One hundred ten years ofeditarialdfreedomWMarchs2s200 NEWS: 76-DAILY CLASSIFIED: 7640557 wwmichigandaiIycom MS1At ections Vote before midnight tomorrow at vote.www.umich.edu Friends say the former Boston w it's a pretty good bet. It'll come down to if his "He likes a lot of things about Michigan," Vitale Ssa h fr o wifedecides on Louisville, but he loves (Ann Arbor). said. "I think what he's hearing about Michigan is cur s Celtics coach favors Ann Arbor's He loves the college atmosphere." exciting him. atmosphere over Louisville ESPN basketball reporter Dick Vitale also spoke "I think he said he's making a decision with with Pitino yesterday and told the Daily that Pitino Louisville by (today). But I've had a tough time read- By RaphaelGoodstein doesn't like the idea of his two young children hearing ing him." Daily SpsditorRall for Kentucky fans booing and The Michigan Athletic Department is keeping quiet' Rally forRic ointimidating his family at on the issue. stap out vote fraud 4C0nIe Thorson Daily StaffReporter Voting started at midnight this morn- ing for the Michigan Student Assembly Elections, and events of past elections have made MSA officials and candi- dates leery of voter fraud. To prevent fraudulent dealings from affecting the outcome of the elections, party members assign "tails" to other f ies, said Election Board Director an Norfolk. Tails are students who make sure candidates are abiding by campaign rules set by the Election Board and report violations to the board. "I've heard conversations about then, but nobody really knows who they are," said Monique Luse, an MSA representative candidate running with th Jniversity Democratic Party. "I 't think our party has them" In an effort to reduce voter fraud, the Election Board tried to implement a system in which students would enter their student identification number before voting. "Since this was relatively public information, we didn't go through with it," Norfolk said. "Basically things have not changed since the previous election" Anthe winter 1999 election, a Blue member allegedly stole 110 uniq- name passwords and used them to vote. Last year, an incident of voter fraud caused most of the Wolverine Party to be removed from the election. This year, LSA sophomore Chip Englander, who caused the Wolverine Party's removal, is on the ballot as the Michi- gan Party's vice-presidential candidate. Alok Agrawal, last year's Election !ard director, investigated the inci- dent when be got -mails from students in Makley saying that someone had come into their rooms, helped them log into the voting website and voted for them. The Election Board determined it was Englander who violated the rules. "This violated two major rules of the election - campaigning within 50 feet of a polling site, which is a computer logged into the election website, and *grity of election," Agrawal said. But because of the double-blind vot- ing system last winter, the Election Board could not effectively determine who was voted for. Since Englander was the Wolverine Party's campaign manager and every candidate had agreed to run under him as party head, all candidates were disqualified from the election. Aeveral candidates in this year's elec- t3'n said they are upset that Englander is running again. "As a former candidate for LSA-SG, he knew the rules surrounding elec- tions very well, and understood how to run a campaign on campus," said Blue See VOTING, Page 7 Rick Pitino, who resigned as coach of the NBA's Boston Celtics earlier this year and is expected to decide whether to accept a job offer at Louisville today, appears to be leaning toward taking Michigan's open coaching position. "It's 70-30 in favor of Michigan," Boston CBS affil- iate WBZ-TV correspondent Bob Lobel told The Michigan Daily. Lobel, who hosted "The Rick Pitino Show" for the last three years, said he spoke with Pitino yesterday. "I dasnv ogme Louisville games. Pitino left a rally at noon today his job as head coach of Ken- on the Diag to show tucky in 1997. support for Pitino. "The one thing (Louisville) can't take away is that he has an 8-year old and a 10- year old," Vitale said. "There's such a battle there that it's unbelievable. Had he not coached at Kentucky, he would have signed at Louisville long ago." Vitale said Pitino is very impressed with what Michigan has to offer. "While we're going through this process, I'm not commenting on anything," Michigan Athletic Director Bill Martin said. Martin met with Pitino on Sunday in Dayton, Ohio, where Pitino was doing commentary for the NCAA Tournament, but did not extend a job offer. Pitino did not return messages left on his voicemail last night. Many Michigan fans wore Pitino masks at Michi- See PITINO, Page 7 Rick Pitino toured Louisville's campus last week, but many Michigan fans hope he will turn down an offer today. Gr1"zenspan cmouts ra te by half a point By John Polley Daily Staff Reporter Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan yester- day announced a 0.5-point cut in the Federal Funds rate, lowering the rate to 5 percent after a 5-0 vote by the Federal Reserve Board. The rate cut had been subject to intense speculation in recent weeks amid fears of a looming recession and faltering stock prices. The lowered interest rates will allow consumers and investors to access funds less expensively, encouraging spending and investment, In lowering rates, the Fed hopes to restore momentum to a slowing economy. "The incentive to invest in new or updated capacity is weak now," explained University economics profes- sor Saul Hymans. "The Fed wants to lower the cost of doing that to keep it from falling more rapidly." In addition to domestic issues, the Fed warned of the potential impact of foreign economies on the economic outlook. "The potential for weakness in global economic con- ditions suggest