You hear a lot about urban farming these days, especially here in Detroit. But what exactly would that mean? Is it the best choice for everyone? And how does it all come together?

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One proposal would bring a commercial farm to the city center, and be among the most ambitious urban farms we’ve ever heard of. The other would function similarly, but would train and employ former drug addicts, giving them work, earned income, and skills. A social venture of sorts. Great idea if it works, and if it’s a goal that’s honored. What I’ve seen, however, is that’s not always the case.

The other day, a writer proposed the idea that to rehab our cities, we need to  think twice before we demolish abandoned buildings. I agree with him, but Detroit has faced pretty swift depopulation, with no signs that people are coming back any time soon. So I say if the buildings aren’t going to be used by anyone, sure, tear 'em down and build a farm.

But what kind of farm? And who gets to work there?

Read the entire article here.

We got some leaky pipes here in Michigan and leaky pipes, unless patched, can really mess up your daily commute, or keep your kids out of school, or just plain destroy the infrastructure. So an Israel-based company is working alongside our state to help fix the problem.

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Representatives from Israel-based Miya will work side by side with experts in Michigan to help identify faulty pipes, and leaks, and will together develop ways to go about fixing problems.

Project organizers say they plan to expand the program to the entire Michigan region to help stimulate jobs in water engineering, maintenance, installation and manufacturing.

"As these projects expand, we will train more Michigan workers and develop expertise that we can export nationally and globally as well," said Lt. Gov. John Cherry at the official opening of Green Jobs for Blue Waters.

The initiative will not only create new jobs, but will in the long term save taxpayers money, as water savings translates to energy savings.

Read the entire article here.

Recently a GQ writer went on a 20,000-mile trek looking for the best pizza within 10 metropolises. He came to Detroit and three of them made it on the list. One of those was Farmington Hills' Weinstein's pizzeria.

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Weinstein grew up a short bike ride away from his shop, which back then was called Romano's. He went off to study at the Culinary Institute of America in New York, apprenticed himself to master pizza makers in New Haven, Conn., and came home to convert the masses to thin-crust works of art with crab, mozzarella, crushed garlic and lemon wedges.

At 10:30 one recent morning, he was adding undisclosed spices to a large vat of red sauce. Then he pulled out a tray of dough patties wading in olive oil, rolled them in flour and began hand-tossing them into crusts for the lunch rush.

"The wetter the dough, the harder it is to deal with," he says, "but the better the pizza."

Weinstein has the sort of build and wardrobe you want from your pizza maker: Khaki shorts, white T-shirt, a very large white apron.

He can rhapsodize about coal ("I call it buried sunshine"), perfectly cooked white crusts with brown spots ("The absolute epitome of what pizza is"), the true key to pizza ("It's about the toppings") and wait, the other true key ("It's about the edge").

Read the entire article here.

The partnership between DTE Energy and Gleaners to produce food for the needy has now grown to eight sites in Southeastern Michigan. They've added six new plots of land that will be used to grow fresh food for those in desperately need.

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DTE Energy and Gleaners started the program last year at substations in Auburn Hills and Plymouth Township, where more than 5,300 pounds of produce was grown with the help of volunteers from schools, community groups and religious organizations. More help will be needed this year.

"This year we're looking to greatly increase the yield," said Vince Dow, DTE Energy vice president, distribution operations. "We had an incredible response to the program last year and there is even more need for our harvests than ever before. We hope that groups and individuals will respond where we've expanded.

Read the entire article here.

Warren and Ann Arbor are in the same state... but that might be their only similarity. Fifty miles apart, Warren and Ann Arbor may be what Michigan was -- the manufacturing city of Warren -- and what Michigan needs to be -- the innovative, start-up saturated Ann Arbor.

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Innovative companies like Accio are common in Ann Arbor, home to the University of Michigan, where a highly educated population has created a burgeoning economy, and a street-corner conversation can develop into a company and create jobs.

Michigan's economic future rests on making the state look more like Ann Arbor, and less like Warren, 50 miles to the northeast, where factory buildings and warehouses built on the riches of the Big Three auto makers bear signs saying they are "priced to sell." The latest blow came earlier this month, when Chrysler LLC shut down its two plants in Warren as part of its bankruptcy filing.

Read the entire article here.

Michigan is transforming on so many fronts right now. There's the film industry and green technology and buy local and alternative energy. It could go so many directions or go all directions. However, at the Mackinac Policy Conference this week it looks like alternative energy will be heavily discussed as a way to pull Michigan out of economic hardship.

