Indiana Blog Review

Shiner

Where else to turn for complete coverage of the scandal brewing in Allen County over the local county GOP chairman's, Steve Shine, alleged domestic battery than the Allen County Democratic Party (and here)?

Leadership in Ft. Wayne

credo:

Rev. Michael Latham, executive director of Fort Wayne NAACP won his re-election bid for president. This election, according to a blog post by Vince Robinson, was a close one. Latham winning only by a slight margin. This could be membership sending a message to the NAACP leader, that the community expects more from the NAACP leadership.

IRV!

Leo Morris picks up on a couple of FWOb's posts dealing with elections and participation and comes up with a great solution: Instant Runoff Voting!

I heartily endorse the suggestion.

Good Mark

Fort Wayne Observed:

Mark Souder should do very well in the minority in Congress.

I am not saying he will like it. I am saying that he is much better prepared than many of the other returning Republicans who had gotten used to the committee chairmanships, the favorable rules treatments that comes with serving in the majority, and the minutia of the log-rolling that goes into the writing of legislation.

Mark Souder cut his teeth in politics in the late 1960's and early 1970's.  Those of us who began our political activities at that time assumed that the Republicans might remain in minority status in Congress for most of our lifetimes.

Listen Up

Fort Wayne Observed is posting regular audio updates of live election coverage.

How About Those Poll Workers

Dan Turkette reports from his local polling station:

The place was basically empty as you can see from the picture. After finding my name I was handed a card and told to proceed to the machine. But I said "ugh, I guess ID is not required at this polling place?". I was never asked. Maybe it was the suit and tie? After posing the question she said, "oh, okay I'll look at it".

Winamac Attack

Chairman Rutherford reports from a recent debate in Indiana House District 20, which featured Libertarian candidate Greg Kelver.

The Fightin' Third

Fort Wayne Observed links to Dr. Hayhurst's recent attack ad here.

Advance Indiana says it, "uses homophobic rhetoric in reference to the scandal surrounding former Rep. Mark Foley (R) which should not sit well with gay rights advocates, or one of his fellow Democratic candidates on the ballot in next week's election."

Jerame Davis spoke to Hayhurst campaign director Peter Clerkin about the ad's homophobic overtones.

MEANWHILE, Mike Sylvester is tired of Mark Souder's lies.

MEANWHILE, Jen Wagner posts audio of a mysterious robo-call attacking Dr. Hayhurst.

FWOb digs a little deeper to find out whether the NRCC has disclosed paying for it.

De Bate

Craig @R&F reviews the Souder-Hayhurst debate.

Local News

Fort Wayne Observed:

The headline is an example of something that eastern Allen County residents think is a long-standing, unconscious rule at Fort Wayne Newspapers.  It is this: generally, if something good or commendable happens to a resident, business or institution in New Haven, Hoagland, Monroeville, or Woodburn, then the newspaper is to refer to that person, business or institution as being in Fort Wayne.

If something negative happens, that person, business or institution is located in one of the aforementioned cities or towns.

Fort Wayne Emerged

"Fort Wayne Observed spoke with Kate Bedingfield of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) about the possible significance of a listing on the 'Emerging Races' list may mean for a candidate [such as Tom Hayhurst]. "

Drug Wars

Mike Sylvester reports from the Fort Wayne front of the War on Drugs.

The Fightin' 21st

Doug Masson says the race in house district 21 is one to watch:

One of the Indiana House races to watch is the one between Jackie Walorski (R-Lakeville) and Bob Kovach (D-Mishawaka) to represent District 21. In some respects, Walorski is the Representative most caught in the crossfire of Governor Daniels most controversial initiatives.

How to Win Friends

FWOb notes that former Fort Wayne Mayor Paul Helmke (R) has been "traveling around the country on behalf of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence to endorse candidates for the US House of Representatives.  So far, the endorsed candidates are Democrats."

