Crain's Detroit Business - December 20, 2010 - (Page 19)

December 20, 2010 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Page 19 WEEK ON THE WEB FROM WWW.CRAINSDETROIT.COM, WEEK OF DEC. 11-17 THE MILLER LAW FIRM a professional corporation Detroit satellite patent office to bring 100 jobs he first satellite office of the United States Patent and Trademark Office is set to open in Detroit in early spring 2011, opening up jobs for 100 patent examiners plus support staff. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke was joined in making the announcement by Gov. Jennifer Granholm and David Kappos, Commerce’s undersecretary for intellectual property and director of the patent office. A location has not been determined. T ON THE MOVE Damian Kassab, former chairman of Warren Bank and ex-campaign manager for Macomb County Executive-elect Mark Hackel, will become Hackel’s assistant executive when Macomb transitions to its new form of county government Jan. 1. Mark Deldin, superintendent of Chippewa Valley Schools, becomes Hackel’s deputy executive after the transition.Also, Anthony Wickersham was named the new Macomb County Sheriff. Gov.-elect Rick Snyder has named Terri Reid, currently Michigan Republican Party political director, director of external affairs responsible for improving customer service and for building support for the administration’s agenda, The Associated Press reported. Snyder also appointed Olga Dazzo to direct the Michigan Department of Community Health. Dazzo previously worked in Michigan and is a past president of Physicians Health Plan. COMPANY NEWS Auburn Hills-based BorgWarner Inc., the world’s biggest maker of automatic-transmission parts, agreed to buy Stockholm, Swedenbased Haldex AB’s traction unit to add all-wheel drive equipment sales in Europe. Cranbrook Insurance Agency in Bloomfield Hills has acquired 80year-old General Underwritings Agency of Bingham Farms, for an undisclosed amount. The new agency will be called Cranbrook General Underwriters Agency. John Williamson is CEO of the combined agency, succeeding Patrick Gallagher, who had been owner and manager of General Underwriters since 1980. Lutheran Social Services of Michigan has signed a purchase agreement to sell its first Detroit nursing home, Luther Haven Nursing Center. The organization said it would not disclose the purchase price or the buyer until the deal closes. Commerce Township-based consumer electronics and wellness products maker HoMedics Inc. did not infringe the patent of Sunbeam Products Inc., a Florida competitor, on a support system for weight scale platforms, a federal appeals job through the end of the school court has ruled. It awarded HoMeyear in June, the AP reported. His dics about $25,300 in costs. Rock Financial Showplace ownone-year contract signed by Gov. er Blair Bowman has signed an Jennifer Granholm runs through agreement with March 2. An anthe Troy-based nounced crowd of Suburban Collection 45,910 watched the to rename the cenNew York Giants ter the Suburban beat the Minnesota Collection ShowVikings 21-3 Monplace. New Hudson- Rock Financial Showplace day night at Ford based Icom North Field. The game America LLC announced that it has was moved to Detroit after snow received U.S. Environmental Protecin Minneapolis Saturday night tion Agency approval for its bi-fuel collapsed the fabric roof of the engines that run on gasoline or Metrodome. Traffic on the Ambassador liquid injection propane. Icom will Bridge for the first 11 months of 2010 begin converting Ford Motor Co.’s 6.8-liter gasoline engines for use in was up almost 12 percent for the year, to 6.6 million vehicles, comFord’s Econoline commercial van pared with 5.9 million for the same models. Farmington Hills-based deperiod in 2009, according to a report veloper Edward Rose and Sons is enby the Public Border Operators Associtering the senior housing market ation. That’s about half of the span’s with a 140-unit development in all-time traffic, which hit about 12 Tennessee as part of a joint venmillion vehicles in 1999. ture with Minnesota-based senior Traffic at the Detroit-Windsor Tunhousing company Ecumen. nel has fallen nearly 11 percent, to Tempo Group, a Chinese com3.3 million, so far this year, down pany whose North American from 3.7 million in the same periheadquarters is in Canton Townod last year. The Michigan