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NOTIONS: How big-ticket amenities deliver long-term ROI

Fourteen years ago this month, my new bride and I loaded our belongings onto a moving van in Bloomfield, Conn. We packed our cats, suitcases and a few heirlooms into our cars, and pulled away from our little apartment bound for a place called Indianapolis. As I followed Pam’s blue Accord through New York and New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio, I listened to cassette tapes, trying to drown out the mews from the back seat. With David Sanborn and Stan…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Lack of fiscal discipline casts cloud over future

There’s been a resurgence of interest in the founding fathers of our country, judging from the best-seller lists. As some have written, not all those men we idolize today as founders of our great democracy were equally excited about the prospect of turning government over to the masses. In fact, some were downright terrified. They feared popularly elected governments would quickly go bankrupt spending their way to popularity. Now more than 200 years into the great democratic experiment, we’re hardly…

CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: Health care close to implosion?

The rash of specialty-hospital construction in the suburbs is a gold rush, driven more by greed than the desire to satisfy an unmet need. The fact that 45 million people in America are without health insurance is a deplorable national disaster. The best way to use America’s health care system is to not get sick. These aren’t the rants of a deranged publisher. These are comments made by a doctor and a pair of health care executives who were panelists…

Atlas tenderloin tradition lives on: Family pays homage to ‘sticker lady’ at Carmel deli

But her connection to the grocery runs deeper. Her mother, Debbie Davis, was an Atlas institution, earning her “sticker lady” nickname from children who received the treats she kept in a toy treasure chest at her register. Debbie died in June 2004 at age 52, following a prolonged battle with breast cancer. In her memory, husband Mike Davis created the “Debbie’s Make You Smile Fund” to benefit the Indiana University Cancer Center. It is supported by the sale of the…

SPORTS: New stadium part of strategy born here decades ago

The circumstance finally gave way to pomp last week. And as the silver shovels glistened in a setting sun at the Indiana Stadium ground breaking, a new day dawned for Indianapolis and central Indiana. Similarly, the multipurpose stadium-sorry, but I refuse to call it the “Colts Stadium” when its benefits will be so vast and its uses so varied-represents both an end and a beginning. In some ways, it is the final piece of a puzzle that began to be…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Data thin on rural areas, and likely to get worse

There was a time in this country when cities had electricity and the countryside did not. This side-by-side existence of two lifestyles-one filled with leisure and convenience, another with endless drudgery and work-ultimately shamed the federal government to subsidize rural electrification and turn lights on in the country that had been burning in cities for several decades. That same situation exists today for broadband Internet, and its implications for economic development have already motivated many communities to pursue plans to…

VIEWPOINT: 40 years after Civil Rights, opportunity calls

As the Civil Rights Act turns a middleage 40 this year, it’s time to celebrate accomplishments and consider the future. From a business and higher education perspective, we’ve witnessed a major turnaround. Many companies and institutions seek out minority businesses and students now. Those that are well-prepared can use the opportunity to succeed and make a big difference for our state and nation. Altruism and fairness may lie beneath some of the change, but it also just makes good economic…

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Charitable trusts: Creating gifts that keep on giving

For people who are looking to help a worthy cause, and provide an income stream from a valuable asset, creating a charitable trust may be a good solution. There are various options for the creation of charitable trusts. At most university and charity Web sites, you’ll see a reference to them. They’ve become a popular way for organizations to build their endowment. Charitable remainder trusts With a charitable remainder trust, an individual places assets in the trust-stock, real estate, bonds,…

Coming changes keep downtown a dining hub: Au Bon Pain coming to Circle, Noble Roman’s returns

Downtown is still sizzling for national restaurants looking to expand, based on recent deals. Au Bon Pain is cooking up a 2,200-square-foot Monument Circle store, taking over a recently closed Roly Poly Sandwiches shop and the Hardwickes Pipe & Tobacco that has entertained passersby for decades with its caricature statues. The Boston-based chain’s arrival in early 2006 will mark one of several dining changes near the Circle and one of the final steps in a tenant retooling of the Guaranty…

Flexible spending extension expected to be little-used: Planners say total elimination of use-it-or-lose it rule would increase participation, make plans more useful

A new Internal Revenue Service rule relaxes the “use it or lose it” rule in flexible spending accounts by extending the period during which expenses may be incurred beyond the end of the plan year. Health care flexible spending accounts allow participants to set aside at the beginning of the year a predetermined amount of pretax money to be used for medical, dental and vision expenses not covered by insurance. Dependent care spending accounts do the same thing for child…

