MARCH 1-7, 2010
This week, see why the city's smoking ban—such as it is—has local tourism leaders all fired up. Also, read about an attendance win for the Indiana Pacers, and find out why Asian capitalists are investing in Indiana businesses. In A&E, etc., Surf This columnist Jim Cota admits a guilty pleasure he indulges in online.
Front PageBack to Top
Ballard retooling city’s curbside recycling strategy
Mayor Greg Ballard plans to renegotiate the city’s trash-collection-and-processing deals, a move aimed at boosting Indianapolis’
woeful 3.5-percent curbside-recycling rate and making the city one of the best environmental stewards in the Midwest.
Tech-savvy Scotty’s owner eyes national expansion
Scott Wise has five Scotty's Brewhouse locations and
is set to debut the Scotty's Lakehouse concept Monday. Within 10 years, he'd like to have
restaurants in the Southeast and on the West Coast.
Top StoriesBack to Top
Officials: Weak smoking ban hurts Indianapolis’ hospitality efforts
The ongoing smoking-ban debate is getting a new spark from convention leaders trying to light a fire under
lawmakers, who have been reluctant to approve the kind of comprehensive smoking ban that
health—and now tourism—officials say is needed here.
Pacers could buck NBA trend, see slight rise in attendance
Indiana Pacers officials believe with a late surge they can register their second straight season with an attendance increase.
If the Pacers can boost ticket sales by a few hundred per game, the team would be one of only 10 in the 30-team National Basketball
Association to score an increase.
Chinese investors financing startup, early stage companies
Indiana entrepreneurs weary of hitting dry holes with angel investors and venture capitalists are turning to Chinese investors
who are eager to diversify their portfolios, latch onto American innovations—and take advantage of a federal visa program.
Bankruptcy trustee for Fair Finance wades into morass of insider loans
Brian Bash will need to untangle a web of related-party transactions that have befuddled nearly everyone who has tried to make sense of them.
Read MoreRestoration planned for landmark Old Centrum property
The Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana plans to acquire the Romanesque Revival former church and is considering moving
its headquarters there.
Decline in service clubs threatens funding for international causes
Organizations like Kiwanis boost awareness of international needs, which otherwise rank low on Americans' giving priorities.
Read MoreRedevelopment planned for site of former juvenile facility
King Park Area Development Corp. is preparing to approach developers interested in submitting plans for the 1.8-acre site, the equivalent of about eight residential lots.
Read MoreFocusBack to Top
NCAA plans to battle counterfeiters during the men’s Final Four
A National Collegiate Athletic Association posse will be supplemented by local police officers in search of unlicensed T-shirts
and other memorabilia.
Intellectual property practices in law firms recovering from recession
Practices are beginning to thaw along with other areas of the economy.
Read MoreOpinionBack to Top
EDITORIAL: White Lodging delivers a winner for Indianapolis tourism
Hindsight is always 20/20, but in the case of the Marriott Place hotel complex, foresight was just as clear.
Read MoreKATTERJOHN: Closing the book on 30 years
It’s a tall order to write a farewell column after 30 years.
Read MoreMARCUS: The recovery has taken root
rom Madison to Merrillville and Elkhart to Evansville, the talk among businesspeople is positive. Customers are showing
more interest, orders are picking up. The data may not be there to support the good cheer, but economic data are always delayed.
FELDMANN: Beware the dreaded donor engagement gap
Engagement gap strikes small organizations and big ones, struggling not-for-profits and successful ones, and it threatens
to cripple each of its sufferers.
FEIGENBAUM: Don’t expect fireworks in session’s grand finale
Lawmakers head into one
of their briefest periods of conference committee deliberations in recent years with just a handful of major issues needing
resolution.
ALTOM: U.S. slow to get on broadband bandwagon
The country’s old, tired cabling was never designed for such high-transmission speeds.
Read MoreHICKS: Cash-strapped cities paying for prior choices
We are making budget cuts today that could well have been slowly phased-in for a generation. What are the implications?
Read MoreHAUKE: Letter to David Simon: Be careful with General
Simon is at a crossroads where many other CEOs have found themselves, with most of them getting caught up in the circus, only to find destruction in their wake.
Read MoreTrade motorized walkway for walking
Every day there are articles in newspapers and magazines and news reports on TV about obesity and what a problem it has become
and what we need to do to overcome it.
In BriefBack to Top
Mitch Daniels probably won’t run for president, but what if he did?
In a recent interview with Barrons, Daniels gave far more detail about how he’d apply his approach to state government
at the federal level.
Indianapolis International Airport’s art collection grows
The new work was delayed by 16 months because the artist’s New Orleans home and studio were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
Read MoreDisagreement about parking delays project on Meridian Street
A local developer’s plans to renovate a long-vacant and graffiti-covered 1915 building have hit a snag.
Read MoreYoung & Laramore recaptures Stanley Steemer account
The deal is no small coup. According to industry insiders, Stanley Steemer spends $50 million to $60 million in advertising
annually.
Indianapolis Indians use promotion to make Monday games profitable
Concession-stand items for $1 started drawing crowds a few years ago to what had been a slow night at Victory Field.
Read MoreNFP of NOTE: Trusted Mentors Inc.
Trusted Mentors Inc. uses the power of mentoring to help adults establish stable lives by reducing the chaos brought about
by poverty, homelessness, under-employment, and the effects of incarceration.