crinzema

100% agreed. It sounds to me her problem is attracting and acquiring the talent, not that the talent isn't there. Case in point: "We are not in an era where people are sending in résumés,"

I was wondering if you guys thought it would be a good idea to create a LinkedIn group inviting all of Urban Planet's Grand Rapids Members to join. I always wanted to know what people on this forum did for a living and I thought LinkedIn would be a great way of connecting.

I just found this one website that is tickling my nerd bone. It is an Internet Mapping application, specific to Grand Rapids, in where you can look up all sorts of information about grand rapids and such. I geek out over stuff like this so... Here is the link

Well, I actually volunteer with the grand rapids community foundation youth grant committee. The person heading up that operation was a woman. I don't know much about the entire foundation as a whole, but as far the the youth grand committee is concerned, the volunteers were equally represent by both genders. I just took a look at their website and out of the 23 positions held there, only 1 is held by a man. I believe there is some gender bias. But I also believe many woman actively pursue this type of career. Believe you me, I don't think that kind of position is for me and a lot of guys would say the same thing. Although you could pick up a lot of chicks when you say, "I work for a community foundation to better the lives of individuals around me." But those sound like words of a woman, and that's why I think there are so many woman in that particular field.

Good Rendering lol

I think this is worthy of a comment here at the watering hole. PBS now has all their video content with full episodes of every show available on their website. link PBS has absolutely amazing content. AAA Quality. I'm giddy with excitement. Maybe that was an overstatement, but I think i have found my new favorite website. Frontline and Nova are 2 of my favorite shows.

How about we all become poor and create character in every neighborhood. Lets ship homeless people around the country to the grand rapids. Instead of rehabing historical buildings to increase their value, how about we put them all in a state of disrepair. That'll sure make us a vibrant city. Detroit should be looked up to as thee go to place for the up and coming. Who doesn't want to move to detroit? I can't think of one person.

As your coming along on michigan street from the east going west, it looks as though the sky-walk is blocking the road due to the sky-walk being further down the hill. I'll see if i can get a shot of it tomorrow.

I like A2 the best, next would be plan A1 then plan F. It has to be congruent to the current design because no matter how interesting the addition could look like, 20 years down the road it would stick out like a sore thumb. I'm feeling a poll should be in the works here.

What we should not be asking ourselves is, "this money could of been better spent on..." When our government is running in red ink at all levels, what we should be asking ourselves is, "Where did this money come from." I guess we must follow Obama's financial policy that he laid out in the state of the union address, freeze wasteful spending in 2011 so that our economy can start growing in the mean time. Or in other words, start budgeting only when you make more money. When your as young as I am, you don't worry so much about the job situation as you do the debt situation. Your putting the next generation into slavery so that you can have some temporary jobs now. Spending money only buys temporary jobs, savings creates lasting jobs.

I can't believe how fast the last few stories went up. It is now a prominent fixture in GR's skyline. The perspective this building has of downtown is quite unique. Has it topped off yet? I'll get a few pictures up tomorrow, just don't want my lens to get frozen before I can get a picture off.

given that the "largest" artprize is occurring in Grand Rapids right now, one can assume it might be described as being giant. I love seeing the success of Artprize, but what I can't wait to see the growth of this event next year. Then hopefully, the phrase "giant artprize" would not be fitting.

Everyone but you. Do you get out alot? read the newspaper? Watch tv? It's the biggest thing going on in Grand Rapids Right right now. Read the artprize thread.

Meijer Grand Cycling Classic in downtown Grand Rapids on 8/08/09

I like the name "The Addition", but it's more than that though, it's bigger. The Big Old Building only refers to the size and age of the building. I think the name that refers, in someway, back to the B.O.B trumps that which refers to the function of the building. Just my opinion though. My new favorite is "The Addition"

Isn't Fulton the dividing line between the City Center and the Heartside? It becomes a technicality when it's that close. Heartside inspired?

The name seems like my baby, I have given birth to it, and I can't help but feel overly protective to it. It may be a bad name, I accept that. I've come up with a couple of other names as well. Here It goes. They have all been submitted. My name suggestions are: 1: The Valve 2: The Core 3: The Pulse I May have hyped my names, but I wanted to show how this building will be where the pulse of the community is in the Heartside District. The Theme is the Heart, and how the building is in the center of all the action.

I have just won the name contest hands down I don't feel free to say the name at the moment, but I know I won. Kicks any of their top names in the butt while adding a contemporary feel + historical reference to the area + meaning to the building. It's now only a matter of time before they select my name.

I'd much rather have bike lanes throughout the city. I think the future of personal transportation, especially personal transportation that is healthy like: walking or riding a bike, has a much brighter future than creating a system that makes people dependent to government transportation services. Although I'm much more on the fence about the BRT system then before.

Please debunk my concerns 1. Economy 2. I'm concerned with our national debt And don't tell me it's going to be spend somewhere else if it's not going to be spent here. That's like saying, i'm going to chop off one of my limbs, which one? how about none? Just because your children's tax money is available to spend somewhere does not make it morally right to spend it. 3. Initial Cost barrier 4. Hard numbers on examples of increased ridership rate in other cities 5. Operating rate vs. Bus's operating rate 6. Why does this increases development and not buses. Are we paying 40,000,000 for a time improvement with which a 10 minute improvement will never be seen by an average rider unless they get on at the beginning of the route, and just so happens to hop off at the very very end of the route. 7. What does Division look like with a dedicated BRT lane? 1 lane for cars each way? 8. How long will this system last before another upgrade is needed?

I was giving a very generous estimate. But if you did your estimation with the real cost of this project, it would cost more than a used Ferrari or a brand new BMW per rider. Thats not fair to me who riders around the city with my rust bucket that I pay for with my money. I don't mind more buses, but when this kind of luxury is lavished on a few at the expense of the whole region, this is anything but progressive.

yes yes, of course. Let me just start off with that I think because we have so many conservatives in the area, that we can get them to buy smaller more efficient vehicles, as long there is there is still an option to buy any vehicle they choose, and that the government is not playing favorites through taxation. I think a true conservative solution can't be controlled because it's up for each individual to decide what's right going forward, not a government.