LANSING ? The Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, administered by Ann Arbor SPARK, will get a $6.8 million shot in the arm from the Michigan Economic Development Corp., which did an about face Wednesday and invested in an economic development group, rather than directly in a company. The money was approved by the MEDC?s Strategic Economic
DETROIT - John McCandless has been named National Manager of Field Operations for Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Corporate Communications. A long-time public relations professional on the automotive scene in Detroit, his new responsibilities will include corporate communications and community relations activities for Toyota�??s seven regional public relations field offices located in New York, Detroit, Miami,
ANN ARBOR - Serial entrepreneur, technology investor and University of Michigan graduate Rick Snyder - the former President and COO of Gateway Computer - has formed an exploratory committee to evaluate a run for Michigan governor in 2010. He would run as a Republican. "I will be spending the next several weeks crisscrossing the state,
KALAMAZOO - InterCom, a Kalamazoo-based association of professional communicators, continues its 20th season with a luncheon presentation on April 3 that will provide a primer for social networking. Reservations are required by March 31. The presentation - The New Rules - Zero Cost Marketing and PR Through Social Networking, with John Clark from Wow Web
TROY - Join Automation Alley and Walsh College for a one-day conference on cyber security with nationally-recognized information security experts Tom Peltier, president of Peltier Associates and Richard Stiennon, chief research analyst of IT Harvest, who will address the growing need for businesses to take steps to protect company data and other sensitive information. Topics
TROY - High business taxes and training and preparing the workforce are among top issues that confront Michigan's growth industries, according to a Walsh College and EPIC-MRA public opinion survey. The 350 respondents surveyed during the fourth quarter represent advanced automotive materials and manufacturing; life sciences; alternative energy; and defense contracting and homeland security. Respondents
YPSILANTI - Ensure Technologies and ERT Systems signed an agreement to develop radio tags designed specifically for the emergency services market. ERT Systems has licensed Ensure Technologies' hardware for more than a year for use in its ID tags and Drop Readers. This agreement calls for the two companies to co-develop a new tag specifically
GRAND RAPIDS �?? Fiber optic solutions provider US Signal announced it has expanded its Ethernet over Copper (EoCu) service footprint in four markets: Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay, Wisconsin. and Toledo, Ohio. US Signal�??s Ethernet over Copper provides customers with access to bandwidth up to 20 Mbps. Using traditional copper lines and access-loops, Ethernet over Copper
BLOOMFIELD HILLS - Netstar Corporation, a full service computer solutions provider, announced it has signed an agreement with Online Tech Inc. in Ann Arbor to add Online Tech's colocation and data center services to its set of technology solutions. Online Tech has been looking to expand it�??s reach on the national level with full service
HILLSDALE - With data now zooming across its new high-speed community network, the City of Hillsdale has completed significant upgrades to its network infrastructure and is looking to attract information technology companies to this southern Michigan town. "Hillsdale is working to be at the forefront of Web 2.0 and providing our area with the best