Hoosier lore

On the occasion of the impending execution of murderer Eric Wrinkles, the Roman Catholic bishop for the Diocese of Evansville, where the crime took place, offers his thoughts on capital punishment and the protection of society:

I ask you, what more could be asked of a companion?

The Greene County newspaper has a story about the local increase of handgun carry permits -- 894 so far this year, compared with 694 in 2008 and 628 in 2007. That is a lot of people "packing heat," as the story not-so-cleverly puts it. The police chief offers some speculation:

Gary Mayor Rudy Clay, announcing the appointment of Gary Carter as new police chief -- the sixth in four years -- gets today's "Huh?" award:

Clay says he didn't demote former Chief Reginald Harris last week because of the crime wave, but that he expected Carter to end it.

Splendid doubletalk

Another reason to be glad I don't have kids in school these days:

It's a disturbing game with devastating consequences, and a new WTHR survey suggests it is rampant in Indiana schools.

I like my women like I like my wine:

Bill Oliver, owner and vintner at Bloomington's Oliver Winery, whose Traminette was selected the best of the varietal from Indiana at the competition, described the grape as robust, adaptable and forgiving.

Not in the running for father of the year:

A father who left his 5-year-old son in his semi-trailer truck while he ducked into a Near-Southside strip club was charged with felony neglect and public intoxication this morning.

Donald Crawford, 39, Franklin, was arrested at 1:15 a.m. when he left Sassy Kat's Showclub and called police to report his truck stolen and his child missing.

Yeah, that's right, kick us when we're down:

Jeffersonville City Councilman Mike Smith is hoping to reduce the number of newspaper and advertisement boxes lining downtown sidewalks.

There's a bit of advice seasoned gamblers give to novices: Never take more to a casino than you can afford to lose. If you go overboard, you won't get any sympathy from the casino, and you may have little choice but to declare bankruptcy. Guess the same thing applies to casinos, which should never invest more than they can afford to lose if the economy turns sour and the competition heats up:

A truly shocking discovery in Muncie:

MUNCIE -- It seemed like a good idea at the time: City and county officials in 2007 split the $70,000 cost of a study that analyzed local consumers' spending habits with a goal of attracting retailers and restaurants to the area.

Thanks to turnover in the offices of the mayor and Delaware County commissioners, however, the study was dropped in desk drawers and forgotten.