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(10/29/13 4:22am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>For more than two years, Lauren Spierer’s face has been on large signs throughout Bloomington, reminding residents of the missing IU student and urging those with information about her whereabouts to come forward.Now, the signs are gone. The City of Bloomington took down signs with information about missing Spierer last week. Spierer, who was 20 at the time of her disappearance, was last seen at about 4:30 a.m. June 3, 2011, near 11th Street and College Avenue.The decision to remove the signs was an effort to balance varied community interests and input, according to a statement from Mayor Mark Kruzan’s office. “For the many people who have felt the signs should have been taken down long ago, it’s long overdue,” the statement said. “For those who believe they should remain in place, no time was right to remove them.”Bob Loviscek, president of Local 586 Union of Professional Firefighters, said firefighters took it upon themselves to redo the signs in April.Loviscek said he was disappointed when he noticed the signs were gone Friday.“We made a commitment to the Spierer family that we would keep the signs up and would maintain them,” Loviscek said. “They should be kept as long as the Spierer family wants them up.”The City planned to remove the signs after IU’s graduation ceremony last May, but because firefighters renovated the signs in April, the city decided to take them down after six months, which was last week. “The community has been very engaged in the case and will remain so,” the statement from Mayor Kruzan’s office said. “Posters about the case remain up throughout the campus and community, including in city government buildings, and police agencies continue to actively investigate.”A Facebook page opposing the removal of the signs is set up urging people to email Mayor Kruzan and say they want the signs put back. “The tragedy of Lauren’s disappearance is more than devastating in itself, but it’s compounded by the cruelty of people every day,” Shelly Leonard, creator of the group, said on the Facebook page. “The city of Bloomington removed these signs in the dark without any prior notice given to Rob and Charlene (Spierer).”Leonard said the people who may know where Spierer is refuse to help find her.“That’s why it’s so important that we continue to support them any way we can,” Leonard said. “If that means fighting to keep signs up, then that’s what we do.”— Mary Hauber contributed to this story. Follow reporter Matt Stefanski on Twitter @stefanskimatt.
(01/23/13 6:01am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Amid the uncertainty of the fiscal cliff, employers of Hoosiers will see one substantial tax increase this month. Indiana, among other states, borrowed money from the federal government to pay unemployment claims, which the state has not yet repaid. Subsequently, Indiana is increasing Federal Unemployment Taxes on business owners.Indiana employers are subject to an extra 0.9 percent in unemployment tax this year, which more than doubles the rate.In addition to the basic tax rate, there is an additional charge put on employers, if the state has not funded unemployment to a certain extent. One employer subject to these taxes is Essential Architectural Signs of Indianapolis, which has 17 employees, designs building directories, directional and exterior signs among other types of signs for clients such as St. Vincent’s Hospital of Indianapolis and Ivy Tech Community College. Cindy Hulen, president of Essential Architecture Signs, said she has been fortunate because she has been able to maintain her business. “We were just told a week ago we are going to have another big hit, and I’m not sure we are going to do when that happens,” Hulen said. Hulen said her company paid about $2,900 in FUTA taxes last year.“This year, instead of paying around $2,900, we are going to pay around $4,000,” she said. “Every little bit of this affects what you are going to do as a business.” Hulen said she believes the taxation and healthcare law are going to have a big impact on people.“Last year our health insurance went up 21 percent. We changed the program we were on in order to save everybody,” she said. “The employees pay a smaller portion, but it’s still quite a bit.”Hulen said increased FUTA taxes are going to affect areas of business such as raises for her employees and that the economy will likely get worse before it gets better. “I’m certainly not going to run out and hire anybody,” she said. “Hopefully the situation doesn’t get so bad, so we have to lay people off.” “If people already working for you don’t have much disposable income, they are going to be able to buy less,” she said. Duane Vaught, a certified public accountant and president of Stampfli Associates of Bloomington, said FUTA taxes primarily effect businesses with high turnover rates. “There are factors such as what is the actual unemployment experience and actual funding level of the state,” Vaught said. Vaught said the tax affects primarily businesses with high turnover rates such as restaurants.Vaught provided a hypothetical explanation, in terms of wages, of the effects of FUTA taxable wages. “It taxes the first ‘x’ thousand dollars of each person’s wage, if it’s $7,000 then you have five employees who each made $7,000 then it’s all FUTA taxable,” Vaught said. “If you had one high paid employee then there would be only be only $7,000 employee being taxed.”Harry Shafer, general manager of FARMBloomington, said his employees were affected by the FUTA tax.