In the less than two years since Mark Miles, 53, took over the CEO-driven Central Indiana Corporate Partnership in 2006, he’s
transformed it into an economic development powerhouse for life sciences, information technology and advanced manufacturing.
How so fast? He started networking with Indiana’s political heavyweights more than 30 years ago. And he never stopped.
In response to the sticker shock experienced by many Hoosiers upon opening the envelope from the property-tax assessor, Gov. Mitch Daniels announced a number of major moves. He ordered new assessments in Marion County and other counties throughout the state; a tax bill freeze in these counties to the 2006 levy; and the creation of a commission on local government reform, co-chaired by Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall Shepard and former Gov. Joe Kernan. The mission of the commission…
When the city of Indianapolis relocates two of its departments later this year from Sherman Park on the near east side to 1200 S. Madison Ave., some say the city is merely trading one blighted area for another-and abandoning a neighborhood it has said it wants to help. And over the 10-year lease with Pillar Investments LLC, owner of the Madison Avenue property, the city will pay nearly $1.2 million more in rent than it would had it stayed at…
With the state in an uproar over soaring property taxes, some have wondered whether phasing out Indiana’s business inventory tax was a good idea. The phase-out process began in 2002 before completely eliminating the inventory tax this year, taking with it roughly $380 million in tax revenue shared annually by local governments. Supporters of the move insist lawmakers made the right decision. And they say Indiana has become more attractive to business as a result. Marion County property-tax bills were…
To make money on new software, sometimes you have to give it away. Thanks to that counterintuitive approach, tiny local IT startup Vyante Inc. has persuaded companies like Eli Lilly and Co., Roche Diagnostics, Dow Agro-Sciences and 5MetaCom to test the beta version of its new software, which tracks and measures the impact of their brands online. Vyante hopes eventually to convert the companies into paying customers. “We’ve persisted against the odds,” said Vyante Senior Technologist Benjamin Ranck. “It was…
Five leaders of Indiana’s life sciences industry offered their perspectives at the Indiana Convention Center June 26 as part of the Indianapolis Business Journal’s Power Breakfast Series. The panelists: Mike Arpey, managing director of global investment bank Credit Suisse’s Asset Management Division and manager of the $73 million Indiana Future Fund for BioCrossroads, the state’s life sciences economicdevelopment initiative. Ron Ellis, co-founder, president and CEO of Lafayettebased Endocyte Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the treatment of cancer through receptor-targeted…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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….
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
