IBJ is seeking instead to host a true discussion with the major-party candidates about the significant issues facing the city and the current and next administrations. So there will be no traditional time limits. No podiums. No props.
It’s time for a big-picture, public discussion about re-envisioning the 791,000-square-foot property—rather than continuing the status quo of having mall officials do the best they can to plug vacancies in the property as it’s currently configured.
We’re behind the effort, but can’t overemphasize the need for follow-up.
The demise of Marsh Supermarkets two years ago continues to vex neighborhoods across central Indiana, which are stuck with gaping anchor holes in their strip shopping centers.
In a few days, some of the nation’s most important African American leaders—in business, politics, entertainment and philanthropy—will descend on Indianapolis for the National Urban League Conference.
With freedom and choice comes responsibility. And so as Indiana has expanded the types of schools that students and their families can attend on the state’s dime—from traditional public schools to specialty schools called charters to even private and religious schools—so too has it created new obligations for those involved in the system.
We don’t expect Hamilton County to become a hotbed of liberalism. Nothing in the county’s past or present suggests that could or should happen. But Democrats should be able to offer legitimate alternatives to the dominant party.
The federal government has recommended—and Gov. Eric Holcomb’s administration has suggested—increasing the premiums pay into the state’s unemployment fund to help build its surplus for the next economic downturn.
Businesses, confronting an unemployment rate around 4 percent, are struggling to hire. Meanwhile, the formerly incarcerated, who face an unemployment rate about five times higher than the general population, need work to help sustain themselves and their families.
The measure is especially important after the Indiana General Assembly’s failed to act on a similar proposal as well as a bill that would have significantly increased the cigarette tax. That’s despite strong support for both bills from a broad spectrum of business, religious, health and not-for-profit organizations.
The 21 Fund’s purpose has meandered a bit since it was created in 1999, but it always has been dedicated in some way to encouraging research, technology and innovation. And that investment is key to maintaining the state’s efforts to create a vibrant tech community.
On the morning of April 12, the Capital Improvement Board voted unanimously to approve a Pacers deal that will cost the quasi-governmental entity nearly $800 million over the next 25 years. But until that morning, there had been no public discussion hinting that a deal would be so costly.
We are less pleased that many Republican lawmakers did everything they could to ensure the law did not include specific language about gender identity.
With the Legislature more inclined these days to reject proposals the business community say will boost the state’s economy, companies are forced to compensate in any way they can.
Local companies—be they big corporations or small startups—need a strong talent pool from which to draw their workers. State and local governments need a healthy tax base from which to pull revenue to keep the region’s infrastructure—roads, mass transit, internet access and more—strong enough for business. And the region needs residents who invest time, money and energy into their homes, their schools and their community at large. None of that can happen when a large percentage of the population is economically drowning.
It’s time for the Hogsett administration to put all the numbers on the table. They may be justifiable. But keeping the public in the dark isn’t.
We are excited to now be doing OUR work with the Soldiers and Sailors Monument right outside our window—the view a constant reminder of our obligation to aggressively and accurately cover our community and hold elected officials and business leaders accountable.
When the governor returns from a nine-day trade mission to France, Belgium and Germany, we hope he’ll not just testify in favor of a stronger bill but meet with legislative leaders one on one to emphasize the importance of passing the hate crimes bill that the business community wants.
Indiana is currently one of a few states without a hate crimes law and getting off that list is important to the state’s economic development and talent-recruitment efforts.
Too many legislators are afraid of being attacked in the next election for raising taxes. Fear of being “primaried” over a tax hike—even one most people support—is one of the sad byproducts of a system where gerrymandered “safe” districts in too many instances make general-election results a foregone conclusion.
