This and that: What is a Thursday edition?
WL’s ‘Jeopardy’ champ gets win No. 6. WL firm’s subsidiaries hit with $34M fine for treatment of beagles. Congressman jumps into fray over Caitlin Clark. Dining Divas at Sakanaya Iazakaya. And more.
This edition is sponsored by Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc., presenting the Subaru Wilderness 5K Saturday, June 15, at the SIA Recreation Center Grounds in Lafayette. The event benefits Humane Society for Greater Lafayette, NICHES Land Trust, Multiplying Good / Students in Action and Mental Health America (Wabash Valley Region). To register, click the flyer below.
This and That/Other Reads for this Thursday morning …
RUN STRETCHES TO 6 FOR WEST LAFAYETTE’S ‘JEOPARDY’ CHAMP: Adriana Harmeyer, a Purdue archivist from West Lafayette, took her sixth win on “Jeopardy” Wednesday. Harmeyer, who qualified for the syndicated quiz show’s “Tournament of Champions” Tuesday with her fifth win, did well enough in Wednesday’s episode in the first two rounds — more than doubling her two opponents for the fifth out six times, so far — to safely go into the Final Jeopardy round. Harmeyer got that one correct, too, in the category “British Places:” “This city owes much of its early history to a temple dedicated to Sulis Minerva & a “sacred spring” found there.” Her response: “What is Bath.” She finished the episode with $19,900. Her six-day total: $136,100.
For more on her run, here’s a link to a Based in Lafayette conversation with Harmeyer after her fifth win Tuesday: “‘Jeopardy’ champ from West Lafayette rings up No. 5, qualifies for ‘Tournament of Champions.’”
She’ll compete next on Thursday. The show airs locally at 7:30 p.m. weeknights on WLFI-TV18.
A PLEA IN FEDERAL ANIMAL NEGLECT CASE FOR WEST LAFAYETTE-BASED COMPANY: Two subsidiaries of West Lafayette-based Inotiv pleaded guilty this week and were ordered to pay a $35 million fine, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, for violating the Animal Welfare Act and the Clean Water Act in relation to a dog breeding facility located in Cumberland County, Virginia, where federal officials took 4,000 beagles used in medical testing in 2022. Justice Department officials said the plea agreement included “the largest ever fine in an animal welfare case as well as heightened standards of care for facilities across the country.” During a federal investigation, officials contended the company was failing to provide humane care and treatment to the thousands of beagles at the company’s Cumberland facility, including for minimum standards for handling, housing, feeding, watering, sanitation and adequate veterinary care. According to an Associated Press account, Inotiv issued a “statement of contrition” after a Monday plea hearing. The statement said: “In committing the crimes identified in the charging document, and by not making the necessary infrastructure upgrades and hiring the requisite staff, we fell short of our standards for animal and environmental welfare and apologize to the public for the harm caused by our conduct. … In resolving this matter, we renew our commitment to maintaining the highest standards of animal care.” AP reporter Matthew Barakat had this account: “Company that bred beagles for research pleads guilty to neglect, ordered to pay record $35M fine.”
CITY HALL ACOUSTICS: If you’ve been in the renovated West Lafayette City Hall – once Morton School and later Morton Community Center – the acoustics during meetings among the high ceilings of the city council chambers have left plenty to be desired. This week, the West Lafayette board of works agreed to a contract with Artisan Electric to install ceiling and wall treatments, among other things, for “enhanced speech intelligibility, reduced listener fatigue, improved hearing safety, and increased effectiveness of the existing PA system.” The maximum price was set at $81,240.
CONGRESSMAN STEPS IN TO DEFEND CAITLIN CLARK: Congressman Jim Banks, an Indiana Republican running for U.S. Senate in November, joined the fray Wednesday over Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark and her sometimes-rough welcome the WNBA. Banks used congressional letterhead to call on the league to do something about plays that leave Clark sprawled on the deck – including one that made headlines over the weekend, when she took a shot from Chicago Sky’s Chennedy Carter. Banks’ point: "It is not only a disservice to Clark and the Indiana Fever, it's a disservice to the millions of young girls who are watching with dreams of playing in the WNBA one day." What an odd play from the congressman. Indy Star reporter Evan Frank had this account: “U.S. Rep. Jim Banks wants answers on how to protect Caitlin Clark more.”
