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BULLS & BEARS: Investors’ actions mean lower investment returns

Have you been an investor in stocks for 20 years? Since the demographics of this paper show that the average subscriber has household income of more than $220,000 and is 48 years old, the answer is probably, “yes.” Over 20 years, the S&P 500 has returned 10.3 percent per year, which means that $40,000 invested in stocks in 1984 would now be worth $280,000. The problem, though, is the market returned 10 percent, but Average Joe Investor only earned 7.9…

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Sweet Spot: Local philanthropists plan $15M chocolate facility on Indianapolis’ north side

Local philanthropists plan $15M chocolate facility on Indianapolis’ north side Two local philanthropists have bought 51 percent of Endangered Species Chocolate Co., based in Talent, Ore., and plan to move production of the company’s gour met dark chocolate to Indianapolis. Randy Deer and Wayne Zink, founders of the Back Home Again Foundation, paid $3 million in January for majority control of Endangered Species and plan to invest another $15 million in a manufacturing facility and new marketing strategy. “We wanted a…

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School moratorium concerns industry: State officials studying whether too much money is being spent on non-educational construction projects

Designers of educational facilities are expressing concern over the future of school construction in Indiana as state officials mull guidelines that could bring changes to the process. Upon taking office in January, Gov. Mitch Daniels temporarily halted new school-construction borrowing to give the Department of Local Government Finance time to develop guidelines to ensure taxpayer money is spent wisely. The 120-day moratorium is a result of Daniels’ theory that school corporations spend too much money on projects unrelated to instruction….

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Kenley’s funding plan has momentum despite critics

Remember when Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels felt “car-bombed” by House Democrats when they refused to provide a quorum for votes on 132 bills? Then Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee Chairman Luke Kenley, RNoblesville, must have felt last week that his plan to help finance a new stadium for the Indianapolis Colts and an expansion for the Indiana Convention Center was hit by rocket-propelled grenades. Kenley proposed to finance the two projects through a combination of private, state and local…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: There are reasons for rising school construction costs More technology More sports

Public school officials around the state have received sharp criticism in recent years for authorizing construction that critics decry as ostentatious and excessively expensive. Chief among the targets, but not exclusively, are athletic facilities that are often perceived as superior to all but the largest of our NCAA Division I colleges and universities. Without taking sides in the fray, I would simply remind everyone that K-12 education is basically a community function driven by local decisions. The bulk of the…

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Purdue ousts biz guru: Director fired amid shakeup of high-profile tech incubator

The billboards read “Go Businessmakers,” but the yellow flag is up. Purdue University is reorganizing its primary program to assist high-tech startups and has fired the director. Part of Purdue’s nationally recognized effort to transform raw university research into viable businesses, the Gateways Program had been managed since October 1998 by Sam Florance, a former investment banker and management consultant. Purdue closed Gateways and eliminated Florance’s position on March 14, IBJ has learned. On March 18, Joseph B. Hornett, senior…

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Indiana State Bar Association embraces construction: Organization starts Construction and Surety Law section to help lawyers who work in building-related fields

A new section of the Indiana State Bar Association is a little out of the ordinary. The Construction and Surety Law section, which went into operation last fall, focuses on a specific industry instead of a specialized area of the legal practice, such as liability or contract law. This approach is pretty uncommon for state bar associations, Indiana State Bar Association officials said. “This section represents the cutting edge for bar membership,” said Section Vice Chairman David J. Theising, a…

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Tyler Mason Salon/Spa: Salon pampers its customers Owner has extremely high standards for her staff

“It’s all about the client,” Tammie Baker tells her staff at the Tyler Mason Salon/Spa. That’s probably one reason her business has been listed among the top 200 salons in the country by industry magazine Modern Salon. Assembling the right staff to fit her vision was the biggest challenge Baker faced when she started her business in 1992. But once she hired someone-after a lengthy interview process requiring several visits-she made sure that employee continued his or her education and…

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SPORTS: NCAA’s no-tolerance gambling stance tested

My first experience with sports gambling came as a youngster. My father would come home with “parlay cards.” They were always imprinted with the line, in bold type, For Amusement Purposes Only. And so, for a long time, I thought my pop was just having a good time as he scanned the teams and numbers, then circled some of those numbers on the bottom tear-off portion. Later, I discovered there was more than amusement involved because, on occasion, he’d say…

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I-Light network delayed by state: Daniels administration calls for further study of high-speed system

The completion of a state effort to expand Indiana’s digital infrastructure by connecting 15 cities via a fiber-optic network has been delayed as the new administration further studies the project. The initiative, known as I-Light, began in 1999 and connected supercomputers at Indiana University, Purdue University and IUPUI. By harnessing the technological power of the institutions into a grid, the universities surpassed the two-teraflop (trillions of operations per second) mark and increased their computation, storage and visualization ability. The $5.9…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Daniels seeks to keep bills going

