Archived NewsBytes located at the bottom of the page

November 30

• Saturday is the day for Christmas parades as Santa arrives in Medora and Bedford.  The Bedford parade will be at night with entertainment and lighting ceremony at 5:30 and the parade at 6:30.

• The National Weather Service at Indianapolis has issued a Flood Warning for the East Fork White and Muscatatuck rivers in southern Indiana. This Flood Warning is in effect through Tuesday. This includes Columbus, Seymour, Rivervale, Bedford, Williams and Shoals. Persons in flood prone areas should take precautions.  Flood crests from near flood stage to possibly 12.5 feet above flood stage are expected from Saturday through Tuesday.  This flooding will affect considerably more agricultural areas than the flooding about a month ago. Numerous local and state
  roads will flood. Extensive flooding will begin in Jackson County Friday and in Lawrence and Martin counties during the weekend. Do not drive through flooded roads. Move livestock and farm equipment to higher ground. Do not allow children to play in flooded areas. Adjustments in flood crests will be made Friday after reviewing actual rainfall amounts. 

• Although they are usually rivals, twenty-four advanced chemistry students from Bloomington North and Bloomington have come together to work as a team on a biochemical research project that will be taken to the international space station by astronauts in March and completed inside the station.  The project, they hope, will lead to advances in treatments of diseases.  Bloomington North and Bloomington South High Schools are the only schools selected to participate this year in NASA's Protein Crystallization Project, which is in its third year. Their mission: To grow microscopic-sized proteins.  The proteins, which take the form of crystals, are found in all living creatures and most commonly occur in tears and mucous, and scientists believe the crystals can carry certain medicine directly to diseased cells in the body.  The better formed the crystal, the more likely it is that it will be compatible with the diseased cell, so scientists hope a perfectly-formed crystal can be grown in space, where there is no gravity to cause deformities.

• Some local internet users may be affected by the the financial troubles of ExciteAtHome.  Cable companies offering high-speed Internet access in Indiana and other states via troubled ExciteAtHome have alerted customers that their services could go dark as early as Friday.  ExciteAtHome's creditors and business partners have threatened to unplug the cable network's high-speed Internet service for 4.2 million subscribers.  ExciteAtHome bondholders hope to convince a federal bankruptcy judge in San Francisco that shutting down the company's high-speed network is the best way to start a bidding war for the system.  A hearing on the request is set for today in San Francisco, but a ruling may not be made until next week.  Some high-speed Internet service providers in Indiana, including Insight, have been negotiating with Excite to continue service uninterrupted, but they also have been developing plans to maintain service if Excite is ordered to terminate its contracts.  Insight Internet customers have been advised to back up personal home
  pages and any e-mail they want to save just in case.

November 29

• The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch for the counties of Jackson, Lawrence, Bartholomew, Brown, Monroe. Jennings, Greene, Martin, Daviess, and others.  The watch is in effect until 700 am EST Friday morning.   A very vigorous weather system was developing over the lower Mississippi Valley this morning and will move to central Kentucky by daybreak Friday. Heavy rains will develop this afternoon over the mid Mississippi Valley in advance of this system and spread across the southeast half of the state this afternoon into tonight.  Rainfall of from 1 to 2 inches has already fallen over southcentral and eastcentral Indiana and an additional 1 to 2 inches of rainfall is expected this afternoon and tonight over most of central Indiana. Heavy rainfall this afternoon and tonight on already saturated ground will cause ponding of water in low lying areas and on some roadways and quick runoff into culverts and streams.  People in the watch area should continue to be aware of the possibility for heavy rainfall...avoid low lying areas...and be careful when approaching highway dips and underpasses. 

• After several months of contemplation and study, members of the Governor's Residence Commission has voted unanimously that the governor's residence is keeping its north Indianapolis address and will be renovated instead of relocated.  Three architectural firms drew up plans and submitted proposals to renovate the residence so it would be more accessible for disabled guests, who currently have to go outside to visit a Port-O-Potty.  Since the residence is one of only nine governor's mansions in the nation that is small than 10,000 square feet, space is inadequate when entertaining.  The estimated cost in the proposals ranged from $4-8 million, which will be paid for by private donations.  

