JUNE 16-22, 2014
Where there's smoke, there's fire, and where there's scorching e-mail, there's Christine Scales. IBJ's Kathleen McLaughlin profiles the firebrand second-term city-county councilor, who is testing the limits of political independence and the patience of both parties. Also in this issue, J.K. Wall examines the struggles of autism therapists and other care providers after the state's largest health insurer cut payments and took a harder line on paying for therapy for school-age children. And in A&E Etc., Lou Harry reviews new downtown eatery Plow & Anchor, which occupies a snakebitten location.
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Christine Scales, a councilor with an independent streak, riles both parties
In her second term on the Indianapolis City-County Council, Scales is testing the limits of political independence and the patience of her colleagues.
Read MoreBrightPoint capitalizes on tech trend: ‘wearables’
Officials at BrightPoint Inc.—a company once so tied to the cell phone industry it used the ticker symbol “CELL”—today speak as fondly of athletic bands as they do Androids.
Read MoreMCL stays fresh as cafeteria rivals slide into decline
The company that Charles O. McGaughey and his partner, George Laughner, started in 1950 has outlived thousands of Indiana restaurants—chains and mom-and-pops alike—and remained profitable through the changing tastes and trends of seven decades.
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City recycling deal would boost incinerator’s profits
As IBJ was first to report on June 9, Mayor Greg Ballard is contemplating a new, 10-year contract with Covanta, which already is set to receive the city’s waste through 2018.
Read MoreLegal snags kill Community-Eskenazi hospital merger
Community Health Network and Eskenazi Health quietly called off their engagement months ago, when they found out federal laws effectively prohibited their marriage. Now they’re trying to figure out how to just be friends.
Read MoreSale ends 83-year run for Indy’s Harlan Laboratories
Whether the merger of the former rivals is good for Indianapolis will play out in the coming months. Huntingdon has 1,200 employees, most of them in the United Kingdom and Princeton, N.J. Harlan has about 2,300 employees worldwide, including 300 locally.
Read MoreInsurance changes put state’s autism industry on edge
Indiana’s autism therapists say their prospects are cloudy after the state’s largest health insurer, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, cut payments 40 percent and took a harder line on paying for therapy for school-age children.
Read MoreWellfount takes $16M and runs with it
The long-term-care pharmacy company, which puts Redbox-style vending machines in nursing homes, thinks a fresh infusion of cash will allow it to double revenue this year and become self-sustaining.
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Remodelings might await boomers wanting to stay in their homes
Many homes will be difficult for aging boomers to navigate without changing doors, bathrooms, hallways and kitchens.
Read MoreResearchers delve into brain function
Early results of studies show exercise, training help keep mind active later in life.
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EDITORIAL: Indianapolis Public Schools must rebuild trust
If any local organization needs the public’s trust, it’s Indianapolis Public Schools, considering the challenges the district faces educating often-disadvantaged students.
Read MoreMORRIS: If only I were a member of the club
The Columbia Club has many attributes, but it’s outdated membership policy isn’t one of them.
Read MoreKENNEDY: Constitutional convention is idea whose time is not now
Periodically, lawmakers impatient to change government policies of which they disapprove will call for a constitutional convention.
Read MoreMADDOX: Bells toll for Indiana primary elections
It’s time to get rid of primary elections in Indiana. Just because we’ve been using them for every race from dog catcher up to president is not good enough to keep incurring these unnecessary costs while disengaging our voters.
Read MoreHicks: Subsidizing filmmaking is a losing proposition
Without even touching upon the fairness of Indiana taxpayers subsidizing Hollywood studios, film tax credits are of dubious value. The jobs they generate are transient, often low-paying and unlikely to meet the simplest benefit-cost calculus.
Read MoreSkarbeck: Hedge fund fees pile up despite bad performance
Investors continue to pour money into hedge funds, even though their performance has been downright awful.
Read MoreHealthy Indiana Plan will improve care
Little Red Door Cancer Agency would like to express its support for the expansion of health coverage to hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers through HIP 2.0.
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City of Indianapolis crafts plans for bicentennial
The Department of Economic Development hopes Plan 2020 leads to the updating and revision of no fewer than six official policy documents, from the comprehensive land-use plan to the recreation and open-space plan.
Read MoreFormer Riley Hospital CEO Pescovitz to join Eli Lilly
Dr. Ora Pescovitz is returning to Indianapolis after spending the past five years as CEO of the University of Michigan Health System.
Read MoreEast Coast firm snags long-time ExactTarget exec
The man who steered ExactTarget Inc.’s sales as they surged from $3 million to $110 million has taken a top job at a New York document-management company.
Read MoreDickson stepping down as Indiana’s chief justice
Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Brent Dickson is stepping down from that role but will remain as an associate justice.
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