HAYLEIGH COLOMBO: Listening will be key to fighting poverty
Reporting on poverty taught me the mantra, “nothing about us without us.” We must listen to those we are trying to help.
Hayleigh Colombo
Articles
Q&A: Increasing Latino participation in Indy civic life
Yecenia Tostado wants to increase the number of Latinos in leadership positions in central Indiana.
Inside a tech firm’s quest to bolster gender diversity
Genesys launched a companywide gender-diversity-and-inclusion campaign early this year and has made measurable, albeit small, progress since.
TIF incentives for $66M downtown project barely pass council committee
The council’s Metropolitan and Economic Development Committee voted 6-5 to send two proposals concerning Charles Street Investment Partners’ mixed-use project at 421 N. Pennsylvania St. to the full City-County Council.
Merritt proposes express-lane tolls on commuter-heavy roads like Binford
Republican mayoral candidate Jim Merritt on Wednesday proposed a variety of possible solutions for the city’s infrastructure funding issues, including using local tax revenue “to secure a public-private solution.”
Should this building be saved?
Historic preservationists and midtown neighborhood leaders don’t want to lose the Drake apartment building that its owner, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, plans to raze.
Hogsett wants city street crews to operate more like police force—on beats
An $8 million DPW budget increase proposed Thursday would add street operators and a second shift of operations. Also on Thursday, the public works committee unanimously approved a proposal to appropriate $40 million in revenue bonds to fund road and bridge infrastructure.
Greenwood seeks redevelopment proposals for key downtown site
The city sees redevelopment of a former middle school property as the linchpin in efforts to revitalize its downtown.
UPDATE: Hogsett’s $1.2B budget has raises for police, firefighters, but drops preschool for 3-year-olds
The state will take over funding pre-kindergarten programs for 4-year-olds, but the mayor’s office opted not to include preschool funding for younger children after philanthropic support for the program fell.
Would-be independent candidate sues after he’s rejected for mayoral ballot
At issue is the Marion County Election Board’s decision to disqualify 1,115 signatures because the addresses listed by eligible voters on a petition did not match their official registered addresses.
Four years in, Blue Indy car-sharing service still stuck in the red
Blue Indy has yet to see a money-making year, and the company’s top Indianapolis official says he can’t predict when that will happen.
INHP acquires more properties for affordable housing near IndyGo stops
The purchases are part of the group’s $15 million plan is to preserve or create 1,000 affordable housing units within walking distance of IndyGo routes over the next five years.
Fees from scooters to pay for city bicycle infrastructure improvements
Mayor Joe Hogsett and the Department of Public Works on Thursday announced a plan to spend about $450,000 that has been collected by scooter companies since last year on so-called “neighborways” in Indianapolis.
City to tie incentives to $18-an-hour pay
Starting Jan. 1, Develop Indy will change the way it awards millions of dollars in tax abatements and training grants annually. Only businesses that pay workers at least $18 an hour, give them access to health care benefits and support other community programs will be eligible.
Hogsett to launch mayoral race ad campaign with ode to Hudnut
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett—vying for re-election this fall against GOP challenger Jim Merritt—plans to launch his television advertising campaign this week with a commercial that sings the praises of a former Republican mayor.
Merritt calls Hogsett’s food insecurity plan ‘complete waste of money’
Republican mayoral candidate state Sen. Jim Merritt on Thursday criticized Mayor Joe Hogsett’s plan to spend about $580,000 on programs to combat food insecurity in Indianapolis and said it “will likely make the problem worse.”
New group antes up cash to help poor make bail
The Bail Project is challenging the cash bail system that keeps poor people awaiting trial locked up in Marion County jails, often putting their jobs and homes at risk.
Could land trusts keep housing affordable, avoid gentrification?
In a quest to create permanently affordable housing, about 25 Indianapolis community groups and development corporations have formed the Community Land Trust Coalition.
City’s poor often have few affordable options for banking, other financial services
Banking is more expensive for the people who most need it to be affordable, a reality that experts say plays a significant role in preventing many Hoosiers from snapping the cycle of poverty.
Indianapolis mayoral candidates compete over food-insecurity plans
Jim Merritt on Thursday proposed his own initiatives to tackle the issue of food insecurity in Indianapolis, and he criticized those recently made by Mayor Joe Hogsett as “Band-Aid” solutions.