“It didn’t really affect the business itself, just the individual associates,” Shafer said. “They got bumped up into the next tax bracket.”Shafer said the restaurant industry is affected by the FUTA tax because a high number of people are employed in the industry.“They are people that work pay check to paycheck,” Shafer said. “Every time they lose money to taxes, it makes a big difference to them.Lee Hamilton, director of the center on Congress at IU, said families and businesses face uncertainty because they don’t know what the tax rates or spending cuts are going to be.“Families and businesses can’t plan ahead, not knowing what the economic environment will be like,” Hamilton said. Hulen said no one knows what’s going to happen down the road. “In years past, we were always slow in December and January, because it was cold, then things would really pick up,” Hulen said. “Because of the change, you don’t know it’s going to pick up.” Bill Witte, professor emeritus of macroeconomics at IU said increases in taxes could affect small businesses in a variety of ways. “If taxes on the business rise, there could be fewer funds available to reinvest in the business,” Witte said in an email. “If tax increases hit customers, they could have less to spend, affecting business revenues.”Witte said the fiscal cliff has increased uncertainty for many businesses. “This makes businesses reluctant to invest in new capacity,” Witte said. “It also makes customers less willing to spend.”Hulen said the biggest problem regarding the fiscal cliff and FUTA taxes is uncertainty. “There’s so many things hanging out there,” she said. “You’re afraid to make a bold move, because you don’t know what’s going to happen next.”
(10/29/12 4:16am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>They did it, and it was all for the kids. Overcome with emotion, IU Dance Marathon participants celebrated as the grand total was revealed at about 8 a.m. Sunday. They raised $2,125,322.20, the largest total in the history of IUDM.This was the first time IUDM raised more than $2 million, and the event had an 18 percent increase from last year’s $1,801,207.20.At first, the committee purposely announced the total as $1,982,322.20 to see a reaction from participants for barely missing the $2 million goal. Then, they changed it to the correct total of $2,125,322.20. The top fundraising group was Phi Gamma Delta. “I was shocked to see how far over $2 million we raised,” IUDM Vice President of Public Relations Joe Primavera said. “We went above and beyond this year.”Primavera said about 3,000 students participated in this year’s IUDM. About 400 danced the full 36 hours, while others chose to dance during 17-hour shifts.“The biggest part of the year was the growth,” Primavera said. “We had a lot of dancers, a lot more committed dancers.” Primavera said participants experienced a wide range of emotions. “The range of involvement was so wide,” Primavera said. “The emotions are high because a lot of people put in different amounts of time, which contributes to how people are reacting.”Ben Cohen, dance marathon coordinator for Riley Children’s Foundation, said each Riley kid had his or her own “buddy” for the weekend.“There’s an entire committee called ‘Riley Development,’” Cohen said. “Their sole job is to interact with children.”Cohen said there are kids who look forward to IUDM as a separate holiday. Brent and Heather Dawes of Avon, Ind., said they know this all too well.Heather Dawes, the former liaison between IUDM and the Riley Hospital for Children, has been involved with both organizations for many years. Brent and Heather Dawes have three children, 9-year-old Jacob, 5-year-old Jeremy and 3-year-old Guillianna, who have all been treated at Riley Hospital at some point in their lives. Heather was hospitalized at Riley Hospital as an infant.Heather said Jacob, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and Asperger’s syndrome, especially loves IUDM.“Jacob looks forward to dance marathon 10 months out of the year,” Heather said. IUDM is the second largest college philanthropy in the United States behind Pennsylvania State University’s “Thon.” IUDM is the largest dance marathon of the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Members from the BuckeyeThon at Ohio State University as well as the Ball State University Dance Marathon joined in supporting their fellow Network marathon.“We’re all for the kids,” said Maggie Hamilton, a Ball State Dance Marathon committee member. Cohen said all of the funds raised go to the Ryan White Infectious Disease Center at Riley Hospital. In 2011, IUDM started the second $10 million pledge, which will go toward infectious disease research, Cohen said. The previous $10 million pledge, which consisted of the money raised by IUDM before 2011, went toward clinical research, Cohen said. Cohen said he believes IUDM has experienced a significant growth in multiple aspects this year.“IUDM is an incredibly storied program, and this year’s event has grown in all aspects: dancer, committee and community participation,” he said.
