Municipalities battle over township Greenwood opposes Bargersville annexation plans BARGERSVILLE-This town of 2,500 has raised the ire of Greenwood leaders, daring to annex land close to the city’s southern border and its sprawl of shopping centers. It’s been a long time in coming-since 1905 or thereabouts. That’s when the Illinois Central Railroad came through Bargersville, […]
BARGERSVILLE-This town of 2,500 has raised the ire of Greenwood leaders, daring to annex land close to the city’s southern border and its sprawl of shopping centers. It’s been a long time in coming-since 1905 or thereabouts. That’s when the Illinois Central Railroad came through Bargersville, a burg created 55 years earlier in honor of local resident Jefferson Barger, and the heart of the town moved a half mile northwest to straddle the new tracks. These days, trains still rumble…
Arts, parks need city investment Amenities keep talent flowing here Young, well-educated, married people seem to like Indianapolis. That’s one of the pieces of good news that came out of a new IUPUI study that was the subject of a frontpage story in last week’s IBJ. When it comes to young, well-educated singles, we still have a way to go. Indianapolis lags the national average 17 percent. Cities are chasing such young people to keep their communities and economies strong….
A local real estate developer has emerged as a top contender to buy the 28-story M&I Plaza–potentially at half the
$50 million price the building fetched a decade ago. Paul Kite Co. confirmed it is in talks with Maryland-based
CapitalSource Inc., which took over the struggling office tower in June after foreclosing on a $5 million
mezzanine loan.
Last week’s column looked ahead to the limitless possibilities of Lucas Oil Stadium. This week’s topic is a last look back at the Hoosier/RCA Dome because, this Wednesday, the Dome will be deflated and it will pass forever from our skyline. But not from our memories. Imagine our city without it. There would be no Indianapolis Colts. There likely would be no forthcoming Super Bowl, no Final Fours and no NCAA headquarters. There likely would have been no Pan American…
If the Employee Free Choice Act sounds unfamiliar, you arenâ??t alone. The proposed legislation is getting little
coverage this election cycle.
But the measure could emerge as a flashpoint in the next Congress as business and labor groups battle for
power.
Business…
Indianapolis-based Finish Line reported a second fiscal-quarter profit of $13.1 million yesterday, after posting a $1.8 million loss a year earlier. The 24-cents-a-share profit in the period ended Aug. 30 was better than the 17 cents anticipated by analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. Sales increased 3.9 percent, to $353.3 million-barely meeting expectations. Sales at stores […]
With a driver shortage as bad as the freight industry says, one might think operating a truck-driving school would be a license to print money. But proposed federal rules to toughen training standards and, lately, a fishtailing economy could bring a shakeout among schools. There are even rumblings that a few big carriers that contract with driving schools are poised to eliminate tuition reimbursement as they sweat out the economic downturn. “We’re going to start losing schools,” predicted John Priest,…
Indiana has become the lone state in the upper Midwest not requiring that utilities supply a certain percentage of their electricity from renewable resources, such as wind turbines and landfill gas. Last month, Michigan’s legislature mandated that at least 10 percent of electricity supplied in that state be generated from renewable sources by 2015. Indiana’s conspicuous lack of a standard, along with growing environmental concerns over coal, could improve prospects for passing a standard during the 2009 session of the…
Medicare’s new rule to refuse to pay hospitals for “preventable errors” hasn’t caused hospital administrators to lose sleep about lost revenue. But they do worry that the new rule, which went into effect Oct. 1, could increase the number of costly malpractice lawsuits filed against their hospitals. It’s not clear yet what the financial impact of Medicare’s new “no-pay” rule will be. But companies that make their money supplying hospitals with equipment and services have wasted no time using the…
A group of professionals wearing hard hats walks into the climate-controlled pedestrian bridge that links a parking garage to the new terminal at Indianapolis International Airport. Circular ceiling fixtures light up in a pattern of red and blue, and a chorus of electronic-sounding sighs greets them: “Ahhh.” The playful, interactive installation by Los Angeles-based Electroland is called “Connections,” and it’s expected to become a favorite of the traveling public. The Indianapolis Airport Authority dedicated $3.89 million of the $1.1 billion…
Gov. Mitch Daniels said today that he is dropping the idea of privatizing the Hoosier Lottery as an option of funding a college scholarship program after the U.S. Department of Justice said such a move would not comply with federal law. The Oct. 16 opinion, which Daniels’ office said was requested by Indiana and New […]
Here’s a common scenario: A developer gets approval on zoning and planning permits to build a business on a piece of property. The business has signed an agreement to either lease or buy the building once it’s completed. The owner of the business then begins making plans to open the new facility. The developer, meanwhile, goes to work to prepare the property for construction, which includes everything from figuring out the utilities, access road, curbs, sidewalks and landscaping. Working with…
As the country faces the “subprime crisis” and its effect on the availability of financing, we know local real estate markets have seen brighter days. Fortunately, we also know this crisis will pass. If you are a real estate developer or land-use professional, there will be many opportunities ahead. However, it is important to consider that the regulatory landscape in Indiana relative to land-use development will not be the same as the one you knew prior to the current market….
Joe the Plumber has been getting plenty of attention in recent weeks, but what about Kimberly the Merchant or John the Manufacturer? For all the talk about whether this year’s presidential candidates favor Wall Street or Main Street, there’s little discussion of the fact that neither Democrat Barack Obama nor Republican John McCain may be perfect for all small-business owners. Indianapolis manufacturing firm owner John Raine is backing McCain because of his stance on taxes and labor unions. Local shop…
A shareholder in New York-based ImClone Systems Inc. has filed a lawsuit in an attempt to stop its pending acquisition by Eli Lilly and Co., according to a disclosure filed today with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. State-Boston Retirement System of Massachusetts and several individual ImClone shareholders claim the company provided too little information […]
Indianapolis attorney Fred Glass demonstrated a keen sense of humor during a press conference held this morning to introduce him as the next Indiana University athletic director. Given the expected sanctions on the…
Dr. Catherine Michael, a part-time emergency physician for Indianapolis-based St. Vincent Health, desperately wants Republican John McCain to be the next president. The 39-year-old mother of three gave McCain’s campaign $500 in May because, she said, he will appoint Supreme Court Justices that are antiabortion. Michael, who attends a conservative Presbyterian church, […]
Sixty Indianapolis-area business and civic leaders visited Denver Oct. 19-21 as
part of the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce 2008 Leadership Exchange and paid close attention to public transportation, especially commuter trains.
After a 17-year run in Indianapolis, National City’s trademark green signs are set to be replaced with the blue of Pittsburgh-based PNC Financial. The $5.6 billion deal raises questions about the government’s growing involvement in banking.
