Despite issues concerning the budget, redistricting and local government reform, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels spent most of his 7th State of the State address to address the issue of education reform; which is expected to be the most contentious issue this legislative session. The Governor called for expanding school choice by allowing a portion of […]

As you know Melina Kennedy formally announced Monday she is running for Mayor.  Although her staff did not provide copies of the speech, they did embed it in her website.  I used that to transcribe the speech.  I got about 98% of it, anything omitted were stumbles and small things that had no bearing on […]

Editor’s Note:  I realize the point of this blog post is likely a giant waste of time, but heck, sometimes you have to give it the old community college try! ********* At 11 a.m. today former Deputy Mayor and candidate for Marion County Prosecutor Melina Kennedy will “officially” announce that she is running for Mayor […]

While working out Saturday afternoon I nearly fell off the cross-trainer when I saw the story about the shooting of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.  Giffords was seriously injured, a federal judge was killed along with five other people and 13 were also injured.  It’s unclear at this time what the motives of the alleged shooter, […]

I have a few questions for my friends who oppose school choice, one of the biggest issues facing lawmakers this legislation session.   Do you think a student attending Notre Dame should get federal financial aid assistance?   Or for that matter, how about someone attending Butler University?  Valparaiso?  The University of Indianapolis?  Kaplan College? Everest College?  […]

There have been a few items of note worth reporting this morning for your amusement and entertainment so here they are…. House Minority Leader Pat Bauer won’t say whether Democrats will exercise the “walk out” option this session as a way to halt the Republican agenda.  The last time Democrats were in the minority, 2005,  […]

When the Indiana House of Representatives convened on time Wednesday afternoon I made the crucial mistake of getting my hopes up.  I thought to myself that the partisan wrangling would be over and these guys whom I have covered for the past six years will have their act together; not so much.  What should have […]

I sat down with Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma Tuesday to talk about the session that begins today.  We talked about the budget, education reform, local government reform, unemployment compensation, smoking ban legislation, social issues and the potential for a walkout by the Democrats.  You can hear the interview below.  Each segment is about five […]

It’s not everyday that you get a chance to talk to the Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction and the head of the Indiana State Teachers Association at the same time, but this morning I did. Both Dr. Tony Bennett and Nate Schnellenbeger appeared at a joint news conference promoting mentoring by the Indiana Youth Institute.  […]

I have a few items of interest to report to you this morning. The Indiana Department of Education is investigating “irregularities” in recent ISTEP tests.  According to the DOE, a number of elementary tests came back with a high number of erasures which raised some red flags in the Office.   DOE Chief of Staff […]