Indiana inmates sneak through ceiling to have sex

iWon News

Three male and three female inmates at a southern Indiana jail face charges that they devised a way to sneak between cell blocks to help pass their time behind bars by having sex.

The inmates figured out how to remove metal ceiling panels in the Greene County Jail and used the passageway more than a dozen times in September and October, according to court documents.

The men - ages 44, 38 and 17 - and the women - ages 27, 26 and 21 - crawled through the ceiling after midnight, having sexual encounters and drinking homemade alcohol that was found hidden in the male cell block, a police affidavit said.

One male inmate who was not charged said the female inmates would "hang-out, play cards or have sex with some of the male inmates" in their cell block, the affidavit said.

Frail economy could cost state 15,000 jobs

IndyStar.com

Indiana, already battered by a slowing economy that has closed or shrunk factories around the state, could lose up to 15,000 additional jobs next year as the business climate continues to sputter, according to new forecast by Indiana University economists.

The Hoosier state will almost certainly face at least a moderate recession next year, similar in severity to those in 1990 and 2001, according to the forecast, which was presented this morning by a panel of IU economists at the Columbia Club in Indianapolis.

"But we cannot rule out something worse -- comparable to the severe recession in the early 1980s," said Bill Witte, associate professor of economics and co-director of the Center for Econometric Model Research at IU.

Paving work to begin on section of B&O trail

IndyStar.com

The first paved section of a trail in Hendricks County on the former B&O Railroad should be completed by the end of the year.

A groundbreaking ceremony will be Thursday on the trail just west of Raceway Road. The work marks a big step for trail enthusiasts who have planned for nearly two decades to turn the old railway corridor into a trail through Marion and Hendricks counties.

"We've had some rustic trail sections, but this will be the first tangible piece of the trail," said Carrie Walter, secretary of the B&O Trail Association. "In getting it paved, it allows people to see what it will be like when we get it all done. We are just very excited about it."

Michelle Obama to visit Fort Wayne next week

Chicagotribune.com

Michelle Obama is scheduled to make a campaign stop on behalf of her husband in Fort Wayne on Wednesday.

The campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says she'll talk with voters in what's being billed as a "community event." The campaign says additional details of the visit will be announced later.

Mass Murderer Dies in Prison Cell, Suicide Suspected

Indiana's NewsCenter

Mass murderer Simon Rios dies in an Indiana prison, marking the end of a story that brought terrible pain and suffering to the Fort Wayne community.

Rios was found hanging after 12-30 a.m. Thursday in his cell at the Pendleton Reformatory.

There were indications the torment he caused others, became a burden too great to bear.

Attempts to revive Simon Rios failed, and he was pronounced dead before 1-30 a.m. at the Pendleton Correctional Facility.

Prison officials say there were no signs of foul play, and in fact, he left behind a suicide note.

Police Still Searching For Clues In 20-Year-Old Cold Case

WRTV Indianapolis

He was shot and left for dead inside an Indianapolis-area parking garage and 20 years later police still don't know who killed a popular hospital administrator and father of four.

Charles McGraw was shot and killed on Oct. 7, 1988, after hosting a reception at St. Francis Hospital, where he worked as director of food services.

A co-worker found his body slumped in the front seat of his 1984 Cadillac Seville on the second floor parking deck at the hospital.

Since then, four different Beech Grove police detectives have worked the case, ruling out robbery. Instead, they classified the slaying as an execution.

New poll shows Daniels with slight lead

Chicagotribune.com

A new statewide poll shows Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels with a slight lead over Democratic challenger Jill Long Thompson.

The WISH-TV Indiana Poll released Tuesday night found 49 percent of likely voters supported Daniels, while 45 percent said they favored Long Thompson.

The four-point difference was just slightly greater than the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

That comes after a poll last week that found a one-point difference in the race, which was within that poll's margin of error.

Indiana may be ripe for Democrats' picking

Chicago Sun-Times

The economic view from Northwest Indiana isn't pretty.

And if Indiana goes to Barack Obama on Nov. 4, get ready for an Election Day avalanche.

Remember, Indiana is as ruby red as we in Illinois are baby blue.

The last Democrat our neighbors to the east helped send to the White House was Lyndon Johnson in 1964. If you were born that year, you are middle-aged.

On Tuesday morning, as the breakfast crowd was thinning and the lunch crowd arriving, the customers at Schoop's Diner in Portage had a litany of worries as they prepared to watch last night's debate between John McCain and Obama.

