JULY 9-15, 2012
This week, read about Bob Laikin's wild ride at the helm of BrightPoint Inc. and find out why the clock is ticking for Max Siegel, the new head of USA Track & Field. In Focus, meet Fairbanks CEO Helene Cross, who is retiring after an impressive run at the addiction treatment center. And in A&E, see what Lou Harry thought of "The Amazing Spider-Man."
Front PageBack to Top
Drought deals blow to ethanol industry
Indiana’s 13 plants distilling the automotive fuel ethanol could soon be sputtering as drought dries up the supply and boosts the price of corn, their main ingredient.
Read MoreCouncil mulls axing applications’ prior-conviction box
City-County Councilor Vop Osili thinks the city could level the job-seeking playing field for ex-offenders by eliminating the question of past convictions on job applications.
Read MoreManufacturers help schools fill training void
Manufacturers—bedeviled by an underskilled labor force—seek highly trained graduates. Career centers—struggling with funding cuts—seek support from companies so classes can keep operating.
Read MoreTop StoriesBack to Top
IPL pulling plug on renewable-energy effort
Indianapolis Power & Light says beginning next March it will stop offering to buy electricity from customers who generate it from renewable sources—a blow to advocates of wind, solar and other clean forms of energy.
Read MoreBrightPoint’s $840M sale ends wild ride for CEO Laikin
Bob Laikin started BrightPoint in 1989, when cellular phones were clunky and brick-like and were mostly for the wealthy.
Read MoreNew track-and-field chief aims to end sport’s strife
New USA Track and Field CEO Max Siegel is promising to pull athletes, their agents, sponsors, event promoters and the sport’s television partners together to lift track and field’s tainted image and revenue—especially domestically.
Read MoreBoard’s ruling puts Fall Creek home sites back on market
Buyers have quickly snapped up two home sites and the city might sell seven more on a stretch of Broadway Street where The Oaks Academy had hoped to build a soccer field.
Read MoreDrought brings added challenges for not-for-profit farms
The parched conditions have forced staff and volunteers at dozens of not-for-profit farms and community gardens to struggle with problems as basic as finding water.
Read MoreBuilding relationships pays off for contractor Gray
Steve Gray Renovations grew during the remodeling industry’s worst downturn in more than two decades.
Read MoreHigh court ruling could leave 290K Hoosiers uncovered
A decision by Indiana to leave its Medicaid program unchanged could leave as many as 290,000 Hoosier adults, who would have been newly eligible for Medicaid coverage, with no good options.
Read MoreFocusBack to Top
Doctors, hospitals follow only parts of Regenstrief’s IT prescription
The great results Regenstrief Institute has produced over the years in studies at Indianapolis’ Wishard Memorial Hospital have not held up when conducted in a wider variety of settings.
Read MoreFairbanks leader Cross stepping down after impressive run
When Helene Cross arrived to lead Fairbanks Addiction Treatment Center in 2001, the alcohol and drug rehabilitation hospital was as sick financially as its patients were physically.
Read MoreMILLER: Morale, productivity affected by benefits frustration
Have employees reached the tipping point where rising health care costs have forced them to think seriously about jumping ship?
Read MoreTOLLIVER: Evolving market dynamics impact medical real estate
As medical innovation continues to flourish in our city … you can expect to see a direct impact on the where and how you and your loved ones receive comprehensive medical services.
Read MoreOpinionBack to Top
EDITORIAL: BrightPoint sale opens new chapter for Laikin
It remains to be seen what will happen to BrightPoint’s 1,300 employees in the Indianapolis area.
Read MoreMAURER: Daniels can lead beyond Purdue
I wonder what President Daniels can do off campus to benefit the nation and the world from the platform he has been presented.
Read MoreRUSTHOVEN: A pocket guide to the health care ruling
Ours is a government of limited powers.
Read MoreGUY: Irrationality, fear are on the march
Increasing fear comes from nowhere. The American crime rate has not risen for decades, and the homicide rate has fallen.
Read MoreHICKS: Smart cuts won’t hit all government workers
Few governments, and none in Indiana, can now afford to continue doing things the private sector does.
Read MoreKIM: Compounding, Rule of 72 work for you if you let them
Saving/investing more and earlier is a simplistic strategy, but it requires discipline, patience and hard work.
Read MoreParking enforcement overstated
Sensors in Indianapolis do not alert an enforcement officer when time on a meter has expired.
Read MoreRenewing democracy
I was heartened to see John Mutz’s [June 16 Forefront column] about Parker Palmer’s newest book, “Healing the Heart of Democracy: The Courage to Create a Politics Worthy of the Human Spirit.”
Read MoreLaw selectively enforced
Peter Rusthoven [June 25] correctly criticized President Obama’s decision to invade the province of Congress by taking steps to effectively enact the Dream Act through omission.
Read More‘Ethics’ in perspective
In his rambling essay on everyday ethics, Bruce Hetrick [June 25] introduces us to David Brower, a “leading environmentalist” with a “penchant for expressing bold ideas in blunt terms.”
Read MoreJefferson also said…
Thomas Jefferson could hardly be further from today’s liberal/progressive agenda [Hetrick, June 11].
Read MoreAnother idea to merge local not-for-profits
I applaud the Little Red Door Cancer Agency [June 18] in taking a step that many not-for-profits should consider: merging to better serve constituents and utilize donor contributions.
Read MoreIn BriefBack to Top
Heartland Bancshares approves acquisition by Horizon
The deal, effective July 17, will give the Michigan City bank its first presence in Central Indiana.
Read MoreLand trust buys 55 acres in Morgan County
The Central Indiana Land Trust announced Thursday that it has purchased 55 acres of land south of Mooresville to ensure that it remains protected from future development.
Read MoreDaniels touts tax credit from $2B Indiana surplus
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels is touting state cash reserves he says will send an additional $100 to each Indiana taxpayer through automatic tax credits next year.
Read MoreJ.C. Penney closing distribution center, laying off 230
The distribution center, which opened in 2002 near the Indianapolis International Airport, will close by the end of September, company officials said.
Read MoreTensions rise between pilots, management at Republic Airways
The two sides are trying to replace a labor contract that became amendable in 2007.
Read MoreRogers stays in charge at Duke Energy after CEO resigns
Duke Energy Corp. on Tuesday unexpectedly announced the resignation of Bill Johnson, previously named to be the CEO after its $17.8 billion takeover of Progress Energy Inc. James Rogers has been named CEO of the merged companies effective immediately.
Read MoreIrving Materials acquires northern Indiana competitor
Greenfield-based Irving Materials Inc.’s purchase of Rock Industries in Peru brings its total number of mining operations in Indiana to 18. Rock Industries operates quarries in Peru and Plymouth.
Read MorePROXY CORNER: BrightPoint Inc.
Indianapolis-based BrightPoint Inc.provides worldwide distribution and integrated logistics services to the wireless communications industry. The company announced July 2 that it had agreed to be acquired by California-based Ingram Micro for $650 million in cash and the assumption of $190 million in debt.
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