Indiana

Hoosier nominee? Not Ron Klain, who is wise not to run

Published

1 year ago

March 8, 2023

Hoosier nominee? Not Ron Klain, who is wise not to run

Ron Klain, President Joe Biden’s former chief of workers, has made it recognized that he won’t be operating for U.S. Senate from Indiana. That is a wise transfer on his half.

The primary purpose Klain should not run is that he’s an expert Twitter addict, not a viable politician. However the extra necessary purpose is that Indiana has grow to be a one-party Republican state. Hoosiers already hate Biden — the final measure of his disapproval score had him at 61% — and so it will be additional tough for any Democrat to swing towards the tide there in a presidential 12 months like 2024.

TAX AOC’S MET GALA GIFTS

The composition of purple and blue states is consistently altering. Some states, comparable to Virginia, Arizona, and Colorado, have moved nearer to Democrats within the final 20 years. However Democrats’ nationwide lurch to the left has made them very unappealing in lots of previously politically aggressive states, comparable to Florida, Missouri, and Iowa, which have in consequence escaped the donkey celebration’s political orbit. The Hoosier State is certainly one among these. Briefly, Indiana has come a really great distance since Barack Obama received its electoral votes in 2008.

The state’s trendy Democratic Occasion had its swan track in 2012. In that 12 months’s Senate race, Democrat Joe Donnelly defeated the Republicans’ gaffe-prone nominee, state Treasurer Richard Mourdock. Additionally, due to a bizarre right-left coalition of anti-common-core and left-wing teams, Democrat Glenda Ritz narrowly squeaked out a victory for state college superintendent (a place that’s now appointed). Every of those Democrats would go on to serve only one time period earlier than dropping.

However even in 2012, on the Democrats’ trendy zenith, there have been limits to what they may win. That very same 12 months, Mike Pence barely (by 3 factors) defeated John Gregg for governor. And Obama misplaced the state this time by greater than 10 factors.

Since 2012, it has been all downhill for Democrats. They haven’t received a single statewide race.

In 2014, Republicans received the entire lower-tier statewide row workplaces. Not one of the races have been shut — in truth, no Democrat managed to crack 40%.

Within the 2016 Senate race, then-Rep. Todd Younger crushed former Sen. Evan Bayh, arguably the strongest Democratic candidate accessible within the state, by 10 factors.

In 2018, Mike Braun defeated Donnelly by 6 factors. That won’t sound spectacular, however Donnelly was the incumbent, and 2018 was a nationwide Democratic wave 12 months.

In 2020, Donald Trump cracked 60% for the primary time in Indiana, and center-right Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) received by 24 factors.

Lastly, in 2022, Republicans swept all of the minor statewide workplaces as soon as once more and practically took over one of many two congressional districts that had been put aside on function for Democrats to win. I do not suppose it’s outlandish to foretell that that particular district — the primary district, which is principally the buckle of the Rust Belt in northwest Indiana — will most likely go Republican by the tip of this decade.

On the legislative stage, Democrats entered the 2010 election season clinging to a tenuous and gerrymander-dependent 52-48 majority within the state Home. However their whole celebration collapsed after their big election losses that 12 months. Unable to attract new strains to protect their political energy and unable to cease Republicans from drawing extra favorable strains for themselves, they rapidly fell into everlasting superminority standing. Democrats now management solely 11 out of fifty seats within the state Senate and 29 out of 100 within the state Home.

Republicans have used their grip on energy in Indiana to make nice strides each when it comes to politics and coverage. This consists of two measures that struck on the very coronary heart of the Democrats’ coalition — a right-to-work legislation and an almost-universal college selection voucher program, which, together with public constitution faculties, is at present revolutionizing the state’s schooling system. The state had a $6 billion surplus final 12 months and a $4 billion surplus the 12 months earlier than, and the voters appear happy.

Briefly, Indiana is now not a pleasant setting for Democratic politicians. The state Democratic Occasion has no bench to talk of, because the mere point out of Klain as a possible candidate demonstrates. They will not win subsequent 12 months except Republicans nominate somebody fully insane. That is not going to occur within the 2024 Senate election, so Klain could be very sensible to make different plans.

