Are you, like so many of us, looking for a little good news? Business owners and entrepreneurs in South Whitley (that’s in the northeastern part of the state and home to a seemingly always strong basketball program at Whitko High School) are receiving some, thanks to STAR Insurance Agency and STAR Financial Bank.

The Community Growth Program will provide a company with free rent for a year and a variety of other business services at STAR’s former insurance agency location. A banking center renovation allowed the Fort Wayne-based STAR to consolidate its bank and insurance operations.

STAR has been part of the South Whitley community since 1935. Kudos to the company. More from STAR about the program:

"We believe the market remains strong for the existing insurance building. It is in very good condition, is very unique and has a long and interesting history. It would be ideal for an individual who is looking for a small office with just a few employees,” said John Lefever, President of STAR Insurance Agency.

 

Beginning May 1, interested applicants may submit a completed business plan and application to the STAR Community Growth Program committee. The deadline for submissions is July 1, 2009.

 

The selected business plan will receive one year of free rent at 121 S. State St. STAR will also provide a complimentary business review, a complimentary insurance review, marketing consultation services and IT assistance.

CNN reports that according to Apartments.com and CBCampus.com, our capital city was named the top city for recent college graduates. Here is the list and criteria:

The list is based on the ranking of the top U.S. cities with the highest concentration of young adults (age 20 – 24) from the U.S. Census Bureau (2006), inventory of jobs requiring less than one year of experience from CBcampus.com (2009) and the average cost of rent for a one bedroom apartment from Apartments.com (2009).

1. Indianapolis
Average rent (1 bedroom):* $625
Popular entry-level categories from Careerbuilder: sales, customer service, health care

2. Philadelphia
Average rent: $1,034
Popular entry-level categories: sales, customer service, management

3. Baltimore
Average rent: $1,130
Popular entry-level categories: sales, customer service, health care

4. Cincinnati
Average rent: $691
Popular entry-level categories: sales, customer service, health care

5. Cleveland
Average rent: $686
Popular entry-level categories: sales, marketing, customer service

6. New York
Average rent: $1,548
Popular entry-level categories: sales, customer service, admin-clerical

7. Phoenix
Average rent: $747
Popular entry-level categories: sales, customer service, marketing

8. Denver
Average rent: $877
Popular entry-level categories: sales, customer service, health care

9. Chicago
Average rent: $1,133
Popular entry-level categories: sales, marketing, customer service

10. San Antonio
Average rent: $696
Popular entry-level categories: sales, customer service, management 

Hat tip to Chamber staffer Ashton Eller.

Not sure you understand this whole climate change, cap and trade debate in Congress? You’re not alone. But when it is declared as the biggest economic threat to Indiana’s future, it’s clear we should be paying a little more attention.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee will be attempting a markup of legislation this week that would impact all businesses and consumers (in the form of higher prices). Indiana’s heavy reliance on coal makes those impacts significantly deeper here than in other areas.

The minority Republicans will try to offer a wide range of amendments. They may also try to slow the process, and hope sanity eventually prevails, by requiring the committee clerk to read the entire 932-page bill.

Back to learning more. Try this U.S. Chamber of Commerce fact sheet for starters; for Indiana Chamber members, participate in our June 5 policy conference call.  Invest a little time now to try and save a whole lot of pain later.

There has already been a lot of rhetoric — with more to come — over the $700 million business tax increase disguised as a solution to the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund bankruptcy.

If Senate Republicans were as resolute in negotiating a balanced piece of legislation that would truly fix the problem as they were in crafting a fantasyland press statement that contains more inaccuracies than insights, we wouldn’t have this problem today.

Don’t believe us? Try this Fort Wayne News-Sentinel editorial, using the words "stinker" and "abomination" in describing the legislation. It also won’t be the final evaluation of this mess, which ironically and sadly will lead to even more job losses.

Read the News-Sentinel take here.

But the geniuses in the legislature decided to put the whole problem on the shoulders of employers.

Businesses currently pay between 1.1 percent and 5.6 percent on the first $7,000 of each employee’s annual pay, with higher percentages charged to companies with a greater history of layoffs. Under the new law, businesses next year will pay between 0.70 percent and 9.5 percent of the first $9,500 of a worker’s pay. Starting in 2011, tax rates will rise to 0.75 percent to 10.2 percent of $9,500.

The fund took in $579 million last year and paid out $986 million and is expected to pay out $900 million more than it collects this year. The state has already borrowed nearly $800 million from the federal government to keep the system going.

