In his accompanying essay, Jack writes:

It’s often tempting to bash Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson. He has taken cheap shots at Detroit for decades, and is our state’s number one unapologetic proponent of urban sprawl.

Yet he is a complicated man, and has had some good ideas. Automation Alley was one of the best. Even ten years ago, Patterson understood that we needed a different economic model. He told me then that he wanted to change the entire image of the region to that of a high-tech capital that could rival Silicon Valley or the research laboratories of Boston. That sounded fantastic – but Automation Alley has grown faster than most believed possible. Six hundred and fifty companies have joined, and the alley has spread to cover eight counties in Southeast Michigan, stretching from the Toledo border up to Flint and over to Ann Arbor.

Visit the Automation Alley web site.

Bridge by Kathy

The Center for Michigan sends a weekly email newsletter that takes a look at Michigan's problems AND potential solutions from a perspective that is neither Republican nor Democrat - ie. the approach that will probably be required to get our partisanly polarized political process back on the rails.

Rather than weigh you down with yet another list of reasons that we are doomed, Fresh Thoughts for Michigan Moderates offers brief summaries and great links for everything from a call by Nolan Finley to make Michigan a Right to Work state to some no-nonsense recommendations by the Michigan Campaign Finance Network:

Michigan's State government is lurching from one political crisis to the next. Imagine better politics. Imagine a better functioning democracy where every voice has equal standing, and every citizen feels the full responsibility of citizenship. Better politics should lead to better public policies and a clearer, more purposeful course for our future.

A Case for Political Reform in Michigan includes rationale for 33 political reforms in the areas of campaign finance, lobbying, ethics, term limits, redistricting, election administration, judicial independence and enforce.

This is quite simply the best email I receive and I cannot recommend it enough - register right here.

Leo Ocanas photo by J. Carl Ganter
with-these-hands.com

There is an ease in his heavily accented voice. Neither his accent nor his modesty, though, masks the smile in Leo Ocanas’s voice when he speaks about the Hispanic tradition in farming.

“The legend of the Hispanic people is work. Our ambitions come from farm labor,” Mr. Ocanas said recently. “It’s in the blood of migrants since they were little. We love farming because that’s all we know.”

Mr. Ocanas’s life perfectly illustrates his words. As a youngster, he came to the United States from Mexico with his family, his green card, and a readiness to harvest crops. Three decades, countless farms, and thousands of miles later, he became a U.S. citizen. He used $29,000 he had somehow saved while working for farm laborer wages as a down payment on 22 acres of farmland on Traverse City’s Old Mission Peninsula. Today he owns the largest apple orchard on the peninsula.

But Mr. Ocanas’s story also illustrates a brand-new phenomenon: the face of American agriculture is changing. While Mexicans form the largest group of what’s come to be called “new farmers,” others are also spurring the transformation—immigrants from Asia and Europe, women, retirees, even baby boomers looking for new careers. Together, these newcomers are gradually recasting the image of American farmers.

Many are helping to change how farming is done, too. Some use more labor-intensive, sustainable farming methods; some engage in community-supported agriculture, selling season-long shares of their produce to a limited list of customers; and ever more are tapping into local markets whenever they can...

New Faces, New Futures continued at MLUI.org »

Also see: With These Hands: The Ocanases (multimedia)

Quixote by Lantern Waste Studios

Right now, only 3% of Michigan's electricity comes from renewable resources. Michigan Public Service Commission Chairman J. Peter Lark says that raising the Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) is a good first move:

"A required RPS is a win-win proposition. It will encourage the creation of in-state jobs, reduce pollution and dependence on fossil fuels, diversify Michigan's fuel mix, and provide a measure of protection from potential expensive emissions regulations."

This is just a bit from a truly excellent article in the Metro Times that looks at the economics of alternative energy from the $18 billion that Michigan sends to other states and countries for coal, oil, natural gas and uranium imported to the sad fact that although Michigan is ranked as the 14th windiest state and California 17th, California has thousands of wind turbines while Michigan has exactly three. The Washington-based Renewable Energy Policy Project has estimated that if Michigan's potential for wind power were fully developed, more than 8,000 jobs would be generated.

Read Power in Play in Metro Times Detroit and also check out Michigan's 21st Century Energy Plan.

