Indy Chamber to push for higher state cigarette tax, expanded pre-K
The business-advocacy organization also said it re-elected board Chairman Dennis Murphy of IU Health and the rest of the board’s executive committee.
Government & Economic Development
Articles
COVID puts Legislature in fiscal vise in upcoming budget session
Leaders promise K-12 education will be the top priority, but they also acknowledge that every line item in the spending plan is at risk of cuts.
Community development in Old Southside is on the move
City program Lift Indy will direct $4 million in investment throughout the neighborhood. Many of those projects are already underway or will be launched in 2021.
Dinner at Governor’s Residence, $25M land purchase helped snag Elanco HQ
The state’s pitch to keep Elanco Animal Health Inc. in Indiana for the long term began with a dinner at the Governor’s Residence two years ago.
City-County Council plan would fight food access, insecurity issues
Proposal 337 could move the needle forward on food insecurity and access problems by creating a structure that brings together and guides stakeholders already working on solutions.
Indiana governor ends quarantine after COVID-19 exposure
Meanwhile, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett and his wife are scheduled to remain in quarantine until Friday after having close contact with an infected person.
Barr: No evidence of fraud that would change election outcome
U.S. Attorney General William Barr said Tuesday that attorneys and FBI agents have been working to follow up specific complaints and information they’ve received, but they’ve uncovered no evidence that would change the election.
Consumer spending up only slightly as virus maintains grip
U.S. consumers increased their spending by a sluggish 0.5% last month, the weakest rise since April, when the pandemic first erupted.
Indiana turnout for General Election highest since 1992
The pandemic played a major role in how people voted in the election, with 62% of the vote statewide coming through absentee ballots.
Restaurants: Tighter rules would cause devastation
A surge in coronavirus cases has local restaurateurs fretting that public officials are on the cusp of imposing severe restrictions that they say will force hundreds of local eateries to close.
Holcomb names Notre Dame director as state’s first chief equity officer
Karrah Herring has worked at the University of Notre Dame since 2011 and has been the director of public affairs since 2018. She also served on the university’s human resource’s senior leadership team as director of the Office of Institutional Equity and Title IX coordinator.
Top GOP lawmakers signal support for coronavirus legal protections for businesses
During the chamber’s annual legislative preview event—which was held virtually this year as a safety precaution—the organization announced its top five priorities for the session that starts in January.
State legislators poised to rap IndyGo for fundraising flop
The transit system has raised just 1% or so of the private funding called for by a state law that helped fund a major expansion of the system.
Former Indiana lieutenant governor donates $2M to Northwestern journalism school
John Mutz made the donation to establish a newly endowed chair at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism that will study and support innovation in local news at the school.
State Board of Accounts finds noncompliance in Westfield’s Bullpen contracts
A state-level review of Westfield’s 2018 finances found city officials failed to comply with state laws and guidelines when they entered into an informal agreement with Bullpen Tournaments.
Trump asks for Wisconsin recount, sues in Pennsylvania, Michigan
The Trump campaign said it filed lawsuits Wednesday, laying the groundwork for contesting the outcome in undecided battleground states that could determine whether President Donald Trump gets another four years in the White House.
Remaining ballots hold little threat for Republicans in Hamilton County races
In all but one county-level race, Republican candidates hold a mathematically insurmountable lead over their Democrat opponents. County election officials still have roughly 30,000 absentee ballots to count starting at 8 a.m. Wednesday.
State not releasing detailed COVID outbreak data
Other than tracking schools and long-term-care facilities, the state doesn’t post any identifying data on a website or dashboard where people can identify COVID hot spots and track their spread.
Gov. Eric Holcomb’s coronavirus stance drawing criticism
The Republican has said repeatedly that he’d be willing to take a step back in the phased-in reopening if key data indicated the pandemic was worsening. But he has never made good on that threat.
Education champion doesn’t shy from tough challenges
Teresa Lubbers, IBJ’s 2020 Michael A. Carroll Award winner, has led the Indiana Commission for Higher Education since 2009.