PHIL WIELAND: Don't change team name, just show some respect

As his name implies, Kenny Lone Eagle is a Native American. You know, the people we used to call Indians and whose butts John Wayne kicked in all those movies.

PHIL WIELAND: Taking care of the deer-ly departed

One of the joys of commuting along more-or-less rural roads is watching as the bodies of roadkills slowly swell to explosive proportions. (My apologies if you are reading this over breakfast. You might want to turn to the comics page instead.)

PHIL WIELAND: Still a soft spot for softball season

The Valparaiso Parks Department men's softball season opener was Wednesday, which explains the sobbing you might have heard coming from me late that afternoon.

PHIL WIELAND: Population map shows dots all, folks

Everyone in North America is more than a number. Thanks to an MIT grad student, apparently with lots of time on his hands, everyone in the United States, Canada and Mexico now is also a dot.

PHIL WIELAND: Forget charrettes; here's your U.S. 20 plan

As a noted urban planner (and I have the notes from several psychiatrists to prove it), I am happy to offer my insights on how to improve the U.S. 20 corridor in Portage.

PHIL WIELAND: Forget the WMDs; give Hoosiers more cheese doodles

The formula for success in the Indiana General Assembly seems to be to set the bar low. With them, it's not so much reaching for the bar as not tripping over it.

PHIL WIELAND: Tourism power play just political horse manure

Mr. Ed gave himself a case of email hoof-in-mouth when he sent comments complaining about Indiana Dunes Tourism lobbyist Brett Ashton and saying he had informed the mayors and Porter County commissioners that if Ashton's client, presumably Porter County tourism poobah Lorelei Weimer, wasn't …

PHIL WIELAND: Someone should investigate why spring is so late

As families prepare to eat Easter ham,

PHIL WIELAND: Just because speech is free, we don't have to hear it

I've complained in the past about Porter County's emergency warning sirens because they supposedly warn us of about 50 different potential disasters, and it can be tough figuring out why they are going off.

PHIL WIELAND: We're not the happiest, but it could be worse

If you think of the region as something less than paradise on Earth, apparently you are not alone or even in the minority.

PHIL WIELAND: Schools closed because of a threat - of bad weather

The Farmer's Almanac is predicting "squally" weather for mid-April, so Valpo schools should be notifying students soon that classes are cancelled between April 12 and April 15.

PHIL WIELAND: Exercising freedom of speech got tougher in Portage

What is it with public officials who aren't all that eager to hear from the public during what is purportedly a public meeting?

PHIL WIELAND: Some other non-threats Steele can protect us from

After last week's column, a reader wrote that I was a little harsh on State Sen. Brent Steele, especially my saying he had the best porn film name in the Indiana Legislature.

PHIL WIELAND: Legislature great at dealing with problems we don't have

It's heartening that the Indiana Legislature provides gainful employment to the mentally challenged, but sometimes they introduce bills that become laws.

PHIL WIELAND: Just some random thoughts on Kindness Week

Monday is the first day of International Random Acts of Kindness Week leading up to Valentine's Day and, I think, Galactic Niceness Week and Diabetes Awareness Month from all the sweetness.

PHIL WIELAND: Indiana needs fewer license plates -- and legislators

Leave it to the Indiana Legislature to try to solve a problem by making it worse.

PHIL WIELAND: Putting presidential oath under the gun

It's only 35 words carefully crafted by the Founding Fathers as part of the Constitution and uttered by fewer than four dozen men during our nation's history.

PHIL WIELAND: Getting Valpo's vision off to a flying start

It's no secret I'm a big fan of the future, in the sense that I hope we all have one. Keep those Mayans cranking out the calendars, please.

PHIL WIELAND: Don't put Indiana education in Kruse control

It's a sad day for Indiana, one of a plethora, when the chairman of the state Senate's Education Committee thinks the top priority for improving our mediocre, at best, educational system is to require the reading of the Lord's Prayer in schools.