Mark Maynard | 2010 | April

Ypsi business plan competition

By Mark | April 28, 2010

I just received the following from Ann Arbor SPARK and thought that I’d pass it along… If you’ve got an idea for a technology-based business, this might be a great opportunity to both get some exposure, and some free business development services.

On June 4, 3:30-6:30 p.m., Ann Arbor SPARK, the region’s driving force of business location, expansion and retention, is hosting a business plan competition in conjunction with EIC, the Eastside Innovation Campus. The pitch competition, hosted by SPARK East, will showcase five innovation-based entrepreneurs; the competition winner, as judged by a panel of noted funding and business experts, will win prizes to support their venture, including a one year incubator lease at SPARK East and up to $50,000 in business acceleration services.

“The EIC collaboration is helping to expand the region’s entrepreneurial success by delivering critical services to start-ups. The pitch competition is a celebration of that success to date and signifies a continued commitment by SPARK East and its partners to growing start-up businesses,” said Michael A. Finney, Ann Arbor SPARK CEO. “The EIC pitch competition provides opportunities for start-ups to pitch their business to investors and the community, and receive feedback that can further their business development.”

Pitch competition finalists will have three minutes to deliver a business pitch to the panel of judges. The winning pitch will be selected based on identification and articulation of market need, how the product meets the need and business model. Companies will pitch their business idea in front of an audience at SPARK East.

To qualify for the pitch competition, businesses must be registered as a Michigan business. The winner of the competition is required to establish the SPARK East business incubator as its primary business location.

Applications to compete in the EIC pitch competition are due by close of business on May 14, 2010. The five finalists who will compete at the pitch competition event will be notified by e-mail or phone by May 21, 2010. The online application is available here.

EIC is a collaborative effort of Ann Arbor SPARK, Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber, Small Business and Technology Development Center, Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), Washtenaw County etcs/Michigan Works!, and Eastern Michigan University’s College of Business. Drawing from these regional resources, EIC offers start-ups a unique combination of local expertise, business incubation, export assistance, meeting space, marketing services, and education.

The Ann Arbor SPARK EIC pitch competition is a free event. For more information, or to register to attend, click here.

So, who’s got a good idea for a business that could create some good-paying jobs, and help turn Ypsi around?

Posted in Ypsilanti | Tagged Ann Arbor SPARK, Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber, business acceleration, business incubation, business incubators, business plan competitions, business plans, Eastern Michigan University College of Business, Eastside Innovation Campus, EIC, Michigan Works, Procurement Technical Assistance Center, PTAC, Small Business and Technology Development Center, SPARK East, Washtenaw County | 4 Comments

Prostitution politics in Russia

By Mark | April 28, 2010

It’s hard to know what will appeal to me from night to night. Sometimes I feel like writing about local politics, and sometimes I see a relatively small item that sends me spinning off on a tangent. Tonight, it’s an article about a Russian woman named Ekaterina Gerasimova that has me clicking around the web. It seems as though she’s made a name for herself on Russian television by seducing and then fucking critics of the Kremlin in front of hidden cameras. Here, with more, is a clip from the Huffington Post:

…According to reports, Ekaterina, or ‘Katya,’ as she is known, has seduced half a dozen prominent critics of the Russian government, inflicting huge damage to their reputations when she later releases video footage of their cocaine-fueled trysts.

Viktor Shenderovich, Katya’s latest victim, believes the girl is part of a Kremlin-led plot to discredit its enemies.

Shenderovich, a journalist and the script writer for a satirical Russian TV show, said, “This is not entertainment, the filming was done professionally, federal forces were involved in it. This is being done by the authorities for two purposes: to discredit and to blackmail.”

The married father admitted that the footage of him having intercourse with Katya was accurate…

I worry that it’s just a matter of time before American reality television, perhaps with the support of someone on the right, like Rupert Murdoch, delivers us at the same point… And, come to think of it, I hear that Ashley Dupré is looking for work.

Posted in Media, Politics | Tagged Ashley Alexandra Dupré, Ashley Dupré, Ashley Rae Maika DiPietro, celebrity prostitutes, Ekaterina Gerasimova, Eliot Spitzer, hidden camera, honeytrap, Katya, Kremlin, political hardball, prostitution, Putin, reality television, Rupert Murdoch, Russia, the political use of prostitutes, Viktor Shenderovich | 6 Comments

Levin says Goldman Sachs pushed “shitty” products on the American people

By Mark | April 27, 2010

I know to some extent it’s political theater – grandstanding done for the benefit of disgusted Democrats like myself – and I realize that it would have meant exponentially more had it come prior to our recent banking meltdown, as opposed to after it, but something in me really liked hearing my Senator, Carl Levin, rip into Goldman Sachs execs today. Here, in case you missed it, is a clip from Levin’s opening statement:

…Why does this matter? Surely there is no law, ethical guideline or moral injunction against profit. But Goldman Sachs didn’t just make money. It profited by taking advantage of its clients’ reasonable expectation that it would not sell products that it didn’t want to succeed, and that there was no conflict of economic interest between the firm and the customers it had pledged to serve. Goldman’s actions demonstrate that it often saw its clients not as valuable customers, but as objects for its own profit. This matters because instead of doing well when its clients did well, Goldman Sachs did well when its clients lost money. Its conduct brings into question the whole function of Wall Street, which traditionally has been seen as an engine of growth, betting on America’s successes and not its failures…

And here he is in action, grilling Goldman Sachs’ Daniel Sparks on the “shitty deals” he and his associates crammed down the throats of the American people.

