April 29, 2013
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Not up in smoke
Thousands of people in Grand Rapids may remember the huge black plume of smoke over Garden Street on the south side of the city in May 2011, but that fire wasn’t the end of Kindel Furniture. The fire actually was at the old Kindel factory — largely vacant since the company moved its operations in […]
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Bureau receives more time for annual EQ report
The latest report from the county’s Bureau of Equalization recently went before the county’s Finance Committee in a calm and efficient manner. But the presentation didn’t accurately portray the behind-the-scene scrambling that County Equalization Director Matt Woolford and his small staff go through every year to meet the meeting deadline. “Matt is crunching numbers at […]
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Change Ups: ArtServe taps Rosen for board of directors
ArtServe Michigan, a statewide nonprofit arts and cultural advocacy organization, announced David M. Rosen, president of Kendall College of Art & Design of Ferris State University, was elected to the board of directors. Rosen was tapped because of his passion and knowledge on creative economy and arts education issues, the role the arts plays in […]
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Right Place tops goal a year early
Despite coming up with its new five-year strategic plan in 2008 — the year the nation went into the Great Recession — The Right Place Inc. has exceeded the proposal’s ambitious economic goals and did so in just four years. The plan, which was implemented in 2009 and runs through this year, set goals of […]
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Public Record
April 26 — MORTGAGES Selected mortgages filed with Kent County Register of Deeds LINDSEY, Kristin Ann et al, IFreedom Direct Corp., River Road Farms, Lot 29, $211,765 STOUT, Roscoe Eugene et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Condo-Chandler Woods, $344,800 MORREN, William C. et al, Chemical Bank, Whistle Ridge No. 2, Lot 39, $227,000 CAHILL, Christopher […]
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Street Talk: Water, water everywhere — and lots of sandbags, too
Last week’s unprecedented 1,500-volunteer sandbag effort in support of the city of Grand Rapids’ Environmental Services Department was essentially organized over the course of a one-story stair climb following Mayor George Heartwell’s first emergency press conference at City Hall, and later deployed from the back of a speaker hall. Two staffers from West Michigan Environmental […]
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Metro Council gets added road money for this year
Grand Valley Metro Council Executive Director John Weiss said the transportation planner is getting a bigger chunk of road dollars this year than was initially expected. Those unexpected dollars will be turned into more road improvements. Weiss said the Michigan Department of Transportation recently told the Metro Council it will be receiving another $3.7 million, […]
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MLCV turns attention to West Michigan
Since its founding in 1999, the Michigan League of Conservation Voters has worked tirelessly on conservation issues affecting the state’s land, water and air quality. Based in Ann Arbor, much of that work has focused on outreach on the east side of the state as well as Lansing, where staff works closely with lawmakers on […]
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GVSU, Notre Dame partner on water contamination study
Grand Valley State University researchers Rick Rediske and James O’Keefe will partner with a team of researchers from the University of Notre Dame on a two-year study examining how variables in watershed landscapes impact contaminant levels in stream resident fish. “We are looking at 15 tributaries of Lake Michigan,” said Rediske, a professor of water […]
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False alarms rile police agencies
LANSING — Flash. Veins of white light spread through the sky. Crackle. A blast of 100 to 120 decibels assaults your ears. But then something happens: Before the next thunderclap hits, a cacophony of car alarms begin to wail. But the problem goes beyond annoying noise, law enforcement officials say. Just as storms can set […]
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Longer sentences fuel big budget for Michigan prisons
LANSING — Despite a declining prison population, the average Michigan prisoner is spending more time behind bars — at significant taxpayer expense. Michigan inmates spend on average 4.3 years in prison, while the national average is 2.9 years, according to a study by the Pew Charitable Trust. The disparity is even greater among violent criminals: […]
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Inmates not always treated for addiction, mental illness
LANSING — Unpredictable behavior, irrationality, confusion, loss of control: all are symptoms of mental illness and signs of drug abuse. Although the two can be similar, problems of addiction and mental health have long been dealt with separately in county jails, Michigan Sheriffs’ Association Executive Director Terrence Jungel said. Mentally ill inmates with drug addictions […]
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Cooley unveils new Homeland Security degree
In the light of last week’s Boston Marathon bombing, the issue of homeland security laws may seem more relevant than ever. That is why Thomas M. Cooley Law School has announced it will launch a new Homeland and National Security LL.M. program in September. The new master’s degree program has approval from the Higher Learning […]
