Yes, it has been another rough couple of weeks around our region. More auto cutbacks, unheard of market caps of our corporate icons, belt tightening everywhere.

But look closer and you'll see the signs of economic transformation.

• Hundreds of people show up at a national conference in Detroit to hear how the creative economy can help re-brand our image and grow jobs.
• The federal government seems to finally recognize our auto industry is critical to the nation's economic security. 
• The new North Terminal opens at Metro Airport giving our region the finest air gateway in America.
• Automation Alley, Tech Town and the MEDC announce more new companies opening their doors or expanding - many you've never heard of before.
• Oakland County forms a life sciences initiative to grow medical jobs.
• Legislation gets introduced to attract business to the new Detroit Aerotropolis.
• State legislators are actually talking about making meaningful cuts in Corrections spending and reducing business taxes.
• A Cobo Hall deal doesn't seem too far out of reach.

Compare these developments with what's been going on in the past year.  We've experienced a bitter fight over raising state business taxes, the Kwame Kilpatrick melodrama and the public "diss-ing" of the auto industry by national leaders.

Yes, it's been a rough couple of weeks.  More are coming at us.  But many of us are not letting events often outside our control stop forward progress.