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Flood of traffic latest twist in RiverPlace battle: Indianapolis planners find traffic impact study for Fishers project leaky

Environmentalists who lost a court battle to stop RiverPlace on grounds it will cause flooding upstream along the White River have been buoyed by concerns raised by Indianapolis officials that the 69-acre development could create a torrent of traffic trouble. Last month, in a letter sent to Fishers’ public works director, the Department of Metropolitan Development cited numerous shortcomings with a traffic impact study commissioned by RiverPlace developer Centre Properties. Indianapolis-based Centre has asked Fishers to rezone the property, just…

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Minimum wage set to increase: Small-business owners bracing themselves for change

Jeff Coppinger just can’t support legislative efforts to raise the minimum wage. Part-time employees at his Lazy Daze Coffee House in Irvington start at $6 an hour and top out at about $8-well over the $5.15 hourly minimum. But he knows that won’t be good enough if a pending federal rate change passes. “In the past, I’ve always been a champion for raising the minimum wage,” said Coppinger, who opened his business in 2003. “But now that I’m in business,…

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Conner Prairie testing ideas for new exhibits: Officials consider virtual canoe ride, hearthside dinners in effort to keep museum’s attendance on upswing

The possibilities are intriguing: A tethered hot-air balloon ride. Old-time hearthside dinners prepared with farm-fresh ingredients. A wilderness-skill challenge that includes rock climbing and a virtual canoe ride. Leaders at Conner Prairie are weighing which-if any-of those ideas would be a good fit at the Hamilton County living history museum, which is focusing on its future even as it works to preserve the past. “The board is very committed to the idea that Conner Prairie must remain relevant and exciting…

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Embarking on a new Venture: New leader planning progressive changes at center, not a total revamping

The new leader of the Indiana Venture Center is beginning to put his stamp on the not-for-profit that mentors promising startups. James Eifert, 64, is the former president of Terre Haute-based Rose-Hulman Ventures who took charge of the center in December following the July resignation of Steve Beck. Beck left to become co-managing director of IVC Equity Partners, a new local seed-capital fund. Chief items on Eifert’s to-do list are broadening the donor base, revamping the Venture Center’s proprietary network…

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SPORTS: The Attucks story finally finds a national audience

Inspiration is timeless. In that regard, it doesn’t matter that two years after its initial release and 52 years after the fact, the story of the Crispus Attucks Tigers and their amazing coach, Ray Crowe, is finally being shared with the nation. On April 27, “Something To Cheer About,” the documentary that chronicles the triumphs and travails of the Attucks teams of the 1950s, opened in nine markets: New York; Los Angeles; Chicago; Detroit; Washington, D.C.; Atlanta; Minneapolis; Dallas; and,…

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IU alum selling rare Neiman collection

Indianapolis businessman Barton Kaufman is auctioning off 26 paintings by notable New York artist LeRoy Neiman. Kaufman plans
to donate the money to Indiana University, where he earned an undergraduate degree in 1962 and law degree in 1965.

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MICKEY MAURER Commentary: An Indianapolis gem shines again

It’s no secret that my mentor is Gene B. Glick. I was privileged to work for Gene early in my career and learn the right way to be a success in business. For example, the ability to remain calm while reacting to the many calamities and adversities of a typical business life is one of the attributes of the Glick style that I admire most. I could have used more time at the feet of this master, but, luckily, school…

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Ivy Tech: new community college with long history:

Indiana was on the verge of creating a statewide community college system 40 years ago, but Hoosier politics and university turf wars got in the way-stomping a seed that in recent years has flourished in other states as a sort of economic tree of life. Community colleges increasingly are called on to train new workers and retrain existing ones for a high-tech economy. But the thinking back in the 1960s, said then-freshman legislator John Mutz, was that a community college…

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Wright Development LLC: Providing the missing piece Development company aims to recreate neighborhoods

Driving around the Holy Cross area just east of Lockerbie, the CEO of Wright Development LLC points out several properties her company has bought and refurbished-starting with 1209 and 1210 E. Vermont St.-as well as the many rehabs in the works. “Our goal is to re-create neighborhoods and make them viable, thriving, desirable places to live,” she said. “That’s usually left to the city, the not-for-profits and the [community development corporations]. We feel like there’s been a component missing.” The…

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DOING GOOD: LINDSAY CORNELIUS: MBA student emerging as philanthropic leader

DOING GOOD LINDSAY CORNELIUS MBA student emerging as philanthropic leader To hear Lindsay Cornelius tell it, Indianapolis is the best place to live: It’s a growing city, with terrific new restaurants, fabulous art galleries, great parks, excellent museums, hip clubs and a booming downtown. But like any major metropoli tan area, it has its problems. And that has Cornelius, 26, determined to be among the legions of young men and women who care deeply about things like quality schools and…

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Ivy Tech boasts healthy enrollment, but most students wither on vine

Ivy Tech Community College–charged with cranking out workers to fill high-demand jobs in critical occupations–has an output
rate reminiscent of an old, state-owned Soviet assembly line. Incoming President Thomas Snyder is taking over a community
college system that graduates only 12 percent of its students within three years.