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Contract paralegal service offers helping hand to law firms
Jessica Elin is trying something new: a contract paralegal service business. “I’ve wanted to do this for a while,” Elin said. “I worked as a family law paralegal and I recognized that there are a lot of sole and small practitioners out there that can’t always afford full-time staff and they get behind or their […]
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Inside Track: Food entrepreneur advises people not to ‘fear heat’
Dominic Sorenson has started a lot of food businesses. A couple of the businesses were based on fantastic ideas but had little backing or support. Other business ideas verged too far toward the gimmicky side of things, such as his Sexy Chef routine, which saw him cooking for bachelorette parties in a sleeveless T-shirt. Until […]
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World trade expected to remain sluggish for next two years
Ten years ago, America lost its position as the world’s leading exporter when Germany’s merchandise exports exceeded those of the United States. In 2009, China overtook Germany as the world’s leading exporter of goods. According to the latest annual trade statistics compiled by the World Trade Organization, China was the world’s top merchandise exporter for […]
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Global business venture may help clear the air
SEA Biofuels is preparing to introduce its small, smokeless cooking stove using specialized solid fuel to a market that is primarily Third World nations around the globe — plus the “prepper” consumer niche in the U.S. Patrick Mohney, a Grand Rapids native who founded SEA Biofuels LLC last year in Parkland, Fla., but still lives […]
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A sign of the times: law libraries fading away
Judges and lawyers are steeped in tradition and processes. Stare decisis — the policy of courts to abide by principles established by decisions in earlier cases — isthe norm, and change is an uncomfortable occurrence. Still, the partners at Gruel Mills Nims & Pylman PLLC recently made a big change. On April 7, the firm […]
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Estate planning tax update after enactment of ATRA
By now you should have all heard that Congress narrowly averted the country's fall over the "fiscal cliff" at the very last moment (well, actually, after the very last moment, but retroactive to the very last moment) by enacting the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, known as ATRA. While estate tax planning is only […]
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Improv lessons translate well to business culture
“Whose Line Is It Anyway?” might be more than just a fun show; it might be the key to transforming a toxic company culture into an exemplary one. Most people are familiar with the show or with improv comedy, in general, in which a group of actors create characters and a storyline on the spot […]
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Rainfall hasn’t hurt county’s agriculture sector
(As seen on WZZM TV 13) Although the recent torrential rains made life miserable for property owners along the swollen banks of the Grand River, the county’s growers and farmers are in relatively good shape because this spring’s temperatures have been cooler than normal. Had those rains occurred this time last year — after a […]
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Law schools see big decrease in applications
Law schools across the country are seeing the lowest number of applicants in 30 years, with an average decrease of 19 percent since 2012. According to the Law School Admissions Council, as of January there were only 30,000 applicants to law schools for the fall, a 20 percent decrease from 2012 and a 38 percent […]
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Minneapolis-based Foley & Mansfield opens office in GR
Minneapolis-based law firm Foley & Mansfield has expanded into Grand Rapids with an experienced team of qui tam — whistleblower laws — health care and employment law experts it hired away from the Frank Haron Wiener firm in Troy. Joining the firm as partners are David L. Haron and Melinda A. Balian, with attorneys Mercedes […]
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Full swing for private developers
What do you see while driving through downtown Grand Rapids? Cranes, construction sites and future construction sites. All you have to do is open your eyes and you will know that development is alive and well in West Michigan, most notably in downtown Grand Rapids. Many are betting on downtown Grand Rapids (me among them), […]
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Ethnic population props up lamb market
Now in the midst of his eighth busy lambing season, Holland farmer Mike Bronkema has little spare time to dwell on the reasons he got into the sheep business. “Both meat and wool together make the sheep venture profitable,” he said. Then he added, “I guess the truth is that the lamb market is the […]
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Flooding aftermath will require same spirit of cooperation
Residents and business owners throughout the Grand Valley region likely may have reflected recently on Michigan’s nickname “water wonderland,” but the beauty of a land surrounded by the world’s largest bodies of fresh water is given depth of meaning by the people who live here. Extraordinary efforts and accomplishments during the recent flooding of area […]
