NUVO: Opinion

The big government perplex

David Hoppe — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:00:00 -0400

I remember a time when I used to entertain the notion that maybe Indiana would be better off if somehow it could manage to separate itself from the rest of the so-called United States. That's right: secede.

Look, I thought to myself, we have a great lake to our north, with access to the Atlantic Ocean.…

Commentary: NRA 'win' may be costly

John Krull — Mon, 20 May 2013 08:49:00 -0400

By John Krull

When someone tried to congratulate him on the win, Pyrrhus replied, "Another such victory and I am undone."…

Rapid response in the fog of campaign war

Cam Savage — Mon, 20 May 2013 08:46:00 -0400

By Cam Savage

…

Giving the Pacers Credit Where It's Due

Abdul-Hakim Shabazz — Mon, 20 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

I look at sporting events the way Fred Flintstone would look at the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. But even though I do not know sports, but I do understand the fundamental truth that everyone loves a winner - and life is lot easier for you when you do win.…

You're Paying for Panhandlers

Abdul-Hakim Shabazz — Tue, 14 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

The city of Indianapolis is finally preparing to address Downtown's panhandling issue. And it's about time because panhandlers are costing us money.…

Lawmakers, state ed board on a rocky road?

Lesley Weidenbener — Mon, 13 May 2013 10:08:00 -0400

There's been significant speculation about how Democrat Glenda Ritz - the state superintendent elected last November - would get along with the Republican governor and majorities in the General Assembly.…

Pence's justification for signing SB 621

NUVO Editors — Mon, 13 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Editor's note: Senate Bill 621 has been controversial since its genesis with Democrats decrying it as a power grab while Republicans hoist the tax-payer protection banner to justify the bill's broad-based changes to the world of local municipal government. On Saturday, when Gov. Mike Pence, a Republican, signed the bill into law, he issued a lengthy statement justifying his decision.…
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Letter to the Editor: Transit & Disabilities

NUVO Editors — Fri, 10 May 2013 09:00:00 -0400
Category: Letter to the Editor

Subject: Transportation Access for People with Disabilites

Message:
May 9, 2013

Dear Nuvo,

I wish to speak to an issue that has really bothered me since I first moved to this fair city some 10 years ago.…
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Letter to the Editor: Gun Control

NUVO Editors — Thu, 09 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Editor's note: The news desk on April 29 received this letter in response to a story on demonstrations related to gun control efforts:

Dear Rebecca,

…
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ISTEP disaster raises questions about results

Lesley Weidenbener — Wed, 08 May 2013 11:39:00 -0400

Members of the State Board of Education say they're concerned about the validity of ISTEP+ tests that have been interrupted by technology glitches this week in schools across the state.
…
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Ballard's India trip: opportunity missed

Derrick Braziel — Wed, 08 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400
In mid-April, Mayor Greg Ballard traveled to India and reportedly made a major declaration. He exclaimed that, "when people around the world think of cricket, I want them to think of Indianapolis."

Without getting into the politics of the statement, I am dumbfounded that this is the lasting quote from Ballard's trip to India.…
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Thought Bite: No better sex

Andy Jacobs Jr. — Wed, 08 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Thought bite

Women: Can't think of a better sex to be opposite.…
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What is wrong with U.S. energy policy

NUVO Editors — Mon, 06 May 2013 16:00:00 -0400
Much of what you 'know' about U.S. energy policy is wrong

By Peter Z. Grossman

Butler University

Almost everything we've been told about U.S. energy policy is wrong: wrong in its premises, wrong in its methods, and wrong (as well as often incoherent) in its goals.…
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The FOP and David Bisard

Abdul-Hakim Shabazz — Mon, 06 May 2013 14:00:00 -0400
I will freely admit at the start of this column that the Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police and I have been at odds with each other for the past few years regarding the David Bisard case.

The FOP last week voted to rescind its representation of David Bisard, who, while on duty as an Indianapolis police officer in 2010, was involved in an auto crash which killed one motorcyclist and seriously injured two others.…
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Doc Bowen: Gentle eyes, iron man

John Krull — Mon, 06 May 2013 10:00:00 -0400
Years ago, when I was working on a feature story about Otis Bowen, one of his former staffers told me that there was a secret to understanding the former Indiana governor and U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services.

