NCAA President urges state lawmakers to ban betting on individual athletes
The American Gaming Association estimates $2.7 billion will be bet this year on the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments through legal sportsbooks.
Social issues
-
Milktooth chef Brooks apologizes for controversial online post referring to anti-semitic myth
High-profile local chef Jonathan Brooks, who is Jewish, said the Instagram post that prompted a social media backlash was meant as a joke. But local leaders of the Jewish community say referring to the anti-semitic trope of blood libel is potentially dangerous and never proper.
Read More -
Lilly, Anthem, other major businesses announce pledge to advance racial equity
The pledge “to hold their organizations accountable for driving measurable progress in advancing racial equity” was signed by numerous major employers and organizations in central Indiana.
Read More -
Protests in Indy likely this weekend, but IMPD optimistic businesses aren’t at risk
Local officials say a few small protests related to the Breonna Taylor grand jury decision are planned this weekend in Indianapolis, but there’s little expectation the demonstrations will give way to destructive rioting like they did in May.
Read More -
Black leaders say it’s time to formulate black agenda
A broad coalition of faith-based groups, black elected officials and civic leaders are turning to this year’s mayoral race as an avenue for bold discussions about racial problems.
Read More
Articles
Study: Indiana’s growing refugee population needs language services, housing, job access
Researchers at IU’s Center for Research on Inclusion and Social Policy used interviews with local refugees and employees at refugee-serving agencies in Indiana to inform the report, which intends to identify service gaps and provide policy recommendations.
Indiana House committee replaces Senate social services bill language
An Indiana Senate social services bill, designed to accommodate an increased demand in family services following a proposed abortion ban, duplicates the House version after Tuesday’s committee meeting.
Annual count of people experiencing homelessness in Indy finds 9% drop
The city of Indianapolis, Indiana University Center for Research on Inclusion and Social Policy, and the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention, or CHIP, partner annually to measure the data.
Legislature poised to enact transgender athlete ban
As Indiana Republican lawmakers prepare Tuesday to override Gov. Eric Holcomb’s veto and enact a new law that would bar transgender girls from participating in girls’ K-12 sports, activist groups on both sides of the issue are ramping up their lobbying efforts.
New IRT play spotlights race, identity and Jefferson’s contradictory legacy
In the provocative plot, Thomas Jefferson’s son, who grew up enslaved on the president’s Virginia plantation, returns to Monticello after the Civil War to collect artifacts from his youth.
Poverty fell overall in 2020 on massive stimulus checks, unemployment aid
After accounting for all the federal relief payments, the so-called supplemental poverty measure declined to 9.1% in 2020—the lowest on record and a significant decline from 11.8% in 2019.
2021 Innovation Issue: Brian Payne, Pamela Ross call for commitment to end systemic racism
The most important example of CICF’s innovative approach to community philanthropy is its journey toward equitable opportunity for all and dismantling systemic racism.
2021 Innovation Issue: ‘This is the most traction I’ve ever seen’
Tamara Cypress—of Black Onyx Management, Indy Black Businesses Matter and Indy Accomplice—discussed with IBJ the progress that’s been made on equity and inclusion problems and the challenges that still exist.
LISC Indianapolis, Anthem Foundation launch $2.45M food-access effort
The Anthem Foundation and LISC Indianapolis on Tuesday announced a major initiative to provide more equitable food access, starting with one Indianapolis neighborhood.
Community development exec Tedd Grain moves to new job with Eskenazi
At Eskenazi Health, Tedd Grain, who had been at LISC since 2009, will be tackling food access issues, economic mobility and other social factors that affect local residents’ health status.
Grand jury decision in Breonna Taylor case ignites new protests, violent clashes
In Louisville, two police officers were shot and wounded after the decision. Demonstrators marched through the streets of New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Philadelphia. A small demonstration in downtown Indianapolis remained peaceful.
Louisville, nearby states and cities, preparing for Breonna Taylor decision
Officials in Louisville and communities throughout Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois are preparing for more protests and possible unrest as the public nervously awaits a decision on whether police officers in Breonna Taylor’s shooting death will be charged.
Report links high rent burdens, homelessness in Indianapolis
Marion County has a much higher percentage of households than the rest of the state that rent their homes instead of owning them, according to a report issued this week by the Indiana University Public Policy Institute.
Indy mayoral candidates want state law to better protect tenants
Democratic incumbent Joe Hogsett and Republican state Sen. Jim Merritt participated in a discussion about homelessness at the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention annual fundraiser and awards presentation on Wednesday evening and were asked about what they would each do to improve the homelessness situation in Indianapolis.
The root of Indiana’s myriad problems
Longtime economist Morton Marcus says the objective truth is that Indiana is in decline. He also insists the solution is a change in the culture, not just job creation.
A historian muses on the American character and the debt crisis
Indiana University’s James Madison is “marginally optimistic” Americans have the fortitude to tackle what could grow to become an emergency ranking with the Civil War, the Great Depression and World War II.
Indiana is a bigger Amish state than you think
How much longer until even Pennsylvania is eclipsed?
Would Indy cops be better without Unigov?
The local NAACP president tells an out-of-town newspaper that service has deteriorated under merged police and sheriff's
departments.
Tip-offs for when CEOs lie
A new study offers insights into when CEOs are fibbing. But those who benefit most from the revelations might be their handlers.