Marion Co. GOP: Clerk Beth White violated election law

IndyStar.com

Marion County Republican Chairman Tom John today accused Clerk Beth White of violating election law when she spoke on television about a get-out-the vote effort by the Barack Obama campaign.

White, a Democrat, said the Democratic presidential candidate’s campaign informed her office that it would give preferential seating at Obama’s speech at the State Fairgrounds tomorrow to people who vote early. She said she was simply relaying information passed on to her office.

John said White is misusing her office by encouraging people to vote in exchange for something of value — seating at an event that he compared to getting free tickets to a rock concert. He said local, state and federal law prohibits soliciting votes by promising something in return.

Indianapolis Day Trips

The Visit Indiana Blog

We’ve been blogging recently about a bunch of different motorcycle rides you can take throughout the state and this last batch is for everyone living in Central Indiana. If you live in or around Indianapolis, here are some great, short trips to take on a lazy weekend day.

If your trip is planned for the fall, check out our Fall Leaf Cam and see when the leaves are changing in different areas of the state.

Indiana failing to cut energy costs

WTHR

Natural gas bills are predicted to be 10-30 percent higher this winter, but a new scorecard is out on state efforts to curb energy use.

Whether you're talking about making it cheaper to heat your home or pay the electric bill, saving on energy is getting more local.

"Homeowners are facing higher energy prices, incomes are tight, I think states are trying to do more," said Steve Nadel with the American Council for Energy Efficiency.

Indiana ranked 38th among the states in taking new steps to cut energy costs. The study looked at things like state laws that encourage motorists to drive more fuel-efficient cars, policies aimed at getting people out of their cars and onto mass transit and building codes requiring new homes and businesses be more fuel-efficient.

Obama rally in Indianapolis

The Journal Gazette

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Indiana gubernatorial candidate Jill Long Thompson are to share a stage Wednesday in Indianapolis.

The two are scheduled to take part in the Change We Need Rally at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, 1202 E 38th St., according to an announcement from the Long Thompson campaign.

Long Thompson's husband eyes 1st gentleman's role

Chicagotribune.com

If Indiana voters next month select Democratic candidate Jill Long Thompson as the state's first female governor, they'll also see another first.

A first gentleman in Don Thompson, a 56-year-old farmer and airline pilot.

Thompson, who has kept a low profile during his wife's campaign, said he was ready to embrace an active role as first gentleman, although it could take time to get used to that moniker.

He is a former member of the Indiana National Guard and said he would like to focus on issues affecting soldiers and veterans. And he would like to help move the Hoosier mind-set away from traditional energy sources to renewable energy

Registering dead voters in Indiana

Examiner.com

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, more commonly known "ACORN," has again been caught trying to steal the election.

This time it is in Indiana, where "a large portion" of 5,000 registration forms turned in by ACORN "community organizers" had to be rejected by Lake County elections officials.

Lake County Republican Chairman John Curley wants a federal investigation. An investigation into the "hundreds of voter registrations bearing fictitious signatures or the names of dead:"

McCain campaign to add staff in Indiana

WLFI.com

Republican John McCain's Indiana campaign co-chairman says the campaign plans to add staff around the state next week.

McCain hasn't visited the state since July 1st and the campaign has no field offices, relying on state- and county-level organizations to build support.

But Luke Messer says that's changing. He says the campaign plans to add paid staff around the state. He says the campaign will place tens of thousands of yard signs and work to knock on more than 100,000 doors.

Brian Howey: The Blundering Veeps

Howey Politics Indiana

I try to resist hypotheticals. Still, I cannot help but think about that Obama-Bayh ticket. Republicans last spring and summer always expressed great confidence that John McCain would carry Indiana, and he leads in most credible Indiana polls. But mention the Obama-Bayh ticket and there would be a pregnant pause and usually an admission: well, that would change everything.

So it was with considerable relief for Hoosier Repubicans that the text message at 3 a.m. on Aug. 23 from Chicago carried the news that Sen. Joe Biden had edged out our boy Evan for the Democratic ticket.

The latest credible poll - by SurveyUSA - showing McCain leading Obama in Indiana by a 48-45 percent margin accents what could have been the blunder on the blunder. The first blunder was the ridiculous Obama rollout (i.e. I know something you don’t know) of the veepstakes. McCain was much more clean, setting a time and date and essentially eclipsing the Obama convention bump with the temporarily politically savvy move of choosing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. What energy

Councilmember Charged

Indiana Barrister

Indianapolis City-County Council Member Doris Minton McNeill has been charged with felony battery and resisting arrest for her alleged altercation with a police officer this past summer.

