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EYE ON THE PIE: Children are central issue for ’08

The election campaign of 2008 can transform our state if the candidates focus their attention on children. We can develop a healthy economy and become a model of civility if we focus systematically on our children. Many people are convinced government spends too much. What they mean is that government spends for services that don’t benefit them or services they wish they did not need. Who wants to spend money on juvenile corrections or adult reading programs for prisoners? Who…

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Will ATA leave Indy entirely?

IBJ reporter Chris Oâ??Malley reported last weekend that ATA Airlinesâ?? parent company has quietly moved its
headquarters to Peachtree City, Ga. Global Aero Logistics no longer flies out of Indianapolis International
Airport, but it has other operations here that employ…

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Will business like Ballard?

Dating at least to the â??60s, when Richard Lugar was mayor of Indianapolis, the cityâ??s comeback has been
driven by nationally renowned cooperation between government and business.

Business interests came out of the woodwork to support Lugar, and subsequent mayors William…

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My, how Marion has changed

It wasnâ??t so long ago that Marion was the poster child for Rust Belt decline in Indiana. The city, which
is just off Interstate 69 between Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, lost a string of manufacturers and then finally
the big…

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SURF THIS: Our changing expectation of experts

It seems like everyone is an expert at something. We have automobile experts, stock market experts, antique experts… my company even has a client who’s a sheep and goat expert. In an I n t e r n e t – c e n t r i c world, though, these experts can find themselves in a tough place. Online, information is clamoring to be free (or pretty cheap) and readily available. It’s no longer enough to declare yourself an…

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BEHIND THE NEWS: Smooth sailing for Simon, despite economic squall?

Retail pundits are trotting out all the downbeat analogies these days, as they fret that high gas prices and the slumping housing market will crimp consumer spending the rest of the year. As Carl Steidtmann, chief economist at Deloitte Research, put it, “The holiday season will be somewhat Grinch-like.” So it may come as a surprise that some analysts are almost gushing about the prospects for Simon Property Group Inc., the nation’s largest mall owner. As Rich Moore, managing director…

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Commentary: To the victor go the schools?

I have no idea who will get the job of mayor of Indianapolis come Nov. 7. But whoever it is can make a real difference in this town by tackling its most pressing issue: public schools. Good schools are the lifeblood of any community. They increase property values, lower crime and make your municipality more attractive to companies looking to relocate. Marion County schools haven’t had the best track records. Whether it’s Indianapolis Public Schools and its academic performance, Washington…

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Midwest Mole tunnels into large local projects: East-side company in unusual niche makes mark

In the face of a slumping local economy in the early 1980s, several national construction firms packed up and left Indianapolis. One locally based salesman, Len Liotti, was given a choice-move to St. Louis along with his job at tunneling contractor Affholder Inc., or set out on his own. Seeing the void the big players would create when leaving, Liotti started Midwest Mole Inc. in 1982 to fill it. Twenty-five years later, the privately held firm is thriving thanks to…

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Businesses may swallow Daniels’ property tax plan despite initial grumbles about its implications:

Businesses are upset about the implications of Gov. Mitch Daniels’ plan to reform Indiana’s property tax system. And while they would certainly bear blows, executives may be discounting one of the proposal’s subtlest selling points: permanent tax stability. “I don’t know if it’s too high or too low. But I do know that it’s locked in stone. And businesses love predictability,” said Matt Will, associate dean of the University of Indianapolis School of Business and director of its Graduate Business…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Time for a little schooling on income inequality

A reader in South Bend recently argued that attention to growing wage inequality in the country should be part of these economic discussions. He is right-and given the proximity of the presidential election, we are all going to hear plenty about it. Here’s a bit of economic analysis of the situation. By itself, income data can tell a misleading story. The United States enjoys significant income variability over an individual’s life cycle. So, a snapshot across one year tells us…

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VIEWPOINT: Reform won’t require constitutional rewrite

In July, when Gov. Mitch Daniels appointed the Commission on Local Government Reform to search for ways to streamline and modernize Indiana’s system of local government, he recommended considering every option for bringing government into the 21st century. And he raised one particularly dramatic option: convening a convention to rewrite Indiana’s constitution, a document that has been amended often, but never rewritten, in 156 years. Times were different in 1851, when Indiana enacted its constitution. The state had fewer than…

