Posts Tagged “Tom Henry”

By Jim Sack

The Irish have been reduced to beggars. One report notes that their debt is so great that it will cost each person $2,500 a year for the next 1,900 to pay off the debt. That is without interest. The government is shedding layers of employees, the private sector is shuttering shops and factories, foreclosures abound, taxes are going up steeply and the banks, the banks, are curtailing lending. Soon, the Irish will shed their current government only to find the next set of ministers can find no way out, either. They have huge debt and no reserves.

So, Ireland that fought so long and hard to gain her independence from London, is now beholding to…London, Berlin and Washington, to the big English banks, the German government and the International Monetary Fund.

What goes lightly reported is that the big guys, the senior bond holders, the first in line to be paid from liquidation of assets, will get almost everything out. The little guys, the shareholders, will get nothing.

The German government and taxpayers do not like this. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

One hour to deal with millions and millions and millions.

Friendliness.

Respect.

Thoughtfulness.

No rancor, no animosity, no moments when one council member snapped a reprimand at another council member. Only one mildly tacky moment.

I&M representatives in the front row and city representatives behind them

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By Jim Sack

A TV hit of the 50s and 60s was a series of stories about the results of sudden wealth. Each week Michael Anthony, the butler to the millionaire, John Beresford Tipton, would present a cashier’s check for one million dollars to someone chosen for the benefits or corrosive effect of sudden riches by Tipton.

Enter Tom Henry. Give him great credit for this coup, that being negotiating a much better settlement from I&M Power than they had first offered and that most anyone on council imagined he might achieve. Give also credit to Tim Haffner, the occasionally maligned corporate counsel, who led the team that got blood from that turnip. He has more than earned his keep. His dad would be proud. Oh, and thanks, too, to former Mayor Ivan Lebamoff who set the stage for this win many years ago.

So, now, let the trouble begin. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

Fire Hydrants? $2,9 million? Well, that’s what Mitch Harper wanted to cut last night from the city budget and it passed, to almost everybody’s surprise, even for Mitch a bit.

More than four hours after a rejuvenated Marty Bender gaveled down the meeting and turned the budget hearings and process over to Finance Chairman Tom Smith the process of cutting the mayor’s budget was still ambling along. Council members, the media, guests, citizens, employees were all a bit slap happy when it came to the matter of Fire Hydrants. It was one of 24 proposed budget cuts voted on in last night’s Marathon session. Read the rest of this entry »

Fort Wayne Observed today reported Mayor Henry Touts Sending Kids to “Multicultural Human Rights Camp.”

The release states the students will be taught about “inter-cultural awareness and human rights in the 21st century.”

We can only hope that whatever is taught will teach some 18th century ideas of individual rights intrinsic to every person.

The release doesn’t indicate whether the children selected will be issued uniforms by the government. Read the rest of this entry »

Sources tell us republican Fort Wayne City Councilwoman Liz Brown will announce her intentions to run for Mayor of Fort Wayne within the next 2 weeks.

Allen County Council woman Paula Hughes will make her run for mayor official next Tuesday, September 28.

By Jim Sack

It was a bittersweet moment today for Graham Richard, our former mayor.

Graham stood at the very back of the crowd of 200 or so people, mostly heavy hitters, politicians and affiliates of one downtown organization or another, to watch current Mayor Tom Henry, Redevelopment Director Greg Leatherman and a few others give and take credit for the new hotel adjacent to the ballpark. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

September first is the grand opening day of the new hotel adjacent to Parkview Field in downtown Fort Wayne. It should be seen as a feather in the cap of Mayor Tom Henry, and should also call into question the administration’s support for Barry Realty.

When Mayor Graham Richard envisioned the massive central city development there were four components: the ball park, the hotel, the condo/retail building and a parking garage. Three are now operating. Only the Barry Realty promise to build the condo building -four stories, scores of condos, ground-floor entertainment and offices- remains unfulfilled. Read the rest of this entry »

All has been quiet on the Barry Real Estate, Harrison Square fubar situation.

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By Jim Sack

It was nearly a love-fest at the co-location summit yesterday. First, Sheriff Ken Fries and Police Chief Rusty York all but held hands as they sang the praises of the other and endorsed the idea of co-location. Then the architects gave their upbeat overview of numbers concerning the final two options, Scheme A or Scheme B, surprisingly with not many dollars separating one from the other. Then the elected officials from Roy Buskirk to Paula Hughes voiced their approvals. In the end, co-location a la Scheme A, was agreed to: public safety in One Main and development and administration in 200 Berry. Unanimous! Only Paul Moss, who had served as devil’s advocate and more during the months of haggling, sounded like he wanted to vote “no.” Three county commissioners, one mayor, three members of city council and three members of county council all clasped hands and sang, as one cynic noted, Kumbaya. Paul had no option.

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Last year we reported this.

Henry hired Palermo Galindo as Fort Wayne’s Hispanic-immigrant liaison back in June. Palermo Galindo operates Centro De Dinero, one of those high-priced check cashing services whose target audience is the Hispanic market, and undoubtedly Fort Wayne’s illegal alien population.

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