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EYE ON THE PIE: It’s not just the economy, stupid

No doubt, the Daniels administration will trumpet the fact that Indiana was the ninth-fastestgrowing state in the first quarter of this year. That’s right; personal income in the Hoosier state grew at an annual rate of 5.1 percent, while the nation advanced 4.6 percent. But, as noted by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, which generates these data, Indiana was among the fastergrowing states because of dramatic increases in the prices of corn and soybeans. North Dakota came in first,…

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INVESTING: Why Anheuser-Busch bid resonates in Indianapolis

One of our sister Midwestern cities is locked in a fight for its corporate identity. A n h e u s e r- B u s c h , maker and distributor of Budweiser brand beers-and the corporate icon of St. Louis-is engaged in a $46.3 billion takeover battle for its survival as a U.S.-based company. The would-be acquirer is Belgium-based InBev, the second-largest brewer by volume in the world. London-based SABMiller, who in 2002 bought Miller Brewing in Milwaukee,…

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VIEWPOINT: Going ‘green’ construction one better

In the zeal to “go green,” new construction that uses sexy, high-tech ways to reduce energy consumption gets the most attention, but historic preservation has been green all along. The most e nv i r o n m e n t a l l y responsible approach is to conserve, not to waste what’s already built. I applaud the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design process, and I hope to see preservation receive more favorable treatment…

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Butler’s pharmacy addition just what the doctor ordered: New $14M building will help college meet increasing demand for graduates

Mary Andritz, dean of Butler University’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, bursts into laughter when asked how long her department’s been short on space. “I’ve only been here for two years, but I think it’s been for some considerable amount of time,” she guessed. “Probably for 10 years.” Lilly Endowment Inc., however, is filling the prescription in the form of a grant to fund a 40,000-square-foot addition under construction and scheduled to open by the fall 2009 semester. The…

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Farm and suburban polluters

Drive through areas hit by the deluge of rain in the past few days and youâ??ll see mind-boggling soil
erosion.

At the base of myriad fields lie deltas of sediment washed downhill from elsewhere in their respective watersheds.
Not only was…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Logistics still driving central Indiana industrial market

For the past 10-plus years, central Indiana has benefitted from growth in the distribution/logistics industry with hundreds of new jobs and millions of square feet of new facilities. We’ve seen massive facilities go up one right after another, often topping the square footage of our tallest downtown skyscrapers. In the past eight years alone, the square footage of central Indiana distribution centers has more than doubled from 20 million square feet to 51 million square feet. And we’re not just…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Why it’s tough to get our arms around global warming

Congress is set to begin a debate on regulation designed to halt global warming. The question is whether and how we might limit greenhouse gases. Costs and benefits will be the central issue. So, despite what many would wish, this is primarily an economic debate. Below are the issues in a nutshell. There is strong scientific evidence that the Earth’s temperature is warming. Even so, there are a significant number of serious climate scientists who doubt this. And there is…

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Allegiant finding treasure in clients’ trash: Local firm helps manufacturers set up cost-saving recycling plans

In 2000, gasoline cost 99 cents a gallon, you could barely give recyclable plastic away and the idea of manufacturers “going green” was a pioneering thought. Allegiant Global started that same year as Heritage Interactive Services, with one client and little market awareness of what industrial recycling and reuse initiatives meant. Heritage Interactive was started by principals of locally based Heritage Environmental Services, which was-and still is-involved in more traditional waste-disposal services. When one of Heritage Environmental’s clients, Michigan-based Lear…

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Commentary: Smart policies can lengthen lives

Over the last 20 years, life expectancy for residents of the United States as a whole has increased steadily. However, recent studies by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have shown that not all Americans are enjoying longer, healthier lives. The implications of these studies are particularly ominous for Hoosiers. The disparities in life expectancy are most pronounced between richer and poorer Americans, reflecting the pronounced growth of income inequality the last two decades. In 1980, the most…

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INVESTING: Betting against the crowd is a good way to invest

It’s time for a gut check on sentiment. In the stock market, sentiment is a contrary indicator, meaning that if everyone thinks the same thing (such as oil is going to $200 a barrel soon), your safer bet is to go the other way. Wall Street history is loaded with juicy examples of this theory at work. One of my favorites is Time magazine’s making Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, Man of the Year in 1999, right before the…

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Interns line up for Children’s Museum spots: Popular program doesn’t pay, but students get fun, valuable experience

