Indiana's Ridiculous Blue Laws

Earlier this week, I did some grocery shopping at a nearby Kroger. Among my items was a six pack of one of my favorite local beers. I finish my shopping, get in a check out line, and things seem to be going fine so far. Finally, it is my turn, and the cashier spots my beer. She seems to be frozen with fear (!!) as if something horrible has happened. She signals to her manager and explains to me that, since she is under age, she can't scan the beer herself. And then we sit and wait.

I ask if she can at least scan everything else until then, and she starts to until her manager steps over.

And her manager, with her magical manager powers of being some state-ordained age to sell me a package of room temperature beer, scans the item.

Didn't even have to be on a separate transaction.

So the under age cashier can scan everything except the beer, collect payment for everything including the beer, she can even touch the beer by putting it into a bag or loading it into my cart, she just can't scan it across the bar code reader.

Y'know, even when I disagree with one of the ridiculous blue laws within the Indiana Code, I can at least find the logical justification. Cold beer is an exclusive to liquor stores due to lobbyists. Keeping liquor stores so many feet away from places such as school is to keep criminal activity away.

But what's the possible justification of this one, where a cashier can't scan but can collect payment for beer, liquor, and wine?

State Fair Vendor Selling Confederate Flags

I spotted Leon Leather Co, a long time vendor at the Indiana State Fair, selling Confederate flags and other merchandise that had the Stars and Bars featured on products, such as door mats. 

While I'm a long time fan of the Indiana State Fair, I've never really ventured into the retail vendors that are selling clothing and hot tubs. Why would I go to the fair for that when I can get that stuff year around? 

So maybe this vendor has been at the fair for years, probably selling these types of products (and to be fair, a ton of other stuff) for years. And I suppose nobody has complained about it either. That's what Andy Klotz, PR Director for the Fair, tells me.

I don't know if this is because nobody has noticed it. Or it is because people don't recognize Confederate flags as a symbol of racism. Even if you genuinely believe that the Confederacy revolted against the North for truly non-racist, non-slavery reasons**, you can't deny that the Confederate Flag has been paraded around by racists as a symbol of racism. On the same day that the South Carolina legislature hoisted the Confederate Flag up, it was in the middle of the Civil War centennial and the Civil Rights movement was well underway. While the Confederate Flag flying over South Carolina's state legislature didn't cause any controvery itself, it is a symbol of all that was wrong with our country at the time. A simple Google search shows widespread use of Confederate symbols among white supremacy organizations and white power media.

This doesn't sit right with me, and I certainly don't believe it belongs at our state fair.

**I say believe because there's no way someone could make that into a factual argument. Slavery was most certainly THE biggest contributing factor to the American Civil War. There is no arguing otherwise.

#IndyCouncil Shows Restraint

For those who don't closely follow the legislative process of Indianapolis-Marion County's legislative body, what typically happens is that each party meets in caucus prior to the meeting. They go down the agenda for that night and count the votes on the proposals and other measures that are expected to be close so that the outcome is almost always known before the meeting even starts. The leadership of each caucus knows how their caucus will vote, and if there are any defections. It gives them additional time to whip them into shape or confer with the opposing caucus to see if the other sides' defections counter their own.

If that happened last night before the Indianapolis-Marion County City-County Council met, it didn't show. Last night had several close votes on proposals and motions that showed democracy in action rather than pre-planned vote counting. 

One of the major votes last night was phasing out the county homestead tax credit. The county credit uses a portion of the County Optional Income Tax to lessen the burden of property taxes. Without this credit, property taxes would go up for some home owners, though the amount varies depending on a variety of factors. 

All 16 Democrats as well as Republican Councillors Aaron Freeman, Robert Lutz, and Christine Scales voted to keep the homestead tax credit in place. 

Mayor Greg Ballard put out this statement on the homestead tax credit being kept in place:

City-County Council leaders tonight failed to back up their rhetoric about providing more funding to our police and fire departments. I introduced this proposal a year ago. An independent, bi-partisan study commission recommended this step which would have cost only a percentage of homeowners less than a dollar per month and generated more than eight million dollars to support public safety in our city.

On that note, I would caution Councillor Lutz. He has quickly become one of the most likely Republicans to defect and side with the Democrats on some of the most controversial measures faced by the council, and has been at odds with the Ballard administration several times over the last two years. He might be shut out by the administration and his fellow Republican Councillors for daring to side against the powers-that-be. That said, I applaud his integrity and his willingness to stand up for his constituents.