U-M North Campus Computer Science
Building by meanmustard1982

Phil Power writes that he recently had dinner with a group of bright, enthusiastic young people, all about to graduate from college and excited about their future ... and all planning to leave Michigan. He suggests that finding, attracting, nurturing and retaining talent is the single most important thing we can do - more important than any economic policy. He adds:

We're urging out-of-state businesses to locate here, which is perfectly fine. But when our greatest resources of all - our talented young people - are choosing to leave, we'd do well to begin by selling them on our future.

We need to sell them on what we've got to offer internally before we can convince the outside world, and we need to do so soon, before a steady trickle of young career professionals going elsewhere turns into an unstoppable flood.

Read Phil Power: Michigan Needs to Keep its Young Talent Here in the Enterprise Forum.

GVSU Cook-DeVos Center for
Health Sciences by docksidepress

The Great Lakes IT Reports says that the Van Andel Institute and Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids have formed a new joint venture, the Center for Molecular Medicine. The Center will offer molecular technologies for investigation of complex diseases like cancer, heart disease, mental illness and other conditions at the DNA, RNA and protein levels.

Daniel H. Farkas, Ph.D., a nationally respected leader in the field of molecular diagnostics, has been named Executive Director of the CMM. Richard C. Breon, President & CEO, Spectrum Health said:

"The Center for Molecular Medicine is an investment in the future of health care. It accelerates the drive toward personalized medicine – the tailoring of treatment based on molecular make-up. We are very fortunate to have an individual of Dan Farkas' caliber on board as we work to offer physicians and their patients the most advanced diagnostic treatment options available - options typically offered only at the nation's largest academic medical research centers."

More information at the Center for Molecular Medicine web site (also check out the news release).

Traffic Jammed by Paul Hitz

The Lansing State Journal reports that the inability Michigan's governor and lawmakers to come to an agreement that solves the state's budget crisis is not playing well on Wall Street. Standard & Poor's Rating Service lists Michigan is the only state with a negative credit outlook due to massive shortfalls in its current and upcoming budgets and a failure to pass a replacement for the expiring Single Business Tax. S&P Managing Director James Wiemken says:

"Michigan's credit outlook could be revised to stable if the legislature passes a tax reform package and addresses the remainder of the structural imbalance in the fiscal 2008 budget. From a credit perspective, this is probably the most important legislative session in more than a decade."

The report (not available on the Standard & Poors site) also notes that notes that the state has not been downgraded further in the face of a $900 million shortfall in the current budget and a $1 billion deficit in the next because the Granholm proposal addresses the state's structural deficit in the next budget year and "moves the state's revenue base over a broader and more stable part of the economy."

Read Analysts call on Michigan to solve budget crisis soon in the LSJ. The article includes links to Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, and that seems a very good place to begin.

Miners Castle by James Phelps

Clean Lakes Mean Good Jobs from the Michigan Land Use Institute alerted us to the fact that today is Great Lakes Day (I was unaware that there even was such a thing). MLUI's Andy Guy says...

...when Washington lawmakers will be hearing from supporters of the proposed $20 billion Strategy to Restore and Protect the Great Lakes. Governor Granholm needs to be there, pitching hard for the proposal. If passed, it would quickly generate thousands of short-term jobs for workers across the Midwest, accelerate the rejuvenation of Rustbelt cities, and permanently position the greater Great Lakes region to compete and win in the 21^st century global knowledge economy.

Restoring the Great Lakes ecology will have at least five very positive economic effects including leveraging needed private urban investment, guaranteeing long-term job retention, giving our entire region a competitive edge and spurring new industry. It would generate immediate (and critically needed) short-term job opportunities. A federal investment of $7.5 billion in sewer repairs could, all by itself, generate some 350,000 jobs in the regional construction industry and fully funding the $20 billion restoration strategy would generate thousands of additional jobs for blue collar workers and also scientists, contractors, skilled laborers, technicians, and an unknown number of related support staff.

Visit the Great Lakes Commission's site for Great Lakes Day. You can also view the Strategy to Restore and Protect the Great Lakes and a report by Healing Our Waters about the positive economic impacts of Great Lakes restoration.

Jennifer Granholm by C.A. Carrigan

WJRT-TV 12 Flint has complete video coverage of the first of Governor Jennifer Granholm's live town hall meetings and also video of the Republicans "counter-offensive" on the budget.

