NEWS ON CAMPUS Tour to explore observatory There will be a tour of the historic Detroit Observatory on East Ann Street Sunday at 1 p.m. The build- ing, which is more than 150 years old, was recently restored and list- ed in the National Register of His- toric Places. The public is invited to attend the open house. NU professor to speak on Ottoman Literature Tijana Krstic, a history professor from Northwestern University and a University graduate, will speak on "Cir- cumventing the Catalogue: Research in Ottoman Manuscript Libraries in Tur- key and Bulgaria" at 11 a.m. The lecture will take place today in room 3050 of the Frieze Building. CRIME NOTES Parking structure fire totals two cars, damages three Several cars caught fire in a hospital parking structure Wednesday at about 2:30 p.m., the Department of Public Safety reported. The fire completely destroyed two vehicles and damaged three others. Two ceiling lights in the structure were also destroyed. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. E-mail phishing scam targets ' A University affiliate lost about $600 yesterday as the result of a com- puter phishing scam, DPS reported. The victim sent information about his bank account after receiving an e-mail that appeared to be from his bank. The phisher then allegedly used the infor- mation to access his account. Thieves make out with $2,000 worth of banners Ten Music School anniversary ban- ners were stolen from various lamp posts around town, DPS reported. The banners were stolen between last September and last week. Each banner had an estimated value of $140. The apparatuses used to hang the banners, which were also sto- len, were valued at $60 each. THIS DAY In Daily History Michigamua attorneys meet with administrators Feb. 24, 2000 - The senior honor society Michigamua, the University administration and the legal counsel for Students of Color Coalition met yes- terday to continue discussion on where Michigamua will be allowed to hold its meetings. According to University spokesman Nick Delgado, the lawyers have spent two days presenting their parties' pro- posals. Bruce Elliot, the attorney repre- senting Michigamua, said he is unable to comment on the details of today's meetings. "As a rule, I really don't discuss cases or legal situations," said Elliot, a 1972 University graduate and former Mich- igamua member. He added that the attorneys are expected to meet again today. The SCC has been occupying rooms in the upper level of the Michigan Union used by Michigamua and Pheonix, a senior honor society for women. A proposal was released by the Uni- versity to the SCC yesterday through Deputy General Counsel Liz Barry that is a modified version of a plan outlined by interim Vice President for Student Affairs E. Royster Harper last week. Th'e proposal calls for the establish- ment of a panel that would "determine, under what cnnditinns if anv. should a The Michigan Daily - Friday, February 24, 2006 - 3 State employees blamed for release of suspected. killer Accused serial killer released from prison Jan. 10 allegedly killed man and pregnant wife LANSING (AP) - The state Department of Corrections suspended two managers and a cleri- cal worker yesterday as part of an investigation into the release of a man now accused in a mur- derous crime spree. Department spokesman Russ Marlan said one manager made the decision to release Patrick Alan Selepak from prison - despite a policy that says prisoners in his situation do not need to be released. The department is not releasing the names of the employees. Selepak, 27, and his fiancee, Samantha Jean Bachynski, 19, were to be arraigned yesterday in Macomb County on murder charges in last week's deaths of a man and his pregnant wife last week. Selepak and Bachynski also are suspects in the slaying of another man. Selepak was arrested Nov. 8 on parole violation charges. His parole officer recommended that Selepak go back to prison, but no parole hearing was scheduled within 45 days of his arrest. He subsequently was released Jan. 10. The Department of Corrections revised its parole policies last year after the state Supreme Court ruled in 2003 that it must hold a hearing for - but does not have to release - any prisoner accused of a parole violation, Marlan said. The hearings are supposed to be held within 45 days. One employee who was suspended heads the department's parole supervision unit in Lansing. "We believe our employees in that unit were aware of that Supreme Court decision," Marlan told The Associated Press, who added that it was unclear why Selepak was released. The Detroit Free Press first reported yesterday that the decision to release Selepak because he did not get a hearing within 45 days contradicted the Michigan Supreme Court ruling. Gov. Jennifer Granholm said yesterday the error was unacceptable. "It was a human error inside the Department of Corrections that led to a human tragedy," she told reporters in Detroit. Granholm said she has asked the department to investigate and make policy changes "to ensure that kind of error never occurs again." Also yesterday, angry lawmakers said they will hold hearings to press state officials about why he had been released. Sen. Alan Sanborn (R-Richmond) said he was outraged that a "bureaucratic oversight" by the department resulted in the slaying of three inno- cent people. Northwest aims to save jobs, keep flights A Bankrupt airline company still trying to strike a deal with pilots, flight attendants MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Northwest Airlines Corp. and its pilots have agreed to a framework that would allow the airline to increase regional jet fly- ing and save pilots' jobs, though pay issues remain unresolved, according to a published report. Chief executive Doug Steenland told the Star Tribune for a story published yesterday that the deal "addresses the pilots' concerns over jobs, out- sourcing and making sure that the replacement air- craft for the DC-9 gets flown (by Northwest pilots), and that represents significant progress." The "lion's share" of job-protection issues have been resolved, including saving pilot jobs in the event of a merger, the sale of part of Northwest's business or code-sharing arrangements with other airlines, he said. Eagan, Minn.