I had a political science professor in college, and this was the mid-1970s, that had very specific views.  Sometimes I agreed with him, sometimes I did not.  What he always succeeded in doing was forcing one to challenge long-held views.

One assertion he often made was comparing how the United States elects a president to how the United Kingdom elects a prime minister through their parliamentary system.  It is well understood that our systems of democracy are quite different, but he always argued the Brits do it better than us.

The length of a presidential campaign in America is long, very long.  Sometimes the positioning of candidates for president of the United States begins when the last election ends.  There are straw polls, all kinds of gatherings, the endless primary elections, then the political parties have their conventions, nominating their respective presidential candidates.  Labor Day normally denotes the start of the presidential campaign.

How is it done in Britain?  There is a deadline for an election to be held, but normally the prime minister calls the election before that date.  The UK parliamentary election campaign has  begun in 2024.  It will last for 5 weeks, with the election to be held July 4.  I find it interesting that the balloting will happen on a day not necessarily a date to remember in Britain, July 4th, the day commemorating the American Declaration of Independence from King George.

My professor always thought a brief, lively election campaign of 5 weeks in Britain is much better than the long, drawn-out campaigns for American president.

My former professor may have a point.

Hamilton County’s four mayors are set to converge at the Hamilton County Leadership Academy’s (HCLA) 11th annual Leadership Summit, where they will engage in a panel discussion on regionalism. The event is scheduled for Tuesday, June 18, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Embassy Suites Conference Center in Noblesville.

The panel will feature Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, Carmel Mayor Sue Finkam, Noblesville Mayor Chris Jensen, and Westfield Mayor Scott Willis, with Terry Anker, dean of the HCLA Class of 2014, serving as the moderator. This gathering aims to provide insights into how regional collaboration is influencing their municipalities and shaping the future of Hamilton County.

“We are thrilled to be one of the first community organizations in Hamilton County to bring our mayors together and learn how regionalism is shaping their work and the future of where we live, work, and play,” said Diana Coyle, executive director of HCLA. “Community partnerships play a vital role in achieving our mission of amplifying the impact of leaders in the community. We believe informed and connected citizens understand the policy, process, and people who shape the lived experiences of residents and can cultivate change and support for growth in rewarding ways.”

The Leadership Summit is open to the public, with individual tickets and table sponsorships available for purchase at HCLA.net. Registration closes on Wednesday, June 5.

In addition to the panel discussion, the event will feature the presentation of HCLA’s Distinguished Alumni & Honorary Alumni Awards. Andrea Davis, executive director of HAND, Inc. and a graduate of HCLA’s Class of 2014, will receive the 2024 HCLA Distinguished Alumni Award. This award honors alumni who have made significant contributions to the HCLA network and Hamilton County through their community service and leadership efforts. Davis, a Fishers resident and former newspaper reporter and editor, joined HAND in 2016 and has been actively involved in local government and community initiatives.

Brenda Myers, president and CEO of Hamilton County Tourism, Inc., will be recognized as the 2024 HCLA Honorary Alumni. This award acknowledges a Hamilton County leader who, while not an alumnus of the HCLA program, has demonstrated a strong belief in its mission and vision. Myers, with over 35 years of experience in tourism development, has significantly contributed to the county’s tourism sector, including leading efforts on the White River Vision Plan and establishing the Business of Entertainment, Sport & Tourism Fund.

For more information about HCLA and its impact on the community, visit www.hcla.net.

Good news for motorists in the area of Allisonville Road & 146th Street.  Allisonville Road will be open at 146th Street June 9th.  Hamilton County Highway officials say there will be a temporary traffic signal at that intersection.  On Allisonville Road, no left turns will be allowed onto 146th Street.

With bridge work ongoing, drivers are asked to be careful as construction vehicles will be in and out of that area frequently.

Below is the information provided by Hamilton County Highway:

I recall having many conversations with Scott Fadness after he won the Republican primary for Fishers mayor in 2014.  There was no opposition for him in the November general election, so he often talked about his priorities once taking office in 2015.

A top priority for him, as expressed to me at the time, was mental health.  Fadness had done ride-a-longs with Fishers Police Officers during his time as Town Manager and witnessed first-hand many situations officers were trying to handle which clearly related to some mental health issue.

