Indiana

Top 10 of 2009

By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz

As tradition dictates, it’s time for my Top 10 local news stories for 2009.

10.  Proposed tougher smoking ban rises from the ashes only to be extinguished by common sense.

9.    Tea parties start to form in Indiana, but most local meetings never get past talking about the Federal Reserve.  Will Mike Sodrel be their savior?

8.    Wishard referendum passes overwhelmingly.  First wing to be dedicated to conspiracy theorists whose heads exploded after it passed.

7.  School referendums across the state get mixed results, proving that if you value your community, your community will value you.

6.  ISTA comes under investigation by the feds, gets taken out as major player in Indiana politics for now, and just when state Democrats needed them the most.

5.  Indiana lawmakers stay late because of the budget.  They come back early to move forward on property tax caps.   Never let it be said that political ideology can’t play second fiddle to political reality.

4.   Local financier Tim Durham comes under investigation by the feds; living proof that sometimes in your quest for attention you get exactly what you want, just not how you wanted it.

3.    Hamilton Avenue murderers James Stewart and Desmond Turner, and attempted cop killer Brian Reese all found guilty as sin.  Justice does work, it just takes a while sometimes.

2.  Economy kicks Indiana in the rear end.  Luckily, Indiana is a place that will allow it to kick back.

1.  Abdul gets married.  Luckiest woman in the world is officially taken off the market.

Tomorrow, the big stories of the 2000s.

Full post as published by Indiana Barrister on December 29, 2009 (boomark / email).