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Honda poses pay dilemma: New auto plant’s higher wages likely to force other employers to pay up or lose workers

GREENSBURG-Companies from Cincinnati to Indianapolis hoping to drive home business from Honda Motor Co.’s 2,000-employee plant might want to watch for an economic pothole hiding up the road. Giant auto plants plopped onto the prairie, while buying hundreds of millions of dollars in goods and services from companies in the state, also tend to swallow workers from established employers. That likely will force some Indiana employers to jack up wages and benefits to retain and attract workers pining to wear…

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IPS swap a flop?: Browning tells district to drop land-trade plan; site drew just 3 bids despite prime location

Indianapolis Public Schools is sitting on a 12-acre parcel of prime downtown land it probably could sell for big bucks. But its pursuit of a land swap instead has tempered interest in the site and raised questions about whether such a complicated deal is the way to go. Just three developers responded to IPS’ request for bids on its land east of Massachusetts and College avenues, despite the unsolicited inquiries that drove the school district to explore its options in…

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Black Expo CEO seeks ‘next level’: Rogers hopes to build on Williams’ legacy The Summer Celebration schedule appears in our Diversity in Business Focus. PAGES 15A-19A

The Summer Celebration schedule appears in our Diversity in Business Focus. PAGES 15A-19A The title of Indiana Black Expo Inc.’s 2005 annual report couldn’t be more fitting: “Con tinuing the Legacy.” It’s an apt description for both the organization’s recent history and its goals for the future. As Black Expo prepares to kick off its second Summer Celebration without its longtime leader, Rev. Charles Williams, CEO Joyce Q. Rogers is abuzz with ideas to make the nation’s largest black heritage…

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Artist out to protect her images: Noel sues Texas distributor for copyright infringement

Zionsville artist Nancy Noel’s original work can be seen in the homes of Mikhail Gorbachev, Robert Redford, Denzel Washington and Oprah Winfrey. Noel prides herself on its originality and authenticity. And she said she’ll “go after anyone” who threatens that. This spring, Noel filed a federal lawsuit against Texas-based art distributor Martha Ewell, alleging she made unauthorized copies of Noel’s images-including her popular Amish and angel collections-and sold them on the Internet. She is asking to be paid $30,000 for…

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Indianapolis marketing firm plays ‘game’ to win: Fun environment helps CIK Enterprises earn reputation as a ‘best’ place to work, inspires employees to give their all

Business is often compared to a game. There are winners and losers, MVPs and benchwarmers, touchdowns and penalties. Only the strong survive. The leaders at Indianapolis-based CIK Enterprises LLC take the competition seriously. But they don’t see why it can’t be fun, too. CIK’s 30,000-square-foot Georgetown Road office, known as “the stadium,” features green, blue and orange walls, some of which are rounded. Huge puzzle pieces listing company goals decorate the spacious atrium. A life-size Monopoly board displays monumental moments…

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Employee privacy a sensitive legal issue:

For all businesses, especially small companies, the best way to approach potential legal issues is proactively: spending time crafting policies and procedures today can save significant headaches-and attorney fees-down the road. This is especially true for the thorny issue of privacy in the workplace. While the right to privacy isn’t enumerated specifically in the Constitution, it remains a closely guarded prerogative for most Americans. Harris polls consistently show that more than 85 percent of respondents are concerned about the erosion…

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SMALL BUSINESS PROFILE: A-1 VACUUM CLEANERS AND JANITORIAL SUPPLIES: Vacuum dealer on his own Franchise dissolution gave owner freedom and more responsibility

SMALL BUSINESS PROFILE A-1 VACUUM CLEANERS AND JANITORIAL SUPPLIES Vacuum dealer on his own Franchise dissolution gave owner freedom and more responsibility For his entire adult life, Tony Stahl has been helping other people clean up their messes. From the time he graduated from John Marshall High School, Stahl has had A-1 Vacuum Cleaners as part of his work life, first as an employee and, most recently, as an owner. In fact, Stahl’s work with vacuums and customers was so…

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RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Have businesses given in to security anxiety?

According to the mainstream media, no sooner is your precious data placed on a hard drive than it’s promptly vacuumed off through a hacker’s hole and inserted into some miscreant’s illicit schemes for world domination. I admit I’ve advocated for computer security for years, but that was because most companies’ idea of security is to hide the backup CDs in the coffee creamer box. I never meant to contribute to the panic that seems to have gripped the American population…

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Radio tests HD waters: Indianapolis on leading edge of ‘revolutionary’ technology

And more are coming. Indianapolis is leading the charge toward high-definition radio, thanks to the strong presence of national players such as Emmis Communications Corp. and Clear Channel Communications, which operate a total of seven stations here. But the technological revolution reaches far beyond our airwaves. Industry experts call HD the most radical change in the radio landscape in 50 years, despite the fact that few listeners have the special radio receiver necessary to tune in the new channels. “We’re…

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SPORTS: High school hoops border war reduced to a scuffle