The Freep has an article that includes a schedule on these invitation-only events:

• Tuesday, March 6: Southfield, 7 p.m. on WXYZ-TV (Channel 7). View the archived broadcast from WXYZ.
• Wednesday, March 7: Grand Rapids, 7 p.m. on WOOD-TV (Channel 8). View WOOD-TV's broadcast and a ton of related links about the Governor's presentation and responses.
• Thursday, March 8: Lansing, 7 p.m. on WILX-TV (Channel 10).
• Monday, March 26: Traverse City, 7 p.m. on WWTV-TV (Channels 9 and 10)

We're interested in any comments you have about how Michigan should attempt to surmount our economic crises.

Chevy Volt Concept by GM Blogs

Here's a couple of nice articles that follow up on some past features on Absolute Michigan. The first, Getting a Jolt from Volt on the GM Fastlane Blog revisits the Chevy Volt (Detroit Auto Show: Chevy Volt an early darling). GM Chairman Bob Lutz writes:

...some cynics accused us of pulling a PR stunt, saying the Volt is simply an attempt by GM to “greenwash” the public and would never be a real vehicle. The truth is just the opposite — we are treating Volt just like any other vehicle we do, giving it a dedicated development team and designating resources for it. With that in mind, I thought I’d take a moment to update you on the program so far.

He proceeds to do exactly that and provides a nice update on the actions GM is taking to bring this plug-in hybrid to market.

The second (hijacked from Black Bear Speaks), AutoblogGreen visits the American Electric Vehicle factory - where the Kurrent is made (Spartan Edge test drives the Kurrent Electric Car). They take a tour of the Ferndale factory and also take a lot of great photos!

Thinking About Detroit by DA2Brian

Model D has a video feature (below) and an accompanying story (Big Ideas for Shrinking Cities) on the Shrinking Cities exhibit at MOCAD and Cranbrook (also see shrinkingcities.com). The exhibit runs through the end of March at the new MOCAD museum in Midtown Detroit and the Cranbrook art museum in Bloomfield Hills. According to exhibitcurator Mitch Cope (who also curated the Detroit section of the original show in Berlin in 2004):

The show intends to start a necessary conversation about things we don’t want to talk about, but we need to. Shrinking Cities presents the full spectrum of complex issues that don’t have simple solutions. How do you reinvent a city? How do you bring life back to a place where life is disappearing? The answers are clearly not in trying to reverse history, in the gentrification of neighborhoods or building sports stadiums that say nothing real about the place they inhabit. This exploration process is a good thing, and this show does it by presenting it on a vast, multi-layered platform.

Good questions. Anyone care to offer any answers?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Mixed Signals by Darryl Wattenberg

The Detroit Free Press has a video feature University presidents talk Michigan's economic woes, wherein Michigan State University president Lou Anna Simon, University of Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman and Wayne State University president Irvin Reid discuss how our universities play a role in surmounting the state's economic challenges.

In related news, 15 of the 20 lowest-ranking states in making the transformation from transformation from "smokestack chasing" to a global, knowledge and innovation-based economy are in the Midwest & Great Plains, according to The 2007 State New Economy Index Report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF). It may come as a shocker to find that one of the Midwest states NOT among the lowest ranking is Michigan.

Michigan Radio's Jack Lessenbery spoke with Robert Atkinson of the DC-based ITIF. Atkinson says that Michigan has been a national leader in putting in place policies knowledge development, entrepreneur capital, education and workforce re-training. Atkinson's relatively upbeat assessment came with a downbeat caveat that turning around a huge economy like the state of Michigan will take time.

You can get the complete report, The 2007 State New Economy Index: Benchmarking Economic Transformation in the States, from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.

Detail: Doors, McGregor Public Library
by pinehurst19475

In a recent column in the Lansing State Journal and again on Michigan Radio, futurist and former Michigan Secretary of Commerce Lou Glazer says we need to ask Where do we want to go from here? What sort of economic future do we want to have? and What will policies we pursue make us into? He looks at Minnesota and Alabama as possible futures, saying:

Alabama has the lowest combined state and local taxes in the nation, ranking 50th in both taxes as percentage of personal income and taxes per capita. They have the lowest taxes - and a per capita income $3,000 less than Michigan.

Minnesota's per capita taxes are $1,400 higher than Alabama - but its per capita income is $7,700 a year higher than Alabama. So much for the theory that low taxes leads to a strong economy!

The bottom line: You can't get Minnesota's economy by adopting Alabama's policies.

Read Glazer: What's the model - Alabama or Minnesota? in the LSJ and listen to Lou's interview with Jack Lessenberry. You can then read Jack's essay Michigan's Future in which he proposes the scandalously liberal concept that high taxes make for more interesting places to live and work. There's a comment there about thinking of "taxes" as "user fees" that makes a great point.