[note: Speaking of banking reform, not only do I believe there should be a robust and independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency, as we’ve discussed before, but, like Ron Paul and Alan Grayson, I believe that any reform legislation should give the Government Accountability Office the authority to audit the Federal Reserve.]

Posted in Corporate Crime, Economics, Politics | Tagged Alan Grayson, assholes being grilled, audit the Federal Reserve, banking reform, Carl Levin, Consumer Financial Protection Agency, Daniel Sparks, financial reform, fraud, Goldman Sachs, Government Accountability Office, Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Investigations, politicians using profanity, Ron Paul, shitty, shitty deals, Timberwolf | 10 Comments

Study links Tea Parties, racism

By Mark | April 27, 2010

We’ve certainly suspected this to be the case, but now we have evidence confirming the tie between teabaggery and racism. Here’s a clip from Newsweek:

…A new survey by the University of Washington Institute for the Study of Ethnicity, Race & Sexuality offers fresh insight into the racial attitudes of Tea Party sympathizers. “The data suggests that people who are Tea Party supporters have a higher probability”—25 percent, to be exact—”of being racially resentful than those who are not Tea Party supporters,” says Christopher Parker, who directed the study. “The Tea Party is not just about politics and size of government. The data suggests it may also be about race”…

These results are bolstered by a recent New York Times/CBS News surveyfinding that white Tea Party supporters were more likely to believe that “the Obama administration favors blacks over whites” and that “too much has been made of the problems facing black people.” The survey also showed that Tea Party sympathizers are whiter, older, wealthier, and more well-educated than the average American. They’re “just as likely to be employed, and more likely to describe their economic situation as very or fairly good,” according to a summary of the poll…

Given modern societal norms, “they know they can’t use any overtly racist language,” he contends. “So they use coded language”—questioning the patriotism of the president or complaining about “socialist” schemes to redistribute wealth…

Posted in Observations, Other | Tagged Christopher Parker, Obama, Obama is a Socialist, race, racism, tea party, teabaggery, the long suffering whites, University of Washington Institute for the Study of Ethnicity Race & Sexuality | 11 Comments

Cronyism in the Ypsi Public Schools?

By Mark | April 27, 2010

In a 4-3 vote last night, the Ypsi School Board voted to hire a new high school principal. And, as this newly hired principal, Justin Moore, coincidentally comes from the same school district in Champaign, Illinois as our new superintendent, Dedrick Martin, there have been charges of cronyism. The following clip, concerning Moore’s somewhat questionable qualifications, comes from the AnnArbor.com article linked to above:

…(Ypsi School Board) Trustee Andy Fanta said he researched Moore through calls to Champiagn Unit 4 school board members, district representatives and newspaper articles. Fanta’s findings led him to voice concern over Moore’s level of experience and minimal progress in student achievement at Centennial, from which he resigned after 18 months.

Fanta said the two board members he spoke with reported Moore was not experienced enough to do the job.

“I’m perplexed by why we would bring someone in that would need experience and to use our flagship school in our district – the one that everyone focuses on – as a training ground for an individual,” Fanta said…

Fanta further questioned how much progress Centennial High School had made academically and in testing. The school did not make Adequate Yearly Progress last year, although district officials confirmed improvements were made in state achievement tests and academics in a phone interview with AnnArbor.com last week.

Fanta also said he didn’t have enough information about the circumstances of Moore’s resignation, which came within months of an administrative restructuring at the school.

“This man was not successful in his term leading Centennial High school, which is the flagship high school in Champaign,” he said. “They’ve replaced the whole leadership staff at Centennial High School, so why would we do this?”…

Fanta’s concern is shared by many in the community, who feel that we need a principal with more than 18 months experience. The following letter comes from my friend Maria Cotera, who, you may recall, recently fought Dedrick Martin on his administration’s plans to close two neighborhood schools in Ypsilanti.

Dear friends of Ypsilanti schools,

Yesterday was another dark day for our district. In a 4/3 vote, the board agreed to let a beloved and effective high school principal (Jon Brown) go to make way for a young friend of our new Superintendent. Over 20 high school students spoke eloquently on principal Brown’s behalf, and they also defended their arts programs and band program which are apparently threatened with cuts. Not surprisingly, a majority of the board (Bates, Horne, Jackson, Brumfield) backed Martin. Someone needs to step up and replace some of these trustees as soon as possible or our district will continue to suffer the consequences.

More and more I realize that this is an issue that is larger than the closure of our beloved school, Chapelle, and its impact on families in our district. It’s a question of accountability and of the responsiveness of our public officials to the people whom they serve. This latest turn of events highlights the importance of an organization the reaches across schools, community organizations, neighborhood associations, churches, and city government. Such an organization is not about saving one school, but about ensuring that the people have a say in how our most important asset, our schools, are envisioned and managed. The Board meeting was packed with high school students and their parents, and I was struck by the fact that it was a whole different set of students and parents at that meetings around the school closure. Imagine if Chapelle and East Middle parents had been there in solidarity? It may not have changed the outcome of the meeting, but it would have sent a message: don’t mess with our schools.

So I guess I’m calling for us to think creatively about how we can bridge multiple divides: between north and south ypsi, and east and west; between elementary, middle, and high schools, between churches, community orgs, and the schools, etc. This is the only way we are going to take back our schools from an essentially unresponsive board and a clueless administration.

So, is it time to organize opposition, and recruit a slate of candidates who will hold Martin accountable?

[Note: Video of Ypsi High students speaking on behalf of departing Principal Jon Brown can be seen in the coverage of the Ypsilanti Citizen.]