MAHERN: Has Legislature lost its ‘do the right thing’ members?
Forgive my nostalgia. I had a fairly serious health scare a little over a month ago and find myself quite involuntarily looking back.
Louis Mahern / Special to IBJ
Articles
MAHERN: Ozdemir’s Indy Eleven projections don’t add up
The North American Soccer League will have 10 members when Indy Eleven joins this year. Teams in the NASL play 12 games in the early season and after a four-week break in July play another 14 games. Fourteen are played at home.
MAHERN: The substantial life of a Democratic pillar
I first met Mary Berry in the fall of 1960, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
MAHERN: A marriage game plan for Republicans
Although they don’t all have a natural sense of rhythm, and a few of them are always laughing and carrying on, some of my best friends are Republicans.
MAHERN: At least Indianapolis is ahead of Detroit
Weather permitting, I walk our Irish setter, Finn McCool, nearly every day in Garfield Park. The 126-acre park on the near-south side has been a Mahern recreation site for over 100 years, after my great-grandfather moved his family to the area of Raymond and Shelby streets.
MAHERN? Why so much secrecy at Develop Indy?
Shortly after his 2008 inauguration, Mayor Ballard approached the Indianapolis economic development folks with a plan for international strategy—meaning foreign trips for him, his wife, staff members and security.
MAHERN: Ballard, Lewis should disclose conflicts
A typical $110,000 Colts suite comes with 20 tickets for 10 games—a per-ticket cost of $550. Mayor Ballard’s suite comes with at least 30 tickets.
MAHERN: Be my waiter but not my neighbor
City-county councilors have a nasty tradition of agreeing with one another to blackball developments within their individual districts.
MAHERN: Might freebies have greased this deal?
Some call it flimflam or a thimblerig. It is probably most recognized as the old shell game. Regardless of its moniker, our city leaders are about to pull it on local taxpayers.
MAHERN: Ballard turning competition on its head
While the Republican brand in some quarters may be a bit tarnished these days, there is no doubting what it represents—the idea that we should have smaller government at all levels, and that government should stay out of our personal lives at least so far as taxation and guns are concerned.
MAHERN: Now that you’ve been elected a legislator…
So, you have been elected to the Legislature. Robert Redford once starred in a movie called “The Candidate.” At the end of the film and after an improbable win for the U.S. Senate, the Redford character asks his consultant, “What do we do now?"
MAHERN: School boards should stop butting out
After reams of newsprint and a bazillion 1’s and 0’s on the Internet bemoaning the state of public education in general and Indianapolis Public Schools in particular, you finally get your chance to weigh in.
MAHERN: Cut unnecessary hassle of college loans
Earlier this year, U.S. student loan debt achieved a milestone. It surpassed outstanding credit card debt. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, student debt is rising when other debt is flat or even falling. Fifteen percent of all Americans with a credit score are carrying student debt.
MAHERN: Ballard’s lieutenants serve him poorly
Dear Mayor Ballard: You need to talk to your guys. They are not giving you the best advice.
MAHERN: A better way to handle primary elections
The Top Two Vote Getter primary is open to all voters and they are not required to declare a party.
MAHERN: What Ballard means when he says ‘private’
The only real difference is that in private clubs smoking will be allowed and in public clubs smoking will not be allowed.
MAHERN: Pining for an era when senators were senatorial
Lugar decided sound public policy trumped standing by and watching his colleagues pass a bad bill.
MAHERN: Ballard’s silly intransigence on a smoking ban
If the mayor doesn’t believe the science, he should say so.
MAHERN: Questionable ROI from the Super Bowl
Local money spent downtown is not new money. It is merely money not spent somewhere else in the local economy.