SpringHill Suites in Midland earns honors from management company

Lodgco Management has named SpringHill Suites by Marriott, 800 Joe Mann, a Platinum Hotel for 2011. This award is given to the top 5 percent of SpringHill Suites in the brand, and is based upon overall guest satisfaction. Currently there are 288 SpringHill Suites in the chain. Also, Jody Cooley, the Midland hotel's general manager, was named Diamond General Manager for 2011. Only three Diamond General Managers are selected each year by the SpringHill Suites brand team.

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Dow to Share Laboratory Safety Expertise with University of Minnesota

The Dow Chemical Company and University of Minnesota are expanding their strategic partnership by launching a pilot program to improve safety awareness and practices in the Department of Chemistry and Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science in the university's College of Science and Engineering. The pilot program will leverage key elements of Dow's best-in-class practices to help improve university laboratory safety. The safety partnership reinforces Dow's commitment to advancing research and development at leading U.S. universities. In support of the company's goal to support breakthrough technologies and ensure a strong pipeline of scientific talent for the nation's workforce, Dow announced in October 2011 it would invest $25 million per year for 10 years among 11 academic institutions, including the University of Minnesota.

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Family means everything at Pizza Sam's in Midland

Nick Stamas still makes his way into Pizza Sam’s, sitting at West Main and Ashman in downtown Midland. And when the restaurant gets busy, says his son-in-law, Gus Wojda, “he’ll slip into the kitchen and make his homemade Coney sauce when we don’t have time to see what he puts in it.” But Wojda and Stamas’ niece, Dawn Rugenstein, aren’t going to complain. Whatever he does with the popular hot dog topping and his homemade soups are part of what has kept the community mainstay in business for more than 50 years. “The rice pudding comes from a family recipe, too, and I tell people if I give them the recipe, I will have to kill them,” Rugenstein quipped. “It’s one of our secrets.” It’s no secret what most people come around to eat — a hand-tossed pizza featuring dough and sauce made fresh each day and toppings chopped on the premises. Young customers can watch through a glass partition as crew members toss and twirl the discs high in the air.

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Midland Center for the Arts hosts Chinese Cultural Festival on Saturday

Residents here can get a taste of Chinese culture during a free event Saturday at the Midland Center for the Arts. The Chinese Cultural Ongoing Program, a mid-Michigan-based nonprofit organization, is organizing the Chinese Cultural Festival. The event opens at 1:30 p.m. with a China-centric exhibit featuring ancient costumes and calligraphy. A 3 p.m. performance will include a Chinese classical orchestra and dance. The exhibit closes at 6 p.m. “People can get exposure to the Chinese culture,” said James Mentele, a spokesman for the Chinese Cultural Ongoing Program. “They can, in the demonstrations, see how certain things are done. There’s going to be a lot of colorful costumes.”

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Dow Chemical's 1Q profit drops 34 percent

The Dow Chemical Co. said Thursday that its first-quarter earnings fell 34 percent after it took a pre-tax charge of $357 million to close some plants. The largest U.S. chemical maker reported income of $412 million, or 35 cents per share, from January to March. That compared with $625 million, or 54 cents per share, for the same quarter in 2011. Net income in both quarters included $85 million in preferred stock dividends. Excluding restructuring costs related to the plant closures and other special items, Dow said it earned 61 cents per share. Revenue was flat at $14.7 billion.

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Jon McLaughlin concert, Great Lakes Loons Pennant Race puts Saturday spotlight on downtown Midland

The Loons Pennant Race, a free concert and the Great Lakes Loons baseball game will keep people moving and traffic stopped Saturday in downtown Midland. The 11 a.m. Loons Pennant Race begins at Dow Diamond with a 5-kilometer run, a 5-kilometer walk and a 1-mile run. Runners will also receive a ticket to Saturday's Great Lakes Loons-Kane County Cougars game. Main Street in Midland will be closed from State Street to Fitzhugh until the last runner is done. At 1 p.m., recording artist Jon McLaughlin will give a free concert as Midland's Music on the Main. McLaughlin's music has been featured on television shows Scrubs, Ghost Whisperer and A Little Thing Called Life and movies Bridget to Terabithia, Georgia Rule and Enchanted.