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EYE ON THE PIE: A useful program for Indiana’s future

I could see she was mad when I walked in the coffee shop. State representative Roberta Righteous was adding packet after packet of sugar substitute to her extra large macho mocha. As I sat down with my cup of regular, she blurted, “Your column last week was another cruel attack on the General Assembly. All criticism, all sarcasm, but no constructive suggestions for progress.” “You want constructive ideas,” I said, “I’ll give you some. “First, Indiana abandons partisan redistricting. When…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: The Great Society meets fiscal reality

Someone wise in matters of politics once said programs for the poor are poor programs. It remains true today-initiatives aimed at helping the most vulnerable in our society, be they privately or publicly funded, seem to be perpetually starved for funds. And so the genius of those who created the Social Security system-originally aimed at older Americans whose assets were devastated by the Great Depression in 1935-was to make the program available to all, regardless of income. In a few…

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Butler fights with small athletic budget to keep coaches

Butler University is running with the big dogs these days in men’s NCAA Division I college basketball–at least on the court.
Financially, though, the Bulldogs face a difficult dilemma in chasing after programs with bigger budgetary bones.

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NOTIONS: Job-seeking 101: Most applicants don’t pass course

Every few years about this time, I offer free job-seeking advice for collegians. Judging from the resumes deluging my company, it’s time to hum this tune again. The first line of the first song in the musical comedy “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” is “How to apply for a job.” That’s also the name of a course I’ve long proposed to colleges and universities. While more colleges are doing that, there’s a frequent flaw: waiting until the…

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Relax, you better get used to it-it’s only globalization: VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY

Globalization, like all sweeping economic trends, provokes a widespread disquiet. Specifically, we fear that somehow, if it continues unchecked, people in the United States will lose their high-paying jobs and we will devolve into a lowwage service economy. As China gains, we lose. To borrow a phrase from Thomas Friedman, they’re frightened that the flattening of the world economy will flatten us. It is true that traditional manufacturing jobs are fewer now than before. And, lots of things are made…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Time to stop being timid and tell the truth

The latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis show that Indiana ranks 33rd in per capita personal income. Fifty years earlier, in 1956, Indiana ranked 17th in the nation. Our state is in long-term economic freefall and we suffer with representatives who piddle away their time on raising revenue through gambling. Per capita personal income in Indiana has not been on par with the nation since 1966. We have a record of ongoing decline, interrupted briefly from time…

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Local international film fest growing by leaps and bounds: But still small potatoes compared with Heartland

The screen comes alive with the tale of a woman trying to track down her on-thelam husband even as she deals with her imprisoned brother and a grown son addicted to porn. The next night features a violence-packed trilogy of films about warring Asian gangs. Toto, we’re not at the Heartland Film Festival anymore. No, the 191 films set to be screened at the Indianapolis International Film Festival starting this month are grittier-helping it build a reputation for attracting a…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Jobs news is negative however you slice it

What’s the news on Indiana employment? Odd as it might seem, that phrase is almost a contradiction in terms. For while we do receive very timely, detailed information on how many jobs are carried on Indiana employers’ payrolls each month, the practical challenges in keeping close tabs on the latest zigs and zags in the 3 million-strong Hoosier labor force make the interpretation of the fresh data difficult. Only after the data have sat on the shelf for half a…

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Management’s traffic cop: Administrative assistants play numerous roles, gain more respect

As a girl, Lori Drzal dreamed of becoming a spy, a policewoman-something where she’d be helping others. Her father had different ideas. “Become a secretary,” he told her. “You’ll always have a job.” “Today,” she said, “I think, ‘Why did he tell me that?’ But … I’ve always had a job. I’ve always grown in my jobs, and I’ve always been challenged.” Drzal, 48, executive assistant to Steak n Shake President and CEO Peter Dunn for the past four years,…

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