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