Articles

Schrenker claims mental trouble before plane crash-WEB ONLY

An Indiana money manager said he “wasn’t of sound mind” before parachuting from his plane and letting it crash in Florida in what authorities say was an attempt to fake his own death. In a telephone interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America” for broadcast today, Marcus Schrenker said his plane crashed in Florida after hitting […]

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Dems question governor’s budget-cutting power-WEB ONLY

Democratic leaders at the Indiana Statehouse are questioning whether the governor should have the power to withhold state cash from certain programs after lawmakers allocate money for them in the state budget. Senate Minority Leader Vi Simpson (D-Bloomington) said Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels should be able to reduce spending for his own state agencies in […]

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House Democrats propose new jobless-fund fix-WEB ONLY

Employers would pay higher taxes under a revised proposal Indiana House Democrats presented yesterday as a way to fix Indiana’s bankrupt unemployment insurance fund. The taxes employers would pay into the fund overall would be higher than House Democrats originally proposed, at least initially, and the new plan still would not cut benefits paid to […]

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Stock market sinks on more bank worries-WEB ONLY

U.S. stock markets sank today as investors booked profits from last week’s gains and new worries set in over banks’ profit reports. The Dow Jones industrial average index plummeted 3.6 percent, to 7,841.60, the Standard & Poor’s 500 dropped 4.2 percent, to 832.42, and the NASDAQ composite fell 3.9 percent, to 1,608.21. Worries about the […]

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Navistar chosen to help develop hybrid bus-WEB ONLY

Federal officials have chosen Navistar Corp.’s Fort Wayne plant to help develop a new electric hybrid school bus that’s part of the Obama administration’s goal of lessening the nation’s reliance on petroleum. The U.S. Department of Energy said Friday that Navistar will be a partner in a project to develop, test and put onto the […]

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GM exec says 1,600 set to lose jobs-WEB ONLY

GM North America President Troy Clarke said in an e-mail to employees sent today that the layoffs are needed to ensure the company’s long-term viability. “In these unprecedented times, GM is reinventing every aspect of our business, including our organizational size and structure, to create a lean and agile company,” Clarke wrote in the e-mail […]

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Mystery donors give $45M to Purdue, others-WEB ONLY

A mystery is unfolding in the world of college fundraising: During the past few weeks, at least eight universities have received gifts totaling nearly $45 million, and the schools had to promise not to try to find out the giver’s identity. One school went so far as to check with the IRS and the Department […]

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Developer eyes northeast Indiana for wind farm-WEB ONLY

A developer is working on plans to install up to 75 turbines on several small wind farms in northern Indiana’s LaGrange County. Fort Wayne-based Pioneer Wind Energy LLC says it has rented more than 4,000 acres, enough to build two of the wind farms with 10 to 15 turbines each. The company’s plans for LaGrange […]

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Indiana extends online tax deadline until Sunday-WEB ONLY

Indiana is extending the state tax-filing deadline for those trying to use its clogged online system. A technology glitch slowed the state’s I-File system, and last-minute tax filers created a bottleneck yesterday. The Indiana Department of Revenue has extended the I-File state tax deadline until midnight Sunday. Revenue Commissioner John Eckart said today he regrets […]

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IUPUI seeks home games at Conseco Fieldhouse-WEB ONLY

IUPUI officials are negotiating with the Indiana Pacers to play home basketball games at the nearby 18,000-seat Conseco Fieldhouse. The Jaguars normally play home games at their 1,200-seat campus gymnasium, and coach Ron Hunter said the program “will not be able to move forward any further unless we get a new facility.” The Summit League […]

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Jobless claims fall, but so do housing starts-WEB ONLY

U.S. jobless claims fell more than expected for the second straight week, but the number of Americans continuing to receive unemployment insurance benefits rose above 6 million for the first time. Analysts expect the labor market to remain weak for the most of this year, as many employers are reluctant to hire until an economic […]

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Indiana House OKs limits on political donations-WEB ONLY

The Indiana House has approved a bill that would prohibit the governor from soliciting or receiving campaign contributions during budget-writing sessions of the General Assembly. The bill also would prohibit any businesses with state contracts worth more than $50,000 from giving contributions to statewide office holders or candidates. The ban would also apply to executives […]

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CIB rescue bill moves ahead, awaits more debate-WEB ONLY

A Statehouse proposal that would allow Indianapolis to raise local taxes to save its cash-strapped stadium agency cleared the Indiana Senate yesterday as the debate over who should pay for the bailout continued. The Senate voted 33-17 for a proposal to fund the Indianapolis Capital Improvement Board, which expects to be $47 million short in […]

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Midwest states seek high-speed rail funds-WEB ONLY

Eight Midwestern states, including Indiana, hope to secure federal stimulus money for a network of faster passenger trains with Chicago as its hub – joining forces to boost their chances of getting a cut of $8 billion set aside for high-speed rail. The governors, including Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, said yesterday they have sent a […]

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Indiana airports to receive recovery funds-WEB ONLY

Another $4.4 million in economic recovery funds are going to four airports in Indiana, with about half of the amount going to repair a taxiway at Mount Comfort Airport, about 10 miles east of Indianapolis. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the Federal Aviation Administration will provide $2.2 million to Mount Comfort. Another $1 million […]

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Tax protesters rally at Statehouse, across nation-WEB ONLY

Thousands of protesters – many first-timers – gathered on the Indiana Statehouse lawn yesterday to make it known they were fed up with overspending by the government. The word “enough” was everywhere – on signs handed out by organizers, spelled out in red, foam letters behind a country music band, on the homemade signs held […]

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Employers face higher taxes if fund goes unfixed-WEB ONLY

The federal unemployment tax rate paid by Indiana employers might rise 38 percent next year if the state has not repaid all of the hundreds of millions of dollars in loans it needs to keep paying jobless benefits, a top official said yesterday. Chief Financial Officer Scott Sanders of the Department of Workforce Development told […]

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Senate OKs funding plan for CIB-WEB ONLY

A Statehouse proposal that would allow Indianapolis officials to raise a handful of local taxes to save its cash-strapped stadium agency has cleared the Indiana Senate. The Senate voted 33-17 today for a proposal to fund the Indianapolis Capital Improvement Board, which expects to be $47 million short in its operation of the city’s professional […]

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Consumer prices dip unexpectedly in March-WEB ONLY

Consumer prices dipped unexpectedly in March, leaving prices over the past year falling at the fastest clip in more than a half-century. The recession is expected to keep a lid on inflation as widespread layoffs dampen wage pressures and weak demand keeps companies from raising prices. The Labor Department said Wednesday that consumer prices edged […]

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Wind power picks up in Indiana-WEB ONLY

The first phase of a wind farm being developed in Indiana by Richmond-based Dominion Resources Inc. and BP Wind Energy is operational, the companies announced today The companies said the 222 turbines at the Fowler Ridge Wind Farm in Benton County can generate 440 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 120,000 average homes. Dominion […]

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