INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — On Monday, happy hour will again be legal in the state of Indiana after nearly 40 years.

Happy hour was first banned in 1985 in an effort to curb drunk driving. The effort has proven to be less than effective, according to several studies, including one done by Suffolk University.

In March, Gov. Holcomb signed House Bill 1086, officially making happy hour legal again in the Hoosier state.

Indianapolis restaurants are welcoming the change. Up until now, if eateries wanted to offer discounted rates, they were required to do so for the entire day.

“Prior to this, you weren’t able to do it for a finite amount of time, you could only do it the entire day, from the time you open the doors to the time you close,” Managing Partner of The Oakmont and Vicino Gus Vazquez said.

The law does have a few stipulations.

Restaurants can offer up to four hours a day as a part of their “happy hour” and a total of 15 hours a week. The hours can never fall between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m.

Vazquez and his team were quick to get to develop a plan for their happy hours at both The Oakmont and Vicino, which will run between 3 and 6 p.m. between Monday and Friday.

“It’s been so long since Indiana has had the chance to have a happy hour,” Vazquez said. “Our plan of action is to offer our guests some items that normally wouldn’t be offered to our guests during that time or some of our favorites at a discounted price.”

The managing partner also spoke on the impact the change has on people visiting the Circle City.

The restaurants often host those visiting Indianapolis for conventions and sporting events.

“Just today we had a couple from out of town come in, and ask if we had a happy hour either today or during the week…so ironically we told them that July first we’d be rolling it out,” Vazquez said. “I feel like a lot of the people that are visiting the city will feel at home even when they’re not at home.”

NBA free agency opens up tomorrow at 6 p.m. Eastern Time, meaning players can agree to sign with new teams. From the day after the NBA Finals until that time, players could only negotiate with their former team — which is how the Pacers were able to agree to terms with forward Pascal Siakam already.

Because of the deal with Siakam and the many contracts Indiana already has in place, they could be a quiet team on the free agent market. They may run it back with largely the same team, sans a small move here and there, which makes sense after an Eastern Conference Finals run. Obi Toppin is the best incumbent Pacer who is entering free agency, and Pacers on SI reported earlier this week that the team made him a restricted free agent via a qualifying offer.

Between the Mid-Level-Exception, minimum contracts, and the draft, the Pacers have and could still add external talent in free agency. On the Locked On Pacers podcast, host Tony East went position-by-position and looked at players the Pacers could add in free agency at each spot if they have a specific need.

Point guards:

Shooting guards:

Small forwards with Alex Golden from Setting The Pace:

Power forwards with Ethan Krieger, formerly from 8 Points, 9 Seconds:

Centers:

Last year, the Pacers were active in free agency and acquired Bruce Brown along with Toppin during the offseason. This season, they will likely be quieter in terms of bringing in external talent. Keeping Siakam was the priority, and it’s done.

RICHMOND, Ind. (WISH) — An inmate was found dead early Friday morning at the Wayne County jail, Indiana State Police announced.

The inmate was identified as 36-year-old Andrew Taylor.

State police say Taylor was found sometime before 5 a.m. Friday. Jail staff discovered him unresponsive, and despite life-saving efforts, he was later pronounced dead.

Detectives are working with the Wayne County Coroner’s Office and Sheriff’s Office to learn what led to the incident. They did not say what Taylor’s cause of death was, but said no foul play was suspected.

Taylor’s family was notified, police say.