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April 14, 1976 - Image 4

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Text
Publication:
Michigan Daily, 1976-04-14

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Egh t T na ialr
Eighty-Six Fears of Editorial Freedom

Security deposit hints

420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Wednesday, April 14, 1976 News F

Phone: 764-0552
f Michigan

Edited and managed by students at the University o

By MARTIN PORTER
IT'S A HELLUVA lot of mon-
ey to have tied up for such
a long period of time, but ten-
ants in Ann Arbor and else-
where have no other choice.
Landlords require security de-
posits, paid before the first day
of tenancy, to cover any dam-
ages that might arise during
the year. Most tenants take it
with a grain of salt, digging
deeply into their already dwind-
ling bank accounts, not know-
ing how, not knowing when if
ever, they will get any of the
money back. Some tenants, in
fact, forget about the sum,
splitting town and leaving their
landlord with a tidy amount of
money that legally becomes his
to do with as he pleases.
Security deposits are regu-
lated by the Michigan Security
Deposit Act (April 1, 1973). The
law applies to all tenants in the
state, including all subtenants.
The law applies to oral as well
as written rental agreements
for any period of time and in-
cludes period to period arrange-
ments (ie. month to month, or
week to week).
The total security deposit
charged cannot exceed one and
one half times a month's rent.
It is important to note that as
defined by law security deposits
include, "any required prepay-
ment of rent other than the
first full rental period of the
lease." This a landlord may
charge you one and one half
month's rent ineaddition to your
first month's rent. If the land-
lord charges you last month's
rent, you are only obligated to
pay him one half month's secur-
ity deposit.
Furthermore, the Security De-
posit Act, requires the landlord
to deposit the money in a regu-
lated financial institution.- The
name and address must be giv-
en to the tenant and the mon-
ey may only be used by the
landlord if a bond is posted in
its place with the Secretary of
State's office in Lansing. Infor-
mation on whether or not your
landlord has posted a bond for
security deposits can be ob-
tained by contacting the Great
Seal and Trademark Division
of the Secretary of State's Of-
fice (517-373-2531).
If a bond has been posted the
landlord may use the money for
his own purposes even though
the deposit legally remains the

property of the tenant. The land-
lord is not required to pay in-
terest on the security deposit.
The security deposit act de-
tails the rights and responsibili-
ties of both the tenant and land-
lord particularly with regard to
transmitting information about
the security deposit. In order
to get your deposit back you
much first notify your landlord
of your forwarding address with-
in four days of moving out of
your apartment. If you don't do
this, the landlord does not have
to give you notice of damages,
and can keep your money.
That's why landlords fre in no
rush to find you after you move
out.
'If you want to rent
an apartment and the
landlord a s hs f o r
more than one h a l f
month's rent as a se-
curity deposit in addi-
tion to the first
month's rent, advise
him that this is against
the law. If the land-
lord persists, pay t h e
deposit, move in, and
then deduct the excess
f ro n your first
month's rent.'
NEXT-WITHIN 30 days after
you've moved out, your land-
lord must mail you an itemized
list of all damages which he
claims you caused, the estima-
ted cost of repair for each item,
the amount he is charging you
for each item and a check for
the difberence between the dam-
ages claimed and the security
deposit. If this is not done with-
in 30 days then you are entitled
to the return of your entire se-
curity, deposit.
Within seven days after re-
ceiving the notice of damages
claimed, you must respond in
writing indicating your disagree-
ment with any of the deductions.
If you properly notify the land-
lord of your disagreement he
must sue you for the, contested

portion of the deposit and he
must begin the suit within 45
days of when you moved out.
If he fails to settle on your
terms and does not sue within
45 days then you can sue him
for double the withheld amount.
According to the law, security
deposits can only be used for-
unpaid rent, unpaid utility bills,
and "actual damages to the ren-
tal unit." These "actual dam-
ages" must be the direct result
of conduct not reasonably ex-
pected in the narmal course of
habitation of the dwelling. Thus
the landlord cannot deduct from
the security deposit to pay for
damages that are the result of
inormal wear-and-tear to the
apartment.
Often the landlord requires
more than the legal maximum
security deposit. If you want
to rent an apartment and the
landlord asks for more than one
and one half month's rent in
addition to the first month's
rent, show him a copy of the
law and advise him of the legal
maximum. If the landlord per-
sists in requiring an excessive
deposit you might as well pay
it. move in, and thensdeduct the
excess from your first month's
rent check. You are legally just-
ified in doing this and the land-
lord cannot prevent it. Explain
why you have done this to your
landlord and it's a good idea
to write on the check something
like - "October's rent, less one
half month's excess security de-
posit collected."
.When you first move into your
apartment your landlord is sup-
posed to present you with a
damage inventory list. If he
doesn't - ask for one. This is
your only protection against be-
ing charged for damages that
existed before you moved in. On
this list, label and write in
every damage you might spot,
regardless of how minor they
may appear to you. Paint chips,
cracked windows,tbroken tile,
stained sinks, scratches on furn-
iture, torn upholstery - every-
thing. Even if your landlord
appears to be the nicest guy
in the world, even if he prom-
ises you that he never takes
money from damage deposit, it
is best to make a thorough list
of the evisting damages.
Former Daily Sunday Maga-
zine Editor Martin Porter works
for the VISTA housing project
in Ann Arbor.

