JANUARY 18-24, 2016
Finish Line has shot itself in the foot multiple times over the last several years with management blunders. The athletic clothier just hired a new CEO from within, and is looking to fill at least two other leadership spots. Scott Olson reports on skepticism surrounding the potential for a turnaround. Also in this week’s issue, Jared Council relays evidence that Indiana-based banks have cleaned up their portfolios. And in A&E Etc., Mike Lopresti profiles former Butler standout Zach Hahn as he enters coaching and tries to emulate Brad Stevens.
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GOP plots revamp of medical malpractice law
Patients who have been injured or killed as the result of negligence by Indiana hospitals and physicians could win more cash under proposed changes to Indiana’s Medical Malpractice Act.
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Hoosier banks put bad-loan woes in rearview mirror
Indiana-based banks have been spending less and less writing off bad loans over the past several years, a trend that suggests they’ve cleaned up their loan portfolios and might be willing to increase their appetite for risk.
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Resurgence of vinyl gives record stores new life
A number of local music stores are reporting dramatic sales growth in vinyl records, in both 7- and 12-inch format. For you old-timers, that’s 45s and 33s. A few 78s also are for sale.
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HHGregg’s top shareholder may be poised to sell chain
Freeman Spogli & Co. has been invested in the Indianapolis retailer for a decade, which is bordering on an eternity by private equity standards.
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Finish Line’s ‘self-inflicted’ blunders leave analysts skeptical
The Finish Line Inc.’s disastrous third quarter stemmed from management miscues, a well-worn story that has made some analysts skeptical that incoming CEO, Sam Sato, will usher in better times.
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Financing unclear for Westfield’s $25M Grand Junction park
Westfield officials have finally chosen a design—a series of modern, glass-and-stone structures with walking paths and bridges—for Grand Junction Plaza, a project that’s already more than seven years in the planning.
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Phoenix Theatre moving from longtime home by Mass Ave
The purveyor of contemporary plays and musicals plans to leave the popular cultural district, where patrons now struggle to find street parking, for three properties on North Illinois Street.
Read MoreCarmel-based Stratice aims to be Amazon of health care
Carmel-based Stratice Healthcare LLC wants to take the concept of electronic prescribing for drugs and extend it to most of the rest of the health care system.
Read MoreINSIDE THE STATEHOUSE: Pence’s port plan could provide big economic punch
Indiana has one of the busiest port systems in the nation, even though it’s 600 miles from an ocean. Adding a fourth port could boost economic development in southeastern Indiana but also help businesses across the state distribute their products or obtain raw materials.
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Hogsett signals charter school slowdown, focus on traditional public schools
The new Democratic mayor says he supports charter schools but is more interested in quality than quantity.
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EDITORIAL: Pence’s muddled speech lacked leadership
Indiana is a divided state and Gov. Mike Pence, in his fourth State of the State address, did little to unite it.
Read MoreMAURER: The Hall of Fame case for McGinnis
Big George was a great basketball player, but his on-court achievements don’t tell the full story.
Read MoreHOGSETT: Let’s not let partisanship poison Indy
Political operatives have become skilled at discerning what voters want, but this has caused our elected representatives to forget that our system sometimes requires they do more than merely mirror the most vocal of their electorate and conduct themselves accordingly.
Read MoreJOSEPH: The Uber-ization of small business
While everyone from massage therapists to dog walkers wants to be the next Uber, the calculus is much more complex than the trend would indicate.
Read MoreBOHANON & STYRING: Quest for growth faces demographic headwinds
A low birth rate coupled with extended life spans for old folks is a recipe for an economic squeeze.
Read MoreKIM: Big stocks’ strength masked weakness of overall market
The major stock market indexes showed flattish performance in 2015, but only because the largest-capitalization stocks did well.
Read MoreBarlow’s gun rhetoric does a disservice
Marcus, I have to call it as it is. You are part of the problem. We don’t have to outlaw all guns to improve the situation. There is a reasonable middle ground.
Read MoreTime to shut off Dan Carpenter’s drivel
I found his comments about two people he saw in a Broad Ripple restaurant that he designated as “Tea Party voters” that he described as “two fleshy white guys with their ball caps and baggy shorts and piled plates at the next table … open-carry warriors and pure haters of all things Obama and ‘foreign’” as offensive!
Read MoreDon’t forget the ‘T’ in LGBT
If Pence falls into the trap of thinking SB100 adequately addresses LGBT protections, then Indiana businesses should expect the same nationwide response we received to RFRA.
Read MoreFriedman’s toll road idea was ‘lead balloon’ of 2015
Shaw Friedman has once again attempted to attack the state’s most successful public initiative in recent memory, the 2006 lease of the Indiana Toll Road.
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Rams owner wants to wrestle NFL Combine from Indy
L.A. Rams owner Stan Kroenke wants to move the NFL Scouting Combine from Indianapolis to Los Angeles, where his team will occupy a new $1.9 billion stadium. And sources close to the league say he has the clout to do it.
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Hoosiers reward football coach with new 6-year contract
Less than two months after the Hoosiers ended an eight-year bowl drought, Indiana University coach Kevin Wilson signed a six-year contract that will pay him $15.3 million.
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Restaurateur plans condos behind new eatery on New York Street
Mike Cunningham and business partner Patrick Heitz have received approval to build two upscale condos in one structure at the rear of the Vida restaurant, set to open early next month.
Read MoreHonda to move CR-V production to Indiana assembly plant
Honda Manufacturing of Indiana announced the SUV will join the Civic sedan in being assembled at the Greensburg plant. Honda said the move coincides with ending production of the CR-V in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Read MoreObama nominates Selby, Ong for federal judgeships
Winfield Ong, chief of the criminal division in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, was nominated for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. Myra Selby, former Indiana Supreme Court justice, was nominated for the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Read MoreAnthem seeks $3B more in drug savings from Express Scripts
Anthem, which contracts with Express Scripts to manage drug costs for its members, said the pharmacy manager should be passing along about $3 billion a year more in the savings it negotiates from drug companies.
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