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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Budget process smoother, but effect uncertain

As legislative veterans well know, there is nothing like a deadline to force action. The April 29 date for final adjournment of the Indiana General Assembly’s 2005 session did just that-helped along by new House rules requiring a proposed budget to be available to lawmakers at least 24 hours before a final vote. After some four months of sorting through philosophical issues, fiscal issues, political issues and sometimes even personal issues, lawmakers finally reached agreement on a biennial budget. At…

Deaf School building independent-living house: Students will practice skills they need to make it solo

Beginning this fall, high school students at the state-run school will get that boost at a new facility intended to help them learn how to make it on their own. The so-called Independent Living House-which may have a catchier name by the time it opens-will be able to accommodate as many as 10 students at a time, giving them a safe environment to practice cooking, cleaning and caring for themselves. “A large number of students need this kind of program,”…

Local company launches technical think tank: Wolf Technical Services seeks broader customer base

A low-profile Indianapolis research firm is emerging from the shadows to raise its profile and grab more business. Wolf Technical Services Inc., which until earlier this year had focused on forensic studies and accident re-creation, enlisted former University of Indianapolis President Ben Lantz last year to launch a new division that is winning contracts that focus on the future rather than re-creating the past. Already, Wolf’s new division to develop problem-solving technology has done work for IndyGo, Riley Hospital for…

Forums seek out diamonds in rough: Future Fund events link VCs with entrepreneurs

With $15 million to plow into early-stage companies, Indianapolis-based Pearl Street Venture Funds is one of several venture capital firms searching for promising technologies to fortify with a cash infusion. In return, the investors hope to stumble upon the next Eli Lilly and Co., or at the very least, an enterprise that eventually becomes profitable and attractive enough for acquisition. The process of locating such diamonds in the rough, however, can be arduous and time-consuming. To that end, the Indiana…

New CEO’s ‘crash diet’ tones up ailing bank: After cutting its expenses, Old National plans to grow in central Indiana markets

Now it’s time for Old National to block and tackle. “Bob Jones has set forth a plan that makes good, sound fundamental sense. Now it becomes about execution,” said Joe Stieven, equity analyst with St. Louis-based Stifel Nicolaus & Co. Inc. “Execution in banking is actually no different than in football. Your line has to do a lot of the work, and a lot of that work appears mundane and boring.” Formerly the CEO of Cleveland-based KeyCorp’s McDonald Investments Inc.,…

‘Blue-eyed soul brother’: Radio One’s new GM out to prove race doesn’t matter

“I think it had been so long since one of the doors had been opened, no one knew how to open it,” Williams said with a laugh from his office on the north side of downtown. Since that initial learning curve was conquered, the doors haven’t closed. “When Chuck opened those double doors, I was taken aback,” said Amos Brown, director of strategic research and one of the most well-known personalities at Radio One. “I thought, ‘Wow, something here is…

New Symphony Bancorp raises $15 million: Nearly 200 investors stake quality-service-oriented de novo bank on Marion-Hamilton county line

Flush with $15 million, Symphony Bank is nearly ready to take the stage. A group of nearly 200 investors contributed the money necessary to underwrite the new bank, which will be at 3737 E. 96th St., just south of the border between Hamilton and Marion counties. Symphony Bancorp President and CEO Steve Tolen said dedication to customer service will differentiate his de novo bank from its stiff competition. “When we looked at the marketplace, we felt while we may be…

SUSAN WILLIAMS Commentary: Is Otterness art? Does it matter?

This spring brought unusual “blooms” to our downtown via truck and crane-25 bronze sculptures by New York sculptor Tom Otterness. I watched from my office window as “Free Money” and “Female and Male Tourists” were installed at the Indiana Convention Center near the RCA Dome. The sculptures were previously displayed in New York City to rave reviews. From Broadway to Indianapolis, it doesn’t get more prestigious than that! The next day, while driving east on Market Street from Illinois Street,…

An unemployment riddle defies logical explanation ECONOMIC ANALYSIS Patrick Barkey:

You may not believe it, but the data tell us it is true. Indiana is leading the Midwest in job growth. In fact, through the last 14 months, the state’s employers have kept up with the national economy in net job creation, while Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan have seen their job totals remain stubbornly stagnant. But just as we are getting out the party hats to celebrate, along comes news of an entirely different tone on unemployment rates. The process…

Sales, new spec space in the cards at Intech: Intech One and Two likely to fetch top dollar, draw national interest, investment broker says

Two years ago, Lauth Property Group Inc.’s Intech Park was arguably the most prominent sign of central Indiana’s soft office market. The northwest-side park’s largest buildings, Intech One and Two, had entire floors vacant and awaiting completion. Acterna LLC was pulling out of its 140,000-square-foot building, a retreat symbolic of the technology bust’s effect on the larger suburban office market. Today, helped by a robust investment market and Intech’s recent state designation as a certified technology park, Lauth hopes the…

