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Governor Daniels' Weekly Wrap-up: 4/1/08

Weekly Wrap-up

A look at news and events in the Daniels Administration

Volume 2, Issue 75

March 24 - 30, 2008

 

Consortium to open national nanoelectronics research center in South Bend

 

Mar. 25, 2008- Governor Mitch Daniels joined executives from IBM and the Semiconductor Research Corporation last week to announce plans to open a new $61 million nanoelectronics research center on the campus of the University of Notre Dame, creating new research opportunities to develop atomic-scale technologies that will drive future breakthroughs in computing.

 

Officially billed as the Midwest Academy for Nanoelectronics and Architectures, the center will link Notre Dame and Purdue University with the development resources of national laboratories and the trillion-dollar per year technology industry.  Together the team of academia and business will work to develop and exploit a new class of semiconductor materials and devices - nanoelectronics -- that stretches beyond today's state-of-art chip technologies.

 

"For Indiana, this means national leadership in a central technology of the future, and we'd be excited to welcome it anywhere in our state. But it's a special thrill to see it come to Notre Dame, which now enters new dimensions of research prominence and contributions to its home state through the partnership with Purdue," said Daniels.

 

Amazon to locate new distribution center in central Indiana

 

Mar. 28, 2008- Global online retailer Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) has announced it will open a new automated fulfillment center in Whitestown, creating more than 1,200 new jobs by 2010.

 

Amazon will locate its latest fulfillment center 20 miles northwest of Indianapolis in a 1,700-acre mixed-use development known as Anson. The Whitestown facility will be more than 600,000 square feet and will allow Amazon to serve its customers in the Midwest more efficiently.

 

"It's another huge win for Indiana. We continue to outrun all of our Midwestern competitors but we can't let up for a minute. But we can never take a rest, we have to get on to the next success and the next," said Governor Mitch Daniels.

 

Amazon, which has 17,000 employees worldwide, will begin equipping its new Indiana facility in April and plans to begin hiring dozens of managers and several hundred warehouse associates ahead of the facility's opening in late summer 2008.  The company also plans to hire up to 1,700 temporary associates during peak seasons to meet demands for its products.

 

Governor congratulates BAE Systems on milestone achievement

 

Mar. 26, 2008- Governor Mitch Daniels and executives from the U.S. Army's Aviation and Missile Command joined executives from global defense and aerospace developer BAE Systems last week to celebrate the delivery of the company's 10,000th engine controller for the Army's AH-64 Apache and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.

 

The controller, which regulates fuel flow and a host of other flight-critical functions, is a key component of the Army's aviation systems, which are deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the globe.

 

"For decades, BAE and the defense industry in Indiana have created revolutionary technologies that protect our service members on the battlefield and create good-paying livelihoods for families from Fort Wayne to Bloomfield," Daniels said.

 

BAE Systems, the third largest global defense company, employs more than 800 associates in Fort Wayne and manufactures electronics for both defense and commercial applications.  It began manufacturing the controller for the Army in 1989 at the Fort Wayne facility.

 

"The delivery of the 10,000th T700 engine control is a significant achievement in support of our armed forces," said Bob Hoffman, BAE Systems site executive in Fort Wayne.

 

BAE Systems currently manufactures and designs electronics for a host of industry leaders in Fort Wayne such as General Electric, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Rolls Royce and Parker Hannifin.  In addition, the Indiana operation supports more than 300 commercial airlines and all branches of the military. 

 

Every 1.5 seconds an aircraft with Fort Wayne-manufactured BAE Systems' electronics onboard takes off somewhere around the globe, Hoffman said.

 

Read the Release

 

Governor appoints two to Indiana Toll Road Oversight Board

 

Governor Mitch Daniels has appointed longtime Angola resident David Ballinger and the president of the Elkhart County Council, John Letherman, to the Indiana Toll Road Oversight Board. The two will serve the remainder of two-year terms that expire on June 7.

