APRIL 15-21, 2013
This week, learn about how food-truck operators are struggling to migrate to communities north of Marion County like Zionsville and Fishers, as different cities and towns pose an array of permits and regulations for doing business. Lou Harry kicks of IBJ's expanding arts coverage with a sneak peek at Butler University's new $15 million theater, and then his take on the Indianapolis Museum of Art's exhibit featuring the emotionally direct works of Ai Weiwei. And in Focus, Scott Olson testifies the free fall in admissions to state law schools as prospective students weigh heavy debt versus light job prospects.
Front PageBack to Top
Food trucks find patchwork of rules in northern suburbs
As the food truck industry heats up in Indianapolis, leaders of its fast-growing northern suburbs are starting to rewrite the rules of the road.
Read MoreIU medical school’s push to launch startups bears fruit
The Indiana University School of Medicine has launched 12 companies in the past 18 months—a burst of startup activity the school has never seen before.
Read More‘Beer geeks’ hatch plan for east-side hops farm
A couple of fledgling entrepreneurs hope to tap into the increasing popularity of local microbreweries—not by starting one but by supplying them with a key flavoring ingredient integral to making beer.
Read MoreTop StoriesBack to Top
Greenwood’s Old Town revival targets sidewalks, traffic flow
Greenwood city officials are in the early stages of a downtown revitalization plan that would begin with an investment of up to $9 million designed to make Old Town more appealing to both vehicle and foot traffic.
Read MoreButler set to unveil $15 million Schrott Center for Arts
The new, 450-seat Howard L. Schrott Center for the Arts at Butler University fills a venue gap between the school’s two theaters that each seat about 100 and the 2,200-seat Clowes Memorial Hall.
Read MoreHHGregg throws lifeline to employees with underwater options
The company this month filed papers gave option holders the right to exchange their current holdings for new options with an exercise price set at the current market price.
Read MoreDigital marketers try to cut through clutter
Element Three is among dozens of ad/marketing firms in the city that put digital marketing—in a dizzying array of formats and specialties—front-and-center. Often led by “millennial” types in their 20s and 30s to whom things like social media are second nature, they’re giving ensconced agencies a run for their money.
Read MoreRace for Cure sign-ups lagging last year’s slow pace
Participation in Indianapolis’ massive annual Race for the Cure fundraising event took a hit last year as controversy swirled around policies at the national Susan G. Komen organization. This year, Mother Nature is getting the blame. “The biggest factor has been the weather,” said Dana Curish, executive director of the Central Indiana Affiliate of Susan […]
Read MoreBank of Indiana parent files Chapter 11, to sell branches
The bankruptcy of Bank of Indiana's parent and the planned sale of its branches bring to a close management's quest to turn around an institution that was buffeted by borrower defaults during the financial crisis.
Read MorePROXY CORNER: Simon Property Group Inc.
Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group Inc. is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates, manages, leases and develops regional malls and community shopping centers.
Read MoreFocusBack to Top
Applications to Indiana law schools wither
Applications to three of the four law schools in the state are in free fall as prospective students think twice about taking on mountains of debt at a time job prospects are dim.
Read MoreOpinionBack to Top
EDITORIAL: Senators feed state’s road habit
The way legislators are treating transportation issues this year speaks volumes about their aspirations for the state.
Read MoreMAURER: A prostate cancer treatment worth considering
Get a second opinion, then head to Seattle.
Read MoreFEIGENBAUM: GOP stranglehold hasn’t squelched debate
For a Legislature dominated by a Republican super-majority and with a Republican governor doing more now than just watching from the cheap seats, you should be surprised by the uncertainty over the shape—and even the fate—of several significant bills this late in the process.
Read MoreRUSTHOVEN: Let lawmakers decide gay marriage
Indiana’s new senator, Joe Donnelly, made news April 5 announcing he had changed his mind and now supported gay marriage.
Read MoreUPDIKE: A millennial view of transit
It has been a discouraging year in local politics. Several baby boomers have apologized to me for the state of affairs they are handing over to my generation, and each conversation has made clear the deep and fundamental issues Indiana’s next leaders will face.
Read MoreKim: Investors must steer clear of the narcissistic CEO
A number of academic studies have concluded narcissistic CEOs make poor choices that can cause the company and your investment to perish.
Read MoreHicks: Bourgeois dignity and the modern world
A most remarkable book, “Bourgeois Dignity: Why Economics Can’t Explain the Modern World,”, says all the explanations of the explosion of economic growth that occurred about 300 years ago are inadequate.
Read MoreMahern got it wrong
The [April 1] Forefront column by Louis Mahern discussed a zoning case in the Fletcher Place Neighborhood “called down” by City-County Councilor Jeff Miller. Mahern’s column incorrectly assumes that neighborhood opposition to the project relates to its affordable housing aspect.
Read MoreIn BriefBack to Top
Indiana pension shifts to international bonds
The Indiana Public Retirement System recently issued a request for proposals from international fixed-income managers and received 16 responses by the April 5 deadline. The $27.1 billion retirement system will hire two managers to oversee $900 million.
Read MoreClinic, wellness pay off for OneAmerica
Even as employers embrace workplace wellness and on-site clinics more than ever, there is still a healthy bit of skepticism about whether they actually pay off. But OneAmerica Financial Partners Inc. credits its clinic and wellness program for the lion’s share of a 15-percent reduction in its per-employee costs for health care.
Read MoreAd exec’s buttom line: Just be relevant
Young & Laramore President Tom Denari challenged conventional thinking in a March 21 column in Advertising Age.
Read MoreSteak n Shake facing new suit over mandatory menu pricing
Another Steak n Shake franchise owner is suing the company over its controversial practice that prohibits restaurants in the chain from setting their own menu prices, even after a federal appeals court sided with a franchisee.
Read MoreDeveloper closing in on Ironworks anchor tenant
Hendricks Commercial Properties is set to break ground on the $30 million mixed-use development on the southwest corner of 86th Street and Keystone Avenue on Wednesday.
Read MoreIndianapolis Colts, city reach deal on new luxury suites
Up to $2 million of the costs for the suites project and other improvements will be paid by the Capital Improvement Board, the city agency which owns and operates Lucas Oil Stadium.
Read More