2009 – Page 32 of 98

Stop the presses forever: Ann Arbor News’ demise still drawing headlines

By Newsroom

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August 26, 2009

The demise of the Ann Arbor continues to garner attention across the nation.Excerpt:ANN ARBOR, Michigan -- As she prepared informational packets for school board members 10 days ago, secretary Amy Osinski yelled a question to her boss that probably wouldn't be asked in a city with a daily newspaper."Hey Liz, what should we do about clipping articles now?"Liz Margolis, director of communications for the 16,500-student Ann Arbor school district, was preoccupied with other effects from the local paper ceasing daily publication three weeks earlier. Two of her three teenage sons were competing in the city's annual junior golf tournament, and she could find nary a story or photo anywhere."The Ann Arbor News covered the heck out of it," Margolis said, lamenting the loss of a companion for her boys."Even though they're online all day, not having that sports page at night is a tragedy. My middle son took the sports pages to bed every night and studied the box scores."Across this city of 114,000, residents are coming to grips with the loss of their venerable daily newspaper, replaced by a Web version. Declining ad revenue and a prolonged recession are ravaging the newspaper industry, last year killing such iconic mastheads as Denver's 149-year-old Rocky Mountain News and the 146-year-old Seattle Post-Intelligencer.Read the rest of the story here.

Small talk: Ann Arbor chef Aronoff

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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August 26, 2009

One of Ann Arbor's top chefs dishes about the new show she was on – Top Chef.Excerpt:Chef, cookbook author and restaurant owner Eve Aronoff, 40, of Ann Arbor made her television debut last week as a contestant on Bravo's "Top Chef." Aronoff grew up in East Lansing and attended culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. She's the chef/owner of Eve in Ann Arbor and author of her own cookbook, "Eve: Contemporary Cuisine, Methode Traditionelle."This is the sixth season for the popular reality show, which this year takes place in Las Vegas. It airs at 9 p.m. Wednesdays on Bravo. While Aronoff is not able to reveal anything about what happens on the show (she nearly missed being eliminated on the first episode), she was forthcoming about her career and passion for cooking. Read the rest of the story here.

Ann Arbor fights to keep its business attraction advantage amid falling building prices

By Newsroom

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General

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August 26, 2009

A skilled workforce and high quality of life aren’t the only things Ann Arbor needs to compete when it comes to business attraction.Excerpt:When Mercedes announced in March that it would open a 60,000-square-foot R&D facility in Ann Arbor, the company accelerated its search for local real estate - and everyone involved believed this region could reasonably accommodate the need.The search, I’m told, started to focus on vacant land in the South State corridor.But then Mercedes pulled out of talks, and now appears bound for Redford Township, near Detroit.The obvious question is: Why Redford?The company told local officials it couldn’t ignore the economic benefits of using excess capacity that it already has in another building. That building, in this case, is the Detroit Diesel facility.But the situation also raises questions about the drivers of corporate siting decisions in 2009 - and how Ann Arbor could be further impacted.Ann Arbor, it appears, is now competing on a much larger regional playing field, with price taking the lead.Read the rest of the story here.

Ann Arbor City Council puts aside income tax, proposal may go to voters in spring

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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August 26, 2009

Shelf, meet Ann Arbor City Income Tax proposal.Excerpt:The Ann Arbor City Council opted on Monday to shelve a new income tax under review, stopping the issue from being put to a ballot vote in November, but the issue could resurface and be put to a citywide vote this spring. Before that happens, the city of Ann Arbor wants to begin an effort to educate residents and businesses about the impacts of a new income tax — 1 percent for residents and businesses and 0.5 percent for nonresidents working in the city — before the issue is put to voters.A survey conducted by the Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce last week said about 74 percent of the 300 chamber members surveyed did not support creation of the tax.Read the rest of the story here.

Ann Arbor’s underground parking deck moves forward

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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August 26, 2009

The underground parking structure next to the Ann Arbor Library's Main Branch continues its steady slog toward becoming a reality.The Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority approved upgrading the 6-inch water mains along Fifth Avenue to 12-inch water mains and hired Lansing-based Christman to handle the pre-construction planning. It all means shovels will go in the ground for the water mains by October and the main hole for the parking deck will start going down by early winter."I think we may start excavating in November," says Susan Pollay, executive director of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority.The DDA is spending $38 million to build a 3-story underground parking garage under Fifth Avenue and the surface parking lot adjacent to the downtown library branch. The new structure, set to open by the 2011 Art Fair, will feature 677 parking spaces, replacing the 200 spaces on the surface lot.The parking deck will feature a number of green features, including plentiful natural light, dimmers on the parking light and LED to save electricity. It will also feature power outlets for electric cars. The DDA is also looking into utilizing geothermal heating systems, solar panels and reusing gravel from the excavation in the cement for the structure."It's going to be as green as we can make it," Pollay says.Happening separately but impacting the same project is the newly released request for proposals for a development above it. The city issued the RFP to solicit development projects for the space above the parking garage.The perimeter of the large site could reach as high as 4-6 stories. The interior of the block could go as high as 18 stories and facilitate office, residential or hotel space or even a combination of those. Ideas bandied about for the space include an office tower and convention center.Source: Susan Pollay, executive director of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development AuthorityWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor SPARK’s Micro Loan Fund takes aim at east side

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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August 26, 2009

