Breaking News

Study: Lobbyists, State Bureaucrats Have Greater Power Under Term Limits LANSING - Legislators have relied more on lobbyists for information and guidance on policy since term limits, and provide less oversight of state departments, according to a study released Monday by Wayne State University.

SBA Names Winners of 2010 Michigan Small Business Person Of Year DETROIT - The U.S. Small Business Administration has announced the winner of its 2010 Michigan Small Business Person of the Year and its other awards. They will be presented on April 29 during the sixth annual Michigan Celebrates Small Business awards event at The Lansing Center in Lansing. Gov. Jennifer Granholm will be the keynote speaker to recognize the critical importance of small business to the future of Michigan's economy.

Deadline March 5 For GLEQ Business Plan Competition ANN ARBOR - Register for the GLEQ Business Plan Competition by 5 p.m. on Friday, March 5, and be matched with a business coach, receive feedback from venture investors, and compete for cash prizes up to $25,000 and possibly win the new $100,000 SmartZone Award.

21st Century Jobs Fund Grants Becomes Right-To-Work Pawn LANSING - A measure that would expand the definition of businesses eligible for 21st Century Jobs Fund grants and loans ended up being a political vote on Wednesday for whether lawmakers support a right-to-work law.

Homeland Security, NSA Looking At Monitoring Future Internet Communications SAN FRANCISCO - Homeland Security and the National Security Agency may be taking a closer look at Internet communications in the future.

Michigan Unveils New Look, Feel Michigan.Gov Web Site LANSING - The State of Michigan launched an improved Web site with the new design of Michigan.gov. The new look and functionality of the site gives Michigan citizens an elite portal to the information and services that they need the most. The new site was based on best practices in the Web design industry, providing a crisp and more intuitive site that provides greater ease of use.

Cyber Defense

Software Security Top Priority For Enterprises SAN FRANCISCO - Fortify Software has announced the results of a straw poll taken at the RSA Conference 2010. Based on an informal survey of 200 security professionals in attendance, Fortify's poll sought to assess the general awareness of the risk associated with insecure software, as well as the adoption of software security solutions within the enterprise.

Drudge Report Delivers Malware, CNET Report Shows NEW YORK - For the second time in less than six months, visitors to the Drudge Report say they got malware in addition to the Web site's usual sensational headlines.

Entrepreneur's Corner

Motivate Michigan Seeks Ideas From College Students - Provides Scholarships LANSING - A new initiative called Motivate Michigan was launched online that encourages students to submit ideas on how to improve Michigan's economy in 500 words or less. The students have a chance to win one of 10 scholarships, and the State of Michigan has a chance to win by uncovering a breakthrough idea to improve our local economy. Ideas will be accepted until March 12.

New Opportunities For Sourcing Capital In Mid Michigan March 16 SAGINAW - On March 16, Saginaw Valley State University's Center for Business & Economic Development and the Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance are jointly hosting a program about new opportunities for sourcing capital in mid-Michigan on the Saginaw Valley State University campus.

GreenTech

Green Energy Entrepreneur Speaker At Michigan Celebrates Small Business LANSING - Nationally-known green energy entrepreneur Maria Thompson of Ann Arbor is the featured speaker at the April 29 Michigan Celebrates Small Business event in Lansing.

New Michigan Subcommittee To Explore Electric Vehicles LANSING - A new Michigan House Energy and Technology subcommittee will delve into the future of the electric vehicle and what it could mean for the state, with Rep. Ed Clemente chairing the panel.

Podcast

SmartStart Class Deadline March 12 DETROIT – If you want to apply for the next TechTown SmartStart entrepreneur education class, you'd better hurry. The deadline is March 12, for a class starting 10 days later.

ArtsImpact, Creative Business Forum At TechTown DETROIT – TechTown will work more closely with the creative class in two news programs called ArtsImpact and the Creative Business Forum, which kick off March 23.

Biotechnology

Granholm To Veto Stem Cell R&D Restrictions Developed By Senate LANSING - The Michigan Senate is currently working on legislation that would place new regulations on stem cell research, but the measures will not make it past Gov. Jennifer Granholm if they would restrict the research, she said Thursday.

Wayne State R&D Develop Methods To diagnose Pregnancy Complications DETROIT - The early and sensitive detection of biomarkers of diseases is highly desirable for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases particularly in pregnancy. Infections in pregnancy can be very serious, often leading to premature birth, which accounts for 75 percent of perinatal mortality and 50 percent of perinatal morbidity, and is a leading cause of cerebral palsy.

Politics

Bouchard Plan: Make Legislature Part-Time, Tax Increases Difficult LANSING - Michigan's business tax would be replaced and the Legislature would be a part-time body that would have to have the annual budget completed by May 15 and need a two-thirds majority for any tax increases as well as spending increases under a proposal outlined by Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Bouchard.

Michigan Fails To Meet Race To Top Education Grant Criteria LANSING - Michigan did not score well enough to be among the finalists for the federal "Race to the Top" grants, but officials said Thursday they would continue work to implement the reforms enacted as part of the effort to apply for the grants.

Guest Columns

Companies Are Choosing To Invest And Grow In Michigan Because We Are A Great State In Which To Do Business LANSING - The headlines definitely point to the kind of week we had at MEDC: "Gov. Jennifer Granholm announces more than 17,300 new jobs for Michigan," "Yacht maker Four Winns to hire 2,320 workers in Cadillac," and, my personal favorite, "2,500-Job Surge to Energize Michigan."

Survey: Shelved Tech Projects To Proceed NEW YORK - Technology executives are signaling a readiness to make critical IT investments, a new survey shows. More than one-third (37 percent) of chief information officers (CIOs) interviewed said, post-recession, they plan to implement software and hardware upgrades that had been deferred due to a soft economy. Others foresee moving forward with virtualization projects (16 percent) and website design initiatives (16 percent) as conditions improve.

ConnecTech

How Will Cloud Computing Affect Companies, I.T. Professionals In 2010 KALAMAZOO - Join ConnecTech of Kalamazoo and featured presenter Alex Ellingsen, Senior Technology Designer from Secant Technologies on Jan. 20 at the Park Club as he shares his insights into software as a service, virtual servers, internet integration and other key concepts involved in Cloud Computing.

ConnecTech Greater Detroit, Lansing Host Holiday Parties BIRMINGHAM - The ConnecTech Greater Detroit Launch 2010 Holiday Party is scheduled for Dec. 9 at the Hamilton Room in Birmingham.

New Products/Contracts

A.J. Boggs Selected By Congressional Research Service For Search Engine EAST LANSING - A.J. Boggs & Company was selected by the Congressional Research Service to extend and revise the functionality of their legislative Text Analysis Program that assists Legislative Analysts to quickly identify similarities and differences across new and prior legislation.

Plex Offers Live Demo Of ERP System March 18 AUBURN HILLS - Plex Systems, which provides ERP software for manufacturers, is offering a live demonstration for the food and beverage processors March 18 at 2 pm.

Automation Alley

Automation Alley's Rogers Talks Jobs With President Obama TROY - Automation Alley Executive Director Ken Rogers participated in a follow-up teleconference to President Obama's "Forum on Jobs and Economic Growth" in February.

Automation Alley Gets $394,800 To Build International Business Center TROY - Automation Alley announced Thursday that the technology networking group received $394,800 in federal funding to build an international business center at its Troy headquarters. The money came from the Fiscal Year 2010 Omnibus Appropriations bill signed into law Thursday by President Obama.