Articles

SKIDMORE: Remind the council that transit is essential

This should be a pretty straightforward matter. After all, the council decided in May to let voters have their say regarding a tax to support improved transit, and in November, nearly 60 percent of voters in 79 precincts countywide said yes to the tax.

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HUME: Indy 500 needs diversity in motors, chassis

Economic impact is generated by inviting more players to participate in the 500. Automotive industrial giants Ford Motor Co., Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Toyota have unmatched wealth waiting to be spent on race engine development for teams at the Speedway.

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MARCUS: Governor: Don’t forget our smaller communities

Our state has good places the size of Evansville, South Bend and Muncie on down to Hartford City, Portland and Sullivan. These places could offer a quality of life deemed acceptable by our elite state economic developers if a program of incentives removed the blemishes caused by stagnation and decline.

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KENNEDY: Losing Bill Hudnut, a leader with vision

Unlike politicians who see the job of mayor as a low-level “stepping stone” to higher office, Hudnut reveled in being Indianapolis’ mayor. He had a passion for—and an intellectual engagement with—urban policy, and he understood the importance of a vibrant central core.

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ELSENER: Marian tries new tack in teacher prep

Any drive to improve our nation’s schools and education system begins with understanding why people enter collegiate schools of education, why they want to dedicate their lives to be teachers and leaders, and why, in too many cases, teachers decide to leave their profession.

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AMSTUTZ: Embracing history to shape the Next Indiana

In 1825, nine years into statehood, Indiana underwent a governmental change for the sake of shifting demographics. With the state’s bicentennial just a few days away, we face similar shifts in demographics and other economic and cultural realities, so we might want to consider lessons learned from that change.

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FIDDIAN-GREEN: Vaping is not a proven way to stop smoking

A serious dialogue about curbing smoking in the Hoosier state should start with the most promising solutions. And as rigorous research studies and other states’ experiences have shown, there are far more powerful tools than e-cigarettes at our disposal.

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KENNEDY: Time to determine what’s next

The electoral map is not—as often described—cosmopolitan “elitist” coasts against the “heartland.” It’s a nationwide series of blue islands in seas of red—urban centers surrounded by suburban, exurban and rural precincts.

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THOMPSON: Indy upping wages through collaboration

Average wages for Hoosiers have increased 25 percent since 2005, growing from $35,400 to $44,116. Meanwhile, personal income in Indiana had the 11th-fastest rate of growth between the first two quarters of this year.

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HOGSETT: Indy must prepare for higher-skill jobs

Georgetown University projects that, by 2020, 62 percent of Indiana jobs will require some form of post-secondary education. Unfortunately, today, only a little over 40 percent of our residents have that level of education. Unaddressed, misalignment will lead to growing income inequality and stagnate our economic growth.

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KENNEDY: The elephant in the courtroom

Since Obama was elected, the Senate GOP has stubbornly resisted acting on the majority of Obama’s judicial nominees. According to the Federal Bar Association, vacancies in the district courts, where most federal judicial work gets done, are reaching crisis proportions: 65 seats on the district court bench and at least 90 vacancies throughout the Article III courts. That’s more than 10 percent of the federal judiciary.

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