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Panel discusses fallout from UniGov 53 years after it changed Indianapolis – Indianapolis Recorder

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Panel discusses fallout from UniGov 53 years after it changed Indianapolis – Indianapolis Recorder


There isn’t a going again in time to undo UniGov, both scrapping it altogether or tweaking bits and items, however the laws that reshaped Indianapolis in a single day has frequently molded the town. A number of the questions and controversies are apparently right here to remain.

Fifty-three years after the Indiana Normal Meeting voted to consolidate metropolis and county authorities, a couple of of the important thing architects and detractors who’re nonetheless alive mentioned the legacy of UniGov throughout an occasion Might 15 at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church.

The panel supplied perception into how the laws was crafted and answered age-old questions on race, schooling and fairness.

Lawyer and civil rights activist Fay Williams lamented the truth that UniGov didn’t get a referendum. It was one of many in style detractions within the late Nineteen Sixties as effectively. Williams referenced the Declaration of Independence and the precept of “consent of the ruled,” saying folks have been shut out of the method.

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“It didn’t foster democracy on this group,” she mentioned.

Few folks declare UniGov was solely good or dangerous. One level of settlement appears to be that the consolidation helped revive Indianapolis, a metropolis folks mentioned they drove by way of to get some other place.

The laws doubled the town’s inhabitants, gave the mayor extra authority with a bigger jurisdiction, created single-member council districts and consolidated most authorities providers that had beforehand been disjointed.

Critics have additionally identified UniGov introduced into the fold principally white suburbanites and lessened the possibilities that Indianapolis would elect a Black mayor — as had simply occurred in Gary in 1968.

Whether or not UniGov would have survived a referendum is unclear, although former Republican Rep. Ned Lamkin, who helped craft the laws, mentioned it wouldn’t have handed. Lamkin in contrast it to the U.S. Structure, which he mentioned additionally wouldn’t have handed a referendum had everybody been allowed to vote on it.

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An particularly contentious characteristic of UniGov — then and now — is that it didn’t consolidate faculty districts. The panel spent more often than not speaking about why faculties weren’t included and what it’s meant for schooling right this moment, particularly in Indianapolis Public Faculties.

Billie Breaux, a former state senator who was additionally a instructor on the time UniGov handed, mentioned points equivalent to funding and scholar efficiency could be immediately linked to the city-county consolidation. UniGov was no less than partly a response to folks leaving the town on the peak of “white flight,” however the state’s largest faculty district didn’t get to reap the advantages of the expanded tax base UniGov created.

Metropolis-County Council President Vop Osili mentioned his mom, an educator, and others needed to swallow the “bitter capsule” of consolidation that didn’t embody the colleges.

John Mutz, one other former Republican consultant who labored on UniGov, mentioned the preliminary group of people that met to determine how you can unify metropolis and county authorities needed to incorporate faculties. That included then-Mayor Richard Lugar.

“The very fact of the matter is,” Mutz mentioned, “we couldn’t move it that manner, and we knew it.”

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Schooling appears to have been a sufferer of compromise because the feeling again then was legislators wouldn’t have supported the invoice if it consolidated faculties.

“There was no manner we might deal with faculties,” Lamkin mentioned.

For most of the folks on the panel and within the pews, their accounts signify a shrinking variety of firsthand reviews on how consolidation got here to be and what the impression was. They left the church having accomplished one other in an extended checklist of UniGov chapters.

Contact employees author Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853 or e mail at tylerf@indyrecorder.com. Comply with him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick.





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Indianapolis, IN

Josh Downs expects big jump in second year with the Colts

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Josh Downs expects big jump in second year with the Colts


WESTFIELD, Ind. (WISH) — Josh Downs dazzled in the wide receiver footwork drills, making cuts that were on another level compared to the rest of the group.

He rifled his feet through the ladder.

And on Saturday’s practice, him and Anthony Richardson connected for a nice pass and catch down the sideline between two defenders.

Downs has been impressive at training camp and got off to a good start in his first year, hauling in 68 receptions on 771 yards and two touchdowns, but he expects more this year.

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“Year one to year two, it’s always been a big jump for me,” Downs said. “High school, college, it was both the same.”

He’s not exaggerating. In his freshman year at North Carolina, he had seven catches for 119 yards. That skyrocketed to 101 receptions for 1,335 yards in his sophomore year. His touchdown count also jumped from three to eight.

Offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter agrees with Downs’ confidence. He’s been impressed with Downs so far at training camp, and thinks he’s learned a lot from his first year in the league.