By JOHN LOHR
and MICHAEL CASTLEMAN
ANTARCTICA (PNS) - Sail-
ing in Antarctic waters they
knew -to be several hundred fa-
thoms deep, the crew of the
research vessel Hero was start-
led as their sonar equipment
seemed to go haywire. The in-
struments indicated a solid
bottom 20 feet below the ship's
hull.
On an officer's hunch, the
deck crew lowered a net over
the side. Up came millions of
tiny, wriggling krill. The offic-
er estimated there were up to
25 square miles of them packed
as dense as an iceberg 20-30
feet deep.
Krill - transparent - bodied,
shrimp-like crustaceans -- are
so high in protein and so plenti-
ful they could well become a
'worldwide food source over the
next decade. The tiny crusta-
ceans live in huge schools a few
fathoms from the surface of
the Antarctic Ocean, the world's
most treacherous and storm-
whipped body of water. (Spe-
cies of krill also inhabit more
temperate waters, but less is
known about them as a poten-
tial food source.)
CHILEAN authorities esti-
mated in 1975 that the total
mass of krill on earth might be
a staggering 11 trillion pounds
- far surpassing the total mass
of the human race - and that
150 - 200 million tons of krill
could be harvested annually
without appreciably affecting
species reproduction.
An annual krill catch of 150
million tons would alone be
more than twice the entire
planet's current annual fish
catch - which wns around 65
million tons in 1972.
The world's annual fish catch
hais since been declining. Over-,
fishing has endangered the ex-
istence of some marine species
by interfering with their abili-
ties to reproduce. Seaside land
development projects have de-
stroyed many coastal estuaries,
the "nurseries of the sea" where
fish spawn. And pollution has
threatened fish populations by
upsetting the oceans' ecologic-
al balance.
Against this backdrop of di-
minishing food supply and in-
creasing famine on land, krill
offer a potential breakthrough
as a plentiful source of food -
a self-generating staple protein
supply.

BUT KRILL MAY now be lit-
tle more than a tantalizing mir-
age. Before they reach the froz-
en foods counter, they must be
prevented from self-destructing.
Krill decompose very quick-
ly when killed. As they die,
their bodies release an enzyme
that putrifies them within an
hour - so krill must be pro-
cessed on the spot by factory
ships that kill, process and
package the catch on the high
seas.
The Soviet Union, Japan,
Chile and West Germany have
all begun research on krill pro-
cessing. The Japanese, under
worldwide pressure to find a
substitute for the increasingly
threatened whale, have made
the most progress.
The Japanese harvest krill
and immediately process them
into a bean curd-like paste on
factory ships. Liquid is extract-
ed at high pressure from the
krill, then congealed with heat
into conveniently stored and
transported blocks of paste.
They can be marketed directly
in that form, or mixed' with
cheese and butter.
Krill paste has already been
test-marketed in Japan with
some success. It has a deli-
cate flavor, not unlike shrimlp,
and contains 13-20 percent pro-
tein, comparable to most
cheeses and fish and greater
than the protein content of eggs
or milk.
The decline of the whale -
long the krill's most important
predator - has triggered the
krill's population explosion.
When stomachs of captured
whales are split open aboard
whaling vessels, two tons of krill
sometimes spill over the decks.
Krill grow to lengths of two
inches in maturity. Living
about two years, they spawn in
deep water but spend most of
their time in shallow water,
where they serve as food for
larger Antarctic fish and birds.
Krill themselves feed on micro-
scopic yellow organisms called
diatoms, which are so plentiful
in Antarctic waters they some-
times turn icebergs yellow.
John Lohr spent 15 months
in the Antarctic recently on a
National Science Foundation-
sponsored expedition. Michael
Castleman is a freelance writer
who contributes to the local
Sun news pajer.

Krill: Answer to
foo shortages?

