Indianapolis, IN
Former interim library CEO Nichelle Hayes parting ways with library, effective immediately
Nichelle Hayes, the embattled former interim CEO of the Indianapolis Public Library who was passed over for the top job, left the organization Wednesday, the library’s board of trustees announced.
The decision to part ways was mutual, according to a statement from the board.
“Nichelle M. Hayes has been an asset to the Indianapolis Public Library and the community as a whole for many years. During a difficult transitional period for the library, Ms. Hayes stepped up and skillfully filled the role of Interim CEO,” the statement said. “Ms. Hayes and the Library have decided to mutually part ways. The Library wishes her the best of luck in her future endeavors and appreciates her many years of dedication to the organization.”
In a statement Hayes also shared on Facebook, she wrote that she felt humbled by those who supported and advocated for her to be appointed the library’s permanent CEO.
“As I now chart a new path, I am proud of the work and partnerships formed during my career at the library. I am excited to bring my passion, skills and abilities to the next chapter of my adventure,” she said.
Hayes’ exit from the organization closes the chapter on a years-long saga — marked by in-fighting, dysfunction, mistrust, division, the appointments of several acting CEOs and public protests — to install new leadership and stability at the library following the 2021 resignation of long-time chief executive Jackie Nytes.
Nytes stepped down after former and current employees accused her of contributing to a toxic work environment, rife with racism and discrimination. Nytes denied that the accusations of racism were true.
Revisit: Following accusations of racism, the Indianapolis Public Library’s CEO will step down
Hayes was the second acting CEO to serve in the position after Nyte’s resigned. She had joined the Indianapolis Public Library System in 2015, working as a librarian who would most notably serve as the manager the agency’s Center for Black Literature and Culture.
“Creating the Center for Black Literature & Culture (CBLC) was an opportunity of a lifetime. When the CBLC was in the building stage we wanted it to be both Windows and Mirrors, for people who were a part of the African Diaspora and those who were not,” Hayes wrote. “For both of those groups to learn and grow richer in their understanding of the world. The CBLC allowed me to utilize and combine my love for history & literature while working collaboratively with others.”
Hayes served as interim CEO from March to December 2022, taking over for prior interim CEO John Helling, who was initially tapped for the position following Nyte’s resignation.
“I was elated by the opportunity to give back to the system and community in a significant way, especially as the first Black person to take on the role,” Hayes said. “One of my favorite parts of this role was the opportunity to share and combine diverse perspectives of employees and patrons. As a person who began my career as a front line worker, I strived to bring that perspective to the role in order to benefit the employees as a whole.”
Hayes had sought to become the library system’s permanent leader. She had broad support from members of the community, city council members and the union representing library staff, but faced opposition from several members of the board in a months-long national search and conflict over who would lead the library system.
Despite the outpouring of community and staff support for Hayes, the board chose to name Gregory Hill, a longtime library staffer and U.S. Naval officer, who was named interim CEO after the board’s national search pick declined the post after a public outcry. The board refused to give the job to Hayes.
Hill became the permanent CEO In April.
Contact IndyStar investigative reporter Alexandria Burris at aburris@gannett.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @allyburris.
INDIANAPOLIS — One person is in critical condition following a shooting on Indy’s near east side.
According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, around 8:10 p.m., officers were called to the 2000 block of East Washington Street on reports of a person shot.
Upon arrival, police located a 50-year-old man with injuries consistent with a gunshot wound.
He is currently reported to be in extremely critical condition.
No additional information has been made available at the time of this article’s publication.
This is a developing story; check back for updates.
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission on June 17 gave AES the nod to raise electricity rates enough to earn an additional $71 million each year, a decision that drew reproof from Indiana lawmakers who called it another blow to cost-burdened consumers.
The approved rate represents less than half of the $192 million increase that AES initially requested. It’s also less than the $91 million increase proposed in an October settlement agreement between AES, the city of Indianapolis and major electricity consumers like Kroger and Walmart.
But the new rate is still significantly more than what the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, the state agency representing ratepayers in the case, recommended in September. The OUCC’s proposal would have capped AES’s annual operating revenue at $21 million less than the current level.
The rate increase authorizes AES to earn a total of nearly $2 billion each year, or an estimated $384 million in profit.
The higher base rate comes as a double whammy for Indianapolis-area households, who are already paying more for electricity this summer after AES temporarily raised rates to account for higher-than-anticipated fuel costs during last winter’s storms. The increase also arrives against the backdrop of inflation, which rose to a three-year high last month, and surging gas prices due to the war in Iran.
Gov. Mike Braun wrote in a Wednesday post to X that he was “deeply disappointed” by the IURC’s approval of the rate increase.
“Hoosiers have spent years tightening their belts and making tough financial decisions,” Braun wrote. “It’s time for utility companies to do the same.”
