20121119-NEWS--0001-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 11/16/2012 6:14 PM Page 1 ® www.crainsdetroit.com Vol. 28, No. 48 NOVEMBER 19 – 25, 2012 $2 a copy; $59 a year ©Entire contents copyright 2012 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved Page 3 Keeping up with the market: Makeover for Ann Arbor inn Duggan: City on wrong road Survey says: Health care Detroit costs rise, but more slowly Medical Good management, not Detroit Works Center CEO Mike Duggan Seneca Partners split is not yet or EFM, is what Detroit needs creates more VC options a declared candidate BY CHAD HALCOM the state to take over Belle for Detroit CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Isle Park at a $6 million sav- mayor, but Second Stage Extra he says a If Mike Duggan gets to ings to the city, in part be- turnaround cast his own role as a can- cause it did not adequately ‘is not as far didate in next year’s De- address a cleanup plan for away as it neighborhood city parks. appears.’ troit mayoral race, it would likely be as the He thinks a state-appointed turnaround expert who emergency financial man- thinks the current turn- ager is all wrong for the around strategy isn’t work- city, wouldn’t take such a ing. position if asked, and won’t He opposes the 30-year comment on reports that Logistics firm finds it pays he’s been asked. to move into staffing, lease proposal in September for He finds it “hard to imag- Page 11 ine anything more mishan- dled” than the Detroit Innovation center aims to See Duggan, Page 22 boost small manufacturing, Page 13 VIDEO Mike Duggan on core issues facing Detroit, crainsdetroit.com/duggan Crainsdetroit.com: Come in, look around next week NATHAN SKID/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Crain’s Detroit Business is having a holiday open house! Online, that is. Suppliers, OEMs ride ups and downs Full plate to keep Crain’s will open its website to all — subscribers and non- subscribers, for one week, Nov. Challenges change contingency plans lame ducks hopping 25-Dec. 1. The website, www. BY DUSTIN WALSH automotive law. crainsdetroit.com, is continually CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS “Companies know volumes are rising right Biz property tax on menu updated with breaking news, now, but they don’t know the effects of health blogs, analyses and multime- A better-than-expected rise in demand for care, the fiscal cliff — all related to consumer BY CHRIS GAUTZ dia. Content will be accessible new cars, combined with the extraordinary confidence. I don’t know how we get off this CAPITOL CORRESPONDENT free for the entire week. events of Superstorm Sandy and the federal ride.” Paid subscribers have access debt crisis, is putting already taxed auto sup- Changes to the state’s personal property tax all the time but must register. pliers into overdrive. and the conversion of Blue Cross Blue Shield of The open house is a chance to But suppliers, on aver- Obstacles around every turn Michigan into a nonprofit mutual insurance company are likely to top Lansing’s post- introduce Crain’s to a co-work- age already running their The newest pressure is the Sandy factor. er or colleague. plants at nearly 90 percent Thanksgiving lame-duck menu. The storm destroyed as many as 250,000 cars The Blues conversion in particular tops Gov. Crain’s produces several capacity, are hesitant to across the Eastern Seaboard, according to the e-newsletters that also require shift things up any further. Rick Snyder’s list. From there, the state House National Automobile Dealers Association. Au- and Senate will begin deciding what needs to registration. The newest, Crain’s Managing capacity and tomakers report scrapping 16,000 brand new Michigan Morning, is a start-the- making contingency plans get done and what some want to get done. vehicles damaged by the storm. Also on the list is a possible reworking of a day compilation of business are the new normal in an The devastation expedited demand for new news in Southeast Michigan and unpredictable economy. year-old tax on health insurance claims, im- cars to replace the casualties. posed to provide federal matching funds for around the state. See www. “The world was ending a But the latest hurricane is only one of the crainsdetroit.com/newsletters. few years ago; now we’re Sharkey Medicaid but which hasn’t raised as much mon- challenges facing suppliers as they react to ey as anticipated. Questions? Contact Nancy riding this roller coaster,” said Dan Sharkey, immediate needs and plan for next year on Hanus, digital content strategy partner at Birmingham-based law firm Brooks Other issues not yet scheduled that could manager, at [email protected]. Wilkins Sharkey & Turco PLLC and a specialist in See Suppliers, Page 25 See Lame ducks, Page 24 COMING Website Open House All content unlocked and FREE to