From its much-loved taquerias to its colorful public art, the southwest side celebrates its diversity. With emerging local galleries, successful Mexican and Asian markets, and locally owned small businesses, the area is home to many of Grand Rapids' Latino groups and includes Garfield Park, Alger Heights, and Grandville Avenue, among others, and pride in culture abounds.
Roderick Daniels' Kingmakers is an organization that seeks to keep men and women from a life on the streets through skill building and work. He draws on his own story as proof it can be done.
In 1997 Apple asked us to "Think Different" and it became one of their most discussed ad campaigns. Publisher and Lifestyle Editor Tommy Allen looks to the economic fabric of our city and wonders what we will have in the near future if we "build different" now.
Over the years, G-Sync Editorial has looked at our many festivals and community events, and we've discussed the impact of these place-making activities on our local economy. Rarely do we take a moment to think about what it is to collect art. This week, read on for a look at the way one important collection was born.
Founded in 2011, Grand Rapids-based Gelo Inc. has positioned itself near the forefront of an emerging U.S. market for Bluetooth low energy beacons, small devices which can locate smartphones and tablets down to much finer distances than GPS. Steven Thomas Kent fills us in on how this little-known company specializes in technology with the potential to change the way we engage with art installations, medical care and more.
The world has been engaged in a talent and innovation battle for decades and STEM education has been the weapon of choice. But this is all about to change...that is, if we are willing to make the change. Lifestyle Editor Tommy Allen comes out about the silent "A" and our new weapon of change: STEAM.
Lifestyle Editor Tommy Allen's G-Sync is talking about how to create the city we want now in his New Year's Revolution. With seven suggestions for both personal and community improvement, surely at least one will be right up your alley in 2015. Are you in?
G-Sync's Lifestyle Editor Tommy Allen took the weekend off from attending local events and stepped into the streets of Washington, DC. Now he shares his view from the nation's capital and his hopes for 2015.
Grand Rapids has often been referred to as a "beta city," transforming our reputation in the process. Lifestyle Editor Tommy Allen discovers how the Grand Rapids debut of the DisArt Festival in 2015 will once again capture the nation's attention.
The way Grand Rapids responds to the events of Ferguson will set in motion a course of events that can either move us forward or roll us back in time. Lifestyle Editor Tommy Allen says it's time to listen and learn -- and follows through with a list of suggested articles and books to read, local organizations and initiatives to support, and smart ways to continue the conversation.
The number of teens who experience homelessness is high, and of that number between 20 and 40 percent will originate from one segment of the teen population. During National Homeless Youth Awareness Month, Lifestyle Editor Tommy Allen shines a light on what our area agencies are doing as they seek to reduce those numbers.
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