NEWS The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 3 r ON CAMPUS Student musicians t compete at Hill The School of Music will be host- ing the second of three finals for its Concerto Competition at Hill Audi- torium today. The contest, which begins at 4 p.m., will feature gradu- ate student performers, who will play works that last less than 20 minutes. Admission is free. Meeting to be held for orientation leader hopefuls The Office of New Student Programs will be holding a mass meeting for pro- spective orientation leaders at the Kuen- zel room in the Michigan Union tonight from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Philosophers to host discussion on vegetarianism The Undergraduate Philosophy Club will be holding a discussion on the topic of vegetarianism in Angell Hall room 2271 from 9 to 10 p.m. Free pizza will be served. NOTES Hospital staffer bounces checks A University Hospital staff member wrote bad checks in order to pay for park- ing at the University Hospitals main park- ing structure on Monday, the Department of Public Safety reported. Burn victim escorted from Mosher Jordan University Hospital emergency room admitted a burn patient Monday who was driven to the Hospital by DPS. The victim had been burned with scalding water in Mosher-Jordan Residence Hall. Vandals strike Fresh Air Camp A caller reported damage to a door at the University's Fresh Air Camp - an ecology-oriented teaching facility former- ly operated as a youth camp - at around 10:45 am. Monday, DPS reported. Subject turned over to DPS The Ann Arbor Police Department found a subject on Washtenaw Avenue with an outstanding DPS arrest war- rant for a nonviolent crime at around 3:30 p.m. Monday. THIS DAY In Daily History Drinking age battle brewing Jan. 11, 1978 - Since 1972, 18- year-olds have been allowed to pur- chase and consume alcohol. But two new pieces of legislation proposed by Mayor James DeSana (D-Wyan- dotte), which have passed in the State Senate and are currently being debated in the House, would raise the age to 19. The legislation is a response to a group of state high school principals who are worried about drinking in schools. "We need a separation, and age is the thing that does it," said Paul Meyers, the principal of Ann Arbor Huron High School. "Nineteen is not high enough. They should make it 20. A lot of (recent) graduates keep contact with their high school, and therefore can provide liquor for underage students." In contrast, Charlene Eisenlohr, a counselor at Huron, said the one-year hike would be effective. "One year doesn't seem like a big difference, but it's such a crucial time," she said. "Most of our seniors Teen dropouts, pregnancies, arrests down Study shows Michigan high school dropout rate has been halved in past decade LANSING (AP) - Fewer teens are being arrested, dropping out of school and having babies, according to a new report that questions whether those trends can continue as more children enter the state's foster care system and leave as adults. The number of teen arrests and high school drop- outs fell by half while the number of teenagers hav- ing children fell by nearly one-third between the mid-1990s and 2004, according to the latest Kids Count in Michigan report to be released today. Jane Zehnder-Merrell, senior research associate for the Lansing-based advocacy group Michigan League for Human Services, said the state has seen improvements among its teenage population. But she is worried there are not enough resources avail- able to older teens leaving the foster care system and juvenile justice facilities. "It has become a bigger issue because people used to be able to get a job and make a decent living without a high skill level and that's no longer the case," Zehnder-Merrell said in a tele- phone interview. Michele Corey, community advocacy director for Michigan's Children, said programs and services set up to support young people leaving foster care or the juvenile justice program have been reduced because tax cuts have curtailed state revenue. Officials from the Department of Human Ser- vices, however, argue that they have increased the emphasis on preparing young people for life after foster care with a number of initiatives, including a voucher worth up to $5,000 a year for college expenses. The state also has received funding from some nonprofit organizations to offer services to young people leaving foster care, such as classes to teach them how to balance a checkbook, pay rent and get a job, said Mary Chaliman, manager of the foster care program. More importantly, she said,, the department wants to build relationships for young people. "What we are really trying to drive home is that these youths have a real connection to a per- son they can turn to for support," Chaliman said. "We want to make sure these kids develop a sup- port system ... that can help them with real-life experiences." Later this month, DHS Director Marianne Udow and Supreme Court Justice Maura Cor- rigan will be announcing a new statewide task force charged with coming up with ways to put foster children into permanent family situa- tions and help those left in the system transi- tion to adult life. Since 2002, the state has closed an average 436 foster care cases a year because the individ- uals involved were between 18 and 21, accord- ing to the department's most recent data. At the end of December, there were nearly 19,000 children in Michigan's foster care program. Zehnder-Merrell, Corey and other advo- cates for low-income children and families are worried about whether the state will be able to handle an increasing number of chil- dren entering the foster care system because of abuse and neglect. The number of confirmed cases of abuse and neglect increased by 43 percent between the 1994-95 fiscal year and the 2003-04 budget year, going from about 21,160 to 29,740, the Kids Count report said. "It's very troubling when we look at the mid- 1990s versus now and to see an increase in abuse and neglect. It shows we have not been making intervention when we can for our most needy families," Zehnder-Merrell said. That increase has meant more children placed in care outside their homes. The number of children removed from their birth families and placed in foster care increased from nearly 18,600 children in the 1995 budget year to 19,800 in the 2004 fiscal year, the report said. The Department of Human Services will need to bulk up the number of its caseworkers by 20 percent to meet the national recommended stan- dard of 15 cases per worker, Corey said. DHS workers, however, are seeing their number of cases increase from 19 to 20 under a new order that redistributes cases to cover a few hundred vacancies left open, said Jim Nye, DHS deputy director in charge of field services. Consumers could see lower MPG ratings EPA proposes testing changes that would more accurately reflect fuel economy WASHINGTON (AP) - Consum- ers may be in for a different kind of sticker shock