News and Tribune giddy as Jeffersonville's middle class credentials are conjured by a shadowy web site operating from a bungalow in Frisco.

My first question: What is Simple Thrifty Living?

It's followed closely behind by: Why Simple Thrifty Living's methodology for the seven factors making up the rankings, as opposed to others?

Then there's: Why should Simple Thrifty Living be trusted over other sources?

Not to neglect: How does Simple Thrifty Living support itself, anyway?

You'll get a fair number of hits online with regard to Simple Thrifty Living's content, but good luck trying to go deeper and learn who or what is involved.

One of the writers is named Jack Ryder. Another is Jeff Hunter. There's Emily Jones, too. These sound a lot more like pseudonymous 1970s porn performers than purveyors of financial acumen ... but I digress.

Here's a press release from 2013: West Hall Publishing Announces New Expert-Focused Personal Finance Site Simple. Thrifty. Living.

West Hall Publishing and Consulting announced today that they have launched a new website, Simple. Thrifty. Living., focusing on personal finance and teaching everyday people how to live a full life without breaking the bank.

What makes Simple. Thrifty. Living. different? Professionals from every field imaginable produce the content, from psychologists to home and garden designers. Each writer brings his or her own personal and professional experience to each article.

That helps.

Here's the corporate headquarters, according to filing information.

In short, there's almost no background available about the web site, its writers or the owners, whomever the latter might be. By extension, there's almost no way of knowing whether the website is reputable or merely internet click bait.

Another question: How does something like this "middle class family list" come to the attention of the newspaper and make the front page?

Did Mike Moore's office peddle it?

One Southern Indiana?

There's a healthy dollop of self-aggrandizement from both these entities, and the antennae fairly quiver. The usual suspects love it when media fawns over them, and it shouldn't surprise you to learn that they'll generate the feedback if necessary.

There's altogether too much crowing and not enough criteria. The newspaper needs to do better.

Can it?

Will it even try?

Jeffersonville ranked best in Indiana for middle class families, by John Boyle (The Jeffersonville Tom May Content Purveyor)

SOUTHERN INDIANA — Three local Southern Indiana communities have been ranked among the top cities to live in for Hoosier middle class families.

In a list recently released by Simple Thrifty Living, Jeffersonville topped all other Indiana cities included in the report, which was 84. Coming in fourth was Clarksville, with New Albany taking the ninth spot.

According to Simple Thrifty Living, the middle class makes up roughly 52 percent of the United States' population. The socioeconomic factors analyzed for the list "have a significant effect" on families, prompting the publication to identify the cities best-suited for the families of today.

The rankings were based on seven factors — income, real estate taxes, home value, unemployment, college education, schools and job availability. Cities were compared to others in their state, with each factor given a weighted score that totaled to 100 possible points ...

Paging Wendy Dant Chesser: "Students At Most Colleges Don’t Pick ‘Useless’ Majors."

Vile humanities major. 

I'm never, ever going to let this one drop. Wendy Dant Chesser is One Southern Indiana, and 1Si's operating philosophy of "What's Good for Our Oligarchs Is Good for You, Peasant" will never be my cup of tea.

Hello Wendy, Part One: In which we are properly warned not to heed the oligarchs' call to discount the value of liberal arts degrees.

Hello Wendy, Part Two: "Are dissidents born or made? A humanities major examines his life and locale."

Here's some refutation for Dant Chesser to enjoy with her morning Starbucks. For as long as she's over there and I'm back here, this will continue to be grist for the mill.

Students At Most Colleges Don’t Pick ‘Useless’ Majors, b Michelle Cheng (FiveThirtyEight)

.. The vastly different college paths that Mehta and Speers took illustrate an obvious point that is nonetheless often overlooked in discussions of higher education: Students attend college for different reasons. Some, like Mehta, see college primarily as a financial decision, an investment that they hope will have a relatively short-term payoff. Others, like Speers, may hope that a degree will bring financial rewards, but their focus is more on the intellectual and social aspects of the college experience. (Others, of course, seek both.) Those different goals affect where students go to college and what they do once they get there.

These varied approaches to college are clear from the fields that students at different colleges choose to study. According to data from the federal Education Department, students at elite universities are more likely to pursue degrees in the humanities, arts and social sciences than students at less selective schools, who tend to choose majors that are more likely to lead to an immediate, well-paying job.1
The most popular fields of study among students at the most selective schools are the social sciences, with 19 percent of degrees awarded in majors such as political science, economics and sociology. The next two most popular groups of majors are the biological and biomedical sciences and engineering. At less selective schools, the most common fields of study are related to business (the Education Department calls this category “business, management, marketing and related support services”), with 19 percent of degrees awarded in those majors. The next most popular group is “health professions and related programs.”

Career-focused majors — such as business, education and journalism — are more prevalent at less selective schools than at top-tier schools. Education ranks as the fifth most popular major at less selective schools but is the 21st most popular major at the most selective schools. Other vocation-specific majors such as law enforcement are also more popular at less selective schools.2 In total, more than half of students at less selective schools major in career-focused subjects; at elite schools, less than a quarter of students do so.

These numbers run counter to the common stereotype of students majoring in “useless” subjects and complaining when they can’t find jobs. In fact, comparatively few students at less selective schools — the vast majority of U.S. college students and the ones most likely to be pursuing degrees primarily for their career benefits — major in these less practical fields ...

Hello Wendy, Part Two: "Are dissidents born or made? A humanities major examines his life and locale."

Gibberish, isn't it?

Previously: Hello Wendy, Part One: In which we are properly warned not to heed the oligarchs' call to discount the value of liberal arts degrees.

As originally published on May 18, 2017, this column explains why I feel this need to say hello to Wendy Dant Chesser, the president and CEO of One Southern Indiana ... and why I have no plans to "let it go" anytime soon.

Note also that many of the same thoughts were repeated a few weeks later, prior to the council's annual rote approval of One Southern Indiana's tithing request.

(2 of 2) My comments at tonight's city council meeting, during public speaking time prior to A-17-02 (funding for One Southern Indiana).

---

ON THE AVENUES: Are dissidents born or made? A humanities major examines his life and locale. 

A weekly column by Roger A. Baylor.

Since my mother died in mid-March, I’ve experienced periods of intense introspection.

Are these signs of depression?

Maybe, although I don’t think so. In all likelihood, periods of reflection are natural manifestations of the grieving process. The cosmos can be disorienting even in the best of times, and our reactions change with them.

I believe that it’s never too late to learn something, and accordingly, these past few weeks have struck me as an opportunity to relax and see where these evolving thoughts are leading.

One very big question has moved to the front of the cerebral queue. It’s something I’ve often asked myself through the years.

