The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, September 6, 2007 - 3A
NEWS BRIEFS
WASHINGTON
Study says Iraq
security forces far
from ready
Iraq's security forces will
be unable to take control of the
country in the next 18 months,
and Baghdad's national police
force is so rife with corruption
it should be scrapped entirely,
according to a new independent
assessment.
The study, led by retired
Marine Corps Gen. James Jones,
is a sweeping and detailed look
at Iraq's security forces that will
factor heavily into Congress'
upcoming debate on the war.
Republicans see success by the
Iraqi forces as critical to bring-
ing U.S. troops home, while an
increasing number of Democrats
say the United States should stop
training and equipping such
units altogether.
The 20-member panel of
mostly retired senior military
and police officers concludes that
Iraq's military, in particular its
army, shows the most promise of
becoming a viable, independent
security force with time. But
the group predicts an adequate
logistics system to support these
ground forces is at least another
twoyears away.
LANSING
Alleged killer
investigated for
several murders
A suspected serial killer was
charged yesterday with open
murder in the death of a woman
on the city's west side, and more
charges could follow in the slay-
ings of five other women.
Matthew Emmanuel Macon,
27, of Lansing, was ordered held
without bond during his video
arraignment in Lansing District
Court after being named as a
suspect last week.
Macon,arecentprisonparolee
and registered sex offender, had
been in prison off and on since
2001 before being paroled in late
June. He was handcuffed and
wearing an orange jail jumpsuit
while standing beside his attor-
ney, Mike O'Briant.
WASHINGTON
Craig reverses
decision to resign
Senate seat
To the dismay of fellow
Republicans, Sen. Larry Craig
launched a campaign to save his
seat yesterday, seeking dismissal
of an ethics committee complaint
and vowing to stay in office if he
can withdraw his guilty plea in a
men's room sex sting.
Craig's decision to deploy his
legal team marked a reversal of
his pledge to resign on Sept. 30,
and raised the possibility of a
protracted legal and political
struggle, much of it public.
"I thought he made the cor-
rect decision, the difficult but
correct decision to resign" over
the weekend, said Senate Repub-
lican Leader Mitch McConnell
(R-Ky.) after he and Craig spoke
by telephone. "That would still
be my view today."
WASHINGTON
Nuclear warheads
accidentally
flown over U.S.
A B-52 bomber was mistak-
enly armed with six nuclear
warheads and flown for more
than three hours across several
states last week, prompting an
Air Force investigation and the
firing of one commander, Penta-
gon officials said yesterday.
The incident was so serious
that President Bush and Defense
Secretary Robert Gates were
quickly informed and Gates has
asked for daily briefings on the
Air Force probe, said Defense
Department press secretary
Geoff Morrell. He said, "At no
time was the public in danger."
- Compiled from
Daily wire reports
3,750
Number of American service
members who have died in the
War in Iraq, according to The
Associated Press. The following
were identified by the Depart-
ment of Defense yesterday:
Sgt. Kevin A. Gilbertson, 24,
of Cedar Rapids, Iowa,
Spc. Christopher G. Patton,
21, of Lawrenceville, Ga.,
Spc. Rodney J. Johnson, 20,
of Houston, died Sept. 4
U.S. Rep. found
dead was
Ohio Republican
Paul Gillmor
graduated from
Law School
WASHINGTON (AP) - Ohio
Rep. Paul Gillmor, a Republican con-
gressman who graduated from the
University of Michigan law school,
has died, party officials said.
"Born, raised and educated in
our home state of Ohio, Paul never
lost sight of the reason he came to
Congress - to serve this great insti-
tution and his constituents with
dedication and distinction," House
Republican Leader John Boehner,
also of Ohio, said in a statement.
"With the passing of Paul Gill-
mor, the people of northwest Ohio
have lost a favorite son," said House
Republican Conference Chairman
Adam Putnam (R-Fla.).
The body of the 68-year-old
congressman was found by staff
members who went to his apart-
ment yesterday after he failed to
show up for work, according to a
Republican aide who spoke on con-
dition of anonymity pending an
official announcement. There was
no immediate word on the cause of
his death.
'U' alum
Gillmor's office did not respond
to a reporter's call.
