May 22, 2008

The Latest Business Headlines from WWJ Newsradio 950

Granholm Begins Review | Gov. Jennifer Granholm's office has taken a preliminary step in its review of a Detroit City Council request to remove Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from office | Story

VW Likely Heading South | The Wall Street Journal reports Volkswagen is likely to choose a site in the Southeastern U.S., not Michigan, for its new production plant. | Story

Honda's Fuel Cell Plan | The automaker says it will deliver at least 200 fuel cell cars over the next three years to gain a lead in hydrogen-powered vehicles, Bloomberg reports. | Story

GM Kansas Strike Over | Union members at General Motors Corp.'s Fairfax assembly plant here have approved a new contract, ending a nearly three-week-old walkout. | Story

Borders Shares Soar | Shares jumped 14 percent on a report in The Wall Street Journal that rival Barnes & Noble. is studying a possible bid, Dow Jones Marketwatch reports. | Story

Dow Falls 227 | Stocks closed sharply lower after the minutes of the Fed's last meeting showed central bankers hesitant to cut rates further due to mounting inflation concerns. | Story

Don't Take Voting for Granted

Like many others, I’ve been following this year’s presidential race with considerable interest. It one of the most exciting in memory.

Also like many Americans, I have at times taken for granted the freedoms and rights that we have in this country. I’ve been a consistent voter since I became old enough to vote but, frankly, I didn’t give it that much thought. More...

CENTER FOR MICHIGAN UNVEILS AGENDA FOR MICHIGAN'S TRANSFORMATION

The Center for Michigan, based in Ann Arbor, today will release what it calls a "common ground agenda for Michigan's future prosperity" – in the form of a report it will unveil at a celebration Lansing.

The agenda, which was developed out of a series of more than 175 community meetings across the state, sets out nine strategies the center believes will lead to a revitalized Michigan economy. For each of the strategies, the report offers a series of recommended “action steps” intended to turn the objectives into reality.

The meetings, and the report that came out of them, are part of the center’s “Michigan’s Defining Moment” public engagement campaign, which involved civic leaders and ordinary citizens from across the state.

“This report is an authentic voice of Michigan’s people about where they want our state to be and the steps to get there,” said Center for Michigan President Phil Power. More...

Convention Bureau Launches Business Meeting Campaign

Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau this week announced a two-year effort to spur economic development in southeast Michigan by encouraging local businesses and associations to hold their meetings in the Detroit region.

The initiative called "Let's Meet in The D!" seeks to actively recruit companies and associations to host meetings in metro Detroit and named 13 early adopter companies that committed to the "Let's Meet in The D!" program before it was formally announced. Among the early adopters was Little Caesars which is moving the Little Caesars 2009 worldwide conference for franchisees from Las Vegas to Detroit next spring. More...

STATE OFFICIALS ANNOUNCE 10 PROJECTS, 2,051 JOBS: State officials Tuesday announced several major technology company expansions across the state, as well as a variety of other economic development wins. Together, the 10 projects announced are expected to create a total of 2,051 Michigan jobs. Two high-tech companies, EcoMotors International Inc. and Raval USA Inc., will expand in Troy and Rochester Hills respectively as a result of assistance from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. Also, the MEDC and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority are backing a major mixed-use redevelopment at the former Kmart headquarters site in Troy. For more, from the Great Lakes IT Report, click here.

WHAT MAKES A TEACHER OUTSTANDING? In a "Making the Grade" report. WWJ Newsradio 950's Greg Bowman talks to two teachers from the Farmington Public Schools who were named as outstanding teachers in Oakland County. They describe what makes a teacher great, why the profession is so rewarding, and how education has changed over the past 30 years. To listen to a podcast of the report, click here.

MSU PROF TO HEAD SPORTS MEDICINE GROUP: James Pivarnik, a Michigan State University professor of kinesiology and epidemiology, is the newly elected president-elect of the American College of Sports Medicine. Pivarnik, who also is MSU’s university intellectual integrity officer, will begin serving his one-year term as ACSM president-elect in June when the organization holds its annual meeting in Indianapolis. In June 2009 he will assume the presidency. Among his duties will be serving as spokesperson for the group, and organizing and running various meetings. More...

GROUPS BEGIN WORK ON WEB ACCESS SYSTEMS FOR CARS: Dallas-based ATX Group, the world's largest independent telematics services provider to the automotive industry, Monday announced an initiative with the Detroit-based Connected Vehicle Trade Association to convene an international work group to address how to safely access Internet content through embedded and nomadic devices in vehicles. For more, from the Great Lakes IT Report, click here.

FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS RETURNS JUNE 6-8: WWJ Newsradio 950 is a sponsor of the 22nd annual Detroit Festival of the Arts, which will be held June 6-8 in Detroit's Midtown/Cultural Center neighborhood. There will be events and exhibits for the whole family including more than 30 interactive arts activities for the children and more than 30 live performances. More...

WORLDWIDE AUTOMOTIVE REPORT PODCAST: General Motors resumes Malibu production in Kansas. One last big vote set at American Axle. Ford makes more cuts in truck production.