IBJ Staff

Indiana liquor distributors are small and some of their counterparts outside the state are huge, so it’s understandable why the locals are desperate to preserve an old statute banning out-of-state competitors. But let’s be real. Protectionist measures like this one should have been axed decades ago. They make about as much sense as township government. […]

Nearly 600 Hoosiers are losing their jobs as the result of more manufacturing-plant closings, including one operated by Firestone Industrial Products Co. in Noblesville. In a state filing made public yesterday, Firestone said the facility would close by June 26, putting 195 union members out of work. Forty-three salaried employees will be phased out by […]

The Indiana Department of Transportation has received approval to proceed with upgrades planned for U.S. 31 in Hamilton County. A decision this week from the Federal Highway Administration allows INDOT to acquire land for the corridor that extends 13 miles from Interstate 465 to State Road 38. Construction is expected to begin in 2011. The […]

Winds are expected to calm down tonight after reaching peaks of 60 mph yesterday. The gusts uprooted trees and knocked down branches, causing property damage around central Indiana and knocking out power to thousands of Hoosiers. Indiana Michigan Power reported 10,000 customers without power this morning. Duke Energy and Indianapolis Power & Light reported 6,000 […]

Indianapolis police are looking for a man they say shot a 16-year-old girl in the face. Robert Johnson, 18, is wanted in connection with last night’s shooting, which happened about 7 in the 900 block of North Oakland Avenue. Investigators say the girl recognized the shooter and was able to give police his name. She […]

Indianapolis police say someone stole an ATM from a Speedway gas station at 30th Street and Guion Road on the northwest side about 4 a.m. today. Investigators say the thieves backed up a sport utility vehicle, wrapped a cable around the machine and dragged it out of the closed store. Officers followed a trail of […]

Mayor Greg Ballard announced yesterday the creation of a city office that will combine civil licensing and permitting functions into one entity. The Office of Code Enforcement is part of an effort to make Indianapolis safer and more livable by better enforcing environmental and other quality-of-life-related laws, the mayor said. “From the outset, I’ve been […]

California’s Anthem Blue Cross, a subsidiary of Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc., will pay a $1 million fine and an estimated $14 million in reimbursements for medical expenses paid out of pocket by 2,330 people dropped by the insurer. The California Department of Insurance is set to announce the deal today, according to the Los Angeles Times. […]

Southbound Interstate 65 from I-465 to Southport Road could remain closed until midafternoon as crews clean up after an overturned tanker leaked fuel. The tanker ran off the road this morning about 5:30 a.m. at I-65 South’s 104 mile marker. No one was injured. Authorities are still investigating the cause.

The Indiana House Committee on Public Policy is expected to vote today on legislation that could ban smoking inside public places. According to an American Cancer Society poll, 64 percent of Hoosiers support a law to prohibit smoking in enclosed public areas. But groups representing Indiana’s casinos and taverns oppose the measure. They say a […]

The Indianapolis Colts are moving their training camp from Terre Haute to Anderson, according to officials of the city of Anderson and Anderson University. It’s just a matter of working out the logistics, they said. Colts officials declined to comment. Read more about it in The Score, IBJ’s sports business blog.

Evansville-based Mead Johnson Nutrition, the world’s largest maker of baby formula, raised $720 million in the first U.S. initial public offering since November. The company, a unit of New York-based Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., began trading on the New York Stock Exchange this morning under the ticker symbol “MJN,” with shares opening at $26. Mead Johnson […]

California’s Anthem Blue Cross, a subsidiary of Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc., will pay a $1 million fine and an estimated $14 million in reimbursements for medical expenses paid out of pocket by 2,330 people dropped by the insurer. The California Department of Insurance is set to announce the deal today, according to the Los Angeles Times. […]

An automobile-parts manufacturer in Columbus with 500 employees will shut down unless union members make concessions, according to The Republic of Columbus. Columbus Components Group, which operates in a former Arvin Industries plant, said it would begin closing down March 1 unless employees agree to a 5-percent pay cut, among other concessions, the newspaper said. […]

State Sen. Luke Kenley (R-Noblesville) said yesterday that both the Indianapolis Colts and Indiana Pacers are interested in helping the city’s Capital Improvement Board dig out of its $43 million annual operating deficit. Kenley, chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, said he has met with each team’s representatives to address budget shortfalls plaguing the […]

Hamilton Southeastern’s school-redistricting plan has been approved. The school board passed the plan in a 5-1 vote last night. Supporters said the plan was necessary to balance enrollment as Riverside School prepares to open a wing that will accommodate 1,000 additional students. The new boundaries take effect this fall.

Jamestown was expected to give a hero’s welcome today to a firefighter injured in an interstate accident in late December. Fred Long, 46, was pinned by a semi after responding to a slide-off of a sport-utility vehicle on I-74. Long was released from rehabilitation today. To mark the occasion, Boone County firefighters organized a morning […]

An Indiana House Committee will consider a bill tomorrow that would let schools knock 10 days off the required 180-day school year. To compensate, administrators would be required to add about 20 minutes to each school day. A parents’ group called Save Our Summers is lobbying for the bill, which would also require an 11-week […]

Spring Mill Elementary parents talked with Washington Township officials this morning in the wake of fatal bus accident Friday that claimed the life of 10-year-old Christopher Michael Beltz. Superintendent Dr. James Mervilde discussed bus safety during today’s meeting as well as the need to more closely inspect bus driver records. School officials confirmed one of […]