NEWS The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - 3 ON CAMPUS Festifall's little * brother, Winterfest, is tonight in Union The Michigan Student Assembly will hold Winterfest 2006 at the Michigan Union from 4 to 8 pm. today. More than 150 student groups and University depart- ments will be on hand to talk with stu- dents and give them information about their organizations. Hopwood award winners to be announced The fall term Hopwood Award winners will be announced today on the fourth floor of the Rackham Graduate School in the ampitheatre 3:30 pim.. English Prof. Alice Fulton will read poetry at the event. b Frat to host Big Ten Blood Battle The Alpha Phi Omega fraternity is holding a Blood Battle tomorrow. The University will compete with six other Big Ten schools to determine who can collect the most blood. Students can donate blood at Bursley Residence Hall today between 2 and 8 p.m. CRIME NOTES Psychiatric patient Pthrows chair, causes damage A subject was rushed to the University Hospital Emergency Room early Sunday morning, the Department of Public Safety reported. The subject threw a chair for an unknown reason in a seclusion room, breaking glass. No other damage to the room was reported. Student's laptop stolen in UGLi A student reported that his Fujitsu laptop was stolen from his backpack Sunday night at the Shapiro Undergraduate Library. He left his backpack unattended on the second floor and returned to find his laptop miss- ing. There are currently no suspects. Asault victim admitted to hospital A subject was assaulted in Ann Arbor on Sunday afternoon. The subject was admitted to the University Hospital at 5:29 pm. The Ann Arbor Police Department was contacted and is sending an officer to meet with the subject. THIS DAY In Daily History Police still have no suspects in econ fire Jan. 24, 1982 - The search for sus- pects in the Economics Building fire that took place on Christmas Eve continues, according to the Ann Arbor Police and Fire departments. Efforts to salvage research materials and books are under- way. The building's fate will remain undetermined for at least two more weeks, according to University officials. Police Chief William Corbett called for the public's assistance in r capturing the arsonist on Friday. He urged anyone with information to contact the police. In the meantime, the economics department faculty and staff have been relocated to the old St. Joseph Hospital building on Ingalls Street. Faculty and staff are upbeat about their new quarters aside from the fact that they are no longer on cam- pus. This has aggravated several stu- dents who have been forced to walk a half mile in the cold to meet with their professors. In order to minimize professors' travel time, the department is hop- ing to relocate several classes to the Frieze and Modern Languages build- ings, according to Associate Chairman Richard Porter. Ford announces the closing of 14 plants Thousands ofjobs in Michigan will be lost as part of Ford's restructuring efforts LANSING (AP) - Michigan's Democratic governor and Republican legislative leaders renewed their calls to diversify the state's econ- omy after Ford Motor Co. announced yesterday it would close the Wixom assembly plant and 13 other facilities. But the two sides took different approaches on how to do that. House Speaker Craig DeRoche of Novi and Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema of Wyo- ming, both Republicans, emphasized cutting more business taxes and getting rid of some regulatory oversight. Gov. Jennifer Granholmsaid the state should begin looking at new uses for the Wixom plant and new ways to compete for future manufacturing facilities. "We want to plan for what comes next for the site and for the workers who are affected," Gra- nholm said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. More than 1,500 jobs at the Wixom assembly plant, where the Lincoln Town Car, Lincoln LS and Ford GT are made, will be cut by 2008. The Michigan job losses were part of Ford's overall restructuring effort that will cut up to 30,000 jobs and idle 14 facilities. DeRoche, whose district includes the Wixom plant, said it's a good time to review the state's ability to compete for nonmanufacturing jobs in a new economy. "We've got to get back to basics: Cut taxes; build the roads and infrastructure needed to move goods and services; provide an educated and skilled work force; eliminate red tape; and break down the barriers anchoring Michigan's economy in last place," he said in a statement. Sikkema said the state needs to reform K-12 education to put more emphasis on higher edu- cation, limit government spending and support small businesses by cutting taxes and improv- ing the state's regulatory environment. "We need to show the world we are serious about change and eliminate this environment of uncertainty that is turning job providers away from our state," he said in a news release. Michigan's unemployment rate continues to hover well above the national average. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate for December was 6.7 percent, up one-tenth of a percent from November; the U.S. unemployment rate for December was 4.9 percent. Granholm said she and other state officials tried everything they could to keep the Wixom plant open. "The whole array of tools in our toolbox was brought out," the governor said. "Every kind of tax incentive was out on the table but they had overcapacity issues they had to deal with." The state also had new laws on the books to give tax relief to manufacturers hard hit by the changing economy, but Granholm said tax cuts aren't the answer to every economic problem. House Republicans are pushing additional business tax cuts as one way to help revive the state's economy. They plan to vote today on more tax cuts - this time for small businesses. The measure is expected to pass because the GOP has a majority in the House. The legislation, already approved by the Senate, would cut state taxes in half for 35,000 small businesses. Businesses that pay an alter- native to the state's main business tax would see their rate drop from 2 percent to 1 percent under the bill. The cut would save those busi- nesses an average of $686 annually. Granholm has spoken out against the pro- posed tax cut because the legislation does not offset the lost revenue, which the nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency estimated would be about $21 million for this year's general fund and $29 million for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. Ford plant worker Steve Mendenhall talks during an interview yesterday In Batavia, Ohio, about yesterday's announcement that production will cease at Ford's Batavia plant in 2008. The governor and Democratic U.S. Sen- ate Debbie Stabenow of Lansing said Ford's announcement shows that the federal govern- ment needs to better enforce fair trade laws and improve the health care system that puts domes- tic automakers at an economic disadvantage. "The long-term strategy cannot just be cut- ting jobs and cutting salaries," Stabenow said. U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Brighton) listed other changes the federal government needs to make to help automakers such as Ford, includ- ing ending Asian currency manipulation, which he said puts U.S. workers at a competi- tive disadvantage. He also said energy costs need to be brought under control, health care needs to be made more affordable for workers and employers, and tort and pension laws should be changed. Republicans plan to reward workers for healthy behavior Unhealthy behaviors are said to add to health care costs by 25 percent LANSING (AP) - Senate Republicans are renewing efforts to reward people for exercising and not smoking, a move they say will drive down health care costs. Legislation unveiled yesterday by state Sen. Tom George would charge Medicaid patients less for services if they exercise regularly and don't smoke, and give state contracting preferences to businesses that have employee wellness programs. Other bills would let health insurers provide better rates to small businesses that employ fewer smokers, require ele- mentary schools to offer physical educa- tion for 30 minutes at least two days a week and establish a wellness program for state employees. Wellness programs typically offer health screenings, exercise training and nutrition advice to workers. George, an anesthesiologist from Por- tage, said unhealthy behaviors are known to contribute to at least 25 percent of health care costs. "We can't control aging of our popu- lation," he told reporters. "New medical technologies that we rely on are gener- ally beneficial. But we can control our own behavior." The Medicaid proposal isn't new. It stalled in budget negotiations last year, so Republicans will try to address the issue outside the budget process, George said. The senator also proposed bills last fall that would require insurance com- panies and health maintenance orga- nizations to reward people for healthy behavior, though companies wouldn't have to buy the insurance coverage. Hearings will be held on those bills in the spring, George said. George said high health care costs con- tribute to the state's economic troubles. "Our businesses, schools and local and state governments cannot keep up with the rising cost of health care," he said. "We need comprehensive state policy changes that will encourage healthy behavior." Senate Democrats pointed out that one bill is similar to legislation they intro- duced a year ago. Sen. Deborah Cherry (D-Burton) is sponsoring a bill that would require elementary pupils to take part in 30 minutes of physical activity a day or 135 minutes a week. Members of Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm's administration have said she is open to the idea of giving Medicaid recipients incentives to live healthier, but they have questioned the logistics. Warm weather puts the freeze on winter recreational activities Businesses that depend on cold weather are suffering this winter ANCHORVILLE (AP) - From snowmobile and cabin rental compa- nies to bait shops catering to ice fish- ing, Michigan businesses that depend on winter recreation are being hit hard by this year's warm weather. Mike Gleason, a 50-year-old cell phone salesman who lives in Anchorville on Lake St. Clair's Anchor Bay, said he normally thinks about snowmobiling this time of year. But without much snow this month, he said he has not taken his snowmobile out of its trailer. Instead, he said he is looking ahead to getting back on the water with his 50-foot houseboat. "I'm waiting for boating season," Gleason told The Detroit News for a story yesterday. "In the past, we'd go up north a cou- ple times a month, sometimes every weekend," he said. "But for the last couple years, it's been less and less. The main reason is the conditions. It's hard to think about snowmobiling when it's so warm down here." The average high temperature at Detroit Metropolitan Airport for January, through Thursday, was 39.9 degrees. The average high was 30.8 degrees in 2005. "We were off to a great start, and then Old Man Winter left us hang- ing," said Don Reed, vice president of the Michigan Snowmobile Asso- ciation, who owns a motel in School- craft County's Seney Township in the Upper Peninsula. It is not unusual to have a week of mild weather in mid- or late-January, said Bill Deedler, a weather historian with the National Weather Service in Oakland County's White Lake Township. But Deedler said the warm tem- peratures this month have been more than a thaw "because we've been mild here for a couple weeks." Without snow and good ice forma- tion, Oakland County parks have can- celed cross country skiing lessons, snowshoe clinics and ice-fishing con- tests at some locations. The Fridge, a refrigerated toboggan run in Water- ford, has closed four days this winter. On Houghton Lake in the northern Lower Peninsula, business is down 40 percent at the American Oak Resort, which rents cabins and snowmobiles. At the Professional Fishing & Archery Center in Macomb County's Harrison Township, weekend days that used to draw around 200 anglers looking for bait and tackle for ice fishing instead have drawn about five to 10 people, said Steve Jones Jr., son of the owner. "It's been pretty devastating," said Gary Towns, a Lake Erie Manage- ment Unit fisheries supervisor with the State Department of Natural Resources. $100 Off All June LSAT Courses when you sign up by Jan 27 The Prncton ~Revew yot " I up ss Controversial calendar will be allowed; administrators at CMU have no recourse The calendar features female CMU ot-A1nte xxV,;n 1 h ttn;c + A ffXrr.n+ it Mount Pleasant. It can be purchased online and in book- stores near campus.