In The News

Ypsi Project catches faces in the cool crowd

By Newsroom

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March 31, 2010

Faces in the crowd are no longer just that thanks to The Ypsi Project, which intends to take a portrait of a different person in the city each year.Excerpt:Remember how, a year or so ago, I told you about a young photographer here in Ypsi and her ambitious plan to take a portrait of a different person in the City every day for a year? Well, Erica Hampton’s Ypsi Project has taken a few big twists and turns since then, but it seems as though things are finally heading toward some kind of big conclusion. Erica is planning a public showing of about 100 portraits from the collection at the end of May, in what was the old VG Kids customer service office on Michigan Avenue - a space which is now being referred to unofficially as the XVG Gallery. And, she’s just launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise the $2,400 she needs to pay for the printing, mounting, framing, space rental, etc.Read the rest of the story here.

Latest in In The News

Ypsilanti’s VG Kids, Ann Arbor’s NuStep adapt and expand

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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March 31, 2010

Two different companies in two unique cities have one thing in common - growth.Excerpt:For having been beat back by the failing economy over the last two years, Ypsilanti’s VG Kids' owner James Marks stands on surprisingly solid ground.In that time frame, the 31-year-old Ypsilanti entrepreneur opened four buildings, closed down three, consolidated his screen printing company’s operations into one new building, opened a new set of studios for area artists and launched a merchandising company.But all the twisting and turning to pull out VG Kids out of a financial jam has proved beneficial, leaving Marks wiser and his business in a better position."We contracted physically but expanded in the reach of our ideas," Marks said. "Part of the effect is having more time than we had before, and with increased efficiency we can take advantage of more opportunities."Read the rest of the story here and how NuStep is growing here.

Ann Arbor’s push for Google Fiber gains national headlines

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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March 31, 2010

The A in A2Fiber was on proud display in picture after picture in major media outlets across the U.S. last week.Excerpt:Minutes ago, a small plane flew over the Google campus in Mountain View, Calif., trailing a banner that read "Will Google Play in Peoria, IL?"It was the latest in a series of stunts by cities across the country to get the attention of Google. The Internet giant is promising to build an ultra-high speed network to serve, free, 50,000 to 500,000 people in one or more communities.The stunts, which I first wrote about on Monday, accompany more serious applications by cities and communities making the case why Google should pick them. Google says that more than 1,100 communities expressed interest in the Google Fiber project by the Friday deadline.The stunts included the mayor of Duluth, Minn., jumping into Lake Michigan; the mayor of Sarasota, Fla., swimming with sharks; manatees voting with their snouts; and Senator Al Franken playing his old comedian self. They’ve been joined by the Peoria plane; hundreds of students in Ann Arbor, Mich., singing the “A2 Fiber Anthem”; the waving of a flag on Alaska’s Mount McKinley; a people-powered light display in Greenville, S.C.; and a video by Senator Tom Udall, of New Mexico, poking good-natured fun at Mr. Franken’s clip.Read the rest of the story here, more about it here and how telephone poles could play a critical role in Google's decision here.

Ann Arbor, U-M serve as examples of home-buyer tax credit success

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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March 31, 2010

Ann Arbor was one of the real estate hot spots in Michigan before the housing crash. After the housing crash and after the home-buyer tax credit takes effect, Ann Arbor is one of the first places to rebound.Excerpt:The Michigan cities of Ann Arbor and Detroit are only about 40 miles apart, but the distance is enough to present starkly different housing markets.The Ann Arbor market saw the boom and bust in recent years. But first-time home buyer tax credits in 2009 helped change fortunes."It's almost like we started fresh this year," says Alex Milshteyn, president of the Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors. "For the first time, I have buyers who are in the market (who) can't find what they are looking for."Read the rest of the story here.

Chelsea’s Bearclaw Coffee looks overseas for expansion cash

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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March 31, 2010

The folk's behind Bearclaw Coffee have gotten really creative with their financing so they can continue to expand their growing business.Excerpt:When she needed investors to help grow her Bearclaw Coffee Co. franchise, Debi Scroggins looked to the Middle East.The founder of the Ann Arbor-based coffee company has recruited nearly a dozen Iranians -- with more to follow -- to open mobile coffee carts in the United States at $180,000 a pop."These are candidates who are cash-ready," Scroggins said. "I've had so many candidates (in the United States) who have $30,000 to put down and cannot get financing because they lost their home equity and they lost their 401(k) and, oh, by the way, their credit has nicks in it."Read the rest of the story here.

20-something U-M grad brings start-up Powerleap back to Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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Education

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March 31, 2010

University of Michigan alum Elizabeth Redmond went looking for love for her start-up, Powerleap, in all the wrong places before finding what it really needs back home in Ann Arbor.Excerpt:After graduating from the University of Michigan in 2006, Elizabeth Redmond moved to the Windy City to try to turn a school project into a business. Her clean-tech design project would use high-tech ceramics to convert the energy generated by pedestrian and vehicular traffic into direct current that could be stored in batteries. She worked by day trying to secure funding and at night as a waitress in a high-end vegetarian business. Redmond, 25, grew up in Dexter and missed the Ann Arbor area — especially bike rides along the Huron River — but what got her back to Michigan last year were the economic support systems at the state and regional level. "Chicago is a really neat town, but the resources of a small community in Michigan are much more accessible than those in Chicago. I couldn't find much support there," she said. Her company, Powerleap Inc., is now a virtual tenant at Ann Arbor Spark's downtown Ann Arbor facility. She doesn't have an office there but uses its facilities and has been provided a wide variety of support services, including help with a new business plan and a due-diligence package for potential investors."I think this company is going to be huge, and I want it to be in the state where I grew up," she said.Read the rest of the story here.

Ann Arbor’s HealthMedia continues its healthy growth

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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March 24, 2010

HealthMedia's Ted Dacko gives a glimpse into the company a year after its merger with Johnson & Johnson. It appears the mega corporation is expanding its presence in Ann Arbor.Excerpt:Ted Dacko, president of Ann Arbor-based health coaching software firm HealthMedia, is resigning from the Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, AnnArbor.com confirmed today.Dacko, who was credited with steering the company through tumultuous times to a blockbuster sale in October 2008 to J&J, said he may join another Ann Arbor startup, serve on various company boards or provide consulting for a while."I'm a guy that likes the process of the startup, building and growing a company, that sort of thing," Dacko said. "J&J is a great company. It's mutual, it's amicable, it's natural. I just said i think it's time you put somebody else in this position, and they wholeheartedly agreed."Read the rest of the story here.

Ann Arbor mayor’s green vision for a sustainable city

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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March 24, 2010

Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje's campaign signs often featured a mature, green tree. It's easy to see why he choose that look after examining his vision for making Ann Arbor a model for sustainable cities.Excerpt:Four years ago, Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje built a fully functioning house entirely off the electric grid. Hieftje designed and built the house, which runs on a solar energy system, on Lake Superior with his father-in-law. It includes all the fundamentals of a normal home — a refrigerator, washer, dryer and dishwasher — and is completely self-contained. And according to Hieftje, he’s never had a single problem with it. Hieftje’s effort to reduce his carbon footprint is just a small step compared to the enormous strides he has made for the city of Ann Arbor. In 2005, the mayor challenged the city to, by the end of 2010, obtain 30 percent of its energy from renewable sources and to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent.His plan was inspired by the windmill farms in Sault Saint Marie, Ontario, just north of the Upper Peninsula. Unfortunately, Hieftje said, Michigan doesn’t have strong enough winds to power farms of its own, but it does have two hydro-dams and a landfill gas energy system, both of which have enabled cities across the state to increase alternative energy usage. By the end of 2009, 16 percent of the total energy used by the city of Ann Arbor — including fuel, heating, lighting and electricity — was generated from renewable sources — the equivalent of taking 400 cars off the road last year. The number is still far from the mayor’s goal of 30 percent, though he maintains the city will still make up the 14 percent by the end of this year. “We’re going to do it,” he says when asked about making the target. Read the rest of the story here.

U-M vs Notre Dame night game sets new precedent at Michigan Stadium

By Newsroom

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Education

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March 24, 2010

Saturday afternoons at Michigan Stadium is a long-standing tradition at the University of Michigan, but a new twist to that is set to begin next year when the Wolverines take on the Fight Irish for a night game.Excerpt:Notre Dame-Michigan -- under the lights at the Big House. For the first time in Michigan Stadium history, there will be a night game, when the Irish make their bi-annual visit Sept. 10, 2011. And it won't be the last. New athletic director Dave Brandon said Thursday he wants night home games to become part of the Michigan football culture. "A lot of fans see other schools doing this and have been a part of that electric atmosphere," Brandon said at a news conference. "They want us to be there." Read the rest of the story here and how college football is recession proof here.

Zingerman’s chef up for Beard Award

By Newsroom

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Health

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March 24, 2010

Zingerman's in Ann Arbor is known for its award-winning food, but now it's starting to be recognized for its award-winning chefs.Excerpt:Executive chef Alex Young of Zingerman’s Roadhouse in Ann Arbor today was chosen as one of five nominees for best chef in the Great Lakes division of the James Beard Foundation Awards competition.Nominees were announced today in New Orleans. The awards, honoring professionals in the food and beverage industry, are considered the most prestigious in the food world. Nominees were also announced for food writers, cookbook authors, newspapers, magazines, Web sites and others in the media.Read the rest of the story here.