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ATA flies closer to black: Airline doing better, but doesn’t plan to resume local service

ATA, the incredibly shrinking airline that once was the busiest at Indianapolis International Airport, appears to have shrunk in a favorable category-its financial losses. The Indianapolis-based carrier that ended scheduled service here in January had a loss of $5.27 million in the second quarter, according to data compiled by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Now privately owned, ATA Holdings Corp. lost $26.3 million during the second quarter in its domestic operations, according to DOT. But it earned $21 million in…

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INVESTING: For investors, a world of opportunity awaits in Singapore

Westerners have been dreaming about the riches of the Far East for centuries. Christopher Columbus didn’t set out to discover America. He was looking for a faster route to India and China. More than 500 years later, the dream is not completely fulfilled, but riches can still be had, as long as you have some to begin with. I just returned from Singapore. This tiny nation-state is the most densely populated country on earth, and it is smack dab in…

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Mentoring initiative aims to grow Hispanic businesses: Applications available soon for three-year program

Leaders of the growing Hispanic community have high ambitions for a new business-mentoring program with a modest price tag. In October, the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce’s Hispanic Business Council will debut its volunteer “Mentor/Protégé” initiative, which will annually match three promising Hispanic companies to local professionals that can spur their growth. Whether the Hispanic firms need help with accounting, legal counsel, supply chains or sales, the Chamber will leverage its network of contacts. And if the threecompanies-per-year pace is…

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NOTIONS: Five years after 9/11, will we let freedom ring?

On the first anniversary of 9/11, I knew just how Americans should mark the occasion. “Hang ten. Hang it up. Hang out. Paint a portrait. Paint the town. Watch your weight. Let it be. Say hey. Strike back. Roll a strike. Spare a dime. Rock the boat. Do time. Take a shot. Do your best. Give back. Give a damn. Turn a cheek. Heal the sick. Feed the poor. Hold hands. Make love. Love life. Hug kids. Wave flags. Play…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Property taxes: Indiana’s soap opera

Hoosier propertytax laws are so bad, they should be totally revised, but not discarded. As it stands, there is little economic sense in how those laws are written or applied. We have homeowners ranked against renters, plus residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural interests are in perpetual conflict. The only beneficiaries of this ceaseless conflict are the party automatons in the General Assembly. Let’s consider the simplest case. Mr. Gold lives in a house with an assessed value of $150,000. Mr….

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Strong economy draws out plethora of spending plans

If you ever want to satisfy your curiosity about recessions and business cycles, travel over to the Web site of the National Bureau of Economic Research. It has recorded and documented every downturn and uptick in the U.S. economy since 1857. And over that century and a half, the bureau has noticed certain regularities to the boom and bust of the economy around us. In the first stages of recovery from a recession, for example, it is quite common for…

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INVESTING: Watch out, mutual funds-a competitor eyes your turf

Mutual funds became truly dominant in the early 1980s when our government strengthened the 401(k) rules. Most 401(k) plans do not allow participants to buy individual stocks, or much of anything besides mutual funds. So these massive institutions are supported by legions of workers mechanically depositing small amounts every month. The gig has gotten even better for the fund providers over the last 25 years because 401(k) participants have developed habits of doing almost nothing with their money after they…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: City must continue to encourage public-art projects

Since 1821, when Alexander Ralston first began incorporating spaces for public art in his design of Indianapolis, the city has been able to maintain a strong tradition of public art. Today is a good time to evaluate what must be done now to sustain and enhance that 185-year tradition. Public art also bolsters an area’s economic value and makes it more appealing for investors. Outside businesses looking to relocate a branch or headquarters will look more favorably on a community…

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Former Mays exec grows business of his own: Thompson gains notice in local construction industry

If it weren’t for an article that appeared in The Wall Street Journal more than 20 years ago, John Thompson likely would have never come to Indianapolis and ultimately start his plumbing and electrical supply distributorships. Thompson, 52, launched Thompson Distribution Co. Inc. in 2001 after purchasing the old Mutual Pipe & Supply company in the 2200 block of North College Avenue. Two years later, he founded First Electric Supply Co. Inc. at the same location. Mutual brought in $1…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Let’s ditch revenue forecasting

“This humidity is the worst part of living in a Hoosier forest. I can’t take off more clothes and maintain an appropriate degree of decency. Even then, this soggy air still would be oppressive.” Faye of the Forest was perched on my deck railing complaining about the weather. I just endured, puffing a cigar as if I were Sydney Greenstreet in one of those 1940s movies set in the jungle. All I was missing was the white suit. “So,” she…

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St. Vincent makes bigger investment in charity care: Need drives construction of Primary Care Center set to open in mid-2007

