Hamilton County Business Magazine

Letter from the Editor Feb/Mar 2012

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 18:14:00 -0500

Our notion of Transportation is changing.

What Happens When the Oil's Gone?

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:07:00 -0500

Life Without Oil: Why We Must Shift to a New Energy Future

By Steve Hallett with John Wright

US 31 Upgrade

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:04:00 -0500

Steady Progress With a Few Headaches

2011 in Review

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:01:00 -0500

Unfinished Business?

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:54:00 -0500

The Murder of Benjamin Fisher

Transportation-IndyConnect's plan needs a little pizzazz

Thu, 23 Dec 2010 08:55:00 -0500

I posted this to IndyConnect�s public input website a few weeks ago. I thought it was relevant in light of this week�s announcement that the mass transit initiative is still alive so I'm reposting here.. I like what you guys have done so far and I am especially pleased that you are paying attention to trails and alternative methods of getting around. But I think your public transportation plan needs a little tweaking. As it is being presented, your bus/train plan is a reasonable approach. It would be vast improvement over what we have and it seems like a logical a first step. But, we are living in interesting times in the evolution of transportation and I think that provides you (us) with an opportunity. Internal combustion worked for 100 years and changed the way we live. But, it�s a primitive technology for propulsion and we are finally starting to explore new ways to get around. Time Magazine recently reviewed the top 50 inventions of the year. One of them was a mass transit system being developed in the far east that actually travelled over the entire road. It was 7 feet tall so cars travelled under it while it travelled on tracks on either side of the road but it carried people over the traffic. The magazine also mentioned Google's experiment with driverless cars. Considering Indy�s public transportation system is so undeveloped, we don't have a huge investment in the current technology. We have a few busses and they're old. We don't have to retrofit a new system to an old one. We don't have to tear out a prebuilt infrastructure or fulfill long-term contracts (except for that parking meter thing). We have a sort of blank slate. So, let's explore next-generation technology and devise a plan using that. I don't know what it is but I know its not diesel engines pulling train cars and propelling city busses, which is what your current plan consists of. I know you have to worry about money and new technology is expensive. But if you pique peoples' imaginations money has way of following. The federal government, which pays for a lot of this anyway, has a vested interest in finding new and revolutionary ways of doing things. Large companies are already experimenting with the technology and they have to try it out somewhere. Heck, many of them are doing it right here in Indiana. Why not try it out in their own backyard? When I suggested this at the public input session at the courthouse, one of my fellow attendees scoffed that he wouldn't use something just because it was "cool." Well, maybe not, but many people would. If, in addition to being cool, it also went where he needed to go when he needed to get there, was affordable, comfortable and fun, then we would be appealing to people on more than one level, and he might try it. That's what its going to take to make this go. Don't discount the cool factor. Its what gets people excited and talking. People love to talk about Portland's mass transit. In their time, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington DC and others had new and innovative mass transit. Let's do something special so people talk about Indy like that. The first all-solar system, or magnetic levitation system or "green" system. I don't know what the cutting edge technology is but I know it isn't internal combustion busses and trains. I would like to see us out there trying something new.

Rant-Give me a break on telephone surveys

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 13:51:00 -0500

Here's a message for anyone conducting telephone surveys: if you're calling me, don't tell me it'll only take a few minutes if you intend to keep me half an hour. It happened this morning. The woman was friendly enough and asked if I had a few minutes. I did have a few minutes and I�m usually willing to give someone 5-10 minutes. It�s important that businesses stay in touch with their customers and it�s often hard to get good information any other way than by just asking. So, I�ve got a little time for that. But I think if I�m willing to spare a few minutes you owe me the courtesy to keep it brief, 5-10 minutes max. Believe it or not this woman actually asked me to give her, off the top of my head, percentages of business expenses�like, of all your expenses, what percentage do you spend on meals and entertainment, how much on telephone, etc. That's a level of detail I just can't do spontaneously on the phone. And we kept going over it until it added up to 100%! By the end, I was making stuff up. And, that�s the problem. That kind of research has no value because by about 10 minutes in I just wanted to get rid of her and was answering the shortest way I could. She could feel my anxiety because she eventually started answering for me. So how accurate do you think that research is? Not that I care because anyone boneheaded enough to conduct that kind of telephone questionnaire deserves what they get. And what they�re getting is bad info. To you telephone jockeys out there, I know you are only trying to make a buck by doing what your told, but be sure to pass on the message I gave to the poor woman trying to conduct my interview: it�s a bad survey. 25-30 minutes is too long, and don�t tell me you�re going to keep me for a few minutes when you know it�s not true.

Buy Local-Small Business Saturday

Fri, 26 Nov 2010 09:20:00 -0500

Did you see the ads in The Star that American Express ran this week? They're promoting tomorrow, Saturday, November 27 as Small Business Saturday, and encouraging people to shop at small businesses after shopping at Big Businesses today (Friday). The Star even offered a special page today that gave small businesses the chance to promote themselves. 22 took advantage of it. Its easy to be cynical about these two very large businesses encouraging people to shop at small businesses, but I applaud them. The Star, of course, benefits financially from the advertising, but American Express has no motive other than to appeal to small business supporters. They obviously recognize the importance of Main Street America and want to preserve it. Good for them. Check out more about buying local in the current edition of our magazine. Find an interview with the founder of the 3/50 project here (copy and paste this link): http://hamiltoncountybusiness.com/show_article/50/ , or click on stories on the menu above right, then on the interview tab. What do you think about these "buy local" campaigns? Mike

Immunizations and Testing

Wed, 12 May 2010 02:56:00 -0400

The Hamilton County Health Department offers all vaccines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). There is a $5 per child or $10 per family fee for this service. Cash or Money Orders only, no personal checks. Immunizations are given every Tuesday and Thursday normally between the hours of 8:30 AM to 2:30 PM, no appointment is necessary. **During high volume immunization periods of the year, we will limit the number of patients to 50 per clinic. The clinic is closed on all government holidays as well as May 20, 2010 and August 19, 2010.

Tarakan

Fri, 21 May 2010 03:15:57 -0400

Immunizations and Testing Immunizations and Testing Immunizations and Testing Immunizations and Testing Immunizations and Testing Immunizations and Testing Immunizations and Testing Immunizations and Testing Immunizations and Testing Immunizations and Testing Immunizations and Testing Immunizations and Testing

FILL OUT YOUR REQUESTER CARD!

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 08:22:00 -0400

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The City of Carmel Ethics Board secretary has dismissed a complaint against Mayor Jim Brainard, citing insufficient facts to support allegations of unethical conduct.

The complaint, filed by City Council member John Accetturo, alleged Brainard violated the ethics ordinance when he, as a member of the Board of Directors of the Carmel Performing Arts Foundation, Inc., an Indiana non-profit domestic corporation, permitted the CPAF to receive grants from the Carmel

County Health Rankings 2010

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 08:22:00 -0400

The County Health Rankings project is a collaborative effort involving the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. The results help to demonstrate that where we live, learn, work, and play influences our health and longevity. Counties received summary rankings in two categories; Health Factors and Health Outcomes. For Indiana, Hamilton County is ranked first in both categories.