Clergy resume protest at Market Tower

DJIA 13,006.17 -22.2 / S&P 500 1,428.4 +1.8 / NASDAQ 2,499.9 +0.8 Tonight: Lingering storms, warm. Low 73. Thursday: More thunderstorms, sticky. High 93.
	Wednesday, August 15, 2007
	Clergy resume protest at Market Tower A clergy group that's trying to help a union organize an Indianapolis janitorial company planned to stage another protest at noon today in front of Market Tower downtown. To accommodate the protest, the city closed Market Street between Monument Circle and Illinois Street for two hours. Building manager Kevin Branch said Branch told IBJ that it was unfair to target Colliers or building owner HDG Mansur because the dispute is between the janitors and the Indianapolis company contracted to care for the building, Executive Management Services.   City Market lands loan for renovation Indianapolis City Market said today that Chase Bank has given it a $700,000 conventional low-interest loan to enable it to finish a renovation that began in January. Including the new loan, the market has spent slightly more than $2 million on the project. Some tenants have complained that the project has dragged on longer than anticipated-setbacks that the historic market blames on plumbing problems and some funding issues.
	Still chance Sallie Mae acquisition could fail The $25.3 billion offer for Sallie Mae parent SLM Corp. is expected to gain shareholder approval today, but the buyers themselves might back out. Keefe Bruyette & Woods Inc. analyst Sameer Gokhale told Bloomberg that the investors are uncertain whether the deal will go through. Reston, Va.-based SLM employs 2,300 workers in Fishers and another 500 in Muncie.   Blog: Indy fitness craze continues Two more fitness firms are entering the Indianapolis area. Read IBJ 's real estate blog, Property Lines. First Indiana reports more loan difficulties First Indiana Corp. announced after the market closed yesterday that it will discontinue making consumer loans originated by a national network of mortgage brokers. The bank said it is withdrawing from that business immediately, which will lead to $535,000 in expenses in the third quarter. It had been selling most of the loans to investors.   Development incentives scrutinized by tax panel About 4.2 percent of gross assessed property value in Indiana-roughly $16 billion worth-is not taxed because it is in a tax-increment-financing district or covered by a tax abatement, both of which are intended to encourage economic development. The figures, which amount to $400 million in property taxes, were discussed yesterday by the Commission on State Tax and Financing Policy, according to The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne. The commission will forward to the General Assembly possibilities it finds for cutting property taxes as well as for simplifying the tax and making it apply more equally.   From IBJ staff and Associated Press-Compiled by Norm Heikens   IPS students head back to class Several school districts, including the state's biggest, Indianapolis Public Schools, headed back to class today. Students attending schools on a traditional schedule do not have to wear uniforms until September, and that could work to their advantage, since 52 of the 80 IPS schools have no air conditioning. Police also are reminding drivers to slow down as they enforce the 25 mph speed limit in school zones. Fox 59 will have more at 10 p.m.
	Mattel expands toy recall An Indianapolis girl may have been one of the first victims of a toy made in China that's been recalled. Two years ago, Paige Kostrzewski had to have surgery to repair intestinal damage after swallowing magnets that came loose from her Polly Pocket doll. That incident and others prompted a recall last November. Now, Mattel is recalling millions more of the dolls as well as Barbies and Batman action figures for the same problem. The company is also recalling toy Jeeps because the paint could be tainted with lead. Man wanted in assault of gas-station clerk Metro police are searching for the man behind a robbery earlier this week where a clerk was beaten unconscious and sexually assaulted at the BP Connect in the 8500 block of Northwest Blvd. The suspect is described as a white male age 20 to 25 with tattoos covering his right forearm and another tattoo on his right calf.
	Investigators shut down Haughville drug ring State and federal authorities said yesterday they have arrested 21 people connected to a drug ring operating in Haughville for more than a decade. The 21 involved in the Haughville Syndicate were charged in two federal indictments with conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine. Another 24 people face state charges. Local industrial market struggles through first half of year Despite Indianapolis maintaining strong incentives for industrial development-like a solid transportation network and a relatively low cost of doing business-the area's industrial market experienced a sluggish first half of the year. Meridian Real Estate said in its midyear 2007 report that reasons for the downturn aren't entirely clear, but they cite as possible explanations tough competition from neighboring markets and factors outside the real estate industry, such as rising fuel costs and the move away from large, single national distribution centers to smaller, multiple regional properties. Looking ahead, Meridian says rising interest rates and the outcome of property tax reassessment in Marion County could continue to hurt the local industrial market.      Has fantasy football found its way into your office? In offices where fantasy football is distracting employees, should managers crack down on non-work activities or use fantasy football's popularity to build morale? | Largest Indianapolis-Area Environmental Consulting Firms Largest Indianapolis-Area Environmental Contractors Largest Indianapolis-Area Industrial Parks Largest Indianapolis-Area Women-Owned Businesses Largest Indianapolis-Area Travel Agencies   Sign up today for IBJ's Real Estate Weekly E-mail Alert. This once-a week e-mail focuses on real estate, both commercial and residential, including news about deals, people, meetings, trends, projects and more. If you have any connection to real estate, you'll want to read IBJ's new Real Estate Weekly. Sign up today for your free subscription.
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