The New Downtown Jeff ???

 

Recent changes in zoning requirements have some downtown residents of Jeffersonville up in arms. The city's Planning and Zoning Director Nathan Pruitt put together a plan that was narrowly passed recently by the City council on a  (5-3 ) vote. The plan to create a new "downtown  residential overlay" district  is designed to create additional housing units downtown in the near future.

  Some of the current downtown residents are not to happy with the approved changes feeling their voices weren't listened to or heard in the decision. The changes would allow for larger (taller) apartment buildings to be built to accommodate more downtown housing units.

 While the progress of the downtown corridor has been recently exciting and booming the concerns of current residents should be looked at carefully. People for the most part are leery and rightfully so of dramatic changes in the environment  they reside in , especially when pushed by government....Increased traffic, property values and the quality of life can all be effected with changes like the city has proposed.

 The BatBlog thinks if done right and the proper patience and planning this new district could be very beneficial and current residents could coexist with the changes. The City must make sure though that they take the current residents concerns and input into consideration. Current residents and taxpayers can't feel they are getting this shoved down their throats.

 On a curious other note ...note that the Downtown Jeff Facebook page  image (shown above) has a map that appears to show "Galligan's Gully" the once proposed Canal running through downtown Jeff in it...it might be time to replace that image...Can you dig it !!!

A Time to Give Thanks ...

To All The BatBlog Readers and my cyber friends...

 Here's wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving Day...enjoy and have a safe holiday with family and friemds..

Special GCCS Board Meeting

A reader e-mailed The BatBlog details of tonight's School board meeting...

There will be a special board meeting on Monday November 21st at 7 o'clock at the Greater Clark administration building for the purpose of approving 1028 Resolutions for 3 proposed projects:

 

Northaven renovation project $6 million Projected tax impact 1.97 cents/ $100 AV

 

Charlestown Middle project $7 million Projected tax impact 2.3 cents/ $100 AV

 

River Valley project $9 million Projected tax impact 2.96/ $100 AV

 

Once the Board passes this (which they will) the community will have 30 days to gather signatures for or against.

This $22 million in bonds is in addition to the $8 million the board approved a few months ago.

The decision about what to do with Maple and Spring Hill won't be made until spring and could possibly mean more bonds.

Go to gcs.k12.in.us to view the agenda although no specifics are given

 

 

So for those of you NOT PAYING ATTENTION...they want to take out an additional 22 million less that SEVEN months after the 8 million they asked for in April.  According to the administrator's estimates in the April Resolution hearing, the cost of enclosing all three schools according to code would be 2 million per school over three years...so if my math is correct that is six million (2 million per school) x 3 (years) = 18 million.  SO WHY ARE THEY ASKING FOR 22 MILLION?  THAT'S 4 MILLION MORE THAN ESTIMATED MERE MONTHS AGO!!  

 

For the April 5th meeting at which the 1028 Resolution was approved there were fancy PowerPoints and lots of information put out there for the public to see what the money was being spent for.  Now, there is NO INFORMATION!!!!  Nothing has been posted on BoardDocs, nor is the meeting published on the Greater Clark County Schools Facebook page.

 

 

Say it Ain't So Joe....

According to a News/Tribune article fourth place finisher in the recent Clark Co. council race Joe Hubbard (D) is considering filing for a recount of last Tuesday's election. "Say it ain't so Joe"...while legally he has every right to file ,  his only real chance would be to knock out fellow democrat Kevin Vissing for the 3rd position, The two republicans elected have solid leads for the first two positions... When The BatBlog went to press.  K. Vissing had about a 20 vote lead over Hubbard.

   The BatBlog thinks Hubbard should be a good sport and let the recount idea drop. If the GOP candidates were within reach we could understand it. A recount could only knock out Vissing if the results are overturned. We have seen in the past how recounts here locally have been a disaster in determining the actual vote count. So in the best interests of  everyone and to avoid infighting within the Dem. party we believe Joe Hubbard should step aside. K.V. has been a solid officeholder and Hubbard is a young man with future elections ahead of him...So Let it go Joe...

The Trump Presidency...

 

Unlike the over the top, radical and divisive campaign ran by Donald Trump in this year's presidential race, look for the Trump presidency to be a watered down version of things he promised. Don't look to soon for "The wall" or a mass extradiction of illegal aliens or even high paying jobs returning to the U.S.

 The BatBlog will certainly give Trump a chance to "Make America Great " and hopes for the best. One needs to realistic though....these campaign promises may be undoable even with a Rep. majority in both the Senate and House. The reason is simple ...money. A wall across the Mexican border would cost billions and his claim Mexico will pay for it is not plausible. Deporting illegals will involve a massive amount of manpower and money as well.  The notion that companies will magically just move jobs back to America is unrealistic also.

 The one thing Trump could influence is Obamacare, no doubt it will be changed to some extent but the idea he can make health insurance affordable while covering pre existing conditions is a pie in the sky promise that like most of his proposals may be mere dreams and campaign rhetoric...

 Washington D.C. moves slowly so any changes will take time. The BatBlog unlike the right wing with Obama will give Trump his due and every opportunity to come through with his campaign promises. We hope we are wrong about his policies and they work for the betterment of everyone like he promised on the campaign trail....

