My grandpa has never been one to wear his seat belt. He’s driven a truck all his life, and in Indiana, having a vehicle registered as such allows you to drive all around town seat belt free. I’m going to have some bad news to break to gramps soon, because the Indiana General Assembly passed a bill that makes it mandatory for anyone in any vehicle to be buckled up: car, truck, minivan, front seat, back seat, etc.

As part of the bill, seat belt checkpoints will be eliminated as well. While I was at Purdue, the West Lafayette police had seat belt checkpoints all throughout town and would pull over drivers all day long for not wearing a seat belt. That will be a thing of the past as well with this new bill. The bill is off to the Governor, and assuming he signs it, it will become law on July 1st.

What I’m wondering is that if anyone under the age of 50 actually drives around without a seat belt? Driving with a seat belt on is so routine to me that if I don’t have it on, something doesn’t feel right.

photo courtesy of Endlisnis

If you’re looking for something to do during the day next Tuesday, both the Republican and Democratic party are looking for people to work during the election. The following positions are available:

• Democratic party inspector - works from 5 am to 7 pm on Election Day. Pays $130.
• Republican party judge - works from 5 am to 7 pm on Election Day. Pays $100.
• Democratic party judge - works from 5:30 to 6:30 pm on Election Day. Pays $90.
• Both parties need clerks - works from 5:30 to 6:30 on Election Day. Pays $90.

There are several positions for each of those jobs available in precincts around the county. If you’re interested, you need to meet a few criteria. First, you must be registered to vote in Vanderburgh County. Second, you must be able to attend a two-hour training session sometime this week.

If this sounds like a fun way to spend your Tuesday, call Republican Party Headquarters at 425-8207 or Democratic Party Headquarters at 461-0104.

photo courtesy of mystereys

As I was driving into the office today, I saw two large 18-wheelers parked at the stadium decorated with Brad Paisley’s photo. Paisley, one of the biggest acts in country music right now, is here tonight to play a packed house starting at 7:30PM. I’m not much of a Brad Paisley fan, but my brother has been counting down the days to this concert. Paisley’s opening acts include Jack Ingram, Taylor Swift and American Idol reject Kelly Pickler.

If you want to hear some Brad Paisley tunes before you head out to the show, there are a few on his MySpace page. Yes, everyone has MySpace. If you head to the show, be sure to let us know how it is.

photo courtesy of CollegeNews.org

In between writing for It’s Evansville, we’ve been spending some time behind the scenes working to make the site an even better experience for our readers. First, we’ve made the site look great on your mobile phones. Whether you’re using a standard cell phone or a smart phone like the Blackberry, the site should load quicker and look better on your mobile device. Just visit http://www.itsevansville.com from your phone and start reading.

We’ve also made it easier to submit news by adding an anonymous tip box to the sidebar of each page on the side. If you have an announcement, news tip, or other piece of pertinent information you think we should be made aware of, you can either email tips@itsevansville.com or use the new anonymous tip box.

Future updates will include a listing of local bloggers, a crime map and and a more refined site design to help us move forward.

Thanks again to all of our readers for your continued support.

Talk about a busy day…

• Jonathon Ray Kathary was sentenced to 28 years in prison for molesting a girl and forcing her to sign a contract stating that she was his sex slave.
• The West Side Nut Club gave out over $200,000 to schools and charities Tuesday night at their annual Founders Banquet. $20,000 of that cash went to each of the west side high schools, Matre Dei and Reitz.
• Here’s a tip. If you are carrying around an oxygen tank, it’s time to stop smoking. You don’t want to blow yourself up. Time to switch to Skoal.
• Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels was in town today talking about I-69.

photo courtesy of camouflagedoors

Following up on our recent story about all the road construction going on, we get word from the Indiana Department of Transportation that traffic on the Lloyd will be stopped for a period of time tomorrow morning.

The east bound lanes of State Road 66 (SR 66) Lloyd Expressway will be stopped temporarily at 9:00AM while crews remove the overhead mast sign located near Stockwell Road. The stoppage will take no longer than 15 minutes, weather permitting. Weather is supposed to be pretty bad tomorrow, so I would assume there is a pretty good chance this won’t go down, but we wanted to make you aware.

Guess I better get to the office early tomorrow.

