At a time when the prison population nationwide has actually declined a bit, Indiana is one of a handful of states with the most growth. Gov. Mitch Daniels tried to get some prison space expansion approved, but the legislature wouldn't approve it, so we're at about, I think, 99 percent capacity.
Should we feel good about ourselves when our standing is improved only when others do even worse than we do?
Although adults in Indiana continue to gain weight, they're not doing so as quickly as many other states, an annual ranking of obesity across the nation finds.
Is this a good idea?
The city of Fort Wayne has hired a consultant from South Carolina in an effort to make a stronger pitch to hold on to 1,000 or more jobs at the Navistar design center.
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The contract with Williams calls for him to be paid up to $95,000 for helping in the “Navistay” effort.
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Oh, well. So much for the 200-mile-high club:
Commanders do not allow sexual intercourse on the International Space Station, it has been disclosed.
"We are a group of professionals," said Alan Poindexter, a NASA commander, during a visit to Tokyo, when asked about the consequences if astronauts boldly went where no others have been.
The medical device and supply industry is big in Indiana, employing about 20,000 Hoosiers and paying about $1.1 billion a year in salaries. The president of just one company, Cook Medical of Bloomington, estimates the new taxes on the industry required by Obamacare will cost it $15 5o $20 million a year. Zimmer Holdings, an orthopedics maker based in Warsaw, estimates a $50 million a year cost.
Criminal genius of the week:
An Ohio man was arrested near the Indiana Toll Road Monday and charged with public nudity after allegedly urinating in a parking lot facing traffic -- and unknowingly asking a State Police trooper if it was legal to do so.
Jay N. Harnish, 39, of Brunswick, Ohio, was arrested for public nudity, a class C misdemeanor, according to a release from Indiana State Police.
Indiana officials who wanted to encourage high school students to apply for college came up with what they thought was a good incentive: a week called College Go! during which application fees would be waived. But there were some unintended consequences from what is now called a "well-intentioned but misguided" effort:
Can you just imagine what would have happened had this really come to pass?
The idea of Oprah Winfrey as a U.S. senator may seem far-fetched to many — among them Rod Blagojevich's one-time chief of staff John Harris.
With "the death of newspapers" so much a part of the discussion lately, it's a pleasure to note the apparently succesful launch of one:
As expected, but welcome nonetheless:
The Supreme Court reversed a ruling upholding Chicago's ban on handguns Monday and extended the reach of the 2nd Amendment as a nationwide protection against laws that infringe on the "right to keep and bear arms."
The 5-4 decision appears to void the 1982 ordinance, one of the nation's strictest, which barred city residents from having handguns for their own use, even at home.
OMG! The Fourth of July falls on a Sunday this year. You know what that means:
. . . thanks to Indiana's outdated alcohol laws, you won't be able to buy your alcoholic beverage of choice in the store on the day of your celebration.
Hey, a prediction I got right for a change. Back in March, I predicted in the "No props for the peeps" post that the prosecutor would have a tough time making a voyeurism case against Fort Wayne upskirter David Delagrange, who was nabbed for using a camera attached to his foot to shoot video up the skirts of women and girls at Castelton Square Mall in Indianapolis. Sure enough:
Indianapolis has had a remarkable run of placing players in the NBA -- nine, including eight first-round draft picks. The result is that a lot of Indy prep starts have big dreams of an NBA career. But the odds aren't exactly in their favor:
While it might appear reasonable for the city's current high school stars to think they can follow their predecessors to the NBA, the probability they won't is staggering.
I did an earleir post about the anniversary of the Supreme Court's notorious Kelo decision and the backlash of eminent domain reforms in its aftermath. New York is one of the states in which officials haven't seen the light yet:
If you own a piece of property in New York State, you won't like today's ruling by the state's high court.
This news from Hoosier Ag Today requires a celebration, I think:
After some very tough years, the beef business in Indiana is coming back. According to Purdue, Indiana has seen a 50% decline in cattle operations in the state over the past 20 years.
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As a proponent of vigorous debate among known combatants, I applaud this Supreme Court decision:
Nothing controversial here, no siree:
When kindergarten through fifth grade students return to class at Veterans Memorial Elementary School in Provincetown, Mass., this fall, they'll be able to ask the school nurse for condoms.
Via The Corner, a warning that the National Popular Vote, the backdoor effort to eliminated the Electoral College, is dangerously close to succeeding:
If each of these states is counted, NPV could have as many as 169 electoral votes in favor of its plan. It needs 270. NPV has come startlingly close to success even as most Americans remain completely unaware that the presidential-election process is so close to being turned on its head.
Continental Structural Plastics is considering leaving Ohio and bringing its 214 jobs to Indiana because of an environmental rule Ohio has that we don't have, one requiring the use of a machine that reduces pollution but costs $500,000 a year to operate.
But the company says the machine is no longer needed to meet Ohio Environmental Protection Agency standards because it has cut production at its paint shop and it has increased use of robotics and air recycling.
Some economists say the recession that started in December 2007 (according to the National Bureau of Economic Research) ended in summer 2009, but the bureau hasn't given its official word yet, so we're left to play the guessing game.
