One hundred ten yearsfede iarfreeom *ri. NEWS: 76-DAILY CLASSIFIED: 764-0557 www michigandaily. cam Friday January 5, 2001 I 6.~ I Profs. to use, Hubble to study Jupiter. PSusan Luth Daily Staff Reporter Four University professors are getting a "once-in-a- lifetime chance" to use new technology and the Hubble Telescope to explore Jupiter in a way it has never been seen before. This rare opportunity was provided when Cassini, NASA's largest planetary spacecraft, launched last tober, flew past Jupiter last week on its way to Sat- Cassini carries an instrument called the Cassini Plas- ma Spectrometer, which was designed by a team led by University atmospheric, oceanic and space sciences Prof. David Young. Young is using the instrument to measure solar winds as it approaches Jupiter's magnetosphere, the planet's outermost atmospheric layer. Young said his team is searching for a relationship between the winds and the aurora that surrounds Jupiter. The aurora is an electrical effect of ions and elec- t ons as they collide with a planet's atmosphere. The Elision causes a light, and depending on what ele- ment or molecule the particles hit, the light becomes different colors. "The colors are brilliant," Young said. "They look like little halos that sit above the atmosphere." "We are seeing features in the aurora that we've never seen before," said research scientist John Clarke, a pro- fessor in the department of atmospheric, oceanit and space sciences. Clarke, Young, and atmospheric, oceanic and space ences Profs. J. Hunter Waite and Tamas Gombosi are pulling together (their) common interests," Young said. While Young is studying solar wind from Cassini, Clarke is using the Hubble Telescope to take pictures of the planet's aurora. The team hopes to match the data from Cassini with the pictures taken by the Hubble. "We want to see how particles excite the atmosphere and produce the emissions we see," Waite said. Clarke said he was very fortunate to obtain almost 53 hours of the Hubble's time. Only one in 10 organiza- s that apply to use the telescope are granted time, Clarke said, and even then they usually receive less than eight hours of time. Another objective of the mission is to determine the difference between the aurora found on Earth and that of Jupiter. Jupiter has a diameter 10 times that of the Earth and spins faster. Because Jupiter has a stronger magnetic field than the Earth and has several large moons that give off gas, its effect on the aurora is extremely See HUBBLE, Page 7 o Midwest pa statessl String 0of robberies continues By Carrie Thorson Daily Staff Reporter 'I In the latest in a string of armed robberies near campus in recent weeks, a man wielding a handgun walked into the Subway restaurant on South University Avenue at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday demanding money. Last month Domino's Pizza offered a reward of up to $1,000 for informa- tion leading to the arrest and convic- tion of individuals involved in the Dec. 9 assault and robbery of a pizza deliv- ery driver. The robbery occurred in a parking lot off McIntyre Drive on North Campus around 7 p.m. after the driver had made a delivery. According to Department of Public Safety reports, three males with handguns approached the driver and demanded money. The Ann Arbor Police Department arrested four suspects for another rob- bery involving a delivery driver last month but has determined that these four suspects have nothing to do with the Domino's robbery on December 9, DPS spokeswoman Diane Brown said. The reward is still posted. Other armed robberies near campus recently include: A man who was approached by two men with guns on East University Avenue while walking home from the Michigan Union at 1:30 a.m. Wednes- day. Two females who were robbed at gunpoint around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday. A man with a handgun approached them and demanded money while they were standing in front of their resi- dence in the 1200 block of Prospect Avenue. ® A heist Tuesday afternoon at the Silver Fox, located at 211 S. State St. A person who was robbed at gun- point while walking on East University Avenue near Michigan Avenue late last month. A robbery in the 800 block of Tappan Street Dec. 18. Police have not said whether it's likely that all of the robberies were committed by the same people. Many houses and apartments around campus were vacant for the past two weeks because of the Univer- sity's winter break, making residences around campus an easy target for bur- glaries. "Students come home from break See ROBBERIES, Page 7 DAVID KATZ/Daily An Ann Arbor resident and her son buy new 34-cent stamps at the U.S. Post Office on West Stadium Boulevard yesterday. PENNY PINC I NG Stamp, increase takes effect By Maria Sprow Daily Staff Reporter Starting Sunday, students wanting to keep in touch with family and friends the old-fash- ioned way might have to start digging for more pennies to send their mail. The cost for first-class postage stamps is once again being raised a penny, to 34 cents. The U.S. Postal Rate Commission made the decision to raise the cost of postage for first-class mail, after reporting a $1 billion dollar loss in 2000. The last time the com- mission raised postage was in 1999, from 32 cents to 33 cents. Cries of "outrageous" were heard yester- day inside the Ann Arbor Post Office, where postal patrons debated the high prices of mailing and shipping and han- dling. "I wish they would