May 28, 2007
It's been 15 months since Central Indiana Corporate Partnership CEO Mark Miles wrote in these pages that he felt like Rip
Van Winkle when he returned to the city after being away for 15 years. Miles has done anything but sleep since he got back.
Neither has the CICP board of directors. That group should be congratulated for making an outstanding choice of a new leader
and for taking bold steps forward. This seems to have been a perfect match...
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May 21, 2007
Don AltemeyerA recent article in Strategy+business magazine estimated that "the world's urban infrastructure needs a $41 trillion makeover"
between now and 2030. The article explained that $41 trillion is roughly equivalent to the "2006 market capitalization of
all shares held in all stock markets in the world." Some experts think that "new technology" will be the answer, and it may
be when nanotechnology takes over the world. For now, however, the trend usually reinforces the trend, and we do the same...
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May 21, 2007
Julie YoungAfter a stint in public accounting, Whetzel went to work for Fleming Packaging Co., a firm that duplicated and distributed
videotapes. After taking some losses on a couple of projects, the owners of Fleming didn't see the potential for video duplication
and distribution, so Whetzel and business partner Charlie Seldon bought the company in 1991. Doing the deal wasn't easy. "I
borrowed from family, refinanced the house, and took everything out of savings," he said. "I was dead broke and...
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May 21, 2007
Chris O'MalleyLess than two years after being driven out of Adesa Inc. as unceremoniously as a Buick down its auction lanes, James Hallett
is back behind the wheel of the nation's No. 2 wholesale vehicle-auction company.
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May 14, 2007
Andrea MuirraguiINDIANAPOLIS HAS: Seating for up to 73,000 and a retractable roof at Lucas Oil Stadium, set to open in 2008. The press box
seats 200, but event space could be converted for additional media use. PRACTICE FACILITIES NFL WANTS: Comparable practice
facilities for both Super Bowl teams, including a covered field with the same turf as the stadium, locker rooms for players
and coaches, meeting rooms, and laundry service. INDIANAPOLIS HAS: The Colts' 56th Street football complex. Bid organizers
have...
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May 14, 2007
Greg AndrewsMany Hoosier stocks are on a tear, posting year-to-date gains rivaling the numbers we saw in the frothy late 1990s, before
the Internet bubble burst. But market analysts say the comparison stops there. The companies posting gains are old-line manufacturers
like Cummins Inc., not dot-com startups built on hype. And the appreciation is built upon a solid foundation-rapid increases
in profit. Indeed, New York-based Citigroup noted that corporate profits are up 115 percent since the last recession ended
in the...
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May 14, 2007
Della PachecoInternational Center pairs local hosts, visiting delegates to promote cultural understanding When a group of Iraqi editors
and writers visited Indianapolis last summer as part of the U.S. State Department's International Visitor Leadership Program,
they learned about American journalism and Hoosier hospitality. Florence May, a member of the International Center of Indianapolis'
board and president of Simply Hospitality-an Indianapolis-based special-event planning company-hosted the group for dinner
in her home. May grew up in a military family and has lived throughout...
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May 14, 2007
Chris O\'malleyMilwaukee native Trevor Ocock figures his interest in transit dates to age 3. At least that's what his mother tells him. But
the transit bug overtook him at Franklin University in Columbus, Ohio, as he was earning a degree in business administration
and human resources management. Soon, he was washing buses for Ohio State University's transit line. Later, he drove an OSU
bus-met lots of ladies that way-and eventually became its operations manager. "I have always liked to be around...
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May 7, 2007
Anthony SchoettleFew Hoosiers had heard of O'Reilly Auto Parts before the Missouri-based company built a massive distribution center in Hendricks
County and bought the naming rights to Indianapolis Raceway Park last June. Now, the company, which was founded in 1957 and
went public in 1993, figures to become a major retail presence here. Already, 14 stores have cropped up here among 35 that
opened statewide. That makes 1,700 stores in 25 states for the company that reported revenue of $2.3 billion...
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May 7, 2007
Greg AndrewsIt's an age-old strategy: A private equity firm buys a company, bolsters its performance, then pockets a tidy profit by taking
it public or selling it outright. Los Angeles-based Freeman Spogli & Co., the majority owner of Hhgregg Inc. the past two
years, last month revealed plans for a $170 million initial public offering for the consumer electronics retailer. You can
be sure other private equity firms that have scooped up local companies in recent years have the same exit...
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April 30, 2007
Peter SchnitzlerThe diversification of the state's two enormous public pension funds into private equity is transforming Indiana's venture
capital sector. And their $155 million Indiana Investment Fund is the largest factor in the equation. If it's successful,
the Indiana Public Employees' Retirement Fund and the Indiana State Teachers' Retirement Fund will save Hoosiers untold millions
of dollars and help launch a host of new high-tech companies. If it's not, taxpayers will one day have to foot the bill. Indiana
State Budget...
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April 23, 2007
Chris O\'malleyThe biggest acquisition in the 34-year history of ATA Airlines will steer it closer to its charter roots and further from
a scheduled-service binge that led to bankruptcy three years ago. Analysts say the $315 million deal to buy Atlanta-based
World Air Holdings will broaden the revenue base and bring economies of scale for ATA's newly renamed parent, Global Aero
Logistics. It also hands ATA a cargo business worth $100 million in 2005. The deal should give the Manhattan vulture...
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April 16, 2007
Scott OlsonThe java stands Hubbard & Cravens Coffee Co. opened a year ago within Clarian Health Partners' three downtown hospitals are
brewing a rich aroma of results. Yet executives of the locally based coffee retailer and wholesaler know sales could be sweeter.
"The hospitals are so huge that we don't capture even a third of what we could," said Marcie Hubbard, director of store operations.
