IndyGo seeking input on paratransit service improvements
IndyGo has long struggled to improve its Open Door service for riders with disabilities. It’s launching a series of public meetings this week to solicit ideas from the public.
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Greenwood approves agreement for $83M redevelopment project
The redevelopment of the former Greenwood Middle School site would bring hundreds of residential units, plus restaurants, retailers and a public parking garage to the city’s downtown.
Carmel Council to consider establishing formal investigations process
A council member’s investigation into the Hotel Carmichael’s cost overruns and a city employee’s complaint hit a roadblock, so she’s co-sponsoring two proposed ordinances intended to provide guidance related to the council’s investigatory powers.
Indianapolis planning to spend $190M to update public facilities
Each project would range from $7 million to as much as $40 million, with funding coming from bonds tied to an expiring pension levy.
IBJ Podcast: Why business execs are pushing back against legislative interference in Indy
More than 60 business and not-for-profit executives have signed a letter telling lawmakers to back off proposals that would restrict or usurp power from city government in Indianapolis.
City’s former deputy mayor joins law firm Bose McKinney
The Indianapolis-based law firm said Thomas Cook will join its Site Selection & Economic Incentives Group, where he’ll assist clients with economic development deals, among other duties.
Q&A with Taylor Schaffer, Indy’s new chief deputy mayor
Schaffer got her start with Hogsett as a volunteer—and eventually a full-time staffer—on his first mayoral campaign and became his communications director when he took office in 2016.
Hogsett chief of staff Cook stepping down after 5 years in job
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett on Wednesday announced turnover in the positions of chief of staff and deputy mayor of neighborhood engagement.
City to close Monument Circle to homeless camps
Mark Bode, deputy communications director for Mayor Joe Hogsett, said the impetus behind the notice is that “encampments and storage of personal property in the Circle are blocking pedestrian traffic and causing disruption to nearby businesses.”
Q&A: Making Indy safe for people with autism
District 5 City-County Councilor Ali Brown has launched the Indy Autism Project, with the goal of making Indianapolis the “safest city in the country” for those with autism spectrum disorder, which causes impairments in behavior and social interactions.
Planned Noblesville bypass can’t seem to avoid controversy
Officials are leaning toward choosing a path that cuts through the property of a major employer, in order to avoid the route that would pass through a historic district. The employer is threatening to leave the city.
City turns to hotels to help house homeless through pandemic winter
The usual plan, which involves packing people closely on as many cots and mats as Wheeler Mission’s shelters can hold, isn’t an option under social distancing guidelines.
Near-north side area chosen for Lift Indy redevelopment program
The area will receive about $3.5 million in funding over the next three years from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Home Investment Partnership Program and the Community Development Block Grant program.
Community development in Old Southside is on the move
City program Lift Indy will direct $4 million in investment throughout the neighborhood. Many of those projects are already underway or will be launched in 2021.
Dinner at Governor’s Residence, $25M land purchase helped snag Elanco HQ
The state’s pitch to keep Elanco Animal Health Inc. in Indiana for the long term began with a dinner at the Governor’s Residence two years ago.
City-County Council plan would fight food access, insecurity issues
Proposal 337 could move the needle forward on food insecurity and access problems by creating a structure that brings together and guides stakeholders already working on solutions.
Q&A: The latest stop in a long career of public service
Mayor Joe Hogsett has promoted Anne Mullin O’Connor—a longtime public servant in local and state government—to be the city’s corporate counsel, essentially his administration’s top attorney.
Hogsett, wife in quarantine after potential COVID-19 contact
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett and his wife, Steph, had close contact with a person last weekend who subsequently tested positive for COVID-19, according to the mayor’s office.
City preparing to open Assessment and Intervention Center next week
Mayor Joe Hogsett’s administration has described the new substance abuse and mental health treatment center as the first of its kind in the state.
Restaurants: Tighter rules would cause devastation
A surge in coronavirus cases has local restaurateurs fretting that public officials are on the cusp of imposing severe restrictions that they say will force hundreds of local eateries to close.