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ABDUL-HAKIM SHABAZZ Commentary: It’s the uninformed voters, stupid

May 2 is the primary in Indiana. A lot of Hoosiers will come out and cast their ballots for the men and women they want to represent them in the general election. As of late, however, we’ve been hearing a lot about problems with Indiana’s voting system. Marion County has been the poster child for When Good Election Testing Goes Bad. The county has had nothing but problems with Nebraska-based Election Systems & Software Inc. The problems have ranged from…

SPORTS: Keith Hernandez, meet Phyllis Ackerman, trailblazer

Former New York Met and current Mets announcer Keith Hernandez emerged from a cave April 22, observed that a member of the San Diego Padres’ training staff wa s – g a s p ! – a female, and opined on air that women have no place in a Major League dugout. Hernandez was promptly reprimanded by his employers and issued a tepid apology on the next Mets broadcast. This might come as a bulletin to the Neanderthalic Hernandez, but…

RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Protecting company data not always worth the effort

Like monkeys in cages, data seems to want to be free, and will connive ways to break out of restraints. Many times it takes advantage of human carelessness, as it did in Iraq recently. Two reporters were wandering through one of the Iraqi bazaars that have sprung up outside U.S. bases, and which feature items discarded by Americans, such as old boots and broken tools. The reporters saw a number of what the media has been calling “computer drives.” These…

Medical office boom to hit intersection on south side: Developers race to scoop up acreage in area, enticed by proximity to hospitals, Interstate 65

A south-side intersection that didn’t even have a connection to nearby Interstate 65 a few years ago soon will become saturated with medical offices and a long-term, acute-care hospital. Greenwood developer Allen Commercial Group has plans to build four medical office buildings near the intersection of Emerson Avenue and County Line Road, less than a mile south of St. Francis Hospital-Indianapolis. Some of that work has begun. In addition, Indianapolis-based Lauth Property Group Inc. is planning two more office buildings…

Telecom CEO cited mother’s death in plea to avoid fine: Utility regulators stood firm on $1.1 penalty against Micronet; Wyoming company plans to appeal

Of all the curious legal filings with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission since the late 1800s, Frank Santa’s might be the first to use the death of a mother as a defense against financial sanctions. And it’s likely the first utility filing in the last 100 years to include the death certificate of a Hungarian widow. The president of Casper, Wyo.-based Micronet Inc. stated in a Feb. 3 filing with the IURC that his firm shouldn’t have to pay a…

Right decision crucial for small firms:

Of course, trying to be less subjective does not mean you shouldn’t consider “fit” with the organization’s culture. In a small company, fit can be critical. One way to attempt to reduce early turnover is to use the “realistic job preview,” in which prospective employees are given both the positive and negative aspects of the job, as opposed to the traditional approach of “selling” the firm. If individuals aren’t going to enjoy the job, it’s better to know it before…

NOTIONS: Seeking your input on satisfaction

Dear Reader: For six years, I’ve filled this weekly space with notions, gnashings, drivel and diatribes. From time to time, some readers have responded-often with nods of agreement, occasionally with headshaking disbelief, once in a while with outraged indignation. Now that we’ve built something of a virtual community (call it a Neanderthal blog), I want to ask you a question. Yes, I mean you. Please don’t assume someone else will answer. And please, don’t feel that your insights and opinions…

Storm brings hail of business: Body shops swamped by thousands of damaged cars; auto dealers suffer lots of damage

Bill Kellar had about 240 vehicles on his west-side car lot when hail swept through Indianapolis April 14. Exactly two emerged unscathed, said the general sales manager for Palmer Dodge-Hyundai West. On the east side, Blossom Chevrolet reported damage to 650 of its 700 cars and light trucks. Its collision shop is now booked for three months and busier than it’s been in at least 25 years, said General Manager Mike Chase, who imported experts from as far away as…

Alien hirers rarely busted: Law doesn’t force employers to verify that workers are legal

Despite a high-profile raid against IFCO Systems on April 19, Indianapolis employers have little to fear in hiring undocumented aliens or those who present questionable identification. Rarely do immigration cops bust an Indianapolis-area workplace. Until federal agents led away about 40 allegedly undocumented Mexicans and Guatemalans at the south-side pallet plant this month, the last high-profile raid was more than a decade ago. In 1995, customs officials raided the former Simpson Race Products shoe factory in Speedway, nabbing 66 illegal…

Longtime developer undergoes changes: Shopping centers prove fruitful for Zinkan & Barker

Stephen Zinkan is one persistent fellow. The veteran real estate developer began knocking on the door of Cincinnati-based The Kroger Co. in the early 1990s, in an attempt to build his firm’s portfolio. He and Kelly Flynn had founded Flynn & Zinkan Realty Co. in the early 1980s and carved a niche developing groceryanchored shopping centers. Amid the rejections, Zinkan, 56, implored Kroger to give him its toughest assignment. The corporation relented and handed him property at 71st Street and…

