SEPTEMBER 2-8, 2013
This week, J.K. Wall examines Mitch Daniels' uphill battle to change the way Purdue University measures student learning, graduate success and the school's overall academic quality. After a year in the job as university president, Daniels still faces skepticism from faculty who view his quantitative approach, miserly style and political bent as counterproductive. In Focus, we present our annual list of the top real estate brokers in central Indiana, with in-depth info on their transactions for 2012. And in Forefront, state legislators go head-to-head in a debate over the best methods to improve the Indiana's economic outlook.
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Daniels’ push to cut costs, create metrics faces skepticism at Purdue
The former governor wants to change the rules of higher education. But first he must convince skeptical professors that his plans aren’t just politics, but actually good for Purdue.
Read MoreWal-Mart steps up grocery ambitions
The Indianapolis grocery market is about to become even more competitive, as discount giant Wal-Mart embarks on a strategy to offer consumers a store design much cozier than its cavernous supercenters.
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Lids tries to regain glory following fashion shift
Genesco’s hat unit now has reported four consecutive quarters of declining same-store sales—an unusual malaise for a business that from 2001 to 2006 posted a miraculous 19 straight quarters of increased same-store sales.
Read MoreOmnicity lured teen to invest, state says
State securities regulators allege that principals of Omnicity Corp. goaded a 19-year-old to invest $100,000 from his inheritance into the wireless broadband firm so that it could clinch the purchase of an Ohio carrier in 2010.
Read MoreSmall radio stations find success with intensely local strategy
Small Indiana-based radio broadcasters are surviving, and in some cases thriving, despite tough times for radio and years of consolidation that put stations in larger cities into hands of national heavyweights.
Read MoreState pension fund’s performance falls short of target
With more money in bonds than in publicly traded stocks, Indiana’s $27.1 billion pension fund took a beating in the Bernanke sell-off and closed the fiscal year short of its targeted return.
Read MoreSEC accuses Indy cancer firm of being a sham
The SEC says the CEO of locally based biomedical firm Xytos Inc. has committed securities fraud
since 2010 by repeatedly publishing false information to investors about the company. Timothy Cook denies the accusations.
IU prof’s study suggests putting shareholders on the line
Despite tougher federal laws aimed at curbing executive malfeasance, a study by an Indiana University professor advocates making shareholders more responsible for watching management—or facing financial penalties themselves.
Read MoreFocusBack to Top
New homebuilders take root in Indy after downturn
Out-of-state builders scooped up lots during the housing downturn, and now are watching their gambles pay off as they become major local players.
Read MoreBif Ward leads real estate teams list yet again
Count ’em. Five years in a row that Bif Ward has led the All-Star Teams. In 2011 and 2012, the F.C. Tucker Co. team raked in $104.5 million, up from $94.5 million in 2010 and 2011.
Read MoreWynkoop is top-selling local real estate agent
Scott Wynkoop placed first for a second year in a row in IBJ’s annual list of All-Star Agents. Wynkoop sold $56.9 million worth of homes in 2011 and 2012, up from the $45.7 million he sold in 2010 and 2011.
Read MoreCarmel home has a room for everything
Rich and Renee Ackley’s home live both large and small, large because of its 10,000 square feet, and small because of its “fairy garden.”
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EDITORIAL: Find a long-term fix
Mayor Ballard’s support for the $6 million World Sports Park on the far-east side has become a rallying point for critics of his spending priorities. They say the money would be better spent chipping away at the city’s huge infrastructure needs. We think they’re missing the point on a couple of fronts.
Read MoreMAURER: Amend our constitution while we can
Fellow right-wingers, our chance to stick it to the gays may not come again.
Read MoreLEONARD: Hospitals embrace price transparency
Following the federal government’s release of data on hospital charges for Medicare patients, much has been written nationally about how health care providers determine prices, the variation in charges for the same procedure, and the willingness of hospitals to “come clean” on the issue of price transparency.
Read MoreRUSTHOVEN: Rappin’ away the Dream
Last week marked the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech. Few speeches merit recall a week later. King’s will be remembered as long as America lives.
Read MoreHicks: Blame labor’s collapse on its own successes
The decline of the American labor movement is startling. In only 50 years, membership has dropped 80 percent. No mainstream American institution of note has dissipated at this pace before. Today, more Americans receive disability payments than belong to private-sector unions.
Read MoreKim: Steer clear of leveraged exchange-traded funds
If you are confident the S&P 500 will be 20 percent higher a year from now, you might think an exchange-traded fund (ETF) whose objective is to provide two times or even three times the return of the S&P 500 would be just the ticket to earn 40 percent (two times) or 60 percent (three times). You couldn’t be more wrong.
Read MoreDemocrats wrong party for adult leadership
If Sheila Kennedy [Aug. 26] has left the Republican Party and become a Democrat in hopes of finding a party of grown-ups, she can’t be thinking of the same Democrats who seem to follow the rules of Saul Alinsky, who advises in “Rules for Radicals” to make the other party the worst kind of evil while Democrats need not stick to the truth to accomplish the end.
Read MoreGOP needs updating
I agree with Sheila Kennedy [Aug. 26] that the GOP of a generation ago that she and I worked for and supported has left.
Read MoreIn BriefBack to Top
CIB prepared to give Pacers another $11 million
The Capital Improvement Board of Marion County is prepared to give the Pacers another $11 million to offset losses from operating Bakers Life Fieldhouse as it continues to negotiate a long-term contract with the team.
Read MoreState pension board change cuts retiree payouts
Indiana lawmakers grilled the head of the state's pension system Tuesday on a decision to push future retirees into a market-based system that could almost halve the amount they earn from annuity plans.
Read MoreTrendyMinds building a video production facility
The facility will include a 16-foot cyclorama—a curved wall that presents the illusion of an endless landscape.
Read MoreUnited plans direct flights between San Francisco, Indianapolis
The daily flights, which are expected to begin on Jan. 7, will fulfill a longtime wish of local tech firms eager for more direct access to the West Coast and Silicon Valley.
Read MoreButler’s $4M parking project coming to close
The private university is slated to finish improvements soon to 90 acres of land it owns west of the Central Canal that should help alleviate parking problems and give the public better access to the waterway.
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