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As Michigan's alternative energy takes center stage this week at the Mackinac Policy Conference, the state's efforts to create a battery supply chain and pursue wind and solar companies are gaining attention.

Loch McCabe, founder of Ann Arbor-based Shepherd Advisors, one of the state's oldest renewable energy consulting firms, said his firm is spending an increasing portion of its time advising established manufacturers seeking to diversify. He said it's critical that they embrace a new mindset devoted to embracing entrepreneurialism and changing culture.

"Diversification is challenging, and it's especially challenging to companies that have not had to do that before or at least had to do that in significant ways," McCabe said. "It takes time, it takes a willingness to commit resources and it also takes a growth mentality, a willingness to not only get into a new industry but to grow with the industry."

Read the entire article here.

There are all kinds of tours. Music tours, museum tours, pub crawls (it's kind of like a tour), tours of duty, and even food tours. Enter Culinary Escapes, a food tour company here in the Great Lakes State. And they are close to home, too. Check out the Royal Oak experience. And if you go on a tour like this, you might want to wear your fat pants.

Excerpt:

I was a bit of a skeptic, at first, about the need for a walking tour -- to restaurants in Royal Oak, Mich., near Detroit Hip eateries in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak are within close proximity to one another. And I've never had much problem finding food.

But then I met up with our guide on this tour by Culinary Escapes, a company founded last summer. Marq Blanks handed us tiny earpieces with receivers we clipped onto our jackets.

And we soon were trailing behind him around town, through farm market booths, past charming bakeries, striking (even scandalous) sculptures and tempting eateries, feeling like a cross between campus tour-goer and undercover culinary spy as he transmits historic, food and celebrity trivia en route to each stop.

Read the entire article here.

Teletubbies were lovable and cute or like nails on a chalk board, depending on how old you were. Yet, it's hard to deny their popularity blitz in marketing and retail. Well, the guy behind that is coming to Michigan because of the tax breaks with another show: the Oogieloves.

The title sounds lovable and cute or like nails on a chalk board.

Excerpt:

Viselman has come from Los Angeles to Farmington Hills to produce a children's film called "The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure." As he describes the mood inside the building that serves as the movie's home base, he oozes enthusiasm.

"Oh my God, it's like maybe we should bring the Oogieloves to the Middle East. Maybe they'll solve the Middle East problems! It's a very unexpected, joyous place here," he says.

Viselman, 48, has been called a marketing genius for his role in the selling of the Teletubbies and Thomas the Tank Engine in America. He didn't invent those characters, but he helped make them must-have toys.

In 1998, the New York Times described him as "the whiz behind the 'Teletubbies' blitz." An Inc. profile from 2003 said "when he picked up the phone, the CEOs of FAO Schwarz and Toys 'R' Us took the call."

Read the entire article here.

Looks like that $10 million tourism campaign is paying off for Michigan in the form of a slight bump.

It's a little tongue-and-cheek, but, all kidding aside, it's great news for the state. Tourism activity saw a slight increase due to the marketing campaign that blasted the nation with something like, "You better come to Michigan!"

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There was a slight uptick in tourism activity -- a composite of hotel bookings, traffic counts, attendance at attractions and other factors -- during the first quarter, indicating that Michigan's third-largest industry may be stabilizing for the first time in two years.

Experts attribute the increase to a national advertising campaign that began this year, favorable weather and the array of attractions, such as sports events and recreational facilities.

Travel Michigan, the state's tourism marketing and promotions agency, spent $10 million this year on a slew of national television advertisements in addition to the regional and local billboard ads and radio spots it has been running for the past two years.

Read the entire article here.

You may have seen them before. Those commercials for Michigan where Jeff Daniels -- from the movie Dumber and Dumber -- says Detroit is pushing to become a "Green" peninsula. Well, a new study just came out stating that it might just be on its way as green jobs have been on the increase.

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According to the report, 41 percent of jobs are in clean transportation and fuels, followed by 23 percent in energy efficiency, 13 percent each in resource conservation and pollution prevention/environmental cleanup, and 9 percent in renewable energy production.

In the survey of private Michigan firms, a small sample of 358 companies found that those companies added more than 2,500 Michigan jobs from 2005 to 2008, a growth rate of 7.7 percent compared with an overall Michigan employment decline of 5.4 percent during the same period.

Of the jobs created within the sample, nearly 1,900 came from firms in renewable energy production, such as wind and solar energy-related manufacturing and installation.

Among the sample firms, about 70 companies appeared to have been created since 2005 and they added 600 jobs, "a much higher rate of startups than is seen in the overall economy," the report said.

