In the News

Southfield's Benzinga featured in Windows 8

Crain's Detroit Business Thursday, November 01, 2012

Not that Metro Detroit's Benzinga needed validation, but becoming part of Windows 8 is a pretty hefty endorsement of what this dynamic Southfield Company is doing.

Excerpt:

"Benzinga, which has a multiyear contract with Microsoft Corp. to provide the Windows 8 Bing Finance section with content, is featured alongside larger media companies such as Reuters, Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal.

"They're billion-dollar companies," Raznick said. "We're in a good mix."

Benzinga also has contracts to provide content to Ameritrade.com, Tradestation.com and Forbes.com."

Read the rest here.

Best places to survive Metro Detroit's zombie apocalypse

CBS Detroit Thursday, October 25, 2012

Zombies are the new black. BUt where do you run to when granny starts craving your brains? Here's a list that's pretty good... but for some you better bring plenty of food and ammo with you.

Excerpt:

Grosse Pointe Yacht Club

Boasting a 187-foot steeple for monitoring any unauthorized visitors, many potential escape boats, three restaurants and four bars — this place could be a zombie survivalist’s dream. With access to fresh water and fishing on Lake St. Clair, a long-term stay wouldn’t be out of the question. Let’s hope we only need to lay low for six months or so for the zombies to either die of hunger or exposure.

Check out other great survival tips here.

Metro Detroit tech entrepreneur says region needs to be more experimental

mlive.com Thursday, October 25, 2012

David Tarver turned a basement business beginning into Telecom Analysis Systems, which was sold in 1995 to multinational British firm Spirent. He's written a book about his business philosphy and will be a speaker at Friday's TEDx Detroit.

Excerpt:

"“It’s very appropriate,” Tarver said. “Because there are a lot of needs that you can see in and around Detroit, and a lot of times we get hamstrung addressing those needs and being concerned with whether they’ll be successful or not. What we need is 100,000 experiments.”

Not all of the experiments will be successful in classic terms, he said, but all of them will help point to what should be done next, at the very least helping future generations."

Read the rest here.

Birmingham skaters to represent Team USA at the Nations Cup

Birmingham Patch Thursday, October 25, 2012

We can't say we exactly know what theatrical skating entails, but the Harmony Theater Company, based out of Hartland, will be representing the U.S.A. in Spain for the Nations Cup. We're guessing it's a bit more complicated than the stuff they do at Disney On Ice.

Excerpt:

"With 48 young skaters representing towns across Michigan, the skaters will perform a long program and short program in a combination of theater and skating.

“Theater on Ice is a combination of technical skating and theatrical skating, it’s like musical theater on ice,” coach Michelle Hunt said. “It’s done in six minutes and we can have up to 30 on our team and we tell a story from beginning to end.”"

Read the rest here.

Slinky celebrates its Metro Detroit roots

Delaware Online Thursday, October 18, 2012

What walks down stairs, alone or in pairs, and makes a slinkity sound? More importantly, did you know this 67 year-old toy (350 million units sold and counting) calls Plymouth home?

Excerpt:

"The classic toy, as much a part of generations of American childhoods as Red Flyer wagons and Barbie, calls Plymouth home. In 1998, the world-famous brand was acquired by a local company, now called POOF-Slinky, which has its roots in the automotive supplier industry."

Read the rest here.

The best places to watch the Tiger playoff games

The Huffington Post Thursday, October 18, 2012

Beer and baseball go together, well, like beer and baseball. So, where to get that beer while you're watching the Tigers during playoff season. The folks HuffPo have a few suggestions.

Excerpt:

"Are you a Detroit Tigers die-hard? A casual bandwagon fan? Or maybe you don't even like baseball. Wherever you fall in the lineup, click through the slideshow for our advice on where to park yourselves this playoff season (we even called "foul" on a few reputable venues that just aren't quite suited for your sports fan spirit). Also included are addresses and estimated walking distances from Google Maps to help pencil in your Tigers playoff plans."

Check out the slideshow here.

That parking spot doesn't belong to you

The Atlantic Cities Thursday, October 18, 2012

Some fascinating food for thought about our public right-of-ways and how we use them. Maybe it's time to reconsider why two-thirds of many streets are being used for parking instead of travel... or other purposes.

Excerpt:

"Think about it. Most of us in single family neighborhoods have a proprietary relationship with the street parking spot in front of their house. We think: "someone is parked in MY spot." This is understandable on a logical level when there is a foot of snow outside and someone has shoveled out a spot, but it's much less understandable when it's just part of the city right-of-way.

Given that people do have this relationship with the parking spot in front of their house, what if we enabled them to do something other than park there?"

Read the rest here.

Birmingham's downtown shopping district hits 96% occupancy

HometownLife.com Thursday, October 11, 2012

What a difference a decade makes. Birmingham's Principal Shopping District has not only seen a rebound in retail and the opening of new office spaces, but by creating a better mix of businesses and amenities, the city has seen their downtown become a shopping, dining, entertainment, and community destination.

