Mirror Indy on the Move

 

Great chance to visit the busy Mirror Indy newsroom in the 16 Tech innovation district, with Chris Sikich, Jennifer Delgadillo, Amanda Kingsbury, Jenna Watson, and Enrique Saenz working on this terrific local news startup. 

Take a minute, if you're inclined, to check them out and sign up for the Mirror Indy newsletter: https://mirrorindy.org/ 

One more reason to subscribe to the Mirror Indy newsletter - these beautiful daily snapshots from doting dad Chris:

"As I was driving Lucy to preschool Thursday, she asked me a question, and I answered and called her 'Sugar Pie Honey Bunch.'

"There was a long pause and then: 'I’m not Sugar Pie Honey Bunch. I’m Lucy.'

"And then another pause: 'And you’re Daddy. You’re not Chris. You’re just Daddy.'”

https://mirrorindy.org/

My Retirement Video

 My Lumina Foundation colleagues offered quite a remarkable sendoff on Dec. 13, 2024, my final day in the office before retirement. That included this video and a standing ovation at our staff meeting. Mike Jensen did a remarkable job shooting the interviews and editing this. It's over the top, but that's what you can expect when a national-class communications team puts something together : )

Loving Local News

Photo: John Strauss

I worked on the national desk for AP in New York City and helped direct statewide news gathering in Indiana and Tennessee, but some of the most fun I ever had was covering local news as a City Hall reporter for The Indianapolis Star.

On vacation this week, here are some story ideas I would have in Indy:

Winter Streets - The challenges for Indy's unhoused population go up exponentially during the bitter cold of deep winter. Are we any better prepared this year after all the discussions about how to help people? Along with the data from city agencies and advocates for the unhoused, the story would benefit from reporting inside shelters and out on the street with people trying to help.

Compassionate Response - After several high-profile incidents in which emotionally distraught people died during contact with officers, the city sought a way to assist those people in a way that avoids escalated, violent confrontations. The Mobile Crisis Assistance Team (MCAT) is a collaboration between IMPD, Emergency Medical Services and Midtown Community Mental Health to help people in crisis. Spending time with an MCAT team could add vivid color and understanding about how this is all working out.

IndyGo's Future - Public transit agencies across the country suffered major ridership losses during the pandemic. It's worth examining the health of IndyGo, which received a major tax-funding boost in 2016 and has spent more than half a billion dollars on the Red, Blue and Purple Line bus-rapid transit projects. Key to a transit system's health are the "choice riders"--those who could use their cars or other alternatives but choose the bus. What do they think about the service, and what do rider surveys show? This project could use ridership reports and other public records from IndyGo, with reporting from onboard buses and with public transit advocates.

Substitute Teachers - Indiana, like most of the country, is experiencing a major shortage of teachers. That creates a big demand for substitute teachers, but the concern among some in education is that reliance on substitutes puts students at a disadvantage, and a shortage of qualified substitutes impacts some districts and schools especially hard. I have an Indiana teaching license and have spent time as a substitute to learn about this situation. We can work with some of the districts to give us classroom access for a story.

Red-Light Cameras - Indy's police chief recently suggested deploying cameras to catch speeders and stoplight violators. There's a story to be told about how this has worked elsewhere--and why it's being suggested here. Indy has a big problem with pedestrian safety, and if we looked at the data, we would find the top hotspots where the police think these cameras could make a difference--and what the people in those areas want.

Police Story - Indianapolis is critically short of police officers, despite an intensive recruitment campaign that even includes messages on every police car--and an increase in the starting salary to $72,000. The department acknowledges that it suffers from an image problem, but another factor remains the nature of the job itself: increasingly under scrutiny, under appreciated and of course, understaffed. People curious about what the job is like can sign up online to ride along with an officer, which I did recently. This can yield excellent interview material, natural sound--and insights about what attracts people to this work, but also why the job is so hard to fill.

This isn't a criticism of our local newsrooms, which are doing the best they can in an economically challenging environment. Just some thoughts about enterprise stories in my hometown.

Jury service reminder: 'You have the rule of law'

The Indianapolis / Marion County Criminal Justice Center, 7:30 a.m.

 

 

I came across some notes I took after serving on a jury in Indianapolis a couple of years ago.

The details of the case don't really matter: A "sovereign citizen" picked up doing nearly 90 mph, drunk, through the downtown I-70 north split had an encounter with a state trooper.

The real takeaway for me was how a group of people can get together, hash out the evidence and come to an agreement amicably. In a nation so divided in so many ways, it was a refreshing reminder of how we can get along when we try to work together.

Looking out at the city from the Jutice Center, awaiting for the wheels of justice to turn

This closeup look at the legal system also reminded me of a conversation I had recently on an app where people gather to practice speaking English. I'm a moderator in the group, which is something like a 24 hour talk show with people from around the world, including Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Egypt, Australia and so many other places, who gather to learn what they regard as the world's universal language.

I was in one of those conversations when a person from the Middle East told me how much he admires the United States. That's not uncommon: For all of our faults, we're still a beacon to people elsewhere. I asked this person what in particular he liked about the U.S.

"I like that in your country you have something that doesn't exist in many places," he said.

"In the United States you have the rule of law."

Yes sir, I thought. It doesn't always seem that way, but we are trying.

Why I've walked more than 12,000 miles without a day off

 

 

 

 

I do things in streaks, like running or walking every single day–through rain, sleet or gloom of night–the past 13 years.

Last year, averaging just over four miles per day, that meant walking 1,495 miles–at least one per day, no matter what. Since starting this obsession on Sept. 6, 2012, that's 4,135 days and 12,812 miles.

A related obsession has been to keep a daily journal since 2018.

This was inspired by the work of Calvin Fletcher, an early Indianapolis lawyer and farmer who faithfully kept a diary. How faithfully? They've been preserved and published by the Indiana Historical Society in nine volumes.

Last  year, my own trivia of daily life, story ideas, character sketches and other junk totaled about 92,000 words. Since starting six years ago, the project has reached nearly 872,000 words.

It seems like a lot, but I remember telling my friend Gerry Lanosga about an early draft of a fiction project that was 17,000 words.

"Great,” he said. “But are they the right words?"

It’s hard to say if these six years of journals includes many shiny nuggets, but it's fun to combine the two obsessions: Walking that much every day, you're bound to get an idea or two, and the phone can be a handy scratchpad. This mini-essay is my entry to start 2024.

Consistency is key, even when there’s no specific goal. For some of us, writing resembles as much an act of faith as of art.

 

(Photo by Jad Limcaco on Unsplash)