"What you have to understand about Doc," the staffer said, using Bowen's longtime nickname, "is that he's very good at letting other people have it his way."…
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The Sisterhood of Motherhood

Rebecca Townsend — Sat, 04 May 2013 10:00:00 -0400
Dear Readers of NUVO.net,

There is so much more background I'd hope to share with you before this weekend on these two woman, Kristine Barnett and Glennon Doyle Melton.…
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Osama bin Laden and climate change

David Hoppe — Thu, 02 May 2013 16:00:00 -0400
If, as the old saying goes, a little learning can be a dangerous thing, what are we to make of a mountain of information?

Not much, it seems.

This is my takeaway after listening to a group of veteran CIA officers talk about the hunt for Osama bin Laden in connection with a new HBO documentary airing this month, Manhunt.

As the CIA officers tell it, they were aware of bin Laden's intentions as early as 1993. That's when they realized al Qaeda was for real, and that bin Laden, the son of a Saudi billionaire, was its leader.

They say they discovered this before the first terrorist attack on New York City's World Trade Center, Feb. 26, 1993.…
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Perspectives in Education: Reba Boyd Wooden

NUVO Editors — Thu, 02 May 2013 15:00:00 -0400
Editor's Note: "Perspectives in Education" is meant to be an open and continuous forum through which the people of Indianapolis can contemplate the present and future of the city's educational landscape. Anyone interested in contributing a "Perspective" is welcomed and encouraged to do so.…
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NBA player comes out; score for tolerance

John Krull — Thu, 02 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400
When pro basketball player Jason Collins became the first player in a major American sport to announce that he was gay, the reaction ranged from loud applause to yawns.

Presidents called Collins to offer him support and activists lauded his courage.…
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Stuck in the middle with You

AJ Feeney-Ruiz — Wed, 01 May 2013 10:09:00 -0400

It wasn't intentional, but as I read the live updates critiquing the closing hours of the 2013 General Assembly last Friday, I couldn't stop humming "Stuck in the Middle with You" by Stealers Wheel. Humming, because I have absolutely no idea what the words are and really only even know the song thanks to the Mr. Blonde ear-cutting scene in Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs.…
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Letter to the Editor: Bus Routes

NUVO Editors — Wed, 01 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Editor's Note: On the evening of April 30, NUVO reader Professor Robert Katz, shared the following with the news editor:

Dear Ms. Townsend,
I have an item that you may find newsworthy as it bears on the mass-transit unfriendliness (or the misallocation of our limited mass transit resources), as spelled out in my letter to Mayor Ballard.
Best,
Rob Katz

Robert Katz
Professor of Law
Indiana University McKinney School of Law

…
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Thought Bite: Equality

Andy Jacobs Jr. — Wed, 01 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Thought Bite

Let's make Lincoln less sexist and more poetic: All people are created equal.

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Letter from School Choice Indiana

NUVO Editors — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:30:00 -0400
On Monday, we received a letter to the editor on last week's posting in our Perspectives on Education series about vouchers used on schools with poor ratings under the state system:

Dear Editor,

A recent story in NUVO looked at the issue of school quality and since some of the data on voucher schools was left out, I'm writing to share some additional perspective.

Based on the new A-F labels implemented by the State Board of Education, 83 percent of Indiana voucher schools received grades of A or B for the 2012 school year.…
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Money talking in Broad Ripple

David Hoppe — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:30:00 -0400
I first heard about it from the guy who cuts my hair. Van Kirby's business is located on College, across the street from the zombified Shell station that Browning Investments wants to take down as part of a large-scale redevelopment project.

Van told me there was a plan to put a high-end grocery store on that Shell station site.…
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How Democrats Helped Pass SB 621

Abdul-Hakim Shabazz — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Unless Gov. Mike Pence says "no" and takes out his veto pen, SB 621 will become the law of the land here in the Hoosier state. In case you are not a member of the political class because you actually work for a living, SB 621 was legislation that reorganized Marion County Government.…
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