Indiana Blog Review

A Day at the Roundtable

Chris Douglas reports from the Diversity Roundtable, "a nonprofit organization representing an assembly of some of Indiana's leading employers."

The State of Estate

Joe Shoemaker on real estate in Central Indiana:

Let’s get VERY clear here. The local population is not growing at the same rate as new home construction . . .

From a housing perspective, we’re not building homes for people who are just moving to the area. We’re building and filling houses in the suburbs for and with people now living mostly in Marion County . . .

Madison, Delaware, Putnam, Henry, Owen, Brown, Bartholomew and Monroe counties are rapidly shipping people into the region. Leaving the small, rural areas and schools for the big city.

Price Floor

Advance Indiana and First Republican Chris Douglas have extensive analyses of the Indiana Democratic Party's proposal to increade the state minimum wage.

Mortgage Sweet Mortgage

Karen Celestino-Horseman:

It is time for Indianapolis and Indiana to take action and decide how we are going to address the growing problems with predatory lending and mortgage fraud or else the number of empty houses festering illegal activities in our neighborhoods is going to continue to grow.

UPDATE:  Advance Indiana, " I have received countless of calls at my law office over the past two to three years from Marion Co. homebuyers complaining about being the victim of similar schemes."

Colorful Changes

Chris Douglas, outgoing president of the Indianapolis Rainbow Chamber of Commerce, on changes in the organization.

Bloggers Leading the Way

FWOb grabs some attention:

Fort Wayne Observed editor Mitch Harper advocated the reestablishment of the Tax Adjustment Board last week in a public meeting  between the Allen County Commissioners and members of the Allen County Council.

Leo Morris of teh Fort Wayne News-Sentinel followed up with an editorial.

The Indiana Real Estate News Blog approvingly noted the suggestion and subsequent attention.

A Grocery Shortage

Ruth Holladay investigates Whole Foods plans for the northside of Indy here and here.

News Blackout Lightens

The Indiana Law Blog notes that even though the Indianapolis Star refuses to cover the story, the Indianapolis Business Journal reported on Indiana's new law protecting realtors from discount competitors.

If you want complete coverage in Indianapolis, looks like you'll have to turn to other sources such as the IBJ, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Making the Very Best

Advance Indiana and FWOb are unimpressed with the latest incentives package offered to lure a business to Indiana, viz. Nestle to Anderson.

The Good News

Jezebella has a roundup of "announcements about business investment, development, relocation and expansion came out this week".

Rails and Canals

Indy Tax Dollars:

We're talking about the extravagant plans the mayor is announcing for making the downtown canal a tourist attraction which will bring hundreds of thousands of people swarming in.

Are we the only ones who think this sounds a lot like the hype and promotion applied to Union Station a few years ago?

Realty Bites

The Indiana Law Blog has much more on how traditional real estate brokers stifle competition, just like here in Indiana.

Hondamania

Doug Masson:

Our state and local governments are subsidizing Honda to provide more of the same to Indiana. It’s most likely a net positive to the State since Honda will most likely pay a good wage to a lot of people who will in turn spend their money locally, thereby benefiting a great many Hoosiers, not just those who land jobs at the new plant.

However, there are some opportunity costs involved. Money, labor, and ingenuity spent on manufacturing cars will not be available for riskier but potentially more beneficial entrepreneurial ventures down the line.

Hondamania

TDW's blogsitter finds independent confirmation that the effort to woo Honda was a long-term process, not an event:

That's too bad, not only because our former governors deserve some props, but it would be a nice opportunity for Mitch to show some class.

Alas, we must look to Michigan, where Governor Jennifer Granholm points out to the Associated Press the commitment that Indiana has made over the years in the realm of international recruitment.

Honda?

Jim Shella:

I'm just back from the Greensburg announcement that Honda will build a $550 million dollar plant, and the impression I got is that Honda chose Indiana more than Indiana sought out Honda.  Honda executives made it clear that location and proximity to suppliers and other Honda plants were key to their decision-making and that state lines didn't come into play.

Rent-Seeking Realtors

Advance Indiana:

A draconian new law which is putting discount realtors out of business in Indiana to protect the traditional, self-serving real estate brokerage market, is finally getting some coverage from the main stream media. The Indiana Law Blog and Advance Indiana both reported extensively on this new law months ago, but the MSM refused to cover it, perhaps because real estate brokers advertise extensively in their publications. Kudos to Lesley Stedman Weidenbener for being the first member of the MSM to report on the new law, although she's pretty late to the game. Weidenbrener writes today in the Courier-Journal . . .

