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September 17, 2003 - Image 1

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Publication:
The Michigan Daily, 2003-09-17

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Wo[ atIhe t

Wednesday
September 17, 2003
@2003 The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXIII, No. 12

One-hundred-twelve years ofedztorialfreedom

TODAY:
Mostly sunny
skies and
wind from
the south,
with clear
skies at
night.

H:79
K 5
Tomorrow:

wwwmichigandailycom

Webber's sentencing deferred for two years

Former Fab Five star must
do 300 hours of community
service in Detroit
By Dan Rosen
Daily Sports Writer
Chris Webber's dealings with the law took an
unexpected turn yesterday, but not one that will
land him in prison, at least for now.
The former Michigan basketball star had his
sentencing deferred for about two years by a fed-
eral judge.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds instead
ordered that, as a provision
for his bond, Webber volun-
teer at least 150 hours at a
six-week summer literacy
program at Butzel Middle
School in Detroit for each of
k the next two summers.
"He's excited about work-
ing with this program,"
Webber's attorney, Steve
Fishman, said yesterday by
(ebber phone.
The Sacramento Kings forward pleaded guilty

to criminal contempt in July following accusa-
tions that he and his father, Mayce Webber Jr.,
lied to a grand jury about accepting money from
ex-booster Ed Martin.
"I believe that Mr. Webber understands the
seriousness of his offense, that he is remorseful,"
Edmunds said at a hearing yesterday. She said
she is unsure whether or not she would treat
Webber's plea as a felony or a misdemeanor.
Webber's sentence will now not likely be hand-
ed down until August or September of 2005. But
Fishman said that the all-star forward is not upset
about any lack of resolution to the case.
"It's basically resolved," Fishman said.

"There's no frustration at all."
In 2002, Martin pleaded guilty to conspiracy
to launder money. At that time, he confessed that
he gave $616,000, from gambling funds and
other money, to four former Michigan basketball
players: Webber, Maurice Taylor, Robert Traylor
and Louis Bullock. According to Martin, Webber
was paid $280,000 of that sum. Martin passed
away from natural causes on Feb. 14 at age 69.
Yesterday, Webber said he still has a strong
emotional connection to the University.
"My heart bleeds maize and blue," Webber
said. "They were the happiest days of my life."
Michigan banned itself from the 2003 postsea-

son as a result of the scandal. It also forfeited 112
games from the time that the four were enrolled
at the school.
Last spring, the NCAA ruled the Wolverines
ineligible for the 2004 postseason also. They will
forfeit one scholarship each year for the next four
years and will remain on probation for that time.
Michigan must also dissociate itself from the
four players for a 10-year period.
Fishman said that the deferring of a sentence
does not happen often. "It's a very unusual (deci-
sion), but this is an unusual case;' he said.
-The Associated Press contributed
to this report.

State may
re strict
recall
elections
By Michael Gurovitsch
Daily Staff Reporter
As the California recall of Gov.
Gray Davis looms on the other side
of the country, the Michigan Legis-
lature may soon get a chance to
limit when the state can have recall
elections.
Recalls still would be possible,
but only could take place when
there is a general election sched-
uled.
Current law requires that recall
elections occur within 60 days after
the necessary petitions are filed.
The bill's sponsor, state Sen. Ron
Jelinek (R-Three Oaks), said the
proposed change would eliminate
costly special elections.
"We have a lot of recalls where I
come from. They get to be very
expensive and most of them are
unsuccessful," Jelinek said.
Over the past month, California
voters have been wrestling with
whether to recall Gov. Gray Davis.
The election is estimated to cost
taxpayers $66 million, the San Fran-
cisco Chronicle reported.
But Jelinek said the timing of his
bill has nothing to do with the situa-
tion in California.
Berrien County, in southwestern
Michigan within Jelinek's Senate
district, has held 22 special recall
elections since 1998 - 10 of which
were successful. The total cost of
the recalls to the state was $77,000,
Jelinek said.
Jelinek said waiting to have recall
elections has advantages.
"It allows for a cooling-off peri-
od. Some people may re-evaluate if
they want to recall a person once
they see them a little longer,"
Jelinek said.
One of Jelinik's Democratic col-
leagues, Sen. Liz Brater of Ann
Arbor, said recall elections are
"being used in a way that is prob-
lematic."
She said many recall elections are
held because of policy disagree-
ments as opposed to criminal mat-
ters.
"I think the concept is definitely
worth exploring because there is
always a danger of very few people
turning out to vote and people get-
ting recalled by fewer votes than they
were elected by," Brater said.
Jelinek said all types of people,
from state officials to school board
members, have been subject to
recall in the past - many for frivo-
lous reasons.
"There's a group recalling school
board members because they were
successful in passing a bond," Jelinek
said.
"There was an unsuccessful recall
because a township supervisor's pro-
posed budget wasn't available soon
enough."
"(Recalls) also discourage people
from running for election because if
they look at somebody cross-eyed
they get threatened with recall,"
Jelinek added.
Michigan is one of 18 states that

