September 29, 2014
No immediate action planned on sexual orientation bill
LANSING — While leaders of the Republican majority in the Legislature say there will be no vote on the issue before the Nov. 3 election, Democrats have introduced a proposal to add sexual orientation and gender identity or expression to the state’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. The law already applies to discrimination in employment, housing […]
County health department gets largest federal grant
The Kent County Health Department has been awarded a Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health, or REACH, grant of $2.18 million dollars over the next three years, the largest grant ever directly awarded to the KCHD from the federal government. The money will be used to fight chronic diseases and reduce health disparities in […]
Food benefits program will get new fraud detection system
LANSING — Anti-fraud efforts by Michigan and other states should be ramped up to improve the integrity of the $73-billion-a-year Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, a new federal report says. The ability of states to detect, minimize and punish fraud has failed to keep up with the rapid expansion of the food benefits program for […]
State’s exporters enjoy significant summer resurgence
According to statistics compiled by the World Trade Organization, growth in global trade continued to grow at a moderate pace in July. In the first seven months of 2014, the value of world merchandise exports rose 2.6 percent to $9.9 trillion dollars from the same period in 2013. WTO’s trade statistics from January-July show the […]
Public Record
MORTGAGES Selected mortgages filed with Kent County Register of Deeds BLACK OAK INVESTMENTS LLC, The Bank Of Holland, Byron Plaza, Lot 16, $330,000 RIVER FRONT PROPERTY LLC, JP Morgan Chase Bank, Stewart & Ives Add., Lot 9, $300,000 IRISH TRUST, Wells Fargo Bank, Byron Twp., 4-5-12, $499,900 WEISS, Carlos et al, Founders Bank & Trust, […]
Kent County Health Department accredited by national board
The Kent County Health Department has received accreditation by the national Public Health Accreditation Board, only the second health department in the state to be accredited. The KCHD began preparations for completing the accreditation in January 2012. PHAB, with headquarters near Washington, is an independent nonprofit organization that administers the national public health accreditation program, […]
Training in hospice and palliative care a ‘huge need’
Hospice and palliative care are growing fields. Members of the baby boomer generation, a population of 76.4 billion, are reaching “old age” and putting a strain on palliative care and hospice programs like no other generation so far because of longer life expectancies and advanced treatment options. According to the National Hospice and Palliative Care […]
Why your sales process or sales system doesn’t work
Are you being forced to sell someone else’s way? Are you uncomfortable using a “system” of selling? I read a report yesterday stating that 70 percent of all sales systems and sales initiatives fail. I have no idea who created that number (personally, I use 74 percent for all my statistical reports), but the point […]
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Change Ups: GVSU appoints 2014-15 artist-in-residence
Grand Valley State University has selected internationally recognized visual artist Nayda Collazo-Llorens as the Stuart and Barbara Padnos Distinguished Artist-in-Residence for the 2014-15 academic year.The nine-month position offers an opportunity to teach and mentor students in the art and design department, and speak on campus and to the community. Collazo-Llorens has held residency positions in […]
Street Talk: The CON game is afoot
While a new attack on the Michigan Certificate of Need was waged again last week on behalf of the twice-rejected attempt by McLaren Health of Pontiac for a fancy tower in affluent Clarkston (see Comment on page 12), one notable cost containment advocate was missing. The Alliance for Health, which has represented local businesses and […]
Record Michigan commodities harvest predicted
(As seen on WZZM TV 13) Michigan is facing the possibility of a record harvest of corn and soybeans this fall, but those farmers are also facing the challenge of low prices, and rail transport shortages that can be traced directly to the oil and gas boom in the Western states. David Geers, president of […]
Initiative targets workforce assessment
A new initiative is leveraging an existing assessment tool in educational and workforce agency procedures to help employers validate job candidates’ work-ready skills. Individuals representing Talent 2025, Michigan Works!, educational institutions, Michigan employers and Gov. Rick Snyder met last week at Gentex Corp. in Zeeland to announce the launch of the Michigan Work Ready Communities […]
GVSU receives $30K grant for brewery safety program
A free interactive training module developed by Grand Valley State University for craft brewers has been renewed by a state-funded grant to improve alternative and additional education on safety and health education in the industry. The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a division of the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, announced Sept. 19 […]