 

Ballinger is the senior vice president of Farmers State Bank in LaGrange and a member of the Angola Development Committee; Letherman is a real estate developer and has been a member of the Elkhart County Council since 1988.

 

The Toll Road Oversight Board assures that the Indiana Toll Road Concession Company (ITRCC) complies with the provisions of the lease agreement for the management of the Indiana Toll Road and provides advice, counsel and reports to the governor, the Indiana Finance Authority and the public about matters relating to the lease, maintenance, financing, planning, tolling, construction and operation of the Toll Road.

 

There are seven members on the citizens board. Ballinger and Letherman will serve the remainder of the terms of Leigh Morris, LaPorte, and Kristin Sine, Angola.

 

Click here for other recent appointments

 

Orthopedic manufacturer to create new jobs in north central Indiana

 

Mar. 27, 2008- Symmetry Medical Inc., (NYSE:SMA) a manufacturer of implants, surgical devices and medical cases for the orthopedics industry, announced last week it will expand its operations in Warsaw, creating more than 60 new jobs and expanding training for current employees.

 

The global company will invest more than $6.2 million over the next two years to upgrade its North Central Indiana facilities and provide advanced training to workers at its three Kosciusko County facilities.

 

"Creating an environment that allows businesses like Symmetry Medical to grow and thrive in Indiana is imperative to our economic success," said Nathan Feltman, Indiana Secretary of Commerce and chief executive officer of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. 

 

Located in Warsaw, Ind., a city known as the orthopedics capital of the world, Symmetry Medical will use a $127,000 grant from the state's Skills Enhancement Fund to further its employee training program and maximize the efficiency of new and current employees. As part of the effort, the company plans to provide workers with supplemental math training, second language training, equipment maintenance and manufacturing process training along with other company and industry-specific learning opportunities.

 

Read the Release

 

Governor's schedule for March 31-April 2

 

Monday, March 31

-Governor Mitch Daniels will commemorate the landmark hiring of 800 new staff members in the Department of Child Services (DCS). He will participate in a special swearing in ceremony for the final group of 35 caseworkers who are joining DCS during the state's efforts in the past three years to double the number of workers protecting children. DCS also will issue its Fiscal 2007 fatality report.

11 a.m.

Indiana State House

North atrium

Indianapolis

Wednesday, April 2

-The governor will present the 2008 Sachem, the state's highest honor. It is given annually to an individual or individuals to recognize a lifetime of excellence and virtue that has brought credit and honor to Indiana. John Wooden, the Reverend Theodore M. Hesburgh and Jane Blaffer Owen are the previous recipients.

11 a.m.

Indiana State Museum Great Hall

650 West Washington Street

White River State Park

Indianapolis

 

IN THE NEWS

 

Daniels talks government reform with local leaders

 

Muncie Star-Press

By: Rick Yencer
March 27, 2008

 

MUNCIE -- Reform-minded local government leaders met with Gov. Mitch Daniels on Wednesday to discuss how they will deal with property tax reform and likely fewer dollars going to local services.

 

"Everything is on the table," said Mayor Sharon McShurley. "We have to look at a new model for providing services as cost-effective as possible."

 

Daniels had a private lunch with a handful of city and county elected officials to discuss the impact of the state property tax bill signed by the Republican governor after being approved by an overwhelming majority of lawmakers.

 

Watch video of the governor and mayor.

 

Afterwards, he talked to local reporters about the historic tax bill and leadership taken by McShurley and others to reform local government.

 

The tax bill caps property taxes, raises the state sales tax by one cent effective Monday, and has the state assuming child welfare, juvenile detention and school operating costs, and pre-1977 police and fire pension funds.

 

That shift in property taxes could mean Muncie's city government would see a $3.2 million reduction in available property tax revenue in 2009 when compared to this year, and $4 million less in 2010, according to Legislative Service Agency estimates. It also means homeowners could see an average 25-percent reduction in their property taxes this year.

 

The governor said he "invited himself" to see steps taken by local officials to consolidate and reorganize local government in line with tax reform.

