OCTOBER 12-18, 2009
This week, find out what's on Dr. Robin Ledyard's agenda now that she has taken over as president of Community Hospital East. Also, get the story behind the Kroger ads that are grabbing eyes—and raising eyebrows. Wondering what public art is on the drawing board now that kinetic George Rickey scultpures that adorned downtown this summer are gone? Maybe nothing. And in A&E etc., Lou Harry and his able assistant provide some guidance for film fans in advance of this year's Heartland Film Festival.
Front PageBack to Top
WellPoint memos show job cuts starting with mid-level execs
With a national unemployment rate of nearly 10 percent eroding its customer base, WellPoint Inc. is cutting at least 30
middle-management employees and reshuffling its corporate organization, according to internal memos obtained by IBJ.
Firms line up to find new uses for old airport terminal, other properties
The cash-strapped Indianapolis Airport Authority suddenly can’t look soon enough at developing some of its vast real
estate holdings, including the city’s former passenger terminal. This month, it plans to conduct final contract
negotiations with a firm that would study reuse of the old terminal, adjacent land and other airport holdings.
Securities firm Stifel Nicolaus balks at fraud charge
Transactions cited in the complaint involved advisers scattered across the firm’s seven Indiana offices, though two-thirds
were clients of Jeff Cohen.
Top StoriesBack to Top
Grocery, housing projects could rejuvenate stretch of 16th Street
A troubled low-income housing project has a new owner with plans to redevelop the complex to better
connect with the Herron Morton Place neighborhood. Next door, Kroger has revived efforts to acquire
land and plan a new supermarket to replace a cramped, old-format location.
Indiana State Museum chief trying to define brand on tight budget
The museum finally has a brand—it bills itself as a “center for science
and culture”—but don’t expect a splashy campaign.
Lucas Oil out to build on Jiffy Lube deal
One year after emblazoning its name on the Indianapolis Colts’ mammoth new home, Lucas Oil Products Inc. has leveraged
that sponsorship into a pact with Jiffy Lube that company founder Forrest Lucas thinks will score huge profits for his company.
Kroger ads in Star grab attention, raise eyebrows
A new eye-grabbing advertising design in The Indianapolis Star has some wondering where ad content stops and news
content begins.
My Health Care Manager lands $3 million investment
The company, which guides working adults and their parents through the maze of decisions and agencies involved in care for seniors, plans to use the money primarily to augment its sales staff and operations.
Read MoreDowntown public art campaign loses funding
The organizations that spearheaded the city’s public art campaign are crippled for a lack of funding. While other public
art efforts are under way in Indianapolis, no one organization has the money to commission an exhibit large enough to fill
downtown.
Proposed Fishers medical park faces uncertain demand
The business park would encompass about 900 acres on the town’s northeast side and require rezoning
of much of the land, from residential and agriculture to commercial.
Industrial real estate holding up during downturn
Industrial real estate in Indianapolis hasn’t escaped a bumpy ride caused by the recession, but it has managed to
withstand turbulence better than the office and retail sectors.
FocusBack to Top
Indiana life sciences leaders discover dozens of tiny outsourcing companies
BioCrossroads, an Indianapolis-based not-for-profit, is cataloging Indiana businesses offering contract services to pharmaceutical
and biotechnology companies, and discovering many small firms operating in relative obscurity.
Dow AgroSciences ratcheting up biotech efforts
Dow AgroSciences’ introduction of a promising new product is helping transform the Indianapolis company as it transitions
from a focus on traditional agricultural chemicals to genetically altered seeds. The subsidiary of Michigan-based Dow Chemical
Co. partnered with St. Louis-based Monsanto Co. to develop what could become its biggest blockbuster, a genetically modified
corn variety it calls SmartStax.
OpinionBack to Top
EDITORIAL: Indiana Fever deserves support
Running a professional sports franchise isn’t just a dollars-and-cents proposition.
It also requires heart. And that’s what the Fever have in abundance, from ownership to management to the players on
the floor.
EDITORIAL: Another blow to a deadly habit?
