kF208OPINION
Column: Why the
United States shouldn't
-, A . be sending more troops
to Afghanistan. 4A
THE B-SId$ anziIj
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Thursday, January 8, 2009
michigandaily.com
FIGHTING ILLEGAL FILE-SHARING
RIAA
abandons
mass
lawsuits
Recording industry will now
rely Internet providers to
police illegal file-sharers
By AMY MUNSLOW
Daily Staff Reporter
The Recording Industry Association of America
announced last month that it's changing its strat-
egy for deterring online music piracy. Instead of
filing lawsuits against individuals, it is relying on
individual Internet service providers to discour-
age and prevent illegal file-sharing.
Under the new strategy, instead of the RIAA
threatening to sue individuals who illegally
download, the ISPs have agreed to pass on a
notice to their customers who are targeted by
the RIAA, informing them of their illegal activi-
ties. The ISPs will then have the power to slow
or stop the individual's Internet access if the
targeted person continues illegal file-sharing
activity.
Jack Bernard, the University's assistant general
counsel, said he is glad to see the lawsuits stop.
"I don't know why they engaged in the lawsuits
in the first place," he said. "We have asked them to
stop for many years."
Under RIAA's old system, which has been in
place since 2003, pre-litigation settlement letters
were sent to individuals whom the RIAA thought
were involved in peer-to-peer file-sharing. The
letters informed the users of their illegal activities
and threatened lawsuits if they did not settle by
paying fees to the RIAA.
The RIAA heavily targeted students who used
college and university networks to share music
files, including students at the University of
Michigan.
See RIAA, Page 7A
NAILBITER: 'M' ERASES 20-POINT DEFICIT
MICHIGAN 72, INDIANA 66 (OT)
CGT Yi UDET CUT S
A 2 asks
officials
to slash
budgets
Departments face cuts of up to
15 percent of operating budget
as lawmakers balance books
By LARA ZADE
Daily StaffReporter
Though Ann Arbor hasn't been hit quite as hard by
the recession as other cities in Michigan, the state of
the financial markets and the loss of a major taxpayer
have led city officials to propose dramatic budget cuts
for the 2010 and 2011 fiscal years.
City officials are looking for ways to reduce the
budget without reducing services. Though the aver-
age budget cut is expected to be 10 percent, employees
have been asked to think of ways to reduce the budget
by as much as 15 percent. Other areas of the budget
could see a reduction of about 5 percent over the next
two years, Ann Arbor's Chief Financial Officer Tom
Crawford said.
The city has been facing economic setbacks since
2002 because of a downturn in the stock market and
a weakening Ann Arbor real estate market, Crawford
said.
But the University's purchase of Pfizer, Inc.'s Ann
Arbor campus adds a new challenge for city officials
attempting to balance the budget.
Formerly the city's single largest contributor to
property taxes, Pfizer paid $14.1 million in taxes to the
city in 2008. Now owned by the University - which
does not pay property taxes - the city will collect no
tax revenue from the land.
Even before the purchase was announced, city offi-
cials were already projecting a decrease in property
tax-revenues over the next few years due to the lag-
ging economy.
See CITY BUDGET, Page 7A
DARRON CUMMINGS/AI
Redshirt freshman Laval Lucas-Perry and the Michigan men's basketball clinched their first Big Ten road victory, squeaking
out a win over conference bottom-dweller Indiana. Lucas-Perry had a game-high 18 points. For more, see Sports, Page SA.
NEW RESEARCH FACILITY
NEW RESEARCH FACILITY
Great Lakes research center
to deliver new jobs to area
Parritz takes new aim at old
challenges as IFC president
New
fo
em
The
Resear
mental
icated
yesterd
tunitie
to the
v 40,225-square- research corridor.
The new 40,225-square-foot
)ot facility will facility, which includes three labo-
ratories, multiple conference rooms
iploy 120 people and offices for GLERL employees,
will provide more than 120 jobs
By JASMINE ZHU for the surrounding community,
Daily StaffReporter including many job opportunities
for University students.
Great Lakes Environmental "GLERL provides hands-on
ch Laboratory, an environ- work experience that students will
research organization, ded- need to get a job when they gradu-
a new facility in Ann Arbor ate,"said Michael Quigley, an ecolo-
lay, offering new job oppor- gist with the National Oceanic and
s and modern technologies Atmospheric Administration.
area's rapidly expanding Formed in 1974, GLERL is a sub-
division of the federally funded
NOAA. It focuses on environmen-
tal and ecosystem research in the
Great Lakes by studying issues like
water quality and invasive species.
The company's mission is to
"conduct high-quality research
and provide scientific leadership on
important issues in both Great Lakes
and marine coastal environments
leading to new knowledge, tools,
approaches, awareness and servic-
es," accordingto GLERL's website.
Quigley said the partnership
between the University and GLERL
See LABORATORY, Page 7A
LOCAL BREWMASTERS
New brews coming downtown soon
By NICOLE ABER -
Daily Staff Reporter
The annual Mud Bowl competi-
tion gives fraternity and sorority
members a chance to showcase
their dedication to their chapter.
But at this year's game, one com-
petitor stood out from the rest.
After suffering a foot injury,
Public Policy junior Ari Parritz
continued to participate and cheer
on his team members, despite his
pain.
Starting this semester, Parritz
will bring that dedication to the
Interfraternity Council, the group
responsible for governing most
campus fraternities, as its new
president. Parritz said his main
goals as IFC president will be to
create a safer social scene and bet-
ter integrate the Greek commu-
oily into the rest of campus.
Before taking on the role of IFC
president, Parritz headed up the
University chapter of Alpha Epsi-
lon Pi. During his term as AEpi
president Parritz found perma-
nenthousingforthe fraternity and
collaborated with other organiza-
tions on campus. These collabora-
tions are something that Parritz
said he wants to continue as IFC
president.
"We're going to move away
from an isolationist community,"
Parritz said. "We want to push the
two together to have our mem-
hers identify with being not only
See IFC PRESIDENT, Page 7A
As part of $5.8M
plan, business owner
wants to open Ann
Arbor location
By MATT AARONSON
Daily StaffReporter
The Jolly Pumpkin Artisan
Ales brewery in Dexter, Mich.
has turned heads in the exploding
world of microbreweries. Owner
Ron Jeffries plans on bringing a
taste of his award-winning beer to
downtown Ann Arbor in the form
of a pub-style restaurant with a
small brewery.
The Ann Arbor Jolly Pumpkin
location is partofa $5.8million proj-
ect by Jeffries' company, Northern
United Brewing LLC, which will
also include the addition of a caff to
the Dexter facility and a large new
brewery in Peninsula Township
with an adjacent restaurant.
The company received a $1.1 mil-
lion tax credit from the Michigan
Economic Development Corpora-
tion to aid in the project, which is
expected to create a total of 158
jobs within the next eight years
between the three locations. Sixty
of the jobs are to be created within
the first year.
Although Jeffries is committed
to bringing the brewery to Ann
Arbor, he hasn't secured a location.
He hopes to be operating out of a
Main Street location this summer.
A University graduate, Jeffries
said the decision to open an Ann
See MICROBREWERY, Page 7A
cHANELVON HABSBURG-LOTHRINGEN/Daily
As IFC president, Ari Parritz hopes to make social life at the University safer for all
students and better integrate the Greek community into the rest of campus.
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