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Re-entry key in city’s plot to fight crime: Mayor makes push, hires director to help more ex-convicts find work

Makeba Averitte spent more than seven years incarcerated in Indiana, Kentucky and Oklahoma prisons paying for the robbery he committed as a young man with few prospects. Since his release in 2004, the 32-year-old has obtained a driver’s license and insurance on his automobile, not to mention a bit more wisdom. But what eludes him most-even more so now as a convicted felon-is a steady, goodpaying job. Tired of temporary work, he enrolled in Second Chance at the United Northeast…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Marriage has some economic consequences

This month marks my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. And, at the risk of being labeled a hopeless unromantic, I thought I might reflect on some of the economic consequences of marriage. I’ll begin with taxes. Until 1969, when my parents celebrated their 11th anniversary, the federal income tax had no marriage penalty. In fact, from its inception in 1913 until then, married couples enjoyed a modest tax advantage (two deductions on the same income provided a small edge over singles)….

RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Laptop hell: Air travel can bounce, bungle data

Travel may broaden the mind, but it’s hell on laptops. If your laptop suffers some kind of death-dealing blow, it’ll probably be on the road. Air travel is the worst. You’re required during security screening to pull your laptop out of its snug little protective cover and submit it to the tender mercies of the Transportation Security Administration’s conveyors, X-ray machines and employees. Then there’s the jostling scramble to put it back in on the far side of the screening…

Carmel startup wades into Florida hurricane market: Firm pioneers product to cover insurance deductibles

The turbulent winds that hit the property-casualty insurance market after the destructive Gulf Coast hurricanes of 2004 and 2005 have blown over Indiana with hardly a bent weather vane. But that hasn’t stopped a new Carmel company from trying to make a buck helping Florida homeowners and businesses handle their now-staggering insurance costs. This month, Citon Group Inc. started marketing its new breed of insurance-designed to cover hurricane deductibles-to Florida insurance agents. “We’re really at the very beginning of this….

Racing toward a new biz plan: Goals for USA Track & Field: Raise money; don’t drop the baton

Doug Logan’s heart sank as he watched the baton hit the ground on the final exchange of the women’s 400-meter relay. Earlier that same night at the Beijing Olympics, the U.S. men’s 400-meter relay team had done the exact same thing. Neither team would make it past the semifinal round. Logan, who has been CEO of locally based USA Track & Field since only mid-July, could hear the e-mail box in his Indianapolis office filling up all the way from…

VIEWPOINT: Advancing manufacturing is key to future

We’ve all heard it: Our economy is creeping to a crawl. Skyhigh oil prices, a weak housing market and the struggling U.S. dollar are discouraging consumers and business owners alike. Fears about our nation’s fiscal health are shaking broader confidence in the banking industry, the system of global trade, and even our public image abroad. In the face of such adversity, it’s helpful to remember that Americans have faced daunting challenges in the past. In tougher times, such as the…

Doc pay-for-performance program set to launch: Quality Health First signs up Anthem, 700 doctors

After four years of development, a payfor-performance plan for Indianapolisarea doctors will officially launch Oct. 1. Quality Health First, the latest service of the Indiana Health Information Exchange, now has 700 primary-care doctors signed up to receive its reports on the quality of the care they give. And perhaps even more important, the program has contracted with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Indiana as the first health insurer to offer bonus payments to doctors based on how well…

A&E: The Fringe Connection

It’s a challenge writing about IndyFringe, the festival that adds a shot of late-summer life to Mass Ave (Aug. 22-31). Part of the challenge comes from the fact that IndyFringe, unlike the plays, exhibitions and concerts I normally review in this space, exists in two forms-the macro and the micro. The macro is the festival itself-more than 50 companies and individual performers spread out over six stages. It involves art exhibitions (including one where you can ditch art and take…

Children’s Bureau reaches out: State prevention program helps social-services agency enter new areas, lift budget

Since its origins as the Widows and Orphans Asylum in 1851, the Children’s Bureau has been working to fix broken families in Indianapolis. Now the local not-for-profit has expanded its reach into 37 Indiana counties-growing its budget 22 percent in the process. Despite the regional push, the agency remains focused on Marion County, where it’s building a $9.2 million service center at 16th and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. streets. The engine driving the organization’s recent growth: a statewide program…

Airlines balk at hub bill: Carriers say airport’s deal with FedEx over expansion is likely to raise landing fees

