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Departure could cost Standard millions: Former top executive seeks severance package worth about $3.8 mllion

Standard Management Corp. may have to add more than $10 million to the cost of completing its shift to health care services from financial services if a former top executive prevails with his severance claim. P.B. “Pete” Pheffer, the holding company’s former president and chief financial officer, became the latest top executive to leave Standard Management with a severance dispute when he resigned May 31. He claims his contract calls for a severance package worth roughly $3.8 million. On top…

VIEWPOINT: Arts are a good investment for business

This summer, there are two red-letter days for the arts and cultural scene as well as our city and state: the official opening of the new home of the Herron School of Art on the IUPUI campus, which was set for June 3, and the dedication of the Indianapolis Art Center’s ARTSPARK Aug. 21. These events are only two of the many activities in 2005 that will help position Indianapolis as an arts and cultural destination, a goal set by…

Network Engineering Inc.: Computer firm remains flexible Owner says diversifying keeps company nimble

He started the original version of his business back in 1984, fresh out of college. One Internet, one dot-com boom, one Y2K and one dot-com crash later, he’s still in business. Spilker is president of Network Engineering Inc., which is essentially a spin-off of his original company, Information Engineering Inc. A lifelong Indianapolis resident, he graduated from Purdue University with a degree in computer technology. As soon as he graduated, he started Information Engineering because he wanted to run things…

Interns follow unique paths: Some internships offer more freedom, creativity

Internships can offer valuable learning experiences for college students looking to land the ideal job following graduation. But few provide an opportunity quite like the one extended by the Indianapolis Cultural Development Commission in its quest to market the city as a cultural destination. By summer’s end, three undergrads will have traipsed the Hoosier state visiting fairs and festivals in a van decorated with the large, red arrow becoming synonymous with the promotional campaign. Whether their itinerary includes stops at…

Women’s group aims to pool philanthropic resources: High hopes for first year: two $125,000 grants to local charities

They want to make a difference-a significant, six-figure difference in a world where progress often comes $100 at a time. By this time next year, the dozen women at the core of a new philanthropic effort hope to have found 100 or more like-minded individuals willing to open their hearts and their checkbooks to help the central Indiana community. Modeled after similar initiatives in Cincinnati and Pensacola, Fla., the idea behind Impact 100 Greater Indianapolis is simple enough: get 100…

Trade zone gets bigger: Expansion should help Duke, Anderson lure tenants who export, import goods

An expansion of Indianapolis’ foreign trade zone to include Duke Realty Corp.’s west-side industrial parks might not result in a flood of new tenants for the local developer, but it’s expected to help economic development officials lure firms that ship goods by truck and rail. Officials of Duke and central Indiana economic development agencies were to announce on June 3 that the local foreign trade zone has been expanded from 5,500 acres around the Indianapolis International Airport to 7,100 acres….

Company helps keep students on course: College Network offers college-study assistance

There may be no shortcuts to a college education, but Indianapolis-based The College Network says it can offer some passing lanes for working people who want to add to their professional credentials. The College Network, 3815 River Crossing Parkway, Suite 260, is a nationwide business that publishes educational materials for adult students who want to earn an undergraduate degree, graduate degree or professional certification in their current field. TCN is not a school and does not provide degrees itself, but…

Long commute for former Lt. Gov.: Kathy Davis to lead South Bend tech firm

Her days as lieutenant governor are finished, but it didn’t take Kathy Davis long to find a new management role. She’s accepted a job leading South Bend-based telecommunications connectivity provider Global Access Point. “After we lost [the election] and I knew I’d be looking for a job, I thought it would be ideal if I could find some entrepreneur who was very technical and needed some help on the management side,” Davis said. “Then I was fortunate that opportunity came…

BULLS & BEARS: SEC task force looks into soft-dollar arrangements

Conflicts of interest in the securities business have probably existed ever since the first stocks were traded in 1792 under the buttonwood tree at the tip of Manhattan. With the formation of the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1934, regulators attempted to mitigate conflicts via securities laws and full disclosure requirements. An issue that is receiving attention these days from the SEC, one investors are probably not aware of, are the “soft-dollar” arrangements prevalent in the industry. In May 1975,…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Chicago Express bidder in several court tangles

I n d i a n a p o l i s real estate executive Edward Okun had a low profile in business circles here before he splashed into the news two months ago as the winning bidder for ATA Holdings Corp.’s Chicago Express Airlines. Two weeks later, however, he yanked his offer, valued at $3 million to $4 million. The reversal added to the air of mystery surrounding Okun, a 54-year-old Carmel resident. A closer look at Okun, president…