Special Prosecutor Jim Oliver charged McNeill with D felony battery and three county of resisting law enforcement, a class a misdemeanor.

McNeil was reportedly drunk and belligerent when police were called to her home in District 15. According to the police affidavit she shoved IMPD Officer Emily Perkins.

Veep Debate Moderator In The Tank With Obama

Advance Indiana

The woman scheduled to moderate Thursday night's vice presidential debate between Sen. Joe Biden and Gov. Sarah Palin has written a tribute book , The Age of Obama, to Sen. Barack Obama, which is scheduled for release on Inauguration Day (note the foregone conclusion that Obama has already won the election). Gwen Ifill of PBS' Washington Weekly wouldn't respond to reporters questions.

Ind. 38 to be first area for U.S. 31 upgrade

IndyStar.com

The first intersection upgrade on U.S. 31 will take place at Ind. 38, a main gateway to the small town of Sheridan.

State officials said they plan to transform the intersection -- located on the north end of U.S. 31 in the county -- and turn it into an interchange. State officials said they chose that site because it's one of the roadway's most undeveloped areas

Panel Approves Indianapolis Commuter Rail Plan

WRTV

It's been in the slow lane for years, but a rapid transit plan for central Indiana got a real jumpstart Friday with the unanimous approval of a plan that could cost up to $200 million.

The starter plan would establish a 19-mile commuter rail line between Noblesville and downtown Indianapolis that could be running by 2012, 6News' Julie Pursley reported.

The Indiana Regional Transportation Council has been examining rapid transit alternatives for nearly 20 years, but economic need and hunger for travel alternatives is the current impetus for action.

County abortion regulations closely watched in Indiana

USATODAY.com

Abortion opponents in Indiana are encouraging passage of regulations at the county level that abortion-rights groups say might be the leading edge of a nationwide effort to limit access to the procedure.

Two Indiana counties have passed ordinances that require doctors who perform abortions to have the authority to admit patients at local hospitals. A third county is considering a similar measure.

Some abortion clinics are staffed by doctors who are based elsewhere and are unlikely to have admitting privileges at local hospitals, so the rules present a new obstacle for abortion providers.

"Absolutely, it's a new strategy," says Mike Fichter, president of Indiana Right to Life. The ordinances ensure that women with complications after abortions can quickly get medical care, he says, but he hopes they also make abortions harder to get.

Mayors announce purchasing alliance

WISH TV

Several Central Indiana cities and towns are pooling their pocketbooks to save taxpayer money.

In a meeting Thursday morning, the group which consists of Mayors of Westfield, Noblesville, Beech Grove, and Indianapolis announced the new "Central Indiana Purchasing Alliance".

The goal is simple; Buy more, pay less for things like salt, road construction materials or fuel for vehicle fleets.

"We all have basic needs; salt, toilet paper, paper goods, etc.," said Noblesville Mayor John Ditslear.

"Our state legislature, the governor, and certainly the citizens are demanding of us to become much more efficient," said Westfield Mayor Andy Cook.

Brightpoint Wins Indianapolis Business Journal's Fastest Growing Company Award

Globe Newswire

"Brightpoint has been one of the real success stories among Indianapolis public companies in recent years. They have been a perennial on our fastest-growing public company list," said Chris Katterjohn, President and Publisher, Indianapolis Business Journal. "Last year, after a major acquisition and growing demand for their services, Brightpoint hit No. 1, more than doubling revenue over a three-year period. That's a lot of money when you're talking in the billions."

"I am proud of our 3000 associates in 28 countries who made it possible for us to win this award," said Robert J. Laikin, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Brightpoint, Inc. "We are positioned well in the global wireless value chain to take advantage of the many growth opportunities offered to us within the wireless industry. Our resolute commitment to enhancing long-term shareholder value remains unchanged."

Noblesville is Chamber's top city for 2008

The Indianapolis Star

Buoyed by a corporate campus and a new shopping mecca, Noblesville today was recognized as the Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s 2008 community of the year.

The Hamilton County city, whose population rose from less than 30,000 in 2000 to nearly 40,000 people in 2005, won the award for the first time. It succeeds Anderson, the winner for 2007.

The Indiana Chamber credited Noblesville with putting together "an aggressive plan to supplement its residential growth" with a 3,600-acre-plus Corporate Campus.

