Breathing New Life Into an Old Lansing Factory

DJV Properties has turned the old Melling Forging Co. north of Old Town into a business center. The formerly shuttered building was deemed an eyesore by many, but Dan VanAcker had a plan and a vision. VanAcker's company, DJV Properties, purchased the site in June 2005 and has invested about $1.5 million into renovating the property. There are currently 11 tenants employing about 125 people. Some of the tenants are new companies and some just relocated there to enjoy advantages such as shared amenities. Some of the amenities include - shared loading docks, restrooms, and a cafeteria. The building is nearly 100 percent occupied.

These are the types of entrepreneurs and businesses that will drive the future of Michigan's economy. Our state needs to figure out how to get folks interested and able to start projects like these and generate new jobs. I don't care who the Governor is or whether they are a Democrat or Republican. Our state is broke - Just Fix It!

Read the article - Lansing State Journal: Old factory gets new life in Lansing

Man Retires to Save Friend's Job

Just when you think that the world really is a cold and uncaring place where everyone is looking out for number one, something unique and wonderful comes along to at least put a dent in that notion. As many of you know, Ford is laying off up to 30,000 jobs by 2012. Jim Shepard was one of those affected by layoffs on January 26. George Hobart, a longtime coworker, heard about Jim's layoff and wished that he could retire so Jim could have his job back. All it took was a little work and some help from Ford's human resources department. On January 30, Jim received one of the most surprising phone calls he is likely to ever have. A representative from human resources and his coworker, Hobart, were on the phone with good news.

Hobart told Jim the good news about him retiring so they could bring Jim back. Dick Gross is the director of personnel relations and equal employment planning at Ford. He stated that "technically, employees can't retire to save a specific person's job." At least in this case, that is what happened.

In this day and age when all we hear in the news is doom and gloom and the loss of more and more jobs isn't it nice to know that there are still people who care and look out for their fellow man?

One will retire so the other can stay

Power Potential is Just Blowing in the Wind

It is taking a company from New York, but Michigan's thumb area is going to be home to the nation's fifth largest wind-generated power plant. By 2008, 180 turbines are expected to be installed in Michigan's thumb area. The company, Noble Environmental Power, plans to sell the energy to the utilities that already supply electricity throughout the state. Read more - mlive.com: NewsFlash - Wind-generated power coming to Michigan's Thumb region

Super Bowl XL - The Good and Bad

For those of you who have been out of the country for the past few weeks - Super Bowl XL was played in Detroit yesterday. The Detroit Free Press has a rundown of the good and bad things that happened during Detroit's hosting of the Super Bowl. Check it out -

BILL MCGRAW: Winners, losers off the field

The Coolest Blanket I Have Ever Seen - The Slanket

I love promoting cool Michigan businesses and shops, but I have to go out of our state to mention this company. The Slanket is a huge fleece blanket with loose, oversized sleeves so you can still use the remote, read a book, or eat popcorn and not have your arms freeze. For $65 you can enjoy your Slanket while you have the thermostat turned back to save $$$. I just checked the Slanket website today, February 3, 2006, and unfortunately all of their Slankets are on backorder. Evidently these are more popular than I had thought. Rats! I was hoping to get one. It looks like anywhere from 10 days to 3 weeks before you will receive your Slanket if you order today.

Guess I'll have to plan ahead for next winter.

****** SLANKET : THE BEST BLANKET EVER ******