Audios, Amigos

FWOb works overtime to bring us more exclusive audio with Mike Pence, Dan Coats, and Don Schmidt.

That Fever is an Epidemic

Who's a Libertarian to vote for in Indiana's 3rd Congressional District?  Mike Sylvester explains.

The Mayor of What's To Come II

Fort Wayne Observed snags more exclusive audio, this time with Matt Kelty, a local architect who recently announced his candidacy for Mayor.

Kin Folk Moving Away From Here

FWOb asks, "Will Fort Wayne be losing its distinction in the genealogy arena?"

Souder Blasts Foley

FWOb posts audio and commentary on Congressman Souder's recent remarks on his former colleague Mark Foley.

Mike Sylvester comments further.

The Mayor of What's To Come

Fort Wayne Observed had the scoop, "Allen County commissioner F. Nelson Peters IV has decided to run for mayor."

credo comments.

Update: FWOb also offers some personal reflections on Mayor Graham Richard.

Air Wars

"Sources have told Fort Wayne Observed that the Tom Hayhurst for Congress campaign has bought  $300,000 worth of airtime on electronic media.  Another source has indicated that the paid advertising for the Hayhurst campaign will begin on October 8th or 9th."

This may be twice what Souder has purchased.

Allen Counting

FWOb has two audio interviews posted.  First, Allen County Commissioner F. Nelson Peters on the consolidation resolution.

Second, Allen County Prosecutor Karen Richards  expands upon her remarks published on the front page of the WSJ.

credo comments further on Richards' remarks.

Kidnapping

FWOb has full details, with PDFs and audio, on the recent kidnapping that ended in Allen County last Friday here and here.

South Side

credo opines on housing development in Fort Wayne:

The Southside is being redeveloped at the expense of those who already have businesses and homes on the southside. You would think Fort Wayne's City Leaders would do more to support homeowners and current businesses owner on the southside.

WalMarted

FWOB calls for some full disclosure:

There was one item of full disclosure that should have been a part of the news stories regarding Rev. Michael Latham's call for a possible boycott of the new Southtown Wal-Mart store.

It is this:  Rev. Latham and Scott's Foods officials announced a cooperative program earlier this year in 2004 which enourages young people - particularly those who might be headed for gang activity - to be hired by Scott's Foods. The persons hired through the program are expected to be mentored through the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People . . .

Wal-Mart is a competitor of Scott's in its grocery business. It would be expected that the new Wal-Mart at Southtown may particularly affect the volume of business at Scott's Decatur Road location.

Meanwhile, credo is not happy with how Rev. Latham's agitations have panned out.

No Smoking

Libertarian opposition to smoking bans is nothing new, but Mike Sylvester offers some extra criticisms of the proposed Allen County ban, which is, "poorly written and needs to be clarified before it is voted on."

Hogan's Alley

FWOb has some original reporting on a shooting on Broadway.

Yardsigns Against EtOH

FWOb notes a new yardside campaign.

Souder's Perverse Consequences

Craig @ R&F:

Keep in mind that under federal student loan legislation written by Rep. Souder the only criminal offenders eligible for student-aid to attend Ivy Tech would be felons who have not committed a non-violent drug offense. Rapists, burglars, child molesters, car thieves - all are welcome to receive federal student aid, but no pot smokers.

Allen County NAACP

FWOb has audio reports from the local chapter banquet.

Incumbency

FWOb asks, "Has Mayor Graham Richard made up his mind to run for a third term in office?"

Allen County Consolidation

The ACDP has some thoughtful posts here, here, and here.

VA Rumoring

The Allen Co. Dem's pass along a rumor that the VA Hospital will be closing its ICU ward and inpatient beds, after Mark Souder (R), "recently sent out a direct mail piece talking up how hard he is fighting to keep the VA open."

Gambling Machines

Craig at R&F takes a look at the toleration of illegal gambling machines in Noble County.

