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SPORTS: Overdosing on the Colts? Enjoy it while you can

That sport, and not religion as Karl Marx once declared, has become the “opiate of the masses” is apparent in our fair burg, where we all-or at least most of us-are overdosing on the Indianapolis Colts. The TV types are in full hyper-ventilation. The scribes are cranking out words by the thousands. No angle involving the Colts and their upcoming Super Bowl date with Da Bears in Miami will go uncovered. And, yes, some of the story lines will be…

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Lottery lease plan has fatal flaws EYE ON THE PIE:

Folks I talked to, Democrats and Republicans, liked the governor’s State of the State speech. The fault they found was that the speech was scheduled opposite the Indiana University basketball game with Iowa. Isn’t that an impeachable offense in Indiana? The part of the speech that intrigued me most was the idea about leasing the rights to the lottery to get money to establish scholarships and endowed chairs at our universities. The idea is to slow or reverse the brain…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Governor still has lots of differences with Dems

After saluting the accomplishments of the past year, Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels reached across the aisle during his State of the State Address Jan. 16 and assured Democrats that he can’t make further progress without their cooperation. Once again, the governor found himself competing for the TV audience of Hoosiers at home. In what seems to be a given of sorts, the Indiana University men’s basketball team was playing during the speech, taking on Hoosier hero Steve Alford’s University of…

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Welder shortage looms in central Indiana, nationwide

With demand for welders outstripping supply, manufacturers, road and bridge builders, and other construction company owners
are all hurting. Despite a willingness to increase hourly wages and even offer signing bonuses, the search for welders is
getting more desperate.

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VIEWPOINT: Let’s improve the health of working poor

On a cold and rainy day and wearing only a thin jacket, Maria walked eight miles to get help. She was pregnant and seeking prenatal care. Her husband had deserted her. The pervasiveness of unemployed and working-poor families presents a growing challenge. Most are underinsured or have no health insurance at all. That means our charity-care system is stretched to the maximum. One north-side center that provides care for the uninsured and underinsured has seen a 15-percent increase in patients…

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Aviation school adds five degree programs: Embry-Riddle considered closing local campus

One of the nation’s most prominent aviation schools is giving Indianapolis another chance. After withstanding a plunge in enrollment, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is adding five degree programs at its center here, with most of them aimed at careers outside the turbulent commercial aviation sector. It also plans to expand beyond its local student base of mostly working adults to court recent high school grads. Though in Indianapolis for 13 years, Embry-Riddle has had all the profile here of a stealth…

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College targets dropouts with new program: Ivy Tech offers high school failures chance to get degree, pursue higher education

Ivy Tech Community College this month launched a pilot program that allows high school dropouts to earn their diplomas while simultaneously working toward a certificate or associate’s degree in college. Intended to improve the state’s labor pool, and as a lifeline to dropouts facing a dismal life in the earnings underclass, it will first be rolled out in Bloomington, Lafayette and Terre Haute. The Indianapolis campus also will offer the program aimed at those 19 or older, although a date…

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Regulator pitches first fee hike in more than a decade: The state Department of Insurance plans to hire 10

Indiana’s thinly funded Insurance Department is pushing to raise nearly $1 million by hiking fees it charges insurers for the first time since 1994. The department also plans to shrink agent licenses from four years to two, in order to raise money and bolster continuing-education requirements. Insurance Commissioner Jim Atterholt hopes to win legislative approval this session for the measures, which would add $960,000 to the department’s $5.8 million operating budget and allow it to boost its work force from…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Congress, IRS taking aim at college tax practices

Congress and the IRS have taken a number of significant steps recently to increase their scrutiny of colleges, universities and related organizations. What’s the next step? The IRS has already tipped its hand and indicated that it intends to design and initiate unrelated business income tax-or UBIT-inquiries directed toward colleges during 2007 and 2008. This upcoming year will likely usher in a new tax climate focused upon enforcement initiatives and public transparency. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 included several…

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Business elite back alternative high school: Catholic college-prep Cristo Rey puts students to work to earn and learn

Every other month, it seems, someone announces another promising alternative to the city’s public schools and their low achievement levels and high dropout rates. If it isn’t Indianapolis Public Schools announcing another specialty school within a high school, it’s a new charter school anointed by Mayor Bart Peterson-a number now approaching 20. So one could be forgiven for being a bit cynical about these schools, as parents who can afford to continue to leave the city for better schools. But…

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CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: Community resolutions for 2007