• The VonLee Theatre in Bloomington opened in 1930 and was closed last year and was closed because of lagging attendance and outdated facilities.  The historic theater, as well as all the other theaters in the city,  is owned by the Kerasotes theater chain, and they are willing to sell the Von Lee,  but whoever buys the 71-year-old theater won't be able to use it as a movie house.  Kerasotes will require the buyer to sign a clause agreeing not to show movies in the theater, which opened in 1930.  A similar restriction was placed on the former Indiana Theatre when the company donated it to the Bloomington Area Arts Council in 1995. The arts council turned that theater into a live performance venue.  A historic designation by Bloomington prohibits its demolition and restricts changes to its facade.

November 28

• A new advertising campaign is aimed at setting Bloomington apart from other smaller towns in the country. The ads lists statistics such as cost of living, commute time and crime index. But, they also taunt cities Bloomington beats in those areas, such as poking fun at Seattle's rainy weather and San Jose's power outages.

• In March it is going to cost more to visit the Indianapolis Zoo because they have plans to increase admission
  and membership fees to support its activities.  Eventually they also will ask city officials to pitch in tax money
  to help. Ticket prices will increase between 75 cents and $1, raising admission to $10.75 for adults, $7.75 for seniors and $6.75 for children ages 2-12.  Increases in employee health insurance and rising utility bills are two of the reasons for the increase.  Ticket sales this year will contribute $3.4 million to the zoo's $12 million annual budget, with additional revenue will come from parking, food service, facility rentals, rides, and the gift shop.

• Shots were fired on Monument Circle yesterday morning as dozens of stunned pedestrians watched.  No one was injured as the victim of a car theft ran after and shot twice at a person who stole his car while it was double parked on the Circle.  Is this considered self defense?  State law allows a person to use deadly force to prevent serious bodily injury to himself or a third person, or to prevent the commission of a felony, and the car owner, who has a permit to carry a handgun, told police he fired at the car thief because the thief  had tried to run him down.   The owner was arrested on a charge of criminal recklessness and on an outstanding warrant for driving with a suspended license.  The police investigation and debate continues.

November 27

• Calling all deer hunters!  The director of Bread for Life Ministries, a southern Indiana food bank, is asking hunters to donate deer meat, as little as five pounds per harvested deer, to help feed the hungry.  Sunday the organization collected 250 pounds of ground deer meat from Evansville's Arrowhead Taxidermy, one of a handful of deer processors in southern Indiana that have volunteered their facilities as collection and processing points where hunters can donate their kills.  Bread for Life Ministries distributes food to churches and other nonprofit groups that give food aid to needy families. It distributed an estimated $4.2 million worth of food last year.  The agency did not receive the usual 309,000 pounds of turkey and chicken this year because poultry producers changed their policies and opted to route their donations through a national organization.

• Dangerous new virus!  An old and well-known security flaw in Microsoft's Internet  Explorer is continuing to cause problems, as a new worm that  exploits the flaw spreads on the Internet.  The worm, known as W32/BadTrans.B-mm, has been spotted in 50  countries, and is propagating rapidly. It takes  advantage of a well-publicized hole in Explorer, the same  vulnerability used by the Nimda virus, which infected millions of computers earlier this fall.  A previous version of the worm, BadTrans.A, spread in April, nfecting users who opened an infected E-mail attachment, but the new variant can infect users who merely read or preview the message in Microsoft's Outlook E-mail program. Once activated, the virus spreads by both replying to unread messages in the  user's mailbox and mailing everyone in the recipient's address book. It also installs a Trojan-horse key-logging program on  the user's computer, which collects confidential information like passwords and E-mails them to another address.  A patch for the IE vulnerability has been available since March, but  home users in particular have been slow to update their security.

November 26

• There will be Chamber and Main Street Activities tonight to celebrate the lighting of the Christmas lights in downtown Seymour.  The festivities will feature entertainment (Christmas music by local groups), refreshments (compliments of Home Federal Savings Bank and Jackson County Bank), pictures with Santa's reindeer and elf, free carriage rides, hayrides, and more!  Come and be part of the celebration from 5-7 p.m. and watch as Santa Claus turns on the lights at 6:30 p.m.