Why am I here?

Mind you, not here on Planet Earth. There’s no need for existential musing about the nature of origins, at least yet. I’m perfectly content to allow theologians, philosophers and even humanities majors to earn their meager pay, but looking through old photo albums is evidence enough for me.

My parents met, and one thing led to another. Suddenly there I was, all created, pouring pints of Guinness for a living and plotting a beer revolution.

Rather …

Why am I still here, continuing to live in New Albany when I might be residing in another part of the state, country or world?

(Reader’s note: The axiom known as Thrasher’s Razor fully applies to this rumination, because now more than ever, we’re all here because we’re not all there.)

As the missus reminds me on widely scattered occasions -- basically, every morning at breakfast -- I’ve never been much in sync with the sort of polite poseur’s society mores craved by the likes of Bob Caesar. They're far too banal an ordeal for me.

After 57 years of give and take, it’s evident that I have lots of buttons – and the reigning poltroons have even more fingers. I’ve never been able to swim a lick unless it’s against the metaphorical tide. Contrarianism fits me like a well-tailored suit, which of course I’d refuse to wear, because you can’t trust anyone who does.

They’re just hiding behind those fashionable costumes (seriously?), anyway.

I trust it isn’t time to face the final curtain, and yet the years dwindle down. Wouldn’t I be happier elsewhere, in a place with a cultural climate more in keeping with my personal value system, as opposed to one that prompts severe allergic (read: aesthetic) reactions?

Might I manage to find the zip code for peace and harmony, even at the advanced age of “I can remember the first moon landing”?

Haven’t “they” always told me to leave town if I didn’t like “their” toxic farrago of ignorance and anti-intellectualism?

To which I’ve always succinctly replied: “You first, my dear Gaston.”

---

The most recent resurgence of these locational culture reflections came during our April visit to Portland, Maine.

It was a Friday morning at the estimable Tony’s Donut Shop at the corner of Bolton and Congress, and we were equipped with cream horns, black coffee and the bakery’s gnarled regulars seated at an adjacent table, talking current events.

As noted previously, Tony's is somewhat reminiscent of New Albany’s venerable Honey Creme Donuts, albeit three or four times larger, with more production capacity as well as a half-dozen cozy tables for visitors to sit and converse.

It was impossible to avoid overhearing the amiable patter as locals came and went with their carry-outs, nor to ignore the booming voices of the senior citizens seated nearby. They were talking hockey when we sat down, then shifted to politics -- and I caught myself cringing involuntarily, as though expecting to be savagely beaten.

After all, back home again in Indiana, where I’ve insisted on remaining amid the raging right-wing proclivities, this conversational shift inevitably would have segued into the parroting of conservative talk radio bromides.

Or, just the thing inspiring me to respond loudly from the left side of the aisle, a scenario usually culminating in rancor, disharmony and “if you don’t love it, lump it” -- or worse.

And so there I sat at Tony’s Donuts like Pavlov’s drooling mutt, conditioned to imagine a fine day about to be ruined, all the while thinking that I can’t seem to escape the mentality of Redevelopment Commission meetings no matter how far I travel – except this time, it wasn’t that way at all.

Instead, these retirees in Portland fiercely criticized Donald Trump’s buffoonery. They mercilessly ridiculed the Republican Party, and scoffed openly at the very idea of a theocratic creature called “Mike Pence” reposing within spitting distance of power.

Me? I’m from Chicago. Never heard of Indiana.

Awestruck, yet aware it would have been impolite of me to kiss these strangers, I settled for stuffing another nut-encrusted Bismarck into my gratified pie hole. Still, it started me thinking.

I’ve lived in Floyd County my whole life, and in the city of New Albany during the latter half of it. Even when Barack Obama won the state of Indiana in 2008, John McCain beat Obama more than comfortably in both my county and city. So did Mitt Romney in 2012, and of course Trump easily carried them, too.

Yes, so-called Democrats have “controlled” municipal government for much of the same period, although it is painfully clear that the retirees at Tony’s would take one pained look at Caesar and accurately place him somewhere to the right of George Wallace.

Back to my original question. If I’ve never been into S & M, why have I punished myself these many decades?

As an old-school Red (Commie) marooned in a new-age Red (Conservative) sandbox, and generally outnumbered, I’ve been compelled for thirty-five or more years to inflict my liberalism on the prevailing Falangist orthodoxy by means of guerrilla warfare, destined almost always to lose, and just as often reluctant to compromise.

Why am I like this?

I don’t know. After I’m dead, the psychoanalysts can study my brain for causes of contrarianism. In my experience, it’s incurable.

All I know is for as long as I can remember, I’ve been obsessed with the notion that opposing points of view deserve a hearing, especially as they pertain to politics, civil rights, religion and individual conscience.

The bland respectability of Babbitt-style conformity invariably tramples “other” competing sides of the story, and so when disposed to tilt, my windmill of choice flies a banner reading “we’ve always done it this way.”

On the other hand, if I’ve been of assistance just once to someone by helping them see that it’s okay to be different, and it’s possible to be responsible, productive and ethical without being duped and hornswoggled by delusions, fantasias and superstitions foisted by the usual suspects, then my career in contrarianism has been well worth it.

---

As a relevant postscript, I cannot attend Thursday evening’s city council meeting owing to a conflict with my Leadership Southern Indiana graduation ceremony. As you may recall, I’m a proud member of the Discover class of 2017.

Leadership Southern Indiana’s mission is to engage, develop and mobilize regional leaders who will serve and transform our community.

Ironically, the council’s Thursday evening agenda includes A-17-02, an ordinance documenting our legislative body’s annual tithe to One Southern Indiana – and coincidentally, 1Si’s President and CEO, Wendy Dant Chesser, spoke to my class last week during our concluding Community Leadership Day.

Ostensibly Dant Chesser was there to outline steps for effectively leading a non-profit organization, and this she managed to do with requisite efficiency.

However, the second half of her presentation quickly digressed into the customary advertisement for 1Si, although this time with a novel twist.

According to Dant Chesser, the large manufacturing conglomerates most eagerly courted by 1Si (as opposed to independent local businesses and grassroots entrepreneurs, who must settle for trickle-down) prefer employees holding one of the six “top earner” university degrees, including engineering, computers and electronics.

However, according to her PowerPoint slide, higher education insists on disgorging twice as many graduates who’ve been awarded the six least “useful” (and lowest paying) degree choices: English, philosophy, history and the like.

It would seem that both Dant Chesser and the fluffed and subsidized multinational beneficiaries of the neoliberal order, upon whom 1Si depends to make payroll for 14 staffers, are offended by this ratio.

