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.