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EYE ON THE PIE: Governor gets his priorities right

Mitch Daniels has done many controversial things as governor. He leased the Indiana Toll Road. He got rid of the state employees’ union. He convinced the Legislature to switch to daylight-saving time. He proposed a property tax package that has many popular features. He also has advanced various ideas, some good, and some less good that went nowhere. Now our governor has come forth with the most positive and important initiative of his administration: awards for academic excellence. As Daniels…

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Hoosier Heartland Highway pumps up hope on prairie: Expressway construction starting two years early

LAFAYETTE-For years, they’ve driven on little more than paved-over wagon trails pioneers carved into the hills nestling the Wabash River. Motorists on State Road 25 between Logansport and Lafayette have grown desperate for a replacement: the final, 33-mile western leg of the “Hoosier Heartland Highway.” Today, the Hoosier Heartland expressway ends in Logansport-the western terminus of a newly improved, four-lane U.S. 24 that runs east, to Fort Wayne. But last month Gov. Mitch Daniels surprised highway proponents with word that…

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Calling all face painters

Indianapolis Colts fans have a unique opportunity to have their picture displayed on one of 200 permanent banners at Lucas Oil Stadium, which is set to open in September. Colts team photographers will…

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Big Ten tourney a tough ticket

Big Ten men’s basketball tournament tickets are selling fast, according to local organizers. Approaching noon today, there were only a few seats available for tonight’s session at Conseco Fieldhouse, which includes games involving…

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Simon denies Pacers for sale

Rumors are running hot about the future ownership of the Indiana Pacers. The New York Post’s Peter Vecsey mentioned in passing in his column on Sunday that the Simons have posted a for-sale sign on the team. Who could blame…

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For $399, you can drive like A.J.

Business is good for the Indy Racing Experience, which was founded in a Gasoline Alley shop in 1987. The company, which started allowing fans to ride around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in two-seat…

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Indy finalist for USA Basketball HQ

Indianapolis today is one step closer to stealing USA Basketball’s headquarters from Colorado Springs, where the national governing body for men’s and women’s basketball in the U.S. has been located since 1979. IBJ…

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IU football fortunes on the rise

Indiana University this month began a television and radio advertising onslaught for its football team that seems to come at an odd time. After all, the spotlight is shining on March Madness, when…

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Oprah’s beau advises struggling Pacers on image management

Best-selling author Stedman Graham says professional athletes should think of themselves as “a corporation unto themselves.”
Graham–perhaps best known as television star Oprah Winfrey’s boyfriend–brought that message to the Indiana Pacers during
a three-hour private seminar in late January designed to get the players to rethink the importance of their individual images.

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Students finding robotics irresistible: Competitions promote interest in technology

On the same day this month when high school boys’ basketball teams compete to advance to the state finals, another event showcasing the talents of Indiana’s youth should be just as climactic. Only this contest emphasizes academics over athletics. The three-day Boilermaker Regional at Purdue University that culminates March 15 will host roughly 40 high school robotics programs, including 26 schools from Indiana. Students will apply their engineering and computer programming skills to design and build task-performing machines. The winning…

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SPORTS: In defense of the indefensible blue and gold

Yes, I’m writing about the Indiana Pacers. Their struggles-and, yes, the scrapes with the law and bad judgment exercised by a few-have exposed an ugly underbelly that says as much about us as it does about them. It’s a cautionary tale for those riding-high Indianapolis Colts because (1) Peyton Manning won’t play forever, (2) Tony Dungy won’t coach forever, (3) Bill Polian won’t be the decision-maker forever, and (4) the law of legal averages eventually will catch up to any…

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Big Ten Network battle rages

UPDATE (March 11): The Chicago Tribune and Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal are reporting today that officials for Comcast Cable and the Big Ten Network are closing in on an agreement to put the channel on an expanded basic tier. One…

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Champ Car files bankruptcy

Champ Car Wednesday filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, igniting what could potentially be a bidding war for its assets. The Indy Racing League last month agreed to acquire certain assets of Champ Car, but the bankruptcy court could open things up….

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George pursuing F1 return for 2009

Negotiations are heating up between Formula One and Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials that could bring F1 racing back to Indianapolis in 2009. Speedway boss Tony George told an audience at yesterday’s IU Business…

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Robin Williams puts Roark in orbit

Brownsburg-based Roark Custom Titanium Bicycles got a big marketing boost from a man from outer space–figuratively and literally. In its annual buyer’s guide published last month, VeloNews, one of the nation’s largest cycling…

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Indy trails in sponsor exposure race

Recently released data shows NASCAR’s Daytona 500 is still miles ahead of the Indianapolis 500 in terms of value the race delivers to sponsors. But, with the unification of the Indy Racing League…

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New Orleans to bid for Super Bowl

Competition to host the 2012 Super Bowl suddenly has become a lot tougher. Last week, officials for the city of New Orleans and New Orleans Saints said they are set to bid for the big game, thrusting the hurricane-battered city…

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SPORTS: Memo to IU: Hire the right people this time

Deadlines for a weekly publication are tricky. Sometimes when news breaks, you get lucky. Sometimes, you don’t. In this case, forgive me if I’m a little late to the parade and-following the elephants with broom and shovel-to the sorry mess involving the men’s basketball program at my alma mater, Indiana University. So, to sum up, this is what bothers me most: Everything. And who’s to blame? Everyone. It’s the culture. It’s the media. It’s gross mismanagement. It’s poor hiring. It’s…

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EVERYBODY’S DOING IT: SECONDHAND PROSE: Volume discounts offered at library sale

EVERYBODY’S DOING IT SECONDHAND PROSE Volume discounts offered at library sale Inside Secondhand Prose, a CD of old-timey bluegrass music plays softly as a half-dozen volunteers quietly go about their business. They’re emptying bags and boxes, sorting through thousands and thousands of books and stocking shelves in preparation for the Indianapolis-Mar ion County Public Library’s next book sale, March 7-9 and 14-15. Six times a year, the library opens up its shop inside the Library Services Center, 2450 N. Meridian…

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