Local Opinion

It is shaping up to be a busy legislative session at the Statehouse, and I am eager to work with lawmakers to support the teens and young adults transitioning out of foster care in Indiana.

Ohio-based guest speaker Kendall C. Wright brought a message that challenged as much as inspired the 350 people who attended the 26th Annual Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Breakfast on Monday at The Commons.

Despite the embarrassment of living with the Indiana General Assembly, Hoosiers can take heart.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland made the right call.

We like to think of Columbus as a small but world-class city rich in talented people who in many regards compete at an elite level.

At 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 30 — days after a Christmas holiday and days before New Year’s — the Indiana Department of Child Services dropped its annual report of child abuse and neglect fatalities.

“You get the government you deserve.” — Thomas Jefferson

The Bartholomew County Humane Society will get a significant boost in funding from the county this year, as county commissioners agreed to raise the amount paid to shelter abandoned animals by 38% over 2022 funding. The county has agreed to pay the Humane Society $125,000 this year compared to just over $90,000 last year.

As Congress and many state legislatures get under way for the year, there are lots of new lawmakers out there starting to learn the ropes. It’s an exhilarating, exhausting time, and they’ll have plenty of questions about the challenges. But here’s one thing they might not even have imagined: The hardest part of their new jobs may be the most basic — casting a vote on legislation.

With the 2023 legislative session just started, I figured I’d do my traditional “here are some thoughts lawmakers should focus on” piece. Granted, I understand this is a budget year, and lawmakers have lots of priorities to sort out — health care, teacher pay, and property taxes. So, the items below may or may not fall into that category.