His goal was to provide the proverbial one-stop shop, a place where “honey do” lists got done. Before long, he realized he may not have been aiming high enough. It seemed homeowners with not-so-handy honeys weren’t the only customers interested in what Schneller was selling. He also got calls from real estate agents who needed some last-minute home repairs completed before a sale could close. “They came to us with a laundry list of items,” Schneller said, ticking off an…
Tom Richardson credits fictional defense attorney Perry Mason and the climactic trials on the long-running television series for prompting him to become a court reporter more than 30 years ago. But the romance of participating in a high-profile court case or deposition and translating riveting testimony seems to be lost on the younger set. Industry experts say the dwindling number of licensed court reporters and the closure of a number of court-reporting schools have mired the profession in a severe…
A couple of weeks ago, I ate lunch with an attorney friend who was telling me about his eldest daughter-born, raised and now living in Indianapolis. A 27-year-old registered nurse, she was preparing to move to Chicago because she thinks “there is nothing to do here” for people her age. This really hit home for me because I have two daughters in the same age range living here, and both are starting to talk about moving away for a while,…
not Bigger leaving best for red all tape drophead Many attorneys find greener pastures in smaller practices after leaving major firms When lawyers Debra Miller and James Fisher fled legal powerhouse Ice Miller LLP and the prestigious partner status they had earned, their stable of coworkers swiftly sank from nearly 250 to none. Yet 15 months later, after the pair left the largest law firm in the city, they say they’re quite content practicing together at Miller & Fisher LLC,…
The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University plans to share more of its prolific research through two new courses to be tested this fall in Indianapolis, and launched here and elsewhere next spring. Both new courses, including one on the dynamics of women’s giving, could be a gold mine for perpetually prospecting not-for-profits-and for wealth advisers and wealth managers. “We’re hoping there could be some niches we can carve out in this area. There’s a great thirst for knowledge,” said…
The former home of the YWCA is about to change hands, but even without its own building, the organization once known for housing women plans to grow its scholarship programs and support other not-for-profits that advocate for women’s issues. The 4460 Guion Road facility is under contract to be sold “and we expect to close on it shortly,” said Greg Lynn, vice president of real estate for the Central Indiana Community Foundation. Lynn said he could not elaborate on the…
Local women forge a path to the top in health care management Health care is the second-fastest-growing sector of the U.S. economy, employing more than 12 million workers, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Women make up nearly 80 percent of the health care work force, and increasingly they’re moving into the executive ranks. Locally, St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital, Riley Hospital for Children and Noblesville’s Riverview Hospital all have women at the helm. And women hold top…
From a manufacturing perspective, the United States in the 21st century is a curious place. In 1950s, science promised us the day when high-technology advances would perfrom a whole range of mundane work, thus releasing humanity to the pursuit of more noble intellectual and fulfilling activities. A half-century later, much of that promise-at least from the technology side-has been fulfilled. Yet, curiously, when the natural evolution of the free market affects U.S. manufacturing, all manner of handwringing and doom-saying emerge….
PROFILE KARLA SNEEGAS Clearing the murky air ITPC director leads charge toward smoke-free Indiana Karla Sneegas is primed for battle. With the fervor of an ancient Crusader, this pint-sized warrior is fighting a “just war” to reduce Indiana’s addiction to tobacco as executive director of the Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation agency. At 4 feet, 11 inches, Sneegas is well-prepared for all foes. She’s armed with knowledge learned as a public health professional and as former director of South Carolina’s…
Experts haven’t pinpointed the exact reason, but they do know one thing-the rate at which children are being diagnosed with autism has been rising. About one child in 150 is diagnosed by the age of 8 with autism or a related autism spectrum disorder such as Asperger’s syndrome, according to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That rate is up about 10 times from the 1980s. Experts have a variety of theories to explain the…
Everyone in business today knows that customers have choices, and that making and keeping customers happy with your product has always been a big part of the game. These days dissatisfied customers have many more options than simply walking away-they can go online and blast your product in cyberspace, attacking the image and reputation you may have spent a lifetime trying to build. That’s the daunting prospect American businesses face every day. Yet as difficult as that sounds, here’s one…
Indiana’s stature as one of the nation’s top producers of corn and soybeans is as enduring as the fertile farmland in which the crops are grown. But a new initiative plans to introduce urban high school students in Indianapolis to a bushel of opportunities within the agriculture industry that extends well beyond farming. The Hoosier Agribusiness and Science Academy is a partnership between state government and Ivy Tech Community College in which students from the Lawrence Early College High School…
When The Indianapolis Star reported on its front page in mid-May that Indianapolis Public Schools had accidentally exposed thousands of private student records online, it was a potentially enormous public relations setback for locally based education software maker Angel Learning. Angel Learning had provided the software, and CEO Christopher Clapp said he immediately asked staffers to send explanation emails to all 300 of his customers. They then followed up with phone calls. He wanted to assuage clients’ worries right away….
Kevin Modany, CEO of ITT Educational Services Inc., carries an iPod and downloads drum solo videos from YouTube. But when
Modany, a young-looking 40-year-old, talks about ITT’s 35-percent increase in first-quarter profit, he comes across as savvy
and confident of his ability to take the post-secondary education provider to even greater heights.
Carol D’Amico has been publicly silent since the board passed over her for president of Ivy Tech Community College in March.
But a letter her attorney dashed off a day after the vote says she deemed neither of the finalists for the job qualified and
the selection process ripe for a lawsuit.
A BBC online story from November got me thinking about funny looks. I get those a lot, and not just because most mornings I look like a poorly repaired sidewalk. I get them because of the words I use. But I can’t help it. Nobody in technology can help it. When we talk about technology, we always sound like we’re mumbling jargon, even when we’re not. The article (news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6118828.stm) dealt with the frustration workers have with supposedly cool business jargon,…
Dear Austin and Zach: Well, my sons, it’s milestone week: your last day of high school; your 19th birthday; your mom and stepdad’s move to new digs designed for you as occasional guests rather than fulltime residents. Next up: “Pomp and Circumstance,” forgettable oratory and lots of unsolicited advice. And, of course, your big reward for 12 years of educational servitude: You get to move a tassel from the right to the left side of a rented mortar board. Inevitably,…
A recent article in Strategy+business magazine estimated that “the world’s urban infrastructure needs a $41 trillion makeover” between now and 2030. The article explained that $41 trillion is roughly equivalent to the “2006 market capitalization of all shares held in all stock markets in the world.” Some experts think that “new technology” will be the answer, and it may be when nanotechnology takes over the world. For now, however, the trend usually reinforces the trend, and we do the same…
Virtually unnoticed in the spate of bills that emerged from the 2007 session of the Indiana General Assembly was creation of a new officer in state government who can be extremely helpful in the state’s economic development efforts. The law creating a Geographic Information Officer, or GIO, gives official status to an important discipline that has been blossoming over the last 25 years and is increasingly relied upon in business and political decision-making. A Geographic Information System is a collection…
This year’s recipients of Techpoint’s Mira awards include some of the area’s best-known technology startups as well as lower-profile firms that have racked up big achievements. On May 18, the technology trade group was scheduled to acknowledge the accomplishments of Hoosier entrepreneurs in information technology, life sciences, advanced manufacturing and education with its eighth annual gala at the Indiana Roof Ballroom downtown. “It’s always good to recognize companies and give them a pat on the back, put them on the…
