The sliding value of the U.S. dollar is boosting financial results for some of Indiana’s big exporters. The dollar recently
hit its lowest point in 15 years against an index of other major currencies, such as the euro, the Chinese yuan and Canadian
dollar.
We don’t have to be obsessed with property taxes. All is not dreadful despite the clamor of some disaffected taxpayers. For example, La-Porte has two operating barbershops on the same street downtown. This warms the heart. Equally positive is finding an excellent housing stock in LaPorte, with many beautiful homes painted in a joyous, imaginative fashion. Can you believe the McDonald’s in Winamac opens at 4:30 a.m. and keeps its drive-through open 24 hours a day? That alone suggests a…
Hanging out at the art world’s water cooler, but don’t know how to break the ice? Here are several topics IBJ has identified that will be on the tips of the tongues wagging in the local arts scene. Read and discuss amongst yourselves. What do you think of Max Anderson’s leadership at the Indianapolis Museum of Art? Since taking over in mid-2006, staff say Anderson is constantly beating this drum: The IMA is a top-10 encyclopedic museum; it’s time we…
More than 18 months after flying out of a bankruptcy reorganization that unloaded $1 billion of debt and costly aircraft leases,
the parent of ATA Airlines still finds landing a profit elusive. Indianapolis-based Global Aero Logistics posted a loss of
$46.1 million in the first half of 2007, according to documents it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
As Julian Opie’s pop art sculptures get carted away this week, officials are in talks with New York City artist Chakaia Booker
about featuring her work in next year’s public art blowout. Booker’s shtick-sculptures created entirely from used tires.
You have an auto accident, but you have insurance. You’ve religiously paid your premiums, so when you arrive to pick up your repaired vehicle at the auto body shop, you are shocked to discover that your auto insurance company has gone under, the shop hasn’t been paid, and it won’t release your car. At this point, despair sets in, but is soon replaced with hope in the form of the guaranty fund systems in place to cover claims of insolvent…
Bloomington-based Author Solutions Inc. is purchasing a big rival-a move that reflects consolidation in the self-publishing industry as firms like Amazon.com take a bigger share of the business. Author Solutions, which operates as AuthorHouse, agreed to buy Nebraska-based iUniverse. Terms were not disclosed. Since its founding in 1997, Authorhouse has produced more than 45,000 books. […]
Citizens Gas & Coke Utility shuttered its coke manufacturing plant earlier this summer, much to the relief of neighbors and
health officials who warned that its benzene emissions were a cancer threat. But regulatory filings show closing the plant
at Keystone Avenue and Prospect Street could result in more pollution downtown.
At last, we have a commission working to see if we can improve government in Indiana through reorganization. Former Gov. Joe Kernan and Supreme Court Justice Randy Shepard are leading the effort. Some of us are concerned that the commission has been established to find ways not to improve government services, but to cut local property taxes. The two goals might not work in the same direction. Public libraries are often cited as ripe for consolidation. There are 238 of…
No environmentalist would mistake Indianapolis for the poster child of green building, but local designers and contractors are preparing themselves to capture a market they expect will become an integral piece of their portfolios. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standard, better known as LEED, is a benchmark of sorts for designing, building and operating environmentally friendly buildings. At least 16 projects in the metropolitan area are seeking the LEED certification, but only one so far has achieved green…
“Be Indypendent” bumper stickers are popping up all over town. They’ve been stuck to the side of Dumpsters and the back of everything from VW bugs to cable repair trucks since debuting in July. The curious who follow the message back to its Web site discover an effort to get everyday consumers interested in buying locally produced artwork. The site (www.beindypendent.org) already has had nearly 2,000 hits from seven countries and 35 states, and now campaign organizers are looking to…
I recall being on the football field at Ball State University in November of 1996, moments after the Cardinals had clinched the Mid-American Conference championship. The head coach, Bill Lynch, was exceedingly thrilled, as you might expect. But he also was exceedingly humble, deflecting the credit and making sure the spotlight was focused not on him, but on his players. Fast forward to 1999, when Ball State was in the throes of a losing streak that was to reach 21…
Sooner or later, in the life of almost every building owner, there comes a time when a structure has outlived its usefulness in its current condition. A choice between two options must be made. Do we renovate or do we demolish and build something totally new? The answer is by no means easy or automatic. Confronted with these options, an owner must grapple with a host of issues. The following sample is not exhaustive but may prove helpful as a…
The new Big Ten Network and some of the nation’s largest cable television systems are fighting over how consumers will be charged for the network’s programming. Hundreds of sporting events could be blacked out in local markets, including scores of Indiana and Purdue university football and basketball games, if the two sides don’t reach an agreement.
A sign on the basement wall reads “Construction Zone.” Nearby on the router table, window frames are taking shape along with decorative pieces that will adorn the façade of a World War IIera brownstone. Behind a red plywood wall a few floors up, hammers knock and saws shrill as workers erect a 13,500-square-foot homage to three children who changed the world. It’s just another day at the office for the production crew at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. For months,…
First Indiana Corp.’s announcement that it would be sold to Milwaukee-based Marshall & Ilsley Corp. for $529 million in cash
came just 17 days after sale discussions began. Banking observers have speculated for weeks that First Indiana acted fast
to cut a deal before it would have to report second-quarter results.
High school sports coverage, once found only in the back pages of local newspapers’ sports sections, is now spawning new Internet and print businesses. The players involved range from large public companies and professional sports franchises to small entrepreneurs. The effort to score with high school sports coverage appears to be driven by a growing number of advertisers interested in the diverse audience attracted to scholastic events. In recent months, High School Sports The Magazine debuted in central Indiana, Emmis…
The chief of the Anderson Police Department is a huge Indianapolis Colts fan, but his support for Forest Lucas may be as endearing. Lucas’ $122 million investment to secure naming rights for the new Indianapolis Colts stadium caught the attention of Chief Frank Burrows, who was contemplating switching to synthetic motor oil for the department’s […]
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Less than a decade ago, diesel engines were viewed as loud pollution machines punching holes in the ozone. Now their cleaner,
quieter cousins are powering a resurgent Cummins Inc.