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Dow Chemical Co. to report first-quarter results

The Dow Chemical Co. could offer some insight into how the global economy is faring when it reports first-quarter results Thursday before the market opens. WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Dow Chemical's products are used in nearly every sector of the economy so the manufacturing giant is in a good position to feel the impact of shifts in economic growth. The Midland, Mich., company has benefited from growth in emerging economies in the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America, but its performance has been hurt by the slower economy across Europe, which is embroiled in a massive government debt crisis that is pushing the region back into a recession. During the fourth quarter, weak sales in Europe and the U.S. contributed to a $20 million loss for Dow Chemical.

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Republican Majority Leader U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor: Silicon Valley has nothing on Midland

U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor, the Republican House majority leader from Virginia, compared the global reach of technology mecca Silicon Valley to Midland on Monday. “It’s ironic, you go to Silicon Valley, and they say if you live in Silicon Valley you wake up thinking globally,” he told a gathering of about 300 Republicans in the ballroom of Midland’s The H Hotel at a breakfast fundraiser. “I don’t think Silicon Valley has anything on Midland, Michigan." “The irony of a state that’s had such challenges and to have a community like this that is leading the global competition ... hats off to you.”

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Midland County woman convicted of assault that left Bay City woman blind in one eye ordered to pay $126,561

An Ingersoll Township woman convicted of striking a woman outside a Bay City bar, but not of using a high-heeled shoe to blind her in one eye, has to pay more than $100,000 in restitution. Bay County Circuit Judge Joseph K. Sheeran Tuesday morning ordered Rebekah M. Lloyd to pay $126,561.63, a sum tripled from the original $42,187.21 her victim, Michelle LeBlanc, has had to pay in medical bills and associated costs. The judge also sentenced Lloyd to 93 days in jail, with credit for one day served.

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Holocaust survivor speaks Wednesday at Northwood University

Holocaust survivor Erna Gorman will share her experiences at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 25, in the Carl A. Gerstacker Academic Center at Northwood University, 4000 Whiting. Gorman was born in Metz, France, in 1935. In 1939, her family traveled to Poland to attend a family function when World War II began. Detained by Nazis, the family fled to the Ukraine, where they lived in hiding or many years before emigrating to the United States. Gorman is the author of the book "While Other Children Played." She will share her experiences in hiding and the importance of accepting people for who they are.

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Attorney General Bill Schuette serves coffee at Midland Republican fundraiser featuring U.S. Rep Eric Cantor

Republican Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette isn't dispensing law enforcement, but hot coffee this morning. He strolled the banquet room at the The H hotel in Midland, busy welcoming guests to a Great Lakes Bay Region Republicans fundraiser breakfast at The H, 111 Main in Midland, which features a keynote speech by U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor, House Majority Leader for the Republican Party. U.S. Rep. Dave Camp, R-Midland, is also scheduled to speak at the event that draws nearly 300 area Republicans to the $50-per-plate event each year.

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Chefs for Shelterhouse event at Midland Center for the Arts offers good eats for a good cause

Now here are some impressive numbers: $60,000, 500 and 10. The money, $60,000, is the amount the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse of Midland and Gladwin Counties is hoping to raise, with its annual fundraiser, Chefs for Shelterhouse. Organizers are hoping 500 people come to the Midland Center for the Arts to watch 10 chefs prepare their dishes so that patrons may taste them. Chefs will be set up in the lobby of the Midland Center for the Arts, with tables in the red carpet area of the auditorium and the garden room. Calling Chefs for Shelterhouse one of the area's most popular nonprofit fundraisers, Sharon Mortensen, executive director, says Shelterhouse is a lean nonprofit, with most of the money raised going to clients.

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AFL-CIO says Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris among Michigan's top three executive earners

Andrew N. Liveris, chairman and chief executive officer of the Dow Chemical Co., makes more money than nearly every other publicly-held company CEO in the state of Michigan. The AFL-CIO released a list of America's 100 highest paid chief executives of publicly held companies, breaking it down by state. While Liveris's 2010 earnings of $21,337,757 ranked him in the bottom 50 percent of the country's highest earning CEO's, it put him in the No. 3 spot in Michigan. Privately-held companies were not included in the list. While Liveris earned a salary of only $1,691,667, according to data from the AFL-CIO, he earned $5,683,729 in stock awards, had stock options valued at $5,060,006, a non-equity incentive plan compensation of $5,000,000, a change in pension value and deferred compensation earnings of $3,605,210, and a total of $297,145 in other compensation.

