- Home
- NEWS
- REGIONAL
- THIS WEEK'S PAPER
- BLOGS
- Multimedia
- OPINION
- A&E
- LISTS
- PEOPLE
- EVENTS
- Classifieds
- Subscribe
Utilities
Hilbert estate drawing some offers: Letterman, Babyface, Judd not interested
June 19, 2006
Tom MurphyColts quarterback Peyton Manning passed on a chance to buy the Carmel estate built for Conseco Inc. founder Stephen Hilbert
that's on the market for a cool $20 million. Pacers forward Jermaine O'Neal also rejected the opportunity a couple of times,
real estate broker Dick Richwine said. Nearly a year after it went up for sale, the Carmel property labeled the most expensive
home in Indiana is still searching for the right buyer. But a recent flurry of interest and...
MoreDANIELS' DEAL CLOSERS: IEDC generating jobs, but economy shares part of credit
June 5, 2006
Peter SchnitzlerIt would have been big. Just last month, a team of officials from the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and The Indy Partnership,
its local equivalent, were furiously negotiating with South Carolinabased fire-engine maker American LaFrance. Intrigued by
a mix of economic incentives and Indiana's central location, American LaFrance considered moving its operations to Marion
County. In formal negotiations, the company dangled promises of 653 jobs and a capital investment of $18.5 million. State
records don't reveal what incentives Indiana offered...
MoreSuit puts One Call on hold: Firm placed in receivership as lender seeks $21 million
May 22, 2006
Chris O\'malleyOne Call Communications has been placed in receivership, a day after a lender for its 2002 management buyout filed a lawsuit
alleging the Carmel long-distance and operator-services company owes it more than $21 million. The May 11 lawsuit in U.S.
District Court in Indianapolis by Pittsburgh-based PNC Bank appears to be the knockout blow for a telecommunications firm
accused by several states of violating consumer protection laws in billing and collection practices. Also looming is a proposed
$1.1 million fine...
MoreStates demand One Call answers: Carmel telephone firm 'out of control'
March 27, 2006
Chris O\'malleyA Carmel long-distance and operator service company has a lot to answer for these days. After crossing wires with Indiana
regulators and with the Federal Communications Commission last year, One Call Communications now is being accused by Iowa
and Missouri regulators of putting bogus charges on phone bills and then harassing people to pay. Missouri Attorney General
Jay Nixon this month filed a lawsuit alleging the privately held company violated state and federal consumer protection laws.
Nixon said the company...
MoreVIEWPOINT: State's STIF-necked response shortsighted
February 20, 2006
Ernie RenoChances are, most of you have never heard of the acronym "STIF." The four letters stand for sales tax increment financing.
Indiana has created so-called STIF districts around the state to stimulate economic development, or so we thought. STIF districts
work simply: They allow a portion of sales taxes generated at new retail projects to be redirected to pay the cost of public
improvements related to the projects, things like curbs and sidewalks, streets, sewers, other utilities, drainage and landscaping....
MoreBills clash over video regulation: Phone giants, cable firms fight about franchising rules
February 6, 2006
Chris O\'malleyIn fact, some say the franchising clash has overshadowed the real implications of deregulation: Cable operators will get their
first real competition since satellite TV mushroomed in the mid-1990s. Municipalities, which grant franchise agreements to
cable TV companies and collect millions in fees in return, hyperventilated when Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Wheatfield, introduced
Senate Bill 245 last month. It would give the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission the job of doling out statewide video
franchises. Cities would lose that authority, but would...
MoreState's plans for Larue Carter remain uncertain: New hosptal ideas are still under consideration
January 9, 2006
Tom MurphyA year after the administration of then-Gov. Joe Kernan proposed building a new Larue D. Carter Memorial Hospital, the future
of Indianapolis' lone state-owned psychiatric hospital remains murky. The Indiana State Office Building Commission bought
an 18-acre site near the IUPUI campus in December 2004, during the waning days of the Kernan administration. State officials
talked then about spending as much as $55 million to build a Larue Carter that would replace the existing hospital, which
is part of an...
