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BEHIND THE NEWS: Steak n Shake troubles may cut chance of sale

Here’s a silver lining to The Steak n Shake Co.’s deepening woes: They might scare off potential buyers, keeping the locally based diner chain independent for the foreseeable future. “While Steak n Shake continues to look at alternatives to increase shareholder value, we believe the business will need to be stabilized to attract any meaningful interest,” CL King & Associates analyst Michael Gallo wrote in a new report. Indeed, getting the 491-restaurant chain back on track could take a long…

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SURF THIS: Custom cards: A gift that has you written all over it

I was in Texas a couple of weeks ago addressing a marketing conference organized by Strategic Fulfillment Group. The room was full of smart, progressive marketing minds, all sharing ideas about how to best address their respective customers. The focus of my presentation was building better online shopping environments, so we were all pretty well entrenched in the concepts, methods, and trends of selling online. Yet even this esteemed company didn’t come up with the innovative idea that Starbucks would…

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NOTIONS: Surefire CPR for the high cost of government

Last Saturday, my wife Cherí and awoke to a beautiful fall day. Having no o b l i g a t i o n s , w decided to take spontaneous trip to Orange County, to see the restored West Baden Springs Hotel Despite the rash of stoplights on State Road 37 and a flurry of pre-game traffic for the Old Oaken Bucket clash, the drive was a breeze. Cherí had never been to West Baden Springs. So the beautifully…

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INVESTING: Signs point to strong rally in agricultural commodities

The biggest stories of 2007 have been oil’s relentless rise and China’s growing presence on the world stage. These two are obviously related, as energy needs in China help push oil prices higher. But things move in cycles, and as the world economies slow down and U.S. stocks move into a bear market, there is another way to play these two stories that should continue to dominate our lives the next five years. The next several years could be characterized…

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SPORTS: The Irish fired-and hired-themselves into a stew

If you are among those who believe-and I am among them-that the University of Notre Dame treated Tyrone Willingham unjustly three years ago when it fired him as its football coach just three seasons into his tenure, then you probably share my sense that what goes around has come around in South Bend. If you also are among those who believe-and, again, I am among them-that one of the reasons Charlie Weis is a chunky fellow is because he’s so…

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VIEWPOINT: The high cost of traffic Band-Aids

According to the article titled “Traffic Transformation?” in the Oct. 15 IBJ, the Indiana Department of Transportation is working on a roughly $600 million plan to relieve traffic congestion in the area of interstates 465 and 69. Hold on a second! What is really broken here? I contend little to nothing. Yes, roadways need maintenance and upkeep, but these roadways operate just fine. Because this area is congested at the morning and evening rush hour, the perception exists that these…

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BEHIND THE NEWS: Founding family tossed from slumping Man Alive

Embattled Finish Line Inc. has quietly sent the family that founded and ran its Man Alive chain packing. The company on Nov. 12 announced the appointment of former Haggar Clothing Co. executive Lou Spagna as president of the struggling 96-store urban apparel chain. Tucked in the press release was a quote from Finish Line President Glenn Lyon expressing “our appreciation to the Bublick family for the service they have provided.” It was a major overhaul. Gone are Jeff Bublick, 47,…

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EDITORIAL: Stunning victory a call to change: But Ballard shouldn’t forget past

Stunning victory a call to change But Ballard shouldn’t forget past The shock has faded and reality is starting to set in. Indianapolis really will have a new mayor in 2008. Republican Greg Ballard’s victory over two-time incumbent Mayor Bart Peterson was more than an election stunner of historic proportions-it was a rare case of voters turning over a city to someone they knew little about. Ballard, under-funded and under-supported by his own party, pulled off his epic upset for…

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Corporate meeting rooms become high-tech wonders: High-definition videoconferencing a growing option

Corporate PowerPoint presentations are becoming so passé. Just as consumers are craving high-definition television sets for their living rooms, corporations and hotels are taking the next step and integrating the technology into their boardrooms and meeting space. Besides videoconferencing in high definition, other high-tech gadgetry now available for both the business and hospitality sectors includes digital signage displaying messages for employees or guests, and digital room scheduling alerting when meeting rooms are in use. While some companies are upgrading to…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Children are central issue for ’08

The election campaign of 2008 can transform our state if the candidates focus their attention on children. We can develop a healthy economy and become a model of civility if we focus systematically on our children. Many people are convinced government spends too much. What they mean is that government spends for services that don’t benefit them or services they wish they did not need. Who wants to spend money on juvenile corrections or adult reading programs for prisoners? Who…

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Expanded center luring new conventions: City visitor’s association lining up groups, events for new stadium, bigger center

