JACKSON—Consumers Energy is helping Michigan’s local businesses this holiday season, providing $500,000 to support shopping in 55 local communities through a new gift card matching effort called “Our Town.” Consumers Energy is providing holiday shoppers with a dollar-for-dollar match for gift cards they buy through local Chambers of Commerce and downtown organizations, doubling the amount they can spend in downtowns across the
ANN ARBOR—The third quarter report of the American Customer Satisfaction Index predicts a bleak future for the United States economy, as customer satisfaction dropped 1.2 percent, its largest quarterly percentage fall in almost 20 years. While such a change may seem numerically small, it’s highly significant due to the measurement precision of the ACSI. Because quality, as
DETROIT—A new broadcast television standard that promises better picture quality and better sound, a signal more resistant to interference, interactive features, and localized emergency alerts and advertising, has begun broadcasting in the Detroit market. Nextgen TV is now on the air on the signals of WXYZ-TV Channel 7, WDIV-TV Channel 4, WWJ-TV Channel 62, WJBK-TV
LANSING—Connected Nation Michigan officials say they’re offering free telehealth resources to help individuals and families navigate options offered by their doctor’s offices and area hospitals. The resources include answers to common questions and concerns identified in a CN Michigan study, done in partnership with AARP and the Michigan Health Endowment Fund, that examined telehealth over
DETROIT—The accounting and advisory firm Ernst & Young LLP has named Michigan serial entrepreneur Raj Vattikuti as a national Entrepreneur of the Year award winner. Vattikuti, executive chairman of the IT services firm Altimetrik, was selected as a regional award winner for Michigan and Northwest Ohio in October. Vattikuti was one of 10 national winners
ANN ARBOR—Officials at MichBio, the state’s life sciences industry lobbying group, announced the addition of Lola Eniola-Adefeso, university diversity and social transformation professor of chemical engineering at the University of Michigan, to its board of directors, completing a term expiring in December 2022. The diversity and social transformation professorship was awarded to an inaugural group
GRAND RAPIDS—Officials at Priority Health will provide financial support to all large, fully funded active employer groups amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The company plans to offer premium credits to employer groups in their February 2021 invoices. Priority Health previously announced in May its plans to return any revenue above the company’s 10 percent administrative
TRAVERSE CITY—The municipal utility Traverse City Light & Power has installed the first circuit switcher in the United States that uses air in place of traditional sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) insulating gas. Built at the Richland, Miss.-plant of Raleigh, N.C. Siemens Energy, the North American energy subsidiary of the German industrial giant, the Blue Clean Air
FARMINGTON HILLS—The online information services provider Gale announced the rollout of enhancements to its interactive online learning system for children ages 3 to 6, called “Miss Humblebee’s Academy.” New features include the following interface enhancements: Guided Learning Path: An updated classroom setting gives children a visual queue of a starting point, interval achievements, and a
ANN ARBOR—The artificial intelligence developer Clinc announced the appointment of Mahesh Baxi as the organization’s chief customer officer, effective immediately. “Enterprises with complex infrastructures are continuing to adopt new, cutting-edge technology, including AI, for various business purposes—in particular, customer service,” Baxi said. “I am looking forward to enabling a successful journey for both customers who
