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By George: Speedway owner gains clout in Formula One negotiations

There may be a silver lining to the cloud that descended over Indianapolis Motor Speedway at last month’s U.S. Grand Prix: President Tony George has emerged unscathed from a public relations standpoint and has never had more control over the Formula One race his track hosts. Michelin, the French tire maker for the 14 cars that withdrew from the race because of tire-safety concerns, has offered to refund fans’ ticket costs. That’s a $10 million to $12 million expense the…

Universities reach out to improve diversity: Purdue, IU use local offices to lure minority suppliers

Purdue University’s most recent step includes opening an office in Indianapolis that will serve as a contact point for minority-owned companies that are interested in doing business with the school. Purdue also is becoming one of the major sponsors of the annual Indiana Black Expo. These two projects are being headed by Jesse Moore, who became Purdue’s manager for supplier diversity development in February. Moore previously led the Indianapolis Black Chamber of Commerce for nine years. Officials say it’s important…

NOTIONS: Will you try to transform or get stuck with status quo?

It’s 4 a.m. I’m supposed to be writing by now, knitting you a tale about transformation. But the notions have yet to coalesce. So I lie in bed, watching through my bay window as a storm rolls through, igniting the sky with flashes of light. It’s 4:27 a.m. I awaken again and flip on the TV, the sound muted so as not to disturb my son’s slumber in the next room. The channel I was watching last night now shows…

Jail plan calls for speedier courts: Prosecutor still seeking more beds

Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi’s colleagues say relieving jail overcrowding is a question of efficiency. Since jail is meant to be a temporary stop for alleged criminals, they argue, improvements in the process from booking to trial can largely eliminate the need for early release. So why is Brizzi the lone wolf still clamoring to add more jail beds? “Everyone says that you can’t build your way out. How do you know that?” asked Brizzi, a Republican. “We seem to…

EYE ON THE PIE: BMV closings raise bigger issue

The closing of several offices of the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles involves serious issues that are worth attention. Just after the end of the legislative session, the BMV commissioner announced that a few smaller offices would be closed. The number of patrons these offices serve was deemed insufficient to maintain and staff the facilities. In an age of increasing use of electronic transactions, this makes sense. One of these facilities was in Hope, a small Bartholomew County town in…

SPORTS: Keep F1 and its cash coming back to Speedway

I enjoy auto racing but must admit Formula One is not my cup of motor oil. On assignment for the local daily, I was at the initial U.S. Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, wrote a less-than-positive column about it, and haven’t been back since. I liked the technology and the spectacle of the passionate, flag-waving fans, but everything else I viewed with disdain. Particularly distasteful was/is the smugness that permeates the F1 atmosphere. It emanates from the series’…

Emmis program creating a ‘Buzz’: Show gains in other markets, but hasn’t caught on locally

A syndicated morning news show co-owned by locally based Emmis Communications Corp. is making in-roads nationally but has failed to cause a buzz among viewers locally. “The Daily Buzz,” co-owned by Emmis and California-based ACME Communications Inc., and produced in Orlando, Fla., now airs in 137 markets and has shown increased ratings in several critical markets, including Orlando and Tampa, Fla.; Dallas; and Norfolk, Va. “We’re definitely looking to expand our syndication, and we think we’ll be successful because we…

INVESTING: If dominoes fall, Dow could crack all-time high this year

Do a quick check on the emotions and thoughts that just went through you after that first sentence. Good. Here are a few guesses as to what you experienced. First, you went through a quick panic, thinking about how much you have in the market and whether it is enough if the Dow really does hit a new high. Then you had a sense of relief because the stock market is such a massively controlling force on our economy that…

Director leaves small-biz agency: Disagreement over host sponsor helped sway decision

The head of the Central Indiana Small Business Development Center resigned this month following a rift over who might host the agency. Mary Jane Gonzalez, who came on board as executive director of the Central Indiana SBDC in July 2003, left to become director of business development at Mezzetta Construction Inc. Gonzalez’s departure leaves the Central Indiana SBDC, where budding entrepreneurs can seek advice without paying high consulting fees, without a leader for the third time in roughly three years….

‘Clean’ manufacturing center seeking cash to survive: General Assembly kills funding for Purdue program

The center created by the Legislature to help manufacturers use environmentally friendly materials and production methods is scrambling for cash to keep stamping out solutions. The Indiana Clean Manufacturing Technology & Safe Materials Institute lost its $475,000 annual state subsidy-a little over half its income-amid budget cutting in the last session of the General Assembly. Industry and environmental groups are lamenting the potential scale-back or even closure of the institute if new funding isn’t found by August. “We certainly feel…

RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Wireless: What exactly is it and why is it unreliable?