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Dave MacDonald retires after 35 years as Midland Dow varsity boys basketball coach

Dave MacDonald began his coaching career competing in the Saginaw Valley League when it was in its prime. In 35 years, it hasn't gotten much easier. MacDonald, 62, stepped down Thursday as the Midland Dow boys basketball varsity coach, ending a career that spanned more than 35 years. "I started at Dow when the Saginaw Valley League was in its prime," MacDonald said. "There were just some incredible teams, some incredible players, some great coaches.

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Dow Chemical holding private meetings for Midland homeowners for dioxin cleanup

Midland homeowners can meet with Dow Chemical Co. officials to discuss cleanup options. About 500 residents attended a public comment meeting Tuesday in Midland to share their views about the cleanup and learn more about it. In February, Dow announced a plan to test soil for dioxin levels at nearly 1,500 residential properties in Midland. Terry Miller, Bay City-based environmental group Lone Tree Council chairman, said he applauds the cleanup but asks Dow to lower the 250 parts per trillion dioxin level figure the company is using to drive the cleanup, the Midland Daily News reported. "We believe this historic cleanup should be done once and done right so that this issue can finally be resolved for the community," Miller said, according to the Midland Daily News.

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Tax breaks for retirement savings should be simpler, Camp says

U.S. tax incentives for retirement savings should be simpler and encourage more participation by low- and middle-income taxpayers, said Dave Camp, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Camp, the top Republican tax writer, said today that he hasn’t drawn conclusions about what Congress should do on retirement savings as it overhauls the tax code by lowering rates and curtailing tax breaks. Camp also said he supported the idea of requiring automatic enrollment in individual retirement accounts. President Barack Obama and Representative Richard Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat, support making employers who don’t offer retirement plans enroll their workers in IRAs. “I basically, in general, like the concept,” Camp, a Michigan Republican, told reporters after a hearing on retirement tax policy. “I think it’s got a lot of merit.”

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Students stand up for Midland teachers in contract negotiations

Several students spoke in support for their teachers at the Midland Public Schools board meeting on Monday, the Midland Daily News reported. The Midland schools administration and 460-member Midland Education Association have been in contract negotiations since the summer of 2010. The News reported: "I believe that Midland teachers make a difference," Thomas Wheadon, an H.H. Dow High School senior who works on the school's newspaper and yearbook, said. "I cannot sit idly by when the people who got me into college are so poorly treated."

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Midland's Alyvia Jones advances to quarterfinal of Easter Bowl tennis open

Midland’s Alyvia Jones, 11, took her game to the clay as the No. 3 seed in the USTA National Spring Open “The Easter Bowl” played in Delray Beach, Fla. The Midland youngster competed in the Girls’ 12 Division at the tournament, one of four “Super-Nationals “ for her age group. In the singles, Jones defeated Natasha Subhash, Fairfax, Va., 6-1, 6-2; Jenna Dean, Bradenton, Fla., 6-0, 6-0; Maria McKay, Ocklawaha, Fla., 6-1, 6-0, and Melissa Plambeck, Bradenton, Fla., 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (3), before losing in the quarterfinals to Victoria Emma, Naples, Fla., 3-6, 6-1, 6-0. Jones, a seven-time national junior’s champion, turns 12 next month with another year of eligibility in the division. She is ranked No. 2 in the USTA Midwest and No. 8 in the nation.

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U.S. Rep. Dave Camp says "Buffett Rule" a job killer

U.S. Rep. Dave Camp, R-Midland, is calling for reforming the tax code after the Senate's procedural vote on the so-called "Buffett Rule." The "Buffett Rule," which would set a minimum 30 percent tax on the country's wealthiest, was proposed last year by President Barack Obama. According to the White House, the "Buffett Rule" is a simple principle that everyone should pay their fair share in taxes, meaning no household making more than a $1 million should pay a smaller share of their income in taxes than middle-class families pay, and for the 98 percent of American families who make less than $250,000, taxes should not go up. “President John F. Kennedy once said that the soundest way to raise revenues in the long run is to cut the tax rates now," Camp said in a release. "Apparently, modern day Democrats just don’t see it that way."

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Dow Chemical, MDEQ host public hearing for Midland soil dioxin cleanup

Dow Chemical Co. and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality are offering members of the public a chance to comment on the Midland soil dioxin cleanup. The hearing is 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Dow Memorial Library Auditorium, 1710 W. St. Andrews in Midland. Residents can make formal comments regarding the cleanup or submit comments in writing by April 25.

