Michigan Future

'Creative" businesses get access to state tax credits

Michigan's creative business community will get a boost as a result of Gov. Jennifer Granholm's signature on a series of bills that would make creative businesses eligible for state MEGA tax credits.

State officials say the bill, sponsored by State Sen. Jud Gilbert (R-Algonac), will have a significant impact on Southeast Michigan's efforts to develop creative economy jobs by broadening the definition of businesses eligible for MEGA credits to include those in the creative sector.

Digital media including Internet publishing and broadcasting, video gaming, Web development, entertainment technology. More...

Local foundations give $810,000 to One D

One D, a collaboration of six regional civic organizations working to transform southeast Michigan, has received funding from the region's five leading foundations.

Grants totaling $810,000 over a three-year period were provided by the Hudson-Webber Foundation; Kresge Foundation; Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan; McGregor Fund; and Skillman Foundation. The grants bring the total budget to $1.5 million, including contributions from One D partner organizations. More...

National Transportation Week kicks off

Next week, our region is leading a national effort to highlight and celebrate the importance of the transportation sector to the U.S. economy. To kick it off, auto enthusiasts are gathering Saturday in Detroit to show off some classic American cars.

For the second year, the Detroit area is hosting National Transportation Week (NTW), which runs from May 11-17. The purpose of the celebration is to help the transportation community increase awareness of its role in American life. Organizers of NTW also seek to make young people aware of transportation-related careers.

The Detroit region’s theme for NTW 2008 is “The Year of the Car," in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of General Motors Corp. and the centennial of the historic Ford Model T.

NTW-related activities in Michigan include a series of events starting with a classic car cruise presented by The Motor Cities National Heritage Area and the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau. More...

Detroit Science Center to add middle school

Inspiring kids to dream about science, technology and engineering careers during their visits has always been the mission of the Detroit Science Center. Starting next year, it plans to give hundreds of kids the chance to experience all the center has to offer on a full-time basis.

The science center Wednesday broke ground on an 80,000 square-foot addition that will house the University Prep Science & Math Middle School – a public charter school that will serve 486 students – as well as a new museum lobby, café, gift shop and group welcome center.

The partnership between the Detroit Science Center and University Prep Science & Math provides an opportunity for students and teachers to combine classroom learning with hands-on exhibits, theater shows and museum programs on a daily basis.

According to science center officials, pairing the museum with the school is a logical extension of the overall educational objectives of the institution. More...

Cobra Motorcycles CEO living a dream, growing in a niche market

Some people spend their entire lives trying to find the right career. That isn’t the case for Sean Hilbert. Even in high school, the 41-year-old knew he wanted to open his own business and be an entrepreneur.

As the CEO and one of several owners of Cobra Motorcycles, Hilbert is living that dream today. Located in Hillsdale, Cobra produces premium race-ready mini motocross bikes for youth riders. The company, which employs 35, is the only one of its kind in the U.S.

“We specialize in the youth competition market, which is a niche within a niche within a niche," Hilbert said.

That is a small market – Cobra’s two biggest competitors are located in Austria and Italy – but Hilbert says youth motocross racing has its share of enthusiasts. “It’s kind of one of those sleeper sports – there are a lot more people involved than you might think.”

A former youth motocross rider himself, Hilbert jumped at the chance to get involved with Cobra, which opened in 1993, when its original owners sold it in 2003. He had been working at Ford Motor Co. at the time. More...

Michigan Minority Procurement Conference May 12-14

WWJ Newsradio 950 is a sponsor the 27th Annual Michigan Minority Procurement Conference and Trade Fair, to be held May 12-14 at Cobo Center in Detroit. The theme for this year's event is: “The Economic Turning Point Starts with Minority Business."

The conference will provide opportunities for networking, training, leadership development and relationship building designed to position minority businesses for growth and sustainability.

For more information and to register online, click here.

UM makes dental-health discovery

Antibodies present in people with good oral health could help dental professionals assess a patient's probable response to periodontal disease treatments, researchers at the University of Michigan have found.

The antibody is to a protein called HtpG, the bug that makes it is Porphyromonas gingivalis, an important pathogen in periodontal disease. More...

'Green' podcasts available at WWJ.com

If you missed Tuesday's "Embracing A Green Michigan" conference at Wayne State – or want to relive it – the WWJ Newsradio 950 Web site gives you the chance to experience the event in podcast form. For audio of the entire conference, plus interviews from WWJ's special Earth Day broadcast, click here.

MSU startes work on Grand Rapids medical building

Michigan State University this week announced that construction of its Secchia Center, which will serve as the west Michigan home of the MSU College of Human Medicine, has begun in downtown Grand Rapids.

The $90 million, seven-story, 180,000-square-foot facility will include teaching laboratories, classrooms, offices and student areas. It will be located in downtown Grand Rapids, at the base of Michigan Street hill at Division Avenue, across from the Van Andel Institute and Spectrum Health. More...

DTE issues corporate responsibility report

Detroit-based DTE Energy has issued its first "corporate responsibility report," which summarizes the company's social, economic and environmental impacts. The report was prepared in line with the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines which were developed to standardize the way companies report their corporate responsibility efforts and results.

The company says the report represents the next step in DTE's drive to address key challenges affecting its shareholders and the communities and customers it serves. In addition to providing a "snapshot" of where the company is today, the report gives projections for progress over the next two years. To read the report online, or download a copy, click here.

