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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Creation of state officer reconfirms value of GIS

Virtually unnoticed in the spate of bills that emerged from the 2007 session of the Indiana General Assembly was creation of a new officer in state government who can be extremely helpful in the state’s economic development efforts. The law creating a Geographic Information Officer, or GIO, gives official status to an important discipline that has been blossoming over the last 25 years and is increasingly relied upon in business and political decision-making. A Geographic Information System is a collection…

Techpoint honors Indiana companies, educators: Judges narrow 80 nominees to 13 Mira winners

This year’s recipients of Techpoint’s Mira awards include some of the area’s best-known technology startups as well as lower-profile firms that have racked up big achievements. On May 18, the technology trade group was scheduled to acknowledge the accomplishments of Hoosier entrepreneurs in information technology, life sciences, advanced manufacturing and education with its eighth annual gala at the Indiana Roof Ballroom downtown. “It’s always good to recognize companies and give them a pat on the back, put them on the…

Giuliani leads race for Indiana donations

Campaign finance records through the first quarter of 2007 show Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor, has raised $176,950
in Indiana. That’s more than twice as much as one-time Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, his closest Republican rival.

Is title sponsor in 500’s future?: Indy Racing League throttles up sales efforts, considers aggressive new marketing deals

The Indy Racing League is overhauling its sales effort, an initiative industry observers said could lead to an eight-figure annual title sponsorship and exponential growth for the league and its teams. Officials for the company tabbed to lead the revolution said there isn’t any sponsorship deal that won’t be considered by Speedway brass, including a title sponsorship for the Indianapolis 500, a sacred property once thought untouchable. Race fans have been focused on the Brickyard’s 2-1/2-mile oval this month. But…

FUNNY BUSINESS: A sensible airline’s rules to fly the friendly skies

We’re heading into the Summer Travel Season, and travel this year likely will be even more ridiculous than usual. Gasoline will be more expensive, traffic will be heavier, roads will be messier. Tempers will flare and danger will lurk at every intersection. And that’s just driving across town to pick up those spare suitcases from Mom. In this country, we are given two choices for summer travel, driving or flying. The train is kind of a non-starter, which is a…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Wireless world making research more difficult

If you’re thinking of getting a job as a researcher, you should know it is a lonely life we lead. The world outside our offices sees issues in black and white that appear to us as infinite shades of gray. And when we occasionally emerge from our cubicles to deliver our results to the public, we are told either that we have a stranglehold on the obvious or that we have no concept of the real world. But the world…

Banks lose patience with iffy borrowers:

The dreaded bank workout department isn’t what it used to be for marginal borrowers, say two Indianapolis veterans who have watched the industry for decades. Until a couple of years ago, banks still were willing to help struggling companies through tough patches by restructuring loans and offering guidance in finding their way out of the woods. Now, banks are much quicker to cut off borrowers, said Dave Hamernik, a partner in Hamernik LLC. Hamernik, one of the region’s most seasoned…

NOTIONS: Beyond election reform, electorate re-engagement

I once spent a day serving as an Allen County election official. I was 20-something. I worked for Fort Wayne’s mayor. And on Election Day, the mayor expected us to work the polls. For the sake of nostalgia and monotonyinterrupting conversations, I got myself assigned to the precinct at my high school. On the appointed Tuesday, I showed up at 5:15 a.m., did my voter-watching/guardagainst-shenanigans-by-the-other-party thing for 12 hours and helped with votecounting for two hours after that. Then I…

Full Perspective Video Services Inc.: Marketing firm is one-stop shop Company stays agile thanks to logistics unit

After a stint in public accounting, Whetzel went to work for Fleming Packaging Co., a firm that duplicated and distributed videotapes. After taking some losses on a couple of projects, the owners of Fleming didn’t see the potential for video duplication and distribution, so Whetzel and business partner Charlie Seldon bought the company in 1991. Doing the deal wasn’t easy. “I borrowed from family, refinanced the house, and took everything out of savings,” he said. “I was dead broke and…

Welding school’s custom curriculum gains notice: Institution counts on business-to-business contacts

Seeking to take advantage of a growing statewide welder shortage, the area’s first school specializing in advanced welding opened this month. Photon School of Welding Inc. Director Charles Garinger and a silent partner have invested more than $300,000 to open the school at West 84th Street and Zionsville Road. The operation is financed through the founders’ savings and a loan from National City Bank. It opened this month in a 6,000-squarefoot facility with a capacity of 52 welding booths. Many…

Ruined Brightpoint manager heading to trial

Four years after the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Harcharik of committing securities fraud at Brightpoint Inc.,
he finally has his day in court. A civil jury trial is scheduled to start May 21 in Manhattan. It could last as long as three
weeks.