Folk singer Phi Ochs dies

PHIL OCHS, ONE of the most ob-
viously radical and most consist-
ently dedicated protest singers of the
sixties, committed suicide last week-
end.
He had been depressed because for
a long time he hadn't been able to
pen any more of his folk songs. The
words just couldn't come, one of his
friends said.
Though Ochs may not have been
able to continuing writing with the
degree of excellence he had during
the Sixties, his followers will remem-
ber him for bringing to life many
of their own frustrations, joys and
sorrows. In the same vein as Dylan,
but in a more direct style, Ochs re-
peatedly captured the essence of
the most volatile political and social
issues of the Sixties.
His "I Ain't Marchin' Anymore"
declared the refusal by many young
Americans to fight in wars they felt
were unjust. "Love Me, I'm a Lib-
eral" captured the basic critisism
many young people had with older
liberals who Ochs described in his
introduction to the song on a live
album as being "Ten degrees to the
left of center in good times and ten
degrees to the right of center when
it affects them personally." And his
"Here's to the State of Mississippi"
was one in a variety of songs dedi-
cated to the civil rights movement
which captured many of the frus-
trations and targets.
TODAY'S STAFF:
News: Mike Blumfield, Pauline Lub-
ens, Tim Schick, Bill Turque, Bar-
bara Zahs
Editorial: Phil Foley, Stephen Hersh
Arts Page: Jeff Selbst
Photo Technician: Allen Bilinsky

LIKE THE "MOVEMENT'" in gen-
eral, Ochs was a victim of the
growing inactivity and complacency
which took hold during the seven-
ties.
But even in his last few years, Ochs
never gave up trying. In the '72 pre-
sidential election, he actively cam-
paigned for McGovern and did a ser-
ies of benefit concerts. In the fall of
'73 he did a show at Mendelssohn
Theatre during which he pleaded
with the audience to become politic-
ally active.
One of his last public appearances
was a benefit he did in New York
last year for Chilean miners which
also featured Bob Dylan among oth-
ers. Only with prodding from Ochs
did Dylan consent to perform.
But activism never swung back to
the level that it reached in the six-
ties, and this was apparently a big
frustration for Ochs.
He never got over it.
Tditorial Staff
ROB MEACHUM BILL TURQUE
Co-Editors-in-Chief
JEFF RISTINE....Ed...s-..-..Managing Editor
TIM SCHICK Executive Editor
STEPHEN HERSH............Editorial Director
JEFF SORENSEN............... .Arts Editor
CHERYL PILATF Magazine Editor
STAFF WRITERS: Susan Ades. Tom Aien, Glen
Allerhand, Marc Basson, Dana Bauman, David
Blomquist, James Burns, Kevin Counihan,
Tom Godel, Kurt Harju, Charlotte Heeg,
Jodi Dimica, Mitch Dunitz, Elaine Fletcher,
Phil Foley, Mark Friedlander, DavidGarfinkel,
Richard James Lois Josimovich, Tomn Ket tier,
Chris Kochmanski, Jay Levin, Andy Lilly, Ann
Marie Lipinski, George Lobsenz, Pauline Lu-
hens. Teri Maneau, Angelique Matney, Jim
Nicoll, Maureen Nolan, Mike Norton. Ken Par-
sigian, Kim Potter, Cathy Reutter, Anne
Marie Schiavi, Karen Schulkins, Jeff Selbat,
Rick Sobel. Tom Stevens, Steve Stojic, Cathi
Suyak, Jim Tobin, Jim Valk, Margaret Tao,
Andrew Zerman, David Whiting. Michae Beck-
man, Jon Pansius and Stephen Kursman.

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How films get to the local theater

By DAVID BLOMQUIST
A SHORT, ELDERLY WOMAN stops
on her way out of the theater and
knocks on the box office window. "I
just wanted to tell you that I really
enjoyed . The Hindenburg," she says.
"I'm 69, and I was in New Jersey
when that ship went down. It was just
like the movie."
This piece is the second in a series on
the movie industry.
Cheryl Johnson, general manager of
the Briarwood Mall movie complex,
smiles and thanks the woman for com-
ing. Like most of today's theater man-
agers, Johnson had virtually no con-
nection with the selection process that
brought The Hindenburg to Briarwood.
But she still gets to accept all of the
praise.
Movies pass through several market-
ing agents and middlemen before reach-
ing the filmgoer, but only the last per-
son in the chain - the theater man-
ager - must deal regularly with the
public that pays for films. And conse-
quently, it is the manager who must
bear both audience acclaim and criti-
cism.
"In a corporation, the manager's re-
sponsibility gets less and less," says
Fred Caryl, supervisor of the four But-