It's Official... BatBlog Wins 2016 Goliath Award !!!

Once again for the 3rd time in the last 6 years and for the 2nd consecutive year , The (Award Winning) BatBlog has won the prestigious Goliath Award for excellence in blogging and best local Blog award. In the gala annual award presentation at Mick's Lounge HT was presented his award by Goliath before an overflow crowd.

Obviously missing from the ceremony was 6 time loser Quasar of the nearly extinct Clark County Chatter who reportedly was on the phone begging Google to remove the "Unsafe Site" moniker from the Big Q's faltering site.

HT wants to thank Goliath and his staff at GAW News for this amazing award. HT puts it nearly as prestigious as his many "Most Interesting Man in Pekin" awards (6 times running). HT also thanked the staff at The BatBlog  and Mrs. HT for the support in making  winning the Goliath possible...

Looking  forward to 2017 and a threepeat !!!

Counting Votes in Clark Co.

Let's see...that's one for Vissing

  The nation had elected a president and counted over 100 million votes across four time zones yet still Clark Co. hadn't finished their counting (50,000)  votes until about 4 A.M. Wednesday morning. According to the News/Tribune the delay was attributed to absentee ballots...doesn't everyone have absentee ballots ??? The article also said a new machine just bought last year counted the absentee ballots. The BatBlog doesn't claim to be an expert on counting votes but just a suggestion .... maybe a new machine and method of vote counting is needed to bring us up to at least to 19th century methods and technology...

My pile is bigger than yours Tom (hee, hee)

Kevin Vissing Winner !!!

It looks like Kevin Vissing has won re-elelection to the Clark Co. Council even though he as much as conceded last night on The BatBlog. It appears Kevin has edged out fellow incumbent and Democrat Joe Hubbard by .01 % of the vote for the last at large spot on the council. I assume this is official as the vote counting in Clark Co. last night was a real cluster f _ _ _. A hundred million presidential votes counted before Clark Co. could count 50,000.

A recount may be forthcoming but Congratulations are in order to Kevin if these results are final...

Election 2016...The Aftermath...

"The Donald" shocked the experts, proved the polls wrong and hit on the frustration of the rural working class people and Donald J. Trump is now President of the United States. Democrats across the board felt the wrath of the working class who have seen good paying jobs dry up and went for change. As a Democrat I accept the result and wish Trump success as a successful presidency is good for all Americans.

 Trump promised some big things and it's up to him now to deliver those big promises. He has the huge advantage of Rep. majorities in the House and Senate....let's see if he can hold up what he said he can do...Clinton was the personification of the establishment and career politician and couldn't overcome that and the political baggage of her years in service.

 Locally and nationally and in the state,Democrats took a serious pounding and even some good and popular Democratic incumbents got caught up in onslaught. The GOP has a stronghold now on the electorate and will be given a chance to make things better...Congratulations and Good luck to all the winners !!!

More on Election 2016 as the week moves on...Thanks to everyone for checking out The BatBlog we have put up some good numbers ourselves this week...

BatBlog Live !!! Election Night Coverage 2016...

The votes are mostly cast and The BatBlog correspondents are out ready to report the results...Catch all the coverage all night on The "award winning BatBlog...

BatBlog's 2016 Election Eve Special

Welcome to the BatBlog Election Eve special, a final look and prediction of tomorrows important races....

The big race of course is the presidential contest between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Every indicator and statistical  model points to a Clinton win, though the race has tightened  lately. Trump will win Indiana and Clark Co. easily, no surprise there, but The BatBlog predicts Hillary Rodham Clinton will be the 1st woman President of the United States. Trump has buried himself with his divisive message.  Minorities (Hispanics, Muslims and to a lesser extent blacks) are coming to the polls in droves to vote against The Donald. Trump's poor standing also with women and the college educated will bury any chance of him winning..

Early on Indiana state races looked good for Democrats especially the U.S. Senate seat. A late surge by Todd Young (R) has Dem.'s concerned and Evan Bayh's return to office in jeopardy. The BatBlog predicts a close race but Todd Young led by GOP supremacy in the Hoosier state will narrowly win.

In the 9th dist. U.S. House of Representatives contest surprisingly to The BatBlog Shelli Yoder's (D) trails Trey Hollingsworth (R) in the latest polls. Once again it looks GOP domination will continue to be a huge influence at the polls. It looks like to the BatBlog that Tennessee Trey has bought himself an election.

 The only state candidate who might avoid the GOP bandwagon is Dem. gubernatorial candidate John Gregg in governor's race. As of a couple a days ago Gregg had a small lead and The BatBlog thinks he will hang on and win the state house.

Locally in Clark Co.look for three Democrats Vissing and Hubbard in the county Council race and Edwin Coots in the coroner's race to win out over the GOP's strong influence. These races could be close though and expect one Rep. possibly Popplewell to win the other slot on the council as the other (D) Smith will be defeated... In the school board races The BatBlog  predicts winners in Kate Hutchison and Kelli Dattilo...

