The counting is over, although it is not official until June 12th and some provisional ballots must be considered, we do now know the likely winners in contested races for the 2020 primary election.

The Republican race for 3 at-large county council seats drew a number of candidates.  Sue Maki topped the list with 17.99% of the vote.  Next is incumbent Brad Beaver with 15.09% of ballots cast.  The third and final hopeful to make it onto the November general election is Steve Nation with 14.96% of the vote.   John Ditslear was next in line with 13.9%, but not enough to get on the general election ballot.

This means incumbents Rick McKinney and Jeff Hern will not serve another term on the council.

County Commissioner incumbent Steve Dillinger won easily over his challenger Charlie McMillan.  Susan Byer defeated Kim Good for County Treasurer by 5 percentage points.

Scott Baldwin defeated JR Gaylor easily for the Republican nomination for Indiana Senate, District 20, the seat held by Victoria Spartz.  Spartz will face Democrat Christina Hale in the general election for 5th District US Congress.

In Indiana House District 88, former Speaker Brian Bosma’s old district, Chris Jeter won the GOP nomination over Leah McGrath.

The baseball and softball fields were quiet in mid-April this year all around Fishers.  The novel coronavirus was to blame as Mudsock Youth Sports was forced to cancel spring sports this year.  I spoke with the organization’s executive director, Scott Spillman, about that and a number of other subjects in this podcast.

You may have seen the announcement today that Carmel has ordered a curfew within its city limits beginning at 9pm Tuesday.  The announcement cites “threats directed at our (Carmel) community.”  The city says this 9pm-5am curfew will remain in place until lifted by the city.

What about Fishers?  City officials say they do not anticipate imposing a curfew here.  Fishers is aware of the threats made against Carmel stands to assist our neighbors to the west is help is requested.

“At this time, we do not have any credible threats toward Fishers,” says Fishers spokesperson Ashley Elrod.

A curfew is in place for Indianapolis and all of Marion County from 9pm Tuesday through 6am Wednesday.

Solar energy is becoming more popular as technology improves.  There is a local nonprofit organization, Solar United Neighbors, that is organized to encourage groups of residents to band together and provide solar energy systems for their homes.

This allows individual families to get solar installations at reduced cost.  Indiana Program Director Zach Schalk has a Web site explaining how the solar co-op works at this link.

Bob Rice, Energy Manager of the HSE Schools, will talk about how the solar projects at local school buildings are working, at a Webinar sponsored by the co-op June 8th.  You can register for the Webinar at this link.

With COVID-19 and the death of George Floyd, the oxygen in the news tank is depleting.  However, there is an important primary election Tuesday, June 2nd….I have a few thoughts in this Larry’s Log commentary…

They used social media to get the word out.  Monday, June 1st, at the Nickel Plate Amphitheater, students in the Fishers area were organizing a Fishers Equity Awareness Demonstration, with the goal of urging change in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis.  I don’t cover events in person much anymore, but this was one I needed to see for myself.

The event was scheduled 4-8pm, so I arrived around 6:15.  The marching was well underway.  The crowd was mostly students, but there were many families and some from the older generation there to support the young people

This was held literally across the street from police headquarters.  Officers were there and watching, but kept their distance.  I saw a very peaceful crowd, but one that was very clear that change is something America needs after what happened to George Floyd.

I have no estimate on the crowd, but there were a lot of people on hand.

Following the demonstration, Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness issued the following statement:

“Tonight, I witnessed our next generation come together to clearly voice their collective anger, frustration, and disappointment at previous generations’ inability to right the wrongs of the past. The conduct of these young people and their commitment to creating a better society for all gives me a glimmer of hope in this dark chapter of our nation. Our city is on a journey to create an environment where all people are treated with dignity. Tonight is a reminder that we must be willing to commit ourselves to that end.”

Below is a brief video of the march, and some photos as well.

Continue reading Students march in downtown Fishers →

Next time you visit Brooks School Park in Fishers, check out the art wall.  You will find his latest creation, shown above.

I spent about 10 years in radio news.  It is sad that in Indianapolis, only one station (WIBC) has any kind of news department.  Journalism is under serious stress.

The Indianapolis Star is attempting to cover three days and nights of demonstrations on downtown streets protesting the death of George Floyd.  They are doing this with 25% of the reporting staff on furlough due to budget constraints.

