DEC. 28, 2009-JAN. 3, 2010
This week, recap the last 12 months with IBJ's 2009 Year in Review, from the top stories and newsmakers to our favorite photos. And don't forget to play our annual game and Mickey Maurer's word puzzle. In A&E, etc., Lou Harry shares his favorites from 2009. And Bill Benner and Bruce Hetrick reflect on the decade that's coming to a close.
Front PageBack to Top
Expected flurry of charity mergers fails to materialize
Observers offer various explanations for the lack of mergers, including that staff and budget cuts have left many not-for-profits
without the manpower or time for due diligence.
Fair Finance’s past gave investors, regulators false comfort
The Akron company had been meeting its obligations for decades before Tim Durham acquired it seven years ago.
Read MoreTop StoriesBack to Top
Slump sets Hoosier job levels back 14 years
The 131,000 jobs lost
in the 12 months ended in November amounted to a 7.2-percent decline and were nearly equivalent to the combined populations
of Carmel and Fishers.
Health care industry braces for reform
Congress is on the cusp of transforming health insurance—if it can pass a health reform bill that was losing popularity
late in the year.
Banks gobble TARP money, suffer losses
The housing meltdown and recession gave banks in Indiana and across the nation their biggest test in decades.
Read MoreCIB financial situation improving
The past year has been mighty unkind to the Capital Improvement Board, the entity charged with operating the city’s
professional sports venues and Indiana Convention Center.
Lauth Group leads slide in commercial real estate
The outlook for commercial real estate development continued to worsen in 2009, as one major name faltered and other companies
scrambled to redesign their business models and capitalize on the carnage.
Newly opened racinos already face credit crunch
Clear signs emerged in 2009 that the Hoosier gambling market is oversaturated.
Major credit rating agencies expressed concerns that several casinos, including the state’s new horse track “racinos”
on the outskirts of Indianapolis, might go bust before the year was finished.
Republic flies boldly into branded-carrier business
After 36 years of flying smaller planes painted in the colors of the major airlines for which it flies under contract,
Republic Airways Holdings in 2009 became a branded airline operator of its own.
Lilly scurries to get out from under Zyprexa cloud
Another year of rapid change at Eli Lilly and Co. did little to move the company out from under the cloud cast by its best-selling
drug, Zyprexa.
Symphony ousts maestro, reports historic budget gap
The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra experienced a year of financial and leadership shocks, as it reported a $2.8 million
budget shortfall and abruptly dismissed Music Director Mario Venzago.
Housing meltdown claims at least one homebuilder
Two more local homebuilders fell victim in 2009 to the prolonged meltdown of the housing market. Carmel-based
C.P. Morgan Communities LP closed in February, and Indianapolis-based Hansen & Horn Group Inc. is teetering on the edge
of bankruptcy.
Tony George ousted after nearly 20 years leading IMS
Faced with the need to save money, the six-member board of the IMS and IRL voted on May 26 to replace George.
Read MoreCity tries to raise cash by privatizing operations
Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard pulled out his predecessor Steve Goldsmith’s Republican playbook and began exploring a host
of privatization proposals in an effort to save money.
Local losses lead other ’09 news of note
A look back at some of the top business news stories from 2009.
Read MoreFirst decade of century marked by buyouts and bubbles
The decade witnessed a massive terrorist attack, two wars, and a building-and-buyout boom fueled by easy credit.
Read MoreNEWSMAKER: Lathrop named new CIB chief
Ann Lathrop is the new CEO of the Marion County Capital Improvement Board, which oversees the Indiana
Convention Center, Conseco Fieldhouse and Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
NEWSMAKER: Clark lands jobs as airport CEO
The Indianapolis
Airport Authority hired John D. Clark III as CEO, luring him away from Jacksonville Florida.
NEWSMAKER: Myles Brand led NCAA reforms
President Myles Brand died after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He is remembered for firing Indiana University basketball
coach Bob Knight, but he later became hailed as a reformer as head of the NCAA.
NEWSMAKER: Mel Simon was shopping mall pioneer
Mel Simon, who
died at 82 on Sept. 16, changed how America shops. He was chairman emeritus of locally
based Simon Property Group Inc., the nation’s largest owner of retail real estate.
NEWSMAKER: Republic’s Bedford keeps low profile, makes big impact
For the head of an 11,000-employee company, Bryan Bedford has all the profile around these parts as a participant in the
federal witness protection program.
NEWSMAKER: High-flying exec Durham ensnared in probe
The U.S. Attorney’s Office alleged in court papers that one of his businesses, Ohio-based Fair Finance Co., operated as
a Ponzi scheme.
OpinionBack to Top
EDITORIAL: IndyTalks gives the public a civil way to speak up
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.
MAURER: How many words can you find?
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.
SLAUGHTER: Imagine a world without deadlines
The
reason we have deadlines is that they act as inflection points in the hierarchy of work. Each phase of work has a deadline:
an opportunity for failure and rejection.
MARCUS: ‘Tis the season for getting for giving
Not-for-profits know we want something more than good deeds for our contributions.
Read MoreSKARBECK: What we need is a tax on stock transactions
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.
HICKS: Reducing deficit imperative for national prosperity
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.
Ballard is right to oppose smoking ban
[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.
Editorial on Durham was worth posting
Thanks for your [editorial] in [the Dec. 7] IBJ. I really appreciated the comparison [between businessmen Tim Durham and Jim Dodson] and plan to reference this
article (now hanging in my office) as a reality check.
In BriefBack to Top
PROXY CORNER: Duke Realty Corp.
Duke Realty Corp. is a real estate investment trust that develops, manages and owns industrial, office and retail properties across the Midwest and Southeast.
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