Sure, it’s supposed to be warm, today.  But, in my inbox this morning, I find two signs of changing seasons:

1. The City of Indianapolis is publicizing upgrades to the snow plow fleet.

2. Auditions for a popular talent show have been scheduled.  Downtown promoters want to find performers for the Circle of Lights.  They’re already thinking of the holiday season!

If you’re interested, auditions will be held on Saturday, September 26 — 9 to 11:30 — at the Electrical Training Institute.  Another session will be on October 1, from 4 until 8pm, at the IBEW Hall on North Meridian, downtown.

The rain is now moving through Shelby and Rush counties.  The line extends to the north to just north of Muncie and into Hartford City.  To the south, the line is moving into Columbus and Bedford.

Today will turn out to be another nice August day with lots of sunshine, highs in the middle 80s and moderate humidity. The nearest rain is in Wisconsin. Watch out once again for some patchy fog early this morning. The weather should be great for the Colts-Vikings game this evening.

The weekend will be very warm and more humid with highs in the upper 80s. It will become more humid too. I am keeping in a small chance for a pop-up thundershower on Sunday. We should see a better chance for showers and storms during the first part of next week. Have a great day.

We’re waiting for video to come back from a town hall meeting in New Castle.  It’s no surprise that the host, Congressman Mike Pence, expects health care to be the hot topic.  So, until we get to see what happened there, I’m reviewing notes from Senator Evan Bayh’s discussion of the health care debate, yesterday.

The Senator acknowledged the “strong opinions” we’ve seen expressed in so many of the stories about the reform debate.  He said he’d be “a little upset, too”, if he thought some of the controversial proposals would become law.  But, he said, “some of the bills that have been voted on in Congress simply aren’t going to get done.”  He said there will be no “death board” leading to euthanizing senior citizens.  No insurance mandate for small businesses.  And, no tax increase “for the most successful people.”

Bayh said he hoped to offer “a little reassurance” as he encouraged people to reserve judgment about the proposals under discussion.  Obviously, he’s seen the angry voters at some of the meetings.  He said he’d prefer to see the meetings conducted in a respectful way that does not silence people with differing opinions.  He also seemed willing to look beyond the disrupted meetings.   He said ”it really doesn’t matter whether these are organized protests or authentic, natural protests.  What matters is, at the end of the day, we deliver a result that will work for the American people.”

Here’s what Bayh believes will work — or what he wants from health care reform.  He wants more security and stability for people who have health care — so they won’t lose coverage, if they get sick.  He wants a plan that keeps costs down, “so it’s more affordable.”  And, he wants a plan that doesn’t add to the deficit.  ”If we enact a law that does those three things,” Bayh said, “this will be a success regardless of whether these activities were orchestrated or not.”

The lingering thundershowers will end over the next hour or so.  Expect partly cloudy skies overnight, with lows in the 60s.

Wednesday will not be as warm or as humid.  Forecast highs are in the lower 80s.  Skies will be mostly sunny and our weather pattern will be dry for the rest of the week.

Temperatures will warm back-up into the middle and upper 80s for the end of the week and the weekend.

Mayor Greg Ballard admitted embarrassment during his budget proposal, last night.  It came as he reported the city has no plans to raise the salaries of non-union employees in 2010.  That pledge will not apply to one group of people.  They are the roughly 300 city and county workers currently being paid below the poverty level.  Mayor Ballard says, under his plan, their pay will be elevated to “a livable wage.”  The boost is likely to add $375,000 to the $1.2 billion budget.

Serious golfers don’t need much motivation to get on the course — any course.  So, if you’re a devotee of the game or just a duffer (like me), you’re invited to the Golf4Giving event to help the Salvation Army. 

If you need a little more than an invitation, consider this.  The Salvation Army says, with the economy struggling as it is, requests for assistance are up about 18% in the Indianapolis area.  So, anything you do to help will be appreciated.

“Usually, government interference prolongs the problem.” 

That’s one of the conclusions of David James of James Investment Research in Xenia, Ohio.  He was interviewed on a financial news podcast I listen to.  James told the interviewer government spending tends to be very inefficient.  “We went back to the 1940’s,” he said, “and our data shows that it takes over $7 of government spending to have the same economic impact” as $1 spent by the rest of us.

After hearing that, I went to the JIR web site to find a little more information.  The report Mr. James mentioned concluded that ”only $60 billion of the authorized $787 billion has been spent, a mere pittance in a $14 trillion economy.  In addition, a lot of money is being wasted on pet projects, or will go to cover state funding shortfalls.  Furthermore, in a major blow to stimulus spending, consumer savings increased by $161 billion last month, almost three times the stimulus payments.”

James also noted the “feeding frenzy” in the Cash for Clunkers program.  He told the interviewer it may just take “future sales from future months.”  And, while he’s glad to see the boost in business, it does not mean “this is the start of a great new economy.”

We’re heading south on I-65 and it is pouring! There is supposed to be flooding in Franklin and Greenwood. We’re going to check it out.

Most of the focus (obviously) has been on storms in southern and eastern parts of the area, but I wanted to show you what may be heading our way later today, and include other parts of the viewing area.

Strong Storms are racing across northern Missouri into central Illinois.  This may more or less connect with the storms that have lingered in areas south of Indy.  The bottom line, watch for storms with heavy rain, large hail, and gusty winds later to