BUSINESS COMMUNITY OPTIMISTIC AT CORENET ECONOMIC FORECAST LUNCHEON
BEYOND DETROIT’S BANKRUPTCY
While nobody can predict the future, CORENET’s 2015 annual Economic Luncheon held last week certainly asked several community leaders for their thoughts on where our local economy is heading this year. As always, the local commercial real estate industry showed up in force to hear economic predictions for the coming year. With the capacity crowd assembled at Dearborn Inns’ banquet center, 2015 CORENET MICHIGAN President Patrich Jett welcomed attendees and thanked all of the other supporting organizations lending their support, including: BOMA, CBOR, CREW, ICSC, IFMA, IREM, USGBC and SMPS.More
The DEQ and Great Lakes Commission today announced $50,000 in grant funds available for volunteers interested in monitoring streams in Michigan.
Smart homes are one thing, but we want to put them into smart communities and smart cities. Most urbanists these days think the suburbs are pretty useless, because the very young and the very old can’t get around without someone driving them; more land is devoted to moving and parking cars than to the people who live there; everybody is burning gas and sitting in congestion trying to get from Point A to Point B. But the smart city is another thing altogether. Right now, the thinking is that cities should be dense, walkable and cyclable, keeping us healthier by keeping us out of our cars. As author Taras Grescoe summarizes in a tweet, “The real future of the city is 21st century communications (smartphone apps, twitter, texts) and 19th century transport (subway, trams, bikes, walking).”
Automation Alley, Michigan’s largest technology business association, welcomed 16 new member organizations in December. Since its founding in 1999, Automation Alley has expanded to include nearly 1,000 businesses, educational institutions and government entities from the city of Detroit and the surrounding eight-county region.
As we look back at the past year and plan for the new, one thing is fairly consistent – whether it’s to lose weight, kick a bad habit or strive for a new achievement – we always challenge ourselves to be better. Each year at NextEnergy, as a technology incubator, we challenge ourselves to develop new ways to spark and foster innovation.
Android Industries is expanding on the campus of Focus:HOPE in the City of Detroit with support from the Michigan Strategic Fund, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation announced today. The expansion is expected to generate $16.5 million in new private investment and add 131 new jobs.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to amend requirements under the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP) to improve the nation’s ability to plan for and respond to oil spills. This proposal addresses issues raised by the public, responders, government, and industry officials during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.
Michigan State University will take a major role in a national push to advance research and development of composite materials, President Barack Obama announced last week.