State Roundup

Detroit
Comerica Hatch Detroit contest accepts entries

DETROIT (AP) — Submissions for the 2013 Comerica Hatch Detroit contest are being accepted for the next six weeks.

The contest is seeking first-time and experienced entrepreneurs to submit retail concepts that will resonate with the public. Comerica Bank is putting up the $50,000 prize for the winning business idea and providing other support to further Hatch Detroit’s efforts.

In addition to the cash prize, the winner will also get a package of services including legal, marketing and advertising, accounting and tech support.

All applications must be submitted online, where complete submission guidelines and rules are posted. The deadline for submissions July 13.

Lansing
Officials: More Mich. employees using state planes

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — More state employees are coordinating business travel by using passenger planes owned by the state of Michigan following a report to the state Legislature last spring that said officials needed to make better use of the state’s passenger planes.

The increase in ridership is a result of better marketing of the Michigan Department of Transportation’s flight services to other state agencies and the introduction in January of a biweekly air shuttle to Marquette, officials told the Lansing State Journal.

Between October and March, MDOT said about 1,150 passengers rode state planes — up 41 percent from the 815 people who rode them in the same period the year before. According to MDOT officials, Michigan’s geography helps make the airplanes an asset.

“We’re ... surrounded by water unlike any other political entity,” said Rick Carlson, MDOT’s transport and safety manager. “That makes travel awkward by car, because just about every place you go is a 90-degree turn and that adds lots of miles.

“The airplanes are much more efficient in a lot of cases.”

The newspaper reported, however, that Republican Gov. Rick Snyder uses state planes less frequently than his predecessor, Democrat Jennifer Granholm. It found that Snyder used state planes at least 15 times in his first 27 months in office; in the last 33 months of Granholm’s term, she used state planes at least 55 times.

MDOT’s Air Transport division is based out of Lansing’s Capital Region International Airport, and manages and coordinates four passenger planes owned by the state. Two of the planes seat up to four passengers each and two seat up to nine people each.

The aircraft are available to state employees and employees of Michigan’s four-year public universities who can justify the cost of traveling in them for work purposes.

Randy Van Portfliet has ridden the state planes far more than anyone else in recent years, based on the newspaper’s analysis. He’s the Upper Peninsula region director for MDOT and also the department’s field services director, and travel is a big part of his job.

“I would not be able to do my job with the DOT without the plane; I just wouldn’t be able to do it at the level I perform at now,” said Van Portfliet. According to the newspaper’s analysis, he’s been a passenger on state planes at least 177 times in the past five years.

Legislative appropriations to MDOT’s aeronautics services budget, which are about $8.3 million this fiscal year, help supplement maintenance costs. They also pay for wages and benefits for two full-time pilots, two full-time mechanics and other aeronautics staff.

In addition to MDOT, the Michigan State Police and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources operate specialized helicopters and airplanes.

Ann Arbor
New $150K public art at Ann Arbor’s Justice Center

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — A new sculpture is in place at the Ann Arbor Justice Center.

Portland, Ore.,-based artist Ed Carpenter completed installing “Radius” last weekend, according to AnnArbor.com. The piece is 40 by 20 by 12 feet and made of dichroic glass, aluminum, stainless steel and LED lights.

The $150,000 work of art got mixed reviews from residents heading into the center last week and at least one employee said she didn’t even notice it.

The Ann Arbor City Council approved the project about a year ago in an 8-2 vote, with the dissenters saying there were better uses for the money.