LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Friday, January 11; 2002 - 3 Senators charge airport with mismanagement Delivery driver jailed after arrest for drunk driving Campus police arrested a delivery driver for operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol Wednesday at 1:30 a.m, according to Department of Public Safety reports. The man, who was stopped while driving on Cather- ine Street, had a blood alcohol content of .20 percent. In Michigan, a driver is considered legally drunk with a BAC level of .10 percent. The man was taken to the Washte- naw County jail. Purse stolen from residence hall RA female student living in Couzens Residence Hall said her purse was stolen last April from the residence hall, DPS reports state. She did not file a report at the time of the larceny. Since the theft, she discovered that several fraudulent accounts had been opened in her name and about $1,700 in transactions made in those accounts. Juvenile escapee caught by police Arbor Heights Center staff members notified DPS of a juvenile escapee Sunday evening, according to DPS reports. The boy, who had left the cen- ter located in 1400 block of Washing- ton Heights, was found on Fuller Road near Gallup Park. Officers arrested the juvenile and returned him to the center without incident. University street signs torn down Ann Arbor police alerted DPS Wednesday morning of University signs that had been torn down, stolen and left on a sidewalk at the corner of Washtenaw and Forest Avenues, according to DPS reports. A stop sign, parking sign and a lot sign had been stolen from a campus parking lot. DPS had no suspects. Wallet found with $140 missing in residence hall A woman's stolen wallet was found in East Quad Residence Hall first-floor men's restroom Monday evening, according to DPS reports. When the wallet was returned to her,nthe owner found that several gift cards and $140 had been taken from the wallet. She had reported the theft that occurred earlier in the day while guests were present in her room. DPS was conducting an investiga- tion. Money taken from unattended purse An unknown person removed $225 from purse left unattended in a School of Dentistry office Wednesday morning, according to DPS reports. The person left $100 in the wallet. DPS had no suspects. Computer stolen from cabinet on North Campus An Art and Architecture employee said his computer was stolen during winter break, DPS reports state. He said the computer was taken from a locked cabinet. Police found no signs of forced entry into the cabinet, but one padlock was missing. The computer was last seen on Dec. 13 and is valued at $3,000. CDs stolen from Architecture building desk A female employee at the Art and Architecture Building told police her third floor desk cubicle was broken into and 40 CDs taken during winter break, DPS reports state. DPS had no suspects. - Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter Jacquelyn Nixon. They request airport officials be barred from giving contracts to relatives of employees By Louie Meizlish Daily Staff Reporter Reforming operations at Detroit Metropoli- tan Airport is a top priority in the Michigan Senate, according to a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Dan DeGrow (R-Port Huron). DeGrow is among a sizeable group of Republican legislators accusing the air- port's operators of gross mismanagement. The airport, operated by Wayne County and managed by the county executive, had been a target for a state takeover. Now, how- ever, the proposed reform will only extend as far as requiring the airport to obey new rules in an amended state Aeronautics Code. DeGrow's spokesman, Aaron Keesler, said yesterday a vote on legislation can be expected within the next two months. The proposed added provisions in the Aero- nautics Code would: Prohibit airport officials from awarding con- tracts to contractors or subcontractors who employ or are owned by relatives of airport offi- cials. Require airports to perform background checks of employees and appoint an ombudsman to handle complaints by travelers. ® Require the airport to publish on its website requests for bids for proposed contracts. Michael Conway, director of external relations for Detroit Metro, said the new rules are unnec- essary and said the investigation and proposed bill are an attempt by "outstate Republicans .to embarrass downstate Democrats." Attorney General Jennifer Granholm, Wayne County's former corporation counsel, is a Demo- cratic candidate for governor. Sen. Loren Bennett (R-Canton), vice chair of the Senate's Detroit Metro Airport Review Com- mittee, said it is time to deem activities previous- ly considered inappropriate illegal. Senate Bill 690, he said, "is really going to address ethics as well as what should and shouldn't be done at airports and whether or not contracts can be awarded to relatives." Democrats have accused Republicans, who hold majorities in both houses of the Legisla- ture, of performing a partisan investigation. Republicans, especially the majority leader, Senate Metro Airport Review Committee Chair Glenn Steil of Grand Rapids, have charged the county with mismanaging the air- port. Conway acknowledged that the airport has had problems in the past but said it will be dramati- cally improved after the Feb. 24 opening of its new midfield terminal for Northwest Airlines. State Rep. Ray Basham is a Democrat who represents Taylor and the airport's hometown, Romulus. He said the state does not have the authority to conduct the present investigation, since the Wayne County Commission is invested with oversight of the airport. Besides, he said, "Wayne County's airport is a jewel to not only my district but to the people of the state of Michigan." Senate