Hey Locals,

Happy Belated Labor Day! We have a lot of news for you on this short holiday week, including details on our Editor, Kara Hackett, being featured in WPTA 21’s investigation into Electric Works last week.

In this week’s Above the Fold, we’re looking into city and state codes governing the substitution of City Council members, following the multi-week absence of Rep. Dr. Scott Myers (R-4) during several key Council votes this summer. Speaking of hot topics at City Council: In Briefs, we bring you the latest on Fort Wayne’s Flock camera and homeless service center discussions, as well as a proposal to place a moratorium on data center developments expected to be introduced at Council tonight.

In our To Do List, we have a jam-packed schedule of events, from Blue Jacket’s popular Second Chances Art Exhibit on Thursday to Fort Wayne’s First Middle Eastern Coffee Shop and West Central ArtsFest this weekend.

Don’t forget: This month, we’re partnering with Welcome Back Records to bring all paid subscribers 10% off any purchase (up to $100). Learn more in our Local Spotlight.

Now, let’s get started!

NOTE: Links to Journal Gazette articles are marked(*) and may be behind a paywall.

City Council substitutes?

What happens when reps miss multiple, significant meetings?

What's happening?

It's been a busy summer for City Council, with several votes on significant public issues, ranging from Flock cams to homeless resource centers. As residents of the city's Southwest side, we (Kara, Mike and Rachel) couldn't help but notice our representative for District 4, Dr. Scott Myers, hasn't been at the table for about three months now.

You might remember: On June 3, Myers was arrested for “Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated Endangering a Person,” and he entered rehab immediately after, currently receiving care at Allendale Treatment, WANE 15 reports. While Myers posted statements on social media apologizing for his actions and explaining his treatments, he did not mention when he might return to City Council. His term runs through January 1, 2028, and he has not resigned.

So... how does City Council handle extended absences? Are substitutes allowed? And do representatives continue to get paid while they're away?

Stay tuned for our Thursday newsletter – for paid subscribers only – where we’ll dive into these questions and revisit a popular subject from last year: City Council attendance records and why they matter.

