Regulators seek mortgage reforms
State regulators want more firepower to fight mortgage crimes. But a month before the General Assembly convenes, real estate
interests are uneasy, fearing lawmakers may go overboard.
State regulators want more firepower to fight mortgage crimes. But a month before the General Assembly convenes, real estate
interests are uneasy, fearing lawmakers may go overboard.
Carmel tech entrepreneur Scott Jones is finding himself in the middle of a political debate he didnâ??t ask
for and doesnâ??t want.
The spokeswoman for the Indiana Democratic Party is questioning whether Jones needed the $4 million in grants
that two…
In an unlucky turn for area ad agencies, Hoosier Lottery officials rebuffed all six bidders for the creative portion of its
advertising account. The rejection of all bidders is an unusual occurrence in the ad industry and it has never before happened
with the lottery account, one of the most lucrative, high-profile jobs in the state.
For a preview of how Indiana’s 2008 gubernatorial election will play out, look no further than the emerging tussle over entrepreneur
Scott Jones’ $4 million in awards from the state’s 21st Century Research & Technology Fund.
Two decades ago the southern Indiana town of Seymour suffered from double-digit unemployment, a degraded tax base and an outflow of residents. Today, the town, located between Indianapolis and Louisville, is adding jobs along with housing, hotels and restaurants. The key was a 1986 decision by Toyota supplier Aisin Seiki to locate its first U.S. […]
Students complained about Greg Ballard when he taught college business courses. The man they called “the Colonel” had strict
rules and high expectations. Frustrated, undergraduates sometimes tried to go over his head. His boss, Indiana Business College
administrator Marc Konesco, encountered them in his office. But students never got far. Konesco refused to overrule the Colonel’s
decisions. “I always said, ‘That’s his classroom,'” recalled Konesco, the college’s vice president of marketing and enrollment.
“His style was one where the students…
Three members of a small, young, downtown law firm played key rolls in Republican election wins this month, boosting the firm’s
profile as it tackles aggressive growth plans that include beefing up its lobbying business. John Lewis and Wilkins LLP set
up shop on Monument Circle in 2005 and since then has grown from the three attorneys to 11.
A state legislative commission studying Indiana’s tax woes said today that it thinks the government should trim property taxes 50 percent for most homeowners. The bipartisan commission also wants to reduce taxes by 25 percent for other residential property like apartments and second homes. It would balance these cuts with increases in local option income […]
Gov. Mitch Daniels has proposed capping residential property taxes at 1 percent of a homeâ??s assessed value,
rental properties at 2 percent and businesses at 3 percent.
Now state Sen. Luke Kenley says the bipartisan commission on taxes he heads will…
Capital Improvement Board President Fred Glass plans to announce his resignation at a 4 p.m. CIB meeting today. Glass’ resignation will be effective Dec. 31. Glass was appointed to the CIB by Democratic Mayor Bart Peterson in January 2000, and was elected president during his first meeting. “I always said the mayor’s last day would […]
Stunning victory a call to change But Ballard shouldn’t forget past The shock has faded and reality is starting to set in. Indianapolis really will have a new mayor in 2008. Republican Greg Ballard’s victory over two-time incumbent Mayor Bart Peterson was more than an election stunner of historic proportions-it was a rare case of voters turning over a city to someone they knew little about. Ballard, under-funded and under-supported by his own party, pulled off his epic upset for…
The afternoon after Greg Ballard’s shocking victory at the polls, the mood was sober at Marion County Republican headquarters.
Jubilation had given way to reality. Although mayor-elect Ballard described himself “as tired as a guy could get,” he has
no time for a break. And what the former U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant colonel will do is largely a mystery.
After Tuesday night’s vote tallies, after the candidates’ acceptance and concession speeches, after Wednesday’s Indianapolis Star trumpeted Greg Ballard’s upset of Mayor Bart Peterson in 120-point type, I pulled from my bookshelf my copy of John F. Kennedy’s “Profiles in Courage.” There were two courageous acts on the Indianapolis mayoral stage this year. First, there was courage by Ballard. When all the prominent Republican politicians chose not to challenge Democrat Peterson; when most of the usualsuspect Republican donors gave to…
Mayor-elect Greg Ballard said he’s got nothing against spending city money on the arts, but his administration nevertheless will evaluate whether devoting $2.5 million to it each year is the best use of that money. “It’s OK to fund [the arts] as long as people are relatively safe in the city,” Ballard said. Though acknowledging Indianapolis’ “vibrant arts community,” Ballard said it’s mostly privately funded. “I’m not saying I’m going to cut all of the arts [funding],” he said. “We’ll…
Election Day was no high point in the annals of Indianapolis media. How could we have missed such a big
story, that Greg Ballard was about to upset incumbent Mayor Bart Peterson?
Local news organizations treated Ballard as an afterthought until…
Real estate developers today are trying to sort out the implications of a major upset in the mayor’s race. The mayor-elect, Republican Greg Ballard (pictured), didn’t reveal much about his philosophy on…
Leaders of Indianapolis-area business organizations have a collective question mark in their minds when it comes to the look, feel and business-related priorities of Mayor-elect Greg Ballard. The Republican, who upset Mayor Bart Peterson in yesterday’s election, has promised to fight crime, avoid tax increases and consolidate local government. But it’s unclear what he’ll do […]
Anderson voters yesterday ousted Mayor Kevin Smith, a Republican who had spent much of his energy trying to revitalize the city’s sagging economy. Replacing Smith is Kris Ockomon, an Anderson police detective who is a Democrat. Ockomon hammered Smith over the direction he was taking with economic development, and Smith said in an interview today […]
The race between Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson and his Republican challenger, Greg Ballard, became interesting
in the final days, and not just because Ballard suddenly got traction in a widely publicized poll.
In the past few days, two prominent arts leaders…
A long-neglected neighborhood south of downtown called Babe Denny suddenly is in the spotlight, attracting attention from
city planners, code enforcers, land speculators and a politically connected attorney.