Last Update Monday, January 05, 2009 09:16:15 PM

In the January 1,2 and 5 issues of INDIANA LEGISLATIVE INSIGHT:
Next issue: January 12, 2009

• The tough budget situation
• Sen. Bayh attracts a challenger
• Road building to slow down?
• Local government reform to earn legislative review
• The latest on lobby regulation and reform legislation
• RNC Vice Chair Bopp offers bailout-bashing resolution
• Property tax cap flap
• Environmental enforcement and grant changes
• Agreement to agree on UI Trust Fund
• What you should take away from House committee assignments
• Interest grows in CD 05 seat
• Sen. Lugar's Christmas vacation -- in Moscow --  and what it means
• Latest mass layoff and unemployment details
• Indiana business and economic news and numbers, and people moving to and fro

In the January 1,2, and 5 issues of INDIANA GAMING INSIGHT:
Next issue: January 12, 2009

• A look ahead at gaming issues in 2009
• Problem gaming treatment advocates seek some changes
• Your November casino tables and detailed property summaries
• Amici in transfer fee case join for different reasons
• State number-crunchers issue FY 2010-11 gaming tax projections
• How well are the racinos really performing?
• Could we be facing a different set of referenda assumptions in Ohio this year?
• Hoosier Lottery posts record revenues for FY 2008, but slowing seen
• Powerball jackpot, prize matrix to change
• Former IHRC member proposes Indiana Bred changes
• Gaming, Horse Racing Commission chairs resign
• Why all eyes are on Fort Wayne this session
• Lots of riverboat and horse racing news and the latest legislative info

In the December 22 issue of INDIANA EDUCATION INSIGHT:
Next issue: January 12, 2009 

• There is no money . . . even for education?
• Dr. Bennett tells budget panel about his priorities
• Clark-Pleasant looks to cut project after Tax Court sides with it
• The new (legislative) crew comprising the education panels
• House GOP focus on K-12 health care expense inefficiencies?
• Some charters run into delays as new ones readied
• Look for some local heavyweights to join Indianapolis charter board
• Another district looks to Taiwan for Chinese teachers
• Borrowing trend continues for schools
• Sen. Bayh warns of big higher ed enrollment losses if credit stays frozen
• Manchester debuts novel graduation, job guarantee initiative
• School technology news, court news, personnel changes, building plans, and more
   
  
   

• IN the Air
   

• (TUES) U.S. Rep. Mike Pence (R) will appear on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal at 8:30 a.m. EST to present the Republican outlook on the 111^th Congress and the proposed economic stimulus package.
   

• (TUES) On WIBC 93.1 FM's Garrison, from 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m., Greg Garrison hosts a show that may include a visit from Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard (R).
  
  
                                        

IN Play
 

• (TUES) Just a few minutes after legislative leaders are briefed on the details, the Governor will be the featured speaker at the Rotary Club of Indianapolis luncheon where he will outline his budget proposals in an address titled, “Making Ends Meet: Indiana’s Next Biennial Budget.” The Governor will then travel to Mobile, Alabama to support the Ball State University Cardinals as they take on Tulsa in the GMAC Bowl.  The governor will join the Ball State Alumni Association for a rally before the game.
   

• (TUES) In what is likely to be the last news conference of his tenure, look for Attorney General Steve Carter (R) today to announce new survey results showing the effectiveness of the state’s Do Not Call law and consumer views on Indiana’s robo call law. And as for robo calls, University of Michigan law student Jason Miller authors a paper that examines the use of robo calls by political campaigns, how robo calls are currently regulated at the federal and state level (with quite a few references to Indiana statutory and case law), legislative proposals for new regulation, and the First Amendment issues raised by regulating robo calls. Finally, his paper advocates a solution that allows political robo calls, subject to transparency requirements to prevent the worst abuses, and recognizes the need for a national solution to protect political speech by preventing patchwork state regulation.
   

