Crain's Detroit Business - December 19, 2011 - (Page 22)

Page 22 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS December 19, 2011 MICHIGAN BRIEFS Grand Rapids on rebound, but skilled-workforce shortage looms As the state emerges from the depths of the R-word, it now apparently must contend with the Tword. The Grand Rapids Press reported that this was the recurring theme at last week’s Right Place 2012 Economic Outlook, where leaders heard that West Michigan is recovering nicely from the recession. But a shortage of highly educated workers threatens to keep the region from reaching its economic potential. “Talent attraction and retention increasingly is going to be the factor that determines our success,” said Rick Baker, president and CEO of the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce. Said George Erickcek, senior regional analyst at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research: “When you look at the workforce we have now, you have to worry about the future. This is the issue that is going to challenge us for the short term and the long term.” Migrant housing: Are foes bigots, or do they have a point? An Associated Press story this week observed that “migrant labor is common up and down western Michigan where growers raise fruit and vegetables, but their presence is not always favored.” Exhibit A of those feelings: “Would you leave your blonde, teenage girls home alone when there are 25 single men next door?” Resident Lila DeWilde posed that question to the Port Sheldon Township Planning Commission during a meeting called to discuss a plan by blueberry farmer Carl Nelson to remodel a home for up to 20 migrant workers on his property west of Grand Rapids. Bert Jara of Latin Americans United for Progress urged commissioners to ignore “hysteria and bigotry” and said, “I very much doubt we’d be having this discussion if these were white migrant workers gy initiatives that, taken together, one day could add up to more than a drop in a bucket. Consider: Last week, the independent U.S. oil refiner Valero Energy Corp. said it will provide a majority of the financing for a plant that will convert wood into ethanol. Bloomberg News reported that the $232 million plant, to be owned by Lebanon, N.H.-based Mascoma Corp., is expected to be completed in the Upper Peninsula town of Kinross by the end of 2013. In mid-Michigan, plans proceeded to build electricity-producing wind turbines as part of a $250 million project in three counties. The Saginaw News reported that from Canada.” But Brad Burrows, who lives next to Nelson’s property, said opposition is “not about race. It’s about transient people coming and going without a vested interest in the township.” Another blueberry farmer, Steve Kamphuis, said he’s never had problems with his migrant camp. “Without the migrant labor force, my business would cease to exist.” Fliers have turned up with a news story about a migrant worker who got a jail sentence for fighting at a migrant camp. “How about 20 young men like this moving into your neighborhood,” the flier states. Planning commissioners postponed action on the issue as they waited for a more specifics from Nelson. brought against Chinese solar companies by U.S. solar panel producer SolarWorld and six domestic equipment makers, Dow Corning President and CEO Robert Hansen and Chairwoman Stephanie Burns wrote that the dispute “could undermine the solar industry’s significant progress at the very moment it is poised for success.” Although they stressed that “competition and incentives need to be fair for all industry players,” they warned that confrontation “will impede both countries’ abilities to benefit from a growing solar market both in the U.S. and abroad.” Emergency manager not shocked that his hometown’s in trouble So is Detroit’s former auditor general surprised that the Motor City is on a financial precipice? In a word, no. But in an interview with Michigan Radio, Joseph Harris did not advocate that an emergency manager take the financial reins. Which is interesting, considering that Harris: 1) has been the emergency manager in Benton Harbor since March 2010 and 2) has been mentioned as an emergency manager for Detroit. Harris, Detroit’s auditor general from 1995 to 2005, told Michigan Radio that he tried to get Detroit officials to make big changes in 1996. He said he was disappointed when every administration resorted to borrowed money — including current Mayor Dave Bing. Harris isn’t surprised that he has been mentioned as an emergency manager for Detroit, but he cautioned, “I sure as heck do not want to go on record as saying, ‘Joe Harris wants that job.’ Harris expects to leave his position in Benton Harbor as early as spring. Find business news from around the state at crainsdetroit .com/crainsmichiganbusiness. Sign up for Crain's Michigan Business e-newsletter at crains detroit.com/emailsignup. officials in Tuscola County’s Gilford Township approved plans by Juno Beach, Fla.-based NextEra Energy Inc. for 63 wind turbines — part of the proposed Tuscola Bay Wind Energy Park. What state’s solar industry wants: Not protection, just competition What can the federal government do to protect the emerging domestic solar industry from the Chinese challenge? In a statement last week, two Dow Corning Corp. officials said: Just step aside and let competition do its thing. Responding to a trade case Alternative-energy initiatives across state pick up steam OK, so Michigan isn’t exactly the North Slope of Alaska as energy hotbeds go. But in dribs and drabs, reports emerge about ener- http://www.crainsdetroit.com/emailsignup http://www.crainsdetroit.com/emailsignup http://www.ahee.com http://www.ahee.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crain's Detroit Business - December 19, 2011

Crain's Detroit Business - December 19, 2011