FEB. 12-18, 2021
The law firm Taft Stettinius & Hollister is making a big push into public affairs and lobbying in both Indianapolis and Washington, D.C., and has nabbed seven attorneys and non-lawyer professionals—including several big names in Indiana politics—from rival firm Ice Miller to do it. Marilyn Odendahl has the story behind the moves. Also in this week’s paper, John Russell explains how a Los Angeles maker of medical equipment has quietly picked up stakes, moved to Indianapolis and become the city’s latest public company. And Greg Andrews recounts the recent run-up in shares of Eli Lilly and Co. and details the several ways this new wealth benefits central Indiana.
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Taft builds new lobby group with Ice Miller transplants
The former Ice Miller employees—including Lacy Johnson and John Hammond III—will form the core of Taft’s new 14-member Public Affairs Strategies Group, 11 professionals plus three support staffers.
Read MoreApria’s long, bumpy road leads to Indianapolis
Indianapolis’ newest publicly traded company, home-health care provider Apria Inc., is slowly moving its headquarters here, to its regional distribution center on the city’s southeast side.
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Indiana ‘missed big’ by not adopting work share, report says
Researchers who have studied work-share programs—which have been implemented in 28 states—say thousands of Indiana workers have been unnecessarily laid off.
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Lilly’s flush pipeline makes it Wall Street darling
If you follow the daily drumbeat of news emanating out of Lilly Corporate Center, you might not grasp how phenomenally well the company is poised to perform in the coming years.
Read MoreVirus curtails tournament’s festivities; organizers still engaging community
The pandemic that landed March Madness in Indianapolis is also the complication that will strip some of the tournament’s ambience, but local officials are organizing safe activities.
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Entrepreneur launches new kind of golf club
Longtime media professional Adam Grubb has co-founded Stick and Hack, an online golf community that offers a website, podcast, daily email and a cartoon called “Hack Mulligan.”
Read MoreQ&A with Taja Graham, Indy radio market president for Emmis
Graham is the second woman and the first minority in the company’s 41-year history to hold that post.
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More than 60 execs sign letter urging lawmakers to resist ‘heavy-handed limits’ on Indianapolis government
The letter—signed by leaders at Eli Lilly and Co., Elanco, OneAmerica, Anthem Inc., IU Health, Salesforce and Roche Diagnostics, among others—acknowledges that the city faces economic, housing and crime problems, but the executives say they believe local officials are the ones best equipped to tackle those challenges.
Read MoreIndy Beacons: Burger Chef, Indy’s biggest-ever restaurant chain
Burger Chef became one of the fastest-growing chains in the country, surpassed only by McDonald’s.
Read MoreRoche Diagnostics whistleblower wins $3.6M in settlement agreement
Crystal Derrick, who was a national account manager in Roche’s diabetes division, had accused the company of illegally paying insurance company Humana Inc. for access to certain formularies.
Read MoreWestfield mayor sues clerk-treasurer for access to city’s financial information
Mayor Andy Cook filed a lawsuit against Cindy Gossard on Jan. 14 to force her to cooperate with examiners performing a city-wide financial investigation and to prohibit her from contracting with a new city payroll vendor.
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International students, workers see hope in Biden administration
For international students seeking degrees at Indiana universities and hoping either to gain employment with domestic firms or start their own U.S.-based companies, the next four years promise to be far less angst-ridden and uncertain than the previous.
Read MoreMatthew Levy: Biden likely to chart new course on trade policy
Biden has said his trade agenda will focus on helping middle-class families who have been disproportionately hurt by globalization.
Read MoreGlobal airline maps are being overhauled to reflect new demand
Airlines are getting scrappy, shifting operations to wherever there may be demand. The Cliffs Notes version: Leisure is in, business travel is out.
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Editorial: Business community is right to rise up against legislative interference in Indy
We believe in local control. We expect Republicans to believe in local control, too. And so it’s baffling to us that some of the General Assembly’s most conservative lawmakers are leading the efforts to interfere in the way Indianapolis officials govern their city.
Read MoreLesley Weidenbener: Why I love reading Forefront columns
Forefront presents views from across the political spectrum—from the far right to the far left and everything in between.
Read MoreSandy McCarthy: Be strategic about helping youth develop careers
As a company, OneAmerica has aligned ourselves with Junior Achievement to educate students about finance management and budgeting, as well as spark and maintain interest in financial careers through various programs.
Read MoreJason Shelley: Don’t strip cities of authority to set housing standards
While affordable housing is important, residents of all income levels deserve to have quality, well-designed, safe and well-built housing. Diminishing standards, as HB 1114 will do, will not solve the affordable-housing shortage.
Read MoreMark Caswell: Why it’s important to develop deep relationships at work
Our work relationships aren’t and shouldn’t be transactional. All relationships are human relationships.
Read MoreBohanon & Curott: Indiana’s forfeiture laws should be reformed
Economists observe that letting law enforcement keep seized assets gives them a motive to spend more time and effort pursuing asset forfeiture and less time fighting crime.
Read MorePete The Planner: Give your relationship with money permission to change
I believe the ability to change your personal financial philosophy is a wonderful privilege that many people simply ignore, if not deny.