The full council also considered an Economic Improvement District for the Fountain Square area. If passed, it would be Marion County's first EID. It would put an additional tax on business owners and non-profits on top of any property taxes paid, which would then be funneled into a fund for neighborhood improvements. An EID requires 50% support of property owners within the district. And, over the last few days, several initial backers of the EID have withdrawn their support. Original co-sponsor of the EID, Councillor Brian Mahern (D), also withdrew his support.

Councillor Jeff Miller (R) tried to move to send the proposal back to committee, but without success. Councillors Mahern and Angela Mansfield (D) pushed for a vote on the proposal that night, and the council voted 22-7 to "strike" it. According to the Indianapolis Star's Jon Murray, a strike essentially kills the proposal. 

Finally, a graffiti ordinance was sent back to committee. Some property and business owners have expressed concerns with some council members that the proposal, in its current form, could end up punishing property and business owners who operate in areas where graffiti is rampant. Proponents of the ordinance say that attentive business owners aren't the targets and that they'll be able to take advantage of an abatement established by the proposal. Proponents say the target will be negligent property owners who let their properties become a hot spot for graffiti.

In recent days, Councillor Zach Adamson (D) has said he'll be introducing amendments to the proposal based on feedback he's received from business owners, including the east side Cajun eatery, Papa Roux. Media reports don't indicate that any amendments were introduced last night (and they typically aren't during full council meetings), and presumably those amendments will be introduced and vetted in committee. 

I'd like to thank Council President Maggie Lewis and the other council leaders for allowing the democratic process to take its course. It isn't always pretty, or incredibly organized, and it doesn't often result in quick, easily wrapped up council meetings. But the council showed wisdom in exercising restraint last night. Hopefully, that wisdom will result in better public policy.

A Very Special Monday Agenda Segment Tonight on the JohnnyStir Show

Tonight, I'll be making my regular appearance on the JohnnyStir Show on IndianaTalks.com, but we're going to shake things up a bit. Over the weekend, I sat down with Councillor John Barth (D-At Large). Barth was elected in 2011 where Democratic candidates swept the At-Large seats and regained a majority on the Indianapolis-Marion County City-County Council. He currently serves as Vice-President of the council.

Barth was involved in creating what is known as the Midtown TIF, which roughly runs from 30th and Central and 38th and Illinois and also encompasses the more northern areas of Broad Ripple and Butler-Tarkington as well as a good chunk of land between all the areas. One of the first major developments requesting use of tax increment financing is a proposed development to replace the abandoned Shell site in Broad Ripple with a mixed-use retail and residential complex. It is speculated that the retail will be fairly large and will be a single renter, likely a Whole Foods.

Barth has come out in opposition to the development mainly due to the use of TIF funding to finance it, saying that there are areas within the TIF that need development more than Broad Ripple does. Proponents of the development say there won't be funding for future TIF developments if this project doesn't get going first. The developer of the mixed-use complex has submitted some changes to the design and zoning variances they've been seeking, so we'll see if that has changed Barth's view.

We also touched on panhandling and how long that ordinance will take to go through the process, budget hearings in the era of Senate Enrolled Act 621, and we briefly talked about the violence that broke out downtown after the fireworks show.

The show starts tonight at 9:00pm. You can listen live by clicking on the Indiana Talks button on the upper right hand corner of this blog. If you have an Apple or Android device, go to the Apple Store or Google Play Store and look for the "Live 365" app. Download it and look for Indiana Talks.

My segment should begin approximately at 9:40pm.

Microsoft Bungles XBox One Promotion, In Need of PR Advice

Over at Ogden On Politics, Paul Ogden often analyzes politicians and campaigns and offers them advice from a standpoint of how to communicate with voters. I thought of Paul after reading one of many articles that is now flooding the tech/geek websites panning the new console from Microsoft, XBox One.

In the tech/geek world, an event known as E3 recently happened where the gaming industry shows off all the new, cool stuff they'll be doing. Microsoft and their primary competitor, Sony, showed off their new consoles which are slated to be released later this year. However, Microsoft was already responding to criticism of various features that have proven to be unpopular among the gaming community. Those features are summed up in this nifty little picture:

Microsoft then canceled their post-E3 discussions with the media.

In a twist of irony, Sony's presentation at E3 almost consisted exclusively of how the Playstation 4 was the exact opposite of the XBox One.



