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. WEATHER HI: 26 TOMORROW Lo 23 GOT A NEWS TIP? Calf 734-763-2459 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know. ON THE DAILY BLOGS The Wolverine soccer player who left to go pro THEGAME.BLOGS.MICHIGANDAILY.COM INDEX NEWS........... Vol, CXIX, No. 69 SUDOKU...... (2@009The MichiganDaily O P I N I ON...... michigandailycosm ...........2A SPORTS.. . . ..........5A ...........3A CLASSIFIEDS......................6A ...........4A TH E B -S ID E ..........................1B 51