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Charter designs require creativity: Local architect Axis building school niche

Much of what defines a charter school is in sharp contrast with the traditional model found in public school districts. And the differences start with the structure itself. Charter schools, due to budget restraints, typically involve renovations of a buildings once used for entirely different purposes. From there, the architecture and interior design must create a look and functionality educators say enhances learning and instills in students a sense of ownership and pride in their eventual alma mater. “No one…

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LESSONS LEARNED ALBERT RENE TREVINO Owner, Rene’s Bakery:

LESSONS LEARNED ALBERT RENE TREVINO Owner, Rene’s Bakery As most entrepreneurs can attest, the process of running a small business includes facing plenty of challenges. But viewing those potential obstacles as opportunities has helped Albert Rene Trevino build Rene’s Bakery Inc. into a growing enterprise with a solid reputation. One of his biggest trials was getting the doors to his Broad Ripple shop open. Trevino had just parted ways with a former employer in 2004 when he stopped by the…

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CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: IBJ’s Enterprise Award hits 25

Giving out awards can be a tricky business. To wit, news broke Aug. 13 that CEO Peter Dunn has left Steak n Shake, a company we honored in 2005 with our annual Enterprise Award. A good chunk of the credit in our article profiling the company two years ago was directed at Dunn, an MBA and food-industry veteran who had energized the company with a philosophy that was producing results. Now he’s gone. Do his departure and a decline in…

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IN THIS ISSUE:

I N T H I S I S S U E FOCUS:Insurance&BenefitsQuarterly19-24 Employerslooktohealthsavingsaccountsforpremiumrelief19 OneAmericaingoodpositiontogrowthroughacquisition19 NOTSTRICTLYBUSINESS45-47 15 A&EbyLouHarry:FringecharacterspopulateaFringeFilmhighlight45 Dining:FritesatBruggeBrasserie45 FunnyBusinessbyMikeRedmond:TheWorldofTomorrowhovers,preparestoland46 SportsbyBillBenner:Plentytochewonforsportsfansofeverystripe47 PERIMETER15-18 HendricksCounty:Brownsburgluresdrag-racingfirms15 45 BehindtheNews:Andrews4OPINION & EDITORIAL HowmortgagemeltdownsankOakStreet,Commentary:ChrisKatterjohn10othersIBJ’sEnterpriseAwardhits25 EconomicAnalysis:Barkey28AEditorial10 PartingthoughtsonIndiana’sstrengths,Dunnexitshowsboarddoingjobweaknesses EyeonthePie:Marcus11ClassifiedsandInternetDirectory34-35LifegoesondespitepropertytaxesPeople18Viewpoint:DeborahJ.Daniels11ReturnonTechnology:Altom32Helpingex-offendershelpsallofusSavingprinterpaperdoesn’tsavemuchmoneyRECORDS SmallBusinessProfile40Calendar33FundRaising41It’sadog’slifeConventions33InRecognition41 LISTS LargestIndianapolis-AreaRetirementSTOCKS Communities26Investing:Hauke28LargestIndianapolis-AreaAssisted-LivingDominoeffectworsenedwoesinsubprimeFacilities37market ProxyCorner:IrwinFinancialCorp.31 COMPANY INDEX This index does not include companies mentioned in letters to the editor, lists, charts and records. The page numbers listed refer to the pages where articles begin. 3S Karting Supply ………………17 Conseco Inc……………………….30 Interactive Intelligence Inc……10 Precedent Commercial 96th Street Steakburgers……….1 Crowe Chizek…

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Parties choose sides over federal insurance oversight: Indiana commissioner, Indianapolis-based National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies favor compact

Insurers are split in their support of legislation that could significantly alter the way they do business by creating a federal agency to regulate the insurance industry. The National Insurance Act of 2007, introduced by Reps. Melissa Bean, D-Illinois, and Ed Royce, R-California, would let insurers choose whether to be regulated by the new system or continue to receive oversight from the states. The current way in which insurers are regulated gives the states authority to set industry standards. The…

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OneAmerica methodical in approach to new deals: Flush with capital, local insurer on the lookout for acquisitions

Don’t expect OneAmerica Financial Partners Inc.’s purchase of a $700 million annuity portfolio last month to be its last big-ticket buy. The Indianapolis-based insurance holding company says its executives and heads of its various product lines are constantly on the prowl for acquisitions. But don’t hold your breath for the company’s next deal. Its purchase of annuities from Iowa-based Transamerica Life Insurance Co., announced July 24, took two years to come together. So did its previous acquisition, the 2005 purchase…

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How Family Friendly is: Baker & Daniels LLP: Serving regional, national and international business clients

Baker & Daniels LLP Serving regional, national and international business clients Flexible working arrangements Laptops and BlackBerries are provided for all legal and management staff to allow them to work from home or for use while traveling, when necessary. The firm allows attorneys to stay on partnership track while on a reducedhours schedule due to a family situation or other pre-approved situation. At its discretion, the firm will consider telecommuting arrangements for employees who have at least one year of…

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PROFILE THERESIA WHITFIELD: Changing direction after life-altering crisis Former CNN producer follows path to healing, new career after overcoming post-traumatic stress

Whitfield, owner of Indianapolis-based Fletcher Communications Inc., was a freelance television news producer working for CNN, Reuters News and the Christian Broadcasting Network’s news division in Washington, D.C., when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon. Four years later, Whitfield crashed emotionally and was hospitalized suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. The daughter of a retired Army officer, Whitfield, 39, had moved many times as a child before settling in Columbia, S.C. She graduated from high school in 1986, but…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: How tax reform could fix ailing health care system

