When directors of Indiana’s 21st Century Research and Technology Fund convened in May 2003, they’d already doled out $70 million in state grants over three years to fund h i g h – t e c h innovation a n d w e r e preparing to u n l e a s h another $60 million. But you wouldn’t know it after reading minutes from that meeting. They show a rollicking debate broke out over the 21st Century’s Fund’s…
CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary Legislature has big responsibility We stand on the threshold of greatness. Wait; let me say that again. “We stand on the threshold of greatness.” Now, say it to yourself, making sure to insert a pregnant pause after the word “stand” and imagining you hear it in the booming radio voice of FDR. It’s one of those platitudes that could’ve been contrived by a speechwriter for any number of inaugural addresses, including those of Franklin D. Roosevelt, John…
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this session’s first five weeks has been all the talk about imposing or raising taxes. A surfeit of Republicans ran for assorted offices last year complaining about the condition of the state budget, but pledged to bring it back into balance by attacking fraud and waste, and simply cutting more programs. Many Democrats who ran against them acknowledged budget “issues,” but suggested they could be managed and the budget would not be balanced on…
House Bill 1639 would put in place a hefty set of tax incentives for companies making movies, television shows, music videos, commercials and corporate videos on Hoosier soil. Though the bill has bipartisan support in the House, a similar measure was spiked last year because of concerns over lost tax revenue. Even the bill’s author thinks there could be a fight over the measure in the Senate. Those who think the idea of drawing movie producers to Indiana is far-fetched…
Here’s what I want you to do: Take your left index finger and place it on your chin. Now, slide it along your jaw up to your left ear. Now slide it straight down your neck. When you’ve reached the base, slide your finger outward, halfway to your shoulder. Now, imagine that instead of a fingertip, you employ a head-and-neck surgeon with a scalpel. And imagine that after slicing your jaw and neck, he pulls down the resulting flap of…
When Simon Property Group Inc. and Landmark Theatres open their art multiplex in December, it’ll boast seven movie screens, stadium seating and a full bar, all under the Fashion Mall’s roof. The local art film crowd is palpably excited that the edgy indies, daring documentaries and foreign films usually found in New York or Los Angeles will be just a stone’s throw from their favorite stores and restaurants. Those films already are shown at Key Cinemas on the south side….
Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter thinks there’s room to improve oversight of the state’s 60,000-plus not-for-profit organizations, a task that happens to fall under his purview. So two months into his second term as Indiana’s top lawyer-and nearly two years after becoming embroiled in a highprofile charitable dispute-Carter is backing legislation that would strengthen existing laws and allow his office flexibility in dealing with problems when they arise. “We’re not proposing to give ourselves a magic wand,” said Brent Embry,…
Last week was busy for members of the Indiana General Assembly. A budget was moved to the House floor, the daylightsaving time initiative was fully debated for the first time in years, slots for the state’s two pari-mutuel horse-racing tracks received a committee vote, the Indianapolis Colts stadium issue was at the forefront of hallway debate, the Indianapolis Works program was the subject of some debate, and some controversial charter school issues received an airing. But while there was a…
The first week of March marks the General Assembly’s deadlines for passage of legislation in its chamber of origination. Senate bills must clear the Senate by March 1 and House bills must be approved by the House of Representatives by March 4 to maintain the chance to become law. Those deadlines meant the end of February was hectic. Activity reached a frenzied level as lawmakers worked both publicly and behind the scenes to make sure their favored pieces of legislation…
Former Indiana Department of Transportation Commissioner J. Bryan Nicol changed official recommendations of INDOT’s design division, according to an INDOT source, a move that sent millions of dollars of work to major contributors to former Gov. Joe Kernan’s campaign. Two days after last fall’s election, INDOT consultant services manager Jeffrey Clanton said he was ordered by then-commissioner Nicol to make a number of changes to a July 29, 2004, selection list. On seven of the 24 different projects on the…