• Some residents in Columbus are concerned that the local landscape will soon be littered with  too many empty buildings, making the business climate look bad and uninviting. Wal-Mart will be moving to its new building.  The former Ames department store has also been sitting empty since last winter.  Menard's also plans to open a store in Columbus. 

November 23

• Happy Holiday!  This morning doors opened early all over the area for the kickoff to the holiday shopping season. Some stores even opened on Thanksgiving Day to get an early start on the shopping.  There was a report that a woman in a wheelchair was injured early Friday morning when a crowd of bargain-hunting shoppers rushed to get into a Wal-Mart on South Hurstbourne Lane in Louisville.

• A word to the wise, wherever you may live.  Recently in South Bend, IN, a local business closed a bank account because they were moving.  They threw away the checks from that closed account, but later received a phone call from a grocery in Niles, MI, where someone had tried to cash a check for hundreds of dollars. As a result of  ten recent cases involving trash diggers trying to cash their findings, police are warning people to shred blank checks and papers with any identification or account numbers before discarding them.  You never know who may be looking through your trash!

• A difference of opinion.  Some public health officials say raising the state tax on cigarettes could lower the number of Hoosiers who smoke, thus saving lives.  Indiana has the nation's fourth-highest smoking rate, and it also has the eighth-lowest tax on cigarettes, according to the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.  A 50-cents-per-pack increase included in Gov. Frank O'Bannon's plan to solve the state's fiscal crisis would put the average cost of a pack of premium cigarettes at about $4, and would move Indiana's tobacco tax the 20th highest in the nation.  Health officials estimate that 88,000 Hoosiers would quit smoking or never start if lawmakers hike the cigarette tax.  However, some believe that money may not deter some smokers.  A discount tobacco and liquor store owner in Bloomington believes most of his customers will find a way to pay for their cigarettes regardless of the cost.  So perhaps a cigarette tax increase would either save lives or solve  the state's fiscal crisis!

November 21

• Are you tired of telemarketing phone calls?  You have an opportunity to stop them if you sign up for the telephone privacy list.  Passed by the General Assembly, it takes effect January 1st, but you must call or e-mail to request that you are on the list.  Check it out!  Telephone Privacy List

• Indiana lawmakers gathered at the Statehouse yesterday for their annual Organization Day during which they choose leaders, make committee assignments, and establish procedures for the opening of the Legislature on January 8th.  As expected, the major topic of discussion were fiscal issues, the state's budget woes, and  Gov. O'Bannon's plan for tax restructuring.   The General Assembly session that opens January 8th has a mid-March deadline for completing business..

• On a standardized test designed to measure understanding of science among fourth graders and eighth graders, Indiana's fourth-grade students received a score of 155, beating  the national average by seven points.  Grade 8 students scored seven points higher than the nation at 156, an improvement of three points since the test was first given in 1996, while nationally  8th grade students improved by only one point during that same period.  Indiana fourth-grade results put Indiana in a tie with Utah for 12th place out of the 39 states that participated. Indiana's eighth-grade students tied with Michigan and Missouri for 11th out of 38 states.

November 20

• Today hunters continue to thin the deer population in some of the Indiana state parks, including Brown County, Clifty Falls, and Versailles.  The parks will be closed until tomorrow.

• One only needs to walk outside to realize that Indian Summer has ended.  Today the highs will be in the mid 40s.with tonight's lows falling into the upper 20s.  It time to get out the cap and the gloves!

November 19

• Wednesday there will be a blood drive at the Crothersville High School, 109 North Preston in Crothersville.  The time is noon to 5:00 p.m., and their goal is 30 pints.

• Some state parks will be closed to the public today and tomorrow in order for selected hunters to participate in thinning the deer population.  The controlled hunts are scheduled at Brown County, Clifty Falls, Versailles, Charlestown, Chain O'Lakes, Harmonie, Lincoln, Pokagon, Shades, Tippecanoe River, Turkey Run, Whitewater, Indiana Dunes, and the Twin Swamps Nature Preserve.  Spring Mill was not included this year.