 

"It is one of the few places in the state where this kind of open-minded conversation is happening," Daniels said of efforts by McShurley and others.

 

The Republican mayor, who took office Jan. 1, already has taken steps to eliminate some positions like downtown director and supported reducing the number of ranking officers in the Muncie Police Department.

 

There has also been discussion about combining some city-county services, such as building inspection and animal control, along with looking at joint purchases.

 

The biggest spending by city government remains public safety, with related expenses taking up about 80 percent of the city's $30 million general fund.

 

McShurley said Wednesday that she might propose a new model for public safety in upcoming contract negotiations with public safety officers. In recent years, police officers and firefighters have enjoyed 4-percent yearly raises; generous insurance benefits and little attrition in manpower.

 

While that could mean reducing manpower, McShurley said it was too early to discuss details until a final 2008 budget was approved along with final numbers on the impact of property tax caps.

 

Muncie City Council member Mark Conatser attended Wednesday's lunch meeting, and said the governor was receptive to local government needs and also talked about road and other state funding.

 

"I would support investigation of consolidation," Conatser said, recognizing that local government would have to cut spending to operate.

 

Other officials meeting with the governor included city council members Mike King, Linda Gregory, and Brad Polk; Delaware County Council President Brad Bookout; county council member Joe Russell and Delaware County Commissioner Tom Bennington.

 

Bennington did not see the tax bill having much of an impact on county government spending. He also supported government consolidation and reducing spending over raising income or other local taxes to offset less property tax revenue.

 

Daniels said he was encouraged that local officials were seriously rethinking "business as usual."

"We have entered a new era of taxpayer protection," said Daniels. "The money government does not have is in the taxpayer's pocket, and that is what we want to happen."

Daniels: Reforms Will Force Change

 

Michigan City The News-Dispatch
By: Jason Miller
March 26, 2008

MICHIGAN CITY - Gov. Mitch Daniels looks at the recently signed property tax reform as an economic motivator which could put Indiana among the 10 states with the nation's lowest property taxes.

He understands, though, the new structure will force both tax recipients and taxpayers to make decisions on how they spend money and how their communities operate.

"These are some very tight spending controls," Daniels said Tuesday during a meeting with The News-Dispatch's editorial board. "La Porte County is a textbook case. There are 55 taxing entities in La Porte County and you have more townships than any other county in Indiana.

"This will be a forced change. People will have to find alternate means. People should insist on this."

House Bill 1001, passed earlier this month by large margins in both houses of the General Assembly, was based on a reform plan initially proposed by Daniels.

It will likely stand as a campaign issue as he runs for a second term as governor in November.

He addressed questions Tuesday about issues facing La Porte County like the proposed Illiana Expressway and the controversial intermodal proposal.

He also spoke about La Porte County's need for economic stimulus and his plans for a second term. If re-elected, he said he'd concentrate on changing education policies and funding, as well as bringing more jobs and money to Indiana.

He said schools in Indiana are top heavy with administrators and lacking in enough well-paid teachers.

"We need to put dollars in the classrooms," Daniels said. "I'm not talking about consolidating. Just the opposite. We have 293 school districts in Indiana and a lot of administration. Every district doesn't need a superintendent and a whole array of assistants.

"We need smaller schools and classrooms and more - and better paid - teachers."

Daniels said he'll try again in a second term on an education funding plan that didn't gain much support during his first term.

That idea has the state's lottery privatized with the state's share of lottery money funding two free years of post-secondary education for qualified high school students.

Daniels also spoke about the state's economic standing in the nation, showing statistics provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics that indicate Indiana's unemployment rate at a lower level than most states.

He also cited figures showing that while the states surrounding Indiana are running budget shortfalls in the hundreds of millions and billions of dollars, Indiana is one of several states operating on a surplus.

He called Indiana an economically sound "island" surrounded on all sides by states suffering severe fiscal problems.

