Last weekend was DePauw University's alumni weekend. Because I was on a special five-year program for my degree at DePauw, I have two "reunion" years---anniversaries of graduations divisible by the number five.

   Putnam County, in which Greencastle and DePauw are located banned smoking in 2007 in public places. I spoke with a lot of people about the Indianapolis ban and the litigation over it. I was (pleasantly) surprised by the reaction of the alums with whom I spoke. Generally,…

   On June 13 an important decision will be made in regard to the edifice proposed to be erected on North College in Broad Ripple where now reposes the old Minton Shell station.

   First, I would like to address media coverage of the May 23 meeting the Broad Ripple Village Association held to let the public know about the plans afoot for development. I previously commented about coverage that seemed to avoid the absolutely worst comment of the evening. A lawyer for Feagre Bakers and…

   On Saturday, June 8, we will stream live from downtown. Since we go on at 11 a.m., the Gay Pride Parade will be over by the time the podcast starts. However, "Civil Discourse Now" will be downtown where people will mill about after the parade.

   Perhaps Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey will blow an opportunity to (1) gain political good will by (2) doing the "good thing" when he names a temporary replacement for the late United States Senator Frank Lautenberg. Lautenberg not only was a "liberal," but was "very liberal." He still was to the right of me on most positions, but he was elected by the people of New Jersey. In other words, the majority of registered voters who voted in the election in which Lautenberg won voted for…

   A few weeks ago I responded to an ad in the Broad Ripple Gazette in which volunteers were sought to help determine the direction that should be taken in regard to a system of residential parking permits in Broad Ripple. That such a program was under consideration was news to me. I e-mailed the Broad Ripple Village Association and signed up. I was sent an invitation to the committee meeting and a confirmation e-mail.

   Last Thursday, May 30, about a half dozen folks showed up for…

   As I have posted this week a couple of times, The Show today will focus on Belle Gunness. Belle was one of those Hoosier "success" stories that did not quite make it to the commercials they ran during timeouts of IU and Purdue basketball games in the 1980s. Belle croaked quite a few people, and was unique amongst serial killers who have been caught or otherwise identified. She did not have a "type" or category of people whom she targeted. Ted Bundy killed women with medium-length brown…

   Hoosiers are sensitive to other States laying claim to famous people born in Indiana. That always seemed to rook Indiana. Benjamin Harrison was born in Ohio, but made his political fame from Indiana. He was elected to the United States Senate, then served one term as President, sandwiched between the two terms of Grover Cleveland. His grandfather William Henry Harrison's month in office as President still holds the record for brevity and stands as a lesson to all those who would bore the…

   At last Thursday's Broad Ripple Village Association (BRVA) meeting, at which the proposed development on North College Avenue was the scheduled topic, several people on behalf of BRVA gave presentations. Elizabeth Marshall, a BRVA member apparently involved in plans related to TIF monies, advised that TIF would not be a topic for discussion, but would be a subject of future discussions and there would be opportunities to weigh in on the TIF then. (At least that is what the minutes of the…

   In an episode of "M*A*S*H," Hawkeye is court-martialed for assault of a superior officer (Frank Burns, of course) while they were in the operating theatre. After Major Burns delivers, to the general officer, his version of what occurred, Hawkeye says something to the effect of: "I agree with Major Burns. We were in Korea. And we are in the Army. However, the rest of it..." Needless to say, the rest of what Major Burns had said was no accurate.

   Broad Ripple Village Association…

   The ONLY item on the agenda for tonight's meeting of the BRVA Land Use Development Committee, at 6 p.m. at the former Broad Ripple Library, at the entrance to Broad Ripple Park, is a vote on whether to recommend the development. This is kind of a surprise and probably something worth attending, particularly for those who oppose Whole Foods's invasion of the Village.  

