Hamilton County plans domestic violence shelter
Plans to build the county’s first shelter are taking shape, but questions remain about the project’s location and funding, which could put its eventual construction in jeopardy.
County Government
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Economic study: IndyParks’ green impact goes well beyond plants, trees
Each dollar spent on Indianapolis Parks and Recreation generated about $3.13 in the local economy in 2019, with an economic impact of $106.8 million that year, researchers at IU’s Public Policy Institute estimated.
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UPDATE: St. Elmo reopens as officials say no customers were at risk of COVID exposure
On Monday, St. Elmo reported a COVID-related death to the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
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State not releasing detailed COVID outbreak data
Other than tracking schools and long-term-care facilities, the state doesn’t post any identifying data on a website or dashboard where people can identify COVID hot spots and track their spread.
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IBJ Podcast: Indy’s top doc on the COVID response, masks, contact tracing, second wave
Dr. Virginia Caine, one of the key interpreters of data and shapers of policy in Marion County, discusses the frustrations and challenges of combatting a pandemic and shares her blunt message for those who won’t follow the recommendations.
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Articles
Marion County to offer second multilingual COVID vaccine registration hotline
Bilingual volunteers will staff the nine-language hotline starting Saturday, as health disparities by race and ethnicity linger in local case counts and inoculation rates.
Q&A: Terry Gallagher, Marion County mosquito control supervisor
For more than three decades, Gallagher, 61, has supervised mosquito control programs for Marion County, overseeing a small army of technicians who spray ditches and collect mosquitoes from traps around the county to track the variety and size of the mosquito population.
Contact tracing is state’s new weapon in COVID war
Across Indiana, local health departments have been scrambling to keep up with the job of tracking, one patient at a time, the spread of the virus that has already claimed the lives of more than 900 Hoosiers.
Indiana counties battle cyber attackers with help from state, feds
To fight cyberattacks, state and local government officials are taking a page from the enemy’s playbook by expanding protections against attacks from one entry point to thousands.
911 tax hike means Hamilton County has cash to spend
An income tax hike going into effect next year will generate millions of dollars more than needed—a windfall government officials are eyeing to help pay for other public safety initiatives.
Hamilton County Jail program aims to connect inmates with jobs, mentors
With a low unemployment rate in Hamilton County—2.5% last month—some employers see the inmates as an untapped workforce and are more than willing to give them a chance, helping inmates overcome one of the biggest hurdles they immediately face upon release
Indianapolis to get boost in road funding, but other cities, towns face decrease
The city of Indianapolis is about to get a boost in road funding from the state—at the expense of other cities and towns—after a discrepancy was found in how the formulas for certain taxes had been applied for years.
Hogsett proposes ambitious, 9-county plan to fund infrastructure improvements
The mayor’s office says the strategy is a way to meet the city’s growing infrastructure needs—which amount to $160 million per year—without raising taxes. But the proposal would create winners and losers among area counties, even as it addresses what’s considered a regional problem.
Under new rules, local voters on Tuesday can go to any polling station in Marion County
The county has switched to the “vote center” system, giving residents a choice of 277 polling places. Voters also will see the rollout of new technology, including electronic poll books and touch-screen ballots.
Mount Comfort Road has big development potential for Hancock County
Mount Comfort Road in Hancock County could see an additional half billion dollars in economic impact by 2030 if community leaders capitalize on a plan to develop the busy corridor.
Council approves Marion County’s switch to vote centers starting next year
Marion County voters will be able to cast their vote at any polling place in the county starting next year as Indianapolis becomes what is known as a “vote center” county.
Hamilton County officials debate 10 percent income tax hike for 911
For at least a year, county officials have debated how best to pay for the county’s 911 communications operation going forward.
Analysis finds sheriff’s department underfunded, facing big overtime cost jump
A preliminary audit of the sheriff’s office budget and operations, being conducted for the city by consulting firm KPMG, follows a dispute last year over the agency’s budget.
Former city bond bank employees charged with theft of nearly $400K in public funds
Investigators say Jacqueline Fitzgerald and Monica Durrett claimed inappropriate benefit payouts and carried insurance on ineligible dependents. Fitzgerald also allegedly received unauthorized bonuses and incentive pay.
Surveying firm Schneider Corp. rebrands, spins off tech division
Schneider Geospatial, a GIS specialty firm, does work with one county in every five across the U.S.
Integrating criminal justice center is key to lifting Twin Aire neighborhood
Ensuring the $572 million criminal justice center connects with the surrounding neighborhood and doesn’t sit isolated presents a big challenge for project planners and community leaders.
Hamilton County kicks off 256-bed jail expansion, eyes start of second phase
County officials are weighing whether to get moving on the $4 million final phase so it could be finished at the same time as the first.
Council panel OKs $9.5M in loans to help Central State, Monon 16 neighborhoods
The projects are coming up now because the city has six months left to take advantage of more than $30 million in a federal loan guarantee program that it was awarded in 2012 by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department.
Council VP seeks to keep new justice center out of private-operator hands
Zach Adamson has proposed an ordinance that “requires the administration and operation of the county jail facilities be non-privatized.”