Articles

Big Ten battles for TV sports bonanza

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.

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: How Indiana’s industrial economy looks to a newcomer

This week marks the start of my tenure as director of Ball State University’s Bureau of Business Research. I take over from Pat Barkey, whose thoughts on the state’s economy have long graced this column. His will be hard shoes to fill. I have read over many of Pat’s old columns, and the one thing that stands out is how much we agree on the issues facing the state-and their solutions. Contrary to the old stereotypes, hard-headed economists usually come…

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United Way seeks corporate help to promote reading: Fourth-grade program tries to attract 500 volunteers

Wanted: Corporate types willing to give an hour of time a week to a cause that is as critical as any business decision ever made. Must be willing to work with children. If interested, contact the United Way of Central Indiana. Intrigued? Then you might be a candidate for the ReadUP program, which aims to help fourth-graders within the Indianapolis Public Schools system become better readers. The ultimate goal is to produce more high school graduates for a district in…

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New ventures expanding school sports coverage: Players large and small converge on growing niche

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…

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College program target of New York investigation

An obscure not-for-profit has become a financial powerhouse since it was founded here 19 years ago. But now it’s in the crosshairs
of a New York state investigation into whether it and others that organize study abroad programs for college students offered
universities perks to become their preferred providers.

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IN THIS ISSUE:

I N T H I S I S S U E FOCUS:Insurance&BenefitsQuarterly19-24 Employerslooktohealthsavingsaccountsforpremiumrelief19 OneAmericaingoodpositiontogrowthroughacquisition19 NOTSTRICTLYBUSINESS45-47 15 A&EbyLouHarry:FringecharacterspopulateaFringeFilmhighlight45 Dining:FritesatBruggeBrasserie45 FunnyBusinessbyMikeRedmond:TheWorldofTomorrowhovers,preparestoland46 SportsbyBillBenner:Plentytochewonforsportsfansofeverystripe47 PERIMETER15-18 HendricksCounty:Brownsburgluresdrag-racingfirms15 45 BehindtheNews:Andrews4OPINION & EDITORIAL HowmortgagemeltdownsankOakStreet,Commentary:ChrisKatterjohn10othersIBJ’sEnterpriseAwardhits25 EconomicAnalysis:Barkey28AEditorial10 PartingthoughtsonIndiana’sstrengths,Dunnexitshowsboarddoingjobweaknesses EyeonthePie:Marcus11ClassifiedsandInternetDirectory34-35LifegoesondespitepropertytaxesPeople18Viewpoint:DeborahJ.Daniels11ReturnonTechnology:Altom32Helpingex-offendershelpsallofusSavingprinterpaperdoesn’tsavemuchmoneyRECORDS SmallBusinessProfile40Calendar33FundRaising41It’sadog’slifeConventions33InRecognition41 LISTS LargestIndianapolis-AreaRetirementSTOCKS Communities26Investing:Hauke28LargestIndianapolis-AreaAssisted-LivingDominoeffectworsenedwoesinsubprimeFacilities37market ProxyCorner:IrwinFinancialCorp.31 COMPANY INDEX This index does not include companies mentioned in letters to the editor, lists, charts and records. The page numbers listed refer to the pages where articles begin. 3S Karting Supply ………………17 Conseco Inc……………………….30 Interactive Intelligence Inc……10 Precedent Commercial 96th Street Steakburgers……….1 Crowe Chizek…

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Nurse shortage feeds online-training startup

By the year 2020, the United States is expected to face a nationwide shortage of at least 1 million nurses. Fishers-based
Orbis Education Services Inc. CEO Dan Briggs sees a potential profit center. Founded in 2003, IT startup Orbis aims to provide
the link between universities and hospitals for online delivery of nursing courses.

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Parting thoughts on Indiana’s strengths, weaknesses

The nice thing about economics is that we never really figure anything out. That hasn’t stopped folks like me from writing about economics and papers like this one from printing what we have to say. As I often have said to those who have remarked on these writings, nature abhors a vacuum. Someone else will be filling that vacuum next week, because this is my last column-for Indiana readers, at least. I am happy to leave you in the capable…

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Commentary: It’s way past time to complete Unigov

The property-tax disaster in Marion County and around Indiana is composed of two dependent parts: the manner in which property is assessed and the government infrastructure that establishes tax rates or levies and whose operations are funded in large measure by property-tax assessments. The state has improved the manner in which property is assessed. Unfortunately, the state has not done an adequate job of training assessors in all 92 counties. In Indianapolis, the challenge of accurately assessing property is compounded…

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How Family Friendly is: Baker & Daniels LLP: Serving regional, national and international business clients

