Circle City

More than 40,000 readers visit Erin Loechner’s Design for Mankind site every day for chirpy commentary on decor, fashion, and art.

A: Some may be outraged at the cost of a Frappuccino or Caramel Macchiato, but not so long ago, Indy residents couldn’t purchase them for any price. While Starbucks has been in business since 1971, it didn’t begin its caffeinated assault on the Indy market until 1999, when a location opened inside Butler University’s Atherton Union. A second (now defunct) spot debuted in Carmel’s Merchants’ Square a few weeks later. After that they multiplied like bedbugs, until you couldn’t drive more than a couple of blocks in any direction without spotting the McDonald’s of coffee shops. Well, perhaps they aren’t that numerous. According to Starbucks regional director of operations Nancy McLaughlin, there are currently “only” 30 locations inside the I-465 loop, and slightly more than 100 in the entire state. A decent number, but miniscule when you consider that the chain operates more than 17,000 stores worldwide.

Fearing they wouldn’t have the votes to block a Republican-proposed “Right to Work” bill last winter, House Democrats retreated to a budget hotel in Urbana in February, just across the Illinois border, leaving Republicans without the quorum necessary to advance the legislation. In a call with minority leader Pat Bauer, who was pictured working the phone at a tiny desk in his hotel room, House Speaker Brian Bosma reportedly told him to “get back here” (even though Bosma had led his own party’s walkout in 2004). When they finally returned in March, the Dems owed an average fine of more than $3,000. “We found that Illinois has excellent malls,” Rep. Win Moses, D-Fort Wayne, told the Associated Press. “And there’s a mini-mart right across the street.” Oh, and good news: Republicans plan to make the bill a top priority again this year.

"I told my daughter, Angie, 'I wish everybody would stop talking about the officer, because we don't know whose lungs these are," says Cathy Lewis.

See this clip for the cinematic story based on the book Freeing the Whales by Indy's own Tom Rose. The film stars Drew Barrymore,...

Hoosier basketball fans and broadcasters from Bloomington's Assembly Hall to New York and San Diego were up in arms in the best way.

Dec. 10, 2011: Indiana's Christian Watford hits a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer to beat No. 1 Kentucky. This sealed IU's first victory over...

The funnyman shills for Old Milwaukee beer on a Terre Haute railroad track. Why not?