• According the a survey of 500 people polled recently by the Indianapolis Star and t.v. station WTHR, the most acceptable way to raise taxes is an increase in tobacco and gambling taxes.  Half of the people polled said they would most strongly oppose a property tax increase, 21 percent most strongly opposed boosting the income tax and 12 percent listed a sales tax increase as most disagreeable.  Rep. Brian Bosma, Republican leader in the Indiana House of Representatives, said the question is, "Are we taxing too little, or are we in reality spending too much?" A lobbyist for gambling and tobacco interests in Indiana says the proposed increases could work hardships on tobacco farmers and prove ruinous for riverboats operating on thin profit margins.

November 16

• Describing the situation as a fiscal crisis, it was no surprise Thursday night when Gov. Frank O'Bannon made an unprecedented televised speech proposing  additional agency spending cuts and tax increases on cigarettes and casinos to help the state's budget deficit.  He also proposes a suspension of two tax cuts approved in 1999, as well as tapping into the state's Rainy Day Fund and tobacco settlement proceeds. O'Bannon blamed much of the fiscal crisis on the economic downturn, which was made worse by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and said that if his plan is not approved, he would be forced to cut services which would include public safety and education.  That would result in school teachers being laid off and increased class sizes.  Republicans are still adamant that they will not support tax increases to fix the budget deficit and want to rely on spending cuts and reserves.  They also want O'Bannon to commit to legislation that would cap annual state government spending.  O'Bannon proposed the cigarette tax increase at the end of the last session, but it was quickly dismissed by members of both parties.  Lawmakers meet for an organization day on Tuesday then reconvene for a short session in January. It is to end by mid-March.

• Since last spring Shapiro's Delicatessen has been negotiating to relocate their facility on the Northside of Indianapolis to Carmel's City Center.  Agreement has been delayed because the proposed land was contaminated by chemicals from a dry cleaning establishment.  However, agreement is close at hand now and the Carmel Redevelopment Commission has voted to make an offer to Shapiro's.  So those corned beef sandwiches, matzo ball soup, and delicious baked delicasies may soon be part of the Carmel scene.  The original Shapiro's will remain in its central location.

• The Leonid Meteor Showers are expected to be visible early Sunday morning if the weather is clear, and this year could be outstanding.  The peak viewing time is expected to be around 5 a.m. Sunday.  If you want to catch the show you are advised to take a lawn chair and a blanket, find someplace dark, away from the city and the light pollution of mercury vapor lights.  Look to the Eastern sky.  Hopefully, you'll see the streaking meteors, which are so named  because they come from the direction of Leo the Lion constellation.

November 15

• Today is the 25th anniversary of the American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout.  Each year smokers are urged to give up smoking at least for the day.  All 26 of the fire stations in Indianapolis, however, officially go tobacco-free today.  The city's department is encouraging employees to quit using tobacco products and is offering medical support and counseling.  It is reported that about 140 of IFD's 745 firefighters smoke, or 19 percent.  That percentage is actually lower than the overall average for the state of Indiana, which runs about 27%, one of the highest in the entire country!!

November 14

• This is truly Indian Summer.  Enjoy it!  Nice days with highs in the 60's and lows in the 40's are expected the rest of the week.  

• A cougar in Hamilton County?  Could be.  There have been recent reports of possible sightings of a large cat.  In September a colt was mauled and recently some horses were injured when they were chased into a fence.  Officials have identified paw prints found in the area as those of a large cat.  Residents are being advised to not walk alone in wooded areas, to not allow children to play outside after dark, and to stable their animals at night.

• For many years people in Louisville and Southern Indiana have been talking about new bridges across the Ohio River.  Last week a three-year, $22 million study of bridge plans was presented.  . The Draft Environmental Impact Statement includes a layout of four possible solutions - building a $600 million single bridge downtown; a $950 million single bridge from the Watterson Expressway to Indiana; a $680 million single bridge in the far east end; or a two bridge plan, which includes one bridge downtown and a second one at the Watterson or far east end that would total $1 billion.  The study does not state where to build the bridge, but it does suggest that one downtown and on the east end of Jefferson County would help unclog the heavy traffic at spaghetti junction.  That is a no-brainer!  But, of course, some east end property owners are opposed and say "not in my back yard!"   The consultant group says there's always the choice of no bridge. If the Federal Highway Administration would cover 90 percent of the cost for one bridge, Louisville and Southern Indiana would still have come up with $30 million each.  Officials will choose the sites by 2002. 

