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Emerging India: Opportunity or threat?: Indiana businesses brace for growing global competition

February 27, 2006

Opportunity or threat? Indiana businesses brace for growing global competition Next month, President Bush will make his first official visit to India. To most of the American media, it’ll be just one more round of global terrorism discussions with a distant foreign nation, perhaps worthy of a brief. The Indian press knows better. Six weeks ahead of Bush’s trip, banner headlines about it ran in every newspaper. Al Hubbard knows better, too. Friends with Bush since their days at Harvard…

WellPoint freezes pensions: Insurer joins national trend, shifts focus to 401(k) plan

March 20, 2006

WellPoint Inc. quietly froze pension contributions for most of its 42,000 employees earlier this year, a move that draws criticism but falls in step with what many other big employers are doing. The Indianapolis-based health insurance giant noted deep in an annual report filed late last month that on Jan. 1 it stopped adding pay credits to the pension accounts of employees not nearing retirement. The insurer rang up a $2.5 billion profit last year and, unlike some other companies…

BULLS & BEARS: I’m all for optimism, but be skeptical, too

March 27, 2006

When viewing the historical record of the stock market, it is clear investors who maintained a positive longterm stance have been rewarded with attractive compounded returns, despite some significant zigs and zags in between. Americans are, on balance, an optimistic bunch, especially when it comes to our outlook for the future. A “best is yet to come” policy has served us well, providing the drive to innovate and improve our country’s standard of living. Nevertheless, when it comes to making…

RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: We don’t communicate as well as we think we do

April 3, 2006

Somebody once said computers permit you to make terrible mistakes faster than any other invention in history, with the possible exception of handguns and tequila. Those among us who have lost friends, clients or jobs as a result of misunderstood e-mails would probably vote for computers. At least handguns and tequila look a little menacing, and there’s no way to mistake their purposes. E-mails, on the other hand, are friendly, fast and seemingly innocuous. Many of us shoot off dozens…

Shared patient rooms in hospitals soon to be history: Guidelines call for private quarters in all new facilities

April 10, 2006

New guidelines due out in June will call for newly constructed hospitals to come equipped with all private patient rooms, the first time such a minimum requirement has been issued. The guidelines, published every four years by the Facilities Guidelines Institute and the American Institute of Architects’ Academy of Health, are used by nearly 40 state governments-including Indiana-to set regulations, approve construction plans and license hospitals to operate. And hospitals nationwide-including those in Indiana-are expected to embrace the guidelines that…

NOTIONS: Seeking your input on satisfaction

April 24, 2006

Dear Reader: For six years, I’ve filled this weekly space with notions, gnashings, drivel and diatribes. From time to time, some readers have responded-often with nods of agreement, occasionally with headshaking disbelief, once in a while with outraged indignation. Now that we’ve built something of a virtual community (call it a Neanderthal blog), I want to ask you a question. Yes, I mean you. Please don’t assume someone else will answer. And please, don’t feel that your insights and opinions…

Alien hirers rarely busted: Law doesn’t force employers to verify that workers are legal

April 24, 2006

Despite a high-profile raid against IFCO Systems on April 19, Indianapolis employers have little to fear in hiring undocumented aliens or those who present questionable identification. Rarely do immigration cops bust an Indianapolis-area workplace. Until federal agents led away about 40 allegedly undocumented Mexicans and Guatemalans at the south-side pallet plant this month, the last high-profile raid was more than a decade ago. In 1995, customs officials raided the former Simpson Race Products shoe factory in Speedway, nabbing 66 illegal…

Racing for the green: Rookie owner risks house and home to realize dream

April 24, 2006

“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…

VIEWPOINT: Latinos and the legal system: no free lunch

April 24, 2006

Many issues face national and local civil and criminal justice systems across our nation. Years and years of application of Band-Aid remedies to complicated and longterm problems have brought many government systems to the verge of collapse. Marion County is no exception to the rule. Courts are strained with overwhelming caseloads. Average lives of cases continue to increase, clogging jails and courts. Public defender and prosecutor caseloads continue to swell, effectively reducing the quality of representation available to both the…

Gamer cashes in on hobby: Arcade cabinets combine old titles, new technology

April 24, 2006

Rick Barretto started filling his basement with arcade games soon after graduating from Indiana University. An avid gamer since his youth, he loved to play, but to get the games he wanted, he had to buy fullsized arcade cabinets-12 of them. His basement was only so big, and his wife’s tolerance only so high. “My wife was saying, ‘There’s got to be a better way,'” said Barretto, 39. So he put his college computer-science classes to work and spent more…

Illinois Building in danger?: Preservationists fear for landmark’s future; owner mum on its fate

May 22, 2006

After sitting vacant for at least three years, the Illinois Building at the southeast corner of Market and Illinois streets is gaining attention as one historic preservation group tries to forestall any plans that might include tearing it down. The Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana added the building to its “10 Most Endangered” landmarks list earlier this year. The group said it’s ringing the alarm bells due in part to what Landmarks employees are hearing. “We have heard from a…