go up less often because its such a hassle when you already have stamps," University graduate student Jen Blanchette said while standing in a long line to buy the new 34-cent stamps. Washtenaw County resident Georgia Car- penter said the post office should maintain the same cost or lower it. "I don't think it's fair. It's too much, if you think of how many letters go out each day," Carpenter said. See STAMPS, Page 6 pulation grows, but )se U.S. House seats Michigan to lose representative 4at after congressional redistricting By Hanna LoPatin Daily Staff Reporter Although the Midwest was often cited as important battleground territory during the last presidential election, the loss of nine congres- nal seats from the Great Lakes states may Sn find the region struggling to find its voice in Washington. After the release of preliminary results of the 2000 Census, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio are each set to lose one seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and conse- quently one vote each in the Electoral College. Both New York and Pennsylvania are set to lose two. "It's a bummer," state Sen. Joanne Emmons (R-Big Rapids) said of Michigan's loss. "It's not just Michigan, it's the whole Midwest - that makes our region less important." U.S. Rep. Lynn Rivers (D-Ann Arbor), one of Michigan's 16 representatives in Congress, said the large role that the Great Lakes states play in freshwater resources and the economy will ensure their voices will be heard. "The rest of the country can't afford not to pay attention to the Great Lakes states," said Rivers, whose 13th District could be merged with a neighboring constituency when the state Legisla- ture redraws the boundaries later this year. Many losses came as a surprise to states, as they estimated their own population growth cor- rectly but failed to anticipate the large population increase that occurred in states like Texas, Ari- zona, Georgia and Florida - which gained two seats each. Michigan's 6.9 percent increase in population was expected to be enough to sustain the need for 16 seats. In 1990, Michigan lost two of its 18 congressional seats and Ann Arbor was moved from the 2nd District to the 13th. Indiana state Rep. Ed Mahern (D-Indianapolis) also reflected surprise at the loss. "It's disappointing that despite Indiana grow- ing faster than any other state in the Midwest, we still lost a seat," he said. Not all Great Lakes states are worried about representation in Washington. Illinois boasts an ally in Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert. The loss of a seat "will lessen the state's impact in Congress, but that's somewhat made up for by having Dennis Hastert as Speaker of the House," said Steve Brown, press secretary for Illinois state House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago). "In the near term, we're probably better off than other states," Brown said. Susan Shafer, spokeswoman for Michigan Gov. John Engler, said the loss is disappointing but Michigan's representation will not suffer drasti- cally. "Our delegation is going to have to fight, but I See CENSUS, Page 7 SAM HOLLENSHEAD/Daily The Life Sciences institute, which is under construction at the corner of Huron Street and Washtenaw Avenue, will benefit from $47.8 million in state funds. given $47.8M for life sciences By Anna Clark Daily Staff Reporter With a recent $47.8 million state grant, the University and its unique partnership with Michigan State Uni- versity, Wayne State University and the Van Andel Institute are poised to move forward in its plans for life sci- ences research. The University's total includes grants awarded directly to faculty and companies developing University tech- nology. The December announcement of the grant is the first transfer of funds for the Life Sciences Corridor, under which the state appropriates revenue from its lawsuits against tobacco com- panies "to nurture the biotechnology industry and research base here in the state of Michigan," University spokes- woman Sally Pobojewski said. The money will support the devel- opment of five core research centers at the separate universities campuses and the Van Andel Institute, a private See LSI, Page 7 wDrummer boy Weaver voted out as chief justice of state's conservative Supreme Court By Louie Meizlish Daily Staff Reporter The seven justices of the Michigan Supreme Court decided yesterday in a 6-1 vote to replace Chief Justice Elizabeth Weaver with Justice Maura Corrigan as the court's leader for the next two years. Weaver was the only dissenting vote. "I am deeply honored by the Court's decision and nledge to unhold the high building consensus among people of dif- ferent views ... and I foresee that will con- tinue," she said in a telephone interview yesterday. Since Republicans gained a majority, the court has been peppered with allegations from various groups that it is partial to the interests of big business and that it is a tool of Gov. John Engler. Corrigan, one of five Republican jus- tices, said she hoped that view would court's recent decisions and those that have been supportive, said they don't expect much to change under Corrigan's leadership. "I think Justice Corrigan represents the interests of large insurance companies and corporations," Michigan Democratic Party spokesman Dennis Denno said. "She may be a new face, but the special interests that control this court haven't changed," Denno said. "There's been an I1 ______ - __