The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Thursday, January 10, 2008 - 3A

NEWS BRIEFS
JERUSALEM
Bush warns Iran
not to meddle with
U.S. ships in Gulf
President Bush warned Iran of
"serious consequences" if it med-
dies again with U.S. warships in the
Persian Gulf, opening a Mideast
peacemaking mission yesterday
on an ominous note. He told Israel
to dismantle unauthorized settle-
ment outposts and demanded that
the Palestinians halt rocket attacks
from areas controlled by Hamas
Islamic militants.
Bush, on his first visit as presi-
dent to Israel, acknowledged wide-
spread doubts about whether he
can break through decades of dis-
trust to achieve his goal of a major
peace agreement by the end of his
presidency in January, 2009.
"I'm under no illusions," Bush
said. "It's going to be hard work."
NEW YORK
Bloomberg starts
nationwide effort
to gauge support
New York Mayor Michael
Bloomberg has quietly been poll-
ing and conducting a highly so-
phisticated voter analysis in all
50 states as he decides whether to
launch an independent presiden-
tial bid, associates said yesterday.
The scope of the research, de-
tails of which were revealed to
The Associated Press, demon-
strates how seriously Bloomberg is
considering running for president
despite his almost-daily denials
that he isn't entering the race.
"They want a hard-headed
sense of their chances," said Doug
Schoen, who spearheaded Bloom-
berg's voter database efforts,
known as microtargeting, for his
two mayoral campaigns.
BAGHDAD
Nine U.S. soldiers
killed in offensive
north of Baghdad
Nine American soldiers were
killed in the first two days of a new
offensive to root out al-Qaida in
Iraq fighters holed up in districts
north of the capital, the U.S. mili-
tary reported yesterday.
The losses came as many mili-
tants fled U.S. and Iraqi forces
massing in Diyala, a province of
palm and citrus groves that has
defied the trend toward lower
violence. The campaign's scope is
nationwide but is mainly focused
on gaining control of Diyala and
its most important city, Baqouba,
which al-Qaida has declared the
capital of its self-styled Islamic -
caliphate.
Six soldiers were killed and
four were wounded yesterday in
a booby-trapped house in Diyala,
the U.S. command said. It also

announced that three U.S. soldiers
were killed and two wounded in
an attack Tuesday in Salahuddin
province, north of Diyala.
BEIJING
No more plastic
grocery bags for
0 Chinese shoppers
Declaring war on the "white pol-
lution" choking its cities, farms and
waterways, China is banning free
plastic shoppingbags and calling for a
return to the cloth bags of old - steps
largely welcomed by merchants and
shoppers yesterday.
The measure eliminates the flim-
siest bags and forces stores to charge
for others, making China the latest
nation to target plastic bags in a bid
to cut waste and conserve resources.
Beijing residents appeared to take
the ban in stride, reflecting rising
environmental consciousness and
concern over skyrocketing oil prices.
"If we can reduce waste and save
resources, then it's good both for us
and the whole world," said college
student Xu Lixian, who was buying
tangerines out of cardboard boxes at
a sidewalk stall.
- Compiled from
Daily wire reports
3 921