Work on the Indiana Convention Center expansion is at least six months away, but numerous organizations already have reserved their space in anticipation of the larger venue. Construction on the $275 million project is expected to begin next summer and last until 2010. After completion, the center will have 747,370 square feet of tradeshow space, about 253,000 more than it has now, in addition to 183,000 square feet available at the new Lucas Oil Stadium. The Indianapolis Convention & Visitors…

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Five years after merger, agency out of the woods: Big Brothers Big Sisters moving in the right direction

Big Brothers of Indianapolis and Big Sisters of Central Indiana merged five years ago in hopes of mentoring more at-risk children, but turnover at the top of the organization has made it hard to get the ball rolling. The combined agency has had three leaders since the 2002 merger; revenue, which peaked at $2.3 million in 2003, has been up and down; and one-on-one mentor matches-its core activity-also declined. Despite the challenges, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana finally…

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SURF THIS: Our changing expectation of experts

It seems like everyone is an expert at something. We have automobile experts, stock market experts, antique experts… my company even has a client who’s a sheep and goat expert. In an I n t e r n e t – c e n t r i c world, though, these experts can find themselves in a tough place. Online, information is clamoring to be free (or pretty cheap) and readily available. It’s no longer enough to declare yourself an…

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Not your father’s car lot: Auto dealers grab attention with livelier designs

The three-tiered floor gives a commanding view of the flick playing on the big screen. Down the hall, other guests sit entranced behind flat-panel TVs in a spacious lounge, or check their e-mail courtesy of the building’s wireless signal. Not far away, 20 kids and their parents celebrate a birthday party. It’s not a movie theater, a Hilton or a Chuck E. Cheese’s: It’s Burd Ford’s new facility at 10320 E. Pendleton Pike. These days, almost every new or remodeled…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: It’s time to use mass-appraisal model on state’s homes

In the 10 years since Indiana’s property-appraisal system was ruled unconstitutional, taxpayers have spent perhaps $1 billion to remedy the situation. That’s more than $350 per household, and more than we spend on environmental protection each year. “Wowser” is the only printable exclamation I can muster. Among other things, Gov. Mitch Daniels’ tax plan proposes the elimination of the township assessors (there are 1,008 offices statewide). According to a 2004 Chamber of Commerce study, streamlining the system would result in…

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SPORTS: Calm on display just days before the big game

On the morning of Oct. 30, just five days before the NFL’s Game of the Century, Regular-Season Variety, I imagine-but don’t know for certain-that New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick was hunkered down in some office bunker at the Patriots training complex, bags under his eyes, hooded sweatshirt pulled over his head, scowl on his face. Certainly, he was poring over game films of the Indianapolis Colts, searching for clues that would help his team continue on its scorched-earth mission…

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EYE ON THE PIE: News offers savory opportunities

I save newspaper items thinking they will make good columns. But with only one column per week, I end up with piles of good ideas. Here are four items I found interesting: Another sports opportunity: The National Lacrosse League has canceled its season. I didn’t know there was a league of 13 professional lacrosse teams. This was another instance of players and owners not being able to come to agreement on salaries. Both of those groups and the fans are…

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THE TRAVELING LIFE: This may not be the end of the world, but…

“A pop-culture update for those who’ve been living in Bhutan for the last several years…..” That was the beginning of an article in a recent Indianapolis Monthly and, while I don’t even remember now what the story was about, I knew after reading those words that I had to go to Bhutan. My reasoning: If this country is so remote that it’s used as a frame of reference for being out of touch, then I wanted to go there. Turns…

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Bean Field popular tailgate site: Compromise over parking at new stadium keeps decades-long tradition alive

How’s this for irony? The state’s nowscuttled plans to raze N.K. Hurst Co.’s headquarters to make way for Lucas Oil Stadium parking would have paved over a long-standing Colts game-day tradition. The Indianapolis-based bean company has hosted Colts tailgate parties before every home game since the 1980s. Its McCarty Street parking lot-known as Hurst Bean Field-is a short stroll from the RCA Dome and in the shadows of the Colts’ new home, making it a hit with tailgaters. “It’s a…

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Power plant opponents claim Duke, governor interfered: IURC head received letter, press release referring to Edwardsport project

Groups opposing Duke Energy’s coal gasification plant proposed for Edwardsport allege the utility and Gov. Mitch Daniels tried to sway regulators with improper contact and political pressure to get the $2 billion plant approved. They “are clearly trying to back-door the public decision-making process,” said Jerry Polk, an attorney representing a group led by Citizens Action Coalition. Polk this month filed a complaint with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, citing a Sept. 25 letter an executive from Duke’s Charlotte, N.C.,…

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