Valero Energy will buy seven ethanol plants and a key development site in the Indiana city of Reynolds from VeraSun Energy for $477 million, the largest biofuel buyout ever in terms of production capacity. VeraSun, the country’s second largest ethanol producer, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last October. VeraSun suspended construction of a […]
A plan designed to fix Indiana’s bankrupt unemployment insurance fund drew misgivings from business and labor groups yesterday as it advanced to the Republican-controlled Senate, which is expected to pass some version of the proposal. The Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee endorsed the plan on a 9-3 vote after four hours of public testimony, […]
Starting next school year, children may want to think twice about celebrating snow days. State schools chief Tony Bennett said yesterday that he will require schools to make up a day of school for each day they miss because of weather, ending a Department of Education practice that allowed exceptions. Bennett also said half-days and […]
A fire that destroyed a six-story apartment complex under construction along the downtown Indianapolis canal last week was ruled an arson today. The fire gutted the $28 million Cosmopolitan on the Canal project that had been nearing completion and spread onto the roof of the adjacent headquarters of the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, causing […]
The high number of out-of-work residents collecting jobless benefits in Indiana has triggered an automatic 13-week extension of unemployment benefits. The extended benefits program is for those who have exhausted up to 59 weeks of state and federal unemployment checks. Those in the program can collect unemployment for an additional 13 weeks, but they must […]
The number of new housing projects that builders broke ground in February rose sharply, defying economist forecasts for yet another drop in activity. The Commerce Department reported today that construction of new homes and apartments jumped 22.2 percent from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 583,000 units. Economists were expecting construction to drop […]
Caterpillar Inc. is laying off 439 employees at an Indiana engine plant for at least six months, it announced today. The company said the layoffs at the Lafayette plant are in response to lower demand for its products. The diesel engines produced at the factory are used in marine, petroleum, electric power, locomotive and industrial […]
Indiana Senate Republicans have proposed a plan designed to fix the state’s bankrupt unemployment insurance fund by increasing employer taxes overall, reducing benefits for some jobless people and tightening eligibility requirements. “Our effort is to make changes in the system that are gradual but does put us on a definite path to solvency in our […]
Butler University is raising its tuition by 3.5 percent in what school officials say is the smallest increase since 1975. The Indianapolis school is also raising room-and-board rates by 3.5 percent. Those increases will make the private school’s tuition $28,460 for next school year, with an average room-and-board rate of $9,250. Butler President Bobby Fong […]
Seeking to counter a chorus of unhappy Republicans and nervous Wall Street investors, President Barack Obama and his economic team are taking a cheerier tone while making billions in federal loans available to the nation’s struggling small businesses. Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner today plan to announce a broad package that includes reduced small-business […]
A new report scores Indiana’s state budget process as the second worst in the nation largely because the governor doesn’t have a line-item veto and there’s no requirement for a balanced budget. Indiana scored just 45 points out of a possible 100 and ranked ahead of only New Hampshire in the 2009 Index of State […]
A Las Vegas casino and Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group Inc. lost a bid last week to throw out a hip hop nightclub’s lawsuit alleging it is being discriminated against because most of the patrons of the Vegas establishment are black. U.S. District Court Judge James Mahan said it was too early to make a decision […]
The White House said Friday that $82 million of federal economic stimulus money would be used to replace 68 old rail cars and put them back into service. The repairs will take place at the Beech Grove Amtrak maintenance facility near Indianapolis and in Bear, Del. Amtrak plans to hire about 125 workers who have […]
Indiana is getting more than $200 million in federal stimulus funding to weatherize the homes of low-income residents and develop renewable energy projects. The $200.4 million is part of nearly $8 billion in stimulus funding set aside nationwide for energy efficiency and related efforts. About $132 million will help low-income Indiana residents insulate their homes, […]
Indiana’s deepening recession failed to halt government hiring and growth in the education and health service sectors in January even as the state’s factories continued jettisoning jobs, new federal statistics show. A state-by-state unemployment report released yesterday by the U.S. Labor Department shows that Indiana lost about 12,400 jobs in January, when its unemployment rate […]
Big Ten Network President Mark Silverman said today that 2009 should be the 2-year-old cable TV network’s first full year of profitability. Silverman hasn’t yet put together a detailed forecast, but he says the network should be profitable based on growing advertising revenue and money from new international distribution deals. New York-based parent company News […]
President Obama’s budget chief isn’t sugarcoating his message to health insurance executives: the party is over. White House Budget Director Peter Orszag said yesterday in Washington, D.C., that the government will no longer overpay companies that offer Medicare Advantage plans, the privately run portion of the government health program for seniors. Orszag spoke at the […]
Indiana ranks last among states in getting federal funds to prevent disease and injuries, according to a report from two not-for-profit groups released yesterday. Indiana collected just $12.74 per person last year from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for programs to inhibit disease and prevention programs, the Trust for America’s Health and […]
The Anderson school board yesterday decided to keep the historic Wigwam gymnasium open, but to close four schools in an effort to trim its budget. The 9,000-seat Wigwam was built in 1962 on Anderson High School’s campus. It is the second largest high school basketball venue in the world, ranked behind the Fieldhouse in New […]
A federal review of the nation’s coal ash storage sites includes 14 Indiana power plants where the byproduct of the state’s reliance on coal for power is stored in a series of ever-growing ponds and landfills. Several utilities that own or co-own those 14 coal-burning plants must provide the Environmental Protection Agency with detailed descriptions […]