visitors for one week only! November 25 - December 1 | www.crainsdetroit.com NEWSPAPER SOON 20121119-NEWS--0002-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 11/16/2012 5:37 PM Page 1 Page 2 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS November 19, 2012 MICHIGAN BRIEFS Legislation aims to boost tracks 17 event will have more than 200 shows and will take place at more Legislation pending in the GR’s ‘wage theft’ response: Promise you won’t do it than 40 venues in Grand Rapids, Michigan Senate aims to put a lit- Lowell, and Holland. LaughFest, tle giddyap in the state’s struggling Businesses that do work for the city of Grand wanted the city to establish an enforcement mecha- which raises funds for Gilda’s Club horse racing industry. MLive.com Rapids have to promise to pay employees for the work nism. But the city “did not see that as being viable, Grand Rapids, honors the memory reported that the measure would they did, including overtime they might deserve, un- as there are already state and federal laws” govern- of comedian Gilda Radner. permit horse tracks to install ma- der a “wage theft” administrative policy change the ing wage theft. Ⅲ Wyoming-based Gordon Food chines allowing customers to bet Grand Rapids City Commission approved last week. The Mayor’s Wage Theft Task Force was commis- Service has completed its $40 million, based on past races. Bettors get If they break the promise, the city can stop doing sioned by Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell two 386,000-square-foot headquarters on some information about the prere- business with them. However, City Manager Greg years ago to investigate wage theft in the city. The pan- a 50-acre campus. MLive.com re- corded races provided in programs Sundstrom said, the policy change does not include el had wanted companies doing $10,000 or more in ported that nearly all the invest- for live races, but not details about any enforcement provisions. Because of that, the work for the city to put up posters explaining state and ment was local, from the contrac- the races’ outcomes. measure fell short of the approach favored by work- federal wage theft laws to workers and including a tors to the Steelcase furniture and The measure was approved 91-16 ers’ rights advocates — led by the Grand Rapids- phone hotline number. But after push-back from the Haworth floors to the artwork. Gor- in the House. based Micah Center. Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, the City Com- don Food Service is the largest fami- Supporters say it would give Sundstrom said the Micah Center — a spiritually mission removed the requirement for the poster. ly-operated food distributor in horse tracks a modern gambling based organization advocating social justice — — Rod Kackley North America, with estimated an- attraction. But some casino inter- nual sales of over $8 billion. ests say that because of a 2004 con- Ⅲ Flint-based Richfield Manage- stitutional amendment, state and is that your building has been Frank Peters, who owned the build- portation Security Administration area, ment LLC will be sold for $7 million, local voters also must approve the around for a long time, meaning re- ing during Prohibition, changed a widened corridor linking two sec- with two parties buying its con- change. Tracks with live racing in- pair costs can add up. And in the the name to the White Horse Inn. tions of the airport, about 47,000 tracts and equipment out of bank- clude Mt. Pleasant Meadows, Sports end, the need for “immediate ma- square feet of new terminal space ruptcy. The buyers are Halton Recy- Creek Raceway in Swartz Creek, jor repairs to insure the safety of Flint area hopes Bishop Airport and four new gates, MLive reported. cling of Ontario and Sterling Hazel Park Harness Raceway and our staff and guests” is what Heights-based Rizzo Environmental Northville Downs. caused owner Tom Wilkins to close expansion helps region take off Services. what had been considered the MICH-CELLANEOUS state’s longest-running restaurant. Bishop International Airport in Flint Ⅲ Comedian Lewis Black, for- Find business news from After 162 years, White Horse Inn Wilkins and wife Lisa took over the has completed a $16.8 million ex- mer “Saturday Night Live” cast around the state at crainsdetroit hangs up ‘closed’ sign for good White Horse Inn 11 years ago. pansion, doubling capacity to 2 mil- member Jim Breuer and “Commu- .com/crainsmichiganbusiness. Lorenzo and Lucy Carpenter lion passengers a year. A dedication nity” cast member Joel McHale Sign up for Crain's Michigan Obviously, a number of good Hoard bought the two-story build- ceremony last week marked the are among the acts for next year’s Business e-newsletter at crains things can be said about a restau- ing in 1850, according to records of completion of the expansion, which Gilda’s LaughFest.