I spent a most interesting 25 minutes on the telephone this morning with Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House who will be keynoting the Chamber’s 19th Annual Awards Dinner on November 6 — two days after this fall’s general election.

After giving a thoughtful and comprehensive response about what he expects to happen on November 4, Gingrich did add that he originally picked Hillary Rodham Clinton to win the Democratic nomination and he thought John McCain was "dead last August." While he downplays his own prognostications, Gingrich offered a number of compelling insights on political and business topics.

The full story from our interview will be in the upcoming BizVoice magazine (available in late August online and in print). But look for a few more excerpts between now and then, both from our discussion and also from hearing Gingrich speak earlier this year to the Council of State Governments in Lexington, Kentucky.

Bottom line: he’s incredibly intelligent, strongly opinionated and you’re not going to want to miss what he has to say in November.

Tuesdays is Letters to Our Leaders day, and this week is no exception. You will have to come back tomorrow for this week’s release and the details, but when the topic is education you can be sure there will be plenty to say.

In fact, an early draft of this letter was critiqued by several for having everything in it but the proverbial kitchen sink. Not a good sign if all those contributing to the process came up with such a long list of improvements needed in our education input and outcomes.

There are positives to Indiana’s education efforts at all levels and many good people working for improvement. Like challenges in several other areas, it’s the system that is slowing the dramatic progress needed.

In the closest we’ll get to a sneak preview, look for these words and more — dropouts, parental options, cooperation, accountability, and teacher compensation and qualifications.

I’m confident education will be high on the next governor’s agenda. Tuesday’s letter from the Indiana Chamber board of directors will make an excellent starting point.

Talk about a good news, bad news scenario. That’s the situation with the second of the Chamber’s Letters to Our Leaders — the relationship between economic development and issues regarding energy and the environment.

The history: Indiana’s low-cost, reliable energy supplies have been a major benefit in attracting business investment. Whether at work or at home, we simply expect the water to flow when we turn on the tap and the electricity to come on when we flip the switch.

The future: as our state continues to grow (which we all want and need), the pressure on those supplies is increased. Are the resources going to be in short supply tomorrow, next month or next year? Probably not. The bad news terminology is probably an exaggeration; it’s more of a warning that we better have a long-term plan in place to take full advantage of future opportunities.

Mixing new energy resources with clean coal technology, conservation and more are part of the mix. Our message: Let’s start that planning now, so we don’t pay (in the form of shortages and usage limitations) later.

Read the letter; view the one-minute video summary below. Share your opinions.

There’s no questioning that the creation of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) has provided a major lift to Indiana’s business attraction and expansion efforts. Now the public-private organization is able to utilize some extra talking points with others taking notice of the state’s improved business climate and performance.

While Marion County and a few others across the state are still dealing with 2007 property tax bills, work is progressing (behind the normal May-November payment due schedule) on 2008 versions. It’s still way too early to tell the impacts of most property tax reform measures. The immediate "relief" to homeowners (a total of $870 million in state-provided credits) will be seen.

Although there is no official report, Indiana Chamber calculations indicate:

• Twelve have mailed the first 2008 bills, with Vanderburgh, Hamilton and Howard among the largest counties
• The initial Allen County installment is expected to hit next week. Vigo and Monroe should go out before the end of July
• Further delays are expected in northern Indiana with more work to do in Lake, LaPorte, Porter and St. Joseph counties
• A total of 52 counties have received budget orders from the Department of Local Government Finance. The result could be many more bills on the way in the coming weeks

So, homeowners are getting their relief – that was the mission. The question is what will the 2008 commercial and industrial property taxes look like.

Two excerpts of Wednesday stories that taken together simply leave your head shaking.

First, from an Indiana Chamber release the day after its Letters to Our Leaders project debuted with an initial focus on local government efficiency:

Last winter, the first responders on the scene of a van in a Hamilton County retention pond weren’t a critically needed dive team. Instead, it reportedly took three 911 calls for that emergency crew to arrive. Tragically, four people lost their lives when public safety improvements might have made all the difference.

The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette was one of many media outlets covering the campaign to place a focus on important public policy issues. A separate story in the same newspaper about opposition to a plan to merge city, county and the nearby New Haven emergency call centers included the following:

The issue of merged 911 centers has been an ongoing discussion for years between Fort Wayne and Allen County, as the two call centers are housed in the same room of the City-County Building basement separated by a glass wall. Councilman Tim Pape, D-5th, said the issue has been the most frustrating topic for him. … He said even if there were no cost savings, having a unified dispatch center makes sense because it improves safety.

The Chamber’s local government efficiency letter and below is the video; the story from Fort Wayne.

Assessors in 43 townships want to keep their jobs. No surprise there. But to go to the extreme of handing out campaign literature while “serving the people.” The Capitol Watchblog has the latest on questionable, or in this case illegal, alleged behavior at the township level of government.