Ghost Employment? Ask Monroe Gray!

Indy bloggers are agog today at the article in The Indianapolis Star about the, ahem, inability of City-County Council President Monroe Gray (left) to produce any evidence that he actually earns his $83,000 salary from the Indianapolis Fire Department. This Indianapolis Observer thinks it's just the beginning of the story!

Rose Petals to Scent Bus Shelters?

Eleven IndyGo bus shelters will receive artistic transformations beginning Monday (1 October), courtesy of a Public Art Indianapolis project featuring the work of local artist Audrey Barcio, according to Inside Indiana Business. The project includes thousands of rose petals attached to the glass interior walls of the shelters using water-soluble glue. At sunrise – the beginning of many riders’ morning commutes – the sweet smell of the roses will fill the shelters. The petals will last for approximately two days, and new petals will be attached afterward. The project is scheduled to conclude on Sunday (7 October), following the conclusion of Circle City Classic weekend.

"That Mess in the Coroner's Office"....

Leave it to the blogs -- specifically this time Ruth Holladay's, to highlight the awful truth in local government. The political shenanigans in the Marion County coroner's office are gonna cost us even more legal fees this year. Sigh!

Cross-Country Course to be along White River

Officials for the Indiana Invaders track and running club and the city of Indianapolis announced yesterday that a championship cross-country course and training venue will be developed along the banks of the White River downtown, according to a report by the Indianapolis Business Journal. Ground was broken this week. The 20-acre development, which includes a parcel behind the Michael A. Carroll Track & Soccer Stadium on the campus of Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis and another between 10th and 16th streets along Fall Creek Parkway, will include two international championship cross-country courses and additional trails connecting the courses. It'll be called the Indiana Cross Country Arena at White River State Park.

Note: these Indiana Invaders are a field & track team, not to be confused with Indiana Invaders of South Bend, a soccer team founded in 1998.

Eye On Indianapolis' Cousins-in-Arms?

Indy blogs update:
Indy Corrupt has been MIA since 7 September, but the law enforcement officer blog, Indy Undercover is rolling along...and it's been joined by Indy Flashover, concentrating on concerns of Indy firefighters.

Revolving Think Tanks: Carmel, not Hudson

The Hudson Institute may have fled its tony mansion in Indy for the East Coast, but there's a new think tank on Indy's horizon. The newly formed Carmel Institute has offered $20 million for the former Hilbert mansion in Carmel. That bid matches Conseco Inc.’s asking price for the 40-acre estate, which has been on the market for two years. The new institute's future president and chief executive, Scott Massey, heads the consultancy Global Strategies. He is former executive director of the Indiana Humanities Council. According to WTHR, The Carmel Institute is an executive retreat center and conference center. The Indianapolis Star adds, "The Spiritual Enterprise Institute, the nonprofit organization of Roosevelt Group chief executive Theodore Roosevelt Malloch, put up a $50 million endowment for The Carmel Institute.... Malloch said The Carmel Institute also has received funds from the John Templeton Foundation, which gave $3 million, and the Ford Foundation, which gave $1 million."

What a Coincidence!

Andre Carson (right), who last month took over the City-County Council seat of Patrice Abdullah, has been hired by Cripe Architects + Engineers Inc. as a marketing specialist. Carson, 32, is a grandson of U.S. Rep. Julia Carson, D-Indianapolis (left). He most recently was an investigator for the Indiana State Excise Police. "We hired him because we needed a marketing specialist, not because we needed a city councilor," Cripe Senior Vice President Dennis Southerland said, in a report by Indianapolis Business Journal staff.

Hoosier Storytelling Festival

Partake in a feast of stories during the annual Hoosier Storytelling Festival from 10-14 October at Military Park and the Indiana History Center. Everyday experiences are transformed into universal stories that appeal to us all from hilarious family stories to thought-provoking folktales, from inspirational Biblical stories to some of the best literary tales of our time. Sponsored by Storytelling Arts, there's a complete schedule here. Featured storytellers are Carol Birch (pictured), Donald Davis, Carmen Agra Deedy, Bill Harley and Baba Jamal Koram.

Robert Rubin in Indy Tomorrow

Guest speaker at the opening luncheon of the Economic Club of Indianapolis will be former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin (left). The event begins at noon Wednesday (19 September) in the Indiana Convention Center, downtown. Next up, 31 October, is James Rogers, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Duke Energy.

