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Bigger not best for all: drophead Many attorneys find greener pastures in smaller practices after leaving major firms

not Bigger leaving best for red all tape drophead Many attorneys find greener pastures in smaller practices after leaving major firms When lawyers Debra Miller and James Fisher fled legal powerhouse Ice Miller LLP and the prestigious partner status they had earned, their stable of coworkers swiftly sank from nearly 250 to none. Yet 15 months later, after the pair left the largest law firm in the city, they say they’re quite content practicing together at Miller & Fisher LLC,…

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HUMAN RESOURCES: If you hire in a hurry, you may feel bad for a long time

Of all the components of finding and hiring the right employees, employers consider interviewing job candidates the most difficult. If not done well, interviews can lead an employer to make the wrong decision. Why? Because job candidates rehearse their answers to the traditional interview questions, telling the employers what they want to hear. However, if employers ask behavioral based questions, job candidates can’t manipulate their answers as easily. Perhaps a scenario-a composite taken from typical real-life episodes-will illustrate the difference…

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Chrysler plant redevelopment might be slowed by lien

An Indianapolis firm that helped haul away the demolished DaimlerChrysler Corp. foundry last year has placed a mechanic’s
lien on the automaker’s property, potentially complicating the sale of the 34 acres already challenged by environmental issues.

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INVESTING: Utilities finally stumble, but don’t lose faith in them

A go-to trade for the last few years is losing some of its sheen. This market-leading sector offered one of the true gems of investing: market-beating returns without a lot of extra risk. A change in that might send small ripples throughout your portfolio. The utility sector has been one of the few areas that led from the lows in early 2003 right up until a few weeks ago. While home builders dropped out more than a year ago and…

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MICKEY MAURER Commentary: Take off blinders to teen drinking

Robocop was sighted in Boone County a couple of weeks ago. It was the occasion of a sleepover graduation party at the home of Jack Trudeau, former quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts. To create a safe environment for his daughter and her Park Tudor School classmates at the party, Trudeau reportedly told police, he recorded the name of every guest and confiscated all car keys. Although he said he did not supply liquor, he was no doubt aware that some…

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VIEWPOINT: Indy needs more contemporary design

As an architect, I’m always interested in work that wins national architecture and interior-design awards. And as a contemporary design fan, I also make it a point to visit cities and attractions with unique and interesting design. So a few weeks back, I drove a couple of hours south to visit a boutique hotel in Louisville that’s been creating a buzz and earning awards since it opened a year ago. The property is 21c, a 90-room hotel and museum dedicated…

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Star Financial is betting big on Indianapolis: Fort Wayne bank plans hub office, 4 new branches

Undeterred by stepped-up competition and tough margins, Fort Wayne-based Star Financial Bank is building an Indianapolis regional hub and has lined up land for four new locations. The privately held bank launched an Indianapolis-area expansion effort in 2001, and now has seven offices here-including three in Fishers, one in Carmel and one in Noblesville. The latest expansion salvo includes 25,000 square feet of leased space within an office building under construction at Keystone at the Crossing, next door to the…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Focusing on factory jobs misses the big picture

There’s been something peculiar going on in the business media in Indiana over the last few weeks. We’ve been beating ourselves up because the state is losing manufacturing jobs. Headlines about the decline are popping up, and state and local development officials are facing the bright light of media scrutiny. The chatter on Internet “talk-back” forums serves up plenty of people to blame-the governor, the unions, the Chinese and even our neighbors who buy imported goods. But if I could…

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PROFILE: Iasta.com Inc.: From chemicals to coatings E-sourcing software streamlines purchasing cycle

Iasta.comInc. From chemicals to coatings E-sourcing software streamlines purchasing cycle Companies wanting to gain a strategic foothold in today’s fast-paced Internet-based supply chain marketplace are turning to companies like Indianapolisbased Iasta, an e-sourcing software and services company. Co-founder David Bush, senior vice president for business development, said Iasta’s software product allows companies to be more competitive in tracking work flow and to conduct reverse auctions where suppliers can bid for their business. An Indiana University environmental science graduate, Bush started…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: U.S. companies should evaluate Chinese tax changes

Over the past three decades or so, foreign investment has been fueling China’s economic growth. Companies from around the world have flocked to meet the needs of the largest population in the world: 1.3 billion citizens and counting. Shifts in China’s political climate have made this Asian country ripe for commerce, and foreign companies-especially in the United States-have rushed in. Many U.S. manufacturers have been lured to China by tax holidays and reduced tax rates on income generated from their…

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PROFILE: KARLA SNEEGAS: Clearing the murky air ITPC director leads charge toward smoke-free Indiana