-based Northwest is Michigan's leading passenger air carrier and handles a majority of travelers at its Detroit Metropolitan Airport hub. be no deal if jobs are outsourced. Northwest and the Air Line Pilots Association "This regional jet flying issue is so crucial to our have been negotiating since early January and the careers that any negotiated agreement that would pilots are taking a strike lose any of that flying authorization vote that con- regio a f n would be a significant cludes Tuesday. This regional jet flying setback for our pilots," If the pilots and flight issue is So rto said Wade Blaufuss, a attendants fail to reach spokesman forthe union's agreements with North- our careers that any Northwest branch. west by today, a bankrupt- Steenland pledged to cy judge could void their negotiated agreement ... continue working with existing labor contracts Duane Woerth, presi- and allow the airline to Would be a significant dent of the parent union, impose new pay rates and n to win congressional work rules. U.S. Bankrupt- shock to our pilots." approval of a bill that cy Judge Allan Gropper would give Northwest also could give the parties - Wade Blaufuss more time to make con- a second extension to con- tributions to its under- clude their talks. Northwest union spokesman funded pension plans. Northwest intends to The pilots previously The pension changes are among several conces- sions the pilots have accepted. In 2004, the pilots agreed to a 15 percent pay cut. Since mid-Novem- ber, an additional interim pay cut of about 24 per- cent has been in effect. Now, Northwest wants $358 million in annual concessions in a long-term contract. Steenland acknowledged "there are still signifi- cant open issues that we have to address," includ- ing bridging the gap between the two sides on the total-concessions. "We remain hopeful that we'll be able to reach agreement," he said. Blaufuss said the pilots also want a negotiated deal, an outcome he stressed depends largely on the airline's management. "If Northwest does not back off from the remaining open issues, then they can expect us to do what's necessary to defend our careers," he said. Meanwhile, negotiators for the Professional Flight Attendants Association are "slowly" mov- ing toward an agreement with management, but the union remains at odds with Northwest over the hiring of foreign workers, said Andy Damis, the attendants union's secretary-treasurer. replace its DC-9s, which are more than 30 years old, with Bombardier or Embraer regional jets. The company wanted to shift those regional jets to a new subsidiary, but the pilots have said there will agreed to freeze their pension plan at current ben- efit levels. They are in negotiations with Northwest concerning the company's contributions to 401(k)- style plans for future retirement benefits. Murdered- child was abused by adoptive parents Neighbors say parents were "cruel" and boy was often left hungry LANSING (AP) - Ricky Holland had two sets of parents in his short life. One failed him. The other is charged with killing him. When the 7-year-old's decomposed body was recovered from a roadside ditch in rural Ingham County in late January, nearly seven months after he went missing, the awful truth began to emerge: * Ricky never had a chance. His adoptive parents - the ones cho- sen to give him a better life, who pub- licly held out hope for his return - now accuse each other of killing him. Tim, 36, and Lisa Holland, 34, inten- tionally and continually humiliated Ricky, according to detectives. He was brought to school on a leash, put in dia- pers when he was too old to wear them and given carrot sandwiches for lunch even though he hated carrots. Ricky had unexplained bruises and marks consistent with abuse. Yet despite reports of abuse to state officials, the Hollands retained custody of Ricky and four younger children. A preliminary autopsy shows that Ricky's elbow, shoulder blade, nose and upper jaw were broken at or near the time of his death. Tim Holland told detectives that his wife struck Ricky twice in the head with a ham- mer, but Lisa Holland said her hus- band killed him. "We're very frustrated at how cruel (the Hollands) could be," said Laura Maynard, 62, a Williamston resident who spent eight days searching for Ricky after he vanished from his Wil- liamston home 15 miles east of Lansing last Fourth of July weekend. The disappearance was highlighted on the TV show "America's Most Want- ed." Volunteers, dive teams and K-9 units scoured roads, woods, fields, lakes and rivers around the Holland house for 10 days in ever-widening circles. Through it all, Ricky's adoptive parents told searchers and the media that he'd run away.