Posted by Merlee on Nov 24, 2008 in
New Launches,
News,
Web Design 
I did the original site for Lemon Grass Thai Restaurant in 2004. Now I have brought it up to date a little bit, modernizing the visual design as well as updating and making the code more efficient and search engine friendly.
The new look for Lemon Grass is much more modern with some spectacular photos from Thailand. We kept the design simple and clean and simplified the code as well. The site now runs on pure CSS, which makes updating a breeze.
View the Case Study or go to the Lemon Grass website.
Tags: design, launches, restaurant, thai
Posted by Merlee on Oct 25, 2008 in
New Launches,
News,
Web Design We have just recently launched the new web design for CoolMedID.com. Please take a look at our case study, as well as visit the site.
Posted by Merlee on May 23, 2008 in
News,
Web Design We are moving forward with the new redesign and rewrite of Cambridge Partners, Inc. This is a huge project, as we are completely redesigning and rewriting from scratch. We will be putting the site into PHP, cleaning up the code, optimizing and adding increased functionality for the benefit of both visitors and residents.
Once the site(s) are complete, I will drop a note and update the Cambridge Partners portfolio/case study page.
Posted by Merlee on Jan 9, 2008 in
Miscellaneous,
News,
Web Design The new year is a great time to get things done that you may have been putting off for some time. A new website, or a re-design is a great way to kick off the new year and strut your stuff!Just a reminder that I have a couple of website design specials running through to the end of January. Please visit my pricing page for more information.
Posted by Merlee on Oct 16, 2007 in
Business,
News I just found out that Michigan is instituting a new 6% services tax that is supposed to go into effect December 2007. See details here: http://arborlaw.com/blog/2007/10/01/new-michigan-tax-on-services/
Now, I am not an economist, or a politician. However, this just seems ass-backwards to me. Here in Michigan we have the highest unemployment rates, high foreclosure rates, and a plummeting economy. Our state is in trouble. The state is always saying they want to bring more business and jobs to Michigan….but….with this new tax, people will steer clear. Michigan residents are already fleeing the state at a phenomenal rate.
Michigan governments answer? To raise taxes. Last year Michigan introduced a new 4.95% business income tax, which will be applied on top of the sales tax. This year, the state’s personal income tax will rise to 4.35% from 3.9%, and there is a new 6% sales tax on business services.
Speaking from a common sense point of view….how does making things more expensive, for both business and residents, draw in more business and people? It doesn’t. This is just ridiculous.
As it is, there are no jobs in Michigan. In 2004 I was basically forced to go into self-employment. I have not regretted it, it is probably the best thing I did, however, I am hardly doing well. I make enough to barely scrape by. I don’t have health insurance or any other of the benefits of working for someone else. I certainly don’t have a regular paycheck.
Add to this an increase of 6% on all of my service purchases, whether for business or personal use. Add in the increase in personal income tax. Add in the fact that clients will move to someone else to save the 6% tax that I will have to charge them for my services. And also add in the increased accounting required to collect, report, and pay this new tax. Whew! How does this help small businesses or the people who are barely getting by in Michigan?
Granted that Michigan’s economy is largely tied to the auto industry, wouldn’t one think that it is time for Michigan to reinvent itself? Remove that dependency? Hmmm….let’s see, how could that be done? Possibly doing everything possible to bring in new industries? We have a great educational system…why not leverage it and the people who are born from it and go down a different path instead of remaining dependent on manufacturing?
Dunno…perhaps common sense is not a requisite for being a politician.
For more insights and information, please visit the following links:
Michigan Economy At a Glance - US Dept. of Labor
Worst Yet to Come for Michigan Economy - Detroit News
Michigan’s Economic Woes - NY Times Blog
Todays GOP Debate: Its Jobs Stupid! - AOL News (Great stats here - well…scary)
Maryland and Michigan Committing Economic Suicide - Cato-at-Liberty
