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Developers fear stricter IDEM cleanup rules

State environmental regulators are catching an earful for what some businesses complain is a rush to aggressive new rules
for remediating land contamination. Developers worry the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s proposals, which
could require comprehensive site cleanup, will discourage brownfield redevelopment, especially the reuse of tainted-but-valuable
land in urban areas.

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EYE ON THE PIE: It’s time for Indiana to come clean

“How are you doing?” Ed asks in a voice that for years has called out over the grind of the machinery that applies water, soap and heated air to thousands of cars. “Well,” I say. “Nice,” Ed says. “It’s nice to be doing well. It’s what a lot of folks wish they were doing in Indiana,” he says, chuckling. “I’m not aware of new serious problems,” I say. “No, you wouldn’t be, since you can afford one of my car…

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No-bid contract lets local firm suggest sales or sale-leasebacks of city property

The Mayor’s Office has quietly agreed to consider selling some of the city’s more than 1,100 properties, including police stations, maintenance buildings and parks, in a bid to raise cash to help balance the budget. The city awarded the potentially lucrative no-bid contract to Venture Real Estate Services, a politically connected real estate firm led by John Bales.

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Why the 10-year alternative-energy goal is absurd

B e f o r e w r i t i n g about energy matters, I am going to have to make a confession. I am a closet environmentalist. I support a wide range of environmental policies and think it often makes good business sense to go green. But sadly, far too many supporters of environmental policy look at the world through green-colored glasses. One result is that it is increasingly difficult to take many environmentalists seriously. One verdant…

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Susan Bayh as a political liability

Barack Obama is expected to announce his vice presidential running mate any day now, and Evan Bayhâ??s name
is still thought to be on the short list.

The Indiana senator is viewed as a moderate who would counter Obamaâ??s liberal voting…

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Appraisers’ role in the meltdown

Some of the people most familiar with the mortgage foreclosure explosion in the Indianapolis area in recent
years have privately pointed fingers at appraisers.

Appraisers too often were in cahoots with lenders to illegally inflate prices of houses, the insiders complained,…

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EDITORIAL: Privatizing MAC worth exploring: Saving cash shouldn’t be only goal

Privatizing MAC worth exploring Saving cash shouldn’t be only goal The bad news: The Mayor’s Action Center-city government’s primary vehicle for responding to citizen complaints-is vastly ineffective. When nearly half the residents who call the center hang up the phone in frustration before reporting their problems, you know something isn’t working right. The good news: Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard recognizes there is a big problem with the MAC and says he wants to fix it. In late July, he issued…

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FUNNY BUSINESS: Wrap-master Redmond on Reynolds e-mail

I suppose you got the e-mail about Reynolds Wrap. Oh. Well, then, you’re among the few Amer icans who didn’t Actually, you might want to check your e mail after you finish reading IBJ. It’ll probably be waiting in your in-box Although I guess you really won’t have to, seeing as how I’m going to go ahead and spoil the surprise. Under a subject line full of typical Internet understatement (“OMG! THIS IS SO AMAZING! YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS!”)…

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Small towns with a heart: Spurning sprawl, more towns upbeat on downtown

From Andy Griffith’s Mayberry, the small town evolved into the likes of Avon, Ind. The tree-shaded bungalow on Oak Street within walking distance of the town center became the vinyl-clad, single-family home planted in a former cornfield with a contrived name ending in “creek” or “woods” or “farms.” Residents have to jump in the car if they want to buy a cup of coffee or to patronize the predictable chain restaurants and bigbox retailers. The Best Buy on Avon’s main…

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EDITORIAL: Privatizing MAC worth exploring: Saving cash shouldn’t be only goal

Privatizing MAC worth exploring Saving cash shouldn’t be only goal The bad news: The Mayor’s Action Center-city government’s primary vehicle for responding to citizen complaints-is vastly ineffective. When nearly half the residents who call the center hang up the phone in frustration before reporting their problems, you know something isn’t working right. The good news: Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard recognizes there is a big problem with the MAC and says he wants to fix it. In late July, he issued…

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FUNNY BUSINESS: Wrap-master Redmond on Reynolds e-mail

I suppose you got the e-mail about Reynolds Wrap. Oh. Well, then, you’re among the few Amer icans who didn’t Actually, you might want to check your e mail after you finish reading IBJ. It’ll probably be waiting in your in-box Although I guess you really won’t have to, seeing as how I’m going to go ahead and spoil the surprise. Under a subject line full of typical Internet understatement (“OMG! THIS IS SO AMAZING! YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS!”)…

