Our roundup of the latest news from metro Detroit and Michigan businesses as well as announcements from government agencies, including updates about the COVID-19 pandemic. To share a business or nonprofit story, please send us a message.
Pincanna Opens Cannabis Retail Shop in East Lansing
Farmington Hills-based Pincanna has expanded its retail footprint with the opening of a 7,000-square-foot, two-story cannabis outlet in East Lansing.
Pincanna repurposed an apartment building on E. Grand River to build a modern retail space, with a second-floor mezzanine overlooking its first-floor showroom. Custom display cases, oversized graphics, and vintage marijuana posters add to the colorful backdrop.
For efficiency, dumbwaiters have been installed to transport products from the fulfillment center housed on the building’s third floor. Digital graphics also will be a significant part of telling the Pincanna brand story and to educate customers about the benefits of cannabis. A patient consulting room also is available for one-on-one consultations with medical marijuana customers.
More than 60 employees have been hired to staff Pincanna’s East Lansing location (1234 E. Grand River). Shoppers can place pre-orders at Pincanna.com, pick up curbside, or shop inside the store, with delivery starting in the coming weeks.
“Not surprisingly, we are thrilled to open what we consider one of the best cannabis retail locations in the state, which happens to be in my alma mater town of East Lansing,” says Robert Nusbaum, co-founder of Pincanna. “We look forward to providing a vast selection of cannabis products to those who are seeking a variety of recreational experiences, as well as relief from medical conditions.”
To celebrate its entry into East Lansing, Pincanna commissioned the creation of “Vital Nature,” created by Detroit-based sculpture artist Foster Willey, which is now placed on the store’s front lawn. The stainless-steel sculpture personifies the themes of nature, health, wellness, and vitality, and rests on a rust patina base.
PNC Asset Management Group Consolidates, Rebrands
The PNC Asset Management Group has consolidated all of its personal wealth businesses under the newly branded PNC Private Bank.
“PNC Private Bank exemplifies the robust expertise and capabilities our team offers to clients spanning emerging, established and multi-generational stages of wealth,” says Carole Brown, head of the PNC Asset Management Group. “Unifying our personal wealth businesses in this way is consistent with the seamless client experience we strive to provide, regardless of where a client is located or where they fall on the wealth spectrum.”
PNC Private Bank, headed by Don Heberle, will serve emerging, established, and multi-generational affluent wealth segments. To best do so, teams of advisors with specialized expertise in serving clients across these segments will be formed in each new market that PNC enters through its acquisition of BBVA USA., while Private Bank teams in most existing PNC markets will be expanded.
These teams will provide local delivery of service offerings to families at the upper echelon of the wealth spectrum through PNC Private Bank Hawthorn, the bank’s ultra-high net worth vertical, which continues to be led by Anna Vitelli.
In addition to an accelerated investment in talent, PNC Private Bank says it is making increased investments in its technology infrastructure, investment platforms, and administrative capabilities. For the ultra-affluent, these investments will include expansion of family office services, the development of new philanthropic strategies and improved investment platform capabilities.
“Building on the strength and momentum of our personal wealth business is the next step in our journey to becoming the leading relationship-based provider of wealth management services,” says Brown. “Our reach will be greater, our availability will be local, and our capabilities will be enhanced, but our focus will remain solely on how we leverage this growth to best provide a value-added, seamless client experience.”
Current PNC Private Bank clients have received notification of the new brand. BBVA USA wealth clients are being introduced to the brand through a series of communication as part of their conversion to PNC.
Six to be Inducted into Women’s Hall of Fame in October
Michigan Women Forward announced that six women will be inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame during a virtual ceremony at noon on Oct. 26.
“These remarkable women represent leadership, courage, tenacity and strength,” says Carolyn Cassin, president and CEO, Michigan Women Forward. “They are all a testament to the limitless potential of Michigan girls and women, and they deserve to be celebrated.”
The honorees include:
- Rosalind Brewer, CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance
- Diana Sieger, president of the Grand Rapids Community Foundation
- Debra White-Hunt, oo-founder and artistic director of Detroit-Windsor Dance Academy
- Lila Neuenfelt, Michigan’s first female circuit court judge.
- Fannie B. Peck, founder of Fannie B. Peck Credit Union and the Detroit Housewives League
- Sarah E. Ray, civil rights activist and co-founder of the Action House
The six women will join 333 other Hall of Fame inductees since its inception 38 years ago.
The Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame and Historical Center, also known as HERstory, was established in 1983 to tell the stories of women’s contributions to Michigan’s history, and to inspire the women and girls of tomorrow.
The HERstory Hall of Fame is located at 105 W. Allegan St. in downtown Lansing. It has been temporarily closed due to COVID-19 and a flood in January, and will reopen on Women’s Equality Day, Aug. 26.