Will a new president and the next Congress finally take meaningful action to address the financial storm looming for health care? Perhaps. In the meantime, the pressures created by rising health care costs have been too strong for everyone else to wait. Businesses have been adapting to rising premiums for employer-provided coverage in predictable ways. And beginning with Massachusetts, states are responding to rising Medicaid costs by crafting solutions of their own. But much of the solution, whatever shape that…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: The link between taxes and high health care costs

“Things that can’t go on forever don’t.” If those famous words of the otherwise obscure Nixon-era economic adviser Herbert Stein apply to anything, it is health care spending. Most of us recognize that health care is expensive, breaking the budgets of many households, pressuring businesses and even challenging the spending capacity of giant federal programs like Medicare and Medicaid. What is less clear is why this is so, and what can, or should, be done about it. We spent more…

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Regulator’s cheerleading chided as ‘inappropriate’: August event will promote health savings accounts

Not yet a believer in health savings accounts? Not to worry. The Indiana Department of Insurance is here to convert you. The insurance regulatory arm of Gov. Mitch Daniels’ administration is staging a symposium Aug. 3 to educate employers on the benefits of health savings accounts. Employers are increasingly pairing the tax-favored accounts, stuffed with a couple thousand dollars for each employee, with high-deductible health insurance as a lower-cost alternative to health plans with co-pays. Most employers also pay for…

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Strides taken in life sciences, experts say: Industry panel: Thanks to ongoing efforts, Indiana has experienced serious progress as biomedical hotbed during last 5 years

Five leaders of Indiana’s life sciences industry offered their perspectives at the Indiana Convention Center June 26 as part of the Indianapolis Business Journal’s Power Breakfast Series. The panelists: Mike Arpey, managing director of global investment bank Credit Suisse’s Asset Management Division and manager of the $73 million Indiana Future Fund for BioCrossroads, the state’s life sciences economicdevelopment initiative. Ron Ellis, co-founder, president and CEO of Lafayettebased Endocyte Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the treatment of cancer through receptor-targeted…

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Benicorp halts new sales to fix system woes: Complaints, losses mount at local health insurer

Locally based Benicorp Insurance Co. stunned health benefits professionals this month by distributing a simple memo. The small provider of group health insurance and benefits administration services announced a moratorium on new business until the company resolved problems with a new claims-processing system. “It’s highly unusual,” said Sheri Alexander, manager of employee benefits at Gregory & Appel, an Indianapolis insurance brokerage. More than 180 complaints have been filed against Benicorp since Jan. 1, according to records at the Indiana Department…

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NOTIONS: A property tax sigh of relief and a reform wish list

The nightstand clock reads 5:17. Too early to wake up. But hey, I’ve been tossing and turning for hours, so why lie here any longer, pretending? The cause for this night’s insomnia is money. Money for two kids starting college. Money to replace the Money to paint the house. Money for employees’ salaries. Money for employees’ parking. Money for employees’ retirement. Money for employees’ health insurance. Money for their families’ health insurance. Money to get the yellow highway paint off…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: For a healthier economy, we need healthier Hoosiers

Indiana needs a trip to the doctor-and a stern lecture when we get there. We’re among the nation’s unhealthiest states. More than one of every four Hoosiers is obese, and we rank among the 10 worst states for smoking and high cholesterol. The outcomes should come put more stress on the system and drive up prices and premiums for everyone. Gov. Daniels has signed a progressive bill that provides affordable health insurance with a medical savings account plan to Hoosiers…

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Speeding Toward Better Health: Regenstrief Institute continues to fine-tune a medical-records system that many think could someday become a national model

Regenstrief Institute continues to fine-tune a medical-records system that many think could someday become a national model The Regenstrief Institute is a racing team. Only instead of drivers and grease monkeys, the Indianapolis-based medical research group has doctors and computer geeks. And instead of a race car, Regenstrief runs a massive computer database with 35 years of medical records from Indianapolis-area patients. But Regenstrief’s mission is still all about speed. The not-for-profit is driving to discover better ways to care…

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Methodist, Decatur hospitals team up at Honda site: Providers supplying on-site, off-site health care to construction workers on $500 million auto plant project

A major construction project is like a football game-no matter how careful everyone is, sooner or later someone is going to get hurt, at least a little. Indianapolis-based Methodist Occupational Health Centers Inc., which is part of Clarian Health Partners, is partnering with Decatur County Memorial Hospital to provide an answer to this problem at the Honda automobile plant construction site in Greensburg. The two institutions are providing on-site medical services and offsite treatment facilities for workers at the $550…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Health care and the pursuit of happiness

Some people believe the Fourth of July grants them liberty to disturb the night with their firecrackers. My pursuit of happiness is in conflict with theirs and I want them jailed. We all gladly infringe on the liberties of others while in pursuit of our own happiness. For example, should motorcyclists wear helmets? Yes, if all of us expect to pay their hospital bills (through higher premiums) and maintain them on disability after they have head injuries that might be…

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Commentary: We need a sensible alcohol policy

The recent bust at the home of former Colts quarterback Jack Trudeau, and his subsequent arrest for allegedly hosting a party where high school students consumed alcohol, reflects current law in Indiana. But it does not reflect the attitudes of some toward the appropriate age at which one is capable of making fully informed decisions about alcohol use. More important, it reflects the fractured nature of how the law views an adult and the rights and responsibilities associated with adulthood….

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State beefs up incentives available to tech companies:

Companies receiving a Phase 1 SBIR match from the state need to apply for second-stage funding by July 20. Applications can be downloaded on the IEDC Web site. The proposal for funds should be no longer than 12 pages and include a commercialization plan describing how the product would be moved to market and any challenges that would need to be overcome. The proposal also should include a budget describing the funds required for The Indiana Economic Development Corp. has…

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