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TOM HARTON Commentary: Business in a hole climbs out

Everyone says owning a restaurant is hard work. But for Tracy Robertson, not owning one has been much harder. Robertson’s restaurant, the 745 Bar & Grill, hasn’t served a burger or a beer since the afternoon of Jan. 25, 2005. That’s when the 745 literally fell into a hole. A cook, a bartender and five patrons escaped just moments before the restaurant collapsed into the excavation pit for what is now the 757 Mass Ave condominium building. In an instant,…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Unique, low-profile bank shaking up the status quo

It’s a quiet giant, but not a sleeping one. The Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis is the state’s fourthbiggest private company, with revenue last year of $1.8 billion. The $45-billionin-assets financial institution racked up 2005 profit of $153 million. Yet the board and executives of the 150-employee quasi-governmental enterprise aren’t wallowing in self-satisfaction. Seeing storm clouds on the horizon, they’re taking pre-emptive action to ensure the bank remains competitive and retains its formidable financial strength. “We’ve been cutting back,”…

Agreement forces INDOT to clean rest areas

Many of Indiana’s 36 rest areas have in recent years dumped illegal amounts of ammonia nitrogen and E.coli bacteria into nearby streams, state records show.

Canal site picked for $33M project

A local developer plans to build a $33 million, four-story apartment and retail complex on the Central Canal just north of
Michigan Street. Flaherty & Collins Properties has the three-acre parcel under contract from American United Life Insurance
Co.

Marketing firm targets tech types: Seven-figure deal shows DGS’ diversification is working

When DGS Marketing Engineers signed a blockbuster deal this September with one of the nation’s largest industrial chemical companies, owners of the ad agency knew making their micro-niche just a little broader was going to pay big dividends. The local marketing and advertising agency recently decided to step outside its super-specific niche of working with companies that make machine tools to target companies working in just about any technical field. “This is a specialized advertising field that goes beyond mere…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Legislative process has its own language

It’s probably not wise to admit this in a family-friendly publication, but one of my favorite comedians always has been George Carlin. The man has a genius for zooming in on the language we hear and use every day and finding nuances and symbolism that we never knew was there. Every time I land in an airplane, I have to laugh, because George Carlin reminded us how crazy it is for the pilot who landed at the same time we…

IPL plan secrecy brings rebuke from watchdog group

The state’s public access counselor says Indiana’s utility regulators failed to make a legal case for keeping information
about Indianapolis Power & Light’s controversial “Elect Plan” out of public view.

Legislators set for full-day push: Everybody seems to want all-day kindergarten, but questions linger over pace of implementation and funding

It’s the definition of an issue ripe for bipartisan compromise. Gov. Frank O’Bannon, a Democrat, proposed the state should underwrite full-day kindergarten in public schools. His successor and fellow Democrat, Joe Kernan, supported the idea. And now Gov. Mitch Daniels, a Republican, has taken up the early-education cause. “It’s almost universally acknowledged to be a good idea,” said Indiana Legislative Insight Publisher Ed Feigenbaum. “It’s simply a matter of, ‘Where do we come up with the funding?'” According to the…

Tax-law change drives donors to other options: Vehicle auctions by not-for-profits are on the decline

The 1968 Volvo coupe may have been the ugliest car parked in the Marion County Auto Auction lot, with its worn sheepskin seat covers, duct-taped headlight and mustard-yellow paint scheme. But someone liked it enough to bid $475 to take it off the hands of Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana Inc. Goodwill has depended on thousands of used-and nearly useless-donated vehicles like the Volvo to bring in more than $1 million annually through its auctions. But it and other charities…

ABDUL-HAKIM SHABAZZ Commentary: The war on Christmas is imaginary

With the passing of Thanksgiving, we are now in the official Holiday Season. It means a lot of things to a lot of people, including the “war on Christmas.” Yes, it’s the time of year when every conservative commentator and organization comes out with the “list” of examples that show America’s traditional Christian roots are under attack, and the war against Christmas is living proof. I decided to do a little research. First, most of what we consider Christmas has…

INVESTING: Concerns about weakness of U.S. dollar overblown

The sky-or, rather, the U.S. dollar-is falling. You’ve been hearing about the inevitable demise of the U.S. dollar for years. It recently fell to an 18-month low against the euro. The yen and other major Asian currencies are gaining ground. Headlines are screaming inflation is going to skyrocket, and interest rates will have to head higher. Is this the end of your retirement plan? How are you going to profit from this? We have the answers, right here. First, currency…