The new law has already had its intended effect. As AI exclusively reported, a local real estate discount broker, Home Yeah, anticipated losing 62% of its business as a result of the new law's enactment. That was a little too much for the company's new owners. Weidenbener writes about Home Yeah's decision to close up shop in Indiana . . .

Marcia Oddi of the Indiana Law Blog notes, "This story today is the first news story the ILB has seen about the new law and, ironically, it is in the Indiana edition of an out-of-state paper. "

Fly-By-Night

Advance Indiana is very unimpressed with  the incentive package we've put together with Rolls-Royce.

RENT!

Mike Kole, "Two new municipal ordinances make me glad I'm out of the business of rental properties."

The Ruthless VC

Taking Down Words:

We hear the Guv will be announcing this week that the state will at least double the amount of money it puts toward venture capital for technology startup companies in Indiana.

Wonder where that money's coming from.

DeadWooD

Chairman Rutherford has a very good point:

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development is one of the numerous agencies designed to punish small business for even attempting to hire people, especially those who want to hire the poor and working class . . .

The message of our Federal and State government is clear - don't be successful but do go work for a large corporation because it's easier for the government to control you.

Immigration Vacation

In some wholly unoriginal reporting, I'd have to say that today's immigrant boycott didn't really affect my day-to-day life, and from what I hear at WIBC, some folks in Carmel will have to mow their own lawns.  Boo-hoo.  (Note: I'm generally pro-immigrant; I just think today's protest wasn't particularly effective.)

Leo Morris reports, though, that organized boycotts aren't the only thing that keep immigrants away from work:

I am told by a source I trust that a rumor spread like wildfire* through the Hispanic community yesterday [4-21] to the effect that "the government" was going to do a sweep through Fort Wayne to round up Mexicans -- not an unreasonable rumor given the raids nationally over the last several days. People stayed home and called in sick -- one family apparently even hid in their basement. A couple of restaurants had to close over lunch, and several others spent most of the day trying to find people to cover their hours. Just in case you thought the illegal immigrant/undocumented worker issue didn't matter here.

It's Not a Gas

Mike Kole says that gas taxes in Indy merit investigation:

Current price per gallon for regular, unleaded gasoline in the Indianapolis area = $2.849

Federal Gas Tax = $0.184
State Gas Tax = $0.180
State Sales Tax = $0.171
Inspection Fee = $0.008
Total Taxes & Fees = $0.543

Current price per gallon for regular, unleaded gasoline in the Indianapolis area without government add-ons = $2.306

If excess profits are perceived as a problem, then the amounts taken by government ought to be seen as twice the problem, since they are greater than the profits taken by oil companies.

Meanwhile, my co-blogger over In The Agora looks at "Where your $2.89 per gallon is going."

Hoosier Billionaire

Steph Mineart digs up the Hoosier billionaires, as reported by Forbes.  We only have three.

How Taxing are Taxes?

Mike Kole says that cutting or eliminating state income and corporate taxes will boost Indiana's economy.

Doug Masson is skeptical that those are the keys to success.

Immigration Station

stAllio! has a roundup of the latest illegal immigration raids here, here, and here.

Doug Masson ponders, "I imagine Representative Hostettler, who wanted the feds to arrest the protesters, must be pleased."

DVD vs. BLS

Taking Down Words finally gets the bottom of why Indiana's Dept. of Workforce Development's estimates of job numbers didn't square with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' estimates.

Real Bad Estate

The Indiana Law Blog and Advance Indiana describe a truly shameful law that protects Hoosier realtors from competition from low-cost agents.

Ironically, this disgraceful behaviour is known in economics as 'rent-seeking.'

MORE: Advance Indiana looks at the effect of this law on Fishers-based HomeYeah.com.

Competing for Jobs

Opening Arguments:

The Tax Foundation has a new State Business Climate Tax Index showing that Wyoming has the most business-friendly tax climate and, surprise, surprise, New York has the worst. If you go to the bottom and click on the attached pdf file, you'll learn that Indiana is ranked No. 11, which ain't bad. The better news (for us, at least) is that nearby Ohio and Kentucky are both in the bottom 10.

