Hoosier lore

As a public service, this blog is issuing a travel advisory: Stay away from Huntington if you value your life. This might seem surprising, since that city has just had its first homicide of the year. But Huntington's estimated population (as of 2008) is 16,151, so that's, well, one homicide for every 16,151residents.

Turns out those of you who've said Indianapolis smells were right:

Indianapolis' signature smell is made of cinnamon and spice and everything nice -- or at least a lot of nice things, including jasmine, gardenia and patchouli.

It's official: Democrats chose Brad Ellsworth to run against Dan Coats for the Senate seat being vacated by Evan Bayh:

Off to a late start and an unorthodox selection as Indiana's Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Brad Ellsworth officially launched his campaign Saturday, calling himself a former county sheriff "increasing my patrol zone.''

[. . .]

You can either credit state Sen. Mike Delph with being persistent and having the courage of his convictions, or condemn him as a stubborn jackass who won't give up on a lost cause. Spurred by Arizona's recent enactment of a tough state immigration law, he's considering his fourth try at legislation here:

If what you've been doing hasn't been working:

After 40 years, the United States' war on drugs has cost $1 trillion and hundreds of thousands of lives, and for what? Drug use is rampant and violence even more brutal and widespread.

Even U.S. drug czar Gil Kerlikowske concedes the strategy hasn't worked.

Then by all means find a way to do it even more:

They're having a little county code contretemps in St. Joseph. The code had been on the fast track, but officials slowed things down over concerns that it had become too broad in scope. Concern has been raised especially about language "that would allow building department employees to enter people's homes to look for violations." Perhaps some people didn't see the controversy coming:

The language was lifted almost word for word from the city ordinance, he said.

Indiana lawmakers make a lot of trips on other people's dimes, and Sen. Lugar doesn't think it's such a big deal:

Indiana representatives and senators have taken trips to Mexico, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Palm Beach, Las Vegas, Rome and Paris in recent years, racking up $250,000 in expenses paid for by special interest groups, such as think tanks, nonprofit organizations, universities, medical groups and associations.

[. . .]

Looks like our state is going to lose some revenue, if the Michigan Senate goes along with the House and the governor agrees:

It's no theory: The big bang may be coming to Michigan -- legally and possibly in time for July 4th.

In case you thought you'd heard of every crime in the book:

The owners of a Henryville funeral home are accused of selling a family phony ashes, telling them they were of their dead pet.

State police had been investigating Richard D. Pyke, 42, and his son, Richard "Bradley" Pyke, 19, in connection with suspected illegal activity at the R.D. Pyke Funeral Home, and had seized the bodies of several pets awaiting cremation on Tuesday.

I wouldn't have thought that "empathy" was something requiring a lot of academic study -- people either have it, or they don't, and the ones who do are generally better off (and more civilized) than the ones who don't.  But Indiana University has snagged a $199,617 grant from the University of Chicago to correct the lack of study of an emotion "that is as widely valued as it is under-theorized." Damn those under-theorized emotions! This is intriguing: