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PROFILE: RYAN MCCORMICK: Laughter proves best medicine for cancer survivor

PROFILE RYAN MCCORMICK Laughter proves best medicine for cancer survivor When local companies need hazardous materials removed, Ryan McCormick hopes they call Active Environmental Ser vices, an environmental services company based in College Park. McCormick, a part-time comic, has been the sales and marketing manager for the Indianapolis-based company about three months. But two years ago, McCormick faced his own personal hazard when he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, a form of cancer that attacks the body’s lymphatic system. He…

Honda poses pay dilemma: New auto plant’s higher wages likely to force other employers to pay up or lose workers

GREENSBURG-Companies from Cincinnati to Indianapolis hoping to drive home business from Honda Motor Co.’s 2,000-employee plant might want to watch for an economic pothole hiding up the road. Giant auto plants plopped onto the prairie, while buying hundreds of millions of dollars in goods and services from companies in the state, also tend to swallow workers from established employers. That likely will force some Indiana employers to jack up wages and benefits to retain and attract workers pining to wear…

NOTIONS: Of sexual predators, pit bulls and oddly lesser evils

God, she’s cute: Your little Paula or Patti or Pammy. Sitting there on the swing set, rocking back and forth, back and forth, her brunette locks blowing in the breeze. You watch her on the merry-go-round, spinning faster and faster. Watch her on the jungle gym, climbing higher and higher. Watch her and her little friend Annie or Jenny or Missy walking toward the trail into the woods. And you know you aren’t the only one watching. You know he’s…

Carmel firm grows up in emerging market: BlueBean acquisition makes it one-stop RFID shop

A small Indiana firm is looking to become a big player in the emerging radio-frequency-identification market. Carmel-based BlueBean LLC is one of a small but growing number of firms nationally that provide consulting services to companies trying to set up systems using radio frequency identification-commonly called RFID-tags and readers. BlueBean in April acquired Mishawakabased www.rfidsupplychain.com, which sells RFID hardware and software online. The acquisition also provided BlueBean rights to a bevy of other domain names, including www.rfidhealthcare.com, www.rfidpharma.comand www.rfidfood.com. The…

New leader brings spark to Black Chamber: Membership doubles to 100, but some in community question whether a separate organization is needed

The walls of Turae Dabney’s office at the Indianapolis Black Chamber of Commerce are covered in easel paper scribbled with enough notes to make an anal-retentive person dizzy. Though garbled to visitors, the pages hold the key to her vision for the organization she assumed leadership of as executive director earlier this year. “I do better if I visualize it,” she said. “It looks like a mess, but I know exactly what everything means.” The message she is sending to…

IPS swap a flop?: Browning tells district to drop land-trade plan; site drew just 3 bids despite prime location

Indianapolis Public Schools is sitting on a 12-acre parcel of prime downtown land it probably could sell for big bucks. But its pursuit of a land swap instead has tempered interest in the site and raised questions about whether such a complicated deal is the way to go. Just three developers responded to IPS’ request for bids on its land east of Massachusetts and College avenues, despite the unsolicited inquiries that drove the school district to explore its options in…

BULLS & BEARS: Wise investors analyze businesses, not market

For my midyear column, I’ve decided to run Warren Buffett’s discussion of Benjamin Graham’s classic allegory on the stock market called “Mr. Market.” Note that Buffett wrote the words below soon after the 1987 market crash. “Whenever Charlie [Munger] and I buy common stocks … we approach the transaction as if we were buying into a private business. We look at the economic prospects of the business, the people in charge of running it, and the price we must pay….

Black Expo CEO seeks ‘next level’: Rogers hopes to build on Williams’ legacy The Summer Celebration schedule appears in our Diversity in Business Focus. PAGES 15A-19A

The Summer Celebration schedule appears in our Diversity in Business Focus. PAGES 15A-19A The title of Indiana Black Expo Inc.’s 2005 annual report couldn’t be more fitting: “Con tinuing the Legacy.” It’s an apt description for both the organization’s recent history and its goals for the future. As Black Expo prepares to kick off its second Summer Celebration without its longtime leader, Rev. Charles Williams, CEO Joyce Q. Rogers is abuzz with ideas to make the nation’s largest black heritage…

TAWN PARENT Commentary: Take 2 aspirin and a few months off

Maybe what you need is a sabbatical. The term comes from ancient Judea, where it described the year of rest given to land every seventh year to keep it from becoming depleted. Today, “sabbatical” conjures up images of ivory towers and a practice out of step with the breakneck pace of modern business. A perk that seems at best a luxury and at worst a waste of time and money for the employer. Tell that to Intel, Xerox Corp. and…

SPORTS: Another victory for Indy-at Chicago’s expense

First the Big Ten basketball tournaments. Now the Western Open. Maybe those broad shoulders are beginning to sag a bit. The news that Chicago-longtime host of the prestigious Western Open-is now going to share its PGA Tour stop with Indianapolis/Carmel (Crooked Stick), St. Louis (Bellerive) and quite likely Minneapolis (Hazeltine National) was another blow that sucked some of the air out of the Windy City. Chicago Tribune golf writer Ed Sherman called it “the worst deal for Chicago golf fans…

Doctor takes on state over Medicaid payments: Psychiatrist claims he’s being forced out of business

A Franklin psychiatrist has accused the state agency that runs Medicaid of suffocating his practice in a reimbursement dispute that dates back more than a year. Dr. John Lewis said the weekly Medicaid checks that keep his Harmony Center open dwindled to nothing for four straight weeks after he filed a lawsuit in April against the state Family and Social Services Administration over a payment review it imposed. The psychiatrist believes his center may survive only another month, a closing…

Patient safety center steers clear of the blame game: New approach modeled after aviation industry

Indiana hospitals are drawing inspiration from the aviation industry for their latest push to reduce medical errors. The Indiana Patient Safety Center, which opened July 1, will foster a blamefree approach to reporting errors, much like the environment promoted by the Federal Aviation Administration. The result will be a culture that encourages system analysis to fix flaws that lead to an error, rather than one that merely heaps blame on the person who committed it, said Bob Morr, vice president…

INVESTING: Time to ditch widely touted-but wrong-investing rules

We love a good conspiracy in America. The FBI just spent millions of dollars looking for Jimmy Hoffa again, and again came up empty. We’ll be talking about who killed JFK until our grandkids are gone. Today, I am going to start a new one, and when you read this you are going to want your finance professor’s head on a platter. There is a conspiracy to keep you from making money. I can’t pinpoint the exact beginning of the…

Local equestrian show jumps into limelight: Only 2 years old, competition has grown into major event

In only its second year, a unique Indianapolis equestrian competition is gaining a following among equine enthusiasts well beyond Indiana. And organizers already are planning to expand the event into one of the nation’s largest hunter/jumper competitions. Craig Dobbs attracted nearly 400 horses to the inaugural Circle City Equestrian 500 last year, even though he began preparations only five months beforehand and had no marketing budget. This year, Dobbs said, more than 600 horses will compete at the show at…

EYE ON THE PIE: Tattoos aren’t only things we hide

I admit I don’t understand the world in which I live. For example, a study in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology reports that 24 percent of Americans age 18 to 50 have one or more tattoos. That rises to 36 percent when we look at just those 18 to 29. I don’t get it. Is this body art, a message to the world, a commitment to oneself or someone else? Tattoos do fill in all that empty…

Leader tapped to make the IMA a ‘must see’: New director to focus on art and nature park

The Indianapolis Museum of Art’s new director isn’t afraid to ruffle feathers. During his five years as director of the Whitney Museum of American Art, he reportedly butted heads with the board over programming and oversaw a staff reorganization that triggered the departure of several curators. He also resigned after the board rejected a $200 million expansion he pushed. But Maxwell Anderson, who started at the IMA June 19, dismisses that reputation. “The Whitney is a very unusual place,” said…

Billing survey puts WellPoint in last: Insurer calls ‘pain in the butt’ index flawed, but some doctors say findings aren’t surprising

A physician-billing service recently gave WellPoint Inc. a virtual spanking over its sometimesstrained relationship with doctors. M a s s a c h u s e t t s – b a s e d Athenahealth Inc. rated the Indianapolis insurer last out of seven national payers in its so-called “pain in the butt” index posted online late last month. The unusual index aims to tell doctors how easy-or difficult-it is to work with each insurer by using data the…

Market Square project in doubt: Two months before deadline, condo developer won’t talk, scales back its sales effort

The city of Indianapolis already has twice pushed back the deadline for closing a deal with the developer of a high-rise condo project slated for the former Market Square Arena site. Now, with the latest deadline of Aug. 31 looming, officials with developer Market Square Partners LP are incommunicado amid signs they’re struggling to find enough buyers to get the project off the ground. The sales office, once staffed daily, now apparently operates on an appointment-only basis. The developer hasn’t…

LEGAL: Know the difference between knowledge and wisdom

The role of knowledge in business is familiar to all of us. Wisdom, however, is more elusive and its usefulness less wellknown. Knowledge can best be defined as “acquired facts.” Wisdom, however, is a way of seeing reality. To “the best knowledge of seller” is a familiar term in business transactions, referring to what the seller knows-sometimes after diligent inquiry. Then there’s “knowledge of the law,” something lawyers specialize in. Or knowledge of numbers, which is accountants’ expertise. The list…

Artist out to protect her images: Noel sues Texas distributor for copyright infringement

Zionsville artist Nancy Noel’s original work can be seen in the homes of Mikhail Gorbachev, Robert Redford, Denzel Washington and Oprah Winfrey. Noel prides herself on its originality and authenticity. And she said she’ll “go after anyone” who threatens that. This spring, Noel filed a federal lawsuit against Texas-based art distributor Martha Ewell, alleging she made unauthorized copies of Noel’s images-including her popular Amish and angel collections-and sold them on the Internet. She is asking to be paid $30,000 for…