Scott Olson
Articles
Basketball-filled month awaits downtown planners: Indianapolis set to host 35 big games in 36 days
Next month will bring new meaning to “March Madness” in Indianapolis. In a 36-day span starting March 1 and culminating April 5 with the crowning of the women’s NCAA basketball champion, the city will play host to 35 high-profile games in 36 days. The Hoosier state’s love affair with the sport has endured for decades. But next month will truly be “Hoops Hysteria” here. While the city has welcomed basketball tournaments before, it never has offered so many games at…
City convention planners working on transition strategy: Keeping event clients content during expected stadium construction, expansion of center crucial to success Smooth transition critical Contingency plans
The city’s hospitality industry might want to adopt the weathered “no pain, no gain” expression as its mantra until the proposed expansion of the Indiana Convention Center is completed, presumably in 2010. Construction of the 275,000-square-foot addition to the center should begin in 2008, pending legislative approval of a $500 million stadium financing deal for the Colts. The Convention Center expansion is expected to cost $250 million, and its financing and location hinge on the stadium deal. Work on the…
Funding a chance at success: Bowens have helped 300 find career hope
Sharon Townsel is old enough to be Kori Buford’s mother. But despite the age difference, the women share a common bond: They’re both scholarship recipients of the Bowen Foundation. Robert and Terry Bowen launched the not-for-profit a decade ago and since have doled out $600,000 of their own money to nearly 300 black recipients who want to better their lives. By helping them learn a skill or trade, the object of the foundation is to assist those who need the…
Study shows lack of women law partners: City firms rank below national average of 17 percent
Prominent local attorney Virginia Dill McCarty earned her law degree from Indiana University in 1950, the only woman to do so at the school that year. That trend certainly has changed since then, with far more women entering the bar. Still, the number of women at the highest levels of most law firms is far smaller than many expect it should be, according to a report from the National Association for Law Placement in Washington, D.C. In Indianapolis last year,…
Lip balm receiving high praise from music industry pros
Dan Gosling’s failure to nail a position with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra may have been a blessing in disguise; for if he had, he would not have had time to create his ChopSaver lip balm he’s marketing to musicians. “It was disappointing to say the least,” Gosling said of his tryout in May in which he advanced all the way to the final round.
Cancer plan enters action phase: State health initiative unveils multi-pronged strategy to take on deadly disease
But Dr. Greg Wilson, the department’s commissioner who stepped down Jan. 25 due to the change in administrations, realizes it’s going to take more than money to snuff out unhealthful habits, such as smoking. “Three-hundred-thousand dollars will not cure cancer in Indiana,” Wilson said. “We really have to utilize the private sec- tor and we really have to involve all the participants.” Those participants include 110 organizations that make up the Indiana Cancer Consortium, an effort initiated in 2001 to…
Advocacy office leader will keep job with state: Daniels administration retains Kernan appointee, who took new position in July
Amid all the resignations and terminations in state government recently, at least one holdover appointed by the previous administration is remaining on the job. And small-business advocates could not be more pleased. David Dorff, whom former Gov. Joe Kernan tabbed in July to lead the state’s new Office of Small Business Advocacy, received word from Gov. Mitch Daniels in early January that he would remain on staff. Kernan unveiled the agency last summer as part of a series of initiatives…
Malpractice proposals clash with Indiana law: Federal reform efforts could create confusion
President Bush’s proposal to lower health care costs by capping medical malpractice awards could create questions in Indiana, where state lawmakers passed similar legislation 30 years ago. Bush made his case to reform health care earlier this month in Madison County, Ill., across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. The American Tort Reform Association has called the county the “judicial hellhole” of the nation because of a reputation for huge jury awards won by plaintiffs. The president wants to place…
Indiana IPOs break out of recent slump: Kite Realty, Republic Airways, Adesa among 5 state firms to test public waters
Hoosier-based companies registered five initial public offerings last year, a robust number considering not a single Indiana business went public in 2003. The uptick could signal the state’s economy, as well as the nation’s, is on the mend. Nationally, 233 companies raised $43 billion collectively to go public on the major U.S. stock exchanges in 2004, a 195-percent increase in the number of IPOs over 2003. And the performance could be even stronger this year, said Richard Peterson, a market…
DeLaney law firm adds another family member: Veteran attorney joins wife, daughter in practice
Ed DeLaney has been a husband to Ann and a father to Kathleen for many years. But his role as a partner in their legal practice presents an opportunity to bond with them professionally. Ed left Barnes & Thornburg LLP in early 2004 after spending 30 years at what is now the largest law firm in the state. In 1973, when Ed arrived at what was then Barnes Hickam Pantzer & Boyd, the firm employed roughly 40 lawyers. Today, it…
Tax-law changes push investment: Congress raises contribution limits to savings plans, allowing workers to stash away more for retirement
While any serious debate over whether to privatize Social Security could turn messy, the message from federal lawmakers regarding your personal retirement plans is crystal clear. The advice coming from Washington, financial planners say, is to stash away as much as you can, because it may get tougher to make it on a monthly government allowance with an uncertain future. Evident again in this year’s changes to the tax law, which has become friendlier since a 2001 makeover, are across-theboard…
Major sewer system renovations await federal approval: With waste pouring into White River almost every time it rains, Indianapolis is in dire need of sewage overhaul
The city’s long-term plan to prevent the flow of raw sewage into White River and its tributaries should receive federal approval soon, nearly five years after Mayor Bart Peterson introduced a proposal to fix the antiquated system. City officials expect to receive permission from the Environmental Protection Agency in April to proceed with a plan to construct tunnels, underground storage tanks and new sewers to capture raw sewage that would otherwise overflow into waterways during heavy rains. Peterson presented his…
Replicating race cars of the past: Westfield firm plans to sell Ford GT40 reproductions
An upstart Westfield company’s reproduction of the 1966 Ford GT40 Mk1 race car turns heads wherever it goes. Whether it’s on the highway or in a showroom, people can’t help but gaze at the sleek, retro roadster built to emulate the original that dominated the 24 Hours of Le Mans races nearly 40 years ago. It dethroned Italian automaker Ferrari at the 1966 event, finishing first, second and third, and went on to win the race four consecutive times. Executives…