MARCH 30-APRIL 5, 2015

Nurses at Indiana University Health’s downtown hospitals are moving quickly to form a union in a bid they say is designed to improve their own working conditions and pay and to improve care for patients. J.K. Wall reports the move could spark nurses at other hospitals to follow suit. Also this week, Lou Harry looks at the tough calculus thespians face when deciding to join the stage actors union. And in Focus, Scott Olson examines online residential brokerage Redfin, which aims to shake up the Indianapolis market.

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Final Four payoff from 2004 NCAA pact continuing to escalate

March 26, 2015 | Anthony Schoettle

A deal struck 10 years ago to bring the men’s Final Four to Indianapolis every five years has become a much-beefier cash cow for the city than any of the pact’s architects could have imagined.

IU Health nurses to vote on union

March 26, 2015 | J.K. Wall

In-store bank branches fall out of favor

March 26, 2015 | Jared Council

The number of in-store bank branches—mostly at grocery stores—has been trending downward for years, and in the coming months they’ll be all but gone from Indianapolis.

Ballard, like predecessor, doesn’t have city email address

March 26, 2015 | Kathleen McLaughlin

The mayor declined to set up a city email account when he took office in 2008, and he does not use one to this day.

Deciding whether to join union a tough call for Indianapolis actors

March 26, 2015 | Lou Harry

Whether to join the union has always been a dilemma for regional actors, but in Indianapolis the decision is even more difficult as non-union professional theaters proliferate and offer plum roles to build experience.

Valet services expand beyond the expected clients

March 26, 2015 | Lindsey Erdody

Valet service in central Indiana has expanded beyond upscale restaurants and luxury hotels to hospitals, casual eateries and even a grocery store.

Does Biglari’s Steak n Shake storyline rewrite history?

March 26, 2015 | Greg Andrews

Steak n Shake's parent company quotes longtime director Ruth Person as calling the period before Sardar Biglari took the helm "the scariest of times." But the CEO back then said the burger chain was on solid financial footing.

Residential Real Estate: Marketplace

March 26, 2015 | IBJ Staff

Look here to see the latest housing sales in the Indianapolis area, as well as the most expensive local house sold recently, and a map showing where households with the greatest incomes are located.

Online real estate brokerage Redfin enters market; brokers unfazed

March 26, 2015 | Scott Olson

A residential real estate service that prides itself on its tech-savvy ways and alternative methods of compensating agents hopes to make a splash in the Indianapolis market.

Couple rescues Italianate farmhouse from decay

March 26, 2015 | Sam Stall

Couple called in favors and even kept a picture taken by a photographer who entered the shot in a contest for an image best portraying the emotion of fear.

EDITORIAL: ‘Freedom’ bill is just the opposite

March 26, 2015 | IBJ Staff

Indiana’s Republican-led General Assembly—refusing to cede a losing battle against the tide of history—has sullied Indiana’s reputation again, sending one more message of divisiveness.

MAURER: McClelland, a giant in entrepreneurship, retires

March 26, 2015 |

As president of Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana, Jim McClelland helped the least-productive people in our city gain a sense of dignity and self worth.

RUSTHOVEN: Coats among dwindling, respected breed

March 26, 2015 | Peter J. Rusthoven / Special to IBJ

Sen. Dan Coats’ decision not to seek re-election sparked immediate speculation about a raft of potential candidates for what was a “safe” Republican seat, and whether that seat is now in play in 2016. A flurry of articles and emails on this were circulating within hours of Coats’ announcement.

FRIEDMAN: Hoosiers throw Hoosiers under the bus

March 26, 2015 | Shaw Friedman / Special to IBJ

If I told you that a state agency, charged with protecting the interests of Hoosiers, actually endorsed the bid of an offshore equity fund to buy the Indiana Toll Road lease over a viable Hoosier bid, you wouldn’t believe it.

FEIGENBAUM: Harris quietly got things done in the Legislature

March 26, 2015 |

Despite having served in the House since 1982, Earl Harris wasn’t familiar to most Hoosiers, not having served in posts from which lawmakers are elevated to the statewide public spotlight. Nor was Harris well-known outside Lake County for having authored signature legislation that galvanized or polarized Hoosiers.

KIM: More wisdom from Buffett: Don’t bet against America

March 26, 2015 | Mickey Kim

Buffett believes in America and puts his money where his mouth is.

BOHANON & STYRING: Beware politicians’ boasts about jobless rates

March 26, 2015 | Bill Styring / Special to IBJ and Cecil Bohanon / Special to IBJ

The widely publicized unemployment rate is one of those chameleon numbers, where apparent good is sometimes bad, and vice versa. All is not always what it seems when you peek behind the wizard’s curtain.

No alarm over Indiana pensions

March 26, 2015 |

Concern about the Indiana Public Retirement System investment results [March 16] arises from a revolution in institutional investing that started in the 1960s.

Armbands for bigots

March 26, 2015 |

I loved Mickey Maurer’s [March 16] column, “If religion dictates, be prejudiced and proud.” I have an additional suggestion.

Common construction wage debate marred

March 26, 2015 |

Indiana’s common construction wage statute is being vilified in recent media releases using information that is almost laughably inaccurate. The releases espouse that public works projects such as schools, libraries, hospitals and the like can achieve savings of 20 percent by eliminating the common construction wage.

Indianapolis Business Journal