Fort Wayne Observed

Would a D-League "Mad Ants" team really deserve "Magnifying Glass Night"?

Sports columnist Andy Kehe of the Bakersfield Californian had some comments about the soon-to-be D-League basketball team coming to Fort Wayne:

The D-League is adding four teams next season, including Fort Wayne, Ind. Like fans were here, fans in Fort Wayne are currently being asked to choose a team name among four choices. One of the choices is Mad Ants -- no picnic, for sure, to market. But if the good folks of Fort Wayne have a sense of humor, they'll go with it. Mad Ants represents a salute to eccentric Revolutionary War Brigadier General "Mad" Anthony Wayne, after whom Fort Wayne is named even though old Mad Anthony really had no firm ties to the area.

Should the Mad Ants come to Bakersfield, might I suggest they be welcomed in on "Magnifying Glass Night."

By the way, the Name the Team contest runs through June 6. You can click here to cast your ballot.

Your possible choices are described this way:

• Fire (Our players will shoot so well, they will be on Fire!)
• Lightning (Our players will be as quick as Lightning and rain down thunderous dunks!)
• Coyotes (Our players will be aggressive and hungry like wily Coyotes!)
• Mad Ants (A salute to General “Mad” Anthony Wayne!)

No write-ins are allowed.  So don't even think about a salute to a former Fort Wayne mayor. 

You know ... like the Fort Wayne Wins.

Fort Wayne's Med Pro strongest medical malpractice insurer

Medical Protective, the Fort Wayne based medical malpractice insurer, continues to rank as the strongest medical malpractice insurer in the nation.  Med Pro is headquartered at the corner of St. Joe Center and Reed Roads.

Medical Protective was founded by Byron Somers in 1899.  His descendents controlled the company until its sale to General Electric's insurance unit.  In turn, GE sold the company in 2005 to Columbia Insurance, a unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire-Hathaway Corporation.

From today's release:

Once again the independent rating agency Standard & Poor’s Rating Services (S&P) confirmed Medical Protective’s “AAA” (Extremely Strong) financial strength rating, the highest insurer financial strength rating assigned by S&P. Medical Protective continues to be the only medical liability insurer to receive S&P’s “AAA” rating and A.M. Best Company’s “A++” rating.

Hat tip to Tom Fox.

Kiplinger's rates "Best Cities for Every Stage of Your Life"

The June issue of Kiplinger's magazine, a personal finance publication, has published a list rating cities on quality of life for "every stage" of life.   

The rating indexes were devised by Kevin Stolarick of Carnegie Mellon University and  Richard Florida, author of the "Rise of the Creative Class."  Mr. Florida is a professor at George Mason University and has lectured in Fort Wayne. The Kiplinger report, which may be viewed here, contains numerous sidebars, including an interview with Mr. Florida.

There will be no surprises when Fort Wayne residents examine the scores our fair city receives in this rating. The conclusion one might draw about Fort Wayne if one relied on Mssrs. Stolarick and Florida's index?  That it's average.

From the Kiplinger story:

But first, the common themes. The metro areas were all chosen because they have a strong creative class, including scientists, engineers, architects, educators, writers, artists and entertainers. Richard Florida, a professor of public policy at George Mason University and author of The Rise of the Creative Class, has written that such people inject vitality into a city and make it a vibrant place to live.

Other common criteria include job growth, per-capita income growth and measures of innovation, such as patents per capita. Key considerations are tolerance and diversity -- great indicators that outsiders are welcome.

[ ... ]

A city's affordability was another critical factor. To score high for retirees, for example, a place must have relatively low health-care costs. For mid-level professionals, housing affordability is important, and for families and empty-nesters, the overall cost of living counts (100 is average).

The bohemian indicator shows the concentration of writers, designers, musicians, actors and other arts-related personnel, and is a comparative measure of an area's diversity and cultural amenities (100 represents the national average in our index, so a higher or lower indicator shows a higher/lower concentration). Finally, metro areas of varying sizes are recommended for each life stage.

[ ... ]

All cities were judged of the strength of their "3T's." These are technology, talent and tolerance. This boils down to presence of high-tech workers and businesses, the talent level of the workforce and the tolerance for all types of people. A fourth factor included here is economic growth.

Other business publications have featured city ratings based on Mssrs. Stolarick and Florida in past years. For example,  Forbes published city rankings based on their methodology in 2005. While Mr. Florida has been criticized by other academics regarding the predictive value of his economic models, these rankings are always useful for provoking discussion and reflection.

Enhancing northeastern Indiana's ability to retain and attract highly educated and skilled workers is key to this region's future. 

New Scott Road Trail dedicated

Today marked the dedication of the new Scott Road section of trails as part of the Aboite NewTrails system.

Ray Irvin, State of Indiana Greenways and Bikeways Director.

Lori Keyes, Executive Director of Aboite NewTrails addresses the crowd.

Dedication gathering near Deer Ridge Elementary School on Scott Road south of State Road 14.

Photo credit: Fort Wayne Observed | Mitch Harper

Ride the bus for free tomorrow

People will be able to ride Citilink buses tomorrow for free.

Thursday will be another ozone action day.  Due to the air pollution notice, bus service will be free in order to promote mass transit. 

You can check out Citilink (Public Transit Corporation) routes and schedules by clicking here.

Above right: Mayor Mike Burns riding a Fort Wayne bus.

Photo credit: PTC website

Breaking: Henry to tell StopKelty.com "cease and desist"

FWOB EXCLUSIVE

Fort Wayne mayoral candidate Tom Henry has told FWOb that he is sending a demand letter to those responsible for the website "StopKelty.com" to take down the site.