Excerpt:

"Yet, a philosophical change had already taken shape in Birmingham. A concerted move toward creating a better mix with retail, eateries, residential, entertainment venues and office space for financial, banking, legal, advertising and marketing professionals reignited the downtown.

The improved mix of uses, however, was accompanied by ample parking, an increased number of citywide events, aesthetic improvements and increased marketing that today even targets Canada."

Read the rest here.

Metro Detroit IT firms get creative with hiring

The Detroit News Thursday, October 11, 2012

Metro Detroit's IT industry is growing in leaps and bounds and that means local firms must get creative about bringing in the talent they need to succeed.

Excerpt:

"Secure-24 is one of many Metro Detroit companies that are looking for creative ways to increase a local talent pool with a shortage of qualified IT workers.

"Demand is huge, and I think that in southeastern Michigan, the news is that we have in the past year doubled the requests (for IT workers) compared to Silicon Valley," said Alysia Green, director for talent development for Automation Alley, a technology business group in Troy."

Read the rest here.

Mitt-Mob busts a move at Royal Oak Farmers Market

Royal Oak Patch Thursday, October 11, 2012

Last Wednesday the "Mitt Mob" showed up at the Royal Oak Farmer's Market to shake their groove thing and bring their message of buying and supporting local businesses to the masses. Their slogan is "Keep the money in the Mitt."

Check out the video below.

State awards $5.25M to SE Michigan to fuel tech innovation

Crain's Detroit Business Thursday, October 11, 2012

Tech entrepreneurship doesn't just happen. Sometimes it needs a push or helping hand. The state has awarded strategic funds to organizations like the Institute for Research on Labor, Employment and the Economy at the University of Michigan, the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center in Plymouth, and the Macomb-Oakland University Incubator in Sterling Heights.

Excerpt:

"The awards, which are designed to help organizations fill gaps in entrepreneurial service areas, were among several items approved Thursday by the Michigan Strategic Fund.

A total of $3.25 million in assistance will help Next Energy in Detroit, the Macomb-Oakland University Incubator in Sterling Heights and the Michigan Small Business Technology & Development Center, housed at Grand Valley State University, to provide commercialization matching funds to companies receiving federal technology research grants. Next Energy will receive $700,000 over three years; Macomb-OU will receive $766,036 over two years, and the Small Business Technology & Development Center will receive $1.75 million for one year, according to state information."

Read the rest here.

Huntington Woods makes top ten list for city-loving burbs

MSN.com Wednesday, October 10, 2012

With the zoo in its backyard, tree-lined neighborhoods, and close proximity to Detroit, Huntington Woods ranks alongside Englewood, CA and Haworth, NJ for the tops in near urban suburban living.

Excerpt:

"No. 10 on the list is this Detroit suburb, also known as the "City of Homes," which was established in the early 1920s. One of the original developers was inspired by a trip to Huntingdon, England, and as a result, the streets and many historic homes have a distinctly British flavor. That also is reflected in street names such as York, Hereford, Huntington, Salem and Dundee."

Read the rest here.

Maybe transportation mandates are what we need

The Atlantic Cities Thursday, October 04, 2012

Public input and influence is an important part of our country's democratic process but sometimes it hinders necessary progress and yields stagnation. Nate Berg makes the case that when it comes to developing alternative public transportation systems maybe a little less democracy and a little more leadership may be needed.

Excerpt:

"Of the 225 metropolitan areas in the U.S. with populations above 100,000, those that show the most progress being made toward the widespread adoption of a multi-modal transportation diet are those located in states where comprehensive transportation planning is mandated. By looking at how transportation patterns changed between 1980 and 2008 in all these areas, Ohio State University researcher Anna McCreery found the most positive change in the places with top-down planning requirements."

Read the rest here.

Popular Mechanics gazes into crystal ball, sees an amazing 2025 Detroit

Popular Mechanics Thursday, October 04, 2012

You have to like an article that starts with "Detroit's comeback is not only inevitable, it's already underway." Makes you want to read more doesn't it? It's view of water and landscape is the stuff that dreams are made of.

Excerpt:

"Reemerging waterways and feral forests claim land left open by sharp population decline. Detroit goes green with planning that takes advantage of the city's unique ecology."

Read the rest here.

Crains picks this year's 40 Under 40

Crains Business Detroit Thursday, October 04, 2012

Come on, admit it, you were hoping you'd make the list of Crain's best and brightest for 2012. Well, maybe you know someone who did...

Here's a sample:

"Driscoll had worked in the restaurant business in California to get experience. But after a visit back to Michigan -- his and Christine's home state -- they decided Detroit was a better place to invest.

After nine months of searching for a property and then doing repairs on the one they bought on West Lafayette at 14th Street, Green Dot Stables opened in March. It didn't take long for word to get out about the sliders and fries."

Read the rest here.