PROFILE KARLA SNEEGAS Clearing the murky air ITPC director leads charge toward smoke-free Indiana Karla Sneegas is primed for battle. With the fervor of an ancient Crusader, this pint-sized warrior is fighting a “just war” to reduce Indiana’s addiction to tobacco as executive director of the Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation agency. At 4 feet, 11 inches, Sneegas is well-prepared for all foes. She’s armed with knowledge learned as a public health professional and as former director of South Carolina’s…

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SPORTS: Our Pacers could use all the help they can get

Morris has no point guard skills I’m aware of and, ultimately, it will be up to the new head coach, O’Brien, to improve the on-court product in a way that’s more palatable to the Pacers’ eroding fan base. But as a point person in engaging the community-in particular the corporate community-there are few, if any, people in this city who have both the contacts and the respect of which Morris can boast. Even after five years away from Indianapolis trying…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: As boomers age, companies need to court Millennials

Baby boomers are fast approaching the official retirement age, with the first of them turning 60 last year-President Bush and Bill Clinton being the most prominent among them. And as the boomers turn gray, a new generation has begun to make its presence known in the corporate world. In the 1990s, it was Generation X. Today, it is the so-called Millennial Generation-people born between 1977 and 1995. Tech-savvy, happy and creative, Millennials are nearly 80 million strong, by some estimates….

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NOTIONS: How to beat the high price of dependence on petrol

Went to the gas station last week. Filled ‘er up. It’d been a few weeks since I’d done that. Seemed like the price had jumped pretty dramatically. The pump clicked off. The total read $48.75. Egad. Next day, Indianapolis declared a “Knozone Air Quality Action Day.” Some fellow at the Department of Public Works told the local paper there was “literally dirt in the air.” The paper described this gunk as “floating particles the diameter of a human hair,” particles…

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Autism’s rise challenges local agencies: Those with disorder face difficulties in locating meaningful employment

Experts haven’t pinpointed the exact reason, but they do know one thing-the rate at which children are being diagnosed with autism has been rising. About one child in 150 is diagnosed by the age of 8 with autism or a related autism spectrum disorder such as Asperger’s syndrome, according to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That rate is up about 10 times from the 1980s. Experts have a variety of theories to explain the…

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INVESTING: REITs lose sheen as other sectors of market shine

If you avoided getting hit by the falling brick that has been the residential homebuilding sector, you may want to get ready to do another sidestep. It looks as if weakness in homebuilders is spreading to real estate investment trusts, and it is early enough to take defensive action. Before getting into it, let me say that I believe the overall stock market has plenty of upside, despite the recent heady gains. My reason for avoiding REITs now is that…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Commuting boosts earnings for Hoosiers

I was delighted to receive a new disc from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis containing the latest annual data on economic conditions in every county in the nation. Now I have a more detailed picture of how our state functions and is changing. For example, the daily flows of commuters between counties within and outside Indiana are essential to our economic health. By commuting, Hoosier workers find better jobs and firms get the best workers. Commuting is easier when…

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Service drives education software maker: Angel Learning quickly weathers PR setback

When The Indianapolis Star reported on its front page in mid-May that Indianapolis Public Schools had accidentally exposed thousands of private student records online, it was a potentially enormous public relations setback for locally based education software maker Angel Learning. Angel Learning had provided the software, and CEO Christopher Clapp said he immediately asked staffers to send explanation emails to all 300 of his customers. They then followed up with phone calls. He wanted to assuage clients’ worries right away….

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Tiptoe through the toxins becomes walk in the park: $600,000 in federal, state grants fund initiative to turn former industrial sites into recreation areas

Take a deep breath of that air, wafting with the fragrance of methylnaphthalene. And those violets-must be the lead and arsenic in the soil that give them such a lovely glow. Nothing quite refreshes like a stroll through a hazardous waste site. Or, in the eyes of state planners, make that a former hazardous waste site. The Indiana Brownfields Program will create the Indiana Brownfields Trails & Park Initiative. It will assess abandoned industrial and commercial properties with real or…

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Coal vendor not digging coke plant closure: Virginia firm sues Citizens Gas for breach of contract

Citizens Gas & Coke Utility faces the first big fallout from a vendor involving the planned closure of its coke manufacturing plant. A breach-of-contract lawsuit by Bristol, Va.-based Central Coal Co. could make the plant even more of a money pit as Citizens seeks to cut its losses and escape the problems caused by falling coke demand and rising environmental compliance costs. Central Coal says it’s out almost $831,000 because Indianapolis Coke failed to buy all the coal required under…

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