Biotechnology and Other Life Sciences

The Indiana Life Sciences Forum will bring together venture capitalists, thought leaders, CEOs, and bankers to consider Indiana’s Life Science future. The Forum, 22-23 October, will be held at the Westin Indianapolis. Government officials, consultants, the financial community and executives from "emerging" life science companies are the target audience. Registration costs $179 before Wednesday (19 September) and $199 after. The academic, government and non-profit rate is a discounted $155.

Meanwhile...A Triple Homicide?

According to Indy Undercover, three people were murdered late last night or early this morning on Indy's east side.

UPDATE:
Yep. It's true. And, according to The Indianapolis Star today (17 September), an arrest has been made.

Debut of The Mind Trust

"The Mind Trust, a new education nonprofit focused on promoting education entrepreneurship in Indianapolis, is now accepting applications for its flagship program, the Education Entrepreneur Fellowship. The Fellowship will provide the nation’s most promising education entrepreneurs with the support they need to develop and launch initiatives that focus on wholly new ways of confronting public education’s most vexing problems. Fellows will target underserved or disadvantaged students with solutions that attack the root problems in the delivery of public education", according to the news release.

Each Fellowship will last two years, with the first fellows beginning their work in spring or summer of 2008. Fellows’ annual salaries will be $90,000. Each fellow will also receive $20,000 for customized training and travel over the term of their Fellowship. The Mind Trust’s initial investment in the Education Entrepreneur Fellowship is approximately $900,000. See the website for details.

Indy Should Keep Its Eye on Carmel

Carmel's watching how the wind blows. A meteorological tower was installed near 106th Street and Hazel Dell Parkway last week to gather data on wind frequency, speed, consistency and other variables for a period of one year to see if wind energy is a viable energy source for the city. The tower is 60 meters tall with approximately twenty-eight support wires around it. Stay tuned....

UIndy's Faculty Artist Series Announced

The University of Indianapolis Faculty Artist Series will kick off its 26th season on Monday (17 September) with an 80th birthday celebration for Maestro Raymond Leppard (right), conductor laureate of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and artist-in-residence at the university.

The 2007-2008 edition of the recital series includes 17 Monday evening concerts from September through April. Presentations, each beginning at 7:30 p.m., feature solo repertoire, readings of chamber literature, period instrument performances, premieres of new works and classic and contemporary jazz. All concerts are presented free of charge in the Ruth Lilly Performance Hall of UIndy’s Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center, 1400 East Hanna Avenue, Indianapolis. For more information, see the website or call 317:788-3255.

2007-8 Season Announced for Clowes Presents

The Vienna Boys' Choir (left), a performance of Tony-winning "Forbidden Broadway" and a rare collaboration by jazz greats Bobby McFerrin, Chick Corea and Jack DeJohnette highlight Clowes Memorial Hall of Butler University’s 2007-08 "Clowes Presents" schedule. The full lineup features fiddler Natalie MacMaster (5 October), Vienna Boys' Choir (20 October), pianist Peter Cincotti (2 November), the Moiseyev Dance Company (26 January), The Temptations (8 February), Pilobolus Dance Theatre (23 February), "Forbidden Broadway" (12 April) and McFerrin/Corea/DeJohnette (25 April).

All eight shows are on either a Friday or Saturday night. All performances are at 8 p.m. with the doors opening at 6:30 p.m. Season subscription packages are available now for $168, $128, and $88. Individual show tickets went on sale last Friday (7 September). For more information log onto the website or call 317:940-6444.

Chakaia Booker?

According to The Indianapolis Business Journal, Indy arts officials are in talks with New York City artist Chakaia Booker about featuring her work in next year’s public art blowout. Booker’s shtick? Sculptures (such as the one at the right) created entirely from used tires.

Get out the Wellies and a Poncho!

Tomorrow -- Saturday (8 September) -- is the 41st annual Penrod Arts Fair on the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art. The weather forcast is iffy, and the event is outdoors, so you'll need boots and other rain gear to explore works of art by more than 330 artists, live entertainment on six stages, children's activities, displays by non-profit groups and great food from 20 restaurants between the 9 a.m. opening and 5 p.m. closing. Parking will be available at Crown Hill Cemetery, Clowes Hall, Bertha Ross Park and Major Taylor Velodrome. Admission at the gate is $15.

