September 12, 2005
Tracy DonhardtreporterBut an unusual component of the soon-to-be-released request for proposals by Indianapolis Public Schools, the property's owner,
has many wondering if anyone has what it will take to win the coveted piece of real estate. What it'll take is the offering
of a replacement facility where IPS can move its central transportation facility and other school district operations. "That's
the general concept," said SteveYoung, chief of facilities management for IPS. "We're not looking to sell it. We would have
to...
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September 12, 2005
Chris O\'malleyA not-for-profit group developing vehicles for use in the Third World plans to open a "micro-factory" next month near 65th
Street and Binford Boulevard. But the Institute for Affordable Transportation site won't mass-produce its diminutive vehicles,
powered by lawn tractor engines. Rather, the donated space will become a lab for working out methods to help those in developing
countries assemble the so-called "basic utility vehicles." The facility "is to basically prepare the way for this technology
transfer package so it...
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September 12, 2005
Patrick BarkeyYou may not know this, but every banker and policymaker does. If every one of us got out of bed tomorrow morning, drove to
our banks or financial institutions, and tried to withdraw our money, the system that seems so solid today would suffer a
complete collapse. The same thing would happen to the electrical grid if every device that could draw power were switched
on at once. In fact, if every one of us decided today to fill up...
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September 12, 2005
Chris O\'malleyMost concerned about higher commuting costs are employers on the periphery of Indianapolis, where there is little or no bus
transportation for workers who live in Marion County. "At some point, for an hourly worker, it becomes cost-prohibitive to
drive to Plainfield for work," said Kim Woodward, director of human resources for Brightpoint Inc. The wireless phone distributor
has a warehouse in the Hendricks County town that employs 611, plus about 100 contract workers. "Public transportation is
not readily available,"...
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September 5, 2005
Chris O\'malleyHurricane Katrina will be both a curse and a blessing to Indiana companies, which will cope with higher fuel costs and shipping
problems but find themselves awash in opportunities to sell materials and machinery for rebuilding Gulf cities. Besides weathering
the immediate impact of higher fuel prices, Hoosier firms will pay more for a range of goods, because of the trickle-down
effect of higher shipping costs. "Our biggest concern continues to be on the ever-increasing cost of fuel. That's s...
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September 5, 2005
Chris O\'malleyOn the expenses line of ATA Airlines Inc.'s battered books, the savings associated with a fleet reduction might have been
accounted for as a tailwind that accelerated its flight to financial solvency. Paring 35 of its 82 aircraft in the first half
of this year saved the Indianapolis carrier $49 million in jet fuel and oil expenses. That's big money for the bankrupt airline:
half of what it's trying to raise from investors to pull out of Chapter 11 and...
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August 29, 2005
Chris O\'malleyThe No. 2 man at the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce isn't necessarily a shoo-in to succeed retiring president John
S. Myrland, according to directors of the city's primary business advocacy group. It's not that Executive Vice President Roland
Dorson might not well be the best candidate and ultimately picked as president, as was Myrland when holding Dorson's job 14
years ago. Some chamber directors say Dorson is the strongest internal candidate. But, in a departure from years past, the...
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August 29, 2005
Scott OlsonThree veterans of state government have pooled their years of management experience to launch the women-owned business consultancy
Engaging Solutions LLC. Led by Venita Moore and Debra Simmons Wilson, the company set up shop in the Indiana Black Expo building
on North Meridian Street this spring to provide fiscal management, strategic planning, outreach, training and economic development
services. They and part-time principal Tammy Butler Robinson say the firm's focus on serving government agencies, not-forprofits
and faith-based organizations fits their backgrounds....
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August 22, 2005
Peter SchnitzlerThe Public Employees' Retirement Fund, Indiana's largest pension system, is preparing to unleash half a billion dollars into
venture capital, real estate and other privateequity investments. And the fund's managers aim to put the bulk of it to work
inside state lines. Hoosier venture capitalists are salivating at the prospect. T h a t 's t h e equivalent of nearly seven
BioCrossroads Indiana Future Funds. "If there are excellent opportunities to invest in Indiana, we ought to be looking...
