Home » Economic Development

Economic Development

Articles

NOTIONS: A property tax sigh of relief and a reform wish list

The nightstand clock reads 5:17. Too early to wake up. But hey, I’ve been tossing and turning for hours, so why lie here any longer, pretending? The cause for this night’s insomnia is money. Money for two kids starting college. Money to replace the Money to paint the house. Money for employees’ salaries. Money for employees’ parking. Money for employees’ retirement. Money for employees’ health insurance. Money for their families’ health insurance. Money to get the yellow highway paint off…

Read More

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: For a healthier economy, we need healthier Hoosiers

Indiana needs a trip to the doctor-and a stern lecture when we get there. We’re among the nation’s unhealthiest states. More than one of every four Hoosiers is obese, and we rank among the 10 worst states for smoking and high cholesterol. The outcomes should come put more stress on the system and drive up prices and premiums for everyone. Gov. Daniels has signed a progressive bill that provides affordable health insurance with a medical savings account plan to Hoosiers…

Read More

Indiana’s life sciences resources to be catalogued:

An idea fermenting for some time in the minds of several Indiana Health Industry Forum insiders has solidified into a plan to catalogue all life sciences-related resources across the state. The not-for-profit group, which promotes economic development in the health care and life sciences industries, will use the information to create strategies for communities, regions and the state to boost Indiana’s growth in the industry. Companies including Eli Lilly and Co., Roche Diagnostics and Zimmer Holdings have put the state…

Read More

VIEWPOINT: Domestic ‘insourcing’ our way to job growth

Anchor Lou Dobbs of CNN is a pest to some folks and a hero for others. His recurring economic message laments a view of U.S. workers losing out as companies send jobs overseas. Dobbs’ critics, of course, cite his convenient omission of the many interna tional companies that invest in U.S. communities through new manufacturing plants, research facilities and other initiatives. Love the debate or detest it, but consider this: Hasn’t Dobbs helped stir a discussion about how the new…

Read More

Speeding Toward Better Health: Regenstrief Institute continues to fine-tune a medical-records system that many think could someday become a national model

Regenstrief Institute continues to fine-tune a medical-records system that many think could someday become a national model The Regenstrief Institute is a racing team. Only instead of drivers and grease monkeys, the Indianapolis-based medical research group has doctors and computer geeks. And instead of a race car, Regenstrief runs a massive computer database with 35 years of medical records from Indianapolis-area patients. But Regenstrief’s mission is still all about speed. The not-for-profit is driving to discover better ways to care…

Read More

State beefs up incentives available to tech companies:

Companies receiving a Phase 1 SBIR match from the state need to apply for second-stage funding by July 20. Applications can be downloaded on the IEDC Web site. The proposal for funds should be no longer than 12 pages and include a commercialization plan describing how the product would be moved to market and any challenges that would need to be overcome. The proposal also should include a budget describing the funds required for The Indiana Economic Development Corp. has…

Read More

Legislators to look at mass transit’s potential: Review is timely for backers of a northeast transit line

If a downtown-to-Fishers mass transit system ever happens, its first stop-figuratively, at least-will be at the Statehouse. There, at least one legislator could be influential in getting the state’s help toward building a system that could cost upwards of $1.5 billion, depending on the type of transit vehicle used. Rep. Terri J. Austin, D-Anderson, who chairs the House Roads and Transportation Committee, plans to convene a summer study committee in August that will look at the state’s future in mass…

Read More

Commentary: Hedda gives a searing Civic review

I cede my column this week to Hedda Hopper, a Hollywood gossip columnist. Hopper died in 1966, but she agreed to come back again to review the Indianapolis Civic Theater benefit performance. HEDDA HOPPER’S HOLLYWOOD-Just detrained in Hoosierland to catch the Indianapolis Civic Theatre benefit. Charlie Morgan played Ed Sullivan in a sendup titled “A Really Big Shooow.” Sullivan, your career is safe. Morgan, general manager and vice president of Cumulus radio stations in Indy, was stiffer than Charlie McCarthy….

Read More

EYE ON THE PIE: Here’s government behavior at its best

At last, the professional basketball season is over. At last, the saga of the Sopranos is ended. The Cubs, the Cards, the White Sox and the Reds are in their usual states of disgrace. Our governor has announced his candidacy for reelection. There seem to be no surprises in our world. How normal are things? Consider this: Indiana and Illinois have agreed on reciprocal discounts for motorists on their toll roads. If you live in DeKalb County, Indiana, and visit…

Read More

PROFILE: KARLA SNEEGAS: Clearing the murky air ITPC director leads charge toward smoke-free Indiana

PROFILE KARLA SNEEGAS Clearing the murky air ITPC director leads charge toward smoke-free Indiana Karla Sneegas is primed for battle. With the fervor of an ancient Crusader, this pint-sized warrior is fighting a “just war” to reduce Indiana’s addiction to tobacco as executive director of the Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation agency. At 4 feet, 11 inches, Sneegas is well-prepared for all foes. She’s armed with knowledge learned as a public health professional and as former director of South Carolina’s…

