Prices are up for almost everything. Now, 76 percent of consumers say inflation is more serious than unemployment. An interest rate hike is likely. Then what?
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
Another real estate shortage: Grand Rapids running out of industrial space
Adding industrial parks and finding ways for manufacturers and other businesses to expand is a goal for the Grand Rapids region in 2022, business leaders say.
Posted inBusiness Watch
After losing out on Ford plants, Michigan fast-tracks new business incentives
Michigan officials are pushing a major new business incentive program they contend could help the state land major deals. But critics say such programs are a boondoggle to taxpayers.
Posted inBusiness Watch
For booming Grand Rapids, a larger ambition: Midwest technology hub
Forget about Austin and Nashville. Randy Thelen, of The Right Place economic development group, is pitching West Michigan’s business community on becoming the nation’s next tech hotspot within a decade.
Posted inMichigan Government
Michigan Gov. Whitmer calls Biden’s vaccine mandate ‘a problem’ for businesses
Business groups cheer, conservatives jeer as the first-term Democrat tells rural business owners ‘we are going to lose state employees’ if a federal employer mandate becomes law.
Posted inChildren & Families
In leggings, hoodies and sneakers, Oxford students mourn at church vigil
Oxford High students gathered in groups throughout Tuesday, first to escape a deadly shooting rampage and later to find comfort in faith and friendships.
Posted inTalent & Education
Three students dead, eight injured at Oxford High School. Sophomore in custody
‘A deeply dark day for Michigan,’ as a school shooter kills two girls, 14 and 17, and a 16-year-old boy with a gun that police say his father recently purchased.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Holiday sales could set records. Michigan's 'makers' want a piece of it.
The state’s smallest businesses are growing in number. Now ‘solopreneurs’ hope to grow their sales during the holiday sales season that is expected to be robust.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Poised for ‘Drinksgiving,’ Michigan bars fret COVID will dampen party
Thanksgiving Eve is the biggest money maker of the year for bars, as friends gather before the family events that follow. Bar and restaurant managers say they don’t know what to expect Wednesday as state virus cases spike.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Michigan’s economy on track for near-full recovery in 2023, forecast says
University of Michigan forecast is full of optimism. But inflation and supply issues could present roadblocks.