Wednesday, March 29, 2006 News 3 Ehud Olmert claims victory in Israeli elections CA" -,41W i 1 ' '" ; Opinion 4 From the Daily: S4M win was a dirty one ' ---. . , S .4 .. __.. Arts 5 New NBC drama puts a twist on crime One-hundred-sixteen years ofeditorialfreedom www.michikandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXVI, No. 101 02006 The Michigan Daily Granhoim approves Minimu wage hike After announcement that wage will jump to $6.95 in October, campus activists declare victory By Leah Graboski Daily Staff Reporter Raise the Wage Coalition members say victory is finally theirs. Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed a bill into law yesterday to significantly raise the state's minimum wage. The wage will be hiked to $6.95, effective Oct. 1. It will climb to $7.15 in July 2007. The final increase to $7.40 is slated for one year later. Michigan has not increased its minimum wage since 1995, when it adopted the lowest federally required wage of $5.15. About 600,000 Michigan workers will benefit from the wage increase, said Sha- ron Parks, vice president for policy at the Michigan League for Human Services, a non-profit organization that advocates for Michigan's low-income citizens. Parks said the increase is a "significant step forward" for improving the economic situation of families that depend on mini- mum-wage earners. But critics say the higher wages will result in fewer jobs. Scoopers at the Ben and Jerry's ice cream store on in downtown Ann Arbor make $6.50 an hour plus tips, a wage that will be affected by the new legislation. "We'll probably use less labor," owner Mark Prince said. The Raise the Wage Coalition collected more than 5,000 signatures since January. LSA senior Ryan Bates is credited with mobilizing the movement to raise the mini- mum wage on campus. His impassioned plea at the year's first College Democrats meet- ing convinced the group to join the coali- tion, said Peter Borock, a member of the College Democrats executive board. Bates introduced the petition to several campus groups, including Students Organizing for Labor and Economic Equality, Student for Public Interest Research Group in Michigan and the Michigan Progressive Party. All politics set aside, "this was definitely a victory," Bates said. "People seemed to understand raising the minimum wage is a basic issue of justice." An alternate means to the campaign's goal was giving state residents the choice to vote on raising the minimum wage in an initiative on November's ballot. The initia- tive would was expected to pass. It would have tied minimum increases to inflation, a provision not included in the bill Granholm signed. Some are concerned that wage hikes would make it difficult for employers to hire as many workers. Teenagers are most likely to suffer because of the new wage, accord- ing to Rebecca Blank, dean of the Ford School of Public Policy. Blank served as an economic adviser to former President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 1999. Blank said she is happy to make the trade- off to benefit adults who earn the minimum wage even if it means losing some teenage workers. One legislator disagreed. "I really think it will (negatively) affect more adults than it will teenagers in our See WAGE HIKE, page 7 lidh.xa fx. 8, TH E MOON Johnson rejects NHL offer If he had signed, freshman standout could have joined Carolina next month in its hunt for the Stanley Cup By James V. Dowd Daily Sports Writer Much to the surprise of many Michi- gan hockey fans, freshman standout Jack Johnson will remain a Wolverine for the time being. Johnson declined an offer yesterday from the Carolina Hurricanes that would have allowed him to play for the team during its Stan- ley Cup playoff run starting in April, his mother, Tina John- son, said. Since they drafted him with the third overall pick in lastohnson year's NHL Entry Draft, the Hurricanes have been pressing Johnson to sign a contract, even promis- ing positions in their lineup the follow- ing night, another source close to Johnson said. But Johnson resisted the temptation of a large contract and the right to play at the world's highest level, instead finish- ing the season with his Michigan team- mates. With the rash of Michigan players who have left the University early in the past few years, the team's loss Friday night to North Dakota in the first round of the NCAA Tournament begged one obvious question: What will become of Johnson's college career? Once the Wolverines were eliminat- ed from the NCAA Tournament, many expected Johnson to sign immediately. "Our phone was ringing with people asking what Jack was going to do before he had his skates off in North Dakota," Tina Johnson said. The Hurricanes clinched a postseason berth Monday night and are considered a contender for the Stanley Cup. "We support Jack in whatever deci- sion he makes," Tina Johnson said. "We value his education, and Jack really loves Michigan." Johnson has been a Michigan fan his entire life. His mother and grandfather are University alumni. He has attended Michi- gan games for as long as he can remember, a fact thatlikely informed his decision to stay. The Hurricanes will likely make another pitch to Johnson once their season ends. Three former Wolverines - goaltender Al Montoya and forwards Jeff Tambellini and Mike Brown - left the University late last summer when NHL franchises offered them chances to sign. Because Hurricanes General Manager Jim Rutherford said he would fit into their lineup immediately, Johnson can expect another offer in July or August. "Jack is a high-skill defenseman that can really play in all aspects of the game," Rutherford told The Michigan Daily last October. "From the Hurricanes' point of view, he's an ideal fit. We needed some younger players to balance out the guys we have right now." DA~VID UMN/Daily Harm Buning, professor emeritus of aerospace engineering, holds a montage of Apollo 15 memorabilia Including a University flag that orbited the moon In Apollo's command module, in the Franeois-Xavier Bagnoud Building yesterday. The montage, personally dedicated to Buning by the mission's crew, also includes a mission patch and a photo of Apollo 15 commander James Irwin on the moon. Cotrrytoleed, no 6''flag- on Moo By Leah Graboski I Daily Staff Reporter You know the campus legend that says there's a Michigan flag on the Moon? It's not true. Here's what is: Two alumni set foot on the lunar surface on the Apollo 15 mis- sion in 1971. They established a chapter of the University's alumni association on the Moon. They carried with them about 20 flags into orbit. But according to Harm Buning, a retired aerospace engineering professor who knows the Apollo 15 astronauts personally, rumors of an extraterrestrial block M flag being only one of two along with the U.S. flag are misguided. Buning said he thinks the rumor start- ed because of the 20 miniature Michigan flags that accompanied the astronauts as they broke the bounds of Earth but never left the spacecraft. Upon their return to Earth, some of the flags were given to the aerospace engineering department. Buning keeps one at his Ann Arbor home. None of the flags ever made it to the lunar surface. University lore, though, insists one did. The rumor has been passed down through the years. It showed up recently in the plan- ner the University distributes to freshmen. It is also a staple of Campus Day tours. The Facebook.com group "Oh Ya? Well We Have a Flag On the Moon Bitches" has more than 500 members. Aman Sharma, a member of the group, said he was shocked to hear the See MYTH, page 7 Objects astronaunts have left on the lunar surface: Two yo-yos Hammocks Bags of waste Lunar Rover Golf ball USA flags Stallings sworn in as MSA president With new president's hand planted on Robert's Rules of Order, chaos of last week's election debacle appears to be finally over Lecturers set April 11 as date for picket No strike planned, but LEO votes to hold informational picket to protest alleged contract violations by administration By Ekjyot Saini Daily Staff Reporter require that lecturers teach additional classes next year without extra pay, though the University dis- putes this claim. Lecturers have been told by their departments that there is a move to standardize across LSA the numbersofclasses lecturers are responsible for, Herold said. Currently, workload varies from department to department. In some, lecturers teach two classes " " '' s1"s %s' I 'zi £ i43 ' , , I