For a complete list of inductees and more information, visit miwf.org.
MMS in Canton Township Creates Support Program for Ultra-rare Disease Research
MMS Holdings Inc., a contract research organization in Canton Township, today launched a pro-bono support program aimed at advancing research for ultra-rare diseases.
Ultra-rare conditions make up the majority of rare diseases and require differing approaches within the framework of identical statutory requirements. An experienced partner can provide insight and solutions when navigating the laws, guidelines, and general regulatory standards that govern the required demonstration of a drug’s safety and efficacy.
MMS says it understands the importance of a customized regulatory strategy and the challenges these programs face. Over the past decade MMS has supported rare disease programs, including early phase research through approval for use in more than 12 therapeutic areas, and welcomes the opportunity to advance additional rare disease programs.
“We are proud to have built a program that affords patients and families with ultra-rare diseases the opportunity to move closer to effective therapies,” says Uma Sharma, founder and chief scientific officer of MMS. “Many of our colleagues come into this field with an altruistic focus — to help others. This program will provide a new perspective on radically new technologies and therapies that may never have made it to the licensing stage, and is set to help improve the lives of many.”
MMS will create an advisory board, with experts in regulatory strategy and writing, other industry thought leaders, and pharma or biotech sponsor contributors who will be engaged with support of project selection, participation in reviews, and share strategic input.
For those advocacy groups that MMS selects, team members’ support could include:
Regulatory Strategy: Including training on investigational new drug (IND) applications requirements and consulting on nonclinical and formulation development.
Medical Writing Support: Including the drafting of investigator INDs, nonclinical study reports.
Office or Orphan Products (OOPD) Grant Writing or other services suited to the program.
For more information, visit here.
Mayor Duggan Dedicates $2M Transformation of O’Hair Park
One of Detroit’s largest neighborhood-based parks has been completely renovated thanks to a $2 million investment by the city that was driven by several years of community input and engagement.
Residents in the O’Hair Park community joined Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan this week in re-opening 78-acre neighborhood the park, which now includes:
- 8 soccer fields
- 2 softball fields
- 2 Detroit Pistons basketball courts
- 1 baseball field
- 1-mile walking path
- 2 picnic shelters
- Fitness equipment
- 40-car parking lot
- New comfort station
- Playground enhancements
The park also has other amenities such as benches, picnic tables, and bike racks.
“Over the past eight years, we’ve completely remade more than 150 neighborhood parks and of them, O’Hair has been the largest and most ambitious,” says Duggan. “What had been largely a dead spot in the middle of this neighborhood is now a community anchor for children and their families to enjoy recreation and fitness within safe walking distance from home.”
Efforts to transform the park began in 2015 with extensive community engagement that included dozens of meetings with city staff to develop a master plan for O’Hair. The newly renovated space based on that plan is intended to offer opportunities to increase physical health and mental well-being and for recreation and play.
Oakland County Michigan Works! and OCC Launch Logistics Technician Training Program
Oakland County Michigan Works!, in partnership with Oakland Community College and PepsiCo, are offering free training to eligible participants interested in joining one of the fastest growing industries in southeast Michigan as certified logistics technicians.
From the automotive industry to e-commerce, job opportunities for logistics professionals are expected to grow 4 percent annually across the country, including this region, through 2029, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
To qualify for the training program, a person must be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen, 17-24 years-old, and registered with the selective service (if applicable). Other eligibility factors may apply. One-on-one information sessions to learn more about the training program can be scheduled with Lina Gerchak, lxgercha@oaklandcc.edu or 248-232-4187.
Upon completion of the eight-week Oakland NEXT training program, persons will earn certifications as a foundational certified logistics associate (CLA) and mid-level technical CLT.
“Logistics professionals are more critical than ever, with supply chains and fulfillment companies delivering record volumes of goods across the world, including our region,” said Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter. “This training program is designed to help prepare our future workforce to meet the needs of in-demand fields that provide long-term career paths with plenty of room for growth.”
Oakland County Michigan Works! Director Jennifer Llewellyn said the logistics technician training program is directly aligned with Oakland80, the county’s initiative that calls for 80 percent of eligible residents to have either an advanced certification or educational degree by 2030.
“This is an ambitious goal, but we expect the logistics technician training program and other similar opportunities offered through Oakland County Michigan Works! and partners like Oakland Community College and the private sector will motivate people who qualify to obtain the advanced skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the 21st century in Oakland County,” Llewellyn says.
The Logistics Technician training program includes e-learning, hands-on skill training, and digital literacy courses covering the following:
- Inventory control
- Quality control
- Product storage
- Hazardous materials handling
- Global supply chain logistics
- Transportation modes
- Workplace communications and teamwork
