Posts by admin
Michigan’s hate crime law could see an expansion
By admin, written on Jul. 24, 2008
Michigan’s current hate crime law might see an expansion if state Rep. Paul Condino, a Democrat from Southfield, and other Lansing lawmakers get their way.
Condino announced yesterday that he would introduce a bill at the beginning of August to create a more comprehensive version of the state’s existing hate crime law.
If passed, Condino’s version of the bill would mean that crimes against gays, lesbians, and people with disabilities could now be legally charged as hate crimes. The House Judiciary Committee chairman’s bill would also mean that hanging a noose and burning a cross could be considered property crimes in a court of law.
Though the legislation isn’t likely to be discussed until after the November elections, talk of Condino’s new bill came almost exactly two months after the Detroit based Triangle Foundation found that hate crimes against individuals in the lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual communities were up by more than 133 percent in Michigan for 2007.
According to the Triangle Foundation’s Youth Initiatives Coordinator Brett Beckerson, though, the LGBT advocacy group has never used Michigan’s current hate crime definition to calculate any of its statewide statistics.
“We define a hate crime just like the FBI defines it,” Beckerson said in an earlier interview. “If you googled or looked up the word hate crime in the encyclopedia, that’s how we’d define it.”
Greater LGBT inclusion into Michigan hate crime law is something that the group has been working towards since 1997 according to Beckerson, but it will probably be another few months before any serious talks of Condino’s bill will take place.
City council postpones student apartment complex
By admin, written on Jul. 22, 2008
At a meeting of the Ann Arbor City Council held last night, council members voted to postpone their decision on the construction of a new student-housing complex set to be built off of Maple Road on the west side of the city.
Known as the “42 North” project, the proposed complex would house 640 people in apartments designed to hold four or five occupants. The new complex would also allow each resident to have an individual parking space.
Though the City Council voted 10-1 to reject the same project back in January, apartment complex developers reworked their initial plans and presented them for a second time on Monday.
City council members discussed and reviewed the newest set of construction plans at last night’s meeting, but the latest postponement was meant to give Ann Arbor city officials more time to work out remaining details with project developers.
Stormwater and sewer drainage near the new apartments was the latest issue raised by nearby neighbors of the potential complex at Monday’s meeting.
City Councilwoman Joan Lowenstein (D- Ward 2) said a number of Ann Arbor residents were concerned about drainage issues, particularly because the proposed complex would sit on the highest point in the entire city.
“A lot of areas east of the proposed location have had problems with basement flooding and sewer backups,” Lowenstein said. “So they have concerns and I don’t really know if they are justified at this point or not.”
Lowenstein said many of the residents were concerned that the new apartments could exacerbate some of the problems that nearby residents already have.
LSA senior awarded for her work on reproductive rights
By admin, written on Jul. 15, 2008
Recognized for her work on reproductive rights, LSA senior Kym Lovell was one of five individuals recently chosen from across the country to receive Choice USA’s 2008 GENERATION award. The Washington, D.C. based organization announced the winners earlier this week and on Thursday, Lovell will travel to Washington to receive her award.
The annual award recognizes young people under the age of 30 who have had a significant impact in the area of reproductive health. This year, Lovell was recognized for her work with an on-campus campaign to give University students access to affordable birth control. The LSA senior was also recognized for her work abroad, where she traveled to the Dominican Republic to conduct her own research on the cultural challenges associated with contraceptive use.
More recently, Lovell traveled to Morazan, Honduras, where she worked with local women in a rural health clinic.
On campus, Lovell serves as chair for the University’s chapter of Students for Choice.
The GENERATION award is the only one of its kind that recognizes young adults from across the nation for their work with reproductive health issues. In a press release issued on Monday, Choice USA Executive Director Kierra Johnson had this to say about Lovell.
“Kym is a remarkable example of the depth and breadth of concerns that today’s college students have when it comes to reproductive rights,” Johnson said. “She has created a truly integrated, holistic approach to the new landscape of choice. She recognizes, and has worked hard to address, the complex, interconnected web of issues that must be addressed for choice to have a real meaning – from costs issues to cultural barriers.”
Everyday Cook approved for developmental liquor license
By admin, written on Jul. 8, 2008
Mary Campbell, owner of Everyday Cook, held her head between her hands as the sound of the fallen gavel reverberated throughout City Council chambers. Then, raising her head, she quietly clapped her hands together and smiled to those around her. She had just received the news that she probably wasn’t going to have to shut down her business.
Ann Arbor City Council met Monday night and unanimously voted to approve liquor licenses for two Ann Arbor businesses, Everyday Cook and Salsarita’s, sending them to their final step in acquiring a license. After receiving approval from City Council, the state of Michigan will then decide whether or not to issue licenses for both companies.
Ever since failing to obtain a class-c liquor license back in February, Campbell has had trouble sustaining her business because she could not serve alcohol to her customers.
“As many of you know,” Campbell posted on the restaurant’s website, “Everyday Cook is at a crossroads and may be closing toward the end of this month.”
In May, however, the city of Ann Arbor was awarded 807 new developmental liquor licenses, as issued by the state of Michigan to encourage downtown economic growth and help small businesses like Everyday Cook compete with larger companies.
The state set requirements for a business to have 50 or more seats, be open five days a week for at least 10 hours and have invested at least $75,000 into its property in recent years in order to obtain one of the new licenses.
City Council then met regularly to decide what they were going to do with these new licenses.
Campbell said back in May that having one of the new licenses would help her business. But for her, the question was when would they be made available.
“If it looks as though that they’re not going to put this through within the next few weeks, then I’m just going to start making plans (to close),” she said. “I can’t lose any more money.”
