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FUNNY BUSINESS: Indiana’s rural counties fall short of ‘progressive’

I notice that my home county, LaGrange, did not make Progressive Farmer magazine’s 2007 list of Top 10 Rural Counties in America. Then again, “progressive” is not a word that leaps to mind for a county that is about 40-percent Amish. Actually, none of Indiana’s 92 counties made the Top 10. According to the magazine, the best rural places to live in America are (in reverse order): 10. Polk County, N.C.; 9. Amador County, Calif.; 8. Garfield County, Okla.; 7….

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State’s financial institutions leader quietly blazes trail: Appointment of Rice puts a credit union leader in top spot for first time; bankers group withholds judgment

Rick Rice’s ascension to chairman of the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions typically would be the type of lowkey government appointment that invokes nary a murmur of opposition. Why would it when current affairs facing the sevenmember panel are as harmless as allowing state-chartered financial institutions to charge patrons who wish to skip a loan payment? Yet, Rice’s selection in late January as head of the DFI board has the credit union community gushing with pride, and the banking industry…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Will costs and priorities merge or crash?

In our first column of the session, introducing you to the assorted variables that would influence the policy outcomes of 2007, we cautioned you that the next few months would be focused upon money and priorities. Lawmakers and Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels had a number of pet initiatives they wanted to see enacted and funded. But, after ensuring that programs and entities that had been shortchanged in the past biennium would be compensated and after bumping up education spending a…

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PROFILE: ELIZABETH HAHN ELLIS: Love of sports, organization really ‘peying’ off Foundation director coordinates philanthropic moves for Colts quarterback Peyton Manning

PROFILE ELIZABETH HAHN ELLIS Love of sports, organization really ‘peying’ off Foundation director coordinates philanthropic moves for Colts quarterback Peyton Manning There’s hardly a Hoosier today who hasn’t heard of Peyton Manning and his amazing plays on the field. But quietly coordinating the philanthropic plays behind the scenes for Manning’s PeyBack Foundation is Indianapolis native Elizabeth Hahn Ellis. As executive director of the 7-year-old charitable foundation, Ellis, 36, deftly fields requests from not-forprofit organizations seeking grants, contributions from individuals and…

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NOTIONS: Must we pay the painful price of Hoosier incivility?

One of the most effective advertisements I ever created never had to be published. The mere fear it instilled via private showings to Connecticut state legislators was enough to undo the havoc they were threatening to wreak. At the time, lawmakers were contemplating what they called a “business services tax,” a tax that would be imposed on the services one division of a corporation provided to another, so long as both operated within the state. For example, if an Aetna…

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IU turns donated beach property into lesson

Indiana University Kelley School of Business students will market and sell five lots along a strip of white sandy beach on
secluded Dog Island, Fla., as a class project that likely will span
several semesters. Whatever the students get for the land will be all profit.

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Lab notebooks can prove an invention’s conception

In some countries, Europe, for example, an invention belongs to the first person to file a patent for it. In the United States, the conception determines ownership of an invention. In other words, an invention is “born” when the inventor first conceives it. What does this mean for scientists, inventors and businesses? That it’s incumbent upon them to prove that they came up with the idea first and therefore own the patented invention. If they can’t prove the date of…

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A whole new ballgame: More women stepping up to the plate in commercial real estate

Yogi Berra once said, “You give 100 percent in the first half of the game, and if that isn’t enough, in the second half you give what’s left.” Women are accepting his challenge with a chuckle, running onto the commercial real estate field and playing to win. They also are balancing home and family. Why not? The U.S. commercial real estate market is worth about $3.5 trillion, according to Real Capital Analytics, a New York research firm. Bridget Farren, founder…

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Gora seeking new ways to build Ball State’s reputation

Entering her third year as Ball State University’s president, Jo Ann Gora has earned a reputation in business and political
circles as a shrewd, aggressive ambassador for the 19,500-student university. And by all measures, she’s just gotten started.

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Turnabout is fair play in evaluating education

Much has been made in recent years of the performance of our state’s secondary schools. In particular, the recent revisions made to high school graduation statistics, suggesting that as few as three out of four ninth-graders graduate with their class have sounded an alarm. People are saying something is wrong with K-12 education in Indiana, and they would appear to have plenty of ammunition to support their arguments. But turnabout is fair play in the business of evaluating education. Since…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Unsolicited advice for IU’s next president

Congratulations, Dr. McRobbie, on being selected as Indiana University’s next president. I’ve read that you are committed to helping IU become more active in the state’s economic development. I’ve heard that from every IU president since I arrived in 1970. To be successful, it will take major changes. It is not sufficient to appoint a committee of administrators who then request each part of the university to submit a list of its “economic development activities” for ultimate inclusion in a…

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EVERYBODY’S DOING IT: BICYCLING: When spring is sprung, it’s time to let it ride

| Marc D.

