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“No habla ingles”: Immigrants who want to advance find many programs to help them learn English

No habla inglesImmigrants who want to advance find many programs to help them learn English Osvaldo Escobedo was hungry to learn English. It was bad enough when he couldn’t advance at the Nissan Motor Co. plant in Aguascalientes, in central Mexico, because he couldn’t converse in the business language of English. Later, when he came to the United States, he couldn’t eat much more than what he could pronounce. “When I go to restaurant, I ask [for] ‘coffee and doughnuts….

Florida company bolsters presence here with Dial One: Heating, cooling and plumbing contractor expects to see staff grow thanks to new ownership

Dial One added a new owner, a fresh look and a third word to its name when a Florida company bought the venerable Indianapolis heating, cooling and plumbing contractor late last month. Sarasota-based Clockwork Home Services Inc. also plans to add 30 field technicians and about 10 office employees over the next three years to the newly renamed Dial One Hour, which has roots in Indianapolis dating back to 1908. Now, Dial One Hour employs 189. “We have no plans…

PROFILE DAVE BROWN: Passion for history, people drives manager’s hobby

Instead, Brown transforms himself from a 21st century theater director for the IMAX 3D Theater at White River State Park into a 19th century Civil War soldier as a re-enactor with Indianapolis-based Mid States Living History Association Inc. Brown’s interest in the past began as a child. He was fascinated with older people in his small town of Hagerstown, Ind. “I would sit at the old soda fountain in the drugstore and talk to old folks about their lives and…

ABDUL-HAKIM SHABAZZ Commentary: When all else fails, yell ‘racism!’

I was playing eight-ball one night with a black guy who tried to convince me it was a racist game. He said it was racist because the object was for the white ball to knock the colored balls off the table, and the last one to go in was the black ball. However, when I told him everything evened out in bowling because a black ball knocked over a bunch of white pins with red necks, he shut up. I…

Proposed resource center targets science, tech, math: BioCrossroads wants to help build strong foundation Pulling things together

Only 64 percent of Indiana’s fifthgraders passed the latest ISTEP+ test in science. A little better-76 percent-passed the math component. Unfortunately, as children advance in grades, their ISTEP+ math scores worsen. By eighth grade, only 64 percent passed the math portion of the test. Yet, economic development officials in Indiana-and much of the country-want young students to choose to study in college areas of advanced manufacturing, life sciences, informatics, agribusiness and an array of disciplines that require a strong foundation…

School founder traveled challenging road: Before starting Montessori Academy, Cain overcame loss of parents, dyslexia to earn engineering degree, MBA

Vivian Cain founded the Montessori Academy of Indianapolis five years ago, but for most of her life, she’s been a walking billboard for people striving to overcome obstacles. Cain, 36, operates the private school on the northwest side of Indianapolis. The academy, which Cain started with $40,000 of her personal savings, has grown to 100 students and could expand to include a second location. “When we first started, I opened and closed, and cleaned and cooked,” said Cain, who serves…

NOTIONS: Fighting mountains, oceans with human connections

During the 1992 presidential campaign, H. Ross Perot used the phrase “that giant sucking sound” to describe what he feared would be a rush of American jobs into Mexico should the U.S. approve the North American Free Trade Agreement. In Indiana’s 2006 economy, “that giant sucking sound” describes the rush of Indiana talent across the state line to anywhere but here. In a phenomenon known as the “brain drain,” Indiana exports more young talent than it imports. But suppose we…

Enron might be resolved, but don’t forget its lessons BULLS & BEARS:

Last week brought news of both triumph and despair from the field of corporate governance. In the win column: Justice was served in the Enron trial, with convictions of two leaders who presided over one of the largest corporate frauds in history. The trial exposed a company where arrogance guided a series of reckless business judgments. Enron marked an era when the focus was on marketing a company’s image and turning executives into stars who were rewarded with lavish pay…

2005 sees another drop in health insurance complaints: Regulators work to refine method for tracking problems

Complaint totals sank steeply last year for many Indiana health insurers, partly because the state insurance department continues to revamp its often-maligned method of tracking them. Regulators recorded 1,232 signed complaints last year, a 30-percent drop from 2004, according to figures published on the consumer section of the Indiana Department of Insurance Web site. The drop from earlier years is even steeper. The department recorded 3,133 complaints in 2002 and 1,848 the next year. Many of Indiana’s largest insurers also…

EYE ON THE PIE: Want a larger slice? Get a bigger pie

How much should an executive be paid? More or less than a professional athlete? How much medical care is a person entitled to receive? Does that depend on his or her age or the genetic code that she or he carries? We love to agonize over these questions. To the pure of spirit, all people are worth the same. To the pure of thought, all are worth the value they contribute to satisfy the wants of others. Since few of…

Hazmat conference to stress preparation: Topics include corporate readiness, Katrina lessons