Since arriving at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, Tiffany Wedekind has rubbed shoulders with comic book characters, connected schoolteachers to learning activities, and made plans to travel abroad to help gather ancient Egyptian artifacts. She is not a seasoned veteran of the museum field, but a 22-year-old intern who will graduate from Marian College in December. What’s more, Wedekind is not alone. She is among at least 22 college students who will share similar experiences there this summer. Exposing interns…

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Commentary: The ‘Oracle of Omaha’-live! “Only know-nothings diversify.” -Warren Buffett, May 3, 2008

Last September, I instructed my retirement plan to purchase two of the very expensive Berkshire Hathaway (A) shares so I could attend the annual meeting of shareholders and participate in the numerous peripheral activities. Actually, I could have purchased just one share of the B stock for much less and still have been entitled to four credentials. Warren Buffett, one of the richest men in the world, and his partner, Charlie Munger, are retail hucksters. They have created the perception…

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EYE ON THE PIE: County income disparities are growing

The income disparities among Indiana’s 92 counties have been growing for decades. My imperfect memory recalls no administration and no candidate that has addressed the issue. In 1970, Marion County led the state in per-capita personal income (PCPI), at 115 percent of the state’s average. At the same time, Owen County was just 66 percent of that average. Thus, the average Owen County resident had income that was 57 percent of the level enjoyed by the average Marion County resident….

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Projects require much work before ground is ever broken

Encouraging new development-residential and commercial-is such a high priority in many communities these days that one would think both the private and public sectors would rush to break ground before the impulse passes. But as ESPN college football analyst Lee Corso often responds each Saturday during the season to the observations of others, “Not so fast my friend.” Before construction actually starts, all parties involved in a proposed project, if it is to be successful, must reach consensus on a…

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Commentary: Putting rush hour on ICE

Last week, after spending $71.83 to fill up my car, I said to myself, “Tomorrow, I’m taking the bus.” So I did. It wasn’t my first time on the new IndyGo commuter bus from Carmel; it was my fourth in the last five weeks. On that particular day, I was fed up. It was the first time that gassing up cost me more than $70, and it made an impression. I guess that’s what it’s going to take for all…

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Local engineering firm backing effort to turn garbage into ethanol

Indianapolis-based engineering and consulting giant RW Armstrong has become lead investor in an upstart ethanol firm that
would apply novel technology to make the automotive fuel without using corn as the key ingredient. It would be the first big
commercial plant in Indiana to make the alcohol fuel with so-called cellulosic material–the holy grail, of sorts, in the
ethanol
industry.

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Castalia planning green neighborhood: Carmel-based custom homebuilder lining up financing for Mooresville community with 144 eco-friendly homes

In terms of eco-friendliness, few homes in central Indiana boast much more than a high-efficiency furnace or low-flush toilet. But a Carmel-based custom-home builder is so certain the region is ready to embrace the green movement that he is willing to risk investing in a residential community designed to achieve national environmental recognition. Frank Redavide, president of Castalia Homes LLC, is finalizing financing for the project and plans to start construction within 60 days. The 144-lot development, called Villages of…

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Revival in nuclear energy puts engineers in demand: Purdue concerned about possible shortage in field

A renewed interest in nuclear energy coming at the same time aging workers are leaving the industry has created the elements for a shortage of nuclear engineers. Nuclear energy as an electricity source is enjoying a resurgence nearly 30 years after a reactor meltdown at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania severely tarnished the industry’s image. Escalating oil prices and stiffening environmental regulations on coal-based systems are helping to spawn the rebirth of nuclear technology. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in…

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Hubbard blasts Florida over oil

Al Hubbard, the Indianapolis businessman who stepped down last year as director of President Bushâ??s National
Economic Council, is quoted in a recent Barronâ??s column as hammering Floridians and others living along U.S.
coasts for squeezing the tourniquet on additional…

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Symphony Bank results keep hitting sour notes: CEO hopes to succeed by taking bank ‘to the people’

Symphony Bank’s palatial branch along East 96th Street-outfitted with a copper roof, towering domed ceiling and heated parking lot-was designed to telegraph wealth and stability. But instead, the $5 million Taj Mahal became the most prominent symbol of the bank’s excesses and one reason the startup has lost money every year since its founding in June 2005. The bank, which has no other branches, has torn through two management teams and piled up annual losses of $2 million or more…

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