Baker & Daniels LLP Serving regional, national and international business clients Flexible working arrangements Laptops and BlackBerries are provided for all legal and management staff to allow them to work from home or for use while traveling, when necessary. The firm allows attorneys to stay on partnership track while on a reducedhours schedule due to a family situation or other pre-approved situation. At its discretion, the firm will consider telecommuting arrangements for employees who have at least one year of…

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Prenatal product designed to aid development: Biologist mom of seven sold on benefits of system

When Lisa Jarrett was expecting her fourth child in 1991, her obstetrician husband pulled out an article he had read in a medical journal about a prenatal audio development system. Created by physician and researcher Brent Logan, the system is designed to help a baby’s brain develop before it is born by introducing simple rhythms similar to the mother’s heartbeat. “It’s a cognitive curriculum,” Jarrett said. After obtaining Logan’s tapes and using them through her next three pregnancies, she was…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Greener Indianapolis buildings could be within reach

In case you’ve missed it, energy dependence and environmental preservation are among the most pressing issues here at home and around the globe. The issue is forcing all of us to take a hard look at nearly every aspect of how we live. This self examination of sorts, extends point on building costs can sometimes move as a strategy to draw down life-cycle costs. Typically the increased front-end investment can be recovered within a relatively short period. In order to…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Property tax isn’t evil, it’s abused

There are two books I want to call to your attention. They are both written by Hoosiers and are both vitally important to Indiana at this time. But this column, again, must be about property taxes because that is the compelling issue of the day. One book is “I Never Worked a Day in My Life,” by Bill Haeberle, the retired IU business professor who has started and aided hundreds of businesses. The other is “Performance is the Best Politics,”…

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Personal training sessions keep gym clients coming

In a world where gyms and fitness centers beckon with billboards, water parks and membership specials, Body-N-Motion has found a lower-key, back-to-basics niche. Tucked in an office/flex park next to the headquarters of Mays Chemical Corp. on the northeast side, Mike “Mr. Motion” White’s 5-year-old gym specializes in personal training. All its clients have White or one of his 10 employees putting them through the paces of a customized workout that, White notes with pride, is rarely the same routine…

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MICKEY MAURER Commentary: Banker’s exit won’t end good deeds

Indiana, as you know, has not escaped the inevitable crush of consolidation in the banking industry. No one should have been surprised by the announcement that First Indiana Corp. was selling itself to an out-of-state bank, Milwaukee-headquartered Marshall & Isley Corp. In spite of the best efforts of M&I, The National Bank of Indianapolis, of which I am chairman of the board, will add business as a result of this transaction. Some of First Indiana’s customers prefer to deal with…

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New kind of high school pairs projects, technology: Educators hope approach boosts graduation rates

Students at three new Indiana high schools this fall are going to learn the California way. No, they won’t be holding classes on the beach. They’ll use technology and a project-oriented curriculum to learn about math, science and history, plus gain 21st century skills business leaders say today’s work force needs. The New Technology High School model, which began in Napa Valley, Calif., in 1996, will launch in Indiana this fall with New Tech High at Arsenal Tech, New Tech…

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Housing advocate seeing upswing: Mortgage market woes boost INHP participation

Al Smith of Chase Bank doesn’t know Patricia Wells, but he is glad he was able to help the Indianapolis mother of five, if only indirectly. Wells closed on the purchase of a house on East Washington Street three months ago, thanks in no small part to two programs of the Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership, a two-decade-old not-for-profit that has helped hundreds of families realize the American Dream of homeownership. “I’m a single mother with five kids and I didn’t…

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Strides taken in life sciences, experts say: Industry panel: Thanks to ongoing efforts, Indiana has experienced serious progress as biomedical hotbed during last 5 years

Five leaders of Indiana’s life sciences industry offered their perspectives at the Indiana Convention Center June 26 as part of the Indianapolis Business Journal’s Power Breakfast Series. The panelists: Mike Arpey, managing director of global investment bank Credit Suisse’s Asset Management Division and manager of the $73 million Indiana Future Fund for BioCrossroads, the state’s life sciences economicdevelopment initiative. Ron Ellis, co-founder, president and CEO of Lafayettebased Endocyte Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the treatment of cancer through receptor-targeted…

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Butler class to invest university endowment money

When a Butler University finance class starts investing in the stock market this fall, it won’t be Monopoly money that’s on
the line. In a three-year pilot program that is unique for a school of Butler’s size, a group of senior finance students will
use $1 million from the university’s endowment fund to invest.

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EYE ON THE PIE: Taxes pay for what Hoosiers want

Good people, me included, have been making dumb statements about the property tax mess in Indiana. The problem is that we don’t know enough to talk or write intelligently on the topic. The result is that we can be led by our noses into an even worse mess. “Abolish the property tax!” some demand. Then what? Abolition of the property tax means raising some other taxes or fees, unless government spending on services decreases. The state has been urging counties…

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