City Dems tap replacement for departed councilor Brown
LaKeisha Jackson was chosen to replace Vernon Brown in District 18. Brown stepped down in August after 11 years on the council.
Government & Economic Development
Articles
More Indiana options coming on insurance exchange
Officials say Indiana residents will have more than triple the number of health insurance plans to choose from when the federal insurance exchange enrollment period starts in November. A a 5-percent average increase in exchange premiums is expected.
Infighting bogs down digital billboards
Marion County is an untapped market for digital billboards despite years of lobbying by sign companies, and it’s not because of political opposition to the large, lighted signs. What’s holding back changes to the city code is industry feuding over the form of regulations that could determine their future market share.
UPDATE: Tech entrepreneur Braun named DWD commissioner
State Rep. Steve Braun, an entrepreneur who sold a publicly traded technology company a decade ago, will take over leadership of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development in late November, Gov. Mike Pence announced Thursday morning.
Boone County agency taps native as eco-devo leader
Molly Whitehead joined Boone Economic Development Corp. as executive director Aug. 18, a little more than a month after predecessor Bryan Brackemyre left for a job at Ernst & Young.
Ten local innovations chosen to reap awards
New things ranging from apprenticeships to beer dispensers to the Indianapolis Zoo's orangutan exhibit are in line for awards at this year’s Day of Innovation at Hilbert Circle Theatre.
Ex-Indiana elections chief starts political blog
Former Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White has been stripped of office and he doesn't have a job, so he's turning to the Internet.
U.S. economy forecast to grow by 1.5 percent in 2014
The Congressional Budget Office says the U.S. economy will grow by just 1.5 percent this year — hurt by a poor first-quarter performance. This new assessment is considerably more pessimistic than the Obama administration’s.
HQ move earns pharma firm another tax break
A Carmel-based institutional pharmacy plans to invest $8 million expanding its Noblesville operations, which include its headquarters. On Tuesday, it received its second tax-incentive deal from the city in two years.
Democrat: Indiana Statehouse lacks ethics
A trio of ethics investigations into Indiana officials this year left many watchdogs grumbling about loopholes in the state's ethics laws.
Judges chide state lawyers over gay marriage bans
Federal appeals judges bristled on Tuesday at arguments defending gay marriage bans in Indiana and Wisconsin, with one Republican appointee comparing them to now-defunct laws that once outlawed weddings between blacks and whites.
Social media campaign publicizes lifeline law
Students at 13 Indiana college campuses will receive social media messages about the state law that allows minors who have been drinking to report a medical emergency or a crime without getting in trouble.
UPDATE: Security gates on tap for governor’s mansion
Preservation officials for the Meridian corridor have given unanimous approval for wrought-iron gates and brick columns at the entrances to the mansion at 46th and Meridian streets.
City-County Council approves landlord registry
The ordinance is the product of state legislation this year that effectively shut down rental-property inspection programs but left municipalities the option of creating registries.
Lawmakers move to monitor State Board of Accounts
A subcommittee of the Indiana Legislative Council met this week to determine the goals and best practices of a new Audit Committee, which is meant to operate as a type of peer-review system for the State Board of Accounts.
Bayh says another gubernatorial run is ‘unlikely’
The former senator and two-term governor said he has given the idea consideration because people he respects asked him to think about running.
Feds’ new data adds shine to Hoosier incomes
In April, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis began considering cost of living alongside the stew of income figures it has long collected, and the new, adjusted income numbers make both the metro area and the state look like better places to live.
Noblesville eyes plans for $10M park, amphitheater
Officials hope to bolster the city’s “hipstoric” downtown and jump-start redevelopment of a key community gateway. But the price strikes some as steep.
Advocate brokers lower IPL rate hike for car-sharing service
Indianapolis Power & Light Co. customers would see less of a rate hike for an electric car-sharing program under a settlement agreement negotiated by the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor.
EMS service to lay off 361 workers in Indiana
Rural/Metro Corp. says the changing health care landscape and the challenges of covering rural communities are forcing it to end its area ambulance services. It’s also closing a billing operations center in Indianapolis.