Charter school meeting

The Fort Wayne Urban League’s board of directors will meet today to discuss a proposed lease for the Thurgood Marshall Leadership Academy, a charter school proposed for the former Village Woods Middle School.

Urban League and charter school board officials are on a tight schedule to lease the building, attract students and hire teachers for classes to begin this fall. The Urban League wants to lease the former Village Woods Middle School from a limited liability corporation, but that corporation may have difficulty just buying the building: It was the home of White’s School of the Arts, but its leader was convicted of charges related to illegal gambling, and East Allen County Schools must also sign off on a new owner.

After purchase, it must be remodeled.

The school has just 22 applications.

Another new charter school was approved last month by Grace College. The all-boys prep school also will be located in southeast Fort Wayne.

IBM trial

Closing arguments are under way this morning in the consolidated lawsuits pitting the state of Indiana and IBM against each other. Marion Superior Court Judge David Dreyer is presiding over the cases, which center on counter-claims involved with the privatization of the state’s welfare eligibility system. The state is seeking $170 million in damages, while IBM is suing for about $100 million in disputed fees and equipment costs in the failed deal.

Ninety-seven witnesses have testified in the nearly five-week trial, including Mitch Roob, who oversaw the privatization contract as secretary of Indiana’s Family and Social Services Administration.

Pacers join Hall

Indiana basketball fans turned their attention from college hoops to the pros yesterday with the announcement that Pacers legend Reggie Miller will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in early September.

Miller is the NBA’s second-greatest 3-point shooter and its 12th-leading scorer.

Also Monday, the selection committee announced that former Pacer Mel Daniels will be inducted in the same class. He played for the franchise when it was part of the ABA.

3 primaries today

Republicans in Wisconsin, Maryland and Washington, D.C., go to the polls today to select their choice for the party’s presidential nominee.

Rick Santorum has concentrated his efforts on Wisconsin, and his name isn’t on the D.C. ballot.

Romney has half the delegates needed to win the nomination, and a Wisconsin victory would bring much momentum as an increasing number of GOP leaders lend their support to him and call for an end to the bruising primary campaign.

Newt Gingrich hasn’t dropped out of the race, but he has significantly cut back campaigning.