The IURC’s decision also drew fire from the other side of the aisle. In a June 17 news release, five Democrats representing Indianapolis in the state Senate – J.D. Ford, Andrea Hunley, La Keisha Jackson, Fady Qaddoura, and Greg Taylor – chastised Indiana’s Republican supermajority for failing to rein in rising utility costs.
“Hoosiers pay more. Monopoly utilities collect more. And the leaders in the super-majority who promise affordability over and over again show those are just empty words,” the news release said. “Instead, they continue to defend a system that takes more and more out of our paychecks.”
The consumer advocacy group Citizens Action Coalition also slammed the rate increase. Ben Inskeep, CAC’s program director, said the decision left him “less optimistic that this commission is willing to do things differently and to actually hold utilities accountable.”
He said the IURC should have penalized AES for issues that plagued customers after the utility updated its billing system in 2023, including duplicated withdrawals for the same monthly bill.
The rate increase will take effect in two phases, with rates going up in July 2026 and January 2027. AES officials anticipate the hikes “will be less than $5 per month per phase” for a household that uses 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month, according to a Wednesday news release from the utility.
“The IURC’s decision reflects a thorough, transparent process and balances the need for continued investment in the electric system with a focus on customer affordability,” the news release stated.
Under a state law that Braun signed in February, AES cannot ask for another increase to its base rate until January 2030 — though electricity bills could still go up for other reasons, like the fuel adjustment charge hitting consumers this month.
Three members of the five-member IURC signed off on the rate increase: Andy Zay, David Veleta, and David Ziegner. Commissioner Bob Deig dissented. Commissioner Anthony Swinger recused himself from the decision because he worked on the AES rate case for the OUCC before he was appointed to the IURC by Braun in January.
“None of this was taken lightly,” Zay, the IURC’s chair, said at the Wednesday hearing, adding that the commission and its staff had carefully weighed concerns about affordability. The commissioners did not go into further detail at the hearing.
But the commission’s order shows some of the debates that played out during the rate case. One point of contention was AES’s authorized return on equity — that is, how much the utility can earn each year in profits. Other disputes hinged on how AES forecasts its operating expenses.
The OUCC accused AES of including more than 100 “phantom hires,” vacant positions it did not necessarily intend to fill in its calculations. Last year, AES said that the rising costs of vegetation management, or trimming trees around power lines, also drove the need to raise rates. The OUCC recommended keeping vegetation management costs flat.
One factor that’s not driving higher prices? Data centers.
AES does not currently provide service to any data centers and did not include them in its calculations, AES president Brandi Davis-Handy said in testimony before the IURC.
Tilly Robinson is a Pulliam fellow for the Indianapolis Star. She can be reached at tilly.robinson@indystar.com.
Interactive radar | Weather alerts by county
WATCH LIVE COVERAGE
(WRTV) — A tornado watch has been issued through 1 a.m. EDT Thursday for much of Indiana, the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center said.
The watch area covers 47 of Indiana’s 92 counties, and includes Indianapolis and its surrounding counties.
Counties in the watch area are Bartholomew, Blackford, Boone, Brown, Carroll, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Daviess, Decatur, Delaware, Fountain, Grant, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Henry, Howard, Huntington, Jackson, Jay, Jennings, Johnson, Knox, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Martin, Miami, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Owen, Parke, Putnam, Randolph, Rush, Shelby, Sullivan, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Vermillion, Vigo, Wabash, Warren, and White.
WRTV Meteorologist Ryan Morse says Wednesday afternoon’s rain was the first of two rounds coming to the Hoosier state. A line of supercells were expected to form in Illinois and travel into central Indiana.
In neighboring Illinois, dozens of counties are under a tornado watch until 10 p.m. CDT/11 p.m. EST.
All threats of severe weather were on the table: damaging wind, strong tornadoes, large hail, and flooding.
Severe storms should exit Indiana in the early morning hours.
WISH-TV Meteorologist Keith Gibson says people should have multiple ways of getting alerts and have electronic devices fully charged in case they lose power.
The next chance for rain after these storms could be on Saturday.
-
Rhode Island4 minutes agoRhode Island Pride turns 50 this weekend: ‘Queer joy is resistance’ – The Boston Globe
-
South-Carolina7 minutes ago
87-year-old South Carolina businessman says he has no plans to retire
-
South Dakota11 minutes agoSouth Dakota sends poetry to the America250 time capsule
-
Tennessee19 minutes agoInside Tennessee 4×100 relay’s NCAA title, outlasting four botched exchanges
-
Texas21 minutes agoFlu sickens some 160 troops at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas
-
Utah27 minutes agoSan Juan County assessor resigns after allegations of being ‘unfit’ for office
-
Vermont34 minutes agoNorman Rockwell finally gets his day in new Shelburne Museum exhibit
-
Virginia37 minutes agoMotorcoach failed to slow for traffic in Virginia work zone before crash that killed 5 from Western Mass., NTSB says – The Boston Globe
