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School founder traveled challenging road: Before starting Montessori Academy, Cain overcame loss of parents, dyslexia to earn engineering degree, MBA

Vivian Cain founded the Montessori Academy of Indianapolis five years ago, but for most of her life, she’s been a walking billboard for people striving to overcome obstacles. Cain, 36, operates the private school on the northwest side of Indianapolis. The academy, which Cain started with $40,000 of her personal savings, has grown to 100 students and could expand to include a second location. “When we first started, I opened and closed, and cleaned and cooked,” said Cain, who serves…

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NOTIONS: Fighting mountains, oceans with human connections

During the 1992 presidential campaign, H. Ross Perot used the phrase “that giant sucking sound” to describe what he feared would be a rush of American jobs into Mexico should the U.S. approve the North American Free Trade Agreement. In Indiana’s 2006 economy, “that giant sucking sound” describes the rush of Indiana talent across the state line to anywhere but here. In a phenomenon known as the “brain drain,” Indiana exports more young talent than it imports. But suppose we…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Let’s tax phone, Internet, TV usage

Felicity Futenmouth and I went to graduate school together. Her career in economics focused on consumer services provided by such first-class firms as MegaMedia, MegaMarkets and MegaMercenaries. We became reacquainted lately at our class’s 35th reunion. Over a nightcap of hot chocolate and biscuits, she enticed me with a coy question: “How do you feel about local taxes?” “I am all for them,” I responded. “If you don’t have local taxes, you don’t have a strong claim on the responsibility…

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Entrepreneurs keep day jobs: Moonlighting helps owners mitigate startup risks

Inventions at various stages of development are scattered around Qamar Shafeek’s ranch-style home on Indianapolis’ east side. An unnamed doohickey attached to a curtain rod pulls drapes open and shut along with the sliding glass door. A voice box gadget tells the single father when the garage or side doors open, alerting him to his children’s comings and goings. And a plastic pinwheel with tennis balls attached to the ends is making its way from a napkin-sketch idea to a…

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VIEWPOINT: To be a logistics leader, state needs a plan

Indiana is poised to become the country’s logistics center. Recently, there has been a lot of discussion on that topic. Now is the time for business, government and education to come together and make it happen. SupplyNet 2006-the recent statewide conference that brought together not only transportation, distribution and logistics industries, but also representatives from manufacturing, retail, information technology, government and academia-detailed the broader picture of supplychain management. As a cutting-edge business strategy, supply-chain management integrates internal and external logistics…

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SPORTS: Child of city fears demise of program that saved her

You can sense the ache in Rochelle Taylor’s heart, the knot in her stomach. She goes to bed at night wondering, “What are we going to do?” She wakes up thinking, “What are we going to do?” Kids are her passion. Not just any kids, but the ones who live in the city neighborhoods … often underserved, undeserving victims of circumstances into which they were born. And circumstances in which they might remain, unless someone extends a hand. Taylor is…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Late urban planner’s ideas still hold lesson for today

Jane Jacobs passed away in late April. This working mother with no formal education in urban planning wrote the book that revolutionized the way we thought -and still think-about cities. “The Death and Life of American Cities,” first published by Vintage Books in 1961, became the equivalent of the “Art of War” by Sun Tzu in the fight against “urban renewal” in the 1960s. Ms. Jacobs’ enemies in the 1960s probably thought she was tougher on them than Sun Tzu…

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SPORTS: Justin Gatlin is a fast fix for USA Track and Field

Shortly thereafter, he was on his way to Indy to promote the upcoming AT&T USA Track & Field Outdoor National Championships. The event takes place June 21-25 at the Michael Carroll Stadium at IUPUI, and it’s the result of Indybased USA Track & Field’s initiative to bring more of its events to its hometown. Talk about good timing. Track and field’s national profile needs a between-Olympic-years boost and track and field locally-the kind that used to electrify this city back…

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VIEWPOINT: Illiteracy is a hot economic issue

“Is anybody there? Does anybody care? Does anybody see what I see?” So goes the refrain from the musical “1776,” when George Washington communicates his frustration with how badly the Revolutionary War is going while the Continental Congress continues to debate the pros and cons of declaring independence from the British crown. Does anybody in Indiana see what I see? I see an economy, slowly recovering, but not booming like the rest of the country. I see state tax collections…

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PROFILE: Complexions Day Spa: Downtown day spa has glowing business Irvington native focuses on organic products, attracts clients from entertainment, sports scenes

Complexions Day Spa Downtown day spa has glowing business Irvington native focuses on organic products, attracts clients from entertainment, sports scenes Trinia Cox’s venture builds on a 10-year career in skin care and makeup artistry with stints in Chicago and Los Angeles. And the location of Complexions Day Spa on Massachusetts Avenue was a good fit with her background in the arts, including gigs as a singer with Dr. Bop and the Headliners and her own group, Trinia and the…

