JULY 31-AUG. 6, 2017
The quality-of-life amenities that Mayor Jim Brainard has been adding in Carmel have dramatically increased the city's debt. Lindsey Erdody assesses the debt load. Also in this issue, Scott Olson profiles the new owners of the Safeway grocery chain, and Hayleigh Colombo looks at the explosion in vaping manufacturers since the General Assembly revamped the law governing the industry.
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Extent of Carmel borrowing unusual for Indiana; Brainard says investments pay off
Carmel’s total liabilities have swelled to nearly $1.2 billion including principal, interest and other debt payments, according to the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance.
Read MoreFlat-fee payment model bypasses traditional health insurance
Without dozens of insurance claims to file and follow up, physicians cut administrative overhead, reduce costs and keep their practices limited to a few hundred patients, rather than a few thousand.
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Safeway stores get fix-up under new owners
Local grocery chain Safeway, hatched during World War II, has outlasted other homegrown competitors at a time large nationals are increasing their market share.
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Vaping industry takes off after monopoly removed
Indiana’s once-struggling vaping industry is expanding again now that a new state law has eliminated a monopoly that strangled manufacturers’ ability to sell their products here.
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Coding schools offer chance to restart
Who attends coding boot camps? It might surprise you.
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Final miles of I-69 expected to take years, $1.5 billion to complete
Gov. Eric Holcomb included $554.3 million in state funding for the Martinsville-to-Indianapolis stretch of I-69, known as Section 6, in his recently released $5.1 billion Next Level Roads Plan.
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Legal skirmishes break out over ITT documents, data
In digital and hard-copy form, the company controlled a massive trove of records—many of them academic transcripts and other student records that will need to live on for decades.
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Condo developer moving to Herron-Morton as part of $18.4M project
Onyx+East plans to overhaul a historic building on Central Avenue for its headquarters and build 60 condominiums in the north-side neighborhood.
Read MoreFederal audit: Indiana student data systems lacked ‘adequate oversight’
State education officials say no sensitive data was improperly accessed and that steps are being taken to tighten security.
Read MoreNew IndyCar kits get high marks on opening day of testing
After spending the day testing the sleek, stylish cars on Indianapolis' 2.5-mile oval, two racing veterans left the opening day screening by insisting the cars run even better than they look.
Read MoreFocusBack to Top
Private equity firms’ acquisition targets get pricey
Private equity funds are getting larger, and new players are entering the market. This translates into more competition for deals, which is driving up prices.
Read MoreCincinnati-based First Financial buying MainSource for $1B
The two banks have overlapping footprints. As a result, First Financial said that after the merger is complete it expects to close 45 to 50 offices.
Read MoreBank of America veteran to serve as market chief
Andy Crask has worked for Bank of America in Indianapolis since 2000, most recently as a senior relationship manager for global commercial banking.
Read MoreInsurance agencies agree to merger
The two firms that are merging, Brownsburg-based Hometown Insurance and Zionsville-based Ward Insurance Services, have a combined 16 employees.
Read MoreIndiana closes out fiscal year with $1.8 billion in reserve
State officials say Indiana closed out the 2017 fiscal year that ended in June with a budget surplus of $42 million.
Read MoreOpinionBack to Top
EDITORIAL: Health care debate needs sanity
What we need is reasoned debate by smart people willing to put politics aside to find answers—probably answers that no one will find wholly satisfying but could become the basis of a health care system that is fair and affordable and can change with technology and innovation that is constantly evolving.
Read MoreLINEBARGER: Trade, NAFTA boost state’s economy
More than any other free-trade agreement, NAFTA has helped Cummins Inc. compete for more customers.
Read MoreKENNEDY: Contrasts in leadership
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett has shown leadership in his handling of the police shooting of an unarmed black man.
Read MoreMADDOX: Trump’s greatest legacy will be the courts
Despite amateur hour in the White House, Trump’s greatest legacy will be the conservative men and women he appoints to the federal courts. This is ironic given that, for most of his life, Trump was a Democrat and has acknowledged not having a strong ideological foundation for his political positions.
Read MoreLETTER: Bohanon & Styring column offers no solutions
Like it or not, we are headed for a single-payer national health care system.
Read MoreLETTER: Let’s hope for civility in U.S. Senate race
I don’t have much hope that the Senate race will be anything but ugly.
Read MoreBOHANON & STYRING:Breaking down the Purdue-Kaplan deal
Purdue University’s purchase of online college Kaplan University should be considered in the context of at least two economic principles: composite goods and division of labor.
Read MoreKIM: Recognize role luck plays in success in investing, life
Even the hardest workers and best decision makers among us will fail to succeed consistently without luck.
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The Cabaret finds permanent home in historic building
The Cabaret will lease from Buckingham a portion of the Metzger Building, the former Rollerland skating rink at 924 N. Pennsylvania St. that houses the Arts Council of Indianapolis and Gallery 924.
Read MoreLilly to pay up to $400M to buy rights for early-stage immune drug
The deal is Eli Lilly and Co.’s latest push into a growing disease area for such disorders as arthritis, lupus and multiple sclerosis.
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Local apartment complex sells for state record $90.6 million
The second-largest apartment property in Indianapolis has traded hands for more than twice as much as it sold for just eight years ago.
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