November 30, 2015
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Roofing company receives favorable verdict in trade secrets case
A roofing company has emerged at least partly victorious in a case involving trade secrets. On Oct. 30, a jury found in favor of plaintiff Thermal Tec, awarding the company $59,200 in damages. The case was heard in the business court of the 17th Circuit Court for Kent County. Thermal Tec said the jury found […]
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Special lane designations would increase mass transit efficiency
LANSING — A new bill to allow local transit agencies to construct Bus Rapid Transit lanes on state highways would make mass transit more efficient, advocates say. The bill would qualify any highway marked as a M-, U.S.- or I- route for BRT lanes. Rep. Sam Singh, an East Lansing Democrat who introduced the bill, […]
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Change Ups: Professor receives HVACR honor
Mike Feutz, Ferris State University associate professor of HVACR, was honored by the Mechanical Service Contractors of America with the D.S. O’Brien Award of Excellence. The award is presented annually to an individual who exhibits extraordinary dedication to the HVACR industry and the MSCA. Feutz has served as faculty advisor to Ferris’ MSCA student chapter […]
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Street Talk: Reaching critical mass
Downtown parking is certainly on the minds of many people in Grand Rapids, and everyone wants to talk about it. Even Andy Lofgren, the executive officer of Home Builders Association of Greater Grand Rapids, likes to chat about downtown parking. When meeting downtown, he said he likes to park on about the fifth floor of […]
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Practice will conduct oncology trials
Future cancer treatment drugs may have roots in Grand Rapids. The Cancer and Hematology Center of Western Michigan is partnering with San Antonio-based South Texas Accelerated Research Therapeutics, better known as START, on START Midwest. The new entity will conduct phase 1 clinical oncology trials at the Lemmen-Holt Cancer Pavilion, 145 Michigan St. NE, where […]
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A different kind of being thankful: thanking yourself
As the commercialism of Thanksgiving fades into the commercialism of Christmas (or whatever one is allowed to call it these days), several thoughts have occurred to me that will impact you as a person, a salesperson and your business. People try so hard to express good cheer in these holiday seasons that they often miss […]
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Specialty trade contractors lead employment surge
The U.S. construction industry added more jobs in October than during the previous four months combined, according to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics. Construction employment expanded by 31,000 net new jobs last month after adding 12,000 jobs in September (revised upward from 8,000). Nonresidential construction employment increased by 20,100 jobs in October after […]
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Public Record
MORTGAGES Selected mortgages filed with Kent County Register of Deeds TURNER, Dustin et al, Chemical Bank, Bostwick Lake Park, Lot 1, $445,000 RICHARDSON, Kelly L. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Blackstone, Lot 15, $202,500 HOLTZ, Ryan W. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Bella Vista Shores No. 3, Lot 95, $620,000 HARMON, Gary Jr. […]
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New report touts region’s generosity
A new study indicates Kent County is one of the most generous counties in the state. The recent report issued by Grand Valley State University’s Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy is an estimate of Kent County’s giving for 2013, arrived at by applying the methodology of a well-respected national study, “Giving USA,” to the […]
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Health system offers virtual appointments
(As seen on WZZM TV 13) When you’re sick, the last thing you feel like doing is to go see your doctor, but, until recently, if you called your doctor’s office looking for an over-the-phone diagnosis or prescription, you were met with, “You’ll have to make an appointment to see the doctor.” As Spectrum Health […]
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Apprenticeship program aims to create health care careers
A new apprenticeship program that will be offered by a trio of community colleges in West Michigan beginning in January is aimed at creating careers in the health care field. Grand Rapids Community College, Muskegon Community College and Montcalm Community College have teamed with Mercy Health, Cherry Health, Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital and Spectrum […]
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Giving Tuesday: for whatever reason, say yes
You know the sequence: Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday and then Giving Tuesday. We have Henry Timms, executive director of 92nd Street Y in New York, to thank for creating and launching this day in 2012. Perhaps for too long, nonprofits have leaned toward the side of being low key — quiet and in the […]
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Grooters secures first tenant for airport development
With limited industrial space in Grand Rapids, Robert Grooters Development Co. has broken ground and secured a first tenant for its newest project. The developer broke ground recently on its Kraft Avenue industrial space that once was dubbed “Area 52,” a play on the U.S. government’s secret Area 51 in Nevada and its location just […]
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Getting health care costs under control: First, admit we have a problem
It’s that time of year again when people go through open enrollment and supposedly make the wise benefit choices on health care that will protect them and their family for the coming year. It is one of those processes those in human resources wish were a different type of event, or no event at all, […]
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Road funding: Just fix the damn roads
In May, Michigan voters sent a clear message to Lansing: find a better way to “fix the damn roads”! They voted to reject the hastily crafted proposal, and now we finally have a deal to fix Michigan’s long-neglected infrastructure. Or do we? One of the hottest “tickets” in Lansing has been to the various House […]
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Pigeon Hill expansion nearing completion
Muskegon’s Pigeon Hill Brewing Co. is nearing completion at its production facility. The 9,270-square-foot facility at 441 W. Western Ave. is just down the road from the brewery’s taproom and has undergone renovations since March to prepare it for new brewing equipment. The brewery’s fermenters and boiler are in place, and the company is waiting […]
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The FDA’s stick gets bigger
The United States Food and Drug Administration is getting a bigger stick to wave to help prevent food-borne illnesses. The FDA released three new rules last month to move from reactionary to preventive when it comes to food-borne illnesses. These rules come a little more than two months following the 28-year sentence of Peanut Corp. […]
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Inside Track: Barcheski understands importance of making, keeping connections
Shannon Barcheski has a career that proves true the statement that it’s not always what you know. Sometimes it’s who you know. Looking back on her career in sales, Barcheski — now general manager of the new in-home, non-medical senior citizens care provider Senior Helpers of Grand Rapids — says she’s where she is today […]
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Fellowship connects GROW, Costa Rica
If there’s one person who’s especially thankful Michigan’s weather stayed warm so late in the fall, it’s Selenia Rodríguez Vargas. Rodríguez Vargas, who hails from San Ramón, Costa Rica, has been in Grand Rapids since Aug. 15 on a four-month international fellowship with Grand Rapids Opportunities for Women, 25 Sheldon Blvd. SE. She has been […]
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Copyright infringement cases take a personal turn
Chris Baldwin, the University of Michigan sophomore whose utter shock and bewilderment was broadcast across the country repeatedly following Michigan State University’s defeat of U-M in the last 10 seconds of a football game last month, is now playing a starring role on a T-shirt produced by an Ohio company. Though not an official Ohio […]
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Medical marijuana law may receive upgrades
A series of three bills that passed through the Michigan House and are now expected to be taken up by the Senate would enhance the state’s medical marijuana law, possibly paving the way for lucrative business ventures. The bills, HB 4209, HB 4210 and HB 4827, would establish regulations for licensed dispensaries, allow for edibles […]
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New distillery for downtown Muskegon
Michael Brower’s great-great-grandfather opened a saloon in Ely, Minnesota, in the early 1900s, before being thrown from a beer delivery wagon and dying in 1913. Following his death, Brower’s great-great-grandmother took over the saloon, which converted to a “candy shop” during Prohibition, Brower said. “Remarkably, that candy store managed to put five girls through college […]
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Meritage is ready for another helping
Within about a mile of the Medical Mile, Meritage Hospitality Group has three restaurants under construction. The publicly traded company has more than 150 restaurants across the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and South, and is doubling down its efforts locally. Included in the Grand Rapids construction are the now-underway renovation of the Michigan Street Wendy’s and two […]
