Daybreak Drive-IN: New Mayors for several Indiana cities… October sets weather record… Major League Baseball celebrates shorter games

Today’s first look at news, weather, and sports starts with election results and ends with weather fit for spring. Subscribe to the Daybreak Drive-IN podcast to get what you need as soon as your day starts. We post it every morning before 5 a.m.

• The Mayor of Indianapolis will keep his job. Democrat Joe Hogsett took 60% of the votes to beat his Republican challenger, Jefferson Shreve. It’s the headline result after an election day that saw several other cities choose new mayors. Republican Sue Finkham takes over the task in Carmel… Democrat James Coffman does the same in Beech Grove… Democrat Deborah Whitfield assumes the office in Lawrence.
• Voters approved several local school referendums. Measures in Sheridan, Hamilton Southeastern, West Lafayette, and Carmel all passed.
• Abortion rights proved to be a pivotal issue in several states. Ohio voters approved a measure to protect access to abortion. Democrats took control of the Virginia statehouse, giving them power to prevent new restrictions promised by the Republican Governor… and Kentucky’s Democratic governor won re-election after campaigning on reproductive rights.
• A new analysis of last month’s global weather indicates it was the hottest October on record – four-tenths of a degree warmer than the old mark, set in 2019. It’s the fifth straight month with such a record, virtually assuring that 2023 will go down as the hottest year since record-keeping started.
• One of Major League Baseball’s recent rule changes appears to be working. Game times for the World Series were -way- down for the postseason – clocking in at 3:02 on average… 20 minutes shorter than last year and 35 minutes quicker than 2021. Experts credit the pitch clock.
• A pressing off-court problem is over for the Indiana Pacers… for now. The NBA has agreed to a new deal to keep games for several teams, including the Pacers, on “Bally Sports” for the rest of the season. Bally is in bankruptcy and looking at a very uncertain long-term future. Fans have been very unhappy about coverage so far this season – as many people don’t have access to the channel.
• Wednesday weather: Partly cloudy, windy, and warmer – with a high of 75°! Expect spotty showers this evening.