• The Local’s Editor and Co-Founder Kara Hackett was featured on WPTA 21 last week as part of an investigative documentary about Electric Works. The report by John Wagner of 21 Investigates, seeks to answer whether the dream of Electric Works has been realized according to its original vision and intent. Wagner interviews Kara for her perspective as an independent local journalist, in addition to City Council Reps. Geoff Paddock (D-5) and Russ Jehl (R-2), and Developer Kevin Biggs of RTM Ventures behind Electric Works. The 30-minute feature revisits interesting WPTA 21 footage from the project’s past, and raises questions about its future – including much-anticipated plans for the old GE Club bowling alley. Perhaps most notably, it features one of the most candid interviews with the project’s leadership to-date, in which Biggs admits: “We know it’s not working how we originally cast the vision, and so we want to continue to hear from the public: This is what we expect, and this is what we want.”
• City Council Rep. Rohli Booker (D-6) is expected to introduce a 365-day moratorium on new data centers in Fort Wayne at tonight’s meeting. If approved, the ordinance would prevent Council and other City bodies from supporting new data center projects until the City’s Department of Planning Services creates a comprehensive data center development standard. This would not affect Google’s existing data center in Booker’s district.
• The University of Saint Francis is offering a new full-tuition scholarship to students next fall who meet certain criteria, including families earning less than $70,000/year. Last week, the university announced the Saint Francis Promise program will be offered in the fall 2027 for incoming freshmen or transfer students as a way to meet “a need in our local community for students who really can’t afford college." Eligible students may get $38,680 waived from their $50,970 tuition bill. The scholarship does not cover room, board, program, course, or miscellaneous fees, textbooks or course materials.
• Southwest Allen County Schools enrollment increased this year, following years of decline linked to state-subsidized charter schools. This year, the district began offering limited open enrollment, and the board recently approved 180 nonresident transfer requests. SACS's districtwide enrollment is now 30 students higher than last year at 7,286 – topping a projected 80-student decrease for the 2026-2027 academic year. “Because school funding from the state is tied to enrollment, district leaders have said they hope limited open enrollment will boost the school system’s finances, which would support more programs, staff and services,” The JG* reports, noting that “SACS expects to receive nearly $60 million, or 1.4% more than last year, in state tuition dollars,” as a result of the increase.
• Following the recent Flock vote at City Council, WANE 15 explored various other Automatic License Plate Recognition (APLR) cameras that might be active in cities, like Fort Wayne. A national website DeFlock tracks ALPRs across the U.S. – about 82% of which are made by Flock. “Another 5% are made by Motorola Solutions, and 2% are made by Genetec. Smaller companies like Axon, Axis Communications, and Neology are also listed,” WANE notes. The ACLU says there are notable differences among these various cameras: “For example, while Flock and Motorola have nationwide law enforcement data sharing, Axon does not.” It’s also worth noting that Flock Safety has private customers, like businesses, in addition to its law enforcement customers. The FWPD’s Flock Safety cams represent about half (36) of the total (71) ALPRs DeFlock cites within Fort Wayne. The Indiana Capital Chronicle recently published an editorial criticising state lawmakers for not setting any guardrails on ALPRs. A local organization, DeFlock Fort Wayne, has also called on City Council to ban Flock, and it has a petition asking Allen County Commissioners to ban Flock, too.
• The FWPD is seeking community feedback on its performance in an anonymous, public survey online – open now through Sept. 30. FWPD Chief Paul Smith tells WANE 15 the goal of the Community Satisfaction Survey is “understanding how the department is viewed by the public, what residents expect from police and ‘which qualities should guide the department’s future communications and public identity.’” The survey covers several aspects of the FWPD’s public service, including trust, transparency, professionalism, community engagement, public-safety priorities, and how residents prefer to receive information from police.
• Last week, City Council voted along party lines against funding the purchase of 333 E. Washington Blvd. Downtown for the City's proposed Anchor Resource Center. WANE 15 reports that Mayor Sharon Tucker “is willing to consider alternatives proposed by Council members who opposed the funding.”

• Try: Fort Wayne’s first Yemeni-owned coffee shop, Aroma Lounge, opened recently at 1361 W. Hamilton Rd. The Middle Eastern shop is owned by Purdue Fort Wayne alum Ali Saeed and offers traditional espresso drinks, plus specialty lattes, matchas, refreshers, dirty sodas, frappes, and more. Commenters online recommend their flavored matcha drinks, Adeni chai, and organic Yemeni coffee beans – heirloom Arabica coffees known for their rich, complex flavors with notes of dark chocolate and dried fruit.
• Stretch: all September long in celebration of Yoga Month with Discover Yoga's pay-what-you-can model, starting at $10. The schedule begins with a Vinyasa workshop with Haley Long on Sept. 11, 6-7:15 p.m.
• Support: Blue Jacket’s Second Chances Art Exhibit on Sept. 10, 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. at the Blue Jacket campus on South Calhoun St. The event, catered by Catablu, shares the stories of Blue Jacket’s Career Academy grads, as depicted by local artists, with art available for purchase, ranging $20-$60. (Admission is $25/person.)
• Listen: to the Fort Wayne Philharmonic at the Pearl Street Arts District's free outdoor performance on Sept. 11, 6:30-8:30 p.m. B.Y.O. lawn chair or blanket.
• Stroll: West Central ArtsFest on Sept. 12-13, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., featuring food trucks, vendor booths, pop-up art galleries, and live music along the historic streets – complete with trolley rides around the neighborhood. 
• Explore: the city at Be a Tourist in Your Own Hometown on Sept. 13, noon-5 p.m., with new stops, including the Fort Wayne Curling Club (try Golf Croquet) and the new Ruoff Mortgage Stadium.
• Check out: the Fort Wayne Zoo’s new Wild Weekend events every Saturday and Sunday in September. This weekend features the Zoo’s animal health, environmental and conservation teams, on how they care for animals and one of the Zoo’s signature local conservation projects: Putting hellbender salamanders back into the wild.

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Have a great week, Locals!

-Your Editor, Kara Hackett

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