In a recent Press Release Congresswoman Hillary Scholten announced that Bethany Christian Services in Grand Rapids will receive $3,876,529 in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Rep. Scholten then states:
“Every child who arrives in our country deserves safety, compassion, and a path back to their families. Bethany Christian Services has spent decades doing the hard work of making sure vulnerable children in West Michigan are cared for and have access to the resources they need, and I will keep working to protect and expand these critical federal investments.”
Bethany Christian Services has a questionable history regarding foster care services for refugee children and for international adoption, particularly when public funds are involved, such as state contracts that have been in dispute in recent years.
On top of the organization misuse of public funds Bethany Christian Services is once again coming under fire for their bigoted and discriminatory practices. Just last week it was reported that,”Bethany Christian Services has introduced a new Statement of Faith and Belief that condemns abortion, same-sex marriage and non-traditional gender identities.” Bethany has a history of condemning people who identify as LGBTQ.
Bethany Christian Services also released a statement of faith, which requires employees and families who want to foster refugee children to sign on to this statement of faith, an agreement which will go into effect in June of 2027.
It would seem that Rep. Scholten hasn’t done her due diligence with Bethany Christian Services during her efforts to direct $3,876,529 in federal funding to the religious agency that has very clear and very specific discriminatory practices.
Over the years I have documented that many of the DeVos and Van Andel Foundations have collectively provided millions in funding to Bethany Christian Services, particularly because of the rigid religious and ideological principles that the agency adheres to.
The last sentence in Rep. Scholten’s Press Release says:
This funding reflects Congresswoman Scholten’s ongoing work to bring federal investment back to Michigan’s Third Congressional District and expand protections and resources for vulnerable immigrant children.
The question for people in West Michigan should be asking Rep. Scholten is, does the $3.8 million truly provide protection to immigrant children in Bethany’s care?
DeVos-led group GR A250 continues to want to control the narrative about the history of the US
In an April post on GRIID I warned people about how Doug DeVos and the GR A250 Committee was trying to dictate the narratives for the 175th anniversary of Grand Rapids and the 250 anniversary of the founding of the US. In the April blog post I wrote:
When it comes to the dominant narrative about the founding of the US, we all know what we were taught in grade school, particularly about the Revolutionary War. The Zinn Education Project has been working hard to provide teaching tools for educators and the community at large so that we can challenge the dominant narratives about the history of the US, specifically as it gears up for the 250th anniversary of the founding of this country.
In a recent GR A250 Facebook page post that committee hosted a screening of a new film called Young Washington. In that Facebook post the GR A250 committee wrote about Young Washington, stating:
The film offered a powerful look at the formative experiences that shaped one of America’s most influential leaders, highlighting timeless themes of character, perseverance, leadership and service.
This may seem like a harmless attempt to enlighten people about the formative years of George Washington’s life, but it fails to address larger and more structural issues about the founding of the US.
If we wanted to be honest about George Washington we could introduce people to Jerry Fresia’s book, Toward an American Revolution: Exposing the Constitution & Other Illusions. Fresia begins his book talking about the wealth of the founders, beginning with George Washington, where he writes:
His will of 1789 revealed that he owned 35,000 acres in Virginia and 1,119 acres in Maryland. He owned property in Washington valued (in 1799 dollars) at $19,132, in Alexandria at $4,000, in Winchester at $400, and in Bath at $800. He also held $6,246 worth of US securities, $10,666 worth of shares in the James River Company, $6,800 worth of stock in the Bank of Columbia, and $1,000 worth of stock in the Bank of Alexandria. His livestock was valued at $15,653. As early as 1773, he had enslaved 216 human beings who were not emancipated until after he and his wife had both died.
George Washington was one example of what the first Chief Justice of the US – John Jay – said, “Those who own the country ought to govern it.”
However, focusing on personalities can also distract us from the historical roots of the founding of the US. If we are being honest, then we have to come to terms with the fact that the US was founded on the genocide of Indigenous nations and the enslavement of Africans who were forcibly brought to the US for the sole purpose of being chattel slaves for founding fathers such as Washington and Jefferson.
