Arrest warrant issued for former candidate
An arrest warrant has been issued for Indiana’s 2008 Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, who is charged with misrepresenting himself as a state legislator to avoid arrest for public intoxication. A spokesman for the Marion County prosecutor’s office said former state Rep. Dennie Oxley II was to have surrendered by 1 p.m. Wednesday but had not turned himself in by mid-evening. Earlier Wednesday, prosecutors filed misdemeanor charges of public intoxication and impersonating a public servant against Oxley, who was found drunk with a 21-year-old legislative intern at a downtown gas station last week.
Governor: No more laws to help Indy sports board
State lawmakers from Indianapolis say a plan to help the city’s struggling sports agency is a temporary fix, but Gov. Mitch Daniels says he doesn’t want any future legislation to deal with the Capital Improvement Board. The Republican governor said Wednesday that city officials changed their minds more than once about what they wanted to help overcome a projected $47 million deficit for next year.
Gov: Session was worth it
Indiana taxpayers came out ahead in the special legislative session because it resulted in a two-year budget that increases overall funding for public schools while preserving much of the state’s reserves, Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels said Wednesday. Daniels said the $27.8 billion budget passed by the General Assembly on Tuesday spends a little more than he would have liked. But he said enough lawmakers made tough choices and compromised on a responsible bill that he quickly signed into law. “It was a good process of give-and-take,” he said. “There are things in there for everybody to feel pleased about and everybody to disagree with.”
Use caution when setting off fireworks
With the fireworks season in full swing and many temporary stores popping up, state officials want to remind Indiana citizens of the state laws governing fireworks. In addition, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) Fire & Building Safety division has issued some tips for Hoosiers hoping to play it safe when using fireworks this summer.
Daniels is poised to resume fight for local government reform
A day after Indiana’s lawmakers passed a new two-year state budget, Gov. Mitch Daniels was already looking ahead to his next legislative goal: reforming local government, including a push to merge the state’s smallest school districts. Daniels had sought a slew of reforms — including eliminating township government and creating a single county chief executive to replace commissioners — earlier this year.