Once in the mayor’s office, Fadness brought people together and started studying the issue and taking action.  The new mayor wasted no time in moving forward.

Having covered a number of mayors in my reporting past, I had seen many mayors start to work on an issue, put something together, declare victory and move on to the next issue in span of a few months.

I wondered, what would this new Mayor of Fishers do about mental health?  Will he act quickly then move onto something else, or will he stay with it?

My answer came during an event the mayor sponsored Wednesday morning, gathering members of his staff, leaders in the community and mental health experts to talk about where Fishers is on mental health and where the community goes from here.

The mayor began his talk with a history of his efforts, not always initially successful, at bringing major local institutions into the mental health efforts.

COVID had a big impact on all this.  Mayor Fadness wanted a COVID testing program early in the pandemic, so he created a city health department which continues to this day.  The Fishers Health Department has taken-on much of the mental health work.

However, Fadness explained many other city departments are involved in promoting better mental health, including police, fire, emergency services, parks & recreation and planning, just to name a few.  Several department heads were called-on by the mayor to talk about their involvement in the city’s mental health program.

The mayor then took questions and comments from the audience, there were many, and he listened.

He wrapped-up the hour-long session saying he has been inspired by this journey in promoting better mental health.  The mayor should be proud of what he accomplished.  It started with his first day in office, January 2015, up to the present day, with a consistent mental health program.  My early question was answered.  This mayor has kept his mental health program going for his entire time as Mayor of Fishers.

Suzanne Thomas is serving her first 4-year term on the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board, and on Wednesday officially filed for re-election for the Fall Creek Township seat.

Ms. Thomas describes herself as “conservative with traditional values and (a) progressive vision in education.”  She has resided in Fishers since 2001.

In the news release announcing her candidacy for a 2nd term, she refers to her efforts in supporting renovations at several schools, her involvement in the approval of a new literacy initiative Science of Reading, revising the student handbook to “promote accountability and responsibility,” and “proudly supports the hiring of the new Superintendent of Hamilton Southeastern Schools.”  Patrick Mapes recently replaced the previous superintendent, Dr. Yvonne Stokes.

“I am proud of the progress we have made together over the past four years,” said Thomas in her news release. “I am excited to continue serving the wonderful community of Hamilton Southeastern and remain committed to excellence in education for all students.”

In this round of school board voting, 3 of the 7 seats are up for grabs.  All voters in the district vote for one candidate residing in each township (Fall Creek, Delaware and Wayne).

If you have driven by the area of 141st Street and Cumberland Road, you have likely seen the ongoing construction of the Cumberland Cottages residential development, by housing nonprofit HAND Incorporated.

HAND Executive Director Andrea Davis says she and her staff will be doing the “punch walk” inspection looking for minor issues this week.  She expects construction to be complete in about 3 weeks.  Once construction is done, tenants will begin moving-in.

There are 11 rental units in Cumberland Cottages, 6 will be rented as affordable housing, the remaining 5 will be at market rate.

Davis says 42 applications for housing at Cumberland Cottages has been received, most for the affordable units. HAND is looking for opportunities to fill the market rate units with folks who are also in need of affordable housing.  “We need to get creative about that,” Davis says.

The market rate rental costs are not yet available for Cumberland Cottages.  For the affordable housing units, the rent is a bit complicated, tied to the percentage of family income of the area median income levels established by House & Urban Development (HUD).

For those qualifying at 40% of the area median income, there are two 2-bedroom units renting for $759 a month.

For those qualifying at 50% of area median income, there is one 3-bedroom unit renting for $1,125 per month.

If you qualify at 60% of area median income, there is one 2-bedroom unit renting for $954 a month…..and two 3-bedroom units  renting for $1,265 per month.

As to how area median income is defined for Cumberland Cottages, it is based on the size of the household.  Here is the information provided by HAND:

The original Cumberland Cottages plan was for 11 detached units, but budget challenges changed that.  However, HAND is looking forward to opening the project.

“We’re really excited,” says Davis. “This is the first of this kind of design that we’ve done with the homes oriented around shared green space, it’s called a cottage court design.”

An opening ceremony is tentatively planned for mid-July, even though there will already be residents living there.