Read More

IU life sciences startup attracts former Lilly exec: INphoton attempts to commercialize high-tech cellular imaging techniques

It doesn’t have a headquarters or any full-time employees yet. But local life sciences startup INphoton LLC has attracted something equally important: an experienced manager. This month, INphoton hired Steven Plump, Eli Lilly and Co.’s former chief marketing officer, as its CEO. Plump, who retired from Lilly in 2006 after a 30-year career there, hopes to commercialize the high-tech research imaging techniques that INphoton’s founders discovered in Indiana University laboratories. In the process, INphoton could cut pharmaceutical companies’ cost of…

Read More

Agriculture goes urban: New academy plans to show city students that there’s more to horticulture than farming

Indiana’s stature as one of the nation’s top producers of corn and soybeans is as enduring as the fertile farmland in which the crops are grown. But a new initiative plans to introduce urban high school students in Indianapolis to a bushel of opportunities within the agriculture industry that extends well beyond farming. The Hoosier Agribusiness and Science Academy is a partnership between state government and Ivy Tech Community College in which students from the Lawrence Early College High School…

Read More

Tiptoe through the toxins becomes walk in the park: $600,000 in federal, state grants fund initiative to turn former industrial sites into recreation areas

Take a deep breath of that air, wafting with the fragrance of methylnaphthalene. And those violets-must be the lead and arsenic in the soil that give them such a lovely glow. Nothing quite refreshes like a stroll through a hazardous waste site. Or, in the eyes of state planners, make that a former hazardous waste site. The Indiana Brownfields Program will create the Indiana Brownfields Trails & Park Initiative. It will assess abandoned industrial and commercial properties with real or…

Read More

EYE ON THE PIE: Immigrants need better financial options

Jorge Tortellini meets me at Goldberg’s International Deli. He orders borscht and a hot pastrami on rye. I go for the sweet-and-sour soup with a vindaloo chicken burrito. “We’re destroying ourselves,” Jorge tells me. I give a quizzical look, my mouth burning from my luncheon choices. He is studying his notebook. “Do you know how much immigrants are sending back home each year?” he asks. “The Inter-American Development Bank estimates that last year remittances from the United States to Latin…

Read More

CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: ‘Rip’ is just right for CICP

It’s been 15 months since Central Indiana Corporate Partnership CEO Mark Miles wrote in these pages that he felt like Rip Van Winkle when he returned to the city after being away for 15 years. Miles has done anything but sleep since he got back. Neither has the CICP board of directors. That group should be congratulated for making an outstanding choice of a new leader and for taking bold steps forward. This seems to have been a perfect match…

Read More

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Creation of state officer reconfirms value of GIS

Virtually unnoticed in the spate of bills that emerged from the 2007 session of the Indiana General Assembly was creation of a new officer in state government who can be extremely helpful in the state’s economic development efforts. The law creating a Geographic Information Officer, or GIO, gives official status to an important discipline that has been blossoming over the last 25 years and is increasingly relied upon in business and political decision-making. A Geographic Information System is a collection…

Read More

Techpoint honors Indiana companies, educators: Judges narrow 80 nominees to 13 Mira winners

This year’s recipients of Techpoint’s Mira awards include some of the area’s best-known technology startups as well as lower-profile firms that have racked up big achievements. On May 18, the technology trade group was scheduled to acknowledge the accomplishments of Hoosier entrepreneurs in information technology, life sciences, advanced manufacturing and education with its eighth annual gala at the Indiana Roof Ballroom downtown. “It’s always good to recognize companies and give them a pat on the back, put them on the…

Read More

Gigerich firm makes spate of hires after staff exodus:

Carmel-based consulting firm Ginovus LLC-which lost five professionals on May 11 to a new economic development practice started by the Indianapolis law firm Bingham McHale-has bounced back by hiring three people. Richard Rowley, legislative director under former Gov. Joe Kernan, joined as special counsel. Rowley will continue practicing law at Sommer Barnard, the Indianapolis law firm that hosts Ginovus. Jill Beckman was hired as director of operations. Beckman’s background is in accounting, most recently at Butler Uni versity. Denise Settlemyre…

Read More

CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: A word to the generally assembled

Like everyone else who’s interested in these sorts of things, I have my opinions about the recently completed 2007 session of the Indiana General Assembly. Considering how long it took lawmakers to get on track, they accomplished some reasonably important business when it got down to the wire. Aside from the all-important balanced budget, tops on my list is the 44-cent increase in the cigarette tax. It should’ve been higher, but this will do for a start. For all you…

Read More

Back from key conference, leaders focus on follow-up: Life science delegation faced big task: standing out among 20,000 attendees

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. spent the last six months preparing for the May 6-9 Biotechnology Industry Organization convention, the life sciences industry’s biggest annual event. Now that it’s finished, the hard part begins. “You build the relationship and you get the contacts,” said Indiana Secretary of Commerce Nathan Feltman. “But then you’ve got to aggressively follow up to get them here in Indiana.” More than 20,000 of the life sciences sector’s movers and shakers converged in Boston for the…

Read More