The Michigan Daily-Thursday, May 24, 1979-Page 3 Att'y Gen. will fight inmate's stay of execution STARKE, Fla. (AP) - Attorney General Jim Smith, surprised by two stays of execution won by John Spenkelink, vowed yesterday to see that the murderer is electrocuted before his death warrant expires at noon Friday. "Our goal is to have the stays removed by noon Friday so that the execution can take place," Smith said in Tallahassee before flying to New Orleans to ask the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a stay issued Tuesday by one of its justices, Elbert Tuttle. SMITH SAID he and other prosecutors would also go to Washington today to try to derail a second stay issued early yesterday morning by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Spenkelink had been scheduled to go to the electric chair at 7 a.m. yesterday for the 1973 murder of a traveling com- panion. "Thank God," Spenkelink said when he saw the news flash across a prison television screen about 1 a.m. BUT BECAUSE Spenkelink's death warrant hasn't yet expired, he remains a condemned man. The Supreme Court was to consider Marshall's stay at its regular meeting today. Tuttle's office said late yester- day he would wait for that before moving further on his stay. A spokesman for Gov. Bob Graham said yesterday it would be inap- propriate to say whether the governor would sign another death warrant if the See ATTORNEY, Page 5 Fair-feathered friends AP Photo This elderly woman provides a perfect perch for New York City pigeons. She goes to Central Park every day with plenty of food for her friends. 'Uto provide rooms or GOP By BETH PERSKY Ann Arbor Holiday Inn manager Bill obtained from the July tourist tr The University plans to provide more Gudenau said he believes the city's The Ann Arbor Art Fair,n than 2,500 rooms in dormitories and the convention trade will center on Ann Ar- held during the third week of J Michigan Union for the 1980 Republican bor's hotels. rescheduled to the fourth week convention, and may offer the same "WE'LL BE the only ones to benefit 1980, in order to offer more amount to the Democrats should they by it. They (GOP delegates) won't be Detroit's chances for ecuing decide to award their convention to spending much time in Ann Arbor," he cDeti nescorsecurinL t Detroit, according to a University said. "The downtown hotels in the convention, according to Lotz. housing official. summer months don't usually fill." There are 3,500 rooms available in Gudenau, who said the convention "can , B elch er Ann Arbor, and this represents almost have a good effect on Ann Arbor," 20 per cent of the 19,440 rooms in the predicted "at least a quarter of a greater Detroit area mapped out for the million" dollars in revenue for the city GOP convention, according to Sue and its proprietors. cu t in pro Stano of the Detroit Convention Bureau. But Dick Lotz of the Ann Arbor Con- BUT ELVIN Duvall, director of ference and Visitors' Bureau said Ann By JOHN GOYER University housing information, said Arbor commerce could suffer a "sub- Mayor Louis Belcher propos although that convention is bound to stantial loss" during the Republican mil cut in property taxes last bring in some revenue for the Univer- convention. the Ann Arbor City Council fi sity, until the GOP is firmly committed "The month of July, the occupancy in working session on the 197E to using the rooms in the Michigan Ann Arbor hotels has been nearly 100 budget. Union and in University dorms, the per cent," he said. "The convention will Belcher also announced he w amount cannot be specified. do nothing but take rooms that are about $150,000 toward the cit "Ann Arbor might be one of the more always rented to others." maintenance program. fun places for a delegate to stay," said LOTZ EXPLAINED that delegates THE TAX CUT would re Ranny Ricken, chairwoman of the probably will spend most of their time average home-owner's tax bill state's host committee, in Detroit, so that Ann Arbor restauran- seven per cent, according to e is and shops would lose revenue usually made by council Republicans. (-- O adb OEi euhas rade. ormally uly, was kof July accom- ncrease the GOP roposes half -mi perty taxes ed a half- night as nished its 9-80 city ould add ys street duce the by about estimates The money that the city would lose in tax revenues would be made up from the city's accumulated fund surplus and an increase in the amount received from state road reimbursement funds. The Democratic members of City Council objected to the tax cut last night, saying that the general fund sur- plus could not be reduced every year. EARL GREENE (D-Second Ward), said the city would need the general fund surplus in the city's accounts to stave off short-term borrowing right See HALF-MIL, Page 10 Learning in a box Some students seem willing to take great risks while procuring an education, but two junior high school students from Grand Rapids have gone to unusual lengths to simulate the experience of astronauts in a space capsule for a science project. The boys, Jamie Gorenflo and Brian Buffin, both 14, will be sealed in a giant cardboard box until 8:08 p.m. today. They entered their 6-by-6-by-6 feet "space capsule" Tuesday at the same time. Accor- ding to their teacher, the terranauts' spirits are "very high." The project isn't all fun and games though, because the students have two days worth of homework to complete while in their "capsule." Despite the educational activity, the project was questioned by some school officials. "You're just too deep thinkers out there. The next thing I know you're going to be having somebody in your wilder- ness class scaling the building," the superintendent told the school principal. It seems administrators everywhere would rather have students read the books rather than explore space. Playing by the rules The dozen Texas senators who disappeared for five days in an effort to block legislation they said favored Republican presidential contender John Connally, spent their. days in hiding studying parliamentary rules. Sounds like the legislators learned something the folks on some local gover- ning bodies might be able to use. Happenings ... ... don't start until 5 p.m., when the Michigan League will offer a Pennsylvania Dutch menu as its American Heritage Night.. . and at 8 p.m., a group of senior dance students will presenta concert in the Dance Building, 1310 N. University Ave. On the outside Rats! The clouds will continue today, tem- peratures will be cooler, and there's a good chance it'll rain. High temps around 600, the low all the way down to the 40s.