Indiana’s state Web portal, access-Indiana, won at least a dozen awards over the last four years. It was frequently lauded as a model of modern government efficiency-robust, reliable and user-friendly. But, according to new Indiana Chief Technology Officer Karl Browning, the reality was only skin deep. Certainly, accessIndiana is the handsome public face of state information technology. But beneath the surface, there’s a tangled mess of unconnected systems, each managed independently by a separate agency. Gov. Mitch Daniels, a Republican,…
And how. Peterson, a Democrat, has raised $547,836 in the year since he defeated Republican challenger Greg Jordan to earn a second term. Including funds left over from the last election cycle, his total campaign chest currently stands at $1,217,189. For now, Peterson is more than the frontrunner in the 2007 Indianapolis mayor’s race. According to the Marion County clerk’s office, he’s the only candidate yet on file. Many had speculated that Peterson, perhaps the Indiana Democrat Party’s best-known figure…
This column is typically devoted to the intersection of politics, government and business (with an occasional tortured sports analogy tossed in). We don’t usually address the higher order of the universe, but after last week, we find that we must delve into the field of metaphysics to provide you with some perspective on legislative events. March 1 marked the halfway point in the 2005 session of the Indiana General Assembly. But with more than 130 bills dying for lack of…
I’m always trying to learn more about Indiana. I suspect investors within and outside our state are also interested in what is happening in our many cities and towns. Yet no single newspaper does a good job of covering the news of the state. Nor can one hope to read all 47 daily newspapers published in Indiana. Then, along comes the Internet and the posting by local newspapers of their records of Hoosier activity. Here, at last, is our chance…
A memo by Republic Airways warns of the need for employee concessions if ailing partner U.S. Airways ceases operations, Teamsters officials said. The union representing 1,000 cockpit crew members and 600 flight attendants at Republic’s Chautauqua Airlines unit has found itself-not the Indianapolis company-on the defensive, however. Union leaders are wrinkled at what they say is a disingenuous memo Republic CEO Bryan Bedford sent to workers about seven weeks ago, alleging that the union has withheld information from pilots and…
There’s supposed to be an 800-word column in this space. We face important issues, after all, and you look to the author to help mold your opinion, move you to tears or, more likely, make you mad as hell. (Besides, you paid good money for this newspaper and you’re entitled to some valuable fodder for your next water cooler conversation or, at minimum, your recycling bin.) But your favorite columnist, whose job is to make connections between seemingly disparate notions,…
Democrats in the Indiana House of Representatives took their toys and went home last week, skipping work for 22 hours over the final two-day period to move legislation over to the Senate. Their partisan, obstructionist tactics brought progress to a screeching halt as the state tries to move forward with a new agenda that Indiana voters overwhelmingly supported in principle back at the polls in November. I’m not sure, but I think if I decided to boycott my job for…
The second half of the General Assembly’s “long” session is now upon us, even though it doesn’t quite feel like it had closure to the first half. Unless you were in Florida or Arizona watching baseball’s spring training games, you are well aware of the House Democrats’ tactics that resulted in a lack of quorum on the final days for passage bills from their chamber of origin. The lack of a quorum meant more than 130 bills died ignominiously on…
Whether it includes taxes on players’ salaries, tickets and suite rentals remains to be seen. But early deliberations won’t include revenue from gambling, according to Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, who chairs the Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee. “There’s not going to be any gambling included in the bill,” Kenley said. “It’s not going to be funded through slot machines or pull tabs.” Sen. President Pro Tem Robert Garton, R-Columbus, also said he’d oppose any measure including slot machines or…
Indiana is one of just four states that requires a two-thirds majority to be present in the House or Senate to conduct business. It’s a tool our constitution’s drafters granted the minority party in 1851 to protect it from a tyrannical majority. Too bad lawmakers lately have used the provision like a sledgehammer, smashing the legislative process to bits. Lawmakers aren’t the only ones choosing the wrong tool, though. Gov. Mitch Daniels took a few swings with his rhetorical sledgehammer,…
