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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: My city is bigger than your city, or is it?

Does anyone remember the World Almanac? Perhaps not. But in the Barkey household of many years back, it was a well-worn little book. Especially those pages where populations were listed for every city in the country. That’s where we could proudly look up our own hometown and see where we stood against everyone else. We’re still doing that, of course. The paper books are gone, naturally, replaced by Web pages from the Census Bureau that pop up at the click…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Court decision opens barrel of worms

The U.S. Supreme Court has now ruled again that the public good supersedes conventional private property rights. Some critics have argued that this is something new. It is not, but this decision is a major extension of existing government powers. The case in question, if you missed it, involves seven homeowners in New London, Conn., who refused to move so their land can be part of an urban redevelopment effort. The city wants to transfer the properties to private firms…

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Growth in big supply at 3-year-old Milor: Entrepreneur taps experience to land big clients

Michelle Taylor’s first customer was a north-side hotel that ordered 3,000 janitorial gloves a month. She got up at 3 a.m., processed the order out of her garage, and delivered the gloves in her car. Less than three years later, Indianapolisbased Milor Supply Inc. delivers 36,000 gloves a month, plus janitorial equipment and supplies and safety equipment, to universities, city and state governments, hospitals and a host of other industries across the country. The 35-year-old black female entrepreneur has moved…

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EYE ON THE PIE: BMV closings raise bigger issue

The closing of several offices of the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles involves serious issues that are worth attention. Just after the end of the legislative session, the BMV commissioner announced that a few smaller offices would be closed. The number of patrons these offices serve was deemed insufficient to maintain and staff the facilities. In an age of increasing use of electronic transactions, this makes sense. One of these facilities was in Hope, a small Bartholomew County town in…

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Cancer society scouts Clarian property for development: Former retirement home may serve as a Hope Lodge

An empty retirement home near Methodist Hospital may turn into a lodge that gives cancer patients a place to rest while they receive treatment in Indianapolis. The American Cancer Society is talking with Clarian Health Partners about planting a Hope Lodge on the site of the former Indianapolis Retirement Home, which sits across from Methodist on busy North Capitol Avenue. The cancer society operates 23 of these lodges in several states, but this would be the first Indiana location, according…

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Furnace maker picks Indy as hot spot for distribution: Lennox to move Illinois, Ohio operations to east side

Lennox Industries Inc. is giving Indianapolis a vote of confidence as a logistics hub with plans to move distribution of its commercial heating and cooling products from facilities in Chicago and Columbus, Ohio, to the east side of Indianapolis. Although the distribution center is relatively small at 60,000 square feet, Lennox is one of a few companies that have abandoned distribution centers in other cities in favor of Indianapolis’ low cost of real estate, central location and interstate access. Last…

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Schools follow different flight paths: Aviation programs see contrasting demand

Two aircraft maintenance programs in close proximity to each other are far apart when it comes to successfully filling classrooms with budding mechanics. Times are so tough for Vincennes University’s struggling aircraft maintenance program at Indianapolis International Airport’s Aviation Technology Center that it asked for permission to conduct three non-aviation degree programs there. The aviation program, which enrolled about 300 students in the mid-1990s, now has about 75. Vincennes officials blame the United Airlines Maintenance hub closure, which displaced 1,200…

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Global mission: destroy, conquer: New law good news for shredding firm

Indianapolis-based Global Shred Inc. plans to use a new federal rule that forces companies to destroy more documents as a springboard to expand into other states. The document-destruction provision of The Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act of 2003 went into effect June 1, requiring all businesses to shred, burn or pulverize credit and consumer reports. While many mom-and-pop shredding shops in the highly fragmented industry look to fortify their local position, Global Shred founder and owner David Kantor thinks…

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Shrinkage a growing problem: Manufacturers seek ways to stem product losses

The U.S. manufacturing industry has begun rebounding from its economic swoon, but some industry experts think more manufacturers must become more efficient and eliminate waste if they are to compete in the current global climate. While the Manufacturers Alliance, an Arlington, Va.-based business and public policy research group, projected manufacturing growth of 3.4 percent this year and 3 percent in 2006, big challenges remain. One growing problem is the so-called shrinkage factor, defined in manufacturing as the percentage by which…

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Employers, workers dip toes in vanpool concept: Commuter service pushes cost savings, tax breaks to lure first riders

Six months after launching a carpooling and bus-riding effort, Central Indiana Commuter Services is still trying to convince the city’s car-cozy commuters to get aboard its vanpooling program. The first CICS van has yet to roll people to and from work, even as 553 people have begun to carpool and 1,251 others wait to be matched with other carpoolers. Instead, the vans have been motoring to office parks as part of a road show to win over employers and workers….

