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Group plots public-private revival for midtown Meridian neighborhoods

There was a time when residents of Meridian Kessler, Butler Tarkington, and Broad Ripple viewed North Meridian Street as a
connection between their neighborhoods. These days, the road feels more like a divide-an intimidating commuter highway between
downtown and the northern suburbs that discourages pedestrian and bicycle traffic. A partnership of community groups including
the Meridian Street Foundation is hoping to change that by giving the neighborhoods a collective identity–Midtown–and mixing
private and public money to fund major infrastructure improvements.

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The daily lunch special? Life sciences information: Law firm, Indiana Health Industry Forum bringing industry players together for monthly presentations

The phrase “Let’s do lunch” has taken on a new meaning over the past five years in the Indiana life sciences community. Since 2003, a who’s who of the biotechnology, medical device, pharmaceutical and other fields have gathered at the downtown law offices of Barnes & Thornburg LLP to meet and eat at the Life Sciences Lunch Series. A collaborative effort of the law firm and the Indiana Health Industry Forum, the monthly event provides a networking and education platform…

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More manufacturing? Maybe Butler did it: University’s accelerator helps plants boost business

Ten years ago, Bob McAfee bought SaniServ, an 80-year-old Mooresville institution that pioneered the making of softserve ice cream machines for restaurants. Despite the manufacturer’s longevity, a handful of competitors-one of them much larger and two roughly the same size-had cut into market share, causing SaniServ’s annual revenue to stall at about $10 million. Determined to improve upon the figure, but unsure how to go about it, McAfee turned to the Butler Business Accelerator. The 2-year-old consultancy on the Butler…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Logistics still driving central Indiana industrial market

For the past 10-plus years, central Indiana has benefitted from growth in the distribution/logistics industry with hundreds of new jobs and millions of square feet of new facilities. We’ve seen massive facilities go up one right after another, often topping the square footage of our tallest downtown skyscrapers. In the past eight years alone, the square footage of central Indiana distribution centers has more than doubled from 20 million square feet to 51 million square feet. And we’re not just…

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Flagship rises over post-GM town: Incubator has helped preserve automotive talent base, foster diverse businesses

ANDERSON – Along Interstate 69, in a new industrial building with side-windows covered in paper to foil prying eyes, Altair Nanotechnologies is perfecting a ceramic oxide battery with three times the power of a conventional lithium battery. Up the road, Comfort Motion Technologies has written software to make a car’s power seat jiggle ever so subtly, to keep one’s back, butt and thighs comfortable on long drives. And everybody is keeping an eye on Pete Bitar, whose green laser device…

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Purdue joins Conexus on manufacturing, logistics effort: University, advocacy group predict evolving industry

An advocacy group formed a year ago to boost the visibility and growth of the state’s advanced manufacturing and logistics industries has received a major lift from Purdue University. Conexus Indiana and Purdue earlier this month announced the formation of a partnership in which the university will lend its academic and research talents to the organization. The key goals include linking manufacturers with new suppliers, exploring emerging markets and supporting startups launched from university or privatesector research. “Conexus is very…

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EYE ON THE PIE: County income disparities are growing

The income disparities among Indiana’s 92 counties have been growing for decades. My imperfect memory recalls no administration and no candidate that has addressed the issue. In 1970, Marion County led the state in per-capita personal income (PCPI), at 115 percent of the state’s average. At the same time, Owen County was just 66 percent of that average. Thus, the average Owen County resident had income that was 57 percent of the level enjoyed by the average Marion County resident….

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IEDC to launch Web site to match startups with suppliers, vendors

For Indiana’s life sciences companies to flourish, they need to get better at romance. Helping companies meet, greet, date
and deal is the idea behind a new Web portal being built by the Indiana Economic Development Corp. to match startups with
in-state vendors, suppliers, investors or people who can help them.