• (TUES) Former House Speaker John Gregg (D) will be signing copies of his new book, From Sandborn to the Statehouse on Wednesday, January 7 at the Market Tower offices of  Bingham ▪ McHale (10 W. Market, Suite 2700) from 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Refreshments will be served. The $19.95 book "details his travels from small town Sandborn, Indiana all the way to Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives" – and his assorted stops in between and after. The book is filled with stories about Indiana people, places, and events. On Saturday, January 17, he will also be available at another morning signing event in the Emmis Communications Building lobby. "I was smart enough not to write down anything indictable,"  he tells listeners of the WIBC Garrison show Monday about the notes he took in the legislature that led to the book.
   

• (MON) Federal Communications Commission Chair Kevin Martin will be visiting Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and South Bend today talking up the coming conversion to digital TV.
  
                                                           
   

• (WED) Guess who the Washington Post's Chris Cillizza believes ran the best gubernatorial campaign of 2008? "Daniels's first term had been marred by a high-profile fight over his decision to lease the Indiana Toll Road to a private company and his desire to bring Indiana into line with the rest of the country in observing Daylight Savings Time. (And, no, we are not kidding.) He also carried the burden of having served as the director of the Office of Management and Budget for President George W. Bush -- a tie that Democrats believed could be exploited in an election cycle where any link to the current Administration could prove deadly. Recognizing his peril, Daniels reprised a successful tactic from his 2004 campaign -- touring the state in an RV -- to show voters that he was still in touch with their needs and concerns. From his first ad to his last ad, the RV was a potent sign that Daniels was from and of the people. Daniels, like all good politicians, benefited from a bit of luck in the campaign as well. Democrats played host to an expensive primary fight that produced former Rep. Jill Long Thompson as the party's nominee. Long Thompson was an uninspiring candidate who was unable to raise the sort of money needed to be competitive against Daniels. Still, that Daniels won reelection by 18 points in a state that President-elect Barack Obama carried on the same day is a testament to the kind of campaign the Indiana Republican ran and why he is already being touted in some circles as a 2012 presidential candidate for the GOP."
  
                    
                                                                        

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• (WED) Look for a high-powered chief of staff with some political clout to be appointed by the incoming Superintendent of Public Instruction.
   

• (TUES) Health Data Management looks at the shift from papers to electronic data and computers attached to rolling carts for patient charts in the Indiana University health care system.
   

• (MON) The Wall Street Journal reports that "Federal regulators asked a panel of heart doctors for help reviewing Eli Lilly & Co.'s highly anticipated blood-thinning drug prasugrel, suggesting a decision on whether to approve the medication may be nearing after repeated delays. The Food and Drug Administration turned to its outside heart advisers, who will meet Feb. 3, after missing two deadlines to reach a decision. Analysts have estimated prasugrel could capture $1 billion of the market for blood thinners if it wins FDA approval .... The Indianapolis drug maker and partner Daiichi Sankyo Co. of Japan asked the FDA in December 2007 to approve prasugrel for patients undergoing procedures for clogged arteries, many of whom get a stent to prop open treated arteries. Lilly is counting on the drug's approval to help make up for revenues it will lose as key products, such as antipsychotic Zyprexa and antidepressant Cymbalta, start facing generic rivals."
   

• (MON) The Sunday New York Times features Indianapolis in articles about Clarian's role in education about and prevention of teen dating abuse and bringing infants to work (Borshoff's innovative program is spotlighted).
   

• (WED) The New York Times reports from Dublin in Wayne County, where the Secretary of Health and Human Services-designate, "Former Senator Tom Daschle, whom President-elect Barack Obama has called the “lead architect” of the new administration’s efforts to expand health insurance and rein in medical costs, attended a community meeting Monday where he got an earful about expenses that were too high and coverage that was too little."
   

• (MON) After two years of airing his political talk show on a one-hour format, former Rep. Dave Crooks (D) expands The Dave Crooks Show to two hours on Saturday mornings (from 9:00 a.m. to 11 a.m. Central time; 10:00 a.m. to noon Eastern time) on WAMW-FM 107.9 and WAMW-AM 1580.
   

• (MON) Lee Enterprises Inc., publisher of the Times of Northwest Indiana and other newspapers, receives an ominous warning from its auditor, KPMG LLP. In a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, Lee tells the feds that KPMG believes that a confluence of circumstances "raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern" if the company is unable to refinance some of its loans. Lee and KPMG cite a steep drop in advertising, a diminishing subscriber base, and heavy debt load. Lee also was unable to meet certain lender-imposed covenants at the end of its fiscal year (September 28) due to some accounting charges it took to reduce the value of its goodwill and other intangible assets, but has received a waiver of the covenants from lenders until at least January 16.
   

