When reading the Hamilton County Reporter Sunday, a front page story headline caught my eye – “Hamilton County primary ballots just got more expensive.”   What would cause expenses to increase for this year’s May primary election?

Based on the Reporter story, Greg Purvis, the Democratic Party appointee to the Hamilton County Election Board, cited a section of the Indiana code allowing names of unopposed candidates for election as a precinct committeeman or a delegate to a political party’s state convention to be placed on the primary election ballot at the request of that political party.

Basically, Democrats were asserting the law to list those unopposed candidates on the May primary ballot.  According to the Reporter story, County Clerk Kathy Williams will need to modify the ballots. “There was also discussion on whether the extra cost will add benefit to the election process,” the Reporter story says.

There was no indication how much it would cost the county to make the change, listing those Democratic unopposed candidates.

So, I contacted Greg Purvis to ask about the added expense.

“This (Hamilton County Reporter) headline is misleading,” Purvis told LarryInFishers. “I don’t recall any discussion of cost, and any additional cost should be minor given that most voters use our electronic voting machines.”

The Reporter story does urge all voters with a recent change of address to notify the Hamilton County Elections Office in the Noblesville Courthouse.

When I began working in small radio stations in the early 1970s, there was a defined area of what was and was not media.  You could work for a newspaper, television station, magazine or radio station – any of those were clearly media.

At small radio stations, you do a little of everything.  Although most of my work centered on programming music and covering sports, I was sometimes called upon to cover some news.

Even though I would represent a small radio station, no one questioned my credentials.  Working for a radio station made you media and you covered the event.  That would include police, city or any news conference that might arise of interest to our local community.

At that time, there was no Internet.  The media universe was well-defined and if you were part of that media universe, you were credentialed media.

That definition has become much more complicated.  I have never requested any press credentials since starting this local Fishers news blog in 2012.  I have come to know most of the elected officials and other people making news in Fishers.  No one asks for my credentials or questions my need to cover any event.

Once when former 5th District Congresswoman Susan Brooks had a Fishers event to meet and talk with constituents, I made the mistake of not arranging with her office in advance to cover the event.  When denied entrance at first, a police officer handling security intervened, vouched for me, and I was able to cover the event.

Members of the media covering the Indiana Statehouse are credentialed through the Indiana Department of Administration.  That agency’s job is just to ascertain you are genuinely working media covering state government and not just someone wanting to attend events, like news conferences.

A recent court filing by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Indiana has placed front and center who is, and is not, a journalist meriting attendance at news conferences held by state officials.

Todd Rokita is the Indiana Attorney General.  Abdul-Hakim Shabazz is a political commentator that writes a local Indiana Web site on politics, has a weekend radio program and has served on many TV & radio political panels.  He has been doing this for about 20 years.

The lawsuit stems from an action by Rokita’s office to deny Shabazz attendance at news conferences held by the Attorney General.  According to the ACLU of Indiana lawsuit filed in federal court, Rokita does not recognize Shabazz as a genuine journalist, asserting he is “gossip columnist” in a statement quoted within the legal filing.

So, the question here is, how does one define a journalist?  Even if Mr. Shabazz is a “gossip columnist” (and that is open to question) would he not still be a journalist with the right to attend news conferences held at the Indiana Statehouse?  Remember, Mr. Shabazz holds a press credential to cover the Statehouse and has held that credential for many years.

ACLU of Indiana is asking a federal judge to consider whether the Indiana Attorney General has the legal authority to exclude a credentialed member of the media from his news conferences.  Does any elected official have the authority, under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, to determine who is, and is not, a working reporter covering a news conference?

It will be interesting to see how a federal judge will answer that question.

Construction will continue as is along State Road 37, but watch for construction in the coming days on North Street in downtown Fishers and lane restrictions on 96th Street.  Also, work continues on Technology Drive in the Northeast Commerce Office Park.

Here is this week’s report, as provided by the City of Fishers:

Diversity was on display at Fishers City Hall Friday evening as the Fishers Arts Council sponsored Embracing Black Culture.  There was art work throughout the walls of the building, much of it created by Fall Creek Junior High School students, under the guidance of teacher Michelle Feeney.

A large crowd gathered to view the art, then moved to the Council Chambers.  First, poet Eric Saunders put on a one-man show featuring his poetic art.  Later, a program featured Travis Brown, CEO of the Fishers-based Mojo Up, and a series of speakers.  The 31Svn dance group provided a Hip Hop routine (video link above).

The size and energy of the crowd illustrated the interest locally in black culture.

The event received funding from the Hamilton County Community Foundation.

Here are photos from Friday’s Embracing Black Culture:

Continue reading Embracing Black Culture in Fishers →

Although our community risk level remains red, the highest level, Level 4, Fishers has experienced three weeks of decreasing COVID numbers.

Reported COVID-19 cases in Fishers are down 56% from last week and 85% from the Omicron peak in mid-January 2022. Weekly COVID-19 cases are the lowest since mid-November 2021. Overall, cases have significantly dropped statewide and Fishers 14-Day Case Incidence Rate has decreased 56% since last week. 

Hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU) bed capacity has slightly increased and COVID-19 cases found in emergency rooms, hospitalizations, and ICU bed admissions continue to trend downward. 

The Fishers Health Department says you can walk-in or schedule ahead and get your free COVID-19 vaccine at the Vaccine Site, your local pharmacy, or various pop-up clinics throughout the city. See the full metrics report.

Here is the latest on COVID testing from the Fishers Health Department:

The Fishers Health Department offers free drive-thru PCR COVID-19 testing by appointment only for ages 5+ at the Fishers Testing Site in partnership with the Indiana Department of Health. PCR tests results are typically available within 3 days. 

