LOCALI/STATE The Michigan Daily-- Thursday, March 27, 1997 -- 3A Gubernatorial hopeful stresses Democratic Party unity JTD website lends help to 'U' students Some University students have encountered e-mail problems, includ- ing seeing their account funds dwindle and receiving rejection notices for mes- sages they never sent. But students with e-mail questions or concerns can turn to ITD for help. Besides discussing account security options, the ITD User Advocate's Web page at http://www.umich.edu/~itdua also can provide students with a variety useful information including how to install ads on personal websites. . Students also can report computing -policy violations, ask questions, and get assistance by sending a message to the User Advocate Group at itd.usercadvocate@umich.edu. 'Woody Plants' class still strong OStudents in the class known as "Woody Plants" have been studying trees in their natural habitat for more than 30 years, regardless of weather conditions. The class is taught by biology Prof. Warren Wagner and forest ecology Prof. Burton Barnes. The course com- bines lectures, laboratory work and weekly treks to Ann Arbor forests, the Highland Recreation Area and South lan. Wagner and Barnes designed the course in 1965 to emphasize field work -showing diverse habitats and national woody plants species. The "Woody Plants Lab" houses collections of leaves, twigs, buds and fruits for stu- dents to see seven days a week. Jacqueline Courteau, who took "Woody Plants" three years ago, said in -a statement, "It's a fun class. I can go .9t with people and talk to them about interesting trees. It's a skill you can use every time you are outdoors." Whale skull reconstruction nearly complete After more than 200 hours of sift- ing through pieces, University Sedical Illustrator John Klausmeyer close to finishing assembly of the skull of Sinonyx, an early, primitive whale. Klausmeyer's completed skull will be featured in the Exhibit Museum's "Back to the Sea: The Evolution of Whales" exhibit that is slated to go on display in October. Klausmeyer used silicone putty to create a cast model of the original "onyx skull, which he then copied in s reconstruction. "We took this thing that looked like it had been run over by a car and got a good replica of the original ani- mal," Klausmeyer said in a state- ment. The Great Lakes Sea Grant Network will make science-based information on zebra mussels and other non-indige- nous species availible to the public bnline. .%ebsite displays non-indigenous species The Sea Grant zebra mussel and non-indigenous species World Wide Web Site contains a comprehensive ollection of research publicationsand ' ucation materials produced by Sea ant. The site is located at: http://www.ansc.purdue.edu/sgnis/. A CD-ROM version is also availible. - Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter Marc Lightdale. By Jeffrey Kosseff Daily Staff Reporter Gubernatorial hopeful Larry Owen stressed the importance that maintaining party unity during the 1998 Democratic primary will have for a victory in the next election when he spoke last night to the campus College Democrats. "We win only when we stop quarreling with one another and mass all of our resources," Owen said. Owen, a front-runner in the Democratic prima- ry according to recent polls, said that if the Democratic candidates spend millions of dollars competing against each other during the primary season, it will be difficult for the party to win the general election campaign. "I am begging for a consensus by late 1997 or early 1998," Owen said. "I hope there's a coming- together of people who want to elect a Democrat." Owen said he expects that the November 1998 election campaign will cost about $8 million per candidate, so a costly primary campaign would be detrimental for the general election. "It takes a long time to get that money together - if you're a Democrat," Owen said. Jae Jae Spoon, chair of the campus College Democrats, said the group is giving the candidates a forum for their views. "We don't endorse a candidate in the primaries," Spoon said. "We will definitely act as a liaison between the campaigns and the student body." Besides talking about politics within the Democratic Party, Owen spoke about partisan pol- itics and the basic differences between Democrats and Republicans. "With the current Republicans, you see a resurgence of the kind of philosophy that is biased to owners and capital and makes them free of government intervention," Owen said. "Now the Christian Coalition is getting into tax policy. They believe government involv- ment should be big when it gets into personal life, but small when it gets into your econom- ic life." Although Democrats have won recent elections both locally and nationally, Owen said they still have a long way to go. "We're in a critical phase," Owen said. "The presidential election was a victory, but it isn't done." But Owen showed hope for a Democratic victo- ry. "(Gov.) John Engler is not unbeatable if he runs," Owen said. "The current numbers on Engler are moving in our direction. His job approval rat- ing ig 52 percent'. In Owen's opinion, education is one of the top state issues and the public is not pleased with Engler's performance in that area. "People don't agree with his philosophy that the free market is the solution for education prob- lems," Owen said. Owen ran for governor in 1994 and placed sec- ond in the Democratic primaries. His past experience in politics includes srv- ing as mayor of East Lansing, chair pf the Michigan State University Board of Trustees and as an adviser to former Gov. James Blanchard. Chin up ' study blmes technology for rising HMO costs AJA DEKLEVA COHEN/Daily LSA first-year student Jacqueline Lowell (right) participates In a self-defense workshop in the Alice Loyd residence hail last night. Alytia Levendosky (left), who works at Gentle World Self Defense in Ann Arbor, taught the group. City to Cdicuss parking strucule By Brian Campbell Daily Staff Reporter Health maintenance organizations might not remain centers for low-cost medical care if patients continue to shun traditional surgery in favor of high-tech treatments, according to a recent study by , University researchers. HMO costs have remained stable in recent years. However, the researchers found that burgeoning costs stemmed from the growing use of new technolo- gy, causing HMO budgets to rise at the same rate as traditional plans. "A lot of people did think that HMOs could cut costs in the long run because they were less expensive than non- HMOs, and probably more efficient," said School of Public Health Prof. Michael Chernew, head of the study. "However, health care costs are rising at the same rate in both