Opinion

Some of Gov. Eric Holcomb’s budget priorities will no doubt be controversial — especially to conservatives who focus solely on tax cuts and never see a reason to increase government spending.

This is Part Two of my look back at 2022 with appreciation for those people, places and things that made my column possible. So, thanks…

All good things must come to an end.

This is the first monthly column by the League of Women Voters of Johnson County, or LWVJC. We will write about legislation and elections and other matters that impact our daily life. Today, we’re sharing basic information about the League of Women Voters.

Once I retired, I knew that I’d finally have the time to read books that were on my “need-to-read” list. Recently, I accidentally or providentially ran across the name of Dr. Howard Thurman, an author whom I always intended to read but, for some reason, hadn’t managed to.

In the 2011 session of the General Assembly, the legislature passed (and I supported) HEA 1074 that effectively changed the state’s school board elections date from the May primary to the November general election. Indiana law also says that school board races are nonpartisan. After what transpired this past general election in multiple counties, nonpartisanship is not present at this time. It is an understatement to report to you that I regret that vote.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has created foreign policy challenges for the United States. That’s even more true across the Atlantic, where the war has driven up inflation, worsened energy shortages, made refugees of millions of Ukrainians and unsettled the nations of Eastern Europe.

The final pages of 2022 are here, but before we look forward to the new year and new chapter ahead, now is the perfect time to reflect on the journey we’ve been on together as a community.

It was not a party, not a gala, but more of a gathering together of friends, family and neighbors from the small town. Against one wall stood a long table with paper plates stacked next to chafing dishes. Plates of sweets and snacks, mostly homemade, sat invitingly around the room. The entire space was filled with the hum of warm reminisces on this chilly, late December day. Rita’s 80th birthday celebration.

In 2022, the United States passed the ‘Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Fund,’ or the CHIPS Act for short. This is a very large bill, $280 billion, to be spent over several years promoting the growth of the semiconductor industry in the U.S.