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Scott Olson

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Hotel glut developing downtown: Lodging projects could lift room totals by 40 percent

The 10 hotels either under construction or in the planning stages downtown would increase the amount of rooms in the city’s center more than 40 percent-a far greater number than the market likely could absorb, experts fear. The projects are largely in response to Lucas Oil Stadium, slated to be completed by August 2008 and an expansion of the Indiana Convention Center that will nearly double its size by 2010. If all 10 hotel projects come to fruition, almost 2,300…

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Merger has bank near top: Huntington a big player after acquisition of Sky

Huntington Bancshares Inc. entered the Indianapolis market in 1986 and since has led a relatively unassuming existence, barely cracking the top 10 in local deposit amounts and operating just a few dozen branches. So, the Columbus, Ohio-based bank is entering uncharted territory following its $3.6 billion acquisition of fellow Buckeye bank Sky Financial Group Inc. in Bowling Green. Huntington completed its purchase of Sky on July 2, making it the 24th-largest domestic bank in the United States in terms of…

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Startup drug firm lands veteran help: Immune Works, a fledgling firm with a promising lung drug, attracts former Indiana Health Industry Forum leader Lange

A startup firm using Indiana University medical research to treat a fatal lung disease is raising money for clinical trials and has recruited a prominent life sciences veteran to lead the effort. Michael Klemsz, an associate professor at the IU School of Medicine, and Dr. David Wilkes, director of the school’s Center for Immunobiology, founded Immune Works LLC in January 2006 along with Ronald Meeusen. Meeusen, a former Dow-AgroSciences researcher and BioCrossroads executive, served as a part-time president and CEO…

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Physician assistants taking on larger role: New law allowing prescribing power makes profession more appealing

Indiana’s physician assistants received a collective shot in the arm earlier this month when their authority to prescribe medicine to patients became effective. The profession had long lobbied lawmakers for the right before the Legislature relented with the passage of House Bill 1241 this year. July 1 officially marked the milestone in which Indiana became the last state in the nation to grant prescribing powers to physician assistants. “It’s the right thing to do,” said Dr. John Lucich, director of…

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State beefs up incentives available to tech companies:

Companies receiving a Phase 1 SBIR match from the state need to apply for second-stage funding by July 20. Applications can be downloaded on the IEDC Web site. The proposal for funds should be no longer than 12 pages and include a commercialization plan describing how the product would be moved to market and any challenges that would need to be overcome. The proposal also should include a budget describing the funds required for The Indiana Economic Development Corp. has…

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New owner takes wheel of Autobase: Virginia-based Dominion provides resources to grow technology

When Bryan Anderson sold part of Autobase Inc. in 2004 to a venture capital firm, the owner of the marketing-software maker felt as though he had sent his unruly youngster off to boarding school to become more responsible. Three years later, after convincing results and a subsequent sale to Virginia-based Dominion Enterprises, Robinson’s offspring has turned into a much more mature and disciplined child. The financial backing of Boston-based VC firm Summit Partners and the guidance of veteran technology executive…

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City steps up effort to help immigrants: Mayor’s wife spearheading program to better acclimate newcomers

The burgeoning number of immigrants arriving in Indianapolis have a new source available to help them navigate unfamiliar surroundings and the kaleidoscope of social support systems available. The Immigrant Welcome Center is a program launched in October that uses volunteers dubbed “natural helpers” to link foreign newcomers to such basic needs as health care, government and transportation services. Although the effort is nearly 9 months old, it’s just now getting up to speed as organizers are interviewing candidates to lead…

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Biz magazine seeks boost from Recorder: Newspaper’s backing should help minority business publication grow

Carolene Mays exited the production area of The Indianapolis Recorder after applying her own elbow grease to ensure a new deadline is met and reflected on the increasingly hectic pace engulfing the newspaper. The publisher of one of the nation’s oldest and most prominent black newspapers is used to carrying a heavy load, considering she moonlights part time as a Democratic member of the state House of Representatives. Yet, she is in uncharted waters as the new owner of Indiana…

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Law firms team up to encourage minority participation: Bingham McHale forms alliance with Coleman Graham & Stevenson

A surge in the number of corporations seeking minority participation on contracts has prompted an alliance between two local law firms looking to capitalize on the trend. The June affiliation between Bingham McHale LLP, the city’s fifth-largest practice, and Coleman Graham & Stevenson LLC, a minority-owned upstart, resulted from mutual friendships within the two firms, said Toby McClamroch, Bingham McHale’s managing partner. “The marketplace is becoming more complex, and the business community is demanding and expecting a multicultural and diverse…

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Court reporters in short supply: School closings lead to openings

