The $12 Million Quarterback
The 2024 Michigan Football season is likely to be remembered for two things: After a tepid start, the Wolverines upset the Ohio State Buckeyes. And Bryce Underwood upended Michigan athletics.
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Business
Mall Ambition
“Briarwood is now charging a parking fee for premium spaces—20 feet closer to the doors!” a poster wrote on nextdoor.com. “Really? A rip off!”
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Tipping Point
In July, the Michigan Supreme Court restored a 2018 law that raised the state’s minimum wage, expanded sick-leave requirements, and phased out the subminimum wage for workers earning tips.
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Market Inflation
Grocery prices have climbed 25 percent since the beginning of the pandemic, and farmers like Robertello aren’t immune.
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GMA Doughnuts
On July 3, hundreds of people thronged the intersection of S. Ashley and W. Liberty to watch a live segment from Good Morning America. But only one local business had a presence in GMA’s studio back in New York City.
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Selfie Studio
Similar photo booth businesses have been growing rapidly in South Korea over the last decade, according to Sean Lee, one of four partners in the company. They have four other locations, all in California, but their goal is to open Potobox shops in every state.
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The Litmus Test
Jeff Hauptman’s office on the seventh floor of the 777 Building at Eisenhower and State has stunning views north to the U-M campus and downtown. But when he toured the building seven years ago, what really stayed with him was what he saw when he looked down—and saw how much space was used for nothing but parking cars.
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Main St. Mystery
The nine-story building was developed by DTE’s real estate division, and floors two through seven once bustled with nearly 400 company employees. But in March of 2021, with many of them working from home, DTE vacated the building and listed 105,727 square feet of office space for sale. California-based REalta Capital purchased it in late 2022 for an estimated $21 million.
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Bob Lutz
For decades, Bob Lutz was one of the most influential executives in the auto industry, shaping models that ranged from the first BMW 3 series and Dodge Viper to the Ford Explorer and Chevy Volt. And now, after a succession of high-level jobs and dozens of distinctive vehicles, he’s once again making paper models.
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Bookseller Jay Platt
Every time Jay Platt walked past the building on his way to work, he thought it would be an ideal...
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Coworking Rebound
WeWork, the infamous startup once valued at $47 billion, filed for bankruptcy in November. But...
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Mail Theft
Eric Parkhurst, owner of Winewood Organics, had rushed outside after a security camera showed a...
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Mallek’s Mystery
Mallek’s Service closed in June of 2022, after eighty-one years pumping gas and fixing cars at the...
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SI on S. Ashley?
Michael Watts found out about the proposed sixteen-story building outside his back window in late...
Read MoreQuestion Corner | Dec. 2023
Q. Were automobiles ever manufactured in Ann Arbor? If so, do any of those vehicles survive? A. Automobile manufacturers proliferated in the early years of the industry. In 1908 there were 253 U.S. manufacturers. The Huron River...
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Auto Labs Flourish
“It’s a facility that’s dedicated 100 percent to processing safety defects,” says Benjamin...
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Power Down
After a windstorm in July, we’d been without power for nearly 70 hours when my wife got a text...
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