Mitch Harper and Tom Henry were both at the groundbreaking today for the Scott Road section of Aboite New Trails.

Fort Wayne Observed first reported that the StopKelty.com site had gone live last evening.  FWOb found through a WhoIs search that the site's administrative contact is Greg Siler of Fort Wayne.

Tom Henry said, "I will be informing those responsible for the site to cease and desist.  I am not going to run that sort of campaign and I don't want such sites to appear to be somehow associated with us.  We will be returning any donations that we believe to have come from the website."

West of Zulu and east of Dunfee

Scott Greider reports from the sophisticated environs of Manhattan:

Old news, I know, but thought you might enjoy the fact that I was riding in an elevator here in NYC the other day with a woman I'd seen before in the building who was carrying a Vera Bradley bag.  A young, hip, and fashionable woman.   She swore they were the greatest!  I told her they're made in my hometown of Fort Wayne, to which she replied, "Where's that?"

Kelty hires election law expert James Bopp, Jr.

The Kelty for Mayor Campaign is now being advised by Terre Haute Attorney James Bopp, Jr..

Mr. Bopp is an election and constitutional law expert with a national reputation.  Most recently, he presented oral argument before the US Supreme Court on April 25 in what most commentators have called the most important election law case of the Supreme Court session.

From OMB Watch, where you can also see a complete transcript of the Supreme Court oral argument in the case of Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life:

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument on April 25 in Wisconsin Right to Life's (WRTL) challenge to the constitutionality of a campaign finance law that limits certain broadcasts, including grassroots lobbying messages, during federal campaigns. The issue before the Court is whether the law is unconstitutional as applied to the facts of WRTL's 2004 grassroots lobbying radio ads.

Much of the argument addressed what standard should be used to define "genuine issue ads" entitled to constitutional protection. For nonprofits, much depends on whether the Court sets a clear standard for the 2008 election year. A decision is expected during the summer, which allows enough time for Congress or the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to establish rules that comply with the Court's decision.

Mr. Bopp maintains a national practice in regards to campaign law issues. He has served as Treasurer of the Indiana State Republican Central Committee.  He has served as General Counsel of the James Madison Center for Free Speech; has written for National Review and other publications, and has been a guest on numerous public affairs and news programs such as PBS' News Hour with Jim Lehrer.

Photo from NRTL News.

What's for lunch? Phil GiaQuinta's favorite

Fort Wayne attorney, FWCS Board member and former City Council member Mark GiaQuinta is the proprietor of Beamer's Sports Bar and Grill.  Beamer's is located across from Steel Dynamics at West County Line Road and US 30.

Here's a sampling of what you'll see on the menu:

 

Further recommended reading

FWOb also recommends today's Wall Street Journal articles on Navistar and Biomet.

From the Dennis Berman story regarding Warsaw-based Biomet:

The buyout of medical-device maker Biomet Inc. was thrown into doubt last night as shareholder-advisory service Institutional Shareholder Services recommended Biomet holders vote down a $10.9 billion private-equity deal for the company.

The recommendation, made prior to a June 8 shareholder vote on the deal, was a rebuke for a group of private-equity heavyweights who had assembled to buy the maker of artificial knees, hips and other orthotic devices. That group consists of Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs' private-equity arm, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., and TPG Capital.

As an Indiana-incorporated company, Biomet's buyers must meet a high standard to get final approval for the deal: Winning support from at least 75% of all shares outstanding.

The story is of particular interest to me because I worked with Indiana Secretary of State Ed Simcox in crafting the original legislation which allowed Indiana companies to adopt the higher standard for takeovers.

Terry Kodlosky reported on Navistar in a story titled "Navistar Glows Amid Its Woes." (The article is only available to subscribers).

Mr. Kodlosky writes:

Navistar International Corp. has been delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, faces a slowdown in its core truck market and is feuding with one of its major customers.

Despite these headwinds, its shares are up about 85% since the beginning of the year, as takeover rumors swirl and investors focus on projected good times ahead and a significant potential military contract.

The company's share performance demonstrates how investors are increasingly willing to ignore issues that in previous eras might have made them turn up their noses. In a market reaching new highs amid big mergers and access to inexpensive capital, Navistar offers to many an opportunity to get in while a cycle is trending downward, with the potential for an upward swing. Meanwhile, the merger speculation underscores the potential appeal of the U.S. market, particularly for makers of larger commercial trucks, despite signs of softness in some parts of the economy.

[ ... ]

Navistar, parent of International Truck & Engine Co., is one of the largest U.S. makers of medium- and heavy-duty trucks, which range from some construction vehicles to buses to the highway's big rigs. It's a market coming off big highs -- new federal emissions regulations that kicked in this year led to a surge of buying by truck users ahead of the expensive modifications. North American truck production is suffering this year as a result, with builds for the big, commercial highway haulers down to 220,000 to 230,000 from about 380,000 last year, says research firm Americas Commercial Transportation Research Co.

[ .. ]

But some investors this year have seen opportunity in these troubles. For example, Navistar represents one of the few pure-play truck makers in North America in a time of global consolidation in the industry. Talks between German truck maker MAN AG and Sweden's Scania AB on creating a single truck titan has spurred merger speculation. Navistar's competitors include arms of Germany's DaimlerChrysler AG and General Motors Corp. The other major U.S.-based, independent truck maker, Paccar Inc., has a strong majority shareholder.

Photo credit: Fort Wayne Observed | Mitch Harper