Conrad high-rise condos sell fast: Only 4 of 15 residences left; biz leaders among buyers

May 29, 2006

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…

Entrepreneurs keep day jobs: Moonlighting helps owners mitigate startup risks

May 29, 2006

Inventions at various stages of development are scattered around Qamar Shafeek’s ranch-style home on Indianapolis’ east side. An unnamed doohickey attached to a curtain rod pulls drapes open and shut along with the sliding glass door. A voice box gadget tells the single father when the garage or side doors open, alerting him to his children’s comings and goings. And a plastic pinwheel with tennis balls attached to the ends is making its way from a napkin-sketch idea to a…

Vacancies and sales spike at Circle Centre: Analysts say mall attracting higher-end shoppers

May 29, 2006

Vacancies at Circle Centre mall hit a five-year high in 2005. But so did salesper-square foot. How does one reconcile the discrepancy? Observers say the mall is luring more high-end consumers with trendier shops despite having a big chunk of open space. “They’ve been incorporating and attracting more productive and upscale retail concepts,” said Terry Sweeney, vice president of real estate development for Indianapolis Downtown Inc. The 10-year-old mall posted $393 in sales per square foot in 2005, up from…

Mass Ave condos in the works: High-end, 10-story project in trendy cultural district has 46 units, retail space

June 5, 2006

Log one more entry into the crowded field of downtown condo projects. But developers of a 10-story development at Massachusetts Avenue and New York Street think its location and amenities will reel in high-end buyers. The condos, dubbed Three Mass Ave, will be developed by a three-way partnership of Halakar Properties Inc., Pillar Investments LLC and architect Wayne Schmidt. “We want to make sure that this is a classy building that fits in with the historic nature of Mass Ave…

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

June 5, 2006

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…

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

June 5, 2006

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…

Aquaculture industry set to cast bigger net: Ag officials hope Indiana spawns more fish farmers

June 26, 2006

Forrest Gump owned a shrimp boat. Tim and Julie Connor have a shrimp farm instead. The couple, who live on 22 acres near Monrovia, are in their third season raising prawn, or large shrimp, from a pond on their property. The $4,000 they earned last year from selling 350 pounds of the crustaceans to the public is hardly enough to cause Tim, 47, to retire from the job he’s held at Allison Transmission for 28 years. But if the sideline…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Health care cost ‘solutions’ only worsen the problems

June 26, 2006

As an economic forecaster, I am almost always optimistic. But that’s not a personality trait. It’s the nature of the business. The economy around us is doing amazingly well. We’ve had much longer economic expansions, steady job and income growth, and less frequent recessions for more than two decades now. So when you deliver an optimistic forecast these days, you stand a pretty good chance of being right. But if there’s one area where my optimism vanishes, it is this-how…

ABDUL-HAKIM SHABAZZ Commentary: Sex-offender laws often miss the mark

July 3, 2006

Although I consider myself a reasonably intelligent individual, there are some things I don’t understand, like why there’s Braille at drive-through ATMs, why some bookmarks cost $1 (it would be easier to use the dollar), and why we have most sex-offender laws. There are numerous sex-offender laws going into effect July 1 in Indiana. Some make sense, like lifetime probation for sexually violent persons that can be revoked should an offender commit another offense. There are some, like Marion County’s…

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Articles

Emerging India: Opportunity or threat?: Indiana businesses brace for growing global competition

WellPoint freezes pensions: Insurer joins national trend, shifts focus to 401(k) plan

BULLS & BEARS: I’m all for optimism, but be skeptical, too

RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: We don’t communicate as well as we think we do

Shared patient rooms in hospitals soon to be history: Guidelines call for private quarters in all new facilities

NOTIONS: Seeking your input on satisfaction

Alien hirers rarely busted: Law doesn’t force employers to verify that workers are legal

Racing for the green: Rookie owner risks house and home to realize dream

VIEWPOINT: Latinos and the legal system: no free lunch

Gamer cashes in on hobby: Arcade cabinets combine old titles, new technology

Illinois Building in danger?: Preservationists fear for landmark’s future; owner mum on its fate

Conrad high-rise condos sell fast: Only 4 of 15 residences left; biz leaders among buyers

Entrepreneurs keep day jobs: Moonlighting helps owners mitigate startup risks

Vacancies and sales spike at Circle Centre: Analysts say mall attracting higher-end shoppers

Mass Ave condos in the works: High-end, 10-story project in trendy cultural district has 46 units, retail space

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

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

Aquaculture industry set to cast bigger net: Ag officials hope Indiana spawns more fish farmers

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Health care cost ‘solutions’ only worsen the problems

ABDUL-HAKIM SHABAZZ Commentary: Sex-offender laws often miss the mark