The rebuilding of Interstate 70 between downtown and Interstate 465 six miles to the east, starting in February, threatens to devastate a part of town already struggling economically, businesses and community groups warn.
Indiana’s wineries faced potential ruin in early 2006. The U.S. Supreme Court had handed down a decision requiring states to treat in-state and out-ofstate wineries the same. That meant if Indiana wineries were allowed to continue to ship directly to Indiana consumers, out-of-state wineries would be entitled to the same access. Or the state could ban all direct shipments of wine to Hoosier consumers. That’s exactly what wholesalers wanted. But that would have spelled disaster for Hoosier wineries. The wineries…
Techpoint, a locally based technology trade group that represents the interests of about 330 members statewide, is undergoing a transition in leadership. Jim Jay, 37, has been named interim CEO following the resignation of Cameron Carter, who has led the organization since 2003. Directors should begin a formal search for a permanent replacement the first of the year. Whether Jay lands the top job remains to be seen. But in the meantime, the Butler University graduate with an entrepreneurial spirit…
Organizational development isn’t usually my bag, but when I heard people using words like uplifting, inspiring, astonishing, cool, infectious and dynamite to describe an up-and-coming method, I decided to check it out. The method is appreciative inquiry, which is billed as a way of transforming organizations by trying to build on what’s right instead of analyzing what’s wrong. “You motivate people more through engaging in what’s positive,” said Ruth Purcell-Jones, president of Trustee Leadership Development Inc., a local organization that…
While many large companies have decided to scale back holiday parties or give them up entirely in recent years, small businesses continue to spend merrily on the annual gatherings. “They’re doing well, making lots of money and want to celebrate with their employees,” said Kathy Ray, director of catering at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown. Employees of small businesses are like families, so it makes sense that those companies would be less likely to eliminate or cut back on holiday get-togethers,…
U.S. celebrities making pitches for large corporations is nothing new. But John Mellencamp has been long known as an artistic purist with a disdain for commercialism. His debut this fall as a pitchman for Chevrolet’s Silverado pickup truck has surprised many and touched off a torrent of criticism.
Just before a month of holidays focused on giving and gratitude, I got sucked into one of those proverbial working-world messes. You know the type: A Lemony Snicketish series of unfortunate events that can put good people at odds with other good people. As I got more and more drawn in, I tensed up, lost sleep, worked late into the night, began anew in the wee hours, and otherwise got distracted from deeds that needed doing, apologies that needed saying…
Navigating the intersection between creed and commerce can betricky. Fearing lawsuits, many companies prefer to avoid it whenever
possible. But others unabashedly intertwine religion and business.
Almost a year ago, IBJ asked me to write a column that placed sports in an educational context. Obviously, I have great passion for the topic, having spent my life writing about sports, those who play the games, and the lessons that can be learned through participation. Sure, there are plentiful examples of excesses, and we certainly just had another in New York’s Madison Square Garden. But I maintain those incidents are not reflective of sports as a whole, any…
Bruce Hetrick is on vacation this week. In his absence, this column, which appeared on Dec. 30, 2002, is being reprinted. The gym will be rife with resolvers these next few weeks. They’ll arrive, eagerbeaver, wearing sweats, headphones and heart monitors purchased as Christmas gifts by relatives hoping to encourage good habits, longer lives and less flab to hold onto in the night. On all this pricey merchandise, you’ll see Nike, Reebok, Adidas and Roots. That way, the resolvers can…
It’s a week past the appropriate time to be writing about New Year’s resolutions, but from the feel of traffic heading in and out of town during rush hour, it appears a number of folks are still on vacation. I think the vast majority of us are ready now to get back down to business, so I feel justified in my timing. Therefore, be it resolved: Mayor Bart Peterson and Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi should continue to address the…
On a cold and rainy day and wearing only a thin jacket, Maria walked eight miles to get help. She was pregnant and seeking prenatal care. Her husband had deserted her. The pervasiveness of unemployed and working-poor families presents a growing challenge. Most are underinsured or have no health insurance at all. That means our charity-care system is stretched to the maximum. One north-side center that provides care for the uninsured and underinsured has seen a 15-percent increase in patients…
For the last 30 years, politicians from farm-heavy states like Indiana have been pushing for a massive increase in the production of ethanol. As oil prices began to kick up earlier this decade, their long lobbying efforts started to make some sense. Eighteen months ago, I highlighted Archer Daniels Midland as a company to play this move, and the stock went from $21 to $44 in a little more than a year. In the last 12 months, there have been…
Folks I talked to, Democrats and Republicans, liked the governor’s State of the State speech. The fault they found was that the speech was scheduled opposite the Indiana University basketball game with Iowa. Isn’t that an impeachable offense in Indiana? The part of the speech that intrigued me most was the idea about leasing the rights to the lottery to get money to establish scholarships and endowed chairs at our universities. The idea is to slow or reverse the brain…
Three Shelby County development organizations have formed a coalition to support the toll road Gov. Mitch Daniels wants to build around the east and south sides of Indianapolis, according to the Shelbyville News. Shelby County and Morristown chambers of commerce and Shelby County Development Corp. say their coalition is in the spirit of an earlier […]
Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana supports its job and educational programs by reselling used clothes, household items and even cars. But the virtues of reuse and recycle aren’t confined to the not-for-profit’s 34 local thrift stores. Goodwill has adapted its headquarters several times since it was built in 1960, to fill a variety of needs. Some of the same space within the 195,000-square-foot building has served as a retail store, an office full of cubicles, an industrial packing facility and…
Indianapolis not-for-profits are growing as more universities embrace service learning–an educational approach that encourages
students to incorporate academics into community service.
Bills that remain alive in the current session of the Indiana General Assembly now have moved from their chamber of origin across the Rotunda, and lawmakers are ready for the task of considering House bills in the Senate, and vice versa. The task begins on a relatively quiet note, and with a collective downcast mood of sorts. The dispirited atmosphere comes from the early March death of Sen. Anita O. Bowser, D-Michigan City, at age 86. She was the eldest…
Robert J. Brody, president and CEO of St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers, announced March 8 that St. Francis would shutter
its inpatient hospital in Beech Grove and expand its south-side hospital by 2010. In an interview with IBJ, Brody laid out
the ills that beset hospitals across the country.
For many people, owning a business is a dream. As a nation, we idolize such people as “entrepreneurs.” We assemble data that show “small business” as the heart of the economy (even though the definition of “small” is fewer than 500 employees). Let’s look at this segment of the economy. Oops. The data we have are not as good as we want. We do not know how many proprietors or business operators are full-time and how many are part-time. It…