Techpoint explores tapping bank fund: Bankers oppose altering management of $308 million

High-tech leaders eager for money for venture capital investments have set their sights on a new potential source: Indiana’s $308 million Public Deposit Insurance Fund. It’s an idea sure to draw adamant opposition. Take Indiana Bankers Association CEO Jim Cousins’ reaction: “Over my dead body,” he said. “That fund exists to insure deposits. Any deviation from that, we will fight like banshees to oppose.” Formed in 1937, in the wake of the Great Depression, the PDIF insures deposits of public…

Crystal Food Services to go national

Crystal Food Services plans to team with several prominent restaurant chains for a nationwide expansion after severing ties
with Marsh Supermarkets Inc. early next year. The locally based catering and food-service company will report directly to
Florida-based Sun Capital Partners, which acquired Marsh in September.

PROFILE: Roby’s Plumbing and Heating Co. Inc.: Plumber survived by staying flexible Firm entered new market, shifted business priorities

Roby’s Plumbing and Heating Co. Inc. Plumber survived by staying flexible Firm entered new market, shifted business priorities Those “big box” home-supply stores make the world a scary place for independent companies such as Roby’s Plumbing and Heating Co. Inc. No way can businesses like Roby compete with the big boxes’ prices on pipes and other plumbing materials, owner Brad Roby said, but they can offer something the others don’t-service. “Home centers provide cheap products but poor service,” Roby said….

Plant to be a real gas for price stability?: Utilities betting gasification will ease volatility

Two gas utilities serving central Indiana say they want to buy synthetic gas from a proposed coal gasification plant downstate to provide a hedge against price volatility. Citizens Gas & Coke Utility, which serves 266,000 Marion County customers, plans to buy up to 3 billion cubic feet of gas a year from Indiana Gasification LLC. The amount is equivalent to about 10 percent of Citizens’ annual demand for natural gas. Meanwhile, Evansville-based Vectren Energy Delivery of Indiana, which has 550,000…

Bipartisan control will force compromises: With campaigns over, legislators get down to business on new budget, property-tax relief and other issues

In his 2007 legislative preview for the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, State Rep. Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, opened with a joke: After a politician’s death, he found himself standing before the pearly gates. St. Peter offered the politician a choice of heaven or hell, prefaced by a brief preview of each. During his visit to hell, the politician was surprised to discover all his friends there. What’s more, it was a terrific place to be-the most fun and raucous party he’d…

EYE ON THE PIE: ‘Tis the season for economic foolishness

This is the best time of the year. Thanksgiving is over and the signs of Christmas have yet to bore us. All the truly crazy people have identified themselves by shopping on the days immediately following Thanksgiving. New and old ideas are blossoming for consideration by the Indiana General Assembly. Gov. Mitch Daniels has given us the Commerce Connector, a nifty addition to our highway road map. This would be a new outer loop around Indianapolis, serving Greenfield, Shelbyville, Franklin…

SPORTS: Butler’s Bulldogs rule-and so does Marvin Harrison

Talk about the straw that stirs the drink. That youngster gives maximum effort every second. And while it’s early, I’d stack Graves and his running mate, Michael Green, against any backcourt tandem in the country. Though they couldn’t come out and say it, the NCAA folks who now run the Preseason NIT had to be inwardly thrilled to watch Butler and Gonzaga University reach the championship game on the Madison Square Garden stage. Their rosters are filled with players who…

Mayor: MSA project can’t hinge on pre-sales: Requirement might mean city has to ante up

City leaders are sticking to their guns: They want a residential tower on the former Market Square Arena site downtown. And they want developers to start construction before they ask potential residents to buy. The idea is to eliminate the stumbling block that derailed previous redevelopment efforts, but observers say the requirement will make it difficult to line up financing-unless the city kicks in some money. Mayor Bart Peterson hasn’t ruled that out, but he remains resolute on one point:…

BULLS & BEARS: Alternative investments are the rage-so beware

Pension and endowment funds across the country, including some in Indiana, are stepping up to the alternative-investment craps table holding a pair of dice. Should you care? Well, if you are a taxpayer, a pension beneficiary or a charitable contributor, your attention is required. The outcome of this massive reallocation of investment dollars may determine your future tax burden and the retirement security of millions of Americans. Fiduciaries are in the process of executing an enormous shift of money away…