April 9, 2018

  • Change Ups: Sultan snags LaughFest’s Best of Midwest title

    Comedian Ali Sultan’s funny side recently won him the Best of the Midwest Competition, taking home the title 2018 Gilda’s LaughFest Best of the Midwest Comedian and a $2,500 cash prize. The team at Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids created Gilda’s LaughFest in 2011, and is intended to celebrate laughter for the health of it and […]

  • Whiz Kids jump-started my distrust of large companies

    I bought a book that gathered dust on my bookshelf for at least five years. “The Whiz Kids” by John A. Byrne is about 10 Harvard graduates who met during World War II. Their initial notoriety arose out of using statistics and analysis to streamline Air Force operations. At the end of the war, they […]

  • Public Record

    MORTGAGES Selected mortgages filed with Kent County Register of Deeds LANE, Shaina et al, Old National Bank, Homewood Park, Lot 14, $230,755 RIGLEY, Jeffrey et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Condo-Stone Crest Site Condominium, $256,405 PERNA, Heather et al, Quicken Loans, Glen Valley Estates No. 2, Lot 91, $200,800 DARNELL, Cecil et al, Northern Mortgage […]

  • Parking narrative full of little white lies

    D-Day, demolition day, is upon us; the city officially closes the Area 5 (Arena Area) parking lots April 9, eliminating almost another 600 parking spots from the high-volume entertainment area near Hopcat, GR Brewing Co., Waldron Public House, Luna and so many others. The Business Journal opined last week regarding the city’s lack of vision […]

  • Governor’s vision for students is archaic

    In Heather E. McGowan’s must-read LinkedIn column “Preparing Students to Lose Their Job,” she calls for a transformation of the mission of education — from one that prepares people for a job to one that prepares people for continuous job loss. Largely because of machines increasingly doing the work now done by humans, we are now […]

  • Street Talk: City funds Latino leaders

    Initiatives that address issues of economic disparity, workforce development, civic engagement and leadership development in the Latino community are getting a boost from the city. The Economic Development Corporation — a board comprised of business and community members, including Mayor Rosalynn Bliss — recently approved two one-year agreements: one with Ferris State University to support […]

  • Elections stalling road funds

    Michigan’s crumbling roads — long the subject of jests, memes and most of all, pain — are now voters’ highest priority. And the future of the issue might depend on which candidates they choose in 2018. According to a Marketing Resource Group poll released March 27, 49 percent of voters said Michigan’s roads were one […]

  • Numerous factors combine to boost M&A activity

    You may have noticed a lot of “Everything must go!” sale banners stretched across storefronts. More than 3,200 retail stores have closed in the United States so far in 2018, according to Fung Global Retail Tech. Toys R Us is leading the nation in store closures this year, with all 740 locations, including three in […]

  • State to intervene at struggling schools

    The Michigan Department of Education announced it will discuss developing agreements with three area schools to raise academic outcomes. Alger Middle School of Grand Rapids Public Schools, Muskegon Community Education Center of Muskegon Public Schools and William C. Abney Academy Elementary in Grand Rapids are among 21 “struggling schools” the MDE recommends enter into “partnership […]

  • Inside Track: For the love of nature

    With a 25-year-long career in conservation, spanning both the public and private sectors, Darwin (Dar) Baas brings a collaborative approach to solving West Michigan’s waste management channels. The director of the Kent County Department of Public Works said he always considered himself a conservationist, even at a young age. He grew up in Georgetown Township, […]

  • Compost program quadrupling service area

    Urban Roots said its compost pickup program has gained enough steam to expand past the pilot. Levi Gardner — founder and executive director of the community farming and education nonprofit at 1316 Madison Ave. SE — launched the Your Compost program to collect food waste from homes and businesses on April 1, 2017. As it […]

  • LRE in danger of losing state contract

    (As seen on WZZM TV 13) The organization that oversees Medicaid funding for five community health centers in West Michigan is at risk of having its state contract canceled. Lakeshore Regional Entity, which distributes Medicaid funding to five community mental health organizations that work in Allegan, Kent, Lake, Mason, Muskegon, Oceana and Ottawa counties, has […]

  • Developers take augmented reality to next level

    A local software designer with furniture manufacturing clients will showcase a pro version of an augmented reality tool housed on its platform at NeoCon in June. Linköping, Sweden-based Configura — which has its North American operation at 35 Oakes St. SW in Grand Rapids — will demo an augmented reality (AR) platform called InstantAR at […]

  • Wealthy Street welcomes salon

    The Palace Flophouse Salon is the most recent addition to the eclectic mix of retail venues and restaurants on Wealthy Street in Uptown Grand Rapids, and owners Nick and Ann Van Weaver aim to provide quality hair care to the neighborhood they call home. The name of the salon came from the Van Weavers’ desire […]

  • Pizza chef defending global title

    (As seen on WZZM TV 13) The owner and president of a local Italian restaurant collection will defend his first-place title for “Best Pizza in America” this week in Italy. Dan Uccello is co-owner and president of Flo’s Collection, which includes Flo’s Pizzeria Ristorante at 4494 Plainfield Ave. NE, as well as Catering Concepts by […]

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