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INVESTING: Fraud sparks furor only when stocks are slumping

My wife and I recently saw the movie “Fun With Dick and Jane.” It’s the story of a CEO who cooks the books at a tech firm, and all the employees lose their jobs and are wiped out. I walked away thinking Wall Street could win best supporting actor in the film. As the credits rolled, the producers of the movie thanked recent corporate evildoers, such as Kenneth Lay from Enron and Bernie Ebbers from WorldCom, for their inspiration. Coincidentally,…

STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Broad support but long odds for property tax reform

The rubber is starting to meet the road in the Indiana General Assembly as the calendar turns past the midway point, and House bills move to the Senate (and vice versa, although that half of the equation is decidedly less intriguing). Some senators are not happy with the House’s sending them at least one key measure, House Bill 1001, that is less a work in progress than a utopian statement of sorts about future tax policy. While lawmakers last year…

Developer casts eye beyond downtown: New company led by Brian Knapp to look beyond condos in metro area

A former Simon Property Group Inc. executive known in recent years for downtown condominium developments is launching a new development company that puts him closer to his retail roots. Brian F. Knapp, president of Dinmont Development LLC, recently created Diverse Development Co. LLC to focus on real estate beyond downtown’s borders. He’ll continue to serve as Dinmont’s president at least until its current projects are completed. Those projects, both joint ventures with locally based Hearthview Residential Inc., are the 40-unit…

Eateries await smoking ban: Some restaurant owners face tough decisions

It’s 2:30 p.m. on a Tuesday and the lunch crowd has dwindled enough to give Giorgio Migliaccio time to relax and light up a cigarette at the downtown pizzeria that bears his name. But come March 1, Migliaccio and the majority of other restaurant owners in Marion County no longer will allow smoking. A city ordinance will ban the practice in establishments that allow patrons younger than 18. “I think it will be very hard for the addicted to not…

Omni Severin seeks lot for expansion: Downtown parking garage, grand ballroom on drawing board

The Omni Severin Hotel has confirmed it’s negotiating to buy the surface parking lot immediately east of the hotel, which it wants to redevelop into a parking garage capped by a 12,000-square-foot ballroom. Tourism officials love the idea, but some parking lot managers say it’s unnecessary. “We’re buying it for a reason,” said Chris Ratay, the hotel’s area director of sales and marketing. “This would allow us to have our own parking facility.” Today, the hotel’s valets run across the…

Ex-Winona owner under fire: Leland Medical Centers CEO faces fraud accusations, questions about his own bankruptcy

Accusations of fraud and other misconduct are piling up against the former owner of Winona Memorial Hospital. Two companies recently joined Winona’s creditors in questioning money transfers made by Texasbased Leland Medical Centers Inc., which owned the nowdefunct Indianapolis hospital from 2002 until a short time before it closed in 2004. Meanwhile, lawyers sorting through the liquidation of Winona still have no explanation for why Leland took $3.6 million from the struggling Indianapolis hospital before it slid into bankruptcy and…

Hospitals still find room to grow in Hamilton County: More competition doesn’t crowd the market, experts say

Clarian Health Partners made a big splash last December in Hamilton County when it opened a 154-bed medical center, but competitors in that market are showing they know how to flex development muscles, too. The county’s three other hospitals all have planned, started or completed expansion projects in the last few years, and those who know the market see plenty of room for more health care. “If you’re in the hospital business, it’s hard to fail in a market like…

SPORTS: Here’s to the last champion of single-class sports

Somewhat overlooked at the time because it was (A) girls softball and (B) took place in June, Turkey Run’s 11-7 victory over Center Grove nonetheless remains a lasting testimonial to those who believe the size of the dream should not be diminished by the size of the school. A year later, the dream died for all time when the Indiana High School Athletic Association’s board voted to divide team sports championships into classes according to enrollment. That decision-later affirmed by…

Speedway waits to renew deal with Formula 1: New date puts Grand Prix up against World Cup soccer, IRL and NASCAR races

The long-term future of the U.S. Grand Prix at Indianapolis may hinge on a littleknown American driver and a soccer match several thousand miles away. Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials said they will keep a close eye on attendance for the July 2 race before deciding whether to negotiate with Formula One brass for a new contract to bring the race back. This is the final year in a two-year contract extension F1 czar Bernie Ecclestone signed with IMS President Tony…

Byrider banging out dents from franchisees: Repairs precede used-car chain’s planned expansion

Its image dinged by regulatory actions against J.D. Byrider used-car franchisees in Ohio and Kentucky, Byrider Franchising Inc. is busy culling problem operators ahead of a planned 2006-2007 expansion. The Carmel-based “buy here, pay here” chain with 123 stores in 28 states also said it has spent millions of dollars on vehicle repairs, customer service improvements and more sophisticated underwriting software to reduce loan delinquencies. There were 127 franchised stores operating in 2004, plus another 13 companyowned stores, according to…