terfield theaters in Ann Arbor. "In a
smaller situation, you find the man-
ager having an opportunity to actually
get involved in the bidding for motion
pictures. But I only make suggestions."
The prime responsibilities of most
theater managers today are basically
administrative: keeping the house clean
(an important factor at family-oriented
theaters, like Butterfield's Wayside), as-
sembling promotion and advertising, and
selling as much popcorn as possible. In
fact, popcorn income may be the most
important profit element in an indoor
theater.
"You kind of start living off of that
popcorn stand profit," Caryl notes. "You
want the best pictures, so you've got to
bid for them. And to get the best pic-
tures, you've got to pay the higher per-
centage to the distributor."
THE STANDARD BOOKING contract
in Ann Arbor calls for 60 per cent of
the box office gross to be returned to
the distributor. On special high-budget
features like Jaws, however, the dis-
tributor may demand royalties of up
to 90 per cent of admission income.
Given those staggering expenses, it's
not easy to make money in film ex-
hibition off ticket prices alone.
"If you can break 50-50 all through
the year and get one or two good
movies, then you're all set," says Caryl.
"The big problem for us is a house like
the Michigan, with 1,813 seats, faces

overhead that's rising every year. We've
really got a problem looking after it,
compared to tht Briarwood complex,
which is much more automated and has
lower maintenance costs."
"'You kind of start living
off of that popcorn st a nd
profit,"' a movie theatre of-
ficial notes. "You want the
best pictures, so you've got
to bid for them. And to get
the best pictures, you've got
to pay the higher percentage
to the distributor."'
"A single downtown theater that may
be So years old has a hard time turn-
ing 'a profit," agrees Briarwood man-
ager Johnson. "You can't get the peo-
ple in there like you can in a shopping
center theater such as Briarwood -
there's no parking. We make money
because we're four different theaters
'showing four different movies, running
continuously all day long."
THE MODERN BRIARWOOD complex,
which opened late in 1973, has un-
questionably cut into attendance at the

three downtown Butterfield houses=
which are partially owned by the Uni-
versity.
"Briarwood has advantages over us,'
Caryl admits, "but we still hold our
ground. We try and maintain our image.
We had an image before they were
here. We're not trying to reduce it or
thrown some slop at the public. We're
going to stay right in there and fight
as hard as we can."
So far, however, a large share of the
best new releases have been picked up
by Briarwood. And when a theater gets
a poorer-than-average film, about the
only measure a manager can take to
boost business is to plan an aggressive
advertising campaign -, a task which
often proves difficult.
"Some pictures are just total bombs
that you have to get out there and sell
anyhow," Caryl states. "That's sort of
the hard sell factor: regardless of wheth-
er the picture is good or $bad, you've
just got to get out there and do it."
But sometimes the ad budgets (to
which both exhibitor and distributor con-
tribute) run out, and the manager can
do little more than sit back .and wait
for the next'film his regional supervisor
tells him to play.
"It's a big risk game," Johnson says.
"The whole business is one risk after
another."
David Blomquist writes regularly for
the Arts and Entertainment Page.

THE CANAL ZONE ... IS SOVEREIGN'
U.S. TERRITORY ... THE SAME AS
ALASKA!

WE BOUGHT IT, WE PAID FOR IT
.AND WE INTEND TO KEEP IT!
/

/

G
t :.

FOREIGN POLICY ISN'T A

J C

Letters

to

The

Daily

DOESN'T MR. REAGAN KNOW WE'R
IN PANAMA BY VIRTUE OF A TREAT
DIDN'T HE LEARN THAT IN
CALIFORNIA?
1

L FOREIGN POLICY ISN'T A
BIGGIE IN DISNEYLAND!
/?%

KGB murder of Israeli athletes in
To The Daily- Munich. For four years, they
have been prevented from
THE USSR'S PERSECUTION working and constantly haras-
of emigration - seeking Jews sed by the KGB. After years of
usually stops short of prolonged waiting, some of the Goldsteins'
imprisonment. The Soviet gov- colleagues and superiors have
ernment would rather avoid the been allowed to go ,to Israel.
world disapproval that would But the Goldsteins have been
follow its discovery. But the marked for "special" treat-

tourists have been the only The first road requires sub-
source of information for the stantial conservation and re-
last six months. The Soviet duction in route to a low ener-
government appears to believe gy consumption society. To in-
that once the out-of-contact dustry, a reduction in produc-
world forgets, it will be free tion would collapse the econo-
to imprison them or worse. my, with staggering unemploy-
Joel A. Levitt ment. To the residential popula-
Social Concerns tion, elimination of air-condi-
Committee tioning, limited heating, cook-

the breath from hundreds of
t h o u s a n d s in under-
ground mines.
THE TECHUOLOGY of nu-
clear power must be evaluated
in terms of the alternatives
which realistically exist. The
nuclear power industry is the
safest and most closely regu-
lated industry in the country.

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