News & Analysis

Real pinball wizard makes career of repairs

May 11, 2009
George Umbarger
Game technician Doug Clark has been going full tilt in unusual niche for 31 years.
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Reimbursement changes prompt specialists to join hospital payrollsRestricted Content

May 11, 2009
J.K. Wall
Specialist physicians, who have traditionally been fiercely independent, are more and more coming on as employees of hospitals.
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Lauth needs financing, real-estate recovery to emerge from bankruptcyRestricted Content

May 11, 2009
Cory Schouten
The 32-year-old developer Lauth Group Inc. likely will survive in some form if the company can find financing to get it through a Chapter 11 reorganization and if the real estate market doesn't take too long to turn around, experts said.
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Indianapolis Waterworks' rate hike request excessive, critics sayRestricted Content

May 11, 2009
Chris O'Malley
Customer groups say an 18-percent rate hike sought by the Indianapolis Department of Waterworks is excessive even for a utility drowning in variable-rate bond debt that's swelled since financial markets collapsed.
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Slumping NBC could drag down Channel 13

May 11, 2009
Anthony Schoettle
Early ratings from the all-important May sweeps suggest WTHR-TV Channel 13's 15-year reign as king of local television news is secure for now. But the big test will come this fall when NBC's weakening prime-time lineup is expected to put the ratings crown in play.
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'Epic' investment losses hit hospitalsRestricted Content

May 11, 2009
J.K. Wall
Financial reports trickling in from Indianapolis' major hospitals show why the city's health care building boom ground to a near halt this year. It ran into a wall of investment losses.
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A real pinball wizard

May 11, 2009
It's a rainy Monday morning and Doug Clark is making a house call--an early but otherwise average start to his week.
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F1 team picks Charlotte for new headquartersRestricted Content

May 4, 2009
Scott Olson
A decision by a startup Formula One team to set up shop in Charlotte, N.C., is fueling debate over whether Indianapolis still is the self-proclaimed "motorsports capital of the world."
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George gives IRL four years to break even ... or elseRestricted Content

May 4, 2009
Anthony Schoettle
Indy Racing League founder Tony George dropped a bombshell in December when he told an industry group that he would shut down the open-wheel series if it didn't break into the black soon.
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Top logistics execs draw road map for industryRestricted Content

May 4, 2009
Chris O'Malley
On the menu of Indiana's economic development initiatives, the logistics industry has had all the appeal of truck stop coffee. Meanwhile, the information technology and life sciences sectors—and recently clean tech—have had everyone salivating. Logistics, however, is cooking up a new strategy.
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Allison Transmission invests in British engineering firmRestricted Content

May 4, 2009
Kathleen McLaughlin
Though plagued by debt, Allison Transmission recently plowed millions of dollars into experimental technology that could lead to new products.
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Ritter's buyer retools custard chainRestricted Content

May 4, 2009
Sam Stall
Indianapolis residents have been passionate about Ritter's handmade frozen custard ever since it debuted almost two decades ago. But while the ice cream is sweet, the story of the former mom-and-pop company's attempts to morph into something grander is decidedly bitter. Now, New York-based TruFoods, which bought the company in May 2008, is trying to get the formula right.
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Bioanalytical Systems founder fights to be heardRestricted Content

May 4, 2009
Peter Schnitzler
It took Pete and Candace Kissinger 33 years to build West Lafayette-based Bioanalytical Systems Inc. into one of the largest contract research firms in Indiana's life science sector. It took just a year and a half for them to turn against the company's new management.
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With pharma famine looming, Lilly relying on snack-size dealsRestricted Content

May 4, 2009
J.K. Wall
Compared with some of his pharmaceutical CEO peers these days, John Lechleiter has his company on a diet. Instead of using a mega-merger to bulk up before the famine that patent expirations will bring on the industry next year, Lechleiter has Eli Lilly and Co. burning management fat while looking for smaller companies to munch on.
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Critics: Tax hike 'defies logic'Restricted Content

May 4, 2009
Peter Schnitzler
Critics say the Legislature's plan to shore up the insolvent Indiana Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund places the bulk of the financial burden on already ailing businesses with the least ability to pay.
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Steak n Shake hoping to roll out lower-cost, limited-service storesRestricted Content

May 4, 2009
Cory Schouten
TV spots for Steak n Shake Co. used to play up the chain's full-service restaurants, complete with friendly servers, real plates and glass ketchup bottles—a departure from the "workaraunts" operated by McDonald's and Burger King. Now, Steak n Shake is developing plans for its own workaraunts.
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Federal stimulus trickles downRestricted Content

April 27, 2009
Peter Schnitzler
There's a smorgasbord available for small businesses in the federal stimulus package. The trick is figuring out how to get a plate. Plenty of local experts are serving up access to the buffet. And some entrepreneurs are digging in. But others consider the stimulus warmed-over leftovers.
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Grad students dream up plans for mass transitRestricted Content

April 27, 2009
Chris O'Malley
Architecture and urban design students from Ball State have created a vision for urban renewal that is arguably more compelling than the Central Indiana Regional Transit Authority's principal, utilitarian goal of reducing northeast-side highway congestion and air pollution by running a diesel commuter train atop the old Nickel Plate Railroad corridor.
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ChaCha co-founder dancing to different drumRestricted Content

April 27, 2009
Chris O'Malley
ChaCha Search Inc. co-founder Brad Bostic has stepped down as president of the human-assisted Internet search company, which is struggling to turn a profit in a dismal advertising climate, but he hasn't left. "Brad is still engaged with the company as a director, co-founder and consultant," said co-founder and CEO Scott Jones.
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Westfield mayor hopes $60M stadium project will transform cityRestricted Content

April 27, 2009
Cory Schouten
Westfield Mayor Andy Cook is proposing a $60 million youth sports complex with a 4,000-seat multipurpose outdoor stadium, indoor sports facilities and sports fields with the goal of establishing the Hamilton County community as the "Family Sports Capital of America."
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Jobless fill lull by volunteeringRestricted Content

April 27, 2009
Kathleen McLaughlin
Volunteer managers say they’ve seen an influx this year of people who’ve lost their jobs, as well as students who are anticipating a tough market after graduation. The volunteers are welcome, especially as charities themselves have fewer paid employees.
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New motorsports trade show takes aim at departed PRIRestricted Content

April 27, 2009
Anthony Schoettle
Still stinging from the city's loss of the giant Performance Racing Industry trade show in 2004, a group of local motorsports business advocates is racing to put on a competing event.
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Business school outgrows IndianaRestricted Content

April 27, 2009
J.K. Wall
With enrollment surging in vocational schools around the country, Indiana Business College has launched an expansion into Ohio and likely into other states as well. The Indianapolis-based for-profit school also is changing its name.
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Defense budget overhaul could give local Rolls-Royce plant a boostRestricted Content

April 27, 2009
Kathleen McLaughlin
While military contractors scramble to protect big projects from Defense Secretary Robert Gates' budgetary ax, Indianapolis engine-maker Rolls-Royce is sitting pretty.
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Colts staying at Rose-Hulman for training camp

April 24, 2009
 IBJ Staff and Associated Press
The Indianapolis Colts are staying at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology for training camp. The team has conducted its camp at the Terre Haute school since 1999.
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