20150817-NEWS--0001-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 8/14/2015 5:09 PM Page 1 Readers first for 30 Years Tiresome wait: Aircraft Uniroyal site museum plans plans only a to fly higher CRAIN’S vision after with move to three decades Oakland County DETROIT BUSINESS PAGE 4 PAGE 18 AUGUST 17-23, 2015 Clean energy expected to power up more jobs But some say more rules, higher costs will result in net loss By Jay Greene years from the baseline year of 2005. Michigan pro- [email protected] duced 188 metric tons of CO2 in 2005. By 2013, car- The wind and solar energy industries in Michi- bon emissions dropped to 70 tons with the EPA gan are expected to continue steady growth and goal set at 47.5 tons in 2030. add hundreds of jobs over the next decade — re- Energy experts say Michigan is in a good posi- gardless of what state legislators and Gov. Rick Sny- tion to meet the emission reduction rules by devel- der come up with in a final energy bill package this oping more renewable energy resources, continu- year. ing efficiency programs — and by moving from That’s one belief shared by executives of utilities, coal to gas-fired plants. renewable energy companies, and of environmen- These green energy rules eventually lead to tal groups alike. green energy jobs; in February, a Michigan Public Ser- Part of the optimism comes from a regulatory vice Commission report said $2.9 billion of invest- announcement earlier this month by the U.S. Envi- ments in renewable energy during the past five ronmental Protection Agency, which issued final years created 8,300 jobs in Michigan. By 2020, ener- rules governing carbon dioxide emissions from gy jobs are expected to grow another 7.1 percent, power plants. the PSC report said. The EPA’s Clean Power Plan requires states to re- duce CO2 emissions 32 percent over the next 15 SEE JOBS, PAGE 20 Free Press future: Lean,digital New editor’s challenge: Quality journalism amid falling revenue By Bill Shea The newspaper’s journalism tro- fronting the stark realities of the [email protected] phy case also has impressive addi- 21st century newspaper business. The Detroit Free Press that Robert tions from the past decade: a pair of While the online numbers at the Huschka took over as executive edi- Pulitzer Prizes, two Edward R. Mur- Free Press are impressive, digital ad- tor last week is a significantly differ- row awards and four Emmy awards. vertising revenue continues to lag a ent newspaper than the one his That happened under Paul distant second behind the print ad- predecessor was hired to run a Anger, who retired in May after a vertising dollars that remain the fi- decade before. tenure that also included layoffs, nancial lifeblood of legacy print The newspaper is smaller, both furloughs and benefit and wage media. physically and cuts or freezes — symptoms of the Huschka, 43, was hired to run with fewer em- overall decline of the newspaper in- Michigan’s largest news-gathering ployees, and it dustry. In 2009, Anger also had to organization from a design desk operates out of a orchestrate the newspaper’s cost- background rather than coming single floor of savings transition from a traditional from the reporting ranks. He was Health Care Heroes leased space in daily home-delivered product to a Anger’s No. 2 for a time and interim From medical professionals on the front lines of care to the former Fed- hybrid print-digital product. editor after he left. teams working on prevention and cost-planning, Crain’s crop eral Reserve It’s now Huschka’s job as execu- His résumé includes involvement of 2015 Health Care Heroes demonstrates innovation and Building down- tive editor to ensure the Free Press SEE FREE PRESS, PAGE 19 Robert Huschka: compassion. Page 11 town rather than continues its history of award- The 43-year-old has its old sprawling, winning PHOTO BY design background. costly structure. watch- NATALIE BRODA © Entire contents copyright 2015 Its circulation dog jour- by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved. also has fallen by more than half in nalism crainsdetroit.com Vol. 31 No 33 $2 a copy. $59 a year. that time, and home delivery is lim- while ited to three days a week. con- But the Free Press has staked out significant territory online, claiming more than 10 million readers a month to make it one of the biggest-readership newspapers in the nation in the ever-expanding NEWSPAPER digital landscape. 20150817-NEWS--0002-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 8/14/2015 3:24 PM Page 1 2 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS // AUGUST 17, 2015 to come down ... and, as we ap- in the Legislature to abolish it since MICHIGAN proach Christmas, could still knock it was enacted in 1976. The pro- INSIDE on the door of $2 a gallon,” he said. gram’s roots date to 1934, when Na- THIS ISSUE tive Americans agreed to shut down BANKRUPTCIES . 