46F Ann Arbor, Michigan Monday, January 12, 2009 AN EXCLUSTVE RIDE michigandaily.com UNIVERSITY POLICE DPS set to undergo evaluation SAIDALSALAH/Daily Two European journalists inspect the interior of the Bentley GT at the North American International Auto Show on the floor of the Cobo Convention Center yesterday. The 2009 auto show opened yesterday to 6,000 members of the press to take a look at the latest models and concept cars from domestic and foreign auto makers. At this year's show, the Hyundai Genesis and Ford F-150 were selected to receive the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards. ANN ARBOR AND THE 'U 'U'a s ask RScity to vac ate Monroe If department meets standard, 'U' will be first accredited, in Big Ten By TREVOR CALERO Daily News Editor In a press release to be distrib- uted today, the Department of Public Safety has announced that it will undergo a national accredi- tation assessment from the Com- mission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. A team of CALEA assessors will spend the next few weeks examining the department's poli- cies, procedures and operations to verify that the department has voluntarily met the commission's established set of more than 400 professional standards. tf the assessors conclude that DPS meets their standards, the. University will be the first school in the Big. Ten to receive this national accreditation. "Accreditationis ahighlyprized recognition of law enforcement professional excellence," DPS Executive Director Ken Magee said in the press release. DPS spokeswoman Diane Brown said the department has spent the past year reviewing, revising and, in some cases, cre- ating policies and procedures to meet the various standards required by the commission to achieve accreditation. Brown said the assessors will not only look at the department's book of policies, but will also go through files that show proof of how the department has fulfilled the requirements. After the CALEA assessors com- plete their review, they will bring their findings to the full commis- sion, which will then decide wheth- er or not DPS will be accredited. "By achieving accreditation, it will affirm the highly professional work that the staff has been doing for several years," Brown said. "And it will add, for some people, another degree of credibility to those efforts." In addition to verifying that DPS has met the requirements, the team of assessors will conduct interviews with members of the department and solicit comments from University staff, faculty, stu- dents and other members of the community. A public information session is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Feb. 2 in the Kipke Conference Center, located within the Campus Safety Services Building on Kipke Drive, to fulfill the public comment por- tion of the assessment. Individuals who are unable to attend the public session are encouraged to call (734) 615-8886 on Feb. 2 between 1p.m. and 3 p.m. According to the press release, "Telephone comments as well as appearances at the public infor- mation session are limited to 10 minutes and must address the agency's ability to comply with CALEAs standards." Walkway would tie Law Quad to new additions By KYLE SWANSON and JASMINE ZHU DailyStaffReporters The University is currently in the process of asking Ann Arbor city officials for permission to close a section of Monroe Street between South State Street and Oakland Avenue and transform it into a pedestrian mall. The car-free zone would connect the Law Quad and the future site of the Law School's 100,000-square-. foot expansion across the street. If approved, control of the public right-of-way - a.status in which the public has the right to travel on a space - in the area would be turned over to the University. Jim Kosteva, director of com- munity relations for the Universi- ty, said the pedestrian mall would "strengthen the continuity of the Law Quad." Thus far, there is no specific layout or budget plan, but Kosteva said the money would likely come from University resources and fundraising. Many students and- area resi- dents are split over the University's proposal. First-year law student Carl Chaker, who lives in Ann Arbor and commutes to the Law School, said he thinks that blocking Mon- roe Street would only be beneficial to only the select few who live in the Law Quad and a hindrance to everyone else. "Any blockage of streets could make my commute potentially harder," Chaker said. On the other hand, second-year See MONROE STREET, Page 7A Dominick's owner looks to expand business Res plan brei Casa pean ci atmosp of sang obtaini sion th more th drinks Dom DeVart parcels restaur areas, fee sho apartm provide approve propert DeVa ties of - 705C Ave., 7 Monroe two tha sits on As p cess, a tonight The for residen propose voice co DeVa taurant mulling the six parcels rezoned as a Planned Unit Development. A is to add bed and PUD is a type of building devel- opment that includes a grouping