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Browning to build warehouse for Markey’s Audio Visual:

Indianapolis-based Browning Investments Inc. will build a 30,000-square-foot office/warehouse for Markey’s Audio Visual in the Keystone Enterprise Park, boosting the park’s occupancy to about 90 percent. That’s a huge milestone for the 62-acre development, which sits in the blighted Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood, say officials with Browning and the city of Indianapolis. Keystone Enterprise Park, near Interstate 70 and Keystone Avenue, is a city-led venture launched to bring jobs and private investment to the near-northeast side. The goal was 600 jobs; more…

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Hospitals are mixed bag for rural economies

Around Indiana, hospitals continue to grow and add workers, increasing their role as an economic driver to the state’s economy.
But health care reformers say hospital growth has a double edge, as higher health care costs dampen growth prospects for other
Indiana employers and their workers.

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Angels invest where others fear to tread: Wealthy entrepreneurs join forces to create HALO Capital Group

Some high-tech companies are so risky that even venture capitalists quiver. That’s when they turn to angels, who aren’t afraid to fly to the rescue of cash-strapped innovators with chancy yet possibly lucrative ideas. Last year, two dozen of central Indiana’s most successful business veterans decided to intercede on behalf of Hoosier entrepreneurs. They formed HALO Capital Group, a network of angel investors who seek to speculate on promising Indiana startups. Every other month, the HALO group meets at a…

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VIEWPOINT: Is Indiana prepared for recession?

Each day, the headlines are filled with r e c e s s i o n – r e l a t e d news. Some predict a pending recession, while others outline pre-emptive actions of the Federal Reserve, Congress and the president. During the 2000-2002 recession, Indiana did not perform well. Indiana lost more jobs than the national average, and its recovery lagged behind the nation’s. In fact, Indiana’s jobs still have not recovered to the pre-recession level. If…

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Commentary: Do we need a disaster to wake us up?

About 20,000 historic properties were damaged in the storm, and Gay, executive director of Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans, has led the charge to save them. “We never felt like throwing up our hands,” Gay said. “We don’t do that.” The Preservation Resource Center contacted owners of the nearly 4,000 historic properties that were condemned after the hurricane. About 600 of them have been spared to date. The PRC also has been helping review the planned demolition of buildings…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: There is no better time to think about going global

A weak dollar. Lost jobs. Liquidity challenges. These and other perceived barriers tend to unfortunately mute short-term considerations for Indiana businesses thinking about international expansion. The reality? Globalization of U.S. businesses is alive and well, and proceeding at a breakneck pace. In fact, America and the world remain embroiled in likely the greatest commercial transformation since the Industrial Revolution with the full integration of U.S. markets in an open era of innovation and productivity. How does this play out in…

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Staying earns Steak n Shake state, city rewards

Local governments plan to throw Steak n Shake Co. a life raft of incentives worth about $275,000 to help the struggling chain
keep its headquarters in Indianapolis. The company has quietly agreed to retain about 180 employees here in exchange for a
$200,000 state training grant and a five-year personal property tax abatement worth about $75,000.

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Film exec returns home to sell state: New tax credits helpful, but not enough to make Indiana stand out as movie venue

When Erin Newell was growing up in Greenwood, she and a friend would swipe her dad’s video camera and make movies in the basement. As a student at Ball State University, she studied filmmaking. And when she graduated, she was out like a shot to Los Angeles. Now, nearly nine years later-after scoring production and assisting credits on movies that even everyday folks have heard of-she’s back in Indiana, helping to beef up the state’s film-production industry so others might…

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Warsaw firm thriving on children’s orthopedics products:

Nick Deeter offered rosy predictions last summer for his start-up, OrthoPediatrics. Now, it appears, he was understating his case. Warsaw-based OrthoPediatrics has so many products to get to market that it is trying to raise another $8 million from angel investors to help it do so. Since opening this second round of fund raising a month ago, OrthoPediatrics already has raised $3 million. The company raised $2.2 million in an initial “friends and family” round last year. The company has…

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Commentary: Israel through the eyes of a visitor

My wife, Janie, and I made some new friends on our recent trip to Israel, including Moira Carlstedt, president of the Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership. I happily cede my space this week for her observations of the trip. It is like any hospital room in Indianapolis-except you can see the Lebanese border from the window, and you stand amid damage from a Hezbollah rocket that tore through that window. And then you understand the need for the underground hospital that…

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