Bring Back Rail Transit by B. Rizzo

As Grand Rapids enjoys a bit of an economic boom, the city is looking to continue to grow and attract by revitalizing the face of public transportation, with streetcars.

Andy Guy of the Michigan Land Use Institute explains in his recent article Agency Endorses Grand Rapids Streetcar.

Emboldened by rave reviews from a delegation sent to Portland, Ore., to study the economic effects of that city’s highly popular streetcar system, the board of directors of Grand Rapids’ regional public transit agency has voted to approve accelerating the study and design of a similar system of its own.At the same meeting, held two days ago, the board that directs the regional system, known as The Rapid, also took two other steps: It decided to ask local voters to approve a property tax increase to improve existing bus service, and directed its staff to pursue federal funding for constructing a new “rapid bus” system.

The three decisions are meant to enhance urban mobility, unleash another wave of private downtown investment, and boost economic competitiveness in this rapidly de-industrializing Midwestern city, which is working to transform itself into a major player in the burgeoning global knowledge economy.

The board’s action is another step forward in a long, arduous effort that could eventually lead to the construction of a proposed 2.4-mile streetcar system that would circulate throughout the central city. The currently proposed route would link commuters to a convention center, an arena, numerous bars and clubs, new hotels and residences, and several other popular destinations in the city's central business district.

The project, estimated to cost approximately $69 million, is strikingly similar in terms of scale and cost to a number of streetcar systems already built or underway in cities across the United States. Portland’s, for example, cost $54 million, is 4.8 miles long, and in 10 years stimulated nearly $3 billion in new downtown investment, including the largest economic development project in that city’s history.

"Wherever the track goes down becomes ground zero for massive development," said former Grand Rapids Mayor John Logie, one of the local leaders who went to Portland to study the streetcars and their effect on that city. "But private investment ripples about four blocks away on either side of the streetcar line. So you want to go where development has yet to occur.

Read the full story, and then check out Guy's special series Growing Grand Rapids.

Article reprinted with permission from the Michigan Land Use Institute.

Abandoned GM Powertrain Plant,
Bay City, MI by Latitude45

The Detroit Free Press reports that Charles Gibson of ABC's World News will broadcast live from metro Detroit tonight and Tuesday. Tonight's broadcast will be live from Ford's historic Rouge plant and include a visit to GM's design center and interviews with Ford's Alan Mulally and General Motors' Rick Wagoner. Tuesday will look at life after taking a buyout.

Gibson will also be moderating a live town hall meeting on the state of the US auto industry at 8 PM tonight on WXYZ-TV.

UPDATE: You can watch the Automotive Town Hall Meeting and see the webcast from after the show at WXYZ. They had a pretty good panel and it's well worth watching!

reaching to the moon by oldbrushes

As the state's auto industry takes one hit after another, Michigan residents now have one more reason to consider heading back to the farm, corn-based ethanol. Today's cover story in the Lansing State Journal looks at how corn may change the face of automotive fuel.

The rising emergence of ethanol-producing plants here in Michigan are causing motorists, farmers, and government officials all to sit up and take notice. The state's second-largest industry, agriculture pulled in $61 Billion last year, and stands to radically grow with increased demand for corn.

Economists credit ethanol with raising average corn prices more than a $1 a bushel in the past year. If crop yields stay stable, that means the harvest of an 80-acre corn field this fall could be worth nearly $40,000 more than in 2005.

Even with the good news, an MSU study released last month explains how this boom could negatively affect the price of other things like how much you pay for that steak.

For more on Michigan's Corn Industry, you can check out Michigan Corn Online and the Department of Agriculture has a fun fact-filled Kidz Korner all about Michigan's corn.

The current version of Introduce Your Michigan Business or Organization is right there.

View from above Traverse City by MatrixWarrior

The Michigan Land Use Institute has an article on a new, community-based visioning process to help residents design what six northwest Michigan counties can look like in the coming decades. The process will involve widespread citizen participation and workshops across the region. It will be led by one of the most respected planning firms in the country, Fregonese Calthorpe Associates. The firm is a leader in the new planning movement that is occurring nationally and globally in metropolitan regions and their sucesses include Envision Utah, a project designed to help Salt Lake City deal with the 3 million plus new residents expected to arrive in the next 50s years.

Read What will go where? from the MLUI (also has detailed information on the project and team members).