Design standards, fees squeeze local builders: National players go bigger on subdivisions to cut costs

Vinyl siding? Forget it. Rows of homes that differ only in their shade of beige? Don’t even think about it. Want to turn a farm road into a neighborhood street? It’s going to cost you. Increasingly, that’s the refrain being heard by home builders across central Indiana, as cities and towns demand more from developers. Developers agree basic standards are a good thing for a community, but more requirements push up the price of new subdivisions. The result? The big…

Scholar’s Inn ready to rise: Starbucks-like strategy: ‘Bread for the masses’

Scholar’s Inn bakers load delivery trucks with more than 5,000 loaves of bread each week. And each time head bread baker Jeff Duez rolls a rack of apricot almond bread out to the loading dock, he ducks his head. A 5-foot-high doorway separates the bakery’s Bloomington kitchen from the ramp where delivery trucks pull up twice daily. That’s one of the many inefficiencies co-owner Lyle Feigenbaum addressed when he purchased a 10,000-squarefoot production facility the company will fire up this…

BOOK REVIEWS: “Many Unhappy Returns: One Man’s Quest to Turn Around the Most Unpopular Organization in America”

On the face of it, reading a book on the IRS may seem as appealing as a visitation of the gout. One might view this read as a civic duty-we all owe it to ourselves to learn ways to reform this cumbersome but essential bureaucracy. Rossotti, the IRS commissioner from 1997 to 2002, describes himself as the “first businessman to lead the Internal Revenue Service.” He took over amid accusations of mistreatment of taxpayers, management failures, and growing public anger….

Racing for the green: Rookie owner risks house and home to realize dream

“If somebody wipes one of them out, the associated residence goes with it,” he says, only half jokingly. Now in his 14th season in t h e m o t o r – sports industry, Crawford, 38, decided to hoist his own flag for the first time this year in the Indy Pro Series, open-wheel racing’s highest minor league. For the record, he’s not a wealthy man. The second property is the only investment he and his wife, Myra, haven’t…

VIEWPOINT: Latinos and the legal system: no free lunch

Many issues face national and local civil and criminal justice systems across our nation. Years and years of application of Band-Aid remedies to complicated and longterm problems have brought many government systems to the verge of collapse. Marion County is no exception to the rule. Courts are strained with overwhelming caseloads. Average lives of cases continue to increase, clogging jails and courts. Public defender and prosecutor caseloads continue to swell, effectively reducing the quality of representation available to both the…

INVESTING: Market’s ‘gas light’ is on; when will it finally hit empty?

One of the nice things about modern car design is the gas light. You start running low, a light pops on to tell you to fill up. Ignoring this light can prove a little dangerous. As you get closer to empty, you know the car can keep going, but you don’t know for how long. And you don’t know where you will be when it runs out. The stock market acts a lot like your car, with one major difference….

Negotiations halted over sale of HealthCare Group: M-Plan owner, Medical Mutual ‘agree to disagree’ but leave door open

A plan to merge the parent of Indiana’s largest HMO with an Ohio insurer has fallen through, but both companies continue to shop for other deals. Cleveland-based Medical Mutual of Ohio a month ago cut off negotiations to buy The HealthCare Group LLC of Indianapolis, which operates M-Plan Inc. But Medical Mutual “would never say never” to future overtures, said Michael Taddeo, the insurer’s vice president of national network development. “We’ve agreed to disagree,” he said, declining to elaborate on…

MANAGEMENT: Even big clients need to be evaluated every now and then

Our business Q: has grown to $5 million in annual revenues and 30 percent of our sales come from one customer. I feel captive to this revenue and our growth is limited because of the demands placed on us by this account. How do I balance the desire for this revenue with the impact this account has on our operations? Managing a company that is highly A:dependent on one client presents special challenges. It is a “love/hate” relationship. You love…

Required agent, broker education now available online: Rule change gives them option of Web or classroom

Indiana real estate agents and brokers need not venture outside the comforts of their homes to complete continuing-education requirements, thanks to a rule change allowing providers to offer courses online. Licenses expire every two years, and 16 hours of continuing education must be completed in that span for professionals to remain in good standing. The Indiana Real Estate Commission adopted the change that took effect April 1. “Rather than having to go to a hotel room or a physical classroom…

NASCAR a big deal for IRST: Role as security products provider could be worth $100M

Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies has been named NASCAR’s first official provider of security products, a deal that could mean substantial growth for the company’s Carmel headquarters and an Indianapolis manufacturing plant, which together already employ 900. IRST is a division of Bermuda-based behemoth Ingersoll-Rand Co., which is better known for agricultural, construction and transportation equipment sold under names such as Bobcat and Thermo King. The link with the racing circuit is expected to drive home the point that Ingersoll-Rand is…