places." Chernew emphasized that HMOs, which frequently adopt a more cost- conscious approach in treating patients, remain a relatively low-cost means of providing health care. "HMOs are still less costly than any alternative, but they haven't addressed the problerm of utilizing new technolo- gies," Chernew said. For the study, the researchers record- ed the use of laparoscopic cholecystec- tomy - - an advanced procedure to remove the gall bladder with minimal scarring - among HMO and non- HMO centers in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Connecticut between 1989 and 1994. The laparoscopic procedure was cho- sen because it is representative of sev- eral similar treatments used in recent years. During the five-year period, increased demand for the laparoscop- ic procedure caused HMO costs to rise just as fast as traditional insur- ers. "We wanted to see if the HMOs could sustain the growth of the new procedure?' said Richard Hirth, assis- tant professor of economics and health management and policy. "It's a type of procedure where there is a strong patient demand for it and there is no financial reason not to get it for the people involved in HMOs." But Hirth said the extensive use of such high-tech treatments can eliminate potential benefits for patients through increased insurance premiums. "We want to access all of these new technologies, but if we use them fre- quently when it's unnecessary, people aren't going to benefit that much from them," Hirth said. Chernew emphasized the difficulty in balancing financial and health con- cerns when determining the appropriate treatment for patients. While the health care debate has ebbed since the defeat of the Clinton adminis- tration's proposed reforms, Chernew said the discussion should be taken up again soon because of spiraling costs. "There is a tradeoff between utiliza- tion of care and money," Chernew said. "I think we should be conscious of the challenges that the health care system faces in cutting costs in the long run." By Meg Exley Daily Staff Reporter Lack of parking has plagued down- town Ann Arbor for decades, but now, even existing parking structures are giv- ing city officials headaches. Officials from the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority said one of the city's worst culprits is the parking structure on South Forest Avenue, next to Tower Records. Today, customers will have the oppor- tunity to voice their concerns about ten- tative renovation plans for the structure. DDA officials, in cooperation with the Ann Arbor City Council, will hold a public meeting today from 4 to 6 p.m. at Cafe Fino in the Galleria on South University Avenue to discuss the garage's pending repairs. "(We) have long been aware that there is a shortage of parking in the downtown area," DDA Executive Director Susan Pollay said last week. "We have to make an effort to preserve the structures that we already have?" Pollay said the Forest Street garage is the city's worst structure at this point in time and is at the top of the list for the planned reparations. "This structure is the one that serves the University population the most," she said. "It also serves the local business- es, such as Tower Records and McDonald's." Organizers expect the meeting to address which problems need immediate attention, as well as gather suggestions about how to fund the reconstruction. Pollay said potential funding options being considered are a rise in city taxes or an increase in citywide parking fees. "We definitely encourage the people who use this structure to come to the meeting," Pollay said. "They are the ones who will benefit from its repairs." Child immunization registry almost ready EAST LANSING (AP)--Two-year- old Hannah Engler may have been a lit- tle shy in front of the cameras yester- day, but her immunization record was picture-perfect. A new computerized tracking system will soon be online to make sure every Michigan 2-year-old is up to date on shots. And Hannah's record--complete with a chicken pox vaccination - was used to demonstrate how the system works "We've made more progress on this registry in the past year than some states have made in five years," Gov. John Engler - Hannah's dad - told health officials yesterday in East Lansing. "No other state is going to have what Michigan is going to have." The Michigan Childhood Immunization Registry will connect regional databases containing vaccina- tion histories for young children in each area. The registry will allow physicians and parents to find out quickly which shots a child has had and if he or she is due for any others. Parents can choose to keep their chil- dren out of the registry. The state set up the registry after it came in last in the nation in a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey of immunization rats for children 19 to 35 months old. The state's rate now is 74.1 percent, up 13 percentage points from 1994 and enough to put it ahead of Nevada, Utah and Idaho, although it is still below the national average of 75 percent. Michigan's rise in immunizations will allow the state to receive more than $450,000 in incentives, federal officials said. They estimated Michigan may have missed out on more than $1 mil- lion by failing to qualify for the pay- ments. the world is getting smaller smell better. . . . LM .ALLXXI. Wha's happening in Ann Arbor today GROUP MEETINGS U Campus Crusade for Christ, Fellowship meeting, Dental School, Kellogg Aud .7 p.m. 0 Lutheran Campus Ministry issues of Faith Group, 668-7622, Lord of Light Lutheran Church, 801 South Forest, 7 p.m. U Muslim Students' Association, 930 9049, Rackham, Assembly Hail, 7 p.. U1UJA Half Shekel, Campaign meeting 998-1964, Hillel, 1429 Hill St., 6 p.m. O Undergraduate Mathematics Society, 327-0614, East Hall, Room 3866. 7 p.m. Michigan Union, Art Lounge U "How to Cheer a Japanese Baseball Team: An Anthropologist Among Fans," sponsored by The Center for Japanese Studies, Lane Hall, Commons Room, noon U "Uturgy of Holy Communion," spon- sored by The Lutheran Campus Ministry, Lord of Light Church, 801 South Forest Ave. 7 p.m. D "Memorial Service," sponsored by Hillel, The Diag, noon U "Shulchan lyrit," sponsored by Hillel, Cafe Java, downstairs, 5:30 p.m. U "TASA Current Events Workshop," sponsored by Taiwanese American Students for Awareness, Michigan Union, Arts and Programs, Commons, Gallery Wall Pierpont SERVICES U Campus Information Centers, Michigan Union and Pierpont Commons, 763-INFO, info@umich., UMeEvents on GOpherBLUE, and http:// www.umich.edu/-info on the World Wide Web U English Composition Board Peer Tutoring, need help with a paper?, Angell Hall, Room 444C, 7-11 p.m. Q Northwalk, 763-WALK, Bursley Hall, 8 p.m.-1:30 a.m.