June 9, 2014

  • Retailers’ short-term optimism is rising with the temperatures

    LANSING — Michigan retailers welcomed a long-awaited rise in sales during April with a burst of optimism about sales for the rest of spring and early summer, according to the Michigan Retail Index, a joint project of Michigan Retailers Association and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Their 90-day sales forecasts shot up nearly 11 […]

  • Public Record

    MORTGAGES Selected mortgages filed with Kent County Register of Deeds PLAXTON, Chad A. et al, Chemical Bank, Stonebridge, Lot 3, $440,000 STRONG, Peter et al, Northpointe Bank, Bailey's Grove No. 10, Lot 251, $249,375 HARCOURT, Paul et al, Huntington National Bank, Richview Estates No. 1, Lot 11, $242,100 BATLEY, Jennifer et al, Lake Michigan Credit […]

  • Change Ups: Attorney earns Wedgwood’s diversity award

    Varnum attorney Luis Avila has earned Wedgwood Christian Services’ Diversity Award. Avila serves on the boards of Grand Rapids Ballet and the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He is involved in committees for the Grand Rapids Symphony, Grand Rapids Community Foundation and Dwelling Place, and is a member of the Asociaciónde Profesionistas Mexicanos en […]

  • A penny saved is a penny earned — or is it?

    Ben Franklin sought to cultivate his character with a plan of 13 virtues, which he developed at age 20 (in 1726) and continued to practice in some form for the rest of his life. His autobiography lists his 13 virtues as: 1. Temperance. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation. 2. Silence. Speak not […]

  • Statewide project manager group is resurrected

    Following a three-year hiatus, the Michigan Project Users Group is up and running again. MPUG is a group for professional project managers focused on sharing Microsoft project management tools. The organization has been dormant after interest waned, but a group of Michigan project managers resurrected it last week during a meeting in Southfield. “We realized […]

  • Consumers Credit Union begins construction in Gaines Township

    Consumers Credit Union of Kalamazoo broke ground on a new branch office in Gaines Township last week and will follow next week with another groundbreaking in Cascade Township on 28th Street SE. According to Consumers, both new branch offices will feature the latest in banking technology, including touch screen access to information for helping its […]

  • Street Talk: West Michigan health care’s heart and soul

    The “soul” is not a treatable organ in the body, and an organ would be an unlikely instrument with which to create “soul” music, but nonetheless the two are intertwined this week. The Grand Rapids African American Health Institute is hosting An Evening of Soul, Thursday, June 12, at the J.W. Marriott, during which time […]

  • Wellness at the heart of Izzy+’s newest chairs

    Izzy+ is focusing its showroom space this year on the importance of movement throughout the day. The health risks of sitting all day have been well documented and Izzy+ is hoping to help create workspaces that will encourage movement and productivity. “Wellness is really driving us to focus on movement, and by that I mean […]

  • WMU introduces MBA aviation concentration

    An MBA with a concentration in aviation is landing at Western Michigan University this fall. The Haworth College of Business and the College of Aviation at WMU announced the collaboration last week for students interested in management roles in the aviation industry. Satish Deshpande, associate dean for graduate programs and operations for the Haworth College […]

  • American Seating products focus on new teaching model

    Say goodbye to the “sage on the stage,” said Deb McDermott, vice president of marketing at American Seating. McDermott was talking about the popular lecture-style teaching that has always dominated classroom learning, particularly in higher education. Rather than standing at the head of the classroom and giving an hour-long lecture, professors today are more likely […]

  • Listen and learn: respecting other people’s viewpoints

    With all the talk about political correctness and prejudice, I think there is a major issue that is not being discussed: When you have a pre-conceived idea of what a person is going to be like before you meet them, you may miss an opportunity to learn something from them.  My wife, Chris, and my […]

  • DDA will submit ‘aggressive budget’

    The Grand Rapids City Commission tomorrow will get the proposed FY2015 budget for the Downtown Development Authority, which DDA board chair Brian Harris describes as “an aggressive budget. It’s going to take some work to get these things done.” The entire DDA budget being proposed totals approximately $14 million and is separated into three parts. […]

  • Steelcase looks to introverts for latest designs

    (As seen on WZZM TV 13) In her 2012 TEDx talk, Susan Cain, author of “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking,” noted how today’s offices and classrooms have been designed for extroverts, with a focus on stimulation, leaving introverts at a disadvantage. A lot of attention in the office […]

  • Airport authority proposed to govern GFIA

    The Aeronautics Board of Kent County will soon consider a proposal to convert the governance of Gerald R. Ford International Airport to an airport authority. GFIA is the property of Kent County, and that ownership would continue. Under an authority, however, it would no longer be operated by the county as an enterprise fund. The […]

  • Michigan needs to cultivate its design side

    Upjohn Institute economist George Erickcek said in a recent interview, “If you ask me, ‘Do you think a designer is more important than an engineer?' The answer is yes.” In a recent Bridge Magazine column, Meijer Co-CEO Mark Murray and ArtServe Michigan President and CEO Jennifer H. Goulet wrote: “The creative sector must be in […]

  • Barra has a new mantra for GM: The word ‘responsibility’ is given action

    The General Motors CEO in years past may have held a press conference to apologize for safety issues and order recalls, and perhaps pledge vague improvements and oversight, but what the world saw late last week was the new sheriff who directly addressed the Detroit corps and painfully specified several in a long list of […]

  • Inside Track: Doyle mastered his creative process in the military

    There are probably few in the Grand Rapids entrepreneurial community who don’t know Paul Doyle’s name. Those who don’t should take note of it. Doyle made a name for himself with local entrepreneurs in 2011 when he pitched a business idea for a payment enablement and fraud prevention IT firm at The Factory’s Startup Weekend. […]

  • Improving patient health through the brain

    Running a company keeping you awake at night? There might be some relief coming from Neurocore, a behavioral health solutions provider that specializes in diagnostics and optimization for the brain. The Grand Rapids-based company measures, evaluates and trains the brain using data-driven diagnostics to produce long-term, noninvasive solutions to repair certain symptoms at the brain’s […]

  • Furniture manufacturers bring offices to life at NeoCon

    West Michigan furniture manufacturers are headed to Chicago this week for The National Exposition of Contract Furnishings, better known as NeoCon, the industry’s biggest design exposition and commercial interiors tradeshow in North America, which is being held at Chicago’s Merchandise Mart June 9-11. NeoCon offers 1 million square feet of showroom and exposition space dedicated […]

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