IBJ Staff

Indiana liquor distributors are small and some of their counterparts outside the state are huge, so it’s understandable why the locals are desperate to preserve an old statute banning out-of-state competitors. But let’s be real. Protectionist measures like this one should have been axed decades ago. They make about as much sense as township government. […]

Nearly 600 Hoosiers are losing their jobs as the result of more manufacturing-plant closings, including one operated by Firestone Industrial Products Co. in Noblesville. In a state filing made public yesterday, Firestone said the facility would close by June 26, putting 195 union members out of work. Forty-three salaried employees will be phased out by […]

The Indiana Department of Transportation has received approval to proceed with upgrades planned for U.S. 31 in Hamilton County. A decision this week from the Federal Highway Administration allows INDOT to acquire land for the corridor that extends 13 miles from Interstate 465 to State Road 38. Construction is expected to begin in 2011. The […]

Winds are expected to calm down tonight after reaching peaks of 60 mph yesterday. The gusts uprooted trees and knocked down branches, causing property damage around central Indiana and knocking out power to thousands of Hoosiers. Indiana Michigan Power reported 10,000 customers without power this morning. Duke Energy and Indianapolis Power & Light reported 6,000 […]

Indianapolis police are looking for a man they say shot a 16-year-old girl in the face. Robert Johnson, 18, is wanted in connection with last night’s shooting, which happened about 7 in the 900 block of North Oakland Avenue. Investigators say the girl recognized the shooter and was able to give police his name. She […]

Indianapolis police say someone stole an ATM from a Speedway gas station at 30th Street and Guion Road on the northwest side about 4 a.m. today. Investigators say the thieves backed up a sport utility vehicle, wrapped a cable around the machine and dragged it out of the closed store. Officers followed a trail of […]

Mayor Greg Ballard announced yesterday the creation of a city office that will combine civil licensing and permitting functions into one entity. The Office of Code Enforcement is part of an effort to make Indianapolis safer and more livable by better enforcing environmental and other quality-of-life-related laws, the mayor said. “From the outset, I’ve been […]

California’s Anthem Blue Cross, a subsidiary of Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc., will pay a $1 million fine and an estimated $14 million in reimbursements for medical expenses paid out of pocket by 2,330 people dropped by the insurer. The California Department of Insurance is set to announce the deal today, according to the Los Angeles Times. […]

Southbound Interstate 65 from I-465 to Southport Road could remain closed until midafternoon as crews clean up after an overturned tanker leaked fuel. The tanker ran off the road this morning about 5:30 a.m. at I-65 South’s 104 mile marker. No one was injured. Authorities are still investigating the cause.

The Indiana House Committee on Public Policy is expected to vote today on legislation that could ban smoking inside public places. According to an American Cancer Society poll, 64 percent of Hoosiers support a law to prohibit smoking in enclosed public areas. But groups representing Indiana’s casinos and taverns oppose the measure. They say a […]

The Indianapolis Colts are moving their training camp from Terre Haute to Anderson, according to officials of the city of Anderson and Anderson University. It’s just a matter of working out the logistics, they said. Colts officials declined to comment. Read more about it in The Score, IBJ’s sports business blog.

Evansville-based Mead Johnson Nutrition, the world’s largest maker of baby formula, raised $720 million in the first U.S. initial public offering since November. The company, a unit of New York-based Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., began trading on the New York Stock Exchange this morning under the ticker symbol “MJN,” with shares opening at $26. Mead Johnson […]