Councilmember Mike Anglin (D-Ward 5), who serves on the liquor committee, said the city is going to look at every application for a developmental liquor license on a case-by-case basis.
“The State requirements are pretty clear,” he said. “But we’re establishing what would work here (in Ann Arbor).”
City Council did not award any liquor licenses Monday night, but for Campbell, who currently meets every requirement set by the state, they might as well have.
University of Minnesota student auctions vote on eBay
By admin, written on Jul. 6, 2008
Have no idea who you are going to vote for in the upcoming election? Don’t really care either way? Figure you probably won’t be using your vote? Well . . . just don’t put it up for sale on eBay or you might be left with an expensive fine or even jail time.
Max Sanders, a 19-year-old student from the University of Minnesota, did just that and may soon face the consequences – up to five years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.
On May 28, Sanders created an eBay auction, with a starting bid of $10, for one of America’s most fundamental freedoms, his right to vote. The ad read:
“I am having trouble deciding who to vote for in the Presidential Election, so I am putting my vote up for sale. I am a legal resident of the state of Minnesota, and I am 19 years old. I am legally allowed to vote, and I have already voted in one previous election. The rules are simple, the highest bigger will tell me who to cast my vote for in the election. I will vote for any candidate of any party, as long as they are on the ballot. If the highest bidder so chooses, I will also abstain from voting, if that is what they so choose. To prove that I will actually vote for the candidate of the highest bidder’s choice, I will photograph myself inside the voting booth with my filled out ballot. Good luck! You’re [sic] country depends on You!”
The listing – which ran for one week and ended on June 4 – received little attention from actual eBay customers.
No one voted.
And if anyone had decided to purchase Sanders’ vote for the 2008 Presidential election they too could have potentially faced similar consequences under a 1893 Minnesota law that makes it a crime to knowingly buy or sell a vote.
Marijuana found at Matthaei Botanical Gardens
By admin, written on Jul. 6, 2008
The University of Michigan Matthaei Botanical Gardens claim to be about “connecting people with nature.” It appears that someone took their claim a little too seriously.
Volunteers at the gardens, located off Dixboro Road in Ann Arbor Township, found 5 plants suspected to be marijuana growing on the grounds Wednesday afternoon, officials said.
University of Michigan police responded around 11 a.m. and confiscated the suspicious plants, each measuring about a foot tall, and plan to dispose of them.
In February, U-M police confiscated 11 plants believed to be cannabis from inside the greenhouse. The plants, found by an employee monitoring a biology course’s research, turned out not to be marijuana.
Police currently have no leads on the case but plan on questioning those who have access to the grounds to find suspects.
North Campus Brick Thief Is Now Behind Bars
By admin, written on Jul. 3, 2008
The man who hauled off with 5,000 pounds of bricks from the Duderstadt Media Union Building on North Campus over the weekend is now behind bars at the Washtenaw County Jail.
Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Diane Brown told the Ann Arbor news that the culprit was a 43-year-old Toledo man. Police in Inkster arrested him after he sold some of the stolen goods to a local scrap metal shop.
After the University issued a crime alert to metal shops throughout southeast Michigan, Brown told the Ann Arbor News that the Inkster metal shop got in contact with the University to notify them that had some of the 200 stolen bricks valued at $10 each.
Police finally made the arrest after the man returned to the same metal shop the following day to sell more of the painted blue bricks that were originally intended to shield radiation.
Brown told the Ann Arbor News that the University has plans to press charges against the thief.
UM Alum Chosen As White House Fellow
By admin, written on Jul. 1, 2008
By Lindy Stevens, Daily News Editor
President Bush announced his selection for the 2008-2009 Class of White House Fellows on Thursday and the list of just 14 individuals from across the country includes a former Michigan Wolverine.
Brian Alexander, a graduate of the University’s Medical School, was chosen for the one-year fellowship program that was launched by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 to develop future leaders in public service.
After his fellowship is complete, Alexander will join a list of former Fellows that includes former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former CNN President Tom Johnson, former Supreme Allied Commander for Europe Wesley K. Clark, and U.S. Senator Samuel Brownback.
During his time in Washington D.C., Alexander will work with prominent officials in the federal government and meet with leaders from both the public and private sector to discuss the effectiveness of U.S. policy. Alexander and the 13 other Fellows will also take trips across the country and around the world to examine policy decisions in action.
This year’s Fellows are a group of exemplary individuals that come from diverse educational backgrounds with experience in education, medicine, business and science technology. The fellowship is highly competitive and requires outstanding academic achievement, excellence in leadership and a commitment to public service.
Based on his resume, there is little question that Alexander certainly fulfills each of these requirements.
Before coming to Ann Arbor, the Southfield native attended Kalamazoo College where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences and minor in Mathematics. During his time at Kalamazoo, Alexander also held positions as quarterback and wide receiver on the school’s football team.
After he moved on to the University’s Medical School, Alexander received multiple awards for oncology research and acted as the student delegate to the American Medical Association. He eventually graduated in the top five of his class and was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha honors society.
Alexander is currently a physician resident at the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program. He also holds a Master’s degree in Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health.
Fingerle Lumber up for sale
By admin, written on Jun. 27, 2008
The land owned by Fingerle Lumber Co. – after 77 years and three generations in the Fingerle name – is now on the market. Located along South Fifth Avenue, south of Madison Street, the 7.2-acre site is in a prime location for redevelopment, private investors, or the University. It’s close to Main Street and rests just north of the University’s athletic complex.
University spokeswoman Kelly Cunningham said the University has no plans to acquire the Fingerle property, priced at $21.925 million, at the moment.
“The University’s Master Plan for campus development does not contemplate use of that property,” Cunningham said.