Ritz proposes veterans-to-teacher scholarship program
Veterans could receive scholarships and college credits for their military experience if they pursue K-12 teaching in Indiana under a bipartisan proposal.
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Environmentalists targeting ag laws
The Hoosier Environmental Council has targeted food safety, animal rights and the environmental impact the corporate livestock industry has in Indiana.
Indiana’s long fight for less government has politicians protecting own
Economists and politicians on both sides of the aisle have argued for years that streamlining government in Indiana could save millions of dollars, but vested interests and fear of change have stymied real reform.
Indy Chamber to oppose state gay-marriage amendment
The Chamber noted that two of Indiana’s largest employers—Eli Lilly and Co. and Cummins Inc.— oppose the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage for recruitment reasons.
Momentum builds for state water plan; some fear conflicts over shortages
Indiana is generally water-rich, but advocates of resource planning say the state runs the risk of supply crises that would hamper economic development.
State will lose $63M in tobacco payments in 2014
An arbitration panel found that the state hadn’t worked hard enough to collect funds from cigarette companies. The money is used to fund health programs in Indiana.
State’s longest-serving female representative dies
Phyllis Pond of New Haven was a retired kindergarten teacher first elected to her Fort Wayne-area district in 1978. The 82-year-old's legislative work included pushing measures that reduced class sizes throughout the state and helped minority students attend law school.
Pilots heap praise on state lawmakers
Indiana aviators are still celebrating two tax breaks created in the 2013 legislative session, one eliminating a sales tax on parts and repairs and a restructuring of the fuel tax that translates to hundreds in savings per fill-up.
Legislators collide over regional mass-transit plan
During a committee meeting Tuesday, Sen. Brent Waltz and Rep. Ed DeLaney crossed swords on a proposal that included widening roads and reforming the IndyGo bus service.
State leaders vow transparency post-Bennett
Indiana's education leaders are learning from the mistakes of former School Superintendent Tony Bennett, starting with their promise to spend more time crafting Indiana's new school grading formula and doing so in the open.
Hoosierwood: Group seeks state tax incentives for filmmakers
A lobbying group is hoping it can persuade Indiana lawmakers to approve tax incentives to companies making movies in the state, saying it will create jobs.
GOP powerbrokers crafted Indiana education policy, emails show
The Indiana education overhaul associated with Tony Bennett and then-Gov. Mitch Daniels actually was crafted in private by a handful of state GOP bigwigs, including Al Hubbard, Mark Miles and Mark Lubbers, according to emails obtained by the Associated Press. Elected officials weren’t included for months.
Constitutional referendum on marriage could yield media bonanza
Television and radio stations have grown fond of income from “issue ads” in recent years on everything from right-to-work legislation to immigration reform.
Indiana lawsuit about cold beer sales faces uphill battle
States are viewed as having wide latitude to regulate alcohol sales.
Public-transit guru Bingaman motors for private sector
Ehren Bingaman, executive director of the Central Indiana Regional Transportation Authority, will join architecture and engineering firm HNTB Indiana. He was one of the principal supporters of the mass-transit plan that stalled in the Statehouse this year.
Mass transit opponent pitches wider roads
A leading opponent of the plan for regional mass transit is floating an alternative that calls for widening north-south commuter corridors like Martin Luther King Jr. Street, Capitol Avenue and College Avenue.
ISTEP firm faces third-degree from lawmakers, big damages
Indiana's state superintendent announced Friday she is seeking at least $614,000 in damages from CTB/McGraw-Hill for ISTEP testing troubles as the company's president apologized to state lawmakers.
Court upholds Indiana legislative boycott fines
The Indiana Supreme Court has upheld fines levied by House Republicans against Democrats for their 2011 legislative walkout over right-to-work legislation.
State lawmakers override Pence veto of tax measure
The governor wrote to lawmakers Monday asking them to sustain his veto of retroactively implementing local income taxes for Pulaski and Jackson counties. But House and Senate leaders pushed the override, saying the bill corrects a mistake by the state.
New law helps protect seniors from unscrupulous relatives
The law is meant to help seniors fight back against more subtle manipulation that happens when a caregiver, friend or loved one uses intimidation—but not force—to gain access to money, credit cards or other resources.