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Mortgage dip forces Irwin to make cuts: Lender closes 120 branches, trims workers as profits drop, housing market cools off

The once-red-hot U.S. mortgage market has significantly cooled. So have the fortunes of Fishers-based Irwin Mortgage Corp. Last year, Irwin Mortgage’s profit dropped $57.8 million, or 74 percent. Then, on April 4, the company revealed it expects to take a “small” loss in this year’s first quarter. As a result, Irwin Mortgage has reduced its number of branch offices around the country from 169 to 49. The company is also cutting its local headquarters staff by 100, to 488 employees….

STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: General Assembly’s shooting the three! Boom Baby!

Typically, when lawmakers are this near to reaching agreement on a state budget, it’s some time in early or mid-May, and we’re trying to pepper this column with analogies to the Indianapolis 500. However, we started the year with a race analogy-the one about Mario Andretti suggesting that if you felt like you were under control you weren’t going fast enough-and since the Indiana Pacers seemed destined for a brief playoff run this year, we probably ought to stick to…

SPORTS: Pacers’ comeback year extends post-season roll

Or to pile on a landfill. A season on the stink. In the hours and days following that fateful evening of Nov. 19 at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Mich., where a momentary lapse turned into a monumental set of calamitous circumstances, it seemed there would be little for the Indiana Pacers to salvage. A championship was simply out of the question, and with the removal of that “One Goal”-the team’s marketing slogan-it seemed the season would be nothing more…

Farming fortune from frustration: Mower mogul got tired of servicing ‘crap’

In 1979, Art Evans busted his knuckles repairing one too many lawn mowers. As a distributor for a nationally known manufacturer, Evans also rebuilt mowers. And refined transmissions and steering units. And spent countless hours on tedious tasks, like adding washers and tightening bolts. Working a few weeks ago in an old milk barn adjacent to his parents’ Putnam County home, Evans was a long way from the 1973 Indiana State Fair, where he first saw a zero-turning-radius lawn mower….

State awaits Crane’s fate: Indiana tech promoters hope feds will expand naval base

In just a few weeks, Hoosiers will learn whether the Navy plans to multiply southwest Indiana’s economic development prospects, or mothball its Crane base, the region’s primary high-tech asset. The latter scenario would not only devastate the region; it would seriously set back statewide efforts to modernize Indiana’s economy. “If Indiana were in a position where we were a recognized technology leader, the loss of that one asset might not loom as large,” said Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Vice President…

EYE ON THE PIE: What politicians don’t know can hurt us

Last week in Jefferson City, I heard Missouri’s governor outline his economic and budgetary concerns. It sounded very much like a speech I could have heard in Indiana. His speech went something like this: Medicare is about to eat up the state budget. We have to find ways to use school funds more effectively because our education system is not sufficient for the needs of our citizens. We have to protect taxpayers from the burdens of new taxes. We need…

Two Indiana startups chosen to compete nationally:

Two of the eight finalists that will participate in a national competition of bioscience startup companies at Purdue University are from Indiana. Omni Spray and QuadraSpec will compete in the third annual Purdue University Life Sciences Business Plan Competition against companies affiliated with several renowned universities, including Columbia University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Johns Hopkins University. The companies will present business plans for bringing their products to market and be judged by a panel of venture capitalists,…

City ups charter aid: Loan program to help schools land financing for facilities

Indianapolis leaders are lending a helping hand-and the city’s strong credit rating-to charter school operators intent on building a different kind of educational environment, often from scratch. Charters receive tuition support payments from the state, but unlike other public schools, they do not get any tax revenue for their buildings. “The facility issue is a big issue,” said Mayor Bart Peterson, the only municipal leader in the country with the power to grant charters. “If we are committed to seeing…

STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Statehouse battles brew as session winds down

An awful lot of things need to fall into place between now and April 29 for lawmakers to exit Indianapolis with their heads held high over their ability to get things done this session. Some may quibble (and others flat-out argue) about whether the legislative agenda this session has been active-positive or active-negative. However, there is no question that, to this point at least, lawmakers-mirroring the new governor-have been proactive. It’s a stark contrast to the passive stance of the…

With cash tight, ATA trading new planes for old: Smaller version of 737 can be loaded and unloaded more quickly, allowing for more flights per day

Plans by ATA Holdings Corp. to slash its number of aircraft by nearly half include replacing its sleek, new jets with smaller, older Boeing 737s that can fly more trips daily, generating more cash than the larger planes that now dominate its fleet. The Indianapolis-based parent of ATA Airlines wants to lease a dozen 737-300s and 737-500s-relatively stubby planes that date as far back as 1984. Meanwhile, ATA is returning 18 of the 33 Boeing 737-800s it had at the…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Pondering the world from an economist’s viewpoint