EYE ON THE PIE: Party loyalty is ruining Congress

“Congress is the root of all evil” is a line from the delightful musical comedy built on the characters of Al Capp’s “Li’l Abner.” I always saw that as an exaggerated point of view coming from the far right or the far left. But today, I am beginning to believe it. I am neither far right nor far left. Yet I cannot understand how our society could be sustained without an independent judiciary to protect us from Congress and their…

State targets salvage yards: 44 violations cited, but no fines so far

Indiana auto salvage yards are finding themselves in the crusher-in the clutch of regulatory jaws bent on reducing salvage-yard pollutants. In barely two years, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management has issued violation notices to 44 salvage yards, according to state records. While historical numbers weren’t immediately available, “before, we were sporadic and really didn’t have a widespread effort,” said Amy Hartsock, an IDEM spokeswoman. While on the prowl lately, the agency’s jaws have been padded with rich Corinthian leather:…

A ‘little’ oil boom: More drilling expected in state as prices stay near record

“There is increased drilling. There’s a lot of broke-ass oil producers down here that are experiencing a little boom,” said Andrews, president of Vincennes-based Andrews Oil Properties. Oil producers like Andrews, “still driving the same Cadillac I had 15 years ago,” know bet- ter than to entertain fantasies of striking it rich, however. Indiana oil production has been on the wane since a 12.6-million-barrel peak in 1956. Last year, only 1.75 million barrels were extracted from Indiana’s sedimentary rock, according…

INVESTING: Investors beware as Google becomes Web euphemism

Go ahead and Google it. In what has to be the shortest amount of time in history, a brand name has become the generic. Kleenex has nothing on this company. Google Inc. is an amazingly successful Internet firm in a time when few other Internet companies are making a lot of headway. The stock is trading for $271 a share today; it went to market last August at $100. The product line has expanded beyond the most wicked search engine…

Not-for-profits affect state’s bottom line: Health organizations account for more than half of state’s not-for-profit workers

From 2000 to 2003, a period during which the state experienced an overall decline in jobs, employment in the notfor-profit sector grew. That finding, among others, is part of a study of not-for-profit employment in the state, and an update of a report issued two years ago, by Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy, IU’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs, and Johns Hopkins University. The 5-percent increase in not-for-profit employment, compared with a 6-percent decline in the for-profit sector, suggests…

Hospitals sue over Medicare: 27 Indiana providers team up to pursue $15M in payments

More than 20 Indiana hospitals have banded together to sue the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services over an estimated $15 million in Medicare payments they claim they should have received years ago. Clarian Health Partners, St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers and Wishard Health Services, among others, allege that the department and its secretary failed to make the proper percentage of “outlier” payments from 1991 to 1996. M e d i c a r e makes these additional…

Heirs spar for exec’s riches: Grandson of Lilly officer who died in ’77 fights widow’s trust

Robert E. Koffenberger joined Eli Lilly and Co. as a salesman in 1939. By the time he retired in 1974, he was one of the company’s highest-level executives, a member of the board of directors-and an immensely wealthy man. Now, 28 years after the Indianapolis executive’s death, a fight over that fortune has split his grandchildren. One of the eight has launched a court fight here charging that his brother and sister-in-law took advantage of the cloudy mind of Koffenberger’s…

New providers fill up the market for air-rescue services: Indiana sees growth spurt in helicopter transport firms

Medical helicopters are filling the skies over Indiana in an unprecedented growth spurt that has sparked a heated debate about overuse and quality of care. A market once dominated by not-forprofit Clarian Health Partners’ LifeLine program has seen three out-of-state companies plant seven new helicopter bases in central and southern Indiana over the past few years. PHI Air Medical Group Indiana, a subsidiary of Phoenix-based PHI Air Medical Services, opened bases in West Lafayette, Anderson and Columbus last year. They…

NOTIONS: Lessons on life, love and work from a sister CEO

The crowd gathered early for the IPL 500 Festival Parade. Moms and dads, grandparents and kids, neighbors and friends came by the thousands to hear the oompah-pah of the bands, see Hollywood stars and cheer the 33 drivers competing in the next day’s Indianapolis 500. Walking through the throng, I spied the street preachers. Each had staked out a strategic spot, capitalizing on the closed avenues to stand mid-intersection and deliver The Word. One preacher waved a sign warning happy…

Government intervention: cure is as bad as disease ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Government intervention: cure is as bad as disease

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS Government intervention: cure is as bad as disease As you get older, you come to appreciate the old adage about doctors: They don’t actually cure you, but they do sometimes let you trade in one ailment for another. That could be said equally for almost every situation where governments intervene in the privatesector economy. The solution to a problem inevitably creates a new problem. And in some cases, the cure is worse-and longer-lived-than the disease. We have come…