Tom Richardson credits fictional defense attorney Perry Mason and the climactic trials on the long-running television series for prompting him to become a court reporter more than 30 years ago. But the romance of participating in a high-profile court case or deposition and translating riveting testimony seems to be lost on the younger set. Industry experts say the dwindling number of licensed court reporters and the closure of a number of court-reporting schools have mired the profession in a severe…

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Bigger not best for all: drophead Many attorneys find greener pastures in smaller practices after leaving major firms

not Bigger leaving best for red all tape drophead Many attorneys find greener pastures in smaller practices after leaving major firms When lawyers Debra Miller and James Fisher fled legal powerhouse Ice Miller LLP and the prestigious partner status they had earned, their stable of coworkers swiftly sank from nearly 250 to none. Yet 15 months later, after the pair left the largest law firm in the city, they say they’re quite content practicing together at Miller & Fisher LLC,…

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Bar program takes aim at loan debt: Legal aid attorneys can get relief

In 2037, Melody Goldberg will be 57 years old and eligible for membership in AARP. While the lawyer at Indiana Legal Services Inc. has difficulty relishing the thought, she can at least look forward to the time when she’s finally liberated of her student loans. But for now, Goldberg, 27, can take solace as well knowing she’s content at the public service job she enjoys without worrying about how she’s going to make her next loan payment. The 2006 graduate…

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Civic leader’s latest chapter: kid’s books: Lorene Burkhart plans publishing business that will benefit local not-for-profits

Local entrepreneur and philanthropist Lorene Burkhart can now add author to her array of titles. Her latest endeavor, Burkhart Network LLC, is a book-publishing enterprise that will use sales proceeds from the works she writes to support local not-for-profits. At 73, the idea to try her hand as an author came to Burkhart about three years ago, as she approached her seventh decade. “I thought, ‘Hmm, I probably have 20 good years left, so what am I going to do…

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Fascination with fans pays off: Fanimation’s unique designs sustain company amid tough competition

Try saying that three times fast. Or better yet, check out Frampton’s eclectic innovations at the local showrooms that stock them. Frampton, 51, is president of Fanimation Inc. in Zionsville, a designer and distributor of custom fans that circulate a cool breeze in ways rivaled only by his collection of bizarre antique models that often provide his inspiration. Foremost among his unusual creations of ceilingmounted fans is the futuristic Enigma, which sports a single blade and was featured in a…

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Surge in ethanol plants means transit adjustments: Study predicts increasing truck traffic, road issues

The road Indiana is traveling to help the nation reduce its dependence on foreign oil could be in for a bumpier ride than even the worst Hoosier highways. Indiana is at the epicenter of the renewable fuels movement and has provided economic incentives for the construction of a dozen new ethanol plants, four of which should be operating by the end of the year. Annually, the 380 million bushels of corn that will be used to make more than 1…

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Oak Street Mortgage slides into bankruptcy

Carmel-based Oak Street Mortgage, which not long ago was a high-flier poised to go public, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this morning in federal court. Oak Street in December sold most of its assets to Kansas City, Mo.-based Novastar Financial Inc. amid a meltdown of the sub-prime mortgage market. Subprime lenders like Oak Street make […]

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Agriculture goes urban: New academy plans to show city students that there’s more to horticulture than farming

Indiana’s stature as one of the nation’s top producers of corn and soybeans is as enduring as the fertile farmland in which the crops are grown. But a new initiative plans to introduce urban high school students in Indianapolis to a bushel of opportunities within the agriculture industry that extends well beyond farming. The Hoosier Agribusiness and Science Academy is a partnership between state government and Ivy Tech Community College in which students from the Lawrence Early College High School…

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New WellPoint plan makes wellness push: Program lets members join fitness clubs-for free

Want to join a gym but don’t feel like splurging for the membership? No problem, if your company is one of a handful to offer a new wellness product that lets employees exercise at no charge. Called InTune, the program from Indianapolis-based insurance giant WellPoint Inc. is loaded with an array of services not unlike existing wellness offerings. Online and in-person coaching, diet advisers and holistic practitioners are among the benefits, for instance. But it’s the free gym membership that…

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Law lets small employers band together for insurance: Experts disagree on whether associations will take off

The Healthy Indiana Plan, which enacts a system to bring affordable health insurance to low-income Hoosiers, is one of the most far-reaching pieces of legislation to arise from the General Assembly this spring. The noble cause could provide coverage to about 15 percent of the state’s population. Yet it could affect the small-business community as much as the state’s growing number of uninsured. House Bill 1678, introduced by State Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, and signed by Gov. Mitch Daniels May…

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