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D.C. key to meeting biz: Indianapolis lands conventions with Washington contingent

WASHINGTON, D.C.-Kim Allison wants people to think of one thing when they see her: Indianapolis. So she makes the rounds, on and off the clock, creating that connection. Whether she’s bowling or shopping, eating or reading, Allison has her hometown in mind-even though she’s living and working nearly 600 miles away. “We go to everything,” said Allison, who leads the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association’s two-person office in suburban Washington, D.C. “It helps keep our name out there.” Thousands of…

WKLU sings new tune to gain competitive edge: Some experts say station’s new strategy can’t last

Bruce the Radio Pirate has left the building. Dr. Demento, Pop and Scratch and “The King Biscuit Flower Hour” are gone, as well. The hippie-sounding radio personalities and offbeat shows that were WKLUFM 101.9 moved out of the roughly 100-year-old house in Brownsburg five months ago when the station’s new owner, staff, music-and business strategy-moved in. But whether that strategy-to keep the smalltown station sounding small while it brings in big bucks-can work remains to be seen. And now WKLU…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Internal Foot Locker e-mail adds spark to Finish Line suit No. 1 vs. No. 2 Discovery difficulties

New York-based Foot Locker Inc. is five times the size of hometown retailer Finish Line Inc. But an internal Foot Locker e-mail suggests that company’s CEO has become nearly obsessed with knocking the Indianapolis company off stride. The e-mail summarizes a three-day trip Foot Locker CEO Matt Serra and other top executives took to Florida last June to visit 36 of the company’s stores in the Miami and Fort Lauderdale markets. “Matt discussed the importance of hurting/putting Finish Line out…

Lilly faction seeks split of exec roles: Shareholder group wants to separate chair, CEO jobs

The shareholders think Lilly should separate its chairman and CEO roles. Sidney Taurel currently holds both jobs and the title of president. The group wants an independent chairman. It’s one of six shareholder proposals on the agenda for Lilly’s April 18 annual meeting at its headquarters. The move would address “a leadership crisis at our company” created by the lack of access to affordable medicines, according to the proposal listed in Lilly’s recently filed proxy statement. Lilly’s board disagrees and…

Aprimo escalates partnership with SAS: Tech firm says deal doesn’t mean merger is in the cards

Last week, Aprimo and North Carolina-based SAS Institute Inc. escalated an agreement they entered last October. What began as a cross-promotion partnership has led to an outright integration of the two firms’ software. Aprimo President and CEO Bill Godfrey is certain his deal with SAS simply means sharing the trail for a spell. Ever the entrepreneur, Godfrey’s eyes are on growing his firm large enough to conquer marketing’s uncharted territory single-handedly. But just as the untamed Old West gave way…

CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: Hail to the chief, a class act

CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary Hail to the chief, a class act There’s not much call in my line of work to interact with the chief of police. And, in the case of outgoing Indianapolis Police Chief Jerry Barker, it’s been my loss. I came face to face with Jerry 18 months ago because of an extracurricular activity I was involved in. Nothing illegal, mind you. He and I were mates among 40 people in the inaugural class of the Diversity Leadership…

NOTIONS: Hazy logic: No business should have a license to kill

Saturday, Feb. 26, was the second-tolast day my boys, Austin and Zach, saw their stepmom alive. They didn’t see much of Pam that day. She and they slept late-Pam because she was ill with cancer, Austin and Zach because they’re teen-agers. Once everyone awoke, Zach had a six-hour photo assignment at the IU Natatorium. Late that afternoon, I took Austin to a movie, while my sister-in-law stayed with Pam. When we all returned home, we watched a video, discussed its…

Barton House awaits renovation: Former nursing home to become housing

A long-vacant downtown nursing home is about to find new life as affordable housing. The Indiana division of the Salvation Army plans to convert the Barton House on the northeast corner of Delaware and Michigan streets into 30 apartments for lowincome families and space for some of the organization’s programs. The Salvation Army purchased Barton House and Carpenter apartments, its neighbor to the east, for about $500,000 each in late 1999, said Maj. Dennis Strissel, the Salvation Army’s divisional commander…

File-sharing issue hits crescendo: Supreme Court set to hear sides in heated copyright-law debate

By 1984, when the U.S. Supreme Court thwarted an attempt to prohibit consumers of Sony Betamax from recording television programs, music lovers already were accomplished at taping their favorite bands. A blank Maxell cassette, a tape deck, a turntable and a copy of, say, your buddy’s new R.E.M. “Reckoning” album provided the essential tools to copy the tunes without actually spending $7.99 on the record. Fast-forward two decades and the debate over whether technological advances have made it too easy…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Revised economic data show pronounced growth

Can government really create jobs? That’s a question candidates in the throes of a political campaign, whose rhetoric promises endless prosperity, will sometimes put to economists like me. My answer has always been that there is a lot our leaders can do to destroy jobs, but very little they can do to create them, at least in the short run. But recent events have caused me to reconsider this. Our government, or more accurately, the statistical agencies we employ to…

EYE ON THE PIE: Do we need agriculture department?

