2009 – Page 38 of 98

Tolle on the Totter: Newspapers

By Newsroom

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August 5, 2009

An interesting conversation about what should have happened at The Ann Arbor News is held on a teeter totter.Excerpt:[Ed. note: The consultancy operated by BT, which is mentioned below, is The Tolle Group. Other entities mentioned below: The Ann Arbor Chronicle and The Workantile Exchange.] HD: Let's climb aboard. BT: [laugh] It takes me back to--who's going first? HD: Well, you know it's a collaborative endeavor. BT: I like this view. The street is so great. HD: It's not bad. [Photography ensues. HD encounters problems with the high-tech camera.] BT: Technology is not my strong suit. HD: Oh, that's not true, I know that for a fact. Well, I think I know that for a fact. So, welcome to the teeter totter! BT: Thanks, Dave. Read the rest of the story here.

VG Kids spurs affordable creative studio space

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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August 5, 2009

Being an artist in Ypsilanti is becoming a bit easier and cheaper, thanks to SPUR Studios.Excerpt:Not satisfied with the relative lack of affordable creative space in the area, VG Kids Printing founder James Marks and a subset of the crew at his independent screen printing shop in Ypsilanti are making an attempt to remedy the situation. Their solution? SPUR Studios. "We are trying to make a great place for artists by providing them with a building they can make into their own, drawing inspiration from that, and [from] each other's ideas," said Steve Emschwiller. Steve is part of James' screen printing crew and is the main contact for the music community over at SPUR. "Basically, its a grassroots, DIY type of project. We are starting with no funding, no outside money whatsoever, and we're building from there."A do-it-yourself theme seems to flow through in the process of leasing each individual space as well. Save for a basic set of ground rules, tenants are welcome (and encouraged) to paint, rip up carpet, and do what they want to each individual space. "We want the building to come together by each tenant's own personality," Steve said.Read the rest of the story here.

Bearclaw Coffee, Askar Brands hope co-branding will spark sales

By Newsroom

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General

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August 5, 2009

Chelsea's own Bearclaw Coffee is getting innovative with its expansion plans.Excerpt:Two Michigan companies are joining forces in an effort to drive down costs while raising volume and sales. Chelsea-based Bearclaw Coffee Co. and Commerce Township-based Askar Brands, parent company of Mr. Pita Sandwiches, Stucchi's Ice Cream, Papa Romano's Pizza, and CJ's Brewing Co. hope a co-branding agreement will give franchisees more leverage in the marketplace by expanding product offerings and boosting sales in what were the slow periods of the day.Read the rest of the story here.

Chelsea Robotics team places high nationally

By Newsroom

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In The News

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August 5, 2009

Chelsea's Robotics team is going places and is coming back from one big competition, too. Excerpt:The Chelsea High School Robotics team recently traveled to the FIRST National Robotics Championship in Atlanta. After a day of practice and two days of competing, they finished with a 5-2 record and placed 17th out of 87 teams in their division and were the 10th best team from Michigan.While in Atlanta, they were also able to tour the Coca-Cola Museum and the Georgia Aquarium.After their return from the championship, the team held a banquet thanking all the donors and mentors who supported them throughout the 2008-2009 season.Outgoing seniors Cody Robbins, Jake Kitchens and Nick Worthington were given special recognition for their years of service and contributions to the team. The banquet was held at the Chelsea Proving Grounds and graciously hosted by the Chrysler Corp.Read the rest of the story here.

Video Accuri Cytometers

By Keith Jefferies

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Entrepreneurship

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August 5, 2009

From co-founder Collin Rich's kitchen table to the offices of U-M's Tech Transfer office to shipping high tech cytometers to labs all over the world, Accuri Cytometers is the model for Ann Arbor startup know how.

News site Ann Arbor.com doesn’t resemble a news site

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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August 5, 2009

AnnArbor.com takes a fluid approach to running the news.Excerpt:The first thing I noticed on AnnArbor.com is, well, the first thing I was supposed to notice. The bare home page doesn't even try to do the traditional newspaper editor's job of defining which stories are the most important or pressing. It's simply a time-sequenced river of news. Think of it as Times Wire, except without the choice to click back to The New York Times' spiffy home page. This is the home page.It might not be what readers expected when Tony Dearing, AnnArbor.com's chief content officer, promised a site "different from anything you've ever seen," but maybe it should have been. "Somehow, that has the connotation of this fantastic, super-futuristic, dancing-women, fireworks-going-off site," Dearing told me. "And really, I meant it in the opposite way. It's going to be very different, but in a simple, understated way that news sites traditionally have not gone."Indeed, AnnArbor.com — which launched the day after The Ann Arbor News shuttered — looks more like Digg and Twitter than it does the Detroit Free Press. At least right now, an investigative enterprise story is featured no more prominently than a 200-word blog post. Everything — design, content, even advertising — is different. Read the rest of the story here.