Foy'led in Allen County

FWOb provides some insight on how to get things done:

I have helped recruit candidates for township offices in the past.  It is time-consuming and gas-consuming.  As the deadline approached for filling vacancies approached over a decade ago, I had one candidate call me back with just a short time to spare before the filing deadline of noon.  I looked at the clock; made an estimate that I could drive to Hoagland, get the candidate's signature and then drive to the Election Board downtown in time to make the filing.

I made it - albeit with less than 10 minutes to spare.  That's often how it is done.

Airport

Fort Wayne Observed fleshes out a Jounal-Gazette editorial on the Airport Authority.

The Fightin' 2nd

Doug Masson on the campaign in Indiana's 2nd Congressional District:

But notice the difference in the attack strategies. The DCCC is going after Chocola over policy differences and his role as a public servant, specifically Chocola’s political relationship to the oil industry. Meanwhile, the NRCC is trying to go after Donnelly for things that have nothing to do with public policy. They dredge up late paid property taxes, and now a family business Donnelly has little to do with.

All is fair in love, war, and politics, I suppose; but I don’t think this is wise strategy by the Chocola campaign.

Pathetic example of Repiblicans trying to make hay out of Donnelly's tax problems courtesy of Frugal Hoosiers.

Update:  Guess who is having tax problems of his own?  Heh.

The Fightin' 3rd

Doug Masson blasts Rep. Mark Souder (R-03) for breaking his term limit pledge.

Allen County Consolidation

Want to know the latest on the Allen County consoldation?  Fort Wayne Observed has two pertinent posts (here and here).

Bonus: FWOb also has another great post on the downtown revitalization.

The Next Mayor of Fort Wayne

Indiana Pundit handicaps the potential candidates.

MORE:  Now for the Democrats.

Problems with Government

Fort Wayne Observed is having troubles with communication about the Fort Wayne/Allen County consolidation.  Some people don't get the internet.

FWOb also notes that INDOT has a problem with alerting the media about upcoming public meetings.

Fort Wayne's New Ballpark

A few thoughts on Fort Wayne's decision they should build a baseball stadium to spruce up their downtown.

Indiana Pundit:

Having spoken to members of the committee as well as observing some early interviews it was clear that the recommendation from this group was never in doubt. They went into this "fact-finding mission" with a preconceived idea of what they wanted to happen. Since the objectivity of the commission is in doubt one must also doubt the objectivity of the study they performed.

Don't get me wrong. I do think that a new ballpark has a chance of revitalizing downtown. But recent history from around the country shows that it is a slim chance. Add the increased tax burden, and lack of public support for the project and I smell a political albatross waiting to happen.

Leo Morris:

No matter how long I keep looking at the baseball numbers for a downtown stadium, they don't make sense.

FWOb:

Mr. Morris might be interested in learning more about the financing of PNC Park where the Pittsburgh Pirates play.  The Pittsburgh Pirates are the team whose majority owner is the Nutting family, who are also the new owners of the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel.

The Gotham Gazette compares PNC Park to some other stadia in this chart. PNC Park was largely publicly financed even though voters had rejected public financing in a referendum.

Political Insider

Fort Wayne Observed looks into the Allen County Sheriff race, finds some Democratic muckraking, and reports on what was (or wasn't) found.

And should a sheriff's pay be capped at that of the county prosecutor?

Other Online Troubles

FWOb: "It's as if annexations by the City of Fort Wayne and the City of New Haven in the 1980's and 1990's had never taken place."

Original Reporting

Old Media take note:

Thursday, Fort Wayne Observed became the first media outlet to report that Woodburn City Clerk-Treasurer William Basting had resigned.

FWOb will now be the first to report that the State Board of Accounts and other entities are examining Woodburn financial records, including the records of City Utilities transactions on Mr. Basting's watch.

Thursday, Fort Wayne Observed became the first media outlet to report that Woodburn City Clerk-Treasurer William Basting had resigned.