starting with 2008 model cars, trucks and SUVs. Fuel economy ratings on the stick- ers of new models would drop an aver- age of 10 percent to 20 percent in city driving for most 2008 models, and 5 percent to 15 percent in highway driv- ing, under testing changes the Environ- mental Protection Agency proposed yesterday. Gas-electric hybrids will be more affected, with ratings for city driv- ing decreasing an average of 20 per- cent to 30 percent. Those models are due to appear in showrooms in the fall of 2007. EPA's new fuel economy estimates will include vehicle-specific data from tests designed to reflect more accurate- ly high-speed driving, rapid accelera- tion, use of air conditioning and cold temperatures, the agency said. EPA'Administrator Stephen John- son said the agency intends "to empower consumers with the most accurate information possible about a vehicle's fuel economy," includ- ing more details about the effects of "power-hungry accessories" used to lower windows, adjust seats, even play DVDs while driving. "They can be confident those esti- mates more closely reflect real-world conditions," Johnson said. Congress ordered the changes in its energy bill last year, responding to con- sumer complaints that the fuel economy they get is often less than advertised. It is the first time EPA has revised its fuel economy ratings in 20 years. EPA said it also plans to redesign the stickers so they are more consum- er-friendly. Despite the lower ratings overall, Johnson said the test results will not be used to gauge whether automakers comply with the law requiring the U.S. fleet have an average fuel economy of 27.5 miles per gallon for cars and 21 mpg for light trucks. That's because the Corporate Aver- age Fuel Economy program run by the Transportation Department uses sepa- rate requirements to determine vehi- cles' fuel economy, he said. "It's obvious that the driving world has changed a lot since 1985," said Johnson, who noted that 20 years ago he proudly drove a full-size coupe Pon- tiac Catalina back and forth to work. "My car really would not match up to today's vehicles." Fred Webber, president of the Alli- ance of Automobile Manufacturers, said the industry supports EPA's pro- posal and helps the agency adjust the new vehicle window stickers. But he, like the agency, cautioned that real- world conditions will vary from driver to driver. "Mileage varies due to weather, road conditions, obeying the posted speed limits, tire inflation and other vehicle- maintenance conditions," Webber said. Joining EPA in making the announcement was the American Automobile Association, which pushed for improvements. "Consumers want to know that the information they see on a gov- ernment-sanctioned label reasonably reflects what they will experience on the road," said AAA President Rob- ert Darbelnet. State wins approval for environment sensitivity Michigan's foresting policies recognized as environmentally sustainable TRAVERSE CITY (AP) - Michigan has won a seal of approval from two independent monitoring groups for environmentally sen- sitive management of its 3.9 million acres of state forest. The Sustainable Forestry Initiative and the Forest Stewardship Council recently granted Michigan certification after inspecting its wood- lands and reviewing its policies in areas such as timber harvesting and protecting wildlife habi- tat and water quality. "It confirms what we've said before, that we are managing the state forest in a sustain- able manner," Lynne Boyd, forest management division chief with the Department of Natural Resources, said yesterday. Certification is about more than just a good reputation. A growing number of corporate buy- ers of paper and other forest products, includ- ing Home Depot Inc. and Time Warner Inc., are prodding suppliers to obtain wood from certi- fied forests. "It ensures a market for Michigan's timber, which keeps us competitive on a national and worldwide basis," Boyd said. "Without certi- fication we could and ultimately would lose our market." Kevin Korpi, executive director of the Michigan Forest Products Council, said cer- tification is "tremendously important" for the industry, which - along with forest-based tourism and recreation - provides 150,000 jobs and pumps $9 billion annually into the state economy. Marvin Roberson, a forest specialist with the Sierra Club, said he was skeptical that the DNR merited certification but would withhold judg- ment until studying the two groups' reports. "We identified a number of major deficien- cies when we went through the standards, given our familiarity with the department's operations," Roberson said. Gov. Jennifer Granholm ordered the DNR in 2004 to seek certification from both the groups, and the Legislature voted to require certifica- tion from one. The nonprofit Forest Stewardship Council, an international organization based in Ger- many, was established in 1993 to encourage healthier forest management worldwide. The American Forest & Paper Association created the Sustainable Forestry Initiative to encourage responsible practices in the timber industry. Boyd described the FSC's standards as tougher, saying they deal more with "the environmental and social values of timber management" while the SFI has a narrower "nuts and bolts" focus. But they overlap enough that the same group of auditors was able to evaluate the state on behalf of both programs. Mike Ferrucci, the SFI's lead auditor, said he came away impressed. "Michigan has one of the strongest public forestry programs I've seen anywhere," said Ferrucci, a specialist with NSF International Strategic Registrations, an Ann Arbor-based company that conducts performance reviews in a variety of fields. But certification doesn't equal perfection, said Robert Hrubes of Emeryville, Calif., the lead FSC auditor. The inspection team ordered the state to make improvements in a dozen areas and offered other nonbinding suggestions, he said. The state will be audited annually and must seek recertification every five years. "Certification is an ongoing relationship," Hrubes said. "It's not a one-shot thing." Among the problem areas was environmen- tal damage caused by off-road vehicles, Fer- rucci said, describing ORVs as "probably one of the toughest challenges, for any public land manager." Roberson questioned whether the DNR had met requirements for determining which areas are worthy of special protection. Instead of developing criteria and deciding which places qualified, the agency simply compiled a list of existing protected areas, he said. Hrubes said the DNR had developed a process that will let citizens nominate other locations with "high conservation values." r2 11 Headaches'? Michigan tead*Paim & Neurological Institute is conducting an in-clinic research study evaluating an investigational medication for migraine. Participants must be 18 to 65 years old and suffer 2 to 6 headaches per month. A total of three clinic visits I ,: x x: . .. . : ,.r...... . . ...