Obama Front Group Busted For Voter Registration Fraud In Michigan

Advance Indiana

The stakes in this election could not be higher. Democrats are frustrated by the red state electoral college majority that has emerged in recent presidential elections. By hook or crook, they are determined to win back the presidency. To this end, we've been told about the millions of new registered voters Democrats have added to the election rolls this year. The group at the forefront of this effort is the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), a group with which Sen. Barack Obama worked closely as a community organizer and which is now spearheading his voter registration and GOTV efforts. In Michigan, a key battleground state where Obama is struggling against McCain, ACORN has registered 200,000 new voters in recent months. Election officials are only now beginning to uncover massive fraud committed by those "paid workers" of ACORN

Indianapolis honors Vietnam veterans by welcoming them home

Chicagotribune.com

Hundreds of Vietnam War veterans and their family members filled the Indiana War Memorial auditorium Saturday for a long-overdue homecoming celebration.

A banner stating "The city of Indianapolis Welcomes Home Vietnam Veterans" was displayed outside the memorial, as the city held its first welcome-home celebration for the veterans. Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, a Marine veteran of the first Gulf War, greeted guests before and after the ceremony.

"I thought it was important for the city to do it, so at least one municipality is saying, 'Thanks for what you did,"' said Ballard, who spoke at the ceremony along with Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger, adjutant general of the Indiana National Guard.

Pregnant teller wounded in robbery loses twins

The Associated Press

A pregnant teller shot in a bank robbery has lost the twins she was carrying, and police continued to search for the gunman Friday.

Katherin Shuffield, who was five months pregnant, was critically wounded when a masked gunman shot her in the abdomen Tuesday morning at a Huntington Bank branch.

Authorities and the family had said the bullets had not hit the twins. Complications set in, however, and Shuffield's husband, Jason, said in a statement that the twins died late Thursday night. He said his 30-year-old wife remained in critical but stable condition at Methodist Hospital.

"Katherin's recovery is our top priority and she continues to receive the best possible care," he said.

Technology replaces parent-teacher meetings

The Indianapolis Star

A steady decline in attendance at parent-teacher conferences and an increase in online access for parents to monitor their children's progress has led the district to cancel spring parent-teacher conferences for Grades 7-12.

No other public school district in Hamilton County offers spring parent-teacher conferences above the elementary grades, and some don't offer conferences in those grades, either.

"Our teachers association surveyed NHS teachers last year, and the overwhelming opinion was that dismissing school early on two days for spring parent-teacher conferences was not a good use of time that would otherwise be spent in class," high school principal Annetta Petty wrote in an e-mail.

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Bird not sure he'll return as Pacers president

ESPN

Even Larry Bird isn't sure of his future with the Indiana Pacers as ownership pledges big changes for the troubled franchise.

Bird, the team president, said Monday he can't be certain whether he will be back next season, The Indianapolis Star reported.

"I don't know," Bird said when asked if he believed he and team CEO Donnie Walsh would return to the front office next season. "We'll just wait and see."

The Pacers are 26-41 and have seen a number of players make headlines for bad behavior or trouble with the law in the past few years. Two weeks ago, Herb Simon, who co-owns the team with his brother Mel, said that he'd had enough and pledged changes would be made -- and that everything except ownership of the team would be on the table.

"If it's changing everybody, it's changing everybody," Bird said, according to the Star. "I would like an opportunity to try to do it. ... I think there's a lot of blame that can be passed around, and obviously it starts at the top. When you're at the top, you have to take the hits like everybody else."

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Carson Becomes Second Muslim to Serve in Congress

Washington Post

It's been a busy 48 hours for Carson, as he was already in the Capitol today for his ceremonial swearing-in. washingtonpost.com's Emily Freifeld, captured the moment on video. During and after the event, the House's newest member shared his thoughts on being a "proud Muslim, a proud American, and a proud Hoosier" -- and the grandson of a woman he calls his political "Obi-wan Kenobi."

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New ozone standards likely to impact state economic development

nwi.com

The federal government's new smog standards could push future industrial development in Indiana away from its urban areas and into rural counties _ or even out of the state altogether, an industry official said Thursday.

Environmental activists, however, said the stricter ozone standard announced Wednesday doesn't go nearly far enough to protect the public from dense, eye-stinging summertime smog that makes it hard for the elderly, children and others to breathe.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new rules lower its 8-hour standard for ground-level ozone _ smog's primary ingredient _ from 84 parts per billion to 75 parts per billion.

Based on air monitoring data from 2004-2006, the EPA said 14 Indiana counties currently do not meet the new standard. State environmental officials said the new standard could cause 24 Indiana counties to be designated as nonattainment, based on more recent data from 2005-2007.

