Tag Archives: Chamber of Commerce

Inside Ann Arbor’s Workantile coworking community

By Mark | April 2, 2013

118 South Main Street in Ann Arbor is home to a coworking community known as Workantile. Over the last several years, I’ve probably scratched out notes to myself half a dozen times, reminding me that I needed to hunt down the folks in charge and interview them for the site. Well, a few days ago, [...]

Posted in Ann Arbor, Uncategorized | Also tagged agoraphobia, Ann Arbor SPARK, ArbCamp, aversion therapy, Barbara Tozier, Bill Tozier, Brian Kerr, co-working, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, corporate subsidies, coworking, Coworking Society LLC, Dave Nelson, Dug Song, Ed Shaffran, entrepreneurship, freelancers, independent business, Indy Hall, IT Zone, Jelly, L3C, microcoworking, Mike Kessler, OCD, panic disorder, pêche à la frog, Pete Larson, Philadelphia, Primo Coffee, remote employees, Seed Toledo, solopreneurs, Starbucks, Systems in Motion, Tech Brewery, Tom Brandt, Trek Glowacki, work, Workantile, Workantile Exchange | 35 Comments

Author Amy Cortese on the burgeoning “locavesting” movement, and how we can harness it in Michigan

By Mark | October 25, 2012

Next Tuesday, October 30, Think Local First will be bringing author Amy Cortese to Ann Arbor to discuss her book Locavesting: The Revolution in Local Investing and How to Profit From It. Following is my interview with Amy, who, in addition to being a published author, has written for the likes of the New York [...]

Posted in Ann Arbor, Economics, entrepreneurism, Local Business, Locally Owned Business, Retail, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged Accelerating Community Capital, American Sustainable Business Council, Amy Cortese, Arbor Brewing Company, blood funnel, blue sky laws, butchershop, buy local, CDFI, Clare, community development loan funds, Cops & Doughnuts, crowdfunding, CSA, Dante Hesse, economic development, interviews, investing, Jobs Act, Judy Wicks, Jumpstart Our Business Startups, Kickstarter, LION, lobbying, local investing, Local Investing Opportunities Network, Localist, locavesting, Locavesting: The Revolution in Local Investing and How to Profit From It, Main Street vs. Wall Street, Matt Greff, Milk Thistle Farm, move your money to a credit union, Obama, Occupy Wall Street, Port Townsend, Port Townsend LION, private placement, public offering, Rene Greff, SEC, Securities and Exchange Commission, single-payer system, Slow Money, Small Business Administration, Stacy Mitchell, subsidies, tax loopholes, tax reform, The Big Box Swindle, The Brinery, Think Local First, unaccredited investors, Woody Tasch, Zingerman's | 7 Comments

Who will fight for Michigan’s struggling cities, like Ypsilanti, against the Snyder budget?

By Mark | March 6, 2011

As we’ve discussed here in the past, the budget put forward by our new Governor, Rick Snyder, would appear to put a disproportionate amount of the burden on aging, urban communities, like Ypsilanti. Here are just a few of the ways that Ypsilanti will be impacted by the new budget if it is ratified. • First, [...]

Posted in Detroit, Economics, Michigan, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged Andrew Shirvell, asbestos, Brownfield MBT, Brownfield Redevelopment Tax Credits, Club for Growth, College Republican National Committee, fire protection, Glen S, Grover Norquist, Historic Preservation tax credits, Jean Benet Ramsey, John P. Yob, John Ramsey, Karl Rove, Koch brothers, lead, Lee Atwater, leveling the playing field, Mack & Mack Building, Mellencamp Building, Michigan Municipal League, Michigan Suburbs Alliance, Mike Cox, Missouri Federation of Young Republicans, Pete Murdock, picking winners and losers, Ralph Reed, revenue sharing, Richard Murphy, Rick Snyder, SEMCOG, soil contamination, Straight Talk Express, Thompson Block, union busting, Value for Michigan, Water Street | 61 Comments

FBI reads Reddit, tracks Redditor without warrant

By Mark | October 10, 2010

Last week, a guy on Reddit posted a photo of a weird device that was found strapped beneath his roommate’s car. (A mechanic had found it while working on the car.) Well, it turned out to be a tracking device, and the FBI has since asked for the unit back. It would seem that the [...]

Posted in Civil Liberties, Politics | Also tagged Afifi, election finance reform, elections, FBI, GPS device, Khaled, Khaled the gypsy, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, privacy, Supreme Court, surveillance, surveillance culture, tracking, warrantless searches | 17 Comments

It’s not just a matter of fixing Wall Street

By Mark | April 26, 2010

With all the talk of banking reform in the news today, I thought that now might be a good time to remind folks about Lawrence Lessig’s attempts, through his organization, Fix Congress First, to rally support for the Fair Elections Now Act. As I suspect many of you know, regulating Wall Street, while critical, in [...]