If we want to look at the 250th anniversary, which centers around the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War, then we need to look beyond what we were taught in 8th grade social studies class and engage in further inquiry about the founding of the US. Here are some suggested books and other materials:
Books:
The First American Revolution: Before Lexington and Concord, by Ray Raphael
Founders: The People Who Brought You A Nation, by Ray Raphael
Founding Myths: Stories That Hide Our Patriotic Past, by Ray Raphael
The Counter-Revolution of 1776: Slave Resistance and the Origins of the United States of America, by Gerald Horne
Teaching Materials:
Beyond Loyalists and Patriots https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/beyond-loyalists-and-patriots/
“Founding” Documents We Don’t Learn About https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/founding-docs-we-dont-learn-about/
Race, Class, and the Constitutional Convention https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/constitutional-convention/
The Color Line https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/color-line-colonial-laws
On Sunday afternoon some 50 people from all over Michigan descended on the North Lake to once again draw attention to the largest privately run ICE detention center in Baldwin.
Sunday’s protest was a follow up action that took place in April when detainees had begun a hunger strike. Since then detainees at detention centers across the country have been engaging in hunger strikes and other forms of protest in order to draw attention to the unsanitary conditions, the lack of medical care, maggot infested food, even physical abuse the guards.
There was a short rally held near the front gate of the North Lake Detention facility, which included lots of chants, a reading of a list of demands from detainees and some reflections by a Cosecha organizer about the work they are doing in Grand Rapids. Someone from No Detention Centers in Michigan also played a message from a Black detainee about the physical abuse they experienced at the hands of a GEO Group prison guard.
After about the first hour of the protest people were invited to enter the North Lake detention area, something that had not been previously done. Nearly 40 people entered through the main gates dancing to music in what was called a Salsa Shutdown – shown here in the video.
The group danced and chanted in front of the entrance to the building where people enter for visits with detainees. This last another 7 – 8 minutes without any response from the GEO Group security.
The group of resisters then moved to another area of the North Lake detention facility, near the guard tower and right across from one of the wings where hundreds of detainees are imprisoned. Here people continued to dance and chant and send messages to the detainees that were in solidarity with them.
Again another 10-12 minutes passed by and still no sign of security guards or local cops. By this time people eventually headed towards the gate they had entered some 30 minutes prior.
People were commenting on the lack of response from the GEO Group and how surprised many were that the local cops were not called to respond. Some speculated that the lack of response demonstrated either how afraid or how unprepared the privately run GEO Group was to this public defiance. If anything, this direct action could provide an opening for other people to continue resisting the North Lake detention facility and boldly say Abolish GEO and Abolish ICE!
Last night a group of people organized by Movimiento Cosecha continued their campaign to boycott Long Road Distillers in order to pressure the Mayor of Grand Rapids to adopt the 6 sanctuary policies they have been demanding over the past 18 months.
Last October, Movimiento Cosecha kicked off a boycott campaign against Mayor David LaGrand, since he is co-owner of Long Road Distillers and Less Traveled. Saturday’s protest was the second one in front of the Less Traveled location.
In April the campaign escalated when people participated in a salsa shutdown inside of the Long Road Distillers building on Leonard St. NW, an action that resulted in the owner being called along with the GRPD.
Now the campaign is using stickers and posters (shown above) to draw more attention to the boycott. Last night organizers went to other businesses in the East Hills neighborhood to share the stickers and encourage business owners to put the posters up in their windows, all with the intention of applying more economic pressure to Mayor LaGrand to adopt the 6 sanctuary policies that would prevent the city from collaborating with ICE in any capacity.
There were a number of patrons sitting on the deck in front of Less Traveled, but you an see from the video that as people were being informed about the boycott campaign and the harm that ICE is doing by taking immigrants throughout the greater Grand Rapids area on a daily basis, people decided to go inside the restaurant/bar.
Movimiento Cosecha is also inviting organizations, grassroots groups, non-profits, churches, unions and any other associations to sign on to the boycott campaign. People can send a message to either Movimiento Cosecha movimientocosechagr@gmail.com or GR Rapid Response to ICE info@grrapidresponsetoice.org if they want receive posters, stickers and to add their name to the boycott campaign.
Earlier this week the far right Grand Rapids-based think tank, the Acton Institute, posted an article entitled, The Fight to Protect Women’s Sports Is an Economic Battle, Too.
The article was written by Carrie Lukas who is the President of the right wing organization known as the Independent Women’s Forum. The Independent Women’s Forum is an anti-feminist organization predominantly funded by right-wing foundations that has a history of opposing issues like paid family and medical leave while supporting the tobacco industry, banning school curricula on Climate Change and defending the environmentally disastrous practice known as hydraulic fracking.