She made no effort to conceal her disdain for those viewing education as anything other than glorified vocational training, and considering the fact that I wasn’t the only humanities major in the room, her summarizing anecdote of choice was tellingly errant.

Dant Chesser told us of her recent chat with an art history major who was having trouble in the job market. Well, what did he expect? Art history? What sort of guidance counselor would recommend studying subjects as perennially useless as art history?

Well …

Perhaps those guidance counselors grasping that the object of education isn’t always to match obedient hamsters to their proper wheel, but to produce humans capable of thinking. The fact that “fake” news is such a concern these days might enter into this paradigm, wouldn’t you … think?

Seemingly nowhere in Dant Chesser’s narrowly defined (read: confined) world exists the type of broad, individually tailored choices of human aspiration that depart from economic development of the “we’ve always done it this way” variety, which by breathtaking coincidence is the type best calculated to advance the specific capitalist format to which 1Si has attached itself like a leech – hence the blood money of its council funding request.

The real problem might be that humanities majors have been made aware of different trends in the history of thought, and as such, they’re the ones most likely to question Dant Chesser’s premises.

Which I did, aloud and joyfully.

Bizarrely, another of her slides testified to the critical importance of every Southern Indiana resident meekly accepting 1Si’s version of the Regional Cities Initiative, so as to provide unanimity in pursuit of a “collective” path forward – and yes, “collective” is precisely the word this crony capitalist enabler used.

Irony is dead, but Trumpolini didn’t kill it.

As a direct result of past concerns proffered by anti-establishment dissidents, at least the money 1Si is requesting of our council will be put to a specific, directed use: WorkHub, a workforce training initiative.

That’s all well and good, but is this workforce training available to art history majors, or must we collectively denounce the pursuit of non-vocational education before disbursing the dollars to applicants?

Until Dant Chesser answers this question (a contrite public apology would be more suitable, but I’m a cynical realist), I recommend to council that the money be withheld. It won’t, and I can hear the backslapping already.

This admittedly has been a long read, so thanks for persevering.

You know, if dastardly parasitic humanities majors like me didn’t combat the angst with alcohol and stick around places like Nawbany, confident that any reasonable definition of leadership includes transparency, the ability to hear opposing viewpoints, to weigh available options and to filter the incessant bilge before charging across open ground toward the machine gun nest – tell me, would anyone bother challenging Wendy Dant Chesser and Bob Caesar when they begin spinning those “our way or the highway” whoppers?

That’s okay. You needn't answer. It’s my conscience, and it’s not for sale. However, I’m not going anywhere, and you can buy me a beer any time you like.

Hello Wendy, Part One: In which we are properly warned not to heed the oligarchs' call to discount the value of liberal arts degrees.

Or else THIS happens.

First, we have this wonderful statement of principle doubling as a middle finger to oligarchs everywhere.

In Part Two, there's a look back at what first prompted this specific middle finger to the oligarchs ... one that isn't being decommissioned, any time soon.

---

Bellarmine professor: Don't discount the value of liberal arts degrees, by Dr. Justin D. Klassen (Courier Journal)

The liberal arts, and the humanities especially, are under attack these days for their supposed uselessness. Gov. Matt Bevin recently urged universities to cut programs that do not generate obvious economic returns for students, and mentioned “interpretive dance” as one example.

Bevin is not alone in his thinking. In 2015, for instance, Japan’s government urged its national universities to close faculties of humanities and social sciences, ostensibly to prepare students better for competing in a technology-oriented global economy.

Gov. Bevin and the Japanese government are not wrong to seek value for the money we invest in education. Where they are misguided is in their understanding of how to measure the value of education. This, above all, is where we need some clarity. If we take this question seriously, both philosophically and in terms of the data, it becomes clear that the most trustworthy measure of education’s value is breadth, specifically the breadth of subjects and ideas covered.

I understand if this sounds far-fetched at first glance. Even students who choose to attend a liberal arts school tend to see breadth requirements as needless obstacles to what they “really” should be doing.

I know from years of reading course evaluations, however, that many of these same students discover over time that breadth is more tangibly and enduringly valuable than specialization alone. Seeing the world through the lenses of disciplines beyond their major teaches a crucial lesson: that the world is more complex than any one discipline could ever capture.

This discovery is no small or useless thing! Indeed, we should not consider ourselves mature human beings until we can admit and abide the complexity of life, which is precisely what a liberal arts education makes possible. That is to say, a broad education reveals the world’s uncountable nuances, while giving us the tools we need to approach them with confidence. Such an education therefore frees us to be creative where we might otherwise accept the status quo without question. It prepares us to be more compassionate with others, by requiring us to see our fellow human beings beyond easy stereotypes, and thus as possible collaborators and friends.

In a word, a broad education frees us to be reverent. Reverence, says the theologian Barbara Brown Taylor, is “the proper attitude of a small and curious human being in a vast and fascinating world of experience.” The liberal arts can teach us this properly human attitude. Honestly, what could be more valuable?
If you are willing to grant that a liberal arts education is transformative and even liberating, yet remain skeptical that knowing something about history or ecology or literature will enhance one’s employability in a specific field, please bear with me just a moment longer.

A friend of mine sells commercial real estate in a booming North American city. He makes a lot of money. He has been at it for a while now and regularly hires entry-level agents, drawing from a growing pool of similarly credentialed applicants. When he interviews people for open positions, he says he can tell immediately who has had a broad undergraduate education and who has not. Knowing that he prefers the former candidates, he spends little time these days looking for specialized credentials alone. Instead, he looks at where applicants went to college, and prioritizes those with liberal arts degrees.

Why is this important to him? Does he spend his days arguing about Plato, or Emily Dickinson? Is he some egghead realtor, with a penchant for “interpretive dance”? No. He spends his time building relationships with clients and prospective clients, and he needs co-workers who know how to relate to people with a wide range of backstories. In other words, he needs people experienced in being humane, in thinking on their feet, in listening and making arguments with sympathy and grace. He can teach them the industry-specific skills they need. But he can’t teach them from scratch to be mature, well-rounded human beings, which he knows is more crucial to their business success than any credential on its own.

My friend is not alone in his understanding of the value of a liberal arts degree.

We must vehemently reject fashionable dismissals of the liberal arts. If we really care about getting value for our education dollars, we can do no better than to demand from our schools and our policymakers a promise to educate our citizenry broadly. And to my colleagues who profess various disciplinary approaches to the truth of our human condition: let us make this promise loudly, and continue in our fidelity to it.

(Dr. Justin D. Klassen is associate professor of theology at Bellarmine) University.

Shameless self-aggrandizement as Gahan invites 1Si to provide career counseling to local students.