Often, when I’m asked to give talks reflecting on the success of the sports initiative in Indianapolis, I use summertime as an illustration. Back in the old days-and you know you’re getting old when “old days” refer to anything pre-1970-Indy’s June-July-August sports menu could pretty much be written on a single page and in large type. Once the Indianapolis 500 came and went on Memorial Day, about the only thing to do was wait for the start of college and…

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Hilbert estate drawing some offers: Letterman, Babyface, Judd not interested

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning passed on a chance to buy the Carmel estate built for Conseco Inc. founder Stephen Hilbert that’s on the market for a cool $20 million. Pacers forward Jermaine O’Neal also rejected the opportunity a couple of times, real estate broker Dick Richwine said. Nearly a year after it went up for sale, the Carmel property labeled the most expensive home in Indiana is still searching for the right buyer. But a recent flurry of interest and…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: We want to count jobs, but what’s the best way?

Americans like to keep score on things. And in the realm of economics, there are plenty of things to keep score on. But the economy is a huge, often unwieldy beast, and the data we use to track it are often quite a bit fuzzier than the rows of hardlooking numbers in the graphs and statistical reports we digest would make it seem. In fact, as the old joke goes, we economists like to present growth rates out to two…

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Vontoo finding its voice: Phone message marketer modeled on ExactTarget blends local, Indian talent

During his January trip to Bangalore, India, angel investor Robert Compton dreamed up dozens of ideas for high-tech business. To keep costs low, he planned to base each in Indiana, but outsource some work to the fastdeveloping nation’s famously inexpensive software talent. Now, only five months later, Compton is concentrating on just one: a startup IT company called Vontoo Inc. Based in Indianapolis, Vontoo will allow marketers to send audio messages to thousands of phones in a particular demographic, then…

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Making a splash: Delta Faucet aims for hip and handy with unique rebranding campaigns

Delta Faucet Co. has succeeded in luring fashionistas to its high-end line. Now the company wants to coax weekend wrench wielders into buying its most-affordable faucets. The Indianapolis subsidiary of Michigan-based Masco Corp. is launching its second major branding overhaul in two years. And Delta is again taking the account from a big-city ad agency and handing it over to locally based Young & Laramore. Young & Laramore, one of the few local agencies focusing almost exclusively on national brands,…

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NOTIONS: A tale of two kings and one fortunate kingdom

For the fifth year, some colleagues and I have penned comedy for a cause. The Indiana Repertory Theatre, which usually chooses its playwrights more carefully, erred again by soliciting our scriptwriting “talent” for its faux-radioshow fund-raiser. So on June 3, a cast of Indianapolis celebrities-from the media, not-for-profits, government and business-donned makeshift 17th-century garb, mounted the Indiana Roof Ballroom stage, and hammed up “Shakespeared: A Midsummer Night’s Scheme.” Our tall tale featured two kings-Mitchard and Bartholomie-trying to outdo each other…

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In midst of sale, Marsh rolling out new slogan: Grocer says it’s the place to ‘Treat your family well’

Executives at Fishers-based Marsh Supermarkets Inc. aren’t sitting on their hands, despite signing an offer a little more than a month ago to sell the grocery chain to a private equity group in Florida. For the past two years, they’ve been scratching away on flip charts coming up with a new brand. And they figure they might as well put it to use. They launched the new identity last month with the help of Dallas-based Ivie & Associates Inc., an…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Motor-vehicle jobs: a path to the future?

Would landing a new Honda plant be a plus for the Indiana economy? You bet it would. In fact, it’s hard to think of any similar-size investment that holds the same immediate potential for supporting additional jobs beyond those inside the plant walls. The project scores well on just about every objective measure you can come up with to assess its attractiveness. It draws on skills and occupations Indiana already has. Its activities hold great promise for new business for…

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Kroger shops for land: Grocer gathering property for full-size downtown store

Downtown residents might finally get their second full-service grocery store. Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. has purchased an acre of land immediately west of its store near the intersection of 16th Street and Central Avenue in hopes of razing the existing store and replacing it with a new, and much larger, grocery. “We would like to build a brand new store that incorporates all of the amenities that [we] have at our newer stores,” said Jeff Golc, a Kroger spokesman. Neighbors are…

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Diving for Dollars: Carmel water park looks to make splash by soaking up naming-rights deals

Carmel water park looks to make splash by soaking up naming-rights deals Carmel Clay Parks and Recreation has a novel business plan for the $55 million Monon Center at Central Park project that includes selling sponsorships and naming rights for its 10-acre water park and other attractions, possibly even for the entire venue. The mammoth development-which will feature meeting space along with sports facilities, including the water park and fishing lagoons-is under construction and won’t open for nine months. But the…

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Golf club member tees off investors: Lawsuit over $7.4M in losses casts light on little-regulated world of penny-stock promotion

By the time he graduated in 1985, Tony Altavilla ranked third in career touchdown receptions at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, an all-male institution that likens itself to the best conservative liberal arts colleges of New England. His star rose again recently, when the member of Carmel’s Crooked Stick Country Club led a committee that helped the Pete Dye-designed course score the 2009 U.S. Senior Open Championship. But the Wabash man and golfing buddy of the affluent now finds himself in…

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