Business on the east side of Washtenaw County is getting some special love from Ann Arbor SPARK.The business development agency and Washtenaw County have teamed up to create the Eastern Washtenaw Micro Loan Fund. The $225,000 will provide precious capital for start-ups based on the east side of the county.The idea is to help get more promising start-ups up and hiring by providing funding at the outset of their lives, usually the most delicate time of their existence. These companies must be based in the new economy, which covers sectors like alternative energy, homeland security and defense, life sciences, IT and social networking. It will also help some old economy businesses, such as manufacturing, hitting all of the sectors the state is targeting for growth."It all ties in nicely," says Elizabeth Parkinson, vice president of marketing and communications for Ann Arbor SPARK.Each loan will be between $10,000 and $50,000 and last between 2-3 years. The fund is expected to last at least one year and could be expanded if proven successful. The plan is to eventually make it self-funded.The eastern side of Washtenaw County (think Ypsilanti/Willow Run area) has been heavily based in manufacturing and other industrial pursuits for generations. As those sectors have contracted, leaving a business void that creates blight and opportunity for emerging businesses. This new money is expected to help create more businesses to fill that void.The Eastern Washtenaw Micro Loan Fund is modeled after two other existing state and regional funds - the Michigan Pre-seed Capital Fund and the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Local Development Financing Authority. Both funds are managed by Ann Arbor SPARK. Source: Elizabeth Parkinson, vice president of marketing and communications for Ann Arbor SPARKWriter: Jon Zemke

EMU biz prof wins national award for student mentoring

By Newsroom

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Innovation News

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August 26, 2009

Many professors at major colleges have a reputation for focusing more on research or start-ups (or both) more than students. That's now the case with Nesa Wu.The Eastern Michigan University business professor recently won a mentor award from the Association for Operations Management. She won for her efforts at mentoring students in the university's Advancing Productivity, Innovation, and Competitive Success chapter."Nes is a great example of a number of the faculty we have here that work with the students on a one-on-one basis," says, David Mielke, dean of the college of business at Eastern Michigan University. He adds that EMU business professors also spend a lot of time working with students on everything from class projects to job searches to getting a start-up off the ground. "There is quite a bit of that that goes on here," Mielke says. "It's part of the culture here."Wu is a professor of Computer Information Systems and has been at the university for 30 years. This is the second time she has received the award.Advancing Productivity, Innovation, and Competitive Success was founded in 1957. It focuses on operations management, including production, inventory, supply chain, materials management, purchasing, and logistics. Source: David Mielke, dean of the college of business at Eastern Michigan UniversityWriter: Jon Zemke

Buycentives takes on $35 billion auto-buying incentive market

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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August 26, 2009

Pretty much no one buys a car these days without some sort of buyer's incentive. This market in the automotive industry represents $35 billion annually, or $140 million a day, and Buycentives wants just a small slice of it."It's a huge amount," says David Goldschmidt, who co-founded Buycentives with Sean Murphy.The year-old start-up specializes in making sense of this big bloated morass of incentives for both sellers and buyers. It software lets automakers target small groups or even individual consumers with the right incentives. It also helps make sure buyers get the best bang for their buck.This helps auto manufacturers eliminate inefficiencies in the buyer incentive pool, saving money. It also helps them track what their customers want and find out what sparked their interest in the first place.Buycentives, which is currently headquartered out of Ann Arbor SPARK's Central Incubator space in downtown Ann Arbor, plans to have launched its technology and signed up the major automotive manufacturers within the next year. Goldschmidt expects that will lead to some staff hiring."A year down the road, I think it's going to be more than just a handful of hires," he says.Source: David Goldschmidt, co-founder of BuycentivesWriter: Jon Zemke

Switchback hires six people in Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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August 26, 2009

Last time we checked in with Switchback, the newly formed start-up's two partners were figuring out their business plan and fighting to gain footing in the competitive world of Ann Arbor start-ups. My how times have changed.The almost-2-year-old firm now employs 11 people, an intern and is looking to hire. The staff is expected to double within the next year. The software-development firm, started by Mike Monan and Stephen Colson, continues to bring new products to the market, bad economy or no."There are still deals to be done and relationships to be made," Colson says.Switchback's technology helps businesses better manage their websites without all of the hassle of IT departments or in-house experts. It utilizes a Drupal programming platform, since both Monan and Colson met at a local Drupal Users Group meeting."There is a lot of demand for us," Colson says. "People are realizing that their websites need to work for them."Source: Stephen Colson, co-founder of SwitchbackWriter: Jon Zemke

I Miss You looks to bring social conscience to fashion in Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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August 26, 2009

David Merritt is one of those entrepreneurs who sees his business through a different lens than the rest of us.The recent University of Michigan graduate (he captained the U-M basketball team) started I Miss You with a bigger idea than selling clothing. He wants it to serve as a force for improving communities and a vehicle for making people feel better."We really feel we can change communities, change their perspectives," Merritt says.It starts with the brand. The words "I Miss You" are meant to inspire a feeling of belonging and being valued. It's the type of mindset that is meant to make people want to do better through the lifestyle that I Miss You offers. It accomplishes this by mandating its employees dedicate at least 8-10 hours a month to community service. Customers can also get a discount by giving their time or money to local causes that help impact communities, especially young people."This is a people company," Merritt says. "The brand is about people."Right now I Miss You is Merritt, an employee and handful of independent contractors. He hopes to bring on some interns, too. They are concentrating on making shirts to start but hope to expand to other forms of clothing as the business grows."I have plans for days," Merritt says.Source: David Merritt, president and CEO of I Miss YouWriter: Jon Zemke