Jobs in Indiana

Taking Down Words can't tell whether Indiana gained 22,000 nonfarm jobs since last year or lost 3,400.

I suspect it may have something to do with the methodologies employed with by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Indiana Dept. of Workforce Development.  But I'm not qualified to say whose are better.

And Now For Something Crunchy

Enough with politics for a bit.  Do you like natural, healthy foods?  Or maybe you're just a hippie.  Jennifer Bortel reviews natural food stores in Indianapolis, with a handy chart comparing prices.

Waterfield redux

Mitch Harper of Indiana Parley interviewed Jeff Neumeyer of Indiana's News Center about impending sale of Waterfield Mortgage.

Taking Down Words has this to say about the Waterfield Mortgage sale:

Hey, Governor Daniels, is it time to talk about jobs yet?

How about now?

"Battered by weeks of speculation, Waterfield Mortgage Co. Inc. confirmed Friday the sale of the mortgage arm of the 78-year-old Fort Wayne-based company to two buyers.

"Waterfield’s Fort Wayne operations center will close by the end of March and its portfolio servicing operations will close by the end of June, putting an estimated 650 of 750 local employees out of work."

Waterfield update

Will Waterfield Mortgage be sold?  That's the question Northeast Indiana bloggers are asking.

Writes Indiana Parley:

WISH-TV and the Indianapolis Business Journal  report on speculation that Union Federal Bank and Waterfield Mortgage, both parts of the Waterfield Group based in Fort Wayne, will be sold. Might a bank with deep Hoosier roots be in the hunt for an out-of-state buyer?

24-Hour News 8 news-gathering partner the Indianapolis Business Journal reports growing speculation that locally-owned Union Federal Bank will be sold to an out of state company.

Also covering the Waterfield story is Fort Wayne Observed.

Check your credit report

Mortgage company, ABN AMRO, loses data tape with 2 million customers' private data, including social security numbers, reports Deliberate Chaos.

ABN AMRO is sending letters to customers stating "we are writing to let you know that a computer tape containing information about you and your mortgage account with ABN AMRO Mortgage Group, Inc. has been lost while being transported by DHL courier service to a credit reporting company."

My wife is one of the 2 million customers whose information is on the tape.

Poor business skills? Or something else?

Is it poor customer service or something else?  Mikal raises the question.

EDC controversy boils in Wayne County

Chris Hardie posts about the continuing controversy surrounding the Wayne County Economic Development Corporation.

As much as the very public controversy builds on an already negative atmosphere surrounding economic development in the area, and as painful as it is to see that the impacts of this conflict could have a ripple effect for years to come, it again represents an opportunity for about the issues that matter to us, and a chance for us as citizens to take responsibility for the future of our community.  But for now, we all lose.

Oct. data shows Indiana lost 13,800 jobs

Taking Down Words reports federal Bureau of Labor Statistics data from October shows Indiana lost 13,800 jobs.

What's the trend here?  Democratic governors brought in jobs; our Republican governor maintains the number of jobs he inherited from his hard-working predecessors.

Stealing

Region Broad reports a blatant trademark infringement by a northwest Indiana business.

TRACKBACK: Deliberate Chaos on her post

IU Business Panel

Chris Hardie reports on the Indiana University Kelley School of Business's "Business Outlook Panel," which made a stop in Richmond.

Video Blogging

Future of the Union has video from yesterday's "rank and file" auto workers meeting in Kokomo.

Indy Renaissance

Billie Dragoo, on the Indy Star's IN Touch blog, the Star Editorial Board's online readers panel:

Over the years, Indianapolis has risen from the ashes to become the hidden gem of the Midwest. This is evident when you think that over the past several weeks, we have been represented on the cover of Sports Illustrated three times.

Kokomo Delphi Workers Meet

Future of the Union posts a statement by Todd Jordan from a Delphi workers meeting in Kokomo on Sunday:

Through these struggles the UAW must not rely on the politicians in Washington. This failed strategy is one of the main reasons we are in this battle for Delphi. If we are to defeat the assault by Delphi we must do so at the rank-n-file level. It is vital that we as the working-class see the possibility of building a political conciseness of working people toward the goal of a labor party.

Whole Foods: Not So Fast

Feed Me/Drink Me reports that it looks like Indianapolis might not get the state's first Whole Foods, after all.  (Those of you who've shopped at one know what a loss this is...except for your pocketbook.)