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RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY Tim Altom: Here is list of the worst tech foibles of 2005

Well, happy holidays again, my brethren! It’s once more time for my holiday gift to you, a compendium of technological disasters that test the assertion that we’re happiest when we read about those who have been more humiliated than we were. As military pilots used to say about their own missteps, “Man, that’ll leave a crater.” The most recent example in this hall of horrors is Mizuho Securities, as reported by CNN Dec. 9. Massive, Tokyo-based Mizuho switched two numbers…

Finally, a new stadium, and not just for football:

After years of angling and months of negotiating, city and state officials finally came to an agreement with the Indianapolis Colts to build a $625 million retractableroof stadium south of the RCA Dome. With a drum roll and a crowd of 1,200 fans and dignitaries counting down-three, two, one-Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, Gov. Mitch Daniels, Mayor Bart Peterson and others shoveled a little dirt on the future home of the city’s new stadium in a formal ground breaking Sept. 21….

VIEWPOINT: Indiana: The Cyber Crossroads of America?

Can a state whose identity as the “Crossroads of America” in the 20th century maintain that distinction in the 21st century? Can Indiana, with numerous railroads and highways passing through it, find a competitive advantage in a world that increasingly bypasses rails and roads in favor of the virtual marketplace? Absolutely-if it is willing once again to serve as a central hub for the thoroughfares so important to the virtual marketplace and purposefully sets out to build them. Not so…

NOTIONS: This holiday season, ‘It’s jobs, stupid’

Bruce Hetrick is off for the holidays. But in the hope that you’ll shop the after-Christmas sales locally, helping to spur job retention and growth in central Indiana, he offers the following column, which originally appeared on Oct. 27, 2003. Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat Please put a penny in the old man’s hat If you haven’t got a penny, a ha’ penny will do, If you haven’t got a ha’ penny, then God bless you In…

Marsh puts itself up for sale:

Locally based Marsh Supermarkets Inc. closed out perhaps the most disappointing year in its nearly 75-year history by hanging a for-sale sign on its front door. The announcement came Nov. 29, the same day the grocer reported another disappointing quarter-this time a $3.4 million loss on revenue of $549.6 million. Marsh said it had hired Merrill Lynch to explore alternatives, including a sale, but otherwise said little. Increasing competition from large-format retailers such as Wal-Mart is partly to blame for…

EYE ON THE PIE: Did you miss this last week?

Congratulations to the Crothersville Times on the occasion of its 25th anniversary. In today’s world, most newspapers are declining in circulation. When a weekly newspaper, in a town of 1,500 people, survives 25 years, the owner-publisher-editor deserves our applause. Curt Kovener fills all these roles and more with passion, humor and grace. Not commendable is the new Indiana license plate for the Indianapolis Colts. Has the Bureau of Motor Vehicles forgotten that the Colts are not a public institution but…

A game competitor: Sales surge for maker of Gnip Gnop, What’s in Ned’s Head?

The atmosphere is lighthearted at the westside headquarters of Fundex Games Inc., where ideas sketched on cocktail napkins become award-winning games like What’s in Ned’s Head? and Alfredo’s Food Fight. And why not be happy at a company whose more tasteful games, such as Gnip Gnop and Phase 10, have helped grow revenue from $4.6 million to $20 million in the last decade? If there’s any nail-biting at Fundex it’s because this is the most important time of the year….

INVESTING: Betting on Santa rally? It’s no time for reckless abandon

I grew up near the beach. I love the ocean, and it’s something I miss now that I live in Indiana. I’ve done the next best thing, however, by getting an office on a lake. It’s a peaceful place and a great place to look at. And looking at it right now reminds me a lot of the current state of the market. The weather turned cold recently, and we had a snowstorm that dumped 7 inches of snow. The…

VIEWPOINT: Follow 3 C’s of strategic charitable giving

You do your best every day to make smart decisions about how you and your family members spend money. You know a haphazard approach to your personal finances isn’t efficient or effective, and you rely on common sense and planning to help you make smart spending decisions. I suggest you apply that thoughtful approach to your charitable giving, whether you’re a veteran philanthropist or someone who seldom does more than throw a few coins in a kettle. In fact, I…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Changing state’s tax system would be tough to pull off

When it comes to matters of tax policy, inertia reigns supreme. The federal government still collects the proceeds of an excise tax on telephones that was borne as a temporary measure to help finance the Spanish-American War. The tolls on the Indiana Toll Road have not changed in almost 20 years. And the granddaddy of them all, the property tax, has existed in one form or another since the Middle Ages. So when the mayors of Indiana cities and towns…

SPORTS: We trusted and got burned; now it’s time to move on

Reaction to the news that a soon-to-be-former Indiana Pacers forward wants to relocate his talents elsewhere reminds me of a scene from the classic cinematic comedy “Animal House.” One of the most noticeable results of a fraternity night out that had gone hopelessly awry was the destruction of a car that character Kent “Flounder” Dorfman had “borrowed” from his brother. As the Deltas surveyed the damage, Eric “Otter” Stratton looked at his distraught fraternity brother and said, “Face it Flounder;…

