Indianapolis Development News

[ablerock]

Indystar.com has an article up about Indy's "pothole problem".

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dl...OCAL/303130003

This paragraph caught my attention:

Mayor Greg Ballard has made fixing the streets an early centerpiece of his administration but filling in the craters is, literally, a patchwork solution. Hardiman said the mayor has budgeted $17 million for road resurfacing this spring, an increase of $7 million over last year, Hardiman said.

I hope some of that money shows up downtown. We're sorely in need of some resurfacing downtown in areas, and all the stripes need to be repainted. You can't even see the crosswalks at some intersections.

(I might as well point out how poorly the second sentence is written while I'm here. I'm not trying to find errors in the Star, but every single article I read has serious problems. Did you notice the "Hardiman said" at the beginning and the end? That's just ridiculous. I expect that level of writing in a high school yearbook, but not a major city newspaper.)

[NaptownBoy]

I'd think that most people know by now that the Star isn't exactly the best place for high quality reporting.

[Mr Peanut]

http://blog.ibj.com/blog/?p=682

The IBJ has been reporting that Premier Properties is having some financial difficulties. Namely the fact that they pretty much stopped paying their bills. It looks like Venu at 86th and Keystone is probably not going to happen.

[IndyYeah]

I like Museum Plaza alot. Not so much when I thought it was black like the Sears Tower. I am in the miniority on that, but they also have some nice buildings in downtown Louisville. Really don't know much about the city. I did not think it would start on time, as big a project that it is.

[IndyYeah]

Originally Posted by ablerock

Indystar.com has an article up about Indy's "pothole problem".

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dl...OCAL/303130003

This paragraph caught my attention:

Mayor Greg Ballard has made fixing the streets an early centerpiece of his administration but filling in the craters is, literally, a patchwork solution. Hardiman said the mayor has budgeted $17 million for road resurfacing this spring, an increase of $7 million over last year, Hardiman said.

I hope some of that money shows up downtown. We're sorely in need of some resurfacing downtown in areas, and all the stripes need to be repainted. You can't even see the crosswalks at some intersections.

(I might as well point out how poorly the second sentence is written while I'm here. I'm not trying to find errors in the Star, but every single article I read has serious problems. Did you notice the "Hardiman said" at the beginning and the end? That's just ridiculous. I expect that level of writing in a high school yearbook, but not a major city newspaper.)

Is it their editor that is responsible. I used to get the sunday paper in the service 25 years ago, and I would think ''What", when sentences were cut off in the middle all the time. That pothole problem is good to know he wants it taken care of. Used to love filling them when I was with IDOT, years ago. How were they taken care of last year at 7 million less?

[Unionstation13]

ATTENTION.
Some ass on IBJ has copied my name. I will now post as Unionstation13(not that anyone reads my posts anyway but you get the point).

[unvrsty07]

^ I read your posts unionstation

[ablerock]

Yeah! Me too!

[arenn]

Hey, not sure of all the details, but one thing I read indicated that the property tax bill includes the state taking over the $400 million pre-1977 police and fire pension liability. That would be huge.

[Unionstation13]

well I'll be going by a new screen name since IBJ has done nothing about this. I'll try to change my writing system but that isn't exactly easy. But then again I will be the one bitching about lack of proper preservation or low density.

[mobyhead]

Originally Posted by Unionstation13

well I'll be going by a new screen name since IBJ has done nothing about this. I'll try to change my writing system but that isn't exactly easy. But then again I will be the one bitching about lack of proper preservation or low density.

ANYONE can make up a fake name. IBJ can see the different IP address for sure. It's not worth the time for them to investigate. At least while the posts aren't offensive.

[thundermutt]

Originally Posted by arenn

Hey, not sure of all the details, but one thing I read indicated that the property tax bill includes the state taking over the $400 million pre-1977 police and fire pension liability. That would be huge.

They probably forgot to mention the sales tax increase or income tax increase that will be necessary to balance the state budget.

I agree with you, arenn, about the importance of getting that item off the city's books...but I wonder if the mayor and council will now conveniently forget that half of the city-county income tax increase (total was 0.65%, increasing from 1.0% to 1.65%) was supposed to be for that very thing. My guess is that Ballard will try his darnedest (hah) to find budget cuts but in the end he'll just not find any fat and he'll "reluctantly" have to keep the income tax increase.

What does this have to do with development in Indy?

Suburban wage and property taxes are lower. If you're going to build an office building and try to fill it up, are you going build it at 15th & Meridian only to swim against the current and try to draw high-income people to work in a higher-tax city...and pay higher property taxes yourself on your investment to boot? Or will you go out to umpteenth and Meridian in Carmel or Westfield?

[pig]

Originally Posted by Unionstation13

well I'll be going by a new screen name since IBJ has done nothing about this. I'll try to change my writing system but that isn't exactly easy. But then again I will be the one bitching about lack of proper preservation or low density.

Maybe IBJ should give up on WordPress and move to something that allows for registered nicknames. I am definitely not a fan of allowing commenting on stories, but PropertyLines is generally set up for discussion so it's a little bit different. The "new and improved", web-2.0icized indystar.com is going to be atrocious.

But, yeah, Unionstation13, your copycat is distracting and pretty immature.

[Mr Peanut]

Originally Posted by pig

Maybe IBJ should give up on WordPress and move to something that allows for registered nicknames. I am definitely not a fan of allowing commenting on stories, but PropertyLines is generally set up for discussion so it's a little bit different. The "new and improved", web-2.0icized indystar.com is going to be atrocious.

Those IndyStar comment threads are the worst cesspool on the Internet. I occasionally read them out of morbid curiosity, and find myself getting dumber each time. I bet there will be even more "user interaction" when they roll out their new Web 2.0 bullshit.

[thundermutt]

After reading some threads on Sen. Delph's illegal-immigrant bill, I swore off the Star boards. Those boards seem to bring out the screaming idiots.

[Unionstation13]

Originally Posted by pig

Maybe IBJ should give up on WordPress and move to something that allows for registered nicknames. I am definitely not a fan of allowing commenting on stories, but PropertyLines is generally set up for discussion so it's a little bit different. The "new and improved", web-2.0icized indystar.com is going to be atrocious.

But, yeah, Unionstation13, your copycat is distracting and pretty immature.

Yeah I am going to be posting as brick by brick now.

[billionbucks]

A fun little story:

Something's fishy in the Downtown Canal again

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dl...1805/803150467

[billionbucks]

I'm usually one to stand up for modern art, even if I don't really understand it. But I am not a fan of this at all! It throws off the main entrance completely.



http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dl...AL18/803150473

[arenn]

Gotta love that donut on the far pedestal.

These guys just don't get it.

[Mr Peanut]

Great. The entrance to a beautiful neoclassical building will be flanked by a donut and an untwisted coat hanger.