“Josh (Downs) is going to make the most of that from a route running perspective from a defensive coverage identification perspective,” Cooter said. “Josh (Downs) is primed and ready to have a big camp out here and do some really good things.”

Downs is processing the game better this year. He said he’s not thinking about the route he’s running as he gets set up at the line of scrimmage. Instead, he’s analyzing the defense and determining what coverage they’re in.

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Someone that has helped him with this is cornerback Kenny Moore II. Downs considers Moore II to be at the top of his position in the NFL. He said Moore II is really smart and likes to mix it up with Downs when they’re matched up together, disguising whether he’s in man coverage or zone coverage.

Downs says he has the best slot receiver job in the league because he gets to go up against Moore II every day.

Downs has also been building his chemistry with Richardson. It’s now getting to the point where they’re running plays that aren’t in the playbook.

“We’re seeing different plays, it might not be in the playbook,” Downs said. “He’ll (Richardson) be like, ‘hey, JD, do you see this? Do that.’ I’m like, ‘I was thinking the same thing.’”

“I know Anthony (Richardson) trusts me. I trust him. We’re clicking before practice, after practice, even off the field. That’s my dog,” Downs said.

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The Colts return to practice on Sunday at Grand Park from 4 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.



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Indianapolis, IN

PHOTOS | Indy sneakerheads line up for the new Air Jordan 4

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PHOTOS | Indy sneakerheads line up for the new Air Jordan 4


The Wet Cement edition of the the Air Jordan 4 dropped Saturday morning and about a dozen people waited for the shoes outside the Corporate store in downtown Indianapolis. The first person in line told News 8 that they got in line at 7:30 a.m. for a 10 a.m. release. The “Wet Cement” Air Jordans retail for $225. (WISH Photo/Colin Baillie)

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Indianapolis, IN

IMPD: No suspect in custody in officer's shooting, but there is no 'ongoing threat'

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IMPD: No suspect in custody in officer's shooting, but there is no 'ongoing threat'


This article will update.

A police officer was injured in a shooting on the city’s far east side Friday and police were searching late into the night for whoever pulled the trigger.

Police said the event started unfolding shortly after 8:30 p.m. in the 3600 block of North Wittfield Street, near East 36th Street and North Post Road in the city’s Northeastwood neighborhood. The shooting happened after officers responded to the area on a “shots fired” call.

Shortly after the shooting police said the immediate area was not safe and residents were asked to stay inside their homes and avoid the neighborhood. About 11:15 p.m. police said a sweep of the area — including with K-9s — did not surface a suspect, but they did not believe there was an ongoing threat any longer.

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Anyone with information or video footage is asked to call 911.

“There’s a lot that we don’t know about this incident. And we’re hopeful that we will learn more later on,” Capt. Shane Foley said during a media briefing at the scene.

The 8-year veteran officer was taken to Eskenazi Hospital in stable condition.

Shortly before 1 a.m., during a briefing at the hospital, Asst. Chief Michael Wooley said a house also was hit by gunfire but no residents were struck. Wooley said no officers fired their weapons and body cameras were activated throughout the situation.

The injured officer suffered gunshot wounds to his abdomen and right arm and was stable after undergoing surgery, Chief Chris Bailey said.

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“He is expected to make a full recovery, although (he) is going to be in the hospital for some days,” Bailey added.

Police have not released a description of the suspect in the shooting, who remained at large early Saturday.

“Right now, officers are all over the city, looking for the individual or individuals responsible for what happened,” Bailey said.

Officers will remain in the neighborhood collecting evidence likely past sunrise, he added.

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department vehicle lines the roadway after an officer was shot in the 3600 block of Wittfield Street on the city's far east side. The officer was listed in stable condition shortly after the shooting July 26, 2024.

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department vehicle lines the roadway after an officer was shot in the 3600 block of Wittfield Street on the city’s far east side. The officer was listed in stable condition shortly after the shooting July 26, 2024.

Second Indianapolis police officer shot this year

This is the second time this year an Indianapolis police officer has been shot. In March an off-duty officer working security at an east side bar on East Washington Street was hit in an exchange of gunfire with at least one suspect. A man who was injured in that shooting died at a local hospital.

The bar where that shooting happened, 11:11 Bar & Grille, located at 9439 E. Washington St., was closed by unanimous vote of the Indiana Alcohol & Tobacco Commission.

11:11 Bar & Grille shooting: State shuts down club where 6 people were shot, including off-duty IMPD officer

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Bar shooting: Shooting at east side bar injures multiple people including IMPD officer

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis police officer shot. Suspect at large late Friday





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