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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Legislators want tough reforms, but not too tough

The next two weeks should be interesting ones in the General Assembly, but not for the reason you might expect. Now that bills have cleared their chambers of origin and moved across the Rotunda for consideration, there is a natural lull of sorts as lobbyists breathe a collective sigh of relief and gird themselves to battle with a different set of lawmakers. You saw this in recent days, as committee action again took center stage, and action on the floor…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Steak n Shake showdown sure to escalate from here

Investors Sardar Biglari and Philip Cooley didn’t exactly hit it off with The Steak n Shake Co.’s top brass when they met in August to discuss the company’s future. Company Chairman Alan Gilman and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Blade “refused to disclose basic information” and “rebuffed disclosure of even niggling details like the number of employees at headquarters,” according to Biglari’s account of the meeting, which he included in a Jan. 23 letter to company shareholders. “We are suspect of…

Winona trustee still fighting hospital creditors, ex-owner

Paul Gresk, the bankruptcy trustee overseeing the liquidation of Winona Memorial Hospital, is pushing for a showdown in court
to prove his claims that Winona’s former owner, Leland Medical Centers Inc., illegally transferred more than $4 million out
of Winona.

Law firms making green push: Environmental teams provide marketing boost

The next generation of environmental law is coming to a firm near you. Many law firms have existing practices that counsel clients on the complexities of complying with air and water permits or cleaning up contaminated properties. But now that the corporate sector is embracing “green” initiatives quicker than Al Gore accumulates carbon credits, environmental law is becoming as sexy as, say, intellectual property. Two of the city’s largest firms-Ice Miller LLP and Baker & Daniels LLP-recently unveiled so-called “green”…

Stung by subprime mess, investors head to court: Local litigation targets Morgan Keegan & Co.

Angry investors in Indiana and across the country are going to court to recover some of the billions of dollars they’ve lost on investments connected to subprime mortgages. Mortgage-backed investments have appeared on the balance sheets of companies and organizations large and small. And observers say write-downs totaling $100 billion at firms like Merrill Lynch, UBS and Bear Stearns are just the beginning. Various law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, are investigating whether investors were misled. “This crisis will affect…

NOTIONS: A vote for new voices in the fine art of democracy

My sons Zach and Austin came of voting age in 2006. That November, there weren’t many contested or competitive races where they lived (near Fort Wayne). Zach registered and voted, anyway. Austin didn’t bother. Zach and I gave Austin a hard time about that. Last September, Zach headed off to college in California, while Austin and his girlfriend, Karolina, began their freshman year at New York University. A few weeks after arriving in Manhattan, there was a campaign rally in…

Ex-member: Township board ‘bored by the budget’

Although he collects an average $6.9 million each year for poor relief, mostly from taxes, Center Township Trustee Carl Drummer
is rarely asked to explain his finances. Drummer’s budget is filed-unread-each year in the Indianapolis City Controller’s
office. The 66-employee Indiana Department of Local Government Finance reviews it, along with budgets from every other taxing
entity in the state. Year-end reports go to the State Board of Accounts, a 282-worker agency that conducts 2,700 to 3,000
audits of Indiana counties,…

EYE ON THE PIE: Readers respond to Indiana stamp

On Jan. 14, I wrote about the new Indiana stamp from the U.S. Postal Service. I objected to the selection of a farm tractor with a cityscape in the distance as being typical of Indiana and invited readers to comment. Below are a few typical remarks: From a reader in Tennessee who grew up in Kokomo: “As I read your column, I was torn between what you were saying and my warm fuzzy memories of my childhood. … Indiana represents…

INVESTING: How Wall Street firms wounded themselves

There will be plenty of future litigation over the subprime mortgage mess. The city of Cleveland has sued 21 of the nation’s biggest mortgage firms, claiming their s u b p r i m e – l e n d i n g practices created a public nuisance that hurt property values and city tax collections. And the FBI, in conjunction with the Securities and Exchange Commission, is looking into the various players to see if fraud was committed. While…

City getting new marathon

Organizers for a new Indianapolis marathon and half-marathon think the event will become a national draw, showcasing downtown
monuments and historic neighborhoods. The first Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, to be held Nov. 1, is the brainchild of
Carlton Ray, a former city engineer who worked in the Hudnut, Goldsmith and Peterson administrations.

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: The right time for climate change may finally be here

While the world’s political climate is heating up, its economic climate is cooling down. Meanwhile, the real climate is finally getting the attention it really deserves, as the “tipping point” has been reached. Green is everywhere these days. New York Times For homes that no longer grow in value. If the personal consumption rates in China rose to the levels of the United States, annual oil consumption in the world would go up more than 100 percent! Oil consumption in…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Why Hoosiers should shed distrust of referendums

Should Indiana’s taxpayers vote on school construction? This seemingly simple question is a vexing issue for the Legislature. The debate surrounding the issue is surprisingly misguided and emotional. A few ill-informed editorials have not added value to the debate. Let me add a bit of data to the discussion to enlarge our understanding. Under Indiana’s current system of government, no elected official reviews the complete budgetary process for local government spending. This, perhaps more than anything else, has caused our…

Fishers’ hoops venue signs 2 franchise deals, plans more

A multi-court basketball fieldhouse is doing such brisk business in Fishers, its owners have decided to franchise the operation.
Scott Burton, CEO of The Fieldhouse, said deals have already been signed with franchisees in Merrillville and in Naperville,
Ill.

Green group touts its mission in HQ project:

The Fountain Square property that Keep Indianapolis Beautiful Inc. has purchased to house its headquarters is undergoing a massive renovation that will transform it from abandoned derelict to an environmental showpiece. In the process, the not-for-profit environmental group is hoping to set a green example for other developments and draw attention to its mission. KIB bought the building at the corner of Fletcher and Shelby streets for $410,000 in October from the Southeast Development Neighborhood Corp. A $1.3 million redevelopment…

Memory Gardens lawsuit seeks $20 million

An Indianapolis law firm has filed a class-action suit seeking more than $20 million from a pair of financial-services firms
it says facilitated the transactions that allowed a New Jersey couple to plunder cemetery trust funds. Cohen & Malad LLP filed
the lawsuit late last month on behalf of thousands of customers of Indianapolis-based Memory Gardens Management Corp., which
owns Memory Gardens in Greenwood, Lincoln Memory Gardens in Boone County and other cemeteries. The defendants are the company,
New York-based…

A smorgasbord of topics

Workers are installing Flagstar Bank signs on the One North Penn building this week, including a sign atop the 13-story building. What do you think of the sign and…

Open-wheel unity talks rolling again

Sources close to the Indy Racing League and Champ Car say both sides have agreed on terms for a merger that will take place this year.

Indy Racing League boss Tony George is set to help any Champ Car teams that…

Former Lilly CEO Tobias elected airport chairman

The Indianapolis International Airport board today voted unanimously to make former Eli Lilly and Co. CEO Randall Tobias its new president. Tobias was appointed to the board by Republican Mayor Greg Ballard. Tobias resigned from a State Department job last year after being linked to a call-girl ring. The eight-member airport board is evenly split […]

Consona quietly pushing torrid growth

Consona Corp., formerly Made2Manage Systems Inc., might be one of the least-known success stories in the state. The software firm is quietly churning out red-hot growth year after year, finishing 2007 with $130.5 million in revenue. That’s more than four times its revenue from 2003, the year Indianapolis-based Made2Manage was acquired by Boston-based Battery Ventures […]