Retailers and shopping center owners are right in crusading for a level playing field in taxation. It isn’t fair that most online retailers don’t charge sales taxes, while traditional retailers in Indiana must tack on 7 percent.
The scientific evidence has been there for years. The financial argument is easy to make. Yet the idea of protecting the public from the potentially deadly effects of secondhand smoke hasn’t caught fire in the halls of power—at least that’s been the case in Indiana.
President Obama’s fiscal commission is doing its job by recommending tough taxing and expense-slashing measures meant to attack our nation’s debt crisis. Indiana’s congressional delegation should keep the momentum going.
A more robust public transportation system might be just what the region needs to connect people with jobs, spark development near transit stops, elevate the city’s stature, and reduce the need to regularly pour millions into widening our roads. Or it might be a big, unnecessary waste of money.
The saga of the Di Rimini apartments is a cautionary tale, and one Indianapolis officials would do well to heed.
We like the changes afoot at City Market. But if the latest attempt to reposition it doesn’t work, the city should consider mothballing the beloved old building until its surroundings become a benefit rather than a liability.
Indiana lawmakers are gearing up for another legislative session, and township government reform will return to the agenda. We hope proponents can finally hit a home run.
The city’s plan to provide an $86 million loan for the mixed-use North of South real estate development adjacent to the Eli Lilly and Co. campus has drawn criticism from those who think the city should focus first on other needs, such as IndyGo and public libraries.
Conflicts of interest shouldn’t happen, but one that made news this month should inspire legislation to slow the revolving door between the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission and the utilities it is supposed to watch.
When people see what’s happening on and near East 10th Street—and they will, thanks to the Super Bowl connection—they’ll see what’s possible and, we hope, join similar efforts.
Recent economic times have been tough on many Americans. But those who already were suffering most often have taken the hardest blows.
Mayor Greg Ballard strikes us as someone who puts pragmatism over politics. That’s why we’re hopeful he’ll reconsider details of the controversial plan to turn over the city’s metered parking to a private vendor.
One damper on Indiana’s entrepreneurial growth has been the shrinking of the 21st Century Research and Technology Fund, which has lost half its support because of state budget woes. As soon as state revenue permits, the state should bring this key program back to its funding level of $37 million a year, or boost it even higher.
Indiana’s public universities aren’t garnering enough research funding, and the research they’re conducting isn’t churning out high-paying jobs in quantities everyone would like, but Hoosiers shouldn’t be wringing their hands in despair.
Tony Bennett, the state’s superintendent of public instruction for nearly two years, deserves accolades for shoving
education reform toward the top of Indiana’s agenda.
It’s puzzling to us that leaders of the United
Auto Workers Local 23 are against members even casting a vote on the proposed takeover of GM’s Indianapolis metal-stamping plant by Illinois-based J.D.
Norman Industries.
It isn’t difficult to grasp the reasoning behind Mayor Greg Ballard’s proposal to privatize the city’s
parking operations.
Indianapolis has made strides toward becoming a “greener” city in the last few years. Reusing what we discard makes sense, but not everything should be disposable.
That includes the sports landmarks we’ve made a habit of turning into rubble.
We’re happy to see that partisanship didn’t sink Mayor Greg Ballard’s plan to sell Indianapolis’
water and sewer utilities to Citizens Energy Group. Now city leaders need to make sure they spend the money wisely.
The violence that sometimes erupts on the streets of downtown during Summer Celebration’s final weekend can no
longer be tolerated.
