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Speaking of health care: Local experts weigh in on rising costs, the uninsured and whether our current system needs an overhaul Public health priorities, executive salaries and the “gold rush” of health care construction were among the topics tackled Sept

Public health priorities, executive salaries and the “gold rush” of health care construction were among the topics tackled Sept. 21 in the latest installment of Indianapolis Business Journal’s Power Breakfast Series. IBJ reporter Tom Murphy moderated the panel discussion, attended by some of the area’s foremost health care experts. Following is an edited transcript of the often-spirited discussion, which included a brief interruption by protestors seeking medical insurance coverage for janitorial staff who clean Anthem Inc. buildings. IBJ: Can you…

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Texas group roaring for Indians stock: Lion Fund dangles 40-percent premium for ballclub’s shares

A San Antonio-based hedge fund’s public solicitation of Indianapolis Indians stock is akin to a hostile takeover attempt, industry observers said. It also brings into question the succession plan of the Indians’ 72-year-old chairman, Max Schumacher, who owns 39 percent of the company’s stock. While officials for The Lion Fund LP said they aren’t looking to take majority control of the city’s AAA baseball franchise, they’re willing to pay a substantial premium over the Indians’ last buyback offer of $9,200…

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Hip-deep in endorsements: Sony, Kraft deals help Manning reign as NFL advertising king

With three newly inked endorsement deals, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning is scoring faster and more often with corporate America than any other National Football League player, according to his handlers at Cleveland-based IMG Worldwide. But Manning’s endorsement success hasn’t played out as fast as one of his famous twominute drills. Since entering the league sevenplus years ago, Manning and IMG have followed a carefully diagrammed blueprint to build first a local platform through deals with St. Vincent Health and…

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SPORTS: New stadium part of strategy born here decades ago

The circumstance finally gave way to pomp last week. And as the silver shovels glistened in a setting sun at the Indiana Stadium ground breaking, a new day dawned for Indianapolis and central Indiana. Similarly, the multipurpose stadium-sorry, but I refuse to call it the “Colts Stadium” when its benefits will be so vast and its uses so varied-represents both an end and a beginning. In some ways, it is the final piece of a puzzle that began to be…

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IRL teams may have to cut staff or broaden horizons: Mechanics could feel biggest impact of shorter season

The 2006 Indy Racing League schedule-which is two months shorter and has three fewer races than 2005-has teams considering either cutting staff or expanding into other race series to fill the void. “You hate to make any staff cuts, but that’s one question facing all the [IRL] teams,” said Doug Boles, chief operating officer for locally based Panther Racing. “This is a very competitive industry and to keep your good people, you want to keep them employed year-round.” But with…

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Indians stock price belted into upper deck: AAA baseball franchise hits $21,000 per share

Despite the meteoric rise of the Indianapolis Indians’ stock price, some industry analysts think the minor-league baseball franchise is still undervalued. In August, three shares of the thinly traded public company sold for $21,000 each and another share sold for $19,500. The $21,000 share price-with 800 shares outstanding-puts a $16.8 million value on the AAA team. That’s leagues ahead of the $8.3 million it was valued at during a stock buyback initiated by the franchise in 2002. “A value for…

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Selective Seconds: Consignment stores’ owner proud to be picky High-end items are the stock of choice at Selective Seconds

Vena Holden is picky about the seconds in her shops, specializing in better brand-name clothing, accessories, linens, gifts and shoes. She makes clear that hers is not a used clothing store. “We look for the higher-end items and are selective in what we take,” said Holden, 45, who founded the appropriately named Selective Seconds after years of shopping consignment shops for herself when she worked as a legal secretary and office manager for local law firm Plews Shadley Racher and…

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SPORTS: IU getting it right where tailgating is concerned

My alma mater, Indiana University, has taken its share of licks in recent times. In fact, I’ve used this space to throw some of the punches. But its recent decision-coinciding with the start of football season-to try to oust the party animals from the jungle just south of Memorial Stadium on game days was prudent, correct and too long in coming. This, folks, has been a human and legal calamity waiting to happen. The “jungle” is a park-like area across…

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VIEWPOINT: We all pay the price of homelessness

“The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy, and the handicapped.” -Hubert H. Humphrey The most recent sessions of the Indiana General Assembly and the U.S. Congress have focused significant efforts on addressing the needs of children through education and the elderly through prescription drug…

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Private high school set: Cristo Rey to open downtown with 46 companies behind it

A private high school that relies on business participation, the first of its kind in Indiana, is set to open downtown in the fall of 2006. A work-study program designed to help lowincome students pay for tuition and give them corporate work experience is what will set Providence Cristo Rey High School apart from its private and public counterparts throughout the state. Corporate sponsors said it will also give promising students a local business connection, which could help keep them…