Local Libertarians fielded a full slate of candidates for the first time this year in Clark Co. but will be rather insignificant in the election. Kelley Curran is a good choice and gets The BatBlog's endorsement in countu council race but faces a difficult, uphill challenge as Libertarian's just aren't viable yet as major contenders. Even with the two most unpopular candidates in history in the presidential race the Libertarian candidate will be lucky if he gets 5 % of the vote.

Whatever your affiliation be sure to Vote....

and check in tomorrow for The BatBlog's Election day coverage

Nate Silver on the 2016 Goliath Award

 The world famous statistician and election guru Nate Silver of the 538 website has released his latest and last prediction on the 2016 Goliath Award...The two blogs  in the running for the prestigious award are the two time past winner the "Award Winning" Batblog of HT and the perennial loser the (CCC) Clark County Chatter of Quasar. From the beginning it was never much of a race as the odds on favorite HT and his Blog has soared in popularity...

Here are Silver's final prediction...As you notice from the Chart below Google's indictment of Quasar's Chatter for producing a "Deceptive Site"  unsafe where possible phishing and stolen passwords, and where credit card information could be stolen pushed The BatBlog to unprecedented numbers, In contrast The BatBlog has been cleared as 100% safe by Google and is actually a Google supported site.... The  case is clear for the 2016 Goliath Award...The "Award Winning" BatBlog by HT...

Down The Stretch We Come ...Election 2016

 Things are getting interesting as Election 2016 hits the final few days. The presidential race nationally appears to be tightening as does the Indiana Senate race. The latest polls have Bayh and Young neck and neck with the momentum in Todd Young's favor. Trump will win Indiana that's never been in question but surprisingly to The Batblog  the latest polls have Shelli Yoder trailing Tennessee Trey Hollingsworth by 3 points in their 9th dist. house race.

 The only Democrat who seems to be avoiding the Republican trend here in Indiana is John Gregg who according to the latest poll is 4-5 points ahead of Holcomb in the gubernatorial race as we enter the final few days of campaigning.

 The GOP trend is also very strong in Clark Co. as well....Trump is up by 8 points in the county and The BatBlog wouldn't be too surprised if the GOP has strong showings in the few county races on the ballot. Vissing and Hubbard are Dem. incumbents who could get some stiff opposition from the Rep. candidates and we see one Rep. at least being elected to the council...Even the coroner's race where Coots have held the office forever could get a strong effort by Billy Scott the Rep.and the County commissioner's races are in the bag for the GOP...It will all be over but the celebrating come Tuesday.

 Don't forget to Vote !!! and if your a Democrat you might want to vote often...

Conspiracy Theories on the Demise of the CCC...

The local internet forum the Clark County Chatter's disappearance from the World Wide Web has spawned various conspiracy theories across the web. Since the Chatter thrives on mostly obscure, right wing conspiracies from obscure internet sites, The BatBlog thought it only fair to post the various theories about the demise of the Chatter. So here goes..,

Theories

1. An opening salvo by GAW in the internet wars...this would be GAW's third war and after winning the first  two Goliath intends to hack them into internet oblivion...

2. Quasar's parents disconnected the internet from their basement so that the Big Q might have to look for a real job....

3. The constant linking to obscure, delusional  right wing sites included one that hacked into CCC's data base which Google describe as phishing therefore removing them.

4. It just imploded from the negative karma...

5. One of the many former members who were banned for disagreeing or mentioning The (Award winning) BatBlog  hired  Chinese or Russian hackers to bring the CCC down.

There are numerous other theories flying around if you happen to hear any more feel free to share them...

CCC Hacked ???

 

 What's going on with the Clark Co. Chatter the local internet forum ??? Users are getting a "Deceptive Site Ahead" message when trying to access the site and warns of attackers attempting to garner personal information. Are the Russians involved ??? Is the Big Q a Russian double agent ?? Bad Karma ???

 Stay tuned to the "Award Winning" BatBlog were you are always safe from hackers....

Clark Co. Commissioners Races

 
 Two of the three Clark Co. commissioners positions are up for grabs this election year 2016. In Dist.1 former Jeffersonville city councilwoman Connie Sellers (R) faces two opponents Miguel Hampton (D) and Ryan Jefferson (L). In Dist.2 incumbent commissioner Jack Coffman faces only token opposition in Libertarian Shawn Bostock ...there is no Democratic on the ballot for this position.

  Republicans should regain hold of both of these seats. Coffman and Rick Stephenson (who lost to Sellers in the GOP primary) have done solid jobs and Coffman deserves reelection. Sellers as city councilperson showed that she could be obstructive at times, but is a popular vote getter and she will win easily as will Coffman...

 Seems kind of curious that the Democratic party couldn't put up any candidate in Dist.2 or a more known candidate in dist.1. other than "Toxic John " Perkins. Word on the street is that Democratic chair Tom Galligan didn't want to run a strong candidate against Sellers since she was basically a puppet to Galligan when he was mayor of Jeff and she was on the city council...

Whatever !!!  Republicans will keep both seats...

The BatBlog endorses Jack Coffman(R) and Miguel Hampton (D) for Clark Co. commissioner...