Articles

Hancock County utility sold to Aqua Indiana

Aqua Indiana Inc., a unit of Pennsylvania-based Aqua America Inc., has bought Western Hancock Utilities LLC for about $5 million. Western Hancock Utilities, which provides wastewater services in western Hancock County, serves about 50 businesses and 2,500 residents in the Mount Comfort area. It will be managed out of Aqua Indiana’s office on the northeast […]

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Lilly’s Taurel to take 50-percent pay cut

Sidney Taurel, who is retiring at the end of March after nearly a decade as CEO of Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co., will see his salary cut in half while he remains chairman through the end of 2008. His base salary will be $864,250, with a $1.2 million non-stock bonus. The bonus figure is a […]

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Johnson hospital chief departing suddenly

Gregg Bechtold, who has been president and CEO of Johnson Memorial Hospital since 1992, will leave the post Dec. 31 after arriving at an agreement with hospital directors Dec. 19. “He and the board reached agreement to end his employment here,” said hospital spokesman Bill Oakes. Oakes offered no details on the separation. In a […]

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Rec vehicle makers dodge bullet in energy bill

Exceptions carved into the energy bill signed yesterday by President Bush probably spared the recreational vehicle industry from a sales slide. The effort to improve fuel economy does not apply to chassis that carry RVs or vehicles that tow RVs. The exceptions have the industry breathing a sigh of relief, according to The Truth in […]

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Distribution center could be built in Shelbyville

A 600,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution facility could go up in Shelbyville if a request to annex and rezone about 124 acres near the city southeast of Indianapolis is approved, according to The Shelbyville News. Hoosier Property Holdings LLC of Cincinnati brought the proposal before the Shelbyville Common Council on Dec. 17. The site is near […]

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Martin University names new president

Martin University has named Algeania Freeman to replace its founding president, Boniface Hardin, who is retiring. The school, the state’s only predominately African-American institution, made the announcement this morning. Freeman, 58, founded The Freeman Group Inc., a contractual consulting company. She also served as president of Livingstone College in Salisbury, N.C., from 2001 to 2004. […]

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Coventry exec jumps to WellPoint

WellPoint Inc. will appoint John Langenus as senior vice president and president and CEO of its Anthem National Accounts division on Feb. 25, the company announced today. The division serves nearly 11 million customers. Langenus comes to WellPoint from Bethesda, Md.-based Coventry Healthcare, where he served as president of group health care for more than […]

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Brown County arts incubator open for business

The novel Arts Industry Business Incubator opened Dec. 12 in the Brown County seat of Nashville after years of discussion. The incubator, which is intended to help launch and grow arts-oriented businesses, can share space, clerical support and other needs of small businesses, according to the Brown County Democrat. It is supported by the Brown […]

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Controversial Shelbyville tech park gets funding

Intelliplex, the state-certified technology park in Shelbyville that has drawn fire locally and caution from the state, has received a commitment from Shelby County commissioners for $125,000 in funding per year for 25 years. The action was taken Monday night as part of a series of decisions on how to spend economic development income taxes, […]

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Medco chooses Boone County for pharmacy plant

Medco Health Solutions Inc. said this morning that it will build its $140-million pharmacy distribution center at AllPoints at Anson in Boone County. The Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based company announced Nov. 12 that it would locate the center in the Indianapolis area, but that it still hadn’t chosen among Boone, Johnson or Hendricks counties. AllPoints at […]

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Kenley wants tighter controls on tax incentives

State Sen. Luke Kenley, the Noblesville Republican who this summer chaired a legislative committee to study the property tax issue, wants tighter controls on tax increment financing districts and property tax abatements, reports The Times in Munster. For years, the incentives have been offered to entice businesses to relocate to or expand in Indiana. Critics […]

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UPDATE: Retiring Lilly CEO had rough run

Sidney Taurel, Eli Lilly and Co.’s retiring CEO, oversaw the company during a challenging stretch when it lost patent protection for Prozac and faced intense litigation against its blockbuster Zyprexa. Since Taurel became CEO in July 1998, Lilly’s stock price has fallen 17 percent. By comparison, the overall market, as measured by the S&P 500, […]

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BREAKING: Taurel retiring as Lilly CEO

Sidney Taurel will retire as CEO of Eli Lilly and Co. at the end of March, the company said this morning. He will remain chairman of the Indianapolis-based drug maker’s board until December 2008. John Lechleiter, 54, Lilly’s president and chief operating officer since October 2005, will take over as CEO April 1. Taurel, 58, […]

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Casino owner wants to move license

The owner of two riverboat casinos in Gary is talking with a state legislator about moving one of his two state gaming licenses to Steuben County in northeastern Indiana, according to The Times of Munster. Majestic Star owner Don Barden said the area near Michigan and Ohio is “underserved” for gamblers. The mayor of Gary, […]

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Emmis acquires Bulgarian radio property

Indianapolis-based Emmis Communications Corp. today announced it has acquired Inforadio, a national radio chain broadcasting in 13 Bulgarian cities.Balkan Broadcasting EAD, an Emmis subsidiary, purchased 100 percent of the stations’ parent company, Infopress & Company OOD, a Bulgarian limited liability company. The transaction is complete, and regulatory approval has been granted. Financial terms of the […]

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Former Reilly changes hands again

The private-equity firm that bought Indianapolis-based Reilly Industries and re-made it last year into Vertellus Specialties has sold Vertellus to another equity firm, Wind Point Partners. New York private-equity firm Arsenal Capital Partners did not disclose terms of the deal. Indianapolis-based Vertellus, with 750 employees and annual sales of more than $450 million, was formed […]

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Lilly broadens Ambrx alliance

Eli Lilly and Co. expanded its alliance with San Diego-based Ambrx Inc., the companies announced today. Indianapolis-based Lilly will use Ambrx’s protein-optimization technology, called ReCODE, in its efforts to develop biotech drugs. The two companies will try to bring to market drugs for treating metabolic diseases, central nervous system disorders and other conditions. Lilly will […]

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Casino license could hang on semantics

Columbia Sussex Corp.’s ability to renew its license to operate the Casino Aztar riverboat in Evansville could hinge on a couple of words and their definitions, according to the Evansville Courier & Press. Evansville Mayor Jonathon Weinzapfel says the Indiana Gaming Commission should yank the license held by the Fort Mitchell, Ky., company because New […]

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Ex-Purdue president to lead library strategy

Former Purdue University President Martin C. Jischke and his wife, Patty, will co-chair a strategic planning committee charged with identifying service and programming priorities as well as funding opportunities for the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library over the next five years. The Jischke-led strategic planning process will begin in the first quarter of 2008. As part […]

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Study: Angel returns match other investments

Angel investors – wealthy people who toss money at fledgling companies – received about the average rate of return as other types of private equity investments, according to a survey of 539 U.S. angels. The average rate of return of angel investments was 2.6 times the investment over a period of 3.5 years. “This average […]

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