Without an RTA Tax, Who Pays for M-1 Rail? by Bill Shea Current Funding, Planned Mal Statement to Crain’S on Wednes- [email protected] Day
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2941 Street Food plots expansion for its fast Mediterranean food, Page 3 SEPTEMBER 26 - OCTOBER 2, 2016 Without an RTA tax, who pays for M-1 Rail? By Bill Shea Current funding, planned mal statement to Crain’s on Wednes- [email protected] day. A big question faces backers of the reserves intended to cover If local transit advocates are right, M-1 Rail streetcar system on Detroit’s worrying about a doomsday funding Woodward Avenue if the four-county until 2027 scenario for the streetcar line is point- transit tax on the Nov. 8 ballot fails and less because voters will OK the Region- continues to be rejected by voters in ger fares and revenue such as advertis- al Transit Authority of Southeast future elections. ing and group sales. Michigan’s 20-year, $3 billion tax pro- Who pays for it? “Should the need to operate and posal that’s primarily aimed at creat- Apparently, everyone who’s paying fund the system beyond our current ing new and better bus service in for it already, because M-1 really commitment arise, we would contin- Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and doesn’t have a Plan B. Instead, it says it ue to raise the funds necessary for op- Washtenaw counties. It’s also intended would do what it’s doing now, and will eration from a combination of fare box to pick up M-1’s annual operating for the next decade: Raise money from collections, partner support and ad- costs beginning in 2027, when the RTA donors and rely on cash from passen- vertising revenue,” M-1 said in a for- SEE RTA, PAGE 48 Lawsuits unlikely DETROIT 2.0: HOMECOMING OUTCOMES & OUTLOOKS to stall OT rules Message to biz: Be ready for Dec. 1 implementation Bringing it home By Dustin Walsh Detroit Homecoming has completed its third year. In our special Detroit 2.0 [email protected] The rules section, we look at where it all started, the outcomes and outlooks it has For Brogan & Partners Convergence In response to the new U.S. Marketing Inc., new federal overtime Department of Labor overtime rules, generated and where it goes from here. The section starts on Page 11. pay rules mean its new associates may businesses can: lose out on valuable experience. e Birmingham-based advertis- Raise workers’ annual salary above ing agency will be forced to limit the the $47,500 exemption threshold. hours of just-out-of-college associates Pay time-and-a-half for overtime who otherwise would put in more performed by workers below the hours to learn the ropes of the indus- threshold. try, said Ellyn Davidson , managing Limit employees’ work to 40 hours partner. per week. “When you rst enter the work- force, you want to do things that fur- Some combination of the above. ther your career that might require you Those making $134,004 or more working more than 40 hours a week,” are exempt from the rule. Davidson said. “In advertising, we might have a young person come to a challenges face an uphill battle, ac- TV shoot for the day or focus group in cording to experts. the evening as a learning experience. e message to businesses: Be Now, it brings up an issue for compa- ready for Dec. 1, when the new rule is nies like mine that have to make a - scheduled to take e ect. nancial decision on that experience e rule requires employers to pay for them.” overtime to salaried workers earning e only hope for Brogan & Part- less than $47,500 a year, doubling the ners, and many others, rests with two current standard of $23,660 set in lawsuits led last week challenging the 2004. A suit led in U.S. District Court U.S. Department of Labor’s ruling to in Texas by Michigan and 20 other expand mandatory overtime pay to states says that the overtime rule, in more than 4 million workers. But those SEE OVERTIME, PAGE 46 © Entire contents copyright 2016 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved crainsdetroit.com Vol. 32 No 39 $2 a copy. $59 a year. Will Adler’s Will Leather Wendy Hilliard’s IPod creator Tony Fadell Goods stitches together gymnastics program eyes says Detroit needs culture neighborhood impact, fairgrounds for permanent change — and that’s tough Page 15 location, Page 24 work, Page 33 WENDY HILLIARD PHOTO BY CHRIS EHRMANN; OTHERS BY AARON ECKELS/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS NEWSPAPER In the background photo, Detroit Homecoming attendees listen to Dan Gilbert chat with former Microso Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer in the Brewster Wheeler Rec Center, which got a special permit to open for the event. 2 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS // SEPTEMBER 26, 2016 Palo Alto, Calif.