Stock markets are falling, jobs are disappearing, and the outlook for the economy seems grim. Banks, real estate developers,
retailers and manufacturers are taking the worst hits, but all types of businesses in central Indiana are hurting. From health
care to technology, education to philanthropy, every industry is trying to take the setbacks in stride.
Bloomington billionaire Bill Cook placed 68th on this year’s Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans, the same rank he held last year, retaining his spot as the wealthiest Indiana resident. However, Cook needed $500 million more to keep the placing. Last year, the 77-year-old had $4.5 billion; this year he hit $5 billion. Cook […]
A consortium of financiers led by Credit Suisse has turned down an attempt by Centaur LLC to build a $455 million harness race track near Pittsburgh, the company announced yesterday. Centaur said it has immediately begun seeking an investment bank to help it move ahead with the $445 million project, called Valley View Downs. “We […]
Indianapolis International Airport officials hope to double advertising revenue, pushing it past $1 million, when the midfield
terminal opens in November. That income, officials said, is important because it helps ease pressure on cash-strapped
airlines, allowing them to focus on offering more flights. The airport relies on non-airline revenue, such as food sales and
advertising, for about 60 percent of its revenue.
The completion of $2 billion in city construction projects has left a gaping hole in contractor job schedules-as wide as when the roof opens at Lucas Oil Stadium. Even so, industry leaders remain optimistic about staying busy despite the combination of a tepid economy and the end of a local boom that stretched the limits of the labor pool. The $1.1 billion airport midfield terminal project, the $715 million stadium and $150 million Central Library expansion helped to create so…
When so much attention is focused on wo u l d – b e b l o c k bu s t e r exhibitions, it’s easy to forget that the Indianapolis Museum of Art mixes things up regularly with smaller shows. At their best, these offer more succinct pleasures-and they don’t require much of a time commitment. Truth is, if you spend more than a half-hour at one, you’re probably just being pretentious. Two new shows-lost a bit in…
The operators of Circle Centre’s parking garages have raised rates in a move designed to ensure spaces are available for shoppers and to bring in additional revenue. The new…
Organizers of the inaugural World Class Driving Festival at the West Baden Springs Hotel Sept. 3-7 hope to put Indiana
on the map when it comes to exotic cars and potentially lucrative business opportunities surrounding the accompanying lifestyle.
EYE ON THE PIE What projects should public finance? You name it, Rusty Knale will argue against it. We’re at the delicatessen. He buys the hot pastrami on rye. I’m going for the chopped liver on pumpernickel. “I’m wondering,” I say, “if the new Honda plant at Greensburg is going to do more for the people of Indiana than Lucas Oil Stadium in Indy.” “No,” he answers quickly. “Remember that Dean Martin song, ‘Memories are made of this’? How many…
Ivy Tech cooking up plans for more culinary space Growing program hopes to build $7 million school at Glick Center Popular television cooking shows such as “Iron Chef,” “Emeril Live,” “Top Chef” and, dare we mention, “Hell’s Kitchen,” have brought the interest in culinary careers to a boil. To help meet demand locally, Indiana Business College opened a Chef’s Academy downtown nearly two years ago. Now, Ivy Tech Community College is expanding its existing program by building a culinary school…
You name it, Rusty Knale will argue against it. We’re at the delicatessen. He buys the hot pastrami on rye. I’m going for the chopped liver on pumpernickel. “I’m wondering,” I say, “if the new Honda plant at Greensburg is going to do more for the people of Indiana than Lucas Oil Stadium in Indy.” “No,” he answers quickly. “Remember that Dean Martin song, ‘Memories are made of this’? How many people will the new Colts’ stadium hold?” “I hear…
Popular television cooking shows such as “Iron Chef,” “Emeril Live,” “Top Chef” and, dare we mention, “Hell’s Kitchen,” have brought the interest in culinary careers to a boil. To help meet demand locally, Indiana Business College opened a Chef’s Academy downtown nearly two years ago. Now, Ivy Tech Community College is expanding its existing program by building a culinary school in Indianapolis at the Gene B. Glick Junior Achievement Education Center on North Keystone Avenue. Enrollment in Ivy Tech’s two-year…
Huntingburg office furniture manufacturer OFS Brands Inc. has acquired Loewenstein Inc., a maker of hotel furniture headquartered in Pompano Beach, Fla., for undisclosed terms. Family-owned OFS said the deal opens a seamless expansion into the hospitality market, and that OFS would protect the character of the Loewenstein brand and allow it to operate independently in […]
I’m not big on those classification schemes that put people into categories. You know what I mean, schemes such as, “There are two kinds of people in the world: those who classify others, and those who don’t.” I’m not sold on Myers-Briggs, for example. I consider it a parlor game with no significant predictive value. All classification schemes leak around the edges, so I avoid them for the most part. However, there is one categorization to which I now subscribe:…
From 1979 to 1982, IUPUI inherited three world-class athletic facilities that have since hosted Olympic trials and world-record performances by top-flight amateur and professional athletes. But that inheritance has turned into a financial albatross around the university’s neck. It’s grappling with how to pay for their upkeep and the improvements necessary to keep the facilities–and the city–in the hunt for high-profile sporting events.
Those ubiquitous retail strip centers are beginning to wither under a housing slump that has cast a dark cloud over much of the U.S economy. Heavily dependent on new-home construction, strip-center developments have been hurt by tough residential real estate conditions that have spread into the commercial arena and dampened retail activity. Nationally, the volume of strip-center investment transactions is down 77 percent from a year ago, according to a June commercial report from the Chicago-based National Association of Realtors….
Those ubiquitous retail strip centers are beginning to wither under a housing slump that has cast a dark cloud over much of the U.S economy. Heavily dependent on new-home construction, strip-center developments have been hurt by tough residential real estate conditions that have spread into the commercial arena and dampened retail activity. Nationally, the volume of strip-center investment transactions is down 77 percent from a year ago, according to a June commercial report from the Chicago-based National Association of Realtors….
I’m not big on those classification schemes that put people into categories. You know what I mean, schemes such as, “There are two kinds of people in the world: those who classify others, and those who don’t.” I’m not sold on Myers-Briggs, for example. I consider it a parlor game with no significant predictive value. All classification schemes leak around the edges, so I avoid them for the most part. However, there is one categorization to which I now subscribe:…
From 1979 to 1982, IUPUI inherited three world-class athletic facilities that have since hosted Olympic trials and world-record performances by top-flight amateur and professional athletes. But that inheritance has turned into a financial albatross around the university’s neck. It’s grappling with how to pay for their upkeep and the improvements necessary to keep the facilities-and […]
Cleaning crews are wiping construction dust from the 63,000 seats in Lucas Oil Stadium, prepping for the public’s first peek at the $720 million venue Aug. 16. But the hard work is only beginning for the city’s Capital Improvement Board, the entity charged with operating the stadium. The fumbling point: CIB is anticipating a $20 million operating deficit for Lucas Oil Stadium in 2009.