BULLS & BEARS: Investing for the long term: Buffett does it; so can you

Have you dreamed of creating your own business empire? Well, if you have an investment portfolio that contains a group of stocks, congratulations. You and Jeffrey Immelt at General Electric Corp. have a lot in common. GE is a company composed of a diverse group of separate businesses. And since stocks represent a fractional ownership of a business, the separate holdings in your portfolio, when combined, are analogous to running your own mini-conglomerate. One technique you can use to track…

BRIAN WILLIAMS Commentary: Health care is hurting Indiana’s economy

Nearly 875,000 Hoosiers lack health insurance, including 165,350 children. Lack of health insurance takes a devastating toll on Hoosiers and the state’s economic health, and the effect of the uninsured will only get worse as their numbers grow. As companies confront rising health care costs, the obvious solution is dropping or scaling back health-insurance benefits. As a result, the number of uninsured increases, resulting in a premium cost shift to the insured and increased cost for government-provided health care. Over…

WNDY, WTTV face format changes in the fall: Lin TV forced to fill programming void

National television executives’ surprise decision to scrap two established networks and form a new one in their place caught local affiliates off-guard and sent WNDY-TV Channel 23 looking for content to fill its airwaves this fall. “I don’t think anyone saw this coming,” said Scott Blumenthal, vice president of television for Rhode Island-based Lin TV Corp., which owns WNDY. CBS Corp. and Warner Bros. Entertainment plan to launch The CW this fall, a move that will have far-reaching affects in…

Bills clash over video regulation: Phone giants, cable firms fight about franchising rules

In fact, some say the franchising clash has overshadowed the real implications of deregulation: Cable operators will get their first real competition since satellite TV mushroomed in the mid-1990s. Municipalities, which grant franchise agreements to cable TV companies and collect millions in fees in return, hyperventilated when Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Wheatfield, introduced Senate Bill 245 last month. It would give the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission the job of doling out statewide video franchises. Cities would lose that authority, but would…

Sarbanes-Oxley spreads beyond public companies: Hospitals, other not-for-profits consider tightening rules

Few topics might kill a cocktail conversation faster than the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, unless the dinner party includes hospital administrators, university presidents or other not-for-profit leaders. A desire to boost credibility-coupled with prodding from bond-rating ratings agencies-has broadened interest in the 4-year-old federal law far beyond the public companies it actually targets. Sarbanes-Oxley-passed by Congress in the wake of high-profile scandals at Enron, WorldCom and elsewhere-was intended to enhance financial disclosure and eliminate arrangements that could undermine the independence of auditors….

Amnesty in concrete case?: Lawyer says company in civil price-fixing case helping prosecutors in criminal investigation

One of the seven concrete firms named as defendants in a civil price-fixing lawsuit is helping federal prosecutors gather evidence in a related criminal investigation, court documents reveal. A lawyer for one of the seven defendants in the civil case said in a filing that the 27 contractors and construction firms bringing the suit have the “unique and decisive advantage” of receiving documents and statements from a cooperating individual who could receive amnesty from criminal charges. Court papers don’t say…

Boston Scientific’s offer not as sweet as it seems:

BEHIND THE NEWS Boston Scientific’s offer not as sweet as it seems Now that Guidant Corp. has agreed to be acquired by Boston Scientific Corp. for $27 billion, or $80 a share, investors in the Indianapolis company can rest easy, right? Not really, a close reading of the medical-device companies’ merger agreement shows. It turns out Guidant shareholders are entitled to $80 a share in cash and stock only if the average closing price of Boston Scientific’s stock in the…

CHRIS KATTERJOHN The case of the missing passport Commentary:

Friday, 7:30 a.m.: I arrive at Indianapolis International Airport for a 9:01 a.m. flight to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where I’ll be attending a conference, and realize I have left my passport at home. I ask myself, “How could I be so stupid?” Friday, 7:35 a.m.: I check in at the American Airlines ticket desk, then call my brother, who is already at work. I ask him for a “huge favor,” whereupon he leaves work, goes to my house to retrieve…

Mr. Buick makes bid to dethrone Carson: Automobile dealer Dickerson takes grass-roots approach

Eric Dickerson held his hands out, palms facing each other, as if playing an accordion. He moved them closer to illustrate the narrowing margin of victory by which 7th District congresswoman Julia Carson has won re-election since 2000. A couple of tables away in the Starbucks near Broad Ripple, the founder of a private Indianapolis company sat listening to the political polka. Suddenly, he was up and talking to Dickerson, who wants to be Carson’s Republican challenger. “I want to…

IRL traveling bumpy road: Despite successes, sponsors are walking, teams are folding and top drivers lack rides

The Feb. 4-7 auction of locally based Panther Racing hangs over the open-wheel series like a dark cloud at a time when IRL officials have been crowing about its 2005 successes. Television ratings soared 53 percent from 2004 to 2005, attendance increased 9 percent, merchandise sales were up 75 percent, and Web traffic on the series’ site rose 162 percent. According to Joyce Julius and Associates, an independent Ann Arbor, Mich.-based media research firm, sponsors got 57 percent more exposures…