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Chris O'Malley

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Not-for-profits lack solid IT foundation, study says: NPower Indiana says most groups fail to meet basics

A new study suggests a large percentage of the region’s not-for-profits still struggle with inadequate technology that undermines productivity, invites security breaches and hinders their community outreach potential. NPower Indiana, a not-for-profit that provides low-cost technology consulting and services in central Indiana, studied 34 local not-for-profits under a grant from Verizon Foundation and Anthem Foundation. It found that 85 percent are “constrained by outdated PCs or operating systems, which can seriously affect their system’s stability, efficiency and ability to run…

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Indiana-made pickups add to Toyota woes

Quality problems involving a Toyota pickup truck made in Princeton have so tarnished the Japanese automaker’s once-vaunted image that they drove onto Automotive News’ list of the top 10 stories of 2007. The trade publication in its Dec. 31 edition cited numerous recalls for the full-size Tundra pickup, including failed torque converters and propeller shafts. […]

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Burn foundation targeting campus fire deaths: Federal grant will help carry DVD’s message to thousands of colleges

A local not-for-profit has received a $1 million grant to help keep college kids safe from fires, some of which are set as pranks. The People’s Burn Foundation will begin pilot testing a DVD video on fire prevention and mail a final version to nearly 5,000 colleges and 38,000 fire departments, starting in April. The video was funded largely by a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It’s the latest in a string of grants received…

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250 retailers express interest in midfield terminal space

Retailers and restaurateurs have flooded Indianapolis International Airport with letters-of-interest for space in the midfield
terminal, which is scheduled to open in late 2008. The demand is “more than five times” the number of concession spaces available,
airport managers say.

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Logistics advocacy group Conexus gears up for statewide pitch

Carol D’Amico, president and CEO of the newly formed industry advocacy group Conexus Indiana, is intent on boosting the visibility
and growth of the logistics industry. Large though it is, it’s also relatively ambiguous and sits in the shadow of the state’s
much-vaunted life sciences industry.

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Road getting bumpy for ethanol plants

The list of potential Hoosier ethanol plants is nothing short of astounding for a state that had just one ethanol-fuel distillery
as recently as 2005. Beyond the six ethanol plants now operating and six others under construction, Purdue University agricultural
economist Chris Hurt counts 27 others under consideration for Indiana.

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‘Voluntourism’ pioneer wants to go corporate: Once province of colleges, Ambassadors branches into business

Companies wanting to build camaraderie and teamwork often send their employees on the all-too-predictable retreat. A couple of hours down the road, in a restful setting, they’ll do role-playing games and problem-solving exercises. These corporate chums will cap it off with a bar tab equivalent to the national debt of Belize. Sally Brown thinks she has a better alternative to the typical company retreat. Why not send those employees to Belize? Or how about El Salvador, or even India, for…

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High-speed rail still on slow track in state: Economic study, innovative financing explored

The effort to put high-speed trains into service in Indiana and eight other Midwestern states sometimes seems as fanciful as the first manned flight to Mars. There have been years of talk and countless meetings. And it will be many more years before a vehicle is fueled-and-ready, if ever. In the 13 years since the Indiana High Speed Rail Association was formed in Highland, the closest thing to high-speed rail Hoosiers have seen is an occasional speedy European locomotive brought…

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Feds eliminate quirky price-fixing rule for interstate movers

Interstate moving companies have operated for decades under industrywide price fixing blessed by the federal government. But
the system–one Tony Soprano and the boys in the back room of Bada Bing would love–will end Dec. 31, ushering in price cuts
and other changes that could affect the cost of a move.

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Union says utility owes $115M

In a case with huge financial implications for Indianapolis Power & Light and Virginia parent AES Corp., a labor union and
16 IPL retirees have asked regulators to force the utility to pay up to $115 million to back-fund a retirement plan it spun
off in 2001.

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Hancock developer’s plan matures: Copper Leaf would be region’s largest, most comprehensive senior housing

What started as Jim Brothers’ search for an assisted-living facility for his mother could end up as the region’s most comprehensive retirement “resort.” The president of The Bradford Group, an Indianapolis residential developer, has been working several months to get the zoning he needs for Copper Leaf. The 177-acre community on the east side of McCordsville would be home to 400 to 600 residents and sport a nine-hole public golf course. About 30 acres would be set aside for restaurants,…

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Carrier carrying on in cool housing market

With steep declines in new-home construction and existing home sales, market conditions in the Indianapolis-based North American
residential business of Carrier Corp. “are clearly challenging,” according to George David, CEO of Carrier’s parent, United
Technologies.

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Not your father’s car lot: Auto dealers grab attention with livelier designs

The three-tiered floor gives a commanding view of the flick playing on the big screen. Down the hall, other guests sit entranced behind flat-panel TVs in a spacious lounge, or check their e-mail courtesy of the building’s wireless signal. Not far away, 20 kids and their parents celebrate a birthday party. It’s not a movie theater, a Hilton or a Chuck E. Cheese’s: It’s Burd Ford’s new facility at 10320 E. Pendleton Pike. These days, almost every new or remodeled…

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ATA parent shifts HQ to Georgia

The writing has been on the wall that Indianapolis might lose the headquarters for ATA Airlines and/or parent Global Aero
Logistics ever since April, when Global said it was buying Georgia-based World Air Holdings. Now, the writing is on paper:
Indianapolis has lost another headquarters.

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Cyber sky is falling, cyber sky is falling-or not: State, IU make nice with Colorado company leasing lines for vital I-Light network linking Indiana universities

Indiana’s network for advanced university research, linked by a web of fiber optics known as I-Light, is now deemed safe by the state and Indiana University. Both have backed away from dire warnings about the network’s future that they issued earlier this month after a key partner in the network changed hands. Indianapolis-based Indiana Fiber Works, which leases hundreds of miles of fiber to I- Light under state contracts not set to expire for nine more years, was purchased Oct….

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Republic Airways profit hits turbulence

Rising expenses from adding new aircraft put a drag on third-quarter profit at Republic Airways Holdings, which fell 8 percent from the same time last year, to $20.2 million. Earnings per share fell slightly to 49 cents, from 50 cents for the same quarter last year, the Indianapolis-based carrier reported yesterday. The operator of regional […]

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Power plant opponents claim Duke, governor interfered: IURC head received letter, press release referring to Edwardsport project

Groups opposing Duke Energy’s coal gasification plant proposed for Edwardsport allege the utility and Gov. Mitch Daniels tried to sway regulators with improper contact and political pressure to get the $2 billion plant approved. They “are clearly trying to back-door the public decision-making process,” said Jerry Polk, an attorney representing a group led by Citizens Action Coalition. Polk this month filed a complaint with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, citing a Sept. 25 letter an executive from Duke’s Charlotte, N.C.,…

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