MoreWater treaty on tap: Mediated agreement calls for Carmel to pay Indy $36.2M
December 5, 2005
Chris O\'malleyCarmel and its big-city neighbor to the south have a truce in hand to end a 3-1/2-year war over what Carmel will pay to buy
Indianapolis-owned water distribution lines serving 6,000 customers in the Hamilton County community. The proposed purchase
price: $36.2 million, according to documents recently filed with state regulators. Carmel officials say the deal eventually
should improve water pressure and lower fire insurance rates, and make it easier to plan for growth. It also would give affected
residents...
MorePlan to let affiliate use gas field sparks opposition: Citizens Gas industrial customers say recent hurricanes show potential
for supply disruption, price spikes
November 28, 2005
Chris O\'malleyBig manufacturers have asked regulators to reconsider allowing an unregulated affiliate of Citizens Gas & Coke Utility to
use the Indianapolis utility's Greene County gas storage facility. General Motors Corp., Reilly Industries and Rolls-Royce
Corp. warn that Citizens Gas & Coke Utility's supply of gas it buys during warm-weather months could be at risk if gas marketing
firm Pro-Liance Energy LLC is allowed to control the underground gas storage field. ProLiance sells natural gas to utilities
and large-volume gas customers...
MoreMarketing firm nabs big East Coast client: MillerWhite uses unusual approach to beat Massachusetts incumbent
November 21, 2005
Anthony SchoettleMillerWhite LLC, a 21-person advertising and marketing agency with offices in Indianapolis and Terre Haute, is the new agency
of record for Boston-based Ameresco Inc. Ameresco, which helps clients in almost 40 U.S. and Canadian markets reduce energy
costs by modernizing infrastructure and managing power supply, is listed on Inc. magazine's fastestgrowing private firms list.
The company, which generates annual revenue of almost $250 million, is poised for explosive growth, industry observers believe.
Though financial terms of the deal were...
MoreIncentive search shot down: University Loft eyes Tennessee after Hancock County spurns request to create a TIF district
November 14, 2005
Anthony SchoettleHancock County Commissioners' unwillingness to consider creating a Tax Increment Financing district has sent a growing Indianapolis-based
manufacturer looking for a new expansion site, possibly out of state. University Loft Co. CEO James N. Jannetides said he
was continually rebuffed over a months-long process to get the tax incentives his company needed to bring 200-plus jobs to
the county directly east of Marion County. Now Jannetides said he might look to consolidate manufacturing in Tennessee where
he opened a plant...
MoreMovements in midtown may mean more housing, retail: Handful of developers take on North Meridian projects
November 14, 2005
Tammy Lieber"It's just a matter of time." At this point, the statement may reflect more hope than reality. The city's main corridor is
a concrete jungle through much of midtown, filled with parking lots, for-sale signs and buildings exhibiting nearly nonexistent
design standards. However, a small-butgrowing number of developers is showing interest in revitalizing the main corridor through
midtown. One of the newest plans would create a mixed-use development at 21st and Meridian streets called Meridian at 21.
Local businessman Jeffrey...
MoreOmnicity making inroads among the dirt roads: Rural areas served by wireless broadband provider have grown nearly six-fold
November 7, 2005
Chris O\'malleyAn Indianapolis company that provides wireless broadband service from atop grain elevators, water towers or darned near anywhere
the warbler roosts is expanding at a rapid clip and plans to launch Internet-based phone service in early 2006. Omnicity Inc.
also plans another private offering to raise cash for its ambitious build-out in rural areas that are underserved by high-speed
Internet providers. Improving broadband access has economic development implications in Indianapolis' remote bedroom communities
and throughout sparsely populated areas. Now, even...
MoreCritics want IPL answers: Utility cut $10M settlement after agency suggested accounting was misleading
November 7, 2005
Chris O\'malleyGroups representing Indianapolis Power & Light Co. customers want to know if the utility has deliberately underreported income
to regulators and overcharged customers. Their concerns were sparked by a cryptic settlement IPL reached with the Indiana
Office of Utility Consumer Counselor on Oct. 28 that took IPL customer groups by surprise. IPL agreed to provide each residential
customer with a $25 credit early next year, "a time when the costs for heating their homes will be at their highest," IPL...
MoreVOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Putting construction, engineering into laymen's terms
November 7, 2005
Fred J.Sometimes those of us in the construction industry-like many other professions-forget we have our own technical vocabulary
that many laymen simply don't understand. Like some of my colleagues, I have occasionally started tossing around the lingo
of our industry before business and civic leaders from other fields and have seen the confused look that comes over their
faces. I have to stop and define my terms. With that situation in mind, I thought it might be helpful to put together...
MoreWill cook, need kitchen: Bakers, caterers struggle to find space to bake-legally
October 31, 2005
Tammy LieberBoth women know they have sweettoothed fans who want to buy their goodies, but because of new state regulations, they are
finding it difficult to deliver their products to a hungry market. At the beginning of this year, a law took effect requiring
that most food for sale to the public be prepared in commercial kitchens with certified food handlers. The regulation has
effectively kicked Castillo, Johnson and dozens of other small caterers and bakers out of their production facilities-in...
MoreCourt battles widen for ProLiance Energy: Gas marketer sues its insurer for millions in legal fees
October 24, 2005
Chris O\'malleyProLiance Energy LLC, already facing a $38.9 million judgment under a federal racketeering law, now is battling its insurer
in court to collect more than $2 million in legal fees for its defense. New Jersey-based Executive Risk Specialty Insurance
Co. not only refuses to pay the claim but also wants ProLiance to return $1.3 million in defense expenses paid before the
February verdict on behalf of Huntsville Utilities in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. The jury...
MoreWere IPL earnings too big?: Secret biz plan: Execs feared state would order refunds
October 17, 2005
Chris O\'malleyIn May 2003, the top brass at IPALCO Enterprises Inc. was running the numbers and saw potential regulatory trouble down the
line. The latest projections showed the Indianapolis Power & Light Co. parent would earn a return on equity more than double
the industry average for years to come, according to a confidential business plan drafted that spring. Not only might state
regulators question whether IPALCO was earning too much money from customers, they also might apply existing case law...
MoreRetooling telecom: As rivals proliferate, SBC taps executive to overhaul offerings
October 10, 2005
Chris O\'malleyFew industries have been as overrun by competitors as the Baby Bells-SBC Communications and other phone companies created
through the breakup of Ma Bell AT&T in 1984. The San Antonio-based owner of what used to be Indiana Bell now competes along
with local telephone exchange carriers that have carved out an estimated 20 percent of residential service in the state. Lately,
cable TV companies such as Comcast have offered phone and broadband over the same, old coax cable that carries...
MoreNew Citizens chief faces tough crowd: High gas prices, cranky industrial customers await Lykins
October 3, 2005
Chris O\'malleyFor seven days each July, Carey Lykins hikes a leg over his Trek touring bike in hopes of conquering Iowa. The [Des Moines]
Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa is a grueling 471 miles between the Missouri and the Mississippi Rivers.
"It can be brutally hot, but it's a real adventure," said the 53-year-old Lykins. The same could be said for the tour Lykins
began Oct. 1 as president and CEO of Citizens Gas & Coke Utility. The 32-year...
MoreUtility fund-raising effort takes heat for opt-out strategy: Critics say customers should be asked if they want to contribute
to Operation Round Up-or any charity
October 3, 2005
Andrea MuirraguiThe concept is a noble one: By rounding their bills up to the nearest dollar, utility customers can turn pennies into a philanthropic
windfall for a worthy cause. Indeed, Operation Round Up programs at nearly 250 electric cooperatives nationwide-including
22 in Indiana-have collected more than $50 million for charity since the fund-raising effort began in 1989. But some observers
question the method most participating utilities use to get their members involved. Rather than being asked to give, residential
and commercial...
