Feds cancel $38M contract for FBI office

DJIA 12,722.8 -138.7 / S&P 500 1,393.40 -13.3 / NASDAQ 2,440.6 -18.3 Tonight: A few storms south. Low 64. Tomorrow: Partly cloudy, less humid. High 85.
	Thursday, August 16, 2007
	Feds cancel $38M contract for FBI office The federal government has canceled a contract with a Missouri developer chosen to build an FBI field office in Castleton. The U.S. General Services Administration awarded the $38 million contract to Kansas City-based BC Development Co. on March 23, but the company failed to obtain control of the 12-acre property in time to meet a 120-day deadline. The government has reopened bidding to the other finalists for the project, including locally based Duke Realty Corp. and Lauth Property Group, both of which had brought proposals for their own sites.   Hurco profit shoots up on strong sales, fees Profit at Hurco Cos. Inc. soared 36 percent in its third fiscal quarter due to vibrant sales and service fees, particularly in Europe. The Indianapolis-based maker of machine tools said the $5.2 million profit in the period ended July 31 also was driven by a big increase in orders in Europe and North America. A small portion of the gains was created by a weaker dollar, which makes Hurco products less expensive to buy overseas.
	Rolls-Royce lands $269M Air Force contract The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has awarded Rolls-Royce Corp. a contract valued at upward of $296 million to develop jet engines for a variety of military airplanes. The Air Force's Adaptive Versatile Engine Technology program aims to develop engines that allow operating under high thrust or "loiter" status to cut fuel consumption. A substantial number of the 200 engineers Rolls-Royce is hiring will be involved in the project, which is being administered from the British company's Indianapolis offices.  Cape Air might link Indy to Evansville, South Bend Massachusetts-based Cape Air has scheduled a meeting Aug. 20 in Indianapolis with airport officials from Evansville and South Bend to discuss starting commuter flights between the two cities and Indianapolis. An official of Evansville Regional Airport told the Evansville Courier & Press that the planes used by Cape Air, nine-passenger Cesna 402s, would be ideal.   Fishers law firm plans to sue Bear Stearns Maddox Hargett & Caruso in Fishers said it plans to team with three other law firms to sue Bear Stearns on behalf of investors in the Wall Street firm's failed hedge funds. Bear Stearns has been buffeted in recent weeks as it announced that it has had to rescue two funds that lost money as a result of the collapse of the subprime housing market. Early this month, its co-president resigned. Farrar, Garvey bought by Illinois engineering firm The Indianapolis transportation engineering company Farrar Garvey & Associates Inc. has been acquired for an undisclosed price by Clark Dietz Inc., an engineering firm that handles civil, mechanical and electrical engineering. Clark Dietz's eight offices are in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. Its largest office is in Champaign, Ill., and its president operates from Chicago. Farrar, Garvey's only office is at 8925 N. Meridian St.   Indiana farmland values up most since '70s Indiana's farmland prices soared nearly 20 percent in the past year-the biggest such increase in three decades-in a surge tied to corn and soybean prices driven higher by the growing demand for biofuels, a Purdue University survey has found. Between June 2006 and June 2007, farmland values rose between 17 percent and 19 percent across Indiana, while cash rents-what landowners charge to rent land to farmers-climbed 9 percent to 10 percent from the June 2006 level. The last comparable increase was in 1977.   Workers' good deeds go unpunished Two co-workers are relieved that stopping to help a couple badly hurt in a motorcycle crash didn't cost them their jobs, after all. Marillee Fuller and Mary Smith said they were on their way to their third-shift jobs at KB Specialty Foods in Greensburg when they stopped after
	seeing several cars drive past the wreck Monday night. They ended up arriving at work an hour late, and a company official told them the next day that they were being fired because they had used up their allotted time off for the year.   From IBJ staff and Associated Press-Compiled by Norm Heikens One dead in double shooting One person was killed and another hurt in a shooting this morning at East 44th Street and Crittenden, not far from a north-side school bus stop. Relatives of one victim say the incident may have started as an attempted robbery. Fox 59 will have more at 10 p.m. Man arrested for assaulting gas station clerk Metro police say they've arrested a man they believe beat and sexually assaulted a BP Connect clerk this week in the 8500 block of Northwest Boulevard. Investigators believe Steven Bolton beat the woman at the far-northwest-side gas station until she was unconscious while holding a knife to her throat.
	Motel guest helps others escape fire An east-side motel guest helped several people escape a fire early this morning after hearing his smoke detector. The fire happened at the Super 8 Motel in the 8800 block of 21st Street. The guest who noticed the fire knocked on other guests' doors to help them get out. A person staying below the room where the fire started sustained minor injuries. Strong storms hit northern Indiana Strong storms passing through northern Indiana overnight prompted tornado warnings and watches. The storm knocked down trees and power lines, causing thousands to go hours without electricity. There was one report of a tornado touchdown. Hillenbrand considering swap in spin off Batesville-based Hillenbrand Industries Inc. said it's considering swapping the companies it plans to spin off. In May, Hillenbrand said it would split into two companies, a move the company's largest shareholder has urged and something the company began considering about a year ago. At the time, it said it would unload its underperforming Hill-Rom Inc. , which makes hospital beds and other equipment. The other company is Batesville Casket Co. But when Hillenbrand released third-quarter earnings Aug. 9, it said spinning off Batesville Casket might offer more advantages and provide more structural simplicity. Hillenbrand spokeswoman Lauren Green-Caldwell said various tax, legal, financial and accounting aspects of spinning off the casket unit now are being considered to provide greatest shareholder value. She refused to elaborate.     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   Visit IBJ's Web site, www.ibj.com       Indianapolis Business Journal has launched a redesigned Web site with news updated throughout the business day.     At www.ibj.com you will find the latest business news from the Indianapolis area and around the state, video of IBJ events, CEO interviews from the Inside IBJ radio program, and our weekly podcast.
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