• (FRI) You will find a whole series of changes in the print edition of the Indianapolis Star Mondays through Thursday beginning Monday, January 5. There will no longer be a standalone business section (which had been saved a few years ago). No the A Section will expand to include business, the Buzz page, weather, and movie listings. The Metro/State and sports sections will remain intact, but everything else will be combined in a new Extra section that will include classified, comics, puzzles, the TV listings, and the food section (on Wednesdays).
   

• (FRI) The Federal Communications Commission approves a move down the FM dial for WCFY 102.7 FM in Evansville, a radio station operated by the Christian Fellowship Church. When installation of a new antenna is complete (by the end of February), the station will switch to its new frequency, 99.1 FM.
   

• (FRI) Beginning January 6, the Greencastle Banner Graphic will no longer publish a paper on Tuesdays.
   

• (WED) Starting January 5, WNDY-TV will begin to broadcast the WISH-TV Daybreak show from 7:00 a.m.- 8:00 a.m.
  
   

“In an attempt to show her familiarity with working-class custom, Hillary Rodham Clinton stopped by Bronko’s Restaurant and Lounge in northwest Indiana to throw down a few drinks with the locals. But rather than boosting Clinton’s prospects, pictures and video of her downing a shot of Crown Royal whiskey and drinking beers at the bar turned out to be fodder for late-night comics — and for the Obama campaign. Acknowledging the awkwardness of the scene, she said of the ABC and CBS embed reporters covering the moment, "These two young people are really very, very nice, but their job is to get something on film that looks really weird, so I try to accommodate them as much as often." ”

  è  One of Politico.com's "Top 10 Weirdest Moments of 2008"

                                                     

IN the Future
 

• Political satirist P.J. O'Rourke will speak at the Wednesday, January 21 Economic Club of Indiana luncheon at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. O'Rourke, the author of 12 books and four bestsellers, will discuss "The Future of Freedom Agenda: Why the State of Global Democracy Matters to Americans. "The Economic Club of Indiana Luncheon, sponsored by Ivy Tech Community College (the season sponsor is ProLiance Energy), will be held from 12:00 p.m. -1:30 p.m. Tickets and reserved tables can be purchased at www.economicclubofindiana.com or by calling Ann or Lisa at 800/824-6885.
   

• The Purdue University Agricultural Alumni Fish Fry on February 7 will feature Andrea Mitchell, anchor of MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Hour and chief foreign affairs correspondent for NBC News. The luncheon begins at 11:30 a.m. in the Toyota Blue Ribbon Pavilion at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis. The Fish Fry is the annual meeting of the Purdue Agricultural Alumni Association. Tickets are $20 and must be purchased in advance. Tickets are available by contacting the Purdue Ag Alumni office at 765/494-8593 or by e-mailing agalumni@purdue.edu. The Ag Forecast, a program highlighting important topics in agriculture, will precede the Fish Fry starting at 9:30 a.m. in the Old National Bank Grand Hall, also located on the fairgrounds.
   

• Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., president of Waterkeeper Alliance, will speak at Ball State University on February 18 as the inaugural speaker for the Bracken Distinguished Lecture Series on Environmental Issues and Sustainability. He will also appear on the following day at Purdue University.
   

• Ball State Unversity's David Letterman Distinguished Professional Lecture and Workshop Series will begin during the Spring Semester of 2009 and the debut speaker will will be Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Elizabeth Ware Packard professor of communications and director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. On February 24, she will examine "Emerging Media and the Path to the Oval Office."
   

• Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., president of Waterkeeper Alliance, will appear as part of the the Hanover Capstone at Hanover College to examine water-based legal issues during an appearance at 7:00 p.m. on April 8, in Collier Arena on the Hanover campus. Information about the Capstone is available on-line at Capstone. To reserve seats for any of the presentations, contact the Rivers Institute at rih@hanover.edu or 812/866-6846.