Organizers of the Indiana Hazardous Materials & Environmental Safety Conference are hoping Hurricane Katrina’s demonstration of mass destruction will be a wake-up call for businesses and communities ill prepared for disaster. Corporate participation in the 18-year-old conference has waned a bit in recent years as hazardous and safety planning became more standardized. Some companies have become too detached after outsourcing their emergency preparation to consultants, said Stephen Nash, chairman of the Indiana Forum for Environmental Safety, which sponsors the June…

SPORTS: Two Sams make most of their day at the Brickyard

We often hear the sad refrain that the Indianapolis 500 “isn’t what it used to be.” I would concede the point, although, after last week’s scintillating victory by Sam Hornish Jr., the pendulum unquestionably is swinging back in a positive direction. And while there may be fewer people in the seats and, certainly, fewer drunks in the infield, it remains the largest single-day sporting event in the world, which is a fact and not a marketing slogan. Sometimes you have…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Beware of battles brewing among health care giants

Coming up with simple metaphors and images that faithfully represent the issues involved in the way we pay for health care in our country is a challenge. But one keeps coming to my mind: the kitsch Japanese sci-fi classic “Godzilla vs. Rodan,” where two giant monsters duke it out breathing fire and smashing buildings as the residents of Tokyo quake in fear, waiting to see who will win. Some similarly big battles are brewing in the health care business these…

INVESTING: Weaker dollar could be a major step back for America

Treasury Secretary John Snow resigned recently, and President Bush picked Goldman Sachs CEO Henry Paulson to replace him. When Snow took the job, there was rampant talk that he favored a weak dollar policy, and the same buzz is now surrounding Paulson. I am not sure the talk is warranted, but I know a weak dollar policy is insane. John Snow’s official line on the dollar has been to let the market work it out. He accused China of intentionally…

Marsh merger muddied: Federal filings show grocer wants to ponder richer offer, but legalities might prevent it

A new federal filing suggests Marsh Supermarkets Inc.’s board wants to negotiate with a second potential buyer, even though it’s already agreed to be sold to a Florida private equity firm. The original buyer, Boca Raton, Fla.-based Sun Capital Partners, says merger talks with the new suitor, a partnership between Dallasbased Cardinal Paragon Inc. and New Yorkbased Drawbridge Special Opportunities Advisors LLC, would violate the agreement already in place unless Sun Capital grants Marsh permission to enter the discussions. And…

Museum’s battle plan: Conner Prairie seeks boost from Civil War re-enactment

There were no Civil War battles fought in central Indiana. That won’t stop 400 soldiers in inhumanely hot wool uniforms from re-enacting a massive battle June 10-11 at Conner Prairie. Confederate and Union flags will wave. Brass instruments will sound. Cannon blasts will shake the trees. Sixty armed men on horses will lead the charge. The fighting will last less than an hour each day. The Hamilton County living-history museum hopes the economic effects last much longer. With the 150th…

DANIELS’ DEAL CLOSERS: IEDC generating jobs, but economy shares part of credit

It would have been big. Just last month, a team of officials from the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and The Indy Partnership, its local equivalent, were furiously negotiating with South Carolinabased fire-engine maker American LaFrance. Intrigued by a mix of economic incentives and Indiana’s central location, American LaFrance considered moving its operations to Marion County. In formal negotiations, the company dangled promises of 653 jobs and a capital investment of $18.5 million. State records don’t reveal what incentives Indiana offered…

Danica deal just one of many for MainGate: Firm looks to relocate as profits soar 828 percent

With a deep history in motorsports, it would be understandable if officials for Indianapolis-based MainGate were focused solely on their recently signed exclusive licensing deal with racing diva Danica Patrick. After all, Patrick’s merchandise outsold all other Indy Racing League drivers combined last year, and since MainGate has taken over making, distributing and selling her merchandise this year, sales have tripled, company officials said. But with the company busting at the seams and a wave of new business from various…

BEHIND THE NEWS Simon eyeing mall rival Mills, but should it pounce?: Simon eyeing mall rival Mills, but should it pounce?

Simon Property Group Inc. might soon scoop up one of the flashiest mall developers in the country-but that flash could be cause for worry. If you want to know something about Mills Corp., which began considering a sale earlier this year, review plans for its enormous Xanadu project in the New Jersey Meadowlands. The project broke ground in 2004 with a mind-boggling $1.2 billion budget. So far, Mills has signed just three tenants, and last month the company acknowledged Xanadu…

TAWN PARENT Commentary: Here’s a cure for the commuting blues

Interstate logjams. Sitting through three green lights before getting the chance to turn. Those idiots juggling coffee cups and cell phones who cut you off without even realizing it. There is a lot to hate about the morning commute. On May 19, I found something to love about mine. The day dawned crisp and bright-perfect weather for my first trip to work on two wheels. It was Bike to Work Day. When I learned that one of the group rides…