Read MoreLetter: Lawmakers should back off heavy-handed limits on locals
A recent pattern of legislative proposals attacks local control in ways that would slow our economic recovery and risk long-term progress on public safety.
Read MoreLetter: Library shouldn’t expand in-person services
It is not safe for the community at this time to introduce more patrons into our buildings when new, more contagious virus strains have arrived.
Read MoreLetter: Support climate legislation
This bill places a fee on carbon at its source, such as an oil well or coal mine, and returns all of the net revenue monthly back to households to pay for the added costs.
Read MoreLetter: Give servers a raise
Many Hoosier voters don’t know that Indiana’s minimum wage is really $2.13 per hour. That is what waiters and waitresses make at many restaurants in Indiana.
Read MoreLetter: Unity requires common sense
Unity will not be achieved until this country turns back to Judeo-Christian values.
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Holladay planning $27M apartment project in Fletcher Place by former Milano Inn
The developer expects demand from workers at large corporate campuses nearby, including those for Eli Lilly and Co., Indiana Farm Bureau and Anthem Inc.
Read MoreLilly CFO resigns after ‘inappropriate personal relationship’ with employee
Joshua Smiley, who was Lilly’s second-highest-paid employee, was named CFO in January 2018. Lilly said Smiley also engaged in “inappropriate personal communications” with other employees.
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Mall giant Simon saw profit drop last year due to pandemic
Indianapolis-based Simon said it lost about 20% of its total shopping days last year at its U.S. malls because of government-mandated shutdowns related to the pandemic.
Read MoreRoberts Camera to close Carmel store, consolidate operations
Owners of the 64-year old business—which was founded as a discount jewelry store in 1957 by Robert and Rose Pallman—cited several reasons for the decision.
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Allegiant adding nonstop service to Boston, Los Angeles
Routes to both cities begins at the end of May. The airline also plans to offer service from Indianapolis to Rapid City, South Dakota, in August for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
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Jesse Kharbanda: Restrictions must remain to protect wildlife and more
The progress our state has made in the last two decades in protecting wetlands would be seriously undermined by Senate Bill 389.
Read MoreSen. Chris Garten: Indiana’s wetland protections are a facade
Hoosiers should never be fearful of retaliatory actions from a government agency that was created to serve the people, not to be served by the people.
Read MoreAbdul-Hakim Shabazz: Mayor should answer questions about murder numbers
Hogsett ran as the public safety mayor, and when it comes to killings, public safety has only gotten worse.
Read MoreMichael Leppert: February reminds us we need James Baldwin today
James Baldwin persuaded people with his intellect and talent for delivery on matters of which he was passionate.
Read MoreDana Black: February offers chance to reflect, think about future
The greatness of Black people isn’t limited to the strength required to overcome racism and oppression.
Read MoreClaire Fiddian-Green: To improve outcomes, train more Black teachers
This Black History Month, we should commit ourselves to closing the persistent Black-white academic achievement gap.
Read MoreUna Osili: It’s time to review how tax policy affects giving
Expanding the non-itemizer deduction is estimated to increase both participation rates in charitable giving and charitable dollars raised.
Read MoreBrad Rateike: Work-from-home might end superficial judgments
In many ways, the pandemic-induced work-from-home era has substantially decreased the number of superficial judgments that we might or might not intentionally make each day.
Read MoreDr. Richard Feldman: Need for Biden’s vaccination plan was urgent
The COVID vaccine rollout was botched by the previous White House administration.
Read MoreJim Shella: New fencing surrounding the Capitol can’t stay forever
The increase in restrictions there, warranted or not, is a limitation on representative government.
Read MoreShariq Siddiqui: Consensus on stimulus bill would be commendable
“It is therefore refreshing to see 10 GOP senators (including Indiana Sen. Todd Young) reach out to President Joe Biden on a new stimulus deal
Read MorePierre Atlas: Will the GOP become the party of Cheney or Greene?
America needs a responsible center-right party.
Read MoreKaren Celestino-Horseman: Bill to seize control of IMPD from mayor won’t work
Senate Bill 168 is among several bills attempting to grab power from those duly elected by the people of Indianapolis to govern the city.
Read MoreJennifer Wagner: Pandemic makes it harder to engage with Legislature
Engaging at the Statehouse has always felt overwhelming for those who don’t do it for a living. We should be doing everything in our power to ease that burden—permanently—as a result of the pandemic.
Read MoreCurt Smith: Senate bill protects faith community’s right to meet
The action rights a wrong against churches, synagogues, mosques and other worship centers in the health crisis.
Read MoreDeborah Daniels: Legislature’s wish to intervene would be wasteful
The problem is in the very definition of ‘emergency’ and that the Legislature by its nature is incapable of the nimbleness required in emergency situations.
Read MoreMarshawn Wolley: Lawmakers should discuss police bills with Black people
After the relationship between the Black community and the police sparked riots across the country, one might think some legislators would have taken the time to listen to Black people.
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Mike Lopresti: This year’s bracket won’t be ordinary. It can’t be.
We have here the most recent Associated Press Top 25, and what it suggests is that Indianapolis won’t just host the most unorthodox tournament ever played by location, but also maybe with one of the most unusual fields in recent times.
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