Jill Long Thompson says she knows it will be tough to unseat Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels in November, and she already has come out swinging. Just hours after squeaking out the Democratic gubernatorial nomination over Jim Schellinger last week, the former Indiana congresswoman verbally jabbed Daniels. “Four years ago he went through the state wearing […]
Small Towns, Big Business Hospitals mixed bag for rural economies WILLIAMSPORT-To see the economic impact hospitals have on Indiana, this town of 1,900-which boasts its county’s only stoplight-provides a good view. The 16-bed St. Vincent Williamsport Hospital is the fourthlargest employer in Warren County, where Williamsport is the seat, and pays wages that are 60 […]
Around Indiana, hospitals continue to grow and add workers, increasing their role as an economic driver to the state’s economy.
But health care reformers say hospital growth has a double edge, as higher health care costs dampen growth prospects for other
Indiana employers and their workers.
Rube Goldberg was an engineer by training who rose to prominence not for his engineering skills but for his political cartoons, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize in 1948. Goldberg was also famous for his cartoons that depicted whimsical machines with complex mechanisms to perform simple tasks. Goldberg’s fantastic contraptions served as an inspiration for the annual Rube Goldberg competitions held at colleges, universities and high schools across the country. In years past, students have been required to develop…
The number of blogs operating on the Internet outnumbers the inhabitants of California, New York, Texas and Florida combined. With a market like that, it’s no wonder Chris Baggott and Ali Sales are so excited about the potential of Compendium Blogware, an upstart firm the two formed in January 2007. Baggott is best known for founding, along with co-owner Scott Dorsey, fastgrowing local e-mail marketing firm ExactTarget Inc. in 2000. The company brought in $48 million in revenue last year….
A former Silicon Valley sales executive and a Cincinnati investment manager have formed a venture fund here that’s trying
to raise $100 million to invest in the new darlings of the investment world: clean technology firms. Clean Wave Ventures founders
Scott Prince and Rick Kieser are banking on soaring energy costs attracting investors to the risky but potentially lucrative
realm of alternative energy and transportation and related fields.
A program rolled out yesterday by State Treasurer Richard Mourdock aims to encourage more Indiana business owners to sell companies to their employees. The Treasurer’s Office will subsidize banks for loans used in transitions to employee stock ownership plans, or ESOPs. Taxpayers will more than recoup the program’s annual cost of $500,000 a year because […]
Conseco Inc.’s loss narrowed in its first quarter, but the company still missed the expectations of Wall Street analysts. The Carmel-based insurer reported a loss of $5.8 million for the three months ended March 31, compared with a $10 million setback in the same quarter a year ago. Excluding investment losses, Conseco’s insurance companies posted […]
Conseco, Inc. has agreed to pay as much as $6.3 million in fines and restitution to settle an investigation by insurance regulators in Indiana and four other states into its handling of claims, complaints and marketing of its long-term care policies. The Carmel-based insurance company said today that the settlement affects customers of two subsidiaries: […]
WellPoint Inc. has won a contract to administer the Medicare program in New York and Connecticut, a deal worth up to $323 million over five years, the company announced today. The Indianapolis-based health insurer will perform key Medicare administrative functions, for its contracts with hospitals, nurses and physicians, including appeals, reimbursement, claims processing, medical review […]
Four years ago, attorney Greg Maurer decided he wanted to try his hand at venture capital. So he began calling everyone he knew in Indianapolis for help. It took several years. But eventually, Maurer attracted a team of experienced venture managers to his side. He also assembled two expert boards: one filled with scientists to help analyze the technical side of new business plans, and another composed of veteran investors to consider their market potential. Maurer, 31, is the son…
In this curious primary season, Indiana finds itself the brief center of attention as Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama invest time and treasure in the crossroads of America. The strongest focus in both their campaigns is my favorite subject-the economy. Both candidates bemoan the poor Hoosier economy, its job losses and income inequality. This would be a superb campaign approach for both candidates, except that their claims are wholly, totally and embarrassingly devoid of facts. Indiana’s economy is doing…
An Indianapolis firm helping oversee construction of the city’s $1.2 billion midfield terminal is facing accusations from
Southwest Airlines that it failed to ensure the quality of a $12.4 million concrete apron at Long Island MacArthur Airport.
A depression in the home-building market has claimed a Fishers builder and continues to hammer locally based Davis Homes LLC–a
powerhouse for years that now is facing foreclosure on about 80 home sites.
A local company that sells ticket and event packages associated with major sporting events has secured groundbreaking deals with the Ryder Cup and Churchill Downs Inc. Indianapolis-based Sport Events Ltd. will be one of the first two companies to sign an official deal with Churchill Downs to sell ticket and hospitality packages to the Kentucky Derby, run this year May 3. Previously, the fabled racetrack had chosen to run everything-including corporate hospitality-in-house. “In many cases, these properties have realized that…
Race fans can now buy one ticket to see the Indianapolis 500, Brickyard 400 and inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP motorcycle race.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time is offering a general…
About 20,000 historic properties were damaged in the storm, and Gay, executive director of Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans, has led the charge to save them. “We never felt like throwing up our hands,” Gay said. “We don’t do that.” The Preservation Resource Center contacted owners of the nearly 4,000 historic properties that were condemned after the hurricane. About 600 of them have been spared to date. The PRC also has been helping review the planned demolition of buildings…
Almost everyone involved with the Indy Racing League expected a firestorm of publicity after Danica Patrick won her first open-wheel race. But few predicted just how hot a commodity the 26-year-old driving diva would become following her April 19 win in Japan. “It’s not like we got caught unprepared. We had a plan in place for over a year,” said Terry Angstadt, president of IRL’s commercial division. The victory blueprint included a list of contacts to be made, interviews to…
Here I am standing in line at the grocery store. The sign above the cashier says, “Twelve items or less.” The woman in front of me has a basket with at least 20 items. Should I ask her if she can count? I am on foot waiting for the traffic light to turn green. There are other pedestrians also waiting. Should I step off the curb and cross the street if there are no cars coming? A child is sticking…
Authorities are considering pursuing criminal charges against Christopher P. White and other executives at Premier Properties USA Inc. in connection with deepening troubles at the local development firm, sources familiar with the matter said. Possible charges include check fraud and criminal mischief stemming from a $500,000 bad check White deposited into an account with The National Bank of Indianapolis in January. Accusations also are flying over whether White and Premier paid payroll taxes and properly credited employee 401(k) and health…