FWOb will now be the first to report that the State Board of Accounts and other entities are examining Woodburn financial records, including the records of City Utilities transactions on Mr. Basting's watch.

Taking on Tina

Fort Wayne Libertarian Mike Sylvester, "met with Tina Taviano for about an hour to discuss her bid to become the next Sheriff of Allen County."  And then, of course, discusses his impression.

Pics and Kicks

Fort Wayne Observed has the scoop on how the State of Indiana was going to sell off a collection of portraits of Indiana Governors in a surplus property auction but were pulled at the last moment.

The News-Sentinel's Ryan Lengerich picked up on the scoop and attributed FWOb.

The Associated Press, on the other hand, picked up on the story but excised the references to FWOb.

High Temperatures and Cat Scratch Fever

Summit City Odds and Ends has some original reporting on the harrowing feats of severely bored firemen in Fort Wayne.

(This has what we call in my house a "nine-cent solution.")

Having a . . . Good Time

FWOb reports that, "James Ball of New Haven was selected by Republican precinct committeepersons this evening as the newest member of the Allen County Council."

Sum It City

Mike Sylvester:

Consider Fort Wayne and Allen County. Our combined tax burden is 100.1% of the National average. In other words, we pay SLIGHTLY more in taxes then the average locality in the US.

That may change for many residents in the near future . . .

There are three HUGE projects that will most likely be funded locally in the next couple of years. They may change this area drastically.

AIG Insecurity

Fort Wayne Observed:

Employees of Allen County have received letters from AIG, a New York insurance concern, notifying them that the recent theft of computer equipment from AIG (American International Group) may mean that criminals now have personal identifying information about the employees.

The theft from Medical Excess LLC, an AIG unit, occurred on March 26th,  according to a post about the theft on the internet site Identity Theft 911.  Employees have only received the notification letters in the last week.

Allen County managers and elected officials had not been notified.  They learned of the matter as employees came forward with the letters ... and questions.

Soon after, county managers contacted the county's insurance broker and found out the broker had not been notified prior to the employees receiving the letters.

FWOb has more, including a PDF of the letter.

Sack Beck Fort

Fort Wayne Observed notes a recent visit to Summit City by Brian Sack and Glenn Beck, with links to video.

The Commander of the Fort

While he was in town, Nathan Gotsch snagged an extensive interview with Fort Wayne Mayor Graham Richard for Fort Wayne Observed.  He even has audio excerpts.

Indiana Pundit comments.

Anti-Consolidation

Indiana Pundit looks at the renegade commission opposing consolidation in Allen County:

The proponents of county consolidation argue that it would make government more efficient. But this rural group formed their own commission and were investigating the matter a full month before the commissioners/ councils group.

I find it ironic that the group touting efficiency through consolidation is the least efficient of the two groups studying the matter.

New Sheriff (Office) in Town

FWOb is reporting that Allen County is purchasing a new headquarters for the sheriff's department.

Promises, Promises

Indiana Pundit:

I've heard a lot of people say that Souder is going to be hurt by the term limit promise he had made several years ago. For the record it won't hurt him.

When I look at who is saying the promise is an issue I see a group of voters who who are already not voting for Souder. There are not a lot of undecideds or members of Souder's base who feel this is a an issue. It has hardly made a dent in the last 8 years. I don't see it making a significant jump in importance now.

An Implicit Endorsement?

Tracy Warner:

State Sen. David Long is good for business -- at least according to the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber rated lawmakers' votes on bills it identified as key (25 in the House, 18 in the Senate), and rated Long a perfect 100.

Of course what's good for business is not always good for consumers, but the Chamber holds sway in Indiana politics, and the rating could help Long.  The same day the Chamber ratings came out, Long officially announced he is a candidate for the Senate President Pro Tem spot being evacuated (unwillingly) by veteran Robert Garton.

Penceblogging

Indiana Parley points out that blogger Aaron Baker began his summer internship at Rep.  Mike Pence's office in the Federal City this week.