Taking an anti-trans stance is not new for the Independent Women’s Forum. In 2024, they were part of a speaking tour with Betsy DeVos called Our Bodies, Our Sports, which included a stop in Grand Rapids in 2024, where they argued that allowing trans women to compete in women’s sports was a violation of Title IX.
In the article on the Acton Institute website, Lukas writes:
So what happens when “women’s” teams end up with an entirely male roster? Or when young female athletes hear about males winning competitions meant for women and girls? It sends a message to all those young female athletes—and their parents—that it might not really make sense to continue investing time and money in those extra training opportunities and travel teams. These young women and girls are being told that sports may be a dead end for them if they can’t be sure that female competitions are truly reserved for actual females. Entering competitions when you know the game is rigged against you is demoralizing, and that threatens to undermine a generation of female athletes.
What sports is Lukas referring that is or are likely to be made up of all trans women? The WNBA has no trans women athletes, even though she cites the WNBA in her article.
It is instructive that Lukas never uses the term trans women, but always refers to trans women as males. This makes sense, since groups like the Independent Women’s Forum are so anti-trans that they don’t even want to acknowledge that more and more athletes are trans.
However, none of this is surprising considering what Lukas says in her book, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Women, Sex And Feminism. Here are a few enlightened observations that are in her book:
- “More than ever, women in their twenties and thirties live alone, are discarded by their boyfriends after living together, and are watching their biological clock tick past the point of no return.”
- “Women still prefer men who are breadwinners and can protect them physically.”
It is instructive that the Acton Institute would allow writers like Carrie Lukas to post articles on their website, especially since they consider themselves to be a deeply intellectual think tank.
Wanting to be seen but not commit to resisting ICE: Immigrant solidarity and political candidates in Grand Rapids
Last Sunday several hundred people came out to participate in the event Beats Not Bombs at Rosa Parks Circle in downtown Grand Rapids.
The event was co-sponsored by Kent County Indivisible, the Kent County Queer Coalition, SECOM, Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE. This event was a fundraiser and the groups benefiting from any donations would be SECOM, Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE. In fact, it was billed as an event to support immigrant families who have been impacted by ICE.
There were several informational tables, bands, a DJ, dancing and lots of opportunities to support the important work of SECOM, Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE, all of which supports families affected by ICE.
We are in an election year, which means that people running for office will use any opportunity to shake hands and be seen, especially if being seen means they are viewed as being more progressive.
I saw at least 4 candidates during the Beats Not Bombs event, one was a first time candidate running for a Grand Rapids City Commission seat, one who is an incumbent Grand Rapids City Commissioner, and two that are current Kent County Commissioners running for a state seat.
Let’s take a look at the 4 candidates, but before that I just want to make the observation that there were very few politicians and/or candidates that even bothered to show up and offer support to immigrant families impacted by ICE.
Second Ward City Commissioner Lisa Knight was at the event and she is running for another four year term as a 2nd Ward City Commissioner. Commissioner Knight has opposed the efforts of Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE to get the City of Grand Rapids to adopt the 6 sanctuary policies that have been put before the city commission since January of 2025. Commissioner Knight did not attend an event hosted by Cosecha where stories of those who have experienced family separation at the hands of ICE were shared, nor has she ever attended any of the numerous rallies and marches organized by Cosecha since she was elected as a city commissioner in 2022.
Kent County Commissioner Kris Pachla was at the event and he is running for Michigan’s 80th House District seat. Commissioner Pachla has opposed the efforts of Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE to get Kent County to adopt the 6 sanctuary policies that were first presented to the County Commission in February of 2025. Commissioner Pachla did not attend an event hosted by Cosecha where stories of those who have experienced family separation at the hands of ICE were shared, nor has he ever attended any of the numerous rallies and marches organized by Cosecha since he was elected as a county commissioner in 2022.
Kent County Commissioner Robert Womack was at the event and he was the DJ for the Beats Not Bombs event. In fact, he said give it up for Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE. Womack is running for Michigan’s 82nd House District seat. Commissioner Womack has at times verbally said he is supportive of the efforts of Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE to get Kent County to adopt the 6 sanctuary policies that were first presented to the County Commission in February of 2025. However, Commissioner Womack has done nothing to push his fellow commissioners on the issue, not called for a public hearing or used his position as a County Commissioner to further the Cosecha campaign. Commissioner Womack did not attend an event hosted by Cosecha where stories of those who have experienced family separation at the hands of ICE were shared, nor has he ever attended any of the numerous rallies and marches organized by Cosecha since he was elected as a county commissioner.