Richardson out of
Democratic race

WAITING IN THE WINDOW

MERRIMACK, N.H. (AP) -
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richard-
son ended his campaign for the
presidency yesterday after twin
fourth-place finishes that showed
his impressive credentials could
not compete with his rivals' star
power.
Richardson planned to
announce the decision today,
according to two people close to
the governor with knowledge of
the decision. They spoke on a con-
dition of anonymity in advance of
the governor's announcement.
Richardson's campaign would
not comment on the governor's
decision, reached after a meeting
with his top advisers yesterday in
New Mexico.
Richardson had one of the most
wide-ranging resumes of any can-
didate ever to run for the presiden-
cy, bringing experience from his
DEVELOPMENT
From Page 1A
tions for McKinley.
The project is expected to be
completed the end of the year,
Todoro-Hargreaves said.
With the expansion, the center
will stretch from Division Street
to the Michigan Theater building,
with the exception of the Lamp-
lighter Building housing Encore
Records and Orchid Lane, a cloth-
ing and folk art store.
In itsproposal to the city council,
McKinley expressed its intention to
acquire that building this year, but
it will not be included in this phase
of expansion.
Beaner's coffee shop and Poshh
clothing, which are a part of the
Michigan Theater building, will
not be affected by the expansion.
Encore Records owner Peter Dale
praised his landlord, Ruth Fitzger-
ald, for refusing to sell the building
when McKinley approached her
two years ago.
"Anyone who didn't care about
Ann Arbor would have sold it," he
said. "It hasn't affected me at all,
besides people coming in here and
thinking that I'm going out of busi-
ness."
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time in Congress, President Clin-
ton's Cabinet, in the New Mexico
Statehouse as well as his unique
role as a freelance diplomat. As a
Hispanic, he added to the unprece-
dented diversity in the Democratic
field that also included a black man
and a woman.
But Hillary Rodham Clinton
and Barack Obama dominated
the spotlight in the campaign,
and Richardson was never able to
become a top-tier contender. He
accused his rivals of failingto com-
mit to bringtroops home from Iraq
soon enough.
He portrayed his campaign as a
job application for president, and
ran clever ads that showed a bored
interviewer unimpressed with his
dazzlingresume. The commercials
helped fuel his move to double-
digit support in some early state
polls.
Encore Records' lease does not
expire until 2011.
Dale said he might move out
of the city if the building is sold
because of climbing real estate
prices in the area.
The store has occupied the loca-
tion since the 1960s, though it
changed its name in 1992.
Leif Elias, the second-genera-
tion owner of Orchid Lane, said she
has no plans to leave but was con-
cerned about being forced to move
if McKinley acquired the building.
"With the rent they would
charge, I doubt we'd be able to
afford it," she said. "We have a lot
of loyal customers that will follow
us, but if it affects the store badly, it
will affect prices."
Several State Street and Lib-
erty Street business owners spoke
in favor of the expansion during
the City Council meeting Monday
night. Many said the opening of the
McKinley Towne Centre has revi-
talized a previously dead section of
Liberty Streetby bringing more foot
traffic and restaurants to the stretch
and bridgingthe gap between Main
Street and State Street.
McKinley had also planned to
narrow the alley next to the pro-
posed expansion between Lib-
erty and Washington streets from
about 25 feet to 10 feet wide. But
TEACH ABROAD
or in US/Canadian Schools
Search Associatesplaces twiceas
many teachers/interns than anyonel
Information Session
TODAY!
4-5 pm Tribute Room
1P floor of School of Ed

Margaret Chen puts up sticky notes in the window of WORK, the School of Art and Design's gallery on State Sti
evening. The notes spelled out an advertisement for the opening of the gallery's new show, "Mania," on Friday.

the change was met with heavy
opposition from residents and shop
owners, who complained that nar-
rowing the alley would hurt pedes-
trian traffic.
Residents said the alley was an
essential shortcut for shoppers.
Developers conceded and are now
considering turning the alley into a
shopping district similar to Nickels
Arcade between State Street and
Maynard Street.
Lee Pickett, owner of Campus
Jewelers, said the development
could help the neighborhood.
"They alley has never been uti-
lized," he said. "Goods and services
- not coffee and books - would
serve the area better."
Corby Gillmore, manager of
Dawn Treader Book Shop, said he
welcomes the expansion, but hopes
McKinley's new clients will add
something that would give Ann
Arbor more character.
LSA sophomore Scott Launius
said the city should expand natu-
rally. "If it's distinctly Ann Arbor,
like campus, and fits in, I don't
care," he said.
Most Liberty Street shop own-
ers and employees agreed that such
expansions are inevitable.
"If it wasn't McKinley, it'd be
somebody else," Dale said. "It's just
kind of too bad."

UNCOMMITTED
From Page 1A

on their ballots, but all Republi-
can candidates are appearing on
the ballot.
But voting uncommitted could
also impact how voters in states
with later primaries view the
race.
If a large portion of people vote
uncommitted, it will show strong
support for those candidates not
listed on the ballot, Political Sci-
ence Prof. Ken Kollman said.
"That would clearly be a defeat
for Clinton and a major setback
for her," Kollman said.
But that all depends on voter
turnout.
"My guess is a lot will stay
home because their candidate is
not on the ballot," he said.
LSA senior Sam Harper, chair
of the University's College Dem-
ocrats, said he thinks most peo-
ple won't understand how voting
uncommitted works.
Harper said voters who don't
like Clinton might end up writ-
ing in other candidates' names
or voting for a Republican candi-
date rather than voting uncom-
mitted. He thinks many will

figure that an uncommitted bal-
lot is the same thing as leaving a
ballot blank.
"It's very misleading and con-
fusing," he said.
Harper said he is also afraid
many students voting in Ann
Arbor might not know about the
option to vote uncommitted.
LSA sophomore Tom Duvall,
chair of Students for Obama,
agreed.
"Most people just have no
idea," he said.
A Facebook group called "Vote
'UNCOMMITTED' on the Janu-
ary 15th Michigan Primary" has
only 239 members from across
the state.
Prof. Mike Traugott, who stud-
ies mass media and its impact on
politics, said it's too early to tell
if the uncommitted option will
have strong support. But he said
there could be a high percentage
if candidates not listed on the
ballot ask people to vote uncom-
mitted and if there is enough
encouragement from their sup-
porters.
But Traugott wasn't optimis-
tic.
"I don't think turnout is going
to be high on the Democrats' side
because there's no contest," he
said.

--I

Number of American service mem-
bers who have died in the war in "
Iraq, according to The Associated APu
Press. There were no dead service
members identified yesterday.

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