One particular point of contention that has caught on is that the XBox One will require a check-in with the Microsoft Mothership once every 24 hours via an Internet connection, even if you are using the system to play a single player, offline game or do other offline activities. If it doesn't make the connection, your console will no longer be able to play any games (it isn't clear if it'll function for other activities or not).

This led a member of the United States Navy, Jay Johnson, to pen a blog post expressing his reluctance to buy an XBox One. He notes that even active service military members can have their personal game consoles with them, but they rarely have reliable Internet connections. He writes that "Microsoft has single handedly alienated the entire military, and not just the U.S. military, the militaries of the entire world." He also pleads with game developers not to implement online authentication for PS4 games.

Microsoft responded to this by condescendingly saying that customers who can't get an Internet connection should buy an Xbox 360, Microsoft's current console.

Realizing how condescending that sounds, Microsoft hired a PR flack to point out that Playstation 4 won't be allowed to connect to the Department of Defense's network, and that's true! But they'll still be able to play offline games, unlike with the new Xbox.

Ultimately, Microsoft solved the problem themselves. Even if you are able to connect to the Internet, anyone stationed abroad or traveling on business will only be able to play an Xbox One in 21 countries.

Finally, PR flack Major Nelson is alleged to say that Microsoft will be "educating" gamers about these various types of piracy protections and how they are a good thing.

Typically, when you have to educate your audience about something, it usually doesn't go over well.

Oh, I almost forgot. There is also the "We Are Watching You" Act being introduced in Congress, which specifically targets the XBox's Kinect device.

The reason I bring all this up on a blog that sticks to politics is this. As political observers, we often view politicians and campaigns that do something dumb or commit an act that makes absolutely no sense, or maybe something that seemingly could be good but is going to be hard to explain to voters and constituents. They need someone by their side to advice them and say "This is dumb, it won't go over well."

The same could be said about private industry as well.

I'm sure the tech guys and legal guys were thinking of all the ways to screw over gamers and showing power point presentations about how it'll increase revenues and make it harder to pirate games. But someone from outside tech and legal should've also had a spot at the table within Microsoft and say "Yes, but how will this affect people who buy and play games on consoles legally, and is it worth the trade off?"

If the XBox One's reception at E3 is anything to judge by, the answer is no.

JohnnyStir Show And Me, every Monday Night

I've put this up on Facebook and Twitter, but here it is for the blog reading audience.

I'll be making appearances on the JohnnyStir Show every Monday night at 9pm EST while political analyst Chris Jackson takes a break from the show. I'll be filling in for him for the summer. We'll typically be covering politics on a more national level, but I plan on introducing some local flavor in the coming weeks as well.

Tonight's show, I'll be on around 9:40.

If you're new to the whole online radio thing, you have a few options on listening:

• In the upper right hand corner of each page of this blog, there is an "Indiana Talks" section with a button to press. It'll connect you to the station when you click.
• If you have a smartphone or a tablet, look up "Live365" on the Google Play or Apple store and download the app. Then look for Indiana Talks on that app.
• Finally, the folks at Indiana Talks typically have the podcast up in mp3 format within 24-48 hours on their web page.

I hope you listen in. You can tweet during the show by tweeing me @IndyStudent or Jon @JohnnyStir. 

City Again Thwarted By High Weeds and Grass in Parks

It seems like every year, just as the weather starts being consistently warm, one of the news organizations is able to find a bunch of city parks with tall grass and weeds. I bet they take turns deciding who gets to cover it each year, because it always seems to be an issue and the city always seems to be caught off guard. If this were private property, the Department of Code Enforcement would issue a violation ordering you to mow it yourself or face paying a city contractor to do it for you.

But the problem isn't exclusive to Eagle Creek Park. I recently biked the White River Trail, which connects the northwest side of Indianapolis to downtown. Tall grass of at least two feet can be seen around several parts of the trail. Along Riverside Park, you can tell the areas that have had cut grass because they stay there in piles.

But the worst violation of the grass and weeds ordinance was the Indy Cycloplex. Indy Cycloplex, home of the Major Taylor velodrome, is being managed by Marian University as part of a 30 year lease. There's a large area of grass that falls within the Lake Sullivan Complex that easily is 3-5 feet high.

To be clear, I don't blame the folks at Indy Parks & Recreation. They're doing the absolute best they can with the limited resources they're allocated. I do, however, blame the powers-that-be that continue to piss away our resources on cricket stadiums and ugly parking garages while essential city services and amenities such as public safety, parks, and libraries face budget cuts and staff shortages.