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Indiana

Indiana Pacers guard T.J. McConnell has contract become fully guaranteed for 2024-25 season

Published

2 hours ago

June 29, 2024

Press Room

Indiana Pacers guard T.J. McConnell has contract become fully guaranteed for 2024-25 season

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers did not waive point guard T.J. McConnell prior to June 28, and with the calendar now rolling to June 29, the veteran point guard has a fully guaranteed contract for the 2024-25 season.

McConnell, 32, signed a four-year, $33.6 million contract in August of 2021. The first three seasons of the agreement were fully guaranteed, but the fourth and final season only had $5 million out of $9.3 million guaranteed. In theory, had the Pacers waived McConnell before Friday ended, they could have saved $4.3 million.

But there was no sense in doing so. $4.3 million in savings is nothing compared to the value McConnell has on the hardwood — if anything he is underpaid at $9.3 million — and the Pacers are over the salary cap anyway. They would have gained little to no flexibility with the savings.

The veteran ball handler is one of the best reserve guards in the league and just averaged career-best numbers across the board. “Getting this franchise back into the playoffs and making a run to the Eastern Conference Finals when not a single person had us going there, it was really fun,” McConnell said of his 2023-24 season.

He averaged 10.2 points and 5.5 assists per game this past year. His scoring down the stretch of the campaign and in the playoffs was remarkable as he did everything for the second unit. Indiana needed McConnell to step up in the scoring department once Bennedict Mathurin went down with an injury, and he did.

“I don’t know, I try not to focus on stuff like that,” McConnell said of having a career year at his age. “Just the team success, really just getting back to the playoffs. That was the goal for us. Just tried to contribute in any way I could.”

The nine-year veteran was never going to be waived. It would have been incredibly misguided for Indiana to do so, but now it’s official. His contract is fully guaranteed for the coming season, and the veteran guard currently projects to be the backup floor general to open the upcoming season.

The more interesting question with McConnell’s contract is about a possible extension. Reporting has suggested that the Pacers would like to add years on to McConnell’s deal this summer, and he is eligible for a longer contract starting on July 6.

Indiana could add up to four years and up to about $80 million to McConnell’s contract this offseason if they are so inclined. “To have him here long term, we’d love to keep T.J. as a Pacer for life. The business part eventually comes into play for everybody, but would hate to lose that guy,” Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan said of McConnell late last month.

“His value to us is obviously very, very high,” the GM added. McConnell averaged 11.8 points and 5.1 assists per game in the playoffs.

McConnell, a Pittsburgh native, has been a key veteran for the Pacers ever since he joined the franchise. His fierce mentality after going undrafted in 2015 has never faded, and it makes him the competitor that he is. If Indiana wants to keep playing their up-tempo style that is possible because of star guard Tyrese Haliburton, keeping McConnell as a high-paced backup makes all the sense in the world. As of right now, they have him under contract for one more season.

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Pornhub ‘ban’ in Indiana blocked by judge

Published

9 hours ago

June 28, 2024

Press Room

INDIANAPOLIS (WXIN) — A judge has blocked a new Indiana law from going into effect which would have effectively cut off Hoosiers from accessing adult content websites, such as Pornhub. In his decision, the judge called the law “likely facially unconstitutional.”

Previously, Indiana lawmakers passed Senate Bill 17 which was signed into law by Governor Eric Holcomb and set to go into effect on July 1. Under the restrictive bill, websites hosting “material harmful to minors” would have required Hoosiers to upload sensitive documents, such as driver’s licenses, in order to prove their age.

While proponents of the law argued the age-verification law was meant to protect minors from accessing explicit material, such as pornography, critics pointed out that the law was not only a potential violation of the First Amendment but also opened up Hoosiers to substantial risk of having their sensitive information and documents stolen.

Screenshot of the warning displayed on Pornhub’s page for Indiana users. (WXIN)

While Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita defended the age-verification law as a “shield” to protect children from “the psychological and emotional consequences associated with viewing porn,” the Free Speech Coalition filed a lawsuit to stop the law from going into effect.

“We will continue to fight for the rights of adults to access the internet free of shame and surveillance,” said Alison Boden, executive director of Free Speech Coalition. “While they may sound reasonable on their face, laws like SB17 have effectively functioned as state censorship.”

