2010 – Page 49 of 78

Michigan Microloan Fund invests in Ann Arbor’s Ix Innovations

By Newsroom

●

April 21, 2010

Another Ann Arbor-based firm has scored a loan from the Michigan Microloan Fund, becoming one of three firms to indulge in the latest round of financing.Ix Innovations received an unspecified portion of $115,000 from the microloan fund. The other two firms that split the money were both from Detroit - NextCAT and CYJ Enterprises.Ix Innovations will use the money to further the commercialization of its PocketPico product. PocketPico is a portable, USB-powered picoammeter that can be used as a stand-alone instrument or connected to a PC.The microloans provide funding for start-ups so they can either commercialize their product or accelerate their business growth. The $1.5 million program will make anywhere from 2-4 loans of a few thousand dollars each per month for 2010. That's another 24-48 fledgling local businesses receiving financing during a time when loans for small businesses have been almost non-existent since the economy crashed.Source:Writer: Jon Zemke

Small retail treasures in Ann Arbor: Kerrytown’s Treasure Mart

By Newsroom

●

Economic Development

●

April 21, 2010

The conventional wisdom that independent stores are extinct in downtown Ann Arbor haven't been searching very hard for Treasure Mart in Kerrytown.Excerpt:When Elaine Johns' mother opened Ann Arbor's Treasure Mart in 1960, naysayers cautioned her that it wouldn't last. The neighborhood wasn't the best, and the building had been empty for many years."The whole Kerrytown area had been slated for urban renewal then," Johns says. "This was long before Zingerman's or the farmer's market."She forged ahead anyway and opened a consignment store that today is considered a city institution. Elaine started working in the shop, housed in a building that dates to the mid-1800s, in 1974."I came to work just for the summer and got sucked in," she says with a laugh. "I've never left." Read the rest of the story here.

Website speed part of Google rankings, says Ann Arbor expert

By Newsroom

●

In The News

●

April 21, 2010

The nimbleness of your website is now a significant part in determining its Google search rankings. That's the latest decree from Andrew B King, an expert on websites based out of Ann Arbor.Excerpt:The Ann Arbor Web page performance optimization consultant Andrew B. King said this week that it's now official -- Web page speed is now part of search rankings.King says Google has added a page speed signal to its search rankings algorithm, officially linking performance with search engine marketing.In an article on his Web site, King says the loading speed of a Web page affects user psychology in a number of ways, and now it can effect its rankings as well.Read the rest of the story here.

New Pure Michigan focus on Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

●

Community Development

●

April 21, 2010

Two of the latest Pure Michigan ads are focusing on Ann Arbor and how Tree Town is one of those special places that help makes the Great Lakes State great. The ads are currently playing on radio across the nation.Excerpt:In a world that tries so hard to look and feel like everything else, there is a place that knows exactly what it is -- Ann Arbor External Link, External Link Michigan. A place that embraces the unique and unusual. Where the art challenges the mind as much as it engages the eyes. And where trying a new taste is always on the menu. The storefronts, cafes and artists of Ann Arbor do it up a little different.Read the rest of the story here.

U.S. News & World Report ranks U-M Hospital No. 6

By Newsroom

●

Healthy Communities

●

April 21, 2010

The University of Michigan Medical School is ranked high when it comes to learning hospitals. The Ann Arbor-based hospital came in No. 6 as a research hospital and No. 14 with regard to primary care hospitals, according to the latest tabulations from U.S. News & World Report. Read the rest of the story here.

Ann Arbor start-ups take vast majority of VC in Michigan

By Newsroom

●

Economic Development

●

April 21, 2010

The bad news is that venture capital investment is down in Michigan. The good news is there would only be one tenth of that sort of investment in the state without Ann Arbor's strong entrepreneurial community.Excerpt:Of the $20.5 million invested in Michigan, $11 million went to Ann Arbor-based HistoSonics, a University of Michigan spin-off company that's developing a medical device that uses ultrasound pulses to treat prostate disease.Another Ann Arbor start-up, Sakti3, received $7 million. It's working on next-generation lithium-ion batteries.Read the rest of the story here.

