Politics and other nightmares

Common sense wins out in southern Indiana:

 A task force appointed by Bloomington's mayor has decided against supporting his push to ban new chain stores and restaurants from parts of the city's downtown.

[. . .]

I hate to be caught on the side of an environmental group that might turn out later to be full of nuts, but I have to say this is a good point:

A Boston-based consumer and environmental group is bringing its campaign against bottled water to four states, urging them to cut hundreds of thousands of dollars from strapped budgets by ending their purchases of water in plastic containers.

On the occasion of President Obama receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, the Dalai Lama showed himself to be the master of tactful understatement:

'I think if you are realistic, it may have been a little early but it doesn't matter, I know Obama is a very able person.'

The Tibetan leader also warned President Obama against relying too much on his advisers.

When do you decide you won't have enough people to do the job right so it would be better to just close up shop? Where and how do you draw that line? Two groups in two Indiana cities are making that decision in the wake of budget problems. The mayor of Muncie says she will close the animal shelter after City Council voted to cut the staff from eight to two employees. Homes will have to be found for the 70 dogs and cats now there, and no more will be taken in.

The Journal Gazette reports this morning on the daylong public meeting of the sheriff's merit board into whether officer Brent Whan should be fired for "anger management" issues -- a temper that the board's attorney says puts the public and his fellow officers at risk:

After bungling a radio conversation, Whan was too angry to leave the squad car and assist a state trooper, Baker said.

Muncie wants to use money from the federal government's stimulus program to rehire five laid-off police officers. But the money comes with a catch -- it funds only three years, and the city has to prove it can handle a fourth year on its own. The city won't have enough property tax revenue for the salaries in year four, so it is considering some creative alternatives, including a "surcharge" on local traffic tickets:

Guess we should stop arguing about climate change. It's real, and it's dangerous. We know this because The Associated Press has declared it so, not in an opinion piece but in the middle of a straight news story:

The General Assembly's study committe on gambling has issued its report, and Fort Wayne's chances to get a referendum on a casino here, always slim, have been whittled even further. Among the report's points:

--An expansion of gambling to new cities or counties is not in the best interest of the state or industry.

Our federal stimulus dollars at work:

Columbus City Schools have more than 120 buildings designed for teaching.

But in a three-day effort to teach its teachers, the district is renting banquet halls, high-end hotels and conference centers -- using almost $145,000 in federal grant dollars.

Here's an interesting juxtaposition for you.