Democrats expand majority on City-County Council
Democrats picked up at least five seats—and possibly six, depending on the outcome of a race with a razor-thin margin. Republican leader Mike McQuillen was among the GOP casualties.
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Source: White House finds Pelosi drug plan ‘unworkable’
President Trump is instead backing a bipartisan bill that would for the first time limit what seniors have to pay out of their own pockets for medications.
Indiana GOP aiming to take some mayoral offices from Democrats
The outcome of Tuesday’s local elections will also decide whether a new casino can be built in Terre Haute and the fate of several school district construction and security improvement proposals.
Hogsett & Merritt talk neighborhoods, poverty, crime and more
IBJ talked with incumbent Democrat Joe Hogsett and his Republican challenger, Jim Merritt, about why they’re running for mayor, what they’ve learned about themselves in the process and how they’ll tackle crime, neighborhood development, crime and more.
Program to spur growth is not limited to poor communities
The area that includes the Fletcher Place neighborhood and the southeast corner of downtown is one of the hottest parts of Indianapolis, yet it’s included in a federal program designed to spur investments in poor neighborhoods.
Hogsett wants to build on administration’s ‘inclusive growth’ efforts in second term
Democratic Mayor Joe Hogsett says if he’s elected to serve a second term, he hopes “that prosperity can be shared by more people in Marion County than has been the case in the past.”
Merritt says collaboration will be key to solving the city’s biggest problems
Republican state Sen. Jim Merritt says his campaign for mayor has taken him to places and introduced him to people in the city he never knew before—an experience he wants to continue if he’s elected.
Talking with people, he said, is key to finding solutions to difficult problems.
Hogsett receives fundraising boost from Christel DeHaan, Jim Irsay
The Democratic mayor nearly raised six figures in a seven-day period that ended Wednesday. Hogsett’s opponent, Republican state Sen. Jim Merritt, logged nearly $20,000 in the same time frame.
IEDC president to lead state’s new tourism agency
State lawmakers passed legislation during the 2019 session that allowed the Indiana Office of Tourism Development, which is under Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and funded by the state budget, to become a quasi-governmental corporation as of July 1, 2020.
House approves rules for Trump impeachment process
Thursday’s near party-line 232-196 roll call was the chamber’s first formal vote on a process that’s likely to take months, possibly stretching into the early weeks of the 2020 election year.
Merritt says city shouldn’t have threatened eminent domain for GM stamping plant site
Republican state Sen. Jim Merritt, Democratic incumbent Joe Hogsett and Libertarian Douglas McNaughton specifically addressed the eminent domain issue at Monday night’s Indianapolis mayoral debate.
Indiana to consider creating government corruption hotline
Indiana residents soon could have a hotline for reporting improper or illegal spending and other suspected corruption by local government officials, if lawmakers approve a proposal being drafted by a legislative committee.
Mayoral candidates square off on issues facing black community
The two major political party candidates for mayor of Indianapolis took the stage Monday night in a what black leaders called a historic discussion on issues facing their community.
Cities seek state authority to join forces on taxes, projects
Central Indiana elected officials want to create a formal organization that could combine regional resources to pursue transformational projects.
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
Convenience vs. security: The dilemma of digital tickets
Some state lawmakers want to require paper tickets, but event organizers say they can easily be manipulated and duplicated. Digital ticketing reduces fraud, they say.
Indiana legislators mull installing work zone traffic cameras
Members of the General Assembly’s Interim Study Committee on Transportation will decide later this month whether to officially recommend that Indiana’s Legislature consider making the state the sixth with work zone speed cameras.
Consolidation up for consideration for state education agencies
On Tuesday, an interim committee of lawmakers discussed potentially consolidating the state board of education, governor’s workforce cabinet, and Commission for Higher Education.
Buttigieg pitches himself to moderates as the Biden alternative
Despite raising a staggering $51 million for his presidential campaign in 2019, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg has been stuck in fourth place, between 5% and 7% in national polls. Part of that is because he’s hard to define.
Indiana election upgrade still leaves widespread use paperless voting
Security experts have urged for adoption across the country of paper-based voting systems, saying they are less vulnerable to manipulation and election workers can use those records to audit results.