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Bob Knight joining ESPN studio team

USATODAY.com

ESPN Thursday announced that Knight, the winningest coach in NCAA Division I men's college basketball, will be a studio analyst for its basketball coverage starting March 12. And not just for the occasional soundbite. Knight will be on hand for ESPN's wall-to-wall coverage of the major conference championships and continue through the NCAA title game – including working on ESPN's on-site set at the Final Four. He'll appear on pregame and postgame shows and on SportsCenter, says ESPN spokesman Mike Soltys, "and all the things we do tied to men's basketball."

Knight has appeared many times on ESPN, but mainly via game coverage or replays of his famed chair-throwing incident while coaching Indiana – that incident has been the most-replayed highlight on ESPN in its history. Knight, after being fired at Indiana in 2000, also chose ESPN for his one live TV interview – and got very testy while doing it.

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Mellencamp, King musical set to haunt stage

Reuters

A long-gestating stage musical from rock musician John Mellencamp and horror author Stephen King will open in April 2009 at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre ahead of a possible Broadway run.

Mellencamp wrote the score for "Ghost Brothers of Darkland County," while King wrote the script.

The story, set in rural Mississippi in 1957, revolves around two brothers who hate each other. Their father takes them to a cabin where they used to vacation as children.

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Indiana set to announce Sampson's fate

FOX Sports

Kelvin Sampson met with his athletic director Friday, and the Hoosiers then held a team meeting, heightening the possibility Indiana will soon have a new coach.

The university was expected to announce later in the day whether Sampson would keep his job after an investigation found he committed five major NCAA recruiting violations.

Athletic director Rick Greenspan met briefly with Sampson. A few minutes after Greenspan left the coach's office, Sampson walked down a ramp with his wife, Karen.

Players, managers, assistant coaches and the coach's son, Kellen Sampson, then gathered in the locker room for what appeared to be a team meeting. No one would comment to reporters, including senior captain D.J. White. The meeting broke up about midday.

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New owners to rebrand Adam's Mark hotel

IndyStar.com:

"The new owners of Indianapolis' Adam's Mark Hotel intend to spend $18 million on renovations -- and it won't be an Adam's Mark for much longer.

Chartres Lodging Group of San Francisco, which announced the purchase Friday, did not elaborate on its planned overhaul of the 406-room Southwestside hotel, which will occur over the next 18 months.

But a 'rebranding' is planned by Chartres, which formerly was known as Oxford Lodging Advisory & Investment Group.

Chartres acquired five Adam's Mark hotels from HBE Corp. of St. Louis and is retooling the others, too. Adam's Mark hotels in Denver and Dallas each will become Sheratons, and an Adam's Mark in St. Louis will become a Hyatt Regency."

Lacy: Don't Squander Reform Opportuntiy

Indiana Chamber:

"Longtime Indianapolis-based business leader Andre Lacy is serving as the 2008 chairman of the Indiana Chamber board of directors.

Prior to the legislative session, Lacy shared his views on the property tax/local government efficiency challenge facing Indiana."

Pfizer To Cut 660 Jobs in Indiana

MLive.com:

"Six-hundred-sixty jobs will be lost by the middle of this year in Terre Haute, Ind., a result of Pfizer Inc.'s decision to stop production of its inhaled insulin product Exubera.

Saying it did not have another use for the specialized production operation at its central-Indiana facility, Nat Ricciardi, president of Pfizer Global Manufacturing, announced Pfizer's decision to cut staff in Terra Haute in a press release Monday.

Workers were told of the decision Monday morning by site leader Frank Foley. And they were told layoffs would begin in March, according to the press release."

Former Indiana Rep. McIntosh endorses Romney

IndyStar.com:

"Former Indiana Rep. David McIntosh, who had been an advisor to Fred Thompson's presidential campaign, is now backing Mitt Romney for the GOP nomination.

McIntosh said Romney 'has the vision to bring true conservative change to Washington and strengthen our economy.'
McIntosh had been volunteering with Thompson's campaign, helping pull together experts and proposals on various domestic policy issues. Thompson withdrew from the race last week after failing to catch fire with GOP voters."

Indiana Seeks To De-List Contaminated Waters

Alliance For The Great Lakes:

"Indiana seeks to remove hundreds of mercury and PCB-tainted waterways from a statewide list of impaired waters -- including several Lake Michigan tributaries – in a move to free the state of a federal mandate to restore them.

Using new methodology, Indiana's Department of Environmental Management proposes to delete more than 800 stream and river segments from the list, even as state regulators warn the public that contamination makes fish from those waters unsafe to eat.

The proposed methodology would no longer determine a waterway's impairment based on the existence of fish consumption advisories, a measure the U.S. EPA has determined meets the intent of the federal Clean Water Act."