Editorial Roundup: Indiana

South Bend Tribune. Feb. 12, 2021.

Editorial: Indiana lawmakers should put the brakes on wetlands bill

For all the reasons to oppose the bill that would eliminate Indiana's wetlands protections, you can start with the origins of this legislation - and how quickly it is making its way through the legislature.

Senate Bill 389 would put up to 80% of the remaining wetlands in the state at risk of permanent elimination. It would also remove costly mitigation requirements for developers.

Opponents say that doing away with the protections could increase flooding, degrade water quality and destroy wildlife habitat. More than 40 organizations have opposed the bill, some have raised ethics concerns and Gov. Eric Holcomb, who has expressed unease about the environmental impact, allowed his state environmental and natural resource agencies to oppose the measure during a recent hearing.

That bears repeating: The Republican governor has expressed unease with a bill moving through the Republican-controlled legislature, and has allowed state agencies, which rarely take a position on pending legislation, to oppose it.

Despite all that, the bill is advancing at a fast clip. Which may be hard to figure until you factor in the origins of SB 389: All three authors of the bill, including Sen. Linda Rogers, R-Granger, have close ties to the building industry. All three - Sens. Chris Garten, Mark Messmer and Rogers - run companies that are members of the Indiana Builders Association, the group leading the lobbying effort for the bill.

And at least four sponsors of the legislation work in construction or development, including three members of the Senate Environmental Affairs Committee, where the bill originated.

They all deny any conflict of interest, but the reality is that since 2017, builders associations and groups - including the Indiana Builders PAC - have given more than $230,000 to the bill's authors and 19 co-authors. During that same period, two of the bill's authors each received more than $50,000 from those groups as well as other construction and development related companies and individuals. Rogers received about $21,000.

For her part, Rogers says 'œI would not author legislation that would (affect me personally). I guess I kind of take offense when people mention that to me, just because they think it's going to enhance my pocketbook. It's not in any way.'ť

But as critics have rightly pointed out, even if lawmakers don't intend to profit from the legislation, it's still problematic. And just the appearance of impropriety - which diminishes public trust - should guide lawmakers in such matters.

Opponents of the bill acknowledge there is room to discuss how the program can be improved, but that you need a scalpel, not a bomb, to approach the task. Democrat Sen. Karen Tallian proposed an amendment that would redirect the issue to a summer study committee to come up with a solution. The amendment failed.

The bill passed out of the Senate just one week after it was first heard in committee, and the number of opponents allowed to speak during the committee hearing was strictly limited. Those who weren't allowed to speak were told they could hand in written testimony, but committee members immediately voted on the bill, which now moves to the House. 'œIt was imbalanced, it was improper, it was disrespectful. And it certainly wasn't fair,'ť noted an opponent of the bill.

It's also another reason for the House to put the brakes on Senate Bill 389 and address the legitimate concerns that surround the issue.

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Terre Haute Tribune-Star. Feb. 12, 2021.

Editorial: Diminished Democrats have work to do to rebuild locally

Competition between political parties can lead to stronger candidates and more responsive government. Complacency by either party elicits the opposite result.

Vigo County politics stand at such a crossroads, as the beleaguered local Democratic Party reorganizes.

For decades, Vigo County's Republican Party struggled to pose serious challenges for county and city offices. Voters might favor a Republican presidential candidate, but then chose Democrats to fill local offices.

Republicans have gained strength in the past 15 years, winning the county prosecutor's office in 2006 and the mayor's seat in 2007, and then retaining both jobs ever since. Vigo's GOP has since captured state legislative seats, too. That progress laid the groundwork for the 2020 election, when the reversal of the two parties' fortunes was completed.

Republicans rode the enduring wave of allegiance to Donald Trump to a dominating victory last November. Though Trump lost the nationwide race for president to Democrat Joe Biden by 7 million votes, the incumbent carried Vigo County with 58 percent of the vote, even surpassing his 2016 local margin over Hillary Clinton. Tellingly, 26.7 percent of all voters cast straight-ticket Republican ballots, far more than the Democrats' 18.7 percent.

Thus, almost every countywide Republican candidate won by a margin similar to Trump's. Democrats won the coroner's race and some County Council seats, but the GOP swept the rest.

Trump's popularity certainly deserves some credit for the rout. Still, even widely revered Republicans like Eisenhower and Reagan did not inspire a wholesale displacement of Democrats in local offices.

In the wake of the 2020 blowout, the Vigo County Democratic Party looks diminished. A reorganization is brewing. Its most difficult task will be mending the lingering split in the party, dating back to the 2007 mayoral election when the 'œDemocrats for Duke'ť helped then-Republican challenger Duke Bennett narrowly defeat incumbent Democrat Kevin Burke. Bennett now is in his fourth term, and the two Democratic factions still work against each other's candidates in the general elections.

Now, the longtime Democratic county party chair, Joe Etling, faces a challenge for that role from Terre Haute City Council member Martha Crossen in the party's March 6 caucus.

Etling has served as chair for the past 24 years. 'œEver since I have been in this position, my objective is to promote the interests of the Vigo County Democratic Party, the state Democratic Party and the national Democratic party, and I will continue to do that,'ť he told the Tribune-Star. Etling noted he has been challenged for the position before.

Crossen believes her organizational skills would be a plus as party chair and noted the losses in county races and the mayor's office. 'œI think some good (party) organization can help turn that around and get some of the really good people we have in the community elected,'ť she said.

On Tuesday, Terre Haute attorney Chris Gambill notified the party's central committee that he will seek its vice chair role. Gambill also cited the 'œsteady decline in Democratic Party success'ť and the importance of the party regaining the support of organized labor, which largely flipped Republican in the Trump era. Developing new candidates and organization registration efforts in neighborhoods, high schools and colleges is another priority Gambill mentioned.

Regardless of who leads the county's Democrats, those new strategies and better connections with the community will be crucial if the party hopes to compete with Republicans. Voters should feel as if their choices for every office require pause and sincere thought, instead of automatic opting for all in one party. As the county's new minority party, Democrats must rise to give voters such a difficult choice.

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Anderson Herald Bulletin. Feb. 11, 2021.

Editorial: Teen's death senseless but not meaningless

Andon Oliver's death is another reminder of the senselessness of gun violence - and the danger when firearms fall into the hands of teens.

Oliver, 17, died Jan. 3 from a gunshot wound to the chest at Anderson's Fairview Park Apartments off Madison Avenue where he had gone to deal marijuana. DeTorio Fleming, 16, faces murder and robbery charges.

A 17-year-old dead; a 16-year-old charged with murder. Does it get any more tragic than that - one young life cut short and another potentially destined to spend decades behind bars?

Oliver's grieving family held a vigil for him Saturday night despite the bitter cold. They lit candles and released balloons. They shared stories about Andon. But the acute pain of his untimely death won't go away anytime soon. Deep down, it will always be there.

Family and friends acknowledged Saturday that Oliver was no goody-two-shoes. But, they said, he was trying to get his life going in the right direction.

Now, he'll never reclaim another car from the scrap heap. He'll never dribble a basketball. He'll never pet another German shepherd. He'll never again do any of the things he loved.

His shooting was beyond senseless. A life taken and another compromised over a little money and a little pot? It just doesn't add up.

But when juveniles lay hands on a gun, they tend to make bad choices. Their senses of right and wrong, of proportional action, of self-restraint aren't fully developed.

According to statistics for 2014-2018 from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, 7,878 children and teens are victims of gunfire annually in the United States. Nearly 1,600 die, half of them murdered.

Someday, maybe soon, the person who shot Oliver will regret it. But it's already too late for him.

His death is senseless, but it doesn't have to be meaningless.

'œI just want to make sure it didn't happen in vain,'ť Oliver's mother, Laticia Willis, said. 'œI want this to be a movement. I would like gun safety to go in every school.'ť

And in every household, every church and every family - for the sake of every kid out there who could face Andon Oliver's fate.

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