Allen J. Thomas, 42, died September 16 along with two other people in a massive ten bicycle pileup in the newly-added bicycle lane along Lafayette Road south of 56th Street. The city of Indianapolis currently has 64 miles of bike lanes, with plans to stretch that number to 200 miles over the next several years. “These bicycle lanes are part of our effort to make cycling safer and more practical for the residents of Indianapolis,” reported Mayor Greg Ballard. Critics disagree. “With more and more people on bicycles,” said Richard Beltrane, spokesperson for local activist group Stop The Accident-prone Bike Lanes Everywhere (STABLE), “tragedies such as this one are inevitable. Not to mention bike jams, water bottle litter, noise pollution from rusty chains, and danger to pedestrians. And the chafing. Oh, the chafing! How many more people have to suffer and die before Indianapolis realizes that we should all be in nice, safe cars like before?”
Showing posts with label mayor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mayor. Show all posts
Obituary - Allen Thomas
Allen J. Thomas, 42, died September 16 along with two other people in a massive ten bicycle pileup in the newly-added bicycle lane along Lafayette Road south of 56th Street. The city of Indianapolis currently has 64 miles of bike lanes, with plans to stretch that number to 200 miles over the next several years. “These bicycle lanes are part of our effort to make cycling safer and more practical for the residents of Indianapolis,” reported Mayor Greg Ballard. Critics disagree. “With more and more people on bicycles,” said Richard Beltrane, spokesperson for local activist group Stop The Accident-prone Bike Lanes Everywhere (STABLE), “tragedies such as this one are inevitable. Not to mention bike jams, water bottle litter, noise pollution from rusty chains, and danger to pedestrians. And the chafing. Oh, the chafing! How many more people have to suffer and die before Indianapolis realizes that we should all be in nice, safe cars like before?”
Mayor of Gary Forced to Deny City Ravaged by Tornado
GARY - Following a string of violent tornadoes throughout the Midwest this week, Mayor of Gary, Indiana Karen Freeman-Wilson has been forced to deny unconfirmed reports that the city was one of those ravaged.
Speaking on ABC News this morning, the mayor insisted that much of the carnage seen across the downtown area was in fact the result of "inadequate inner-city funding" by the previous mayor, and also owed much to widespread poverty and crime and the city's poor infrastructure.
"While our sympathies go out to those affected in the towns of Memphis and Henryville, we here in Gary are located hundreds of miles north of where yesterday's devastation struck."
"What you see here is just... well, it's just Gary."
Reporters were quick on the scene after rumors on the social networking site Twitter suggested that the city had been "crippled by multiple tornadoes."
"From the air the city of Gary looks like something out of a disaster movie," said Fox 59 reporter Gillian Spencer. "There are no words to describe the carnage on the ground. Heartbreaking scenes."
However, according to Mayor Freeman-Wilson, the sight of upturned trees, half destroyed buildings and widespread debris is just "perfectly normal" in the north-western city.
"Trust me, this was not a tornado," she said, surveying Gary's downtown area. "This was just the result of years and years of status quo politics and zero ambition; of a damaged society and high crime levels; and of abject poverty."
"At least the confusion has finally earned us some recognition from the media," she concluded. "Because you guys don't usually want to know."
Meanwhile, a production team from CNN retreated from Gary Friday night after word got around that the widely impoverished city had in no way come into contact with a "large, horrible and news-worthy tornado."
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"This was just the result of years and years of status quo
politics and zero ambition; of a damaged society and high
crime levels; and of abject poverty."
- Mayor Freeman-Wilson.
|
"While our sympathies go out to those affected in the towns of Memphis and Henryville, we here in Gary are located hundreds of miles north of where yesterday's devastation struck."
"What you see here is just... well, it's just Gary."
Reporters were quick on the scene after rumors on the social networking site Twitter suggested that the city had been "crippled by multiple tornadoes."
"From the air the city of Gary looks like something out of a disaster movie," said Fox 59 reporter Gillian Spencer. "There are no words to describe the carnage on the ground. Heartbreaking scenes."
However, according to Mayor Freeman-Wilson, the sight of upturned trees, half destroyed buildings and widespread debris is just "perfectly normal" in the north-western city.
"Trust me, this was not a tornado," she said, surveying Gary's downtown area. "This was just the result of years and years of status quo politics and zero ambition; of a damaged society and high crime levels; and of abject poverty."
"At least the confusion has finally earned us some recognition from the media," she concluded. "Because you guys don't usually want to know."
