The Michigan Daily-Wednesday, January 5, 1983-Page 3
Housing insulation bill
placed on April ballot
U.S. and other countries to kill
marijuana crops with paraquat
.,
By BETH ALLEN
Ann Arbor voters will decide in April
if landlords must meet minimum in-
sulation standards in rental housing as
a local tenants rights group has
gathered enough signatures to put the
proposal on the city ballot.
Members of the Coalition for Better
Housing turned in 6,000 signatures
yesterday afternoon after six weeks of
petitioning in Ann Arbor, according to
petition drive coordinator Bea Hanson.
"THE ONLY days we took off were
Christmas Day and New Year's Day,"
Hanson said, as the group had to
scramble after a slow start in early
December to find the 5,200 signatures
necessary to put the "weatherization"
proposal on the ballot.
Officially called the "Energy Savings
in Rental Housing Law," the proposal
would require landlords to provide
basic insulation, weatherstripping and
caulking, as well as thermostats that
could be set by the tenants to adjust
automatically the heat.
The proposal also includes a gradual
compliance schedule over nine years so
that landlords will not have to make all
repairs at once.
COALITION members say that they
will hit the streets again to inform
voters of the ballot proposal, to raise
funds for their campaign, and to
register student voters before the April
elections.
"A proposal like this will make it
good for students to vote in Ann Arbor,"
said coalition member David DeVarti.
Hanson said support for the proposal
didn't come just from student renters -
the coalition had its three most suc-
cessful days during winter break,when
most students had already left for
home. Area homeowners, landlords,
and senior citizens also signed the
petition, she said.
"WE COULD have hit students more
than we did," Hanson said.
Coalition membes said the law would
conserve energy and save renters
money even though landlords will have
to come up with the funds to bring their
properties up to the new standards.
The city's high vacancy rate and poor
economy will probably keep landlords
from raising rents to cover the costs of
repairs, some members speculated.
WASHINGTON (AP)- The federal
government is ready to help Colombia
and other countries destroy their
marijuana crops with the weed-killer
paraquat, claiming that could cut U.S.
marijuana imports by 70 percent.
But an official of a pro-marijuana
organization predicted yesterday that
destroying foreign sources of
marijuana with paraquat would be a
boon to domestic growers.
PARAQUAT once was thought to be
harmful to human lungs if smoked
inadvertently, but the State Depar-
tment said there is no evidence any
marijuana smoker has been harmed
and that the risk is "virtually non-
existent."
Congress lifted a three-year ban
against foreign paraquat operations in
late 1981.
But George Farnham of the National
Organization for Reform of Marijuana
Laws-known as NORML-said
parquat is one of the most poisonous
herbicides and that there has been little
or nd research into its long-term health
effects.
.Freshman
killed by
hit and run
driver
An LSA freshman was killed Christ-
mas Eve by a hit and run driver in nor-
thern Michigan. Craig Kutinsky, 18, an
Alice Lloyd resident, was struck while
jogging on a highway near Harbor
Springs, Mich.
The student from Farmington Hills
died shortly thereafter at a Traverse
City hosptal. An Emmet County
Sheriff's Department spokesperson
said yesterday that the driver has not
been found.
The Kutinsky family is considering
establishing a scholarship fund in
Craig's name. Two other members of
the family are University students:
Brian, an LSA senior; and Susan, an
LSA junior.
'The (State) Department concluded that
the overall benefits of using paraquat
would significantly outweigh the potential
problems of the herbicide.'
-State Department statement
FARNHAM SAID "there is no con-
clusive evidence yet available" on the
effects of smoking it. While he agreed
there is no evidence of short-term
health effects, "studies show it does get
through and lodge itself in the lungs.
There have been no studies on the long-
term consequences of what happens
over a long period."
But the State Department announced
in the Federal Register on Dec. 21 that
it is ready once again to begin assisting
foreign countries in eradicating
marijuana crops through aerial
spraying of herbicide.
"The department concluded that the
overall benefits of using paraquat
would significantly outweigh the poten-
tial problems of the herbicide," the
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State Department said.
From 1972 until 1978, the U.S. gover-
nment helped the Mexican government
spray its extensive marijuana crops
with paraquat. The program was
regarded as highly successful by
federal officials and the Mexicans con-
tinued it even after the U.S. gover-
nment was ordered by Congress to drop
out in 1978.
But Farnham said the reduction in
supply from Mexico-combined with
the paraquat scare in 1978 that followed
a report by the-Department of Health,
Education and Welfare that the her-
bicide might cause lung damage-
contributed to the "first billion-dollar
marijuana crop" in the United States
that year.
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I
Daily Photo by ELIZABETH SCOTT
Members of the Coalition for Better Housing (left to right) Gwynne Kostin, Bea Hanson, Mary Rowland, and Steve
Austin present the petitions to the city clerks office that will put a proposal on the April city ballot to require landlords to
meet minimum energy efficiency standards.