Flying in Peace

Indiana Parley:

The Board of the Fort Wayne Airport Authority just voted on a new initiative to lure lost airline passenger travel back to Fort Wayne. It involves giving passenger airlines an incentive to lower fares and increase the number of passengers using Fort Wayne International Airport.

Studies show that a large percentage of northeastern Indiana flyers drive to other airports such as Indianapolis to obtain lower fares and better connections.

However, there is one class of "passengers" that the airline can't lure back with this incentive program - the dead ones.

Fort Wayne area residents who die some distance from Fort Wayne - say Florida - most often have to be flown into Dayton or Indianapolis rather than Fort Wayne.

Dreadful News

Following the sensational announcement that Taylor University crash survivor Whitney Cerak had been misidentified as Laura VanRyn, Leo Morris and Tracy Warner had the same comment: the Grant County coroner will be coming under some immense scrutiny.

How Observant

IBR's Blogfather had a titillating brush with fame.  Do you still have her number?

Sinking Townships

Tracy Warner weighs in on township government.

Lebamoff RIP

Fort Wayne Observed has numerous tributes to the late former mayor Ivan A Lebamoff.

At the Helmke

Fort Wayne Observed has an audiopost of Former Ft. Wayne Mayor Paul Helmke's recent speech to the Allen County Teen Age Republicans.

Helmke came to IU to speak to the IU College Republicans in 2003, and it was one of the best speeches I ever heard through that organization.

Doctor Third

Mike Sylvester interviewed Democratic candidate Dr. Tom Hayhurst, challenging Rep. Mark Souder for Indiana's 3rd District.

Marie at Hoosier Democrats is enthusiastic (but of course).

The Beautiful Fort

I recently saw In the Company of Men, and was underwhelmed to learn that it was shot on location in Fort Wayne.

As FWOb illustrates in two recent photos by Jim Frazier and Rick Stemmler, the Fort can be quite beautiful.

Consolidationism

Fort Wayne Observed reports, with audio, on the FW-Allen Co. consolidation hearing.

Mike Kole and Leo Morris have more thoughts.

The Life Aqua

Mike Sylvester has an update on Fort Wayne's eminent domain abuse of Aqua Indiana North, including an FOIA request.

Fort Wayniacs

FWOb has an audio post interviewing Mark GiaQuinta, the brother of state rep. candidate Phil GiaQuinta.

Toward the end of the interview, Mark speculates that Graham Richard will not seek re-election, which may be fortuitous if the answer to Indiana Pundit's question, "Did Graham Shoot Himself in the Foot?" is affirmative.

Knight-Rid(d)er Endorses . . .

David Hasselhoff for Allen County Sheriff.

How do you Spell That?

Fort Wayne Observed has the scoop: "Breaking News in the 80th District Race:  Fort Wayne Mayor Graham Richard is endorsing Phil GiaQuinta for the Democratic nomination for Indiana State Representative in the 80th District."

Are They Meeting in a Closet?

Advance Indiana reports that the South Bend Common Council will meet in an executive session to discuss a gay rights ordinance -- in violation of State law.

More here.

Observed and Recorded

Fort Wayne Observed has an audio post of their recent interview with Rep. Mark Souder (R) about immigration.

Craig from Reverent and Free is not impressed, "You're unlikely to find a more vapid and blissfully ignorant member of Congress than this man, and this interview perfectly illustrates these distinct characteristics."

April Fools?

Fort Wayne one of the Top 100 Cities?  You don't even have to be a snobby Indianapolitan like me to be skeptical.  See: Fort Wayne Observed.

+100

Indiana Pundit wants to put a positive spin on a recent trend: "While Mitch wants feedback on who is messing up Fort Wayne and Allen County (link), I wanted to see who readers think are making the biggest positive impact in our area."

