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CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: The Prairie is saved at last!

Few things in the not-for-profit world have gotten my dander up more than the ongoing saga of Conner Prairie the last two years. More to the point, I have been dismayed by the disrespect and lack of gratitude shown by Earlham College toward a dedicated board and CEO who worked so hard to put the museum on the map before being summarily fired by the school in 2003. Thanks to reporter Andrea Muirragui Davis, our newspaper has led the local…

Employers promoting fitness: To battle steep insurance costs, businesses help employees get healthier

Wearing a pedometer, Kelly Dircksen treads 2,000 or so steps a day at the office, racking up her highest counts in her treks to the photocopier. Her 2-1/2-mile daily goal entails after-work walks, as well. The 34-year-old quoting specialist said her company pays 50 percent of any fitness-related costs for her and her family, including a Weight Watchers program, running shoes for her kids, and the entry fee for her son’s marathon. “I’m definitely healthier,” said Dircksen, who celebrates incremental…

CIWBC director has worked in both the corporate and small-business worlds:

If Sharon O’Donoghue isn’t the most ideal person to run the Central Indiana Women’s Business Center, she has to at least be in the top five. O’Donoghue’s varied background, which includes working for a Fortune 500 company, as well as running a small business, is one of her primary assets. But her passion for helping women business owners identify and reach their goals is almost palpable when she talks-enthusiastically and endlessly-about what she’s doing as director of the CIWBC. “I…

SPORTS: If heroes fail as role models, put yourself in the game

– Luke 12:48 In light of the above Scripture, many would agree that among the most blessed creatures on this Earth are professional athletes. As has been noted often, they receive handsome compensation to play games, and it doesn’t really get much better than that, does it? Along with the fortune, however, comes celebrity, and from celebrity comes attention. That means there are no non-public public moments. The spotlight illuminates both the good and the bad. These thoughts come to…

South downtown parking lot eyed for mixed use: Project slated to include ground-floor retail, with residential or office space above

A Lafayette developer has a parking lot on the southeast corner of Meridian and South streets under contract with plans for a mid-rise, mixed-use building. Developer John Teibel plans to purchase the 1.4-acre lot from local investors Robert and Karen Dittemore, who have owned the lot for several years, said Scott Langdon, who is representing the couple. The lot is across the street from Eli Lilly and Co.’s Faris/Brougher complex. Plans call for the first floor of Meridian Overlook to…

INVESTING: Profiting from the current market takes hard work

The stock market is having a great year. (You just checked the latest info, though, and you saw the Dow is down over 4 percent for the year. I must be nuts, right?) I’m not crazy. Remember that since August 2004 I have been pounding the table for the midcap stocks. While the Dow is down 4.5 percent so far in 2005, the midcaps are up 4.01 percent. Throw in a few higher-performing issues, and bam! It’s a great year….

Education programs provide job opportunities: Career Connections aims to curb turnover at entry level

When Luvinia Hollis moved to Indianapolis from Kentucky about five years ago, the then-42-year-old had few skills, so landing a job was difficult. She lived with her sisters and got some help from her ex-husband, but trying to make ends meet on $100 a week was nearly impossible. “It was so horrible for me, you wouldn’t believe,” Hollis said. She worked odd jobs for the next few years, making barely more than minimum wage. Eventually, she found her way to…

GERALD BEPKO Commentary: Unusual students offer hope for future

GERALD BEPKO Commentary Unusual students offer hope for future I often say this is the best time in the history of the world to be alive and that Indianapolis is among the best places. I believe this devoutly, but every now and then my sanguine outlook is put to the test. For example, I heard that author Jim Collins recently opened a discussion by asking if America had gone from “great to good.” Usually, I’m able to stay focused on…

Educating entrepreneurs: Women’s Business Center offers basics as well as individual counseling services

Joann Robinson was unhappy working in corporate America, so she started her own business, Balloons by Design, which delivers balloon bouquets and does on-site balloon decorations. The Indianapolis woman had been in business for about a year when she sought assistance in January from the new Central Indiana Women’s Business Center. Since then, with CIWBC help, Robinson has gone from having about 15 customers to about 50. Robinson is one of many women who have benefited from the services offered…

RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Here’s the secret to painless wireless hookups

Last time, in the June 27 issue, we explored the basics of data WiFi, which is often just called “wireless.” This time, we’ll look at how you hook up your laptop or notebook to a wireless provider. Wireless works pretty much like a cell phone does, except that you’re exchanging data packets, not voice. Therefore, you need the computer equivalent of a cell phone. Most new notebook computers come with built-in wireless hardware that you’ll never physically see, because it’s…

Purdue, Regenstrief look for ways to trim health costs: Health & Hospital Association a ‘real-world’ partner