Department of ship, and Leuliette Partners, based Transportation and the Detroit Internain Birmingham and run by Tim tional Bridge Co., owner of the AmLeuliette, former CEO of Metaldyne bassador Bridge, must each submit Corp. and Dura Automotive, said 10-page summaries of their dispute they will form an investment firm over the new Ambassador Bridge to seek mergers, acquisitions and ramps by Jan. 4 to Wayne County restructurings in the automotive Circuit Judge Prentis Edwards. Edand transportation industries, wards will rule by Jan. 10 if bridge Bloomberg News reported. Yahoo has launched user-crecompany President Dan Stamper, ated hyperlocal news sites in Royand the company itself, will be held al Oak, Ferndale and Birmingham in contempt for failing to follow his as part of a 30-city national test. February order to build ramps and The sites, still in beta testing forroads per a contract with MDOT for mat, will include locally written the $230 million Gateway project. community news and information, The project, designed to better local advertising and discounts. link the bridge and interstates 75 The Warren-based Andiamo and 96, partially opened in sumRestaurant Group will take over mer 2009, but some elements didmanagement of the Vu restaurant n’t open or were not built because in Cobo Hall in time for the North of a dispute over the necessity of American International Auto certain ramps and roads. The city of Detroit has been Show. Its name will be changed to selected to host two first-round The Vu by Andiamo. Also, Cobo will Confederation of North, Central be featuring beer from the Detroit American and Caribbean AssociaBeer Co. in the Andiamo restaution Football Gold Cup soccer rant and in vending areas around qualifying matches at Ford Field on the facility. Kalamazoo-based molecular June 7, but the teams will not be diagnostic company Armune Bioannounced until early February. The Detroit Symphony Science Inc. won $500,000 after takOrchestra’s management has not ing first place in the first Acceleraccepted recommendations from ate Michigan Innovation Competition, U.S. Sen. Carl Levin and Gov. Jenbilled as the world’s largest businifer Granholm to end the contract ness competition, in Ann Arbor. dispute and strike with musicians. First runner-up in the company Granholm and Levin recomcategory was Ann Arbor-based Armended that the parties agree to a bor Photonics, which won $150,000 three-year contract with total comfor its fiber-optic technology used pensation of $36 million. The DSO in high-power laser techniques used in manufacturing and defense. said that amount is not possible. (248) 841-2200 millerlawpc.com Our firm specializes in litigation: • Complex Commercial and Business • Shareholder and Partnership • Automotive Supplier • Class Actions • Employment • Family Law and Probate Litigation 950 West University Drive, Suite 300 Rochester, Michigan 48307 OTHER NEWS In the wake of fan backlash and media criticism, Big Ten Conference Commissioner Jim Delany said it will reconsider the names it unveiled on Monday — Leaders and Legends — for its two divisions its 11 schools will move to in 2011. Eastern Michigan University has extended the contract of President Susan Martin by two years to 2013 with a raise of nearly $25,000, AP reported. Robert Bobb, state-appointed financial overseer of Detroit Public Schools, has agreed to stay on the OBITUARIES William Hathaway, a former assistant Wayne County prosecutor and 36th District Court judge, died of cancer Dec. 9. He was 87. Dr. Robert Ho, a neurosurgeon who operated his own practice and directed the Gertrude Levin Pain Clinic and Neurosciences Intensive Care Unit at Harper Hospital, died Nov. 25. He was 68. Mark Pescovitz, M.D., husband of Ora Pescovitz, M.D., CEO of the University of Michigan Health System, died Dec. 13 in a traffic accident on I-94 in Jackson County. He was 55. http://www.millerlawpc.com http://WWW.CRAINSDETROIT.COM http://www.millerlawpc.com http://www.hantzair.com http://www.hantzair.com http://www.paulsonsav.com/

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crain's Detroit Business - December 20, 2010

Crain's Detroit Business - December 20, 2010
Department Index
Keith Crain
Mary Kramer
Opinion
Calendar
People
Business Diary
Classified Ads
Briefly
Rumblings
Week on the Web

Crain's Detroit Business - December 20, 2010