8 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, October 7, 1998 LOCAL/STATE Fieer unveilsroad plans; Enger opens M-59 DETROIT (AP) - Yesterday, democratic candidate for governor Geoffrey Fieger unveiled his plans for Michigan roads, and said Gov. John Engler had caused a costly delay in the opening of a ramp at a Macomb County highway intersection. For his part, Engler officially opened that rebuilt stretch of highway yesterday, and hailed what he called "a new era for transportation in our state." In a luncheon speech to an AFL-CIO group, Fieger offered up the same criticisms of Engler's two terms that he has throughout the campaign. He charged Engler had diverted funds, ignored the environment and favored big business interests at the expense of what was good for the public. And Fieger said Engler's claims of growing business investment were false, and that Michigan was behind other Midwestern states in new development. "There's no boom going on here. What do we have here?" Fieger said. "Go to Detroit, Flint, Saginaw, Bay City, Midland, Kalamazoo, Lansing. There's nothing going Opponentsface off on state road plans on here. Transportation and more money for roads from several "The only thing we have in this town are two holes for sources, such as higher taxes on diesel fuel and heavy billionaires ... and they're going to charge us $100 for a hot trucks. dog, a ticket and a beer to watch a God-awful baseball Fieger also accused the state of lying about the condi- team play," Fieger said, referring to two new stadiums in tion of an exit ramp at the intersections of Interstate 94 Detroit. and Michigan Route 59. The ramp from eastbound 1-94 A spokesperson for Engler said Fieger was ignoring to M-59 will remain closed due to shifting soil under- reality. neath it. "Where's he been? That's not the Michigan I live in," Fieger claims the ramp was rushed for political reasons, said spokesperson John Truscott. "We've created 700,000 delayed due to shoddy work and will take $2.2 million to new jobs in Michigan. We lead the nation in the number of fix. new manufacturing jobs created. "And nevertheless, we had a press conference out there "Those types of facts directly refute his claim. I just say, today extolling the fact that he has completed a road that look about you. We have development and job creation we can't drive on, that still isn't done and was constructed going on all over the place." as inferior," Fieger said. Fieger's road plan calls for an overall road construction Engler reopened an 11-mile stretch of M-59, widened in plan, reforms at the Michigan Department of a $300-million project that he said was completed one year ahead of schedule. "Today we are doing husiness differently," he said in a statement. "We are fixing our roads and focusing on our worst roads first." Gary Nacyaert, a spokesperson for MOOT. said Fiegeri charges about M-59 were outrageous. and the department had used good judgment on the project. He said engineers had been well aware of the problems with the site. While workers were preparing to pave the ramp the ground started shifting, and are now building a retaining wall to hold it in place. "We were not motivated by anything less than sound engineering principles, not gubernatorial politics," Naeyaert said. Naeyaert also criticized Fieger's road plan, saying parts of it would violate federal law. "It's kind of embarrassing and reckless to hear someo i who knows so little about transportation profess to chimge the way we do business when he lacks a fundamcnt ai understanding of how we do business today." Windsor improVes Goosing around gambling appeal GM names new head, reorganizes.- two units into one WINDSOR, Ontario (AP) -Casino competition is getting stiffer for Detroit's expected three gambling hous- es, as Windsor takes aggressive steps to establish itself as a dominant local gam- ing destination. The latest move is a "racino." The Windsor Raceway, a drab structure in a remote part of the city, plans to install 1,000 slot machines next month to make a racetrack and casino hybrid. "We're molding ourselves into a one-stop gaming facility for the new millennium," Windsor Raceway Chief Executive John Millson told The Detroit News. "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." The track derives half of its business from the United States. Even with the government-owned Casino Windsor 15 minutes away, casi- no developers believe there's room for more players -- and raceway officials have elaborate plans. At Windsor Raceway, 10 percent of the machines' net win will go to horse purses. "The slot machines will allow us to invest more money in our racing. It's a fabulous combination," Millson said. He said there may be