At the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown, local musician Jason Waggoner started performing on his Facebook Live feed. It was basically on a whim with the hope of getting a couple of viewers. Soon, people discovered that this hour of good, live music provided them with an escape from worries about the virus. Now he Continue Reading
As Lili Miller and Lily Witucki grow, so does their philanthropy. In 2018, they decided to have a front-yard bake sale — dubbed Sugar & Sweets — and donate 100 percent of their proceeds to the Children’s Miracle Network at Hurley. They made $372 and decided they wanted to make it an annual event. In Continue Reading
“Awe.” “Appreciation.” Those are some of the responses the professionals involved with repurposing the former Genesee County Savings Bank building in downtown Flint hope to see from visitors when the long-vacant structure debuts as a Hilton Garden Inn in October. “I love working on historical buildings and the fact that we’re trying to preserve them,” Continue Reading
They’re just three letters, but what they represent may very well have spelled the difference between success and failure for some Genesee County businesses during the COVID-19 shutdowns, observers say. The federal PPP, or Paycheck Protection Program, pumped a total of more than $550 million into 3,862 Genesee County businesses when the U.S. Small Business Continue Reading
For L’Oreal and Steven Hartwell, owning the Dawn Donuts shop at Pasadena Avenue and Clio Road is about more than making a living – they’re also aiming to inspire nearby residents to follow their dreams. Fletcher Rheaves not only employs nearly three dozen people at his Flint-based Great Lakes Facility Management janitorial services company, but Continue Reading
Ask economic developers what they expect from local units of government, and they’ll probably answer something like this: “Transparency. Predictability. Efficiency.” Thanks to the state’s Redevelopment Ready Community (RRC) program, some Genesee County municipalities are achieving exactly that type of balance in their daily development activities. RRC, administered by the Michigan Economic Development Corp., aims Continue Reading
More frequent hand-washing breaks and other enhanced sanitation practices. Supplying face masks for employees to wear on the job. A sharp increase in the use of videoconferencing. Those were among the practices implemented by area businesses that continued to operate in at least a reduced capacity as the economy otherwise drastically slowed in the wake Continue Reading
While some Genesee County businesses were categorized as “essential” and were allowed to continue operating under the executive order Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued in March to help contain the spread of the coronavirus, at least a couple decided to become even more vital. For example, two area businesses — Fenton-based Domico Med-Device and BAJ Glass Continue Reading
Raise the curtain on any performance, exhibit or other activity at the Flint Cultural Center and you’ll find … a marketing opportunity? That’s one way leaders of the various Cultural Center institutions are encouraging local economic development officials to think of arts and culture’s role in the community. Armed with a recent study that found Continue Reading
Some basic math illustrates the importance of an accurate census count for Flint and Genesee County. “We cannot afford to miss anyone,” said Anthony Turner, Flint’s 2020 census coordinator. “A 10,000-person undercount is $2 billion (in federal funding) over 10 years that the city misses out on. Everybody will lose.” Indeed, the results of this Continue Reading