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August 22, 2005
Tracy DonhardtOne of Marcus Ballance's cousins is in prison for shooting another man. Another was recently shot after serving a prison term
of his own. Ballance, a 12-year-old who attends Margaret McFarland Middle School, lives with his mom, her boyfriend and a
baby sister on the city's east side. He's been exposed to crime and drugs his entire life. Some would say that means Ballance
has a good chance of ending up either a victim of homicide or in prison. But...
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August 22, 2005
I travel a fair amount for both business and pleasure, and I've been to several major U.S. cities. Most of the time, I return
from these adventures thinking that wherever it was I visited had nothing on Indianapolis. In fact, I usually think those
cities can learn a lot from us. This time, it was different. I've just returned from a place that's doing a lot of things
right ... a place that has employed some ideas and programs our...
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August 22, 2005
Chris O\'malley"Why are taxpayers in California and Texas and Massachusetts paying for a museum in Indianapolis?" David Boaz, executive vice
president of the Washington-based Cato Institute, wrote on the think tank's Web site in May as the bill was coalescing. The
Children's Museum of Indianapolis landed the grant under the $286 billion transportation bill signed by President Bush this
month. The grant was included in the bill courtesy of Rep. Julia Carson, D-Indianapolis. "Congress constantly uses the Department
of Transportation's budget...
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August 15, 2005
Tammy LieberThe state of Indiana knows how much it's spending to lease property statewide -nearly $40 million a year. But it doesn't know
if that's too much. State contracts for third-party real estate services give government officials few safeguards to ensure
they're paying a fair price for office, laboratory and storage space outside of state-owned buildings, those in the industry
say. And state administrators have no control over seven-figure commissions paid to two Indianapolis real estate brokers in
the past decade,...
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August 15, 2005
Barbara BranicAfter weathering some difficult times over the last few years, there are encouraging signs that central Indiana has turned
the corner on its road to economic recovery. The Indianapolis metro area added 22,000 jobs in the year ending in March-a 2.4-percent
increase-and in May, the Indiana unemployment rate dipped below the national average for the first time since December. All
signs point to continued modest growth. Patrick Barkey, IBJ contributor and Ball State University economist, says, "We should
expect to...
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August 8, 2005
Law is an important part of the infrastructure for our economy. It can be just as important as highspeed information networks,
transportation systems or capital formation. And like all infrastructure, law has to be modernized to take account of changing
conditions. Although much law regarding commerce comes from Congress, the states have an important role through something
called the Uniform Commercial Code. The UCC reflects the best contemporary thought and is uniform in that it has been enacted
in all...
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August 1, 2005
Tracy DonhardtreporterEven event planners hire event planners. When Cynthia Howell needed to plan an event in the city for a state health care organization,
she called Betsy Ward, a member of the meetings team at the Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association. With what Howell
calls minimal effort on her part, the Indiana Primary Health Care Association Inc. will stay in 50 rooms for two nights at
the Sheraton Indianapolis Hotel and Suites at Keystone at the Crossing this fall. The group...
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July 25, 2005
Greg AndrewsThe Securities a n d E x c h a n g e Commission didn't file its civil-fraud suit against former Conseco Inc. Chief Financial
Officer Rollin Dick until 2004, four years after he resigned under pressure. Under a timetable approved by federal Magistrate
Judge V. Sue Shields July 14, Dick won't stand trial until May 2007 at the earliest. By then, he will have turned 75, and
the transactions challenged by the SEC will be more than seven years...
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July 18, 2005
Scott OlsonThe figure-eight slot-car track in the basement laboratory at IUPUI looks out of place amid the expensive computer equipment
surrounding it. But when research assistant Alan Benedict fumbles with a few wires and the cars come to life, it becomes clear
the racetrack is more than just a toy. The miniature cars operate on fuel cells and are part of Purdue University's exploration
into the alternative power source. Scientists across the country are studying the clean power alternative, stoked by...