Developers plan spec industrial on heels of new deals: More big leases are expected in coming months

For months, local industrial brokers have reported an uptick in activity from potential tenants in the modern bulk-industrial market. With the start of the second quarter, tirekickers seem ready to sign on the dotted line. Three large-scale industrial deals in Plainfield kicked off the second quarter, prompting developers to release plans for more speculative bulk-industrial development this year across the metro area. “The activity in the first quarter is setting up the second quarter for a lot of closings,” said…

INVESTING: As bull turns to bear, wise investors see opportunities

A lot of investors are doing some deep thinking right now. People lost money in the first quarter. Now the second quarter is shaping up to be more of the same. For the most part, on a broad portfolio basis, many people are only now getting back to even with five years ago. But just as things start to pop above water, the losses begin to pile up again. The portfolio devastation most Americans suffered in the last bear market…

Accepting a Grand Challenge: Jones’ robotic startup aims at military market

Within the next 10 years, the U.S. Department of Defense hopes to fully automate a third of its ground vehicles. Indianapolis-based high-tech entrepreneur Scott Jones has plans to one day sell the robot pilots the military needs to accomplish that mission. But before he can build a business capable of attracting serious venture capital, he has to build a robot that can drive a Jeep Rubicon across 175 miles of the Mojave Desert in less than 10 hours. And he…

SPORTS Bill Benner: The city’s ‘next’ Reggie is already in our midst

Steve Alford and Stephanie White were the quintessential Indiana high school and college basketball stars. They were hardwood heroes who emerged from small towns and led their respective universities, Indiana and Purdue, to national championships. For many Hoosiers, the storybook ending would have been for that success to carry on to the professional level, with Alford and White leading the NBA Pacers and WNBA Fever to championships and street parades. Reality intruded. Alford, as we have been reminded recently, was…

Hilbert defeated on life policies: Conseco had purchased $87.5M in coverage in ’98

Seven years ago, Conseco Inc. purchased $87.5 million in life insurance coverage for company founder Stephen Hilbert and his wife, a move that seemed to assure vast wealth would pass on to the Hilbert family after their deaths. But in a new ruling, Chicago bankruptcy Judge Carol Doyle said Conseco’s obligation to provide coverage terminated when the company filed for Chapter 11 protection in December 2002. As a result, she ruled, Hilbert family trusts, which had filed millions of dollars…

JOHN KETZENBERGER Commentary: Calling chits to save Crane

About halfway between Bill Cook’s hometown of Bloomington and French Lick lies the Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center. Thanks to billionaire Cook’s bet on the area’s historic hotels, it looks like French Lick’s riverboat is about to come in. But it also looks like Crane’s ship, and the nearly 4,000 jobs that go along with it, is about to sail, and no amount of money can keep it in a Hoosier port. Indiana crapped out a decade ago when the…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Brothers who built ticket broker now battling

The Kinnett brothers formed Front Row Tickets Inc. 16 years ago, and together they built it into one of the city’s largest ticket brokerages. That success, how- fueled acrimony. Kyle ever, now has Kinnett, 35, has sued his 50-50 partner Scott, 36, and is asking a judge to appoint a receiver to oversee the business until it’s sold. “Serious differences have arisen between Kyle and Scott concerning the conduct and management of the business,” leaving them deadlocked, according to the…

NOTIONS: College course proposal: How to apply for a job

Hetrick has the week off. In his absence, this column, an adaptation of one that appeared on April 14, 2003, is being reprinted. The first line of the first song in the musical comedy “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” is “How to Apply for a Job.” That’s also the name of the course I’m proposing to any university that will buy it. I offer this proposal to my friends in academe because many of the candidates they’re…

The old college try: Struggling IndyGo courting campuses to boost ridership

One solution for a city bus system struggling to lure riders might be academic-get college students on board. The Indianapolis Public Transportation Corp. is in talks with colleges and vocational schools about the potential of discounted fares for students who opt to take the bus to and from campus. The push also has a longer-term goal of conditioning students to use public transportation after they graduate to the work world. Financially sputtering IndyGo, which finished 2004 in the black only…

More than money: Inception puts emphasis on nurturing fledgling firms

If money can’t buy love, as the Beatles sang 40 years ago, neither can it make a startup company prosperous. While David Becker and David Doyle are no John Lennon or Paul McCartney, their wisdom certainly makes sense for locally based Inception LLC. That’s the consultancy, incubator and venture capital firm they founded in November 2000. “Entrepreneurs always think that, if they had money, they would be successful [right away],” Doyle said. “That’s not always the case. There are very…