Unemployment benefit requests jump again
The number of people applying for unemployment benefits jumped last week to the highest level in three months, another sign that the job market remains depressed.
Government & Economic Development
Articles
Official says feds got Indiana error rate wrong
Indiana makes a lot of errors on unemployment insurance benefits, the White House and U.S. Labor Department said Wednesday, but the state official overseeing those payments said federal officials are making mistakes of their own.
Conservative legislator Delph won’t challenge Lugar
State Sen. Mike Delph said Wednesday he would stay in the Indiana Legislature and focus on raising his family.
Census: Nearly 1 in 6 Hoosiers impoverished last year
The Census Bureau estimated that 16.3 percent of Indiana residents, or 1.35 million people, lived in households earning less than the poverty level, compared with 15.1 percent nationally.
Wind-turbine company moving into Evansville plant
A company that makes wind-turbine blades says it will start its first U.S. facility at a former refrigerator plant in Evansville that Whirlpool Corp. closed last year. The business said it could employ up to 400 workers in the area by 2014.
Fair trustee settles with local political groups
The settlements involve donations made by Tim Durham totaling $60,000 to the Marion County Republican Central Committee, Greater Indianapolis Republican Finance Committee and the Committee to Elect Lawrence Mayor Paul Ricketts.
Senate passes overhaul of patent system
The legislation would fundamentally alter the way patents are reviewed and mark the biggest change to U.S. patent law since at least 1952.
Daniels’ book latest of many governors’ tomes
Of the nation's 50 sitting governors, almost a quarter of them are authors. Four, including Daniels, have written tomes while serving as their state's chief executive.
No more mail? What would Ben Franklin think?
Hanging in the balance is a $1.1 trillion mailing industry that employs more than 8 million people in direct mail, periodicals, catalogs, financial services, charities and other businesses that depend on the post office.
Mourdock could benefit from climate regulations
Indiana Treasurer Richard Mourdock has campaigned heavily against measures to combat climate change even as he holds stock in an energy company that's banking on those regulations to help build a market for its product.
Rail firm says it won’t reach 650-jobs goal in Muncie
Progress Rail Services, which said last October that it would create up to 650 jobs in Muncie by 2012, now expects to employ just 250 people at the plant by the end of next year, according to a magazine.
Trailer manufacturer adding 200 jobs in northeastern Indiana
Howe-based Cruiser RV LLC will begin hiring this month as part of an $850,000 expansion to add a new production line in nearby LaGrange.
Panel delays vote on Monroe County I-69 section
A committee of the Bloomington-Monroe County Metropolitan Planning Organization decided Friday to delay voting on the highway's hotly debated Monroe County extension until November.
Indiana gives grants to convert fleets to alternative fuels
The Office of Energy Development is dispensing grants of up to $500,000 to help private- and public-sector organizations convert their vehicles.
Indiana Live to get federal hearing on tax matter
Shelbyville racetrack and casino could save millions if it successfully contests the way Indiana interprets state tax law.
Critics: Wrecking ball won’t fix Indianapolis neighborhoods
Many neighborhood leaders have hailed Mayor Greg Ballard’s initiative to raze some 2,000 abandoned homes by the end of 2012 as a long-overdue means of tackling urban blight. But some residents and experts fear rampant demolition—without a clear plan for how to redevelop the properties—will fail to improve neighborhoods.
Costs of State Fair stage collapse investigation could be steep
Officials say it’s too early to know how much the state will pay for the investigation of the tragedy. But fees stipulated in contracts with investigators show costs easily could surpass seven figures.
Video shows former councilor taking money from FBI agent
Prosecutors showed video in court of a former Indianapolis City-County Council member taking what they say was a $5,000 bribe from an undercover FBI agent seeking help opening a strip club in the city.
Indiana lawmakers say tuition hikes hard on families
Republican and Democratic budget leaders bemoaned that in-state tuition jumped from an average of 12 percent of Hoosiers' incomes in 2000 to expectations it will account for 19 percent of average income by 2013.
State lawyer calls IBM bid to depose Daniels ‘meritless’
If Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels can promote his book and lead a motorcycle tour, he isn't too busy to testify about his decision to cancel a contract with IBM Corp. to automate welfare applications, the technology giant contends in a court filing.