Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita and local journalist Abdul-Hakim Shabazz have settled a legal dispute.  In my view, this is both good and bad news.

First, the good news.

To once again rundown what happened, Rokita had scheduled a news conference at the Statehouse and barred Shabazz from entering the room, claiming he was not a genuine journalist.  Shabazz filed suit, saying he had a right as a reporter to cover the news conference conducted by an elected official.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Indiana joined in Shabazz’ side of the legal dispute.

On March 28, it was announced that the lawsuit had been dismissed at Shabazz’ request, after reaching a settlement with Rokita.  The Attorney General’s staff tried to spin this as a way to save taxpayer dollars, but the settlement was a clear win for Shabazz and the ACLU.  Journalist Shabazz will now be allowed into Rokita’s media events.

That part is very good news.  Let me explain why there is some bad news here.

I was looking forward to a federal judge ruling on how to define a journalist.  When I worked in radio broadcasting during the 1970s & early 1980s, as a reporter, I was recognized as a journalist simply because I worked for a radio station in the newsroom.

But now that I write a volunteer local news blog here in Fishers, do I qualify as a journalist in all contexts?  People here in Fishers now know me after more than 10 years of writing this blog so I have no problem covering events run by local officials.  But what about others?  Could I be excluded from a news conference by an outside group because I am just a volunteer blogger?

I was hoping the judge in this case would provide some legal guidance on just who qualifies as a journalist in this day and age.  The only explanation I can come up with for the Rokita settlement is that the Attorney General knew he would lose this lawsuit brought by Shabazz & the ACLU.

So, the journalist wins the court battle in an out-of-court settlement, a win for journalism in general.  However, we still do not have much legal guidance on how journalists such as myself are treated by elected officials and others hosting news conferences.

Perhaps, in time, the law will give us that guidance, but not in this case.

This is the celebration of the Week of the Young Child.  About 16,000 youngsters in Hamilton County are served by pre-school programs.

“Our organization was created to empower and ignite conversations in advocacy of our youngest learners,” says Dr. Jody Britten, founder of the Early Learning Alliance Network. “Since our start in 2017, we have worked to understand, build awareness, and develop a strong network of professionals to support our youngest learners, their educators, and their families throughout the community and are continuing our efforts throughout 2022.” 

The Week of the Young Child is centered on focusing public attention on the needs of young children and their families, and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs.

According to Dr. Britten, pre-schools are facing the same challenges as other organizations in providing staffing, supplies and all else that it takes to run an early education program.

The week is composed of several events, including

• Tasty Tuesday
• Work Together Wednesday
• Artsy Thursday
• Family Friday

Governor Eric Holcomb signed the official proclamation for the state of Indiana and ELAN has asked local elected officials to acknowledge the event as well.

The Fishers Parks & Recreation Department announced its fifth ticketed concert for the summer season at the Nickel Plate Amphitheater, with the Soul-Pop group Lawrence on tap for a Friday, August 27th performance.

Tickets go on sale this Friday at $20, with tickets the day of the concert at $25.

Lawrence first rose to prominence in 2016 when they released their debut LP “Breakfast” (2016), which received attention and praise from a variety of sources ranging from NPR’s All Things Considered to Steph Curry’s social media. Produced by Grammy-winner Eric Krasno (Lettuce/Tedeschi Trucks/Soulive), Breakfast includes guest performances by NYC soul/funk mainstays Adam Deitch (Lettuce), Cory Henry (Cory Henry & the Funk Apostles, Snarky Puppy), and Maurice “Mobetta” Brown (Anderson Paak, Tedeschi Trucks Band).

For a sample of the group’s music, check out this YouTube video.

It has been talked about for years.  I recall local officials in Fishers and Hamilton County sounding the alarm bells as far back as 2013 that a local domestic abuse shelter was badly needed.  I covered a Carmel event in 2016 where Verizon donated $20,000 to the Domestic Violence Network and Hamilton County Commissioner Christine Altman “sounded a positive note” on the county establishing such a shelter.

So, it has taken quite a long time, but based on a story posted on the IndyStar Web site Monday, Hamilton County has a site in mind for a new shelter in Noblesville.

Both County Commissioner Mark Heirbrandt and Prevail Executive Director are quoted in the story, written by Star Reporter John Tuohy.

Most Hamilton County domestic violence victims have been placed in facilities located in Madison and Marion Counties.

For more details, read the IndyStar story at this link.  (NOTE:  Please subscribe to your local media!)

There is a time of year when Fishers is a little less busy than usual.  Yes, we are a growing city and normally have a lot going on, but the week of spring break is a time when everything tends to slow down.  It tends to be easier to get a restaurant table, for example, during  spring break because so many locals choose to leave town.  Government meetings are rare during this week.

The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School District takes-in the entire city of Fishers, plus all of Fall Creek, Delaware and Wayne Townships.  The school calendar started spring break 2022 last Friday, with April 1 being the first day of this year’s local spring break.

