April 8, 2013

  • FAA finding lands in GFIA’s favor

    A division within the Federal Aviation Administration exonerated the Gerald R. Ford International Airport Board last week by dismissing a complaint made in November 2011 by two longtime tenants, and it did so with prejudice — meaning the plaintiffs can’t file another case based on the same claim. Northern Air and Grand Rapids Air Center, […]

  • Not many happy returns on investments — again

    Despite the size of the Kent County Investment Pool, its return rate has been similar to what individual savers have received for at least the last four years due to the Federal Reserve Board’s lengthy monetary policy and continuous global financial problems. Kent County Treasurer Ken Parrish recently told Kent County commissioners that the $316.3 […]

  • New farm workers coming from Eastern Europe

    LANSING — Few people are interested in the hard, dirty toil of farm labor. But hard work is nothing new for some in a transitory lifestyle already long-lived. Experts from the Michigan Farm Bureau say an influx of farm workers from Eastern Europe seeks those gritty jobs because they’re used to doing them. Craig Anderson, […]

  • The difference between presentation and communication

    How do you communicate? How good of a communicator are you? If you want to make a winning sales pitch, it takes a combination of your presentation skills and your communication skills. It’s the little-known sales skill: how to get others to listen to you — or better stated: how to get others to want […]

  • Change Ups: CentraCare opens Kalamazoo office

    CentraCare Inc. recently opened a 16,000-square-foot facility at 445 W. Michigan Ave. in downtown Kalamazoo. The nonprofit provides medical care and social support for low-income elderly patients living at home through the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), serving Kalamazoo County. At full capacity, CentraCare expects to serve 225 PACE participants with 65 […]

  • Public Record

    April 5 — MORTGAGES Selected mortgages filed with Kent County Register of Deeds KAMP, Cindy et al, Community Shores Bank, Chalet Estates East No. 4, Lot 108, $244,000 STASIAK, Edward J. & Patricia S. Trust et al, Independent Bank, Condo-River House At Bridgewater Place, $216,000 BOLLMAN, Michael et al, Fifth Third Mortgage, Courtland Twp., 22-9-10, […]

  • Medicare investment tax may apply to some landlords

    The Medicare Investment Tax, found in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, went into effect this year and will have to be accounted for on some investors’ returns next year. The tax is expected to raise $210 billion over 10 years. That amount has been reported as representing more than half of the new […]

  • Experts see interest rates as a smoldering fuse

    The current record-low interest rates are a good thing for home buyers — but not for people who are heavily invested in bonds and need to continuously maximize the return on their investments. Interest rates on some bonds now “are as low as they’ve ever been. This is a warning to everyone: When interest rates […]

  • Some advisors eschew the CFP

    Accountants have CPAs and financial planners have CFPs. At least that’s the common view from most consumers’ eyes, but there are several area financial planners who want to dispel the myth that there is an industry standard certification like there is for accounting. Jaime Westenbarger, president of Forest Hills Financial, said there are several respected […]

  • Street Talk: Blame Washington for a new batch of worries

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s latest quarterly small business survey finds that Washington policies continue to hamper hiring and growth, with over a quarter of small businesses saying they have lost employees in the last year. The survey, conducted online last month by Harris Interactive among more than 1,300 small business executives, shows that 79 […]

  • Land bank may have to change direction

    At a six-hour retreat held last month, Kent County Land Bank Authority board members listed 10 priorities that would form the underlying factors of the organization’s three-year strategic plan, which they’re in the process of putting together. At a more recent meeting, the five board members and 13 individuals that comprise the land bank’s advisory […]

  • Michigan retailers’ spring sales and forecasts slip

    LANSING — Michigan retailers’ forecasts for spring sales slipped, following a drop in their February sales, according to the Michigan Retail Index, a joint project of Michigan Retailers Association and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. February’s sales index number dropped below 50 for the second time in three months, showing that consumers were still […]

  • That includes the minerals, doesn’t it?

    Most landowners assume when they buy real estate, it includes the subsurface oil, gas and other minerals. But is that really true? In recent years, Michigan's oil, gas and mining industries have rebounded. Higher prices and advanced mining methods have once again put our mineral resources in play. Currently, oil, gas, iron, nickel, copper, sand, […]

  • Reasons for the financial meltdown spelled out

    One of the great advantages of retirement is having the time to pursue an understanding of events that you could not take the time for when you were working. I recently read “All the Devils Are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis” by Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera, and “Too Big to Fail: […]

  • ‘Bring your own device’ policy prompts questions

    (As seen on WZZM TV 13) Companies maneuvering through the growing world of mobile communication options are facing a new fork in the road: whether or not to let employees bring their own devices rather than issuing company phones and other mobile technology. CBI Telecommunications Consultants, located in Wyoming, pulled together a panel of experts […]

  • Airport approves $19 million natural water treatment system

    Gerald R. Ford International Airport is taking steps to remedy a storm-water runoff issue caused by its annual use of deicing fluids. The airport announced that it would begin construction in the fall on a $19 million natural water treatment system, which will also reroute the runoff directly to the Thornapple River. The system will […]

  • Late spring drops Michigan’s golf season in the bunker

    LANSING — In March 2012, golf courses across the state were in full swing. This year, some were still buried in snow. Last year brought the first signs of growth in a sport that had seen substantial declines in participation in recent years, but lingering winter weather threatens to stop that progress cold this time […]

  • Governor is powerless; legislators all hail the caucus

    Last week New York’s most colorful politician suggested that true grassroots democracy will be achieved only after both the Republican and Democratic parties cease to exist. True, Harvard graduate Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been elected as a Democrat, a Republican and an Independent, but once again the seed of his reason touches a deep chord […]

  • The Rapid is looking for gold in new Silver Line

    After a decade of planning, groundbreaking events were held last week. But the official kickoff for The Rapid’s $39 million Division Avenue Bus Rapid Transit service will take place Thursday when Gov. Rick Snyder arrives to signal its start. The BRT, also known as the “Silver Line,” is a first in the state. The express […]

  • Community bankers call for break-up of megabanks

    The too-big-to-fail Wall Street megabanks recently were anointed as being too big to jail by the nation’s top lawyer, despite reports of alleged fraudulent acts committed by executives. His pronouncement has ignited a backlash from smaller financial institutions. “I am concerned that the size of some of these institutions becomes so large that it does […]

  • Inside Track: Urban developer builds more than just buildings

    As a 7-year-old working on his father’s summer building crew, Derek Coppess became known as “Trash Boy.” But last fall, as founder and owner of 616 Lofts and 616 Development, the Downtown Alliance gave him another identity. The alliance named him “Emerging Entrepreneur” for reviving two vacant and adjacent Ionia Avenue buildings and having the […]

  • Always building something

    Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch made news recently when the Michigan Strategic Fund awarded it a grant to assist in its growth, but that really doesn’t mean anything out of the ordinary is going on at the nation’s 12th or 13th largest egg producer and the largest egg farm by far in Michigan. More than 91 billion […]

  • TowerPinkster is brewing a threesome

    The old adage that good things come in threes certainly applies for a local engineering and architectural company, as TowerPinkster has the unusual task of designing three breweries at the same time and in the same city: Kalamazoo. The firm, with offices in Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo, is providing services for the $6.2 million Arcadia […]

  • New ownership group excited about Thirty-Eight

    The new owners of Thirty-Eight had a distinct advantage most buyers can only dream of when purchasing a building. A portion of the ownership group, MP1 LLC, held an important contract for the three-year-old, mixed-use building at 38 Commerce Ave. SW, and it gave them valuable insight into the structure’s quality. “We were doing their […]

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