Meanwhile, a production team from CNN retreated from Gary Friday night after word got around that the widely impoverished city had in no way come into contact with a "large, horrible and news-worthy tornado."
Male Applicant Preferred Over Highly Qualified Female Applicant
Gregory Ballard, a 56-year-old man from Indianapolis, was kept on as the city's mayor this evening, even though his resume was "sort of put together at the last minute" and was "considerably under par" when compared with that of rival applicant - 42-year-old Melina Kennedy, also from Indianapolis.
Mr Ballard, who successfully applied for the job in 2007, was forced to undergo a reapplication process this past month due to City-County accountability protocol.
Sources close to Ballard's employer, who goes by name of "Marion County electorate", insist that the father of two was only hired on ahead of Mrs Kennedy because he identifies as male.
"Let me ask you this," said professor Rachael Connors of Indiana University. "How many women have been employed as Mayor of Indianapolis? I'll tell you: none. In over 150 years, only men have been hired for this position. There's your proof."
However, in a statement released this evening, the Marion County Electorate defended its decision, saying: "Gregory is a committed professional with whom we have enjoyed working these past 4 years. We have a policy in Indianapolis of employing from within and so it was not a difficult decision to re-appoint Gregory to the position."
Image credit: creative commons.
Ballard Reaches Out to Young Voters By Subtly Mentioning Twitter in Campaign Speech
Distancing himself from the usual rhetoric of fiscal responsibility, the current mayor regaled students at Clowes Memorial Hall with an amusing anecdote about his attempts at connecting with voters online.
"Okay, let me just caveat this by saying I'm not the most technically savvy guy," chuckled Ballard. "When I first used Twitter, I thought it was some kind of a throwback to Tweety Pie. Never thought I'd be able to share my strong leadership credentials via an animated bird. But seriously, folks, Twitter is a great way to keep up-to-date with what I'm doing throughout the campaign."
"Did I mention that I'm also on Facebook?" he continued.
Opening up the discussion to the floor, Ballard fielded questions about the current state of Indianapolis' political and architectural infrastructure during a 20-minute Q&A session.
Following a student's question about the limitations of incessant road development across the city, Ballard was unequivocal in his response: "I just love to Tweet."
With Ballard poised to lay out his vision for the next four years later today, his campaign team insists that his list of policies will easily fit within Twitter's 140-character limit.
Image credit: Flickr. indywriter. Creative commons.
Political Candidate Goes Door-to-Door In Final Effort to Lose Voters
Michael Rayner, a Libertarian candidate for Marion County's 7th District, was seen going door-to-door in the city on Friday in a move that served not only to highlight Mr. Rayner's political credentials but also to incur further derision from the district's 3,000-plus registered voters.
"This won't take a moment of your time," said an enthusiastic Mr. Rayner, as another indifferent potential voter opened their front door.
"I see from your banners that you're a supporter of the Democratic Party," he continued, handing over a selection of campaign literature to his captive audience. "Well, today I'm asking you to look at what I, as a Libertarian candidate, will do as councilor for this district. We need your vote on November 8th. Let me tell you a bit about my campaign."
Continuing to interrupt the otherwise peaceful evenings of countless residents, Mr. Rayner has seen his popularity diminish by almost 25% over the last 3 days, while Democratic nominee and incumbent Maggie A. Lewis has enjoyed a significant rise in the polls.
According to Mr. Rayner's campaign office, the 46-year-old is set to further decrease his grassroots support by distributing thousands of unnecessarily long-winded campaign letters, emails and personalized postcards.
Anxious Melina Kennedy Tells Reclusive Nut Jobs: 'I'm Not Related to that Other Family'
"I just wanted to clarify this, before the whole election process starts to really heat up," she said. "I am in no way connected to that other family - that one with the same last name. Nuh-uh. No, sir. I just thought it was important to tell you that."
Running as a progressive democrat against the highly-favored conservative opponent, Mrs. Kennedy told members of the press that as mayor she would increase jobs, reform education and ensure that she makes it through at least one term without enduring an attempt on her life.
"It is important for the people of this city that we embrace change," she continued. "However, it is just as important to me that I don't get whacked in the process. Again, those other Kennedys - no relation whatsoever. I've never even met one."
As voters go to the polls on November 8, Mrs Kennedy's campaign team has announced that, should she win the election, party celebrations will be confined to the nominee's basement with only the most trusted friends invited.
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