"So the question is, how do you reach everybody in that entire hospital?" The 23 Taiwanese...
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April 16, 2007
Roger SchmennerGlobalization, like all sweeping economic trends, provokes a widespread disquiet. Specifically, we fear that somehow, if it
continues unchecked, people in the United States will lose their high-paying jobs and we will devolve into a lowwage service
economy. As China gains, we lose. To borrow a phrase from Thomas Friedman, they're frightened that the flattening of the world
economy will flatten us. It is true that traditional manufacturing jobs are fewer now than before. And, lots of things are
made...
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April 9, 2007
Patrick BarkeyWhat's the news on Indiana employment? Odd as it might seem, that phrase is almost a contradiction in terms. For while we
do receive very timely, detailed information on how many jobs are carried on Indiana employers' payrolls each month, the practical
challenges in keeping close tabs on the latest zigs and zags in the 3 million-strong Hoosier labor force make the interpretation
of the fresh data difficult. Only after the data have sat on the shelf for half a...
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April 9, 2007
Brian WilliamsThe Indiana Commerce Connector, those 75 miles of concrete through the Indiana countryside, was announced with great fanfare
at the start of the 2007 legislative session and recently disappeared with equal aplomb. Thanks to the efforts of state Rep.
Terri Austin, chairwoman of the House Roads and Transportation Committee, and the other members of that committee, the citizens
of Indiana had ample opportunity to express their opinions on Indiana's transportation needs. While the governor's specific
proposals for the Indiana Commerce...
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April 9, 2007
Peter SchnitzlerBut extra helpings of your favorite fattening treats may be on their way. At its April 19 meeting, the Indiana State Fair
Commission will consider whether to add up to five more days to the fair, starting in 2008. "You'd have another weekend where
people can come out to partake in fair activities," said Indiana State Fair Commission Chairman Kyle Hupfer. "My guess is
you'd see some new folks come to the fair who wouldn't otherwise come." This year, fair...
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April 9, 2007
Marc D.As a girl, Lori Drzal dreamed of becoming a spy, a policewoman-something where she'd be helping others. Her father had different
ideas. "Become a secretary," he told her. "You'll always have a job." "Today," she said, "I think, 'Why did he tell me that?'
But ... I've always had a job. I've always grown in my jobs, and I've always been challenged." Drzal, 48, executive assistant
to Steak n Shake President and CEO Peter Dunn for the past four years,...
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April 9, 2007
Peter SchnitzlerTaliera Corp. plan to raise $60 million through an initial public offering was withdrawn March 27, but Taliera isn't going
away. It's simply trying a different approach. CEO J. Smoke Wallin said he and his team of eight beverage industry veterans
still believe their business plan is right.
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April 2, 2007
Peter SchnitzlerIndianapolis hasn't attempted to systematically catalog all its infrastructure needs since 1991. Back then, the Greater Indianapolis
Chamber of Commerce collected a list of the most pressing local projects and presented it to Mayor Stephen Goldsmith. The
price tag at that time: $1.1 billion. A lot has changed in the 16 years since the Chamber released its Getting Indianapolis
Fit for Tomorrow report. Some problems it identified, such as the health risk of combined sewer overflows, have been partly
addressed....
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April 2, 2007
Morton MarcusLast week, I was walking on the Statehouse grounds and I saw some folks with large green pins on their lapels. "What do those
stand for?" I asked. "Small businesses need Electronic Gaming Devices" one wearer told me. "That's for bars," I commented.
The reply I got was not friendly. In the newspapers and on TV during the same week, there were features about horse breeders
"needing" more state subsidies from slot machines at racetracks to "keep the industry alive."...
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March 26, 2007
Peter SchnitzlerThe U.S. Department of Justice's highprofile, three-year investigation into price fixing in Indiana's concrete industry resulted
in one of the largest antitrust fines in history: $29.2 million against Greenfield-based Irving Materials Inc. The investigation
might not be over yet. The DOJ seemed to conclude its Indianapolis inquiry last month, finally closing the criminal case.
But a recent filing in a pending civil suit against IMI and its four former top executives hints the probe is continuing elsewhere.
This time, IMI...
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March 26, 2007
Katie MaurerWhat do the Pyramids, the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal have in common? Each project was both designed and built by
the same people. Basically, they were among the first design-build projects in history. What seemed like a good idea hundreds
and thousands of years ago has been slower to take hold in modern times. These days, most construction projects are still
completed by separate entities-one that draws up the plans and another that brings those plans...
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March 26, 2007
Peter SchnitzlerEfforts to secure a mass-transit system for central Indiana are moving ahead. But not rapidly. Several mass-transit bills
are pending in the General Assembly-including one requiring the Indiana Department of Transportation to study building a rail
system from Indianapolis to Muncie, and another encouraging development of mass-transit systems across the state. But neither
is likely to result in immediate funding for a system serving Indianapolis commuters. Local mass-transit advocates still are
a long way from winning over lawmakers and others...
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March 12, 2007
Jennifer WhitsonThe Indianapolis Airport Authority has tapped Mansur Real Estate Services Inc. to develop a $50 million-plus Westin hotel
at the new midfield terminal. But the hotel's final design may be one submitted by a former competitor, White Lodging Corp.
of South Bend.
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It's also across the street from Fogo de Chao and Morton's....
Yep, the haters are trying to make good news bad. I guess it is hard to get people to believe the series is dying when they are gaining new sponsors.
David Copperfield! I remember watching his specials on TV when I was little.
Don't forget this is next to an MMA gym, a pawn shop, and some abandoned spaces.
Good project for Zionsville - A group who has owned the property for many years has waited and worked patiently to bring highest and best use development to a major corridor, and mix that in with the great downtown you have. Win Win. All the Best to Pittman Partners and Zionsville.