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Construction materials costs set to soar: Hurricanes, other factors lead to current or predicted shortages, price jumps in PVC pipe, copper wiring, cement

A building boom in China and India is exacerbating the crisis, and further squeezing the profits of contractors and developers, including those in Indianapolis. The situation could become worse when rebuilding efforts begin. “I’ve talked to big commercial developers and we’ve all seen our margins shrinking,” said Greg Small, chairman and CEO of Indianapolis-based developer Equicor Cos. LLC. “As a businessperson, you’re going to have to be sharper at dotting your i’s and crossing your t’s.” Because the majority of…

ABDUL-HAKIM SHABAZZ: Why not consider ‘intelligent designers’?

I should fully disclose my religious beliefs before going any further. I was raised Islamic, but have become more agnostic in my older age. So I guess that means I still pray five times a day, but I’m not quite sure when to do it or what direction to face. I find it necessary to bring this up because I am about to tread into the waters of religion and politics, in other words, into “intelligent design.” Intelligent design is…

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: It’s high time for us to seek alternative energy sources

The Ghawar oil field is the jewel of the Saudi treasure chest. Sometimes called “The King” because of its oil production, this field has yielded more than 55 billion barrels of oil since the early 1950s-more than half of all Saudi oil exports. Today, it still produces about 5 million barrels of oil each day, or about 6 percent of the world’s daily supply of petroleum. But all’s not well at Ghawar. In August, The New York Times Magazine featured…

SPORTS Bill Benner: Peyton on paychecks and his final pass

Part II of my no X’s-and-O’s interview with Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning: Benner: Conseco Fieldhouse could be called the House That Reggie Miller Built. Obviously, a great number of people have been involved in the new stadium. Yet it could be known as the House That Peyton Built. How do you feel about your role in elevating the franchise to the point where the stadium became a necessity? Manning: It gets me excited. That we can have a state-of-the-art…

Winona troubles spread: Ex-owner of closed hospital seeks bankruptcy protection, dampening creditors’ hopes

Winona Memorial Hospital’s former owner filed for bankruptcy last month, a move that’s likely to hinder efforts to recover millions of dollars for the defunct Indianapolis hospital’s creditors. Texas-based Leland Medical Centers Inc. filed Oct. 14, three days after its CEO, Charles Simons, filed for personal bankruptcy, according to bankruptcy court records. The privately held company, which was created in 1992, once owned a small chain of Texas hospitals with physicians. But Simons acknowledged in a deposition last spring that…

Museum deemed Monumental: Expansion project earns two design firms top award

Indianapolis-based firms Fink Roberts & Petrie Inc. and Browning Day Mullins Dierdorf Architects won the Monumental Award for their work on the Indianapolis Museum of Art expansion project. The 28th annual A Monumental Affair was set to take place Nov. 3 at the Indiana Roof Ballroom. The awards recognize excellence among those who have contributed to the enhancement and beautification of Marion County through the built and natural environment. Local non-profit organization Keep Indianapolis Beautiful Inc. leads the Monumental Affair…

SPORTS: Q&A: Peyton Manning on priorities, life after Reggie

The Indianapolis Colts’ bye week has arrived, which means it’s time for a casual conversation-no X’s and O’s or New England Patriots talk allowed-with quarterback Peyton Manning. Not long ago, I sat down with No. 18 to talk about his place in the community, rather than his place behind center. Here is the first of a two-part interview. Benner: Your community service work through the PeyBack Foundation is wellknown. It’s now given more than $1 million to youth programs here,…

There’s more to logistics than forklifts and sweat: Colleges offer degrees for white-collar jobs in the field

It’s not sexy, but it’s where the jobs are. Ivy Tech Community College will offer an associate’s degree in logistics management, the latest effort in Indiana aimed at cultivating a work force for the transportation-distribution-logistics sector, known as TDL. Meanwhile, the University of Indianapolis is preparing a concentration in supply chain management that will have key applications in logistics careers. Experts say the educational push is sorely needed, yet it’s still a challenge to get young people interested in the…

PLAN OF ATTACK: Anderson’s leaders are working to exorcise the ghosts of GM

Four miles and decades of history separate the Anderson exits along Interstate 69 northeast of Indianapolis. Empty General Motors Corp. plants-as much a thing of the past as single-class basketball-cast ominous shadows at Exit 26, once Anderson’s front door. To the west, closer to Indianapolis, is Exit 22 and the trappings of the future: millions of dollars in new infrastructure, a new business park, and the state’s largest business incubator-tools Anderson officials think they need to turn this rust-belt poster…

Doctor group spreads its reach across state: American Health Network sees big growth in 2005

American Health Network started 2005 with no presence in the cancer-fighting field of oncology. Now the Indianapolis-based doctor network boasts the largest medical oncology practice in the state, said Dr. Ben Park, its president and CEO. Within the past several months, Park has watched his network add oncology practices with 32 locations across the state, 10 family physicians in Muncie, and a $4 million Fishers Medical Arts Building, built in partnership with Indianapolisbased OrthoIndy. He expects to see more growth….

