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Hub taps seasoned leader: New maintenance facility manager can fly ’em, fix ’em and land ’em

One could learn a lot about Frederick L. Kocher just by the classified ad he took out in Barnstormers.comto sell his 1966 Mooney M20C airplane. Only an engineer would bother to list brand names and model numbers of its landing light and intercom system. Only a certified airframe/power plant mechanic would document cylinder compression readings of the Lycoming engine. And only a salesman would end the ad with, “EVERYTHING WORKS!” Kocher’s mix of professional qualifications, and 30-plus years in the…

Radio Slayer?: The 3.6-ounce iPod could become a 500-pound gorilla

The 3.6-ounce iPod could become a 500-pound gorilla Radio’s death knell has tolled before. In the 1950s, television was supposed to kill radio. And in the last 30 years, there have been a cavalcade of challengers from cassette tapes and Walkmans to compact discs and portable disc players. Even though a record $20 billion was spent nationally in radio advertising in 2004, a new predator on the landscape has the potential to take a serious bite out of the industry’s lifeblood….

STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Daniels seeks to keep bills going

The first week of March marks the General Assembly’s deadlines for passage of legislation in its chamber of origination. Senate bills must clear the Senate by March 1 and House bills must be approved by the House of Representatives by March 4 to maintain the chance to become law. Those deadlines meant the end of February was hectic. Activity reached a frenzied level as lawmakers worked both publicly and behind the scenes to make sure their favored pieces of legislation…

Johnson County gets major gated community: Development planned next to The Legends golf course

Johnson County is set to get its first major gated housing development, and The Legends of Indiana golf course-coowned by former Indiana University basketball coach Bob Knight-should reap a much-needed financial boost. Construction on the $35 million project on 35 acres in Franklin is set to begin this spring. The project, consisting of 144 homes and condominiums, will be constructed between the front nine and the back nine of The Legends’ Jim Fasiodesigned championship course. There will be 38 single-family…

Mortgage industry waking up to fraud: Collaboration increasing to combat illegal schemes Flipped out

When the U.S. Attorney’s Office in late January announced a 101-count indictment in a mortgage fraud scheme, it closed a year-long investigation into a ring that involved 10 people and 43 houses in Indianapolis, Marion and Fairmount. For the individuals involved, the indictments could bring prison time and hefty fines. But for the bank that loaned money on the houses, the scheme signaled the end of the road. The lender, Louisville-based First Bank Inc., struggled during 2003 and 2004 to…

Supporters predict passage of waiver bill: Measure would allow uninsured to sign up for health care policies that exclude some pre-existing conditions

Indiana is one of only a few states in which individuals cannot agree to waive coverage for pre-existing conditions in order to get at least some type of health insurance. That could change this year, however. Dueling bills in front of the Legislature have passed out of the House and Senate and are being considered by the opposite chamber. Rep. Gerald Torr, R-Carmel, authored one of the measures and is confident some form of his legislation will pass. The object…

BULLS & BEARS: Rebalancing a portfolio requires careful thought

To finish the examination of asset allocation practices in the investment industry, consider the strategy called “portfolio rebalancing.” To refresh the understanding of asset allocation, think of an investment portfolio as being depicted by a pie chart. The various slices of the pie represent the percentage of the portfolio (money) an investor has allocated to each asset class. Examples of asset classes include largecompany stocks, small companies, international stocks, real estate investment trusts and fixed-income instruments. An adviser may recommend…

SPORTS:

After spending much of his adult life with a stopwatch, Duke Babb knows something about time. In this case, it’s his. Having just turned 70, he says it is time to get off this “great ride” through football he’s been on the past 50 years. Time to let someone else tend to this behemoth he’s created, which is popularly known as the NFL scouting combine. Time to still have the energy to “kick the dog a little bit.” That’s figurative…

VIEWPOINT: Get ready for big-time public art

As president of Central Indiana Community Foundation, I get challenged by a lot of people who have a lot of questions. “Why can’t we have some of the cool stuff other cities have, like major public art?” a CEO of a public company asked me the other day. This time I was pleased to be able to answer not only that we can, but that we will. The Indianapolis Cultural Development Commission, with generous support from the Deborah Joy Simon…

INDOT chief’s changes altered contract decision: Insider alleges Nicol favored Kernan contributor

Former Indiana Department of Transportation Commissioner J. Bryan Nicol changed official recommendations of INDOT’s design division, according to an INDOT source, a move that sent millions of dollars of work to major contributors to former Gov. Joe Kernan’s campaign. Two days after last fall’s election, INDOT consultant services manager Jeffrey Clanton said he was ordered by then-commissioner Nicol to make a number of changes to a July 29, 2004, selection list. On seven of the 24 different projects on the…

St. Vincent buys land near Lafayette for hospital: Market has long intrigued Indianapolis-based network

St. Vincent Health paid Arnett Health-System $3 million to $4 million for land Arnett owned along Interstate 65 in Tippecanoe County, said Rebecca Carl, Arnett vice president for marketing and communications. The two sides closed the deal in mid-February. Lafayette-based Arnett includes a health care plan and a physician group of 150 doctors, and covers a 14-county area centered on Lafayette. Its leaders want another hospital there even though Lafayette already has two, Home Hospital and St. Elizabeth Medical Center….