MoreTAWN PARENT Commentary: Big hankering for the Big Easy
September 26, 2005
Once you've lived in New Orleans, you never really leave. A part of you stays on. You don't feel quite whole again except
when you return. Then it's like regaining an appendage you had learned to live without, but suddenly realize how much you
have missed. Transfixed by events there over the past month, I have been missing that part of me I left behind in 1996 when
I drove a U-Haul north after three years as a reporter and...
MoreProposed natural gas pipeline bogged down at IURC: Project would give customers access to lower-priced gas, blunting impact
of Katrina and hike in delivery fee
September 12, 2005
Chris O\'malleyA pipeline that would give residential and industrial customers access to cheaper wholesale natural gas from the West and
Canada won't be built this winter, when it could have blunted prices whipped skyward by Hurricane Katrina. The Indiana Utility
Regulatory Commission is still reviewing Citizens Gas & Coke Utility's request to construct a nearly 20-mile pipeline that
would connect its Greene County gas storage facility with the Midwest Gas Transmission System line in Sullivan County. That
line ties into a...
MoreIncubator under new ownership: Aim is to return center to its entrepreneurial mission
August 29, 2005
Scott OlsonAny small-business incubator can offer tenants Internet service, fax machines and conference rooms. But what about the convenience
of on-site oil changes or the stress relief of a pinball machine? For Scott Meyers, new owner of the revamped Indianapolis
Enterprise Center, the extra incentives are just a small part of his overall plan to make the neareast-side facility more
attractive to fledgling entrepreneurs. Meyers, 36, bought the former A&P grocery warehouse in May. He declined to disclose
the purchase price...
MorePension fund opens coffers: $506M could be boon for venture capitalists
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...
More
Sponsored by
ADVERTISEMENT
on Facebook & Twitter
on Facebook & Twitter
 Follow IBJ's Tweets on these topics: |
||
| @IBJNews | @Propertylines | @IBJTheScore |
| @IBJArts | @IBJHealthcare | @IBJDining |
| @IBJLists | @IBJSmallbiz | |
ADVERTISEMENT
Back to TopCopyright © All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use.
Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing.
Additional Hosting & Delivery by
The Fringe! Plus, the simple fact that there are so many local faves in such close proximity to each other.
I remenber, watching the toll road, being built, through South Bend, when I was 10 years old. I believe, back then that it was estimated, that the toll road, would be paid for in 20 years and then it would be free. I am now 71, what happened? Since the power is in the people, by that, I mean that, we the people are in total control of everything. I, suggest that no one ever use the toll road again, let it go broke. We the people can control the price of everything, from groceries to gas, if we would just do it. If we don't pay the asking price, the sellers will lower the price and if we wait awhile, they will lower the price to what we accept as reasonable. I would like to know why a highway like interstate 94, is so well maintained, a much better highway, than the toll road, but has no tolls. I would also like to know why, a sitting governor, with a term limit, maximum of eight years, can lease, public property, for 75 years. Even though I have transponders in both of my trucks and will not be affected by the increase, I have been and will contine to avoid using the toll road. I make many trips from northern Indiana to Chicago, every year, and I prefer the better highway, I94!
Coming from her background,she should be used to those kinds of advances! Menard probably figured it was ok to tuck a buck!
I'm still waiting for the list of available, high quality apartments in the Village.
This criminal masquerading as a lawyer obviously has serious issues. He’s been proven by his own testimony to be a pathological liar and probably has a personality disorder as he seems to be constructing a reality around himself. He places no value on truth, honesty or loyalty as evidenced by what he has done to his clients and his own family. And by the demands and lies he has made in court, it is evident he feels entitled to do and say whatever suits his purpose and everyone else is expected to nod obediently and believe him because he is, after all, Bill Super Lawyer; or BS lawyer for short. This millionaire wanna-be no longer owns anything of value; he squandered it and put everything he had into foreclosure. He has no money, house, car, boat or vacation home left to show for what he earned or what he stole. He’s just another loser without morals who will be doing time. I’m certain all of his courtroom shenanigans are antagonizing his poor victims. As Lamar said, his behavior and claims in court have been outrageous. The judge needs to be more than concerned; he needs to be judicial and end this nonsense.