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‘Crammers’ facing big fines: Two firms accused of billing phone customers for directory assistance services not ordered

As in $1,071,000. That’s how much the Office of Utility Consumer Counselor wants the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to ring up in fines against Casper, Wyo.-based Micronet Inc. It also requests that the commission turn over the case to Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter for prosecution under the state’s deceptive practices act. Micronet is accused of billing hundreds of Indiana business, residential and state government lines in late 2004 and early 2005 for directory assistance service callers never requested or…

Big bank heading for sale?: Union Fed, parent firm mum as talk of mergers intensifies

Officials with the companies in Fort Wayne and here aren’t saying one way or the other. “We have nothing to announce,” said Alvin “Kit” Stolen, CEO of Union Federal since 2002. “We officially wouldn’t comment or address those kinds of rumors or speculation.” The privately held companies are among the largest financial firms headquartered in Indiana. Union Federal has more than $3.4 billion in assets and ranks as the city’s third-largest bank. Waterfield ranked 51st nationwide in mortgage originations in…

BRIAN WILLIAMS Commentary: High school dropouts are hard on city

Indiana has made significant progress in establishing some of the most demanding standards for primary and secondary students. However, Indiana’s and the nation’s educational system can also be characterized by low high school graduation rates; no standard for calculating graduation rates; persistent achievement gaps along racial and economic lines; a decline in “second chance” opportunities for high school dropouts; a general inability to attract and retain highquality teachers, especially in underperforming schools; and a bureaucratization of school structure that undermines…

RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Let’s throw computers out of the classroom

I have a proposal to improve our K-12 school systems, saving money, time and frustration, and probably improving overall education to boot. Rip out all the computers. Take them away. Throw the cutesy game-style education software into a Dumpster. Keep just enough to stock a programming lab, a keyboarding classroom, and to provide a couple in the library for special research. The rest-out with them. After years of struggle to acquire networks, computers, software, printers and all the other trappings…

STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Passing ‘Major Moves’ initiative will mean major work

While most Hoosiers are focused on just how legislators are going to be able to cut residential property taxes again this year, the real battle to watch will be the one over what Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels refers to as the jobs program of a generation or more-his “Major Moves” roads initiative. What he wants boils down to this: finding a funding source for road building and repair that will not rely upon taxes. He made it clear shortly after…

SPORTS: Let me count the ways sports enrich education 264 494 281 512202 511 232 527284 494 301 512278 511 301 527234 511 257 527Other columnists tackle education topics. PAGES 8,9,12,28& 38

Other columnists tackle education topics. PAGES 8,9,12,28& 38 There is a school of thought that the pursuits of sports and education are somehow mutually exclusive. Short of that, certainly there are those who believe sports are overemphasized in relation to education and, in terms of expenditures, every dollar spent on sports is a dollar somehow taken away from education. In Indiana, Our Man Mitch Daniels, the governor, has been critical of local school boards for approving the construction of athletic…

Slow start predicted for Roth 401(k) plans: Many companies, employees likely to take wait-and-see attitude regarding new retirement-savings vehicle

So when the Roth 401(k) debuted Jan. 1, he gave his 24 employees at Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. the opportunity to sink a percentage of their earnings in the new option. The idea draws upon the standard 401(k) plan that is the vehicle of choice for millions of working Americans saving for retirement. But a distinct difference between the two might scare some employees away. Unlike a traditional 401(k), the money diverted into a workplace Roth is…

State’s plans for Larue Carter remain uncertain: New hosptal ideas are still under consideration

A year after the administration of then-Gov. Joe Kernan proposed building a new Larue D. Carter Memorial Hospital, the future of Indianapolis’ lone state-owned psychiatric hospital remains murky. The Indiana State Office Building Commission bought an 18-acre site near the IUPUI campus in December 2004, during the waning days of the Kernan administration. State officials talked then about spending as much as $55 million to build a Larue Carter that would replace the existing hospital, which is part of an…

Daniels’ team shakes up pension fund for teachers: Retirement plan may risk more on private equity

Under Gov. Mitch Daniels, Indiana is renewing its commitment to making sure teachers receive their pensions. But in the process, the state may also put their pension principal at greater risk. State Budget Director Chuck Schalliol said the $7.5 billion Indiana State Teachers’ Retirement Fund is considering expanding its holdings in private equity. The enormous pension fund already allocates 5 percent of its assets, or $240 million, toward such investments, which include venture capital, real estate and leveraged buyouts. Highly…

Cash-strapped county mulls part-time cops: Merger lets combined department add more reserves

Marion County Sheriff Frank Anderson has long clamored for help fighting crime in the suburbs. Thanks to the police merger, he’ll soon get it-from volunteers. The City-County Council ordinance authorizing a merger between Anderson’s Marion County Sheriff’s Department and the Indianapolis Police Department allows for a massive, 239-percent increase in the use of unpaid reserve police. Anderson, a Democrat, will have leeway to use up to 657 reserves in addition to the combined department’s 1,642 full-time cops. That’s 463 more…

BULLS & BEARS: With or without recession, next few years look good

In recent days, the yield curve inverted as the 10-year Treasury note yield dropped below the two-year Treasury yield by 100th of 1 percent. This miniscule inversion caused a freakout on Wall Street and sent stocks into a swoon. Here’s why: The Fed has tightened rates eight times in the last three decades, according to Merrill Lynch economist David Rosenberg, and five times it resulted in an inverted yield curve. Within one year of each of those five inversions, the…

Super Bowl no longer ‘right moment’: Lilly shifts Cialis ads, will focus on programs aimed toward adults

As the Indianapolis Colts gear up for a run to next month’s Super Bowl, Eli Lilly and Co. already has decided to watch from the sidelines after two straight appearances during the big game. In a marketing strategy shift, the Indianapolis drugmaker will forgo TV commercials for its erectile dysfunction drug Cialis during the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics, which begin Feb. 10. Cialis competitors Viagra and Levitra may join it on the bench, as the pharmaceutical industry trends…

J&J Detailing and More Inc.: More to detailing firm than a buff and grime J&J prides itself on experienced staff, exemplary service

J&J prides itself on experienced staff, exemplary service Two Southport High School chums were talking one day about how much people were willing to pay for clean cars at the good detailing shops. “We both had some ideas about how it would work. We went home, made some notes and realized we could do this ourselves,” said John Boyce, 45, co-owner of J&J Detailing and More Inc., founded three years ago. The other J is Jeff Hord. The two had…

CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: Early learning is key to success

It was encouraging to see Gov. Mitch Daniels and Indiana Superintendent of Education Suellen Reed team up recently to offer a plan by which school districts might share resources to free up extra money that could pay for more teachers and classroom resources. One option suggested for the freed-up funds was statewide fullday kindergarten. While multiple uses for the money can be found, it’s clear an emphasis on kindergarten is a good way to go, as most experts now agree…

Schools push financial literacy: Programs teach students the importance of investments, how Wall Street works

Fourth-graders at Crooked Creek Elementary School recently made $250 by making poinsettia-topped pens and selling them to parents and teachers. Middle school students at Thomas Carr Howe Academy learn the value of putting a few dollars away each week, so the mind-set of compounded savings will be instilled before they grow older. And, last month, a team of high school students from Fort Wayne won a statewide stock-market-simulation contest by growing a hypothetical $100,000 investment 55 percent in 10 weeks….

New airport control tower has a blind spot: More than 300 feet of runway obscured by FedEx hub will be closed, dozed to give controllers view

Indianapolis International Airport this month will launch a highly unusual project-shortening a runway. Perhaps just as odd is the reason: Controllers in the airport’s new air traffic control tower, opening next spring, won’t be able to see the southern 324 feet of the 7,604-foot crosswind runway. The FedEx hub is in the way. “The control tower needs to see the surface of the runway,” said John Kish, manager of the $1 billion midfield terminal construction project that necessitated the new…

NOTIONS: Resolved: No dropping the ball after the ball drops

Does your January break With a master plan? A savvy scheme? Sophisticated strategies and tactics? Or will you wing it, Taking each day as it dawns, Making the most Of each passing moment? Do you begin with an honestly clean slate? Or do lingering regrets, (Unsaids and undones), Cloud your New Year’s premiere? Was the year just past a good one for you? Did it enrich your mind and spirit? Did you enjoy good health? Did you give and get…

City ups fees for planning petitions: Old charges weren’t enough to cover department’s costs

Developers and companies in the construction industry might be unpleasantly surprised the next time they seek a zoning change or construction permit in Indianapolis. On Jan. 1, a new fee schedule kicked in for many of the functions of the city’s Department of Metropolitan Development, raising the cost of seeking zoning changes, variances and construction permits. In some cases the jump in fees is dramatic, while other fees will change little or not at all. However, the overall effect on…

Indianapolis and neighbors need one vision, one voice:

Cincinnati USA. Charlotte USA. Indianapolis – Marion County – Indiana. Who is throwing the right welcome mat out to the world? In the first two examples, those regions have said to the entire planet: “We are open for business. Come talented people-bring your companies and organizations to our area; bring your families to our schools; live, work and play in our thriving community.” Our region,” they say, “located at this juncture of latitude and longitude in the USA, wants you…

EYE ON THE PIE: Cost-of-living is with us, not in the stars

“I saw your column last week about the cost of living and I think you are a fool.” That was among the kinder messages on my mental answering machine, the one that records the thoughts I imagine readers have after reading my columns. All I had done was explain that the major differences in living costs in different places are related to housing. Housing prices reflect income levels, the benefits of living in different places, and the limitations on building…