Indiana’s General Assembly reflects Hoosier values. It wants to make us more like other states. If others have daylight-saving time, so should we. This is called progress. If others have a Department of Agriculture, so should we. This, too, is called progress. The idea that we should differentiate ourselves from others, that we should find new solutions to problems, is not examined. Let’s look at House Bill 1008, which would create an Indiana Department of Agriculture. This proposal was given…

Smoke carries economic toll: Ban backers cite health, productivity costs

The annual cost of treating the secondhand-smoke-related illnesses of Marion County residents likely exceeds $16 million, a cost borne partly by businesses that provide their employees health insurance. Businesses also shoulder harder-to-calculate costs in the form of lost productivity and absenteeism, according to a 2002 study for the Marion County Health Department believed to be the best estimate yet of the local impact of cigarettes. But backers of the proposed City-County Council ordinance that would ban smoking in Indianapolis’ bars…

STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Lawmakers likely to resurrect best bills in second half

The second half of the General Assembly’s “long” session is now upon us, even though it doesn’t quite feel like it had closure to the first half. Unless you were in Florida or Arizona watching baseball’s spring training games, you are well aware of the House Democrats’ tactics that resulted in a lack of quorum on the final days for passage bills from their chamber of origin. The lack of a quorum meant more than 130 bills died ignominiously on…

It isn’t just $hopping: Retail buyers have to do a lot of analysis and numbers-crunching

“I can’t think of one thing [I don’t like about my job],” said Demmary, whose title is merchandise manager. “For my personality, it’s a great fit. But some people may not like how detailed you have to be, and how much computer work there is. I’ve heard other salespeople say, ‘How can you stare at that spreadsheet all day?’ But if you don’t like to work the numbers and be at the computer a lot, you wouldn’t like it.” Demmary’s…

Marketing plan takes bad bounce: Owners of local IT firm, ABA pro hoops team get caught in snare of negative publicity

Unfortunately, the stories have focused on a series of bizarre events surrounding the team and its owners. The Rhythm’s third owner, recording artist Sally Anthony, Bucher’s wife, found herself at the center of several of the stories. Neither Bucher nor Christian returned repeated calls seeking comment for this story. Anthony was also unavailable for comment. The trio initially made a series of savvy moves, including filling the team roster with top talent just short of making the NBA. The owners…

Bankruptcy bill pushes debt repayment: Proposal could make it harder for individuals to escape debt, put limitations on corporate reorganizations

Upon seeking bankruptcy protection in late 2002, Conseco Inc. initiated a plan to shower key executives with millions of dollars in retention bonuses if they prevailed in reorganizing the company. The windfall for the six officers, totaling more than $9 million, is just one of many instances in which impoverished corporations have sought to recover from bankruptcy by dangling lucrative incentives to deter executives from fleeing. But in the aftermath of such scandals as Enron Corp. and WorldCom Inc. (now…

End of an Ayres?: Federated’s planned acquisition of May likely to doom brand name founded in Indy

When Indianapolis residents talk about shopping trips to L.S. Ayres, they are as likely to mention a visit 30 years ago as an excursion last week to check out the new spring fashions. As retail options have spread beyond regional shopping malls, stores like Ayres are no longer considered at the forefront of fashion. So, while Lyman S. Ayres and the company he founded in 1874 are an important part of the city’s social history, in the present-day retail world,…

SPORTS: NCAA’s no-tolerance gambling stance tested

My first experience with sports gambling came as a youngster. My father would come home with “parlay cards.” They were always imprinted with the line, in bold type, For Amusement Purposes Only. And so, for a long time, I thought my pop was just having a good time as he scanned the teams and numbers, then circled some of those numbers on the bottom tear-off portion. Later, I discovered there was more than amusement involved because, on occasion, he’d say…

Cartoon was unfair to accountants:

While we understand the cartoon you ran on page 12 of the March 7 issue was an attempt at humor, it clearly conflicts with the values and beliefs of the CPA profession. CPAs are trusted professionals who must meet rigorous certification standards and adhere to a strict code of ethics to practice their profession. The cartoon depicts CPAs mocking taxavoidance schemes. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The CPA profession vehemently opposes tax avoidance under any and all circumstances….

Ownership change draws near for Robin Run: NBA reorganization plan calls for sale to Brookdale

Robin Run Village, a northwest-side retirement complex, could start spring under new management if it and other National Benevolent Association properties are sold in the next few weeks as expected. Robin Run and 10 other NBA locations around the country are slated to become the property of Chicago-based Brookdale Living Communities. Brookdale’s parent, Fortress NBA Acquisition LLC, bid $210 million last year to buy the senior living locations from the bankrupt NBA for Brookdale, but the deal still has some…