plans for a hotel, golf course and possibly a dude ranch on the more than 300-acre race- way site. And with such plans in the works, Metro Detroit racetracks fear being left in the dust. Oakland County officials hope to bring a full-service casino to Hazel Park Harness Raceway under a bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-Bloomfield Township). The bill, scheduled to be heard Wednesday by the House Natural Resources Committee, would recognize the Swan Creek Black River Confederated Ojibwa Tribes of Michigan. Tribes must be federally rec- ognized to open casinos. "It would give them the right to peti- tion the Interior Department to ask for competitive gaming, said Hazel Park Mayor Ben Colley, who has talked to the tribe about opening a casino at Hazel Park. But, the bill won't be acted on until the next Congress takes over. And Gov. John Engler has opposed the expansion of Indian gaming to off-reservation sites such as Hazel Park. Once the Detroit casinos open, some predict Casino Windsor could lose as much as half of its revenues. But, like Casino Windsor officials, Windsor Raceway executives believe their prop- erty can keep pace, citing no taxes on winnings and a favorable currency exchange rate. "We're in the middle of a massive construction program, and we'll have 1,000 slot machines ready for gam- ing on the second of November," Millson said. Casino Windsor has 3,000 slots. DETROIT (AP) - General Motors Corp. promoted G. Richard Wagoner Jr. to president and chief operating offi- cer yesterday in a major reorganization aimed at making the biggest automaker more responsive to markets worldwide. Jack Smith, who gave up the presi- dent's title, remains as chair and chief executive officer. The move raises Wagoner's visibility in the competition to replace the 60-year-old Smith when he retires. Effective immediately, GM will merge its two big, independent automo- tive units for North America and the rest of the world into one unit called GM Automotive Operations. Wagoner will head it. As the most bureaucratic automaker among the Big Three, GM has long been criticized for the time.it takes to develop new vehicles. Smith said a sim- pler organizational structure was need- ed to get new products to market faster in response to rapidly changing tastes and needs. "Intense competition, diverse global markets and the speed with which the world is changing politically, economi- AP PHOTO cally and technologically call for a r faster and leaner General Motors," Smith said. The new automotive unit will be divided into four regional divisions: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America-Africa-Mideast. Each region will have its own president who will report to Wagoner. "This theoretically should make GM much more fleet of foot on the product- development side," said analyst Joseph Phillippi of Lehman Brothers. "It just streamlines the organization." But Phillippi said the reorganiza- tion, while needed, will not address GM's biggest problem: "At the end of the day, they still have too many div0 sions, too many brands and too many models." Smith has said he is committed to keeping each of GM's six North American sales divisions. Phillippi said he expects GM eventually will merge some of those divisions, as it did in 1996 with Pontiac and GMC. The consolidation of the North American and international automotiA operations had been expected.G1 recently moved the headquarters of its International Operations unit to Detroit from Zurich, Switzerland, in anticipa- tion of the move. The change is part of the steady streamlining that began after Smith took control of GM in a boardroom coup in 1992 after the automaker's brush with near-bankruptcy. It is simi- lar to the consolidation of No. 2 Fork Motor Co.'s North American aiW European automotive operations four years ago. "It doesn't fall into the category of leapfrogging the competition," said analyst Gregory Kagay of McDonald & Co. "Rather, it's catching up with the competition." The merger of the automotive units coincides with GM's cost-saving efforts to produce all its vehicles frol@ just seven global "platforms," the common chassis and parts used for a variety of different cars. GM now has 16 platforms, but they are not used globally. Justin Kirinovic laughs while feeding geese and ducks with his grandmother Darlene Nutter along the Shlawassee River in Owosso, Mich., yesterday. I, RECYCLE THE DAILI HIGH MARKS FROM MORNINGSTAR, S&P, MOODY'S, MONEY MAGAZINE AND BILL, THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN LAw SCHOOL Center for International & Comparative Law William W. Bishop Lectures in International Law Justice Richard 1. 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