Crain's Detroit Business - 25th Anniversary Issue, May 3, 2010 - (Page 8)

Page 8 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS May 3, 2010 OPINION hould the busiest North American border crossing be owned by government or the private sector? Can Michigan turn down a loan from Canada that would help build a new bridge over the Detroit River and put thousands of people to work in construction? Is the political influence of Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel Moroun fading? Those are all pertinent questions as Michigan lawmakers decide whether to take Canada up on its offer to pay up to $550 million of Michigan’s construction costs for the planned Detroit River International Crossing, or DRIC. (See story, Page 20.) The project is favored by the Canadian government and the Michigan Department of Transportation. COURTESY OF URS CANADA But to build the DRIC, the LegislaA cable-stayed bridge is one ture also must create laws to permit a design for the DRIC project. “P3” — public-private partnership — to make that publicly owned crossing a reality. Moroun, who objects to the DRIC, wants to build a second span for his Ambassador Bridge, which he has owned since 1979. If the DRIC is built, it will cut his revenue by as much as 75 percent, his Detroit International Bridge Co. argues. The Moroun camp responded quickly to last week’s Canadian offer, first by questioning the loyalty of Canadian-born Gov. Jennifer Granholm, then by announcing it would file a second complaint against the Canadian government in a tribunal set up to hear North American Free Trade Act complaints. Moroun has been at odds with the Canadians for years, mostly over traffic problems in Windsor and the Canadian preference for government control of border bridges or tunnels. Until this crossing dispute heated up, Moroun preferred a low public profile while quietly building political support, mostly through political contributions. But his influence may be waning; even Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson has endorsed the DRIC as a regional economic asset. In the courts, Moroun has drawn two strikes in a fight to preserve structures his company built as part of “gateway” construction near the Ambassador Bridge. State transit officials argue the structures were built illegally; a state appeals court has refused to reverse a Wayne County circuit judge’s order to raze the structures. Maybe it’s time for Moroun’s bridge company to call a truce and create a compromise with the governments before he draws strike three. Moroun may want to create compromise S LETTERS Crain needs new clothes Editor: True to form, Keith Crain shows up in his “day-late” shirt and “dollar-short” trousers. (“It is time for a real debate on entitlements,” Crain’s Detroit Business, April 19) Now he talks about having a debate on entitlements. Where was he when we needed him to demand the debate? We, the American people, begged the media (and Mr. Crain) to call for the debate and to not let this nation-killer, socalled health reform monster be foisted upon us. Oh, well, perhaps he will get some new clothes and take a stand in November. A stand to promote the senators and representatives who will labor to slay the monster and have the debate that he now claims he wants. Robert K. Jones Detroit TALK ON THE WEB From www.crainsdetroit.com Re: SEMCOG delays Ann Arbor-Detroit rail service: Someone at SEMCOG should lose their job over this decade-long debacle. It’s hands-down the worstmanaged study in recent metro Detroit history. The Truth Where is the outrage from everyone? ... We are falling further behind every day by regions that are smaller than us. Kevin Wobbe Reader responses to stories and blogs that appeared on Crain’s Web site. Comments may be edited for length and clarity. Re: Companies that got tax credits didn’t comply with salary agreements: Is it possible that state officials have once again been snookered? Say it isn’t so! W. Dave Re: Wayne State to offer re-employment program: Wishing all great success with this program. I hope it takes off and people from other counties will be able to take advantage of this. LivinginLakeland Re: C-E’s loss of Chevy account: Seems to me that there should have been some moral obligation to help Detroit in the recovery process and they could have split their business without completly kicking C-E and BDO to the curb. Makes me rethink my future purchases. Elsa K. Silverman The heartbeat of America just stopped beating. Michael Rose See Talk, Page 9 Re: Legislation requires restaurants to print nutritional information: Obama needs to get out of regulating businesses. Donald Rose KEITH CRAIN: A lot has happened in a quarter century When you look ahead, 25 years seems like an eternity. When you look back, 25 years seems like the blink of an eye. It was a quarter of a century ago when we launched Crain’s Detroit Business, a weekly business publication covering only business, but in the Detroit area. And it wouldn’t cover what was then called the “Big Three.” With two strong daily papers and suburban weeklies, it seemed to a lot of people that there was no need for a weekly newspaper all about local business. I’m delighted to report that they were wrong. Happily, Crain’s has become an important part of our community. Today, it still doesn’t cover the three auto companies. But it communicates with readers in more ways than just a printed publication every Monday. With the explosion of the Web, you can now access your Crain’s from anywhere around the world; subscribers also get a daily update on all the business news of that day. This week, on Thursday, we’ll toast 20 of our brightest and most creative 20-somethings in our community. That’s one of more than two dozen recognition events, seminars and conferences we hold in a year. Another way to connect with readers — and for readers to connect with one another. But reporting business news about Southeast Michigan is still our purpose. We’re pleased to do it every day, week after week, for all these years. I remember when our first editor, Peter Brown, and I launched this publication. He’s now publisher of our sister publication Automotive News, having been replaced by Mary Kramer. There is still plenty of business news in our community, and I think that we have become even better at giving our audience all the important business news. There have been a lot of changes in a quarter of a century. Some companies have died; today, we report on many companies that simply weren’t around 25 years ago. The cell phone was just in its infancy. The Web was nothing but an idea. Today we see convergence between mobile communications, computing and the digital world. The next 25 years will bring even more changes in the ways we communicate. But I really believe that the need for information, local business information, will be more important than ever. I’m not sure how we’ll be communicating with you, our audience, in the next quarter of a century. But I am sure we will be giving you the business information that you need in the timeliest manner possible. The last 25 years were very exciting. The next 25 will be even more exciting. VIDEO Founders: Keith Crain and Peter Brown talk about the early days of Crain’s Detroit Business, www.crainsdetroit.com/ 25thextras  http://www.crainsdetroit.com http://www.crainsdetroit.com/25thextras http://www.crainsdetroit.com/25thextras

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crain's Detroit Business - 25th Anniversary Issue, May 3, 2010

Crain's Detroit Business 25th Anniversary
Looking Forward
25 Companies to Watch
25 Mainstays
25 People Then and Now
25 Scandals and Dubious Deeds.
25 Philanthropic Gifts
25 Newsmakers of the Year
25 Big Stories
25 Innovations
25 Gone But Not Forgotten
Health Care
Defense
Suppliers
The Internet and Communication
Energy
Finance
Signs of the Times

Crain's Detroit Business - 25th Anniversary Issue, May 3, 2010

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