The state continues to seek land where large-scale business projects can be built. On Tuesday, it allocated another $6 million — including money for the site near Flint.
Paula Gardner
Paula directs the business reporting on Bridge, writing much of it and setting the strategy for how statewide business coverage fits into Bridge’s nonpartisan policy-driven editorial mix. Paula came to Bridge in 2020 after several years at MLive.com, where she covered the state on both business and environmental teams. Prior to that, she was editor of the Ann Arbor News and news director of online startup AnnArbor,com, and also focused on business news as an editor and reporter at Michigan Business Review. Born and raised in metro Detroit, Paula moved to Ann Arbor to attend the University of Michigan, and has lived in the city for 20 years with her husband, who grew up in their neighborhood. Paula also regularly visits East Lansing and Grand Rapids to visit her college-aged children. She can be reached at pgardner@bridgemi.com
Posted inBusiness Watch
Northern Michigan tries to expand its tech startups alongside tourism
Traverse City nonprofit 20Fathoms is a hub for startups and entrepreneurs in an area known for seasonal job growth. In a Q and A, Executive Director Eric Roberts says the focus on tech growth will boost the ‘baseline economy’ by encouraging higher-paying, year-round jobs.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Michigan Senate narrowly clears $175 million for China-linked Gotion plant
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved state incentives by a slender 10-9 vote, with three Democrats joining six Republicans in opposing the EV battery factory deal championed by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Gotion controversy tests longstanding Michigan-China economic ties
Michigan’s vote on whether to award the company a $175 million incentive comes after decades of trying to attract Chinese business — an effort that continues today, despite rising U.S.-China tensions.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Here are the electric vehicles eligible for the revised $7,500 tax credit
The list of eligible vehicles gets shorter on April 18. The federal government is subsidizing electric vehicle purchases as it encourages manufacturers to move production from China to the U.S.
Posted inBusiness Watch
In Frankfort, small homes offer big hope in northern Michigan housing crunch
Tourism is big in Frankfort, but the Lake Michigan city is losing its year-round workforce. This year, its new land trust will sell houses for less than cost, hoping the affordability boost will balance the economy.
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Amid Gotion furor over China, Michigan vows to change how it vets firms
Michigan’s top economic development official said vetting of Gotion Inc. and other companies in line to receive state incentives will become more probing. Lawmakers have put the latest, $175 million Gotion incentive on hold.
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Romeo embraced its Ford engine plant. After closure, an uncertain future
The historic village in northern Macomb County is home to generations of Ford workers. But the automaker has set its future on new EV battery plants in other places, leaving officials to ponder other uses for the industrial site.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Jobs v. China: How politics, communist ties roiled $2.3B Gotion plan in Michigan
The state’s first megasite project is prompting a growing divide between supporters and opponents in the region, as Gotion Inc. seeks to build a battery plant with 2,350 jobs. Critics cite Gotion parent company’s ties to China.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Anti-China ‘propaganda' stokes fears as Michigan town weighs Gotion factory
A meeting for Big Rapids-area residents to learn more about a proposed EV battery factory has been shifted to a virtual event. A local official explains why, citing fears that ‘agitators’ from outside the area would spread online misinformation and disrupt the event.