LANSING - Carrie Jones, the new director of the Film Office, said this week that sharp criticism about the state's film credits hasn't dampened her excitement about using the film industry to diversify and improve Michigan's economy. Jones said she plans to keep the momentum in the growing industry going by working with the foundation
ANN ARBOR ? Three Michigan companies recently received a combined total of $110,000 through the Michigan Microloan Fund Program, bringing the total amount invested through the Fund to over $1.69 million. GreenSand Corporation, iQ-Telematics and MyBandStock Corporation received the funding to support commercialization of their core products. GreenSand, located in Lake Linden, Mich., plans to
LANSING - Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Snyder leads Democrat Virg Bernero by 21 percentage points and has the best favorability numbers of any candidate for governor in the country among independents, according to a new poll. The numbers mean doom for Bernero's bid, said Tom Jensen, director of Public Policy Polling, the North Carolina firm
LANSING - A new group made up of the Business Leaders for Michigan and the University Research Corridor called Accelerate Michigan was unveiled Tuesday as a way to boost the state as a top state for economic development. The new program is aimed at helping both groups "better connect" their strategic strengths and assets to
DETROIT - The Business Accelerator Network for Southeast Michigan announced that the Accelerate Michigan Student Idea Competition, with prizes up to $50,000, is now open for registration. The application deadline is Oct. 22. Open to any undergraduate or graduate student attending a Michigan college or university in the fall of 2010, the Accelerate Michigan Student
ANN ARBOR - The Business Accelerator Network for Southeast Michigan Tuesday announced a $1 million international business-plan competition aimed at developing very high growth potential, second-stage technology companies in Michigan. Top prize is $500,000. Applications are due Oct. 6. But there are 16 other cash prizes in nine business categories, plus a top prize of
DETROIT - TEDxDetroit is expecting more than 800 people to attend its technology, entertainment and design event September 29 at the Detroit Institute of Arts that will bring together inspiring innovators, inventors, creators, musicians, artists and entrepreneurs from across Michigan. TEDxDetroit is not only meant to create dialogue and action, it also serves as a
LANSING - A tax amnesty program the state is counting on netting $61.8 million to balance the 2010-11 fiscal year budget passed the House on Tuesday after the chamber made a few changes. The amnesty program would run from May 15 through June 30, 2011, and would allow people with unpaid taxes before December 31,
ANN ARBOR - Research spending at the University of Michigan in 2009-10 grew 12 percent over the previous year to $1.14 billion, the second straight year U-M has surpassed the billion-dollar milestone. Thanks in part to stimulus-package research awards, federal research spending at U-M rose 14.7 percent over the previous fiscal year, accounting for 65.9
BALTIMORE - U.S. small businesses, typically known as the innovation engine that fuels economic growth, may have reached a roadblock when it comes to marketing innovation. Contrary to the optimistic outlook in 2009, the fourth wave of the Small Business Success Index (SBSI), sponsored by Network Solutions and the Center for Excellence in Service at