The Evansville area that the Obama administration has designated a Promise Zone with easier access to federal aid has a poverty rate of 39% among its more than 22,000 residents.
The White House says nearly 30 percent of the population has less than a high school diploma, and crime there is a growing concern. The Promise Zone has the ECHO Housing Corp. as the head organization in a collaborative effort and the city’s Department of Metropolitan Development as the lead partner.
The White House says the partners will work to attract higher-wage employment, improve transit, address physical and mental health concerns among residents, and boost crime prevention efforts, among other goals.
It’s the second Indiana Promise Zone, after one on Indianapolis’ east side designated last year.
OTHER STATE NEWS
The State Department of Health said Monday that Indiana’s primary, secondary and early latent syphilis cases rose from 297 in 2014 to 505 in 2015.
State Health Commissioner Jerome Adams says the increase in cases of the sexually transmitted disease has continued into 2016.
Syphilis is a bacterial disease that;s spread by direct, skin-to- skin contact during unprotected sex. It’s potentially deadly but is curable with appropriate antibiotics.
Adams says his agency is working with local health officials and health care providers “to make sure patients are getting tested and receive treatment.”
The health department issued a similar advisory about syphilis testing in October.
Republicans Zoeller, Walorski slam Trump on judge comments
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Two top Indiana Republicans have condemned GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s comments about the impartiality of a Latino federal judge presiding over lawsuits involving Trump University.
Attorney General Greg Zoeller told The (Munster) Times that Trump’s comments about U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel in San Diego are “way out of bounds”; and threaten to undermine Americans’; faith in the judicial system.
U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski says, “Questioning a judge’s impartiality based on his ethnicity is not only inappropriate, it has no place in American society.”
Trump has said Curiel cannot be impartial in the suits because his parents were born in Mexico and Trump wants to build a wall along the border. Curiel was born in East Chicago, Indiana, to Mexican immigrants.
Students could miss out on 21st Century Scholars program
(Information from: The Indianapolis Star, http://www.indystar.com)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — State data show most of Indiana’s incoming high school seniors who could qualify for a state-run scholarship program are at risk of missing out on the help.
The Indianapolis Star reported Sunday that more than 14,000 students, or 80 percent of those eligible, are behind on meeting the 21st Century Scholars program’s new requirements. Through the program, students can get as much as four years’ tuition at an Indiana public university or a comparable amount to go to a private school.
The program helps low-income students who stay out of trouble and satisfy particular academic requirements. Students graduating next year will be the first to have to finish 12 tasks that include making a college campus visit, coming up with a graduation plan and taking part in a service activity.
COMPANY GROWING
Indianapolis – Torchlite, a digital marketing service provider, announced plans today to expand its operations here, creating up to 140 new jobs by 2019.
The woman-owned company will invest $514,086 to triple its Indianapolis office space, moving into a 5,500-square-foot space on the second floor of 342 Massachusetts Ave. Torchlite is currently on the fourth floor of the building and expects to complete the move this summer. The expansion includes the creation of collaborative break-out areas in addition to investment in information technology hardware infrastructure. The company, which was established in 2015, secured $1 million in recurring annual revenue within its first 40 days and has doubled its revenue every month since then.
Torchlite, which currently employs 16 Hoosiers, is currently hiring for sales and development (JavaScript and Postgres) positions. These new jobs are expected to pay average salaries more than 2.5 times higher than the state’s average wage. Interested applicants may apply by emailing jobs@torchlite.com or by visiting www.torchlite.com/careers.