St. Margaret's Guild Moves 2009 Showhouse

Once upon a time, St. Margaret's Guild specialized in showcasing renovated Meridian-Kessler houses. Now that they've set their sites on sites up north in Hamilton County that fit the McMansion designation, they've run into snags.

According to the Indianapolis Business Journal, "For a second time in four years, organizers of the Decorators’ Show House will have to relocate their spring design extravaganza after a falling-out with the initial donor."

Instead of 4502 Panthera Leo Drive, they'll be using a 13,000-square-foot, six-bedroom house at 1388 Queens Way, also in Carmel, for the 25 April - 10 May event.

Decorators’ Show House, in its 48th year, is the guild’s primary fund-raiser for Wishard Health Services.

Photo IDs for Voting

Michael J. Pitts (pictured) will discuss “The Impact of Photo IDs on Provisional Ballots” at the 9th Cafe Inquiry at 6:30 p.m. 28 January. He conducted research on the topic during the 2008 election in Indiana.

The discussion will be held in the Center for Inquiry Indianapolis, Suite A, 350 Canal Walk (between the Indiana University School of Law in Indy and the IUPUI School of Informatics north of New York Street), Indianapolis.

Prof. Pitts is Associate Professor of Law at the law school. His scholarly work focuses on the law of democracy, particularly the Voting Rights Act.

Indy Mayor Unveils Unigov 2.0 Plan

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard is calling for more government streamlining, under an initiative he is calling Unigov 2.0, reports Inside INdiana Business.

Ballard says the plan is designed to reform fire service, emergency communications, property tax administration and poor relief. the mayor also says he would like to manage community corrections, health and hospital and IndyGo more like city departments, where leaders are appointed by the mayor and subject to city council approval.

Indianapolis Unveils Community School Model

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard has announced a partnership to implement a community school model in two city schools, reports Inside INdiana Business.

Indianapolis will invest $180,000 during 2009 and the United Way of Central Indiana will coordinate the community school programming. The model is being introduced at the Challenge Foundation Academy, which is a mayor-sponsored charter school and Lynwood Elementary School.

Winterfest Offers More Than 100 Beers

Having a brewfest in Broad Ripple each summer wasn't enough for the Brewers of Indiana Guild, so they've launched a winter edition.

Winterfest, 3-7 p.m. tomorrow (24 January) in the Champions Pavilion at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, 1202 East 38th Street, Indianapolis, will offer some 100 beers from almost two dozen breweries (most in Indiana).

Tickets are $20 at the door.

Mini Medical School

"Medical Myths and Facts" will be explored during four Mini Medical School programs next month presented by the Indiana University School of Medicine and the IU National Center of Excellence in Women's Health.

Classes will be from 7 to 9 p.m. 4, 11, 18 and 25 February in room 409, Campus Center, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, 420 North University Boulevard, Indianapolis.

The classes are free, but registration is required. For more information or to register, go online or call 317:274-7722.

Business Partnerships in Life Sciences Explored

The Center for the Business of Life Sciences at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University hosts a session on business partnerships 13 February in the Indianapolis headquarters of Eli Lilly and Company. It's part of the Indiana Life Sciences Collaboration Conference Series.

Registration begins at 7:30 a.m., and the confab continues to 3:15 p.m. Conference registration is $50.

The session is structured to answer these questions: How do you transform a company, and an industry through partnering? What does it take to move to a fully networked "virtual" company? How can those companies looking to partner with pharmaceutical companies like Lilly serve the industry's changing needs? What tools and techniques does it take to effectively build lasting and successful relationships between these partners?

Art & Soul 2009 Kick-off

"Art & Soul", a celebration of African-American art and artists in Indiana, kicks off with an afternoon full of performances in the Indianapolis Artsgarden on 31 January.

Sponsored by the Arts Council of Indianapolis, this annual celebration running throughout February includes a diverse lineup of music, poetry, storytelling, dance, and visual art. All are free and open to the public.

During the kickoff event, there'll be performances by DJ Limelight, Judah Band and Kenyetta Dance Company, artists selling their work, artists working, vendor booths, food by Ritz Catering, Buca di Beppo, Maxine's Chicken and Waffles, and Hoghead's BBQ, music and more from 1-5 p.m.

It's Not Exactly in Indianapolis, But...

Milford (Ind.) based Maple Leaf Farms duck will be the center of a three-course meal served to President Barack Obama and members of Congress immediately after the swearing-in ceremony tomorrow (20 January 20).

See this for more.