substantial risks that demand and pro- duction could remain soft," the Federal Reserve Board explained in its announcement. Many analysts and investors had anticipated a larger cut after a particularly dismal week in the stock mar- See FED, Page 7 JEFFHURVITZ/Daily Caribou Coffee on South State Street is closing Sunday because its owners are unable to keep up with rent increases. Soaringrent orces popul coffee shop to say goodbye By Kara Wenzel owner of the Amer's delis and Cava Java. Records have all left town because of Daily StaffReporter Pyne said the rent for Caribou's space high rent rates. Bathish said the buildings at 309 S. State St. is about $6,500 a have a high turnover rate and landlords Ann Arbor's reputation as an endless month, much higher than a similar space will lease their properties for at least as row of coffee shops is about to take a hit in other towns. - much as the previous tenants were pay- this weekend. "In the early '90s, rents were reason- ing. Caribou Coffee plans to close Sunday able and a normal guy could afford to "The landlords need to stop raising because its owners are unable to continue run a business in Ann Arbor. But rents rents before they drive everyone - paying the building's rent. have quadrupled since 1990. The people entrepreneurs and franchises away," "The owners and brokers have been making the real money now are the land- Bathish said. trying to resolve the rent issue for a long lords, and tenants have to raise the price Caribou Coffee is.the nation's second time. The coffee business is sort of-a of the product to make rent," said largest non-franchised coffee company. nickel-and-dime operation and business Bathish. Its headquarters in Minneapolis operate here fluctuates depending on the number Bathish said rents go up by 3 percent more than 130 stores nationwide. of students in town," Caribou employee to 5 percent every year, and rates on Pyne said many professors and gradu- Patrick Pyne said. State Street near campus can be as much ate student instructors are upset that the "A business has only seven and a half as $15,000 per month, hurting entrepre- store is closing because they hold their months to make all the money for the neurs like himself., office hours at Caribou. year in this town, even though we pay Other campus businesses such as "It would be nice to have the Universi- rent for 12 months," said Amer Bathish, Burger King, Taco Bell and Tower See CARIBOU, Page 7 Distracted drivers on cell phones could face fines By Hanna LoPatin Daily Staff Reporter Drivers who commit a traffic violation while talking on a cell phone may face a $25 fine or an extra point on their record under a bill being dis- cussed today by the Michigan House Transporta- tion Committee. "There seems to be a belief out there in the minds of many ... that people should not be dri- ving cars while they're operating cell phones," said House Majority Floor Leader Bruce Patterson (R- Canton), who sponsored the bill. Patterson called vehicles "three to four thou- sand-pound weapons if not used correctly." Part of the bill commissions a two-year study by the secretary of state to determine the effect of cell phones on driving. A 1997 study by the New England Journal of Medicine determined the risk of collision is four times as likely for a driver talking on a cell phone "People should not be driving cars while they're operating cell phones." - Bruce Patterson House majority floor leader than for a driver who is not but maintained that a causal relationship was not proven. Members of the communications industry are prepared to fight the measure. Cell phones are only "part of a bigger issue - distracted driving," said Jeremy Pemble, a spokesman for AT&T Wireless, who is planning on testifying against the bill at today's meeting. "We recognize, obviously, that a driver's first priority must be driving - period," Pemble said. See CELL PHONES, Page 7 'U'rankssixthL in NHgiants By Louie Meizlish Daily Staff Reporter The National Institutes of Health announced yesterday its top 10 recipients of research grants, placing the Univer- sity sixth among higher education institutions. The University, whose health system was awarded a five-year $33.6 million grant last week by the NIH, received $260,353,494 in 2000, an increase of 13 percent over 1999. The grants funded 467 individual research awards. The news was warmly received by Allen Lichter, dean of the Medical School. The Medical School receives 68 percent of NIH funding to the University, ranking it 10th in the country among medical schools. "Our steady increase signals the strong condition of our research endeavors as we embark upon the University's Life Sciences Initiative," Lichter said. Vice President for Medical Affairs Gil Omenn attrib- uted the University's position on the list to the faculty at the Medical School. "It's all about people - the quality of faculty, students, and staff," Omenn said. "For clinical investigations," he added, "it is a big help for faculty that we have a clinical research center where volunteers and patients can study very effectively." NIH spokeswoman Anne Thomas said the reason the University has such a prominent position on the NIH list is probably due to the fact that the Medical School is "highly regarded by outside reviewers for scientific merit." See NIH, Page 7 WEATHER OP-ED ARTS SPORTS 4 aTonight Unmasking the Code, Part III Crossing borders Decision time for Drew Low 32. The University is charging LSA senior Ryan Hughes Opera and computer art blend Drew Henson is traded back to the Tomorrow under the Code of Student Conduct. Learn about his together to present street people New York Yankees and could choose Sunny. charges and follow him though the process. in a whole new light in "vidGod." to end his Michigan career. oudyigh45. Page 4. Page 5. Page 8.