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…

   If I write a blog about a Federal agency responsible for collection of revenues levied by the government, will I be subject to audit? If you noticed, I avoided use of a three-letter acronym for a Federal agency charged with performing the task for our national government. That agency has come under fire since reports Friday disclosed the agency targeted any 501(c)(4) groups with the words "patriot" or "tea party" in their names, or advocated education about the Constitution or the Bill of…

   Before Marjorie Jackson was murdered in May, 1977, she had withdrawn millions of dollars---in cash---from what then was Indiana National Bank.  Those millions were not the only items of currency on her property. She was the widow of the son of the founder of a grocery store chain. Her husband had grown up in a family business largely cash-driven. Marjorie was accustomed to her husband bringing home cash and hiding it in various places around the home they eventually purchased on Indy's…

   In 1787, the Framers met in Philadelphia to draft what became the Constitution of the United States. We should get a couple of things straight about the Constitution.

   Only 36 delegates signed the final product. Three other delegates present on that day abstained. A total of 55 men attended the Convention, at one time or another, during that summer. There were some men, chosen as delegates, who refused to attend. Perhaps most famously, Patrick Henry said he would not attend…

   There has been a "push" recently for United States military involvement in Syria’s civil war. I call the chaos in Syria a "civil" war because, generally, protracted conflicts in which people of a country seek to overthrow the government that claims rule over them are called "civil wars."

   There seem to be no valid reasons for a U.S. military incursion in Syria. There are corporations that would profit from such a commitment. But profits are not worth lives.

   The Syrian…

   This Saturday, May 11, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Jeff Cox (Indianapolis attorney, blogger and author) and John Strinka (Socialist Party candidate for the Indiana House of Representatives in 2012)  will join us on "Civil Discourse Now"for discussion of our focal topic: the chaos in Syria and possible United States involvement there.

   As happened last week, we probably also will discuss cricket.

   Cricket is a dart game. It also is a game some would argue was a British…

   Yesterday afternoon, Pat Andrews, who has been a guest on The Show several times and is amongst the best bloggers of local politics in Indianapolis at "Had Enough Indy?" printed, on her blog, an exchange of e-mails between Indianapolis City-County Councilor-at-Large Zach Adamson and Dennis L. Rosebrough, a mayoral-appointee to the Board of Public Works. Adamson had e-mailed members of the Public Works Board to voice his opposition to the proposed cricket complex Mayor Ballard has proposed…

   It appears that Israel conducted airstrikes inside Syria near the capital, Damascus.

   Beyond what should be "baseline" troubling questions---the widening of any military conflict, with a premise that war results in killing and therefore is bad, but, in limited instances, justified---I have to ask, what do we know and from whom do we know it?

   There are reports that Israel struck shipments of rockets and other arms meant for guerillas who would use those items against…

   We send too many people to too many places to die. Syria is the latest country at which our military has been pointed.

   TV of the 1960s started, for most people, in black-and-white. The screens bore images of shades between black and white, mostly gray. About 1965 many households had color TVs. That was about the time the military conflict in Vietnam heated up. August brought us the Tonkin Gulf resolution, a blueprint for how a government can defraud the American public into…

   Most United States troops have withdrawn from Iraq. That was a military conflict—not a "war," as Congress only has followed the Constitution five times in our history to declare war: War of 1812, Mexican-American War, Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II. Thousands were killed and maimed, but "war," as defined by the Constitution, it was not.

   We still have troops in Afghanistan. Why they are there is a fair question. One reason could be to continue to prop up a…

I finished my fifteenth Mini-Marathon! Congratulations to all who participated!

   It promises to be cool this morning. We will stream live from Creation Café, 337 West 11th Street, on the first floor of the former Buggs Temple. As the sergeant used to say on "Hill Street Blues," be safe out there. If you begin to feel like you need to stop, do not hesitate to walk to the side and say that to a course official. They will summon transport to take you to the finish line.

   Best of luck to everyone

   Tomorrow is the big day! The weather forecasts seem uncertain. At 5:18 a.m. Friday the predictions are cool temps with rain held off, except for a few showers, until after the race is completed. Our "after" party—and a "live" stream of "Civil Discourse Now" at our usual 11 a.m. start—will be at Creation Café, located at 337 West 11^th Street, on the first floor of the former Buggs Temple. I have heard the food there is great.

   First, to answer Kurt Lorey’s questions…

   When I was hit with MS in 1994, by the second day in the hospital, I could not walk. This year will be my 15^th consecutive Mini®. These blogs about the Mini® will be a combination of memories of doing the Mini® and advice, based on those memories, of how to do it. I had no clue, in 1999, about the proper approach to the race. All advice given in this, or any other column, is not given as a healthcare professional. I do not have the formal training received by M.D.s, so check…

   The Mini-Marathon® is this Saturday, May 4. The weather forecast is chilly temperatures and rain. This is my account of why the Mini®—this will be my 15^th in a row—is important to me.  To paraphrase the title of The Ventures’ song, I walk—do not run—the 13.1 miles. Considering that in 1994, by the second of nine days in the hospital, I completely had lost use of my legs, doing those 13.1 miles is pretty good.

   I lay on the ice-covered asphalt of the crosswalk, staring…