Only battle in city's primaries
will be between the Democrats
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By DAN GRANTHAM
With the passing of the candidates'
filing deadline earlier this week, it
became clear that there will be only
one real battle in nekt month's
primaries for the mayor's office and
five City Council seats.
Since incumbent Mayor Louis
Belcher and independent challenger
Paul Jensen are both running unop-
posed in their parties' primaries, the
only contest will be between the two
Democrats who announced their in-
tentions to run for the city's top
government office.
DEMOCRATS Leslie Morris, a
three-term city councilmember, and
former Drain Commissioner
Thomas Blessing are already
gearing up for the race for their par-
ty's nomination in the Feb. 21
primary.
Morris, who says she has "more
city government experience than
anyone else on the council," said she
would push for an expansion of the
Council urge
(Continued from Page 1)
beginning to hear from their con-
stituents."
If council does not put the proposal
on the ballot, Bullard said he and the
other citizens involved in the repeal
campaign will continue the drive to
put it. on next year's ballot. "If
necessary, we'll continue our
petition drive, and I have no doubt
we'll get more than enough
signatures by next December," he
said.
In order to place the proposal on
April's ballot, council must vote on
the resolution by the first week in
February. The resolution requires
seven of the 11 votes on council to
pass.
THE DEMOCRATS on council, af-
role of local government as mayor.
She added that as a woman she could
help balance what she called the
current ignorance in City Hall of the
problems facing women.
Blessing said he is "very unhappy
with the present' mayor," and his
"inadequate response to the
problems of the city." He
acknowledged that Ann Arbor is a
"complex city" and insisted he has
"the familiarity and understanding
with the overall community that Ann
Arbor represents."
IN CITY council elections, all
candidates are running unopposed in
the primary election, assuring them
of a spot in the April election.
One city council seat has already
been decided practically since
Republican Dick Deem is running
without a Democratic opponent in
the Second Ward. Deem, retired
from Ford Motor Co., currently
works as a management consultant.
Deem said he "likes the small town
feeling" of Ann Arbor, and would
"like to maintain the basic charac-
d to put pot
ter discussing the matter at their
party caucus, decided they were
against the proposal, according to
Rafe Ezekiel (D-Third Ward). He
said a repeal proposal would be
"divisive in the gity."
Without Democratic support, all
seven Republican members of coun-
cil would have to support the
proposal for it to be put on the ballot.
Virginia Johansen (R-Third
Ward) said she would seriously con-
sider the resolution, although she
"had hoped there would be a suc-
cessful petition drive." Petition
drives, she said, are more
"meaningful" because they indicate
public support for a proposal.
"THERE IS a possibility that a
repeal effort could be misinter-
ter of the city." He also stressed his
concern for people and their
problems.
Democrat Lowell Peterson, in-
cumbent in the First Ward, is one of
three incumbents seeking re-
election in the coming election. He
faces Republican Letty Wickliffe, a
retired school teacher, who has run
unsuccessfully for Ann Arbor school
board and the county board of com-
missioners.
PETERSON said that if he is re-
elected he would push the council to
"protect tenants much more," by
holding down energy costs and ren-
ts. He added that rape prevention is
another issue the council should deal
with more forcefully.
In the Third Ward, incumbent
Republican Virginia Johansen is op-
posed by Democrat Jeff Epton, a
retail floor coordinator at the
Univesity Cellar Bookstore.
Johansen said because she is a
housewife, she is "able to work at it
(council position) full time." Johansen
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law on ballot
preted," Johansen said. "Perhaps
some persons may see it as a threat
to their personal lifestyle." She said
she thought the repeal campaign is
meant primarily to discourage
sellers of marijuana and protect
children from exposure to drugs.
"I feel we do have to address our-
selves to the situation," Johansen
said.
Lou Velker (R-Fifth Ward)
agreed. "I certainly hope that we get
a chance to vote on it (in council),"
he said. He added that the
Republican caucus would probably
decide whether to make the proposal
in the near future.
"I certainly want to see it on the
ballot," Velker said.
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List prices on new course books.
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1
HAPPENINGS
Highlight
There will be a Marx Brothers film festival tonight at Lorch Hall. The
festival, sponsored by the Cinema Guild, will include Animal Crackers at 7
p.m., Duck Soup at 8:50 p.m., and A Night at the Opera at 10 p.m.
Films
C2-Rebecca, 7 p.m.; Shadow of a Doubt, 9 p.m., MLB 3.
Miscellaneous
Academic Alcoholics-Meeting, 1:30 p.m., Alano Club.
Science Fiction Club - Meeting, "Stilyagi Air Corps," 8:15 p.m., Ground
List prices on used course books.
" Quality school supplies
" Art & photographic materials
" Calculators & computers
" Uof M memorabilia
- Classical records
- Dormitory accessories
Course materials for all classes taught on
North Campus are available at our
North Campus Commons store: 994-9012.
I_-