EDITORIAL: Praise for Don Welsh
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.
Editorials
Articles
EDITORIAL: City’s IT sector finding a groove
Indianapolis has spent more than a decade craving a robust information technology sector. Now there are signs that craving is being satisfied.
EDITORIAL: Consider tapping bank fund to ease budget woes
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.
EDITORIAL: Our wish list for next year
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.
EDITORIAL: Have faith in fantasy despite real-life woes
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.
EDITORIAL: Airport victory just a warm-up
Not all success stories are flashy. Witness the quiet resurrection of the former United Airlines maintenance facility at Indianapolis International Airport.
EDITORIAL: Online retailers should pay sales tax
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.
EDITORIAL: Statewide smoking ban is overdue
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.
EDITORIAL: A call to stop the debt spiral
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.
EDITORIAL: Legislators should let public decide on transit plan
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.
EDITORIAL: Building safety requires oversight
The saga of the Di Rimini apartments is a cautionary tale, and one Indianapolis officials would do well to heed.
EDITORIAL: A last chance for City Market
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.
EDITORIAL: State can’t afford to keep townships
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.
EDITORIAL: Judge North of South project on its merits
The city’s plan to provide an $86 million loan for the mixed-use North of South real estate development adjacent to the Eli Lilly and Co. campus has drawn criticism from those who think the city should focus first on other needs, such as IndyGo and public libraries.
EDITORIAL: Time to change utility regulation
Conflicts of interest shouldn’t happen, but one that made news this month should inspire legislation to slow the revolving door between the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission and the utilities it is supposed to watch.
EDITORIAL: East 10th Street project can be repeated
When people see what’s happening on and near East 10th Street—and they will, thanks to the Super Bowl connection—they’ll see what’s possible and, we hope, join similar efforts.
EDITORIAL: Tough economy exacerbates charities’ needs
Recent economic times have been tough on many Americans. But those who already were suffering most often have taken the hardest blows.
EDITORIAL: City’s parking plan needs work
Mayor Greg Ballard strikes us as someone who puts pragmatism over politics. That’s why we’re hopeful he’ll reconsider details of the controversial plan to turn over the city’s metered parking to a private vendor.
EDITORIAL: Revive 21st Century Fund, boost entrepreneurship
One damper on Indiana’s entrepreneurial growth has been the shrinking of the 21st Century Research and Technology Fund, which has lost half its support because of state budget woes. As soon as state revenue permits, the state should bring this key program back to its funding level of $37 million a year, or boost it even higher.
EDITORIAL: University research funding is on right path
Indiana’s public universities aren’t garnering enough research funding, and the research they’re conducting isn’t churning out high-paying jobs in quantities everyone would like, but Hoosiers shouldn’t be wringing their hands in despair.