Shapiro Geometry by anikarenina

Issue Media Group (publishers of Model D and other emagazines) have launched their latest internet publication, metromode. The publication delivers engaging articles, videos and excellent photography on Ann Arbor and Michigan's new tech corridor.

ePrize, based in the Royal Oak area, is the largest internet promotion agency in the world. In the video below, company founder Josh Linkner says there is phenomenal talent in the Detroit region and talks about how the company is helping to create a "reverse brain drain" by creating a tangible success story and attracting employees to the region.

Visit the ePrize web site.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Stutsmanville Road Bog by latitude45

The Detroit News reports that while turning corn into ethanol is the current fad, a team of Detroit researchers say that peat is a more economical and environmentally friendly fuel source.

The scientists, from University of Detroit Mercy and Wayne State University, are working to develop what they call "pethanol" to run small, fuel-cell-powered vehicles such as golf carts and riding mowers.

Because peat forms naturally and requires no fertilization, it's a benefit over corn, the researchers say. And Michigan, with its swampy environs, has one of the nation's largest peat reserves. (Michigan is the nation's 2nd leading peat producer)

You can get more info about the Michigan-Ohio University Transportation Center from Detroit Mercy.

UPDATE (Jan 2): Mark points out that while peat does regenerate, it does so slowly and that peatlands contain some of our rarest species. I couldn't find anything in the Michigan media or blogs discussing this but I did find an article titled Gardeners urged to avoid using peat to save British wildlife. The article touches on the dangers to species in peatlands and also says: Although little more than three per cent of the earth's land is covered in peat, its importance has been recognised by the European Union for conservation under the Habitats and Species Directive. Peat bogs "lock up" carbon that would otherwise increase the greenhouse effect. It does seem sometimes that there's no free lunch.
Also, Grow Detroit found this video by the researchers on YouTube:

Click here to view the embedded video.

]]> http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan/pethanol-from-michigans-peat-could-be-new-fuel-source/feed/ 2 http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan/historic-preservation-means-big-money-for-michigan/ http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan/historic-preservation-means-big-money-for-michigan/#comments Thu, 21 Dec 2006 16:02:37 +0000 farlane http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan/historic-preservation-means-big-money-for-michigan/
Greek Room Column (from Detroit's Masonic Temple)
by BuildingsOfDetroit.Com - SNWEB.ORG

Rapid Growth reports that according to the Michigan Historical Preservation Network:

In the last five years, $1.93 billion was privately invested in building restoration projects that leveraged Michigan's Rehabilitation Tax Credits (RTCs), generating more than 22,000 jobs across the state. That compares to a mere $819 million invested in RTCs over the previous 30 years, which generated 22,250 jobs.

The projects ranged from small business development to multi-phase corporate investments, and spanned the state from downtown Detroit to downtown Calumet.

A special report published by the Michigan Historic Preservation Network in November states, “Every $250,000 of private RTC investment leverages an additional $282,500 in indirect investment, $179,575 in household income, and six new jobs.”

Read Historic preservation generates 22,000 jobs, pumps $1.93B into economy from Rapid Growth and/or download the full report (pdf) from the Michigan Historical Preservation Network.

]]> http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan/historic-preservation-means-big-money-for-michigan/feed/ 0 http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan/granholm-challenges-renewable-fuels-commission/ http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan/granholm-challenges-renewable-fuels-commission/#comments Sat, 02 Dec 2006 15:39:29 +0000 farlane http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan/granholm-challenges-renewable-fuels-commission/
Diana Country Road by Matt Blackcustard

A story that we missed from Thursday was the challenge Gov. Granholm issued to members of the newly created Michigan Renewable Fuels Commission. The panel is charged with promoting the state's production and distribution of alternative fuels. In a talk worthy of a football coach (and from the sounds of it, pre-lunch) the Governor exhorted:

"This is our moment, our road map to be the state that is known for renewable energy and renewable fuels."

"My encouragement to you is to not be timid but, in your recommendations, to be bold. Don't be hampered by what might be achievable. Let's shoot the moon, go for broke, the whole banana, the whole enchilada - pick your metaphor."

We don't want to just copy what other states have done. We want to take it bigger and bolder than that.

"So that is my charge, in addition to the charges that you already have before you - to think big. Think Michigan on the cover of Newsweek for having led the nation in how to do this."

Read the rest of Granholm challenges new alternative fuels panel by James Prichard. Great Lakes Politics has a great primer to the MRNF as well. Also see the Michigan Renewable Fuels Commission web site. Thanks to For My Amusement Only for the pointer.

powered by performancing firefox (not really, I was TRYING to power the post that way though!)

