NEWS
The Michigan Daily - Thursday, April 14, 2005 - 3A
ON CAMPUS
Festival totreflect
Rhythms and Roots, a festival fea-
*turing various performing groups on
campus, will be held tonight from 5 to
7 p.m. in Ingalls Mall by the Michigan
League.
This new program, which hopes
to reflect the diversity of the Univer-
sity, will include the Irish Dance Club,
Groove, TASA Influx and the Michigan
Raas Team. The cost is free.
School of Music
to present tale of
1940s Hollywood
The School of Music will host "City
of Angels" tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the
Power Center for the Performing Arts.
"City of Angels" tells a witty tale of
glamour and treachery in 1940s Holly-
wood. Tickets are $15 to $20 for general
admission and $9 for students.
Tour held to teach
students about
H IV and AIDS
The Road to Hope Tour is making
a stop in Ann Arbor tonight from 7 to
8:30 p.m. at the University Club in the
as well as how to fight the disease.
The event is sponsored by the Stu-
dent Global AIDS Campaign. For
mnore information, visit www.Iwpes-
voice.org.
Teens reported for
throwing rocks,
* harassing workers
A caller reported to the Depart-
nment of Public Safety Tuesday that
approximately four teenagers in the
were idingskateboads, haasing
the staff and throwing rocks at the
building. The suspects were gone
when officers arrived.
:Residue damages
vehicle in car port
A caller reported to DPS Tuesday
that on April 8 some kind of residue in
the Fletcher Carport dripped on to her
car and damaged the paint.
ODrop box in Angell
flall destroyed
A caller reported to DPS Monday
that a drop box outside of his office in
Angell Hall was destroyed. There are no
suspects at this time.
T H IS D AY
I n D a ily H is t ory
University denies
admitting Japanese
American students
April 14, 1942 -- As Japanese Amer-
icans were being evacuated from the
West Coast, the University said no Japa-
nese student evacuees had been admit-
ted at the University.
After receiving a letter from Universi-
ty of Washington Prof. Robert O'Brien,
0 the Deans' Conference discussed the
matter, but said it had reached no defini-
tive conclusion.
An article that ran April 12 alleged
that the University was one of the nine
inland institutions allowing Japanese
students to seek refuge.
University President Alexander
Ruthven said, "The newspaper report
;that the University of Michigan has
agreed with West Coast institutions
to accept students of Japanese blood
from the evacuated areas is incorrect.
aIt is the policy of the University to dis-
Wcourage such students from seeking
Bill aims to defend
smokers'
U lruer bill, employers can
still ban legal activities that
inierfere with job requirements
LANSING, (A P) - Workers would be pro-
tected from getting fired for what they do on
their own time - as long as it's legal - tinder a
bill introduced yesterday in the state Senate.
The legislation was drafted in response to
four workers losing their jobs at a suburban
Lansing business because they
didn't quit smoking outside of "Our opil
But the legislation would employe
have broader implications, bar-
ring employers from adopting need an)
a similar policy for just about
any legal activity as long as it restrictic
doesn't impinge on their work. 1
"This is America," said bill regUILiC
sponsor Sen. Virg Bernero, (D- their abil
Lansing). "Your personal time
should be your own." run the I
Okemos-based Weyco Inc.,
a health benefits administra-
tor. instituted a policy Jan. 1
that makes it a firing offense to
smoke - even off the company's
premises on employees' own time. The policy had
been announced in late 2003.
More than a dozen employees quit smoking
with the help of a cessation program. Bernero
said four women were fired because of the
rights
policy, but the company says the employees left
shortly before the policy took effect.
The policy was designed to encourage employ-
ees to take better care of their health and to cut
down on health care costs.
"Our opinion is employers don't need any more
restrictions and regulations on their ability to run
the business," David Houston, an attorney repre-
senting Weyco, said yesterday in response to the
legislation being introduced.
"This legislation would be guaranteed to cause
nion is
rs don't
Tmore
ns and
~ns on
lity to
business,"
David Houston
Attorney
additional litigation, from
employers and employees
B"ernero's legislation also
would prevent employers from
not hiring employees or dis-
criminating against workers
because of their legal conduct
outside of work. Several other
states have similar laws, Ber-
nero said.
Michigan is one of 22 states
that doesn't have a Jaw say-
ing workers who smoke can't
be discriminated against for
that reason, according to the
Washington-based Bureau of
National Affairs.
Bernero's legislation has both Democratic
and Republican co-sponsors. The bill also
is endorsed by the American Civil Liberties
Union, which says the legislation would protect
workers' privacy rights.
MI residents injured in Cairo bombing
*Meni are seriously hurt andi
may not be able to return to
U.S. for several days
BER L1N (A P) - Three southwestern
Michigan men injured in a deadly bombing at
a Cairo tourist bazaar were admitted to a U.S.
military hospital in Germany for treatment, a
hospital spokeswoman said.
Erik Mirandette, 22, Michael Kiel, 21, and
Kristopher Ross, 22, were injured in the April
7 blast that killed t wo French tourists and an
American identified by The Grand Rapids
Press as Mirandette's brother Alex, 18, from
Kentwood, Mich.
The three injured men arrived by military
transport at Ramstein Air Base in Germany
yesterday morning and were taken to Land-
stuhl Regional Medical Center for treatment,
hospital spokeswoman Marie Shaw said.
Mirandette was in the intensive care unit.
The others underwent medical procedures that
were completed yesterday afternoon and were
listed in stable condition, Shaw said.
It might be several days before they can be moved
back to the United States. Several relatives have
flown to Germany to be with them, Shaw said.
Further information on the nature and extent of
their injuries was not immediately available.
