Category Archives: Indy

The 411

A brighter future for apartment complex with troubled past

Posted on by
Reply

INDIANAPOLIS — An east side Indianapolis apartment complex with a troubled past, has a brighter future, following a complete renovation.

Tuesday marked the re-opening of the Amber Woods Apartments at East 38th Street and North Mitthoeffer Road—an area with one of the city’s highest violent crime rates.

The complex has been the scene of deadly shootings and other crimes. It was badly damaged by a tornado nearly 20-years ago.

City leaders hope the renovation of Amber Woods will offer encouragement to those who live there.

“Having this project gives this community a beacon of hope it gives us inspiration when we see investments made back to our communities,” said State Representative Robin Shackleford at Tuesday’s ceremony.

Improvements were made inside and around the units, including new kitchens with updated appliances, new flooring, furnaces, and water heaters. Outside, there are new playgrounds, landscaping, and repaved driveways.

The Indianapolis City-County approved the project, which cost about $10 million.

The apartments remained open during the work.

 

Efforts being made to clean up downtown Indianapolis

Posted on by
Reply

INDIANAPOLIS — There have been days this year when downtown Indianapolis looked like a ghost town filled with unwelcome smells and public safety concerns.

“There was just this vacuum downtown of people. There’s no workers, there’s no normal visitors to downtown, so it started getting taken over by some of the seedier elements and they started to come down and take advantage of the homeless people,” said Doug Stephenson.

Stephenson owns the comic bookstore on Monument Circle. He says in June and July there were days that he described the area as out of control. Illegal activity was never far away making customers feel unsafe. That on top of the smell from city streets being used as a restroom. But several weeks later, improvements are noticeable. Monument Circle feels and even smells different after a focused effort from Downtown Indy Inc to clean the heart of the city.

“The downtown recovery committee came together and said remember when we were called the cleanest downtown in the nation? Let’s recommit to that,” said Bob Schultz, Senior VP of Marketing, Communication and Events for Downtown Indy, Inc.

Thanks to Downtown Indy, Inc. safety ambassadors and additional police officers now patrol the areas of Monument Circle, Market Street and Georgia street. Roads and sidewalks are power washed regularly by the Indianapolis Department of Public Works. All of it arraigned or paid for by Downtown Indy, Inc.

“All of that was done and continues to be done to say downtown is clean, safe, and beautiful and we’re working on the vibrancy as we try to come back in measured ways,” Schultz said.

Both Downtown Indy, Inc. and business owners say homelessness was not the sole cause of the issues downtown. They believe there were other factors including mental health.

Stephenson hopes the effort being put into downtown encourages visitors to return.

“It’s absolutely gotten better. Things started turning the corner at the end of July and now we’ve got cleanliness factor under control and safety is a million times better,” Stephenson said.

The improvements made by Downtown Indy, Inc. were funded with $750,000 from the City of Indianapolis back in August. According to the organization’s website, The $750,000 was approved by the Metropolitan Development Commission and administered by the Capital Improvement Board to Downtown Indy, Inc.

Live music entertains Marion County early voters

Posted on by
Reply

INDIANAPOLIS — When you vote early in Marion County the wait times can be long. But in the shadow of the City-County Building is musical relief and live entertainment.

“The venues that we normally sing at like the Jazz Kitchen, the Chatter Box, we don’t know when they’re going to open. We don’t know when we’re going to have the opportunity to do that, so the fact that there are other ways for us to be able to do it, is going to be fantastic,” said Goldie Taylor.

Taylor is one of 85 Indianapolis-based performers hosting 100 free live shows to an audience of early voters. Thanks to the pandemic the show in Lugar Plaza is the first paying gig many of the singers, musicians and bands have had in months.

“This is all I do for a living, so it’s barely making ends meet. Everybody knows musicians are starving musicians. This opportunity it doesn’t matter what it pays, it’s just the fact that were able to get out and do something especially when the community is out and we can tell that the music is soothing them,” Taylor said.

Kären Haley is the Executive Director of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, which runs through Lugar Plaza, and came up with the idea of live music after seeing the long lines to vote.

“I think everyone was very pleasantly surprised with how many people were coming out to vote early and the line in Lugar Plaza just kept getting longer and longer and longer,” Haley said.

WRTV Reporter Cameron Ridle was among the voters waiting 90 minutes to vote early last Friday as Goldie was entertaining the long line of voters. “It made all the difference,” Ridle said.

“I’ve been talking about Friday since I finished Friday. I went home I was cheering to my sister like you just don’t understand it was soo wonderful!” Taylor said.

Artists of all genres are performing seven days a week from the time the doors to vote early open, and running until they close, Every day until early voting at the City-County Building ends on November 2nd.

The Indianapolis Cultural Trail is also posting its lineup online so you can select a time to vote when your favorite genre of music or musician is playing.

Pumpkin thrown from overpass smashes into 20-year-old’s car windshield

Posted on by
Reply

HENDRICKS COUNTY – On his way home from a haunted house, 20-year-old Caleb Needham got another scare early Saturday morning when somebody threw a pumpkin into the windshield of his car from an overpass.

Needham said he was driving back to his Hendricks County home at about 4 a.m. Saturday when the semi truck in front of him swerved to avoid something as they went under an overpass. When he got up to it, he saw it was the insides of a pumpkin. When Needham got through to the other end of the overpass, another pumpkin smashed through the passenger side of his Chevy Trailblazer, breaking the windshield.

Needham was unhurt, save for some minor scratches from the broken glass. He said he pulled over, put his emergency flashers on and called the police.

“I went into shock, I guess,” Needham said. “[The police] said if it would’ve came through the driver’s side, I probably would’ve died.

He said the Hendricks County deputies who responded said they’ve received a few calls lately of similar incidents happening – where a pumpkin has been tossed from an overpass at passing cars. WRTV has reached out to the Hendricks County Sheriff’s Office for more information on the investigation and any recent incidents. Indiana State Police has only investigated one such incident this year – Needham’s.

“Honestly, it feels like it was just a bad dream,” he said. “It doesn’t feel real that it happened. I’m just so thankful that it happened the way it did and I didn’t have anyone in the passenger seat. That it came through the passenger seat and not the driver’s side, or that it wasn’t a family traveling back from vacation and the family loses one of their children or their mother or father.”

Health department offering low-cost flu vaccines

Posted on by
Reply

INDIANAPOLIS — On top of masking up and lathering up, health officials are urging people to sleeve up and get a flu shot to help protect against the flu and COVID-19.

A flu shot clinic was offered on Sunday by the Marion County Public Health Department. Throughout October, the health department is hosting low-cost flu vaccines at multiple locations.

The CDC recommends the flu shot for everyone six months and older. The flu shot is especially recommended for pregnant women, people over the age of 65 and anyone with certain medical conditions.

On Sunday, the health department was at St. Gabriel Catholic Church. The church has hosted these flu shot clinics for several years. The parish nurse said now it’s more important than ever to be able to offer flu shots to the community.

“Here at St. Gabriel Parish, we have about 60 percent Latino as well as the surrounding community here on the west side off of 34th Street,” Betty Legeay, parish nurse at St. Gabriel Catholic Church, said. “So we really feel that we need to offer them this chance and opportunity. And with the COVID-19, we want to make sure that everyone gets a flu shot that can possibly get one.”

Flu shots through the health department are $20 and for children under 2 they are free. Medicare and Medicaid are accepted.

The next flu shot clinic will be Oct. 22 at Englewood Christian Church on North Rural Street from 4 to 6 p.m. It’s available on a walk-in basis.

The Marion County Public Health Department is also hosting weekly flu shot clinics by appointment at its three main district health office locations. To schedule an appointment, please call 317-221-5700.

Report: Indianapolis Colts Shut Down Facilities After Positive COVID-19 Tests

Posted on by
Reply

NFL: OCT 11 Colts at Browns

Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty


The Indianapolis Colts have shut down their facilities after multiple COVID-19 tests. No word on who and how many positive tests are within the organization.  Multiple teams including the Tennessee Titans, New England Patriots, and Atlanta Falcons are among the teams who have closed their facilities due to COVID-19.

The Colts released a statement saying:

This morning, we were informed that several individuals within our organization have tested positive for COVID-19. The team is currently in the process of confirming those tests. In the meantime, the practice facility will be closed and the team will work remotely while following NFL protocols.

The Colts are scheduled to play the Cincinnati Bengals this Sunday at 1pm EST. The NFL has announced if the game will play as scheduled as of yet.

Source: ESPN

RELATED: COVID-19 Can Survive On Smartphones For Up To 28-Days According To New Research

RELATED: Pretty Ricky’s Baby Blue Purchased A Ferrari With COVID-19 Relief Money, Arrested By The Feds

The most haunted places in Indianapolis

Posted on by
Reply
Woods of Terror

Source: Woods of Terror Photo courtesy Perfecta Visuals / Woods of Terror Photo courtesy Perfecta Visuals

INDIANAPOLIS — An eerie harmonica, sinks turning on and off and the ghost of a little girl: Indianapolis has plenty of spooky lore to explore.

 

Here are some of the most haunted places in the city:

1. Allison Mansion

The mansion is a National Historic Landmark, believed to be haunted by a little girl who drowned in the basement. Some people say they’ve seen the girl’s ghost, others believe they hear voices coming from the attic (not the basement, interestingly).

2. Hannah House

The house is said to be built by Alexander Hannah, a member of the Underground Railroad. Legend has it, an oil lamp fell on a bale of straw, killing many sleeping slaves. Visitors say the ghosts of the slaves still haunt the cellar.

3. Indiana Central State Hospital

Formerly called the Central Indiana Hospital for the Insane, it opened in 1848 and was built to treat psychiatric patients. Read more about the hospital here.

4. Rivoli Theater

No list of haunted places is complete without an “Indian burial ground” story. The Rivoli Theater was built in the 1920s. Some people have reported seeing sink faucets turning off and on, toilets flushing and objects moving on their own.

5. Indiana Repertory Theatre

Some say a former director for the theatre was killed while jogging nearby. On some days, his ghost still haunts inside the building as floorboards creak.

6. The Slippery Noodle Inn

The restaurant, which also serves as a theater, is said to be haunted by slaves, a caretaker, a cowboy and a prostitute. The building was built in the 1800s and has gone through many transformations over the years.

7. The Indianapolis Athletic Club

As the story goes, a fire broke out in the building, killing a firefighter who was trying to wake up guests in the building. The firefighter’s ghost haunts the building.

8. Wheeler-Stokely Mansion 

Witnesses have described an apparition of a man walking a dog and another ghost of a woman who runs and jumps into a phantom carriage. Some have said they’ve been nudged off the trail, or had unexplained chills.

9. Paul Ruster Park Cemetery

The story goes that a little boy killed beside the nearby train tracks haunts the area, with his ghost playing the harmonica in the area.

If you’re feeling really brave, expand your haunted tour to include the entire state with a haunted Indiana road trip.

 

Indy Black Chamber of Commerce opens co-working space downtown

Posted on by
Reply

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indy Black Chamber of Commerce is working to working to help support small business owners as they open a new co-working space.

It is called Chamber 465 and it’s located in downtown Indianapolis on Market Street.

They provide all of the office tools business owners need including internet, printers, and meeting rooms. The space also allows minority business owners to network.

The Indy Black Chamber will be hosting classes and workshops as well.

“This is an opportunity for all minority businesses, or businesses period, to come together to find the resources that they need and the support that they need, especially during COVID-19,” said Anita Williams, board president of the Indy Black Chamber of Commerce. “We are losing so many businesses. They need our support.”

Williams says they will be offering spots in the co-working space to interested business owners for free until the end of the year.

Rent will be $185 per month starting in 2021.

Broad Ripple Kroger closing after nearly 7 decades of service

Posted on by
Reply
Kroger

Source: Kroger / Kroger

INDIANAPOLIS — Kroger has announced plans to close its Broad Ripple store sometime in the next month.

The Broad Ripple store originally opened 66 years ago in 1954.

According to a press release issued Tuesday, the decision to close the Broad Ripple location “follows extensive analysis of its financial performance.”

“In spite of our associates’ best efforts, the store has not operated profitably for several years and research indicates a turnaround is not realistic,” the company said.

The store currently employs nearly 40 associates and they will be offered the opportunity to transfer to other Indianapolis Kroger stores including two nearby locations, Nora Kroger and Glendale Kroger, which are just a few miles away.

Federal appeals court sides with Indiana on absentee ballot deadline

Posted on by
Reply
In this photo illustration an absentee mail-in ballot for...

Source: Pacific Press / Getty

CHICAGO — A federal appeals court has sided with the state of Indiana to keep the state’s noon Election Day deadline to receive absentee ballots.

Late last month, a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana issued an injunction setting aside the noon Election Day deadline in Indiana law and ruling that Indiana must count mail-in ballots postmarked on or before Nov. 3 and received on or before Nov. 13.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit issued a stay against the lower court’s ruling that effectively reinstates the noon Election Day deadline for absentee ballots to be received.

Common Cause Indiana, the main plaintiff in the lawsuit that resulted in the district court ruling, had argued that the COVID-19 pandemic and the surge in absentee voting in the primary as well as problems with the U.S. Postal Service and the probability that ballots would arrive after the deadline made the state’s deadline unconstitutional.

The federal appeals court disagreed as long as the state allows voting in-person there is no constitutional right to vote by mail.

“That some people are unwilling to vote in person does not make an otherwise-valid system unconstitutional,” the appeals court judges wrote. “It is for states to decide what sort of adjustments would be prudent. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has caused great loss but is not a good reason for the federal judiciary to assume tasks that belong to politically responsible officials.”

Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill praised the ruling saying that changes to Indiana’s election system this close to Election Day would do more harm than good.

“Our system provides adequate opportunity for all Hoosiers to cast a ballot by Election Day, and the absentee ballot-receipt deadline as written by the Indiana General Assembly helps most races to be called on Election Day, and not days or weeks after,” Hill said. “The U.S. Supreme Court has said repeatedly that courts should not issue election-related injunctions at the eleventh hour, and we are pleased that the court of appeals has implemented that directive.”

Hill also noted that Indiana law permits Hoosiers to cast a ballot at early-voting locations for 28 days prior to Election Day and permits mail-in absentee voting in 12 different circumstances, including when voters are disabled or elderly, or when voters expect to be away from the home counties on Election Day.

Changes could be on the way for IMPD’s general orders board

Posted on by
Reply

INDIANAPOLIS — On Monday night, the Indianapolis City-County Council will vote on a proposal that would mean major changes for the way IMPD policies and procedures are created and reviewed.

Proposal 237 would add four civilian members to IMPD’s General Orders Board, giving them a majority on the board. It currently has three members, all from law enforcement.

There are strong opinions on both sides. Supporters say it allows the community to have a say in how they want to be policed and will increase transparency with the community. Those against it say it strips the chief of his power and creates a lack of accountability.

“This is something that we believe would be a step towards unity and accountability and helping the community as well as the police department work to make sure there’s a good relationship and everything is being viewed from both sides,” Pastor Kenneth Sullivan Jr., of New Direction Church, said. He said this is something he and other faith leaders have been pushing for.

Those against the proposal say it goes too far.

“This is an extreme deviation from the way any police department operates,” Rick Snyder, president of the Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police, said.

Snyder met with law enforcement officers and their families outside of the City-County Building on Monday, saying they support having citizen input, but they want to see changes to Proposal 237 before passed by council.

He said it will have a negative impact on already low officer morale as well and if approved as is, could lead to community frustration as well.

“When citizens are frustrated with what is going on they’ll point fingers at their politicians. Their politicians will point fingers at their civilians on the board, and the civilians on the board will point fingers at the police department. There is no clear line of accountability,” said Snyder.

“I am not against civilian participation in the use of force board or the general orders board. I’m not crazy about it being a majority and I’ve said that in the past,” IMPD Chief Randal Taylor said. “I think we need to be given an opportunity to see how that works out at a lower level first, but I’ve also said in the past if this ends up getting passed tonight I’m going to be fully behind it and I’ll work with whoever those civilians are to make sure we represent our members in the best way we can while also taking into account the communities concerns.”

The proposal already has strong support from council members as 18 of the 25 councilors have signed on as co-sponsors.

A spokesperson for Mayor Hogsett said he was unavailable for interviews on Monday, but said the mayor supports this proposal.

“Mayor Hogsett supports the City-County Council as they consider Proposition 237. Following the death of George Floyd this summer, we heard the clear message from residents that they wanted more civilian participation and oversight on issues of law enforcement. Proposition 237 reflects the popular will, and we believe it will strengthen the policies and procedures of law enforcement, leading to a safer community and more trust between neighborhoods and the IMPD,” said Mark Bode with the City of Indianapolis.

7 people killed during violent weekend in Indianapolis

Posted on by
Reply
Indianapolis

Source: Jennifer Aldridge / iONEDigital

INDIANAPOLIS — A violent weekend in Indianapolis continued Sunday night when a man died in a shooting on the east side of Indianapolis.

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers responded to the shooting around 10 p.m. in the 2600 block of East Washington Street. Medics transported the man to an area hospital where he died, IMPD Sgt. Grace Sibley said.

The homicide was the seventh of the weekend in Indianapolis.

Earlier Sunday evening, officers found two people shot inside an apartment before 6:30 p.m. in the 7100 block of Vega Way. Sibley said medics pronounced one person dead at the scene and a second victim was in serious condition.

“We are not releasing at this time the suspects that we are looking for, but we can say they are clearing the area to make the area safe. Obviously, these are armed people they are looking for,” Sibley said.

Other homicides over the weekend included:

  • At about 9:40 p.m. Friday, a man was shot to death and then hit by the driver of a vehicle in the 3000 block of North Park Avenue.
  • Minutes later, on the west side, a woman was shot in the 1200 block of North King Avenue. Medics transported the woman to an area hospital in critical condition, but she died later in the evening.
  • At 10:20 p.m. Saturday, Martin Cruz, a Marion County Jail inmate, was found dead after he was believed to have been assaulted by another inmate.
  • Officers were dispatched just after noon Sunday to 120 W. 38th Street after a person was stabbed to death in the parking lot of a Subway restaurant.
  • A woman died at about 12:40 p.m. Sunday after she was shot and the vehicle she was driving hit a building in the 8400 block of Craig Street in Castleton. Officers originally were called to the scene after witnesses found a man lying on the ground in the 8700 block of Masters Road. Police believe he fell from a vehicle and both incidents are part of one investigation.

At least nine other people were transported to area hospitals with nonfatal gunshot wounds. The person’s death in the 2600 block of East Washington Street marked the 187th homicide and 160th intentional homicide in 2020.

“We’re really disappointed. This is discouraging,” Sibley said. “We don’t want to see this violence take place.”

Anyone with information about a homicide should contact the IMPD Homicide Office at 317-327-3475 or Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-8477.

Shifting absentee ballot deadline could confuse voters

Posted on by
Reply

INDIANAPOLIS—The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana has stayed its earlier decision to extend Indiana’s absentee voting deadline, again changing the deadline for when absentee ballots must be returned.

So, what does that legalize mean to you?

The latest ruling means Indiana election offices can only accept absentee ballots until noon on Election Day which was the previous rule. This back and forth on the absentee ballot deadline concerns voting advocates.

“Every year, we encourage voters to make a voting plan but this year in particular is very important,” Erin Kelley with the League of Women Voters of Indianapolis said. “The pandemic of course is one issue but then all these changes that seem to keep happening, Hoosiers being told what they can and can’t do.”

Kelley says if voters have questions because of all these changes, there are people in your community who have answers.

“Reach out to your county election board, use services like vote411.org by the League of Women Voters or just reach out to any kind of non-partisan, civic organization in your community. Don’t be afraid to ask for help,” Kelley said.

“My best advice to voters is if you plan to vote by mail, get that ballot and get it back,” Julia Vaughn, Policy Director for Common Cause Indiana, said.

Common Cause Indiana is the non-partisan organization that filed the lawsuit to extend the absentee ballot deadline. Slow mail delivery through the USPS is one of the main reasons they filed the lawsuit.

“We can’t control the mail. We don’t have any control over that ballot once we let it go in the mail slot,” Vaughn said. “Voters shouldn’t be disenfranchised because of something out of their control.”

In a statement, Attorney General Curtis Hill said the noon Election Day deadline set by the General Assembly is reasonable because it allows most races to be called on Election Day, ensuring there’s public confidence in how we vote.

The postal service recommends giving your ballot a week to arrive by mail. That means you should send yours back before October 27th. You can also drop off absentee ballots in person at your county’s election office.

Indianapolis ties intentional homicide record of 153 after northeast side shooting

Posted on by
Reply
Indianapolis

Source: Jennifer Aldridge / iONEDigital

INDIANAPOLIS — The city of Indianapolis has tied the intentional homicide record of 153 set last year with a shooting on the city’s northeast side on Thursday.

According to a report from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, it happened around 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the area of East 30th Street and Keystone Avenue.

Officer William Young, a spokesman for IMPD, said officers who were on routine patrol came across what they initially thought was a traffic crash. When officers made contact with the individual inside the vehicle, they found he had injuries consistent with a gunshot wound. The victim, an adult male, was pronounced dead at the scene.

“As you can tell behind me this is a very intense scene, it’s a very active scene,” Young said. “Our IMPD homicide investigators have arrived on scene, as well as our crime lab as well as the Marion County Coroner’s Office trying to gather information as to what happened this evening.”

Police have no suspect information.

“It is so important that our community comes together with us and provides us with that information,” Young said. “No one wants to lose a loved one. No one does. It’s important that we gather that information to hold those accountable who are responsible.”

Young said anyone who was in the area between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. or who has information is asked to call the IMPD Homicide Office at 317-327-3475 or Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-TIPS.

“It’s very concerning to us. We are trying to get a handle,” Young said. “We want the community to work with us as well as us working with the community. It’s so important to these families to those who have to go through this.”