Pence readies his first batch of vetoes

[AngryOldDem]

http://www.wthr.com/story/22190575/pence-readies-first-set-of-vetoes-as-governor


Can anyone tell me why there is such a problem with lending IMS $100 million for improvements? Lending -- not granting, gifting, or giving? Doesn't he think that an upgraded speedway will bring in more events, and ergo, more revenue to the area? That it will, over time, pay for itself?

Oh, and by the way: The transit bill? Assigned to an interim study committee where it will be talked to death and never heard from again.

This state.

[Jokerman]

1. I am generally against using public money for sports facilities but...

as you said, this is a loan. There's also the fact that 100 year old IMS has never asked for or received any property tax breaks. I also speak as a resident of Speedway so there's that.

I really want to see SB621, the shameless republican power grab bill, vetoed.

[AngryOldDem]

3. That power grab bill is just haw-dropping. Complete GOP overreach.

Talk about fascist. Basically it makes the mayor the tsar. Bad, bad, bad, bad bill. And I hope that Pence vetoes it.

I ran the mini-marathon on Saturday, and part of the course is a lap around the IMS track. It **does** need a facelift. Badly. The grandstands date back to the 1940s, and the whole place just looks shabby -- it's just old, is all. More to the point, they need lights. NASCAR is running more and more night races, and you're hearing a lot more from the people who go to the Brickyard about how unbearably hot it is.

The improvements will more than pay for themselves, and Speedway and IMS have been going it alone -- and doing a fine job of it, too -- for too long. The state should help both out, given as much as they've done for it over the years.

[Brigid]

2. Yes, I fear this may be the last we'll hear of the transit bill.

Meanwhile, many city bus routes are SRO, especially during rush hour.

[AngryOldDem]

4. That is a huge slap in the face.

This was going to be the year that mass transit would get a good hearing. The language was changed so that only the donut counties would be funding it through taxes, which a lot of people though would make it a sure thing.

No kidding about the buses. I've started taking the Indy Connect commuter bus from Fishers now that my work hours have gone back to "normal," and this week it's been full coming and going. If it keeps up, I can see them adding another bus, just to handle volume.

I have an e-mail from the Indy Connect folks -- haven't looked at it yet, but I plan to.