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Is advanced battery maker Dow Kokam in Midland 10 years too early?

Was Dow Kokam built too early? In a recent report from the Detroit Free Press, Michigan's growing battery industry is examined, and the timing for the opening of Dow Kokam, a $320 million facility in Midland, is questioned. "With slow sales and several bankruptcies plaguing the electric vehicle industry, it would appear that 2012 may not be the best year to open a new lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant in Michigan," the report read. When Dow Kokam, a joint venture of the Dow Chemical Co., TK Advanced Battery, LLC — based in Lees Summit, Missouri — and Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault, a French company, opens later this year, it will become Michigan's fifth advanced battery manufacturer.

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Earth Day Expo at Midland Center for the Arts collects batteries, books, gives out coffee grounds for gardening

The focus in Midland is on recycling, said Debbie Anderson, curator of education at the Alden B. Dow Museum of Science and Art, as “Rethinking Recycling: It’s Easy to Be Green!” follows the lead of the American Chemical Society. “We are a disposable society,” she said, and many of the groups that will fill the brick lobby from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 21, at the Midland Center for the Arts, 1801 W. St. Andrews, will give visitors a chance to drop off everything from household batteries to prescription drugs and gently used books and CDs. An art show features works created by young people from recycled materials.
“Parents of young children know how quickly those batteries can build up as their little ones play with their battery-operated toys,” Anderson said.

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Senators Green, Moolenaar attend signing of bills to stop food assistance abuse

Sen. John Moolenaar, R-Midland, and Sen. Mike Green, R-Mayville, joined Gov. Rick Snyder for the signing of legislation to help prevent large lottery winners from receiving public food assistance. "Food assistance is intended to help put food on the table for families struggling to make ends meet in tough times," Moolenaar said. "This reform is about ensuring this important aid goes to those who truly need it and not to million-dollar jackpot lottery winners." Senate Bill 711, sponsored by Moolenaar, requires the Michigan Lottery to notify the Department of Human Services of the name and other information of a winner of a prize of $1,000 or more within seven days. SB 712 and House Bill 5033, sponsored by Sen. Green and Rep. David Agema, would require DHS to apply an asset test when determining eligibility of an individual for food aid. Lottery or other gambling winnings would go toward this asset total.

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Dave Camp questions why IRS could receive $500 million to implement health care law

U.S. Rep. Dave Camp, R-Midland, this week sent a letter to the IRS, requesting details about reports the Obama Administration will give the IRS $500 million to implement the 2010 health care law. “These reports are just the tip of the iceberg, as the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has warned that the IRS could need up to $10 billion to implement the Democrats’ health care law over the next decade," said Camp in a release. "This expansion of the IRS’ power and reach into Americans' daily lives includes the IRS verifying that you have acceptable health care coverage, penalizing you if you don’t and increasing audits."

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Witness: Rachel Moore had planned to move in with man prosecutors say she later killed in Midland

The night prosecutors allege she gunned down a man in a Midland Burger King parking lot, Rachel M. Moore had dinner with the father of one of her two sons, according the father himself. Thomas Carpenter, the father of Moore’s younger boy, testified today in Moore’s trial that on the evening of July 18 he received a phone call from Moore’s 12-year-old son by a different man, stating he needed to come to Moore’s Sanford house and pick up his son. Moore and Carpenter then spoke on the phone, and Moore at one point said she shot 67-year-old Brian L. Reichow in the Burger King parking lot at 6730 Eastman, Carpenter said. Carpenter described Reichow as Moore’s boyfriend. “Her and Brian had plans on getting a house, a townhouse or something,” he said.

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EU to Review Ethanolamine Duties After Dow Chemical Lifts Prices

The European Union is reviewing anti-dumping measures against ethanolamine imports from the U.S. as they apply to Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) after the company increased its prices. The EU said Dow, based in Midland, Michigan, requested the review after raising its export prices for ethanolamines, which are used for products including detergents, textiles, herbicides and cement. The company provided “evidence showing that the continued imposition of the measure at its current level is no longer necessary to counteract the injurious dumping,” the EU said today in a statement on its website.

