Conner Prairie has $2.2 million riding on a ballooning exhibit that opened June 6. One thing that won’t stand in the way of
its success is a competing ride–at least not at White River State Park.
Although the Kernan-Shepard report focused on local government efficiencies, it is also clear that the management of Indiana’s
public resources and assets at the regional and state level has not kept pace with the technological and socioeconomic advances
of the last century.
We’re generally supportive of a plan to merge the state’s two largest public pensions in an effort to save money, but it’s
hard to know exactly what to think considering the lack of detailed information available about the performance of the funds.
The state’s two biggest pension funds are poised to combine into one Indiana Public Retirement System, with a single executive
director and board.
Indiana Medicaid officials want to take over management of all its patients’ prescription drugs because they say it could save the state as much as $40 million a year.
Outgoing state Commerce Secretary Nate Feltman said that he likely will return to practicing law and become involved in business
after leaving the post at the end of the month.
Local health groups are aghast at the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s decision to end contracts with six
local air pollution control agencies.
If you’ve ever cooked a hamburger over a grill at Shakamak State Park, sat in a hospital waiting room chair, or sipped from a water fountain, you may have used products made by Indiana convicts. Although offender work programs have been around since the 1920s, most Hoosiers know little about the Indiana Department of Correction’s prison-based industries, which generate $40 million a year in revenue.
Since its origins as the Widows and Orphans Asylum in 1851, the Children’s Bureau has been working to
fix broken families in Indianapolis. Now the local not-for-profit has expanded its reach into 37 Indiana
counties–growing its budget 22 percent in the process. But the agency remains focused on Marion County, where it’s building
a $9.2 million service center at 16th and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. streets.
State environmental regulators are catching an earful for what some businesses complain is a rush to aggressive new rules
for remediating land contamination. Developers worry the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s proposals, which
could require comprehensive site cleanup, will discourage brownfield redevelopment, especially the reuse of tainted-but-valuable
land in urban areas.
Several landmark commercial properties fronting Interstate 465 on the northeast side could be in the path of bulldozers
when the state begins adding lanes as early as 2012. Memos prepared by a consulting firm to the Indiana
Department of Transportation go as far as estimating acquisition prices for buildings, including that of
country station WFMS-FM 95.5 and other Cumulus Media stations at 6810 N. Shadeland Ave.
Indiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Atterholt says his philosophy toward consumer protection is to be tough on the “bad actors,”
but friendly toward the “good actors”;–in part, so he can call for their help when needed.Not everyone is convinced, however,
because Atterholt has done so much in his 2-1/2 years as commissioner to promote industry causes.
Hoosiers wanting to avoid the hassle of waiting in line at the BMV will soon have an option, but will have to pay about $20
to use it. The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles is launching a project to allow automobile dealers across the state to provide
title and license-plate registrations.