(10/22/12 5:02am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Children displaying Scooby Doo, lion and butterfly costumes trotted across a wooden bridge to meet the three little pigs as part of their journey on the Trick-or-Treat Trail Saturday at Bloomington’s RCA Community Park.The trail, a no-scare trick or treat event sponsored by Bloomington Parks and Recreation, was catered toward families with young children.The trail featured about 12 stops with different storybooks and Disney characters at each spot, said Bill Ream, community events coordinator for Bloomington Parks and Recreation.The characters included Snow White, Peter Pan and the three little pigs, among others. “We have trail leaders that take them through the woods and then stop and do a little skit with them each time,” Ream said. “We have some more activities and games going on while they are waiting.” The annual trail has been going on for about a decade, Ream said.“It’s been very good over the years,” Ream said. “The kids really enjoy it.” Ream emphasized the no-scare aspect of the event. “We don’t have people jumping out from behind trees or anything,” Ream said. “It’s something different, and it’s an event the kids aren’t going to be able to experience going house to house.”Josh Lighty said he brought his son Alex and daughter Adalayn to the trail to spend a day in the community.“I think they liked interactions with characters the most,” Lighty said. “It seemed like it got them engaged.”Lighty also spoke positively of the trail’s no-scare aspect.“It’s a different side of Halloween,” he said. “It was a really good approach to the day part, and the kids got a lot out of it.”IU students helped Bloomington Parks and Recreation with running the event.Freshman Nikaya Collins said she decided to help with the trail because she thought it would be fun. “I think it’s a fun thing for the little kids,” Collins said. “It’s a safe way for them to go trick or treating and have a great time.”Some students from HPER-R 430, Event Planning and Program and Program Development, volunteered at the event for their service learning projects.Senior Lorna Steele, who is in the class, said she chose the trail for her learning service project because she enjoys interacting with children. Steele also said it’s good to incorporate the IU students in the community.“The community sees the campus being active, and people from the campus come and see more of the community,” Steele said. “I just think it makes it more unified altogether.”
(10/11/12 3:37am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Students from the Trockman Microfinance Initiative planned to go Wednesday night having eaten only $2 worth of food, not showering and sleeping in public areas, being essentially homeless for 24 hours. This is the Two Dollar Challenge.TMI is a club in the Kelley School of Business that offers opportunities for students to learn about microfinance, the act of giving loans to people with low incomes to help build their businesses. TMI was founded because “some Kelley kids wanted to make a difference,” said Meredith Katz, director of the challenge. It also gives loans to people around the world through an online network, Kiva. “Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world,” according to kiva.org.Katz said TMI members strive to help people through what they learn in class. Members of TMI stood in Dunn Meadow to raise public awareness for the challenge. “I hope there are going to be people interested in helping others and alleviating poverty,”sophomore and TMI President Katie Westlund said. Katz said the challenge’s top goal is to raise awareness of poverty. “We have shelter and abundance, and we don’t even think twice about the resources we are given,” Katz said. “To really help someone, you kind of have to take a walk in their shoes.”Westlund said her outlook on poverty changed when she and Katz went to Panama for Global Business Brigades, which allows students to create solutions to improve the quality of life for people in developing countries.“We saw firsthand what we were doing,” Westlund said. “It really just changed our perspectives and made us much more passionate about it.”Westlund said she hopes other TMI members have a similar experience through the challenge. She also said she hopes people want to learn more about microfinance.“When we show up in the same clothes, hopefully people will get curious and ask questions,” Westlund said. “The main thing is to raise awareness of microfinance and poverty.”“We’re giving loans to people across the world in need,” Katz said. “Most of the world doesn’t live like we do. We need to be really fortunate for that.”Freshman and TMI member Owen Hoepfner decided to volunteer for the challenge because he said it’s a great cause.“Not only is it raising awareness for microfinance, but it’s a good bonding event for the members,” Hoepfner said. Challenge participants will also be in Dunn Meadow from 1 to 5 p.m. Thursday.“We have a sign that says the ‘Two Dollar Challenge,’” Katz said. “This is a way we’re fighting poverty. We’re just spreading knowledge.” Katz said she wants people to realize that much of the world lives in poverty every day. “We want people to gain an appreciation for ... what we have,” Katz said. “We can have a deeper understanding of how ... the loan is going in someone’s life and how much it means to them.”
