Blogs
Wednesday, October 03, 2012
The concept of place-making hones in on the creation of downtown gathering spots outside of home and work – third places, if you will. But how do you put this mindset into practice? Quite Scientific Records partner Jeremy Peters votes yes to public art, and no to obstructionism.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Election season 2012 will leave its footprint on the region's parks, preserves, and natural resources. Drew Younge Dyke, policy specialist at the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, helps us to look at the environmental impacts of legislation and decode the greenalese.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Sometimes a shake-up can be the best wake-up call. Internet entrepreneur Steve Pierce, founder of Wireless Ypsi and HDL, offers up a litany of management tools: shopping your customer service department, firing your employee, and firing your customer among them.
Wednesday, August 08, 2012
How do you make a go of a seasonal arts organization during a recession? Attorney and performer Lauren London, co-founder of The Penny Seats Theatre Company, writes about rainy day survival and the ups and downs of outdoor summer theater.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Michigan may be a peninsula, but it's no island. Entrepreneur Jason Molesworth writes this week on closing Michigan's "capital gap" and embracing international trade and competition.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
When you invest your savings into Fund X, are your dollars aligned with your social and community values? Oftentimes not, says Angela Barbash, founder of Reconsider, a social-mission driven investment firm. This week she tips us off on the slow money movement and on why we should open investigations into our personal finances.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Call the term "taking ownership" a cliché, but that's literally what's in the works at some local businesses. This week, Maggie's Organics founder Bená Burda writes about forming 100% worker-owned co-operatives, from Nicaragua to North Carolina to Michigan.
Wednesday, June 06, 2012
Since its inception, TechArb, U-M's student start-up accelerator, has put $5 million into 97 student-run ventures. Moses Lee, co-founder of truApp and director of TechArb, writes about recruiting college students and this summer's crop of student entrepreneurs.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Is it worth paying a 6% sales tax to keep jobs in Michigan and build vibrant downtowns? Ingrid Ault, executive director of Think Local First, writes a series on how to not just talk local, but how to live local.
Friday, May 11, 2012
There's symphony in numbers. Steve Pierce, president of piercefinancial and board member of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, talks this week on the self -employment penalty paid by entrepreneurs and compares the financial collapse to milking a duck.
Wednesday, May 09, 2012
It's owls and eagles and vultures (oh my!) at the Leslie Science & Nature Center in Ann Arbor. LSNC Executive Director Susan Westhoff writes on transformation at the individual and organizational level and how to measure the intangibles of success.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
In Portland, Ore., empty parking lots make for good food cart pods. In Ann Arbor, empty parking lots are tailgate heaven but food carts are mostly verboten. This week, Phillis Engelbert, co-owner of vegan food cart The Lunch Room, writes on how food carts could have an easier road into the community.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
The island model of development, where the workplace, living space, and businesses are separated by gulfs of highway and five-lane roads, has fallen out of favor, but zoning regulations haven't kept up with the changing tide. John Petz, director of real estate and public affairs at Domino's Farms, writes on this issue and on bringing young leadership into the fold.
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
Ann Arbor is well within its power to have a million solar panels up and running, according to Prasad Gullapalli, founder and president of Srinergy. This week Gullapalli discusses how to manage and finance this solar target.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Yesterday marked the opening of the 50th Ann Arbor Film Festival. In celebration we've asked long time fan and festival goer (and Ypsilanti librarian) Ben Miller to blog about what the festival means to him, why it's an important part of our local culture, why you should go, and what he's looking forward to seeing this year.