Many television journalists are also doing their best to cover the demonstration story locally, along with other news outlets such as the Indianapolis Business Journal and the Indianapolis Recorder.

Many reporters were covering this story while being hit with tear gas and pepper balls along the way.  There is nothing easy about that.

Saturday night, the atmosphere was clearly confrontational with dumpsters on fire, windows broken on downtown streets, police under stress and the crowd becoming angrier by the minute.  One TV reporter was live on the air, clearly recovering from enduring tear gas, when the anchor asked of he was all right.  Unlike most reporters that try to put on a tough exterior, he looked at the camera and honestly said, “I’m scared.”  There were tears in his eyes from the gas.

Many good Indianapolis reporters, a few of which are friends of mine, put themselves at risk so there is someone to watch the developments and provide a description of what they see and hear in order to inform you.

Trust me, having been there, there are better ways of making a living.  These reporters believe they are part of something bigger than themselves.  That is the tradition of reporting news in America.

But nation-wide, there have been many troublesome incidents where demonstrators and/or police make journalists a target.

Here are just a few examples, as listed by the Poynter Institute, a highly-respected nonprofit promoting good journalism:

–In Louisville, a WAVE-TV reporter had a police officer point a weapon at the reporter and her cameraman, with pepper balls striking the reporter.  She stayed on the air live and continued reporting.

–Also in Louisville, demonstrators attacked a news van belonging to WLKY-TV, smashing windows and knocking down the cameraman.  Other demonstrators intervened and helped the cameraman recover.

–“Demonstrators trashed news cars in Boston, Atlanta, Louisville and Los Angeles. They tossed bottles at reporters in Minneapolis, grabbed a reporter while she was on the air in Phoenix and smashed the windows and iconic CNN sign outside the networks’ Atlanta headquarters,” according to Poynter.

This is just a short list, there are many more.  Most journalists I know are very careful and prepare to cover demonstrations.  They talk with law enforcement to ensure journalists do not interfere with the legitimate work of police.  They do their best to be close enough to cover the story, but no so close they become a part of the story.

It is important to note that words written and spoken by the President of the United States, whomever it may be at the time, matter.  When a president accuses good news outlets of “fake news” when he simply doesn’t like their stories, that has some impact.

Journalists out in the field doing their best to get the story to you, the consumers of news, are not publishing fake news.  Journalists, particularly local ones, are part of their communities.  They volunteer to coach sports teams, are active members in their houses of worship….they are your neighbors.  None of them are “enemies of the people.”

Respect good journalism.  And, most importantly, SUBSCRIBE!

In a public letter addressed to “community stakeholders,” Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness cites the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in saying he has been “reflecting on our community and our collective responsibility to pursue a still elusive end goal of an equitable and humane society.”

The mayor admits he has no way of understanding how African-Americans feel, saying “as a public servant who commits himself daily to trying to improve the lives of the people that I serve each day, I am cognizant of the work that must continue to be done to ensure that Fishers is different.”

Fadness promises there will be hard conversations in the city about empathizing  and valuing one another.  “Fishers will understand that the dignity of each individual is something sacred,” the mayor says.

The entire text of the mayor’s letter is shown below.

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The tragic death of Mr. Floyd in Minneapolis and the pain and outrage in the streets of our country has me reflecting on our community and our collective responsibility to pursue a still elusive end goal of an equitable and humane society.

To the black community in our city, I will not be arrogant or insensitive enough to say that I understand how you feel. I have not experienced what you have, but as a public servant who commits himself daily to trying to improve the lives of the people that I serve each day, I am cognizant of the work that must continue to be done to ensure that Fishers is different. Fishers will have hard conversations, Fishers will empathize with one another, Fishers will value everyone, Fishers will understand that the dignity of each individual is something sacred.

I am encouraged by the work being done by stakeholders in our community as well as public leaders such as Chief Gebhart. I am hopeful that we are emerging from the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic and I am resolved to recommitting ourselves to the pursuit of a community that is truly equitable and humane. Fishers can and must be the example of a community for all.

What we have seen on our television screens and Internet videos the past few days is concerning…I do not pretend in any way to fully understand what is going on, but I do offer a few thoughts on the matter in tonight’s Larry’s Log commentary.