News
News - 04/05/2009 - FSSA must figure out discrepancy (South Bend Tribune)
Critics of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration's welfare privatization process have been at odds with the FSSA from the onset.
News - 04/02/2009 - Tax Credit Should Be Arriving Soon (WBIW-AM)
A tax cut portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act were set to go into effect yesterday, and that could mean between $400 and $800 for you.
News - 04/02/2009 - Rewrite weakens DCS bill, critics say (Indianapolis Star)
The state Senate will vote on a bill to create an ombudsman for the Department of Child Services, but family rights advocates assailed the legislation as a watered-down compromise that falls far short of providing real oversight of the agency.
News - 04/01/2009 - Feds say Indiana miscounted jobless benefits (Associated Press)
The U.S. Department of Labor says Indiana's unemployment agency broke federal rules in writing and awarding contracts, including a rushed $7 million deal with Ivy Tech Community College last June that it says must be canceled immediately.
News - 04/01/2009 - When will we stop trashing Indiana roadsides? (Terre Haute Tribune-Star)
A law requiring a 10-cent refundable deposit on beverage containers would decrease litter, encourage recycling and slow the fill-ups of Hoosier landfills. Unfortunately, the 2009 Indiana legislature has tossed aside such a proposal.
News - 04/01/2009 - Indiana Rep. Baron Hill’s smuggling bill passed again (Jeffersonville Evening News)
An alien smuggling bill championed by Rep. Baron Hill, D-Ind, was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday evening.
News - 03/30/2009 - Critics say welfare changes cost Ind. $100M so far (Associated Press)
Those living in a swath of 12 north central counties with some of Indiana's highest unemployment - and the test region for the state's welfare modernization - lost food stamps and other public benefits as participation in those programs grew elsewhere, critics said Monday.
News - 03/30/2009 - Unemployment fix infuriates construction trades (Times of Northwest Indiana)
Indiana's unemployment fund went broke in December, though the state continues to cut benefit checks thanks to more than $500 million in federal loans. Senate Republicans presented a bailout that bites both employers and workers, but the initial plan -- now in negotiations with House Democrats -- is drawing loud complaints from labor.
News - 03/30/2009 - Rep. Dennie Oxley pleased by bipartisan effort in legislature (Louisville Courier-Journal)
Rep. Dennie Oxley, D-Taswell, is in his first legislative session after succeeding his son as the representative for District 73, one of the state's largest by area, covering all or parts of eight counties.
News - 03/27/2009 - State, area unemployment rose in February (Indianapolis Business Journal)
The state's unemployment inched up just one-tenth of a percentage point, to 9.4 percent, in February, compared with the revised rate in January, according to figures released this morning by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
News - 03/27/2009 - Are Cost Cuts To Blame For Branchville Prison Escape? (WEHT-TV, Evansville)
Seven days police have searched by highway, by helicopter, by dog three Branchville prison inmates still at large. The day they went missing, an online message board went buzzing. Some people identifying themselves as prison workers posting what they think went wrong at Branchville.
News - 03/27/2009 - Stimulus money could fund ‘green’ projects in metro area (Indianapolis Star)
Folks who enjoy biking -- for fun, fitness or frugality -- might be winners under the federal stimulus plan.
News - 03/27/2009 - Ranks of uninsured put at 29% in state (Fort Wayne Journal Gazette)
Twenty-nine percent of Hoosiers younger than 65 lacked health insurance at some point during 2007-08, according to a report released Thursday.
News - 03/27/2009 - A high honor for Notre Dame (South Bend Tribune)
It is, therefore, a high honor indeed that in this first year of his presidency President Obama has accepted the University of Notre Dame's invitation to speak at this spring's commencement. That he has is a reflection of the university's importance, as well as an indication of the president's regard for Notre Dame's home community.
News - 03/27/2009 - IDEM calendar complaint rejected (Gary Post-Tribune)
Indiana law does not allow the public to access officials' calendars and meeting schedules. On that basis, Indiana Public Access Counselor Heather Neal rejected a complaint by the Post-Tribune that the Indiana Department of Environmental Management refused to release copies of electronic calendars. The calendars show when IDEM officials met with BP officials regarding the company's air permit.
News - 03/27/2009 - Dems still want gov. to weigh in on unemployment (Associated Press)
Efforts to repair the state's bankrupt unemployment fund are in one of the last stops along the legislative path to become law -- but Democrats say it's not too late for Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels to come out with his own plan to fix the account.
News - 03/26/2009 - South Bend to offer budget surveys (South Bend Tribune)
The city is reaching out to residents through surveys and town hall meetings to find out what residents want to keep and cut in the city budget.
Press Release - 03/24/2009 - Indiana Democratic Party orders new chair election in Huntington County
The Indiana Democratic Party State Central Committee voted over the weekend to accept original jurisdiction over the March 7, 2009, Huntington County reorganization and has called, per Indiana Democratic Party Rule 13(d)(7), a new election for County Chair on April 4, 2009.
News - 03/24/2009 - House votes to speed caps on property taxes (Indianapolis Star)
The Indiana House voted Monday to accelerate implementation of the state's property tax caps, a move that could provide $200 million in relief for taxpayers this year but hurt local governments already struggling with sagging revenues.
News - 03/24/2009 - Senate Dems offer changes to GOP’s jobless bill (Associated Press)
Outnumbered Democrats in the Indiana Senate were unsuccessful on Monday in trying to make major changes to a GOP plan designed to fix the state's bankrupt unemployment fund.
