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SMALL BUSINESS PROFILE WTH: Firm mapping out its own success Owner shifts focus from old-school engineering to GIS

SMALL BUSINESS PROFILE WTH Firm mapping out its own success Owner shifts focus from old-school engineering to GIS Rex Jones wants to show off his company’s work, so the lights go down, a computer comes on and a map of Starke County appears on a screen. The map is a maze of green lines representing county and local roads, red for state/interstate highways, blue for water. Jones zooms in further, picking a random street in the rural county. Up pops…

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Suburban residents slow to jump on vanpool bandwagon: Neither cost nor environmental advantages stir the masses; advocate says ’employers need to get smarter’

The federally funded Central Indiana Commuter Services has finally won over a dozen workers to share a van to and from work-somewhat of a feat in a region where a vanpool might as well be a bathing option for a conversion van. Besides a vanpool program that runs between Cloverdale and Indianapolis, CICS recently signed on a handful of Fishers residents to share a seven-passenger van between the Hamilton County town and downtown Indianapolis. Lately, CICS has been trying to…

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PAN deal lucrative for owners: Small number of investors share $75 million bounty from Carmel IT firm’s sale

It’s the scenario entrepreneurs dream about. After just over five years in business, the founders of Carmel-based Performance Assessment Network Inc. have sold their company to a publicly traded St. Louis firm for $75 million in cash. Since PAN had only a handful of investors, its backers’ profits are enormous. What’s more, they can enjoy their payday with a clear conscience. Although PAN’s acquirer is headquartered outside state lines, TALX Corp. plans to keep growing the operation here. PAN’s executives…

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CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: Congress should resurrect immigration compromise

As I left work April 10, I noticed a steady stream of cars pulling off Washington Street into the IBJ Corp. parking lot. The cars were full of Hispanics who had come downtown for the Big March. The sidewalks, too, held a steady flow of Hispanics heading east toward what turned out to be one of the largest public political rallies in city history. Most of the people I saw looked young-in their teens, 20s or 30s-and seemed to be…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Diversifying economy requires new mind-set

The microwave oven has been a staple in most American kitchens for so long that there is now a generation of young adults who’ve never lived without them. And for that same generation, the doughy, limp texture of foods like pizza quick-cooked in a microwave, in contrast to the crisped, browned texture produced over a longer time by conventional heat, is associated with the food, not the technology. If you’ve grown up eating from a microwave, that’s the way food’s…

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INVESTING: Don’t fret over inflation-debt’s a bigger concern

If you have yourself in a lather about rising inflation, maybe I can offer a little relief. You can work your rosary beads over a lot of things, but runaway inflation is not one of them. There’s a little twist here, though. And it’s one that will add a challenge to your long-term strategy. According to our federal government, inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, has not been much of a problem. Excluding food and energy, prices are…

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State will grant parking perks for Prius, other hybrid vehicles:

The right car-not an early arrival or high rank-will soon get state workers the best parking spaces at the Indiana Government Center. As an incentive for its workers to drive less-polluting cars, the state plans to give drivers of hybrid cars the coveted spaces in the basement of the parking garage at West and Washington streets. Those would be the spaces right outside the tunnel entrance to the government center. The hybrid parking signs should go up within a month,…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Election is critical to Gary’s future

Let’s sell Fort Wayne and its surrounding counties to Ohio or Michigan. Or in the spirit of the day, at least we could lease out part of northeast Indiana. If we got rid of Fort Wayne (Allen County) and two counties to the north (Steuben and DeKalb) plus one county to the south (Adams) and one to the west (Huntington), we could decrease our state’s population by 491,500. Why would we want to do that? There’s no good reason to…

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Shared patient rooms in hospitals soon to be history: Guidelines call for private quarters in all new facilities

New guidelines due out in June will call for newly constructed hospitals to come equipped with all private patient rooms, the first time such a minimum requirement has been issued. The guidelines, published every four years by the Facilities Guidelines Institute and the American Institute of Architects’ Academy of Health, are used by nearly 40 state governments-including Indiana-to set regulations, approve construction plans and license hospitals to operate. And hospitals nationwide-including those in Indiana-are expected to embrace the guidelines that…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Urban growth crucial for regional prosperity

Oakland County, Mich., located northwest of the city of Detroit, is home to some of the wealthiest communities in the nation. Its per capita income consistently ranks it nationally in the top-five counties, and a visual tour of its majestic homes, well-funded private schools and sumptuous amenities confirms the material wealth of its residents. So why aren’t economic developers trekking north to Michigan to discover the secrets of this county’s economic success? The answer is simple: Oakland County is also…

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COMPEN$ATION CLASH: Complexity boosts not-for-profit pay, but should work be its own reward?

