In the News

Airports matter when it comes to a region's economic development. But more important than the cargo they transport is the people. Richard Florida breaks it down for you.

Excerpt:

Airports have a bigger effect on economic development by moving people as opposed to cargo. Both the number of passengers and flights are related to economic output, wages, and incomes. However, we find little association between any of the above and cargo.

Airports are also closely associated with key characteristics of knowledge-based or post-industrial economies. Both the number of flights and passengers are correlated with the percent of adults that are college grads, the share of the workforce employed in knowledge-based, professional, and creative class jobs, and even more so with concentrations of high-tech industry. Again, we found little association between such factors and the amount of cargo that passes through metro airports.

Read the rest here.

There are all sorts of industry awards but it's nice to know that a Metro Detroit company is ranked tops with regard to how it treats and the opportunities it provides for its employees.

Excerpt:

"This past year has been exciting at Nuspire with the company amassing awards at a breakneck pace. In late 2011, for a third consecutive year, Nuspire was awarded a “Top Workplace” honor by the Detroit Free Press, and in January 2012 they won the “North America Frost & Sullivan Award for Entrepreneurial Company of the Year."

Nuspire has also been aggressively filling team positions as it keeps pace with its growing customer demands for managed network security services. Current open positions include: network engineers, national account executives, inside sales, application developers, and project managers."

Read the rest here.

"Here she comes, Miss Michigan..." Sterling Heights and Metro Detroit's Arab American community was in the house at The 2012 Miss USA pageant.

Excerpt:

"The Miss Michigan contestant competing in this year's Miss U.S.A pageant is a Chaldean American from metro-Detroit. Miss Michigan Kristen Samantha Danyal, 21, is from Sterling Heights. She's a Chaldean American, and a student at the University of Detroit Mercy where she was expected to graduate in May with a degree in business marketing. Initially she planned on becoming a physician's assistant, but that changed after her experience as Miss Michigan Teen USA 2009. "

Read the rest here.

They come from Pontiac, Ferndale, Troy, Rochester and more. Businesses that are giving Detroit's Woodward a whirl. Why? Short-term rent agreements that let these Metro Detroit businesses test Motown's economic waters.

Excerpt:

"Jon Hughes sees a lane of opportunity in Detroit. As the owner of Downtown Ferndale Bike Shop, he would like to sign a two-month lease in Detroit for space where he can test the urban trails and side streets for interest by city residents and workers in a full-service, cycling aficionados store.

Read the rest of the story here.

With the mind-blowing success of superhero cinema --ahem, The Avengers-- and last weekend's Motor City Comic Con it's about time we checked in on the local comic book scene.

Excerpt:

"What is Detroit Tradecraft?

They're a local organization that's reaching out for creative collaboration and invention among artists, authors, designers and other creators in the Metro Detroit area.

Right now, they're just stretching their legs into the comics arena. They have two issues of a comic, "The Door," that we've edited and published together. You can think of it as a cross between "The Wizard of Oz" and an African folktale.

The other project, Heather Spraga's "Angel Cry," is a gothic fantasy [graphic] novel about a young woman who finds out not only is the world not quite what it seems to be, but her place is far different than she could ever imagine."

Read the rest here.

In celebration of last week's American Craft Beer Week HuffPo featured the best of Metro D's brews in a wonderful photo essay. Feel free to heartily voice your support or angrily disagree.

Excerpt:

"There's all sorts of good beer news on the far side Michigan: Grand Rapids just tied Ashville, N.C., in a widespread online poll for the title of Beer City USA.

But you don’t have to drive west, or to Asheville, to get great craft beer. There's plenty of breweries in Detroit and the metro area."

Read the rest here.

Two words: Mobile learning. Could be the future. And Royal Oak-based Innovative Learning Group took home a Gold Hermes Creative Award for their multi-part learning series.

Excerpt:

"Royal Oak-based Innovative Learning Group has won a Gold Hermes Creative Award in the categroy of E-Communication Series for its email and video series, Mobile or Not…Here It Comes!, which is about applying mobile technology to learning."

Read the rest here.

BUT WAIT, there's more. Brogan beat out 11,000 other competing entries to win Telly Awards.

Excerpt:

"he Telly Awards, the premier award honoring local, regional and cable TV commercials and programs, video and film production and online commercials, has named Brogan & Partners a multiple winner of its 33rd annual awards. Brogan & Partners is honored to have its projects selected among nearly 11,000 entries from all 50 states and numerous countries. The announcement was made by Brogan Managing Partner, Ellyn Davidson.

Two Brogan & Partners projects – “STEM Interview” on behalf of the National Defense Education Partnership and “Secondhand Rose, Secondhand Smoke” on behalf of the Michigan Department of Community Health – were honored, the latter in two separate categories. “STEM Interview” received a Silver Telly, the Awards highest honor, in the not-for-profit category. “Secondhand Rose, Secondhand Smoke” was awarded both a Silver Telly in the public service category and a Bronze Telly in the not-for-profit category. "

Read the rest here.

Thomson Reuters selected Beaumont Hospital in Troy as one of the nation's premiere care facilities.