November 13

• This is it! Today is the last day to pay the fall installment of your personal property taxes without penalty. You may mail the payment (but it must have today's postmark to avoid a penalty) or paid in person in the County Treasurer's office.

• The University of Evansville recently announced the creation of 50 new full-tuition scholarships for Indiana high school seniors who are ranked first in their high school class.  The Trustee Scholarships will provide four-year, tuition-free enrollment for seniors who are top-ranked at the time of their application to the university, and up to 50 scholarships will be granted each year for two years beginning in the fall of 2002.  The new scholarships are intended to celebrate the success of passing the $50 million mark in the university's $60 million fund-raising campaign, university officials said.

• Did you know there are ballooning spiders?  Riding aloft on tiny parachutes spun out of web, thousands of spiders have taken to the air across Indiana.  Although this fall migration (called ballooning) happens every year, scientists report that  the airborne invasion in recent weeks seems larger than usual.  These " flying spiders" are hatchlings looking for new homes. Shortly after a spider is hatched, it crawls to a high point on a bush or plant and secretes a strand of web. Air currents can lift the strand, with the spider attached,  several hundred feet in the air, and travel miles before settling back to earth.  Once the spiders land in their new home, they begin looking for a secluded place to hibernate, such as underneath leaves or bark.

November 12

• Several offices and services will be closed today because of the Veteran's Day holiday.

• It has been reported, but not yet confirmed, that actor Brian Dennehy is set to portray Bob Knight in a made-for-television ESPN movie "Season on the Brink, based upon the book by the same name.  Shooting is expected to begin the week after Thanksgiving in Winnipeg, and the movie will air March 10th, the same day NCAA Tournament pairings are decided.

• The Leonids Meteor Shower is an annual event.  This year, however, it is expected to be the most powerful meteor storm to hit in decades and precautions are in place.  Space Shuttle flights are being cancelled and astronauts in the International Space Station are bracing themselves.  Some of the 600 communications satellites orbiting Earth are also at risk, and NASA has taken steps to protect the Hubble Space Telescope.  The meteor is traveling at 160,000mph and will pass close to Earth later this week.  The cosmic fireworks will begin as the Earth begins to cut across the orbit of Comet Temple-Tuttle, and into the blizzard of meteors.  This year Earth will cut across an especially dense part of it.

November 9

• The deadline to pay the fall installment of your property taxes is four days away with the deadline set for this coming Tuesday. If you wish to make your payment in person, you must do it today or Tuesday since the courthouse will be closed Monday because of the Veteran's Day holiday. Remember, if you mail your payment, it MUST be postmarked by Tuesday's date in order to avoid a 10% late penalty.

• The state's pharmacists and drugstores have been at odds with the state of Indiana because of a reduction in the amount of money the state pays pharmacists to dispense drugs to needy Hoosiers.  Pharmacists in the state's more than 700 retail outlets are paid $4 to fill each Medicaid prescription and receive a markup on the cost of drugs. State officials temporarily cut the prescription fee to $3 and sliced markups by up to half.  However, state officials are expected to announce today that the cut is being reversed, so pharmacists will suspend and likely drop their legal action.

• Sponsored by the Indiana University School of Medicine, a state panel of experts warned about 150 family doctors Thursday to be wary of flulike symptoms as they keep watch for evidence of bioterrorist attacks and they need to educate themselves about symptoms.  Many illnesses likely to be used in germ warfare have symptoms that resemble the flu, and doctors who aren't careful could misdiagnose patients.  The discussion was broadcast throughout the state via interactive video and taught doctors how to recognize, treat and contain diseases that could be unleashed by terrorists.  Anthrax has been the first bioterrorism agent to appear, but smallpox also tops the list of biological concerns.  Smallpox, plague and tularemia all may begin with fever, headache and fatigue, but one common flulike symptom -- a runny nose -- usually does not accompany the more severe diseases.  Only about 10 percent of Americans still have immunity to smallpox, which the World Health Organization declared eradicated in 1979.  Vaccinations used before that time were effective for about 20 years.

November 8

• An unidentified substance found in a building at Crane NWCS led to the evacuation of the building Tuesday afternoon. The small amount of substance was found in a second floor office area of building 41.  Crane officials say there was no hazard to the general public and that the health risk at the building was determined to be extremely low. Tests on the
  substance and investigation into its source continues.

