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EDITORIAL: Privatizing MAC worth exploring: Saving cash shouldn’t be only goal

Privatizing MAC worth exploring Saving cash shouldn’t be only goal The bad news: The Mayor’s Action Center-city government’s primary vehicle for responding to citizen complaints-is vastly ineffective. When nearly half the residents who call the center hang up the phone in frustration before reporting their problems, you know something isn’t working right. The good news: Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard recognizes there is a big problem with the MAC and says he wants to fix it. In late July, he issued…

FUNNY BUSINESS: Wrap-master Redmond on Reynolds e-mail

I suppose you got the e-mail about Reynolds Wrap. Oh. Well, then, you’re among the few Amer icans who didn’t Actually, you might want to check your e mail after you finish reading IBJ. It’ll probably be waiting in your in-box Although I guess you really won’t have to, seeing as how I’m going to go ahead and spoil the surprise. Under a subject line full of typical Internet understatement (“OMG! THIS IS SO AMAZING! YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS!”)…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Murky motive adds intrigue to Old National loan saga

In the buttoneddown world of banking, it doesn’t get much stranger than this: An Indianapolis loan officer with a strong reputation is suddenly dismissed after his employer charges he falsified lending documents. The bank says the fraud exposes it to potential losses approaching $20 million. And here’s the kicker: The employer hasn’t accused the banker of committing the wrongdoing for personal gain. There are no allegations, for instance, of setting up fictitious borrowers to scoop up bank cash on his…

Small towns with a heart: Spurning sprawl, more towns upbeat on downtown

From Andy Griffith’s Mayberry, the small town evolved into the likes of Avon, Ind. The tree-shaded bungalow on Oak Street within walking distance of the town center became the vinyl-clad, single-family home planted in a former cornfield with a contrived name ending in “creek” or “woods” or “farms.” Residents have to jump in the car if they want to buy a cup of coffee or to patronize the predictable chain restaurants and bigbox retailers. The Best Buy on Avon’s main…

EYE ON THE PIE: Will people pay more for better care?

It was dark and I was feeling anxious about getting this column out on time. Then there was a tap at the sliding door to the deck. It was an apparition, a ghost, a figure all in white out of a 19th-century novel. But the tap was real. I opened the door and recognized her. “Nellie,” I said, “what are you doing out here at this hour?” Yes, it was Nellie, the Nervous Nurse, who lives close by. “My frog…

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: An open letter to the commercial lending community

Dear lenders: Perhaps you have seen the recent headlines that declared suburban Indianapolis among the best places in the country to live and raise a family. Perhaps you’ve also taken note that there are a lot of things happening in our communities. Big projects abound in the Indi anapolis area, including Lucas Oil Stadium and the Midfield Terminal at Indianapolis International Airport. People are so excited about the new stadium they lined up for hours trying to get a tour…

Firm brings big-name help to small not-for-profits: Consultant will offer tiered Web-based advice to help keep its fees affordable

Some heavy hitters in the local not-forprofit consulting world have formed Achieve LLC, a company that will use the Internet to make high-end advice available to small and midsize charities. Its goal is to give organizations experiencing growing pains access to expert advice they usually can’t afford. “The question was, how do you fill that void for smaller not-for-profits?” said coowner and Vice President Dave Sternberg, former associate director of the Fundraising School at Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy and…

Strip centers feeling sting of housing market slump: Developers cutting back on new retail projects

Those ubiquitous retail strip centers are beginning to wither under a housing slump that has cast a dark cloud over much of the U.S economy. Heavily dependent on new-home construction, strip-center developments have been hurt by tough residential real estate conditions that have spread into the commercial arena and dampened retail activity. Nationally, the volume of strip-center investment transactions is down 77 percent from a year ago, according to a June commercial report from the Chicago-based National Association of Realtors….

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Why the resurgence of railroads will help drive state

I have two friends who are train fanatics of the worst kind. These guys aren’t just dazzled by the sight of a large train; they furtively seek them out. One friend has made it his life’s ambition to ride every rail line in Great Britain. The other scours eBay for rail schedules from the 19th century. Both of these wonderful men have exceptionally tolerant wives. I am a bit concerned my 4-year-old is turning into one of these creatures. He…

Leading Edge ready to expand its territory: South-side real estate player eyes regional growth

The signs for Leading Edge Commercial Real Estate Services are hard to miss on the south side. And soon, they could be popping up all over central Indiana. The 3-year-old, Greenwood-based brokerage firm has grown from three employees to 14 and now is looking at adding two new offices, including one on the north side. The firm has more than 120 listings, up from about 60 at the start, mostly for office leasing and sales of smaller commercial properties. The…

RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Can you still do business while unconnected? Amid the legions of the digital fanatics are the professionals who just say no to gizmos and gadgets

I’m not big on those classification schemes that put people into categories. You know what I mean, schemes such as, “There are two kinds of people in the world: those who classify others, and those who don’t.” I’m not sold on Myers-Briggs, for example. I consider it a parlor game with no significant predictive value. All classification schemes leak around the edges, so I avoid them for the most part. However, there is one categorization to which I now subscribe:…

Commentary: Indiana State Fair is on a roll

Riding a stretch of near-perfect weather, this year’s Indiana State Fair seems destined to break attendance records. I was there for a few hours one day, and I can see why it still is a big draw: The fair is alive with what’s great about Indiana tradition. And, relatively speaking, it’s a cheap form of entertainment. Eight bucks for admission seems more than reasonable in these days when a movie costs you nearly $10, especially when you realize your $8…

Time-tested market tools say it’s still a bear market INVESTING:

Bull and bear markets are different animals, and they need to be treated differently. Knowing which market you are in is one of the most helpful pieces of information an investor can have. Realizing there are no absolutes in this business, we have to rely on an array of tools and indicators to help us reach a determination. We then have to hope that this “weight of evidence” approach proves as reliable as it has over the last 200 years….

SPORTS: Our new playground is much more than a stadium

Now, I feel like the unlucky one. For the past two years, I’ve been privileged to be part of monthly media tours of Lucas Oil Stadium. I was there as the concrete bowl began to take shape, and as those steel trusses that would frame the retractable roof were put into place. I was there as the brick exterior began to climb, and when the concourses were little more than freshly poured concrete and empty spaces. I was there when…

Eiteljorg takes artifact ownership dispute to court: Quarrels over origins rare but troubling for museums

A New Mexico man claims an artifact in the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art’s collection was stolen from him in 1984 before it was purchased and donated to the Indianapolis museum in 1989. Artifacts dealer Robert Vandenberg says the American Indian war shirt-a long, fringed shirt made of hide-is worth as much as $200,000 and he is asking the Eiteljorg to hand it over. The museum, on the other hand, says Indianapolis businessman Harrison Eiteljorg had clear…

Developer pegs Plainfield for spec office building: Local real estate brokers question potential demand

Now a developer is banking on a new roadway and airport terminal to attract office tenants, although some brokers familiar with the area aren’t sold on the idea. The local office of Chicago-based Verus Partners LLC finished purchasing 200 acres along the east side of the Reagan Parkway and plans to build a 60,000-square-foot, two-story speculative office building. Verus’ mixed-use office and industrial park is called GreenParke at Airwest and could be ready for occupancy by next summer. Infrastructure work…

Saddling up for a night of work under the stars: Carriage driver encounters romance, drunkenness

When she reported to work at 5 p.m. on a recent evening, Taylor consulted a chart and saw she was assigned to Cheyenne, a 16-year-old mare, and carriage number 29. She backed the spotted horse out of the stall, hitched up the carriage-making sure all straps were tightly fastened-and left the Yellow Rose stables at 13th Street and Capitol Avenue. During the half-hour ride to Monument Circle, she explained the personal challenge that carriage driving posed. It wasn’t how to…

VIEWPOINT: Recruiting: If you lie down with dogs …

The recent episode involving former IU basketball coach Kelvin Sampson underscores how badly broken is our system of recruiting and qualifying top leaders. Reference checks by highly paid professional recruiters failed to turn up the true nature of this leader. Yes, we all were aware of his lack of character at the University of Oklahoma, but were there signs of this lack of character in his past at Montana Tech or Washington State University? One would hope the recruiters went…

Huguenard a billion-dollar broker: Senior vice president at Colliers one of the nation’s top deal-makers

John E. Huguenard is on a roll. He’s got $1 billion in active industrial listings and is on track to top his $700 million deal volume from last year. The low-key super-broker for the local office of commercial real estate powerhouse Colliers Turley Martin Tucker has closed 17 deals worth a total of $250 million already this year. And that’s no fluke: Huguenard, 45, has sold or leased more than 100 million square feet of industrial property in more than…

You-review-it Monday

I spend more time than I expected to this weekend soaking up Gen Con–including a performance of “Video Games Live” with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. More on the concert–and some great family board games I discovered–in this week’s print column….