“Ultimately, we think the benefits of the partnership will be more efficient, costeffective care to the citizens of Indiana,” Morr said. “The bottom line is, how can we do what we do better?” Small and medium-size hospitals, which typically do not have people on staff dedicated to study the types of issues the Regenstrief center will tackle, could benefit most from the affiliation, Morr said. Ed Abel, director in charge of health care services for the locally based Blue &…

Builders pine for acreage: Earlham expects big bucks from land freed by deal

Like vultures circling a lone man in the desert, local developers and home builders are jockeying to swoop in and take 413 acres of prime Carmel land when owner Earlham College gives it up following its settlement with Conner Prairie. But Earlham, recognizing the prominence of the last large undeveloped tract in eastern Carmel, isn’t going gently. Interested parties-more than two dozen, at last count-will be required to undergo a formal proposal process before one can feast on the farmland….

New public auto-loan firm in works: White River to buy failed Union Acceptance

A new public company is rising from the ashes of Union Acceptance Corp., the failed east-side car-financing company, and is preparing to raise $35 million through a stock offering. White River Capital Inc., which will operate from UAC’s former headquarters on North Shadeland Avenue, has agreed to buy out UAC’s shareholders for $3.1 million in stock and to buy Virginiabased auto lender Coastal Credit LLC for $50 million in cash. “It’s a tough industry, a hypercompetitive industry,” White River President…

NOTIONS: Dear Lance: How ’bout beyond-the-bike immortality?

Dear Lance: I’ve got an idea. I thought you might noodle it during that 239-kilometer, Stage 17 ride from Pau to Revel. It might keep your mind off those flags people wave in your face. By way of background, you and I have much in common. Like you, I’m a cancer survivor. As in your case, a physician from the Indiana University School of Medicine figured out how to treat mine after others had botched it. Like you, I ride…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Simon’s new strategy: Go beyond retail realm

Early this year, Simon Property Group Inc. CEO David Simon started dropping hints on Wall Street about a major new company strategy. “We really can’t tell you about it yet,” he said at an investment conference in March, a comment that piqued the curiosity of the roomful of analysts. Simon Property officials still aren’t falling over themselves to lay out the plan; a company spokesman declined to make someone available for an interview. However, during recent conference calls and investor…

Living wills get surge of interest: Lawyers, caregivers, estate planners field more questions about advance directives in wake of Schiavo case

When Mick Meiners brings up living wills these days, his clients tend to pay more attention than they did before the Terri Schiavo case dominated headlines. “In the past, people would say, ‘Yeah, that might be something I might get to or it’s something my parents should do,'” said Meiners, a certified financial planner with Financial Plans & Strategies Inc. of Indianapolis. The St. Vincent Hospice also has seen a spike in interest, with more phone calls from people asking…

AES stock on slow return: But share price of IPALCO’s parent company still off 75 percent from electrifying peak

A volatile utility stock that shorted retirement savings and generated lawsuits against former IPALCO Enterprises insiders is lighting up on Wall Street. AES Corp. shares have risen 60 percent over the last year. Analysts point to debt reduction and moves to rein in what some viewed as an absurdly decentralized management structure at the Arlington, Va.-based energy giant with operations in 27 countries. Even with the stock and analyst projections looking brighter, AES shares remain a pariah to many local…

EYE ON THE PIE: Court decision opens barrel of worms

The U.S. Supreme Court has now ruled again that the public good supersedes conventional private property rights. Some critics have argued that this is something new. It is not, but this decision is a major extension of existing government powers. The case in question, if you missed it, involves seven homeowners in New London, Conn., who refused to move so their land can be part of an urban redevelopment effort. The city wants to transfer the properties to private firms…

ATA captain bids bon voyage to Orion: Mikelsons unloads $4.95 million luxury vessel as company’s struggles take toll on his assets

ATA Holdings Corp. Chairman J. George Mikelsons has sold his $4.95 million yacht and has been handed a regal bill for its crew’s pay and benefits-the latest blow to the fortunes of the bankrupt airline’s founder. “When pilots get together, one of the things that always comes up is, ‘Why does George still have his boats?’ People still complain,” said Rusty Ayers of the Air Line Pilots Association, in Chicago. “We used to joke that if they ever got furloughed,…

BULLS & BEARS: Aphorisms from a master: investing tips from Buffett

At Independence Day, it seems appropriate to examine quotes from the writings of the quintessential American capitalist, Warren Buffett. “Mentally, we are always buying businesses. It’s just that sometimes we can buy all of them and sometimes we can only buy little pieces of them.” “Never count on making a good sale. Have the purchase price be so attractive that even a mediocre sale gives good results.” “For the investor, a too-high purchase price for the stock of an excellent…