Here’s a lesson they don’t teach in business school: Take an entity that loses $4 million annually and expand it 50 percent. That’s the plan St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital unveiled earlier this month when it broke ground on a new, larger Primary Care Center serving indigent, underinsured and uninsured patients. That population of poor, mostly Spanish-speaking patients has more than doubled its annual visits since 2000. St. Vincent officials say the new $4 million center is 10 years overdue. Their…

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TAWN PARENT Commentary: Community woes? Not my problem

Soaring crime rates. Declining school performance. Litter. It’s easy to find things to complain about. And I do my fair share. Since my son started kindergarten at an Indianapolis Public Schools magnet last year, I have lamented the lack of parental involvement. “It’s a shame that some kids don’t have anyone to help with their homework,” I say to myself. “It’s a shame that some moms and dads don’t make it to parent-teacher conferences. It’s a shame that some of…

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NOTIONS: Has our love for labor been lost?

Bruce Hetrick is on vacation this week. In his absence, this column, which appeared on Sept. 1, 2003, is being reprinted. The Labor Days of my memory are happy-sad affairs. The weather is muggy. The family’s gathered at some park or pond, river or lake. Burgers sizzle on the grill. Frisbees fly through the air. And after supper, there’s touch football with dads and brothers, kids and cousins, until dusk drops her shadowy curtain on yet another summer. In my…

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IEDC shelves proposal to copy Ohio initiative: Program matches promising startups with capital

An Ohio program launched in 2003 to urge development of extremely earlystage companies has already spurred investments worth $239 million in 68 Buckeye startups. Venture capitalists would like to duplicate the program here. But their proposal has been languishing at the Indiana Economic Development Corp. for a month. “We have the application. We haven’t done anything with it,” said IEDC Director of Small Business and Entrepreneurship Bruce Kidd. “This is a classic steeple chase. You’ve got lots of hurdles to…

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Woman sets sights on freedom: Disability isn’t keeping shop owner from goal

Two doors opened for Pam Evans on Aug. 5-one to her own clothing store and the other to her independence. The Cherry Shop represents both to Evans, who lost most of her sight over the course of a weekend in 1998 to a genetic eye disease called angioid streaks. Left with only her peripheral vision, she also lost her career in real estate and corporate sales. After a period of depression, Evans decided she wouldn’t lose it all. “I felt…

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Charter schools leader tackles new role: Mayor chooses Harris to launch broader public education program

The Indiana General Assembly’s decision in 2001 to hand Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson the keys to the city’s new charter schools initiative marked the first time in the nation that a municipal leader had been given the authority to grant charters. The unusual approach to improve educational opportunities here has earned the city several accolades, including last month’s prestigious Harvard University Innovations in American Government Award. Now the mayor wants to expand upon the program’s success and launch a not-for-profit…

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EYE ON THE PIE: If you make a mistake, then ‘fess up to it

I spoke at a meeting last week on the prospective impact of Honda in Greensburg on the Columbus economy. Several speakers had preceded me and I did not know what they had said, since I arrived an hour late. Naturally, I apologized for my tardiness. Punctuality is a virtue in societies, like ours, that value efficiency above comfort. Then I proceeded, unwittingly, to make a fool of myself. I proclaimed, in my best stentorian manner, that the key factor for…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Simplistic ideas get in way of efforts to increase wages

To the small cadre of economists who have worked their entire professional lives trying to understand the complexities of how and why the labor market rewards some skills, occupations and people more than others, the popularity of the idea of a government-mandated minimum wage must be depressing. But it shouldn’t be surprising. The notion that complex market outcomes can be explained by simplistic notions like greed or discrimination-solvable by the stroke of a lawmaker’s pen-will probably always have a superficial…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Yes, Virginia, there is an ‘Indiana economy’

“Is there really such a thing as the ‘Indiana economy’?” The question came from Ed Doric, a pillar of our community. We were at one of the many fests that provide camaraderie and calories during our humid Hoosier summers. The crowd moved us apart so I could not answer his inquiry. Let the following be accepted as my response. Yes, Ed, there is an Indiana economy. As certainly as there is a U.S. economy, as surely as you or I…

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INVESTING: Mexicans turn pro-market, Americans socialist

Hola! I feel like speaking Spanish today. I want to go down to Mexico and protest with my socialist brothers the outrages of the freeelection process. There’s a lot of wealth we Americans didn’t create but want to take, and that’s hard to do when a bunch of capitalists are running Mexico. It has been a long struggle for Mexico. Decades of anti-capitalist governments and first-rate corruption have created problems that will take generations to work out. But the election…

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