Bill keeps mandate debate swirling: Biz community favors stripped-down option

Small-business owner Gail Piltz, who is paying 31 percent more this year than he did a year ago to insure himself and his four employees, has a somewhat radical philosophy regarding health care insurance. His suggestion: Everyone should be responsible for his or her own health care plan, just like they are with their automobile and homeowner’s insurance. That way, he said, people might abuse the system less and make coverage more affordable. Piltz’s proposition has failed to gain traction…

Banks find niche with small loans: Three new arrivals affecting local lending community

The city’s small-business lending market is a bit more crowded now that three out-ofstate competitors have entered the fray. McLean, Va.-based Capital One Federal Savings Bank, Oakland, Calif.-based Innovative Bank and Providence, R.I.-based Charter One Bank are wasting no time letting fellow lenders know they’re serious about serving the small-business community. Capital One, Innovative and Charter One ranked second, third and fourth, respectively, in the number of U.S. Small Business Administration 7(a) loans they dispensed during December. The leader for…

Midfield may alter hotel-biz flight path: Hendricks County could gain from new airport terminal

Airport Expressway won’t live up to its name for much longer. When Indianapolis International Airport’s midfield terminal opens in 2008, the fast track to flight will be a dedicated entrance off Interstate 70. The move will shift travelers a few miles to the south and west-and take away the direct access that now drives them to expressway hotels. Observers predict hotel development along I-70 will take off as the midfield project nears completion, most likely creating a new hospitality hub…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Michigan’s job pain is felt throughout the Midwest

At the end of last year, the unemployment rate in Michigan was 7.3 percent. That was more than 2 percentage points higher than Indiana’s. No state in the country had a higher jobless rate. That’s not a big story in the Hoosier State. We have our own economic challenges, after all. But perhaps we should be paying a bit more attention. We’re not exactly immune to the forces that are dealing such harsh blows to the Michigan economy right now….

Villaggio condos aim high: Proposed eight-story project targets downtown’s SE side

A developer with deep roots in the Fletcher Place neighborhood is setting its sights on an ambitious eight-story condominium project on the southeast side of downtown. Villaggio at Page Pointe calls for 65 condos ranging in size from 1,600 square feet to 4,300 square feet. Most units will sell for $265,000 to $530,000, with three penthouse units listed for more than $900,000. The first floor of the building will house about 20,000 square feet of retail space. A parking garage…

NOTIONS: Collateral killing: It’s good for business!

“But you were always a good man of business, Jacob,” faltered Scrooge … “Business!” cried the Ghost …”Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business.” Charles Dickens, “A Christmas Carol” Sunday night, about 10, I was watching the movie “Collateral” in the basement. I was trying, sans success, to get my mind off work and my wife Pam’s bout with cancer for a few hours. Pam was one floor…

Ex-execs fly solo: Horn, Shoopman, others trade big firms for small

As president of The Dura Cos. Inc., Paul Shoopman was responsible for a 155-employee company that brought in $75 million in revenue in 2003 and built as many as 700 homes a year in Marion and the surrounding counties. Last year, Shoopman won an Ernst & Young national Entrepreneur of the Year award and sold his company to publicly traded California-based KB Home. This year, he’s starting over. Shoopman, 51, opened Indiana Land Development Co. in early January. From his…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Setbacks smudge image of Obsidian CEO Durham Stock is down Snapping up firms

Tim Durham tells reporters he wants to be the richest man alive. His office sits atop the Bank One Tower, the state’s tallest building. For fun, he adds to his collection of four dozen collector cars. But behind the glitz, Durham is trying to untangle what’s become a real mess at Obsidian Enterprises Inc., the publicly traded manufacturing and transportation firm he controls and leads. In a regulatory filing last week, Obsidian’s independent accounting firm, Minnesota-based McGladrey & Pullen, expressed…

Art screens proliferating: Simon’s Landmark multiplex to threaten tiny Key Cinemas

When Simon Property Group Inc. and Landmark Theatres open their art multiplex in December, it’ll boast seven movie screens, stadium seating and a full bar, all under the Fashion Mall’s roof. The local art film crowd is palpably excited that the edgy indies, daring documentaries and foreign films usually found in New York or Los Angeles will be just a stone’s throw from their favorite stores and restaurants. Those films already are shown at Key Cinemas on the south side….