Detroit: Southeast Michigan's tech demand darling

05/24/13 In first quarter 2013, Southeast Michigan saw more than 76,185 unique online job postings. That represents a 38 percent increase over fourth quarter 2012 (to be expected — hiring tends to decline during the holiday season) but a 7.7 percent decline compared to a year ago. Several of the region's key occupational clusters, including health care and advanced manufacturing, saw modest declines in job postings (occupational demand) over that time period. Of the Southeast Michigan occupational …more »

Nobody will tell you your website sucks

05/24/13 Does your website contain incorrect capitalization or punctuation, misspellings, unclear ideas, cliches or bad grammar? “Of course not!” you reply indignantly. Nobody would deliberately put mistakes out there for the world (this the WORLD Wide Web) to see, right?   Then why do I see so much of it? The fact is, if your website was an employee, you’d fire it. “What would you do with an employee in your sales, public relations, marketing or advertising department who, …more »

Snyder transformation manager defends financing, mission of Education Achievement Authority

05/22/13 One of the key architects of the controversial Education Achievement Authority said many misconceptions still persist about its financing, its ultimate goals and whether it has taken money from Detroit Public Schools. Gov. Rick Snyder's transformation manager, Rich Baird, was involved in the formulation of the blueprint, design, execution and financing of the EAA, he said. The EAA is a new school system that began operation last year and put Detroit's 15 worst …more »

Fishing for a blue economy

05/22/13 When it comes to building the blue economy, there are few drivers more potent than fish. "We have an abundance of inland lakes in Michigan," says Jim Francis, fisheries biologist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. "Based on surveys, public lakes generate 20-50 angler hours per acre. So a lake like Kent Lake that is 1,000 acres in size generates 20,000 to 50,000 angler hours per year." That adds up to big business for restaurants, equipment outfitters, gas …more »

EPA considers extending lead paint regulations to commercial buildings

05/22/13 "[W]ater from clay pipes is much more wholesome than that which is conducted through lead pipes, because lead is found to be harmful for the reason that white lead is derived from it, and this is said to be hurtful to the human system." Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, De Architectura, Book VII (~15 B.C.) Buildings constructed before 1978 most likely has paint that contained lead. Normal repair or renovation activities can release the lead in lead-based paint and expose those …more »

The merger that wasn't meant to be: What happened with Henry Ford and Beaumont?

05/21/13 You have to feel a little sorry for the executives at Beaumont and Henry Ford. They spent hundreds of overtime hours meeting and strategizing on how they could best make the proposed merger work. Now we will never know whether the name of the new system was to be the Beaumont Henry Ford Health System, or the Henry Ford Beaumont Health System. Or maybe something esoteric and foreign like Ultimi Health System? But seriously, over the last six months as I have talked with many Beaumont and Henry …more »

Former state Dem chair Mark Brewer to blend law, consulting in new role at Goodman Acker PC

05/21/13 Mark Brewer, the former Michigan Democratic Party chairman of 18 years who stepped down in February to end a contentious battle for leadership with Lon Johnson, will blend political consulting with his labor law practice roots at Southfield-based Goodman Acker PC. Yes, that's the personal injury, medical malpractice, professional and premises liability law firm Goodman Acker, perhaps best known since 2007 for the ongoing local TV advertisements featuring …more »

Is Michigan prepared for a cyber attack?

05/21/13 Imagine someone hacking into our waste management system, causing millions of gallons of raw sewage to spill into our rivers, lakes and parks. Marine life across our lakes and rivers dies, the stench is horrible and diseases spread fast. This is a true story. In 2001, Vitek Boden was found guilty of hacking into Maroochy Shire's computerized waste management system. Over the last 12 years, attacks have become more sophisticated. In 2010, cyber experts discovered a malicious computer code, …more »

Key Snyder adviser prefers his place behind the curtain

05/19/13 Most people have probably never heard of Rich Baird and his behind-the-scenes role in Gov. Rick Snyder's administration, and he likes it that way. Baird's relationship with Snyder dates back more than three decades to when he gave Snyder his first job out of law school. The pair remained close over the years, and he is now one of the governor's most-trusted advisers, tasked with overseeing and leading some of the more complex assignments from behind the curtain. "I've frankly enjoyed …more »

Shortage of software professionals prompts new forms of training, education

05/24/13 As everyone who's recently tried to hire developers or interaction designers knows, there's an acute talent shortage in the U.S. This should be worrisome to everyone, given the importance of software to nearly all aspects of the economy, but is especially troubling for firms that rely on software for innovation. A recent article in Forbes goes so far as to say that we're seeing the rise of Developeronomics, an economic system based on the critical need for software and …more »