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Banks enroll to help educators: As Indiana falls behind, financial literacy programs blossom

Their answer: a need. As in, one cannot exist without food, shelter and a $175 pair of sneakers. While the marketing folks at Nike would smile at the association, it makes personal finance experts like Avery cringe. They say it’s another example of an alarming level of financial ignorance that has allowed nationwide consumer debt to zoom past $2 trillion. And the pain is especially acute in Indiana. “You don’t have to look far beyond the bankruptcy and foreclosure statistics…

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Crown Hill nearing new deal: About 70 acres expected to sell for $5.2M

An announcement on new development for 70 acres of woodlands held by Crown Hill Cemetery and Funeral Home may come within weeks, bringing to a close a controversial land deal that some environmental and neighborhood groups hoped to stall. Crown Hill leadership is talking with three developers that have submitted competing proposals for mixed-use projects, cemetery President Keith Norwalk said. He declined to name the developers or provide details on their proposals but called an announcement “fairly imminent.” The price…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Improving state’s economy requires a team approach

More than 50 years ago, the famous economist Joseph Schumpeter told a simple story that perfectly captured the essence of market capitalism. It’s a turn-of-the-century tale of a railroad being built in a part of the country where none had existed. The new investment rapidly upsets the order of everything-once ideally situated towns are left high and dry, while others move up in stature as they exploit newfound advantages. It’s messy and it’s painful, but the result is for the…

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CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: Now we have a plan-let’s use it

For years, Indiana politicians-at least the smart ones-have talked about the importance of economic growth and development, and behind the scenes business leaders have replied, “Duh. How about coming up with some kind of plan?” This was always a hot button for Dave Goodrich, retired real estate executive and former head of Central Indiana Corporate Partnership. In his days at CICP, Goodrich would bend the ear of anyone willing to listen about the need for a plan. Well, how does…

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Colleges tweak study-abroad programs: As student participation rises, schools make changes to offset loss of tuition

The University of Indianapolis used to forfeit thousands of dollars in tuition from students studying abroad in the shadows of the Acropolis in ancient Greece. That is no longer an issue, however, because U of I assumed full ownership of its branch campus in Athens two years ago from separate management that previously received tuition from students spending a semester there. “That’s one way we can cut back on the loss, because they’re still enrolled with us,” said Mimi Chase,…

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BRIAN WILLIAMS Commentary: Should we invest in ethanol or education?

During times of high gasoline prices, the investment made by the Daniels administration in six ethanol plants would seem prudent. The touted benefits of ethanol plants are that they create jobs in rural communities, support Indiana corn growers, improve air quality, and lower dependence on foreign oil. As an Indianapolis resident with little exposure to our farm economy, my first question was, “How do you make ethanol?” Ethanol is made by fermenting and distilling simple sugars like those found in…

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Boutique high schools could bolster work force: Movement targets students who need extra help and otherwise might not pursue higher education

Two school districts have received pivotal funding for “early college high schools” to prepare secondary students for the rigors of college and give them the opportunity to earn college credits before setting foot on campus. The initiative also could be a plus for area employers to the extent it improves the pool of qualified workers locally. Indianapolis Public Schools’ Crispus Attucks Medical Magnet/Early College High School and the Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township’s Early College High School each received…

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First-class parking: Airport freebie list includes former politicians, other VIPs

Scott Jones could probably afford to buy the 1,800-space parking garage at Indianapolis International Airport, as one who’s earned millions of dollars in patent income from voice mail technology he invented. But why buy the garage? The Indianapolis multimillionaire shows up on a list of nearly 400 politicians and other VIPs entitled to free parking at the airport, a review of airport records shows. Begun as a courtesy to a handful of elected officials decades ago, the free parking list…

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BioCrossroads seeks help teaching math and science: Education center to bolster students’ careers

Indiana life sciences initiative BioCrossroads wants to improve the science and math skills of Indiana’s elementary and high school students. To figure out how, it’s asking the public for ideas. BioCrossroads released a “request for interest in participation” in the creation of a new K-12 Indiana Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Education Resource Center. Patterned after the North Carolina Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Center, BioCrossroads’ STEM is meant to be a Web-based, largely virtual organization. It would coordinate math…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: It’s time we get started on a new state economy

Have you ever plunked down a lot of money for something and worried if you made the right choice? You have plenty of company. To cope with that insecurity, some of us try to persuade our friends to follow our footsteps. We put forth convincing arguments why our brand of car, or our new electronic gizmo, is really the best thing, and feel comforted and vindicated when they make the same choice we made. For too many years, that simple…

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