Excerpt:

"Beaumont Hospital, Troy was recently named one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals by Thomson Reuters. The recognition is based on a hospital’s overall organizational performance. This marks the ninth time Beaumont has been recognized as a top hospital.
The Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals® study evaluates performance in 10 areas: mortality; medical complications; patient safety; average patient stay; expenses; profitability; patient satisfaction; adherence to clinical standards of care; post-discharge mortality; and readmission rates for heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia. The study has been conducted annually since 1993."

Read the rest here.

This just cool. Really cool.

Watch.



The Free Press explains...


"A Birmingham design studio called Pluto released a 45-second video on YouTube that will knock your socks off. Pluto (hellopluto.com) is a media company that creates CGI content for television commercials, websites and other applications. They’ve been in Birmingham for 15 years."

What do Danny Thomas, David Alan Grier, Elizabeth Berkley, Robin Williams, Lily Tomlin, Mary Lynn Rajskub, George Peppard, Lee Majors, Gillian Anderson, Matthew Lillard, Casey Kasem, and Michael Moriarty have in common? If you said "The MItten" you are correct.

The bigger question is who did they miss (ahem Kristen Bell and Bruce Campbell)?

Excerpt:

"IF YOU PREFER MICHIGANDERS WITH A FLAIR FOR DRAMA: Watch Detroiter Della Reese in "Touched By an Angel," fellow Motown native Tom Skerritt in "Picket Fences," Lansing's Timothy Busfield on "Thirtysomething" and Mary Lynn Rajskub of Trenton on "24." Enjoy a bit of medicine with that drama? Examine Birmingham's Christine Lahti on "Chicago Hope" and Dearborn-raised Chad Everett on "Medical Center." Want some good-guy-versus-bad-guy action? Check out Dearborn High School grad George Peppard in "The A-Team," Grand Rapids-raised Gillian Anderson in "The X-Files," Detroiter Ted Raimi in "SeaQuest DSV" and "Xena: Warrior Princess," Mt. Clemens-born Dean Cain in "Lois & Clark" and Wyandotte's Lee Majors in "The Six Million Dollar Man" and "The Fall Guy."

Read the rest here.

So, you can look at this week two way: Either you will get a great work out, lower your carbon footprint, and enjoy the virtues of alterernative transportation first hand OR you can experience our current bike routes and lanes and see how much Metro Detroit needs to improve bike accessibility and commit to their success. Win win.

Excerpt:

"n fact, Mike is part of a growing trend. On average, the rate of bike commuters has increased by 39-percent between 2000 and 2010. The national average is about 0.6-percent of the population, but in bicycle friendly communities, the number is much higher. Many are realizing it's good for your body, the environment and your wallet."

Watch and read the rest here.

A recent NY Times article about how small businesses found success through expansion during the recession uses Rochester-based Bandals as an example for how it's done.

Excerpt:

"Lots of people advise staying aggressive during a difficult economy, but spending money when times are tough can be scary. This small-business guide looks at how Bandals and two other companies managed to do it.

CONSIDER NEW MARKETS When Mr. Sesti decided to focus on increasing revenue, his first thought was to find ways to balance the seasonality of Bandals, which sell best in warm months."

Read the rest of the story here.

The Detroit metro area frequently ends up on one list or another... and the designations aren't always flattering. This time, however, the word is not only good it's well-deserved. Simply said: Our airport rocks. Now, if only we could get some good public transport to it. Then we'd truly rank as a world class hub.

Excerpt:

"Detroit’s airport is at the top of its game, ranked No. 1 in terminal cleanliness, design, location, lounges, and business centers. It came in third for service and staff communication and fourth in baggage handling. As Delta’s second largest hub and the carrier’s primary gateway for Asia, that’s no mean feat. The airport fell short only when it came to public transportation options—not surprising considering you’ve landed in the Motor City."

Check out which two airports ranked higher here.

In a benchmark study, the Mitten's universities prove to be world class breeding grounds for new talent, on par or out-competing with tops schools around the nation. Now let's get to work on keeping them here.

Excerpt:

The annual report commissioned by the URC, shows the URC's member institutions – Michigan State University, the University of Michigan and Wayne State University -- remain competitive as research hubs and as economic engines when compared with university consortia across the U.S., said Jeff Mason, executive director for the URC.
...
The report compares the performance of the best-known groups of universities in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania against the URC. Each cluster includes three universities from the same geo graphical area that were selected based upon academic quality, research intensity and size of the institution.

Read the rest of the study here.

Given Metro Detroit's... ahem... spotty track record with developing alternative transportation, maybe we need to bring up the sex appeal of walking, biking, and rail. Atlantic Cities has a great piece on how transit needs a better branding campaign. Personally I like the idea of fruit-shaped bus shelters.

Excerpt:

"Can we make people look longingly at mass transit? Can we give biking and walking the aura of cool that has long been the province of the automobile? Or are buses doomed to be the butt of jokes, along with the city of Cleveland?

Nordahl has a raft of suggestions, many based on real-world efforts of transit officials and planners to lure people out of their cars. Some are whimsical (like slides in train stations, something they’ve actually tried in the Netherlands, or fruit-shaped bus shelters, which have popped up in Japan). Some are more substantive, such as making transit stations into great civic spaces, as in the case of the Transbay Transit Center, scheduled to open in San Francisco in 2017:"

Read the rest here.