Consolidating the Fort

Tracy Warner:

Mayor Graham Richard is notoriously prone to working on building coalitions behind the scenes, so it is noteworthy that [Tuesday] he came out for a specific city-county consolidation plan.

Promises?

Mike Sylvester:

Many of our current City Councilmen (Especially the Republicans) ran on a platform that condemned annexation.

The proposed Carroll Road annexation received preliminary approval from The Fort Wayne City Council on March 21st. All five Republicans and all four Democrats voted for the resolution.

Vote Early and Often

Rep. Mike Pence's Democratic challenger for Indiana's 6th Congressional district is Barry Welsh, who has been selected as a finalist in the Progressive Patriots’ Fund PAC “Pick A Progressive Patriot” contest. Voters eager to see Welsh win the $5,000 prize can click here.  (via Liberal Indiana)

Campaign and Dinner Funding

I'm not sure how to take the news that Mike Pence charges meals and such to his campaign fund in non-election years, as was reported in the Washington Post.

Advance Indiana sums up the situation, and Masson notes that similar charges got Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) in hot water.

Quite interesting is the discovery by stAllio! that the Indianapolis Star excised a key sentence from the WaPo piece when it ran the story, yet left a vestigal period.  Doug comments:

Obviously I couldn’t say for certain whether the excision was intentional or accidental . . . but it’s notable that the part left out is the eyebrow raising description of the nickel and dime daily living stuff.

Whose eyebrows, though? I can't imagine his constituents getting too exercised over bottled water from gas stations or meals at Wendy's.

Harsh

Mike Sylvester has some tough words for Mark Souder, who has broken yet another promise.

Fort Wayne Media

Since I've been here, I've noticed that Fort Wayne has a vibrant contingent in the Hooiser Blogosphere, interested in and reporting on all sorts of local issues and events.  Perhaps this is due in some part to Northeast Indiana's anemic Old Media, or so one would gather.

This biggest story about that Old Media is the purchase of Knight-Ridder by McClatchy, the former being the previous owner of the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel.  Unfortunately for the staff of the N-S, McClatchy isn't interested in retaining ownership of that paper, so its fate is still ambiguous.

Former N-S writer Nancy Nall Derringer sums up the prospects for FW print media at her blog and, in much greater depth and more general terms, in this forthcoming Indiana Policy Review article reprinted with permission at Fort Wayne Observed.

In related news, FWOb notes that Granite Broadcasting, which "owns or operates both the ABC and NBC affiliates in Fort Wayne," is facing bankruptcy.

Annexing Your Customer Base

Mike Sylvester on eminent domain abuse in Fort Wayne.

I Know You've Been Asking

What has Rep. Mark Souder been up to?

Holding hearings on stem cell research and reauthorizing the Office of the Drug Czar.

The Old Media

Fort Wayne Observed has a very interesting post on newspaper ownership.  Mitch Harper modestly notes that within a forthcoming article by Craig Ladwig of the Indiana Policy Review, FWOb gets a glowing mention:

This week the blog Fort Wayne Observed, the only information system left in that city doing original reporting, projected the sale of Knight Ridder to one of three bidders, the McClatchy Co.,  MediaNews Group, Inc. in combination with Gannett Co. and an unnamed group of buyout firms.

Indiana's 3rd Congressional District

Meanwhile, the Democrats have their own issues sorting out the primary race to challenge Mark Souder in the 3rd District.

Politicos' Websites Report Card

Indiana Pundit grades the websites of local cyber-campaigns.

This should be a frequent activity all across the state.

Zach Wendling

Looks just like the Winter Olympics

The Allen County GOP held their convention this past weekend.  Indiana Parley has a good roundup, including oodles of audio posts.

Zach Wendling

I-69 fence becomes graffiti magnet

Indiana Parley reports about a graffiti problem plaguing a fence along I-69.

More Fraser updates

Fort Wayne Observed has the latest about the outcome of the hearing about a suspended Carroll High School student who produced a satirical book about his school's administration.

