Articles

Toyota recalls some pickups, SUVs made in Indiana

Toyota Motor Corp. has recalled more than 533,000 pickup and sport utility vehicles made at its Princeton plant to correct steering problems that might have been factors in 11 accidents. The recall applies to certain 2004 to 2006 model year Tundra pickups and 2004 to 2007 Sequoia sport utility vehicles.

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Republic Airways plans to add more than 1,000 pilots

Republic Airways Holdings said it plans to hire more than 1,000 pilots by the end of 2008, swelling its pilot ranks to 2,600. The Indianapolis-based holding company said its carriers—Chautauqua Airlines, Republic Airlines and Shuttle America—need more pilots to keep pace with Republic’s partnerships with American, Continental, United and Delta airlines. Republic will begin service […]

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Oil to hit $100 a barrel, commodities expert predicts

The slide in oil prices that dragged gas prices in Indianapolis below $2 a gallon won’t last more than two years, according to Jim Rogers, who in 1999 predicted the surge in oil, metal and grain prices. The author of “Hot Commodities” and creator of the Rogers International Commodity Index told Bloomberg that booming growth […]

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Evansville, Vanderburgh County start development agency

A new economic development organization has been started to coordinate promotion of Evansville and Vanderburgh County. Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville will wrap in an existing small-business incubator and downtown promotion group, according to the Courier & Press. The new organization will belong to a not-for-profit launched last summer to market Gibson, Posey, Warrick and […]

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Economy rebounding with little inflation, reports show

Government reports on housing, consumer prices and jobs today show the national economy has hit a sweet spot of strong growth and minimal inflation in December. Housing starts climbed 4.5 percent, jobless claims dipped to the lowest in 11 months, and consumer prices excluding volatile food and energy rose 0.2 percent, according to Bloomberg.   […]

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West Lafayette pulls out of quest for auto parts factory

West Lafayette no longer wants to compete for a transmission assembly plant that might be built by DaimlerChrysler and Getrag Corporate Group of Germany, according to the Kokomo Tribune.   The 1,200-employee plant wouldn’t be a good fit, said Cinda Kelley, president of Lafayette-West Lafayette Development Corp. The newspaper didn’t elaborate on reasons for the […]

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Nashville hotel fire ruled arson

The Indiana State Fire Marshall has ruled that the Jan. 2 blaze that destroyed much of the Seasons Lodge & Conference Center in Nashville to be arson, according to IBJ newsgathering partner WISH-TV. The 80-room hotel is a keystone in Brown County’s bread-and-butter business of tourism. WISH-TV News 8 will have updates at 5 p.m. […]

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Duke posts $231 million in fourth-quarter development

Duke Realty Corp.reported $230.6 million of developments in the fourth quarter. Of that, $156.7 million will be added to its held-for-rental portfolio and the rest earmarked for its held-for-sale portfolio. The Indianapolis-based developer also posted $182.9 million in dispositions. Duke releases financial results for the quarter on Feb. 1.  

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Honda sparks interest in Greensburg industrial park

Panattoni Development Co. LLC is considering building an industrial park near the Honda Motor Co. plant at Greensburg, according to the Daily News. The Sacramento, Calif.-based developer asked Greensburg officials this week to extend utilities to the 425-acre site in the hope of attracting warehouses and light manufacturing. To aid its entry into Greensburg, Panattoni […]

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‘Fast lane’ opens at Indianapolis International Airport

A system that allows travelers to register online and speed their way through Indianapolis International Airport security checks went live today. Passengers using the service fill an online form at www.flyclear.com and then continue the process at the airport by providing fingerprints, photographs and iris images. The registered traveler program was launched in Orlando, Fla., in […]

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Elephant Bar restaurants coming to Greenwood, Castleton

Elephant Bar, a popular California restaurant chain, is coming to Greenwood Park and Castleton Square malls, according to the 2006 year-end report released today by real estate brokerage Colliers Turley Martin Tucker. The family-friendly restaurant with an exotic menu has more than 40 locations, mainly in California, Arizona and Colorado. It features “culinary pleasures of Asia, […]

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Midwest consumer spending slowed in late ’06, Fed says

Consumer spending softened in November and December in the district overseen by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. However, holiday sales “met expectations” of retailers in the upper Midwest, according to the Fed’s January Beige Book report on the economy. The Chicago region includes Iowa and most of Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. Residential construction […]

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Industrial, office vacancies decline, report says

Vacancy rates for industrial and office real estate declined in 2006, according to real estate brokerage Colliers Turley Martin Tucker’s annual “The State of Real Estate” report. The findings include: Industrial -Industrial vacancy rates have been declining since reaching a recent peak of 9.1 percent in 2002, ending 2006 at 6.5 percent. -5.5 million square […]

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Ethanol plants to be limited by corn supply, expert predicts

Only about 18 of the more than 30 ethanol plants proposed for Indiana are likely to be built, according to Jon Cavanaugh, a commodities marketer with Central States Enterprises in the northeast Indiana town of New Haven. That’s because there isn’t enough corn in Indiana or anywhere else in the country to satiate the booming […]

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For sale: Undeveloped piece of Hilbert property

Conseco Inc. has put up for sale 49 undeveloped acres in Carmel once owned by former CEO Stephen Hilbert and his wife, Tomisue.   The property at the southwest corner of 116th Street and Spring Mill Road was snagged by the Carmel financial services company in a legal settlement with its co-founder. It does not […]

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Crown Hill hearing postponed until February

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission this afternoon delayed a hearing on a developer’s request to rezone 70 acres in Crown Hill Cemetery to allow for three residential subdivisions and a retail strip center. The commission will take up Mann Properties LLC’s rezoning request at its February 21 meeting to give Indianapolis Museum of Art and […]

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Steinway pulls out of bid for band instrument company

Steinway Musical Instruments Inc. has withdrawn its $40.5 million offer for the assets of The Woodwind & The Brasswind, a bankrupt South Bend maker of school band instruments. Steinway “has concluded that there will be a failure of certain conditions necessary to close the transaction,” the company said in a statement. It did not elaborate on […]

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Indiana catastrophic insurance claims led nation last year

Indiana lodged a whopping $1.5 billion in catastrophic insurance claims—the most in the nation—in 2006, according to ISO, the New Jersey company that tracks losses. Indiana was clobbered by spring storms that broke windows and ripped skin from One Indiana Square, the downtown office tower. Hail also ruined roofs and siding across a broad swath […]

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Indiana State might merge nursing, health colleges

Indiana State University is considering merging its colleges of Nursing and Health and Human Performance to create a College of Nursing, Health and Human Services if funding and other issues can be resolved, according to The Tribune-Star of Terre Haute. The reorganized college would focus on health sciences, human services and nursing professions. Both colleges […]

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Cook signs deal to develop replacement valves

Cook Medical, the Bloomington medical device company, has signed an agreement with Leman Cardiovascular of Switzerland to develop replacement venous valves through Leman’s U.S. subsidiary Hancock Jaffe Laboratories. The companies hope to be first to commercialize venous valves, which help control blood flow in veins, said Brian Bates, Cook vice president of business development. Valve […]

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