On Friday, a judge with the United States District Court of Southern Indiana issued a preliminary injunction blocking the law from going into effect on July 1. In his decision, the judge concluded that the law “likely violates the First Amendment” and echoed many of its critics such as pointing out how the law could be easily circumvented with technology and the broad, vague scope of the law.

The vagueness of the law was previously called out by the ACLU of Indiana who sounded the alarm against the age-verification law and its vague use of “material harmful to minors,” which the ACLU speculated could go beyond just blocking pornography and be used to also block “age-appropriate LGBTQ+” or be used to censor sex education content.

The ACLU also pointed out how the law could be easily circumvented, needlessly putting Hoosiers’ sensitive information at risk.

“The worst part, the law won’t even work,” said the ACLU of Indiana. “Minors will just go to sites that aren’t regulated by Indiana law or use technology to bypass the verification method. A @CommonSenseMedia report found 6 in 10 older teenagers already use VPNs to browse the internet.”

As part of his decision, the judge wrote in defense of his injunction by stating, “Indiana’s legislature chose an ineffective and more broad method to protect minors from harmful materials than other alternatives. The First Amendment does not allow such imprecision.”

The injunction will remain in effect until a final judgment is made or a higher court dissolves the injunction.

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Indiana

Arby’s franchisee Miracle Restaurant Group files Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Are stores closing?

Published

16 hours ago

June 28, 2024

Press Room

Arby’s franchisee Miracle Restaurant Group files Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Are stores closing?

Arby’s franchisee Miracle Restaurant Group has once again filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and could sell multiple stores in three states, according to court documents.

Court documents show Chapter 11 bankruptcy was filed by Miracle Restaurant Group on June 20, 2024. The business was formed in 2005 and currently own and operates 25 Arby’s restaurants across Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

Several restaurants have been filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy or closing stores in 2024, including Red Lobster, Hooters, Tijuana Flats and Alamo Drafthouse to name a few.

Hooters closing 2024: Locations are closing; 2 restaurants near Louisville among dozens closed

The court documents for Miracle Restaurant Group state:

“In September 2023, the Debtor sold three of its stores located in Indiana and used the proceeds to pay down its notes with First Franchise Capital Corporation (“FFCC”), the LH Mortgage, and the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”). The Debtor’s remaining two stores in Indiana remain operating.”

Additionally, stores in other states are also being impacted:

“The Debtor intends to continue to market and sell its seven Texas Stores, eight Illinois Stores and two remaining Indiana Stores through the Bankruptcy Process, and to focus on its Louisiana and Mississippi Stores. To accomplish this, the Debtor has retained Peak Franchise Capital, LLC as financial advisor to assist in marketing the Debtor’s stores.”

CEO Donald Moore declined to answer questions about the bankruptcy when contacted by phone. In the filing, Moore notes he has “experience in senior officer roles at public and private restaurants since 1990.”

Red Lobster closing 2024: Red Lobster lists 99 restaurants closed in 28 states: See locations closing in your state

Here’s what to know:

Is Arby’s filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy?

No. Franchise operator Miracle Restaurant Group is filing for bankruptcy and owns 25 Arby’s locations in Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

Who owns Arby’s?

Arby’s is owned by Inspire Brands. They own several restaurants including Baskin Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s and SONIC.

Are Arby’s restaurant locations closing via Miracle Restaurant Group’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy?

No. Miracle Restaurant Group is attempting to sell the remaining locations in Illinois (8), Indiana (2) and Texas (7), according to court documents.

Has Miracle Restaurant Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy previously?

Yes, this is Miracle Restaurant Group’s second Chapter 11 filing. The franchisee used to own 60 Arby’s franchise locations before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010, according to court documents. A number of stores were closed after the plan was confirmed and all creditors were paid in full under the plan.

What Arby’s restaurant locations could be closing in Illinois, Indiana and Texas?

Miracle Restaurant Group has not confirmed a list of store closings or which restaurants are being sold. Below is a list of locations posted on the website at mrgarbys.com/locations.htm. Three Indiana locations were sold in September 2023, but which stores were sold is unclear.