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Soda pop fame: Midland photographer lands picture on Jones Soda label

With flavors like strawberry lime and berry lemonade, the Jones Soda Co. is already pretty unique. But you can't pick up a bottle of Jones without noticing the picture on the front. You'd be hard-pressed to find the same picture every time as professional, hobby and amateur photographers send  thousands of quirky pictures to the Jones Soda Co. every year in the hopes of landing a spot on the company's bottles. Though he submitted the photo four years ago, Ryan Hegenauer last week received a package in the mail with a congratulatory letter from Jones, letting him know his picture would appear on Jones Soda bottles, along with a set of labels. "I thought it was pretty cool," Hegenauer said. "In the letter, they said only about 1 percent of the pictures sent in actually make it on bottles."

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'Walton and the Waltz' closes the Midland Symphony Orchestra season

“Walton and the Waltz” promises more than the billed “classically elegant close to the Midland Symphony Orchestra season” on Saturday, April 14. Along with Walton’s “Scapino: A Comedy Overture” and the challenging Violin Concerto featuring guest conductor Mischa Santora and violinist Elissa Lee Koljonen comes news from the symphony’s manager director, Kimberly Dimond. “We are planning a gala event in May where we will unveil our new conductor,” Dimond said, marking the end of a year-long private search. “It’s been an extremely enjoyable process, and we’re extremely pleased with the caliber of our choices. It’s phenomenal; we knew the new model (of a non-residential director) would open our opportunities, but we didn’t expect it to this degree.”

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Loons ready for Opening Day festivities

The 2012 Great Lakes Loons are gearing up for its Opening Day celebration. The Loons began the season on the road in Lansing and will return for Opening Day at Dow Diamond on Monday. The Opening Day pregame festivities will begin at 4 p.m. with the Loons tailgate party, followed by the Loons Opening Day Celebration parade. The parade, put on by the Great Lakes Loons and the Midland Downtown Development Authority, will kick off at 4:30 p.m. on Main Street near the corner of Gordon Street in downtown Midland, travel down Main Street and finish in front of Dow Diamond. The parade will include Loons players, marching bands, previous grant recipients from the Michigan Baseball Foundation, as well as community businesses and organizations.

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Fashionistas, follow the "Muse" to Midland's Northwood University

While Jennette Cobb is fully immersed in the designer clothes and accessories bursting with color at the 11th annual Northwood University Style Show, the senior from Grandville knows well the true beauty of the student-produced and operated event. She realized through the hands-on experience in past years that fashion design wasn’t a good fit and that she much preferred the talent agent role she played in assembling models and the marketing tasks she’s handling for the show coming Friday, April 13, to the university’s Hach Student Life Center. From marketing and finance to hospitality and sports promotion majors, students handle every aspect of the production, right down to the models showcasing fashions from boutiques around the state.

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Dave Camp praises signing of JOBS Act by President Obama

U.S. Rep. Dave Camp, R-Midland, is praising the signing of the JOBS — Jump-starting Our Business Start-ups — Act, by President Obama. Camp said the House Republican-authored bill, which was signed Thursday by President Obama, streamlines and repeals financial regulations that are holding back small business and entrepreneurial growth. “Small business owners in Michigan have repeatedly told me that one of the biggest barriers they face is accessing funds to expand their operations and hire new workers," Camp said. "The JOBS Act eases the financial burdens small businesses face so that they can invest, grow and get Americans back to work."

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Los Angeles Dodgers prospect Brandon Martinez battles Tourette syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder

His arms are covered not with dirt, but with tattoos. Brandon Martinez would never allow dirt on his arms. The tattooed word "Hate" lives on his left arm, while "Love" is on his right, just as peace, for Martinez, is on the baseball field and unrest is everywhere else. Martinez makes his first start of the season at 2:05 p.m. Saturday for the Great Lakes Loons when they visit the Lansing Lugnuts for a Midwest League game. The 21-year-old right-hander isn't sure how many showers he will take before the game, but more than one is likely. He also doesn't know how many times he will wash his hands, but again, more than once is likely.

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Orange barrel time in Midland on Monday

The morning commute could be a little longer than normal for drivers in Midland on Monday, April 9. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will perform routine safety inspection of the M-20 bridge over the Tittabawassee River.  The work begins at 9 a.m. The inspection requires intermittent lane closures in each direction at all times, with the work scheduled to wrap up at 2:30 p.m. This inspection will require intermittent lane closures for eastbound and westbound M-20 traffic on the bridge. One lane will remain open in each direction at all times.

