This is a big deal for us local legal folks:

Wayne County judge is stepping down (Pal-Item)

P. Thomas Snow has been appointed Chairman of the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission by Gov. Daniels. He starts March 16, leaving behind 20 years of quality work on the local bench.

Daniels will need to appoint someone to finish out Snow’s 6 year term which ends in 2012.

Tom Snow is the kind of person who makes any institution he joins a great deal better, and that which he leaves, saddened.

I remember feeling very alien when I first came to Richmond in 1985. This place and its people are very different than rural Texas where I grew up.

I grew up with Houston Public Radio playing in the background, and WMUB provided an instant reminder of home. The station, operated out of Miami U. has undergone lots of changes over the years, from playing primarily jazz to becoming a talk radio station, and there have been many times when the young college news readers would grate on my nerves. But there was plenty to love about the local station.

All to be gone come March 1st, when the station becomes a repeater for Cincinnati Public Radio:

(OXFORD, OH, January 22, 2009) - Miami University and Cincinnati Public Radio (CPR) are actively negotiating an operating agreement for CPR to manage WMUB, in order to continue to provide public radio services to listeners of WMUB while addressing the university’s projected budget deficit.

WMUB has broadcast from Miami University for 58 years. However, due to its rural location and signal strength, it has not been able to achieve the audience and listener pledges that urban-based public radio stations receive. Consequently WMUB receives more than $500,000 in annual direct subsidy from the university plus more than $300,000 in indirect support.

Link (Press release).

Analysis: CAFOs caused road damage (Pal-Item): “Two feeding operations in Randolph County caused $57,000 in damage to its roads last year, according to an analysis given to Delaware County planning officials.”

Michael Lewis and David Einhorn’s editorial in the NYT is a must read. Most of it is just stating the obvious, but since the obvious has been flatly denied for a decade - it is worth saying:

The American International Group, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, General Electric and the municipal bond guarantors Ambac Financial and MBIA all had triple-A ratings. (G.E. still does!) Large investment banks like Lehman and Merrill Lynch all had solid investment grade ratings. It’s almost as if the higher the rating of a financial institution, the more likely it was to contribute to financial catastrophe. But of course all these big financial companies fueled the creation of the credit products that in turn fueled the revenues of Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s.

These oligopolies, which are actually sanctioned by the S.E.C., didn’t merely do their jobs badly. They didn’t simply miss a few calls here and there. In pursuit of their own short-term earnings, they did exactly the opposite of what they were meant to do: rather than expose financial risk they systematically disguised it.

Link

Dairy worker dies in manure lagoon in rural Bluffton, Indiana:

An Indiana conservation officer says 23-year-old Nicholas Cruz had been cleaning out a cattle lot at Sunny Park Dairy and dumping manure into the lagoon Friday morning when he apparently lost control of the skid loader.

Link(Pal-Item).

It is officially over, Obama picks CAFO proponent Tom Vilsack of Iowa for Agriculture:

Iowa Ex-Governor Picked for Agriculture Secretary (NYT)

More:

Why Obama Might Be Terrible « Whiskey Burn

Daily Kos: Tom “I Heart Monsanto” Vilsack, This One’s For You

Feeding factory farms with your taxes | Twin Cities Daily Planet …

Report finds ‘no practical difference’ between charter, traditional schools (Star Press). So that is the headline, and the push will go to the legislature next, seeking to freeze any new charter schools.

The opponents will take this report to mean that charter’s have proven to be a flop - no increase in performance. However, this take misses the real point of the charter school experiment.

Charter schools get about 1/2 the money that traditional public schools get. Why? All public schools get the per pupil money (so many dollars per student per day, etc), but Charter schools do not get the “building money” which means they have to provide the education and the infrastructure out of the per pupil money

The question is not “can smaller charter schools improve student performance.” The question is, what happens when you give smaller school groups half the public money, and send them off. The answer, at least under this report, is they can match the fully funded public schools.

A short note. I get most of my news these days through my Google Reader - everything important has a feed or its not really important . . .

When this headline came across, I swear I though it was from my Onion feed, but I was wrong:

IDEM dissolves Office of Enforcement (IBJ)

From the Associated Press piece:

Indiana’s efforts to redefine serious environmental violations are drawing fire from critics, who say the state is endangering people’s health by requiring that a violator cause actual harm or threaten the environment before facing penalties. The new definition, which has yet to take effect, comes as the state Department of Environmental Management is dissolving its Office of Enforcement and moving those employees into different departments.

Managers will also be involved in the decision making process on enforcement:

The revised policy also gives managers more discretion over when companies will face prosecution and penalties and says top managers, including the commissioner, can authorize compliance staff to deviate from the policy on a case-by-case basis.

