Home » Authors » Scott Olson

Scott Olson

Articles

Federal farm lending could shrivel under latest budget: Banking associations oppose proposed fee increases

Brent Kerns likes to compare the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s lending program to that of the Small Business Administration’s. In short, the USDA helps farmers the way the SBA assists small-business owners. But if a proposal to cut the budget of the farm loan program is approved, it could become as expensive to use as the SBA’s offering. Supporters fear a hike in user fees would hurt those who need the money the most. “That cost goes straight to the…

Read More

Federal deposit insurance reform beefs up coverage: Retirement savings accounts stand to benefit most

Federal deposit insurance reforms signed into law by President Bush last month boost coverage of some retirement accounts and will raise coverage for other bank accounts beginning in 2010. The legislation, debated by lawmakers for the past six years, is significant because it offers the first increase in deposit insurance coverage in more than 25 years, and just the seventh rise since 1935. Federal deposit insurance currently covers as much as $100,000 per depositor. Starting no later than November, depositors…

Read More

Indiana’s universities give industry a boost: State touts wealth of higher-ed insurance programs

Politicians seem so much more 21st century when they talk about attracting life sciences and information technology jobs to Indiana. But they’re not about to ignore the state’s second-largest employer-the often-overlooked insurance industry. Indiana insurers employ more than 60,000 Hoosiers, second only to farming, and pay an average annual salary of $47,500, nearly $10,000 more than the state average, according to a 2004 study by Purdue University. Moreover, the industry boasts some of the state’s largest public and private companies-WellPoint…

Read More

Insurers: Session a ‘dog’: Industry’s favored bills bark up the wrong tree

The state’s insurance industry could use coverage for the lumps it has taken this legislative session. The three main issues of interest for the Insurance Institute of Indiana, the sector’s lobbying arm, all flamed out early. The disappointing performance prompted Marty Wood, the organization’s director of public affairs, to proclaim it a near failure. “I would give this session for insurers a ‘D’ as in dog. Dog is probably pretty accurate, too,” Wood said. “Had we had this kind of…

Read More

Six firms land $6.1M from state tech fund: 21st Century program issues its first grants since 2004; local companies Semafore, Cadent among recipients

The state launched the fund in 1999 to invest in new technologies and appropriated $137 million during the first five years of the program. The state awarded no money in 2005, partly because none was available the first half of the year. The administration took the second six months to get acquainted with the fund. Kidd left his job as vice president of the Indiana Venture Center in October to join IEDC. The veteran small-business consultant since has helped reshape…

Read More

Open source gaining traction: Government departments, more businesses seek alternatives to Microsoft, others

The Indiana Department of Education’s effort to outfit high schools with computers is a costly endeavor for a state strapped for cash. But installing what is known as open-source software is softening the blow. As the name implies, open-source programming is available for users to study, modify and share freely-a sharp contrast to the proprietary software sold by behemoths such as Microsoft Corp. and Oracle. Expensive licensing fees associated with the proprietary software sent the Education Department looking for alternatives….

Read More

Irvington confronts development dilemma: District’s new historic guidelines receive first test

A proposed development that would bring a Starbucks and a Union Federal Bank branch to the east side of Irvington presents a conundrum for folks there thirsting to revitalize the historic but neglected neighborhood. Local developer Tharp Investments Inc. wants to demolish a NAPA auto-parts store and a vacant building on adjoining properties it owns on East Washington Street to make way for the coffee shop and bank. Residents welcome the investment as a first step in a broader plan…

Read More

Buckingham makes big plans for Carmel: Developer awaits OK on 116-acre urbanist development

The makeover of midtown Carmel, driven by the ambitious City Center master plan, could get a boost from a nearby development that could rival the project in scope. Local real-estate developer Buckingham Properties will present its proposal to the Carmel Plan Commission Feb. 21 to transform the 1960s-era Mohawk Hills apartment complex and its golf course into a modern urbanist neighborhood. The development, called Gramercy, could take a decade and hundreds of millions of dollars to complete. The 116-acre tract…

Read More

Industrial park land sends towns into annexation battle: Avon, Plainfield both want 882-acre distribution site

A valuable piece of Hendricks County property slated for a mammoth warehouse and industrial park is pitting the neighboring towns of Avon and Plainfield against each other. The two municipalities once were cooperating to annex the 882 acres together and share the tax dollars generated by the $700 million investment that could attract 6,000 jobs. They stopped negotiating last fall and now are employing separate tactics to claim the unincorporated land. Locally based Browning Investments Inc. wants to build CentraLogistics…

Read More

Roll the cameras: State cranks up efforts to court film industry under new task force

North Carolina offers a 15-percent tax credit to filmmakers to help offset production costs. The credit recently helped sway a national retailer to shoot an in-store commercial there instead of in Indiana. While the $600,000 production hardly compares to a multimillion-dollar motion picture, losing it was a big deal for local companies that didn’t get the work. Holli Hanley of Grand Illusion Lighting Inc. in Zionsville, which rents lighting equipment to production companies, lamented the loss. “Everyone in the entire…