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Small towns with a heart: Spurning sprawl, more towns upbeat on downtown

From Andy Griffith’s Mayberry, the small town evolved into the likes of Avon, Ind. The tree-shaded bungalow on Oak Street within walking distance of the town center became the vinyl-clad, single-family home planted in a former cornfield with a contrived name ending in “creek” or “woods” or “farms.” Residents have to jump in the car if they want to buy a cup of coffee or to patronize the predictable chain restaurants and bigbox retailers. The Best Buy on Avon’s main…

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Creating opportunities in tough times: Tightening economy requires ‘patchworking’ sources of income

Women aren’t leaving the work force to stay home with their kids-they’re being forced out in equal numbers with men. That’s the word from “Equality in Job Loss: Women are Increasingly Vulnerable to Layoffs During Recessions,” a congressional report released July 21. Often women who face job losses decide to forego the job hunt and opt instead for selfemployment, the report said. Might this job downturn trigger a boom in entrepreneurship for women? Not if they don’t already have the…

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Study costs, public support mount for commuter rail: Key vote on northeast corridor could come next month

Worsening gas prices and congestion have some commuters demanding faster progress on launching a rapid transit line. They can quibble about slowness in getting it done, but lack of study hasn’t been an issue. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Organization spent $4 million since 2002 on a rapid transit study that concluded earlier this year, according to records provided by the agency. Most, or 80 percent, of the funds paid to eight consulting firms came from federal transportation funds, with 20…

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EYE ON THE PIE: This railroad deal is a good deal

Let’s get burritogate out of the way and proceed to more substantive, if less spicy, matters. Yes, a guy who works for the Canadian National Railroad paid for a burrito and a beer that I consumed. He did not know then that I wrote this column and hence commanded a vast, influential audience. I did not know then that he had a project to represent. But CN (as the rail line is called) has a most significant project going. It…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Why Indiana’s AAA bond rating should please all of us

Sometimes, obscure economic issues matter a great deal to our economic well-being. One example is the news that Indiana’s bond rankings have risen to the highest level, the highly coveted AAA ranking from Standard and Poor’s. Why that happened, what it means and why it is important should matter to Hoosiers. To begin with, all states, like virtually all households, borrow money to ease cash flow issues. States also borrow money to make infrastructure investments. The government essentially takes out…

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Mayor’s Action Center might be privatized to cure chronic woes

Maybe it’s a stray dog rooting through your garbage. Perhaps someone has abandoned a car amid the potholes riddling your
street. Either way, Indianapolis offers a one-stop shop for irate residents to complain. Just dial the Mayor’s
Action Center at 327-4MAC. Then get ready to wait. And wait. So long, in fact, that close to half of the
MAC’s callers hang up in frustration.

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INVESTING: Candid e-mails chip away at Wall Street’s credibility

E-mail, today’s ubiquitous form of communication, is proving to be the smoking gun in a number of recent financial fiascos. The Securities and Exchange Commission recently released a draft of its investigation into the behavior of bond-rating firms during the subprime-mortgage-securitization craze. The report highlighted e-mails expressing the sentiment of the authors during the period-a sentiment in conflict with the Wall Street sales pitch being used to sell these securities to investors. One e-mail a Standard & Poor’s analyst sent…

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NOTIONS: Blessings and benefits of bestowing that first break

Dear Win: I’m writing to say thank you. I’m not sure I’ve ever adequately done that. I’m not sure I ever can. I’m also not sure I ever quite grasped the gamble you took on me when I was a not-even-graduated college senior 28 years ago-not until the resumes and referral requests started filling my inbox and the risks of hiring rookies sank in. But this isn’t just between you and me. I hope this letter will prompt others to…

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Commentary: Energy woes need quick, lasting fix

Last month, the front page of The Wall Street Journal featured 25-yearold Saeed Khouri, who paid at auction the equivalent of $14 million of our increasingly worthless American dollars for a license plate bearing “1.” His cousin, Talal Khouri, threw in $9 million in pocket change for tag “5” to tool around Abu Dhabi in his Rolls Royce. Get this, the Khouris declined to be interviewed because they didn’t want to be the center of attention. I am not particularly…

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