Critics of parking proposal question $500,000 penalty
City leaders argue the termination fee would be paid only if the city breaks the 50-year agreement after the City-County Council signs off on the deal, not if the contract doesn’t win approval.
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Obama signs $30B small-business lending bill
Scoring a prized political victory five weeks before the Nov. 2 elections, President Barack Obama on Monday signed a bill to help small businesses expand and hire by cutting their taxes and creating a $30 billion loan fund.
Dolce hotel, YMCA part of city-funded ‘North of South’ development
The city plans to issue bonds and use tax-increment financing to fund the $150M project, which also will include 320 high-end apartments and 40,000 square feet of retail space. Construction should begin this year.
Raytheon’s local plant lands $42M Navy order
Raytheon Technical Services Co. in Indianapolis has scored a $42 million contract to make forward-looking infrared sensors for the U.S. Air Force’s HH-60G helicopter, the Department of Defense said late last week.
Hoosiers can register to vote using cell phones
Indiana has a new high-tech way residents can register to vote for the Nov. 2 elections — using Internet-capable mobile phones.
INDOT lays off 30 employees in budget move
Gov. Mitch Daniels said the layoffs were “one of the very, very few involuntary reductions” that Indiana government has had to make to cut spending.
Money, economy hobble Democrat in Senate race
Ellsworth struggling as race against Coats for seat held by Evan Bayh swings into final weeks.
Indiana child care agencies protest cost of new rules
An effort to shift some foster care costs to the federal government would throw up more red tape and make it harder for caretakers and providers to get services for troubled children, a coalition of child care agencies said Friday.
Indiana slow to accept federal stimulus help
Under political pressure, Gov. Mitch Daniels’ administration has come late to the federal stimulus funds game. At best, the state will recover $24 million in reimbursements for money spent by not-for-profit agencies on services to the poor.
Tax caps spread relief around
Property tax caps—promoted as a way to relieve homeowners from skyrocketing property tax bills—have provided much more relief to a different group of taxpayers. Owners of rental properties and second homes got the lion’s share of assistance from the caps.
City meets deadline to get federal money for housing projects
The $29 million will be used to acquire and demolish or rehabilitate foreclosed and abandoned homes.
Indiana lawmakers push for Internet taxes
A bipartisan duo of state lawmakers wants Congress to allow states to collect sales taxes on Internet purchases, a move they say could bring hundreds of millions of dollars to cash-strapped Indiana.
Indiana Convention Center might need yet another expansion
The current expansion has absorbed the last of the adjoining space, leaving the convention center landlocked.
Democrats charge conflict in parking meter deal
A city lobbyist who also is registered to lobby for Affiliated Computer Services Inc., which was chosen to receive a 50-year lease deal to manage meter operations, says he was not involved in the deal.
GOP secretary of state hopeful quits town council
Charlie White says because of his statewide campaign and recent marriage he didn't realize that his new home was outside his Fishers Town Council district.
Proposed city parking deal would bring 200 jobs
A proposal to lease the city’s parking meters for 50 years would require the vendor to bring 200 jobs to Indianapolis for at least seven years. The salaries and benefits would range from $16,000 to $95,000 a year.
TechPoint unveiling ‘measured marketing’ campaign
The initiative will promote the advantages of doing business in Indiana to attract more “measured marketers.” They are companies such as ExactTarget and Aprimo Inc. that provide a platform for marketing via e-mail, social media and other technologies.
Indiana’s unemployment rate remains flat
The state’s jobless rate in August remained unchanged from the previous month’s figure of 10.2 percent. The loss of seasonal government and manufacturing jobs offset the addition of 3,000 private-sector jobs.
Hoosier Lottery moving to Meridian Street building
The lottery will move in January to the Buick, a 60,000-square-foot building at 13th and Meridian streets owned by principals of Shiel Sexton Construction.
Pence is tops in conservatives’ straw vote
A straw vote suggests that social conservatives favor Indiana Rep. Mike Pence to head a Republican presidential ticket with former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in 2012.