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Holcomb bringing Egypt trip to close
Gov. Eric Holcomb is taking many lessons from his trip to Egypt for an international climate change conference — starting with the need to scale up fast and compete with the world. He told reporters Friday morning, for example, that he learned about a hydroelectricity project that was shelved in the United Kingdom. “And it’s […]
Time to move on from straight ticket voting
I’m just going to say it — it’s probably time for Indiana to join the rest of the country in eliminating straight ticket voting. It leads to choosing unqualified or questionable candidates because the R or D after the name is more important than the person who will hold the office. Also called straight party […]
Debating the blue check mark
Anyone who follows me on Twitter knows how excited I was to get my blue check mark back in Dec. 2021. I had tried for years, but Twitter had a pretty stringent procedure. Even though I had thousands of followers, aired on a weekly television show and had been an honest and fair journalist for […]
Molter dons robe — officially
Indiana Supreme Court Justice Derek Molter’s ceremonial robing ceremony Tuesday was a who’s who of jurisprudence, with a few jokes thrown in. He is the newest member of the five-member court, appointed by Gov. Eric Holcomb. He started work Sept. 1 and has already worked on more than 100 cases. Holcomb called Molter innovative, collaborative […]
State law already clear on required vaccines
I love that insurance commercial where several older women are taping pictures to their “wall” — a nod to Facebook and the trope about technology and senior citizens. “That’s not how any of this works,” one woman says. That’s how I feel about the current debate on requiring the COVID-19 vaccination for school-aged children. An […]
Congressman Jim Banks makes moves for leadership
Indiana’s Third District Republican Congressman Jim Banks has been methodically building a national profile over the last seven years — by aligning himself with Donald Trump, curating a fiery (and controversial) Twitter account and leading the Republican Study Committee. Now, he is looking to become the House majority whip should Republicans take control of the […]
Transparency needed on Boone County economic development project
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation’s handling of an attempt to create a massive high-tech park in Boone County leaves a lot to be desired. And while local citizens there are pushing back hard, Hoosiers as a whole should be watching. That’s because the approach to this “innovation district” is new and unique in Indiana – […]
Rokita now backing Trump in Mar-a-Lago case
Every time Attorney General Todd Rokita signs Indiana onto a lawsuit somewhere in the country or files a brief in a case that doesn’t involve Hoosiers, emails and messages clog my inbox. They are from citizens who want to know what this is costing taxpayers — to play legal games on issues that don’t directly […]
Online gambling is the next frontier for Indiana
My husband is addicted to this slot-machine game on his phone. Every day he makes sure to retrieve his bonuses and build the fake stack of coins, even though his wins have no real consequences. Can you imagine if it was real gambling? That might be where Indiana is headed. The Indiana Gaming Commission hired […]
Privacy at heart of many state, federal laws
The underlying fight on abortion is about privacy, and specifically whether a woman can make private medical decisions that the government shouldn’t be part of. I am not a lawyer, but what I can say is that while the word “privacy” isn’t explicitly in the Constitution, state and federal lawmakers pass laws based on the […]
Can RFRA take down Indiana’s new abortion law?
It is the height of irony that the new GOP-backed abortion restrictions could be undone by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. RFRA caused massive controversy in 2015 because conservative groups and some Hoosiers wanted to use it to justify discrimination, specifically against gay and lesbian Hoosiers who they disagreed with based on religious beliefs. Think […]
Is Young in trouble? Probably not, but one poll is making waves
Could U.S. Sen. Todd Young be in trouble in his re-election bid? If so, it would be one of the biggest political upsets Indiana has ever seen. Two major political prognosticators – Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball – have called the seat uncompetitive and labeled it either a solid or safe Republican win. […]