20 BUSINESS DIARY . 18 a boarding school in Mount Pleas- MICH-CELLANEOUS CALENDAR . 17 ant so Central Michigan University could Ⅲ CAPITOL BRIEFINGS . 9 Grand Rapids-based Family expand. CLASSIFIED ADS . 17 BRIEFS Christian Stores will be sold debt-free Ⅲ Strong demand has led low- MARY KRAMER . 8 to a related entity, Family Christian Ac- cost carrier Allegiant Air to resume OPINION . 8 Language quirk of extra ‘s’ Gas hike: Market at work … quisitions, for between $52.4 million nonstop flights between Gerald R. PEOPLE . 17 and $55.7 million, MLive.com re- Ford International Airport in Grand RUMBLINGS . 22 isn’t Michigan’s to possess or worthy of investigation ported. A federal judge approved the Rapids and Punta Gorda Airport near WEEK ON THE WEB . 22 Those who persist in saying “Mei- Gasoline prices have jumped Chapter 11 bankruptcy sale last Fort Myers, Fla., effective Nov. 4, the jer’s” instead of “Meijer” or “Ford’s” across the Great Lakes region be- week. The chain claimed debts of Grand Rapids Business Journal re- rather than “Ford” may be comfort- cause of the unexpected, partial more than $127 million and assets ported. COMPANY INDEX: ed to know that such pronunciation shutdown of a large Indiana oil re- of nearly $75 million. Ⅲ Traverse City’s Cherry Capital SEE PAGE 21 isn’t just a Michigan thing. finery, and those increases could Ⅲ In the wake of severe weather in Airport is getting nearly $1.5 million Many in the state like to add that continue, oil and gas industry northern Michigan — the economic in federal funding to help construct Journal of Marquette reported. An possessive “s” to a store or compa- watchers said last week to The Asso- toll of which was chronicled in a a taxiway and fix its runway, The As- environmental group, Save the Wild ny’s name, and believe “that this is ciated Press, Bloomberg and Crain’s story last week — Gov. Rick sociated Press reported. The grant U.P., said the parcel is part of a sensi- part of the Michigan dialect,” said MLive.com. Snyder declared a state of disaster for through the U.S. Department of tive wetlands complex and wants University of Michigan English profes- The average retail price for a gal- Grand Traverse County, making state Transportation also will help the air- the DNR to reject the lease. sor Anne Curzan at MichiganRa- lon of gas in the state was $2.80 on aid available to help with recovery port install additional markings to Ⅲ Plans for the city of Port Huron dio.org. Curzan co-hosts “That’s Aug. 13, up 22 cents from the day from the damaging thunderstorms, help prevent accidents. to separate from the Port Huron Muse- What They Say” weekly on Michigan before, according to Dearborn- The Associated Press reported. Au- Ⅲ Munson Medical Center in Traverse um are on hold, the Times Herald re- Radio. based AAA Michigan. Rep. Michael thorities said they had reopened City has joined the network of hospi- ported. A plan to pull funding was But Curzan said she’s heard the Webber, R-Rochester Hills, and Sen. parts of Sleeping Bear Dunes National tals and institutions created by Mary announced last fall with other city possessive “s” used in other states, John Proos, R-St. Joseph, called for a Lakeshore, the popular tourist area at Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital in Grand budget cuts. City Manager James too, and she can explain its frequen- probe by Attorney General Bill which trees were uprooted and de- Rapids. Mary Free Bed will manage Freed said the city contributes be- cy here. Schuette. “We cannot allow the bris scattered across the scenic land- Munson’s 12-bed inpatient rehab tween $50,000 and $80,000 annually “The website michigannative.com hard-working people of Southwest scape during the Aug. 2 storm. unit, the hospital-wide therapy pro- to the museum. He said the goal to says this goes back to ‘Ford’s,’ ” she Michigan to be taken advantage of Ⅲ State public colleges and uni- gram and several outpatient therapy cut most, if not all, of the city support said. People in Michigan referred to by artificially high gas prices,” Proos versities are on the hook for mil- services in Traverse City. The two will take time and consideration. the Ford Motor Co. as “Ford’s Factory,” said in a statement. lions of dollars each year because hospitals have worked together for Ⅲ Repairs to a key Great Lakes since it was owned by Henry Ford. The gas prices have been tied to a the Michigan Indian Tuition Waiver years to coordinate care for those in shipping lock in Sault Ste.