The legislation is expected to raise about $315 million a year, and it includes administrative changes lawmakers hope will save the state about $300 million more. Not exactly a total solution, is it? And what will the cost of the fix be?

“Absolutely there will be job losses” because of the extra burden on businesses, says Patrick Kiley, president of the Indiana Manufacturers Association. The Indiana Chamber of Commerce agrees.

Unemployment is usually a “lagging indicator” of a recession, meaning it will continue to rise after the economy stabilizes. This bill is likely to add even more. That means even more paid out and still not enough coming in.

We take it back. Gov. Daniels should have vetoed this abomination.

What do you get when you place a physician, hospital CEO and representatives of the insurance industry and business community in one room? In this case, a most interesting roundtable discussion on health care reform for our BizVoice magazine.

A taste of some of the comments that didn’t make the final cut:

Dr. Edward Langston, based in Lafayette, is immediate past chair of the board of trustees of the American Medical Association. He says it is "sobering" to sit down with physicians who are paying $250,000 a year in liability insurance.

In regard to quality, he states, "We realize we need to take a hard look at how we do our measures. Where there’s been a great mistrust on the physician side is the lack of transparencies and how you determine your quality standards." He says the National Quality Forum can be the vetting organization for performance measures. "If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve the quality. What we’re trying to do is find the right way to measure it. But that’s just the first step. The next one is taking those measures and how can we adapt them to quality outcomes."

Regarding the Healthy Indiana Plan, Ice Miller public affairs specialist Anne Doran notes it is a "start, but by no means the end all be all." The public private partnership is crucial, but "if we had a lot more money, it would be a lot more successful."

Finally, Goshen Health System president and CEO James Dague doesn’t argue that the partnership is a nice element. "I agree it is a start; sometimes I wish the start would be more complete because we hear too many people touting it as if we’ve really done something. I almost wish we hadn’t done it because it’s not really effective."

And that is what’s not in the story. Read the full article.

Members of the Indiana Chamber board of directors, conducting their semiannual meeting today and Friday, reiterated their continued disbelief, outrage and opposition to unemployment insurance trust fund legislation that will lead to many more job losses across the state.

The General Assembly passed the massive tax increase on employers on April 29 and Gov. Daniels signed the bill yesterday. James A. Merten, Chamber chairman of the board for 2009 and vice chairman for City Securities Corporation in Indianapolis, said:

"Indiana companies already struggling to preserve jobs are being victimized by their own senators and representatives at the Statehouse. This singularly focused attack on statewide businesses not only does not solve the problem, but makes it considerably worse for employers and their employees."

Merten urged the governor and legislators to reconsider this detrimental action and pass a more balanced solution during the upcoming special session.

Merten and the Chamber released the letter (below) – signed by 68 members of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce board of directors – that was sent to Gov. Daniels immediately after the legislation passed the General Assembly. Read the rest of this entry »

I wish I enjoyed exercising. But, the last time I went to the gym, I saw my life flash before my eyes while trying to lift weights. And, I’m not exactly the most coordinated athlete. But, I do like walking outdoors (what better way to get fit than while exploring nature?), which is why I’m intrigued by an initiative involving trails and greenways in Terre Haute.

Many projects currently taking place downtown were inspired by the National Road Heritage Trail, which will ultimately stretch 150 miles from the Indiana/Illinois border to the edge of Ohio. Locally, it encompasses the east end of Vigo County to the Wabash River and extends through downtown Terre Haute.

“The genesis of that trail system is right here in Terre Haute,” declares Pat Martin, chief planner for the City of Terre Haute Department of Engineering. “The vision for the trail was to establish an east-west backbone for the trail and greenway system and revitalize neighborhoods and redevelop adjacent land parcels.”

Since 2002, 23 miles of trails and greenways have been developed in the city. The system will be lengthened this year and eventually span approximately 55 miles.

Economic development projects spurred by the trail include:

• Heritage Trail Apartments – a $40 million luxury apartment complex with 296 units located on the city’s east side within walking distance of Indiana State University and the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
• Multi-million dollar extension of Locust Street
• Neighborhood and park connectivity and redevelopment 
• Increase in the value of adjacent brownfield properties

“Perhaps the biggest change of all is in the change in lifestyle for the community,” Martin observes. “This has brought about a greater interest in active lifestyles, not only with the National Heritage Trail, but with the entire trail and greenway system."

Learn about additional downtown revitalization projects, as well as other important initiatives taking place in Terre Haute, in the current issue of BizVoice®.