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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Bubble won’t burst on commercial real estate investors

Winding down his remarkable tenure as chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan seems to have chosen “real estate bubble” as one of the themes of his swan song. And with housing prices in some cities soaring, the rest of us as mere mortals can reasonably wonder how long it will be before the bubble bursts and what will be the fallout if and when that happens. Many private equity investors with holdings in commercial real estate are beginning to…

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Child-safety concerns lead to new division: Company uses R&D to manufacture innovative car seat

Indiana Mills & Manufacturing Inc. is creating a new division, launching a new product, and cutting a new path straight to retail consumers. It’s a big departure from the 45-year-old company’s historical path to profitability. Westfield-based IMMI has long made its money supplying a lengthy list of manufacturers and distributors in the transportation and heavy-equipment sectors with its innovative seat belts, rollover systems for heavy trucks, and restraint systems for school buses and on- and off-road commercial vehicles. But company…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Is our child care ‘industry’ up to snuff?

Recently, I have been part of a study for the Indiana Child Care Fund. It has been a learning experience. The first thing I learned is that virtually nothing is known about child care. We do not really know how many child care facilities exist in Indiana. Data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census suggest there are more than 16,000. However, fewer than 5,800 are licensed or recognized by the state. In addition, there are informal child care arrangements…

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How Clarian funds building projects:

Clarian Health Partners CEO Dan Evans offers a simple explanation for how the People Mover, Clarian’s futuristic rail system, came to be a few years ago. “People ask me all the time how we paid for it. I said, ‘Thank the stock market,'” he said. The bull market of the late 1990s allowed Clarian to use mostly investment income to fund the $40 million transportation project that opened in 2003 and connects its three downtown hospitals: Methodist, IU and Riley…

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Fly by security – for a price: ‘Registered traveler’ program to let passengers pay to avoid long lines

Business fliers accustomed to first-class seating will soon be eligible for privileged security screening at Indianapolis International Airport. Airport operator BAA Indianapolis is about to seek proposals from firms to operate a “registered traveler” program. It will entitle any frequent travelers who pass a government background check to use special security checkpoints-bypassing long lines and trouserloosening “secondary screening” passengers must sometimes endure. No more suffering in line behind bubble-gum-popping teens headed for Aruba. Show your registered traveler ID card and…

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VIEWPOINT: We all pay the price of homelessness

“The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy, and the handicapped.” -Hubert H. Humphrey The most recent sessions of the Indiana General Assembly and the U.S. Congress have focused significant efforts on addressing the needs of children through education and the elderly through prescription drug…

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CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: Beware the creep of urban sprawl

I’m happy for the city of Carmel that it wants to be a city in its own right, and not just a bedroom community of Indianapolis. I’m not so happy about some of its development practices. Up in my neck of the woods-western Clay Township-new subdivisions have sprung up like weeds, with little or no improvement to roads that support them. The resulting traffic delays have been maddening, to say the least. It’s not uncommon these days for me to…

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Private high school set: Cristo Rey to open downtown with 46 companies behind it

A private high school that relies on business participation, the first of its kind in Indiana, is set to open downtown in the fall of 2006. A work-study program designed to help lowincome students pay for tuition and give them corporate work experience is what will set Providence Cristo Rey High School apart from its private and public counterparts throughout the state. Corporate sponsors said it will also give promising students a local business connection, which could help keep them…

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Interest high for soon-to-be-shuttered foundry: Size, location make redevelopment promising

When the workers at DaimlerChrysler Corp.’s Indianapolis Foundry clock out for the last time at the end of the month, they’ll leave behind 756,000 square feet of factory space, tons of equipment, and more than 52 acres of industrial land on the city’s west side. Rather than becoming a rusting industrial relic along Interstate 70, however, the buildings will be razed and real estate experts expect the land will soon find a new use, albeit likely not for a factory….

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IPS seeks property swap: School district will trade prime Mass Ave land if deal is right

But an unusual component of the soon-to-be-released request for proposals by Indianapolis Public Schools, the property’s owner, has many wondering if anyone has what it will take to win the coveted piece of real estate. What it’ll take is the offering of a replacement facility where IPS can move its central transportation facility and other school district operations. “That’s the general concept,” said SteveYoung, chief of facilities management for IPS. “We’re not looking to sell it. We would have to…

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Basic utility vehicle rolling ahead-slowly: Assembly would happen in developing nations

