Thanks to Jim for the heads up. The South Bend Tribune has a column which expresses dissatisfaction with Governor Daniels for his lack of leadership on the time zone issue.
Gov. Mitch Daniels has said that he believes counties should be permitted to determine their own time zone and that the U.S. Department of Transportation most probably will accede to their requests. That permission, the governor continued, likely will arrive without much if any red tape: in the form of a letter with DOT’s unqualified OK.
The principle of respecting local decision-making is an admirable one. But in this case we do think it ought to come with a bit of gubernatorial guidance.
. . .
Daniels chose not to make an Indiana time zone recommendation to DOT at the beginning of the selection process. While that may have seemed like a good idea initially, if the current choices are approved there will be such confusion that any economic advantage to being on daylight-saving time will be undermined. It is time for Daniels to stop and bring some statewide logic to this issue.
The Tribune cites the jaggedness of the time zone line if the Dept. of Transportation simply rubber stamps the requests and does not move anyone into Central unless they asked for it. In particular, they mention (without naming) the oddity of Warren County remaining in the eastern zone while counties to the north, south, east, and west are in central time.
Once again, the potential map:
Update: Only tangentially related, but if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then reader and frequent contributor Paul O’Malley has an admirer. He noticed that at least one submission to the USDOT docket bears a striking resemblance to a comment he made back on September 30. I find that a little entertaining for some reason.
Another update: A recent addition to the USDOT docket is a letter from the President of the Carroll County Commissioners dated September 12, setting forth their reasons to supporting Central Time. Carroll County was a county that surprised me. I did not suspect they would vote for Central Time. The Commissioners’ reasoning had mostly to do with their businesses – agriculture and meat packing, both of which look to the west and with the expressed preferences of the community. Apparently many citizens expressed a strong preference for Central time while not very many expressed a desire to be in the Eastern time zone. There was also mention of the ever endangered child waiting for a school bus.
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