EVERYBODY’S DOING IT BICYCLING When spring is sprung, it’s time to let it ride After months stuck indoors, at least 100 bicyclists-and maybe more-will hit the road March 18 for the Central Indiana B i cy c l i n g Association’s St. Patrick’s Day Ride, the organization’s spring season kickoff. “It gets the cobwebs off; it’s usually the first nice day of the season and everybody’s excited to get on their bikes again,” new CIBA President Nancy Tibbett said…

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Courts grapple with issues arising from Internet, blogs: Educators explore policies for off-campus activity

The World Wide Web and blogging explosion have created new hurdles for attorneys, especially those consulting on issues that arise from school districts trying to balance off-campus activities and school safety. As officials recognize that off-campus activity can spill into school hallways and classrooms, many are looking to policies that can prevent those actions outside school from impacting student safety or the overall educational process. “Internet blogging is one of the more publicized activities that pose both harm and benefit,…

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BULLS & BEARS: Amid all the complaining, U.S. continues to prosper

A few weeks ago, I heard Ben Stein speak about politics and the economy. The noted lawyer, writer, actor and economist spouted off various positive statistics about the U.S. economy and then lamented that the public seemed morose about the financial sunshine. Even though our standard of living is at an all-time high, it seems as if Americans like to grovel and complain. Stein said, in his best Ferris Bueller drone, the American public was the most “unhappy happy society”…

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RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Battle brewing between big business and the Web

The Web has always been viewed with suspicion by many people, but now it’s become nothing less than the cause of copyright lawsuits against Ellen DeGeneres for letting a guest dance the Electric Slide, against the Girl Scouts for doing the Macarena a satire Web site about Barney the purple dinosaur for making fun of the big guy, and against the online deal-finder site Black Friday for publishing prices from retailer Best Buy. Back in the old days, copyright holders…

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Please pass the popcorn – and the cash: Not-for-profits hope film encourages more donations

But can a movie to be released March 9, “The Ultimate Gift,” inspire the masses to give money to charitable groups? Not-for-profits hope so, although the idea that an emotion-driven Hollywood film can translate into a thoughtful and deliberate giving plan remains to be seen. “Donor education is a very difficult thing to get done. This may be a good start,” said Gene Tempel, executive director of the IU Center on Philanthropy. The movie is based on the book of…

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Doctor grows magazine with unusual strategy: Circulation hits 100,000 nationally and still climbing

A Carmel-based doctor turned publisher is celebrating his magazine’s first anniversary by rolling out plans to take his publishing and health care businesses nationwide. Radius magazine is poised for rapid growth due to its “no fluff” content, according to its founder, Dev Brar, who founded Carmel-based Nightingale Home Healthcare in 1996. Both businesses are operating out of a new headquarters at 1036 S. Rangeline Road, and Brar is hoping the two will grow hand-in-hand. Brar is using Radius to market…

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Commentary: If they can’t teach ’em, let’s sue ’em!

I have always been a big believer in education. It’s something I got from my parents. They told me that, since I wasn’t born into money and had no athletic ability, I better get a good education if I wanted to improve my chances of being successful in life. I’ve been very fortunate that the teachers I’ve had over the years, from my public grade and high schools in Chicago to graduate school to law school, have been awesome. In…

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SPORTS: Here’s how a referee makes the hall of fame

As the boys’ and girls’ high school swimming seasons come to a close, my thoughts turn to a man who in April will be inducted into the first class of the Indiana High School Swimming and Diving Hall of Fame. It’s notable because this person never swam a competitive lap in his life. That said, I can’t think of anyone more deserving. In the big picture of local sports-where the major leaguers and the major colleges reside-not many have heard…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: So far, session is all about unearthing new revenue

Sure, it’s a budget session, and one would expect fiscal talk to dominate the discussion. But the one thing that has surprised us so far this year-and we are literally at the midpoint-is just how much the dollar debate has consumed this Legislature. Through the first few weeks of the session, the big sport was picking the over/under on when the relationship between Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) and House Speaker Pat Bauer (DSouth Bend)-and thus between Republicans and Democrats as…

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