"I don't really hear the noise,” Clark said after Indiana’s practice on Wednesday, according to a piece – “Clark blocks out uproar in rookie year” – from Indy Star’s Zion Brown. For the rebuttal, posted a day ahead of Banks’ letter, consider this from Lyz Lenz, who writes
on Substack from her home in Iowa, where she was booster of all things Caitlin Clark when she played for the Hawkeyes:
ON A CASINO MOGUL’S INFLUENCE: Indianapolis Star reporters Tony Cook and Kayla Dwyer did a deep dive well worth reading on Rod Ratcliff, with ties to Lafayette and big player in Indiana’s gaming industry. From the first of three parts: “The key to his success was simple: He invested in influence. … IndyStar found that Ratcliff, his companies and his close associates spent $12.3 million on lobbying and political contributions to support lawmakers and other government officials whose decisions could change the fortunes of Ratcliff and his horse tracks or casinos.” Here’s an entry point into Cook and Dwyer’s reports: “The rise and fall of Indiana’s casino king. How Rod Ratcliff built a Statehouse money machine.”
DEBATE OVER DIPLOMAS: The debate over proposed changes in Indiana’s high school diplomas continued Wednesday, with the State Board of Education offering adjustments in a plan that would offer work-based experience as a pathway to graduation. Chalkbeat reporter Aleksandra Appleton gave a flavor of the stakes, so far: “Since state officials unveiled the original blueprint for new diploma rules in March, the plan has drawn skepticism from educators who say the proposed diplomas discount currently required courses like world language, social studies, advanced math, and fine arts in favor of work experience. They’ve also expressed concerns about the state plan to eliminate the Academic Honors diploma, which is linked to college-going. Such a move would effectively force students to choose between a diploma that could be seen as less rigorous by universities, or one that requires significantly more work experience. Read the full report from Appleton’s in Chalkbeat: “Indiana bets on high school work experience, but may give college-bound students transcript seals.”
WHY AI COMPANY’S STOCK EXPLOSION PLAYS HERE: Nvidia stock is going nuts, as the chip maker key to the boom in artificial intelligence market this week passed Apple in value to make it No. 2 behind Microsoft. Why does that matter here? Because SK hynix, the South Korean chip developer and manufacturer with $3.8 billion plans for a packaging plant in West Lafayette’s Purdue Research Park, is a supplier and cited the pressing need to feed Nvidia’s growing demand as one reason to set up in Indiana. The Wall Street Journal had this take heading into Thursday’s trading: “Nvidia Hits $3 Trillion Market Cap, Passes Apple in Total Value.” And here’s a look at the day in April when SK hynix announced plans in West Lafayette.
DINING DIVAS AND DUDES TAKE IN SAKANAYA IZAKAYA: Dining Divas and Dudes is a team that has been reporting and rating new restaurants, hidden gems, international fare and updated menus from old favorites for years now at homeofpurdue.com. Here at Based in Lafayette, we feature some of Dining Divas and Dudes’ best and most recent finds. Recently, they checked out Sakanaya Izakaya, a Japanese restaurant that took over and totally renovated a former Wings Etc. spot at 2060 Sagamore Parkway West. Among the verdicts that day: “The new restaurant bears no scars of the time spent slinging wings and dishes up a relaxing aura upon entry.”
Read the full Dining Divas and Dudes post/review here: “Ocean's Bounty: Sakanaya Izakaya.”
Thanks, again, to sponsor Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc., presenting the Subaru Wilderness 5K Saturday, June 15, at the SIA Recreation Center Grounds in Lafayette. For details and to register, click here.
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Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.
Jim Banks has lots of bad opinions about what happens to women's bodies. If he really wants to protect Ms Clark and those millions of young girls, he should work to restore their access to the full range of health care.
Actually not an odd play from Banks. He’s happy to “defend” women who take on the physical rigors of sports; making them out to be delicate flowers needing protection.
Very consistent with his ongoing efforts to take power away from women who want to be independent and take charge of their own health care.