Startups offered a fast track: Motorsports-themed incubator gets green light in Brownsburg

Hendricks County officials hope a new business incubator there revs the engines of local entrepreneurs. The motorsports-themed facility, to be known as Fast-Start, got the green light after a year-long feasibility study concluded the project was a logical fit for a community that already houses Prudhomme Racing, John Force Racing and Bill Simpson’s Impact Racing. “It would help achieve some of our goals in Brownsburg,” said Jeanette Baker, town council president and treasurer of the Hendricks County Economic Development Partnership,…

Incentives abound to help backfill old GM sites:

Anderson officials are taking advantage of two incentive programs-one state and the other federal-to lure users to former General Motors Corp. factories. A collection of vacant buildings and empty lots where more than 24,000 GM employees once worked was designated last December as a state Community Revitalization Enhancement District, or CReED. Anderson is one of only seven Indiana cities to have a CReED, which offers tax advantages to private companies that locate in the district. The program is funded by…

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Adjusting to major changes in federal bankruptcy laws

The difficult decision to file bankruptcy has become even more stressful for individuals. The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act went into effect Oct. 17 with significantly tougher reporting and qualification requirements. The most highly publicized aspect of the new law involves tough new restrictions on who may qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the most common form of individual filing that allows consumers to erase their debts. Yet advisers say it’s important to understand one important fact-your own state…

Walker Information receives award:

Maybe Walker Information should send Al Gore a thank you note. The local company walked away from the Cisco Growing with Technology Awards in San Jose with a runner-up plaque. The company helps clients improve customer loyalty. That used to mean picking up the phone and asking people what a company could do to improve. Today it means hitting the send button on an email. In 2000, Walker created proprietary technology known as The Walker Smart-Loyalty System. The program allows…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Zyprexa staggers, spurring worries over Eli Lilly’s future

Sure, Eli Lilly and Co. has a promising portfolio of new drugs and other potential blockbusters in the pipeline. But every time the Indianapolis drugmaker reports profits, Wall Street analysts spend much of their time slicing and dicing one number: Zyprexa sales. Their greatest fear: The schizophrenia medication will stop pulling its weight before other drugs pick up the slack, sapping sales and profits and further depressing the company’s already deflated stock. Indeed, the stakes are huge. Zyprexa sales in…

Credit-counseling mandate causing stir: Critics contend providers, including some under investigation, will unfairly profit from new bankruptcy law

The reform measures that took effect Oct. 17 will make it harder for filers to wipe away unsecured debt by steering more of them toward Chapter 13-instead of Chapter 7-which requires them to repay at least some obligations. But consumers wishing to declare bankruptcy must first undergo credit counseling within 180 days of filing and finish debtoreducation courses before exiting the courts. Critics contend the extra step will add more time to the pre-filing phase and increase the cost for…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: State’s economy humming, so why do we feel gloomy?

The days are shorter, the temperatures are colder, and the leaves are falling off the trees. For most normal people, that means it’s time to start carving pumpkins, planning for holidays, or even watching the World Series. But for economists, it means something else entirely. It is the beginning of forecasting season. It’s a time when organizations of all kinds are thinking about what they can expect in the coming year. For most of us, the state of the economy…

CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: Public notice still critical in Indiana

I hate to get all philosophical on you, but a free press is critical to democracy. In the free world, newspapers have always played the dual roles of information provider and watchdog. Readers expect to learn what’s happening by reading newspapers. When it comes to publicly funded government entities, the role of watchdog is particularly critical. Newspapers throw the light of day on the workings of government so citizens can see how their money is spent and keep their elected…

NOTIONS: Lessons of withdrawal from a recovering addict

A friend of mine recently visited his doctor. He was worried about chest pains. The doctor wired him to an EKG, studied the readings, and pronounced him fit. During the exam, my friend asked how the doctor was doing. The physician said he was dreading winter. He said ailing patients would flock to his office seeking cures. He’d tell them they had viruses and they’d recover on their own. They’d demand medicine. He’d tell them none would help. They’d demand…

Banks embrace checking reprieve: Growing program frees potential customers

Banks and credit unions statewide will soon have a larger pool of customers to tap into when a central Indiana program that helps people barred from opening checking accounts expands. Get Checking, a national program that began at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2001, is a way for people who have landed on the ChexSystem register-a list of consumers barred from opening an account-to get off the list. People find themselves in ChexSystem due to bouncing too many checks, failing…