Fort Wayne Observed

Donate Gold to Hear a Former Fort Wayne Newspapers Copy Editor

A story from Wapakoneta, Ohio, carries the account of townspeople being urged to turn in gold chains, rings and other golden bling to raise money to bring an author to town.  A gold exchange will turn the gold into cash for payment of the author's appearance fee.

The article notes that the author had once been a copy editor at Fort Wayne Newspapers during her younger days.

No, the author isn't former copy editor Nancy Nall, although some may wonder whether Ms. Nall's appearance fee could be measured in a precious metal.

The author is Margaret Peterson Haddix.  William Laney of the Wapakoneta Daily News reports:

Members of the Wapakoneta Middle School PTT are sponsoring a “Golden Opportunity” today at the school.

People can bring in their gold between 2:30 and 8 p.m. at Wapakoneta Middle School and receive cash and help the school bring in an author to talk to the students.

“We are holding this event to bring in the author Margaret Peterson Haddix, who has written some famous books such as ‘Found,’ ‘Sent’ and ‘Among the Hidden,’ ” PTT Vice President Jeanne Brown told the Wapakoneta Daily News. [ ... ]

Haddix, who grew up on a farm near Washington Court House, graduated from Miami University with degrees in English, journalism, creative writing and history. Before her first book was published, she worked as a newspaper copy editor in Fort Wayne, Ind. a newspaper reporter in Indianapolis, and a community college instructor and freelance writer in Danville, Illinois.

Money raised from “Golden Opportunity” would be used to pay the $2,000 to bring Haddix to talk with the students next fall.

People bringing in gold will receive cash from the gold buyer, Voss Gold.

“Basically, a person can bring in any gold jewelry — rings, earrings, an earring back, necklaces whether they are broken or not — and she will go ahead and pay the person cash on the spot,” Brown said. “On top of whatever she gives them, she will give 10 percent to the PTT, so if the person is paid $200 then they will give the PTT $20.”

EXCLUSIVE: Navistar Docs Show Fort Wayne Operating Costs $30 Million Less Than Lisle if World HQ Were Consolidated Here

Exclusive: Fort Wayne Observed has received a document prepared for Navistar last fall that compared potential operating costs for consolidating Navistar's world headquarters in either of two cities.

You may view the Navistar comparison study by clicking here.

One city is Lisle, Illinois, where Navistar has been seeking approval to consolidate its world headquarters. The other city is Fort Wayne, Indiana, where Navistar maintains its truck engineering facility on Meyer Road on the east side.

The document concludes that projected operating costs in Fort Wayne would be approximately $30 million dollars less than if the headquarters were located in Lisle.  The difference is between projected costs of $448,263,097 for Lisle and $417,203,113 for Fort Wayne.

The report is shown to be prepared by Ernst and Young for Navistar and is dated September 2009.

The report was included in documents submitted to the State of Illinois inquiring as to eligibility for possible Illinois assistance in relocating the headquarters.  No assistance has been offered by the State of Illinois to date.

Fort Wayne Observed has confirmed that the document was released by the State of Illinois in response to a request under Illinois' Freedom of Information state statute.

FWOb Guest Blogs on Indiana State Chamber Weblog

The FWOb editor was asked to guest blog on Building a Better Indiana,  the Indiana State Chamber of Commerce weblog. The topic is next Tuesday's primary.

You may view the post here on the Indiana Chamber website.

Note that the opinions expressed are an analysis based on the best available evidence from multiple sources.  Any opinion is a subjective but based on objective information. Any conclusion does not necessarily reflect my personal candidate preferences.

WSJ: Fast Food in the Hoosegow

Indiana is cited in today's edition of The Wall Street Journal in an article by Stephanie Simon titled "Jailbirds Order Up Hot Wings." The subhead is "Junk Food Lifts Inmates' Spirits, Prison Revenue but envy and Diet Are Concerns." 

Ms. Simon writes:

In a bid to raise cash and keep the peace in crowded jails, wardens nationwide are offering inmates the chance to order meatball subs, cheeseburgers, chicken parmesan - evan a "Pizza and Wings Party Pack," complete with celery, blue cheese and a Pepsi.

The program goes beyond the old-fashioned prison commissary, with its cup-a-soups and bags of chips, and it can be quite lucrative for corrections departments.

"We have to be creative in tough fiscal times," Edwin G. Buss, commissioner of Indiana's Department of Correction.

[ ... ]

The Indiana prison is on track to make more than $2 million this on sales from the service.

[ ... ]

[T]he special-order corn dogs are "100 times better" than Aramark's "chow-hall food," said John Ash, an inmate at the Miami Correctional Facility in Bunker Hill, Ind., who buys extra meals with his $130-a-month pay from his clerical prison job.  Mr. Ash says the program also helps him feel connected to his nine-year-old daughter, who like to send him the "chocolate lovers" snack pack.