So, if you are reading this post from a distant location as you enjoy your spring break travels, or you are still with us here in Fishers, enjoy this week.  Classes resume in HSE Schools Monday, April 11th.

We’ve haven’t seen the spring road construction season gear up yet this year, but there are some areas to watch in the coming week.

Be on the alert for construction and lane restrictions during the work day in the area of Cyntheanne Road and Southeastern Parkway.  Also, be aware of lane restrictions on Brooks School Road Monday, April 4.

One-lane traffic remains in place on Technology Drive as that construction project continues.  And crews are continuing work on State Road 37 in Fishers.

Below is the full road construction listing, as provided by the City of Fishers:

It is likely that you have, or soon will, receive a bill for a storm water fee if you own property in the City of Fishers.

Whenever these billings are sent, lots of questions come from local residents.  After all, don’t we already pay a sewer and water bill?

The animated You Tube video with graphics attempts to explain how storm water is not the same as paying for sewer or water.  (see the link above).

For nearly one year, we all went through mask wearing, social distancing and everything else attached to stopping the spread of the COVOD-19 virus.  David France, an accomplished documentary filmmaker, has a new film on HBO all about how the COVID vaccines were developed, and the national, as well as international, ramifications once the vaccines started churning out of mass production.

Here is my review of the HBO documentary film How To Survive A Pandemic.

One often hears and reads the phrase “Nickel Plate” in Fishers.  Those of us living in Fishers for some time know what that means.  Many newcomers to our area may not.  An important event is happening here in May, and a bit of history is in order to put it all into context.

In the late 19th century, what we call Fishers today was known as “Fishers Switch” and later as “Fishers Station.”  The community now known as Fishers was originally created because of the Nickel Plate Rail Line that ran through the area.  The words “switch” and “station” were tied to the connection with that railroad.

The creation of the municipality we now call Fishers was only because of the Nickel Plate Rail line.  That’s why you see so many names with Nickel Plate.

The trail being developed in Fishers is called the Nickel Plate Trail because it is being constructed along the old rail location.  The rail line was used most recently by the Indiana State Fair Train that ended many years ago.  The tracks were not in the best of shape and at least one official inspection found the track unsafe.

It was a controversial decision to convert the old rail line into a trail.  Many local train enthusiasts used every legal and administrative avenue available to slow down or stop the trail and preserve the rails, but in the end the City of Fishers prevailed and the trail has been under construction, in sections, from 96th Street north to 141st Street.

There are parts of the trail already open and used by lots of people.  One of the most important sections of the trail is set to open Saturday, May 14th.

I have covered Scott Fadness during his time as town manager, then his tenure as mayor of our fair city.  When the city decided to build an underground tunnel for the trail underneath 116th Street, it required a closure of 116th Street at the old railroad tracks in order to construct the trail tunnel.  Fadness told me in a podcast at the time that few things keep him up at night, but the closure of 116th Street, a major traffic artery in downtown Fishers, caused him to lose some sleep.

But, 116th Street eventually opened.  Now the tunnel is nearly complete and there will be a public opening of the downtown portion of the Nickel Plate Trail, including the tunnel beneath 116th Street, set for Saturday, May 14th, 12noon to 4pm.

The mayor, along with Stephanie Perry of the city’s PR department, took a tour of the construction area early in the process.  The water table underneath downtown Fishers created some challenges for the contractor early in the project, but all is about done now and the tunnel will soon be ready for pedestrian traffic.

There will be an area of the trail called Monumental Stairs, with a built-in bike ramp that allows pedestrians and cyclists to access the trail at 116th Street and provides seating overlooking the trail-level plaza.  The city expects to have special events and community gatherings, including musical acts, at the Monumental Stairs location.  A pedestrian bridge above the tunnel exit on the north side of 116th Street connects the existing train platform to the new Nickel Plate Station plaza, which includes swings and other activations.

I detect some old wounds every time the Nickel Plate Trail is in the news.  I always receive a few comments when posting such stories, lamenting the demise of the rail tracks.

I get that, but there is a lot of support for the trail and people are voting with their feet and using parts of the Nickel Plate Trail already available.  Now, with the downtown section of the trail about to open, look for even more people to avail themselves of the trail.

The City of Fishers says there is coordination with the City of Indianapolis to develop the southern portion of the trail, between 96th Street and 106th Street.  The only thing holding that up is the availability of funding.

On March 29, you might expect warm enough weather for an outdoor event, but in 2022, the Vietnam Veterans Day observance, originally set for outdoors at the municipal complex, was moved indoors with 33 degree weather forecast.

But that did not dampen the enthusiasm for those gathered at the Fishers YMCA Tuesday morning.

Indiana State Senator John Crane was the featured speaker honoring those local veterans that had served in Vietnam.  El Ahlwardt did his usual professional job as the master of ceremonies.