Hoosier lore

Looks like The News-Sentinel and the Indianapolis Star differ slightly on the case of the Rushville teen who barely escaped prison time for what was intended as a harmless prank. Here's our editorial, which is in line with my earlier blog post stressing the consequences of his prank:

A General Assembly study committee is having a hearing today on what to do about the Indiana Supreme Court's hotly denounced ruling that the state's castle doctrine doesn't apply to police acting in good faith, even if they aren't acting lawfully. A Democratic lawmaker reacts a little hysterically:

Did officials overreact by threatening a high school student with prison over what was essentially a prank?

The prospect that a high school prankster might spend years in prison over a blow-up sex doll drew national attention this summer to Rushville.

For the "It's never enough" file:

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A state lawmaker is worried the money the state made from the leasing of the Indiana Toll Road could run out sooner than expected.

Huh. I wouldn't have thought a business like this could make it in staid old Fort Wayne, but the owner says he's getting a lot of repeat business:

Fort Wayne Dust Bunnies offers light housekeeping to its clients, but the cleaning is done in the nude.

[. . .]

The maids are only permitted to do light housekeeping duties: washing dishes, vacuuming, and dusting.

A seventh person has died as the result of the outdoor stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair. Families of two of the victims have already sued. If all seven sued, that means the state would be out only $4.9 million, because we're one of the states that has aggressively tried to limit the proliferation of lawsuits:

Hoosier yokels display their complete lack of sophistication:

Residents of a west-central Indiana community are urging city officials to start enforcing curfews in the downtown area after a spate of graffiti incidents that have marred buildings, vehicles and homes.

Crawfordsville officials say the graffiti had been confined to alleys between buildings but has now hit a downtown plaza and personal property.

Well, good luck with that war:

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.— Indiana is making progress in its war on the fast-growing kudzu vine that's smothered parts of the state beneath leafy tangles of greenery.

Wow, didn't see this one coming:

A new Indiana law that strips from ballots the names of candidates facing no election opponents has upset candidates, political parties and election officials who predict the blank spaces on ballots will confuse voters.

Well, it has to be somebody, doesn't it?

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning will end this year as the National Football League's (NFL) highest-paid player, according to a Forbes report released Wednesday.

Manning, a four-times most valuable player in the NFL who agreed to a five-year $90-million contract with the Colts last month, is expected to earn $23 million in total compensation for 2011.