]]> http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan/granholm-challenges-renewable-fuels-commission/feed/ 0 http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan/michigans-21st-century-energy-plan/ http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan/michigans-21st-century-energy-plan/#comments Wed, 22 Nov 2006 13:09:24 +0000 farlane http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan/michigans-21st-century-energy-plan/
Vestron by Andrew McFarlane

The Detroit Free Press reports that Michigan's 21st Century Energy Plan is due to be released by the Michigan Public Service Commission by year's end. One aspect that state regulators are considering is whether or not a certain percentage of Michigan's electricity must come from renewable fuel sources like solar, wind and hydroelectric, and if that percentage would be mandatory or a goal. While some states are targeting up to 25% of energy from renewables in 10 years, Michigan utilities currently generate less than 8% of their electricity from renewable sources.

While industry reps are pushing for lesser and voluntary standards, Environment Michigan executive director Mike Shriberg urges stronger measure: "Anything under 10% by 2015 is the absolute floor for any responsible renewable portfolio standard. If Michigan wants to be a leader on this, you have to grow your renewables by 1% a year."
Read State considers goals or rules for renewable energy in the Freep and read a draft copy of the 21st Century Energy Plan (pdf).

From the Michigan Public Service Commission web site you can learn about renewable energy efforts in Michigan.

]]> http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan/michigans-21st-century-energy-plan/feed/ 0 http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan/spartan-edge-test-drives-the-kurrent-electric-car/ http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan/spartan-edge-test-drives-the-kurrent-electric-car/#comments Thu, 09 Nov 2006 15:42:31 +0000 farlane http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan/spartan-edge-test-drives-the-kurrent-electric-car/ Update, Jul 25 2008

In the comments, John writes:

The company AEVCO(Michigan) which made the Kurrent is out of business. They went out in APR 08. There is no one to get in touch with. There were only 47 cars made with only approximately 4 unsold throughout the USA.

Click here to view the embedded video.

SpartanEdge talked with American Electric Vehicle Company president Scott Thornton and took a test drive of the company's new vehicle on the Michigan State University campus. The Ferndale based company will soon begin selling the all-electric car called the Kurrent for $9,800 (with a $3,000 federal tax rebate). The car costs about 1-cent per mile to drive, compared to 14- to 16-cents per mile for an SUV.

UPDATE: A commenter, perhaps associated with the AEVC, has a link to GetKurrent.com. It's got specs, where to get it and (of course) what every modern car buyer needs: colors.

]]> http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan/spartan-edge-test-drives-the-kurrent-electric-car/feed/ 24 http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan/ann-arbor-washtenaw-a-high-tech-beacon/ http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan/ann-arbor-washtenaw-a-high-tech-beacon/#comments Mon, 09 Oct 2006 14:21:12 +0000 farlane http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan/ann-arbor-washtenaw-a-high-tech-beacon/
First National Bank Building by Allan M

Today's Freep has a nice feature on Ann Arbor's exploding high-tech job scene that says Google is not the only company planning to bring jobs to the city and Washtenaw County. Google, Toyota, Hyundai and others have committed to creating 2,500 jobs in the region over the next five years. That doesn't include a couple dozen start-ups that expect to add more jobs.

The secret? "You really have to be aggressive in selling the assets of your region," said Michael Finney, CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK. SPARK was launched by university, business and civic leaders to attract so-called knowledge-based sectors, such as alternative energy and biotechnology. (also check out the Ann Arbor SPARK blog for some great links to entrepreneur resources in the region!)

]]> http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan/ann-arbor-washtenaw-a-high-tech-beacon/feed/ 2 http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan/we-do-love-our-cars-southeast-michigan/ http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan/we-do-love-our-cars-southeast-michigan/#comments Fri, 04 Aug 2006 15:01:24 +0000 Absolute Michigan http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan/we-do-love-our-cars-southeast-michigan/
TheStrip by Hemicuda82 We do love our cars in Michigan, as this photo of the Summer Classic Car Show in Flint demonstrates. For a century the automobile has defined Michigan and now the demise of the auto industry is redefining us. At Absolute Michigan, we're trying very hard to fight past the "we lost a ton of jobs" and the bickering about who did what to who that is the media's ongoing saga and get to the "what do we do now?" place. If you're interested in going there too, check out Build Michigan and all the tons of businesses (6000+) on Absolute Michigan. You are also encouraged to add a link to your Michigan web site (for free!!)

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