-based electric vehicle northern areas of the state, will close in MICHIGAN maker calls the “Anti-Tesla amend- mid-December. Sears Holdings Corp., INSIDE ment” in the lawsuit, was cited in the the Illinois-based parent of Kmart and THIS ISSUE rejection of the electric vehicle mak- Sears, said it will close stores in Alpena, BANKRUPTCIES ................................. 7 er’s application for a state dealership Byron Center, Fenton, Grand Rapids, CALENDAR ........................................44 license earlier this month. Jackson, Manistee and Sault Ste. Marie. CLASSIFIED ADS ..............................45 DEALS & DETAILS ............................46 n A Michigan House committee ad- n Renue Physical Therapy, a Bay vanced four bills that would regulate City-based company with eight outpa- KEITH CRAIN.......................................8 MARY KRAMER .................................14 BRIEFS the state’s developing autonomous ve- tient clinics in Bay, Arenac and Sagi- OPINION ..............................................8 hicle industry, with changes designed naw counties, was named to Inc. mag- Varsity News Network Snyder signs medical OTHER VOICES ...................................8 to satisfy concerns about exclusions azine’s latest list of America’s 5,000 gets entrepreneurial boost marijuana bills into law PEOPLE ..............................................44 raised by tech giant Google Inc. e fastest-growing private companies. RUMBLINGS ......................................50 A Grand Rapids-based company Gov. Rick Snyder has signed into House communications and technolo- Ranked at No. 1,025, Renue was cited WEEK ON THE WEB .........................50 that provides high schools with their law new marijuana regulations that he gy committee unanimously voted to for 387 percent growth over the past own sports websites and its co-found- says clarify Michigan’s 8-year-old vot- send Senate Bills 995-98 to the House three years for a 2015 revenue of er were recently named an Endeavor er-approved initiative that legalized oor. e legislation cleared the Senate $3.2 million. Founded in 2011, Renue COMPANY INDEX: entrepreneur, a designation that gives the drug for medical use. He said the earlier. e bills would allow a comput- has 43 employees. e Inc. list is at SEE PAGE 49 it access to professional services and legislation will implement a “solid er system to serve as a vehicle’s driver www.inc.com/inc5000/list/2016. resources to further its growth. framework” giving patients a safe way when active and allow driverless cars n Grand Rapids Community Col- and include a bocce ball court. Ryan Vaughn and his Varsity News to buy marijuana, AP reported. on Michigan roads for any reason, not lege last week was to open Fountain n If it’s September, it must be time Network were chosen at the 66th En- e laws impose a new tax on dis- only while being tested. e legislation Hill Brewery, which it said is the only for Grand Rapids’ ArtPrize competi- deavor International Selection Panel pensary shops and establish a state li- also would authorize the planned federally and state-licensed brewpub tion, in which works by more than 1,400 in Boston. He is one of 34 entrepre- censing system to grow, process, sell, American Center for Mobility at Wil- on a campus that’s owned and operat- artists are on display, $500,000 in cash neurs representing 18 companies and transport or test marijuana. Nonsmok- low Run in Ypsilanti Township. ed by a college, the Grand Rapids Busi- prizes will be awarded, and the region 12 countries that were selected at the able forms of the drug such as lotions n e House voted overwhelming- ness Journal reported. e downtown gets a big tourism boost. In the eighth ISP. Endeavor is a New York City-based and tinctures will become legal. A ly to subject Michigan’s governor and brewery and the newly opened Peter’s annual event, which began last week nonprot that helps support compa- monitoring system will track marijua- lawmakers to public records requests, Pub nearby are intended for students and runs through Oct. 9, the public will nies on the brink of rapid growth. na from “seed to sale,” and Snyder said passing legislation that gained mo- in GRCC’s new craft brewing, packag- vote on favorite entries using mobile So far, 1,700 U.S. high schools and municipalities can regulate the loca- mentum after Flint’s water crisis and a ing and service operations certicate devices and the event website, AP re- 400 middle schools in 42 states use tion and number of marijuana busi- sex scandal that forced two legislators program to gain hands-on experience. ported. More details are at artprize.org. VNN, which was founded in 2012 by nesses in their communities. from oce, AP reported. It is the rst n World travels are a thing of the n Engineers are using the Macki- Vaughn and Matthew Anderson and e laws will take eect in 90 days. time such bills appear to have cleared past for a red steel shipping container nac Bridge to test a new type of sensor has 75 employees.