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EYE ON THE PIE: Why is home ownership a big deal?

Housing remains one of our most domestic industries. The labor used to build the houses themselves is still local. Products we put into our homes (furnaces, plumbing, appliances, etc.) are still primarily made in the United States from domestic parts. All that is changing. More and more work is being done off-site and more of the components installed have foreign origins. Now, without our thinking about it, the financing of our homes has become an article of international trade. Once…

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Charter schools face long wait for county funding: State, local money based on outdated mechanism

The property tax reform plan recently signed into law by Gov. Mitch Daniels is expected to provide relief-eventually-for most homeowners. Unfortunately, the tax crisis wasn’t fixed fast enough for charter schools. Because property taxes haven’t been calculated yet this year, schools didn’t get funding advances from Marion County, something 15 of the county’s 21 charter schools needed last year. At least one school-Irvington Community Academy-has received help from the Greater Educational Opportunities Foundation in getting an emergency bridge loan of…

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Commentary: Israel through the eyes of a visitor

My wife, Janie, and I made some new friends on our recent trip to Israel, including Moira Carlstedt, president of the Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership. I happily cede my space this week for her observations of the trip. It is like any hospital room in Indianapolis-except you can see the Lebanese border from the window, and you stand amid damage from a Hezbollah rocket that tore through that window. And then you understand the need for the underground hospital that…

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Zoo counting on koala appeal: Visit by cuddly creatures expected to draw big crowd

Stock up on the eucalyptus leaves. Cute, cuddly koalas will soon be coming to the Indianapolis Zoo. The temporary exhibit will run from Memorial Day weekend through Sept. 1 and feature two of the slow-moving marsupials on loan from the San Diego Zoo. Not since 1994 have koalas been in Indianapolis. The lengthy time lapse, coupled with the zoo’s objective to introduce a new major exhibit every year-whether temporary or permanent-made the native Australian animals a logical choice. “We’re using…

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EYE ON THE PIE: It’s the money, not the jobs, stupid

“It’s jobs, jobs, jobs,” presidential and gubernatorial candidates shouted last week in Indiana. And the crowds responded in the affirmative, urging the candidates to promise more jobs for more Hoosiers. OK; jobs are good, but well-paying jobs are better. Since the 1980s, the state has claimed it is interested only in jobs that pay above the average for the area in which they are located. When challenged by the fact that the jobs being acclaimed do not always meet that…

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VIEWPOINT: ‘Buy local’ should be rallying cry

In recent months, our governor and mayors across the state proudly have announced business developments and out-of-state companies’ plans to expand or relocate in Indiana. They’ve worked overtime to earn these economic boosts, and they’re to be congrat ulated for helping bolster the state and local economy. But we’re ignoring a simple strategy that could yield many more high-paying jobs: Buy local. Here’s the irony: Pursuing this strategy doesn’t have to cost a dime. No recruiting trips to China, no…

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A&E: Local duo creates sticker shock

Anyone with young kids knows the value of a sticker. Whether a reward for a hissy-fit-free afternoon or a gift from a friendly grocery bagger, a sticker is a deceptively simple object that brings a surprising amount of pleasure. I’ll admit, I didn’t give stickers a whole lot of thought until I wandered into Alias, the unique Fountain Square gallery created by Dave and Holly Combs. The couple has been obsessed with stickers since spotting-and pondering the implications of-an “Andre…

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Free-lancing turns into big-time marketing: Mom-and-pop ExaroMed now growing fat with large drug and device clients from across the country

Most free-lance writers eke out a living. The most fortunate live comfortable lives. But Mindy Mascaro turned her freelance writing business into a thriving company. Carmel-based ExaroMed LLC is now producing sales and marketing content for the like of Roche Diagnostics, Eli Lilly and Co. and Amgen Inc. It has also served smaller life sciences companies such as Indigo BioSciences Inc. and Cheetah Medical Inc. The company has zoomed from six employees to 20 in the last year. It’s already…

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Real-world experience-for real: IUPUI’s Global Design Studio lets students tackle projects around the planet

New Orleans and Indonesia are worlds apart, yet linked by devastation from catastrophic floodwaters and by the outpouring of empathy that has ensued. An effort launched four years ago on the campus of IUPUI to involve design students in actual construction projects is responsible for a portion of the good will. The Global Design Studio is helping to rebuild areas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina and, to a lesser extent, the tsunami. Its projects also include renovating a boarding house in…

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Credit-market turmoil casts uncertainty over ITT Educational Services

ITT Educational Services Inc. and other for-profit schools are facing a maelstrom of financial threats that analysts say could
hurt student recruiting and profit margins–and already has driven stock prices down sharply. ITT shares are off 61 percent
since hitting an all-time high of $131.82 in November.