An ordinance that would ban smoking in enclosed spaces where it’s still allowed—primarily bars and bowling alleys—is
once again being considered by the City-County Council. And again we urge councilors to adopt the measure.
KATTERJOHN: Newspapers still deliver – for YOU
The Hoosier State Press Association, a trade group representing 175 paid-circulation Hoosier newspapers, including
IBJ, has launched a campaign designed to remind the public of the important role newspapers play in our democracy.
So this week, I’m ceding my space to David Stamps, executive director of the HSPA
MARCUS: The recession will leave a residue
Wouldn’t
it be refreshing if we focused on a different way of looking at the recession? What if we talked in
real terms about how much we lost in work days or goods and services?
ROOB: Math proficiency a must for work force
The recent slump in the domestic auto industry reminds us of the importance of innovation and creating something that will
be attractive to the consumer tomorrow. Companies that don’t foresee and adapt to the changing needs of their consumers
ultimately fail.
ALTOM: Is it worth tracking employees and their vehicles?
Employees often react badly to, as they see it, being followed around. There are even privacy laws to consider.
Read MoreHICKS: Labor market woes persist as recession wanes
So, the problem isn’t necessarily a big spike in job losses, but in much lower job-creation numbers.
Read MoreHAUKE: October likely to avoid much-predicted scariness
The two largest stock market crashes occurred in October.
Read MoreLegislator promotes fair redistricting
Sometimes I agree with Morton Marcus’ opinions and sometimes I don’t, but I was incredulous when I read his
“Let’s help keep legislators in check” in the [Sept. 28] IBJ.
Chicago Olympics? What a joke
I can appreciate, but heartily disagree, with the arguments [Bill Benner] advanced [in his Oct. 5 column] that Chicago
getting the 2012 Olympics would have benefited Indianapolis.
This is time to step up at work, not back off
I read the [Sept. 21 viewpoint] “Learn to say no at work” with disbelief that this is among the best advice
that can be given, when companies are now being required to do more with less.
Forget visiting the Berry Bowl
[In response to Bill Benner’s Oct. 5 column] You can cross off your list watching basketball at the Berry Bowl. A new school was built in Logansport in the early ’70s
and the old school, including the wonderful Berry Bowl, was torn down.
Here’s how to help future work force
I encourage businesspeople—well,
everyone, really—to volunteer in and visit our schools, if for no other reason than to expose kids to the professional
world and let the kids see that the professional world cares.
In BriefBack to Top
Green year for city hall, businesses
It’s been a year since Republican Mayor Greg Ballard launched the City’s Office of Sustainability. On Oct. 6,
Ballard and his sustainability director, Karen Haley, outlined accomplishments in the first year.
Baucus health reform bill would stick Indiana companies with fees
The health reform bill sponsored by U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., would help pay for expanded health insurance coverage
by levying fees of $13 billion a year on the health care industry. The fees would deliver a hefty bill to just
about all of Indiana’s major health care companies. But how they’re reacting to the fees is all over the map.
Memorial fund expands free admissions at Eiteljorg
The Leon Jett Minority Family Admission Fund has raised money to allow admissions at the Eiteljorg Museum
of American Indians and Western Art for families enrolled in Hoosier Works or Hoosier Healthwise.
‘Godfather’ game-maker sued over ‘Dillinger Tommy Gun’
The Mooresville-based company that owns John Dillinger’s publicity rights has made an “offer” of sorts
that the Godfather can’t refuse.
United Way devoting another $1 million to church-based child care centers
United Way of Central Indiana will expand its program for improving church-based child care to its six-county region with
a $1 million economic stimulus grant from the Indiana Family and Social Service Administration’s Bureau of Child Care.
NFP of NOTE: Flanner House of Indianapolis Inc.
Flanner House of Indianapolis Inc.’s mission is to support the community on the near northwest side of Indianapolis
by providing early childhood education, senior services, employment and social services programs.
Mayor seeks your suggestions
The newly created Indy
Ideas Web site and the Neighborhood Association Council are both intended to encourage participation in local government.