A not-for-profit group developing vehicles for use in the Third World plans to open a “micro-factory” next month near 65th Street and Binford Boulevard. But the Institute for Affordable Transportation site won’t mass-produce its diminutive vehicles, powered by lawn tractor engines. Rather, the donated space will become a lab for working out methods to help those in developing countries assemble the so-called “basic utility vehicles.” The facility “is to basically prepare the way for this technology transfer package so it…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Façade of confidence saves us from anarchy

You may not know this, but every banker and policymaker does. If every one of us got out of bed tomorrow morning, drove to our banks or financial institutions, and tried to withdraw our money, the system that seems so solid today would suffer a complete collapse. The same thing would happen to the electrical grid if every device that could draw power were switched on at once. In fact, if every one of us decided today to fill up…

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Can ride sharing retain your distant workers?: Companies look to car- and van-pooling to counter high gas prices that may increase employee turnover

Most concerned about higher commuting costs are employers on the periphery of Indianapolis, where there is little or no bus transportation for workers who live in Marion County. “At some point, for an hourly worker, it becomes cost-prohibitive to drive to Plainfield for work,” said Kim Woodward, director of human resources for Brightpoint Inc. The wireless phone distributor has a warehouse in the Hendricks County town that employs 611, plus about 100 contract workers. “Public transportation is not readily available,”…

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Storm’s local impact mixed: Katrina’s aftermath will take toll on business, but rebuilding efforts might offer opportunities

Hurricane Katrina will be both a curse and a blessing to Indiana companies, which will cope with higher fuel costs and shipping problems but find themselves awash in opportunities to sell materials and machinery for rebuilding Gulf cities. Besides weathering the immediate impact of higher fuel prices, Hoosier firms will pay more for a range of goods, because of the trickle-down effect of higher shipping costs. “Our biggest concern continues to be on the ever-increasing cost of fuel. That’s s…

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Fuel hike might ground ATA plan: Fleet-cut savings nearly wiped out

On the expenses line of ATA Airlines Inc.’s battered books, the savings associated with a fleet reduction might have been accounted for as a tailwind that accelerated its flight to financial solvency. Paring 35 of its 82 aircraft in the first half of this year saved the Indianapolis carrier $49 million in jet fuel and oil expenses. That’s big money for the bankrupt airline: half of what it’s trying to raise from investors to pull out of Chapter 11 and…

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Chamber head could come from afar: Greater Indy Chamber taking more corporate than clubby approach to search

The No. 2 man at the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce isn’t necessarily a shoo-in to succeed retiring president John S. Myrland, according to directors of the city’s primary business advocacy group. It’s not that Executive Vice President Roland Dorson might not well be the best candidate and ultimately picked as president, as was Myrland when holding Dorson’s job 14 years ago. Some chamber directors say Dorson is the strongest internal candidate. But, in a departure from years past, the…

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Trio use experience to start consultancy: State-government veterans met while at FSSA

Three veterans of state government have pooled their years of management experience to launch the women-owned business consultancy Engaging Solutions LLC. Led by Venita Moore and Debra Simmons Wilson, the company set up shop in the Indiana Black Expo building on North Meridian Street this spring to provide fiscal management, strategic planning, outreach, training and economic development services. They and part-time principal Tammy Butler Robinson say the firm’s focus on serving government agencies, not-forprofits and faith-based organizations fits their backgrounds….

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Pension fund opens coffers: $506M could be boon for venture capitalists

The Public Employees’ Retirement Fund, Indiana’s largest pension system, is preparing to unleash half a billion dollars into venture capital, real estate and other privateequity investments. And the fund’s managers aim to put the bulk of it to work inside state lines. Hoosier venture capitalists are salivating at the prospect. T h a t ‘s t h e equivalent of nearly seven BioCrossroads Indiana Future Funds. “If there are excellent opportunities to invest in Indiana, we ought to be looking…

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Youth, law enforcement pair up to reduce crime: Local companies providing money, rewards and time

One of Marcus Ballance’s cousins is in prison for shooting another man. Another was recently shot after serving a prison term of his own. Ballance, a 12-year-old who attends Margaret McFarland Middle School, lives with his mom, her boyfriend and a baby sister on the city’s east side. He’s been exposed to crime and drugs his entire life. Some would say that means Ballance has a good chance of ending up either a victim of homicide or in prison. But…

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CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: Let’s emulate user-friendly Portland

I travel a fair amount for both business and pleasure, and I’ve been to several major U.S. cities. Most of the time, I return from these adventures thinking that wherever it was I visited had nothing on Indianapolis. In fact, I usually think those cities can learn a lot from us. This time, it was different. I’ve just returned from a place that’s doing a lot of things right … a place that has employed some ideas and programs our…

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