Hotel proposed for Hamilton County’s Strawtown: Site overlaps sensitive American Indian land

Hamilton County park officials hope to find a developer to build a three-star hotel in 750-acre Strawtown Koteewi Park, an area rich with fragile American Indian artifacts. Businesses near the northeastern Hamilton County park love the idea. American Indian groups are less enthusiastic, but willing to work with park officials. “It’s kind of disturbing,” said Chief Brian Buchanan of the Miami Nation of Indians of the State of Indiana. “You wouldn’t want anybody digging up your grandmother.” Buchanan learned of…

Brand Appliance Servicecenter Inc.: Repair business may not be fixable Despite decades of tinkering, shop owner suspects his time is running out

Despite decades of tinkering, shop owner suspects his time is running out Don Daniels knows his days are numbered, even if he isn’t calling it quits yet. That’s a tough spot to be in when you’re used to fixing things. His Brand Appliance Servicecenter has been fixing stuff, in one form or another, since 1963. For decades, he’s tinkered with everything from electric shavers to microwave ovens. But as gadgets have evolved, Daniels has discovered one thing he just can’t…

Retirees from IPL face cuts: Declining assets strain trust providing benefits to 1,900

A stampede of early retirements after IPALCO Enterprises was bought by AES Corp. in 2001 is forcing cuts in health and life insurance benefits starting next month. The IPALCO Enterprises Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association has told its 1,900 participants that new members and rising health care costs have forced cuts that “are absolutely essential to extend the long-term viability of the VEBA Trust.” The retirement plan’s assets have fallen to $88 million from $95 million at year-end 2004, according to…

A fuzzy picture for Thomson-again: French parent puts consumer unit in play, but will keep part of 700-person Carmel work force

Engineering and research-anddevelopment jobs in Carmel likely will be spared the uncertainty of Thomson’s plans to sell outright or to find partners for its consumer products and accessories business. The French company that owns the RCA brand and employs 700 in Carmel said last week that it will exit the consumer end of the electronics realm in 2006. But Thomson also said it has a number of engineers and related personnel in Carmel that would fit the company’s focus on…

State freeze pushes nursing care at home: FSSA clamps down on the addition of Medicaid beds

Indiana regulators have put a temporary freeze on the addition of Medicaid beds to nursing homes, as part of their push to shift care out of institutions and into patient homes. The state Family & Social Services Administration enacted a 90-day rule starting Dec. 15. While it’s in place, the state agency won’t sign the Medicaid nursing facility provider agreements needed to add beds unless they fit within narrow exceptions. In addition to imposing the temporary rule, FSSA Secretary Mitch…

BEHIND THE NEWS: A peek inside Guidant-J&J-Boston Scientific drama

Corporate attorneys aren’t paid to write riveting prose. But the battle to buy Guidant Corp. is so drenched with drama that even the company’s normally bonedry regulatory filings make compelling reading these days. Here’s one gem in a recent filing: Just hours after Guidant sued Johnson & Johnson the morning of Nov. 7-an in-yourface tactic aimed at forcing J&J to close on its $25.4 billion purchase of the Indianapolis company-Guidant CEO Ron Dollens phoned a top J&J executive in an…

NOTIONS: Painting on the fresh canvas of the winter solstice

I wasn’t looking forward to the Thursday afternoon meeting. The issues involved saddened me. And besides, this felt like a decision that could have been reached via e-mail, rather than a 60-mile round-trip drive for a half-hour conversation. But the other fellow said he liked to do things face to face-an old-fashioned notion, he admitted, but his preference nonetheless. So I climbed into my car, drove at breakneck Interstate speed, and covered the distance in 30 minutes. When I arrived…

TAWN PARENT Commentary: Do libraries need gun control?

My first job, at age 15, was shelving books in my neighborhood library. Those were the days of tidy card catalogs with brass-handled drawers and hand-stamped “date due” cards tucked into the back of books. There wasn’t a computer in the place. Times have changed. Libraries now enable people without other Internet access to go online to research health problems, tap into business databases, find information for school projects, locate needed social services, and even apply for jobs. A recent…

Ringing up big returns: After near collapse in ’02, Brightpoint wows Wall St.

Three and a half years ago, Plainfield-based cell phone distributor Brightpoint Inc. was on the ropes. Shares were worth less than a dollar. The company had lost $53 million in 2001, and was on pace to lose another $42 million in 2002. Bankruptcy appeared imminent. But Brightpoint prevailed over the long odds against it. Today, company shares trade for about $30 each. Adjusted for stock splits, they’ve soared 125 percent in 2005, and nearly 8,000 percent since bottoming out in…