Indianapolis, IN
‘I think that was Tom Hanks.’ Actor pops into Indianapolis shops. Here’s what he bought
New York bookstore exchanges used books for pickles
Customers can exchange used books for a jar of pickles at this New York bookstore.
When Alexandria Dugan rang up the purchases of a male and female customer at her Old Northside stationery store recently, she thought the guy’s face and voice were familiar.
“As they were checking out I was like, ‘Oh, he kind of looks like Tom Hanks. He kind of sounds like Tom Hanks.” And then they left and I was like, ‘I think that was Tom Hanks,” said Dugan, owner of Semantics Paper Goods, 111 E. 16th St.
It wasn’t until more than a week later when her neighbor Dream Palace Books & Coffee posted to social media a photo of Hanks outside of the shop that she realized it really was the multi-Oscar-winning actor and filmmaker.
Hanks had hit up the Northside Indianapolis businesses on Sept. 28.
Dream Palace owner Taylor Lewandowski didn’t post the photo until last week. He said Hanks asked him not to post the photo for a while.
“He wanted us to wait a week. That was his request,” he said.
Both the shops are in the same building on the ground level.
Tom Hanks’ visit to Northside Indy shops
Hanks and his daughter, E.A. Hanks, had stopped in the bookstore and cafe after the stationery store; and Lewandowski said he nearly missed the visit while working in the back office.
His barista went to the office to report the sighting of Hollywood royalty.
“She came back and was just like, ‘I’m like 90% sure Tom Hanks came in here,” Lewandoski said.
He went out front to investigate and saw that two Dream Palace customers were outside talking with Hanks. That’s where Lewandowski met the actor, who asked about how the year-old shop started.
Hanks posed for photos with the Dream Palace barista and some students from nearby Herron High School across the street.
The encounter was brief, and Lewandowski said he suspects the Hanks didn’t stay long at the bookstore because folks started to recognize him.
He said Hanks told him another Indianapolis bookseller suggested they make a trip to Dream Palace. Dream Palace, in turn, directed Hanks to The Whispering Shelf, 414 N. College, but the actor never made it to that store.
Pink about Indy: Before her concert, Pink took her family to Conner Prairie’s Headless Horseman 🎃
While Hanks didn’t make a purchase at Dream Palace, he did buy a lot of stuff from the stationery store.
Hanks and daughter — E.A. Hanks is a writer — entered the shop in the afternoon.
“They didn’t really announce themselves or anything. They just came in and started shopping,” Dugan said.
The Hanks were in Semantics for about five minutes, picking out notebooks, letter writing paper, envelopes, pens and postcards, she said.
“They were pretty efficient shoppers. They kind of knew what they had in mind.”
What did Tom Hanks buy from indie Indianapolis stationery store Semantics?
Among the items Hanks took a liking to at the stationery store:
- Shorthand Task Pad Notebooks. Hanks bought several lined rule notebooks with checkboxes. Dugan said he wiped out her stock of forest green pads.
- Letter writing paper and matching envelopes from MD Paper Products, a Japanese brand.
Why was Tom Hanks in Indianapolis?
No word on what brought the actor and his daughter to Indy. The shop owners said they didn’t ask.
EA Hanks might make another trip to the Indy bookstore
Lewandowski said he hopes E.A. Hanks will return to Dream Palace to promote her book “The 10,” due out in 2025.
“She took my email down and said she’d like to do some kind of book signing or event here,” he said. “I hope she reaches out. That’d be great to have her come back and do something.”
Contact IndyStar reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at cheryl.jackson@indystar.com or 317-444-6264. Follow her on X.com: @cherylvjackson.
Indianapolis, IN
Affordable housing project breaks ground in Indy’s Bates-Hendricks neighborhood
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The southeast neighborhood development broke ground today with the goal of bringing affordable housing access.
It’s located in the Bates-Hendricks neighborhood.
The East Street Flats will have five residential units and one commercial unit. Officials say the project is designed to increase access to quality affordable housing.
‘And as Bates-Hendricks has transformed…then the neighborhood is understanding that transformation. Leave no one behind, provide opportunity to everyone,” Major Joe Hogsett said Monday during the announcement.
Officials say grants and redevelopment programs helped fund the flats.
This article was written using a script that was aired on WISH-TV.
Indianapolis, IN
IND airport to launch first CLEAR+ checkpoint in Indiana
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Officials at the Indianapolis International Airport are gearing up to open the first CLEAR+ checkpoint in the state.
New York City-based CLEAR operates biometric identification systems at airports and entertainment venues across the country. IND will join 60 other U.S. airports in adding a CLEAR+ checkpoint.
The service is fully voluntary. The company says it offers a quicker way to get through airport security checkpoints.
“Enjoy faster, frictionless experiences at airports, arenas, and everywhere in between,” CLEAR said about its services on its website.
CLEAR+ uses facial features and other data to create a distinctive biometric ID for members.
The company also claims its members save on average four hours per year going through security at events.
CLEAR and IND officials will officially launch the new CLEAR+ checkpoint on Tuesday, ahead of what’s expected to be a busy summer travel season.
Indianapolis, IN
How Fever guard Sophie Cunningham stays ready in crunch time
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — On Saturday night inside Mohegan Sun Arena, Fever guard Sophie Cunningham caught fire in crunch time.
Cunningham returned in Saturday’s road matchup against the Connecticut Sun after missing the previous game with a right elbow injury.
On Saturday, Cunningham scored 11 consecutive points in the final two minutes of Saturday’s 85-75 win against the Sun and hit a season-high three triples, all in the last two minutes.
Cunningham told reporters how she’s always prepared for the moment when her number is called.
“You just have to stay ready,” Cunnigham said. “I think that’s kind of been my whole career is you’ve got to control what you can control, and that’s about being a pro. You can’t always control when you’re going to be out there, who you’re going to be out there with. But you got to make it count, and so I did that tonight, but also shoutout to my teammates for getting me the ball when I was open.”
Both Cunningham and Caitlin Clark shared the floor down the stretch of Saturday’s double-digit win. Clark finished with 25 points and connected on five triples, her second-most threes in a game all season.
While it is usually Clark hitting the game-sealing type of shots most fans are used to, this time, it was Cunningham’s moment to put the game on ice.
Cunningham described how much energy she gets from playing alongside Clark and the rest of Indiana’s star-studded lineup.
“I like playing with C [Caitlin Clark],” Cunningham said. “I think that C is an aggressor, I think that AB [Aliyah Boston] is an aggressor, I think Kelsey’s [Mitchel] an aggressor. When you have three elite players like that who all can dominate a game and take over a game, it’s really up to you, so when you get the ball, you can do what you do. I think that you just have to have a feel for the game. Sometimes the energy is low, so you have to go out there and be the aggressor and bring the energy up. But when they already have it, you just got slide right in and don’t drop the energy.”
Cunningham is averaging 8.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game through 12 games played this season.
The Fever are currently 8-5 and will host the Toronto Tempo inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse this Tuesday, June 16th.
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