   A few weeks ago I spotted "The Broad Ripple Gazette" at Kroger's in Broad Ripple. A photo of the Rainbow Bridge, then under repairs, was on the front page. I grabbed a copy to see the projected date of completion. I understand construction projects take time to complete, but I was anxious to know as this project caused me to detour on my ways to and from work. Unfortunately, there was no such information. There was a statement that announcements of current events was on the back page, so…

   Belle Gunness was born in 1859 in Norway. She moved to the United States in 1881, following a sister who had moved here. Belle learned a lot about specific aspects of American law: insurance, probate, inheritance, and murder. She was able to poison her first husband and collect proceeds from two life insurance policies. The fellow died on the one day coverage of the two policies overlapped. She moved from Chicago, after she experienced difficulties in collection of the proceeds of the…

   Today, May 25, at 11 a.m., we shall stream "live" from Good Earth, located on Guilford just north of the Rainbow Bridge in what is, for now, beautiful Broad Ripple Village. The focus of our conversation with guest panelists Matt Stone ("Indy Student" blog), Len Farber ("Indy Vanguard"), Rudy the manage of Good Earth, and a couple of the folks who attended Thursday evening's Broad Ripple Village Association ("BRVA") meeting will be the proposed construction of an architectural monstrosity…

  Perhaps the most telling moment---there were a lot of moments from which to choose---at last night's "open" meeting of the Broad Ripple Village Association's Land Use Development Committee (LUD) occurred at the end of a short segment presented by Joe Scimia, a lawyer from Feagre Baker & Daniels. He announced to a standing-room-only house at the Broad Ripple United Methodist Church that part of "Envision Broad Ripple," the guiding plan for the development of Broad Ripple, was the…

   The Broad Ripple Village Association will hold an informational meeting tonight at the Broad Ripple United Methodist Church, at 6185 Guilford Avenue. That is across the street and a few steps south of the Kroger grocery store in Broad Ripple. The Land Use and Development Committee will hold this meeting, one of its regularly scheduled meetings.

   LUD is descrbed on the BRVA website:

     "The BRVA's Land Use and Development Committee (LUD) implements the development…

   A few days ago I blogged about Greg Ballard's "legal corruption." The point was that so many actions of his administration that reek of "corruption," as defined in The American College Dictionary, are not illegal. For example, out in the open and in front of everybody, he awarded a sweet deal to a big campaign contributor on the Broad Ripple parking garage. If there was no money under the table, only money out there contributed consistently with applicable campaign laws, and Mayor Ballard…

   In the 1960s, scientists debated whether the Earth---our home, in orbit around a run-of-the mill star we call the Sun---would cool down or heat up as a result of pollution.

   Each side had facts in common upon which they relied. "Greenhouse gases"---primarily gases that resulted from human-made pollution---act to reflect light and heat. The scientists on the "cool" side theorized pollution would prevent penetration of sunlight and heat through the atmosphere and we would end up…

   There probably are four business establishments that one could  say epitomize Broad Ripple: Good Earth, the organic food store on Guilford; Conner's Pub, immediately behind Good Earth; the Vogue; and the Alley Cat. When I moved to Broad Ripple in 1987, there were more businesses of this Broad Ripple "type."  Fox Deli, The Patio, Provincial Kitchen, The Stone Mug, El Matador. Readers probably can add businesses I have overlooked. One could argue Bazbeaux Pizza should be on the list. I am…

   Saturday, May 18, we will shoot at the Isaacs Center for Peace, 8001 Westfield Boulevard. We stream live at 11 a.m. Dick Cady, who was awarded a Pulitzer with his work as a reporter for The Indianapolis Star, has written "Scavengers," an account of the Marjorie Jackson's life, a narrative of some Indianapolis history, her murder, and the apprehension of the gang-that-couldn't-shoot-straight types who robbed the millionaire widow, one of whom killed her.

   I was asked a few days…

   Our focal topic for Saturday's Show will be the Marjorie Jackson murder. Dick Cady will be a guest panelist. Mr. Cady won the Pulitzer for reporting for The Indianapolis Star and, most recently, has published "Scavengers," a book about the murder of Marjorie Jackson, the widow of a wealthy Indianapolis businessman. The story relates the history of the Jackson wealth, how Marjorie came to be part of Chester Jackson's life, her drift into paranoia, and the people who stole from her and…