The report found that 13 of the top 15 industries in terms of green jobs paid more than the private sector’s average $811 weekly wage, and 10 of those industries paid at least $100 per week more.

Read the entire article here.

A time of strife forces change and rethinking pretty much everything. With that said, GM and Ford have shifted their gaze toward the University of Michigan and its engineering department to tighten their relationship for research purposes.

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U-M's auto partnerships reflect the university's willingness to help contribute technological advancements as the suffocating auto industry is starving for cash. But it also shows that some major automakers are positioning their research operations to emerge from the crisis with new collaborative strategies designed to accelerate future technologies.

General Motors' engineering partnership with U-M has been formalized as the GM/U-M Institute of Automotive Research and Education. The institute includes the new Advanced Battery Coalition for Drivetrains, through which GM is investing $5 million over five years to develop new electric vehicle technologies.

Read the entire article here.

Wait, wait, wait... Don't leave Dearborn yet. There is a possibility you haven't seen it all, especially if you spend most of your time on the west side. You may have forgotten the gem that is East Dearborn. Or you may have just passed through that little gem. Either way, you should get out and explore the businesses, the restaurants, and the sidewalks of East Dearborn.

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While there are vacant suites, as there are in any downtown today, East Downtown Dearborn is a beautiful business district. Visitors will find new sidewalks, landscaping, tucked-in on-street parking spaces and more.

Business owners there wisely decided to keep paying the special assessment district fund and due to their foresight, east downtown has free customer parking.

Boettcher and I visited the M&M CafÈ across from City Hall, owned by Maurice and Elaine Ltief. The food and service was incredible, and M&M CafÈ is a restaurant I highly recommend to anyone looking for great food and service at reasonable prices.

I also spoke with Ron Amen, director of the Arab American National Museum, across from City Hall. Many people do not realize its affiliation with the Smithsonian. It is also the first museum in the world devoted to Arab-American history and culture. What it offers Dearborn, and America, is incredible and can clear up many misconceptions pertaining to our wonderful Middle Eastern neighbors. Visit the museum's Web site at http://www.arabamericanmuseum.org/ to find out more.

Read the entire article here.

While MTV was busy pimping out rides, Ferndale businesses were busy pimping out their pots. Yeah, pimped out pots. What the heck does that mean, you ask? Well, a new Ferndale DDA program is asking local businesses to snazz up a flower pot to not only bring more green to downtown but to pimp it out a bit. And by pimp, we mean snazz.

Don't take it literally.

Excerpt:

With its new "Pimp Your Pot" program, the Downtown Development Authority's design committee is encouraging all downtown merchants to put their personality on the sidewalk by creating a "pimped-out" flowerpot for their storefront and helping the blossoms flourish all summer long.

The ultimate goal, said DDA Executive Director Cristina Sheppard-Decius, is to bring more greenery to downtown Ferndale. But it is also an opportunity for business owners to express themselves creatively.

"We're looking to bring some artistic elements to the downtown," she said. "This will hopefully add some flavor of what the city is all about. On display in front of our businesses, there will be living, growing plants that add to the vegetation of the downtown and give people a sort of buffer zone before they step into traffic."

Read the entire article here.

Kids in Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties are getting a little help from the Michigan Youth Appreciation Foundation. The program has assisted college kids in paying for school and finding jobs. Two things that are very much in demand right now.

Excerpt:

The Michigan Youth Appreciation Foundation has launched a new program in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties aimed at keeping youth in college and helping them find jobs.

The foundation was launched in 1990 to provide partial scholarships of $250 to $1,500 to high school students from the three county area.

Since then, it's given out more than 650 scholarships totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars, said Edward Deeb, president and CEO of the Michigan Food and Beverage Association and chairman of the foundation.

Read the entire article here.

In the next few years Michigan could start to look like Holland - the country across the ocean - with all the windmills that could crop up. And, yes, though windmills are aesthetically pleasing, they could power Michigan into the top 20 wind powered states and create a ton of energy. Well, maybe not a ton, but a whole lot of megawatts.

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Michigan, with only five wind farms, ranks 22nd in wind power generation, trailing far behind Minnesota, Iowa and California. Three of Michigan's wind farms opened last year.

Less than 1 percent of Michigan's total electricity is generated from wind power. But the potential is far greater, industry analysts say. One industry report says Michigan could rank among the top 20 states in wind energy production, churning out 7,460 megawatts -- enough to power 1.9 million to 2.2 million homes a year.

During the next five years, between 1,000 and 1,700 new wind turbines could crop up to meet the state's requirements, said Stanley Pruss, director of Michigan's Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth.

