On job front, at least Indiana isn't Michigan

DJIA 13,330.3 +21.9 / S&P 500 1,475.9 +4.4 / NASDAQ 2,611.5 +14 Tonight: Clear and cool again. Low 49. Thursday: Mostly sunny, nice. High 80.
	Wednesday, September 12, 2007
	On job front, at least Indiana isn't Michigan As Gov. Mitch Daniels travels to Japan this week in search of job commitments, he can take some comfort that, if the state fails to pull out of its static employment status, there's always Michigan to point to. Not much is going well for Indiana's northern neighbor. At a time most states are piling in new jobs, Michigan continues to shed them. The state has been on a losing streak since 2000, when the latest recession hit the Rust Belt.   Census: Indiana house values rose least Houses in Indiana increased the least of any state in the nation between 2000 and July 2006, new U.S. Census Bureau data shows. Indiana houses increased a meager 11 percent after adjusting for inflation, according to The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne. The median house value stands at $120,700.
	Blog: Updated Gibson Building unveiled Mayor Bart Peterson and OneAmerica executives cut the ribbon on the renovated Gibson Building this morning. Work on the 1916 building (originally a car manufacturing facility) began in April 2006 and cost more than $10 million. The building is southeast of Capitol Avenue and Michigan Street, just north of OneAmerica Tower. Read IBJ 's Property Lines. New York firm to come to Cambridge City A New York City company that makes consumer products will build a production plant in the east-central Indiana town of Cambridge City, according to the Richmond Palladium-Item . The project will require more than 23 acres. The Richmond area is still smarting from being abandoned this summer by a Minneapolis startup that said it planned to build an $18 million processing plant in a local industrial park.   Lawrenceburg distillery finding new life A Caribbean rum maker hoping to grow its U.S. business could add a couple hundred jobs to a Lawrenceburg distillery that had been shutting down. Angostura plans to add marketing, logistics and packaging operations to a former Seagram Co. distillery it bought earlier this year. The Trinidad-based company also will add a North American headquarters to the 160-year-old distillery.   Toll-road protesters take aim at intermodal A group that protested the proposed Illiana Expressway in northwest Indiana has taken sides with landowners who oppose a sprawling intermodal facility planned for LaPorte County. Citizens Against the Privatized Illiana Tollroad is helping Stop Intermodal Save Our County-also to prevent development of farmland, according to the Times of Munster. Intermodals shift cargo between railroads and trucks, and are considered economic development plums for the hundreds and sometimes thousands of jobs they create.   Planned 'village' runs into modern tangles A planned development touting a simpler lifestyle is running into complications. The Madison County Planning Commission yesterday tabled action on Simpler Times Village until Oct. 9, saying it needed more information about the residential, commercial and agricultural development. Simpler Times Village would be inspired by medieval European villages.   From IBJ staff and Associated Press-Compiled by Norm Heikens
	Shooting leaves teen dead, mother injured A teen is dead and his pregnant mother had to deliver her baby three months early after the two were shot late last night. Police believe it started with a fight at Northwest High School between four people earlier in the day and carried over after school, ending in the 5900 block of Wixson Court. Officers believe two girls showed up at a home there looking to confront someone involved in the fight. That's when a 15-year-old boy and his mother, Shawn Smith, 33, who were inside the home, were shot. Police are questioning several people. Danville police seek suspect in attempted abduction Danville police are stepping up patrols near Ellis Park after a man tried to abduct a young girl at a youth football game over the weekend. Police say the man grabbed the 8-year-old girl from the back of a sport-utility vehicle and was carrying her away. That's when some adults saw the man and startled him, causing him to drop the child and take off.
	First meeting to discuss IPS closings set Parents can voice opinions about the state's biggest school district and whether three schools should be shut down at the first of three meetings tonight. IPS administrators say enrollment is dropping by about 1,000 students a year, and they face a $20 million budget deficit. That could force them to close schools 92, 68 and Forest Manor Middle School. Tonight's meeting is at School 92 on East 42nd Street at 7 p.m. Student vote to determine future of smoking at Ball State Results are expected this afternoon on a student vote at Ball State University that will determine the future of smoking on the campus. Currently, smoking is permitted at least 30 feet away from any building. The student government is considering a ban that would prohibit anyone from smoking on university property. Officers plan to use the outcome to help them draft a referendum to present to the university administration. Gibraltar sheds local apartment communities Indianapolis-based Gibraltar Properties Inc. has sold nine multifamily properties-seven of which are in Indiana-for $173 million. The portfolio was acquired by New Jersey-based Empire American Holdings LLC. The other two properties are in Nebraska. With the sale, Gibraltar exits the apartment market, here and elsewhere.   Weigh in on the design for a proposed downtown apartment tower. A young Chicago developer with Indianapolis roots has vision and a design for an apartment tower at Washington and Pennsylvania streets. What do you think of the design? What can be done to encourage unique architecture in Indianapolis?  | Largest Indianapolis-Area Performing-Arts Organizations Largest Indianapolis-Area Not-for-Profits 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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