Read More

Eateries await smoking ban: Some restaurant owners face tough decisions

It’s 2:30 p.m. on a Tuesday and the lunch crowd has dwindled enough to give Giorgio Migliaccio time to relax and light up a cigarette at the downtown pizzeria that bears his name. But come March 1, Migliaccio and the majority of other restaurant owners in Marion County no longer will allow smoking. A city ordinance will ban the practice in establishments that allow patrons younger than 18. “I think it will be very hard for the addicted to not…

Read More

Amnesty in concrete case?: Lawyer says company in civil price-fixing case helping prosecutors in criminal investigation

One of the seven concrete firms named as defendants in a civil price-fixing lawsuit is helping federal prosecutors gather evidence in a related criminal investigation, court documents reveal. A lawyer for one of the seven defendants in the civil case said in a filing that the 27 contractors and construction firms bringing the suit have the “unique and decisive advantage” of receiving documents and statements from a cooperating individual who could receive amnesty from criminal charges. Court papers don’t say…

Read More

IPOs take minor dip in 2005: Analysts stay optimistic; 3 Indiana companies set to go public in early ’06

Three Indiana companies took the plunge to go public last year, two less than the number that did so in 2004. The state’s slight dip in initial public offerings mirrors the slump in activity nationally. But Indiana appears to be off to a fast start for 2006. Three other Hoosier companies filed to go public late last year, but had yet to complete their IPOs by year’s end. Overall, the number of companies that went public on the major U.S….

Read More

IPOs take minor dip in 2005: Analysts stay optimistic; 3 Indiana companies set to go public in early ’06

Three Indiana companies took the plunge to go public last year, two less than the number that did so in 2004. The state’s slight dip in initial public offerings mirrors the slump in activity nationally. But Indiana appears to be off to a fast start for 2006. Three other Hoosier companies filed to go public late last year, but had yet to complete their IPOs by year’s end. Overall, the number of companies that went public on the major U.S….

Read More

Trying to make wastewater less wasteful: Carmel startup sees big potential in new treatment

The yellow-hued liquid in a jar that business partners Bud Harmon and Timothy Ortman tote with them to tout their venture often is mistaken for urine. But the pair is pretty sure the chemical compound, which treats wastewater at food-processing plants, carries much more promise. A second-place finish in a November business plan competition hosted by Purdue University helped bolster their belief. Harmon, a past chairman of Purdue’s Department of Animal Sciences, and Ortman, an aerospace engineer who cut his…

Read More

Growing numbers facing ‘rich’ tax: Alternative minimum tax reaching middle class

The number of Americans subject to the alternative minimum tax is expected to skyrocket this year unless Congress passes a retroactive safeguard. The tax, designed to prevent the rich from skirting taxation, threatens more middle-class families every year because of inflation. But because federal lawmakers failed to extend a “patch” that normally protects the less-than-wealthy from the AMT, it is estimated that 16 million more taxpayers could fall into its grasp this year. The AMT is catching many local taxpayers…

Read More

Slow start predicted for Roth 401(k) plans: Many companies, employees likely to take wait-and-see attitude regarding new retirement-savings vehicle

So when the Roth 401(k) debuted Jan. 1, he gave his 24 employees at Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. the opportunity to sink a percentage of their earnings in the new option. The idea draws upon the standard 401(k) plan that is the vehicle of choice for millions of working Americans saving for retirement. But a distinct difference between the two might scare some employees away. Unlike a traditional 401(k), the money diverted into a workplace Roth is…

Read More

AGENDA INDIANAPOLIS 2006: City made progress in some areas, but top priorities require more work

The wheels are beginning to turn on a multi-county transit plan, now that the Central Indiana Regional Transportation Authority is mostly in place. The authority, charged with coordinating and, ultimately, administering a regional transit system, was formed at the end of 2004, about the time IBJ asked readers to rank the most pressing issues facing the city. The results of the survey, published last January, revealed public transportation and congestion issues as the largest concern, followed by the need for…

Read More

Hoosiers set to observe daylight-saving time in 2006:

Indiana lawmakers beat the clock during the waning minutes of the legislative session to narrowly adopt daylight-saving time. The DST bill passed the House by one vote, and only after failing to obtain a constitutional majority the first time it was voted upon. Gov. Mitch Daniels, a Republican who included the divisive issue in his campaign, intervened to muster more support. House Speaker Brian Bosma held the voting board open for several minutes during the second vote until Rep. Troy…

Read More

NEWSMAKER: Jischke praised, while Herbert taking heat:

NEWSMAKER Jischke praised, while Herbert taking heat Confidence in the job performance of the two leaders of the state’s largest universities headed in opposite directions this year. At West Lafayette, Purdue University President Martin Jischke, 64, continued to receive high praise for elevating the university’s status as a player in the state’s economic development mission. Meanwhile, his colleague at Indiana University, Adam Herbert, found himself fending off a barrage of critics calling for his ouster because they don’t think he…

Read More