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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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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: A revolution in health care: Consumers will call shots

I once had a doctor who shared with me a little joke about medicine. It comes to mind every year as I get older and more susceptible to life’s ailments. Doctors, he said, don’t really cure anything. They just let you trade in one malady for another. I know he was talking about the side effects of medicines and treatments we take for our weak hearts and faltering knees. But I keep thinking it applies equally to the situation of…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Short but historic session produces election plot lines

You can go home now (unless you live in Perry Township) and rest somewhat assured that the governor and state lawmakers won’t do anything untoward to you until, at the soonest, November. Yes, the 2006 short session of the Indiana General Assembly has run its course, and left the state with some key policy and economic legacies. Not the least of them, as we have discussed at length in this column, and has been covered elsewhere in these pages, are…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Legislature wastes another session

The 150 men and women who make up the Indiana General Assembly have finished their annual freak show, folded their tents, and departed from Indianapolis. In their wake, they left some truly terrible legislation and another record of neglect for the interests of Indiana’s too-long-suffering population. What was wrong with this session of the General Assembly? Your local editor will not grant me the space to be either sufficiently complete or detailed. Let’s start with the governor’s Major Moves program….

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Health care developers eye their next frontier: Northeast Hamilton County offers a lucrative market

Chris Hamm’s phone started buzzing with calls from health care developers once plans for an extension of 146th Street east to Interstate 69 crystallized a couple years ago. The Noblesville economic development director said several organizations have shown “significant interest” in planting health care businesses along 146th Street, which will see a big boost in traffic once workers complete the interstate connection in the fall of 2007. At least three health-care-related deals are in the works, he added, declining to…

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Schneider Corp. has designs on big growth in Lawrence: Long-time engineering firm gets boost from state as it plans to make $4.4 million investment, add 140 workers

The voluminous building the Schneider Corp. occupies on the former Fort Benjamin Harrison property was built as a barracks for enlisted men and later converted to a dormitory. So it’s fitting that the locally based engineering firm has a vision to create a university-type setting on its nearly fouracre campus where employees can receive training without stepping foot off the property. “We’ve worked on a strategic plan for the last couple of years, and Schneider University is part of that…

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TOM HARTON Commentary: Kids were pawns in an adult game

Judge S. Hugh Dillin is dead, but the negative consequences of his school desegregation orders are still with us. Dillin, who died March 13, didn’t invent white flight, suburban sprawl or broken urban school systems, but if those problems were smoldering in 1970s Indianapolis, Dillin’s decisions poured gasoline on the fire. This column is not a diatribe against Dillin. His decisions were only interpretations of the law, after all, and the highest court in the land affirmed them. Based on…

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Federal patent legislation could mean major changes: Proposed reform act could cut down on ‘trolling’ and litigation by switching approvals to a first-to-file system

Pending federal legislation could bring sweeping changes to a patent system critics say is broken and in need of repair. The Patent Reform Act-before Congress since last year-presents the most substantial overhaul in decades. Significant changes include creating a process to challenge patents after they are granted and awarding a patent to the first person to submit paperwork. Patents currently are granted to the first person who hatched the invention, regardless of when documents were filed. Time frames, though, can…

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Short session long on action: Led by Major Moves, telecom successes, biz interests fared well in 2006 General Assembly

In less than three months, the Indiana General Assembly approved a pair of blockbuster economic-development measures designed to dramatically upgrade the state’s infrastructure. With the passage of Gov. Mitch Daniels’ Major Moves initiative, Indiana will lease the Indiana Toll Road to an Australian-Spanish consortium for 75 years. It will use the upfront, $3.9 billion payment to build roads. Meanwhile, the approval of telecom deregulation sets the stage for more local phone, cable and Internet competition. Daniels, a Republican, argued that…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Low poll numbers don’t seem to slow Daniels’ agenda

For a guy whose approval level is about as low as-well-the president’s, and who was pushing a program about as popular as turning over supervision of vital national assets to a foreign entity (see the parallels yet?), Gov. Mitch Daniels sure enjoyed some major success this legislative session. He just signed a wide-ranging telecommunications deregulation measure he had strongly advocated, placing Indiana at the cusp of reform in the field, after several years of the Legislature’s refusing to move off…

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Indiana calls off Monster contract: Newspapers hoping to have some input about state job bank

The state’s largest newspapers will have a second chance at weighing in on a state effort to create a new online job bank, thanks to a halt in negotiations between the state and job-search giant Monster. The Indiana Department of Workforce Development and Monster Government Solutions were close to finalizing a fouryear, $2.8 million contract for Monster to develop and maintain a statewide job search and recruitment system when the deal was called off in early March. Monster would have…

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Federal farm lending could shrivel under latest budget: Banking associations oppose proposed fee increases

Brent Kerns likes to compare the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s lending program to that of the Small Business Administration’s. In short, the USDA helps farmers the way the SBA assists small-business owners. But if a proposal to cut the budget of the farm loan program is approved, it could become as expensive to use as the SBA’s offering. Supporters fear a hike in user fees would hurt those who need the money the most. “That cost goes straight to the…

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