committee member Bennett said he expected a form of the legislation to pass the Senate soon, although it is constantly being revised. Budget cuts put future of my~umich porta in doubt By Margaret Engoren Daily Staff Reporter Budget concerns within the University's Information Technology Department are threatening my.umich.edu before it marks a year of service. "As a unit we support the site and are enthusiastic about maintaining and improving it, but there are real budgetary issues within the University's technology. department," said Linda Place, director of the Univer- sity website coordination. "As a new service, the value of my.umich.edu will be questioned and evaluated." my.umich.edu offers a wide variety of services, including email, news, a campus directory, a calendar, announcements and favorite website storage. A unique feature, "Making U-M History," focuses on campus news and events. Coordinators are working to create a symposium piece on Martin Luther King Jr. "There have been substantial improvements made to the site," said Judy Bean, a member of the group which maintains the site. "It is out of pilot mode and into pro- duction service." "More than 15,000 people logged onto the site last month," Place said. The site saw no decline in users during last month's holiday season. Users from the United States constitute the majority of the site's visitors. Ten percent of users log on from Canada. Israel and "There are budgetary issues within the ... technology department." - Linda Place University website coordination director Germany complete the top four countries for the most my. umich. edu logins. "I regularly use the site to check my email," said Alexander Acemyan, a an engineering freshman stu- dent. "I also use the site to check my phone bill and post classifieds. I like that I can accomplish all of that on one website. It is a little slow, but it is not too bad." Lindsay Boynton, a second-year Medical student, used my.umich.edu during the summer but stopped when she returned to the University. "I used the site over the summer to check my e-mail at work, where I didn't have access to telnet," Boynton said. "Now that I am back to school, though, I use tel- net because I just like it better. my.umich.edu was real- ly nice to have over the summer though." The site's busiest hours are from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., while its least busy hours are 3 a.m. to 7 a.m. Friends and family of Engineering junior Rebecca Hilger watch a video last night at a memorial service in the Michigan Union Ballroom. Servic held for studentkilled in AriZona car crash By Tomislav Ladika Daily Staff Reporter Jessica Knapp said the outpouring of emotion and support at yesterday's memorial service remembering the life of her roommate, Engineering junior Rebecca Hilger, provided her with a sense of closure. "She would have liked to be remem- bered as a loving, caring person, which she was," said Knapp, an LSA junior who shared a room with Hilger in the Gamma Phi Beta sorority. Knapp said the service was especially beneficial to everyone who missed the funeral of Hilger, who was killed Dec. 30 in a car accident while on a skiing trip with her boyfriend. Many of her friends could not attend the funeral because it was held during the University's winter break. Last night's memorial, held at the Michigan Union ballroom, featured reflections on Hilger's life by Nursing junior Heidi Hudson, Hilger's roommate during their freshman year, and Kinesi- ology junior and close friend Traci Buchalski, who shared a story of a canoeing trip with Hilger. Buchalski said the story typified Hilger's personal- ity. "The part we went on had no current. We sat there, didn't move at all and enjoyed nature," Buchalski said. "Whether you were talking with her or just sitting there, you were having a good time." Father Dennis Glasgow of St. Mary's Student Parish read a card in which Hilger wrote of her plans to par- ticipate in Alternative Spring Break, a program through which students sacri- fice their spring break to perform com- munity service. Glasgow asked Hilger's family and friends to serve the community as she had and planned to continue doing. Knapp said Hilger would also have been pleased with the memorial "because her faith was brought up, which was an important part of her life." A slide show and an open-micro- phone session followed the speeches. Many of Hilger's friends, some who remembered her from high school and some who only met her in classes last fall, spoke about how Hilger affected their lives. Susan Montgomery, an undergradu- ate adviser for chemical engineers, said Hilger's death helped her realize the value of her friends and family. "In her death, she has changed my life," Montgomery said. "You should live this life like it's your child's or your friend's last day. Take the time to appre- ciate all these special people you have in your life." The mood of the memorial was somber during a slide show and the open-microphone session when many people openly cried as they shared memories of Hilger. But occasionally people laughed, seeming to relate to some of the personal memories brought up by the speakers. Boston I Evanston I Princeton San Mateo Frankfurt London Paris THE CALENDAR What's happening in Ann Arbor this weekend FRIDAY "Affirmative Action In India and the United States: A Comparative Perspective"; Sponsored ern Greek Studies, 6:00 p.m., Education School Schorling Auditorium, 610 East University "Panic Disorder: Diagno- Sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Ann Arbor, 9:00 a.m. - Noon., 200 South First Street SUNDAY SERVICES Campus Information Centers, 764-INFO, info@umich.edu, or www. umich.edu/-info * S.A.FE. Walk. 763-WALK, I I