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General Motors Corp.’s stamping plant in Indianapolis would be allowed to close or be sold under the tentative contract with the United Auto Workers, according to a detailed copy of the agreement. According to the detailed document, called the “white book,” work at the Indianapolis stamping operation will continue or be reallocated to another GM […]
Radio One Indiana’s former controller has filed a civil lawsuit against the company charging she was terminated because of
her race after she raised concerns about fraud and payola in relation to the company’s financial statements.
I can still remember when vacation movies were captured on 8mm film and had to be shown on jerky little projectors with hot bulbs that gave off ozone by the bucketful. Fascinating to the family that took the movies, but deadly dull to everyone else. Then along came video cameras that were much more portable and could show their movies on the family VCR. They had many advanced features, such as zoom, stop action, and even dubbing. And they were…
What do most people concerned with economic development want to see? More jobs at better pay. How can we tell if we are getting there? Simply by looking at what is happening to earnings. Earnings divided by the number of jobs equals average earnings per job. Hence, with elementary school arithmetic, we can say that earnings equals the number of jobs multiplied by the average earning per job, exactly the two indicators of economic development that most folks want to…
Drug-coated stents, which are used to open clogged arteries, can be life savers-if they’re implanted correctly. The $6 billion global stent market has come under scrutiny lately from doctors and researchers concerned that poor technique by cardiologists may contribute to rare but dangerous blood clots that can form after a stent is inserted. Stents that aren’t placed properly over the affected area may enable clots to form. But a device developed by an IUPUI researcher could prevent mishaps by helping…
The recent Indiana Logistics Summit framed a number of issues that matter to Hoosiers young and old. I’ve done a fair amount of transportation and economic development research, but this conference held in Indianapolis was a chance for me to listen and learn. Here’s my take on some of the issues: Nationally, a significant piece of the public transportation infrastructure (roads and bridges, for example) has already outlived its anticipated life span. Solid engineering and construction coupled with continual maintenance…
The Mississippi Delta has its hot tamale trail. Alabama and Texas boast a Southern BBQ byway. Now Indiana is getting in the
game with planned candy and pork tenderloin trails. State boosters are looking to tap into a growing travel industry niche:
culinary tourism.
Of all the topics I could have chosen to write about this week, the one I kept coming back to was the whole issue of “living wage.” You guys are a pretty sharp audience by the fact you read this publication, so maybe one of you can help me figure out the living wage crowd. I just don’t get them. If you saw last week’s IBJ, you probably read Michael Dabney’s story on the ongoing efforts by the Service Employees…
Couple dives into deep end from the start Tom Foreman had worked for other contractors, but in 1993 he decided the time was right for him and his wife, Donna, to start their own business. So they founded Leader Corporation of Indiana, which provides control systems (think temperature controls, security and automation systems) for commercial and institutional customers such as Lucas Oil Stadium, the Conrad Indianapolis hotel and the Pendleton Correctional Facility. He was 53 at the time. Donna was…
It’s often easier to talk about artists than it is to talk about art. What was he thinking? What were her influences? What life events made them make those choices? Once we’ve got some personal details about an artist’s life, we can play armchair psychologist and try to figure out what the artist meant when he or she created whatever was created. In short, it’s easier for most of us to think about Van Gogh’s ear than his brush strokes….
The pulse of Indiana’s fledgling life sciences sector will be taken later this month at an annual conference featuring some of the industry’s strongest advocates. Experts will weigh in on several topics ranging from the discovery of technology to accessing capital, which is a growing concern for the earliest-stage companies that are riskier investments. In its fourth year, the Indiana Life Sciences Forum will take place Oct. 22-23 at the Westin Indianapolis and will be hosted by Indiana business-development initiative…
Premier Properties USA Inc. is preparing to go head-to-head with Simon Property Group Inc., the nation’s largest and most
powerful mall developer, across the street from Simon’s top-performing The Fashion Mall at Keystone. Premier is proposing
a 2.3-million-square-foot, $750 million development at 86th Street and Keystone Avenue called Venu.
The state’s apartment industry, backed by firms that landlords hire to bill their tenants for water and sewer service, says state officials are legally all wet if they try to regulate the industry as utilities. Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission jurisdiction “does not extend to the regulation of a landlord’s water pipes any more than it may extend to a homeowner’s garden hose,” Clayton Miller, a Baker & Daniels attorney representing the Water Sub-Billing and Conservation Coalition, told the commission last…
Hoosier rocker John Mellencamp is helping Chevrolet sell more trucks, but he’s having less luck when it comes to selling his records. In November, Mellencamp embarked on his first major commercial campaign, selling his song “Our Country” to Chevrolet for its Silverado pickup truck campaign. Since then, tens of millions of people have seen commercials-some that show Mellencamp playing guitar, while others simply play his song-during myriad collegiate and professional basketball and football games. Chevrolet officials said the commercials featuring…
Faithful readers may remember that my last column was about the young man who decided to sell the record-breaking home-run baseball hit by Barry Bonds. I found the story rather telling as it dealt with human nature, our proclivity to place sports figures on pedestals (often undeservingly), and an undercurrent of the value of authenticity and integrity. Even casual sports fans are aware of the mild controversy surrounding Bonds and his suspected use of performance-enhancing drugs. A few interesting things…
Now that most of the existing buildings along South Meridian Street downtown have been rehabbed for condos, restaurants or
hotels, developers are eyeing surface parking lots. Local companies filed plans recently to replace two such gaps in the Wholesale
District streetscape with mixed-use projects.
A week rarely passes without news of our obesity epidemic. Fattest-state rankings and the like are a staple of our news diet. These stories are often served with dire health warnings, which politicians invoke when they encourage us to eat less and exercise more. But does anyone really stop to think about why obesity has become our national obsession? Our infamous rotundness isn’t only a byproduct of poor eating habits and a reluctance to hit the gym. Chalk some of…
The Indiana Convention Center isn’t big enough for some large trade shows, but Indianapolis’ location and hospitality are enough to keep certain customers coming back. Despite losing locally based Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association’s CEDIA Expo and California-based Performance Racing Industry’s annual show-and the estimated $45 million attendees spent each year-Indianapolis has managed to keep three other biggies. Do it Best Corp.’s twice-yearly trade show, Advanstar Communications’ Dealer Expo and the Fire Department Instructors Conference are sticking around because…
For most of this decade, the Indianapolis residential real estate market enjoyed a very good run. But now it’s muddling through
the doldrums just like the rest of the country, and builders are pulling out all the stops to avoid getting stuck with inventory.
Experts are doing their best to convince us everything is right with the world again. A few hundred billion dollars in liquidity here, a few cuts in the discount and fed rates there, and we’re back in Shangri La, right? My question to all of the experts then is this: Why isn’t it working? On the surface, things seem like they are getting back in shape. The Dow Jones and S&P 500 are within 1 or 2 percent of new…