Well, not much time for blogging these days - - - but to update the Aides Task Force story I covered previously, William Selkirk was finally convicted and sentenced on the Fayette County criminal charges. The entry from the court, reported on Doxpop, reads as follows:

Sentencing - State appears by Bette Jones; Defendant appears with David Butsch; Def is convicted of Forgery, C Felony; Credit Card Fraud, D Felony & Check Deception, an A Misdemeanor;Def sentenced to 6 yrs on Forgery concurrent to 2 yrs on Credit Card Fraud concurrent to 1 yr on Check Deception; $164 Court Costs A Judgment of restitution entered against def payble to C & P Engineering in the amount of $2,792.72;IPUF$50 MPUF$20,ADM FEE $$100. 40 hours comm service Sentence to be served on Home Detention.

This entry was for a sentencing that, reportedly occurred on November 21st. The entry inputted into Doxpop this morning.

From reading it, I think I know what it means - He was convicted of 2 felonies and sentenced to a total term of 2 years in prison. However, I don’t understand the final phrase “to be served on Home Detention.” Does this mean that the entire 2 year term is on home detention?

A couple of years ago, the State Division of Children Services (or whatever it was called back then . . .) started a shift towards centralized control of its units, as opposed to letting county directors run their own shops. This regional, or top down control model likely resulted in a more uniform application of standards for providing assistance to families in need, but some questions are coming out.

For instance, last week the Pal-Item noted that Wayne County is floating a surprise $650,000 bond issue to take the Department of Child Services through the end of 2008. Local Director Terry Suttles said that the money was needed to cover an increase in services provided - due to the tough economic times.

However, the time span for the increase in numbers cited by the article - 82 kids in 2005, 143 in 2006, 382 in 2007 and 321 so far in 2008 - cover not the economic changes (that started in 9/08), but cover the shift from the old system of local control to the state control: County sells $650,000 bond issue.

The Indy Star has a piece up now entitled: DCS removes too may kids from homes, report says. The report is issued by an anti-DCS group, National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, so criticism is expected, but the factual claims are surprising: “New data compiled by [Director Richard] Wexler’s group show Indiana removed children from their families in 2007 at a rate of 4.86 per 1,000 children, more than 20 percent above the national average of 3.93.”

Ex Marion County chief juvenile judge and now director of the DCS disputes the claim that the agency has become over aggressive under his rule: “Director James W. Payne said the numbers can be explained in several ways: They reflect a greater incidence of reports of abuse and neglect. DCS has been investigating more of the reports it has received. The agency has found evidence of abuse or neglect in a higher percentage of cases that were investigated than it did a year ago.”

Payne also noted that removals must be approved by a court: “That means an independent judge has said, ‘Yes, these kids need to be safe.’” But that quote hides that practical impact of what normally goes on in a CHINs (Child in Need of Service) case - The DCS make the initial decision to remove the child and THEN goes to the judge. The judge is then to decide if the initial detention was justified and if the detention should continue.

Now put yourself in the position of that judge - The DCS runs in and says “Hey we just took this kid and now he is safe in foster care.” The judge then decides - almost guesses really, based only on the information from the DCS whether the child should stay in foster care or go back to the parents. If the judge make a mistake - the risk that the child will get hurt if returned to the parent and it would be the judge’s fault - dictate that the child is normally retained in care.

What the DCS has done is said - when in doubt, detain, then let the judges take the heat if a child is released and later hurt or killed. A very smart politic move that keeps the agency blameless in those overwrought situation where a child is hurt, but not such a good use of public power and resources.

For the history on this issue see these posts: Aids Task Force: Update and Wayne County Aids Task Force: Prosecution Time.

William Selkirk faced 10 felony counts in Wayne County arising out of his time as the director of the non-profit. HE plead guilty back in 2007 to 3 D Felony Theft charges, got no time in jail, 1 year of probation, and was ordered to pay restitution of about $8,000.

He finished off his 1 year on probation, paid the restitution and the court dropped the felony convictions down to misdemeanors on July 18, 2008, per the agreement of the parties.

He also faced a set of charges in Fayette County, Indiana, filed back in February of 2006. That case had been set for trial for October 27, 2008, but Mr. Selkirk plead guilty as charged on October 23, 2008. He plead guilty in to a C Felony forgery charge, a D Felony credit card fraud charge and an A misdemeanor deception charge - sentencing is set for November 23, 2008. With no agreement on file, this would appear to be a “mercy plea,” meaning the trial judge would determine the sentences based on the statutory ranges.

With little notice, the Bush administration released the new CAFO rules on Friday - with an overly full news cycle, few have noticed, but you can read them here (PDF).

What’s included? Self-certification, zero discharge = no Clean Water Act permit. Operators will also have to start showing their math on how they came up with their application rates in nutrient management plans. Good stuff - should be a lot less hassle to operate a CAFO in the future. . .