Five airlines at Indianapolis International Airport–all of them paying higher fees and rents to help pay for the $1.1 billion midfield terminal–complain they may be stuck footing the bill for part of the $214 million FedEx cargo-hub expansion. The dispute is detailed in a recent Federal Aviation Administration decision on a complaint filed in April 2007 by Northwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines, AirTran Airways, Continental Airlines and Southwest Airlines. It provides a rare look into the sometimes fractious relationship between…

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: China, higher education and our economic future

In mid-September, I’ll be traveling to China’s Liaoning province as part of a delegation led by Indiana State University, hosted by Liaoning University. We’ll arrive in the country too late for the Olympics, but we’ll be there to talk about another form of global competition-economic development. It’s appropriate that the two universities are co-hosting a conference on economic development issues, given the importance of human capital in our economy. It’s especially appropriate for China, where higher education has become a…

Law targeting controversial landfill only fuels fight: Would-be operator, citizens group are back in court

Even for those with a vested interest in the battle over a proposed landfill near Anderson, it’s hard to get too worked up over the latest twist before the courts or government agencies. After all, the Mallard Lake Landfill battle is in its 29th year. The latest development, one that opponents of the project had hoped was the silver bullet to fell their garbage Dracula, is starting to look just as inconclusive as countless other chapters, at least for now….

SURF THIS: This Olympic year, NBC got it right-online and off

I already miss the Olympics. Perhaps due to my overactive patriotic gene, the overdeveloped sports fan gene, or the finetuned sucker-for-agood-story gene (or some combination of all three), I found the entire event strangely compelling. I’ve paid attention to the Olympics before, but this year it had some captivating affect on me that was altogether new. I found I could watch beach volleyball or fencing with equal enthusiasm. I watched handball matches (which was not at all the game I’d…

Commentary: Summer mega-events consume us

Just when I thought I could start getting to bed at a decent hour again after the 2008 Olympics were over, up pops the Democratic National Convention from Denver. I’m not a television watcher. About the only things I find worthwhile on the boob tube are sports, PBS, movies, and arts or cultural programs. The occasional exception might include a cooking show. Like many Americans, I found myself watching the Beijing games late into the night for most of two…

SPORTS: These football dreams give way to football reality

Ball State’s Nate Davis makes a run for the Heisman Trophy. Well, a guy can dream, can’t he? Truth is, all I’m hoping for at this juncture is that Peyton Manning is healthy for the season opener, Indiana (never look beyond the next play) gets past Western Kentucky, Purdue sends Joe Tiller into retirement on a winning note, Notre Dame rises above national scorn, and Davis becomes known outside the Midwest. In any case, I am definitely ready for some…

Smaller Indiana gives cultural events a boost: Web site’s bloggers share IndyFringe experiences

With a mere $11,000 to spend on marketing, IndyFringe Executive Director Pauline Moffat is always on the lookout for low- or no-cost promotional opportunities. So when Pat Coyle, founder of online community smallerindiana.com, approached her about a novel arrangement to spread the word, Moffat jumped at it. The deal was this: The Fringe would give two tickets to each of its festival shows to Smaller Indiana, which would hand them over to members who would write blogs about the performances…

Ivy Tech cooking up plans for more culinary space: Growing program hopes to build $7 million school at Glick Center

Popular television cooking shows such as “Iron Chef,” “Emeril Live,” “Top Chef” and, dare we mention, “Hell’s Kitchen,” have brought the interest in culinary careers to a boil. To help meet demand locally, Indiana Business College opened a Chef’s Academy downtown nearly two years ago. Now, Ivy Tech Community College is expanding its existing program by building a culinary school in Indianapolis at the Gene B. Glick Junior Achievement Education Center on North Keystone Avenue. Enrollment in Ivy Tech’s two-year…

INVESTING: Distressed assets today lead to profit tomorrow

Two real estate guys told me recently that the market might be able to grab some traction if the banks would face reality about the true worth of the stuff on their books. Write-offs are large, with an estimated $450 billion written down worldwide this year to date. And if you make an offer for real estate that is less than what the bank has written it down to, most likely your offer will be rejected. The bank is still…

IndyGo Colts shuttle a no-go

Congestion getting to the Indianapolis Colts games is as much a problem as congestion once fans are in the new Lucas Oil Stadium. It appears that traffic flow and parking are real issues…