akfast, offices or of varied and compatible land uses, like housing, recreation and apartments industrial parks, all contained in one development. By LARA ZADE If approved, the PUD zoning Daily StaffReporter would allow additions, renovations and alterations to properties. Dominick's, a rustic Euro- DeVarti will submit the peti- af6 known for its laid-back tion, including comments from here and vast selection tonight's meeting, to the Ann gria, is in the process of Arbor Planning Commission on ng approval for an expan- Jan. 26. The Planning Commis- hat could provide much sion will then review the petition han a meal and a few good on March 17. for its customers. The commission will make a inick's owner Richard recommendation to City Coun- i has plans to turn four cil at a later date, at which point of land surrounding his the council will determine ant into expanded seating whether or not to approve the a bed and breakfast, a cof- PUD proposal. p, a retail store, residential DeVarti said he inherited the ents or office buildings, property that holds the restau- ed the City of Ann Arbor rant from his parents, who estab- es his petition to have the lished the Ann Arbor institution ty rezoned. in 1960, and slowly acquired the arti owns the four proper- other four parcels of land from land near the restaurant then on. Oakland Ave., 706 Tappan In the interview, he stressed '00 Tappan Ave., and 808 that alterations made to the prop- e St. - in addition to the erties would strive to maintain at his restaurant currently the overall appearance of the - 812 and 814 Monroe St. restaurant and the surrounding art of the petition pro- neighborhood. public forum will be held "It would be nice to be able to at 6 p.m. at Dominick's. incorporate some of those build- um will allow Ann Arbor ings into a larger scale without ts to learn more about the ruining the architecture of the ed zoning changes and building or the neighborhood," oncerns. he said. "There will be gradual irti is petitioning to have minor change over the years." University children's hospital also picked as best in the state By STEPHANIE STEINBERG DailyStaffReporter C.S. Mott Children's Hospital has been ranked by Parents Maga- zine as one of the best children's hospitals in the country for 2008. On the list of the top 30, Mott ranked 18th and topped the list of children's hospitals in the state of Michigan. The ranking was based on a 250-question survey completed by more than 100 hospitals. The survey asked hospitals about their survival rates, quantity of complex procedures, research studies, staff qualifications and safeguards to prevent medical errors. "Ranking18th out of all the chil- dren's hospitals in the country is very exciting," said Patricia War- ner, associate hospital director of children's and women's services at the University of Michigan Health System. "To me, this is a wonder- ful external recognition of the tre- mendous work that's done here by our faculty and staff." The hospital dropped five spots from when it ranked 13th in 2006. Katie Vloet, ssokeswoman for the University of Michigan Health System, said most of the hospitals that were ranked have very close scores. "There tends to be some up and down movement in the rank- ings from year to year due to slight changes in methodology, how many hospitals respond to the survey and the year-to-year fluctuations that all hospitals experience in areas such as the number of medical procedures performed, survival rates and other statistics," Vloet said in an e-mail interview. The magazine used a point system to. evaluate the question- naires. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia earned the most points and the No. 1 ranking. The Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit was also on the list at No. 25. Mott's high ranking from Par- ent's Magazine comes on the heels of several other rankings that praised the hospital. In May, U.S. News and World Report ranked Mott highly in seven pediatric specialty areas including cancer, neurology and digestive disorders. And accord- ing to Mott's website, the Neona- tal Intensive Care Unit at Mott was among the first in the world See MOTT, Page 7A UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM Mott ranked 18th best kids' hospital SAM WOLSON/Daly A man walks by the current storefront of Casa Dominick's yesterday. DOMINICK'S POSSIBLE RENOVATIONS Owner Richard DeVarti is considering making substantial changes to his restaurant. He currently owns three plots of land adjacent to Dominick's current location. Dominick's Mno Sre current location Dominick's 1 "current patio Additional property owned by Dominick's WEATHER HI 23 TOMORROW LU 3 GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-763-2459 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know. ON THE DAILY BLOGS How Tim Tebow represents Michigan's best parts THEGAME.BLOGS.MICHIGANDAILY.COM INDEX NEWS.......... 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