MAY 7-13, 2021
Indy-area employers are offering plenty of incentives to encourage their workers to get vaccinations, but few, if any, are requiring workers to get vaccinated as a condition for coming back to work. John Russell explores the legal complications of compelling employees to get the vaccine. Also in this week’s issue, Kurt Christian reports that local restaurant owners are using alternative recruiting techniques and financial incentives to counteract the labor shortage plaguing the retail industry. And Susan Orr tracks the emergence of commercial and retail development in the Bates-Hendricks neighborhood now that the residential turnaround is in full swing.
Front PageBack to Top
Indianapolis-area employers reluctant to require employee vaccinations
Companies are offering plenty of incentives to encourage their workers to get COVID vaccinations, but few, if any, are requiring the shots as a condition for coming back to work—or, in the case of new hires, for getting a job offer.
Read More
Labor-starved restaurants, bars add bonuses, increased wages to the menu
Local restaurant owners battling a nationwide labor shortage are using alternative recruiting techniques and financial incentives to try to staff a returning dinner rush.
Read More
500 Festival remains in black despite cancellations
Like most everyone, the organization last year made budget cuts to cope with the pandemic. But its expenses also dropped dramatically because it canceled the 500 Festival Parade and shifted to a virtual platform for other events.
Read MoreTop StoriesBack to Top
Clusters of immigrants common at some workplaces
A 2014 study found that, on average, 37% of immigrants working in urban America had co-workers who were also immigrants.
Read More
Bates-Hendricks seeing flurry of commercial development
The neighborhood just south of downtown has been one of the city’s emerging residential hot spots the past several years—and commercial developers are taking notice.
Read MoreQ&A with Jeff Smallwood, blazing a new trail one mile at a time
The Avon resident has been on a decades-long quest to blaze a paved path from downtown Indianapolis to Montezuma, a trail that is slowly taking shape.
Read More
Apartment complex planned near Allisonville and 46th Street
Preliminary site plans filed with the city call for the construction of five new apartment buildings and the retention of a two-story office building on the 8.6-acre property.
Read MoreLocal refugee organizations prepare to rebuild after Biden raises cap
Indianapolis refugee organizations have seen only a trickle of refugees since last October, but are now set for a greater influx after President Joe Biden quadrupled the annual cap on the number of refugees allowed in the United States.
Read MoreDevelopers seek financing help for $96M in Carmel residential projects
The developer behind the Proscenium development in Carmel is expanding the project across the street, and an Indianapolis-based developer is planning to dive into the Carmel market with a $78 million project.
Read MoreMilestone Business Solutions to add 40 jobs
The company, which operates remotely, said it also will spend $171,500 to establish a physical location in central Indiana in 2022 to help support its growing national customer base.
Read MoreBenefits firm First Person Advisors acquired by leading insurance broker
First Person, founded in 1997 by Bryan Brenner, is expected to keep operations in Indianapolis. Under the deal, New York-based NFP Corp. will keep all 55 First Person employees.
Read More
Hamilton Town Center multiplex to reopen as luxury theater
Michigan-based Emagine said it expects to reopen the Noblesville theater this summer. The theater’s previous operator filed for bankruptcy last year.
Read MoreFocusBack to Top
In a lockdown, Roche pushes ahead with new, different diagnostic tests
Matthew Sause took the helm of the 4,500-person Roche Diagnostics’ North American operations in Indianapolis in November 2019—just four months before the World Health Organization declared a pandemic and much of the planet went into lockdown.
Read MorePatrick Cross: Health and life sciences trends for 2021 and beyond
Emerging from the pandemic, health and life sciences companies have a unique opportunity to leverage lessons learned for the benefit of the patients they serve.
Read MoreIBJ Life Sciences Panel: The ‘virtual world has made us faster’
This is a partial transcript of IBJ’s annual Life Sciences Power Panel, which took place virtually on April 30 with four of Indy’s biosciences leaders: 16 Tech CEO Bob Coy, GenePace Laboratories founder Sanjay Malkani, Elanco Animal Health CEO Jeff Simmons and Indiana University School of Medicine geneticist Tatiana Foroud.
Read MoreOpinionBack to Top
Editorial: Holcomb’s regional grant program holds great promise
READI will encourage neighboring counties, cities and towns to partner and apply for grants of up to $50 million per region.
Read MoreLesley Weidenbener: Buying, selling and reporting the deal
Merger and acquisition stories can seem straightforward enough, but they’re often complicated by the companies’ decisions to keep the financial terms confidential, the desire of the parties to control the message to their employees and customers, and the emotions inevitably wrapped up in these transactions.
Read MoreMorton Marcus; Who gains and who loses from the forthcoming reapportionment?
While Hamilton and Marion counties are the biggest winners, Madison, Wayne, Delaware, Grant and Lake will have less representation and will be the biggest losers.
Read MoreChris Watts: Indiana’s two-year budget tackles 20-year population challenge
Population belongs on the list of Indiana’s most daunting long-term challenges, alongside education. Sure, our schools need to prepare more Hoosiers for success in the job market, but building our economy also takes more Hoosiers—period.
Read MoreIn the workplace: Innovation can bring better work-life balance
As executives, one way we grow our impact and scale our performance is by creating standard operating procedures for our team. So why can’t we do that for ourselves when distinguishing between work and life?
Read MoreMickey Kim: Mr. Spock would find ‘SPAC-mania’ totally illogical
Unlike regular companies, SPACs are “shell companies” with no commercial operations at the time of their IPO.
Read MoreBohanon & Curott: Taxing capital gains like job income is bad idea
Taxing dividends and capital gains encourages too much consumption and too little savings, which is to the long-term detriment of households and the larger economy.
Read MoreLetter: Other schools have female presidents
I was disappointed to see that your article suggested that there were only three Indiana colleges and universities who are currently under female leadership. Noticeably, you neglected to mention Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana.
Read MoreIn BriefBack to Top
Veteran franchisees bringing Dave’s Hot Chicken chain to Indy
A Fort Wayne-based franchise group that operates 45 Pizza Hut locations, including some in Hamilton and Boone counties, has signed a deal to open 15 Dave’s Hot Chicken locations in Indiana. Most are expected to be in the Indy-area market.
Read MoreHolcomb vetoes bill that would cut power of local health officials
Gov. Eric Holcomb’s veto marks another pushback against fellow Republicans’ legislative efforts to weaken the powers of the governor or others during emergencies such as the pandemic.
Read More
Cummins raises full-year outlook after better-than-expected quarterly results
Indiana-based engine manufacturer Cummins Inc. on Tuesday reported first-quarter revenue and profit that exceeded analyst expectations.
Read More
KAR’s stock spikes following acquisition of software firm
Auction Frontier sells a cloud-based software called Velocicast that is the backbone of KAR’s live, online auto auctions.
Read More
After year off, Indiana State Fair will return this summer
The Indiana State Fair Commission announced Tuesday that the fair will be July 30 to Aug. 22 but may look a little different to meet health requirements.
Read MoreExploreBack to Top
Mike Lopresti: Baseball is coming back to Victory Field
What happens to a ballpark when it must sit idle for so long? Maybe we should ask the guy who takes care of the place.
Read More