Submitted to NA Confidential with this comment:

This is an ad in the New Albany-Floyd County School Corporation's 2018-2019 school directory -- on page 2 no less! Ridiculous spending. Maybe the tagline should be "Brighter futures are made in Southern Indiana unless you try to cross Spring Street." Or maybe, "One day if you try hard enough, you too can be a street sweeper in NA."

If street sweeping is a skilled trade, Wendy Dant Chesser no doubt would agree with Gahan's ad placement -- so I fixed it.

Have you ever wondered just how much taxpayer money City Hall spends to promote Gahan's cult of personality?

Providentially, there's a ballot box solution.

#FireGahan2019
#FlushTheClique

Performance review: One Southern Indiana's "Fund Us Well" tour brings the Chamber Heads to Jeffersonville along with their pot(s).

Apparently One Southern Indiana's annual tour of legislative bodies is underway, and the Tom May Picayune sent new reporter Brooke McAfee to cover the performance before Jeffersonville's city council.

1si provides economic development update for Southern Indiana

JEFFERSONVILLE — One Southern Indiana reviewed its cumulative economic successes in a recent report of jobs, projects, annual payroll and new capital invested in Clark and Floyd counties since the organization's formation in 2006 during a presentation to the Jeffersonville City Council Monday.

Come again?

"One Southern Indiana reviewed its cumulative economic successes."

This seems to imply that 1Si seeks credit for the entirety of economic activity in Southern Indiana since 2006.

That can't be right.

On second thought, it's probably intentional. The Green Mouse sent an e-mail about guileless suckers to the ghost of PT Barnum, and we'll let you know the answer as soon as it arrives.

I missed a few New Albany city council meetings, and perhaps 1Si has come already with hat in hand, but no matter. Here's an excerpt from ON THE AVENUES from May 18, 2017.

---

ON THE AVENUES: Are dissidents born or made? A humanities major examines his life and locale.

 ... Coincidentally, 1Si’s President and CEO, Wendy Dant Chesser, spoke to my (Leadership Southern Indiana) class last week during our concluding Community Leadership Day.

Ostensibly Dant Chesser was there to outline steps for effectively leading a non-profit organization, and this she managed to do with requisite efficiency.

However, the second half of her presentation quickly digressed into the customary advertisement for 1Si, although this time with a novel twist.

According to Dant Chesser, the large manufacturing conglomerates most eagerly courted by 1Si (as opposed to independent local businesses and grassroots entrepreneurs, who must settle for trickle-down scraps) prefer employees holding one of the six “top earner” university degrees, including engineering, computers and electronics.

However, according to her PowerPoint slide, higher education insists on disgorging twice as many graduates who’ve been awarded the six least “useful” (and lowest paying) degree choices: English, philosophy, history and the like.

It would seem that both Dant Chesser and the fluffed and subsidized multinational beneficiaries of the neo-liberal order, upon whom 1Si depends to make payroll for 14 staffers, are offended by this ratio.

She made no effort to conceal her disdain for those viewing education as anything other than glorified vocational training, and considering the fact that I wasn’t the only humanities major in the room, her summarizing anecdote of choice was tellingly errant.

Dant Chesser told us of her recent chat with an art history major who was having trouble in the job market. Well, what did he expect? Art history? What sort of guidance counselor would recommend studying subjects as perennially useless as art history?

Well …

Perhaps those guidance counselors grasping that the object of education isn’t always to match obedient hamsters to their proper wheel, but to produce humans capable of thinking. The fact that “fake” news is such a concern these days might enter into this paradigm, wouldn’t you … think?

Seemingly nowhere in Dant Chesser’s narrowly defined (read: confined) world exists the type of broad, individually tailored choices of human aspiration that depart from economic development of the “we’ve always done it this way” variety, which by breathtaking coincidence is the type best calculated to advance the specific capitalist format to which 1Si has attached itself like a leech – hence the blood money of its council funding request.

The real problem might be that humanities majors have been made aware of different trends in the history of thought, and as such, they’re the ones most likely to question Dant Chesser’s premises.

Which I did, aloud and joyfully.

Bizarrely, another of her slides testified to the critical importance of every Southern Indiana resident meekly accepting 1Si’s version of the Regional Cities Initiative, so as to provide unanimity in pursuit of a “collective” path forward – and yes, “collective” is precisely the word this crony capitalist enabler used.

Irony is dead, but Trumpolini didn’t kill it.

As a direct result of past concerns proffered by anti-establishment dissidents, at least the money 1Si is requesting of our council will be put to a specific, directed use: WorkHub, a workforce training initiative.

That’s all well and good, but is this workforce training available to art history majors, or must we collectively denounce the pursuit of non-vocational education before disbursing the dollars to applicants?

Until Dant Chesser answers this question (a contrite public apology would be more suitable, but I’m a cynical realist), I recommend to council that the money be withheld. It won’t, and I can hear the backslapping already.

Dant Chesser hits the Gahan ATM and solves the oligarchs' RDA funding puzzle.

Cue the testimonial ...

The friendly people at Bank of Gahan are happy to help you with financial planning. 

Of course, if you have to ask about interest payments, you probably can't afford them, but Bank of Gahan specializes in easy payment plans with maximum liquidity of campaign finance collateral. 

Bank of Gahan has funded projects large and small, from aquatic centers without a paper trail to the serial harassment of street department employees. 

Bank of Gahan's motto is a promise to you: "It's why we're here."

Enjoy tonight's special feature, presented by Mayor Jeff Gahan and the Bank of Gahan: "Wendy, Make Up Your Mind" (and do your RDA banking with us).



The story begins in a back room ...

Regional Development Authority needs funding before it can plan projects, by Danielle Grady (Omnibus Tom May)

JEFFERSONVILLE — Project ideas at the fifth meeting for Southern Indiana’s Regional Development Authority ranged from region-wide rural internet access to a $40 million road from the Clark Regional Airport to River Ridge Commerce Center.

But the Our Southern Indiana RDA, which was formed at the beginning of the year to facilitate economic development projects in Clark, Floyd, Scott, Washington and Jefferson counties, isn’t in a position to start adopting any of those suggestions. Yet.

Before any formal project ideas are sent to the state for its consideration, funding is needed to create a plan.

Seems the pillars are skint, so they're spending their time brainstorming.

Southern Indiana’s RDA has made positive progress in its first four months, said Dana Huber, the vice president of marketing and public relations at Huber’s Orchard and Winery and Clark County’s representative on the development authority’s board of directors. (Each participating county has its own advocate on the board).

Due to a lack of funding, however, the board has been limited to enacting processes and procedures and — as its members did on Monday in the Clark County Courthouse’s council chambers — discussing ideas that they might want to focus on when planning time finally comes around. That’s been a little challenging at times for the board, which is comprised of business leaders who are used to attaching to ideas and running with them immediately, said Huber. But it hasn’t been overwhelmingly difficult.