It’s a week past the appropriate time to be writing about New Year’s resolutions, but from the feel of traffic heading in and out of town during rush hour, it appears a number of folks are still on vacation. I think the vast majority of us are ready now to get back down to business, so I feel justified in my timing. Therefore, be it resolved: Mayor Bart Peterson and Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi should continue to address the…

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Labor sector diversification could spur local economy: $200,000 study targets finance, retail and construction

Sexier industry sectors like life sciences or motorsports get all the press. But to remain robust, the Indianapolis Private Industry Council believes, the area economy needs diversification. The 23-year-old work-force-training not-for-profit believes the nine-county area also should target three tried-and-true industries: finance and insurance; retail, hospitality and restaurants; and construction. IPIC, whose $9 million annual budget comes from public and private grants, plans to spend $200,000 during the first quarter studying the three sectors, which collectively employ 270,000 people in…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Investors need to be real about their stockbrokers

Too many investors view their stockbrokers as “professionals” and not the salesmen they usually are. How do brokers find their customers? Most get their clients from cold-calling or inheriting accounts when fellow brokers leave the firm. Some brokers are adept at finding customers at church, the country club or local service organizations. Compare this point of initial contact to other professionals you deal with. Have you ever been cold-called by a doctor offering you a great deal on that annual…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Think the state’s awash in cash? Think again

Most observers assume there will be a confrontation between House Democrats, led by Speaker Pat Bauer, D-South Bend, and Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels this session. They suggest it’s like watching a hockey game and just waiting for a big fight. But confrontation need not be a synonym for breakdown , and while legislative Democrats and Daniels have some different philosophies about the role of government, they also have some basic agreements on just what should be accomplished before the end…

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BRIAN WILLIAMS Commentary: Lottery could help education even more

Recently, Gov. Mitch Daniels put forth a proposal to privatize the Hoosier Lottery. As envisioned by the governor, a private contractor would give the state an upfront payment of at least $1 billion and pay the state a guaranteed $200 million per year for the life of the contract. Daniels has proposed two uses for the upfront payment. Dollars would be split between a) scholarships for Indiana high school students attending Indiana universities and colleges and b) funding programs to…

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Business shoved aside: Readers say city should focus on crime, education in 2007

The brutal murders of seven family members, including three children shot dead in their east-side Indianapolis home, cast a dark cloud over the city last summer. Yet the June slayings only served as a harbinger of a wave of violence that later claimed 15 lives in a 10-day span. The crime spree rattled city leaders so severely that Mayor Bart Peterson declared an emergency normally reserved for a natural disaster. 2006 no doubt ranked among the most deadly years in…

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NOTIONS: Skip the big resolution; play New Year’s “What if?”

The ball has dropped. The champagne corks have been swept from the floor. And the rose petals have been blown by the breeze down Pasadena Boulevard. And so we begin anew: Another year. Another 12 months. Another 52 weeks. Another 365 days. Another 525,600 minutes. Another chance to live and learn, work and play, grow and love. And blessed with so much time (and it is a blessing), what will you make of yourself, and those dearest to you and…

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Bringing Honda to Greensburg highlights a wild year for Daniels:

It was a banner economic development year for Gov. Mitch Daniels, topped by the blockbuster Honda auto plant deal. Thanks in part to a second trip to Japan, Daniels landed a $550 million plant for Greensburg in June. Slated to begin production in 2008, the plant is expected to employ more than 2,000 people. Two months earlier, Daniels unveiled “Accelerating Growth,” his economic development plan for the state. Its ambitious goal is to boost Hoosiers’ per-capita income to the national…

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Beginning lawyers may see salary boost: Experts think big-city pay raises will trickle down here

Starting salaries for young lawyers at the city’s largest law firms could be on the cusp of hitting six figures. First-year associates at several top-tier Indianapolis practices currently earn $90,000 a year. But a wage war playing out among firms on both coasts, and in Chicago, might prompt those here to raise the ante as well. “It’s just a matter of who blinks first,” said Mike McConnell, a former legal consultant who chairs the state’s Education Employment Relations Board. “It…

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How far does $1 billion go in the marketplace for superstar students and world-class academics?:

Gov. Mitch Daniels proposed the Hoosier Lottery lease to fund incentives for higher education. Just how much will $1 billion buy? Daniels wants to put $600 million in a permanent endowment to finance Hoosier Hope Scholarships aimed at retaining the state’s top high school graduates. Endowment proceeds, Daniels said, will pay for 1,700 scholarships annually in perpetuity. The program will hand out $5,000 annual scholarships for four-year colleges and $2,500 annual scholarships for two-year degrees. The payouts would be considered…

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