The idea of rapid transit is popular locally, but there’s no consensus on how to finance it. For construction alone, it would cost at least $546 million for suburban express bus service up to $1.4 billion for an "automated guideway" system similar to a monorail. And that's for only one corridor.
Local officials say a new state law that caps property tax bills for homeowners and businesses will send the city into a financial tailspin if legislators don’t modify it in an upcoming session.
Just 5,900 Marion and Hamilton County commuters would park their cars in favor of rapid transit if that were an option, according to data from a late-2001 report for Indianapolis’ Metropolitan Planning Organization by New York firm Parsons Brinckerhoff.
Susan Bayh is at ease in the corporate world. The wife of U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh is a former Eli Lilly and Co. attorney who now serves on six public company boards, collecting more than $400,000 in fees a year. Among those companies are Indianapolis’ WellPoint Inc. and Emmis Communications Corp., where she serves as lead director of the eight-person board. But even the 46-year-old boardroom veteran must be feeling a little banged up these days. That’s because at Emmis,…
God, she’s cute: Your little Paula or Patti or Pammy. Sitting there on the swing set, rocking back and forth, back and forth, her brunette locks blowing in the breeze. You watch her on the merry-go-round, spinning faster and faster. Watch her on the jungle gym, climbing higher and higher. Watch her and her little friend Annie or Jenny or Missy walking toward the trail into the woods. And you know you aren’t the only one watching. You know he’s…
Zionsville artist Nancy Noel’s original work can be seen in the homes of Mikhail Gorbachev, Robert Redford, Denzel Washington and Oprah Winfrey. Noel prides herself on its originality and authenticity. And she said she’ll “go after anyone” who threatens that. This spring, Noel filed a federal lawsuit against Texas-based art distributor Martha Ewell, alleging she made unauthorized copies of Noel’s images-including her popular Amish and angel collections-and sold them on the Internet. She is asking to be paid $30,000 for…
Whole Foods might not be coming to Keystone at the Crossing after all. Residents of the Driftwood Hills neighborhood sued the city in February after it approved a zoning change allowing developer Paul Kite to build a Whole Foods grocery, plus as many as 30 condominiums, on the northwest corner of 86th Street and Keystone Avenue. As residents push on with their effort to block that zoning decision, Whole Foods is exploring other sites, including one in nearby Nora, for…
After surviving a rough first year, company shows signs of progress Sleepless nights, upset stomachs and paranoia were common woes for the owners of Quality Roofing Services throughout their first year in business. “We worried about finances and thunderstorms,” said co-owner Paul Crafton, 50, recalling the professional and personal strain. “We wondered if we would make our payroll or go under and lose our investment.” But they persevered, starting their days early-often at 5:30 a.m.-and working late. Eventually, their efforts…
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…
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…
Eli Lilly and Co. President John Lechleiter is among the wealthy buyers who have snapped up all but four of the 15 private residences perched atop the Conrad Hotel downtown. Lechleiter will be on the 23rd floor, one level from the top. Pete Piazza, president of Piazza Produce Inc., will be on the 22nd. And insuranceindustry executive Jack Mead will be on the 21st. The 15 residences fill the top six floors of the new $100 million tower. They start…
Bruce Hetrick is off this week. In his absence, this column from April 10, 2000, is being reprinted. A dozen years ago, my employer landed an intriguing client-the Archdiocese of Hartford, Conn. The assignment: Create some advertising that would lure lapsed Catholics back to the flock. We did some research and found that many of these lost sheep blamed their wanderings on the church itself. And they weren’t about to return without an apology. So my friend the Jewish copywriter…
Since he nearly died a couple of months back, now is probably a good time to write something about my friend, Bill York. After all, I’d at least like for him to be able to read it. York is one of those behind-the-scenes folks who gives Indiana a good name. To the local and national sports media, he personifies Hoosier Hospitality. For years, York has directed the media room operations at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Conseco Fieldhouse (Market Square Arena…
Indianapolis is headquarters for Little Oil-Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP. Few locally have heard of the west-side refining and petroleum products company, let alone of its Jan. 25 initial public stock offering that raised $144 million. Calumet is controlled by an equally obscure group of families that still own the bulk of company shares. Yet shares of little Calumet-sales last year of $1.3 billion-are up 40 percent since the January IPO intended to fuel acquisitions. The appreciation is partly due…
Until late April, fund raising for the annual musical event was on track. But then a pair of major sponsors revealed they would no longer underwrite the festival. Now its future may be in doubt. “We really need to have the festival fully funded to sustain its business model,” said Indy Jazz Fest Producer Helen Small, who also is president of the Indianapolis-based American Pianists Association. “In no way is it guaranteed that the festival will be here forever for…
Vinyl siding? Forget it. Rows of homes that differ only in their shade of beige? Don’t even think about it. Want to turn a farm road into a neighborhood street? It’s going to cost you. Increasingly, that’s the refrain being heard by home builders across central Indiana, as cities and towns demand more from developers. Developers agree basic standards are a good thing for a community, but more requirements push up the price of new subdivisions. The result? The big…
“If somebody wipes one of them out, the associated residence goes with it,” he says, only half jokingly. Now in his 14th season in t h e m o t o r – sports industry, Crawford, 38, decided to hoist his own flag for the first time this year in the Indy Pro Series, open-wheel racing’s highest minor league. For the record, he’s not a wealthy man. The second property is the only investment he and his wife, Myra, haven’t…
Instead of using her elementary education degree from Ohio State University to teach youngsters, Stephanie Boehm chose to teach managers as a corporate trainer for Olive Garden restaurants. She’s never regretted that decision. Boehm’s background and on-the-job training as manager of a local Outback Steakhouse led to her current career as owner of CR Heroes Family Pub in Fishers. Boehm moved to Indianapolis from Ohio in 1994, when her husband was transferred here. After spending time as a stayat-home mom,…
Indianapolis TV stations say a new National Football League policy that bans them from the sidelines during games is a violation of their First Amendment rights and threatens a major source of income. A league-wide rule that was passed 32-0 by team owners March 28 allows only the licensed broadcast rights-holder to shoot sideline footage during games. The National Association of Broadcasters, Radio-Television News Directors Association and Society of Professional Journalists have petitioned to have the rule overturned. Though owners…
One of central Indiana’s largest advertising accounts has been awarded to a relatively small but growing agency. Clarian Health Partners this month signed what industry sources are calling a multiyear, multimillion-dollar deal with The Heavyweights, a firm headquartered in The Stutz Building downtown and best known for its creative work for clients such as Procter & Gamble and Roche Diagnostics. Officials for Clarian and The Heavyweights would not divulge the deal’s terms. The Heavyweights will provide creative direction and strategy…
