Burger restaurant brings regional touches to the plate
The competition for your hamburger dollar is about to heat up. The newest entry into the field is Smashburger, 4315 West Main St., just East of Drake Road. The restaurant will […]
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Bewhiskered friends make merry, raise money for a good cause
For Battle Creek Metropolitan Area Mustache Society growing whiskers is part of the fun. The other part is creating cool things to do in Battle Creek. Writer Jane Parikh finds there is some charitable work that happens along the way.
Shuttle service will connect neighborhoods and beach
A free shuttle service to link the neighborhoods of Benton Harbor and Jean Klock Park will be offered in partnership with Dial-A-Ride, making a trip to the beach a whole lot easier this summer.The Jean Klock Express will run in continuous loops of 16 stops across Benton Harbor from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. The route begins at Calvin Britain Elementary and some of the stops are Benton Harbor High School, McCord School, Morton Hill, The Boys & Girls Club, The Golf Club at Harbor Shores and Jean Klock Park. The full schedule is here. In accordance with normal Dial-A-Ride rules, all riders under the age of 16 years old must be accompanied by an adult.The service, which began May 18, will continue through Labor Day. The Consortium for Community Development, Cornerstone Alliance and the Whirlpool Foundation are working with Harbor Shores and the City of Benton Harbor to provide recreational and educational opportunities for the youth of the community. "For me, it's all about the kids. To make a difference in the lives of our young people is the foundation of re-building any community," says Marcus Robinson, President of the Consortium of Community Development and Harbor Shores Trustee. Harbor Shores is Lake Michigan's first beach and golf resort community, just 100 miles east of Chicago in Benton Harbor and St. Joseph. The community's central amenity is an 18-hole, public Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course that offers stunning views of Lake Michigan. Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: Ron Eng, Harbor Shores
Growing jobs is economic development, too
It's time to pay as much attention to helping local businesses grow as is spent seeking out new businesses, business leaders told columnist Rick Hagland.Business experts say economic gardening could provide a richer, more stable source of jobs for the state.Excerpt: Michigan shouldn't abandon efforts to bring new companies to Michigan, said Rob Fowler, president of the Small Business Association of Michigan."We don't think it should be either/or," he said. "But 60 to 80 percent of the state's economic development efforts should be put into economic gardening."Figures compiled by the Cassopolis-based Edward Lowe Foundation, which develops educational programs for entrepreneurs, show that small, "second-stage" companies produced more jobs in the 15-year period between 1993 and 2007 than any other business segment in the state.Second-stage companies are those that employ between 10 and 100 workers, have annual sales of at least $1 million and want to grow, according to the Lowe Foundation's definition.These businesses created 137,249 jobs in Michigan between 1993 and 2007, while companies employing 500 or more workers shed 257,585 jobs in the same time period.For more on growing businesses, read the rest of the story.Source: Rick Haglund for Mlive
Kalamazoo Promise is more than a scholarship program
Education and economic development go hand-in-hand. Kalamazoo-area economic development leader Ron Kitchens explained the concept to representatives from the national news corp, including NBC and FOX news, in town June 7 for President Barack Obama's address to the 2010 graduating class from Kalamazoo Central High School.He talked to reporters all day. His message: the area's focus on education as a sound growth strategy.Excerpt:Of The Kalamazoo Promise, the free college tuition program for Kalamazoo Public Schools graduates, he said, "'They asked, 'Isn't it just a scholarship program?''""People don't understand education as a strategy of economic development," said Kitchens, who is president and chief executive officer of Southwest Michigan First, the area's lead economic development organization. "It really is about putting our financial resources into our natural resources."For more on Kitchens' message read the entire story.Source: Kalamazoo Gazette
Bewhiskered friends make merry, raise money for a good cause
For Battle Creek Metropolitan Area Mustache Society growing whiskers is part of the fun. The other part is creating cool things to do in Battle Creek. Writer Jane Parikh finds there is some charitable work that happens along the way.
Shuttle service will connect neighborhoods and beach
A free shuttle service to link the neighborhoods of Benton Harbor and Jean Klock Park will be offered in partnership with Dial-A-Ride, making a trip to the beach a whole lot easier this summer.The Jean Klock Express will run in continuous loops of 16 stops across Benton Harbor from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. The route begins at Calvin Britain Elementary and some of the stops are Benton Harbor High School, McCord School, Morton Hill, The Boys & Girls Club, The Golf Club at Harbor Shores and Jean Klock Park. The full schedule is here. In accordance with normal Dial-A-Ride rules, all riders under the age of 16 years old must be accompanied by an adult.The service, which began May 18, will continue through Labor Day. The Consortium for Community Development, Cornerstone Alliance and the Whirlpool Foundation are working with Harbor Shores and the City of Benton Harbor to provide recreational and educational opportunities for the youth of the community. "For me, it's all about the kids. To make a difference in the lives of our young people is the foundation of re-building any community," says Marcus Robinson, President of the Consortium of Community Development and Harbor Shores Trustee. Harbor Shores is Lake Michigan's first beach and golf resort community, just 100 miles east of Chicago in Benton Harbor and St. Joseph. The community's central amenity is an 18-hole, public Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course that offers stunning views of Lake Michigan. Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: Ron Eng, Harbor Shores
Growing jobs is economic development, too
It's time to pay as much attention to helping local businesses grow as is spent seeking out new businesses, business leaders told columnist Rick Hagland.Business experts say economic gardening could provide a richer, more stable source of jobs for the state.Excerpt: Michigan shouldn't abandon efforts to bring new companies to Michigan, said Rob Fowler, president of the Small Business Association of Michigan."We don't think it should be either/or," he said. "But 60 to 80 percent of the state's economic development efforts should be put into economic gardening."Figures compiled by the Cassopolis-based Edward Lowe Foundation, which develops educational programs for entrepreneurs, show that small, "second-stage" companies produced more jobs in the 15-year period between 1993 and 2007 than any other business segment in the state.Second-stage companies are those that employ between 10 and 100 workers, have annual sales of at least $1 million and want to grow, according to the Lowe Foundation's definition.These businesses created 137,249 jobs in Michigan between 1993 and 2007, while companies employing 500 or more workers shed 257,585 jobs in the same time period.For more on growing businesses, read the rest of the story.Source: Rick Haglund for Mlive
Kalamazoo Promise is more than a scholarship program
Education and economic development go hand-in-hand. Kalamazoo-area economic development leader Ron Kitchens explained the concept to representatives from the national news corp, including NBC and FOX news, in town June 7 for President Barack Obama's address to the 2010 graduating class from Kalamazoo Central High School.He talked to reporters all day. His message: the area's focus on education as a sound growth strategy.Excerpt:Of The Kalamazoo Promise, the free college tuition program for Kalamazoo Public Schools graduates, he said, "'They asked, 'Isn't it just a scholarship program?''""People don't understand education as a strategy of economic development," said Kitchens, who is president and chief executive officer of Southwest Michigan First, the area's lead economic development organization. "It really is about putting our financial resources into our natural resources."For more on Kitchens' message read the entire story.Source: Kalamazoo Gazette
