Indiana has never enjoyed a reputation for strong ethics rules. So it was promising when then-Gov. Mitch Daniels instituted guidelines that seemed to raise the bar.Winners
Allen County: Census figures show a 1.4 percent gain in population since 2010, with county hitting the 360,000 mark just four years after reaching 350,000.
Workers: U.S. jobless rate falls to four-year low.
Tiger Woods: The golfer wins the Cadillac Championship by two strokes, marking his fifth win in the last year and – finally – a return to form.
Byron, Maine: Voters reject a proposal that would have required all households to have “firearms and ammunitions to protect the citizens.”
Whitley County: Aluminum framing manufacturer 80/20 Inc. announces an $11 million expansion expected to create nearly 100 jobs by 2016.
Tossups
Big sodas: Opponents called a New York City ban on large, sugary soft drinks a violation of personal choice and praised a court’s decision to halt it. But for health advocates, the court ruling was a setback.
Tom Crean: IU men’s basketball coach launches into a tirade against Michigan assistant coach – and former IU assistant – Jeff Meyer after Sunday’s narrow Hoosiers’ victory. His Monday apology seemed sincere.
Carnival Cruise Lines: Another ship loses steam in the Caribbean, just a month after passengers on the Carnival Triumph endured days without running water, air conditioning and more. But the company this time quickly prepared to fly stranded passengers home from St. Maarten.
Losers
Jeb Bush: The ex-Florida governor is shocked – shocked! – that, while making the rounds of talk shows to promote a new book, he was asked about a possible 2016 presidential campaign. When “Meet the Press” host David Gregory asked, Bush’s response was, “Man, you guys are like crack addicts.” When Gregory challenged Bush, his answer was, “OK, heroin addict. Is that better?” As if Bush doesn’t want his name in contention.
Illinois: The Securities and Exchange Commission accuses the state of failing to disclose that state workers’ pensions plans were fully funded, inflating the interest rate buyers paid on state-issued bonds.
Milestones
Tom Connors: Sort of a Canadian version of a latter-day Woody Guthrie, he started hitchhiking the great white north at age 12; his jobs included gravedigger, sailor, cook and tobacco picker. But he was best known as a singer, and his best-known song is “The Hockey Song,” the Canadian equivalent to “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” He died at 77.
