Hoosier lore

West Lafayette is considering a "pay as you throw" trash pickup fee. There are good arguments for such a system -- our newspaper even editorialized in favor of it when Fort Wayne was considering the idea in 1992. We said it would make people think of the real costs of trash disposal and quit forcing those of us who put out little trash to subsidize those who generate too much. But this Purdue junior, writing in the Exponent student newspaper, seems a little too enthusiastic about the plan:

"The Nation," which is further to the left than National Review is to the right, looks at the Evan Bayh desertion and proclaims Indiana "an angry state that is looking for change, and rightly so."

If they are smart, they will look for a candidate who can run hard and smart as a populist critic of free trade and big-bank bailouts and a supporter of smart investments in job creation.

The Wall Street Journal's editors aren't buying Evan Bayh's whining about a lack of bipartisanship making him sick and tired of Congress. To them, he's just another Democrat skipping town before the latest liberal crackup hits:

Of all the reactions to Evan Bayh's retirement bombshell, this one strikes me as the most unlikely prediction:

Some people in Indy are wringing their hands over what to do about three dozen or so of the "homeless" who have built themselves a ramshackle village under a railroad bridge in downtown Indianapolis. "Issue of bridge people defies easy solution," the headline says, and one person attending a "summit" about the problem said "you can't just kick them out" but they should at least "be required to clean up after themselves." Most solutions, the group concluded, are complex.

A strange election season just got a whole lot stranger:

The Washington Post reports: Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh will not seek re-election this year, a decision that hands Republicans a prime pickup opportunity in the middle of the country.

"After all these years, my passion for service to my fellow citizens is undiminished, but my desire to do so by serving in Congress has waned," Bayh will say.

I dunno, seems like a pretty good week to me:

Last week of the Indiana General Assembly was summed up by the House minority leader Thursday in a way that was painfully obvious to anyone spending time at the Statehouse.

"We didn't take a single vote on any issue this week," Rep. Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, reminded his colleagues on the House floor.

"If you have to do something, you might as well get good at it" department:

Michiana has something to brag about, it's home to the best grocery bagger in the country.

Martin's employee and 19-year old Kyle Perry of Osceola beat out thousands of competitors to be named the best.

[. . .]

A tale of two sentences. Is this one too lenient?

INDIANAPOLIS — A judge gave a 53-year prison sentence to a man convicted of shooting a pregnant teller during a bank robbery and causing the deaths of her unborn twins.

The April 2008 shooting led to a change in state law increasing the prison term for anyone who murders or attempts to murder a pregnant woman and causes the loss of her unborn child.

Oh, yeah:

For some state and local Republicans, there is frustration caused by the perception that the Washington GOP establishment