The first week of March marks the General Assembly’s deadlines for passage of legislation in its chamber of origination. Senate bills must clear the Senate by March 1 and House bills must be approved by the House of Representatives by March 4 to maintain the chance to become law. Those deadlines meant the end of February was hectic. Activity reached a frenzied level as lawmakers worked both publicly and behind the scenes to make sure their favored pieces of legislation…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Michigan’s job pain is felt throughout the Midwest

At the end of last year, the unemployment rate in Michigan was 7.3 percent. That was more than 2 percentage points higher than Indiana’s. No state in the country had a higher jobless rate. That’s not a big story in the Hoosier State. We have our own economic challenges, after all. But perhaps we should be paying a bit more attention. We’re not exactly immune to the forces that are dealing such harsh blows to the Michigan economy right now….

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Art screens proliferating: Simon’s Landmark multiplex to threaten tiny Key Cinemas

When Simon Property Group Inc. and Landmark Theatres open their art multiplex in December, it’ll boast seven movie screens, stadium seating and a full bar, all under the Fashion Mall’s roof. The local art film crowd is palpably excited that the edgy indies, daring documentaries and foreign films usually found in New York or Los Angeles will be just a stone’s throw from their favorite stores and restaurants. Those films already are shown at Key Cinemas on the south side….

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Learning the basic categories of investment real estate Property type New development or existing Risk of landlord responsibilities

Baby boomers, the wealthiest generation in the history of our country, are getting richer. Much has been written about the extraordinary transfer of wealth that will take place as the boomers take over the estates of their parents. As their assets grow, many are get ting more directly involved in the management of their money. Rather than sending all their cash to Wall Street or their bank, an increasing number of investors are allocating a portion of their portfolio to…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Focus on expenses, not revenue, in state budget

In fewer than 700 words, I’m going to tell the story of how we finance government in Indiana. It’s my belated valentine to the Indiana General Assembly. The data are for 2001-2002, but things don’t change much from year to year. Indiana governments had revenue of $34.2 billion in fiscal 2002. But forget about separating state and local government finances. It’s a fraudulent idea to talk about local taxes vs. state taxes. The two are totally intertwined. Localities can do…

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Mission: possible: Financial crisis averted, but work remains

Humane Society of Indianapolis saved itself in 2004. Poised on the brink of financial disaster, agency leaders came up with a deceptively simple recovery plan: Spend less, raise more and borrow some to make up the difference. So far, so good. Expenses last year came in about a half-percent under budget, fund-raising revenue was up 37 percent, and the shelter didn’t use as much credit as expected. Then there was the real victory-nearly 53 percent of the 8,985 animals that…

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TAWN PARENT Commentary: Playing a game I may not want to win

I’m playing the lottery. But even if I win, I might lose. The stakes are high. It’s a lottery that will have a major impact on my family for the next decade. But this lottery isn’t about money. It’s about education. It’s the Indianapolis Public Schools magnet school lottery. Families submit their choices in the fall, and by the first of March they find out if they have won the right to attend any of their favorite schools. But there’s…

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Funding a chance at success: Bowens have helped 300 find career hope

Sharon Townsel is old enough to be Kori Buford’s mother. But despite the age difference, the women share a common bond: They’re both scholarship recipients of the Bowen Foundation. Robert and Terry Bowen launched the not-for-profit a decade ago and since have doled out $600,000 of their own money to nearly 300 black recipients who want to better their lives. By helping them learn a skill or trade, the object of the foundation is to assist those who need the…

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SUSAN WILLIAMS Commentary: Don’t overlook Benjamin Harrison Home

SUSAN WILLIAMS Commentary Don’t overlook Benjamin Harrison Home Here’s a thought: Celebrate President’s Day (Feb. 21) at the President Benjamin Harrison Home. Let re-enactors take you back to the era of the only president elected from Indiana. Benjamin Harrison built his three-story Italianate Victorian home at 1230 N. Delaware St. in 1875 and lived there until his death in 1901, with a four-year interruption when he moved to Washington, D.C., to serve as the 23rd president of the United States….

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New La Plaza says adios to independent NFP operations: Three groups uniting to serve Hispanic community

It took several years and a couple of gentle nudges in the direction of progress, but a streamlined support system for local Latinos is finally taking shape. Three Indianapolis not-for-profit agencies are giving up their own identities-and autonomy-to populate La Plaza Inc., an organization that aims to position itself as the place for the burgeoning Hispanic community to look for help. “When you have three or four groups working with minimal budgets and overlapping services, it can get confusing,” said…

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