Paula Gardner

The funding, approved this week, will cover just a portion of what’s needed to make the properties build ready. But it better prepares the state to compete for large-scale development deals that employ thousands.

Summer started with gas at over $5 per gallon. Now it looks like it will end at less than $4, representing savings for residents already dealing with inflation at a 40-year high. But some warn the drop won’t last.

Retaining auto jobs in Michigan means more than factories. Experts say a highly-trained, salaried workforce — including engineers and software programmers — will keep Michigan the ‘center of gravity’ in the EV transformation.

‘I think it’s safe to say no one has more at stake than Michigan,’ Center for Automotive Research’s Bernard Swiecki told Bridge in a conversation about the Michigan industry’s risks and opportunities.

Call it the inflation circle of life. Second-quarter financials show that inflation hammered businesses this spring as they spent more. To try to keep earnings on track, they raised prices.

The state’s manufacturing heritage will help Michigan increase its role in high-tech semiconductor production, business leaders said, as President Biden will soon sign into law billions of dollars in production  incentives.

Wineries along the “Traverse Wine Coast” said they had to get creative to withstand the pandemic while making customers feel safe and eager to return. Horses are part of the plan, as are golf cart rides through fields of lavender.