LOCAL/STATE
The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 6, 2003 - 3A
Briarwood Mall begins renovations, development
Alcohol involved in
student's fall from
West Quad window
Department of Public Safety Capt.
Joe Piersante said that a University
student who fell while climbing
through a window at West Quad Res-
idence Hall on Feb. 2, was under the
influence of alcohol when the inci-
dent occurred.
Piersante said the student, a member
of the wrestling team, was either
climbing in or out of the window when
he fell. "We don't know what he was
doing and I don't think he even
knows," Piersante added.
Broomball game
provokes scuffle
An aggravated assault was report-
ed at Yost Ice Arena late Monday
night. After a broomball hockey
game, a fight broke out between
players. One player suffered minor
injuries.
DPS arrested one subject for
assault.
ATM problems
lead to discovery
of account fraud
A caller reported a fraudulent activ-
ity at University Hospital Monday
evening. The caller reported that an
ATM took her debit card but did not
issue her any money. DPS reports
state the woman later discovered
someone had withdrawn money from
her account and transferred money
from her savings account to her
* checking account. DPS has no sus-
pects at this time.
Equipment breaks
in lab accident
A student reported property damage
at the Chemistry Building on Tuesday
morning. A graduated column was bro-
ken during a scientific experiment.
DPS reports state the property damage
was ruled accidental.
Caller reports East
Quad trespasser
DPS reports state that a staff mem-
ber reported a trespasser in East Quad
Residence Hall on Tuesday afternoon.
After DPS arrived at East Quad, they
were unable to locate the trespasser.
DPS has no suspects.
Palm Pilot stolen
at medical building
According to DPS, a woman
reported a theft from her office at
the Medical Professional Building
Tuesday morning. The caller report-
ed that her client's Palm Pilot,
worth $179, was stolen. DPS has no
suspects.
Unwanted visitor
escorted from
Education building
A subject was found trespassing at
the School of Education Building-
Monday night. The subject was asleep
in a restroom. DPS reports state the
subject was cited for trespassing and
escorted from the building.
Student reports
missing MCard
According to DPS reports, a stu-
dent reported his MCard was stolen
from the Central Campus Recreation
Building on Thursday night. The
MCard has not yet been found. DPS
has no suspects.
Thieves remove
hospital electronic
equipment
Electronic equipment was stolen
from University Hospital on Monday
morning. A caller reported that an
unknown subject stole a computer,
printer, television, VCR and television
cabinet from the hospital. DPS has no
suspects but the case is currently
under investigation.
S Robbery reported
at University
Hospital
A larceny was reported at the Uni-
versity Hospital Sunday afternoon. A
caller reported that her wallet, contain-
ing $75, and credit cards were stolen
from her purse. DPS have no suspects
at this time.
M-Care patient
injures herself
. . . . .. m. -
By Kyle Brouwer
Daily Staff Reporter
Briarwood Mall is celebrating its 30th
birthday this year with a seven-month, multi-
million dollar facelift designed to attract cus-
tomers with a more contemporary look.
One of several areas of the mall to be reno-
vated will be its center court, which will
receive cafe-style seating, cushioned sofas
and chairs and new custom chandeliers, Bri-
arwood General Manager Ida Hendrix said.
"The mall has aged beautifully," Hendrix
said. "However, just as designs change and
consumer taste changes, we felt it was time
for a fresher look for the center," she said.
The changes are good news for frequent
Briarwood shopper and LSA freshman Moni-
ca Chin. She said the visual improvement
would compliment the mall nicely.
"I think it will be interesting to see what
they do with the mall," Chin said. "Right now
it's not too exciting, but it has good stores. I
think the new atmosphere will make it more
exciting."
When renovations finish this October in
time for the mall's 30th anniversary, shoppers
can expect to walk through totally redesigned
entrances featuring enhanced lighting and
graphics, porcelain wall tiles, custom light
fixtures and park-bench seating.
Briarwood's new appearance is expected to
bring in more business in spite of the slug-
gish economy, Hendrix said. "We've found
that renovations tend to attract customers
wanting to see what's changing. We know the
renovation will be positive for both Briar-
wood customers and retailers," she said.
In addition to a modernized center court
and mall entrances, the updated Briarwood
will come equipped with some additions
designed for customer comfort this fall.
There will be lobby-lounge seating areas in
each of the four courts with cushioned sofas,
wooden tables and carpeting. A custom-built
children's play area filled with soft-foam
structures will be added as well.
Among those responsible for designing the
mall's new shopping atmosphere are J.
Howard Nudell, architects and Walbridge
Aldinger, the general contractor for the con-
struction process.
"Each of these companies has worked with
us on other mall projects and we have a good
rapport with them," Hendrix said.
The artistic aspects that have been in place
since the mall opened in October 1973 will
"The mall has aged
beautifully. However, just as
designs change and
consumer tastes change, we
felt it was time for a fresher
look for the center."
- Ida Hendrix
Briarwood General Manager
serve as the foundation for the newer devel-
opments, she added. "The sculptures, sky
lights and fountain will remain. I'm partial,
but I think these features have stood the test
of time," she said.
Manslaughter charge
ensues after the death
of comatose patient
Bring it on
WEST BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP
(AP) - Nine years ago, Desmon Venn
threw a single punch at a high school
classmate and put him in a coma.
Venn pleaded guilty to assault, spent
two months in a boot camp and pre-
sumably thought he had paid his debt
to society.
Last month, though, a new bill
arrived.
Prosecutors brought involuntary
manslaughter charges against Venn
after the victim finally died without
ever having regained consciousness.
Venn, now 26, could get up to 15
years behind bars in the death of
Zuhair Pattah.
