4
2A - Wednesday, February 6, 2008
TH ELDEST STORE IN NICKELS A RCADE
T ip your hat to Van Boven
Nestled between State and
Maynard streets, Nickels Arcade
is a quaint outdoor walkway
adorned with decorative columns,
stone tiled floors and a glass
atrium ceiling. The walkway is
home to some of Ann Arbor's old-
est specialty shops. The offices
there range from clothing stores
to a hypnotherapy center to a law
office.
But of all its shops, Nickels
Arcade's oldest is Van Boven's,
an upscale men's clothing store.
Pete Van Boven, a former Uni-
versity baseball player, and two
of his friends founded the store
in 1921.
The store replaced a butcher
shop that opened in the same
space five years earlier. It's cur-
rently owned by second-genera-
tion members of the Van Boven
family.
Van Boven's salesman Leona
Edick said the store's custom
are mostly comprised of Univ
sity students and faculty me
bers.
He said older alumni oftenv:
the store to see if it's still arout
"There are still a lot of peo
visiting who remember the stc
from when they were student
he said. "If they like what th
see, they'll buy."
When asked how the stc
functions when students lea
for the summer, Edick said t
business operates just fine.
Sales aren't what fluctu,
most during the summer, he sa
"The energy level goes do'
when students leave," Edick sa
Edick said it's rare that a fa
ily-owned store like Van Bover
which won the 2007 Ann Arbor's
ard Choice Award for best men's
ers clothing, would stay in the same
er- location for so long.
m- "There are few cities and
towns that have stores like this,"
isit Edick said. "This kind of store
nd. is disappearing fast. The larger
ple stores are just too much competi-
ore tion. The smaller ones just can't
s," make it."
iey The Van Boven Shoe Store,
also in Nickels Arcade, was once
ore owned by the Van Boven fam-
ave ily, but it lost its ties to the men's
:he clothing shop when the family
sold the store to different peo-
ate ple.
id. The Van Bovens owned both
wn the shoe store and men's clothing
id. shop at the'same time for more Lean
m- than 50 years before the sale. abou
n's, KOJOASIEDU Ann,
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES
SAID ALSALAH/Da
nand tdick, an amplayee at Van Bovns fan 12 years, talks
ut the histany of the shop. Van Boven has been a staple at
Arbor since World War 1.
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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The MichiganDaly(ISSN0745-967)ispublshedMonday throughFridayduringthefalland winter
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4
CRIME NOTES
'U' staffer slips, Phone, watch
Lecture on
Discussion
injures ankle
WHERE: Thayer Carport
WHEN: Monday at about
7:55 a.m.
WHAT: A caller reported
that a University employee
slipped and fell in a carport
parking lot, the Department
of Public Safety reported. The
woman injured her ankle and
was taken to the hospital by a
Huron Valley Ambulance.
stolen from
CCRB locker
WHERE: Central Campus
Recreation Building
WHEN: Monday at about
7:15 p.m.
WHAT: A student reported
his cell phone and watch were
stolen from a CCRB locker,
DPS reported. The stolen
items were valued at $100.
Minutes later,
poverty and the on whites and
middle class hip-hop culture
ftamps sioien bag swiped in
from unlocked 1neker room
WHAT: A lecture by Kather-
ine Newman, a sociology pro-
fessor at Princeton University,
on "The Missing Class" and
poverty in America
WHO: Ford School of Public
Policy
WHEN: Today at 4 p.m.
WHERE: Weill Hall, Annen-
berg Auditorium, Room 1120
Political
awareness talk
WHAT: A meeting at which
representatives of student
organizations supporting
presidential candidates will
highlight presidential candi-
dates' campaign platforms
WHO: University Unions
Arts & Programs
WHEN: Today at 7p.m.
WHERE: Michigan League,
Vandenberg Room
WHAT: A discussion led
by activist Bakari Kitwana,
called "Why White Kids Love
Hip Hop," about the role of
hip-hop culture in the white
youth community
WHO: Multi-Ethnic Student
Affairs
WHEN: Today at 8 p.m.
WHERE: Michigan Union
Ballroom
CORRECTIONS
. Two articles in yesterday's
Daily (On day of big test,
unity among campusDems
and Businessman Romney
paying commission to student
fundraisers), incorrectly said
Kelly Bernero, the chair of
the University's chapter of
Students for Hillary, is a
senior. She is a sophomore.
" Please report any error
in the Daily to correc-
tions@michigandaily.com.
Today is National Signing
Day, the first day that high
school seniors can sign let-
ters of commitment to play col-
lege football. Terrelle Pryor, the
nation's top recruit according
to rivals.com, has wavered on
whether he plans to announce
his college decision today.
Obedient Sons and
Daughters - designed
by husband and wife duo
Swain and Christina Hutson
- debuted their new line of
women's attire Sunday at New
York's Fashion Week. The line
is described as a mix of prep
school form and rebel ideals:
>>FOR MORE.SEE ARTS, PAGE 5A
A medical student vis-
iting a zoo in Germany
administered CPR to save
the life of a baby tiger choking
on a piece of meat, the Spiegel
Online International reported.
a
desk drawer
WHERE: Medical Inn
WHEN: Monday at about
8:20 a.m.
WHAT: A book of stamps
valued at $5 was stolen from
the Medical Inn, DPS report-
ed. The stamps were taken
from a desk drawer that had
been left unlocked.
WHERE: Central Campus
Recreation Building
WHEN: Monday at about
7:45 p.m.