Reynolds, Indiana was to be a model for alternative energy efforts in the state - mostly, efforts to utilize Ag resources in producing energy - like ethanol. This was one of Gov. Daniels’s big pushes. I noted earlier that the efforts were running into practical difficulties (Biotown we hardly knew ya). Now, VeraSun, the ethanol producer, is headed to bankruptcy court:

The ethanol producer that planned to build a plant in Reynolds, the town where Gov. Mitch Daniels is attempting to showcase energy independence, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. VeraSun Energy Corp. announced yesterday that it and 24 of its subsidiaries filed the voluntary petition yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.

Indianapolis Business Journal

I had my 1st oral argument before the Indiana Supreme Court on Wednesday. I have argued before the Court of Appeals before, but this was a different experience. I was surprised by how close the judges were to the attorneys (I was also surprised with attorney John Maley (Richmond native) walked into the courtroom audience with an entire Catholic girls’ school class).

I had prepared every which way - memorizing factual distinctions on relevant cases, etc., but the discussion was more “what-ifs” than grilling the attorneys on the case law. The court staff was very courteous and helpful and the entire experience overall was pleasant - at least compared to the dread I felt leading up to the event. . . .

It was a criminal case and the issue was 4th Amendment - search and seizure. You can catch the whole experience on video, at the Court’s site, here - go to 10/15/2008 and look for Meredith v. State. the argument starts around the 4 minute mark.

On your first visit, you get an official coaster:

Stacy Sneeringer of Wellesley College produced a study released in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics linking large increases in livestock production in a give county to increases in infant mortality in the first month of live:

A 100 percent increase in livestock production in a county being associated with a 7.4 percent increase in infant mortality. Most of this effect occurs within the first twenty-eight days of life. Sneeringer interprets her results as reflecting damage to the fetus, as evidenced by higher rates of neonatal infant mortality, causes of death related to problems in the perinatal period, and lowered Apgar scores.

Science Daily

Date set for megadairy hearing - Palladium-Item IDEM will gather public comment on November 13, 2008 at 6:30PM at the Union County High School on the proposed Union County Dairy CAFO on Mitchell Road. See the permit application here.

September 2008 report from the GAO says the EPA does not have the data to assess the risk posed by CAFO to human health:

Since 2002, at least 68 government-sponsored or peer-reviewed studies have been completed that examined air and water quality issues associated with animal feeding operations and 15 have directly linked air and water pollutants from animal waste to specific health or environmental impacts. EPA has not yet assessed the extent to which these pollutants may be impairing human health and the environment because it lacks key data on the amount of pollutants that are being emitted from animal feeding operations.

Link

No comment, just passing it on: Union Co. commissioners adopt livestock ordinance:

The Union County livestock zoning ordinance for CAFOs and CFOs adopted and amended Monday:

Includes setbacks of a quarter-mile from residences, a half-mile from state park and reservoir land boundaries and churches, and a mile from schools and municipality boundaries.

Requires at least 80 acres for a CFO, CAFO or a very large CAFO, which has four times the minimum animal numbers to be classified as a CAFO, if a lagoon or other outside manure storage is used.

Requires a public hearing and special exception from the Union County Board of Zoning Appeals for very large CAFOs, which are four times the minimum livestock numbers that qualify an operation as a CAFO.

Marcia Oddi is always talking about allowing golf carts on streets, but you still can’t do this:  Golf cart operator facing a DWI charge.

Under the entertainment category, one of my legal interests is real estate and the selling of real estate. I stumbled across a blog recently that posts oddball photos people post of properties they are trying to sell. Like this one, from It’s Lovely! I’ll Take it! Why wouldn’t you tidy up a bit?

Just a roundup. My feelings on blogging lately (maybe always) have been fairly negative. Maybe not  negative, but I’ve not been very excited about it. I this Ernie the Attorney’s recent post sums up my current sentiments on the subject: Is it true, kind and helpful? 

So, to speak properly three things all have to come together: (1) I know something true, (2) that I am able to express compassionately, and (3) which is helpful to the person I’m expressing it to. Can you see how this bodes ill for having a blog? Even if I meet criteria numbers 1 and 2, I have no way of knowing who I am speaking to because my audience is too varied.

So, just a round up, for now:

We are drilling for oil in Indiana again (IBJ)

Muncie’s cultural center is getting a green roof (Star Press)

Check out the roof at the Muncie Living Lightly Fair at the center tomorrow (Star Press) see presentations by Eric Cotton (East Central Indiana Wind & Solar), Lynn Jenkins (Indiana Living Green Magazine), and local Phil Seybold (Cope Center) as well as many others.

Just for fun, a pedal driven compost turner.

Whitney L. Stump of Muncie gained some recognition when he was arrested for criminal mischief up in Delaware County after he repainted his own crosswalk on the street near his home.

He grew frustrated with motorist who blew through a stop sign at a nearby intersection, and the City’s refusal to install a fix, so he painted his own crosswalk.

Well the prosecutor has  dismissed the case. [Star Press]