Ann Arbor proves fiery in Michigan’s hot film industry

By Newsroom

●

Arts and Culture

●

April 21, 2010

The latest sequel in the "Scream" series ("Scream 4") is set to be shot in and around Ann Arbor. It serves as just the latest example of how Michigan's emerging movie industry is sinking deeper roots in Ann Arbor.Excerpt:In Michigan these days, April showers are bringing new movies -- and stars.Dimension Films confirms that it plans to shoot "Scream 4" in Michigan. Shooting is expected to begin in mid-June and take place in and around Ann Arbor. The new installment in the popular horror movie franchise will reunite original "Scream" director Wes Craven, screenwriter Kevin Williamson and stars Courteney Cox, David Arquette and Neve Campbell. The series has made $293 million in the U.S., according to Box Office Mojo. Read the rest of the story here.

Ann Arbor to install permeable pavement this spring

By Newsroom

●

Community Development

●

April 21, 2010

Workers will begin installing permeable pavement on the two blocks of Sylvan Avenue, east of Packard Road. Permeable pavement filters rain water, creating a surface that absorbs water instead of forcing it to runoff into storm sewers. "It's almost like a Rice Krispies treat that has been painted black," says Nick Hutchinson, project engineer for the city of Ann Arbor. "It has a lot of little holes in it so it looks like a sponge."The city will tear out the old road and rebuild its base so the water filers down into the ground like it would naturally. Most road are built on a clay surface that allows the water to pool under the pavement and create havoc on the road through freeze-thaw cycles.The $300,000 for the project is more expensive than just slapping another layer of pavement on the old road bed, but cost competitive with rebuilding the whole stretch of street and using regular, non-permeable pavement.Source: Nick Hutchinson, project engineer for the city of Ann ArborWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor’s Nixon traffic circle, Arb sewer projects win awards

By Newsroom

●

Community Development

●

April 21, 2010

Who says local government does everything wrong? Two infrastructure projects in Ann Arbor have won awards from the Michigan chapter of the American Public Works Association.The first project singled out for applause is the traffic circle at Nixon Road and Huron Parkway on the city's northeast side. The second is a storm-water-improvement project at the Arboretum and Harvard Drain. "The Huron Parkway & Nixon Road Improvements Project was only one of the two forwarded on to the APWA National Office for competition at that level," Glenn Chinaware, spokesman for the Michigan chapter of the American Public Works Association, wrote in an email. "Not all APWA State awards are forwarded/endorsed for National Competition."Both projects hit the six mandatory criteria for the awards. That criteria include use of good construction management technique, safety, community relations, environmental impact and unusual/adverse conditions impacting construction. Source: Glenn Chinaware, spokesman for the Michigan chapter of the American Public Works AssociationWriter: Jon Zemke

Main Street Assoc suggests more parking ideas for Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

●

Community Development

●

April 21, 2010

The Main Street Area Association has a novel idea for helping business in downtown Ann Arbor: Free parking.Well, that's an over simplification of the debate over reforming downtown's parking policy. Currently, there is a plan to extend the enforcement period from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., similar to what downtowns like Royal Oak have done. The association that represents downtown businesses is advocating for a free first hour of parking in any parking structure along with any extension of the enforcement period. Birmingham has a similar arrangement, offering two free hours but enforcing street fees until 9 p.m.."It's a great incentive to get people in the parking structures and keep more cars off the street," says Tony Lupo, a board member of the Main Street Area Association. "It keeps the street spots turning over."Street parking turnover is one of the primary reasons why the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority is proposing the enforcement period extension, along with other smaller reforms. The idea behind turnover is to help make more spaces available to newcomers to downtown so it's easier to do business in the city's center that has evolved to an almost 24-7 commercial center.Currently the DDA is proposing offering a free hour between 8-9 a.m., but Lupo brushes that off as a policy twist made of empty calories."No one is downtown from 8-9 a.m. to begin with," Lupo says. "There is no need for the turnover then."He adds that the free hour of parking structure parking would add a valuable marketing tool for downtown, which the association wants to be a part of. Lupo argues that Ann Arbor should be creating the perception that it's easier to do business in it downtown, not harder, through little things like parking policy."We believe we should be doing everything we can to get people to come to downtown," Lupo says. "We shouldn't be putting up barriers for people to come downtown."Source: Tony Lupo, board member of the Main Street Area AssociationWriter: Jon Zemke