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Embattled city to get lift from resurgence of Remy:

B e a t e n – d ow n Anderson finally has some good auto-related news: Remy International Inc., headquartered in the industrial city of 60,000, is poised to survive- perhaps even thrive-thanks to a bankruptcy reorganization plan that halves its debt, along with other moves that make it more competitive. “Frankly, I think this is a great piece of information for Anderson,” Anderson Mayor Kevin Smith said of the company’s trip through bankruptcy court, which is expected to…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Save our cities and towns from neglect

Whose face is on the dime? It’s Franklin Delano Roosevelt. That’s no arbitrary choice. FDR had polio as an adult. He fought back and became governor of New York and then the only four-term president of the United States. For two decades, from 1938 forward, The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis campaigned to fight polio epidemics. Each January, children and adults contributed to the national “March of Dimes” to raise funds for research and treatment. FDR was the symbol of…

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Arcadia Resources HQ lured to city by central location:

Arcadia Resources Inc. CEO Marvin Richardson, an Anderson native and Purdue University pharmacy graduate, said Indianapolis was chosen for the company’s new headquarters because the city’s central location will create an advantage when it launches a new drug-packaging system. The system, called DailyMed, will help patients manage their prescription pills. The company plans to open a distribution center for DailyMed in the near future that eventually could employ 300 or more. Arcadia will move from the Detroit suburb of Southfield….

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IU business incubator partners with Siberian school: Reciprocal visits could lead to high-tech opportunities

After unwrapping his luggage from its seal of shrink-wrap, Mark Long reviewed his notes for the upcoming seminar. He hardly needed them. Long, CEO of Indiana University’s Research and Technology Corp., has spoken many times about how academics transfer their research discoveries to the market. But this was the first time he ever delivered the speech in Siberia. The audience-a group of business and academic leaders-ultimately could help Hoosiers access a treasure-trove of Russian technologies. “They have a lot of…

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Experts look into the future of health care: Industry panelists disagree on whether current system needs radical changes

Five local industry leaders conducted a serious debate over problems and issues facing our health care system during the most recent installment in Indianapolis Business Journal’s Power Breakfast series. The event took place at the Downtown Marriott hotel on Sept. 21 The panelists: Robert Brody, president and CEO of St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers, the Indianapolis-area’s fourth-largest hospital system. Brody has been chief executive at St. Francis since 1996. Dr. Robert Mouser, a primary care physician at Cornerstone Family…

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PEOs bouncing back following shakeout: Professional employer organizations enjoying growth as companies seek better ways to manage benefits

Even though Sentelligence Inc. in Noblesville has only five employees, the tiny tech firm offers an appealing benefits package rivaling that of a large corporation. The designer of diagnostic sensing devices for diesel engines has not discovered the Holy Grail of human resources. Rather, it’s using what’s known as a professional employer organization. Companies contract with PEOs to handle all the headaches of human resources, including payroll, payroll taxes, Worker’s Compensation claims, health plans, and other employee benefits, not to…

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Commentary: Region is missing benefits of planning

Good urban design can create value for communities, individuals, the economy and the environment. The potential benefits include better public health, greater social equity, enhanced land values, a more vibrant local economy, reduced vehicle emissions and a more sustainable use of non-renewable resources. Central Indiana lacks geographical barriers to growth. Land is abundant and reasonably priced. However, the region lacks a cross-jurisdictional plan to manage growth and maximize the benefits from it. Instead, fields grow corn one season and homes…

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Loss of institute may polarize Statehouse debate: Board considers shuttering respected government research organization

If the Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute remains shuttered due to a lack of funds, the public won’t notice immediately. After all, the Indianapolis-based organization focused on long-term analysis of complicated communal questions, such as how to equalize property taxes, diversify state pensions or finance public schools. But taxpayers eventually will feel the impact. For 20 years, the institute has played a key role in Statehouse debate, helping frame major issues with hard facts and figures that conservatives and liberals alike…

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