“I think the progress has been good,” Huber said. “I think we will feel better, the RDA team will feel better, once we’ve attached our brand to a timeline and some potential projects that will [make an] impact.”

The RDA does know that it wants its projects to impact the region — not just one city or county.

So, naturally, the first round of ideas are restricted (yet again) to Clark County, and reference no clue whatever that truly "regional" needs might just involve things like getting workers to jobs without always having to drive.

The RDA also invited Clark County Commissioners President Jack Coffman to propose a few projects that would benefit the area at the Monday meeting. His suggestions included the aforementioned internet access and road to the airport, as well as the heavy haul road connecting River Ridge, Interstate 265 and the Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville.

The question can't be evaded: If the RDAs are to be useful at all, and if needs truly are regional, is there any chance that the same old suspects might be compelled to think in a future tense, as a part from One Southern Indiana's Econ Dev 101 template?

Buffalo Dis-Trace: White folks dress up like their bison-killing ancestors as we glance at Jacobi, Toombs & Lanz's big role in Gahan campaign finance.

Previously:

GREEN MOUSE SAYS: Hill or valley? mural or statue? Bison or weasel? Evidently Team Gahan needs reinforcements.

‏
City Hall's Twitter feed is giddy.

@JTLengineering tweeted: JTL has a big role in the Summit Springs development in @NewAlbanyIN. We did the infrastructure design and designed the Daisy Lane extension. Our survey manager, Steve Marshall, joined in the fun to help unveil the buffalo stones celebrating the Buffalo Trace. #JTLengineering

As you've no doubt guessed, Jacobi, Toombs & Lanz also has a big role in Dear Leader's re-election campaign.

This one's from 2017.

These are from 2015 and 2014.

That's a lot of money for period costumes, don't you think? But wait -- the mayor wore a suit, just like always.

Let's hope Mrs. Dant Chesser used the occasion of an "art park" opening to remind attendees never to let their babies grow up to be humanities/arts majors.

Amazon's bid: More required reading that Wendy Dant Chesser and One Southern Indiana will add to their bonfire of the vacuities.

Wendy is positively giddy -- and liberal arts degree holders should be scared.

Here’s what we know about Louisville’s Amazon bid, by Caitlin Bowling (Insider Louisville)

While other cities are publicly touting potential sites and incentives for Amazon’s secondary headquarters or crafting gimmicks to attract attention, the city of Louisville has remained relatively mum when it comes to its bid.

Louisville’s economic development arm Louisville Forward is spearheading the effort, but it has culled information from various other entities inside and outside of Jefferson County to help strengthen its proposal ...

... Wendy Dant Chesser, president and CEO of chamber of commerce One Southern Indiana, said the experience was fun because of the collaborative spirit surrounding it.

“If we can work together and be successful, we can all benefit from it,” she said. “We put in a package what I think is indicative of what the region has to offer. Now will it be enough? We will have to wait to hear from Amazon.”

It's always fun when you're playing with house (taxpayer) money. Now for that pesky fine print. I'm guessing there aren't copies of this article in the break room at 1Si.

Amazon’s Uneven Playing Field, by Olivia LaVecchia (Motherboard)

Amazon is looking for a big subsidy to build its new headquarters—the latest move in the company’s long history of using the government to get favors its rivals can’t.

In the hierarchy of the corporate world today, Amazon is near the top. It's one of the top five most valuable companies traded on the major exchanges, and founder and CEO Jeff Bezos is now the second-richest person in the world.

People tend to think that Amazon has gotten there simply by out-competing everyone else. But there's another part of the story of Amazon's rise. From the very beginning, a core part of Amazon's strategy has been taking advantage of public benefits not available to its competitors.

Now, bidding is set to close Thursday on the latest play in this strategy: Amazon's decision to launch a public auction for the location of its second North American headquarters. In that auction, Amazon is angling for such a substantial public handout that, as Amazon itself puts it in its Request for Proposals, the "magnitude may require special incentive legislation." Since Amazon opened bidding, more than 100 cities across the U.S. and Canada have publicly announced their interest in the Amazon sweepstakes, and have given over conference rooms and staff time to work on the bid, launched PR stunts, and started hashtags. Experts say that the end result of all of this hype could be a multi-billion dollar giveaway from taxpayers to Amazon.

Here's one for Wendy: "How Corporate Welfare Is Killing Small Businesses."

(Infographic from Money Choice)

But, you know, River Ridge and all. Follow the link to examine the chart in greater detail.

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How Corporate Welfare Is Killing Small Businesses, by John White (Inc)

Despite being the backbone of the economy, funding from the Small Business Administration is a fraction of that of corporate welfare.

What is corporate welfare?
Corporate welfare is tax money that is given to corporations in order to encourage growth in a specific sector, stabilize a shaky sector, or avoid financial meltdown in a certain sector. Most notably we've seen this used to successfully avert a banking crisis in 2008, as well as the predicted collapse of the American auto industry between 2009 and 2013.

Big business wins big
Between 2000 and 2015, two-thirds of corporate welfare subsidies went to fewer than 600 large companies.

Small businesses can't compete
Even though small businesses are considered by many to be the backbone of our economy, accounting for 54% of all sales in the United States as well as the lion's share of job growth since the early 1990s, funding from the Small Business Administration is a fraction of that of corporate welfare. The SBA's budget was $1.4 billion in 2016, but the SBA only provides grants for nonprofits and educational institutions in certain growth sectors.

It does not provide direct loans to small businesses; instead, it provides guidelines for small business loans from lending institutions. You know, those big banks getting all the bailouts.

Council approves 1Si's funding request. Greg Phipps disagrees, and Dan Coffey denounces free speech. In tonight's performance, the role of Jeff Gahan was played by Mike Hall.

This post has been edited to reflect Pat McLaughlin's vote against A-17-02 (1Si funding. Apologies for missing this; thanks to Greg Phipps for the correction. 

Earlier this evening, I read both of my prepared statements during their allotted time.

(1 of 2) My comments at tonight's city council meeting, during the public hearing for A-17-02 (funding for One Southern Indiana).

(2 of 2) My comments at tonight's city council meeting, during public speaking time prior to A-17-02 (funding for One Southern Indiana).

Bob Caesar looked greatly pained. What if the cool kids and the in-crowd held him responsible for the words of wild-eyed, dissenting, anti-establishment types like me?

Naturally there wasn't the slightest doubt that A-17-02 would pass, with $30,000 going to 1Si for vocational training initiatives, although Citizen Cassidy raised an excellent point. He asked why 1Si's tithing hat is not extended in the direction of Floyd County government, too.

