a longer-term trend." You can read "Let's not lose our soul" here, at least until it disappears.

It's A Wonderful Life

Nothing says the holidays like the 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life. Sure, you can see it on the small screen anytime, but why not drive downtown and view this classic movie on the big screen the evening of December 2?

A silent auction begins at 5 p.m. in the United Artists Theatre on Circle Centre's fourth floor, 49 West Maryland Street, Indianapolis.Items include gift certificates to downtown restaurants, hotels, attractions, museums and more. The movie starts at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets are $5 and include movie ticket and all festivities. All proceeds will benefit Downtown Beautification.

The evening is sponsored by Indianapolis Downtown, Inc., and Regal Entertainment Group - United Artists Circle Centre 9 Theatre.

First Parking Meters, Now Towing Contracts

It's gonna be difficult to park in Indy in the coming decades. Not only has the Ballard administration sold off the parking meters in a sweetheart deal with known miscreants, he's working on selling off the towing concession. The inevitable? It's gonna cost you more to park and more (much more) to redeem your vehicle if the privateers tow it off.

Read some of the info on Paul K. Ogden's blog here.

And, this Indianapolis Observer notes, all this is taking place in a city with lousy public transportation.

Maybe Mayor Ballard is trying to "drive" everyone with a car out to the suburbs for good!

Major Props to Sen. Lugar

"Senator Richard G. Lugar, an Indiana Republican who played that role long before it had a brand name, is standing against his party on a number of significant issues at a politically dangerous time to do so."

Thus sayeth The New York Times in a feature headlined "Charting His Own Course Against Prevailing Winds".

"Now, in the heat of the post-primary lame-duck Congressional session, he is defying his party on an earmark ban, a bill that would create a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants, a military spending authorization bill and an arms control treaty with Russia.

"He even declined to sign a brief supporting state lawsuits against President Obama’s health care law because he saw it as political posturing."

Lugar is a former mayor of Indianapolis.

Rogue Traffic Court Judge Suspended

"William E. Young will be suspended for thirty (30) days from office without pay, and the costs of this proceeding will be assessed against him."

Read the whole decision of the Indiana State Supreme Court here.

Indianapolis Honors Its Literary Native Son

"Vonnegut’s writing was filled with references to his Midwestern roots and to the tight-knit families he met growing up here."

That's from today's story in The New York Times about the new library in Indy honoring Kurt Vonnegut.

Note: it's in the Times, not The Indianapolis Star. Hmmmmm.

Words of the Week: Qui Tam

"Indiana has a civil forfeiture law which says that in a civil forfeiture action, the prosecutor can deduct law enforcement costs including attorney's fees, and the remainder is to be paid to the Common School Fund. In the last 2 years, the 92 counties in Indiana only paid $95,000 into the fund pursuant to the civil forfeiture fund. They kept all the rest of the money."

So, Paul K. Ogden has filed a qui tam lawsuit against 89 of the state's 90 prosecutors. ("A qui tam lawsuit basically is a taxpayer lawsuit to recover state money that was wrongly misappropriated or not paid that should have been paid to the state and was not.")

Marion County is, of course, the biggest scofflaw. Read more on his blog.