At least two large Indianapolis not-for-profits have been investigated-and cleared-as part of an Internal Revenue Service examination of compensation practices at tax-exempt organizations. Preliminary results of the nationwide inquiry aren’t expected until fall, but the scrutiny already has increased the volume in an ongoing debate over how not-for-profit executives should be paid. Some observers have called for setting limits on not-for-profit compensation, citing the charitable nature of the work. Others insist sixor seven-figure pay packages are not out of line…

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Experts: Businesses should prep for bird flu: Vast majority of U.S. companies have not budgeted for possible pandemic, despite warnings from health officials

The much-hyped Y2K computer bug came and went without so much as a whimper from a whirring hard drive. But unlike the threat of malfunctioning computers, health experts warn that the potential danger of an avian flu pandemic is far greater. In the event of a widespread outbreak in the United States, companies large and small need to be prepared in order to keep interruptions to a minimum, they say. “I am an evangelist for having a contingency plan,” said…

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Tourism’s new buzz: Product development: Officials want to build on Indiana’s unique assets

Billboards in southern Indiana used to tug spelunkers in four different directions. Come to Marengo Caves. Spend an afternoon at Bluespring Caverns. Visit Wyandotte Caves. Don a headlamp at Squire Boone Caverns. Two years ago, however, operators at the four attractions decided it might be a better use of cash to market the area as a single attraction. They pooled their advertising budgets and printed a brochure that listed all four destinations. They also created a passport that visitors could…

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NOTIONS: A lesson in contemporary communication: Trust me?

I spent March 24 at Ball State University, sitting in a small conference room with some grand poobahs of public relations. A few Hoosier colleagues and I were matched with these industry mavens to discuss the rise of a phenomenon known as “citizen journalism,” “participatory communication,” “peer-to-peer (or p2p) communication,” and other, occasionally less-flattering, terms. Whatever the moniker, the notion is this: With the proliferation of digital media and the Internet, every Dawn, Dick and Mary can create and disseminate…

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ABDUL-HAKIM SHABAZZ Commentary: Mayor: Look elsewhere for Indy Works votes

As another legislative session fades into memories and lawmakers go back to their districts to explain their votes, it’s a good time to offer some advice to Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson. I have always liked Hizzoner and we have had good interaction. I think it’s safe to say we both agree on consolidating government, but we may disagree on method. I come from the school of thought that says, “Destroy your opponents and parade their heads on spears in the…

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CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: Newspapers’ eulogies premature

With the proliferation of news sites on the Internet, much has been made of the pending death of newspapers. As the so-called new media attract bigger and bigger audiences, especially among young adults, newspapers are being characterized as the “emblem of the old media” and “an industry on the defensive.” Not so fast. As we consider the demise of newspapers, it would be wise to do a reality check on current trends and perhaps revisit the ideas that made newspapers…

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INVESTING: Housing slowdown puts some homeowners in peril

You want to build your house on a strong foundation. It worked for the third little pig that resisted all the efforts of the big bad wolf. It’s also going to work for savvy consumers who avoid too much debt and build decent equity in their homes. For everyone else, though, the foundation might feel as if it is shaking a bit. A slew of recent data on the housing industry seems to confirm what the housing stocks have been…

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VIEWPOINT: ‘Eating our young’ as a way of mentoring?

I recently came across an insightful publication by the Center for the Development of Peace and Well-Being at the University of California, Berkley, called Greater Good. One article especially caught my attention: “Inspiring Good Work” (spring-summer 2005 issue) by researchers Wendy Fischman and Howard Garner, of Harvard University’s GoodWork Project. As highlighted in the article, the GoodWork Project’s research, under way for the past decade, has revealed that young people leaving college and embarking on their professional careers are finding…

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Indiana to alter Web site: Small IT firms aren’t thrilled with contract requirements

For the first time in more than a decade, Indiana is shopping for a Web portal manager. Indiana Office of Technology CIO Karl Browning is attempting to make the state’s award-winning Internet gateway even better. The hunt will also test Gov. Mitch Daniels’ “Buy Indiana” initiative, which aims to give local companies a leg up in competition for state contracts. The larger players in Indiana’s IT community say they’re pleased with the new process. But some smaller firms complain it’s…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Green building trend should be here to stay

Trends come and go all the time in the architecture and construction fields. But one movement that is proving to be steadfast and is gaining momentum is called “green architecture.” Simply stated, it is the effort to minimize the effect of new and refurbished buildings on their environment. The green approach to building design is often seen by many as merely focusing on the recycling of building materials, but in fact addresses multiple aspects of the construction process. Green design…

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