The current draft of the state budget calls for redirecting most of the money that has gone to horse racing to the general fund instead. The industry would receive $27 million in the next fiscal year, down from $60 million this year.
Sadly, a legislative body supposedly focused on job creation continues to willfully disregard the advice of the very business community that is expected to create those jobs.
There’s more to making a good first impression than keeping traffic flowing and sidewalks clear of snow.
We understand the concern expressed by some on the City-County Council over Indianapolis’ role in financing the $155 million project, but there are compelling reasons to approve it.
It isn’t difficult to understand why state Sen. Mike Delph wants to force school districts to start their academic years after Labor Day; what’s perplexing is why Delph would want to slap a restriction on districts at a time they need more freedom to manage their own affairs.
Another year, another parade of editorials, opinion pieces and studies that call for Indiana to join its neighbors in banning smoking in all workplaces.
Government reform is an important topic, especially at a time tax caps have forced many units of local government to cut back on essential services.
Don Welsh, the departing leader of the Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association, is the embodiment of the risk and reward associated with bringing in outside talent to do important work on the city’s behalf.
Indianapolis has spent more than a decade craving a robust information technology sector. Now there are signs that craving is being satisfied.
As reported in a front-page story in last week’s IBJ, the $250 million public deposit insurance fund has not been tapped in nearly 20 years.
We don’t expect all our holiday wishes for the New Year to come true. We’re not that naïve. But in this season of hope, we’d like to offer these familiar refrains—and end with some proof that dreams do, sometimes, come true.
Some days, it’s hard to believe in Santa Claus. It’s altogether too easy to be “affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age,” as the New York Sun’s Francis Pharcellus Church wrote in his famous response to an 8-year-old girl’s inquiry about the existence of the Jolly Old Elf.
Not all success stories are flashy. Witness the quiet resurrection of the former United Airlines maintenance facility at Indianapolis International Airport.
Retailers and shopping center owners are right in crusading for a level playing field in taxation. It isn’t fair that most online retailers don’t charge sales taxes, while traditional retailers in Indiana must tack on 7 percent.
The scientific evidence has been there for years. The financial argument is easy to make. Yet the idea of protecting the public from the potentially deadly effects of secondhand smoke hasn’t caught fire in the halls of power—at least that’s been the case in Indiana.
President Obama’s fiscal commission is doing its job by recommending tough taxing and expense-slashing measures meant to attack our nation’s debt crisis. Indiana’s congressional delegation should keep the momentum going.
A more robust public transportation system might be just what the region needs to connect people with jobs, spark development near transit stops, elevate the city’s stature, and reduce the need to regularly pour millions into widening our roads. Or it might be a big, unnecessary waste of money.
The saga of the Di Rimini apartments is a cautionary tale, and one Indianapolis officials would do well to heed.
We like the changes afoot at City Market. But if the latest attempt to reposition it doesn’t work, the city should consider mothballing the beloved old building until its surroundings become a benefit rather than a liability.
Indiana lawmakers are gearing up for another legislative session, and township government reform will return to the agenda. We hope proponents can finally hit a home run.