Venn's lawyer, Elbert Hatchett, said
the charges violate Venn's constitution-
al protection against double jeopardy,
or being prosecuted twice for the same
crime. He also said the state's six-year
window for filing an upgraded charge
after such a crime has long since
slammed shut.
"When they elected to prosecute
him then, they forfeited the right to
prosecute him thereafter for the same
behavior," Hatchett said.
John Skrzynski, an Oakland County
assistant prosecutor who has handled
the case from the beginning, said there
is no double jeopardy because Pattah's
death generated a new crime, which
also rules out any statute-of-limitations
argument.
But Skrzynski, who successfully
prosecuted assisted-suicide proponent
Jack Kevorkian for murder in 1999,
said: "This is not an easy case. It's a
very difficult case. It's a very sad
case."
Pattah was 16 and Venn 17 when
Venn punched him between the eyes
during a melee in the parking lot of West
Bloomfield High School in 1994.
Pattah fell backward, hitting his
head on the pavement with such
force that his brain stem was sev-
ered.
In 1995, Venn pleaded guilty to mis-
demeanor aggravated assault. In addi-
tion to serving time in boot camp, he
received two years of probation and
was fined $1,000.
On Jan. 8, however, Pattah died at age
25 of what the medical examiner listed
as complications from the head injury.
Members of the Radical Ann Arbor Cheerleaders walk away from the Diag yesterday after
performing at the "Books not Bombs: Nationwide Student Strike against the War" rally.
Waningeconomy,threatof War ig0 1 Men's k.Toumament2
hurt spending, state tourism Rof$90.00includingtaxI
Michigan tourism officials say the
specter of war with Iraq, low consumer
confidence and budget cuts are
responsible for a decline in tourism
EAST LANSING (AP) - Tourism isn't expected to fare
so well this year in Michigan, especially in the amount trav-
elers spend in the state, industry leaders said yesterday.
Tourism officials need to focus on developing ways to
attract more people to the state - instead of sending them
out to vacation, officials said at the Michigan Tourism
Outlook Conference at Michigan State University.
The sluggish economy and the threat of war with Iraq
have put a damper on consumer confidence, which affects
travel, said Don Holecek, director of Michigan State's
Travel, Tourism and Recreation Resource Center.
The center predicted a 2 percent increase in travel volume
this year, but tourists will spend about 2 percent less.
Holecek said Michigan's budget crisis and national
and international uncertainties could further dampen
tourism.
"The threat of more terrorism, with a possible disruption
of fuel supplies, is the real wild card," Holecek said. "And
the uncertainty of war is a huge wild card."
Holecek and others said declines in tourist spending
over the last two years make it necessary to examine
the industry.
Travel spending was down 10 percent in 2002, accord-
ing to the travel resource center, though that didn't mean
people didn't travel - they just spent less. Travel volume
was up 3.1 percent. In 2001, travel spending was down 5
percent.
Holecek said state government should be more active in
supporting the tourist industry because it is the second-
largest industry in Michigan. But he also said the private
sector should take an interest in addressing the economic
development needs of state tourism.
02/03 Winter Season
Stem cells
successf idy
used to
repair heat
ROYAL OAK (AP) - Doctors here
say they may be succeeding in the first
known attempt to use stem cells from a
patient's own blood to help an attack-
damaged heart repair itself.
A 16-year-old boy who had a heart
attack after a nail gun punctured his
heart is showing signs of healing 12
days after doctors infused the organ
with stem cells harvested from his
blood, doctors said yesterday.
"Until recently, there was a notion
that the heart could not be repaired,"
said William O'Neill, chief of cardiol-
ogy at William Beaumont Hospital.
The reason is that heart muscle
cells, unlike most human cells, do not
reproduce.
But animal studies have shown that
heart tissue can re-grow itself by turn-
ing undifferentiated "stem cells" into
heart cells, O'Neill said at a news
conference.
The hospital hopes to proceed to
clinical trials of the technique, in hopes
it will be effective in treating people
with heart-attack damage who now
have few treatment options available.
I-I_._.W - a...a_ _ A _: ._A 4. ,4.
Michigan Union
Board of Representatives
is accepting applications from
interested students
Leadership experience
A direct working
relationship with
faculty, staff and alumni
Practical experience in
policy setting, public
relations, and long
range planning
An opportunity to serve
as a Michigan Union
liason to other students
NShape
YourI
Union U
i-
O
O
3
3
Stuttgart Chamber
0Orchestru
Dennis Russell Davis conducto
Catherine Malfitano soprano
Alexander Neander and
Wolfram von Bodecker mimes
r
$10 Rush Tickets avail-
able at the Michigan
Leage Ticket Office today
from 10 am - 5 pm. 50%
Rush Tickets available
at the Michigan Theater
starting at 6:30 pm.
I
Applications available
in the Union at the Campus
Information Center
due March 7
at 5pm in Room 1310
of the Michigan Union
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Tonight! 8pm
Michigan Theater " Ann Arbor
The Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra
performs Pulitzer Prize-winner and
UM Professor William Bolcom's new
work, Medusa, along with Philip
Glass's In the Upper Room, a series
of dances commissioned by the Twyla
Tharp Foundation and performed here
by two mimes.
Ct1VAMIPowl
INfORMATION
CENTEWIT.
Royal Shakespeare
Company
Shakespeare's The Merry
Wives of Windsor
March 1-9
Shakespeare's
Coriolanus
March 2-8
CnIman Rushdia's
$20 Rush Tickets offered
based on availability
at the Michigan League
Ticket Office the day of
the performance for
Coriolanus and Midnight's
Children only. 50% Rush
Tickets offered based on
availablity for all three
productions starting 90
minutes prior to curtain.
For more information
Aq'iONA
Annlications available:
2