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about wireless lately. You know, WiFi, the magical connection between laptop and Internet, the key to actually working at Starbucks? The questions vary from, “Why does my laptop just disconnect sometimes?” to, “How can I get wireless out by the pool?” I tried to scrunch the answers down into a single column, but they kept bulging out of the seams. So I decided to split them into three consecutive columns. I wouldn’t ordinarily…

Youth sports get break: New law could cut Worker’s Comp premiums dramatically

State lawmakers scored a goal for youth sports this spring when they approved a bill that could save some clubs thousands
of dollars in present or future insurance premiums. Starting July 1, not-for-profits that have employees and pay youth coaches
part time under an independent contractor arrangement will not have to provide Worker’s Compensation benefits for those coaches.
State Sen. Murray Clark, R-Indianapolis, said he had travel teams or clubs in sports like soccer, volleyball or baseball in
mind when…

Cab drivers drive down complaints: Service may have improved after city toughened rules

But much of the evidence is anecdotal, as city officials said they do not have complete complaint records for the periods just before and after the City-County Council imposed tougher regulations in 2002. One key problem addressed by those reforms seems to have diminished-drivers taking passengers to the wrong address. The city received only two such complaints in the last 1-1/2 years, according to records kept by the City Controller’s Office. That had been a commonly reported problem in the…

VIEWPOINT: We have a lot to learn from Henry Ford

When Henry Ford installed the world’s first moving assembly line in 1913, he changed the auto industry. Little did he know that nearly a century later, the same tools used to create the production line would pave the way for innovations in health care delivery. First implemented at the Highland Park Ford Plant in Detroit, the assembly line allowed individual workers to remain stationary while performing the same task repeatedly on multiple vehicles. The line proved tremendously efficient, helping Ford…

Party concept finds oodles of followers: Oogles n Googles franchises could hit 40 this year

Anxious to get their unproven enterprise off the ground, Kevin and Danya Mendell offered their first customer a price of $50 to organize a child’s birthday party. That was just three years ago. This year, the Mendells’ Carmel-based company, Oogles n Googles, is expected to reach $1 million in revenue. The venture has been so successful that parents now shell out $325 to let them entertain their offspring, and up to 12 friends, for a few hours. But the firm’s…

Cancer society scouts Clarian property for development: Former retirement home may serve as a Hope Lodge

An empty retirement home near Methodist Hospital may turn into a lodge that gives cancer patients a place to rest while they receive treatment in Indianapolis. The American Cancer Society is talking with Clarian Health Partners about planting a Hope Lodge on the site of the former Indianapolis Retirement Home, which sits across from Methodist on busy North Capitol Avenue. The cancer society operates 23 of these lodges in several states, but this would be the first Indiana location, according…

Furnace maker picks Indy as hot spot for distribution: Lennox to move Illinois, Ohio operations to east side

Lennox Industries Inc. is giving Indianapolis a vote of confidence as a logistics hub with plans to move distribution of its commercial heating and cooling products from facilities in Chicago and Columbus, Ohio, to the east side of Indianapolis. Although the distribution center is relatively small at 60,000 square feet, Lennox is one of a few companies that have abandoned distribution centers in other cities in favor of Indianapolis’ low cost of real estate, central location and interstate access. Last…

NOTIONS: Does principal or principle matter more?

A few weeks ago, my friend John and I treated our three 17-year-olds to a boys’ night out. We started off at Bazbeaux downtown, inhaling guy pizza (read: pepperoni and sausage) and dissecting the big news of the day-Michael Jackson’s acquittal on charges that he shared alcohol, porn and a little night groping with a teen-age boy. Our teen-age boys, news junkies all, then rattled on about kids getting paid to play online video games and the proliferation of “cheats”…

BULLS & BEARS: Investors should run from variable annuity plan offers

There are many ways to invest your money in the stock market and no shortage of convincing salespeople preaching the best way to do it. The “can’t-beat’e m- s o – j o i n – ‘e m ” crowd thinks index funds are the way to go. Some think actively managed mutual funds are best, while others go for individual stocks. All the above ways have merit, pluses and minuses, and different levels of involvement from you, the investor….