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Foreclosures keep ’em busy: Bankruptcy attorneys, credit counselors seeing surge in clients

Many consumer bankruptcies typically can be traced to a divorce, job loss or medical issue. Now another perpetrator-subprime mortgages-is entering the fray. The fallout from the housing crisis, coupled with a weakening economy, is contributing to a rise in bankruptcy filings nationwide. They spiked more than 30 percent in January compared with the same time last year, according to the Virginia-based American Bankruptcy Institute. With more than 1 million subprime mortgages due to reset this year, ABI Executive Director Samuel…

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NCAA, NBA forging youth hoops pact

Professional and collegiate basketball are on the brink of a landmark agreement that hoops insiders said will change the landscape
of the sport in this country. Proponents say it would be good for basketball, but others say it’s an attempt to further commercialize
the sport.

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EYE ON THE PIE: Governor gets his priorities right

Mitch Daniels has done many controversial things as governor. He leased the Indiana Toll Road. He got rid of the state employees’ union. He convinced the Legislature to switch to daylight-saving time. He proposed a property tax package that has many popular features. He also has advanced various ideas, some good, and some less good that went nowhere. Now our governor has come forth with the most positive and important initiative of his administration: awards for academic excellence. As Daniels…

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College Summit’s goal is more skilled workers

Business leaders and educators agree on what’s needed to improve Indiana’s economic health and enhance its place in the global
economy: a larger pool of skilled workers. Toward that end, a group of notfor-profits is expanding a program to get more low-income
Indianapolis students to further their education after high school.

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IU follows Purdue lead, overhauls business-development strategy

Indiana University President Michael McRobbie calls it “Innovate Indiana.” His ambition is to corral all of IU’s strengths
under one new branded initiative to boost the Hoosier economy. Purdue University already has leveraged a similar strategy,
promoted with “Go BusinessMakers!” billboards, to national acclaim.

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Commentary: Why are we so afraid of immigration?

Indiana Senate Bill 335 is a poorly crafted public policy that fails to reflect the totality of immigration and the societal and economic issues associated with it. Hispanics are the nation’s largest minority group, numbering 47 million. About a quarter of Hispanic adults, roughly 11 million, are unauthorized immigrants. The Pew Hispanic Center estimated Indiana’s unauthorized immigrant population at 65,000, roughly 1 percent of the population. In 2004, 93 percent of unauthorized men age 18-64 were in the labor force,…

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SPORTS: Memo to IU: Hire the right people this time

Deadlines for a weekly publication are tricky. Sometimes when news breaks, you get lucky. Sometimes, you don’t. In this case, forgive me if I’m a little late to the parade and-following the elephants with broom and shovel-to the sorry mess involving the men’s basketball program at my alma mater, Indiana University. So, to sum up, this is what bothers me most: Everything. And who’s to blame? Everyone. It’s the culture. It’s the media. It’s gross mismanagement. It’s poor hiring. It’s…

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College endowments growing, but so is tuition

Endowments at Indiana colleges and universities are soaring, due in part to impressive investment returns in recent years.
The swelling coffers here and across the nation are stoking the debate over whether universities should be using more of their
wealth to hold down tuition increases.

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EVERYBODY’S DOING IT: SECONDHAND PROSE: Volume discounts offered at library sale

EVERYBODY’S DOING IT SECONDHAND PROSE Volume discounts offered at library sale Inside Secondhand Prose, a CD of old-timey bluegrass music plays softly as a half-dozen volunteers quietly go about their business. They’re emptying bags and boxes, sorting through thousands and thousands of books and stocking shelves in preparation for the Indianapolis-Mar ion County Public Library’s next book sale, March 7-9 and 14-15. Six times a year, the library opens up its shop inside the Library Services Center, 2450 N. Meridian…

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