Ann Arbor restaurants buck recession

By Newsroom

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Healthy Communities

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August 5, 2009

So there’s a recession going on? Don’t tell that to downtown Ann Arbor's restaurants.Excerpt:Ann Arbor continues to attract new restaurants despite the economic recession and complaints - even from some restaurateurs - that there are too many eateries in town.The concentration of restaurants on and near Main Street creates a destination for out-of-towners, and the University of Michigan provides a stable and loyal base of customers. But restaurant owners said with the number of existing eateries in town, it's crucial for new ones to find a niche and serve it well.For Ron Jeffries, owner and brewer at the Jolly Pumpkin brewery in Dexter who plans to open a café on South Main Street within two months, the niche is his award-winning beer and vegan and vegetarian food.He said he'd been looking for space in Ann Arbor for three years, but rents have only recently become affordable.Jeffries' café will be in roughly 4,200 square feet where the Pepperz restaurant used to be, in a neighborhood home to more than 20 restaurants. But he said a restaurant row is more beneficial in bringing foot traffic than the competition is harmful to a single eatery."There’s a lot to be said for having a restaurant in an area with a lot of other nice restaurants," he said. "If you’re not, you really need to be a destination or a draw."Read the rest of the story here.

U-M Biz School varies degree options with new Weekend MBA

By Newsroom

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Innovation News

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August 5, 2009

Getting a MBA from the University of Michigan is getting a little bit easier these days now that the school is offering a Weekend MBA program.The new program is the second part-time program offered by the Ross School of Business, which already has an evening format. The Weekend Program, which will begin next May, is expected to allow MBA students to earn their degrees within two years compared to the three to four years for the evening class option.Students in the Weekend Format will take classes Friday afternoon and evening, and all day Saturday during six 14-week terms. The classes will be mostly held in Ann Arbor, with a few more in the Southfield satellite campus. For information on the part-time options, click here. Source: University of MichiganWriter: Jon Zemke

Veris Landscape Design turns yards into jobs

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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August 5, 2009

Rachel Blistein spent enough time taking orders from her boss. Now she makes her living taking orders from her clients.The Ypsilanti resident started her own business, Veris Land Design, three years ago after working for other landscaping architecture firms for a number of years. "I just felt I was ready to strike out on my own," Blistein says.She has done the big-company gig, designing streetscapes and campuses, as well as similar-yet-smaller projects with smaller firms. Now she focuses on working for local residents, mainly on the appearance of their yard."Most of my clients are in Ann Arbor," Blistein says. "I'd like to see more Ypsilanti people take advantage of my business."The landscape designer is already is working on one big project in Ypsilanti – Luna Lake. She is quarterbacking volunteer efforts to turn the stagnant swamp area of Prospect Park into a sustainable rain garden, decked out with native plants.Source: Rachel Blistein, owner of Veris Land DesignWriter: Jon Zemke

200 entrepreneurs reach out to Ann Arbor SPARK this year

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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August 5, 2009

About 200 entities, think singular or a pair of entrepreneurs, have reached out to Ann Arbor SPARK so far this year about creating their own start-ups, and that type of contact is expected to continue.Thirty three of those 200 ideas for new companies are actually starting the process of coming to fruition with Ann Arbor SPARK. They are taking advantage of the business accelerator's resources to develop, fundraise, prototype, license, or commercialize their products or services.The 200 contacts are a modest increase from years before as the 4-year-old economic development agency starts to gain traction from its years of community outreach. Many of them come from a combination of Ann Arbor SPARK's outreach events or referrals with other partnering organizations, such as the University of Michigan's Business Engagement Center, Tech Brewery, and TechArb, among others. "SPARK has been around," says Elizabeth Parkinson, vice president of marketing and communications with Ann Arbor SPARK. One of the big draws for growing these businesses is SPARK's renowned Entrepreneur's Boot Camp. It has run 15 of these weekend business cram sessions so far and has another set for this fall. About 15 start-ups attend each boot camp, with 225 participants to date. Of those, 181 have gone on to employ 662 people and garner $19 million in funding.Source: Elizabeth Parkinson, vice president of marketing and communications with Ann Arbor SPARKWriter: Jon Zemke