NOVEMBER 5-11, 2012
This week, read about IndyCar leaders' options as the open-wheel series approaches a fork in the road and find out why the EPA wants to put Martinsville on the Superfund priority list. Also, Greg Andrews reports on the latest in the Mel Simon estate brawl. And our Forefront columnists weigh in on the final round of the 2012 election showdown.
Front PageBack to Top
City bans bulk land-bank sales after lopsided deal with not-for-profit
Indianapolis last year sold 154 properties from its land bank for $1,000 each to a novice not-for-profit, which immediately flipped them for a total $500,000 profit. More than a dozen have changed hands multiple times since then, making investors more than $1 million. (with interactive map)
Read MoreProduction of Inc. 500 firms ranks city sixth nationally
The Indianapolis area produced more Inc. 500 companies per person from 2001 to 2010 than all but five other U.S. metro areas with more than 1 million residents, according to a recent study by the Kansas City-based Kauffman Foundation.
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IndyCar confronts ‘defining moment’
The IndyCar Series is approaching a three-pronged fork in the road, and the path its leaders choose will have long-lasting implications for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Indianapolis 500.
Read MoreLow enrollment clouds Healthy Indiana Plan
Many Indiana Republicans want to use the Healthy Indiana Plan to expand Medicaid coverage in Indiana to more low-income adults. But the program—which offers health insurance based on health savings accounts to uninsured adults—has managed to attract just one-third of the Hoosiers it was designed for and has cost about twice as much per enrollee as predicted.
Read MoreSettlement talks afoot in Mel Simon estate brawl
Attorneys for Mel’s daughter Deborah asked a Hamilton County judge to put discovery deadlines on hold and vacate the July 2013 trial date while the parties negotiate a “memorandum of understanding.”
Read MoreDry cleaners’ solvents taint Martinsville’s water
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently proposed placing the city of Martinsville on its Superfund priority list, citing groundwater contamination traced to several former dry cleaning shops in the heart of town.
Read MoreDry cleaners moving to ‘perc’ alternatives
One of the region’s largest dry cleaning companies recently washed its hands of perchloroethylene, the dry cleaning chemical at the heart of about 170 cleaner site cleanups statewide.
Read MoreDefense contractors play wait and see on budget cuts
Indiana’s largest military contractors are questioning their future operations as they await word on whether the U.S. Department of Defense will lose up to $1 trillion in funding in the next decade.
Read MoreAnti-hunger groups tap Six Sigma gurus for guidance
Members of the Indy Hunger Network knew it would take discipline when they set the goal of feeding 185 million meals every year—27 million more than they do now—by 2015.
Read MoreFocusBack to Top
Purdue researcher harbors high hopes for new venture
Pete Kissinger hopes Phlebotics will follow in the footsteps of another of his creations, Bioanalytical Systems Inc.
Read MoreOutlook gloomy for device investments
The amount of venture capital invested in medical-device and equipment companies nationally has declined each quarter this year, reaching levels not seen since 2004, according to data released Oct. 19 by the National Venture Capital Association and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Read MoreLife sciences leader juggles faith, science and business
BioCrossroads CEO David Johnson sees little conflict as he balances all three in promoting and investing in Indiana life sciences firms
Read MoreOpinionBack to Top
EDITORIAL: IndyCar board overreacted
The board’s dismissal of CEO Randy Bernard seemed to cut a change agent off at the knees, and that could come back to haunt them.
Read MoreMORRIS: Your vote on Nov. 6 is important
We all need to express our feelings about what’s going on in our local communities, our state and our country by casting votes for the candidates we believe can make the most positive impact on our lives.
Read MoreKENNEDY: Lots of tea, not much sympathy
Mike Pence has been running a strategically brilliant campaign, taking care to mask his inner culture warrior while displaying a previously invisible interest in economic development and job creation.
Read MoreSCHMIDT: Romney energy policy best
Indiana is blessed with abundant energy resources. We have a 300-year supply of coal. A substantial part of the 214 million barrels of oil and 4.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Illinois Basin sits in southwestern Indiana. We have even more natural gas locked away as shale gas, coal bed methane and landfill gas.
Read MoreRACE: Making downtown walkable shouldn’t be afterthought
For me, the coolest cities have downtown streets that are economically vibrant, social, safe and comfortable. By any measure, we fall short.
Read MoreHICKS: The problems with polling and predictions
Just days before a presidential election, there’s no doubt we will be bombarded with poll results and election models designed to predict winners and losers. It is useful to explain how these work without technical jargon.
Read MoreSKARBECK: Use caution with ventures turning to crowd for cash
When social media meets finance, society births a technique for small business to raise capital called “crowdfunding.”
Read MoreALTOM: Whether you’re a Mac or PC person says a lot about you
Today, the two worlds cross over almost effortlessly, but the divisions between them have spawned entirely different design and usage paradigms.
Read MoreSelective spin
Bruce Hetrick’s [Oct. 22] column “spouted off” on two examples of GOP “spin,” one regarding Republican Paul Ryan, the other regarding Republican Mitt Romney.
Read MoreRusthoven an ‘epigone’
It is clear that Richard Mourdock is an astringent to the derriere of Peter Rusthoven [Oct. 29 column]. How else does one explain why the luminous Lugar acolyte Rusthoven would attack Mourdock for Mourdock’s cumbersome locution for which he has apologized and clarified?
Read MoreIn BriefBack to Top
Candidates for governor respond to open government survey
The survey by the Indiana Coalition for Open Government was the first since 2004.
Read MoreSpeech recognition technology firm gets cash infusion
Waveform Communications LLC got its second round of funding for research and development.
Read MoreLocal lawyer appointed federal bankruptcy judge
James M. Carr of the Indianapolis law firm Faegre Baker Daniels LLP has been appointed to a 14-year term effective Jan. 1. His selection follows the recent appointment of Marion Superior Court Judge Robyn Moberly.
Read MoreColts QB Luck, Riley Hospital reach multiyear promotional deal
Indianapolis Colts rookie quarterback Andrew Luck on Tuesday will announce his first local sponsorship deal, a four-year pact with Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health.
Read MoreDiamond Foods closing Fishers plant with 100 employees
The maker of snack foods such as Pop Secret popcorn and Emerald nuts said it will close its Fishers plant, which it purchased in 2006 from Harmony Foods Corp., on Jan. 31.
Read MoreClowes to get $2M upgrade for 50th anniversary
Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University will get a $2 million makeover that will involve replacing 2,200 seats and carpeting, Butler announced Tuesday.
Read MoreNFP of NOTE: Partnerships for Lawrence
Partnerships for Lawrence, aka the Lawrence Art Center, is a champion for the arts in Lawrence.
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