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Most of us have those “who-knows” people in our lives. Meaning, “who knows” what might have become of us had these people not come into our lives. P r o f e s s i o n a l l y, right at the top of my list is Cyrus W. “Cy” McBride. Cy died last week in Montgomery, Ala. He was 78. I would be remiss if I let his passing go without sharing the profound impact he had….
The U.S. Department of Justice’s highprofile, three-year investigation into price fixing in Indiana’s concrete industry resulted in one of the largest antitrust fines in history: $29.2 million against Greenfield-based Irving Materials Inc. The investigation might not be over yet. The DOJ seemed to conclude its Indianapolis inquiry last month, finally closing the criminal case. But a recent filing in a pending civil suit against IMI and its four former top executives hints the probe is continuing elsewhere. This time, IMI…
After about seven months without a leader, the Indiana Small Business Development Center network has found one in Jeff Heinzmann. An attorney by training, the 39-year-old is charged with getting the statewide system of 11 regional centers on track in their efforts to help entrepreneurs get started and grow. Despite their connection, the Indiana centers for the most part have operated independently, and some-like the central Indiana office serving Marion and the surrounding counties-have struggled for stability. Heinzmann aims to…
What do the Pyramids, the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal have in common? Each project was both designed and built by the same people. Basically, they were among the first design-build projects in history. What seemed like a good idea hundreds and thousands of years ago has been slower to take hold in modern times. These days, most construction projects are still completed by separate entities-one that draws up the plans and another that brings those plans…
For those who have gone through life shying away from anything involving numbers, the demonstration of the principle of compound interest is usually an eye-opening revelation. It’s quite simple, actually. Money set aside today accrues interest, if it is wisely invested. But so does the interest on what you set aside yesterday. Over a long time span, this snowballing of interest on interest can build up to a sizable nest egg. That’s why financial advisers always tell you to start…
Just when I think I’m coming around to liking people, something like this happens. The phone rang at the office and a woman announced that she was calling on behalf of the “Committee for Missing Children.” She gruffly explained that, while I may not recognize the organization’s name, I would likely recall one of the 2 billion images of missing children they’ve distributed on milk cartons and posters. Our policy here is to avoid giving to telephone solicitations. So I…
Efforts to secure a mass-transit system for central Indiana are moving ahead. But not rapidly. Several mass-transit bills are pending in the General Assembly-including one requiring the Indiana Department of Transportation to study building a rail system from Indianapolis to Muncie, and another encouraging development of mass-transit systems across the state. But neither is likely to result in immediate funding for a system serving Indianapolis commuters. Local mass-transit advocates still are a long way from winning over lawmakers and others…
One of the most enjoyable aspects of my job as president of the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and secretary of commerce was the opportunity to represent our governor and the state of Indiana on goodnews occasions. On April 26, 2005, I bestowed official state certification on Intech Park, a business incubator that had qualified under the Indiana Certified Technology Park Program. Certified tech parks enjoy the advantage of being allowed to capture and invest in the development of their park…
When Dr. Jack Farr II saw his grandfather’s knees become bowed out, then saw his father get a knee replacement, he knew he
was next. So he spent his career trying to develop new techniques to replace–and now even regrow–the cartilage around knees.
His labors are part of an international effort to develop alternatives to joint replacements.
As the Final Four approaches, it seems fitting to relive in basketball terms how Ratio Architects Inc. came off the bench in dramatic fashion to save a high-profile downtown project after the star had fouled out. The Indianapolis-based architectural firm played that role in 2004 after sketches from the original out-of-town architect designing the downtown headquarters of Simon Property Group Inc. failed to impress corporate executives. Ratio had one week to deliver, and did. But while the firm’s portfolio is…
When I was promoted to president and chief operating officer of our firm a couple of years ago, I was not totally aware that directing a staff in a service business has special requirements you can’t appreciate until you are actually in the role. I assumed that I would go on working Fortunately, my company has a board of directors that includes Tim Baldwin, a management professor at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. His counsel has been invaluable in…
After almost 60 profitable years that saw Elliott-Williams Co. install walk-in refrigerators and freezers in almost every
Indiana school, hospital and hotel, the venerable firm was brought to its knees last year. But an unlikely savior, a new locally
based venture capital firm, bought EW out of bankruptcy for $507,000, about the cost of 10 EW walk-ins.
Ivy Tech Community College’s choice of businessman Tom Snyder as its new president bodes well for Indiana’s health care and manufacturing industries, observers say. The school’s nursing program will greatly benefit in part because Snyder served on the board of St. John’s Hospital in Anderson before it was acquired by St. Vincent Health several years […]
Thousands of downtown pedestrians gathered along Pennsylvania and Market streets, lined a nearby parking garage rooftop and stared through office windows about 10:30 a.m. today as a man threatened to jump from the top of the building on the northwest corner of Pennsylvania and Market. He was described by police officers as a man in […]
California state regulators have fined WellPoint Inc. unit Blue Cross of California $1 million for “routinely” canceling health insurance coverage for people who got pregnant or sick without determining whether the cancellations had merit, The Los Angeles Times reported today. Indiana-based WellPoint disputed the findings, the Times said. The article also said the California Department […]
Purdue University President Martin Jischke and his wife, Patty, have bought a condominium in West Lafayette as they anticipate his retiring June 30 after five years at the post. The Chicago-area native said he plans to retain his board appointments, including Evansville-based utility Vectren Corp., and devote time to favorite charities, particularly causes related to […]
Thomas J. Snyder, the former president of Anderson-based autoparts supplier Remy International Corp., will succeed Gerald Lamkin as president of Ivy Tech Community College. Snyder was chosen over the other finalist, Thomas D. Klincar, a commandant at Community College of the Air Force at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. The process was marred over […]
A Nevada company said today it has chosen Pike County in southwestern Indiana as a location for an 50-million gallon ethanol plant and a 30-megawatt electric power generating facility. Ripatti Group, based in Reno, said heat and electricity created by the power plant would operate the ethanol plant, with the balance of the electricity to […]
Redcats USA will spend $21 million over several years to upgrade its clothing-catalog operation on Southeastern Avenue, the New York company and Indiana Economic Development Corp. said today. Forty-two jobs will be added to the 1,000 Redcats employs at the site and a warehouse in Plainfield. The improvements include computers, equipment and facilities. Redcats received […]
Indiana’s economy would shrink nearly 5.9 percent if a severe flu pandemic broke out, according to a report released today by Trust for America’s Health, a Washington, D.C., not-for-profit. That would be the 10th-worst impact among states, the organization projected. In dollars, the setback would amount to $14 billion. The report went on to say […]