allow recalls.
State law requires the signatures
of at least 25 percent of the total
votes cast for the official before a
recall petition can be submitted,
according to the National Confer-
ence of State Legislators.

LEFT: Engineering
senior John
Hiddema watches
as Engineering
senior Terrence
Rindler and
Engineering Junior
Kyle Marsh display
the Utilities and
Plant Engineering
Department's zero-
emission electric
truck yesterday at
the Energy Fest on
the Diag. (DAVID
TUMAN/Daily)
BELOW: Guitarist
Jason Evans and
bassist Nate
Zamarron of
Oblivion perform at
Energy Fest
yesterday morning
in the Diag. (DAVID
TUMAN/Daily)

Bioterror
program
combines
research
$7.5 million in federal funds will go
toward the University's Bioterrorism
Preparedness Initiative
By Aymar Je
Daily Staff Reporter
The Biology Department conducts research on anthrax. A
social research group measures society's response to a
threat. A professor in public health works to improve disease
detection.
Under the University's Bioterrorism Preparedness Initiative,
research in these varied areas come together to increase Michi-
gan's level of preparedness.
The University will
receive a $7.5 million frac-
tion of $350 million in feder-
al grants to support research
and training in bioterrorism.
The appropriation of the ai
funds is part of a national
plan to increase regional
preparation against and pre-
vention of biological threats.
The money will be distrib-
uted throughout the University to support research and training
programs related to issues in bioterrorism.
Schools such as the School of Public Health and the Insti-
tute for Social Research conduct studies in science, medicine,
social work and welfare independent of one another. The Uni-
versity last year created the bioterrorism initiative to collabo-
rate these research interests, organize statewide training and
See BIOTERROR, Page 7

EPA rewards power
plant at Energy Fest

By Naila Moreira
and Emily Kraack
Daily Staff Reporters
Students looking for free lightbulbs found
them on the Diag yesterday, along with a
celebration of University and Ann Arbor
achievements in energy conservation.
Energy Fest 2003 also featured an
awards ceremony during which the Uni-
versity received a 2002 Energy Star Com-
bined Heat and Power Award from the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency. The

award honored the University's Central
Power Plant for implementing a combined
heat and electricity system that generates
electricity more than twice as efficiently
as the standard power grid, said Christian
Fellner, chemical engineer for the EPA.
"I am happy to recognize the University
of Michigan as leading the way toward a
more sustainable energy future," he
announced during the ceremony.
Energy Fest, now in its eighth year, "ties
together all the concerns of different
See ENERGY FEST, Page 7

Coleman
open to
mentin
'anybody'
Mentorship Program
sought out extroverted
students for president
By Jeremy Berkowitz
Daily Staff Reporter
University President Mary Sue Cole-
man and the University's Mentorship
Program have different visions of what
kinds of students Coleman should be
advising.
The program contacted some of its
participants during the summer to ensure
that the students paired with Coleman
were engaging and articulate, program
coordinator Ayanna McConnell said.
McConnell raised concerns about giving
the president more introverted freshmen,
mainly because of her busy schedule.
But Coleman said she would not care
whether her mentees were open or shy.
"I would like to have anybody," Cole-
man said, adding that she hopes to con-
vey that thought to the Mentorship
Program if she participates again next
year.
Staff members at the Office of New
Student Programs talked to top students
in the Mentorship Program planning to
major in natural sciences to find out

f, : aixthiar ti~t in~id ser allnei'nle.ak' it Peterbhur and pubished in Ann. Arbor.Uta sa'u.

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