It was gratifying to have Greg Phipps join me in defending the virtue of liberal arts and humanities majors. Phipps and council president Pat McLaughlin cast their votes against A-17-02.

1Si's Wendy Dant Chesser was in attendance, and when asked by Phipps to clarify, she denied speaking with disdain about art history majors. I have two things to say about this.

First: I wasn't the only LSI class member in attendance to come away with the same impression as mine. She did as she did.

Second: If Dant Chesser's objective (then as now) is to urge the expansion of vocational training as well as encouraging college degrees in areas of most interest to employers, this is fine and dandy, but is it really necessary to mention the college degrees one shouldn't pursue?

Put another way, if her argument is sound, why even tell the anecdote of the embittered art history major and risk being misread?  

Consequently, I stand by my statements.

Of course, no council meeting would be complete without Dan Coffey going full gonzo reactionary.

In Coffey's schoolboy zeal to agree "100%" with Dant Chesser, who would detour down the alley lickety-split if she saw Coffey approaching her on the street, he announced with agitation (paraphrasing) that taxpayers simply shouldn't be allowed to come to council meetings and use the podium as a "bully pulpit" in order to say what they think.

So much for the Constitution.

Say it ain't so, Adam -- Dan Coffey opposed to free speech?

Well, DUH, but of course this doesn't stop Jeff "Dear Leader" Gahan from parleying with the lapsed Wizard in pursuit of emptied public housing blocks accompanied by a fully remodeled Riverview Towers, where the barbecued bologna always hits the fan at just the right time.

Just imagine a public housing tenant packing his or her belongings in a Kroger shopping cart on the way to the rail siding, and seeing Gahan's face staring back with an $8,000 reminder to eat healthy and visit the aquatic center often.

But I digress.

Funniest of all was Al Knable's brief reply to Coffey. Knable upheld the wisdom of allowing taxpayers to speak even when they disagree with Dan Coffey, and clarified the meaning of "bully pulpit" as originally used by Teddy Roosevelt, to which Coffey nodded vigorously and insisted he knew the meaning of a concept he'd butchered just moments before.

No wonder Coffey and Gahan have been joined at the hip for so long.

Neither of them has made a mistake, ever.  

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TWITTER LOG for MONDAY, JUNE 5 (from start to finish)

I've returned to city council after a hiatus. So far. too busy reading prepared statements to tweet. If anything happens ...

Mayor Hall is here. His attendance is stellar. Except he isn't the mayor.

A-17-02 One Southern Indiana's $30K for vocational training advancement. Caesar vouched for 1Si's integrity v.v. $

A-17-02 Phipps grills Dant Chesser about the value of liberal arts education. Bravo.

A-17-02 Coffey says what we all know: it's good to have all sorts of jobs.

Coffey denounces public speakers who use council time to exercise free speech. Somewhere @DeafGahan is smiling.

5 minutes later, Coffey is still talking. He doesn't understand why such a great idea should be discussed #OhDonald

Coffey thinks A-17-02 will transform the planet.

Coffey now says of course he knew what "bully pulpit" meant when he misused it moments ago. Of course. Ha ha.

A-17-02 is going to be approved unanimously. Even I'm not sure why the questions have broken out. But that IS why I spoke.

Phipps opposes A-17-02. Bully for him. Final score 8-1 7-2 in favor of the 1Si Oligarchs.

(Edit: McLaughlin also voted against)

A-17-03 New police car funding. 9-0 in favor.

3rd reading on the last two, meaning they both got final approval.

R-17-08 Lots of abatements and stress relievers for Beach Mold and Tool. Caesar's mayoral campaign is in full swing.

Duggins thanks everyone. His mayoral campaign is in full tumescence, too. So many engorged members, so little time.

R-17-08 The choreography is awesome for what probably be another unanimous vote. The ritual can be fascinating even w/o martinis.

R-17-08 Vote is 9-0 in favor. Now who'll take credit for this in 2019? Caesar? Duggins? Nod?

Adjourned. Thank you.

(2 of 2) My comments at tonight's city council meeting, during public speaking time prior to A-17-02 (funding for One Southern Indiana).

What I'll be saying tonight during regular public speaking time for agenda items. It is a repurposed extract from a recent ON THE AVENUES column. Part 1 is here.

I’m a member of the Leadership Southern Indiana’s Discover class of 2017.

The presence of A-17-02 on tonight’s agenda is ironic, given that in May, One Southern Indiana’s President and CEO, Wendy Dant Chesser, spoke to our class during Community Leadership Day.

Ostensibly Dant Chesser was there to outline steps for effectively leading a non-profit organization. However, the second half of her presentation quickly digressed into the customary advertisement for 1Si, although this time with a twist.

According to Dant Chesser, the large manufacturing conglomerates most eagerly courted by 1Si (as opposed to independent local businesses and grassroots entrepreneurs, who must settle for trickle-down) prefer employees holding one of the six “top earner” university degrees, including subjects like engineering, computers and electronics.

However, according to her, higher education insists on disgorging twice as many graduates who’ve received the six “least useful” (and lowest paying) degree choices, like English, philosophy, geography, history and the like.

It would seem that both Dant Chesser and the often subsidized multinational beneficiaries of the local branch of the neoliberal order, upon whom 1Si depends to make payroll for 14 staffers, are very offended by this educational ratio.

She made no effort to conceal her disdain for people who might view education as something other than vocational training, or that differs from what employers want, and considering the fact that I wasn’t the only humanities major in the room, her summarizing anecdote of choice was tellingly misplaced.

She told us of a recent chat with an art history major who was having trouble in the job market. Well, she said, what did he expect? Art history? What sort of guidance counselor would recommend studying subjects as perennially useless as art history?

Perhaps those guidance counselors grasping that the object of education isn’t always to match obedient hamsters to their proper wheel, but to produce humans capable of thinking. The fact that “fake” news is such a concern these days might enter into this paradigm, wouldn’t you … think?

Seemingly nowhere in Dant Chesser’s narrowly defined world exists the type of broad, individually tailored choices of human aspiration that depart from economic development of the “we’ve always done it this way” variety, which by breathtaking coincidence is the type best calculated to advance the US Chamber of Commerce-approved, specific capitalist format to which 1Si attaches itself.

The real problem might just be that humanities majors have been made aware of trends in the history of thought that differ from hers and the oligarchs she serves, and as such, humanities majors are the ones most likely to question Dant Chesser’s premises.

Which I did, and am doing so again tonight. Because, how did I manage to stay in business 25 years without an engineering degree?