(10/08/12 3:48am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Claire Stilwell traveled all the way from New Jersey to Bloomington to attend her daughter’s last IU Homecoming. She discovered that one of the major parts of the Homecoming tradition, the parade, would not happen this year. This was the first time in 54 years IU did not have a parade to celebrate Homecoming festivities.The IU Alumni Association, IU Student Alumni Association and Union Board made a change in the typical Homecoming events by organizing a free concert at Dunn Meadow with pop rock band South Jordan and local singer and songwriter Zach Majors. “We were trying to put on a concert while serving as a pep rally for tomorrow’s game,” Mike Hammersley, director of the Homecoming concert for SAA, said FridayJ.T. Forbes, executive director and CEO of IUAA, said in a press release the new approach allowed alumni to soak in the campus atmosphere during Homecoming weekend. “We are aiming to make Homecoming week a memorable experience for Hoosier faithful of all stripes and tastes,” Forbes said. “No matter the event, expect one common element: Hoosier spirit.”Students and parents expressed disappointment at the cancellation of the parade. “I think it’s always a nice tradition to have a Homecoming parade,” Stillwell said. “In the past, the parade hasn’t got enough support.”Junior Chandlar Smith was surprised the parade would not take place this year. “I think the parade gets the town really involved,” Smith said. “It’s sad that it was cancelled.” Junior Scott Diebel said he believed there must have been a reason for the cancellation. “It’s a shame because there is so much tradition in the Homecoming parade, but I’m sure the choice was made after careful consideration,” Diebel said. Kasie Kyle,director of Live from Bloomington, the local music committee for Union Board, said SAA and Union Board were determined to plan a Homecoming event in place of the parade. “This was Union Board and SAA’s effort to give students something to do on Friday night that was a celebration of Homecoming week,” Kyle said.On Friday morning, the location of the concert was changed to the north dining hall of McNutt Quad due to a forecast of rain. Max Long, assistant guest services manager for IU Event Services, said they used social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter inform students of the change in venue. “We did a walkthrough and made sure everyone knew what the rules and guidelines were,” Long said. “Then, it was basically getting the equipment in and informing everyone that the location had been moved.” Despite the change in location, Event Services said about 250 people came to support the IU cheerleaders and members of the Homecoming court.The cheerleaders pumped up the crowd in anticipation of the Homecoming game. Sophomore quarterback Tre Roberson urged the crowd to support the football team. The IU Student Athletic Board crowned Chris Port and Amanda Malkowski Homecoming king and queen, respectively.“I thought it was a really good turnout, considering the conditions,” Port said. “It’s always good to see school spirit, especially during Homecoming week.” Although the event was not as originally planned, Kyle described it as a great night.“For it being a rainy, dreary night and since we had to change the location the day of, it’s great that this many people showed up with how short notice they had in change of location,” Kyle said.
(10/03/12 2:21am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>John Fernandez, former U.S. assistant secretary of commerce for economic development and former Bloomington mayor,spoke at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs Tuesday as part of the school’s 40th anniversary celebration.Fernandez, a SPEA alumnus, discussed innovation as well as his career at the Department of Commerce, where he said he concentrated on regional innovation.“At the end of the day, we understand that competitive regions are absolutely critical to driving national success concerning innovation,” Fernandez said.He said the Midwest needs to compete against countries with other major investments. “We need to try to drive regionalism and lead groups to draw regional innovation clusters,” Fernandez said. Fernandez urged students to create an economy that enables entrepreneurship. He said people take business failures harder in the Midwest. “In the Midwest, you’re tagged as a failure if you start a business and it flames out,” Fernandez said. “If you’re in Boston or on the West Coast, you are expected to fail.” He said innovation has to be a part of everyone’s economy. “There is a gap in our innovation,” he said. “This is where the federal government can partner with the private sector.” He said a proposal for innovation will only work if it has market relevance. “Then, people will be committed to making it move forward,” Fernandez said. Fernandez told a story of a man in Arkansas who used parts of his old Ford pickup trucks to irrigate crops. As a result, the man cut his energy costs by 15 percent.“That’s innovation by definition,” Fernandez said.
