Articles

A whole new ballgame: More women stepping up to the plate in commercial real estate

Yogi Berra once said, “You give 100 percent in the first half of the game, and if that isn’t enough, in the second half you give what’s left.” Women are accepting his challenge with a chuckle, running onto the commercial real estate field and playing to win. They also are balancing home and family. Why not? The U.S. commercial real estate market is worth about $3.5 trillion, according to Real Capital Analytics, a New York research firm. Bridget Farren, founder…

Read More

Commentary: How to improve Indy’s 2011 Super Bowl

Feb. 4, 2007, will be a day fondly remembered in Indianapolis for generations to come. It was the day the Indianapolis Colts emerged victorious from Super Bowl XLI. The Super Bowl media exposure, combined with the city’s proud history of organizing and hosting some of the world’s largest sporting events, should position us well to serve as host for the 2011 Super Bowl. Already, a host committee has been formed and seed funds committed. The General Assembly has passed legislation…

Read More

XM-Sirius merger is threat to local HD radio: Local broadcasters hustle to launch digital channels

The news of a potential merger between New York-based Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and Washington, D.C.-based XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. comes at a critical time for local radio station operators. If the merger draws more listeners, that clearly would be bad news for terrestrial radio stations already dealing with the Internet and Ipod, and could imperil their fledgling high-definition initiative. Already, the proposed $11.4 billion merger is getting lots of media attention, and that’s bound to raise satellite radio’s…

Read More

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Turnabout is fair play in evaluating education

Much has been made in recent years of the performance of our state’s secondary schools. In particular, the recent revisions made to high school graduation statistics, suggesting that as few as three out of four ninth-graders graduate with their class have sounded an alarm. People are saying something is wrong with K-12 education in Indiana, and they would appear to have plenty of ammunition to support their arguments. But turnabout is fair play in the business of evaluating education. Since…

Read More

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: NFL in tough spot regarding Super Bowl church parties

With the multitude of stories and media activity leading up to the Colts’ appearance in Super Bowl XLI, who would have guessed that an otherwise mundane intellectual property enforcement issue concerning the NFL and a local church would take the top headline just days before the Big Game? Such was the case when the NFL sent a cease-and-desist letter to Fall Creek Baptist Church, thereby stopping the church’s plans to show the Super Bowl on a 12-foot projection screen and…

Read More

NFL Combine could leave Indianapolis after 20-plus years: Event organizers want better deal after 2008

Despite moving their headquarters from Tulsa to Indianapolis last year, the organizers of the NFL Scouting Combine said the event could move following 2008. “We’re still in the midst of data collection, so it’s difficult to evaluate this year’s event,” said Jeffrey Foster, president of National Invitational Camp, which runs the Combine from its office at Pan Am Plaza. While the primary concern of agents and players-the speed of the 40-yard dash track-was worked out, a new set of concerns…

Read More

INVESTING: Memo to Alan Greenspan: You’re retired, so keep quiet

It’s hard to go away. For people in the spotlight and at the top of their fields, retiring can be difficult. Just look at how many times Michael Jordan tried to come back to basketball. Late last month, we were treated to a visit from someone who many consider one of the greatest financial minds ever-former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. Many give him the lion’s share of credit for the greatest stock market run of all time, from 1995…

Read More

Courts grapple with issues arising from Internet, blogs: Educators explore policies for off-campus activity

The World Wide Web and blogging explosion have created new hurdles for attorneys, especially those consulting on issues that arise from school districts trying to balance off-campus activities and school safety. As officials recognize that off-campus activity can spill into school hallways and classrooms, many are looking to policies that can prevent those actions outside school from impacting student safety or the overall educational process. “Internet blogging is one of the more publicized activities that pose both harm and benefit,…

Read More

SPORTS: Here’s Bird’s take on the Pacers’ fall from grace

Timing is everything, which meant I was in the caboose of the media train that rolled through Larry Bird’s office recently. So by the time I sat down with the Indiana Pacers’ president of basketball operations, Bird had pretty much heard, and answered, every question with regard to the frustrating state of our NBA franchise. There’s no pretty picture to be painted: The off-court incidents, first at the infamous Club Rio during training camp, then at the Eight Seconds Saloon;…

Read More

CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: IMA art park is a grand slam

Lest we overlook it among the rash of crimes, stock-market gyrations and General Assembly shenanigans reported in the media recently, the Indianapolis Museum of Art deserves some major kudos. Amid the chaos, the IMA announced the names of the 10 artists, artists’ groups and architects who will create works for its Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park set to open in 2009. It was a grand slam. Unveiled in New York Feb. 27, the list includes individuals or collectives…

Read More

Doctor grows magazine with unusual strategy: Circulation hits 100,000 nationally and still climbing

A Carmel-based doctor turned publisher is celebrating his magazine’s first anniversary by rolling out plans to take his publishing and health care businesses nationwide. Radius magazine is poised for rapid growth due to its “no fluff” content, according to its founder, Dev Brar, who founded Carmel-based Nightingale Home Healthcare in 1996. Both businesses are operating out of a new headquarters at 1036 S. Rangeline Road, and Brar is hoping the two will grow hand-in-hand. Brar is using Radius to market…

Read More

Making connections: Networking groups help business owners reach out

Small-business owners know building relationships helps build business. But cultivating strategic connections also takes time-one commodity that’s always in short supply. That’s where networking groups come in. A growing number of such organizations are working to connect busy business owners so they can trade advice and customer leads in a short span of time. With weekly or monthly meetings, the groups promise a one-stop opportunity to make dozens of contacts that can lead directly to sales. One of the fastest-growing…

Read More

The high cost of not going to college VIEWPOINT:

The high cost of not going to college VIEWPOINT Recent studies reinforce what many parents and prospective students have found out firsthand: The cost of a college education is rising beyond what some middle- to lowincome families can afford. The cost of attending a public college rose 35 percent during the past five years, after adjusting for inflation, according to studies by the College Board, a not-for-profit organization that administers standardized tests throughout the country. As these and other studies…

Read More

MICKEY MAURER Commentary: Nothing new in athletes misbehaving

There were lots of empty seats at Conseco Fieldhouse the other night. It seems thousands of fans of professional basketball in Indiana are no longer “ready to rumble.” At this rate, Pacers leaping into the stands will have no one left to cold-cock. Local media has exacerbated the situation by an ad nauseam comparison of the world champion Indianapolis Colts to the Indiana Pacers. Unfortunately for the Pacers, the Super Bowl and the latest melee occurred within hours of each…

Read More

Landlords open up to ‘riskier’ tenants: As foreclosures increase, apartment managers let some credit issues go

Firms that oversee large, upscale apartment complexes used to be able to set the bar high when reviewing potential tenants’ credit histories. Many would turn away applicants with accounts in collections, foreclosures or outstanding medical debts. But even as more people come back to rental housing, landlords are finding they can’t be as picky as in the past because more and more Indianapolis-area residents bring with them credit baggage from unpaid medical bills or home foreclosures. “Maybe 70 percent of…

Read More

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Coming to the defense of ‘sprawl’ in the suburbs

Since World War II, strong public policies and economic conditions have led to booming homeownership in America, and rapid expansion of a great highway transportation system has accelerated our country’s suburbanization. We all know the story; we are participants. In the 1960s, it was often referred to as the American Dream. Although never specifically defined, the American Dream always included having a family, a reliable (maybe even cool) car, a nice home of one’s own, and the freedom to work,…

Read More

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Fate of U.S. auto industry is controlled by investors

On the same black Thursday that Borg Warner announced it would close its 780-worker Muncie manufacturing facility in 2009, the price of its stock surged 6 percent. Are the traders on Wall Street heartless, or prejudiced against Muncie, or do they simply like bad news? In truth, none of these answers is probably correct, although we really have no way of knowing. But the divergent reactions of stockholders and workers and their families to the news that nearly a century…

Read More

SPORTS: Sports media turns blind eye to coaches of faith

In today’s America, the separation (or lack thereof) of church and state is a political lightning rod. The separation of church and sports is not of concern. That’s because the media already has taken care of it. In the sports media, references to religion in general or of a higher being in particular are not welcome. For athletes or coaches to say their success has come from the gifts given to them by their Creator does not compute in the…

Read More

NOTIONS: If you want to be your best, Easy Street’s a dead end

I’ve been driving around Indiana with my pal, the professor. For four consecutive Thursdays, we rendezvoused at dawn, grabbed cups of caffeine and headed to the northeast corner of the state to teach grant-writing. Our students, desperately seeking funds for the not-for-profit organizations they lead, were eager to learn and engaged in our lesson. The conversations en route were equally engrossing. We talked about our families and their health, our kids and their activities. We covered politics, sports and our…

Read More

Technology-friendly legislation quietly advances: Bills could spur patent commercialization and more

A handful of bills pending in the General Assembly could have a major impact on Indiana’s high-tech sector. Legislation under consideration could stimulate increased commercialization of patented Indiana technology, channel more money toward development of alternative fuels, require regular review of Indiana’s certified technology parks, and more. Tech leaders are optimistic about the chances their agenda will be approved. “It’s the reason we married up with CICP,” said Ron Brumbarger, chairman of TechPoint, a trade association for Indiana high-tech companies….

Read More