Details are sketchy at this point, but the Integra bank next to It’s Evansville’s world headquarters across from Turonis was robbed this morning. The suspect was already caught according to WFIE. The robbery happened around 9:15 this morning. Dispatchers say the suspect is a black male who tried to escape police by changing his shirt in a nearby alley. Police also found a discarded knife near Integra. Police chased the suspect on foot and caught him at the intersection of Main and Iowa streets.

Update: We have a photo of the suspected robber thanks to our friends at WFIE.

We shot some photos from the scene.

Continue reading Breaking: Bank Robbery on Main St…

Flickr user trisheroverton published a photo of one of my favorite buildings in town. These buildings are located along NW 3rd St and are some of the brightest colors you’ll see in town. I’d love someone to refurbish this building and turn it into apartments.

There’s not many monumental pieces of architecture in Evansville that we’re known for, but what’s your favorite local building in town? Why do you like it? Got a photo of it to share with us?

In Focus features a photograph taken by a reader of It’s Evansville. If you’d like a chance to have your photo featured as part of In Focus, upload your photo to Flickr and tag it with “itsevansville”.

As part of Healthier Evansville week, we asked our friend Tony Maslan of Custom Fit Personal Training to pen something to share with our readers.

Ask almost anyone who wants to lose weight or get in better shape when they are going to get started and they will most likely say “Tomorrow” or “Monday”. Check back with them in a week and their answer will probably be “I’m starting tomorrow” or “Monday”.

Many people fail to reach their fitness and weight loss goals because they fail to start. They keep waiting to “get motivated” or until things aren’t quite as busy. For those of you who are in that situation, I have bad news for you. There will never be a “perfect” time to start your new program.

Now for the good news. In fact it is great news! You are a human being and you have the power of free will. You have the ability to make yourself do things even when you don’t really want to do them. So get up, and start moving!

I’m sure you have heard people say that if something is worth doing, it is worth doing right. While that is very true, there are some instances when something worth doing is worth doing wrong also. At least for a little while.

Doing some sort of exercise, even if it is not the perfect routine for you and your goals is better than doing no exercise. Go for a walk. Lift some weights. Do some pushups. Climb some stairs. Just do something!

That is the beginning. Once you are consistently doing “something”, start getting that something organized. If you do not wish to use, or can’t afford the help of a fitness professional, than get a book. There are hundreds to choose from and there are a lot of good programs and plans out there. Any random program will not necessarily be the “best” one for you personally, but now you will at least be following something structured, and that will speed up your progress dramatically.

Now you will be heading the right direction. You will start to feel better and have more energy. You will be getting better sleep, and may not need as much of it. Your clothes may start feeling a little bit looser and you may be seeing some changes in the mirror that make you happy.

Once you start feeling and seeing these changes, THEN you will begin to get motivated. You will realize that this may be worth the work after all. By now you may be ready to find the “best” possible program for you and decide to work with a fitness professional to develop a plan to achieve your long term goals. You may have done enough research into different program options to find one that fits your schedule, your preferences, and brings you great results.

This all will happen if you take that first step. Stop waiting to get motivated! Get moving!! And Get Healthy Evansville!

Tony Maslan is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, has a bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Evansville, and is the owner of Custom Fit Personal Training, LLC. If you have any specific fitness or weight loss questions, feel free to send them to tmaslan@cfpt.us. Tony has released several FREE REPORTS to help educate people on the proper ways to achieve their fitness goals. Find the report that is right for you at evansvillefitnessexpert.com

Thank you to the current It’s Evansville Sponsors (and our readers, who keep the sponsors coming back). If you would like to sponsor or advertise on It’s Evansville, details are here.

Custom Fit Personal Training: At Custom Fit Personal Training, they specialize in teaching people how to speed up their metabolism and permanently reduce their body-fat through nutrition and exercise. If you want to look better, feel better, have more energy and enjoy a better quality of life, a Custom Fit Program will give you what you need. Contact Tony at 812.305.5037 to schedule your first session.

Crispie Creations: If you’re looking for something beyond the boring birthday cake, get a custom-made Rice Krispie cake from Nikki. Each cake is hand made and designed to your liking. Spring is here! It’s time to put in your orders for Memorial Day, Mothers Day and college and high school graduations. Contact Nikki to get started on your order.