Michigan Future

[Cherub]

Michigan Future (http://www.michiganfuture.com/)

The Ongoing Story of Michigan's Transformation



February 28, 2008

Should Macomb County have an executive? Voters will weigh in May 6 (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2008/02/should-macomb-c.html)

The national ballot-box showdown in November is getting all the attention. But for residents of Macomb County, an election on May 6 could generate almost as much passionate debate.
That’s when voters will decide whether to start the process of changing to a charter model of government. The idea has attracted strong support from politicians, unions and business groups, but also some opposition.
The change – which would happen in several stages – would mean creating an elected county executive and reducing the size of the county commission. The May 6 ballot proposal would authorize the creation of a commission to write a county charter. The charter would then have to be approved by voters. More... (http://wwj.com/Should-Macomb-County-Have-An-Executive--Voters-Wil/1728929)





February 20, 2008

Detroit Renaissance launches podcast series (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2008/02/detroit-renaiss.html)

Detroit Renaissance, a nonprofit civic organization devoted to the economic transformation of Detroit and southeast Michigan, has launched a new podcast series that will include weekly interviews with CEOs of some of the largest organizations in the region.
Called “50 CEOs on the D: Detroit Renaissance Reports,” the podcast series will cover topics that affect the business climate of Michigan generally, and southeast Michigan specifically. The first podcast features an interview with Richard Russell, CEO of Amerisure Mutual Insurance Co., discussing the importance of improving the economic competitiveness of southeast Michigan.
Guests scheduled over the next month include Charles “Chip” McClure, president and CEO of ArvinMeritor; Jim Nicholson, president and CEO of PVS Chemicals; and David Brandon, chairman and CEO of Domino’s Pizza.




February 16, 2008

Lou Glazer: Remaking Michigan’s economy starts with changing its mindset (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2008/02/lou-glazer-rema.html)

Lou Glazer says if Michigan wants to once again be a place that creates lots of high-paying jobs, those who live here need to change their thinking – radically
“We have to let go of the dreams that we can recreate the past,” said Glazer (pictured), president of Ann Arbor-based Michigan Future Inc. (http://www.michiganfuture.org/), which earlier this week issued a sobering report (http://www.michiganfuture.org/Reports/ProgressReport2008Final.pdf) about the Michigan economy and workforce.
Glazer said the future belongs to states that value higher education and have strong metro areas anchored by vibrant central cities that attract young, well-educated people. Those are the folks, he said, who can form the backbone of a new, knowledge-based economy.
Based on the results of the Michigan Future report, we have a long way to go. Between 2000 and 2006, Michigan remained 34th in the country in the percentage of population aged 25 or older that has a bachelor's degree. During that same time period, the state saw its per-capita income fall from 16th to 26th nationally. More... (http://wwj.com/Lou-Glazer:-Remaking-Michigan-s-Economy-Starts-wit/1649139)





December 06, 2007

One D" 'It's a movement' with work that will go on forever, Ford says (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/12/one-d-its-a-mov.html)

Edsel B. Ford II, business leader and chairman of the One D (http://www.oned.org/) project, thinks southeast Michigan's future relies as much on interaction as it does on investment. Ford said
One D – organized last year by a group of nonprofit civic organizations – has been making good progress. But, he added, the work of One D will never really be finished.
"One D will never stop," Ford told WWJ Newsradio 950's City Beat reporter Vickie Thomas. "It's a movement, it's a process, it's an ongoing kind of thing. Hopefully, you and I will never see the end of One D. ... There will be new people sitting at the table ... but One D will live forever."



November 07, 2007

Is there an aerotropolis in our future? 'Road to Renaissance' reports progress (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/11/is-there-an-aer.html)

Detroit Renaissance last week released the first quarterly report (http://www.detroitrenaissance.com/PDF/10-07_quarterly_report_released.pdf) on the Road to Renaissance, a regional initiative launched in May to create strategies for transforming the southeast Michigan economy. This week, WWJ Newsradio 950 has been following up by interviewing the local leaders involved.
Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano told WWJ's Pat Sweeting that progress on creating a regional aerotropolis – one of the key objectives identified by Road to Renaissance – has been good.
Ficano said he expects benchmark studies to be completed by January. In the meantime, he said, a governing board and task forces have been appointed. And on a recent trip to China, county officials met with several logistics companies and made a pitch for them to set up operations in metro Detroit instead of Chicago, which is becoming congested with air traffic.
An aerotropolis, or "airport city," would be a a global logistics hub anchored by Detroit Metro and Willow Run airports. If an aerotropolis were developed here, it would have the potential to create thousands of jobs. More... (http://wwj.com/Is-There-an-Aerotropolis-in-Our-Future---Road-to-R/1185150)


October 18, 2007


Bob Woodward to speak at Oakland University (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/10/bob-woodward-to.html)

Bob Woodward helped make "Watergate" part of the political lexicon. The winner of many American journalism awards and co-author or author of 11 best-selling non-fiction books, will talk about the management of the war in Iraq.
He speaks Tuesday at Oakland University. More... (http://www.greatstuff2do.com/eventdetail.asp?eid=39511&sid=427880)





Mossberg: Cars need more tech touches, phones on the rise (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/10/mossberg-cars-n.html)

Back when he was a kid, the fiftysomething Wall Street Journal tech columnist Walter Mossberg remembers, cars were the sexiest product going.
In fact, Mossberg told a crowd of around 200 at a WWJ Newsradio 950 business breakfast Thursday morning, his dad used to take him to dealerships to see the new cars every fall -- even if he wasn't in the market for a new car. They were that exciting.
Technology products have largely replaced the automobile as having that level of excitement, Mossberg said -- witness the huge crowds surrounding the introduction of products like the iPhone. Meanwhile, "cars have become boring to most people," Mossberg said in the speech at Somerset Collection in Troy.




October 17, 2007

Biotech leaders express optimism, call for change at Lansing event (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/10/biotech-leaders.html)

Speakers at the annual MichBio Expo, Michigan’s largest life-sciences gathering presented a mix of optimism, constructive ideas and some complaints about how Michigan is riding the wave of growth in the biotechnology sector.
The Oct. 16-17 event opened Tuesday with roundtables on commercializing life sciences research in Michigan and increasing the level of life sciences manufacturing among Michigan's legacy manufacturing base.
The formal MichBio program kicked off Wednesday with a pair of keynotes – a brief speech from Michigan State University president Lou Anna K. Simon and another from Jim Greenwood, president and CEO of BIO, the national biotechnology industry association.

Said Simon: "This state needs a winner, and you people are it. I'm excited about the future, I'm realistic about our chances, and Michigan State and the University Research Consortium are prepared to expand this biological economy and connect it to advanced manufacturing."



October 04, 2007

Will Your Next Vehicle Be 'Connected'? New Facility Seeks to Make Cars Smarter (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/10/will-your-next-.html)


If some researchers in Ann Arbor get their way, your next vehicle could have the ability to communicate with the other cars, the roadside, traffic signals and more.
The Connected Vehicle Proving Center (CVPC), which officially opened this week, seeks to take vehicle safety to the next level by serving as a proving ground for testing, evaluating, and showcasing "connected" vehicle systems.
"The future will be vehicles that warn the drivers and assist the drivers in avoiding bad traffic situations and potential accidents and fatalities," Steve Underwood, director of the CVPC told WWJ Newsradio 950.
To help make that happen, the center will integrate connected vehicles, smart roadway and telecom technologies. It also will provide expertise in evaluation design, data storage and analysis and information sharing about research already underway, Underwood said.
The CVPC, funded by a $3.1 million state grant, has been created through a strategic alliance between the Center for Automotive Research, based in Ann Arbor, and the Connected Vehicle Trade Association (CVTA), in Plymouth. CAR and CVTA also have obtained in-kind commitments from industry, university and other partners in excess of $3.5 million.
Once fully operational, the CVPC will serve as an incubator, offering advanced test and evaluation environment the can be accessed by automakers, auto suppliers, transportation agencies and communications companies. Ultimately, it is hoped that the center will serve as a catalyst for growing the connected vehicle industry, thereby attracting related technical and engineering jobs to Michigan.




October 03, 2007

Conference to look at ways to fix Michigan's economy (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/10/conference-to-l.html)

Presidents of the three universities that make up the University Research Corridor (http://www.urcmich.org/) (URC) consortium will put some big brains together around the task of fixing Michigan’s economy.
They are hosting a conference called "The Role of Engaged Universities in Economic Transformation,” which will gather together leaders from academia, business, government and think tanks to explore ways they can best work together to transform and revitalize the state.
Action teams will work together to come devise the next steps they can take to speed of the development of Michigan's knowledge-based economy. Speakers include:
National Academy of Engineering President Charles Vest, president emeritus of MIT and a former University of Michigan provost.
U.S. Rep. John Dingell, the dean of the House and chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Assistant U.S. Secretary of Commerce Sandy Baruah, who oversees the department's Economic Development Administration.
Derrick Kuzak, group vice president of global product development for Ford Motor Co.
Rick Snyder, co-founder and CEO of Ardesta LLC and chairman of Gateway Computers.
Meijer Inc. President Mark Murray, former president of Grand Valley State University and a former Michigan state budget director.
The URC presidents: U-M President Mary Sue Coleman, Wayne State University President Irvin D. Reid and MSU President Lou Anna Simon.The conference is aimed at addressing the major competitiveness issues raised a recent National Academy of Sciences report called "Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future.'' It will take place Oct 15-16 at Rackham Auditorium, 915 E. Washington, Ann Arbor, on the campus of the University of Michigan.




October 02, 2007

Will the 'Xanadu Plan' save metro Detroit? (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/10/will-the-xanadu.html)

The plan is to bring new wealth to the city of Detroit. It involves a new casino on top of an expanded Cobo Hall and revitalizing the area around Detroit City Airport.
It's called the Xanadu Plan. David Tomby is the man behind the multi-faceted plan. Here are the main parts:
First, a casino is proposed to be constructed on top of Cobo Hall. The expansion of the facility would be financed with private dollars.
Second, the state’s six existing horse racing tracks would be approved for up to two thousand slot machines per track. Tomby says this will provide the dollars and motivation for the owners to expand their new racino’s into racino entertainment hotel and resorts.
Third, one racino for the City of Romulus. Tomby says residents have already approved the idea of gambling in the city and, he says, "first impressions are lasting impressions" so developing a major entertainment venue for travelers who come into Metro Airport will give them an "appetite" to experience more of Michigan.In addition to gambling, the proposal also calls for building new homes and a hotel at and around Detroit City Airport.




Zingerman's co-founder: Positive future vision, sense of fun are essential to business (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/10/zingermans-co-f.html)

Starting a business and making it grow isn’t easy in an economy like this. But, if you are waiting for a time when it will be easy, Ari Weinzweig, co-founder of Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor has some advice: you’ll be waiting a long time.
"We had our original opening in 1982 in one of the worst economies ever,” says Weinzweig (pictured). “Interest rates were 18 percent …It’s just always hard. I think it’s the norm."
It was in those recessionary times that what is now the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses (http://www.zingermans.com/) (ZCoB) got its start with Zingerman’s Delicatessen, 422 Detroit Street in Ann Arbor. Weinzweig and co-founder Paul Saginaw started the business base on their mutual dream of creating the perfect corned beef on rye – created in a deli like the ones each of them knew while growing up.
Since then, Zingerman's has become an Ann Arbor institution. But even now, Weinzweig says he’s not sure what easy looks like. And that’s what makes being in business so much fun.



The proper order of things: Chickens, eggs, entrepreneurship and life lessons (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/10/the-proper-orde.html)

The age-old question has been answered in the Flotemersch household: The chickens came first, then the eggs.
And now there are the profits, which go to Thomas Flotemersch. The 12-year-old isn’t your typical entrepreneur. He attends middle school by day and plays goal for the Brandon Blackhawks – an under-14 soccer team – on some afternoons, evenings and weekends.
It takes Thomas about an hour a day to look after his 60 chickens, which because of a recent innovation (more on that later) can produce anywhere from 24 to 30 eggs a day and 14 to 15 dozen a week. He charges $4 a dozen and makes $20 to $23 a week these days – that is, after giving a 25-cents-per-dozen cut to his 6-year-old brother, Ben, who sits at a table every week at the Goodrich farmers market selling the eggs along with dad Harry Flotemersch.




September 27, 2007

Phil Power: What's your vision for Michigan? (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/09/phil-power-what.html)


Michigan's public policy and finance system is broken, writes Phil Power, president of the Center for Michigan in Ann Arbor.
"That's the only lesson that can be drawn from the year-long (!) deadlock in Lansing over the state’s budget." Power says. "The interests of nearly 10 million Michigan citizens have been held hostage to the partisan agendas of both political parties and their member office-holders."




September 26, 2007

Peter Morici: UAW, GM pact leaves GM at cost disadvantage (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/09/peter-morici-ua.html)


The details that emerged in the press today about the “historic” UAW/GM labor pact indicate the deal may prove the death knell for yet many more Midwestern manufacturing jobs.
Although, GM, by funding an independent trust, has managed to move retiree health care costs off the books, the residual liability remains unclear. As with the Delphi spin off, if GM must step in when the health care trust runs out of cash, this may prove nothing more than a bookkeeping rouse. Otherwise, Mr. Gettelfinger has set up his successor to deliver the bad news to GM retirees, that there is just not enough money to meet their expectations. The actual outcome will like lie between those two extremes.
That aside, much of GM’s labor cost disadvantage lies in the wages and fringe benefits it pays workers making cars today--those are not legacy costs. The pact does not much reduce the premium GM pays over Toyota, except only new hires. Temporary workers will be upgraded to the existing pay structure, and according to the Detroit Free Press, only those new hires that are not directly involved in the production of vehicles will be offered the new, lower pay scale.
Toyota already has the ability to differentiate pay among production workers and those that mow the lawn, and the fundamental cost disadvantage imposed by GM’s high scale for workers on the line remains. The pact does not call for new pay raises but it does provide for significant bonuses in the out years of the contract; hence, the pact raises pay but GM and the UAW hope investors won’t notice.
Lost in all the coverage has been the fact that legacy costs are only part of GM’s problem. This pact does a lot to reduce legacy costs but not enough to eliminate the actual costs GM faces making vehicles today.
Other disadvantages will also continue to apply. For example, the agreement constrains GM investments, such as commitments to make certain products in the United States, that Toyota and other Asians do not face. The same goes for burdensome work rules and limits on locating and selecting suppliers to maximize supply chain efficiency
Overall, GM was very, very uncompetitive before this deal and is now just very uncompetitive.
The pact’s ultimate impact will depend on how the agreement is applied to Chrysler and Ford. Those companies can less afford to continue the madness the UAW imposes. If they buy into this pact, GM may continue to hold is own while Toyota and the other Asian manufactures eat up Chrysler and Ford.
It’s the old story of the bear chasing hunters in the woods. The fastest hunter does not have to worry, because the bear will eat the slowest runner.




September 25, 2007

McCain to speak in Detroit Sept. 28 (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/09/mccain-to-speak.html)

U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) will address the Hispanic Business Expo and Economic Summit, event organizers announced today.
McCain will be the keynote speaker of the General Motors Luncheon, on Friday, Sept. 28. The luncheon begins at noon in the Renaissance Ballroom of the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center.
For more information on the Hispanic Business Expo, visit







September 12, 2007

Phil Power: Join the Center for Michigan in a community conversation this fall (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/09/phil-power-mich.html)

Take a minute to cast your mind forward to New Year's Day 2011. That will be a key moment in Michigan history – the day we start over with a leadership that is nearly all new.
That presents us with a challenge and opportunity unlike any other in recent history. We know that a new governor and lieutenant governor have to be sworn in at noon that day in Lansing. Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Lt. Governor John Cherry are term-limited and cannot run for those offices in the November 2010 election.
Mike Cox and Terri Lynn Land also will be term-limited out of office, so we'll have a new attorney general and secretary of state.
The day the voters choose their replacements, the entire 110-member House of Representatives will also be up for election. The revolving door will be operating there, too: A sizable number of state representatives are sure to be term-limited out. Others will be defeated or will voluntarily step down, so that a majority of the House will be new.
And the Senate will resemble a freshman dorm. At least 31 out of 38 presently sitting state senators will be term-limited out of office. Others will undoubtedly leave voluntarily or be defeated.
That means a large majority of the 152 elected state officeholders sworn in on Jan. 1, 2011, will be men and women who are rookies, just starting their jobs. That's why they are starting to call Nov. 2, 2010, a "watershed election."




Back to the future: local artist finds new way to do what he loves (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/09/back-to-the-f-1.html)

Unlike a lot of artists, Paul Adams (http://www.paulhadams.com/) has been able to spend most of his life getting paid for doing art.
But when his work as a commercial artist was encroached upon by time and technology, he had to find another creative outlet. It was then that he decided to start selling his own work at art fairs and later, on the Internet.
Much of Adams' work is drawn from photographs he took growing up in the city near Seven Mile and John R and the Grand Trunk railroad tracks.
“I’ve been an artist all my life,” Adams says. “I’ve always liked to draw.”



September 11, 2007

Jack P. McHugh: More at stake in budget battle than next year’s spending (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/09/jack-p-mchugh-m.html)

The gap between desired spending and expected revenues in Michigan’s state budget for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2007, exceeds $1 billion, and the slow progress toward resolving it has generated tension that has some voices in the media and elsewhere urging, "Just get it done," even if that means higher taxes.
This is shortsighted. Next year’s budget is just the theater in which a deeper "class struggle" is being played out that has profound implications for this state’s long term economic health. On one side is the reactionary, tax-consuming class that benefits from Michigan’s big-government status quo. Their leaders have pulled out all the stops to jam through the massive tax increases necessary if class members are to retain their current perks and privileges. Opposing them are those who say that government and school establishments at all levels in Michigan must be "right-sized" as a precondition for reversing a deepening economic decline here.




UM's Entreprelooza Returns Sept. 21 (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/09/ums-entrepreloo.html)

A major entrepreneurship event is returning to the University of Michigan on Friday, Sept. 21. The UM Ross School of Business' Entrepalooza will be held on the second floor of the Michigan league building from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The theme of Entreprelooza 2007: "Anybody Can Do It." The event will provide students and members of the business and investment community an outstanding networking opportunity, in addition to exposing attendees to the various facets of entrepreneurship. Keynote speakers will include Kevin O'Connor, former chairman and CEO of DoubleClick Inc., and Samuel Zell, chairman of Equity Group Investments.
Panel discussusions will focus on "intrapreneurship" and fostering innovation across industries; how to build, fund and grow winning startups; venture capital investing and careers; and launching a business on the cheap. The afternoon sessions, open only to UM students, will include launching a business while earning a degree and an entrepreneurial career fair.
Entrepalooza 2007 is presented by the Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies and the student-led Entrepreneur and Venture Club at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.
For more information or to register for the free event, call (734) 615-4424 or visit www.epalooza.bus.umich.edu (http://www.epalooza.bus.umich.edu/).





Dearborn Entrepreneur seeks funding for memorial Web site (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/09/dearborn-entrep.html)

A veteran Dearborn Internet entrepreneur is seeking funding for a new dot-com inspired both by Web 2.0 trends and the sudden death of her brother in 2002.
Michele Maltese has established GlimpseBack LLC as a public beta site at www.glimpseback.com (http://www.glimpseback.com/).
The site is the internet version of a cemetery or memorial garden, with a twist. Instead of mourning the death of the person, GlimpseBack is about celebrating the life and legacy of the individual who has passed away. Besides text describing the life in question, users can also upload pictures, video, audio and music.
GlimpseBack.com offers site-building and site-editing technology. Included among its services: the designation of non-profits to receive donations through the memorial sites and an opportunity for musicians and designers to promote their talents. Visitors to the memorial can also upload pictures, voice recordings or video, which can be approved, rejected or edited by the subscriber for the individual memorials they create.
Maltese said the company projects three revenue streams -- first, from the fees charged to create the sites, which range from $75 to $300, plus ongoing maintenance fees of about $50 a year. The company will also seek resellers at funeral homes, which will offer equipment to upload photos and videos. Finally, the company will also share revenue with affiliates like newspaper death-notice and obituary sections.
Maltese said she conceived of the site after the sudden 2002 death of her brother Joe, who was just 51. A radio and TV personality and avid fisherman, Joe Maltese had a fishing show through Mike Avery's Outdoor Magazine radio and TV broadcast on the Michigan Talk Radio Network.
The site was a natural outgrowth of Maltese's 23-year marketing career, in which her agency produced and provided business startup consulting, logo and product branding, pre-press, broadcast radio and TV spots, as well as high-end Flash and e-commerce Web sites. Maltese said she’s also assembled a startup team of a handful of employees.
"The biggest challenge now is operating on a shoestring, and trying to get Michigan venture capitalists to consider funding a Web 2.0 company," she said. "That seems to be unheard-of."
For more information, visit the Web site or contact Maltese at michele@glimpseback.com (michele@glimpseback.com)or (313) 561-4445.




September 06, 2007

New Web site presses Dingell on fuel economy, green fuels (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/09/new-web-site-pr.html)

There's a new Web site intended to pressure U.S. Rep. John Dingell (D-Dearborn) to take more aggressive action against global warming. The site, www.actdingell.com (http://www.actdingell.com/), has a catchy title: "Think Global : Act Dingell."
Dingell is chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and thus has considerable influence on how American public policy will be crafted in response to the threat of global warming. Site co-author Kerri Pepperman said the site aims to educate Dingell's constituents about his role in crafting global warming legislation.
It also aims to convince Dingell to support a national fuel efficiency standard of 35 mpg by 2020 -- as well as a proposal to mandate that 20 percent of American energy come from renewable sources by 2020. The group says a bipartisan poll conducted on behalf of the Pew Campaign for Fuel Efficiency finds 84 percent support in Dingell's district for the 35-mpg standard.
Dingell is a relatively recent convert to the global warming cause, and in Congress has always protected the interests of the United States auto industry, which calls the 35-mpg standard unrealistic.





August 14, 2007

WSU hosting nonotechnology conference this fall (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/08/wsu-hosting-non.html)

Wayne State University is hosting the big event about little things. A national conference on Emerging Nanoscience Applications in Technology and Biomedicine (ENATBIO), which will take place Oct. 15-16 at WSU's McGregor Conference Center.
Organizers say the event will draw participants from academia, industry and government, with the goals of learning about how nanoscience discoveries can lead to applications in technology and biomedicine; understanding how interdisciplinary collaborations involving nanoscience can lead to unexpected but scientifically fruitful advances; and enhancing greater scientific knowledge in the emerging fields of nanotechnology and nanobiomedicine.
For more information about registration for ENATBIO, please visit www.research.wayne.edu/enatbio (http://www.research.wayne.edu/enatbio).





August 09, 2007

Chrysler starts a new chapter: share your stories, offer your insights and opinions (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/08/chrysler-starts.html)

As Chrysler begins its latest chapter WWJ Newsradio 950 (http://www.wwj.com/) wants your insight and opinions about the new Chrysler LLC. We have set up a special forum at WWJ.com to help you share your thoughts with us – and the rest of southeast Michigan.
Can Cerberus Capital turn things around?
Does new CEO Bob Nardelli have the right stuff?
Can Chrysler 's products take on the imports?
How can Chrysler rebuild its market share?
How the ongoing talks with the United Autoworkers union affect Chrysler's future?
Will the new Chrysler be a great place to work?
August 07, 2007

E2detroit announces agenda for 2007 symposium (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/08/e2detroit-annou.html)

Wayne State University will host an entrepreneurship and excellence symposium, E2detroit, Oct. 1-2, to bring together great business minds and students interested in entrepreneurship for two days of insight presented by regional leaders.
E2detroit 2007 will feature keynote speakers, panel discussions, workshops, networking, the E2adventure competition, and a cocktail reception completely focused on building the small business community in Michigan especially in Detroit. All are welcome from students to business owners' large and small to investors and many more.Speakers will include:
Dennis Archer, Dickinson Wright
Kim Lavine, Green Daisy Inc.
Florine Mark, The Weight Watcher Group Inc.
Dan Mulhern. Michigan’s first gentleman
Paul Glantz, Emagine Entertainment
Jane Sydlowski, AMI Strategies
Raj Vattikuti, Covansys
Paul Schaap, Lumigen
Terrence Carmichael, GeneTreeThe two day symposium will also include the E2adventure student competition – Detroit's own version of "The Apprentice." Student teams will compete in creating the most marketable product on the WSU campus. Over the course of the day, student teams, with the help of one faculty member and one venture capitalist, and $100 seed money will be challenged to put their knowledge into practice.
Symposium registration is $195 for businesses, and $25 for students. Registration for the networking cocktail reception only is $30. Visit www.e2detroit.com (http://www.e2detroit.com/) for more information or to register.





Kenneth M. Braun: Is the MBT a more burdensome tax? (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/08/kenneth-braun-i.html)

Last summer, the Michigan Legislature approved a voter-initiated law repealing the state’s much-reviled Single Business Tax. The preamble of that law reads as follows:
"The purpose of this initiated law is to:
(a) Repeal the single business tax on business activity in this state after December 31, 2007; and
(b) Encourage the legislature to adopt a tax that is less burdensome and less costly to employers, more equitable, and more conducive to job creation and investment."
A year later, Gov. Jennifer Granholm and state lawmakers created a replacement tax for the SBT named the "Michigan Business Tax." The MBT sends a message that Michigan is "open for business," said the governor. Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop predicted that it "will help set Michigan on the path to economic recovery."
But the MBT does not live up to these platitudes and fails the explicit objectives set forth in the law that orders replacement of the SBT. Distinguishing the two taxes, the governor stated that the MBT "flips the SBT on its head." This is an apt metaphor, because the MBT resembles the SBT hanging upside down — a vampire awakened from its slumber and still preying upon the economy. More (http://wwj.typepad.com/michigan_future/kenneth-braun-is-the-mbt-.html)





July 25, 2007

Richard Beedon: Michigan Needs To Develop an Entrepreneurial Culture – Fast (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/07/richard-beedon-.html)


If Michigan's economy is going to get back on its feet, the state needs to foster an entrepreneurial culture – not just with words, but with cold hard cash. That's the message of Richard Beedon, CEO of MacBeedon Partners (http://www.macbeedon.com/), a pre-seed investment and management firm in Ann Arbor. And Beedon is willing to put his firm's own money behind that idea.
Beedon, a Holland native and serial entrepreneur who lived and worked in California for about 30 years before returning to the state in 1999, said his goals are twofold: to make money for himself and his investors and change Michigan’s cultural attitudes toward entrepreneurship.
“In California, the entrepreneurial spirit is so much different than here,” Beedon told WWJ Newsradio 950. “When I did it in California it seemed so much like everybody was behind you… and when I came here… I just felt like I got slapped in the face.”
In Michigan he said, too many people look at entrepreneurs as people who couldn’t cut it in the corporate world, while, in California, “the good people all leave to start a company.” And that attitude, he said, is what Michigan needs more of.
Investing in Emerging Sectors
MacBeedon Partners, launched earlier this year, is raising money to fund early-stage investments in Michigan companies in the alternative energy, green technology, health care, and information technology sectors.
In March, MacBeedon Partners announced the creation of EdgeHealth LLC (http://www.edgehealth.com/), an Ann Arbor healthcare company focused on improving the overall quality of healthcare and treatment options available in the United States. The first product offered by EdgeHealth is targeted to treat a wide range of neuromuscular dysfunctions such as pain or motion restriction.
The company also is in the process of raising a $50 million to $100 million venture capital fund to make investments in the Great Lakes region, with a special emphasis on Michigan.
Beedon said Michigan is a great place to invest because the state produces a wealth of intellectual property that could be used to launch new companies. However, he said, Michigan has not been good enough at identifying and funding those opportunities. In some cases, he said, promising companies have had to move out of state to get financing. His fund is intended to help change that.
Kalamazoo a Model
Beedon said that, while he has been frustrated with Michigan’s attitude toward entrepreneurs, he also sees signs of positive change in the state as community and business leaders accept the gospel of entrepreneurship. In particular, he cites the community in and around Kalamazoo as a place that is getting it right.
“Kalamazoo is the farthest along,” he said. “I think they have a tremendous infrastructure there.”
Among the organizations working on entrepreneurship in Kalamazoo are Southwest Michigan First, which, among other things, runs the $50 million Southwest Michigan First Life Science Fund (http://www.southwestmichiganfirst.com/index.cfm)and the Southwest Michigan Innovation Center (http://www.kazoosmic.com/), an incubator for life science companies.
Beeden called on state leaders to make more money available to invest in economic development, above and beyond the existing programs like the state’s 21st Century Jobs Fund (http://www.michigan.org/medc/ttc/21stCentury). The reason, he said, is simple: If Michigan doesn’t do it, our state will lose out to other that are more aggressive at funding entrepreneurship and new technologies.





July 06, 2007

Phil Power: The good beyond the gloom (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/07/phil-power-the-.html)

For Michigan, the bad news is kind of old hat, but it’s worth reciting. Understanding the good news requires a bit of thought, but it is significantly more interesting, writes Phil Power, president of the Center for Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Click here to read the column. (http://enterprisenotebook.com//Article.asp?id=432668)






June 27, 2007

Chrysler, Ford join climate action group (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/06/chrysler-ford-j.html)


Chrysler Group and Ford Motor Co. Wednesday announced that they have joined the United States Climate Action Partnership (http://www.us-cap.org/) (USCAP), endorsing and participating in the non-partisan group's call for economy-wide mandatory reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.
USCAP, a partnership of companies and non-government organizations, issued earlier this year a blueprint of principles and recommendations for establishing a multi-sector, market-driven program to swiftly reverse the growth of greenhouse gas emissions. The group has recommended that Congress establish emission reduction targets, a national program to accelerate technology research, development and deployment and approaches to encourage action by other countries, including the developing world.
Chrysler says it's moving toward a greener automotive future with more efficient gasoline engines, hybrids, clean diesels, flexible fuel vehicles and biodiesel compatibility, intended to reduce petroleum consumption and decrease greenhouse gas emissions.
In a statement, Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally said: "We are at a critical stage in the conversation on climate change, energy consumption and environmental protection. We all recognize it is time for action.''
The announcements by Chysler and Ford mean that all of the Big 3 domestic automakers are now members of USCAP. General Motors was the first major automaker to join the partnership.







Report: Michigan wants more transportation choices (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/06/report-michigan.html)


The results of a two-year-long study into Michigan's long-range transportation plans show people want more choices and access, but funding is a challenge.
Over the past two years, information was gathered from thousands of residents, business owners and government officials. The Michigan Department of Transportation says more than 3,000 people attended public workshops and 2,600 submitted an online questionnaire, while another 3,300 households participated in a telephone survey to share their vision.
MDOT spokesman Bill Shreck says many people feel roads are too congested, and new toll roads are certainly an option. Shreck says the current roads wouldn't become toll roads, but a toll could be set up on new roads.
"This plan is designed to strengthen the link between transportation and the economy now and well into the future. With input provided at every stage of the planning process, the plan is intelligent, inclusive, integrated, international, and socially, environmentally and economically responsible," State Transportation Director Kirk T. Steudle said in a statement.
"Michigan residents want more travel choices, and better connectivity between modes. We learned that there is a significant gap between the public's expectations for transportation in Michigan and our ability to meet those expectations. That is a challenge for this decade and beyond," he said.
Click here to read the full report. (http://www.michigan.gov/mdot/1,1607,7-151-9621_14807_14809---,00.html)





June 22, 2007

Econ report: Attitudes influence success (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/06/while-theres-no.html)


While there's no doubt we're not in perfect shape, a new University of Michigan report released Friday argues that descriptions of Michigan's economy as imploding are inaccurate and counter-productive.
According to the report "attitudes influence success," and “for too long, this Great Lakes Region has accepted and even amplifi ed its own down-at-the-heels image."
"We're holding ourselves back on progress by only focusing on negative manufacturing losses when we should also focus on what's positive within the state," said Thomas Ivacko, a program manager at the University of Michigan's Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy.
The CLOSUP report, "Michigan's Economic Transition: Toward a Knowledge Economy," presents evidence that Michigan's economy is in a period of historic transformation.
"The state is replacing its 20th century industrial economy with a 21st century knowledge economy, which requires a motivated and educated workforce infused with entrepreneurial spirit, a sense of personal responsibility for one's own economic future and an openness to other cultures, " Ivacko said. "While long-term struggles are still to come, the picture isn't all bleak."
Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the report presents these Michigan facts:
Employment has increased in the last eight consecutive years in the sector of educational and health services. The overall growth of 20.7 percent since December 1996 has resulted in approximately 101,300 new jobs. College, universities and professional schools had the highest growth rate at 71.5 percent in that period.
The manufacturing sector dropped the most (25.6 percent) over the past 10 years going from 862,500 jobs to 631,000 while educational and health services grew the most, climbing 22.7 percent from 489,400 jobs to 590,700.
Small firms -- with five to nine employees -- reported growth in the educational services (14 percent), finance and insurance (13 percent), and management of companies (40 percent) sectors between 1998 and 2002.
Michigan ranked No. 1 nationwide for "industry performed research and development activities as a share of private industry output," according to the National Science Foundation study. The state ranked ninth in research and development performed by universities and colleges.
June 18, 2007

Levin targets product pirates (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/06/levin_targets_p.html)

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office joined Sen. Carl Levin Monday at the Detroit Regional Chamber offices to highlight the growing threats of counterfeiting and piracy.
Levin told WWJ's Pat Sweeting that most of the violations are committed by China and that the U.S government needs to take action.
"Enforce our laws and tell the Chinese that if they don't enforce their anti-counterfeit laws, we're going to take action against their goods," said the long-time Democratic senator.
Levin was specific about the types of retaliation he felt the U.S. should take.
"We'll put restrictions on the number of Chinese goods or we'll put tariffs on Chinese goods if they don't enforce their anti-piracy laws," he said.
Levin was joined by Katie Wilson of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Global Anti-Counterfeiting and Pirating initiative; John Dudas, undersecretary of commerce for intellectual property and director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; George Weber of Ford Motor Co.; and Brian Moskowitz, special agent in charge of Michigan and Ohio for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
In their presentations, Wilson and Dudas both underlined the threat counterfeiting and piracy poses to small businesses -- which they say are most risk for because they often lack the resources to combat such threats. They said that making the public aware of the scope of the problem was key to helping combat it.
How bad is it? Wilson said piracy has moved far beyond knock-off designer handbags and $5 fake "Rolex" watches. Counterfeiters now make such things as fake medical devices and auto parts, which can pose a severe safety threat to the public. To make he point, she presented two auto brake pads -- one legitimate and one counterfeit. To the untrained eye, they looked almost identical. But the quality of the counterfeit item was far less than that of the original.
Moskowitz agreed and said that one positive development is that ICE is now able to conduct investigations inside China. But he agreed that the U.S. and China have a long way to go in combating the problem.
Levin called the situation "totally intolerable" and added that it is unlikely that widespread counterfeiting and piracy takes place without the knowledge of the Chinese government. But, the good news, he said, is that the U.S. has leverage with China that could be effectively used -- of there is political will to use it.
"No country has greater access to our markets and makes better use of our markets than China," Levin said.
The threat of cutting off access to our markets -- or imposing tariffs on Chinese-made goods -- could be a potent tool, he said.





Labor leaders to speak (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/06/labor_leaders_s.html)

"The Future of Labor in Michigan," an event in the Michigan Chronicle's Pancakes and Politics speakers forum series, is scheduled for June 27. It will feature Albert Garrett, president of Michigan AFSCME Council 25; Mark Gaffney, president of the Michigan AFL-CIO; UAW Vice President James Settles; and attorney Geoffrey Fieger of Fieger, Fieger, Kenney & Johnson PC.
The forum will strat at 7:30 a.m. at the Detroit Athletic Club. Price: $65, which includes breakfast and a six-month subscription the Chronicle.
For ticket or sponsorship information, call (877) 979-5500 or visit www.michronicleonline.com (http://www.michronicleonline.com/).
For more about the Pancakes and Politics series, click here. (http://www.michronicleonline.com/articlelive/pages/Pancakes-and-Politics.html)





Canton Township firm wins top GLEQ prize (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/06/canton_township_1.html)


B.A. Maze, a Canton Township-based provider of tools and assistive devices targeted to the elderly and physically challenged, presented and pitched their business plan on the way to the Grand Prize of $25,000 as winner of the Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest (GLEQ) emerging companiesbusiness plan competition.
B.A. Maze founder Robert Mazer (pictured above with the compay's PurrFect Opener (http://www.purrfectopener.com/) product), was one of five finalists who had just three minutes to present an elevator pitch outlining their business and why it was a sound investment opportunity. Listening intently was a panel of five judges, all recognized experts in the areas of business start-up and alternative sources of capital.
Mazer said that the hardest lesson he’s learned as an entrepreneur is, “Keep going through the tough times.” But Mazer said his greatest asset that he’s learned is to “keep talking to people about this.”
Promo_VUZ of Ann Arbor, a Web-based tool for use by musicians to protect downloading, usage and royalties, was awarded first runner-up.
Art DeMonte, GLEQ's executive director, said emerging companies have a big impact on the economy.
“One third of all the awards from the 21st Century Jobs Fund for private companies have been awarded to GLEQ alumni," DeMonte said, adding that these companies are the good news stories in the Michigan economy for which everyone is looking.
GLEQ has just updated and re-launched its Web site, detailing all the organization’s activities, resources and services for entrepreneurs, at www.gleq.org (http://www.gleq.org/).
Recognizing the basis behind all the evening’s presentations, “Innovation is the key to Michigan’s long term success,” said Robert Skandalaris, the event’s keynote speaker, “People during difficult times are more willing to accept innovation. They are more open now to new ideas and improvement.” Skandalaris is President and CEO of Noble International Ltd. and founder of the Skandalaris Entrepreneurial Institute.
Awards of cash and technical support were also given to other companies. Blaze, a life science biotechnical company from Pinckney won in the categories of New Business Idea. Blizzard Boost Corporation, an engine performance enhancement system from Livonia, was a double award winner for innovation in both the areas of alternative energy technology and advanced automotive manufacturing.
The event was held Tuesday evening at the offices of Automation Alley in Troy.
-- From the Great Lakes IT Report. Reported by Dean La Douceur





June 13, 2007

UM probes how fathers influence their daughters' interest in math (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/06/um_probes_how_f.html)

Dads have a major impact on the degree of interest their daughters develop in math. That's one of the findings of a long-term University of Michigan study that has traced the sources of the continuing gender gap in math and science performance.
The study analyzed how parents' values and attitudes affect children's math performance and later interest, and how these attitudes vary by the child's gender. Researchers used data from a longitudinal study of more than 800 children and a large group of their parents that began in 1987 and continued through 2000.
They found that parents provided more math-supportive environments for their sons than for their daughters, including buying more math and science toys for the boys. They also spent more time on math and science activities with their sons than with their daughters.
The research was funded by a National Science Foundation grant.





June 12, 2007

WWJ to broadcast live from Automation Alley (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/06/wwj_to_broadcas.html)

As part its ongoing Our Michigan, Our Future project, WWJ Newsradio 950 will be at Automation Alley Thursday, June 14, broadcasting live from 5 a.m. till 7 p.m.
While there, WWJ will interview many of the leaders who are moving Michigan's economy toward its tech-savvy, highly skilled future, Among them:
Ken Rogers, executive director of Automation Alley, who will provide an overall view of the organization, discuss the the region’s economy and explain why southeast Michigan is a great place to do business.
Dick Beedon, CEO of the MacBeedon Group, about why he is involved with Automation Alley, and other issues.
Art DeMonte, executive director, Great Lakes Entrepreneur Quest, who will discuss the innovative business plan competition.
Jim Croce, CEO of NextEnergy, who will talk about creating partnerships to benefit Southeast Michigan.
Josh Linkner, CEO of ePrize, who will discuss all the good reasons to stay in Michigan.That morning, Automation Alley will be hosting the Entrepreneurial Initiative of Southeast Michigan forum, which will feature presentations by emerging companies selected by a panel of the group's business leaders and investors.
For more about WWJ's Our Michigan, Our Future project, click here. (http://www.wwj.com/pages/361567.php?)





Panelists advise on exit strategies and realities (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/06/panelists_advis.html)

New Enterprise Forum will feature a panel of business leaders who will compare and contrast exit strategies for entrepreneurs and the realities that can accompany them. The event takes place at 5 p.m. on June 21 at the Holiday Inn North Campus, 3600 Plymouth Road in Ann Arbor.
All panelists have had direct experience with major exits and acquisitions and will use that history to illustrate the discussions, as well as to contrast it with their advice of today. They are:
Russ Hart, co-founder of Assay Designs.
Jeff Kleinsorge, COO, gForce Technologies.
Rob Risser, CFO of Advanced Photonix Inc.The moderator will be Dennis Blanchette, president and CEO of Ensure Technologies.
Registration and networking begin at 5 p.m. with the program starting at 5:45 p.m. Free to NEF members and journalists, the cost is $20 for non- members, $5 for students. The June event is sponsored by NEF stakeholder sponsor, the Michigan Economic Development Corp.
For more information, visit http://www.nef.bizserve.com (http://www.nef.bizserve.com/).





Podcast: Dan Gilbert talks about business leadership (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/06/podcast_dan_gil.html)

In an Our Michigan, Our Future feature, WWJ's Marie Osborne talks with Dan Gilbert, chairman and founder of Rock Financial and Quicken Loans Inc., about his leadership style.
Click here to listen. (http://podcast.wwj.com/wwj/518967.mp3)





June 11, 2007

Study puts Willow Run economic impact at $200 million (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/06/study_puts_will.html)

In a period when Wayne County officials are touting an "aerotropolis" development linking Detroit Metro and Willow Run airports, the University of Michigan-Dearborn Monday released a study showing that freight and passenger traffic at Willow Run represented $200 million in economic impact and more than 2,000 jobs in Michigan in 2006.
“A strong air cargo link is important to a successful economic development strategy,” said Lester W. Robinson, CEO of the Wayne County Airport Authority. “This study shows that the billions of dollars in cargo which go through Willow Run each year already support many local businesses and jobs, and that growth at Willow Run means growth for Michigan’s businesses.”
The report was based on a study done by faculty members at iLABS, the UM-Dearborn School of Management’s Center for Innovation Research. Led by Lee Redding, assistant professor of business economics, the study estimated the economic impact of the airport on Wayne County and on the state as a whole, measured in terms of revenue, income and jobs.
Within Wayne County, the airport’s economic impact was more than $100 million, generating more than 700 jobs and earnings of $22 million.
Redding said that the airport’s impact is more than just the jobs it supports.
“Willow Run’s true potential for supporting Michigan's future lies in the infrastructure it represents rather than simply the people employed directly at the airport,” he said. “A cargo airport like Willow Run is important to the economic revitalization of Michigan because it provides the necessary infrastructure for local businesses to expand. Air cargo ships high value products, and those air cargo products are what America is good at producing and exporting. The airport represents an important piece of the economic infrastructure of Michigan with the potential to have an even greater impact in the future.”
In 2002, the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics estimated that shipments by air were valued at approximately $77,800 per ton in 2000 dollars, more than 120 times the comparable figure for truck transportation. Using this estimate and the estimated 2006 cargo volume, Willow Run is currently handling more than $4 billion worth of cargo annually, according to the UM-Dearborn study.
Expansion of the airport would generate additional economic impact from construction spending immediately, and would increase the value of Willow Run in the long run, the study noted. This expansion can contribute to the development of proposed “aerotropolis,” a 22,000-acre area surrounding the two airports, proposed for development into everything from freight expediters to research parks.
“While our report quantifies the measurable direct effect of Willow Run Airport, the airport’s most crucial value to the region lies in its ability to attract future businesses that produce high-value products that must be shipped by air,” Redding said.
Willow Run is best known as a cargo airport, but the study also pointed out that more than 210,000 passengers arrived at the airport in 2006 on charter, corporate and private aircraft. The UM-Dearborn study calculated the aggregate economic impact of those passengers, in addition to the value of freight shipments.
A substantial fraction of Willow Run’s passenger traffic is associated with Pfizer Inc., so the number of passengers and their economic impact is likely to drop soon as Pfizer closes its Ann Arbor research center, Redding said. “Such challenges reinforce the necessity of having the transportation infrastructure necessary to create and attract profitable business opportunities,” he said.
Last July, UM-Dearborn released a similar study measuring Detroit Metro Airport and concluded that activity there stimulated more than 71,000 jobs across the State and an annual economic impact of $7.6 billion.
A complete report of the study findings is available at www.metroairport.com (http://www.metroairport.com/).
-- From the Great Lakes IT Report





Detroit Parent Network tackles education (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/06/detroit_parent_.html)

What is it going to take to improve education for all students?
The Detroit Parent Network tried to answer that question Monday morning at its 2007 public policy agenda meeting at the Omni Detroit Hotel at River Place in downtown Detroit.
"We know that, in order to give our kids a head start, they have to have their early childhood investment, so we\'re fully behind that," said Sharlonda Buckman, executive director of the Detroit Parent Network, in an interview with WWJ's Pat Sweeting.
One topic was students making a decision to drop out of school at age 16. When questioned on the issue, Tim Melton (D-Pontiac), Chairman of the House Education Committee, said the law has to change, and noted that there is such a proposal in his committee.
The Detroit-based network, which features parents from Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park, says it seeks to positively impact parents to make Detroit a better place to raise and educate children.
-- From WWJ.com





June 04, 2007

Task force formed to develop 'airport city' (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/06/task_force_form.html)

Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano has announced the formation of a public private task force that will champion the creation of an Aerotropolis, or "airport city," linking Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Willow Run and other regional airports, rail and port facilities.
The made the announcement Thursday along with Detroit Renaissance President Doug Rothwell at the annual Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island.
"Southeast Michigan is perfectly poised to serve as a global logistics hub. Our industry infrastructure and expertise, our geographic location and our existing level of international trade combine to provide us an advantage over other Midwest entry points. The task force will take advantage of all of this experience and talent in these areas to ensure success," says Ficano.
The task force will be co-chaired by John Rakolta Jr., Walbridge Aldinger and Joseph Palamara, Wayne County Commission -- with other members including local government and business leaders.
Along with developing public and private sector support for planned development surrounding Detroit Metro and Willow Run airports, including expanded logistics/cargo traffic, the primary responsibilities of the task force will be to provide advice and counsel regarding the development including: benchmarking other similar projects, creating the master development and economic impact plans and the subsequent business attraction and marketing plans.
-- From WWJ.com





May 31, 2007

One D talks transport, quality of life (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/05/one_d_talks_tra.html)

The One D regional economic development continued Thursday morning at the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference with a breakfast meeting of the One D leadership team.
The session covered the five initiatives of the One D effort – economic prosperity, educational preparedness, quality of life, race relations and regional transit.
Educational preparedness and regional transit received the most sharp commentary.
The educational preparedness effort includes a benchmark of getting every child in the region to read at grade level. Michael Brennan, president and CEO of the United Way for Southeastern Michigan, likened the effort that will require to the effort surrounding Super Bowl XL in 2006.
Edsel (Ford II) said yesterday that we’re pretty good at mobilizing for events like the Super Bowl,” Brennan said. “We coordinated volunteers at the United Way. We had 8,000 volunteers, with 2,000 more on a waiting list, to stand on street corners in the rain to direct people to Ford Field that they (the volunteers) weren’t even going to get close to. Meanwhile, we have 8,000 third graders not reading at grade level. This is a changeable condition. It’s a matter of recruiting the mentors. We can do this.”
As for regional transportation, Detroit Regional Chamber president and CEO Richard E. Blouse Jr. blasted the region’s lack of a true regional transit system.
Blouse said he’s visited sophisticated, integrated air-rail-bus transit systems in cities from Amsterdam to Frankfort, Germany to Beijing to Seoul to Hyderabad, and he’s come away with the dispiriting thought that “We’re dead. These people are decades ahead of us.”
Blouse said that means that “We have to do it (regional transit) and we have to do it now. This is ridiculous. It’s time we put the things that stand in the way aside. A regional transit system has to go to all communities. This opt-out thing is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of. You can’t have a regional transit system if one community in the middle can opt out of it.”
As for race relations, panelists pointed out that race is less and less an issue for the young, and that those for whom it’s still a problem need to learn to celebrate diversity.
And the group said the region needs to learn to give itself enough credit for a quality of life that includes plenty of parks, lakes, health institutions and low living costs.
“All of us have lost economic development projects to one place or another because somebody perceived the quality of life as being superior somewhere else,” Blouse said. “Quality of life needs to be elevated as a priority, to be raised in terms of understanding quality of life and its importance to economic prosperity.”





Hoffa: business, labor need to work together (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/05/hoffa_business_.html)

Mackinac Island (WWJ) -- A major labor leader hadn't addressed the Detroit Regional Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference in nearly 20 years, conference organizers said.
Based on the reception James P. Hoffa, general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters received in an opening dinner keynote Wednesday, you'd have to say it isn't hard to see why.
Hoffa's message wasn't all that controversial -- business and labor need to work together to solve Michigan's problem.
But he was highly critical of international trade agreements such as NAFTA, the Bush administration, the easy exodus of American manufacturing jobs to China and rising income inequality. And he received no more than polite applause.
His biggest reaction, in fact, came from a gaffe -- when he referred to U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow as ""Sen. Debbie Dingell," mismatching her last name with that of U.S. Rep John Dingell and his wife, Debbie, a General Motors Corp. government relations official.
Hoffa began the talk by ticking off Michigan's problems -- 300,000 lost manufacturing jobs, 65,000 people leaving the state in the past year, the vacant plants lining Stephenson Highway in Troy, the fact that it's hard to find an American-made car on the parking lots of the coasts.
Hoffa blamed trade agreements, saying NAFTA's passage "began this exodus of jobs outside the country." He cited the example of Electrolux, which moved a plant out of Greenville to Mexico despite its productivity, and similar moves by Mr. Coffee and Square D. The "second death knell," he said, was free trade with China, with "everybody all of a sudden asking, 'How do I get the Chinese price'?"
Said Hoffa: "When you hear about people moving plants to China, we need to think about that. Yeah, you may make a few pennies more, but it's a moral choice, I think. There's something wrong with that. It bothers me, and I hope it bothers you. Eventually it has an effect, and we see it happening here. Eventually there's no consumers, there's nobody left."
Hoffa pointed out that since NAFTA, the United States has gone from a $3 billion trade surplus with Mexico to a $68 billion deficit.
Hoffa also argued for "prying off the top" of largely closed markets like that of China, and said U.S. trade negotiators need to be more "smart, tough and strong."
Hoffa also criticized rising income inequality, pointing out that the 300,000 richest American families control as much wealth as the 150 million poorest. "That's bad for America," he said to scattered applause. "Eventually we will fragment, eventually we will start fighting each other, and we don't want that."
He also said the country needs to address the problem of 43 million uninsured, calling for universal health care -- again, to sparse, scattered applause.

United Auto Workers president Ron Gettelfinger was to speak at the conference Thursday morning at 9 a.m.

Click here (http://www.wwj.com/pages/484315.php?) for complete coverage of the Mackinac Policy Conference.
-- From WWJ.com





Report: Michigan's assets for economic growth stand among the nation's best (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/05/report_michigan.html)

A report released by the three universities that make up the University Research Corridor (URC) shows the alliance brings together “knowledge economy” resources comparable to those of some of the nation’s most tech-savvy regions.
The preliminary analysis Anderson Economic Group found that the resources of the URC -– a six-month-old alliance of Michigan State University, the University of Michigan and Wayne State University –-compared favorably to North Carolina's Research Triangle; Boston's Route 128 Corridor in Massachusetts; and Penn State/Pittsburgh/Carnegie Mellon in Pennsylvania.
UM President Mary Sue Coleman, WSU President Irvin Reid and MSU President Lou Anna Simon, along with Anderson Economic Group principal Patrick Anderson, were to present the report today at the Detroit Regional Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference.
Among the key findings:
URC spends well over $1.3 billion per year on research and development. That’s comparable to -- or more than -- the URC's counterparts in Massachusetts, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. In 2004, URC ranked highest among the four groups. By 2005, however, North Carolina pulled ahead due to its accelerated growth rate.
URC outranked its Pennsylvania and North Carolina peers in the number of patents granted and licensing revenue, two strong measures of innovation and economic growth, with an average of 126 patents per year compared to 111 in North Carolina and 123 in Pennsylvania. The Massachusetts cluster of Harvard, MIT and Tufts were granted 204 patents.
Michigan's growth rate for academic R&D is trailing rival regions. Each gets about 60 percent or more of its research funding from the federal government but the Research Triangle gets at least twice as much from state government and industry.
The URC partners spent a much greater percentage of their own institutional money to support research; institutional spending accounted for 25 percent of research support for the URC, more than any of the other top research universities and exceeding the national average of 18 percent.
Between 2004 and 2005, URC research grew by 3.7 percent compared to increases of 5.5 percent in Pennsylvania and 11.7 percent for the North Carolina group, largely due to growing assistance from state and local governments, and industry.
North Carolina is investing significantly more in the fledging life sciences industry (73 percent in the Research Triangle versus 63 percent in Michigan's URC) while Massachusetts and Pennsylvania spend a much smaller percentage.The study also found that the universities accounted for 94 percent of federal academic research dollars brought into Michigan and that all three are among the top 75 of more than 600 U.S. research universities.
Over the past five years, the universities have helped launch more than 79 startup companies based on university research and helped attract a far greater number of companies that want to be near universities. Expansion Management Magazine recently ranked Ann Arbor the No. 1 region in the nation for availability of knowledge workers. The East Lansing/Lansing area was also highly ranked.
For a copy of the full report, click here. (http://imgsrv.wwj.com/image/wwj/UserFiles/File/URC_PreliminaryReport_May24.pdf)
For a summary, click here. (http://imgsrv.wwj.com/image/wwj/UserFiles/File/URC_At_a_Glance.pdf)




May 30, 2007

'Primer' describes how Michigan schools are funded (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/05/primer_describe.html)

The Midland-based Mackinac Center for Public Policy has published an overview of Michigan public school financing.
In the 180-page book, called “A Michigan School Money Primer,” the center's Ryan S. Olson, director of education policy and Michael D. LaFaive, director of fiscal policy, trace the more than $19 billion in state, federal, local and intermediate school district tax revenues for Michigan public school budgets. That's almost $12,000 per full-time-equivalent pupil.
Divided into seven major sections, the book describes how local, state and federal governments raise revenue, how the state legislature appropriates money for schools and how school districts build their budgets.
The book is available on the Web at http://www.mackinac.org/8534. Copies can be ordered by calling (989) 631-0900.





Podcast: James P. Hoffa at Mackinac (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/05/podcast_james_p.html)

WWJ's Jayne Bower talks with James P. Hoffa about his keynote address at the Detroit Regional Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island. It's the first time Hoffa has been invited to speak.
Click here to listen. (http://podcast.wwj.com/wwj/495093.mp3)



Jim Walsh (http://webuser.bus.umich.edu/jpwalsh)
Professor of business administration; professor of management and organizations; professor of strategy
Walsh recommends "Capitalism at the Crossroads" by Stuart Hart and "The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid" by CK Prahalad.
“We live in a time where corporations are the most powerful institutions on the transnational stage today," Walsh said. "We also live in a time where the fact of worldwide poverty and human misery is inescapable. All manner of solutions have been offered to help lift people from their difficult circumstances. Hart and Prahalad offer a new perspective on this old problem. They ask business to invest in these difficult environments and in so doing, spur innovation, make money and at the same time, leave the world a better place. While the details are not yet worked out, the promise is captivating."
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Gene Imhoff (http://www.bus.umich.edu/FacultyBios/FacultyBio.asp?id=000119848)
Professor of accounting
“My favorite book of all time is "Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett," Imhoff said. "The main element of the book is the construction of a cathedral. It was undertaken as a multi-generation task and required great planning and determination. It depicts vivid characters whose attributes are observed in our everyday life, even today. The book inspires me because it references a time in history where great effort and resources were expended for somethng that was not to provide any gratification for many of those who worked on it as it was not completed before their death. In our modern world of immediate gratification and short term horizon, if helps me to reflect on both the progress of mankind and the lack of progress as well."
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Jeff DeGraff (http://www.bus.umich.edu/FacultyBios/FacultyBio.asp?id=000119938)
Clinical associate professor of management education
DeGraff's picks were "Think and Grow Rich," by Napoleon Hill and "Re-imagine!" by Tom Peters.
“I know, ("Think and Grow Rich") isn’t really about innovation," DeGraff said. "But it is about what’s required to make yourself ready for innovation. OK, Hill had a bit of the blarney in him, but nonetheless, his insights are truly transformational. The story goes that when he was in law school at Georgetown, he met Andrew Carnegie and interviewed him for a paper. Carnegie challenged him to interview the 300 wealthiest men on the planet to glean their secrets of success. Hill took up the challenge and fifteen years later wrote Think and Grow Rich. This book lays out a plan to re-create yourself. Hill spells out fifteen basic principles that really hang on four basic propositions: 1. What you think about you create, 2. Create a master purpose for your life, 3. Surround yourself with terrific people to help each other create their destiny, and 4. Be positive. Hill was an advisor to Roosevelt and you can really hear his influence. 'All we have to fear is fear itself.' Seventy-five years before the positive organizational scholarship movement at top business schools, Hill had conducted his own extensive research and provided answers that continue to work today.”
Of "Re-imagine!" DeGraff said: “Love him or hate him, Tom is still on the money. I’m just amazed how he continues to be three steps in front of the rest of us. With a Stanford Ph.D. and a McKinsey pedigree, Peters loves to play the ordinary Joe, but don’t be fooled, he has one foot in (the) academic world of theory and one in the world of practice. He is a gad fly on the wall of thousands of firms every year and is able to paste together a mosaic of seemingly unconnected insights into emerging patterns of innovation. Re-imagine! looks like a child’s picture book thanks to the amazing folks at DK Books, maybe the most innovative publisher on the planet, and reads like a manifesto. Peters’ not only writes about innovation, he does it in an innovative way.”
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David Wright (http://www.bus.umich.edu/FacultyBios/FacultyBio.asp?id=000120039)
Associate professor of accounting; faculty director, Masters of Accounting Program; director, Paton Accounting Center
Wright suggests Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath."
"As an accountant, I'm tempted by training and temperament to see the world dispassionately through cold, hard measurable assessments of the economic outcomes in a faceless and nameless corporate world. No one can read Steinbeck's classic portrayal of the Joad's and remain forever emotionally detached from the real world consequences of forces we would otherwise reduce to raw statistical measures of profit and loss, supply and demand, or bulls and bears. No education is complete without a solid grounding in the literary classics, and Steinbeck's timeless work would be at the top of my list of 'must reads.'"


May 29, 2007

Survey: top regional problems transportation, urban redevelopment, racial harmony (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/05/survey_top_regi.html)


Retaining and attracting top talent, public transportation, urban redevelopment and racial harmony -- or the lack thereof -- are the top problems facing metro Detroit, according to a Web survey of more than 1,000 Detroit-area leaders conducted by six of the region's top civic organizations operating under the One D regional development umbrella.
In the survey, taken in March, more than 60 percent of respondents said they were very or somewhat satisfied with access to arts and cultural activities and access to quality food in the area.
But more than 50 percent said they were very or somewhat dissatisfied with the region's public transportation, mnagement of suburban growth and development, redevelopment of urban core communities, and transportation services for the elderly and disabled. More... (http://www.glitr.com/Article.asp?id=413527&spid=)





May 23, 2007

Mackinac Center: More school choice needed (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/05/mackinac_center.html)

School district consolidations would not be a substantial source of savings for Michigan taxpayers according to a new report released by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy (http://www.mackinac.org/).
The report, titled “School District Consolidation, Size and Spending: an Evaluation,” finds that other things being equal, districts of roughly 2,900 students tend to spend the least per pupil, and that both smaller and larger districts tend to spend more. The maximum theoretical savings from consolidations would be on the order of $31 million annually, while the maximum theoretical savings from breakups would be on the order of $363 million annually. That is partly because the vast majority of students in conventional public schools are currently enrolled in “overly” large districts. <p>
However, the Mackinac Center also conceded that, even if the state's school district map could be redrawn to create districts of the "optimal" size, population mobility and population growth would make it difficult to maintain district sizes over time. The real solution, the center believes, is creating incentives for school officials to offer high-quality services as economically as they can. To do that, the center recommends "a major expansion of competition and parental choice."
The 35-page Mackinac Center report is available at www.mackinac.org/8530 (http://www.mackinac.org/8530).





May 17, 2007

Summer reading for business people (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/05/summer_reading_.html)


There’s nothing like delving into a good book during the summer. But with demanding work hours, coupled with everything there is to do at home, most of us find that our time for reading is scarce – and summers are painfully short.
To help you make the best of the precious hours you'll have during the warm-weather months, we asked several Walsh College business professors for their lists of recommended summer reading for people in business. Their suggestions encompass everything from personal success to understanding the global marketplace.
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Rod Hewlett
Executive vice president and chief academic officer and professor of finance.
Hewlett recommended one of his own books and a couple of others:
“The Cognitive Leader: Building Winning Organizations through Knowledge Leadership,” by Roderic Hewlett. (Rowman and Littlefield Education. 2005).
“Cultures Merging: A Historical and Economic Critique of Culture," by Eric L. Jones, (Princeton Press. 2006).
“Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Diversity in Global Business (2nd ed.)," by Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner. (McGraw Hill. 1998).Hewlett explained his choices: “The first book is relevant to young entrepreneurs creating businesses in this town who need to understand knowledge-based leadership in order to be successful in a knowledge-based economy. The others use an applied, practical approach to addressing the need for us to understand other national and employee cultures. We’ve always expected people to bend to our industrial way of managing. We now know that we have to reach out and learn other cultures."
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Mike Levens
Chair, undergraduate business administration programs, director of the Business Leadership Institute and assistant professor of marketing
“The Advertised Mind: Ground-Breaking Insights Into How Our Brains Respond to Advertising,” by Erik Du Plessis (Millward Brown, 2005).
“BRAND Sense: Build Powerful Brands through Touch, Taste, Smell, Sight, and Sound," by Martin Lindstrom. (Free Press, 2005).Levens had this to say about his recommendations. “Research about the mind and the senses has changed the way we create advertising and conduct brand marketing. We now know that our emotions play such a huge role in our response to ads, and that we respond to brands with all five of our senses. It’s valuable knowledge: Coke lost a 'tactile competitive edge' when it switched from the classic bottle to cans – consumers preferred the feel of glass.”
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Sheila R. Ronis
Director, MBA/MSSL programs and associate professor of management
"Timelines into the Future," by Sheila Ronis (to be published in July).
"Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future," The National Academy of Sciences, 2007.--------------------
Lee Meadows
Professor of management
"Take the Lull By the Horns! Closing the Leadership Gap," by Lee Meadows (Author Solutions Inc. 2006).
"Great Leadership: What it Is and What it Takes in a Complex World," by Antony Bell, (Davies-Black Publishing. 2006).
"Leadership that Matters: The Critical Factors for Making A Difference in People's Lives and Organizations' Success," by Marshall and Molly Sashkin (Berrett-Koehler Publishers. 2003).--------------------
Mark Solomon
Taxation chair and professor of tax and business law
"Cogwheels of the Mind -- The Story of Venn Diagrams," by A.W.F. Edwards and Ian Stewart.

May 16, 2007

Transportation event touts the role of technology (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/05/transportation_.html)

A standing-room-only crowd of 130 plus packed the auditorium of the NextEnergy Center Tuesday for “Moving Michigan: Advancing Transportation Through Technology.”
The WWJ Newsradio 950 Business Breakfast was sponsored by the American Iron and Steel Institute, SAE International and Biodiesel Industries Inc., which broke ground on a biodiesel plant in Detroit Tuesday. The event featured a panel discussion led by WWJ and Fox 2 reporter Murray Feldman on technological changes sweeping through all sectors of the transportation industry, from ground to air to sea. More... (http://www.glitr.com/Article.asp?id=407154&spid=)





May 15, 2007

Bill Clinton to visit the Max M. Fisher Music Center (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/05/bill_clinton_to.html)


President Bill Clinton is coming back to Detroit. He will discuss building a community and creating opportunity on Tuesday, June 12 at 7:30 p.m. at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit.
The speech is titled "Embracing Our Common Humanity."For ticket information call (248) 398-3400 ext. 133, (313) 576-5111 or visit the Detroit Symphony Orchesta Web site at this link. (http://www.detroitsymphony.com/main.taf?erube_fh=dso&dso.submit.viewHomePage=1)
Clinton was in Detroit in April for the NAACP Freedon Fund Weekend and Dinner.





May 04, 2007

Discuss the region's 'Road to Renaissance' (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/05/discuss_the_reg.html)

Yesterday, Detroit Renaissance unveiled 11 initiatives for the future of Southeast Michigan and the state as a whole. Next week, WWJ Newsradio 950 will air town hall broadcasts to discuss the "Road to the Renaissance" plan. More... (http://enterprisenotebook.com//Article.asp?id=402270)





Jack McHugh and Kenneth Braun: Let the people choose between taxes, budget cuts (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/05/jack_mchugh_and.html)

A ballot initiative giving voters a choice between a tax hike and a government cost-cutting mandate would force policymakers to pursue savings, Jack McHugh and Kenneth Braun, of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, say.
Click here to read the column. (http://enterprisenotebook.com//Article.asp?id=402233)





Phil Power: ‘No-tax’ absolutism doesn’t help state (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/05/phil_power_nota.html)


In 1983, two state senators were recalled after voting for a tax increase. Irrational fear about a repeat gets in the way of long-term strategies, writed Phil Power, president of the Center for Michigan,writes.
Click here to read the column. (http://enterprisenotebook.com//Article.asp?id=402168)







May 03, 2007

WWJ's day at UM reveals exciting news about Michigan’s future (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/05/wwjs_day_at_um_.html)

Yesterday, WWJ Newsradio 950 moved its newsroom to the University of Michigan for a special 14-hour Our Michigan, Our Future broadcast, live from the Ann Arbor campus.
The event included interviews with some of the people generating the ideas and technology vital to the future of our state. Among those heard from were:
UM Dean of Education Deborah Ball, who talked about her work on the White House panel to improve math education in the U.S.
Sean Morrison, director of the UM Center for Stem Cell Biology, who discussed his groundbreadking work and the stem cell debate in Michigan.
Ann Arbor SPARK CEO Mike Finney, who provided an update about the economic development organization's work to bring new jobs to the Ann Arbor region, including the latest on plans for the Pfizer site.Podcasts: Couldn't catch the entire 14-hour live broadcast? You can listen to these and other interviews from WWJ's day in Ann Arbor on the Web. Click here. (http://wwj.com/pages/404352.php?) http://images.radcity.net/5798/1876143.jpg (http://wwj.com/pages/404352.php?)

May 02, 2007

Podcast: Michigan-born self-guided tech could change machines (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/05/podcast_michiga.html)

Ever wish your lawn would just mow itself? That technology is on the way from a local company, explains WWJ Newsradio 950's Murray Feldman in an Our Michigan, Our Future report.




May 01, 2007

WWJ to broadcast live from UM (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/05/wwj_to_broadcas.html)


New plans for Michigan's future are in the works -- on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Wednesday, tune in to WWJ Newsradio 950 during a special Our Michigan, Our Future event.
We'll take our newsroom to campus, broadcasting live for a full day of interviews and information about the exciting prospects for the future now taking shape in Ann Arbor.
Here's who we'll here from:*
5:30 a.m.: Dr. Valerie Castle, head of pediatrics -- will talk about the half a billion dollar Mott Hospital project and the role of the U-M Health System in the state.
6:30 a.m.: Ann Arbor SPARK CEO Mike Finney -- talks about the economic development organization's work to bring new jobs to the Ann Arbor region and on the future of the Pfizer site as they work to lure new companies to the state while working to keep top talent in Michigan.
7:30 a.m.: UM VP of Research Steve Forrest -- will talk about his quest to make the state more entrepreneurial, to beef up research and tech transfer, turning research into new business opportunities.
8:30 a.m.: Levi Thompson, Engineering Department -- talks about U-M's push to develop fuel cells and other forms of alternative energy, the Phoenix Project and the Holy grail of finding the energy to power the cars and cities of tomorrow.
9:30 a.m.: Lloyd Johnston, ISR -- talks about his Monitoring the Future study that has interviewed 1 million young people from two generations over the past third of a century.
10 a.m.: UM President Mary Sue Coleman -- will talk about the future of U-M, our role in the economy, creating jobs, etc.
11:30 a.m.: LSA Dean Terry McDonald -- talks about his upcoming trip to China and the US/China competition, the new $200 million North Quad project, the new Undergrad Sciences Building and the new ways they are teaching at UM
12:30 p.m.: UM Librarian Paul Courant -- also an economics/public policy expert, talk sabout the Google Project. As an economist who has written about Michigan's economy and a former provost, he can also talk about the University's role in economy and Michigan's economic prospects as well as Google's efforts to take every book in our library and make the content searchable online.
1:30 p.m.: Enoch Brater, English/LSA/theater -- will talk about the impact of the new Arthur Miller Theatre and answer questions about Miller and the impact cultural offerings can have on an area.
2:30 p.m.: Gerry Meyer, former CEO of AMC and current business school faculty member -- talks about the auto industry, where its going and the opportunities for the future.
3:30 p.m.: Sean Morrison, Life Sciences -- talks about the work of UM life sciences and the stem cell debate.
4:30 p.m.: UM Dean of Education Deborah Ball -- talks about education, her work on the White Hose panel to improve mathematics, the need to improve math and science skills to be competitive.
6:30 p.m.: Don Scavia, director of the Michigan Sea Grant Program, a renowned expert on the Great Lakes.
Crain's Detroit Business features '20 in Their 20s' (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/05/crains_detroit_.html)

Want to catch an glimpse of our region's future? The 2007 Crain's Detroit Business 20 in Their 20s list was featured in yesterday's edition. The group is, as usual, an impressive collection of young achievers who help give southeast Michigan the the kind of creative and entrepreneurial energy it needs.




April 30, 2007

Lou Glazer: How the tax and spending debate influences the Michigan economy (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/04/lou_glazer_how_.html)

In a podcast, Lou Glazer president of Michigan Future Inc. (http://michiganfuture.org/) says Michigan residents should ask themselves this: Would you feel better about Michigan's economic future if we were pursuing the kind of bold initiatives been pushed by Gov. Schwarzenegger in California?
Glazer says California's policy agenda -- which includes a "play or pay" universal health insurance system, a $3 billion stem cell initiative, and the most aggressive global warming initiative in the country -- represents the kind of bold forward-looking agenda that doesn't exist in Michigan today.




April 29, 2007

Firm launches initiative to attract new businesses to state (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/04/firm_llunches_i.html)

Private real estate firm the Farbman Group/NAI Farbman has announced its plan for Michigan Now!, a program designed to attract and retain start-up and out-of-state established businesses in growth industries.
"Now is the time for businesses to play a role in moving our state forward. We cannot sit by idly and place the burden solely on the shoulders of government. The old way of doing business is no longer working for Michigan and business owners have the power to make a positive impact," said David Farbman, co-president of Farbman Group.
"The state is its own greatest resource. We have creative and well educated individuals, tremendous real estate spaces and a wealth of natural resources that simply need to be connected."
Assisting new and out-of-state businesses by defraying the majority of rental costs normally incurred by a tenant, the Farbman initiative will provide low-cost office and industrial space to start-up companies to alleviate the financial burden of such expenses, allowing the companies to focus their capital on succeeding in their core business.
President and CEO Andrew Farbman says he envisions this program as an opportunity for creative new business ventures to grow within Michigan and work to boost the state¹s sagging economy.
Qualifying businesses can apply online at www.michigannow.net (http://www.michigannow.net/) or by calling 866-NewMich (642-4639). Applications will be accepted through June 30.




April 26, 2007

Phil Power: In Michigan, we know how to bear down (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/04/phil_power_in_m.html)

When the weather gets bad, or times get rough, Michiganders know what do do: We bear down! And that’s what we need to do right now to weather the economic storm and get on to a brighter Michigan, writes Phil Power, president of the Center for Michigan.



Podcast: Tami Salisbury (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/04/podcast_tami_sa.html)

Tami Salisbury is executive director for the Eight Mile Boulevard Association. 8MBA is a nonprofit corporation working to revitalize and promote the Eight Mile transportation, business and residential corridor (between I-94 and I-275) by linking the efforts of the public and private sectors. Salisbury dreams of a future when 8 Mile Road will no longer be known as a dividing line, but as a lively and developed thoroughfare where people come together to enjoy the city.




Podcast: Luther Keith (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/04/podcast_luther_.html)

Luther Keith, executive director of ARISE Detroit!, is a former award-winning editor and columnist for the Detroit News. A native Detroiter, Keith served in many roles for the newspaper before retiring in 2005. He had stints as a sports writer, state capitol correspondent, city editor, state editor, business editor, assistant managing editor, public editor and columnist.
In many of those roles, Keith developed and coordinated stories and special reports on quality of life issues affecting Detroit such as crime, education and neighborhood revitalization. In 1985, Keith took a leave of absence to become the founding director of Wayne State University’s Journalism Institute for Minorities, a program to recruit and train minorities for careers in the media. Keith was inducted into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame in 1995.




April 25, 2007

Mike Flanagan: Rethink education for the future (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/04/mike_flanagan_r.html)

While the policymakers in Lansing wrangle about how much education Michigan can afford, State School Superintendent Mike Flanagan wants to make one thing clear: our state cannot afford to settle for the level of education we have provided in the past.
Flanagan says that does not necessarily mean spending a lot more money. To a large degree, it comes down to raising the bar and expecting more from kids, teachers and parents.
"It's not corny to say that if you expect more, you will get more," Flanagan said.
It's also time to to re-think the way teachers are trained, Flanagan said. Techniques that might work with college-bound kids, for example, might not be adequate to give others the math they now need to get jobs in fields like home building. He said educators also need to make find ways to weave technology into their teaching methods.
Listen to a Podcast
WWJ Newsradio 950's Greg Bowman talked with Mike Flanagan as part of WWJ's Our Michigan, Our Future project.


April 24, 2007

GM's Lutz calls for energy 'Manhattan Project' (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/04/gms_lutz_calls_.html)


General Motors Corp. Vice Chairman Bob Lutz is calling on the federal government to launch an aggressive push to overhaul America’s energy policy akin to the Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb during World War II, AutoBeat Daily reported.
With enough effort, Lutz says, the United States could replace “huge chunks” of its fossil fuel consumption with renewable energy within five years. He says the program would include importing more ethanol from Brazil and forcing oil companies to install more ethanol pumps at U.S. fuel stations.
Lutz criticizes the government’s current approach for putting too much of the burden on automakers and for pushing expensive fuel-economy changes that he says will result in only tiny gains.





April 23, 2007

Freedom Weekend starts April 26 (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/04/freedom_weekend.html)

Former President Bill Clinton comes to town for the 52nd annual Fight for Freedom Fund dinner, to be held at Cobo Hall on Sunday, April 29 at 5 p.m. The event, expected to draw 10,000 guests, is the largest sit down dinner of its kind in the world. The theme for this year is “We Fight Until We Win." Tickets are still available at www.detroitnaacp.org (http://www.detroitnaacp.org/).
While most people know about the NAACP Freedom Fund dinner, many are not aware of the related activities – organized by Freedom Institute – which take place over the entire weekend. Programs focus on civil rights and include a number of high-profile speakers.
The festivities begin on Thursday, April 26 with a religious leaders breakfast on the topic “The Political Influence of the Church.” Doris Biscoe, former WXYZ-TV Channel 7 anchorwoman, will emcee the event. The breakfast will include a panel discussion led by Detroit’s own Rev. Edgar Vann of Second Ebenezer Baptist Church. A Power Economics Luncheon, featuring Susan Taylor, former publisher of Essence Magazine, follows at noon.
April 27 offers “Jobs, Jobs, Jobs: A Super Career Expo,” beginning at 9 a.m., which is open to the public. Friday also is a full day of discussion on various topics, including a summit with labor leaders and a youth symposium called “Leveling the Playing Field.” The workshop will focus on career planning, financial literacy and health and wellness for young people.
There will be an all-day Home Ownership Fair inside Cobo Hall on Saturday, along with events and workshops on health and wellness, a celebrity autograph signing and a step show called “Step Down in Motown.” The afternoon includes a national town hall meeting beginning at 3 p.m.
Saturday also features a Career Day and Youth Summit where thousands of local school kids, youth organizations, churches, parents and college students learn about preparing for the future. Many of the seminars are free, although registration is required. Check the Web site at www.freedomweekend.info (http://www.freedomweekend.info/).





April 21, 2007

NextEnergy study: Alternative energy investments create jobs, strengthen economy (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/04/nextenergy_stud.html)

A new study shows that investments in energy efficiency programs and the adoption of a renewable portfolio standard (RPS), as called for in Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s economic plan, would create up to 19,000 additional jobs and increase the gross state product (GSP) by as much as $1.6 billion.
A renewable portfolio standard is a state policy that requires electricity providers to obtain a minimum percentage of their power from renewable energy resources by a certain date.
The study called, “A Study of Economic Impacts from the Implementation of a Renewable Portfolio Standard and an Energy Efficiency Program in Michigan,” was overseen by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and completed by NextEnergy, non-profit corporation that seeks to enable the commercialization of new energy technologies.
The study focused on the long-range results of nine policy alternatives for providing Michigan’s future energy needs. The results conclude that an increased use of energy efficiency and renewable energy would generate increased business activity in Michigan.
The results show that the implementation of a moderate RPS (7 percent by 2016) could boost Michigan’s GSP by $194 million and create 2,020 jobs, while implementing an aggressive RPS (15 percent by 2025 ) could increase the GSP by $533 million and create 6,381 jobs. The study further shows that combining an aggressive RPS with aggressive energy efficiency efforts will substantially increase the benefits from doing either alone.
Results of the study can be found at http://www.michigan.gov/documents/de...t_193745_7.pdf (http://www.michigan.gov/documents/deq/deq-ess-MichiganRPS-EE-FinalReport_193745_7.pdf).
For more about renewable portfolio standards and how other states are using them, click here. (http://www.eere.energy.gov/states/maps/renewable_portfolio_states.cfm)





April 19, 2007

Support for college up; parental commitment still shaky (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/04/support_for_col.html)

Michigan parents are enamored of the concept of college for their children, but they're "commitment-shy" when it comes to doing whatever it takes to get them there, a study released this week by Your Child, a non-profit, non-partisan coalition of education, family and business organizations, finds.
The study showed 73 percent of parent/respondents saying their children will earn a four-year degree, but only about a third saying they are willing to "do whatever it takes" to guarantee this happens.

The Detroit News/Channel 7 survey of 600 parents of school-aged children, sponsored by Your Child and the Skillman Foundation, was conducted April 2 - 12, 2007, by EPIC-MRA; the margin of error is +/- 4 percent.
The current Your Child study compared attitudes about education today with those revealed in a similar study conducted in 2005, when the coalition first revealed Michigan's lackluster culture of education. The data from the current survey shows that while college education for their children is still a tough sell among Michigan's traditional manufacturing-minded parents, there are signs of progress.
For example, in the current survey, more Michigan parent/respondents said "everybody should get a college education" (59 percent) than was the case two years ago (54 percent); additionally, 70 percent of current survey participants agreed "people who have a college education are usually better off than people who don't," compared to the 66 percent who agreed two years ago.
More information is available at http://www.yourchildmichigan.org (http://www.yourchildmichigan.org/) and at http://www.epicmra.com/.





April 18, 2007

Karmanos: Alzheimer's drug could help fight cancer (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/04/karmanos_alzhei.html)


Researchers from the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit have presented strong evidence that an antibiotic typically prescribed for Alzheimer’s patients could be effective -- eventually -- in treating certain types of cancers.
Q. Ping Dou (pictured), leader of the Prevention Program at Karmanos, and members of his lab announced the findings of their study showing that the drug Clioquinol (CQ) appears to have an anti-tumor effect in mice bearing human prostate cancer cells. The announcement was made at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting in Los Angeles.
Dr. Dou and his team turned to the copper-binding compound CQ after discovering that prostate, breast, brain, colon and lung tumor tissue often have a higher level of copper than normal tissue. According to Dr. Dou, this led his team to investigate whether cancers with high levels of copper can lead to targeted treatment.
Karmanos researchers found that after binding CQ to the copper in prostate tumor tissue, the drug induces cell death in human prostate cancer cells.
According to Dr. Dou, his lab will take this information and work with Karmanos clinicians to create a treatment selectively targeting the copper found in tumors.





April 12, 2007

Podcast: Colin Hubbell (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/04/podcast_colin_h.html)

Colin Hubbell is a life-long Detroiter and founder of The Hubbell Group, a small group of real estate developers with a passion to rebuild the area where they work, and where they grew up -- Midtown Detroit. Prior to forming THG in 2000, Hubbell was the Director of Urban Development for Crosswinds Communities, where he opened their Detroit office and was responsible for the development of all Crosswinds' projects completed or currently under construction in the City of Detroit.
WWJ's Vicki Thomas talks with Colin Hubbell (http://podcast.wwj.com/wwj/390212.mp3).






Podcast: Irvin Reid (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/04/podcast_irvin_r.html)

Irvin Reid is the ninth president of Wayne State University. His path to the WSU presidency began in a one-room school on Pawley's Island, South Carolina. He graduated from high school in Charleston, then earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Howard University, and a master's and doctorate from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. As president of WSU, Reid has put forward his own vision of the university's future -- focused on continuing and enhancing the university's long-standing relationships with surrounding communities. Reid says he is committed to developing a national reputation for Wayne State University that is worthy of its accomplishments.
WWJ's Florence Walton talks with Irvin Reid. (http://podcast.wwj.com/wwj/390195.mp3)





Podcast: Maha Freij (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/04/podcast_maha_fr.html)

Maha Freij is chief financial oficer for ACCESS, the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services. A graduate of the Hebrew University in Accounting and Economics, Freij was the first Arab/Palestinian woman to earn a CPA license in Israel in 1989 - the same year she immigrated to the U.S. Freij has been praised for spearheading the introduction and implementation of philanthropy to the culture of ACCESS and its supporters. She believes that financial stability and systems are fundamental to building strong institutions, which in turn lead to powerful, self-expressed communities.
WWJ's Ron Dewey reports Maha Freij. (http://podcast.wwj.com/wwj/387883.mp3)





Podcast: Alan Mulally (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/04/podcast_alan_mu.html)

Alan Mulally is president and CEO of Ford Motor Co. Prior to joining Ford in September 2006, Mr. Mulally served as executive vice president of The Boeing Co., and president and chief executive officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. He joined Ford's board in 2006.
Alan Mulally talks with WWJ's Jeff Gilbert (http://podcast.wwj.com/wwj/389947.mp3)







Podcast: Linda Smith (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/04/podcast_linda_s.html)

Linda Smith is executive director of the non-profit group United Streets Networking and Planning: Building a Community or U-SNAP-BAC -- a consortium of community and business organizations working together to empower residents to impact the future of Detroit's East Side. U-SNAP-BAC's mission is to provide safe, decent and affordable homes for families of low-to-moderate income.
WWJ's Vickie Thomas talks with Linda Smith. (http://podcast.wwj.com/wwj/383976.mp3)





Podcast: George Jackson (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/04/podcast_george_.html)

George Jackson is chief development officer and president of the Detroit Economic Growth Corp.. DEGC or "The Growth Corp" is a private, nonprofit corporation that combines public sector policies and priorities with private sector development and investment interests to strengthen Detroit's economic base.
George Jackson, talks with WWJ's Pat Sweeting. (http://podcast.wwj.com/wwj/384074.mp3)






Podcast: Michael Finney (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/04/podcast_michael_2.html)


Michael A. Finney is president and CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK, a public-private partnership whose mission is to advance innovation-based economic development in the greater Ann Arbor region. Finney says that although recovery won't happen overnight, he's optimistic when it comes to our state's ability to rebound.
WWJ's Matt Roush talks with Michael Finney. (http://podcast.wwj.com/wwj/384071.mp3)






Podcast: Roger Penske (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/04/podcast_roger_p.html)

Roger Penske, the billionaire racing legend who became the one of Detroit's most high-profile cheerleader as head of the Super Bowl XL host committee, has taken on a permanent leadership role in the city as chairman of the Downtown Detroit Partnership.
WWJ's Pat Sweeting profiles Roger Penske (http://podcast.wwj.com/wwj/384008.mp3).






April 11, 2007

Leaders to discuss Detroit's rebirth (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/04/leaders_to_disc.html)

Compuware Chairman and CEO Peter Karmanos Jr., Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano; Doug Rothwell, president of Detroit Renaissance; and George Jackson, president or the Detroit Economic Growth Corp., will lead a forum called "Detroit's Resurgence - World Class City or Pipe Dream?" The event will take place on April 19 and will begin at 7:30 a.m. at the Detroit Athletic Club.
The forum is part of the Pancakes & Politics Breakfast Series, hosted by The Michigan Chronicle and its sister company, Real Times Media.
Sponsors are DaimlerChrysler; HAP; Strategic Staffing Solutions; LaSalle Bank; Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP; St. John Health; and Compuware. Media sponsors are CBS/CW, Crain's Detroit Business, WWJ Newsradio 950 and John Bailey & Associates Public Relations Inc.
Future 2007 Pancakes & Politics forums are scheduled for May 17 and June 21. Individual tickets can be purchased for $65 per forum, which includes a six-month subscription to the Michigan Chronicle. For more information, visit http://www.michronicleonline.com (http://www.michronicleonline.com/).





April 06, 2007

Podcast: Faye Alexander Nelson (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/04/podcast_faye_al.html)


Faye Alexander Nelson is President/CEO of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy. Prior to her appointment in 2003, Nelson was vice president of government affairs for Wayne State University.
WWJ's Pat Sweeting speaks with Faye Alexander Nelson. (http://podcast.wwj.com/wwj/372096.mp3)







Phil Power: Time for Michigan to act like a business (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/04/phil_power_time.html)

]Michigan is no different than a troubled company facing financial disaster, writes Phil Power, president of The Center for Michigan in Ann Arbor. Power says his state needs to right-size and stabilize itself fast -– while figuring out how to become more competitive in the future.
Click here to read the column (http://enterprisenotebook.com//Article.asp?id=383228)







April 05, 2007

Podcast: David DiChiera (http://www.michiganfuture.com/2007/04/podcast_david_d.html)

]David DiChiera, founder and general director of Michigan Opera Theatre, is well known across the region as an educator, composer and arts administrator. He has been recognized for numerous achievements, including the commissions of two world premiere operas, the restoration of the Detro