Second Papa Joe's market to open in downtown Detroit

05/20/13 Tony Curtis, founder of Papa Joe's Gourmet Market & Catering LLC, is doubling down in downtown Detroit. Curtis is opening a 9,000-square-foot Papa Joe's Gourmet Market inside the Renaissance Center to cater to workers in the building. Curtis said the focus of the Renaissance Center location will be on prepared foods, featuring pizza, pasta, Thai, sushi, cheese, charcuterie and a bakery, as well as a sit-down area. It will also have a small …more »

Use key messages to control your story

05/17/13 The TV reporter's in front of you with a camera and a microphone. How do you make sure that your important content winds up on the air and not on the virtual cutting room floor? Here's the secret: Only "60 Minutes" can roll video for as long as it takes to hang you. TV news reporters have to get on to the next interview. If you keep repeating the same thing over and over, they'll be forced to use it. Answer their question if you can. If you can't, answer the question you wanted them to ask. …more »

Need talent? What's your plan?

05/16/13 In April of last year, the Society for Human Resource Management and the AARP teamed up to survey 430 HR professionals. Of respondents, 71 percent said that, although losing skilled older workers could pose a problem in their workplace, their companies had not done any formal planning to address it. Meanwhile, 60 percent of those surveyed expressed that their companies had not undertaken even general workforce planning to understand and address …more »

Bing as Pistons coach? Ficano jokingly offers up a suggestion for Detroit mayor

05/16/13 Detroit Mayor Dave Bing's future plans were a topic of conversation …more »

Orr: 'We are going to start running a little bit faster now'

05/15/13 Forty-eight days into his tenure as Detroit's emergency manager, Kevyn Orr has a better grasp of the depths of the city's financial problems and he plans to begin rolling out specific actions to tackle those in the next couple of weeks. But while Orr said he remains "absolutely" confident he can get Detroit's money woes in order in his remaining 16½ months as EM, little of the 45-minute interview that I and Crain's editors had Wednesday with the former Washington, D.C., …more »

Party like it's 1920: Detroit City Distillery opening in Eastern Market

05/16/13 There is no indication that behind the prison-like door and graffiti-marred walls of an Eastern Market building, workers are transforming a former slaughterhouse into a prohibition-themed micro-distillery. The Detroit City Distillery, at 2462 Riopelle St., is 2,700 square feet and will feature a tasting room serving gin, whiskey and vodka, to start, when it opens as early as spring 2014. Seven young professionals, including a microbiologist, corporate attorneys, an accountant …more »

Snyder not surprised by findings in Orr's report

05/14/13 Gov. Rick Snyder did not find much surprising in the report issued this week by Detroit's emergency manager Kevyn Orr, but said the benefit to having it is that all the facts about the city's finances and related issues are in one place. And now there can be honest discussions about what the issues are and what needs to be done, Snyder said Tuesday morning at the Detroit Athletic Club as he addressed the Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. "It's no surprise …more »

Ingredients of successful entrepreneurs: 10 things to know

05/14/13 Last week, I was a guest speaker at Clippert Academy in southwest Detroit for their career day, where I spoke to 150 middle school students. Detroit-based Strategic Staffing Solutions organized over two dozen professionals from various backgrounds to come and enlightened the young minds. I spoke a lot about entrepreneurship and encouraged students to follow their dreams.  I told them about the different businesses that rent space from me at the 4731 Arts Incubator, which houses 31 urban …more »

Cyberterrorism: Pay attention to this new threat

05/13/13 On April 23, 2013 at 12:07 p.m., the Associated Press tweeted, "Two explosions in the White House, and Barack Obama is injured." By 1:08 p.m., the Dow had fallen 150 points, the price of crude oil had fallen, and U.S. government bonds briefly dropped. Fortunately, there were no explosions, our president was fine, and the Dow bounced back. That just shows you how powerful a simple hack of the AP's Twitter account can be. It's no wonder, then, that protecting the United …more »

Building a sense of place with green infrastructure

05/13/13 When you think of the term “water infrastructure,” any of the following might come to mind: massive water and wastewater treatment plants, miles of underground pipe delivering water to homes and businesses, more miles of pipe shuttling sewage to treatment plants, and huge basins holding runoff from parking lots and roadways. These features of traditional “gray” urban water infrastructure serve to maintain the health and safety of our communities. When adequately designed …more »