Just like a season finale in a rivoting television series, this thing ain't over. The Wishard referendum won in a landslide, but its not the end, its just a cliffhanger. Left to linger in anticipation for the next go round are the following issues:
For how long will Matt Gutwein and the Marion County Health & Hospitals Corporation be able to pay off the general obligation bonds with profits? When will they turn to property taxes, which, had they been totally honest about things, more folks would have known about when they voted. Will they just try to hide it in the budget and let taxpayers read it in their property tax bills?
Will the Legislature again pick and choose favored projects that they feel should escape the minimal requirements set for public questions?
Will the Star repair its reputation after flaunting itself so wantonly for Wishard?
Will any legal authority look into the use of public facilities, like the Mayor's office, the distribution of pro-literature to school children to take home, the decisions on where to locate satellite voting centers, etc., that were an assist to the landslide?
Will the feds decide the nursing home 'business' of H&H is too much like a scam to continue to qualify for higher fee payments than other nursing home businesses?
As the flashbulbs illuminate the raised champagne glass and the scene fades, remember to tune in next time as we resume the story.
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Mark Small posted blog posts
5 hours ago
5 comments:
For how long will Matt Gutwein and the Marion County Health & Hospitals Corporation be able to pay off the general obligation bonds with profits?
Two years.
Will they just try to hide it in the budget and let taxpayers read it in their property tax bills?
Yes, absolutely.
Will the Legislature again pick and choose favored projects that they feel should escape the minimal requirements set for public questions?
No, I'm pretty sure they'll never do this again. I think legislators looking at the Wishard referendum question will be shocked and outraged. I highly doubt that more than a handful even knew about the provision
Will the Star repair its reputation after flaunting itself so wantonly for Wishard?
I just don't think they get it over there. They are all over fair elections and good government reforms, but then immediately looked the other way on those principles when it came to something the STar's editors wanted.
Will any legal authority look into the use of public facilities, like the Mayor's office, the distribution of pro-literature to school children to take home, the decisions on where to locate satellite voting centers, etc., that were an assist to the landslide?
I think there well could have been some laws broken by people using public resources to promote referenda "yes" votes. That thing though is not that easy to research. It could take hours. I do want to look into it though. As far as the satellite voting, there's not much you can do about it. As long as the Rs & Ds on the Election Board go along with it, they can legally put them just about anywhere.
Will the feds decide the nursing home 'business' of H&H is too much like a scam to continue to qualify for higher fee payments than other nursing home businesses?
I don't think there is any doubt about that. That problem is even worse with H&H because they don't even own the nursing homes but rather lease them and then they turn around and lease them to someone else to run them. Ownership is a shell. The feds don't typically like that. I give that two years or less before a crackdown comes.
As the flashbulbs illuminate the raised champagne glass and the scene fades, remember to tune in next time as we resume the story.
Undoubtedly.
Thanks for all your efforts, Paul and Pat. The "I told you sos" are lurking just around the corner.
I give them 5 years. I'll pop a note in my Outlook program for November 3, 2014.
"Will the Star repair its reputation after flaunting itself so wantonly for Wishard?"
I frankly don't believe that they have had a reputation worth anything in years. Even prior to living here, I thought the Louisville paper was a step above the Indianapolis paper. If it ever had a heyday, it must have been more than 20 years ago.
Gannett has consistently watered down its acquisitions to the USA Today level of fluffiness. That rag's formula was conceived as 'feel-good and pretty' - mainly something to fill the void of boredom while eating breakfast or commuting, and to let travellers read a kind of postcard from home while away.
USA Today's big innovation, if you'll recall, was producing color in an era when papers were all black and white.
Hard news is secondary in the Gannett world.
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