Gillmor had been in Ohio last
week to attend a series of town
meetings and tour areas of the state
that were hit hard by flooding. "His
sudden passing is a shock to us all
and he will be greatly missed,"
Ohio House Speaker Jon Husted
said in a statement.
Gillmor, who represented Ohio's
heavily Republican 5th District in
the Bowling Green area, was first
elected to Congress in 1988.
He served as a Vietnam War-
era judge advocate in the Air Force
after graduating law school, won a
seat in the Ohio state senate in 1966,
and served there for 22 years, rising
to the senate presidency.
After an unsuccessful run for gov-
ernor in 1986, Gillmor was elected to
the U.S. House in 1988 after ekingout
a 27-vote victory in the primary.
As a House member he was a
little-known but solid Republican
vote, a reliable conservative on
social issues, and a strong propo-
nent of the military.
He led legislative efforts in such
areas as cleanups of commercial-
ly contaminated sites known as
brownfields and enacting finan-
cial service reforms. He was also a
strong advocate of a constitutional
amendment to ban unfunded man-
dates on the states.
Ann Arbor residents participate in an urban planning forum last night in the Michigan Room of the Michigan League. The
forum allowed residents to offer opinions on plans for the city presented by an outside consulting group
Residents debate the future of the
look of downtown in Ann Arbor
Plan balances
restrictions on
building up and out
By ALESE BAGDOL
Daily StaffReporter
Ann Arbor residents and sev-
eral other groups met at the
Michigan League last night to
brainstorm how city officials
should improve on a set of urban
design guidelines that cost the
city $200,000.
Suggestions included substan-
tial residential development on
South University Avenue, more
ground-floor stores on Liberty
Street and more parking lots
along Huron Street.
The meeting was the last
in a series of three workshops
arranged to reconcile the firm's
proposal with the vision of these
the changes would affect: the
people of Ann Arbor.
"You can start with ideas that
sound like they're great, but you
also have to consider how the
people who have to live in the
downtown area will respond to
the changes," said Wendy Ramp-
son, project manager for the
downtown design guidelines.
Notably absent from the work-
shop were members of the Uni-
versity community, with other
residents and local governmen
members making up most of th
crowd.
Key participants in last night':
event included the eight member:
of a City Council appointed advi
sory committee. These member:
serve as liaisons between resi
dents and the council and con
tribute heavily to the guideline:
that will eventually be presented
to the council for action.
But the guidelines that the
committee will ultimately submi
are only recommendations tha
may never gain approval from
City Council.
For example, plans generated
by the Berkeley-based designfirm
Calthorpe Associates propose
no height limits for the build-
ings downtown. According tc
the report they submitted to the
City Council, this proposal would
expand residential developmen
upwards because existing regu
lations prohibit expanding the
downtown outwards.
Mayor John Hieftje has said
in the past that he would prefer
to impose limits on how tall the
downtown buildings can be.
Kurt Brandle, professor emeri
tus in the College of Architecture
and Urban Planning and a mem
ber of a City Council-appointed
advisory committee, said work
shops like the one last night are
r necessary to add more specific
t features to the broad proposals of
e the Calthorpe report.
"The Calthorpe Associates
s guidelines were fine, but they
s didn't go into detail," Brandle
- said. "They only looked at the
s framework. Our committee
- looked at the specific character of
- the downtown neighborhoods."
s The guidelines drafted in the
I workshops focus on particular
nuances important to the resi-
e dents of Ann Arbor like match-
t ing the outside canopies with the
t building fagades and including
adequate lighting around win-
dows and sidewalks.
I The City Council started to
consider redesigning downtown
e Ann Arbor when it hired Calthor-
- pe Associates in May 2005.
Peter Calthorpe, founder of the
e urban design firm, said the firm
I promotes a pedestrian-oriented
t environment and mixed-use
- development - integrating com-
e mercial and residential building
- to battle the growing sprawl of
I the suburbs that are decreasing
r urban populations.
e The advisory committee will
acceptcomments on the guideline
- drafts until Sept. 18 before pre-
senting them to the City Council
- on Oct.8.
I City Council will present its
- decision regarding the use of the
guidelines on Oct. 15.
JOIN THE DAILY.
Come to our mass meeting tonight at 8 p.m. at 420 Maynard St., just north-
west of the Michigan Union.
II