City bicentennial celebrations ramp up despite pandemic
The city of Indianapolis is turning 200 and, although the pandemic has altered some plans, celebrations are underway and residents have plenty of opportunities to engage.
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City gets serious about enforcing minority contracting goals
But not everyone agrees the change will make a significant difference in ensuring the city’s bidding process is more inclusive, and they argue more work needs to be done.
UPDATE: Indianapolis to waive its option to purchase BlueIndy assets
After issuing a request for information and performing an infrastructure analysis, the city said it found that the existing charging stations “perform at a level below what is considered viable for reuse.”
Republican council members call for repeal of mask mandate in Marion County
The Republican Caucus of the Indianapolis City-County Council said Thursday that it plans to introduce a resolution calling for the repeal of the county’s pandemic mask requirement. It called the order an “overreaching mandate.”
City announces plan for remaining $76M in pandemic relief funds
In a plan approved Wednesday by the City-County Council, Indianapolis will appropriate its remaining federal Coronavirus Relief Funds to various public health, social services, economic and government-related investments.
City’s corporation counsel leaves administration for private sector gig
Anne Mullin O’Connor will become corporation counsel for the city of Indianapolis at the end of the month, replacing Donald Morgan, who has worked for the city since 2016.
City-County Council approves financing plan for convention center expansion
The Indianapolis City-County Council on Monday night voted unanimously to issue up to $155 million in bonds to pay for an expansion of the Indiana Convention Center at Pan Am Plaza.
City government workers not as diverse as residents they serve
Indianapolis city-county government has work to do recruiting and retaining more minority employees—particularly Hispanic workers—if its staff is going to reflect the population it works for.
Deputy mayor for economic development leaving administration
Angela Smith Jones, deputy mayor for economic development for Indianapolis since 2016, is joining Health and Hospital Corp. as the vice president of diversity and inclusion.
Music venues awarded $121K in grants for COVID relief
The grants to 17 Indianapolis businesses are to be used for overhead costs, which could include monthly rent or mortgage payments and utility bills.
City to spend $750,000 to increase safety measures downtown
The announcement comes after months of complaints from residents, workers and business owners that downtown has become unsafe following pandemic-related shutdowns and protests that turned violent earlier this summer.
Indianapolis development director Mack to leave city for Chattanooga gig
Indianapolis Department of Development Director Emily Mack is leaving her position after four years, Mayor Joe Hogsett announced Tuesday.
$27M park on Geist Reservoir to be developed in waves
The ambitious project, designed by Indianapolis-based Browning Day and projected to be completed in 2040, will provide the first public access point on the 77-year-old, 1,900-acre reservoir.
Council steers $16.3M in federal funds toward rent assistance, masks
The funding comes from roughly $168 million that Indianapolis received from the federal government to respond to COVID-19 needs.
Hogsett’s $1.3 billion budget ‘threading a needle’ to stay balanced
The proposed budget takes in $113,884 more than it spends, leading Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett’s administration to characterize it as the fourth consecutive balanced budget since he took office in 2016.
Pandemic thrusts downtown’s homelessness problem to fore
For weeks, camps of people experiencing homelessness and those suffering from substance use disorders have settled in on Monument Circle and near City Market.
City sets first public meeting on reforming public safety
The first public meeting will include a first look at initial survey results as well as data that has been gathered by the Criminal Justice Lab.
Kite Realty Group bets big on hotel, even as other projects wither
A third of planned downtown hotel rooms announced before the pandemic are now on hold.
City, Kite reach deal for $550M Pan Am Plaza project—with up to 2-year delay
The city will not subsidize construction of Kite’s two hotels on the site but will ask the City-County Council to authorize a $150 million bond to finance an addition to the Indiana Convention Center.
Hogsett says city resilient, downtown to rise again
The mayor, who is in the first year of his second term, acknowledged the challenges—and even some naivete when it came to the riots. But Hogsett, a Democrat, said he’s confident in the ability of residents, the business community and leaders to address them.