Mr. Ash then reported he has gained 10 pounds in recents months.

The article notes that some jailkeepers are not keen on the program. Arizona's outspoken Sheriff of Maricopa County, Joe Arpaio, for example, is not a fan.

WOWO No Longer the White House

Andy Ober began the 3 PM WOWO 1190 Friday talk show by saying he was glad to be 'filling in.' But ... he didn't say he was filling in for long-time talk show veteran host Pat White.

A source has indicated that the Pat White Show has ended its long run in the WOWO afternoon line-up. It is expected that another Pat will be stepping into the afternoon drive time slot next week.

The new afternoon host is expected to be Pat Miller, who has hosted a Saturday morning call-in show on WOWO.

Pat White had a talk show on WGL 1250 before transitioning to WOWO 1190.

Chi Trib on Navistar Hearing: "Consolidation of employees ... not main focus"

The Chicago Tribune's Joseph Ruzich reported on last night's hearing in Lisle, Illinois, regarding Navistar's plans to relocate its headquarters to that city.

Mark Daniels, an attorney for residents opposing the move, questioned Casey Pyzik, manager of laboratory operations for Navistar. Another hearing will be held in May.

Mr. Ruzich wrote:

Daniel also pressed Pyzik about employees from other Navistar locations relocating to the new headquarters, particularly employees from a Navistar engine testing facility in Fort Wayne, Ind.

"Consolidation (of employees) is not the main focus of this plan," said Pyzik.

Is Old News Really News?

Steve Brown of Fox News in Chicago asks

What’s your definition of news?

Is it information that’s 2 1/2 months old?

Today, several news outlets reported that Dan Coats had secured the endorsement of US Representative Mike Pence. 

News outlets such as Fort Wayne's Indiana's NewsCenter in a story titled "A Big Day for Candidate Endorsements":

6th District Indiana Congressman Mike Pence has come out in support of Dan Coats.

Pence says Coat's integrity and conservative record make him the best candidate for the job.

News outlets such as the National Journal's Hotline. Here's Hotline OnCall's Sean Sullivan:

To help rebut those charges, Coats today landed the endorsement of Rep.Mike Pence (R-IN).

However, as Mr. Brown and the Congressional Quarterly's CQPolitics The Eye's Greg Giroux point out, Mr. Pence came out for Dan Coats in February.

Here's Mr. Brown again:

In a five-candidate race, Coats is considered a slight favorite in the May 4th Indiana Republican primary for the US Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Evan Bayh. After Tuesday night's televised GOP Senate debate, Coats told reporters he had an announcement to make, before taking questions.

[ ... ]

The endorsement announcement was bigger than anything that happened in the debate. Congressman Mike Pence is very influential among Indiana Republicans. In the minds of many Hooiser GOP'ers only Governor Mitch Daniels endorsement would be bigger. (And Daniels in not endorsing. He says he'll back the primary winner.)

Wednesday morning, on Coats' campaign FaceBook page, the status trumpeted the Pence endorsement:

Indiana for Coats - Big News! Congressman Mike Pence has given Dan his unqualified endorsement for the U.S. Senate!

The thing is...Pence's backing was old news. That's how Pence's chief of staff Bill Smith described it when  contacted by Fox News.

[ ... ]

Still, there was at least some confusion about Pence's backing of Coats. Some supporters had contacted Pence's offices asking who the Representative liked in the primary. Smith says all who inquired were told the same thing, "Coats".

But it shouldn't have been confusing for people who visit Coats campaign website. On a page titled "What They're Saying" a Pence quote sits atop the list:

Congressman Mike Pence: “His integrity and conservative record would make him the ideal candidate for Hoosiers.” (Congressional Quarterly, 2/3/10)

So, did Coats just plain get it the timing wrong with his post-debate "news" announcement?

Apparently.

Kevin Kellems of the Coats campaign sent an e-mail this morning which reads in part:

"Cong. Pence called Dan after the debate.  I don't speak for him, but I believe the reason the Congressman reached out to Dan was to make it clear that his statement of support that came very early on was indeed an endorsement."

So, Coats did have Pence's endorsement all along...even before Coats was officially in the race. And certainly a lot of people missed it (including this reporter). But was Coats post-debate announcement last night "news" as he said?

As we says around here at Fox, "You decide."

YouTube Takedown of Hitler Parodies: What Will AWB Do for Content?

Several sources are reporting that Constantin Films has pressured YouTube to take down the parodies made from the Hitler bunker scene in the movie "Der Untergang" or "Downfall".