Dan Chesser also informed us that every Southern Indiana resident should unquestioningly accept – notice a pattern yet? – 1Si’s version of the Regional Cities Initiative, so as to provide unanimity in pursuit of a “collective” path forward – and yes, “collective” is precisely the word this crony capitalist enabler used, proving that while irony is dead, the Great Trumpolini didn’t kill it.

As a direct result of past concerns voiced by anti-establishment dissidents, at least the money 1Si is requesting tonight of our council will be put to a specific, directed use: WorkHub, a vocational training initiative.

But first we need to answer two questions: Is this vocational training available to art history majors, or must we collectively denounce the pursuit of non-vocational education before disbursing the dollars to applicants? Can art history majors be cured of their wayward choices, and restored to harmony with multinational corporations?

WorkHub probably is a good program, but absent a public apology by Dant Chesser to humanities majors, which I sadly know isn’t forthcoming, I’d recommend that council withhold the money until my questions are answered. You won’t, so instead I’ll urge you to think carefully about what 1Si is, and what it does. Not all your constituents view it as a panacea.

Thank you.

ON THE AVENUES: Are dissidents born or made? A humanities major examines his life and locale.

ON THE AVENUES: Are dissidents born or made? A humanities major examines his life and locale. 

A weekly column by Roger A. Baylor.

Since my mother died in mid-March, I’ve experienced periods of intense introspection.

Are these signs of depression?

Maybe, although I don’t think so. In all likelihood, periods of reflection are natural manifestations of the grieving process. The cosmos can be disorienting even in the best of times, and our reactions change with them.

I believe that it’s never too late to learn something, and accordingly, these past few weeks have struck me as an opportunity to relax and see where these evolving thoughts are leading.

One very big question has moved to the front of the cerebral queue. It’s something I’ve often asked myself through the years.

Why am I here?

Mind you, not here on Planet Earth. There’s no need for existential musing about the nature of origins, at least yet. I’m perfectly content to allow theologians, philosophers and even humanities majors to earn their meager pay, but looking through old photo albums is evidence enough for me.

My parents met, and one thing led to another. Suddenly there I was, all created, pouring pints of Guinness for a living and plotting a beer revolution.

Rather …

Why am I still here, continuing to live in New Albany when I might be residing in another part of the state, country or world?

(Reader’s note: The axiom known as Thrasher’s Razor fully applies to this rumination, because now more than ever, we’re all here because we’re not all there.)

As the missus reminds me on widely scattered occasions -- basically, every morning at breakfast -- I’ve never been much in sync with the sort of polite poseur’s society mores craved by the likes of Bob Caesar. They're far too banal an ordeal for me.

After 57 years of give and take, it’s evident that I have lots of buttons – and the reigning poltroons have even more fingers. I’ve never been able to swim a lick unless it’s against the metaphorical tide. Contrarianism fits me like a well-tailored suit, which of course I’d refuse to wear, because you can’t trust anyone who does.

They’re just hiding behind those fashionable costumes (seriously?), anyway.

I trust it isn’t time to face the final curtain, and yet the years dwindle down. Wouldn’t I be happier elsewhere, in a place with a cultural climate more in keeping with my personal value system, as opposed to one that prompts severe allergic (read: aesthetic) reactions?

Might I manage to find the zip code for peace and harmony, even at the advanced age of “I can remember the first moon landing”?

Haven’t “they” always told me to leave town if I didn’t like “their” toxic farrago of ignorance and anti-intellectualism?

To which I’ve always succinctly replied: “You first, my dear Gaston.”

---

The most recent resurgence of these locational culture reflections came during our April visit to Portland, Maine.

It was a Friday morning at the estimable Tony’s Donut Shop at the corner of Bolton and Congress, and we were equipped with cream horns, black coffee and the bakery’s gnarled regulars seated at an adjacent table, talking current events.

As noted previously, Tony's is somewhat reminiscent of New Albany’s venerable Honey Creme Donuts, albeit three or four times larger, with more production capacity as well as a half-dozen cozy tables for visitors to sit and converse.

It was impossible to avoid overhearing the amiable patter as locals came and went with their carry-outs, nor to ignore the booming voices of the senior citizens seated nearby. They were talking hockey when we sat down, then shifted to politics -- and I caught myself cringing involuntarily, as though expecting to be savagely beaten.

After all, back home again in Indiana, where I’ve insisted on remaining amid the raging right-wing proclivities, this conversational shift inevitably would have segued into the parroting of conservative talk radio bromides.

Or, just the thing inspiring me to respond loudly from the left side of the aisle, a scenario usually culminating in rancor, disharmony and “if you don’t love it, lump it” -- or worse.

And so there I sat at Tony’s Donuts like Pavlov’s drooling mutt, conditioned to imagine a fine day about to be ruined, all the while thinking that I can’t seem to escape the mentality of Redevelopment Commission meetings no matter how far I travel – except this time, it wasn’t that way at all.

Instead, these retirees in Portland fiercely criticized Donald Trump’s buffoonery. They mercilessly ridiculed the Republican Party, and scoffed openly at the very idea of a theocratic creature called “Mike Pence” reposing within spitting distance of power.

Me? I’m from Chicago. Never heard of Indiana.

Awestruck, yet aware it would have been impolite of me to kiss these strangers, I settled for stuffing another nut-encrusted Bismarck into my gratified pie hole. Still, it started me thinking.

I’ve lived in Floyd County my whole life, and in the city of New Albany during the latter half of it. Even when Barack Obama won the state of Indiana in 2008, John McCain beat Obama more than comfortably in both my county and city. So did Mitt Romney in 2012, and of course Trump easily carried them, too.

Yes, so-called Democrats have “controlled” municipal government for much of the same period, although it is painfully clear that the retirees at Tony’s would take one pained look at Caesar and accurately place him somewhere to the right of George Wallace.

Back to my original question. If I’ve never been into S & M, why have I punished myself these many decades?

As an old-school Red (Commie) marooned in a new-age Red (Conservative) sandbox, and generally outnumbered, I’ve been compelled for thirty-five or more years to inflict my liberalism on the prevailing Falangist orthodoxy by means of guerrilla warfare, destined almost always to lose, and just as often reluctant to compromise.

Why am I like this?

I don’t know. After I’m dead, the psychoanalysts can study my brain for causes of contrarianism. In my experience, it’s incurable.

All I know is for as long as I can remember, I’ve been obsessed with the notion that opposing points of view deserve a hearing, especially as they pertain to politics, civil rights, religion and individual conscience.

The bland respectability of Babbitt-style conformity invariably tramples “other” competing sides of the story, and so when disposed to tilt, my windmill of choice flies a banner reading “we’ve always done it this way.”

