MONROE COUNTY Self-publisher eyes new offices Expansion plans for Bloomington’s Author Solutions Inc. likely will eventually include a new building near the firm’s offices at State Road 37 and Second Street. Author Solutions CEO Kevin Weiss tells IBJ he has been looking around at sites to accommodate an influx of 130 new employees in the […]
Flagship rises over post-GM town Incubator has helped preserve automotive talent base, foster diverse businesses ANDERSON – Along Interstate 69, in a new industrial building with side-windows covered in paper to foil prying eyes, Altair Nanotechnologies is perfecting a ceramic oxide battery with three times the power of a conventional lithium battery. Up the road, […]
It might be a bit over the top to say that a man I met only once and barely knew had a profound influence on my life, but that’s how I felt about Jim McKay. Thus, when I tuned in to view the Belmont Stakes on June 7 and the lead story was not of Big Brown’s (failed) bid for the Triple Crown but of Jim McKay’s passing at the age of 86, I admit I felt a sudden pang…
ANDERSON – Along Interstate 69, in a new industrial building with side-windows covered in paper to foil prying eyes, Altair Nanotechnologies is perfecting a ceramic oxide battery with three times the power of a conventional lithium battery. Up the road, Comfort Motion Technologies has written software to make a car’s power seat jiggle ever so subtly, to keep one’s back, butt and thighs comfortable on long drives. And everybody is keeping an eye on Pete Bitar, whose green laser device…
An advocacy group formed a year ago to boost the visibility and growth of the state’s advanced manufacturing and logistics industries has received a major lift from Purdue University. Conexus Indiana and Purdue earlier this month announced the formation of a partnership in which the university will lend its academic and research talents to the organization. The key goals include linking manufacturers with new suppliers, exploring emerging markets and supporting startups launched from university or privatesector research. “Conexus is very…
A report from Purdue University suggests industrial customers in
Indiana could see disproportional rate increases in the years ahead as the state’s coal-intensive electric utilities are forced
to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
A bankruptcy trustee is planning an auction of Premier Properties USA Inc.’s
remaining office furniture while struggling to get a handle on what other assets remain for the defunct developer.
My father in law, John Parker Jr., died this past March in LaPorte. He was 90, so he didn’t get shortchanged in the longevity department. He had a full, complete life. Except for one thing. He spent virtually all those 90 years rooting for his beloved Chicago Cubs to win a World Series. As with many from northwestern Indiana-Da Region-his afternoon ritual, especially in his retirement years, was sitting in front of the television to root, root, root for the…
The conversation between my neighbors, Paula and Paul Plain, interrupts the enjoyment I get from sitting on the deck in the dark of the night. They generally agree on whatever subject they discuss, but their voices nonetheless displace nature’s quiet. Thus, I find myself an unwilling participant in their nocturnal conversations. Last week, they were discussing the idea that young adult Hoosiers should be encouraged to remain in Indiana. “I’m so glad,” Paula crooned, “that 80 percent of central Indiana’s…
State and local leaders are turning up the amp on the importance of higher education, but they’re also trying to tune students into the message that being college-educated doesn’t have to mean spending four years at a university. In recent weeks, both Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard and Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels have loudly proclaimed the state’s need for more workers with twoyear degrees. While government officials have long said the state needs a more educated work force to attract business,…
Two high-profile property developers are squaring off for the rights to transform a six-story apartment complex adjacent to
the Central Library downtown. Van Rooy Properties and Buckingham Cos. both submitted proposals to redevelop the Ambassador
apartments at 39 E. Ninth St., just north of the library.
Spiking diesel fuel prices have deflated trucking stocks and made road kill out of many a small motor carrier. It’s sweet
irony for anyone who’s worn a pinstriped cotton cap to work. The rising price of diesel is poised to invigorate a mode of
transportation that trucks nearly annihilated–the 40 freight railroads crisscrossing the state.
Expect the state economy in coming months to feel like a head cold that won’t go away. And the Indianapolis area won’t escape the doldrums. That’s the take from the latest quarterly forecast issued by a group of Indiana University economists. The Center for Econometric Model Research says the state will suffer declining employment and […]
The Indy Racing League is continuing its popularity growth.
After a strong month of May in Indianapolis, the IRL saw a 30 percent attendance increase at its race yesterday in Milwaukee, to just more than 30,000.
While…
Well, to all but one sourpuss. “The [Indy Racing League] is garbage,” said caller “Gordon from Zionsville” on WNDE’s sports-talk show, “The Drive,” on the Tuesday following the big race. Gordon was weighing in to denigrate the IRL and praise NASCAR. Back to him in a moment. For the time being, the IRL’s competition isn’t NASCAR. While overnight ratings showed the afternoon Indy 500 scored a bigger rating than NASCAR’s prime-time 600-miler at Charlotte-and that Indy’s ratings were up from…
In fewer than two years, workers have filed 30 lawsuits against their employers regarding fees charged to the employees’ 401(k) plan accounts. Half of the lawsuits have been filed by a single St. Louis law firm. Ten suits have been filed in Illinois. Employers that have been sued include Bechtel Corp., General Dynamics Corp., International Paper Co., Kraft Foods Global, Inc., Lockheed Martin Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp., United Technologies Corp. ABB, Inc., Deere & Co. and Unisys Corp. In order…
Baldwin & Lyons Inc. has been publicly traded for nearly four decades. For most of that span, the Indianapolis company has gone quietly about its business of providing insurance for truck fleets. And investors who went along for the ride generally fared well. But recent months have been bumpy. Baldwin is in the tricky game of setting premiums, then hoping claims come in low enough to ensure a profit. The company’s financial results of late have been worse than expected….
Speedway may have been built on motorsports, but some residents think a $500 million redevelopment plan that would transform the small town into a year-round racing-themed destination goes too far. The plan, which involves 350 acres south of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, has become the issue in town at a time when a certain race usually dominates conversations. At the cozy Charlie Brown’s Pancake and Steak House on Main Street, patrons mull over the project in-between forkfuls of the diner’s signature…
Encouraging new development-residential and commercial-is such a high priority in many communities these days that one would think both the private and public sectors would rush to break ground before the impulse passes. But as ESPN college football analyst Lee Corso often responds each Saturday during the season to the observations of others, “Not so fast my friend.” Before construction actually starts, all parties involved in a proposed project, if it is to be successful, must reach consensus on a…
Shoot, if I’d known city leaders were going to resurrect Dennis Hopper-Shooter, from my alltime favorite flick, “Hoosiers”- for the Super Bowl bid video, I would have suggested they also use Hickory High player Merle and paraphrase his memorable line: “Let’s win it for all the smaller NFL-designated market areas that never had a chance to get here.” Yes, we are the nation’s 13th-largest city. Thank you, UniGov. But in terms of market size, we’re 26th or so. Certainly not…