Lindsey Perez-Plescher was the only candidate present that has never held political office. Lindsey Perez-Plescher is running as a candidate for the Grand Rapids City Commission Ward #1. Over the past 18 months Lindsey did not attend an event hosted by Cosecha where stories of those who have experienced family separation at the hands of ICE were shared, nor has he ever attended any of the numerous rallies and marches organized by Cosecha. When asked by several different sources about whether or not she would support the 6 Cosecha sanctuary demands she stated that she would not because she felt that it would cause her to lose the election in August, since there are three candidates for the vacant 1st Ward seat. This response is puzzling for a variety of reasons. First, there is a large immigrant population living in the 1st Ward, which includes the Grandville Avenue corridor, the Burton/Buchanan area and the near westside. More importantly, she knows the pain of family separation as a member of her family was deported by ICE several years ago.
Now, I personally don’t put much stock in the efficacy of electoral politics, but my own read on history and my own experience over the past 45 years of doing movement work is that electoral politics is often the death of social movements.
How is it that political candidates come to an event like Beats Not Bombs, an event that was primarily about supporting immigrant families impacted by the state terrorist organization known as ICE and still not commitment to supporting the work of Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE?
How can these candidates claim to fight for social justice and collective liberation and not take an active role to resist and abolish ICE? Candidates should never use events like Beats Not Bombs to platform their reformist, neoliberal and business as usual agendas.
There was a recent story on WOODTV8 about how there have been some flock cameras in Kent County that have been damaged, even “sawed down like a tree.”
Flock cameras have been around in Kent County since at least 2022, when the Kent County Sheriff’s Office began a contract with a company that provides the Flock camera technology. The Kent County Sheriff’s Department has been using 25 cameras that are spread around Kent County, cameras that relay information about vehicles and license plate numbers.
In the same WOODTV8 story the reporter spoke with Kent County Sheriff’s Capt. Joel Roon who said “the camera had just been replaced after it was smashed. He also said there are better ways for the public to voice their concerns about the devices.” Roon goes on to say:
“We really welcome those conversations. There’s definitely a right way to protest and express your opinion and we just really encourage people to do that through appropriate channels like township meetings or county board meetings or even just voicing those concerns right here to our office. Those are the hard conversations that really put the guardrails in place.”
I have two things to say in response to Captain Roon’s comments. First, the Kent County Sheriff officer has to know that since February of 2025 there have been demands from Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE to not share Flock camera images with ICE, something that has been happening in other communities across the country.
In fact, Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE have attended at least 6 Kent County Commission meetings since last year, all with demands to adopt 6 sanctuary policies, one of which is to never share Flock camera images with ICE. In addition, these two groups have gone to the Chair of the Kent County Commission’s home to deliver a letter asking that he get his fellow commissioners to adopt these sanctuary policies. This action was taken since the Kent County Commission has refused to address these issues. Then in April, 4 activists were arrested during the Kent County Commission meeting, specifically to push the sanctuary policies that the Kent County Commission has chosen to ignore.
My other response to Captain Roon is that when he or anyone else in positions of power make these kinds of statements it suggests that there is a right way and a wrong way to make change. This is absurd, since most of US history is filled with examples of people taking matters into their own hands to make changes that governments fail to make. It’s called Direct Action.
The fact that the Kent County Sheriff’s office didn’t address the history of public opposition to Flock cameras for the past 18 months is not surprising, since they don’t want any attention on them and the tools they use to monitor and repress people in Kent County.
It’s also unfortunate, but expected, that WOODTV8 did not present information on the Cosecha/GR Rapid Response to ICE sanctuary policies campaign that includes Flock cameras. You can’t expect people to follow the rules of an undemocratic system, which consistently ignores public demands and not expect people to take matters into their own hands.
In case anyone was wondering, I posted a story last year with all of the Flock camera locations in Grand Rapids.
Communities resisting data centers in West MI show up to protest The Right Place Inc. during “developer day”.
A dozen people showed up late Tuesday morning at the old Rogers Department Store at 1001 28th St. SW in Wyoming, since The Right Place Inc. was hosting their annual Developer Day event.
