March 18, 2013
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Change Ups: HGTV host partners with Lake Michigan Credit Union
Builder/carpenter and HGTV host Carter Oosterhouse has formed a marketing partnership with Lake Michigan Credit Union. The Traverse City native will become the “face” of LMCU. The promotional campaign will include TV, radio, print, outdoor, point of sale, Internet, social media and member communications and will include a $25,000 Home Makeover Giveaway. ACCOUNTING H&S Companies […]
Public Record
March 15 — MORTGAGES Selected mortgages filed with Kent County Register of Deeds
Street Talk: Competitors rise for Levin’s seat; who will Land there?
For politicians, it’s the busy season, which became earnest as U.S. Senator Carl Levin announced his pending retirement. There remains only three months before the Fourth of July political parades. Former Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land lit up her social media networks in almost the same instant the headlines were posted last month. […]
College degrees pay off even during recession, new study shows
LANSING — A four-year college degree is still worth paying for — even during recession years, a recent study shows. The Pew Charitable Trust concluded that during the recession, recent college grads had a lower unemployment rate than their counterparts with only high school diplomas or associate’s degrees, and the reason was largely not because […]
New option surfaces from land bank subcommittee
With tax-foreclosure day rapidly approaching on April 1, the panel charged with determining whether the Kent County Land Bank Authority can buy properties from the county prior to the public auction is moving into overdrive. The Kent County Land Bank Process Subcommittee has scheduled a special meeting this week to learn if a newly offered […]
Health exchange expert speaking here
Joel Ario, former director of the Office of Health Insurance Exchanges at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, will speak in Grand Rapids Thursday at a day-long meeting of the West Michigan Association of Health Underwriters at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on 28th Street SE. Ario, one of the country’s major public policy […]
One Kent Coalition contemplates its next step
The One Kent Coalition pledged to park its proposal until the Kent County Collaboration Work Group finished its effort, and it has kept that promise. The work group met for more than a year and recently reviewed a draft of its report. That report is set to be finalized this week. Then it goes to […]
Policies reduce risk of workplace violence
Workplace violence policies and procedures should be standard fare in any employee handbook, according to Peter Kok, attorney and chair of the Labor and Employment section at Miller Johnson. Kok said that he recommends to all of his clients that they include a handbook provision stressing how employees should treat one another in the workplace […]
Huizenga supports sequester’s spending reductions
The $85 billion of automatic federal budget cuts that took effect a few weeks ago occupied a good portion of the discussion at last week’s Grand Valley Metro Council meeting, which had Michigan’s 2nd District Congressman Bill Huizenga as its guest. Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell told Huizenga that the sequester, the common name of […]
Several looming factors signal economic caution
Think the heart of the economy in West Michigan and the nation is beating stronger? Economist Brian Long sees signs of a positive growth, but cautions it’s premature to break out the party hats. On the plus side, Grand Rapids’ gross domestic product is up 2.3 percent, truck shipments are on the rise, U.S. nonfinancial […]
The secret of lousy service and how to fix it (part 2)
Last week I promised the answers to why lousy service occurs and how to fix it. If you didn’t read part one, stop now and go here. The answer revolves around four words you already know: positive attitude and personal pride. Let’s start with a little background … Here are the reasons or feelings that […]
Effectively influencing people without being in charge
While much guidance is available to strengthen a manager’s ability to lead from a position of authority and control, the individuals whom they lead often become a “silent majority,” being given little attention, recognition or opportunity to contribute to the “greater good” because they are not allowed or encouraged to influence “from the bottom up.” […]
Capital continuum: a roadmap to business financing
Over the past several years, our dynamic economy has created a multitude of opportunities and challenges for business owners. Access to capital and debt is one area left blemished by those dynamics. As a community banker, I have had the opportunity to meet many business owners, from the start-up entrepreneur to the 40-year veteran. Although […]
Health care providers struggle to fill jobs
LANSING — Health care providers are having trouble hiring even though undergraduate degrees in health fields have doubled over the past eight years at the state’s 15 public universities. In fact, there’s not only a strong demand for health professionals across the state, but nationally, said Michigan Health Council President Anne Rosewarne. “We are very […]
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Zoo management change could come next year
(As seen on WZZM TV 13) Under the direction of Kent County and the John Ball Zoological Society, John Ball Zoo has become a player in the county’s hospitality industry in recent years. Back in 2003, the zoo, situated on the city’s west side at Fulton Street and Valley Avenue, was largely seen as a […]
Scarcity of H1B visas presents employers with conundrum
If the Immigration Innovation Act of 2013 makes its way into law, it would nearly double the number of H1B visas available annually, something that would make a lot of companies in the United States very happy. Since the early 2000s, H1B visas have been a hot item, and one that can be hard to […]
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Path to business succession is littered with obstacles
Family-owned businesses can avert legal headaches and emotional anguish by having a succession plan set in place before it’s needed. Such plans are particularly significant in West Michigan, where families own an estimated 88.8 percent of businesses, according to the Family Business Alliance, which counts 120 family businesses among its membership. The key word to […]
Miedema Auctioneering handles bankrupt Stamp Farms property
Miedema Auctioneering Inc. of Byron Center has been named by the secured creditors and trustees in the $60 million Stamp Farms bankruptcy case to sell some of the Decatur-based farmer’s property at auction March 27 in Lawton. The Stamp bankruptcy may be the largest currently in the Midwestern district bankruptcy court system. In 2012, Mike […]
West Michigan economy surges upward across the board
Nicely up. That’s the latest word on the West Michigan economy, according to the data collected in the last two weeks of February. Both December and January were flat, but as we rolled into February, things started to pick up. Our closely watched index of business improvement, which we call New Orders, came in at […]
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Inside Track: From a 7-Eleven to a successful Siciliano’s Market
Sitting at his desk among homebrew supplies and bottles of wine, Steve Siciliano tapped his glasses on his chin. The desk sits in the middle of Sicliano’s Market, named Best Beer Grocery in the U.S. by RateBeer.com in January. But the Grand Rapids’ native is pensive when asked how his market, located at 2840 Lake […]
Immigration changes are critical to West Michigan
Both the U.S. House and Senate are expected in the coming weeks to present versions of possible legislation crafting the Immigration Innovation Act of 2013, with a great deal of bipartisan support. That by itself might be reason for celebration, but as a border state now building a new bridge to Canada, Michigan has the […]
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County buildings valued at nearly a half-billion
A Business Journal calculation showed Kent County owns 32 buildings that have a market value of $481 million. The structures total 2.4 million square feet of space, occupy 3,715 acres of property, and serve as workplaces for 1,570 county employees. Those numbers will play a role for members of the county Finance Committee, which also […]
