Hoosier lore

The Tomes of Northwest Indiana reports on what it calls "some of the seemingly wackier bills" among the 789 laws proposed "so far" in this session of the General Assembly:

Shocking but true, it is reported that alcohol consumption was involved here:

A north-central Indiana man accused of auto theft also faces charges alleging that he threatened to eat his arresting officers, their entire families and their police dogs.

Man, that's one big appetite.

In his final State of the Judiciary speech, retiring Indiana Chief Justice Randall Shepard makes an interesting point about the justice system and the economy:

He also said improvements in the state's legal system have helped courts become an aid — or at least not a hindrance — to Indiana's economic development.

Phil Marx points us to this bill introduced in the Indiana Senate, which would permit "an employer to consider tobacco use by job applicants in the hiring process." Indiana is one of about 30 states that have so-called "smokers' rights" laws (here is a roundup and critique), and this would amend and weaken our statute, by taking out all references to "prospective" employees. Here, for example:

A Fort Wayne mother drags her son along for her 15 minutes of fame:
An Indiana mom caused a stir on a street corner when she forced her teenage son to stand there wearing a sign that read, "I lie, I steal, I sell drugs, I don't follow the law."

Dynesha Lax said she was tired of dealing with her 14-year-old son breaking the law and getting into trouble. After he had a recent run-in with the police, she came up with an unusual punishment. 

Interesting move:

Purdue University will begin a shift to a year-round, trimester-based academic calendar this summer.

The move announced Wednesday by Purdue President France Cordova will break the academic year into three 13-week trimesters with a larger lineup of summer courses. Cordova said it will allow students to potentially complete a degree in three years.

Guess it wouldn't seem normal if we didn't have at least one of these every General Assembly session:

OK, show of hands: Who didn't see this coming?

Changes to Indianapolis' alcohol laws will allow thousands of Super Bowl partiers to enjoy the game on the streets.

Words of wisdom in a Purdue Exponent student newspaper editorial:

It should not come as a shock that Republicans severely outweigh Democrats in the Indiana state house. Taking into consideration the 6:4 ratio in the house and the 37:13 ratio in the senate, Indiana Democrats are often simply along for the ride during quorums.

A pretty silly column in the Lafayette Journal & Courier, under the headline "Civility continues to rule in Indiana":

A year removed from the Gabrielle Giffords shooting, tensions have been high among Indiana voters as the right-to-work legislation has led to the second Statehouse stalemate in as many years.