Local News

The show will not go on tonight at Ford Arena. Journey , Pat Benatar and Loverboy has been postponed until Jan or Feb of 2013. Singer Arnel Pineda ...Steve Perry's replacement has been diagnosed with a form of laryngitits. Your ticket will be good for the make-up show next year. you can get a refund at your point of purchase.

The Consolidation of Evansville and Vanderburgh County Governments is the first item on the ballot on Election Day. The divisive issue has been a hot topic of discussion for many years in the Evansville area.

Around 30 farmers, firefighters, and grain mill employees near Evansville are now trained on grain entrapment prevention and rescue.  Michigan-based Safety and Technical Rescue Association sent its chief operating officer to Azteca Milling to hold a training class on Thursday, right as Azteca completes a grain storage expansion at its facility.  Participants had the opportunity to model a simulated entrapment and rescue.  After the training, Graber Construction and GSI Group donated a piece of specialized grain rescue equipment to Azteca.

Evansville finally saw rain this week, but not as much as you might expect.  Despite the periods of heavy rain, the total precipitation only added up to about half an inch from Tuesday through yesterday morning.  The whole month of September has seen more than 7 and a half inches already.  Normally, September averages around 3 inches.  The extra rain this month has helped the area recover from the summer's extreme drought, and there is still hope for farmers as Purdue University climatologists say there is a chance for even more rain statewide over the next two weeks.</P

An Indiana state senator wants to reduce penalties for possession of a small amount of marijuana.  Republican Brent Steele intends to introduce a bill next session that would make possession of 10 grams or less an infraction, rather than a criminal misdemeanor.  Steele says he will include the provision in a bill to update the Indiana criminal code.  Currently, possessing 30 grams or less of marijuana is a class A misdemeanor on the first offense, while possessing 30 grams or more is the lowest level of felony, a class D charge.

Evansville's Annual Race for the Cure is taking place this morning.  Several roads downtown will be closed during the fundraiser and cleanup of the area.  Until 5 this evening, these roads will not be open to residents and regular traffic:

Riverside Drive from Court Street to Cherry Street

Main and Locust Streets from 2nd Street to Riverside Drive

Sycamore and Vine Streets from 1st Street to Riverside Drive

The Dress Plaza Esplanade

Indiana University's legal team is studying a proposed smart phone app that would let people anonymously share information about their sexual and other intimate behavior. The app, called Kinsey Reporter, would collect anonymous data about topics like sexual activity, public displays of affection, flirting, unwanted experiences, and birth control use. It would then compile the information and share the results.

The trial date starts Tuesday for a former Warrick County Park Department Bookkeeper. Kristi Gates of Boonville is accused of misappropriating thousands of dollars and faces 7 felony charges of theft and fraud. A State Board of Accounts audit found Gates allegedly took more than 20-thousand dollars using the County's Sam's Club credit card to buy items for herself. Gates is also accused of failing to file the park department's tax returns resulting in penalties and interest.    

Sunday night Indiana State Police and Warrick County Sheriff’s Office conducted a sobriety checkpoint on SR 261 at Vann Road near Castle High School. Between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., officers checked 80 drivers that passed through the checkpoint and didn’t find any impaired drivers. Three drivers were administered field sobriety tests and passed. Troopers also issued two traffic tickets and three warnings.

 

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has vetoed a bill that would have expanded gambling across the state. Earlier this year, lawmakers passed a bill that would create five new casinos; a land-based site in Chicago, and four more on riverboats. The bill would also allow slot machines at horse racing tracks for the first time.

In his decision Tuesday, Quinn said, "It is critically important that any expansion of gaming in Illinois be undertaken thoughtfully and carefully.