Kent approves airport authority concept
The Kent County Board of Commissioners has given unanimous approval to the general concept of an airport authority being established to govern Gerald R. Ford International Airport instead of the current county board-appointed Aeronautics Board of Kent County. A couple of commissioners noted they assume the as-yet undefined airport authority, which is proposed to have […]
MAREC tenant plans West Michigan’s largest non-utility solar generator
Grand Valley State University has announced that a business incubator at the university’s Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center in Muskegon will build the largest non-utility solar generating project in West Michigan at Agritek Industries, a manufacturing company in Holland. Chart House Energy LLC will build the 505-kilowatt project, which will include 3,740 thin-film solar […]
Court upholds $800K tab for leaking underground tanks
LANSING — Michigan is owed more than $800,000 for cleanup costs, civil fines and administrative penalties for failure to properly remediate three sites with leaking underground storage tanks in Berrien County, the state Court of Appeals has ruled. The tab may rise if the state has to complete the long-delayed work, but the defendants have […]
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National study reflects regional end-of-life care concerns
To address the need to improve quality and access for end-of-life care across the country, communication and education prove to be pivotal for implementation. The Institute of Medicine of National Academies released a comprehensive assessment study Sept. 17 revealing prevailing concerns and disparities in the current delivery of end-of-life care throughout the United States, including […]
Agility Health attributes business growth to diversification strategy
With roots in West Michigan, a rehabilitation health care provider is seeing the fruits of its labor realized with $63M in revenue after a decade of developing partnerships and expanding throughout the nation. Agility Health, headquartered at 607 Dewey Ave. NW, Grand Rapids, released a corporate update last week highlighting business revenue of $63 million […]
IRA owners’ investment decisions may have tax risks
Washington is fond of studies and reports. There are reports and studies issued every day by the various agencies and departments in Washington in addition to those issued by Congressional committees. One of these reports grabbed my attention recently. On Sept. 16, the Governmental Accountability Office published a report on Individual Retirement Accounts. The report […]
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Low-sodium meat attracts health industry
Several years ago, Ada Valley Meat Co. listened to the health care industry, and this year it finally paid off in a big way. It’s good news in an industry struggling with high prices and increasing government regulation. In August, Ada Valley announced it has finalized a supplier agreement with Premier Inc., a group purchasing […]
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ArtPrize launches its first sustainability initiatives
ArtPrize kicked off its sixth year last week, and this year the annual open art competition, which will draw hundreds of thousands of attendees to downtown Grand Rapids over 19 days, has launched its first environmental sustainability initiatives. ArtPrize is focusing on two key areas: alternative transportation and waste diversion. Encouraging the use of alternative […]
Fences or flamingoes: Be sure you know your homeowner association rules
A new homeowner moves into a neighborhood governed by a private association, receives an invitation to a potluck that doubles as an annual meeting and shows up with a bottle of wine and a dish to pass. Feeling welcomed by the new community, the new homeowner starts paying dues, volunteering to help with neighborhood improvement […]
CON attack is costly to West Michigan businesses
Yet another health care system is attempting to circumvent the Michigan Certificate of Need process, and in so doing actually underscores the obvious necessity of Michigan’s process. Among the alliance of businesses and health care institutions that joined to protect the CON procedure during a Michigan Senate hearing last week, one was notably absent: the […]
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Inside Track: Chef turns his focus to teaching life skills to local youths
The charred remains of Tommy Fitzgerald’s boyhood home have served as an unlikely spark for helping to steer teens’ lives in a constructive direction — and the reason he recently closed his downtown café. Fitzgerald was 4 when his parents’ East Fulton Street home was engulfed in flames. Soon after that misfortune, his eyes were […]
Oil and gas production boosts Michigan economy
An American Petroleum Institute representative in Grand Rapids earlier this month said technological innovation in oil and gas extraction is “changing the entire vision of our energy future and opening vast new possibilities” for economic growth. Rayola Dougher, in Grand Rapids to speak at a meeting of the Michigan Oil and Gas Association at the […]
