Can state catch up with Indy?

Decades ago, when Indianapolis was an industrial center, the economies of the city and the state tended to
march in unison. When manufacturing cut back, pretty much everyone felt it.

But the Indianapolis area and the state have been growing apart…

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Non news is good news for Lilly

Eli Lilly and Co.â??s announcement this morning that President and Chief Operating Officer John Lechleiter would
succeed CEO Sidney Taurel in April was a picture of smooth succession planning.

Lechleiterâ??s ascension had been expected for so long that the news was…

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Count ’em: two IPOs

Itâ??s been awhile since the Indianapolis area has had two initial public offerings in the works at the
same
time, but thatâ??s exactly what we have. And theyâ??re software firms to boot â?? businesses Indianapolis
and other
Midwestern cities have…

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Should city embrace hotel union?

Just when you thought plans for a new downtown convention hotel were set to go forward, four City-County
Council members want the full council to essentially force the new hotel to employ union workers after it
opens.

The City-County Council, which…

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Amendment for houses of worship

State Sen. Pat Miller says sheâ??s looking to the future by proposing a constitutional amendment that would
protect churches and other houses of worship from someday being taxed.

Itâ??s not a â??crisis today,â?? but could become a problem in the future…

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Would a county CEO be a king?

A centerpiece of the sweeping proposal rolled out yesterday by the Commission on Local Government Reform involves
consolidating many county offices under one elected official.

A county chief executive would appoint the assessor, auditor, coroner, recorder, surveyor, treasurer and even
the…

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Kernan, Shepard break china

Folks who think itâ??s time to bring local government from horse-and-buggy days into the modern era have to
be smiling about the report that the Commission on Local Government Reform released this morning.

The report, written by former Gov. Joe Kernan…

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Revving for another Super Bowl bid

After weeks of talking, Mayor-elect Greg Ballard and the Indiana Convention & Visitors Association have
decided to shoot to host the 2012 Super Bowl.

It wasnâ??t so long ago â?? in May â?? that the NFL owners voted 17-15 to give…

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Stopping the tax buck

We Hoosiers are getting value from the libraries, schools and other public services we fund with our taxes,
but not enough valueâ??at least according to Mike Hicks, who moved from Ohio this year to take over the Bureau
of Business…

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Mini Marathon gets competition

The venerable Mini Marathon has a challenger.

As IBJ reporter Anthony Schoettle reports today, two sponsors have signed on to a half-marathon scheduled
just two weeks after the Mini, which is sold out.Race…

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Decisions on giving

A study put out yesterday by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University says that about two in three
American households made donations in each of the three years it followed.

The center also found that slightly more than half of…

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White as IPS savior

You hear it over and over. Lots of young families would live downtown, or in the surrounding neighborhoods,
if Indianapolis Public Schools didnâ??t have a poor reputation. Rather than risk their childrenâ??s education,
they bolt for township schools or even…

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Should Formula One come back?

When Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Formula One parted ways this summer, more than one person in Indianapolis
muttered, â??Good riddance.â??

F1â??s leader, Bernie Ecclestone, was viewed as arrogant, pushy and greedy. Just the same, the city likes the
prestige of hosting…

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Clarian driven back in Muncie

Clarian Health wasnâ??t able to get its $75 million medical complex near Muncie off the ground partly because
doctors balked.

So much sentiment poured out in favor of the home team, Ball Memorial Hospital, that Clarian couldnâ??t sign
enough doctors to…

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‘Creative class’ debunked?

The Wall Street Journal carried an interesting op-ed piece yesterday by a researcher who claimed cities are
putting their eggs in the wrong basket by trying to attract young single professionals with a â??brew-latte-and-they-will-come-approach.â??

Joel Kotkin, presidential fellow at Chapman University,…

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