Rapid Tests
Rapid tests are available to all individuals scheduled for an appointment who qualify based on symptoms. To receive a rapid test, you must be scheduled for an appointment, and testing staff will offer a rapid test when you arrive if you meet the criteria. Results are typically available within 30-60 minutes. 

School-Based Priority Testing
All students and staff of Fishers-based schools and childcare centers (public or private) are eligible for priority access to testing during dedicated drive-thru testing hours at the FHD testing site. Eligible students and staff may visit fishers.in.us/SchoolTesting to make an appointment.

The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board took some actions and delayed others Wednesday night.

The board voted to approve school policies concerning animals on school property, including definitions for “companion animals” and “service animals.”  You can see the new policies at this link.

Changes to the polices on curriculum were delayed because a Policy Committee meeting could not be held last week due of the weather-related school building closures.  That Policy Committee meeting has been rescheduled for early March.

Every 2 years, the school corporation takes bids on rental fees for two areas of farmland owned by the district.  Bids were opened for the coming 2-year period.  Josh Jacobi was the winning bid for a 16.5 acre parcel with a bid of $175 rental per acres, a $25 per acre increase from the previous contract.  The other parcel, 157 acres, was awarded to Steve Jacks with a bid of $350 per acre, a $90 per acre increase.

The board voted to allow administrators to take bids for new LED lighting at Fishers Elementary School.  It is estimated the project could cost $260,000 but Bob Rice, Energy Management Director for HSE Schools, said the new lighting would save energy costs over time.

Rice also updated the board on an easement agreement with Duke Energy allowing power lines and poles near the new Deer Creek Elementary School.  Rice says more actions are pending on that project involving the City of Noblesville and no board action is needed at this time.

Board President Julie Chambers said the board is planning a work session Tuesday, February 15, at 5:30pm, to discuss first steps in planning the upcoming school funding referendum.  The work session will not deal in any specific numbers, but will discuss what the referendum is, timelines involved and how it impacts the HSE District.  Because this is a work session, not a regular meeting, there will be no video recording or live stream.

Near the end of the board meeting, Suzanne Thomas asked when the appointee of HSE Schools to the Hamilton East Library Board, Brian Meyer, will provide an update to the school board on the Hamilton East Library.  Board President Chambers responded that should happen sometime this summer.  Thomas then said some board members publicly expressed views at a recent Hamilton East Library Board meeting that are different from her views, on the issue of what section of the library should contain certain age-specific material (use this link for more on that meeting).  Chambers responded that this is a library board issue, not a school board issue, and went to the next agenda item.

February is a time when we experience the freeze/thaw cycle that creates potholes on our streets.  That is starting to happen locally.

In Fishers, the Department of Public Works handles pothole repair.  The city provides an online method of reporting potholes.  To report a pothole needing attention, use this link.

City officials say another way to report potholes is the Fishers Connect cell phone app, available free from iPhones and Android.

One item normally considered early in the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board is the consent agenda.  In my more than 10 years of covering this board, this has nearly always been a routine item on the board agenda.  Only in recent months have there been long discussions about items on the consent agenda.

At Wednesday’s regular session, Board Member Brad Boyer apparently objected to an item, part of the Consent Agenda, on the Accounts Payable Voucher Register, a line item for a $152,825 payment to Panorama Education, funding the Panorama Survey.

That sparked a debate among the board members, with Boyer and Suzanne Thomas objecting to the Panorama Survey and other board members voicing their support.

The next controversy was also with the consent agenda, this time Thomas raised concerns about one personnel action that was listed on that agenda item.  “There is a situation that I don’t support and this is why I am not in support of the consent agenda,” Thomas said.

Personnel actions are normally discussed in executive sessions held privately by the board, as provided in the Indiana Open Meetings Law.

Although no specific mention was made about which personnel item was being questioned, Boyer provided a hint of his concern.

“Can we talk a little bit about, from a philosophical point of view…how we approach folks who take on extra responsibilities and paying extra, paying for those, and doing that work, maybe not paying people when they aren’t doing the job…how do we approach that?” asked Boyer.

“I think I would ask you to consider what statements you want to make and how that may effect morale for our employees,” Board President Julie Chambers responded.  “I think you should consider that we have (executive) sessions at times where we assess personnel and compensation.”

After an extended discussion on the Panorama Survey and the one unnamed personnel action item, the Consent Agenda was approved on a 5-2 vote, with Boyer and Thomas voting no.

When Thomas asked if the Consent agenda could be broken-up into separate votes, Board President Chambers responded that advance notice is needed to separate parts of the consent agenda into separate votes.  That is why the entire consent agenda was up for a vote Wednesday night.

Nataki Pettigrew began her job as Chief Equity & Inclusion Officer at Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools in January of 2021.  I spoke with Ms. Pettigrew in this podcast about Black History Month, her work at HSE Schools, Critical Race Theory and much more.

It was nearly one year ago when the Fishers City Council, on a 5-4 vote, approved a rezone for the Cumberland Cottages housing project.  With HAND, the Noblesville-based nonprofit group building the homes, facing higher costs than projected, it is now expected that 5 of the 11 cottage-style units will be market-rate rather than affordable housing based on income guidelines.

HAND executive Director Andrea Davis points to the high cost of land, the addition of garages and the continuing rise in construction costs as reasons for the change.

Per Ms. Davis, of the 11 planned cottages, 5 must be market rate “because we have to show that revenue from the development will be sufficient to pay its expenses during the full 20-year affordability period.”

Cumberland Cottages is to be located on a currently vacant plot of land just south of 141st Street near Cumberland Road.