In case you’ve ever wondered what it is like to look at life through the eyes of an economist, here are some questions to ponder: Has anyone else noticed that public schools these days are in the transportation business, the sports entertainment business, the restaurant business, the health care business, not to mention the day care business? It’s no wonder their jobs are so difficult. To those who decry the risk of diverting Social Security revenue towards personal accounts in…

SPORTS: Age-defying Reggie bids a historic farewell

So much for the meat. Now all we have left is an uncertain supply of NBA playoff gravy. Lap it up while you can. Will we ever see another like No. 31? Will we ever see another who is such an inspiring combination of talent, loyalty, longevity and professionalism? Will we ever have another to represent us so nobly on the stage of professional sports, and to single-handedly carve so many memorable moments into our collective consciousness? We can only…

Criminal inquiry targets ex-exec: Brightpoint’s risk manager part of AIG grand jury probe

Brightpoint Inc.’s former director of risk management is a target of a federal grand jury criminal investigation into a 1999 deal regulators say allowed the Plainfield company to conceal more than $11 million in losses. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Indianapolis filed papers in a Manhattan federal court April 12 identifying Timothy Harcharik, Brightpoint’s director of risk management from 1997 until his dismissal in 2002, as one of the targets of the nearly complete securities-fraud probe. On the other side…

Kite Realty ponders future of Glendale: Mall’s lackluster performance could lead to overhaul, sale

Locally based Kite Realty Group Trust is exploring selling or redeveloping Glendale Mall, the company said in its annual 10-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Those are among “several strategic alternatives” Kite is considering for the north-side shopping center, according to the March 30 filing, the most definitive acknowledgement by Kite to date that its redevelopment of Glendale in 2000 never fully took wing. Kite bought the mall in 1999 for $20 million and sunk another $11…

Center offers businesses a challenging experience: Year-old school program adds corporate component to build community awareness and financial support

Simulating the events of a real-life space mission is not just child’s play anymore. Decatur Township Schools’ Indianapolis Challenger Learning Center now allows area businesses to participate, too. The center, in Ameriplex Business Park, has been hosting field trips and summer camps for children for about a year. An adult program lifted off last fall. “We do not just want to do school-oriented projects,” said Director Gary Pellico. “We want to be a part of this community and we are…

Design firms involved in midfield terminal project merge:

After working together on the midfield terminal project at the Indianapolis International Airport, CSO Architects Inc. and SchenkelShultz Architecture have joined to become CSO SchenkelShultz. Executives of the two announced the merger to employees April 12 during a staff meeting at CSO’s headquarters on East 96th Street. Terms of the deal were not released. “By working together, we found that we have a lot in common,” said James Schellinger, a managing partner at CSO. “We both work in a lot…

Web demand by the disabled likely to increase: Accessibility rally aims to boost Internet access

There are 54 million Americans living with disabilities. Apparently, most U.S. businesses don’t want their e-commerce. Right now, universal Internet accessibility is a distant dream for the blind, deaf, handicapped and otherwise-disabled. According to local assistive-technology provider Attain Inc., less than 10 percent of Web sites are built with their needs in mind. But Attain is hoping to help change that. On June 11, Attain will stage a local “Accessibility Internet Rally” in conjunction with the national event’s original organizers…

Mission to Mexico to promote business: City officials, corporate leaders to take part in trip

Most Hoosiers visiting Mexico spend their time on the beaches of Cancun, Cabo San Lucas or Puerto Vallarta. But this fall, an excursion of a different kind will take local business and civic leaders south of the border to explore new opportunities for commerce and trade with Mexico. The week-long mission, scheduled for early September, is the brainchild of Sergio Aguilera, Mexico’s consul general for Indianapolis. He hopes that exposing Hoosiers to all facets of Mexican life-from government and the…

VIEWPOINT: We need Social Security as a safety net

The proposed use of personal savings accounts for Social Security tax investment fundamentally changes what Social Security was meant to provide. It was meant to be a minimum guaranteed platform of financial security in old age. If everyone could and would save a material amount of their lifetime earnings, investing in a disciplined diversified manner, we wouldn’t need Social Security. But the reality is, that’s never going to happen. The poor, non-earners and the profligate simply aren’t up to the…

Top-producing broker returns with strings attached: Marc Jaffe has restrictions he must abide by in new job

A top, albeit troubled, Indianapolis stockbroker has re-entered the investing arena via a Florida-based employer and a new restricted license. However, Marc Jaffe’s fresh start includes a couple of clouds carried over from his past two jobs: lingering criminal charges for some alleged threats and a lengthy consumer complaint list. Jaffe, 49, started working last fall for Tampa Bay, Fla.-based GunnAllen Financial Inc. from a 96th Street office in Indianapolis a few months after he was fired by his previous…