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Indiana must not let TDL opportunities elude its grasp

Unlike some other Hoosier economic initiatives, much of the required infrastructure to rapidly advance TDL into significant growth is already in place. More Interstate highways cross the state An economic development analyst determining the physical advantages of Indiana might initially be challenged. Indiana has no oceans. No mountains. No temperate climate. But the Hoosier state does possess one singular unmatched physical plus: It is the state geographically closest to the bulk of most U.S. major markets. For more than a…

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State eyes inland ports to bolster TDL: ‘Dry’ hubs under consideration in 3 parts of the state could be boon to transportation, distribution, logistics

The construction of intermodal hubs in Indiana could add thousands of jobs to the state’s transportation/distribution/logistics industry, an area targeted by officials as an economic pillar to pursue. The General Assembly gave the Indiana Ports Commission the authority two years ago to build the hubs-“dry ports” where cargo is transferred between train and truck. While the projects remain in the planning stages, supporters cite Indiana’s central location as a primary factor to build the facilities. At least three locations are…

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Purdue student plays key role in “RFID for Dummies”: Book helps businesses implement logistics technology

Patrick Sweeney was the book’s author. Most other books on RFID consider only the highly technical aspects of the technology, Sweeney said. “RFID for Dummies” is aimed at businesspeople charged with actually implementing the technology, or for those who determine its ROI. “This is really the first book of its kind that walks people through the logical process to deploy an RIFD system,” Sweeney said. The cost of implementing RFID is based For an up-and-coming new technology like radio frequency…

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Trade zone gets bigger: Expansion should help Duke, Anderson lure tenants who export, import goods

An expansion of Indianapolis’ foreign trade zone to include Duke Realty Corp.’s west-side industrial parks might not result in a flood of new tenants for the local developer, but it’s expected to help economic development officials lure firms that ship goods by truck and rail. Officials of Duke and central Indiana economic development agencies were to announce on June 3 that the local foreign trade zone has been expanded from 5,500 acres around the Indianapolis International Airport to 7,100 acres….

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Long commute for former Lt. Gov.: Kathy Davis to lead South Bend tech firm

Her days as lieutenant governor are finished, but it didn’t take Kathy Davis long to find a new management role. She’s accepted a job leading South Bend-based telecommunications connectivity provider Global Access Point. “After we lost [the election] and I knew I’d be looking for a job, I thought it would be ideal if I could find some entrepreneur who was very technical and needed some help on the management side,” Davis said. “Then I was fortunate that opportunity came…

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VIEWPOINT: Eastern time zone is Hoosiers’ best bet

The Indiana General Assembly crusade to enact daylight-saving time legislation was legendary. The rising and falling fortunes, near-defeats and ultimate success have been well-chronicled. It turns out, however, that one battle may be over, but the fight still must go on. An amendment to the original legislation requires the General Assembly and Gov. Mitch Daniels to petition the U.S. Department of Transportation to hold hearings throughout the state. The reason: to determine what time zone (Eastern or Central) the 77…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: With growth at both ends, job spectrum requires skill

When you study economic statistics for a living, it’s easy to lose perspective on a lot of things. Take the labor market, for instance. In any given month, millions of American workers are hired and fired, promoted, demoted and transferred. Some drop out of the labor force to raise children or to go to school, while others retire altogether or begin new careers. When the smoke clears after all those changes, the statisticians in Indiana and in Washington tally it…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Vibrant city can be built without oceans, mountains

In late April and early May, two things happened. The Legislature adjourned on time and Forbes magazine released its seventh annual list of the best (and worst) metro areas to develop businesses and careers. Forbes based its ranking on business costs, living costs, education levels of the work force, qualityof-life issues as well as job and income growth and migration patterns. Indianapolis ranked 33rd out of 150 of the country’s largest metro areas, and there’s some good news in that…

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Local company launches technical think tank: Wolf Technical Services seeks broader customer base

A low-profile Indianapolis research firm is emerging from the shadows to raise its profile and grab more business. Wolf Technical Services Inc., which until earlier this year had focused on forensic studies and accident re-creation, enlisted former University of Indianapolis President Ben Lantz last year to launch a new division that is winning contracts that focus on the future rather than re-creating the past. Already, Wolf’s new division to develop problem-solving technology has done work for IndyGo, Riley Hospital for…

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The old college try: Struggling IndyGo courting campuses to boost ridership

One solution for a city bus system struggling to lure riders might be academic-get college students on board. The Indianapolis Public Transportation Corp. is in talks with colleges and vocational schools about the potential of discounted fares for students who opt to take the bus to and from campus. The push also has a longer-term goal of conditioning students to use public transportation after they graduate to the work world. Financially sputtering IndyGo, which finished 2004 in the black only…

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