Samuel Axon of Mashable reported:

The movie studio responsible for the award-winning, German-Austrian film Downfall (German: Der Untergang) has asked YouTube to take down several videos from the massively popular subtitled "Hitler finds out...” meme, and the site has complied.

Search YouTube and you’ll still find hundreds of Downfall parodies, but click through to some of the bigger ones and you’ll now get the message, “This video contains content from Constantin Film, who has blocked it on copyright grounds.”

[ ... ]  The remaining videos might get taken down soon as well. 

Local weblog Fort Wayne News (AWB) has featured several such parodies with substituted subtitles.  All are still up but their days may be numbered. One such video on the topic of Harrison Square received over 14,000 views.

DeMint Endorsing Stutzman

FoxNews is reporting that US Senator Jim DeMint is endorsing State Senator Marlin Stutzman in the race for the Republican nomination for US Senate. Senator Stutzman will get a needed boost from Mr. DeMint's Senate Conservatives Fund.

Fox' Chicago Reporter Steve Brown reports:

Just in the nick of time?

With the Republican primary in Indiana's US Senate race just two weeks out, candidate Marlin Stutzman picked-up an endorsement from a potential future colleague. Senator Jim DeMint from South Carolina told Fox News exclueively that Stutzman was his choice in the Hoosier State's five-candidate GOP primary.

DeMint disclosed to Fox News senior producer Trish Turner late Monday about his decision to back Stutzman.

I like Dan (Coats). I like John (Hostettler), but we need new faces here," said DeMint.

The Palmetto State Senator continued, "(Stutzman's) not as well known as the other two, but what we've seen ...(Stutzman's) won just about all the straw polls. The activists are beginning to know who he is, and that's the reason I decided to get in. I'm trying to give some spotlight to the underdogs."

Senator DeMint plans to put some money toward the Stutzman campaign so that it can be more competitive with electronic advertising. The Senator said that he is planning a "money-bomb" over the next week that would benefit Stutzman. A "money-bomb" is a call to supporters across the internet to hit a specific money goal within a short time frame. US Senator Scott Brown gained huge traction when a "money-bomb" during his campaign far exceeded goals.

Back in February, Mr. Stutzman endorsed the DeMint proposal calling for a balanced budget and a moratorium on earmarks.

This morning's Wall Street Journal features a front-page story on Senator DeMint's efforts to support conservative candidates in contested Republican primaries for the US Senate. The story by WSJ's Naftali Bendavid contrasts Senator DeMint's work with that of US Senator John Cornyn, head of the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee. Senator Cornyn's committee has recruited candidates such as Charles Crist (Fla), Jan Norton (Co), Carly Fiorina (Ca) and Dan Coats (In) whom Cornyn regarded as more "electable." However, several of the Cornyn-backed candidates are faring disastrously (Crist) and many more are facing resistance from conservative voters.

Mr. Bendavid writes:

Sen. John Cornyn, who is spearheading the Republicans' campaign to take back the Senate, is on a roll. The GOP snatched a seat in Massachusetts and polls favor Republicans in many key states.

But the genial Texas lawyer is facing an unusual challenge—from one of his own colleagues. Firebrand conservative Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, breaking with the Senate's tradition of deference, is endorsing and funding conservative candidates to challenge the party establishment's picks. Just last week, he backed a conservative insurgent in the Colorado Republican primary over a former lieutenant governor.

[ ... ]

When he first came to Congress, Mr. DeMint was a team player. But the sweeping Democratic victory of 2006 convinced him his party was paying a steep price for its leaders' deviation from principled conservatism.

"It totally changed my M.O.," Mr. DeMint says. "I realized I wasn't going to change many minds who were already there, that the only opportunity was, instead of trying to convince my colleagues, to try to take the message to the outside."

More: See Washington Post Chris Cillizza

New Rasmussen Poll Released In Indiana Senate Race

Today, Pollster Scott Rasmussen released a new poll on the Indiana US Senate race.  The poll was conducted April 13th and 14th.

From Rasmussen Reports:

As for the candidates, the latest poll finds former Senator Dan Coats with 54% support, up five points from last month. In that match-up, 33% of voters prefer Ellsworth. Five percent (5%) like another candidate, and nine percent (9%) are undecided.

If Hostettler, a former congressman, is the Republican candidate, he picks up 50% of voters. Against Hostettler, Ellsworth earns 33% of the vote. Five percent (5%) prefer someone else in the race, and 12% are undecided.

The third GOP hopeful, State Senator Marlin Stutzman, gets 41% support again this month, and Ellsworth earns 36% of the vote. Seven percent (7%) favor another candidate. Sixteen percent (16%) are undecided.