Initiative aims at more minority participation: Construction group says current strategy not working

More needs to be done to improve minority involvement in the construction industry than simply employing a certain percentage of the companies on projects. That’s the consensus of the Indiana Construction Roundtable, an organization made up of some of the biggest users and providers of construction services. Its diversity outreach initiative aims to increase minority participation within the trades by rewarding contractors who support education and training, employ minorities and women, and mentor small minority- and women-owned businesses. The initiative…

BULLS & BEARS: High risk doesn’t always translate into high returns

Previously, we were discussing Jeremy Grantham’s brash newsletter about global bubbles (found at www.gmo.com). His frank talk is a bit stunning to me. Grantham’s expertise is in analyzing the relative values of various asset classes and arriving at estimates of their future returns. And he has reached an unprecedented conclusion: Over the next years, higher-risk investments will earn poorer returns for investors than lower-risk investments. Historically, investors have been compensated with higher returns for taking on more risk. In the…

VIEWPOINT: Seeing Indianapolis with new eyes

I left Indianapolis for New York City. Flying home for holidays, I never thought I could live here again. A nice place to grow up, Indianapolis gave me those wholesome Midwestern manners, recalled whenever a New Yorker asked, “You’re not from here, are you? You’re just too nice.” Indianapolis also gave me a successful career start, circa 1982. My partners and I later sold an OfficePlus location to a group in Manhattan in 1997. They invited me to move and…

Few hearing talk on FM: Station’s ratings plunge after format change

Indianapolis radio listeners are turning a deaf ear to the market’s newest talk-radio offering. According to recently released Arbitron Inc. radio station ratings, the newly formatted WWFT-FM 93.9 is fighting for its life as central Indiana’s fourth news-talk frequency. The station that dropped its contemporary Christian format and old WISG call letters the day after Christmas registered a paltry 0.8 rating in the first quarter, according to New York-based Arbitron’s most recent tally. Meanwhile, its commercial newstalk competitors, WIBC-AM 1070…

INVESTING: Big caps are back and best place for big 2007 gains

As this rally labors on, one point I brought up a few times in January is becoming clear. I expected that the small-cap stocks, which put on a powerful era of outperformance from 1999 until 2006, would cede their leadership to the bigger companies in America. A seven-year cycle of better returns is typical of the smaller stocks, and that ended last May. For the rest of 2006, things were about equal, and now the evidence is staring us right…

Otterness sculptures on their way back: But officials are still deciding where they’ll end up

Three bronze sculptures by Tom Otterness soon will be brought out of storage and shipped to Indianapolis, thanks to a private effort to raise money to buy the public art pieces that captivated the city in 2005. The roly-poly statues-with a total weight of more than 4,200 pounds-will be hoisted by art moving specialists, packed in crates and sent on their way, likely within three weeks. But what happens to them once they get here is still up in the…

EVERYBODY’S DOING IT INDIANAPOLIS 500 MILE RACE: Speedway place to play hooky in May

EVERYBODY’S DOING IT INDIANAPOLIS 500 MILE RACE Speedway place to play hooky in May The Indianapolis 500 Mile Race is, as the tag line goes, the “greatest spectacle in racing.” But the month leading up to it is no slouch, either. Lighter crowds, lower admission, and a greater opportunity to get close to drivers and cars mean less is more at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the weeks leading up to the last Sunday in May. With a scant week left…

Gigerich firm makes spate of hires after staff exodus:

Carmel-based consulting firm Ginovus LLC-which lost five professionals on May 11 to a new economic development practice started by the Indianapolis law firm Bingham McHale-has bounced back by hiring three people. Richard Rowley, legislative director under former Gov. Joe Kernan, joined as special counsel. Rowley will continue practicing law at Sommer Barnard, the Indianapolis law firm that hosts Ginovus. Jill Beckman was hired as director of operations. Beckman’s background is in accounting, most recently at Butler Uni versity. Denise Settlemyre…

MICKEY MAURER Commentary: We need teachers to fight intolerance

MICKEY MAURER Commentary We need teachers to fight intolerance MEMORANDUM TO: Eugene White, superintendent, Indianapolis Public Schools FROM: Michael S. Maurer DATE: May 19, 2007 RE: Amy Sorrell-an opportunity Gene, have you been following the travails of Amy Sorrell? Please consider recruiting her to teach and mentor our children. Amy Sorrell was an English and journalism teacher at Woodlan Junior-Senior High School in Allen County near Fort Wayne. One of the courses she taught was “Student Publications” and in that…