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Indianapolis-based Peerless Pump Co. has acquired Flometrico Ltd., its main distributor in Canada, for an undisclosed price. Flometrico, which was sold by an owner who is retiring, is headquartered in suburban Toronto. Peerless said March 1 that the deal adds a base it will use to grow in Canada, and that key Flometrico employees have […]
Deadlines for a weekly publication are tricky. Sometimes when news breaks, you get lucky. Sometimes, you don’t. In this case, forgive me if I’m a little late to the parade and-following the elephants with broom and shovel-to the sorry mess involving the men’s basketball program at my alma mater, Indiana University. So, to sum up, this is what bothers me most: Everything. And who’s to blame? Everyone. It’s the culture. It’s the media. It’s gross mismanagement. It’s poor hiring. It’s…
When dentists Harold Smith and Ted Brauer built their new office, they constructed more than a third more space than they needed for patients. With the rest, Smith and Brauer started a health and wellness center that local not-for-profits can use free of charge. So in addition to the whir of drill motors, their Castleton office frequently resonates with sounds of cooking classes, “gymborees” for kids, health screenings and health-related seminars. “Excellence in dentistry is who we are. But we…
Somebody help me! I want to go back to the ’80s! This technology stuff is killing me. A rotary phone and a busy signal, that’s the ticket. Ma Bell: She’s my gal. Simplicity. Doesn’t that sound good? I used to think the advances in electron ic technology were a good thing. The early developments were excellent and, like most people, I rushed out to buy them. The iPod, now, that was a great advance. A complete Beethoven collection in a…
Several years ago, I had a conversation with a friend about “The Tipping Point,” a now-famous book by economist Malcolm Gladwell. During this conversation, my friend casually mentioned that he thought it would be beneficial (though I think he may have actually said, “Wouldn’t it be cool…”) to get together with other people in the community to discuss the ideas put forth in this book and a variety of other “businessrelated” titles. I admit, I agreed that it would, indeed,…
The state’s economic development leaders have been touting 2007 as a banner year that brought commitments for more than 22,000
new jobs, including positions in manufacturing, logistics and life sciences. But almost 20 percent of the announced jobs would
be in call centers–jobs that typically pay near or below the state’s $35,000 average annual wage.
It finally happened. The big event has come and gone, leaving a trail of clues for us. Now, it’s up to us to take those clues and turn them into cash. It’s not the recent lunar eclipse I am referring to, although I watched it and it was cool. I am talking about oil finally closing at more than $100 a barrel. One trade at the end of 2007 took oil above $100, but it didn’t close there. Oil fell…
For the second time in as many months, a one-word, Pulitzer-Prize-winning play is being presented to Indy audiences. For the second time in as many months, audiences are eating it up. Both the Indiana Repertory Theatre’s “Doubt” and Theatre on the Square’s “Proof” (running through March 15) are good examples of what has become a necessity in contemporary theater-the smart-but-not-intimidating, relatively easy-to-produce, small-cast, audiencefriendly, short-enough-not-to-challengethe-bladder, more-laughs-than-you’dexpect-given-the-subject-matter drama. “Proof”-which theater junkies may remember from the Phoenix’s outstanding production a few seasons…
Remember the main reason behind the property-tax-reform drive when we started the session? If the anti-propertytax rallies across the state last summer and fall made lawmakers uneasy, the Indianapolis mayoral election result was a slap across the face. They were awakened to the reality that, but for a vote on tax reform, that, too, could be them. The political imperative was overwhelming, as lawmakers feared the worst come primary time. Even if they were to survive an intra-party election, they…
In the relatively unromantic world of economic policy, telecommunications research is notable for its blandness and practicality. Yet few things matter as deeply as good public policy toward the deployment of telecommunications. Here, Indiana has a remarkable story to tell. In the waning days of the 2006 legislative session, Indiana lawmakers passed a telecom reform act that quickly became the national standard for reforming access to broadband communications. It bears repeating: Indiana’s video franchising reform has become the national standard….
Alan Gilman and James Williamson have served on The Steak n Shake Co.’s board a combined 39 years. It’s a good bet they won’t be around much longer. Analysts say the Texas-based hedge fund that wants to replace Gilman and Williamson on the board with two of its own representatives likely will succeed. Major shareholders are mum on how they plan to vote in the proxy battle, which will come to a head at Steak n Shake’s annual meeting March…
Endowments at Indiana colleges and universities are soaring, due in part to impressive investment returns in recent years.
The swelling coffers here and across the nation are stoking the debate over whether universities should be using more of their
wealth to hold down tuition increases.
Several local entities, ranging from St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital to the state of Indiana to Indianapolis Public Schools, last year experienced wellpublicized electronic security breaches involving confidential data. While the victims of the lapses and those at fault emerged relatively unscathed, such incidents underscore the ease in which personal information can be lost or stolen in today’s computerized world. With roughly 165 million people tapping into to the Internet nationally, the opportunities for security breaches are plentiful. Throw in the…
When I worked in a factory some 30 years back, it was a dangerous place filled with heavy machinery, slick floors, sharp edges, overhangs and chemical fumes. Many of us envied the office workers who never got dirty and never seemed to face anything more dangerous than a bad-hair day. Now that I work in offices, I’ve discovered a whole new realm of dangers, such as carpal-tunnel syndrome and headache from squinting at computer monitors. But little did I guess…
EVERYBODY’S DOING IT SECONDHAND PROSE Volume discounts offered at library sale Inside Secondhand Prose, a CD of old-timey bluegrass music plays softly as a half-dozen volunteers quietly go about their business. They’re emptying bags and boxes, sorting through thousands and thousands of books and stocking shelves in preparation for the Indianapolis-Mar ion County Public Library’s next book sale, March 7-9 and 14-15. Six times a year, the library opens up its shop inside the Library Services Center, 2450 N. Meridian…
The city plans to designate part of an office park near 96th Street and Keystone Avenue as an “economic revitalization area” to provide tax abatements for a local company that sells ADT security systems and Dish Network subscriptions. The company, Defender Security Co., has pledged to more than triple its Indiana work force-adding more than 1,100 new jobs-over the next 10 years. The state offered the company up to $6 million in tax credits and $345,000 in training grants to…
Ten years ago, Dan Bardin was exactly where he wanted to be. He was running insurance operations for behemoth American International Group in Thailand, as Asian financial markets collapsed. “I was there right in the middle of the crisis. And that’s what I like,” Bardin said. Today, Bardin has found his way to another crisis of sorts. He’s the new president of the Conseco Insurance Group. During the year leading up to Bardin’s arrival in December, the subsidiary of Carmel-based…
“I don’t believe you,” Carolyn Cornpone laughed. “It’s true,” I said. “Some members of the Indiana General Assembly have proposed tying property taxes to the income tax.” “But,” she said, “that makes no sense. They already intend to raise state and local income taxes just to pay for the property-tax relief they are currently considering.” “Who said Hoosier legislators have to make sense?” I asked. “All they think they have to do is posture for votes.” “Whatever happened to the…
In the end, the catastrophic sponsorship shift from open-wheel racing to NASCAR became too much to ignore, driving the long-divided
sides of Champ Car and the Indy Racing League back into a unified series.
Indiana riverboat casinos don’t go up for sale every day. So when one becomes available, it’s bound to spark interest. Hence,
the dilemma facing Centaur Inc., the Indianapolis-based casino developer.
