Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard has notified the City Market that the financially strapped city is phasing out its subsidies
to the historic downtown fixture, which account for one-quarter of the market’s nearly $1 million budget.
The Arts Council of Indianapolis is leading talks with city councilors, Deputy Mayor Nick Weber and the chiefs of top cultural
organizations about how to create a bigger pot of revenue for the arts.
A quick turnaround from city official to high-paid land-use lobbyist raises questions for some critics of revolving-door
government.
If Indianapolis is going to be a first-class city, it needs to have a comprehensive smoke-free workplace law.
Anti-smoking advocates are organizing a new attempt to strengthen Indianapolis’ ban against smoking in the workplace.
During the coming weeks, a number of Indiana cities and counties will be coming to terms with their new budget realities.
The city should organize a public-private partnership to create a multi-modal distribution community at the site of the former
Indianapolis Airport terminal.
Mayor Greg Ballard worries his predecessor, Bart Peterson, may have overreached with his ambitious tax-increment-financing
district for the last phase of Fall Creek Place. That phase of the renewed urban neighborhood isn’t producing enough revenue
to support its $6.2 million in outstanding bonds. And Ballard is not sure all of Marion County’s 37 other TIF district are
necessary, either.
Cities and counties are looking for alternatives to asphalt as the price soars for the oil-based material and threatens
to bring paving projects and contractors skidding to a halt. The city of Indianapolis may have just found
one viable alternative that goes down like asphalt: roller-compacted concrete, or "rollcrete."
Maybe it’s a stray dog rooting through your garbage. Perhaps someone has abandoned a car amid the potholes riddling your
street. Either way, Indianapolis offers a one-stop shop for irate residents to complain. Just dial the Mayor’s
Action Center at 327-4MAC. Then get ready to wait. And wait. So long, in fact, that close to half of the
MAC’s callers hang up in frustration.
Cleaning crews are wiping construction dust from the 63,000 seats in Lucas Oil Stadium, prepping for the public’s first peek at the $720 million venue Aug. 16. But the hard work is only beginning for the city’s Capital Improvement Board, the entity charged with operating the stadium. The fumbling point: CIB is anticipating a $20 million operating deficit for Lucas Oil Stadium in 2009.
After Mayor Greg Ballard’s upset victory at the polls last November, local arts leaders were in a panic. They worried the
no-nonsense former Marine would put public safety on a pedestal and slash Indianapolis’ funding for cultural groups.
Construction of Pan Am Plaza in the mid-1980s was a major step in the evolution of Indianapolis into a sports town worthy
of hosting a Super Bowl. But the office building, parking garage, skating rinks and public gathering place came up short over
the years in other ways for both taxpayers and developer, the Indiana Sports Corp.
The city’s 2012 Super Bowl bid committee set up a Web site, www.our2012sb.com, in mid-February to encourage input from the
community–adopting a more inclusive approach than organizers did last year when bidding on the 2011 game.
Mayor Greg Ballard says the status quo isn’t good enough anymore when it comes to educating Indianapolis children. So heis
proposing what he’s calling a big, bold idea in education: Provide help to every student who needs it, not just the ones who
ask for it.
In early 2007, many expected Marion County Republicans to punt on the chance to unseat Democratic Mayor Bart Peterson. After
all, the two-term incumbent had high approval ratings and a campaign war chest of $2.5 million. Attractive GOP candidates
willing to embrace the challenge were in short supply.
The afternoon after Greg Ballard’s shocking victory at the polls, the mood was sober at Marion County Republican headquarters.
Jubilation had given way to reality. Although mayor-elect Ballard described himself “as tired as a guy could get,” he has
no time for a break. And what the former U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant colonel will do is largely a mystery.
A legal fight is brewing over a 2.3-acre parking lot sandwiched between the RCA Dome and Lucas Oil Stadium. The state is seeking
to acquire the property through eminent domain and is fighting an appraisal that puts its value at $7 million. The owners,
meanwhile, contend the land is worth about twice as much.
The city plans to hire an outside auditor in the next few months to review the books of the Conrad Indianapolis Hotel and
determine how its investment is performing. It’s a routine process, Mayor Bart Peterson said. But it’s one hotel-industry
experts say is overdue.
Indianapolis’ bid to host the 2011 Super Bowl missed by inches, but observers said the city nevertheless scored major points
that still could result in a victory. But not without suiting up again.
