March 11, 2013
City may go to bond market for medical costs
Grand Rapids city commissioners gave the fiscal department a green light last week to publish a 45-day notice that the city may go to the bond market to cover a portion of its unfunded accrued health care costs for retirees. But the city has not committed to going forward with issuing one or more series […]
The secret behind lousy service and why it happens
Question: Why does lousy service occur? Answer: Lousy service happens because (big) companies don’t understand people or training. I am amazed at how many times someone in a service environment delivers lousy service. And it’s often not just lousy — add rude, offensive, abrasive, defensive, maddening, and most of all disappointing. Great news: It doesn’t […]
-
Change Ups: Super Service donates truck to Baker College
Freight company Super Service LLC donated a 53-foot truck to Baker College of Cadillac, which will be used for its Zeeland-Cadillac truck-driving program. M&K Quality Truck Sales Inc. and Premier Graphics donated the painting and decaling, respectively. The rig is intended to help increase visibility and attract students to the program. Baker’s two-quarter program is […]
Public Record
March 8 — MORTGAGES Selected mortgages filed with Kent County Register of Deeds MASON, Oren W. et al, Amerisave Mortgage Corp., Paulo Add., Lot 8, $343,000 VARMA, Manish K. et al, Founders Bank & Trust, Condo-Darby Farms, $567,100 TOOLEY, Eric M. et al, Founders Bank & Trust, Condo-Clements Mill, $226,000 HEDLUND, Erik et al, […]
Hello West Michigan works to attract top talent to area
In 2007, a group of chief information officers began a series of conversations regarding the disconnect they were witnessing between talent and job availability in West Michigan. The CIOs worried there wasn’t a large enough pipeline, particularly of information technology students and graduates, to fill the current and future job needs within their growing companies. […]
Group concludes local governments collaborate well
After meeting for more than a year, members of the Kent County Community Collaboration Work Group tweaked a draft of their final report last week. “None of the changes change the substance of this report. They clarify it,” said Michael DeVries, Grand Rapids Township supervisor and member of the work group. The final report, which […]
-
Street Talk: Humor really is the best medicine
Wednesday’s Top Women Owned Businesses event at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park attracted a sell-out crowd and produced plenty of powerful networking. Speaker Julie Aigner-Clark, founder of The Baby Einstein Co., proved an engaging and inspirational choice for the 400-plus in attendance, most of whom were women. Aigner-Clark’s tales of common sense and innovation […]
-
Inside Track: Numbers cruncher helps pill pushers get to market
Behind successful new drugs or medical devices are countless tests involving vast numbers of patients — but it eventually comes down to statisticians like John Quiring to analyze and organize the data in a way that makes sense to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. QST Consultations, the company Quiring launched in Allendale in 1985, […]
Michigan retailers project growth
LANSING — Four out of five Michigan retailers expect to increase sales this year, most by mid-single digits, according to the Michigan Retail Index, a joint project of Michigan Retailers Association and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Coming off a positive January in which sales rebounded from a drop in December, 38 percent said […]
Coalition lauds court stalling of Lansing casino
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Robert J. Jonker in Grand Rapids granting a preliminary injunction against the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians from moving forward in developing a casino in Lansing has been lauded by a coalition of other casinos in the state. “We applaud Judge Jonker’s order, which will prevent the […]
Estate or death planning: There’s no better time than now
The recent fiscal cliff tax legislation (American Taxpayer Relief Act) made the estate tax exemption and rates permanently part of the tax code. The lifetime estate and gift tax exemption is currently more than $5M for an estate. For many individuals, this level of exemption eliminates a potential tax issue that they or their heirs […]
-
Firstronic gets marketing grant to aid in exporting
Firstronic LLC in Grand Rapids has received another State Export Trade Now grant via the Michigan Economic Development Corp.’s Pure Michigan Export Program to help offset marketing expenses aimed at increasing its sales to customers in other countries. Firstronic, 1655 Michigan St. NE, is a contract manufacturer of electronic components used in a variety of […]
Land bank adds warehouse
The Kent County Land Bank Authority recently agreed to take ownership of a vacant commercial building on the southeast side of Grand Rapids for a buck, and did so with the bank’s and the city’s blessings. It’s a three-story, 60,000-square-foot structure at 1515 Madison Ave. SE that sits on the south end of a revitalizing […]
-
Today’s schedule: Answer e-mail, staff meeting, recess and client project
If you’ve ever longed for a recess break during the workday, you are not alone. During the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum’s first Symposium on Play, several speakers argued for the importance of play in the daily lives of children and adults alike. In his opening remarks, GRCM Executive Director Robert Dean pointed out that play […]
Hilfinger: Big improvements to Michigan’s business environment
The Michigan Economic Development Corp. has fundamentally changed the way it approaches economic development in the state — and that should be good news for brownfield development. During 2012, Michigan completed a major overhaul of its brownfield laws with an eye to reducing regulatory requirements, streamlining the approval process and facilitating urban redevelopment throughout the […]
-
Herkimer renovation is a special project
(As seen on WZZM TV 13) Dwelling Place of Grand Rapids is investing $29 million into expanding and renovating the Herkimer Apartments at 323 S. Division Ave. Dwelling Place COO Kim Cross said $20 million of that amount is going toward the construction project that will convert all the building’s 122 residences into one-bedroom apartments. […]
-
Husband-and-wife venture is all about just being neighborly
Human resource professionals have a new tool to help relocating executives and their families feel at home in the Grand Rapids community. Shirley and Bruce Boundy launched their new business, Welcome Home, earlier this year, with Shirley serving as president and Bruce as vice president and CFO. Welcome Home was developed following several conversations about […]
Long-term solutions overdue for harbor dredging
Gov. Rick Snyder’s proposal for a combination of general fund monies and Waterways Trust Fund money to immediately dredge Lake Michigan and Lake Huron has been given almost unanimous backing by the state Senate, which last week voted to provide $20.9 million for emergency dredging at 49 state bays and harbors. As the bill moves […]