• It was a pellet gun...really! A man walked into a Bloomington restaurant last night carrying a long pellet gun with the stock missing. Restaurant employees called police after thinking the "gun" was a shotgun or sawed-off shotgun. The man walked through the restaurant and into a rear restroom. Management locked the restroom door and shuttled people to the parking lot before police arrived.

November 7

• Good flying weather!  Six whooping cranes led by ultralight planes continued their journey through Indiana yesterday, landing at a stopover in Jennings County.  The large birds were raised under controlled conditions at a national wildlife refuge iin Wisconsin, and specially dressed handlers trained the birds to fly behind the ultralights.  The birds are part of a reintroduction effort designed to create a new Midwestern population, hoping that the birds will winter in a secluded portion of a wildlife refuge on Florida's gulf coast and then return to the Wisconsin refuge next spring.  The process will be repeated for four years with the goal of achieving about 25 nesting pairs.  The birds' progress has drawn interest from bird-watchers and wildlife lovers, but federal officials intentionally keep their exact locations secret to protect the birds.

• A federal judge on Tuesday issued a preliminary ruling upholding Indiana's curfew law, thus allowing the state to enforce the law until the lawsuit challenging it is decided.  The curfew that was established by the General Assembly is 11 p.m. weeknights and 1 a.m. during the weekend.  The ICLU had sued on behalf of a Marion County parent, arguing that the state's new curfew law violated the First Amendment because police officers could arrest anyone under 18 who is out after curfew   The ICLU will probably appeal the ruling.  The state law allows youths to be out during curfew if accompanied by an adult or attending an activity involving free speech or a religious gathering, which are both protected under the First Amendment, but these exceptions were made a legal defense at trial rather than an outright prohibition against arrest.  The judge also ruled that the curfew law did not interfere in an unconstitutional manner with parental rights.

• Still another!  A Mishawaka resident has filed a lawsuit seeking to have a Ten Commandment monument removed from outside the Mishawaka City Hall.  The large monument was donated to the city in 1959 by the local chapter of the Fraternal Order of Eagles and was moved in 1986 to the City Hall lawn.  Filed by a non-practicing attorney, the lawsuit contends he is forced during his normal activities to come into unwelcome direct contact with the Ten Commandments monument, and he believes the location of the monument on public property is a violation of the U.S. Constitution.  Last week, Gov. O'Bannon announced that the state would ask the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether it can display a monument of the Ten Commandments on the Statehouse grounds.  The saga continues!

November 6

• What's the glow? That was a question last night. The aurora borealis, better known as the Northern Lights, made a rare appearance over a wide area of Indiana thanks to an unusually strong solar flare.  The display began about 10:30 p.m. and lasted about an hour.  It is possible that we will be able to see it through Thursday night, but it should weaken in intensity.  Clear skies and dry air created the ideal conditions for the unusual aftereffect of a large solar flare on Sunday.  When charged particles blowing away from the sun interact with the earth's magnetic field and strike different gases in the atmosphere, the Northern Lights are produced.  If you want to see the lights the next couple of nights, check the northern sky periodically.  Depending on the conditions, they can appear for a short and then fade.

• A special judge ruled yesterday that Indiana University does not have to release documents related to the firing of former basketball coach Bob Knight.  The Indianapolis Star had filed a lawsuit seeking records related to the school's investigation of Knight.  The Star has 30 days to file an appeal. Terry Eberle, the newspaper's editor and
  vice president, said executives plan to meet with attorneys and review the judge's order

• The lawsuit filed in June by the ICLU seeking the removal of a Ten Commandments monument on the Knox County courthouse lawn has been dismissed.  The lawsuit was filed on behalf of two unnamed residents, but the case was dismissed after McKinney ordered the defendants to be identified in court.  One was unavailable, and the other refused to go public.  The case was dismissed without prejudice, so the same people could file the lawsuit again. 

November 5

• Area high school students and their parents are invited to Assembly Hall in Bloomington tomorrow evening between 6:30 and 8 pm for a College Fair.  It's an opportunity for students and parents to talk with representatives from more than 60 colleges and universities.

