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April 16 2024

PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS: Benjamin Harrison site offers behind-the-scenes look at races for the White House

By Marilyn Odendahl The Indiana Citizen April 16, 2024   To start the fourth year of its “Off the Record” discussions, the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site will take a look at the inner workings of presidential campaigns.   “Off the Record: Blazing the Campaign “...”

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April 08 2024

‘SHE LOVED SERVING PEOPLE’: The late Sen. Jean Breaux celebrated at Indiana Statehouse memorial service

Family, friends and legislators gathered at the Indiana Statehouse rotunda on Friday to remember to life and legacy of the late Sen. Jean Breaux. (Photo/Marilyn Odendahl) By Marilyn Odendahl The Indiana Citizen April 8, 2024 Rep. Cherrish Pryor, D-Indianapolis, recalled a trip to “...”

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March 28 2024

REDACTION DISPUTE: Indiana public access counselor advises AG Rokita to use ‘lighter touch’ on legal invoices

By Marilyn Odendahl The Indiana Citizen March 28, 2024 Despite finding an “unusually high” amount of redactions on invoices from Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita’s office do not violate the state’s open records law, the Indiana public access counselor noted the sectio “...”

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March 21 2024

‘SHERO IN OUR MIDST’: Indiana Sen. Jean Breaux, who championed women’s and children’s causes, dies

Indiana Sen. Jean Breaux, D-Indianapolis, is pictured in December 2023 filing her 2024 legislation to make Juneteenth a state holiday. (Photo/Breaux’s X, formerly Twitter, account)    By Marilyn Odendahl The Indiana Citizen March 21, 2024   Indiana Sen. Jean Brea “...”

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March 15 2024

HOUSING GAP: New report shows affordable housing crisis getting worse in Indiana

By Marilyn Odendahl

Working as a waitress, Tirish Jacobs of Indianapolis was able to stretch her paycheck enough to rent a three-bedroom duplex, where she and her two children lived.   But when the ceiling in her daughter’s bedroom collapsed in 2009, life began to spiral downward. Her childre “...”

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March 04 2024

LIMITED ROLE: Amendments restricting public access counselor passed as bill advances in Indiana Senate

By Marilyn Odendahl The Indiana Citizen March 4, 2024 A bill allowing local government officials to remove disruptive individuals from public meetings has been expanded to include new limits on the Indiana public access counselor’s ability to offer guidance about the state’s “...”

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March 01 2024

VOTING CONCERNS: GOP’s HB 1264 passes Indiana Senate, but 4 Republicans join Democrats in opposing the measure

(Photo/Pexels.com) By Marilyn Odendahl The Indiana Citizen March 1, 2024 Although the Indiana Senate’s passage on Thursday of the contentious election legislation, House Bill 1264, may not have been in doubt, Democratic senators continued questioning the purpose and potential a “...”

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February 23 2024

GOP CHALLENGER: Madison County Prosecutor Rodney Cummings explores run for AG amid Todd Rokita’s troubles

By Marilyn Odendahl The Indiana Citizen February 23, 2024 Saying he is tired of the controversies and uncertainty surrounding Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, Madison County Prosecutor Rodney Cummings is considering launching a primary challenge against the state’s top law “...”

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February 21 2024

TENANT SETBACKS: Failures in legislation at Statehouse lead to calls for a housing commission

(Photo/Pexels.com) By Marilyn Odendahl The Indiana Citizen February 21, 2024 At least 10 bills, aimed at tackling various aspects of Indiana’s housing crisis, including negligent landlords, foreclosures induced by medical debt and biased appraisals, were introduced at the start “...”

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February 19 2024

HYDE COMMENTARY: What’s civics got to do with Future Presidents?

“Citizenship has its duties as well as its privileges” –President Benjamin Harrison   History and civics have everything to do with Presidents Day, and—more broadly—should be central to the way in which we prepare and educate students to be good fellow communit “...”