According to a Press Release made available to GRIID:
The protest, held outside the Developer Day follows mounting public concerns and calls for transparency after The Right Place’s CEO Randy Thelen ignored requests to meet with community members to discuss the data center projects its spearheading in Solon, Lowell, and Gaines Townships and the detrimental effects they would have on those communities and West Michigan.
“As a public-private organization receiving taxpayer funds, The Right Place has a duty to conduct due diligence with the communities their proposed projects would impact for generations,” said Cedar Springs resident Katie Valtchev of Stop Solon Township Data Center.
There were roughly 100 cars that showed up for The Right Place Inc. event and early on they held what was billed as a Walking Tour along 28th Street in Wyoming, which was intended to provide examples of what development spaces existed in that area. As people were beginning their Walking Tour, those who showed up to protest The Right Place Inc. greeted them with chants, as you can see in this short video.
The Right Place Inc.
For those who may not be deeply familiar with The Right Place Inc. they are a non-profit organization that works to bring businesses to the greater Grand Rapids Area. GRIID has identified them as one of the organizations that makes up the Grand Rapids Power Structure, plus their Board of Directors is made up of representatives from business and government that also represent powerful interests.
GRIID has documented over the years The Right Place Inc.’s involvement in bringing Israeli military companies to Grand Rapids. In 2016, The Right Place Inc. was the target of Israeli Apartheid Week in Grand Rapids and over the years they have continued to solicit and support Israeli military companies, even after the Israeli government began their genocidal campaign against Palestinians in 2023. The Right Place Inc. was also involved in attempting to lure Amazon in 2017-2018 in a failed campaign, but not before they were forced to reveal economic incentive documents.
The groups in West Michigan opposing data centers that The Right Place Inc. has been cheerleading for had strong words targeted at The Right Place Inc. Quoting from the Press Release:
“The Right Place’s lack of meaningful community engagement on these proposed hyperscale AI data centers shows, even at a perfunctory level, its only mission is to support Big Tech at the expense of our public health, environment, and community values of being good, honest neighbors – all while using taxpayer funds.” said West Michigan residents Betsy López-Wagner and Kathryn Robertson of Residents United for a Healthy Lowell.
Marjorie Steele, Executive Director of the Economic Development Responsibility Alliance of Michigan, says that The Right Place’s large-scale economic development projects have already scarred Michigan’s communities. “The work of Mr. Thelen and his colleagues has left a $23M crater in the Big Rapids community thanks to the Gotion project,” she says, “which was the inevitable outcome of The Right Place’s gross negligence, corrupt dealings, and total disregard for the local community’s right to self-determination. There is no evidence to indicate that The Right Place is conducting these hyperscale data center projects any differently. These communities are right to be concerned, and we’re here to stand with them.”
The people who showed up to protest the Right Place Inc. received lots of positive feedback with honking horns and thumbs up from lots of motorists driving up and down 28th Street. However, when the “walking tour” was returning, one of the developers shouted something like, “you all should be grateful for all the good things we have done for your communities.” One of the protesters responded by saying, “not in my community.”
I helped myself to one of The Right Place Inc.’s agenda handouts, which included breakout sessions that were partnering with the DeVos-created entity AmplifyGR and the Grand Rapids Chamber-created group Housing Next. Other breakout session included housing development incentives, gas and electric development planning and community engagement best practices. There were also Wyoming and Grand Rapids city staff there to assist developers, along with the support from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
One important take away for me was that it is vitally important that we understand how groups like The Right Place Inc. insert themselves in to municipal issues like data centers, and realize that they represent business interests, not most residents and communities.
During the June 2nd Grand Rapids City Commission meeting Dean Pacific was approved to be a member of the Grand Rapids Police Civilian Appeals Board. Pacific had already been on the Police Civilian Appeals Board, but Mayor LaGrand appointed him again to serve of that 9 member board.
For those who remember Pacific received $12,500 from the GRPD union, while running for the First Ward Commissioner seat in the November 2024 Election and made it part of his strategy to attack his opponent because they supported defunding the GRPD, a claim that wasn’t even true.
In that same election Pacific also received $12,500 from the GR Chamber of Commerce along with a list of people who make up the Grand Rapids Power Structure. Pacific also received $1225 from Johnny Brann Sr., the founder of the pro-cop group Voice for the Badge.
