taking down words

Be Nice To Tommy, Kids, He's Just A Little Slower Than The Rest Of The Guv's Cabinet

This may not come as a surprise to many of you, but apparently INDOT Commissioner Tom Sharp has been walking into walls these past 17 months because he had no idea what his agency was supposed to do. From a story about the Guv's road-building plan that hit the AP wire not long ago:

"'This is a joyous day for INDOT,' Sharp said. 'We now have a plan. We know what to do every day. Our contractors know what to do every day. Our consultants know what to do every day. We're not going to spend a lot of time with our customers guessing whether your project is here or there or suspended -- things we did in the past. We'll all be focused on the same plan.'"

It's so nice to hear that no one knew the status of road projects before this day. All hail Mitch Daniels for finally shedding light and vision on INDOT. Of course, we're pretty sure no one has yet told Sharp about the "Kick Me" sign that's been on his back since January 2005. Teehee.

Be careful, Mr. Commissioner, or we'll have to start calling you Tommy "Not So," just like we do to State Rep. Billy Bright.

Lite Guv Flinging Dirt! There's No Better Way To Pass The Time On A Rainy Day

You know, just the other day, we were lamenting that we hadn't received a good photo of the Lite Guv recently. Thanks to the TDW field correspondent who answered our prayers. This one's from the groundbreaking of the West Gate@Crane Technology Park earlier this week. Clickety here if you want to know the names of the lucky men flanking the LG.

Caption away, crew.

Time May Be Up For Woodruff: Rep Can't Shed The Clocks Debacle

Time zones? Yeah, they're still an issue. Especially if you're Troy Woodruff, who told his constituents he'd never, ever vote for DST. Then he did. And now he's at the center of a controversy over the time boundaries drawn by the feds.

"Knox County's commissioners expect to vote next week on whether to join other southwestern Indiana counties in seeking a reversal of this spring's time-zone switch.

"Knox was among six area counties that the U.S. Department of Transportation approved for moves to the Central Time Zone. Backers of Central time argued that since Knox County borders Illinois it would be more convenient to have clocks on the same time across the state line.

"Others said they saw no need for a time-zone change since the switch only started April 2 when statewide observance of daylight-saving time began.

"The county commissioners on Monday were given a petition backing Central time with about 690 signatures, but that was far less than the 3,000 signature submitted by Eastern time supporters three weeks ago."

Not Much Of A Surprise: The Rumor Mill Spits Out A Legal Staff Change At ICJI

An anonymous TDW tipster told us yesterday that Indiana Criminal Justice Institute general counsel Silvia Miller, who was rumored to be under investigation for the Heather Bolejack sweetheart contract deal, has fled, er, moved across the street to Secretary of State Todd Rokita's office. She's apparently going to be working as a higher-up in the Securities Division.

Miller was in Rokita's office before she became the staff attorney at ICJI, but we have to wonder why the SOS took her back in times like these. Absorbing allegedly damaged goods in a campaign year? Eeek.

We had heard a couple weeks back that Bolejack gave Miller a $12,000 raise not long after she came to ICJI. Wonder if she got to keep the bonus.

I Think I Thought I Saw You Try: Indy Star Finds Its Religion In A New Blog

The blogification of the Indy Star continues.

Welcome, Indy Religion, a blog about, well, religion.

We'll see how ye fare flanked by the IU and Pacers blogs.

At least you're a blog about something. We dig that. Though we'll still clickety over to Tully first once he returns next week because, quite honestly, we don't know much about "The Da Vinci Code." Nor do we have the time to read it or go out and see the movie version. But we wish the new blog well and will stop by periodically to see what's going on.

Choose Wisely, Guv: Jimmy B. Not A Shoo-In For Alcohol And Tobacco Gig

How dumb is Jim Bradford going to feel if he doesn't get tapped by the Guv for the ATC position? We didn't realize until late yesterday that he was one of several candidates applying for the job. Here's an updated story from the Star this morning:

"Bradford has applied to become vice chairman of the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission, he said Wednesday. If Gov. Mitch Daniels appoints Bradford from among several candidates, Bradford said he would give up his seat on the council and his bid to become Washington Township trustee.

"If Bradford leaves, Republican precinct committeemen would choose his replacement on the council. Bradford also won the Republican nomination for trustee in an uncontested election May 2. It's unclear who would choose his replacement in that race.

"The councilman has criticized the mayor for outsourcing management of the city's water utility and his plans to consolidate fire departments and merge police departments.

"Outside the realm of politics, he owns the Whistle Stop restaurant along the Monon Trail in Broad Ripple and runs a horse rescue organization.

"The state commission licenses and regulates more than 10,000 permits related to alcoholic beverage sales. It also oversees the Indiana State Excise Police in the enforcement of alcohol and tobacco laws. The position was formerly held by Melanie Brizzi, wife of Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi. State records show her annual salary in September 2005 was $36,100."

Of course, the question on our minds is who else is in the race for the job. We want to make an endorsement. We want to be part of the process. Heck, maybe we want to apply for the job. It seems odd, by the way, that Bradford would go flapping his jaw about a job that would require him to leave the Council and the Trustee's race without some assurance that he's actually going to get the job. Is he trying to make himself seem more valuable? Did he forget how small of a town this really is?

Anyway, we want more details. Share!