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Midland Conservation District election ruled invalid by agency

via Midland Daily News

The December 2011 election of three new directors for the Midland Conservation District has been ruled invalid by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. In a letter dated Feb. 16, 2012, MDARD Regional Coordinator Chris Savona informed the MCD that they had “failed to comply with election law.” As a result, the people elected to the MCD in December will not be allowed to hold office. The letter was addressed to Karol Hermans, chairperson of the MCD. According to the letter, the district failed to meet the election requirements by not supplying candidates’ election petitions to the MDARD within the specified 60 day time frame.

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Midland County second in Michigan for bath salts calls to poison control in 2011

After asking stores to pull products from their shelves and arresting a local distributor last fall, the Midland Police Department has seen a decline in bath salt use since the new designer drug began to pop up in 2011, but current laws limit what they can do to stop its use. In 2011, about 14 percent of the 162 complaints about bath salts to the Michigan Poison Control Center came from Midland County. There were 162 total calls in Michigan, with Marquette at the top of the list with 27, followed by Midland (23), Wayne (13) and Dickinson (10). 6,137 bath salt products were reported to poison control centers in the United States in 2011. In Midland, Police Community Relations Officer Chris Wenzel said the department had its first call involving bath salts during a suicide attempt in April of 2011. Other calls involving bath salts continued through the summer, some including violent and unusual behavior.

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Dow Chemical Co. chief health officer recognized by Institute for Health and Productivity Management

Dr. Catherine Baase, chief health officer of The Dow Chemical Co., this week received the 10th Annual President's Award from the 12th Annual International Health & Productivity Management Conference. “Dr. Baase is a visible and vocal leader of the international corporate community in promoting the value of investing in employee health as a human capital asset that produces a measurable return in lower medical costs and improved productivity,” said Sean Sullivan, president and chief executive officer of International Health & Productivity Management. The award formerly was given to an organization that was helping to develop the new field of health and productivity management. Recently, it has been given to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding leadership and innovation in advancing this field.

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Dow Chemical to cut jobs

Dow Chemical will cut 900 jobs and shutter plants on three continents because of weakness in Europe, which may soon tip back into recession if it has not done so already. Dow spokeswoman Rebecca Bentley said the layoffs are primarily focused on Western Europe and Brazil. She could not say whether there would be any layoffs in Michigan. The company expects that a little less than 375 of its 25,000 employees in North America will be affected. Dow was ravaged during the global and economic crisis that struck four years ago, cutting more than 10,000 positions then. CEO Andrew Liveris has aggressively sought to keep the company, the nation's largest chemical maker, agile despite its size. "These actions, while difficult, are in full alignment with our commitment to continually manage our portfolio to adapt to changing and volatile economic conditions, as we are seeing particularly in Western Europe," Liveris said.

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Michigan Mega Millions: $250,000 prize winner credits his 'itchy' hand

The Michigan Lottery has announced a couple winners in recent Mega Millions drawings. They are winners who came close -- matching 5 of the numbers, but missing the Mega Ball -- walking away with $250,000.
A $250,000 winner of the March 20 drawing says it was an "itchy" hand that led him to buy a ticket at the Next Door Food store in Midland. "There is an old wives tale that says an itching hand means you’ll come into money," according to a release from the Michigan Lottery. Well, for a couple of days, Paul Walker’s hand would not stop itching, the release added.

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Dow Chemical To Close Plants, Cut 900 Jobs On Europe Weakness

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) said Monday that it will close certain manufacturing plants in Europe, North America as well as Latin America and cut about 900 jobs worldwide, citing continued weakness in the European economy. The maker of chemical products will also cancel certain capital projects. Accordingly, Dow will take charges totaling about $350 million in the first quarter for asset impairments and write-offs, severance and other costs related to these measures.

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UM President Mary Sue Coleman serves as keynote for Midland Chamber

The Midland Area Chamber of Commerce will host Dr. Mary Sue Coleman, President of the University of Michigan as keynote speaker at its second quarter membership luncheon Monday. Dr. Coleman will be discussing partnerships between business and education. The luncheon begins at 11:30 a.m. and ends at 1 p.m. at the H Hotel in downtown Midland. The program will also feature Customer Service Award Winners, the Chamber Member of the Quarter and other Chamber updates. The Midland Area Chamber of Commerce, which serves approximately 950 members, is a past two-time recipient of the "Outstanding Chamber of the Year Award" by the Michigan Association of Chamber Professionals.

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