On the other hand, if I’ve been of assistance just once to someone by helping them see that it’s okay to be different, and it’s possible to be responsible, productive and ethical without being duped and hornswoggled by delusions, fantasias and superstitions foisted by the usual suspects, then my career in contrarianism has been well worth it.

---

As a relevant postscript, I cannot attend Thursday evening’s city council meeting owing to a conflict with my Leadership Southern Indiana graduation ceremony. As you may recall, I’m a proud member of the Discover class of 2017.

Leadership Southern Indiana’s mission is to engage, develop and mobilize regional leaders who will serve and transform our community.

Ironically, the council’s Thursday evening agenda includes A-17-02, an ordinance documenting our legislative body’s annual tithe to One Southern Indiana – and coincidentally, 1Si’s President and CEO, Wendy Dant Chesser, spoke to my class last week during our concluding Community Leadership Day.

Ostensibly Dant Chesser was there to outline steps for effectively leading a non-profit organization, and this she managed to do with requisite efficiency.

However, the second half of her presentation quickly digressed into the customary advertisement for 1Si, although this time with a novel twist.

According to Dant Chesser, the large manufacturing conglomerates most eagerly courted by 1Si (as opposed to independent local businesses and grassroots entrepreneurs, who must settle for trickle-down) prefer employees holding one of the six “top earner” university degrees, including engineering, computers and electronics.

However, according to her PowerPoint slide, higher education insists on disgorging twice as many graduates who’ve been awarded the six least “useful” (and lowest paying) degree choices: English, philosophy, history and the like.

It would seem that both Dant Chesser and the fluffed and subsidized multinational beneficiaries of the neoliberal order, upon whom 1Si depends to make payroll for 14 staffers, are offended by this ratio.

She made no effort to conceal her disdain for those viewing education as anything other than glorified vocational training, and considering the fact that I wasn’t the only humanities major in the room, her summarizing anecdote of choice was tellingly errant.

Dant Chesser told us of her recent chat with an art history major who was having trouble in the job market. Well, what did he expect? Art history? What sort of guidance counselor would recommend studying subjects as perennially useless as art history?

Well …

Perhaps those guidance counselors grasping that the object of education isn’t always to match obedient hamsters to their proper wheel, but to produce humans capable of thinking. The fact that “fake” news is such a concern these days might enter into this paradigm, wouldn’t you … think?

Seemingly nowhere in Dant Chesser’s narrowly defined (read: confined) world exists the type of broad, individually tailored choices of human aspiration that depart from economic development of the “we’ve always done it this way” variety, which by breathtaking coincidence is the type best calculated to advance the specific capitalist format to which 1Si has attached itself like a leech – hence the blood money of its council funding request.

The real problem might be that humanities majors have been made aware of different trends in the history of thought, and as such, they’re the ones most likely to question Dant Chesser’s premises.

Which I did, aloud and joyfully.

Bizarrely, another of her slides testified to the critical importance of every Southern Indiana resident meekly accepting 1Si’s version of the Regional Cities Initiative, so as to provide unanimity in pursuit of a “collective” path forward – and yes, “collective” is precisely the word this crony capitalist enabler used.

Irony is dead, but Trumpolini didn’t kill it.

As a direct result of past concerns proffered by anti-establishment dissidents, at least the money 1Si is requesting of our council will be put to a specific, directed use: WorkHub, a workforce training initiative.

That’s all well and good, but is this workforce training available to art history majors, or must we collectively denounce the pursuit of non-vocational education before disbursing the dollars to applicants?

Until Dant Chesser answers this question (a contrite public apology would be more suitable, but I’m a cynical realist), I recommend to council that the money be withheld. It won’t, and I can hear the backslapping already.

This admittedly has been a long read, so thanks for persevering.

You know, if dastardly parasitic humanities majors like me didn’t combat the angst with alcohol and stick around places like Nawbany, confident that any reasonable definition of leadership includes transparency, the ability to hear opposing viewpoints, to weigh available options and to filter the incessant bilge before charging across open ground toward the machine gun nest – tell me, would anyone bother challenging Wendy Dant Chesser and Bob Caesar when they begin spinning those “our way or the highway” whoppers?

That’s okay. You needn't answer. It’s my conscience, and it’s not for sale. However, I’m not going anywhere, and you can buy me a beer any time you like.

---

Recent columns:

May 11: ON THE AVENUES: Would a Canon candidacy compromise Deaf Gahan's and Mr. Dizznee's shizz show? A boy can dream.

May 4: ON THE AVENUES: Under the volcano in Catania, Sicily (Part One).

April 27: ON THE AVENUES: Dear Mr. Dizznee: Can you hear me now?

April 20: ON THE AVENUES: The Weekly Wad? It was a modest start.

New Albany's new Comprehensive Plan to be happily midwifed by precisely the same old suspects.

I don't enjoy being the deliverer of Halloween nightmares.

Wait a minute -- yes I do.

New Albany drafting new city plan, by Madeleine Winer (Courier-Journal)

New Albany is asking for input on what its next 20 years of development will look like.

The city has started drafting a new comprehensive plan, which plots what improvements in transportation, housing, infrastructure and overall quality of life it would like to make over the next two decades. So far, the city worked with an engineering and development firm to create a rough draft of the plan and has hosted stakeholder and focus group meetings, said city spokesman Mike Hall.

“The comprehensive plan is a guiding tool and reference that we can use to help move New Albany forward for years to come," said Mayor Jeff Gahan in a statement. "By working together, we can ensure that we make New Albany the best city it can be for all of us, and we can work towards making our shared vision a reality."

Leading the plan's formation is a 13-person steering committee, consisting mainly of city officials, developers and redevelopment representatives. Engineering firms Bean Longest and Neff and HWC Engineers, both based out of Indianapolis, were hired to draft the plan. Both firms have also been hired to work on other city projects including converting some its one-way streets to two-way roads and the Mt. Tabor road restoration project.

Maybe this part will help you feel better.

Wendy Dant Chessler, steering committee member and president and CEO of One Southern Indiana, said her role on the committee is to think about what businesses' needs will be in the future and what development areas the city can help with. One Southern Indiana is the Chamber of Commerce for Clark and Floyd Counties with a good portion of its members with businesses in New Albany, she said.

"It gives us a clearer picture of what the community wants," she said, "and we figure out from there who to market it to to get those types of companies."

She said a big part of the plan is its zoning, which will determine what types of development can be built in certain areas of the city.

Apart from One Southern Indiana's familiar role as hen house fox with open palms, there's a familiar scorecard to update.

HWC Engineering: Gutted the Speck two-way plan ... remains the employer of the economic development director's wife ... now charged with writing a new comprehensive plan derived from the boilerplate input of the same old suspects.

And you think I'm kidding when I refer to this asylum as New Gahania?