It seems that Mayor LaGrand wants to make sure that the Police Civilian Appeals Board has an additional pro-cop member on that board. This is consistent with LaGrand’s pro-police stance since he became Mayor just 18 months ago, where he has approved the massive GRPD budgets for 2026 and 2027, along with his apology to the GRPD last month because residents were challenging the GRPD budget during a public hearing.
The other item I wanted to point out is that Kent County Sheriff LaJoye-Young recently received an award from the Michigan Sheriff’s Association for her, “incredible law enforcement career and lasting contributions to the criminal justice system.”
Cops giving cops awards is pretty standard, but this award doesn’t erase the fact that the the Kent County Sheriff’s Department has perpetuated institutionalizes racism and has collaborated with ICE during Sheriff LaJoye-Young tenure.
In 2024, the non-profit Linc Up worked with community partners to do research and put together informational graphics on the Kent County Jail, which you can find here.
Equally important is the fact that Kent County Sheriff LaJoye-Young has refused to be transparent about the fact that her office is collaborating with ICE by engaging in ICE holds at the Kent County Jail. When confronted about this Sheriff LaJoye-Young refused to talk with people in November of 2025, which led to people doing civil disobedience at the Sheriff’s office in January of this year.
On Friday, Crain’s Grand Rapids Business posted an article with the headline – Amphitheater, convention business push Kent County hotel occupancy to rare high.
The Carin’s article stated that on May 30th, “when the county’s approximately 11,000 hotel rooms reached 91% occupancy, two weeks after the venue’s (Amphitheater) opening.”
Former Grand Rapids Mayor and Convention Arena Authority board member Rosalynn Bliss was also quoted in the article, stating:
“It’s really critical that we have hotel taxes. Logistically, I think it’s really important that we keep our eye on the ball. But also, we should appreciate the impact that the work we’re doing is having on other retailers downtown.”
Besides being the former Mayor of Grand Rapids, Bliss also sits on the board of the Grand Rapids Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and she was part of the Destination Kent Committee, which pushed the August 2024 ballot initiative to increase the hotel tax and generate more funds for Grand Action 2.0 projects. Bliss and members of the Grand Rapids Power Structure made up the Destination Kent Committee, along with the fact that this small group contributed nearly half a million dollars to the campaign, which barely won.
In 2024, when the hotel tax was on the ballot initiative I wanted to find out when the hotel tax policy had been created, who proposed it and why it was limited to funding entertainment venues. The most recent iteration of the state policy was signed into law by Gov. Whitmer in April of 2024, known as Public Act 35 of 2024. State Rep. John Fitzgerald was the sponsor of the bill, which also was passed in the Michigan Senate.
The language of Public Act 35 clearly states that hotel tax money collected by a county or other municipal body must be used for entertainment venue projects, which includes sports venues. However, this is by design, meaning that the legislation piece could have been written in such a way that hotel taxes could be used to build affordable housing, environmental justice projects or any number of ways of generating funds to support the most vulnerable communities in Kent County.
Who really benefits from the high occupancy rate of the hotels in downtown Grand Rapids?
The argument that those in power like to use is that Grand Action 2.0 projects like the Amphitheater and the Soccer Stadium will be good for the economy. Others will say that people who work in downtown venues, restaurants, etc. are the real winners of places like the Acrisure Amphitheater, but rarely do they provide hard evidence of how it will benefit service industry workers. Most service industry workers are paid hourly, so no matter how busy they are they will get paid the same amount. If you are relying on tips then you might be able to make more money with increased customers, but it also means they are working their butts off.
The real economic winners of venues like the amphitheater, the arena, the soon to be soccer stadium and potentially an aquarium, are the owners of restaurants, bars, retail shops, privately owned parking ramps & lots, and hotel owners. In other words the ownership class, not the working class.
Lets take the hotel industry in downtown Grand Rapids, which was the subject of the Crain’s article to begin with. Guess how many hotels are owned in downtown Grand Rapids by the DeVos family, which owns AHC Hospitality? Here is a list of the hotels owned by the DeVos family in downtown Grand Rapids:
- AC Hotel by Marriott
- Amway Grand Plaza
- Courtyard by Marriott Grand Rapids
- Hyatt Place Grand Rapids
- JW Marriot Grand Rapids
Add to this dynamic that the DeVos family also has representatives on the DDA, the Convention Arena Authority, co-founded Grand Action 2.0 and was a major contributor to the Destination Kent Committee ballot initiative in 2024, you can see how their enthusiastic support for the Grand Action 2.0 projects helps to expand their wealth.
Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy 