Hoosier lore

The Indiana constitution's guarantee of a free public education isn't really being met, and that lack will become more and more pronounced as new technologies become increasingly available and seen as necessary. It's not just books anymore but things like computers:

You probably thought the General Assembly just wasted its time this year on trivialities such as the budget and public education. But our lawmakers took up a really serious lack in the law and did something about it:

There was a time when you didn't know what to expect when pulling up to a building with a "Massage" sign in the window.

If this guy really has entertained thoughts of running for governor, a couple of words of advice: Forget it. As a matter of fact, you don't even deserve to be mayor:

Let us give thanks to, and wish for continued common sense from, the so-called centrists of the Senate Democratic Conference:

Half a dozen members of the Senate Democratic Conference pose the biggest threat to President Obama's agenda, giving Senate Republicans a fighting chance to block the administration's major expansions of government.

Dang, what will Mayberry get next, electric lights?

Question of the day, helpfully used as the headline on a story about 4th of July revelers getting dumped into a creek in a park in Marrillville: "Why did Indiana bridge collapse?"

Answer of the day:

The 80-foot span was designed to hold 40 people, but "at least twice as many" were on it when it collapsed, said Ross Township Trustee John Rooda, who runs the park.

Mystery of the day:

The Tea Parties aren't always about the federal government's spending habits, as the one in South Bend this week illustrates:

Ron Hosinski was among the crowd, holding his sign high as tension spread and tempers flared.

"You don't spend more than you take in," said Hosinki. "I don't care if you are a family, a government, a mayor, a governor or president. You don't spend more than you make."

Delusion seems to have taken permanent hold in Gary:

No matter where they originate, the masses continue to descend on the small northwestern corner of Indiana to honor the King of Pop.

As a result, the mayor of Gary, Indiana, Rudy Clay, has big plans for Jackson's childhood stomping grounds.

Members of the Indiana General Assembly stopped playing chicken in time to pass a new budget just before the special-session deadline of midnight arrived, so the state government won't have to shut down. Crisis averted.

So, even the "plain people" can be seduced away from tradition and lured to the Good Life:

The great increase in discretionary income spawned a "keeping-up-with-the-Joneses mentality," says Mervin Lehman, 39, an Amish father of four who says he was making more than $50-an-hour and working up to 60 hours a week as an RV plant supervisor before he was laid off in November.