The Speaker of the Indiana House is a very powerful person in decisions made by state government.  The current Speaker, Todd Huston, represents District 37, which includes the eastern part of Fishers.  The job of Speaker is very time-consuming so Speaker Huston has not appeared on one of my podcasts for a while, mainly due to scheduling issues.

I recorded a podcast with Speaker Huston May 28, and he had comments on a number of issues, including…

–The concerns of Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness about Carmel receiving $60 million more in property and income tax revenue each year compared to Fishers

–Changes in the Public Access Counselor law

–School vouchers and rules on discussions with teacher unions

–His support of Indiana University President Pamela Whitten in an Op-Ed piece for the Indianapolis Star

–The debate over water resources

–The social services  state funding shortfall of $1 billion

-and-

–What to expect in next years budget session.

The podcast is available at the link below.

I have seen much written about the local television blackout for the Indianapolis 500 lately, but do you know anything about the first 500 shown on television?

The year was 1949 and television was just beginning.  It was not in every household by any means at that time.  Manufacturers and TV broadcasters wanted more televisions in more homes.

That led to the first TV station to go on the air in Indianapolis, WFBM Channel 6 (which now uses the call letters of WRTV), to broadcast the race live in order to promote more sales of TV sets.  That happened in 1949 and 1950.  WFBM only had 3 cameras, all along the main stretch, covering the race.

I remember my Mom and Dad telling me about watching those races.  They said it was good, but keep in mind television was brand new and expectations were low.  It is estimated that about 3,000 televisions in the Indianapolis area were tuned to the race broadcasts in 1949 and 1950.

There is an old story that many local Indianapolis broadcasters tell.  After the 1950 race, Wilber Shaw, the man hired to run the Speedway in those days, was having a drink with the WFBM people when he looked them in the eye, and just said, ‘You and your (expletive deleted) television station.”  It was then that television knew 1950 might be the last television broadcast of the Indianapolis 500 ever on local television.

Beginning in 1986, ABC was granted the rights to broadcast the race live, but it was blacked out in Indianapolis.  Only twice has the race been broadcast live in Indianapolis…for the 100th running and the COVID era races where no fans were allowed.

That takes us to 2024.  The speedway had a small number of unsold tickets (by IMS standards) and the decision was made not to allow a local TV broadcast.

That changed with the 4-hour rain delay.  The Speedway announced at the last minute that, due to the long rain delay, the local Indy blackout would be lifted and the race could be shown in WTHR, the local NBC affiliate.

Social media lit up from the time of the announcement of the blackout the Friday before the race, to the time IMS relented due to the rain delay and allowed the local TV broadcast.  Local sports commentator Bob Kravitz has argued that the Speedway is losing local fans by not allowing the 500 on live local TV.

I take a position that as long as the IMS ownership is taking public money, and the state is providing subsides in the millions of dollars each year, the public is entitled to a live TV broadcast.  Kravitz writes about how the Chicago Blackhawks hockey team kept the team away from local TV, robbing a generation of potential Blackhawk fans to be created during that time.

The Blackhawks thought denying local TV would sell more tickets.  A little like the Speedway management is thinking.

If the Indianapolis Motor Speedway sells 90-95% of the tickets available, the 500 should be on local television.

Memorial Day is one of those annual observances that started small in the Town of Fishers and has grown exponentially as the City of Fishers has grown.  An unseasonably cold, overcast and windy day did not stop the crowd from gathering Monday morning to observe America’s war dead.

El Ahlwardt, Chair of the Fishers Armed Services Commission, provided his usual aplomb serving as the MC of the observance.  Mayor Scott Fadness talked about how his father taught him to “show up” for others in life and how the Fishers Armed Services Commission has shown up for the Fishers community in putting on events such as the Memorial Day service.

Guest Speaker Kent Abernathy, with a long resume that includes a stint as Commissioner of Indiana’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles, talked about how Indiana is among the top states in the nation honoring military veterans.  He told the stories of 2 Indiana service members that lost their lives in Middle East wars.

Here are more photos from the 2024 Memorial Day ceremony in Fishers:

Continue reading Memorial Day in Fishers 2024 →

May 27 is Memorial Day but it is a Monday and Fishers has released the road projects in or near the city.

Here is the listing, as provided by the City of Fishers:

Continue reading Fishers area road construction – week beginning Monday, May 27 →