The Indiana General Assembly has avoided a government shutdown and approved a new two-year budget.
Democrats and Republican had been at odds over their respective budget proposals, mainly over the amount of funding for public schools.
The Democratic-led House voted 62-37 for the bill; the vote in the GOP-led Senate was 34-16.
Democratic Senator Jean Breaux of Indianapolis voted against the measure, saying schools in her district are getting shortchanged.
“Let it be known that on this day, in this year, public education in the state of Indiana, provided to moderate to poor people who resided in urban areas, a legacy will be created setting into motion the dismantling of public education in our state. Congratulations, and remember to lock your doors,” Breaux said.
Indiana lawmakers were called into special session June 11 after they were unable to pass a budget in the final hours of the regular session in April.
Governor Mitch Daniels was expected to quickly sign the nearly $28 billion budget bill into law.
The Tucker Station Neighborhood Association is appealing the Metro Board of Zoning’s recent approval of the Javanon Soccer building.
The building was mistakenly approved in 2007 and its retroactive approval was nullified by a county attorney this year after it was revealed that the zoning board had violated open meetings laws in the approval process. The board again approved the building this month, but neighborhood association attorney Steve Porter says that vote was dubious.
“All they did was have another meeting of the same group of people who had been tainted at a closed meeting and we were never able to find out what happened at the closed meeting and never able to cross-examine people or examine people about the information that was presented at that meeting,” he says.
Porter hopes to have a judge order the zoning board to vote on the building again, but without any of the members who were in the secret meeting. He says the building is an eyesore and would not have been approved by the board had it not already been built.
The Louisville Fund for the Arts announced the results of its annual fundraising campaign today. WFPL’s Elizabeth Kramer has more.
The Fund for the Arts raised $8.8 million this year — falling short of its $10 million goal set before the economic crisis deepened last September. Much of the money raised will go to support its 14 member organizations.
The organization’s president and CEO, Allan Cowen, says the economy was behind the shortfall. He says workplace fundraising dropped and corporate giving fell about $500,000.
“The losses we had to this year had to do with structural changes in some of the businesses as opposed to people cutting back their budgets so much,” Cowen says. “But we met with a company who’d been extraordinarily generous for the past ten years, and they weren’t in a position to do as much this year. Well, how can you complain?”
Cowen says recent annual campaigns have worked to raise the money need to get members’ budget sheets in order. Now that the largest members are in the black, the Fund for the Arts is looking to help Stage One and Music Theatre Louisville climb out of debt in the coming year.
“We only have a couple chunks of— only two organizations that have any operating debt remaining,” he says. “And that’s probably a multimillion dollar change in existence.”
Cowen says the Fund distributed $1 million to member organizations last year to help stabilize their budgets and looks to make $800,000 in grants this year.
Jefferson County Public Schools officials say they will release a report on their investigation into last year’s heat-related death of a Pleasure Ridge Park High School football player Wednesday morning.
Fifteen year old Max Gilpin died three days after he collapsed at the end of a practice in the August heat.
His former coach, Jason Stinson, has pleaded not guilty to a reckless homicide charge brought in the case. He’s scheduled to stand trial August 31.
The chairman of the Jefferson County GOP says it’s time for Mayor Jerry Abramson to retire from city politics.
Bradford Cummings outlined his reasons today for urging the mayor to not seek a third and final term.
“Open up the process for a bunch of Democrats to get in the race and a bunch of Republicans to get in the race and let’s move forward and have a discussion of the future of the city,” he says.
Cummings’ statement focused on taxes, population growth and controversies in housing, animal control and zoning. Abramson says he hasn’t decided if he will run for metro mayor again next year, but he’s not swayed by Cummings’ statement.
“Have we made some mistakes in 20 years? Yeah, I think we’ve made some mistakes. Have we resolved them and moved the community forward in an aggressive way? I certainly feel like we have,” he says.
Abramson was mayor of the city of Louisville for 13 years before the city/county merger.
Some Jefferson County judges are teaming up with non-profits to help Louisvillians who are faced with foreclosure.
Circuit Court Chief Judge Jim Shake says many times homeowners who are dealing with foreclosure are contacted with a lot of scam offers and are afraid to communicate with their lender.
Shake says under the new Foreclosure Conciliation Project, circuit court judges will require lenders to have a meeting with homeowners before selling their house. He says many of those meetings result in another option being found, but it doesn’t work for everyone.
“The Foreclosure Conciliation Project is not a defense to a foreclosure lawsuit,” says Shake. “Opting into this program does not delay to hinder in any way the lender’s ability to seek a judgment and proceed with the foreclosure process.”
Last year, more than 3,200 foreclosures were filed in Jefferson County. If they continue at the current rate, Louisville could see 5,000 filings by the end of this year.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Taking a Stroll through Bernheim Forest
This year marks Bernheim Forest’s 80th year as a natural gem of this region. Just 25 miles south of Louisville, Bernheim is a scenic getaway that works to connect people with nature through its diverse educational programs, seasonal family events, and staggering natural beauty. Join us Tuesday as we explore the rich history and exciting future of this regional treasure, and call in with your own favorite memories from Bernheim’s past 80 years.
Related Links:
