Lisa Sirkin Vielee's Page

I'm a Democrat and...



I'm an American.

I go to church.

I pay taxes.

I own a home.

I own my car.

I graduated from college.

I have an American family.

I take my kids to soccer, basketball, softball, kickball and volleyball practice.

I help out with homework.

I took care of my dad when he was dying.

I call my mom every day.

I pay my bills on time.

I'm saving for college.

I'm saving for retirement.

I read the newspaper… Continue

If you prefer to eat at independent restaurants over chains and shop at farmers markets instead of chain groceries, you can claim to be part of an official movement starting on Aug. 31. Sunday is the start of "Going Local Week," a grassroots (natch) event celebrating local food production that runs through Sept. 6.



The core activity for Going Local Week is to promote “the eating of Indiana locally grown and produced foods as the norm, not a novelty,” according to the event Web site.… Continue

Congratulations to Marty Posch and all those involved with the Back Pack Attack for successfully raising 425,000 school supply items for needy school-agers. Marty tells me that filled 8,800 backpacks. Wow.



And I grumble about having to buy the two boxes of kleenexes and the 8 glue sticks, etc. , etc. that I have to provide each year for my kids. But I can afford it, so I send the big WalMart bag with the kiddos each first day. Imagine how it would feel to be a seven-year-old and NOT… Continue

For those that want more information on how the current city funding is used, the Arts Council of Indianapolis has posted a new page on its Web site. At the bottom of the Web page are brochures and links to examples of how the City’s investment in the arts is used to create a vibrant community or see how it contributes to public safety.



Some interesting tidbits:



The City's allocation is used only for the grants… Continue

As you may have read in the IBJ, on Indiana Barrister, or on my former employer’s Web site, tellhetrick.com, the Indianapolis City County Council is considering cutting Indianapolis public arts funding down to zero in the next three years. For a world-class city such as Indianapolis, I find this unacceptable.



While the $1.5 million… Continue