WHAT: A student reported
his duffel bag stolen from
a CCRB locker room, DPS
reported. The bag is valued
at-$172. Police have no sus-
pects.
Meijer likely violated election laws
Meijer could face
sanctions for
illegal financing
GRAND RAPIDS (AP) - Mei-
jer Inc. said yesterday an internal
investigation revealed it likely vio-
lated Michigan campaign finance
laws in a clash with local officials
over a proposed development in
Grand Traverse County.
The Grand Rapids-based retail-
er said it may have broken the law
by "providing corporate funds to
support a recall election" of Acme
Township officials in 2007. State
law prohibits corporations from
contributingto political campaigns.
A violation is a felony with a maxi-
mum fine of $10,000.
Meijer said another possible
problem was its involvement in a
2005 referendum election to over-
turn a moratorium on "big box
superstores" in the township.
"We are troubled and concerned
by what has occurred," Meijer said
in a statement. "Meijer accepts full
responsibility, and we apologize for
the violation of trust these actions
caused."
Company officials said they will
continue to cooperate with a state
investigation into the situation and
will accept any resulting penalties
and fines.
Meijer said italso might take per-
sonnel actions related to the case.
The situation is being reviewed
by the secretary of state's legal and
regulatory bureau. The attorney
who handled the investigation for
Meijer sent a letter to the bureau
requesting details on how to pro-
ceed and offering documentation.
The letter said the review found
that certain expenditures that
should have been made by Meijer's
political action committee were
instead made by Meijer Inc. direct-
ly.
Michigan State Police are inves-
tigating at the request of the Grand
Traverse County prosecutor.
Meijer and local supporters have
fought for years with local oppo-
nents over a plan to build a store
in the township a few miles east of
Traverse City.
In 2004, Meijer and a develop-
ment company called Village at
Grand Traverse sued a number of
township officials opposed to the
project, accusing them of a conflict
of interest.
Meijer filed another suit in
2006 against four township board
members over a proposed store in
a neighboring mixed-use develop-
ment. Meijer later dropped its indi-
vidual lawsuits in both cases, but
the Village did not.
A pro-Meijer group of local
residents tried to recall township
board members but lost in a Febru-
ary 2007 referendum. Afterward,
township Treasurer Bill Boltres
sued Meijer, accusing the retailer
of damaging his health and reputa-
tion.
The suit was settled for an undis-
closed amount.
The Traverse City Record-Eagle
reported in December that records
from the suit showed that a Grand
Rapids public relations firm had
billed Meijer more than $30,000 for
secretly managing the recall cam-
paign.
The firm crafted recall language,
devised election strategy, wrote
campaign literature and used local
residents as figureheads, the news-
paper reported.
Messages seekingcomment were
left with Boltres and his attorney
yesterday.
As Microsoft looks to team
up with Yahoo, Google acts
a
Google looks
to thwart potential
merger between
web giants
By STEPHEN LABATON
and MIGUEL HELFT
The New York Times
It could be payback time.
An expensive legal and politi-
cal campaign last year by Micro-
soft helped delay completion of
Google's $3.1 billion bid for the
online advertising company Dou-
bleClick. Microsoft filed briefs
against the deal in the United
States and abroad, testified
against it in Congress and worked
with a public relations firm to
generate opposition.
Now Google is preparing to
strike back.
With Microsoft bidding nearly
$45 billion to buy Yahoo, Google
has begun to lay the groundwork
to try to delay, and possibly derail,
any deal. Google executives
have asked company lobbyists
to develop a political strategy to
challenge the acquisition, which
could threaten Google's domi-
nance of Internet advertising.
Google's top legal officer posted a
statement this weekend that criti-
cized the proposed deal.
Spokesmen for the two compa-
nies in Washington declined to
comment Monday about a loom-
ing legal and political battle,
which has yet to fully emerge and
is likely to stay below the radar at
least until the control of Yahoo
seems clear.
Moreover, some antitrust spe-
cialists and government officials
said Google might tread carefully
in opposing any deal since it could
backfire.
Google dominates the market
for Internet advertising, and to
the extent it portrays the deal as
encroaching on that dominance,
it could help make Microsoft's
case that its acquisition of Yahoo
would create a more competitive
marketplace.
Lawmakers are responding to
the takeover attempt. Rep. John
Conyers (D-Mich.), chairman of
the House Judiciary Committee,
said he would hold hearings to
examine any proposed deal.
And Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.),
who leads an important antitrust
subcommittee, said he was inter-
ested in the proposed acquisition.
"Should Yahoo accept Microsoft's
offer," he said, "the subcommit-
tee expects to hold hearings to
explore the competitive and pri-
vacy implications of the deal."
Google and Microsoft have
the ability to wage a major politi-
cal fight, the kind appreciated in
Washington for the money it gen-
erates in lobbyist fees and politi-
cal donations for lawmakers. Both
companies began their Washing-
ton operations as one-man bands
but now have large presences.
Moreover, the size and com-
plexity of a Microsoft-Yahoo deal
is such that a government review
is unlikely tobe completed quick-
ly, particularly in an election
year, and may not be final before
a new administration takes office
in 2009.
Should Yahoo finally agree to
be acquired by Microsoft, a focus
of the political and legal debate
will be the products and markets
that could be affected.
Microsoft has said the acquisi-
tion would increase competition
in two related and large mar-
kets: Internet search and online
advertising. Many ad-industry
executives, who have watched
Google's rise with some trepida-
tion, agree.
4
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