Each January, I reflect on a few of the prior year’s columns. I’m always curious about the topics and
people I have written about over the course of the year. I hope you are, too.
The company’s return to profitability under CEO Sardar Biglari can’t be overlooked. But neither can strong signals
that Steak n Shake’s CEO is using the venerable restaurant chain as a cash machine to finance his
bigger goals.
Gold has maintained its long-term bull-market run that began in 2001, and it doesnâ??t look like any major interruption is coming soon.
Multiple challenges remain,
no doubt. But I feel a whole lot better about our prospects than I did a year ago at this time.
Mayor Greg Ballard is on the right track with his plan to ask the City-Council to raise fees on businesses in order to
improve code enforcement. But the push-back he’s receiving from
the business community is understandable.
We have this little thing called an equal protection clause that prevents us singling out so clearly a chain store.
When the work seems to pile up, OmniFocus and Things can help productivity.
For the eighth consecutive year, we took our family (22 this year) to the
Yuletide Celebration. The show was one of the best.
I loved [Benner’s Dec. 14] column [about Indiana Sports Corp.]. Thirty years is not a long history, but I’ll bet most folks in Indy don’t
know about this.
I am writing in response to the Dec. 14 On the Beat article (“Firm undergoes name change”). First, since leaving
my former company, which had still been using the Sponsel name, I’m happy to have my name back solely for my use.
A new study by the National Conference of State Legislatures shows that states have narrowed
a collective budget gap by $145.9 billion in the fiscal year that began July 1, only to be faced with another $28.2 billion
gap for the remainder of the fiscal year. And fiscal 2011 and 2012 are equally bleak.
We don’t support the library or most government services with adequate taxes.
Indiana Repertory Theatre gives a rare, full staging of A.R. Gurney’s epistolary play.
The December hearings by Indiana General Assembly committees focused on issues that legislative leaders designated as
key session priorities, but the committee work was largely unremarkable, with predictable testimony derived from the usual
suspects.
3G is the third generation of cell technology and is designed to make it easier to send video and other bandwidth-hungry material.
As is the custom of the last few holiday seasons, I am pleased to present a puzzle. This year’s challenge, 3-D Word
Hunt, is derived from a format conceived by Will Shortz, puzzle editor of The New York Times.
There’s no shortage of opinions about what our city and state need to do to prosper in the 21st century. But much
of what comes across is screamed in blogs or in stinging press releases issued by political parties whose only purpose is
to paint the opposition as out of touch.
The word “tax” tends to immediately raise the blood pressure of most Americans. And while the purpose of most
taxes is to raise revenue for the assessing government body, taxes can also be targeted toward changing individual and corporate
behavior.
The end of this decade is as good a time as any to reflect upon what has passed. We’ve had wars, two recessions,
three presidents, five Congresses and 10 Bowl Championship Series teams. Our population has risen, employment has risen, and
personal income has risen. The average American family is healthier, wealthier and, ideally, wiser. However, to listen to political rhetoric today, you’d think we’ve been living in the darkest
of ages.
[Mickey Maurer’s Nov. 30 column] was the second article criticizing Mayor [Greg] Ballard on his position against
a stronger non-smoking ban for Indy.