Shauna Niequist, a spokeswoman for Mars
Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Mich., the
church attended by the four Michigan men,
told the newspaper for a story published yes-
terday that the friends were on a four-month
motorcycle tour of Africa. They stopped at
churches, orphanages and AIDS clinics along
the way to donate their time, she said.
"They're still in a very serious situation,"'
Niequist said of the three injured friends.
"We're not talking at all about when they're
coming home."
Erik Mirandette previously traveled
throughout Africa for about a year and a halt,
doing outreach work for Mars Hill with other
churches and organizations. But he and his
motorcycle companions were not on a mission
for the church on this trip, Niequist said.
"It says a lot about their character that the
official trip was over, but even on a recre-
ational (trip) it was still important for them to
be helping people and building relationships
along the way," she said.
A total of 18 people were injured in the blast
at Cairo's Khan al-Khalili bazaar. Suspected
bomber Hassan Rafaat Ahmed Bashandi, who
was 17 or 18, died in the attack.
Police have detained 30 people in the bomb-
ing, including the suspected bomber's mother,
three brothers and 16 other relatives.
hitch out bids partners
for
MotorCity Casino
Delphi under
investigation for
DETROIT (AP) - State gambling
officials yesterday approved Marian
Ilitch's bid to buy out her partners in
MotorCity Casino and become sole
owner of the venture, which takes in
more than $400 million in revenue annu-
ally.
The Michigan Gaming Control Board
voted 4-0 to approve the sale. One board
member was absent.
MotorCity, one of three Detroit casi-
nos, is to be sold because of the pending
merger between MGM Mirage Inc. and
Mandalay Resort Group. MGM Mirage
already owns Detroit's MGM Grand
Casino, and Michigan law prohibits the
company from owning more than one
casino in the city.
The sale is contingent on the com-
pletion of MGM Mirage's acquisition
of Mandalay, expected by June 30.
Although it gave its approval to the deal,
the Michigan board is expected to fur-
ther scrutinize the financing and other
details in the coming months.
I litch, who already owns 25 percent
of MotorCity, is paying $525 million for
the 53.5 percent stake owned by Man-
dalay Resort Group. She also is buying
an 11.5 percent stake held by Atwater
Entertainment, a group of more than 100
local investors, for $106 million, and the
remaining 10 percent from another local
investor, Tom Celani, for an undisclosed
amount.
Ilitch told the gaming board yesterday
she didn't plan big changes in Motor-
City's management.
"I've been around a pretty long time
to know that you don't break up a win-
ning team," she said.
Ilitch and her husband, Mike, began
their business empire in 1959 with the
opening of a pizza parlor in suburban
Detroit. That first Little Caesars restau-
rant flourished into one of the biggest
national pizza chains. The Ilitches' com-
panies, which include hockey's Detroit
Red Wings and baseball's Detroit Tigers,
had combined revenue in excess of $1
billion last year.
Yesterday's meeting lasted about an
hour and 15 minutes. The board did not
have to consider Ilitch's suitability as an
owner because she is already licensed
because of her 25 percent stake. Instead
Ilitch's team answered questions about
the intricacies of the deal and the financ-
ing for it.
Ilitch said afterward she was sur-
prised there were no questions from the
public.
She told reporters that buying the
casino was an important part of her
family's commitment to Detroit's eco-
nomic revival.
"I have a passion for this city. I was
born and raised here," she said. "It breaks
my heart that our city has come down."
Ilitch said she remained committed to
MotorCity's planned expansion. All the
Detroit casinos were built with the under-
standing they would soon be replaced by
permanent casinos, complete with hotels.
MotorCity opened in December 1999.
"My hope is I'm not just going to put
up a hotel. I'm going to have a top-class
hotel," she said.Construction has been
delayed because of a lawsuit from the
Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Supe-
rior Chippewa Indians, which claimed
Detroit's 1997 casino selection process
was unfair. MotorCity and Greektown
Casino have agreed on a settlement with
the tribe but are waiting for an injunction
to be lifted before beginning construc-
tion.
DETROIT (AP) - General Motors
Corp. is turning over documents to the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commis-
sion as part of the government's inves-
tigation of auto supplier Delphi Corp., a
GM spokeswoman said yesterday.
Troy-based Delphi announced last
month that the SEC and the Justice
Department are investigating accounting
iriregularities at the company. An internal
investigation at Delphi already has led to
the resignation of two executives, CFO
Alan Dawes and controller Paul Free.
The documents relate to two transac-
tions between GM and Delphi, which
spun off from GM in 1999 and now is the
world's largest auto supplier. GM spokes-
woman Toni Simonetti said GM is fully
cooperating with the SEC and is confident
it accounted for the transactions correctly.
'After Delphi disclosed that its
accounting was problematic, we reviewed
our accounting of these transactions and
are satisfied that they are correct," Sim-
onetti said.
Delphi paid $237 million to GM in
2000 for expenses related to vehicle
recalls. GM credited the payment in the
third quarter of 2000 but didn't report
it, Simonetti said. Simonetti . said the
payment covered expenses that GM
had booked in previous quarters, so the
accounting Was correct.
The second transaction was an $85
million credit that GM gave Delphi in the
fourth quarter of 2001, mostly for retiree
benefits. GM booked the payment against
equity, instead of treating it as a regular
expense, because it was related to the
spin-off, Simonetti said.
Simonetti said it took several years for
the adjustment because Delphi retirees
were given some time to choose their
retirement plan and then the two compa-
nies had to agree on the final cost of GM's
liability. But she said it was appropriate
to consider the payment as part of the
expenses related to the spin-off.
Delphi shares were down 5 cents to
close at $3.91 yesterday on the New York
Stock Exchange. GM shares were down
67 cents to close at $28.33.
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