So far, VC deals scarce: BioCrossroads: Networking should spawn commitments

Almost two years ago, in October 2003, BioCrossroads debuted its $73 million Indiana Future Fund. In the time since, just three Indiana startups have received IFF-backed investments. But it’s not for BioCrossroads’ lack of trying. Both in public and behind the scenes, BioCrossroads is working diligently to put promising local life sciences prospects in front of venture capitalists. This year, BioCrossroads has already held two well-publicized Indiana Future Fund Entrepreneurial Forums: the first in April at Purdue University in West…

Digital TV crystal-clear, but ‘multicasting’ model blurry: Making a buck from spare digital TV channels is a challenge, though one firm is eyeing city for wireless cable

While Multicast Networks Group plans to offer TV stations a network of programs they can run on their digital channels, pioneers in so-called “multicasting” of digital signals have had other visions. And like many pioneers, they’ve taken arrows. Jeff Smulyan, president of Indianapolisbased radio and TV empire Emmis Communications Corp., last year proposed leasing unused digital bandwidth from TV stations. Once he gained enough of these unused channels in a given market, he planned to deliver a sort of over-the-air…

Biz groups join forces: Agencies hope to reach more minority-, women-owned firms

Two organizations that aim to increase business opportunities for minorities and women have formed a united front, hoping to foster even greater diversity among companies. Indiana Business Diversity Council and the National Association of Women Business Owners’local chapter aren’t only sharing knowledge and resources-they’ll also share space when NAWBO moves in with IBDC later this fall. NAWBO hopes the partnership will enhance its networking capabilities. It also will give the all-volunteer organization it first-ever place to call home. For its…

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Building a proper nest egg takes investment strategy

Retirement planning means far more than simply accumulating a nest egg for the years when you’re no longer working. It involves developing a long-term investment strategy that helps you meet this critical goal without losing sight of your more immediate financial concerns, such as paying your mort gage or sending a child to college. Where will nest egg come from? Many retirement planning experts agree that you will need about 75 percent of your pre-retirement income to maintain your current…

Database saves needy folks shoe leather: Salvation Army, Goodwill among groups joining Central Indiana Community Network

Central Indiana boasts hundreds of altruistic churches, agencies and not-forprofits. On their own, they each manage to lend needy folks a helping hand. But advocates for the disadvantaged know service providers could do much more working together. That’s why four years ago they began planning the Central Indiana Community Network, an online system that allows human service and work-force development organizations to securely share information. CICN launched in 2003 and recently added two not-for-profit heavyweights-the Salvation Army and Goodwill Industries…

Are you prepared for DISASTER?: Despite warnings, many businesses fail to plan for the worst

Are you prepared for Despite warnings, many businesses fail to plan for the worst Frank Hancock didn’t have a disasterrecovery plan when a tornado tore past his east-side printing company two years ago, causing $5 million in damage. Severe wind gusts from the Sept. 20, 2003, storm shredded Sport Graphics Inc.’s 5-month-old warehouse and manufacturing facility and tore 13 1,800-pound air-conditioning units from the roof, dumping them on the parking lot below. One was never recovered. Amid the mayhem that…

Succession plans overlooked by biz owners: Preparing for inevitable difficult but necessary

Go ahead. Ignore the inevitable. Refuse to imagine a future where anybody else could take over that corner office of yours with the big mahogany desk. You won’t be the only one. But you’ll regret it. “The biggest mistake people make-they don’t let go soon enough. They need to get other people involved along the way, maybe get them some equity along the way,” said Glenn Scolnik, CEO of locally based Hammond Kennedy Whitney & Co. Inc., the state’s largest…

Building boom out of hand?: Critics say hospital construction boosting health care costs

The network has launched a growth spurt that will take it into new markets, boost technology and strengthen Riley Hospital for Children all over the next few years. This construction also will pile on to the cost of health care, according to several researchers and health care experts. How that trickles down to the average patient bill, or if it does, remains to be seen. Consultant Edmund Abel has to think back more than 20 years to recall a capital…

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Does your 401(k) work as well as most pension plans?

This is definitely not the headline most workers wanted to see on the business section of the newspaper: “Traditional e m p l oy e r- f u n d e d pension plans outperformed worker-funded 401(k) plans during bear market.” The findings, based on a study conducted by the employee-ben efit consulting firm of Watson Wyatt Worldwide, bolstered critics’ arguments that 401(k) and similar retirement plans are not up to the task, when compared with defined-benefit pension plans, of…

INVESTING: A small state stock that might be worth a look

I don’t often write about individual stocks, and it’s especially rare for me to discuss small companies. There are two reasons for this. First, a majority of my trading focuses on exchange traded funds, which are baskets of stocks that trade like individual issues. And the second is, individual stocks carry more risk, and I am all about cutting risk as much as possible. Occasionally, a small, relatively unknown company will grab my attention, and I’ll feel the need to…