Energy experts envision, plan a greener future for Michigan’s economy

Michigan’s top green energy experts and innovators expressed a mixture of immediate frustration and long-term optimism about the future of the renewable power industry in our state during "Embracing A Green Michigan – Carbon Culture at the Crossroads," a half-day conference highlighting the work that's being done in Michigan to develop new technologies and new thinking about the environment.

The event took place Tuesday, on the campus of Wayne State University, in partnership with WSU’s URC partners, the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, along with NextEnergy. More...

2008 is the 'Year of the Car'

One of the best ways to lead Michigan into the future could be to help the state leverage its automotive past – and the present-day capabilities that past has generated.

That, in a nutshell, is the goal of the Year if the car, a collaborative effort organized and sponsored by the MotorCities National Heritage Area, an organization dedicated to preserving, interpreting and promoting the automotive heritage of Michigan. The five-month celebration, which begins May 10, links together more than 100 activities exhibits, attractions and activities at nearly 60 locations throughout the state.

The Year the Car was created to mark two major centennials this fall. On September 16, 1908, William Durant founded General Motors Corp. Two weeks later, Henry Ford sold his first Model T.

Among the highlights:

• General Motors Corp. is opening up its GM Heritage Center a limited schedule during the Year of the Car celebrations. Not usually open to the public, the center houses a private car collection, of hundreds of GM concept cars, production cars and race cars that have been lovingly maintained and restored.
• The Henry Ford has created "The Model T Experience,” a series of programs and events that celebrate the car that changed the face of America and the world. Among other things, visitors can hop into a real Model T and take a narrated tour through Greenfield Village.
• The GM 100th Anniversary Parade and Car Show in Flint, scheduled for July 18, will feature authentic/original GM vehicles for every year from 1908 to 2008; includes military vehicles (1942-1945) and buses.
• GM Wiki: GM is inviting people from around the world to contribute their personal experiences from the company's first 100 years to the Generations of GM Wiki, hosted at GMnext.com.
• Rethinking the Model T at the College for Creative Studies: Ford Design staff is challenging Transportation Design students at CCS to develop Model T design concepts that Henry Ford might have created 100 years after he designed the original. Students put themselves in Henry Ford's shoes and create concepts that aim to deliver a similar impact on the automobile industry in 2008 as did the original Model T did in 1908.

For a complete listing of everything related to the Year or the Car, click here. 

The MotorCities National Heritage Area is an affiliate of the National Park Service.

Additional Year of the Car partners include Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, Ford Motor Co., General Motors, The Henry Ford, Travel Michigan, and dozens of other organizations.

Michigan State scientists: Cow stomachs hold key to turning corn fibers into biofuel

Finding a cheap way to make ethanol from otherwise unusable plant fibers – as opposed to, say, corn kernels or other food crops – could make the difference between building a niche industry and one that is competitive with fossil fuels.  That’s what makes a recent discovery at Michigan State University so exciting.

MSU researchers have discovered a way to grow corn plants that contain an enzyme from a microbe that lives inside a cow’s stomach. That, MSU says, is the key to turning those plants into fuel that could be used to power cars and trucks, without diverting corn from the food supply.

More on WWJ.com

Entrepreneurial desire, evaluation of market leads to coffee shop startup

Spend a few minutes watching Jordi Carbonell whip up lattes and espressos behind the counter of his coffee house, and you would never guess he knew nothing about coffee just a year ago.

Today, Carbonell (pictured), 32, and his wife, Melissa Fernandez, 34, are the owners of Café con Leche, an airy coffee shop inside Detroit’s Mexicantown International Welcome Center and Mercado. It is the couple’s first business venture – and one of the Motor City’s few independent coffee houses.

It was the MBA degree Fernandez obtained three years ago that inspired them to venture into business for themselves. The duo selected Southwest Detroit because of Melissa’s roots – she was born and raised there – and because it is the fastest-growing neighborhood in the city. They chose to open a café because there aren’t many in the area.

More on WWJ.com

Ford: Quality closing in on that of Toyota, Honda

A new study commissioned by Ford Motor Co. shows the company’s new vehicles nearly match the quality of those sold by Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. in the U.S., AutoBeat Daily reports.

The study, conducted by Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based RDA Group, says Ford's domestic brands improved 8 percent from 2007 to 2008 with a combined average of 1,284 things-gone-wrong per 1,000 vehicles during the first three months of ownership. That compares with 1,250 things gone wrong for Honda and Toyota.

Ford says three of its vehicles scored best their segments: the Mustang Shelby GT500 (sports car), Mercury Milan (midsize car) and Lincoln Navigator (large premium SUV). The new Taurus and Mercury Sable sedans both recorded quality levels of less than one problem per vehicle, according to the automaker. All but four the of 40 Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo and Mazda nameplates tracked improved their scores over last year.

Respondents also ranked Ford best-in-class in two component system categories, interiors and electrical (including entertainment systems). Ford tied for top honors in two other areas—paint and vehicle engineering. The latter includes ride and handling and cabin quietness.

Ford is touting the new findings in its “Drive One" advertising campaign that kicks off today. It also is promoting the safety, fuel efficiency and “smart” technologies such as its Sync communications system.