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TOM HARTON Commentary: Where business, disaster meet

We don’t do weather. Business newspapers don’t ask reporters to stand in bitter cold to demonstrate that it’s uncomfortable. We don’t warn our readers about the dangers of a storm by assigning a reporter to stand in the middle of one. When the wind and rain send things crashing down around us, we become consumers of news just like everyone else. Last week, we broke our rule. No, we didn’t brave the elements, but what happened in New Orleans and…

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GERALD BEPKO Commentary: FFA is important to our future

What major, national, student-oriented not-for-profit organization with deep roots in Kansas City moved its headquarters to Indianapolis in the last decade and now has made commitments to bring a huge number of visitors to Indianapolis each year into the future? If you think the answer is the NCAA, you would be half right. The complete answer is that there are two such organizations: the NCAA and FFA. Both the NCAA and FFA brought economic benefits along with their headquarters. Through…

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Final 4 lodging scarce: 7 months before event, brokers lock up rooms

Basketball fans hoping to catch the action at next spring’s NCAA men’s Final Four in Indianapolis are more likely to score decent tickets than they are a downtown hotel room, though neither will come cheap. As the event has moved from fan-centric to corporate, the demand and price for hotel rooms has reached new highs. And the hotel room supply for Final Fours held locally is likely to tighten as NCAA officials push for larger Final Four venues-such as the…

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SPORTS: City should be tour stop for men’s or women’s golf

That sellout crowds flocked to Carmel’s Crooked Stick Golf Club for the Solheim Cup should come as no surprise. This is an area with a big appetite for golf, whether playing or watching it. Yet it’s also a reminder that for all we have accomplished in spectator sports, professional golf remains the hole in our doughnut. Yes, we have had our on-and-off forays into the arena. A PGA Tour stop, the 500 Festival Open, took place on the old Speedway…

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SPORTS: Championship contenders bring out Mr. Softee

My friend, the young radio sports talk show host, tells me I’ve become Mister Softee. He says I have lost my edge. He wonders why I don’t rattle cages like I used to. He says the Indianapolis Colts have to win the Super Bowl this year, and anything less should be considered an abject failure. And I say, poppycock. He says winning a championship is the only measurement of success in professional sports. And I say, baloney. He says if…

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Ancient sport of kings still appeals to Hoosiers: Hickory Hall Polo Club keeps game alive on Boone County farm

A handful of noisy chickens and a small herd of goats meander around two neatly kept barns that house about a dozen horses, their stalls overlooking the 10-acre field that’s 300 yards long and 160 yards wide. As horses emerge from their stalls with the help of the Chandlers’ assistant, it becomes clear these are no common steeds. Their deep chests heave with each breath, their nostrils sucking in air like a Hoover, ribs lightly protruding through their lean physiques….

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SPORTS: Life lessons revealed on a nine-hole golf course

I received the best golf lesson of my life recently, and it didn’t cost a dime. My instructor didn’t work on my grip, my stance or my posture at address. He didn’t tell me to keep my head down, my left arm straight or to turn my hips toward the target. We didn’t talk about fluffy, plugged or tight lies. We didn’t talk about reading putts or reading divots. We didn’t work on driving, long irons, short irons, wedge play…

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IU makes pigskin promotional push: New coach, aggressive advertising are part of multi-prong strategy to escape financial hole

The Indiana University Athletic Department is intent on reaping financial rewards from its football program for the first time in more than a decade with a marketing campaign built around its affable new coach, Terry Hoeppner. IU officials said they will spend nearly as much on marketing the school’s football program this year as on Hoeppner’s $250,000 base salary. Bolstering football attendance is a critical step toward stopping financial hemorrhaging in the school’s Athletic Department, IU officials said. In 2004,…

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Adidas’ Reebok purchase gives it extra muscle in China:

Adidas’ $3.8 billion purchase of Reebok International will help the companies open more stores and compete against Nike Inc. for leadership in China, the world’s fastestgrowing athletic gear market. “We are growing faster in China than Nike and together with Reebok we are bigger,” Adidas CEO Herbert Hainer said. “We can offer our full organization in China to help Reebok build stores.” Germany-based Adidas and Massachusetts-based Reebok announced their merger in early August. The companies haven’t disclosed what the pairing…

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More business owners embracing economy: High fuel costs, personal debt dampen some optimism

Business owners are beginning to show signs of completely emerging from a recessional slumber, although some holdouts remain unconvinced an economic recovery is in full swing. The confidence exuded by the state’s massive manufacturing sector could be sending the most optimistic signal. From 2000 to 2003, manufacturers in Indiana were stung especially hard by the soft economy, shedding 75,000 jobs. While many of those positions may never return, employment levels have at least stabilized. That seems to have provided enough…

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