Of the People: Abraham Lincoln

Storyteller Hope Baugh will explore the stories and images of Abraham Lincoln in her presentation about America's 16th president at 4 p.m. Sunday (18 January) in the Basile Theater of the Indiana History Center, 450 West Ohio Street, Indianapolis.

Baugh created this talk for the Indiana Historical Society and Storytelling Arts of Indiana. "Of the People" is the 15th story commissioned for the Sharing Hoosier History Through Stories series.

Tickets are $12 at the door. For more information, call 317:232-1882.

Devour Downtown Winterfest

Just as the weather hits its lows, the downtown dining scene heats up. From 19-31 January, Devour Downtown Winterfest features special menus at special prices to lure Indy residents out of their houses and into restaurants.

Thirty-five downtown eateries are cooking up $30 menus to take away those winter blues! No passes, no coupons, no tickets are required. Just go to one of the participating restaurants during dinner hours and request the $30 menu.

Reservations are highly recommended and can be made by calling the restaurants directly or online using OpenTable.com.(Most, but not all restaurants participating in Devour Downtown offer online reservations through OpenTable.com, and, in the opinion of this Indianapolis Observer, the rest had better get with the program -- which is national in scope.)

Devour Downtown is sponsored by the Indianapolis Downtown Restaurant & Hospitality Association, a chapter of the Indiana Restaurant Association.

Book & Author Luncheon to be 17 April

Philip Gulley, Jill Kargman, Laila Lalami and Sara Snow will be featured during the 29th annual Book & Author Luncheon sponsored by the Christamore House Guild. The fundraiser which benefits the guild's scholarship fund for students living in the Haughville neighborhood, will be held 17 April in the Indiana Roof Ballroom, downtown Indianapolis.

The event begins at 10 a.m. with books available for purchase and signing. The luncheon and author presentations are 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The most recent books by the authors are I Love You, Miss Huddleston (Gulley), The Ex-Mrs. Hedgefund (Kargman), Secret Son (Lalami) and Sara Snow's Fresh Living (Snow).

For more information, contact Susan Buroker, 317:569-8667.

The Christamore House Guild (formerly Christamore Aid Society) was founded in 1908 by Martha Stewart Carey. The organization is dedicated to providing volunteer services and financial support for the Christamore Settlement House.

You Know Christmas is Over When...

The lights come down from the Monument! That happens on Saturday, when the 4,784 lights on 52 garland strands will be removed by members of the IBEW 481.

If you want to watch, head toward the Indiana Soldiers & Sailors Monument Saturday. The work by 150 volunteer union electricians and apprentices begins about 8 a.m.

Marcus Schrenker

Indy's missing financial executive continues to make headlines in the United States, and around the world.

Marcus Schrenker, President/Chief Compliance Officer of Heritage Wealth Management, located at 11206 Fall Creek Road, Indianapolis, evidently parachuted out of his small plane over Alabama Sunday and disappeared. His single-engine Piper Malibu Meridian continued flying on autopilot and crashed in Florida's panhandle.

Both financial troubles and a pending divorce are said to be contributing factors.

The latest news is here: Schrenker evidently picked up a motorcycle and supplies he'd stashed in the Harpersville-Childersburg area, near where he bailed out of his plane.

Some more places to read all about it are here, here, here and here.

UPDATE (as of 14 January):
Yeah, they got him. At a campground in Florida. Now comes the long, slow process of the justice system.

UPDATE II (as of 15 January):
The wrapup story in The New York Times.

"Keep the Dream Alive"

The Madame Walker Theatre Center, 617 Indiana Avenue, Indianapolis, will commemorate American icon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in a 90-minute celebration on Monday (19 January) 12:15 p.m. Admission is free.

Speakers include Rev. Michelle Roos of St. Phillips Episcopal Church, Pastor Carl Z. Liggins of Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church, Indiana Lt. Governor Becky Skillman, Indiana State Senator Jean Breaux, Indiana State Representative Carolene Mays and City County Councilor Kent Smith. Performers will include Lyric Soprano Paula Dione Ingram, the TriCity High Schools’ Gospel Choir and Krash Krew Dance Company.

Assembly for the annual "Freedom Walk on the Avenue" begins at 11 a.m. at the Indianapolis Urban League, 777 Indiana Avenue, Indianapolis. Light refreshments will be served.

The sidewalk procession begins at noon, and will head southeast along Indiana Avenue from the Urban League to the theater. For more information, call 317:236-2099 or go online.

Silent Sellers

Three installations titled "Silent Sellers" by Jodie Hardy are on display at the east façade of Chase building on North Pennsylvania Street in downtown Indianapolis through May.

