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Unfathomable just a decade ago, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is trimming demands on hospitality packages in a scramble
to fill vacancies and preserve what IMS officials call "a major profit center."
City crews this week began responding to complaints about Indianapolis property owners who violate ordinances by letting
their grass and weeds grow taller than 12 inches. If a city inspector finds lawns to be in violation, written notice is given
to owners, giving them five days to cut the grass. If the owner does not mow the lawn in time, the city pays a contractor
to mow the lawn and sends the $290 bill to the property owner. Last year, the city paid $780,000 to mowing crews to cut the
lawns of violators, but was only able to collect $490,000 of that. Violators who don’t pay the bills have the charges
added to their property taxes.
Two women were hospitalized after a two-alarm fire brought traffic to a halt on North Meridian Street in Indianapolis on
Wednesday morning. Sharon Jones , 40, was listed in critical condition at Wishard Memorial Hospital and Mercedes McKee, 18,
was listed in stable condition at Methodist Hospital after fire gutted the Oxmoor Apartments at 3640 N. Meridian St. The building
is a total loss, with damage estimates listed at $1.2 million.
The Indianapolis Public Schools board voted unanimously to cut nearly $27 million from its 2010-2011 budget Tuesday night.
School Board President Michael Brown said the plan was designed to save teachers’ jobs, but at least 100 positions were
cut, including 20 school police officers and 20 custodial workers. District officials say the plan keeps many programs alive,
including art and music for elementary students. Officials warn more cuts are likely in 2011. Fox59 will have more at 4 p.m.
JPMorgan Chase is in the middle of the worst, a New York University prof says.
Navistar Inc. has notified state leaders that its Indianapolis Casting Corp. foundry at 5565 Brookville Road will close in
July, costing about 220 employees their jobs.
A Johnson County judge approved the reduced amount, which was agreed upon during mediation. The settlement brings funeral
home and
cemetery business a step closer to being sold.
Medco, which operates a major pharmacy and distribution center in Whitestown, got a boost from higher prices on brand-name
drugs and from greater sales of more profitable generic drugs.
Ellen Rosenthal, CEO of the 19th-century history park, shares her biggest career blunder, how to raise funds in a recession,
and how Conner Prairie is like a certain sci-fi film.
State regulators have issued a $17,000 fine against Kroger Co. over a warehouse accident that led to a worker’s death.
The Indianapolis unit of Dow Chemical sees quarterly profit rise 6 percent, to $384 million, despite an 8-percent dip in revenue.
The parent company reports strongest quarterly results in more than a year.
Sallie Mae says a new law that cuts banks out of the federal student-loan business is costing 2,500 workers their jobs in
Florida and Texas, but the cuts won’t hit Indiana in 2010.
Interactive Intelligence’s quarterly profit rises to $1.9 million, a 58-percent improvement over the first three months of
last year.
The Indianapolis-based health insurer was helped in first quarter by a mild flu season, but it now expects to lose nearly
700,000 customers by year end.
Simon Property Group and Blackstone Group LP are in “ongoing discussions” for an investment in General Growth after the mall
operator turned down a $10 billion takeover bid from Simon in February, CEO David Simon said.
Steve Ross offers a tribute to Cole Porter, April 30-May 1 at the Cabaret at the Columbia Club. Details
here.
“Heartland Art: Selections from Your Indiana Collection,” May 1-Feb. 13 at the Indiana State
Museum. Details here.
Felines walk a high-wire and play musical instruments during a return of The Amazing Acro-Cats, May 1 at
the IndyFringe Building. Details here.
A Park Avenue brat gets an SAT tutor in Jenny Lyn Bader’s comedy “None of the Above,”
April 30-May 22, Theatre on the Square. Details here.
April 29-May 1
Hilbert Circle Theatre
The name-recognition draw for this Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra concert is Rimsky-Korsakov’s musical take on the
story of the princess who tries to thwart her murderous husband through storytelling. But there’s also an interesting
undercard, which includes “Mariel,” by Osvaldo Golijov.
The Argentinean composer has had a busy last few years, including the score for Francis Coppola’s films “Youth
Without Youth” and “Tetro,” a new opera for the Met, a song cycle for classical stars Emanuel Ax and Dawn
Upshaw, a cello concerto for Yo-Yo Ma, and a sold-out Lincoln Center festival of his music. Says the composer about “Mariel,”
which premiered at Carnegie Hall in 2008: “I attempted to capture that short instant before grief, in which one learns
of the sudden death of a friend who was full of life.” Details here.
May 4
Various locations
Want to upgrade the quality of your dining conversations? Fifteen locally owned restaurants and community locations will
be hosting chats on Tuesday based on Richard Longworth’s book “Caught in the Middle: America’s Heartland
in the Age of Globalism.” This isn’t a mass book club meeting, however. In fact, there’s no need to have
read the book. Just bring an appetite and a desire to discuss Indiana foods.
There’s a different price per restaurant, ranging from $50 a person at R Bistro, Recess and Rick’s Café
Boatyard to free pitch-ins at the University of Indianapolis, St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, the Indiana Humanities
Council and other spots. Details here.
May 4-9
Clowes Hall
The producers of “Legally Blonde: The Musical” took a huge chance when, during the show’s Broadway run,
they chose to air the entire shot-from-the-stage show on MTV. I’m not sure what effect that had on the rest of the musically
inclined (or the new audience it hoped to tap), but the TV presentation actually convinced me that what might have been just
another movie-to-stage cash-in actually had some merit.
Staying close to the hit Reese Witherspoon film, the show (which I’ve yet to see live), for the most part knows which
moments to musicalize and when to play the sincerity card. Highlight for me: a loopy, surprisingly sweet, laugh-out-loud song
called “Ireland” for hairdresser/confidant Paulette and “Chip on Your Shoulder,” a good tune for nice
guy Emmett. And an added plus: Michael Rupert, from the original cast of the show (and from the original cast of "Falsettos"
and "The Happy Time" is still with the show.
I’ll be hosting a talk back with cast members after the Wednesday evening performance. Stick around. Details here.
April 30
Basile Opera Center
Think of it as operatic cabaret. Proving that it does more than just stage full-scale, big-ticket productions, the Indianapolis
Opera’s new series offers a chance to get up close and intimate with the music—for a mere $15 ticket. The performance
features up-and-coming members of the Indianapolis Opera Ensemble supplemented by other pros who have worked with the company.
Music for the casual evening includes works by Mozart, Rossini and Verdi. Details here.
