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EYE ON THE PIE: Did you miss this last week?

Congratulations to the Crothersville Times on the occasion of its 25th anniversary. In today’s world, most newspapers are declining in circulation. When a weekly newspaper, in a town of 1,500 people, survives 25 years, the owner-publisher-editor deserves our applause. Curt Kovener fills all these roles and more with passion, humor and grace. Not commendable is the new Indiana license plate for the Indianapolis Colts. Has the Bureau of Motor Vehicles forgotten that the Colts are not a public institution but…

A game competitor: Sales surge for maker of Gnip Gnop, What’s in Ned’s Head?

The atmosphere is lighthearted at the westside headquarters of Fundex Games Inc., where ideas sketched on cocktail napkins become award-winning games like What’s in Ned’s Head? and Alfredo’s Food Fight. And why not be happy at a company whose more tasteful games, such as Gnip Gnop and Phase 10, have helped grow revenue from $4.6 million to $20 million in the last decade? If there’s any nail-biting at Fundex it’s because this is the most important time of the year….

INVESTING: Betting on Santa rally? It’s no time for reckless abandon

I grew up near the beach. I love the ocean, and it’s something I miss now that I live in Indiana. I’ve done the next best thing, however, by getting an office on a lake. It’s a peaceful place and a great place to look at. And looking at it right now reminds me a lot of the current state of the market. The weather turned cold recently, and we had a snowstorm that dumped 7 inches of snow. The…

VIEWPOINT: Follow 3 C’s of strategic charitable giving

You do your best every day to make smart decisions about how you and your family members spend money. You know a haphazard approach to your personal finances isn’t efficient or effective, and you rely on common sense and planning to help you make smart spending decisions. I suggest you apply that thoughtful approach to your charitable giving, whether you’re a veteran philanthropist or someone who seldom does more than throw a few coins in a kettle. In fact, I…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Changing state’s tax system would be tough to pull off

When it comes to matters of tax policy, inertia reigns supreme. The federal government still collects the proceeds of an excise tax on telephones that was borne as a temporary measure to help finance the Spanish-American War. The tolls on the Indiana Toll Road have not changed in almost 20 years. And the granddaddy of them all, the property tax, has existed in one form or another since the Middle Ages. So when the mayors of Indiana cities and towns…

SPORTS: We trusted and got burned; now it’s time to move on

Reaction to the news that a soon-to-be-former Indiana Pacers forward wants to relocate his talents elsewhere reminds me of a scene from the classic cinematic comedy “Animal House.” One of the most noticeable results of a fraternity night out that had gone hopelessly awry was the destruction of a car that character Kent “Flounder” Dorfman had “borrowed” from his brother. As the Deltas surveyed the damage, Eric “Otter” Stratton looked at his distraught fraternity brother and said, “Face it Flounder;…

Hotel proposed for Hamilton County’s Strawtown: Site overlaps sensitive American Indian land

Hamilton County park officials hope to find a developer to build a three-star hotel in 750-acre Strawtown Koteewi Park, an area rich with fragile American Indian artifacts. Businesses near the northeastern Hamilton County park love the idea. American Indian groups are less enthusiastic, but willing to work with park officials. “It’s kind of disturbing,” said Chief Brian Buchanan of the Miami Nation of Indians of the State of Indiana. “You wouldn’t want anybody digging up your grandmother.” Buchanan learned of…

Brand Appliance Servicecenter Inc.: Repair business may not be fixable Despite decades of tinkering, shop owner suspects his time is running out

Despite decades of tinkering, shop owner suspects his time is running out Don Daniels knows his days are numbered, even if he isn’t calling it quits yet. That’s a tough spot to be in when you’re used to fixing things. His Brand Appliance Servicecenter has been fixing stuff, in one form or another, since 1963. For decades, he’s tinkered with everything from electric shavers to microwave ovens. But as gadgets have evolved, Daniels has discovered one thing he just can’t…

Retirees from IPL face cuts: Declining assets strain trust providing benefits to 1,900

A stampede of early retirements after IPALCO Enterprises was bought by AES Corp. in 2001 is forcing cuts in health and life insurance benefits starting next month. The IPALCO Enterprises Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association has told its 1,900 participants that new members and rising health care costs have forced cuts that “are absolutely essential to extend the long-term viability of the VEBA Trust.” The retirement plan’s assets have fallen to $88 million from $95 million at year-end 2004, according to…

A fuzzy picture for Thomson-again: French parent puts consumer unit in play, but will keep part of 700-person Carmel work force

Engineering and research-anddevelopment jobs in Carmel likely will be spared the uncertainty of Thomson’s plans to sell outright or to find partners for its consumer products and accessories business. The French company that owns the RCA brand and employs 700 in Carmel said last week that it will exit the consumer end of the electronics realm in 2006. But Thomson also said it has a number of engineers and related personnel in Carmel that would fit the company’s focus on…

State freeze pushes nursing care at home: FSSA clamps down on the addition of Medicaid beds

Indiana regulators have put a temporary freeze on the addition of Medicaid beds to nursing homes, as part of their push to shift care out of institutions and into patient homes. The state Family & Social Services Administration enacted a 90-day rule starting Dec. 15. While it’s in place, the state agency won’t sign the Medicaid nursing facility provider agreements needed to add beds unless they fit within narrow exceptions. In addition to imposing the temporary rule, FSSA Secretary Mitch…

BEHIND THE NEWS: A peek inside Guidant-J&J-Boston Scientific drama

Corporate attorneys aren’t paid to write riveting prose. But the battle to buy Guidant Corp. is so drenched with drama that even the company’s normally bonedry regulatory filings make compelling reading these days. Here’s one gem in a recent filing: Just hours after Guidant sued Johnson & Johnson the morning of Nov. 7-an in-yourface tactic aimed at forcing J&J to close on its $25.4 billion purchase of the Indianapolis company-Guidant CEO Ron Dollens phoned a top J&J executive in an…

NOTIONS: Painting on the fresh canvas of the winter solstice

I wasn’t looking forward to the Thursday afternoon meeting. The issues involved saddened me. And besides, this felt like a decision that could have been reached via e-mail, rather than a 60-mile round-trip drive for a half-hour conversation. But the other fellow said he liked to do things face to face-an old-fashioned notion, he admitted, but his preference nonetheless. So I climbed into my car, drove at breakneck Interstate speed, and covered the distance in 30 minutes. When I arrived…

TAWN PARENT Commentary: Do libraries need gun control?

My first job, at age 15, was shelving books in my neighborhood library. Those were the days of tidy card catalogs with brass-handled drawers and hand-stamped “date due” cards tucked into the back of books. There wasn’t a computer in the place. Times have changed. Libraries now enable people without other Internet access to go online to research health problems, tap into business databases, find information for school projects, locate needed social services, and even apply for jobs. A recent…

Ringing up big returns: After near collapse in ’02, Brightpoint wows Wall St.

Three and a half years ago, Plainfield-based cell phone distributor Brightpoint Inc. was on the ropes. Shares were worth less than a dollar. The company had lost $53 million in 2001, and was on pace to lose another $42 million in 2002. Bankruptcy appeared imminent. But Brightpoint prevailed over the long odds against it. Today, company shares trade for about $30 each. Adjusted for stock splits, they’ve soared 125 percent in 2005, and nearly 8,000 percent since bottoming out in…

BULLS & BEARS: Beware mutual fund pitch touting eye-popping returns

Remember those mutual fund performance advertisements splashed across publications in huge, bold print? During the peak of market euphoria, some of the touted returns were unbelievable, and, it turned out, unsustainable. Those were the salad days, as mutual fund managers achieved rock star status as they were paraded before the cameras of CNBC. In early 2000, the Munder Internet Fund (formerly called the Munder NetNet Fund and an investor favorite during the “new era”) could run giant print ads claiming…

Malls fight for tax savings: Owners see appeals pay off; inconsistencies plague process

Shopping mall owners were ecstatic when their property tax bills dropped as a result of reassessment in 2002. Some of them are even giddier now. Three of Indianapolis’ enclosed malls-Castleton Square, Lafayette Square and Glendale-have since won large appeals and had their combined annual property taxes reduced almost $1 million. Pending appeals of the taxes at Circle Centre and Fashion Mall will be decided within months and could mean even more money in the pockets of mall owners. Before 2002,…

Duke, Bremner pairing bearing fruit for both companies: Venture surpasses goals with $100 million in projects

A year after forming a joint venture to pursue health care development, Duke Realty Corp. and Bremner Healthcare Real Estate are preparing to storm the Southeast, one of Duke’s stronghold markets, by opening offices in Atlanta and Miami, and by bringing on a new partner. Announced last December, Duke’s and Bremner’s joint venture this year locked up $100 million worth of projects, ranging from a medical office building on Michigan Road in Hamilton County to an outpatient hospital in Summit,…

Conseco could land upgrade by midyear: Analysts see positive signs for Carmel insurer

Conseco Inc. by mid-2006 may earn a coveted ratings upgrade from A.M. Best Co., an achievement likely to bolster the Carmel-based insurer’s sales, analysts said. Best probably will dole out the financial-strength upgrade in the second quarter, after the New Jersey-based firm reviews Conseco’s final 2005 financial results, said Jukka Lipponen, a Connecticut-based analyst for Keefe Bruyette & Woods. “We believe as management continues to deliver on its expectations and once Conseco receives the A.M. Best upgrade … investor patience…

Library cash crisis looming: Officials mull deep cuts, branch closings to balance books

After long delays, the city’s Central Library expansion should finally be finished by 2008. But to heat the building and keep its lights on, the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library may have to shutter half a dozen of its 22 branches. IMCPL officials say the system faces dire financial woes. They project a $1 million shortfall in next year’s $36 million budget, and even bigger problems after that. By 2008, IMCPL expects to be short $6.3 million a year, or about…