They're part of "The Picture Windows: Urban Interpretations" project, created to revitalize office and storefront windows in high traffic downtown areas by commissioning local artists to create specific artwork for each window. The privately-funded project was made possible by the Indianapolis Development Commission through the financial support of Lilly Endowment, Inc.

Hardy's striking, iconic installations are based upon picture windows used for displaying retail wares, the fashion industry's use of photography and visual merchandising to seduce passersby and the physical and emotional pressures those fashions place on women. The windows feature a highly stylized photo spread, "caution tape dress" wearing mannequin, and more than 100 dolls dressed in caution tape dresses.

The 21st Century's Perfect Storm?

The 63rd annual Indiana University Business Conference will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. 11 March in the Indiana Convention Center, 100 South Capitol Avenue, Indianapolis. It is sponsored by the IU Kelley School of Business Alumni Association.

Titled "The 21st Century Perfect Storm", it will cover health care, energy and the environment. Conference speakers include David Brooks, Susan Dentzer, Amory Lovins, Bill McKibben, Michael A. Evans, Douglas Lattner and Michael G. Rippey.

Registration deadline is 24 February. For more information and the registration form, go to the website.

The Magic Has Gone

Macy's is closing its "underperforming" Lafayette Square Store. This shopping center definitely has seen better days. Gone from the mall are Sears, Penney's, Block's, Ward's, multitudes of smaller retail shops, and now the department store formerly known as L. S. Ayres & Co.

Historic Wishard Murals

In 1914, a group of renowned Hoosier artists painted murals for the benefit of patients at Wishard Memorial Hospital (then known as Indianapolis City Hospital).

The conservation department of the Indianapolis Museum of Art has been working to bring these murals back to their original condition since 2004, when they conserved a painting by Indiana African American artist William Edouard Scott.

Since then, the conservation of several works by such Indiana artists as T. C. Steele, Clifton Wheeler, J. Ottis Adams and Wayman Adams has been completed.

The exhibition includes a cleaned work by T. C. Steele, along with before and during treatment photographs, and a Carl Graf painting divided into partially cleaned and fully cleaned surfaces.

It opens 17 January in the IMA's Alliance Gallery, running through 29 March 2009.

Pictured is "Simeon and the Babe Jesus" by William Edouard Scott.

IMA Cuts Budget by $1.7 Million

The Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) has announced budget cuts for the current fiscal year of $1.7 million because of the challenging economy, reports Inside INdiana Business.

IMA Chief Executive Officer and Melvin & Bren Simon Director Max Anderson says a museum-wide salary freeze and hiring "frost" are in place, meaning it will only hire on an exceptional basis. Anderson says no staff cutbacks are planned. Other cost saving measures include delaying the 100 acres nature park project until 2010 and possibly reducing museum hours.

King Dinner Celebration at IUPUI

Tickets are on sale now for the 40th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dinner sponsored by Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis.

The celebration, presented by the IUPUI Black student Union, will be held at 6 p.m. 18 January in the Cosmopolitan Ballroom of the Hyatt Regency in downtown Indianapolis. Political activist and Black Entertainment Television host, producer and commentator Jeff Johnson (pictured) will be the keynote speaker.

Johnson, a Washington-based award-winning journalist, has been called the conscience voice of BET. He has served as national youth director for the NAACP and vice president for the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network. Johnson presents lively commentary on current events during Tuesday broadcasts of the Tom Joyner Morning Show. He is to host a new BET talk show, “The Truth with Jeff Johnson,” scheduled to premiere this month.

The theme for the 2009 King Dinner celebration is “Acknowledging Our Past to Promote Our Future.”

Individual tickets are $25 for IUPUI students, $50 for IUPUI faculty, staff and alumni; and $60 for community guests. They are available in the Office of Campus & Community Life, IUPUI Campus Center, 420 University Boulevard, Indianapolis. For information, call 317:274-3931.

Annual Student Show

The annual student show continues through 25 January at the Indianapolis Art Center, 820 East 67th Street, Indianapolis. The show highlights student talent in beginning, intermediate, advanced, and professional categories. All current students were eligible to enter this highly competitive juried show.

Divisional and Best of Show winners will get the opportunity to exhibit in the Best of Student Show Award Winners exhibition in fall 2009. Artworks run the gamut, from printmaking to steel sculpture, with the best in all media is represented.

It's Girl Scout Cookie Time

Or, at least this Indianapolis Observer thinks that Girl Scout Cookie Time starts tomorrow, when scouts in the Central Indiana region start taking orders.

That's what it says in today's Indianapolis Star, but there's nothing on the council's website with any information.

The actual cookies will be delivered after 10 February, The Star says. Each box costs $3, and the proceeds are split by the troops and the council.