On the first anniversary of 9/11, I knew just how Americans should mark the occasion. “Hang ten. Hang it up. Hang out. Paint a portrait. Paint the town. Watch your weight. Let it be. Say hey. Strike back. Roll a strike. Spare a dime. Rock the boat. Do time. Take a shot. Do your best. Give back. Give a damn. Turn a cheek. Heal the sick. Feed the poor. Hold hands. Make love. Love life. Hug kids. Wave flags. Play…
Bankers like to see plenty of collateral when they underwrite loans. Insurance agents don’t have many hard assets to show them. Free toasters won’t smooth over this credit dilemma. But the leaders of the Carmel-based Oak Street companies boast they can. And they’re poised to capitalize with a fast-growing specialty lending firm. “The first line of our vision statement says we’ll build a long-term sustainable financial-services firm,” said Oak Street Chairman Steven Alonso. “It’s our strategy to diversify.” Founded in…
Since 1821, when Alexander Ralston first began incorporating spaces for public art in his design of Indianapolis, the city has been able to maintain a strong tradition of public art. Today is a good time to evaluate what must be done now to sustain and enhance that 185-year tradition. Public art also bolsters an area’s economic value and makes it more appealing for investors. Outside businesses looking to relocate a branch or headquarters will look more favorably on a community…
Two doors opened for Pam Evans on Aug. 5-one to her own clothing store and the other to her independence. The Cherry Shop represents both to Evans, who lost most of her sight over the course of a weekend in 1998 to a genetic eye disease called angioid streaks. Left with only her peripheral vision, she also lost her career in real estate and corporate sales. After a period of depression, Evans decided she wouldn’t lose it all. “I felt…
Indiana’s health insurance safety net has pared enrollment and trimmed the industry support it needs by $18 million a year, thanks to reform efforts that started a few years ago. But M-Plan Inc. CEO Alex Slabosky sees an even greater benefit behind the transformation of the Indiana Comprehensive Health Insurance Association: It allowed his company to remain in business. In 2003, M-Plan had to pay $5.9 million to help support ICHIA, a big chunk of change for a company that…
A commercial corridor brimming with office buildings, similar to the one along U.S. 31 in Carmel, is what Noblesville city planners envision for the 146th Street extension from State Road 37 to Interstate 69. Ground is expected to be broken this fall on the four-mile extension, which will make the street a major east-west thoroughfare through the south side of Noblesville if finished as planned in October 2007. The street is already a busy route across much of Hamilton County,…
Indiana University leaders believe their researchers can spawn 100 new companies, pump $2.4 billion into the state's economy, help create 14,000 jobs, and generate a $2.25 return for every dollar spends if the General Assembly will invest in their bold life sciences strategy.
Tom King thinks its time to run the not-for-profit Indiana Sports Corp. with a for-profit mind-set, a change that could radically alter the organization credited with implementing the city’s amateur sports strategy.
Bryan Ballard and Cody Feldman never dreamed they’d end up here, soaking up the sun along Indianapolis’ downtown canal, peddling frozen treats from their very own ice cream cart. They certainly never planned to become business partners when they met as adolescents playing Special Olympics basketball. But it happened anyway, thanks to a federally funded program intended to help significantly disabled individuals find work that fits their interests and skills. What makes the so-called customizedemployment effort unusual is its emphasis…
When Michael Ferin took over the University of Indianapolis’ fundraising operations in 1997, he inherited a limp effort ill-equipped to support exponential enrollment growth “The institution did not have a very strong record of reaching out to the community or keeping in touch with their alumni,” Ferin said. “This place was behind by a number of years.” No one could say that now. The private college affiliated with the United Methodist Church has just wrapped up a six-year capital campaign…
Now that Mann Properties LLC has won the bidding war for 70 acres of land on the northern end of Crown Hill Cemetery, the rezoning debate begins.
No layoffs. No seven-figure budget cut to sweat through. IU School of Medicine Dean Dr. Craig Brater had many reasons to raise a toast this month, when a new fiscal year began and the school left behind an old one marked by the worst budget cuts in decades. Indeed, Brater said he is breathing a little easier as the school starts fiscal 2006-2007 with a budget of more than $815 million. An increase in clinical revenue and grant money helped…
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.
Usually, someone with a bachelor’s degree in law enforcement would look forward to a career as a police officer or detective. In David L. Myers’ case, the degree paved the way to becoming a business owner. Myers, 34, founded Myers Investigations in 1995, shortly after graduating from the University of Indianapolis, funding the startup with a $5,000 inheritance. Despite entering an industry dominated by older, veteran police officers and detectives, he quickly built a client base among area law firms…
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.
Harlon Wilson and Kurtis Rush originally intended their Indianapolis-based upstart business to provide 3-D animation for use in court cases. But if they had stuck to that business plan, Medical Animatics Inc. could not have produced the video to the hilarious “Urine Stream,” a song parody of Abba’s “Dancing Queen.” Here’s a sample of the chorus: So when you get the chance, undo your pants … And make a urine stream, gold and clean, oh it’s such a dream. Urine…
Now, he’s an owner himself. This month, he teamed with two prominent executives to buy Dalevillebased Sherry Laboratories, a 180-employee company that does product testing for firms in such fields as aerospace and automotive. “I’ve been interested in Sherry for about 10 years,” LaMothe said. “I had approached them two or three different times … . I was intrigued with the company because I believed it was needed and necessary and adds value to society.” LaMothe will serve as chairman…
When Roger Williams began approaching local not-for-profits early this year about his idea to post their volunteer opportunities for teen-agers on his Web site, many were skeptical. “What’s this guy trying to sell me?” they wondered. But six months after launching www.helpindyonline.com, part of his larger Emergent Leadership Institute, Williams has more than 80 charities promoting nearly 300 positions on his site for high school and college students interested in volunteering. The 36-year-old Carmel native and former youth pastor founded…
Buzzing With ActivityUnique Broad Ripple biz ready to offer franchises For business partners Wendy Reed and Pam Weaver, life these days is starting to look a lot like the frenzy their company name projects: Sugar Buzz. They’re not really hopped up on sweets, but the Indianapolis women are flying high nonetheless-buoyed by the glory of being featured in a national magazine and the promise of franchising their unusual mix of children’s parties and dropin day care. The longtime pals combined…
By the time he graduated in 1985, Tony Altavilla ranked third in career touchdown receptions at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, an all-male institution that likens itself to the best conservative liberal arts colleges of New England. His star rose again recently, when the member of Carmel’s Crooked Stick Country Club led a committee that helped the Pete Dye-designed course score the 2009 U.S. Senior Open Championship. But the Wabash man and golfing buddy of the affluent now finds himself in…