Art vs. Wheel of Death at Fountain Square

Not to be left out of the “First Friday” art mix, another Indy Cultural District, Fountain Square, has a big event scheduled this Friday (7 September). Art vs. Art takes place from 8 p.m.-midnight at the Fountain Square Theatre, 1111 Prospect Street, Indianapolis, featuring a competition in which canvases square off against each other in elimination rounds. The audience members decide which piece goes on to the next round -- and which will be destroyed in any one of a number of creative ways. Admission is $12.

When the doors open at 8 p.m., audience members will find out which paintings made the top 32 and will have an hour and half to peruse the displayed paintings and narrow the field down to 16. During this time, they can also purchase any painting not making the cut. Final judging involves four rounds of head-to-head competition. Two randomly selected paintings square off on stage as the audience cheers wildly for their favorite. The applause meter sends the winner to the next round; the losing painting faces the threat of destruction (by chain saw, acid bath, samurai sword, etc.) as determined by a spin of the ominous “Wheel of Death”.

Mass Ave Art Walk Friday Evening

Experience gallery openings, eclectic shopping, unique restaurants and trendy nightclubs at the annual Mass Ave Fall Gallery Walk from 5–9 p.m. Friday.

Dating back more than 20 years, the Gallery Walk is the kickoff to the Indy fall visual arts season. All Mass Ave area galleries and most merchants (who will also showcase artists) will be open. Many will host receptions, have live entertainment and offer specials that evening as well. Mass Ave Merchants Association has set aside space along Mass Ave for local artists and entertainers to show their work amongst the galleries, shops and restaurants.

New to the evening of art downtown is an after-party from 9-11 p.m. sponsored by the Mass Ave Merchants Association in partnership with Indianapolis Downtown Artists and Dealers Association. The party, at 757 Mass Ave, is open to the public. There'll be refreshments provided by some of Mass Ave’s restaurants. Coffee, wine tasting and entertainment by a live jazz group from 8:30–10 p.m. Luna Music will cap off the evening.

Life Sciences Collaboration Series

The impact that informatics is having on Indiana's life science industries will be the focus of the first program in the 2007-08 Indiana Life Sciences Collaboration Conference Series, according to Inside INdiana Business.

AIT Laboratories Chief Executive Officer Michael A. Evans (right) will give the keynote address on how informatics has contributed to the success of his Indianapolis company. A panel discussion will follow on how informatics is being employed in other life science business applications.

The workshop series is designed by Indiana University's Kelley School of Business to assist Indiana's health care and life science companies.

The seminar, "The Age of Life Sciences Informatics," is scheduled for 8 a.m. 21 September at Barnes and Thornburg LLP, 11 South Meridian Street, Indianapolis. The registration fee is $40, or $150 for the entire series. Registration is available online, or by contacting Roxie Glaze, 812:855-9210.

Author of The Making of the Fittest Comes to Butler

Sean Carroll (right), author of The Making of the Fittest, a discussion of Darwin and molecular biology, is the first presenter for the 2007-8 J. James Woods Lectures in the Sciences and Mathematics series at Butler University.

The professor of molecular biology and genetics at the University of Wisconsin will begin his presentation at 7:30 p.m. 2 October in the Reilly Room of the Atherton Union on the Butler campus. It's open to the public at no charge.

Dr. Carroll, who also wrote Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The New Science of Evo Devo, is the foremost interpreter of Darwin in light of the latest findings of molecular biology. He will speak about the genetics of evolution and about DNA as a record of evolution.

Hoosiers By The Numbers

A nifty section of the Indiana Workforce Development website includes highlights of the Hoosier State's data by county. Each includes information on population, education, commuting, labor force, industry, income and firm size data. Surf on over and click away.

This Indianapolis Observer found out that "Marion County’s population estimate for 2006 was 865,504, up 0.6 percent from the 2000 Census total." And, "The average 2006 earnings for Marion County was $44,227 per year versus Indiana’s $36,411."

Well, OK, they need to work on their grammar a bit (aren't there any English majors in the Statehouse?), but their numbers are most informative!