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July 11, 2005
Patrick BarkeyDoes anyone remember the World Almanac? Perhaps not. But in the Barkey household of many years back, it was a well-worn little
book. Especially those pages where populations were listed for every city in the country. That's where we could proudly look
up our own hometown and see where we stood against everyone else. We're still doing that, of course. The paper books are gone,
naturally, replaced by Web pages from the Census Bureau that pop up at the click...
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July 4, 2005
Morton MarcusThe U.S. Supreme Court has now ruled again that the public good supersedes conventional private property rights. Some critics
have argued that this is something new. It is not, but this decision is a major extension of existing government powers. The
case in question, if you missed it, involves seven homeowners in New London, Conn., who refused to move so their land can
be part of an urban redevelopment effort. The city wants to transfer the properties to private firms...
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July 4, 2005
Tracy DonhardtreporterMichelle Taylor's first customer was a north-side hotel that ordered 3,000 janitorial gloves a month. She got up at 3 a.m.,
processed the order out of her garage, and delivered the gloves in her car. Less than three years later, Indianapolisbased
Milor Supply Inc. delivers 36,000 gloves a month, plus janitorial equipment and supplies and safety equipment, to universities,
city and state governments, hospitals and a host of other industries across the country. The 35-year-old black female entrepreneur
has moved...
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June 27, 2005
Morton MarcusThe closing of several offices of the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles involves serious issues that are worth attention. Just
after the end of the legislative session, the BMV commissioner announced that a few smaller offices would be closed. The number
of patrons these offices serve was deemed insufficient to maintain and staff the facilities. In an age of increasing use of
electronic transactions, this makes sense. One of these facilities was in Hope, a small Bartholomew County town in...
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June 27, 2005
Tom MurphyAn empty retirement home near Methodist Hospital may turn into a lodge that gives cancer patients a place to rest while they
receive treatment in Indianapolis. The American Cancer Society is talking with Clarian Health Partners about planting a Hope
Lodge on the site of the former Indianapolis Retirement Home, which sits across from Methodist on busy North Capitol Avenue.
The cancer society operates 23 of these lodges in several states, but this would be the first Indiana location, according...
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June 27, 2005
Tammy LieberLennox Industries Inc. is giving Indianapolis a vote of confidence as a logistics hub with plans to move distribution of its
commercial heating and cooling products from facilities in Chicago and Columbus, Ohio, to the east side of Indianapolis. Although
the distribution center is relatively small at 60,000 square feet, Lennox is one of a few companies that have abandoned distribution
centers in other cities in favor of Indianapolis' low cost of real estate, central location and interstate access. Last...
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June 27, 2005
Tracy DonhardtreporterTwo aircraft maintenance programs in close proximity to each other are far apart when it comes to successfully filling classrooms
with budding mechanics. Times are so tough for Vincennes University's struggling aircraft maintenance program at Indianapolis
International Airport's Aviation Technology Center that it asked for permission to conduct three non-aviation degree programs
there. The aviation program, which enrolled about 300 students in the mid-1990s, now has about 75. Vincennes officials blame
the United Airlines Maintenance hub closure, which displaced 1,200...
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See, I told u Indyman and Dipsicle....this 8 days is overkill. It's barely worth a weekend....great job Tony George! Your dream has been fulfilled....he fans want the I r l back. Thats how good it was.....and that sucked.
I have been in training for a short time now but right off I can see that safety and quality are the number one issues, my experience as of late has been a positive one, the employees along with Jeff the plant manager and the operation supervisor as well as the engineers are a highly motivated group of people, what an asset for the area to have and for company's in need of a quality metal products.
Pimlico
While I understand the severity of their actions as well as everyones eagerness to hold them responsible for thier lost funds, these gentlemen did know how to make money. Dispite thier poor decisions over the ownership of Fair they had made several wise investments which paid them greatly. This proves they do have the potential to rebuild so they can repay. I do not feel they should live the life of luxuary but given an opportunity could they find ways of repaying the debts? They are doing nothing now but being a burden on tax payers. Just a thought!!!!!
You guys have some "interesting" comments to say the least. I hope you will call in and share those opinions starting June 1. I'm looking forward to having you on the air.