(09/28/12 4:09am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Just hours after bomb threats were made at North Dakota State University and University of Texas on Sept. 14, Public Safety and Institutional Assuranceofficials posted on protect.iu.edu, “Currently, there have been no such threats reported at any of Indiana University’s campuses.”As a result of the threats, members of the emergency management policy team reviewed existing emergency management procedures.The policy team consists of representatives from IU Communications, IU Police Department and the Office of Emergency Management and Continuity in addition to other departments.“We were together within a matter of hours,” Land said. “We weren’t going to wait to see what could happen here.”According to protect.iu.edu, the office works to ensure that IU’s emergency plans work and students and faculty are aware of appropriate procedures.Land said the key for an institution is to effectively and quickly manage emergency situations.“Whether it’s evacuating a building or a whole campus, it’s important that we have the systems built in place,” Land said.In preparation against a bomb threat, IUPD acquired a bomb-sniffing K-9 in November 2011.IUPD Chief Keith Cash said bomb technicians patrol with the dog at large events.“There are times that we sweep with the dogs and have technicians behind suspicious objects,” Cash said. “For the threats that could be called in, we go ahead and respond to those along with the dog.”Cash also said IUPD is able to send and receive information to and from the other agencies rather quickly through a “fusion center.”“Every state has a fusion center, a centralized location where information is gathered and disseminated to law enforcement agencies,” Cash said.IU has received bomb threats in the past,Cash said.“Almost every one of them has been falsely reported,” he said.He said the false reports involved a suspicious object.Associate Professor of Criminal Justice Arvind Verma said he believed bombs are becoming more common as a result of people learning how to build them on the Internet.“It must be understood that Situational Prevention Theory suggests that those who attack communities in such a manner may be psychologically disturbed but tend to act rationally to enact their deeds,” Verma said in an email.Verma said the best way to prepare for a threat is to understand where bombs could be planted and what time periods are chosen.“Purposely, a finite number of sites will be selected as they fit the situation of causing maximum damage,” he said.Verma said the police need to study situations that create maximum damage and plan to deal with threats.“One part of planning is quick evacuation and keeping everyone safe,” Verma said. “The other is surveillance and collection of intelligence.”The primary system IU uses to alert students and faculty in the event of an emergency is IU-Notify.“The best thing any student can do is to register their information with IU-Notify, which allows us to get in touch with students in case of an emergency,” Land said.Land also said he urges any student that sees anything suspicious to contact IUPD.“If you see something that gives you concern to be worried for your safety or the safety of others around you, do not be afraid to report it,” Land said.
(09/24/12 1:42am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When Jon Bradford graduated from IU with degrees in mathematics and economics in May, he was already the owner of a successful nationwide business. Bradford, the owner of My Campus Cakes, a Bloomington-based chain specializing in delivering cakes for any occasion, was ready to share his entrepreneurial skills. As a result, Bradford founded Dream Share, “a web development and entrepreneurial encouragement team.”“I started Dream Share because people were coming to me with their ideas, and I wanted to develop them into reality.” Bradford said.Dream Share helps Bloomington businesses with projects they are working on and helps people develop ideas.After responding to advertisements for help on OneStart classifieds, senior Josh Dolitsky and junior Michael Buchanan joined Bradford’s team. Dream Share’s first project, badaboom.co, was born in May 2012 and officially launched in the second week of September. Badaboom is a social networking website focused solely on video sharing. “People are taking one aspect of Facebook and exploiting it, just like how Instagram does with photos,” Bradford said.Dolitsky said Badaboom gives viewers a more personal experience. “It’s much more social than YouTube in the sense that you can see what your friends are watching and enjoy the video experience in a real-time setting,” Dolitsky said. Bradford said he believes his knowledge of economics that he gained at IU greatly helped him excel as a young entrepreneur. He credits economics professor Peter Olson for influencing his decision to become an economics major. “He made it seem so interesting, that he was able to make effective decisions when it came to applying microeconomic principles to anything,” Bradford said.Dolitsky said his perspective about informatics, which has helped him succeed as the lead developer for Dream Share, would not exist without the influence of associate professor of informatics and computing Mehmet Dalkilic.“I have two priorities — research and making a student all they can be,” Dalkilic said.Dalkilic said he tries to act as a catalyst by showing opportunities to his students. “Most students believe they are limited in what they can do,” Dalkilic said. “I try to let all students be aware of what their potential is.” Bradford said he aims to live up to his potential by giving current students the chance to become successful young entrepreneurs. “I want people to get involved because this is a great community to start a business and start something new,” Bradford said.Dolitsky also said he wants to help other students by letting them take charge of their projects but also by assisting them with programming.“We really just want people to go with their own ideas,” Bradford said. “When you’re in college, you have the opportunity that does not exist elsewhere.”