When asked why La Porte County seems to be an island inside the state - one seemingly not following that economic trend - Daniels said time must be spent righting the ship.

"We've got to do better up here," he said. "I've said in a hundred other places I've visited that we can't be the state we want to be until Northwest Indiana is a place we want to be.

"We're working hard to find a way to make a breakthrough. If we keep on the competitive edge of the island, you guys are the first stop; the nearest point of access to Chicago.

"Parts of this state are booming, but until it's all equal, we just don't have it."

 

State at a 'tremendous economic advantage'

 

The Northwest Indiana Times

By: Krystin E. Kasak

March 26, 2008

 

VALPARAISO - Despite economic decline nationally and regionally, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said the Hoosier state is making strong progress.

Daniels attended a Valparaiso Rotary Club luncheon Tuesday to give an update on the state's economy. The governor covered several topics and praised the state for its budget surplus, recent tax cuts, low unemployment rate and appeal to out-of-state businesses.

"We are in a uniquely strong position in this state because we took action," Daniels said. "If there is a recession coming, of course we're not immune. But if it is going to happen, Indiana will enter it with the strongest possible position around. ... We have a tremendous economic advantage."

Daniels compared Indiana to the Midwest and said the majority of neighboring states are struggling with large budget crises. While other states are fishing for money, Indiana is sitting on $1 billion in reserves, Daniels said.

A recent study from the Pew Research Center shows 22 states currently have a budget shortfall that totals at least $37 billion. Daniels said many states have been especially pressed for funds to be used on transportation.

"Since we passed Major Moves, about 32 states have raised their gas tax," Daniels said, noting that if Indiana had taken a different route, Hoosiers may have seen pump prices up to 25 cents higher per gallon. "We take in more money in interest (from the Major Moves money) every year than the Toll Road collected in 50 years."

Daniels also praised the new tax plan, which is expected to cut homeowner property tax bills by an average of 26 percent statewide over last year's figure. The governor said state officials have helped create a competitive tax environment that has resulted in out-of-state businesses coming to Indiana.

"The cost of doing business (here) has been rated the fourth best in the nation and the best in the Midwest," Daniels said. "People are starting to listen to our billboards that say 'Come on in.'"

When a Rotary Club member asked the governor about the state of education programs in Indiana, Daniels admitted there is much work to be done. The governor discussed streamlining school districts, hiring more teachers and investing in secondary education.

"This is the heart of what I think we ought to concentrate on for the next four years," Daniels said.

 

Notre Dame lands new nanotechnology research center


The South Bend Tribune

By: Margaret Fosmoe and Jamie Loo
March 26, 2008

SOUTH BEND - State and local leaders Tuesday announced the establishment of a Midwest Academy of Nanoelectronics and Architectures, a new research consortium that will be led by the University of Notre Dame.

The group's mission is to discover and develop the next nanoscale logic device, the basic building block of smaller, faster computers of the future.

Gov. Mitch Daniels and other state and local leaders hailed the announcement as an economic development coup for the Midwest, saying the consortium will result in additional federal money for Midwestern universities and potentially bring well-paying, high-technology jobs to South Bend and the region.

"This changes everything for our community," said U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly, D-Granger. This could be the biggest economic development since the Studebaker family arrived in South Bend in the mid-19th century and launched a vehicle-making empire, he said.

Notre Dame will be the lead player in the consortium, which also includes Purdue University, the University of Illinois, Penn State University, the University of Michigan, Argonne National Laboratory, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory.

Direct financial support for MANA from the public and private sectors and the participating universities will total more than $25 million over three years, according to the planners. Notre Dame also will offer additional support.

"Today is a landmark day," Daniels said. The governor said he'd be excited to see this venture established anywhere in Indiana. "But there's no part of our state where I'd rather see it happen than right here," he said. The research will lead to a resurgence in jobs in this region, he said.

