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The new Indiana State Museum building–a 230,000-square-foot study in glass, steel and limestone–opened in 2002 to blockbuster
attendance, with nearly 260,000 of its 614,000 total visitors checking out the exhibits. Fast forward to its five-year anniversary
and the news isn’t so rosy.
Economic development is all about gaining jobs and increasing earnings per job. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) just released county level earnings and employment data for 2005. “Who cares?” you say. “You should,” I say. “These are the most comprehensive reports for more than 3,000 U.S. counties. They help explain how county economies are performing and the dynamics of change.” “But they’re old data,” you say. “First, 2005 has to end before we can have data for the…
Competition for top college presidents is intense these days. But neither Indiana University nor Purdue University trustees appear willing to break the bank to make sure they’re landing the right leader. About one in six of the public universities surveyed by the Chronicle of Higher Education now pays its president more than $500,000. That’s well above the $400,000 IU’s new leader, Michael McRobbie, will collect-though his wife, Laurie Burns McRobbie, will receive another $90,000 for her efforts to support and…
Few Hoosiers had heard of O’Reilly Auto Parts before the Missouri-based company built a massive distribution center in Hendricks County and bought the naming rights to Indianapolis Raceway Park last June. Now, the company, which was founded in 1957 and went public in 1993, figures to become a major retail presence here. Already, 14 stores have cropped up here among 35 that opened statewide. That makes 1,700 stores in 25 states for the company that reported revenue of $2.3 billion…
A 140- to 160-room boutique hotel straddling the Central Canal has been added to the mix of proposals to develop a nearly one-acre parcel the state owns but wants to lease out for development. Four groups submitted plans by an April deadline, but details were not released until May 1. IBJ reported the specifics of two of the proposals April 16. The newly released plans from Wichita, Kan.-based LodgeWorks LP are by far the most ambitious, calling for the state…
Even before Bobby Schnabel became a candidate to take charge at the Indiana University School of Informatics, he knew enough about the program to know he wanted to lead it. By ending his 30-year affiliation with the University of Colorado at Boulder, Schnabel, 56, officially exchanges the black and gold of the Buffaloes for the cream and crimson of the Hoosiers on July 1. But of even greater significance is the fact that IU sought Schnabel to succeed J. Michael…
The Indiana Economic Development Corp. did OK in the just-completed legislative session. IEDC received $96 million it can
now dole
out as business grants. And lawmakers had authorized tax credits worth millions more for the commercialization of new…
I put my faith and trust in people who have proven themselves over the long haul. Which is why I choose to be one-one of the few, I’m guessing-who believes Donnie Walsh and Larry Bird will pull the Indiana Pacers out of their tailspin. As of this moment, the Pacers executives have no coach, no draft choices and, in the minds of many, no hope, particularly for the immediate future, with an emphasis on “immediate,” for we have little patience…
Hhgregg’s decision to take its $20-million-plus advertising account out of state is sending shock waves through the local
creative community. The Indianapolis-based electronics and appliance retailer’s longtime agency of record, Pearson McMahon
Fletcher England, will lose a third of its staff as a result, including three of five active partners.
A redesigned state Web portal unveiled last month should make it easier for Hoosiers to plow through mounds of government minutia. But, more important, the revamping set to be finished in mid-2008 represents a major shift in state policy. By contracting with locally based ChaCha Search Inc.- tech entrepreneur Scott Jones’ new humanassisted Internet search engine-the state no longer relies solely on big, name-brand computer technology such as Microsoft. “We have somebody who is local and excited about taking the…
“Pat Miller is a classy dame.” Michael S. Maurer, Indianapolis Star, Dec. 13, 2005 The above response to an Indianapolis Star reporter on the occasion of Pat Miller’s resignation as secretary of commerce was meant with all sincerity to be complimentary but was morphed by Indianapolis Star columnist John Ketzenberger into a slur on the order of Don Imus or Howard Stern. The Star piled on with a letter to the editor from someone who does not even live in…
It’s an age-old strategy: A private equity firm buys a company, bolsters its performance, then pockets a tidy profit by taking it public or selling it outright. Los Angeles-based Freeman Spogli & Co., the majority owner of Hhgregg Inc. the past two years, last month revealed plans for a $170 million initial public offering for the consumer electronics retailer. You can be sure other private equity firms that have scooped up local companies in recent years have the same exit…
And you can’t leave until and unless you collectively make the hundreds and thousands of serious decisions that need to be made. And for this privilege, you go without a raise for 22 years. We complain aplenty about the legislative process and players. We compare it to sausage-making; lambaste the sausagemakers; and perpetually threaten to throw the bums out. What’s more, compared to all the cajoling and complaining that goes on during legislative sessions, there’s little gratitude after the fact….
But Mark Montefiori wants to create a law school to train perhaps hundreds more lawyers each year. He plans to share
with potential investors his vision for The Abraham Clark School of Law, named after one of the lesser-known signers of the
Declaration of Independence, May 10 at the Indianapolis Marriott North.
“It’s Everywhere, In Everything: The First Truly Global Bubble.” The title of this recent newsletter sounds a lot like one of those “doom and gloom” books out to make a quick buck playing on investor emotions. The only thing is, those kinds of books only show up in bear markets, because that’s when they sell-when investors are already depressed. Thus, their message is useless, for the damage has already been done to investors’ portfolios-and, ironically, their appearance on bookshelves usually…
Environmentalists who lost a court battle to stop RiverPlace on grounds it will cause flooding upstream along the White River have been buoyed by concerns raised by Indianapolis officials that the 69-acre development could create a torrent of traffic trouble. Last month, in a letter sent to Fishers’ public works director, the Department of Metropolitan Development cited numerous shortcomings with a traffic impact study commissioned by RiverPlace developer Centre Properties. Indianapolis-based Centre has asked Fishers to rezone the property, just…
Wireless Webforms Inc. From paper to pocket PC Wireless product streamlines mobile data collection When the Indiana Bureau of Child Care was looking for an electronic solution to collecting data for licensing child care facilities, it turned to Wireless Webforms. A spin-off of Indianapolis-based computer technology firm Consultants Consortium Inc., the company uses technology to automate field-based data collection. The paperless system allows mobile workers to collect data and transmit it back to their offices, thereby eliminating the need to…
The rally off the March low was powerful, and a few things happened that might reveal a change in the nature of this bull market. If there is an evolution and we’ve identified it, a rotation is called for that will keep us in the sweet spot of this market run. If we’re wrong, we have to be quick to readjust. By the third week of April, the Dow Jones broke out to an all-time high, taking with it the…
A Kansas developer has proposed a hotel, restaurant and retail space that would form a bridge over the Central Canal in the tradition of Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy (pictured). The plan…
Marsh Supermarkets Inc.’s owner is breaking off the Village Pantry subsidiary to create a separate business unit. Both businesses will continue to be owned by Florida-based Sun Capital Partners. The Village Pantry convenience store chain had long been a subsidiary of Marsh. Marsh operates 105 groceries, while Village Pantry runs 148 convenience stores. […]
