Who Gets What?

During a flurry of idle chatter, John and Morton exchange thoughts about Bingo, The Lottery (very bad for kids), amending the Indiana constitution (very bad, too much clutter), making ATMs into gambling machines, negotiating improvement in a private road, and wasteful spending by a neighborhood.  If that were not enough, the two old men then conclude that in Indiana, change is impossible.

Irena Goloschokin left Russia in 1989 with $90.  Now she is a successful, honored, Indianapolis businesswoman who supports her adopted community through public radio and The New World Youth Orchestra, among others.  Meanwhile, she helps to manage Copper Mountain Technologies and its award-winning product, the vector network analyzer (which tests radio frequency devices.)

Morton and John talk gerrymandering with former Indiana Supreme Court Justice Theodore Boehm.  Topics considered are term limits, early decisions about apportionment, inherited seats, how "fairness" may be measured, and how gerrymandered districts favor election of persons with radical (not centrist) points of view. During "Sound Off," John talks about the profound effects of The Heartland International Film Festival.

Mollianne Cameron, with her husband Russell, and their children Cavan and Clara, wrote, produced, edited, directed and distributed "Lakota Girls," an historical drama about Indian life, racial prejudice, and lasting friendship. The film will appear on major, national platforms. Subjects considered in this interview are family, learning to make a feature film, film festival submission criteria, the origin of story, The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, and prospects for earning a return on investment.    

Long-time, retired, Marian University professor William Doherty talks about teaching, the significance of teaching humanities, whether any person who uses Facebook is a "fool," and whether The Kavanaugh nomination will be "historic." Answer:  depends on how long he serves, and future events. At the end, John reflects on the importance--the temporary importance--that people assign to an investment fad, to a current event, and to the risks of both investing and life.  

Kurt Vonnegut Library historian, William Briscoe, gives a concise biography of the novelist while describing the library in down town Indianapolis.   In "Sound Off" at the conclusion, Morton suggests that utilizing federal funds for local infrastructure projects does not reflect true local priorities and efficiencies.  

Adam Todd, Manager of The Nora Branch of The Indianapolis Public Library, talks about services, inter library loan, PLAC cards which allow persons to use libraries all over Indiana, and management challenges. In "Sound Off" at the end, John talks about the big lies.  

John and Morton interview Stan Soderstrom, Executive Director of Kiwanis International (and chair of The Heartland International Film Festival) about the history of service clubs and prescriptions for success. At the end, John tells about his experience taking a world class violinist to school groups.

David Bride, President of the Central Indiana Chapter of the AFL-CIO (with 25,000 members) talks about right-to-work, Labor Fest (an annual labor day celebration on Georgia Street), and his six-year-old daughter who convinced Mayor Hogsett to visit her school.   In "Shout Out" at the end, Morton advocates cross training between emergency and police personnel.  

This unstructured, unscripted conversation leads to a lesson in fundamental economics, hedge funds, debt (local,national,corporate) the stock market, Paul Samuelson and a share of meaningless frivolity.

Indianapolis Business Journal editor Greg Andrews talks to Morton and John about his reporting and editing career, the challenges of providing news both in print and on line, and the use and misuse of press releases.   During "Sound Off" Morton describes new GDP statistics organized, for the first time, by county.

Physical trainer Sam Woodworth discusses his profession and the related science.  As author of "Foam Rolling," Sam describes the discipline, which often precedes a work out   He also states that a more important element of life is the quality of posture, day in and day out.     At the end, in a new section called "Sound Off," John comments on a recent comparison between the "Mueller" Justice Department investigation and the hearings of Senator Joe McCarthy.  

Long-time Indiana labor leader Chuck Deppert comments on the decline of labor unions, the status of modern union leadership, a possibility of new organizations emerging, and accomplishments of his life in the labor movement.  

With twenty years experience, retired pollster Jeff Lewis comments on emerging trends both in the techniques of opinion sampling and in political changes, such as the decline in the number of persons self-identifying as Republican, the increase in Independent, and the stable trend for Democrat. Jeff also considers commercial polling which, he feels, is used most of the time by sales executives to document their preexisting assumptions.

Brian Newman, production manager at The Indiana Repertory Theatre, explains the economics of mounting plays.  With an annual budget of $1.5 million, Brian must allocate assets for everything on stage ("except that which breathes.")

Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp, freelance writer, speaker, editor and photographer, speaks about invasive plants.   Among her many efforts, Jo Ellen is vice president of The Association of Garden Communicators, and she maintains an active business of caring for potted plants.   Locally, she appears in The Indianapolis Star on Sundays.

Lee Lewellen. President and CEO of The Indiana Economic Development Association, talks about development issues, such as scarcity of qualified workers, and scarcity of housing for new workers. He also describes the nature of his association, a group of development officers from all over Indiana.  

John and Morton again converse with Bob Kennedy, who, among his many professional activities, served as director of The Department of Metropolitan Development and as a member of the Metropolitan Development Commission. Bob describes the work of the department and the commission, especially after the creation of Unigov in Indianapolis.

Community activist Stacey Clark has led her neighborhood, Driftwood Hills, in opposition to a development which will destroy trees and exacerbate density and traffic problems. Along they way, a new neighborhood association has been created which wishes to represent itself independently from The Nora Community Council.      

Urban transportation expert Bob Kennedy, previously interviewed (June 15, 2018, "The Last Mile, Uber to Red"),  proposes elimination of the interstate through our central city. "Interstate traffic," he says, "can go around."  Beautiful boulevards can change the downtown.  Air and other pollutants (such as rubber), can and should be reduced.  Tolling is a viable option.  Interstate traffic could run below ground level.  These all are stimulating ideas in this conversation.