Mayor Stephen Luecke said the city will contribute $1 million to the start of MANA. The city also is committing land in the Studebaker Corridor as a landing area for technology businesses that spin off from research at the planned South Bend technology park and MANA. "The MANA center is really beyond what we envisioned," Luecke said of Tuesday's announcement.

Although there are no projections on the number of jobs MANA will create, it will be a catalyst for future investment, the mayor said.

Consortium organizers anticipate more money will come through federal grant applications under the National Nanotechnology Initiative, for which the federal government plans to allocate $1.5 billion a year.

Conventional microelectronic technology has relied on shrinking transistors to produce increasingly smaller, faster and cheaper devices ranging from cell phones and personal music devices to laptop computers. That approach is nearing its physical limits.

MANA's mission will be to explore and develop advanced devices, circuits and nanosystems with performance capabilities beyond current devices.

John Kelly, IBM senior vice president for research, described the research as part of an international race as nanotechnology becomes a billion-dollar industry.

"We have hundreds of faculty at dozens of universities doing very advanced research to find the next switch to lead the world," he said. "It (nanotechnology) will lead the world in all sorts of devices, not only cell phones and supercomputers, but every type of medical device you can think of."

MANA is expected to closely tie Notre Dame to local and state economic development initiatives. When MANA research results in start-up businesses, they are expected to launch in the planned Innovation Park at Notre Dame -- a technology park planned along Edison Road south of campus.

Some commercial ventures resulting from the research also may occur in a nanoelectronic development facility the city is developing in the former Studebaker Corridor area near downtown.

"Welcome to the future," said the Rev. John I. Jenkins, Notre Dame's president, saying the research partnership represents the future for the university, the city and the state.

Notre Dame has a heavy research focus on nanoelectronics. The university's Center for Nano Science and Technology, established in 1999, explores the fundamental concepts of nanoscience to develop unique engineering applications using nano principles. The center is composed of a multidisciplinary team of researchers from various science and engineering fields.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for us to discover and shape the development of nanoelectronics and to make it happen here in the Midwest," said Alan Seabaugh, a Notre Dame professor of electrical engineering, who will serve as principal investigator for the project.

This new venture is part of the Semiconductor Research Corp.'s Nanoelectronics Research Initiative. SRC is a consortium of six major companies in the U.S. semiconductor manufacturing business: IBM, Intel, Micron, Texas Instruments, AMD and Freescale.

 

Daniels visits Angola

 

Angola Herald-Republican

By Michael Marturello

March 27, 2008

 

ANGOLA - Gov. Mitch Daniels made an unscheduled stop in Angola today to make an appointment and speak with residents having breakfast.

 

Daniels stopped at Timbers Casual Dining & Lounge today to announce the appointment of David Ballinger to the Indiana Toll Road Oversight Board.

 

Ballinger is a longtime Angola resident and serves as senior vice president at Farmers State Bank. He also is on the board of the Steuben County Economic Development Corp.

'I look forward to the opportunity to serve on a board that has such impact for northern Indiana and our community," Ballinger said this morning. 'This is a nice honor and a privilege for me."

Ballinger will be serving out the remainder of the two-year term previously held by Kris Sine of Angola. The term expires on June 7.

 

Daniels also named John Letherman, a member of the Elkhart County Council, to the toll road board.

 

The board was established after the Indiana Toll Road was leased to a Spanish-Australian consortium for $3.8 billion in 2006 following the passage of enabling legislation that year.

Ironically, the last time Daniels was at Timbers Casual Dining was for a town meeting in February 2006 to discuss the possible lease of the toll road.

 

The Toll Road Oversight Board assures that the Indiana Toll Road Concession Company complies with the provisions of the lease agreement for the management of the Indiana Toll Road and provides advice, counsel and reports to the governor, the Indiana Finance Authority and the public about matters relating to the lease, maintenance, financing, planning, tolling, construction and operation of the toll road.

 

Daniels' unscheduled visit came after he attended events in South Bend on Tuesday. Daniels spent the night at a private residence in Howe before traveling to Angola.

 

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