Some top civic leaders have quietly created a not-for-profit organization to study and build a streetcar “circulator” system downtown. Downtown Indianapolis Streetcar Corp. would bring the electric vehicles to the streets for the first time since the 1950s. Notable members of the group include Bob Bedell, former president of the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association, […]
An Indianapolis plant owned by Kentucky-based General Cable Corp. has been named one of the 10 best in the nation by the trade publication Industry Week. The plant, at 7920 Rockville Road near Indianapolis International Airport, makes polymer compounds. It combines Six Sigma continuous improvement and lean manufacturing techniques, and blends managers and union workers […]
ACS Sign System’s unusual approach to sign-making–some are not strictly signs at all–has helped the company grow its revenue
and expand its footprint beyond Indiana. In recent years, sales outside its home state have grown from 20 percent of total
revenue to almost half.
As legislators prepare to overhaul the state’s property-tax system, Marion County’s future hangs in the balance. Indianapolis
residents–particularly in the city’s older, urban core–already pay far higher taxes than their suburban counterparts. And
arguably get less bang for their buck. Changes on the table could make Marion County an even tougher sell.
The list of potential Hoosier ethanol plants is nothing short of astounding for a state that had just one ethanol-fuel distillery
as recently as 2005. Beyond the six ethanol plants now operating and six others under construction, Purdue University agricultural
economist Chris Hurt counts 27 others under consideration for Indiana.
Starting Jan. 2, the morning newscast on WXIN-TV Channel 59 will be simulcast on its sister station, WTTV-TV Channel 4. While other central Indiana affiliates offer a blended local and national morning newscast, WXIN is the only station to offer an all-local weekday news show. The local “Fox 59 Morning News” airs from 6 a.m. […]
The Indianapolis-based parent of the Ritter’s Frozen Custard brand has been stuck in a cold streak lately, facing scores of
new ice-cream competitors and a dwindling lineup of franchisees. But RFC Franchising LLC is planning big changes designed
to firm up the home-grown chain, which now has 48 stores in nine states, down from more than 60 locations in 2005.
Susan Brooks seems to have returned to her roots in her new role with Ivy Tech Community College. The former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana began Oct. 1 leading the post-secondary educational institution’s work force and economic development functions, as well as becoming its general counsel. Brooks spent her growing-up years in Fort Wayne watching her father, a high school teacher and football coach, push his students and players on the football field and in the classroom….
I save newspaper items thinking they will make good columns. But with only one column per week, I end up with piles of good ideas. Here are four items I found interesting: Another sports opportunity: The National Lacrosse League has canceled its season. I didn’t know there was a league of 13 professional lacrosse teams. This was another instance of players and owners not being able to come to agreement on salaries. Both of those groups and the fans are…
Indianapolis-area companies are ponying up $1.15 million to help put on this month’s National FFA convention, an event expected to draw more than 55,000 members and their chaperones to the city. They’re backing the bigbudget affair largely because of the access it gives them to future leaders-from tomorrow’s policymakers to those who could someday work at these local firms. And the city is putting on quite a show to get the attention of the roughly 46,000 12-to 21-year-old members and…
The return of Dunkin’ Donuts to the metropolitan area last month gave java lovers here their first whiff of a brewing coffee war. The Boston-area-based chain’s Carmel location is one of 80 franchised stores slated to open within the next eight years. Its re-entry into the market is part of a national campaign to more than double the number of its 6,000 locations by reinventing itself to challenge Seattle’s Starbucks. Dunkin’ Donuts is rolling out concept stores with hipper furniture…
Buildings, just like people, have lives. They’re born, they do their jobs, they take on new roles and, after about 75 years, most of them reach the end. Sadly, some beautiful ones die too soon, while a few ugly ones live too long. How should we decide when to save a building or when to tear it down? And have the reasons changed? The terms of renovation are well-known (adaptive re-use, mixed-use development and historic preservation). When our actions meet…
Much of what defines a charter school is in sharp contrast with the traditional model found in public school districts. And the differences start with the structure itself. Charter schools, due to budget restraints, typically involve renovations of a buildings once used for entirely different purposes. From there, the architecture and interior design must create a look and functionality educators say enhances learning and instills in students a sense of ownership and pride in their eventual alma mater. “No one…
My wife, Cheri, and I live in one of those newfangled, don’tstray-from-the-mainstream neighborhoods. It’s governed by wellmeaning “covenants and restrictions.” It has “architectural control guidelines.” These documents were formulated by a “development control committee” to “enhance the value and appearance of the community.” (We’re especially concerned with the “value” part, until our property-tax bills arrive, at which point we protest the assessed value.) Included among the controls in our neighborhood is a color palette. I imagine some designer back in…
If you like to hear news about the economy, the information age has been a boon. Leave your television set on one of the financial networks, and you’ll see tickers, graphs and animations whizzing by as talking heads digest and dissect every morsel of market and economic information. Tell your computer to alert you to any news about a company, a country or an industry and it will pop up with tidbits all day long. And for a few bucks,…
Iasta.comInc. From chemicals to coatings E-sourcing software streamlines purchasing cycle Companies wanting to gain a strategic foothold in today’s fast-paced Internet-based supply chain marketplace are turning to companies like Indianapolisbased Iasta, an e-sourcing software and services company. Co-founder David Bush, senior vice president for business development, said Iasta’s software product allows companies to be more competitive in tracking work flow and to conduct reverse auctions where suppliers can bid for their business. An Indiana University environmental science graduate, Bush started…
Kevin Modany, CEO of ITT Educational Services Inc., carries an iPod and downloads drum solo videos from YouTube. But when
Modany, a young-looking 40-year-old, talks about ITT’s 35-percent increase in first-quarter profit, he comes across as savvy
and confident of his ability to take the post-secondary education provider to even greater heights.
Want to join a gym but don’t feel like splurging for the membership? No problem, if your company is one of a handful to offer a new wellness product that lets employees exercise at no charge. Called InTune, the program from Indianapolis-based insurance giant WellPoint Inc. is loaded with an array of services not unlike existing wellness offerings. Online and in-person coaching, diet advisers and holistic practitioners are among the benefits, for instance. But it’s the free gym membership that…
After the passing of the restaurant’s general manager, “Mama” stepped into the grief-filled void, providing leadership while consoling the staff. During a charity silent auction, Camerone auctioned off herself as an inhome chef for an evening. She ended up generating the most proceeds, enough to make a dream come true for a child during the Make-a-Wish Telethon. Pamela Evans, customer service agent, American Airlines Evans is a customer service agent for American Airlines and her territory often can be among…
Ivy Tech Community College’s choice of businessman Tom Snyder as its new president bodes well for Indiana’s health care and manufacturing industries, observers say. The school’s nursing program will greatly benefit in part because Snyder served on the board of St. John’s Hospital in Anderson before it was acquired by St. Vincent Health several years […]
