Huntington Bank's announcement last week to allot $750 million for new loans over three years to cash-starved small businesses in West Michigan has drawn "extraordinary interest," says Jim Dunlap, Huntington's regional president of West Michigan based in Grand Rapids and its senior executive vice president of commercial banking overseeing the Michigan market.

One of the state's first grassroot efforts to merge communities is moving ahead with plans to ask voters to consolidate Saugatuck Township and the cities of Douglas and Saugatuck.

Deborah Johnson WoodPhase 2 of the Reeds Lake Trail will break ground as soon as weather permits, providing an off-street walking and cycling path along the east side of Reeds Lake when completed in July. The path will connect the existing Reeds Lake Trail at Kate Avenue SE between Reeds Lake and the East Beltline and run 0.75 miles northwest along Reeds Lake Blvd. to Manhattan Road SE. Users can then connect to sidewalks to complete the loop around Reeds Lake. "This phase involves both East Grand Rapids and Grand Rapids Township and has been over five years in the works," says East Grand Rapids City Manager Brian Donovan. "It's taken so long because of fundraising and the wetlands plan."The wetlands plan involved having to eliminate one-half acre of wetlands along portions of the trail. Donovan says the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality required creation of a full acre of wetlands to replace it. The project will create that acre of wetlands near Waterfront Park on the west side of the lake. The city has five years to make the wetlands changes. Completion of the trail loop allows users to travel off-street for the entire four-plus miles of the loop around the lake. Just north of the trail along the East Beltline, users can connect with Grand Rapids Township trails. In East Grand Rapids, bike lane markings on Wealthy Street run from Gaslight Village to the west city limits, where Donovan says Grand Rapids officials propose to continue the lane markings to downtown Grand Rapids. Nearly $600,000 of the trail completion's $790,000 price tag is from private donations. Donovan says the project is within $3,000 of its goal. Those interested in providing a donation can contact the city of East Grand Rapids for more information. Source: Brian Donovan, City of East Grand RapidsDeborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Have a development news tip for Rapid Growth? Contact us at [email protected].

Deborah Johnson WoodDan Socie is an all-around guy – a freelance graphics and web designer by trade, and an amateur endurance athlete by hobby. And now he's an inventor. Socie has invented an embrocation for use by runners and cyclists to warm up their muscles before they run outside in cold weather. An embrocation is a warming liniment that's applied topically. Socie's embrocation consists of shea butter, capsaicin, black pepper and menthol. He and his business partner Geoff Kuyper are marketing it under the brand and business name Soigneur (swan-yer). "Soigneur is French for 'an assistant,'" Socie says. "In professional cycling, a soigneur is an assistant that gets water, arranges for or does massage therapy, gets the food, and is basically the athlete's personal assistant. I wanted to make a product to take the soigneur role for amateur athletes."Socie says cyclists who bike in cold weather have used European embrocations, but he plans to market his product to runners and skiers as well. He says athletes apply the embrocation to their legs before running, biking or skiing. The shea butter keeps the product on the skin, and body heat activates the capsaicin that warms the skin. That warmth penetrates to the muscles. "Your legs are warm and it's nicer to go out in the cold with warm legs," Socie says. "It enhances the experience. When you go for a run or ride in the cold weather, it takes 20 minutes, half an hour to warm up. This product speeds up that process and you can get to the more enjoyable part of your workout sooner."Socie says he spent the past year working with a Scottsdale, Ariz. laboratory and manufacturer to develop the product. The embrocation is available for advance order online at www.soigneur.net and will begin shipping at the end of February. A launch party to introduce the product is planned for February 24 at Richard App Gallery from 6 to 10 p.m.Source: Dan Socie, SoigneurDeborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Have a development news tip for Rapid Growth? Contact us at [email protected].

With his eye on the goal of obtaining 100 percent of the city of Grand Rapids' energy from sources other than fossil fuel by 2020, Mayor George Heartwell outlines his top three green initiatives for the coming year. According to excerpts from the story:From the time he was elected into office in January of 2004, Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell, has aggressively led The City of Grand Rapids on the path of becoming a greener city on several fronts. During a recent interview, Heartwell outlined the City's top three green priorities for 2010. "They would be renewable energy, alternative fuels and river water quality," the Mayor said, "but not necessarily in priority order."The one that has garnered the most attention thus far, is proposed for the Lake Michigan Filtration Plant site near Grand Haven, which is owned by the City. Adjacent neighbors have voiced strong opposition to the project, citing health concerns as well as the impact the turbines would have on wildlife and property values. The City of Grand Rapids has responded with data addressing each of the concerns. As of this date, a final determination has not been made by the Grand Haven Township Board.Read the complete story here.