"That's the floor, not the ceiling," said Pruss, noting its development will dovetail with breakthroughs in battery technology and new uses for the energy grid.

Read the entire article here.

Read another article about Michigan's wind power creating jobs here.

Royal Oak is considering a medical marijuana growing zone and requiring sellers to push the product out of a storefront. Stoners, hold on to your bongs -- this would be for medical purposes only.

Excerpt:

"It will allow patients a safe, reliable place to access their medicine," said medical marijuana user Nicholas Schantz.

The Royal Oak Planning Commission is considering a zoning ordinance that would make it mandatory for medical grass growers to sell their plant product in a store front dispensary in the city's busy business district.

"It's the wave of the future, and the economy in this segment is really going to boom. Michigan needs jobs right now and this is one way to put Michigan on the cutting edge of an exciting new industry," Schantz said.

Read the entire article here.

A Chicago Tribune writer skipped San Fransisco and came to Ann Arbor to stuff himself. What he found was 28 square miles of comfort and comfort food. To say he bit off more than he could chew might not be accurate 'cause, well, he finished everything on his plate... or at least it sounded like he did.

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Ann Arbor -- after Disney World, the second-happiest place on Earth.

A tear forms in my eye as I stand in line for a cheeseburger here, in Ann Arbor, a true Midwestern Eden, 28 square miles of quaintness, boasting eight species of turtle, two canoe liveries and countless men still sporting ponytails. Ann Arbor, I think to myself, is proof there exists a place in this world where the quality of small things still matters. Things such as comfort and food. To be honest, I am sitting as I think this; my girlfriend is standing in line. I twisted my ankle while leaving the bed-and-breakfast.

My leg throbs.

"Got to stand, no saving tables," the guy at the counter says, an edge in his voice.

We're in a small shack of a burger joint, Krazy Jim's Blimpy Burger. Its motto is nice: "Cheaper Than Food."

Read the entire article here.

A great man once said: "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today." That great man was Wimpy, from the Popeye cartoons. That sentiment, in a way, can be applied to this one: If we invest now in green energy we will get paid in the future.

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Green jobs pay more than the average private-sector job, the report found. Some of the state's top greening industries, such as utilities and chemical manufacturing, paid more than $1,000 per week or $50,000 per year, well above the average weekly wage of $811.

"We have good jobs. We have a growing sector," said Andy Levin, deputy director for Michigan's labor growth department.

He said Michigan's renewable energy production -- jobs in areas such as wind and solar manufacturing -- added nearly 1,900 jobs from 2005 to 2008, a growth rate of 30 percent.

The industry's growth, however, isn't without challenges. A near-frozen credit market has stalled work orders for wind- and solar-energy equipment and stifled new green business ventures.

"There is a liquidity crisis even for good, solid companies working in this space," said Stanley Pruss, director of the Department for Energy, Labor and Economic Growth. "We're confident that once liquidity unfreezes and money starts flowing, things will pick up."

Read the entire article here.

    Just like the buffalo that need an open prairie to roam, entrepreneurs need an open area to create. And if Michigan can't create that space here, our beloved entrepreneurs may roam to greener pastures.

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Michigan must create an entrepreneur-friendly economy by lowering the cost of doing business for all firms, not just the favored few darlings of the moment. The state's policymakers have spent decades trying to pick the winners (automation, biotech, green energy) that would rescue the state from its dependency on automotive manufacturing. But policy makers and elected officials do not "create jobs" or industrial sectors -- businesses and entrepreneurs do.

Anyone serious about promoting wealth-creating entrepreneurship must at some point direct attention toward how the moral, legal and political environment aligns incentives. Entrepreneurship -- like everything else -- doesn't exist in a vacuum. It's long past the time we stopped pretending it does.

Read the entire article here.

How about a little star-gazing? No, not the big or little dipper. We're talking Clint Eastwood, Drew Barrymore, and Rob Schneider... the real stars. Not those combustible balls of gas 17 zillion miles away. Well, that's what a lot of people have in mind, in a way. Go to where the stars are. And this star-gazing/movie tourism industry could be growing here in Michigan as more and more projects make their way into the state.

Excerpt:

About 32 feature-film projects, with a combined $172 million in production budgets, were made in Michigan in 2008, thanks to a generous incentive program that provides up to a 42 percent tax rebate for qualifying film costs spent in the state.

A recent Michigan State University study suggests it won't be long before the activity translates into tourism -- something right up the alley of Rick Hert, who doubles as the film commissioner at the West Michigan Film Office and executive director of the West Michigan Tourism Association.

Read the entire article here.