IndyGo to use $10M grant for all-electric buses
IndyGo will use a $10 million federal grant to convert 22 city buses to all-electric power. Each bus will cost about $550,000 to convert and will have a range of about 100 miles.
Environment
Articles
Tesla luxury electric car seeking outpost at Fashion Mall
Tesla Motors Inc. is eyeing space in the Fashion Mall at Keystone and is seeking a zoning variance to sell cars there and to install charging stations within the parking garage.
Long dry spell hurting Indiana corn, soybean crops
Two-thirds of Indiana’s top soil is listed as short or very short of moisture.
Duke Energy to retire five Indiana coal-fired plants by 2018
A state administrative law judge oversaw the settlement, which was signed Wednesday by Duke Energy, the Sierra Club, Citizens Action Coalition, Valley Watch and Save the Valley.
Panel questions cuts to Indiana recycling programs
Legislators and recycling advocates asked the state environmental chief Wednesday why millions of dollars had been shifted out of recycling programs since the recession, saying the initiatives could have created thousands of jobs.
Drought didn’t stop Indiana farmland value growth
High net farm income, low interest rates and high farmland demand with supply combined to increase land values upward by 14.7 percent to 19.1 percent, depending on productivity, according to the study.
Recycling group’s leader changes mind about leaving
The Indiana Recycling Coalition said Executive Director Carey Hamilton, who announced she was leaving earlier this month, would remain with the organization in a restructured role.
Legislators mull allowing farm wineries to sell direct
Indiana wineries complain that current rules about selling to retailers and dealers are onerous and can mean splitting up a family business.
Chemical cleanup planned at old factory site
The trust created to revitalize and market former General Motors properties has set aside about $7 million to clean up a contaminated site in Kokomo where a factory stood from 1915 to 1993.
Fort Wayne’s ash tree removal bill nears $3 million
Fort Wayne’s parks board on Thursday approved a new $450,000 contract for the removal of almost 2,500 trees infected by the emerald ash borer. When those ash trees are gone, nearly 13,000 trees will have been cut down from city property.
USDA predicts corn-crop rebound in Indiana, nation
USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service forecasts Indiana farmers will produce 979.40 million bushels of corn, a 64-percent increase from the 596.9 million bushels last year.
State orders recycler to clean up its mess
In May, state inspectors visited the abandoned east-side site and found electronic waste they said could threaten both human and environmental health.
Landfill operators explore energy-creation options
Gas produced by a southern Indiana landfill could be captured and used to generate revenue, but Cummins workers who studied the possibilities say local officials shouldn't take the idea to the bank just yet.
Utility fined for sewage overflow in Geist neighborhood
The odor was so strong after the spill in December that residents in the upscale neighborhood called the gas company to report a leak.
Leader of recycling group to step down in November
Carey Hamilton is moving on after five years leading the Indiana Recycling Coalition.
Marion, four other Indiana counties exceed new EPA standard
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says parts of central Indiana's Marion and Morgan counties, southwestern Indiana's Daviess and Pike counties and western Indiana's Vigo County exceed the agency's beefed-up sulfur dioxide standard.
Enviros: Proposed coal mine would threaten refuge
A proposed surface coal mine spanning 1,500 acres of southwestern Indiana's coal country would threaten an adjacent national wildlife refuge used by migratory birds, three environmental groups warn.
Farmers like crop potential year after drought
Farmers are keeping an eye on the weather and searching for early signs of disease after a recent Purdue University Extension Service report suggested recent rains and high humidity could create more fungal and bacterial problems throughout the state.
Logging plan for Indiana forest draws opposition
The group Hoosier Forest Watch maintains that the logging work would damage the 1,500-acre back-country section of Morgan-Monroe State Forest near Bloomington. The state disagrees.
Huge greenhouse development planned for Haughville
New York-based BrightFarms Inc. plans to build a 100,000-square-foot hydroponic greenhouse on a vacant 5-acre parcel of land at 2219 W. Michigan St. that will employ 25.