'Free Fraser'

Indiana Parley's Mitch Harper presented Jeff Fraser with a "Free Fraser" T-shirt recently.  Visit Indiana Parley for more updates on the high school blogger who was expelled for his satirical comments about his school's administration.

It was only after ordering the t-shirts that Indiana Parley learned that several members of the Carroll High School band had worn "Free Fraser" t-shirts at a pep rally in December just after Carroll High School adminstrators had expelled Mr. Fraser.

In other Fraser news, a battle of the blogs has broken out between Marie at Welcome to Hoosierland and Fort Wayne Libertarian's Mike Sylvester over free speech and blog comment moderation.

Expelled blogger round-up

Fort Wayne Observed is keeping track of the Fort Wayne high school student who was expelled for satirical blogging against his school's administration.

In fact, I can report that "Free Fraser" t-shirts are in the process of being printed and will be available at tomorrow's event.

Indiana Parley reports that the blogger was a no-show for a radio interview.

Comments Leo Morris:

I'd really like to read the book.

Most people who've been commenting on the case of Jeff Fraser, the 17-year-old Carroll High School student expelled for writing a "parody book" said to be "satirically critical" of the school and some people in it, haven't read it. That leaves them commenting in a vaccum, relying mostly on their own preconceived ideas about the way school-student relationships should be. An exception is Tracy Warner of The Journal Gazettte (an editorial in his paper says the book "includes an occasional expletive and heavy amounts of criticism, but it is at times funny and perceptive"). A school board member, on the other hand, says the book has "some pretty pointed comments made towards certain personnel that I think were way out of line.”

More on FTW blogger expulsion

Fort Wayne Libertarian calls the expulsion of a Carroll High School student for satrical blogging outrageous.

A Carroll High School student was recently expelled for writing a ten page “satire” that was extremely critical of the Carroll High School administration. The student in question has no record of disciplinary problems and was a strong student academically as well as being a member of the student council, band, the political club, future business leaders, and speech team. Outside of school, the student founded The Allen County Teenage Republicans.

There are many options that a school can use to discipline a student who has misbehaved in some fashion; the most extreme is expulsion for the school year. Students who are a threat to the safety of other students or who are continuous discipline problems should be removed from school; however, this student does not fit these criteria.

I find it impossible to understand how a student with no past disciplinary record can be expelled for the school year for writing a ten page “satire,” no matter how offensive it is to the administration.

Fort Wayne Observed adds:

I think all of us would be interested to know whether Tracy (Warner), after reading the book, thinks Fraser's expulsion was warranted. Reading between the lines of his post, it looks like he doesn't think so.

Indiana Parley reports on another incident at Carroll High School that resulted in the media's expulsion.

There has been online discussion of another Carroll High School student incident which also occurred in December. This time, the student behavior was not examined but there was a permanent expulsion...of television reporters and video photographers.

This from Medialine:

I am not sure who originated the quote “Doth mine eyes deceive me?” but I can be reasonably certain he wasn’t talking about what a few people saw on WANE-TV, Channel 15, and wished they’d been deceived during a Dec. 16 interview after a Carroll High School basketball game.

The interview occurred in the Carroll locker room. At one point, a player who was not in the foreground flashed a part of his body that should not have been visible in the background.

[...]

WANE-TV’s news director Ted Ling confirms the incident. He says the camera crew was in an area of the locker room that everyone presumed was safe.

No tax ever dies

Leo Morris has the story about an Allen County tax, like all taxes, that will never die.

When Allen County politicians wanted a restaurant tax to remodel the coliseum, I believed them that it would be a limited tax for a specific reason for a set amount of time. Of course, that was a long time ago, and the tax is still here ...

Majority of N. Indiana lawmakers oppose Toll Road plan

The majority of Northern Indiana lawmakers oppose Gov. Mitch Daniels' Toll Road lease plan as it stands today, reports