• A preview of coming attractions.  In a one-time display of American pride in response to the September 11th attacks, the Monument Circle Christmas display in Indianapolis will be red, white, and blue this year instead of just plain white, and the toy soldiers guarding the Indiana Soldiers and Sailors Monument will hold American flags.  The Circle of Lights holiday display, which was started in 1962, is sponsored by the Methodist Medical Group and will be turned on during a November 23rd ceremony.

• Coming to Indiana.  The Mexican government plans to open an Indianapolis consulate next year to help handle passports and visas for Mexican citizens living in the state.  Currently those who need the services of a Mexican consulate must travel to Chicago or endure long lines during infrequent visits of the consulate to Indiana cities.  A consulate would deal with identification issues for Mexican nationals in Indiana and also serve Kentucky and Ohio., and a permanent office also could serve the needs of Indiana business travelers.  Mexico is the second-largest trading partner of the state.

• ISTEP testing occurred during the week of the terrorist attacks, and although the state allowed individual schools to postpone testing if they believed it was necessary, some educators now want state officials to closely examine ISTEP tests this year to determine if the events affected students' scores.  There is concern that the test results would not be an accurate assessment of student abilities if the students were upset and nervous.  

• Back to the drawing board?  Could be!  The shoe dropped as feared, and the property tax saga continues in the form of another challenge for Governor O'Bannon and his administration.  The shelter tax is one of the new rules to partially protect homeowners from higher property tax bills and provide political cover for Democrats.  Now the Apartment Association of Indiana have filed a suit with the Indiana Tax Court to challenge the constitutionality of the shelter allowance because they believe the plan lowers the taxes paid by homeowner and shifts the tax burden to other classes of property owner, creating an unequal tax system.   The shelter allowance will automatically reduce the taxable value of owner-occupied homes by $16,000 to $22,700, depending on the county. Without the allowance, property taxes on homeowners are projected to go up nearly 33 percent on average, but with it, they would go up only an estimated 13.1 percent.  The Apartment Association says that landlords, and ultimately renters, would have to pay more in order for homeowners to pay less.  Developing ......!

November 2

• Concrete sealant fumes moving through a ventilation system forced the evacuation of the Indiana University Theatre Thursday night. Police say no one appeared to be harmed from the fumes. The building was evacuated as a precaution.

• The National Weather Service has introduced a new wind chill index Thursday that changes some of the extreme coldness estimates of their old formula.  Based on the combination of temperature and wind, the wind chill estimates how cold it feels.  and is designed to help people decide how warmly to dress.  The old formula, which has been used by the National Weather Service since 1973, had been developed in 1945 by Artic explorers.  Under the new formula, the weather outside may not "feel" as bad as it has in the past, and the new wind chill index will provide us with specific warning of time-to-frostbite at given levels of wind chill.  The new wind chill equation was developed by Maurice Bluestein, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, and Randall Osczevski, an environmental physicist with Canada's Department of National Defense.

November 1

• Cummins Inc. is cutting costs by reducing pay for the remainder of the year for its U.S.-based non-union workers.  However, they are offering those workers four additional paid vacation days.  Work hours for some union workers are also being reduced from hours to 36 hours for the rest of the year.  Discretionary spending and travel is being curtailed.  All of this cost cutting is due to a reduced demand for Cummins' products, i.e. diesel engines, power generators, and other industrial products.  Depending on circumstances, the pay cuts could extend into the future beyond the end of the year.

• Did you receive your tax rebate check from the IRS this year?  Apparently some did not since more than 6,700 federal tax checks, worth $2.5 million,  are waiting to be claim  ed by Indiana taxpayers   Of the total number unclaimed, 5,617 are rebate checks and the remaining 1,158 are regular tax refund checks.  The checks were returned to the IRS  because of bad addresses or name changes.  The rebate checks must be claimed by December 5th or the rightful owners cannot get them until after they have filed their 2001 tax returns.  If you think you may be the owner of one of the unclaimed checks, take a look at the alphabetical list provided or call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040.

• Recent anthrax attacks are leading to increased interest in moving bill payments and account management online, according to a provider of electronic bill payment technology.  Not only is it safer and  faster, it also a cost cutter.

Archived NewsBytes