THE BUSINESS OF BIG NAMES The story behind two seniors turned concert promoters. SEE THE B-SIDE, INSIDE L741C 4br C4 i0an 4:3atlm Ann Arbor, Michigan Thursday, September 24, 2009 michigandaily.com ACCEPTING OF THOSE IN NEED Committee votes toend 'Promise' CHANEL VON HABSBURG-LOTHRIGEN/Oaily A woman walks by White Market on East Williams Street yesterday. White Market is one oftthe few places on campus that accept Bridge Cards, which tookthe place of Food Stamps. Eastern Michigan freshman and White Market employee, John Camfield said that about 15 percent of the store's customers use Bridge Cards - half of whom are students. GAMEDAY SAFEcToYs Foscuiy, Big Hou 0se U S ns bags If proposal passes state legislature, some students won't get scholarship By KYLE SWANSON Daily News Editor In a 4-2 vote yesterday, a joint conference committee of the Michigan Legislature decided to cut funding for the Michigan Promise Scholarship program as a way to help trim the state's pro- jected $2.8 billion deficit for next year. Some 96,000 students in the state receive money from the scholarship, which was signed into law by Democratic Gov. Jen- nifer Granholm in 2006. The aid, whichstudents attainbypassing a certain mark on a merit examina- tion given in high school, grants students between $500 to $4,000 in total over four years to help pay tuition, University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said the Ann Arbor campus currently has 6,096 stu- dents eligible to receive the schol- arship. Liz Boyd, a spokeswoman for Granholm, said the governor considers the Michigan Promise Scholarship of the utmost impor- tance and will continue to fight for its future. "The governor is hoping to reach an agreement with law- makers on a budget that protects her priorities and one of her top priorities is the Michigan Prom- ise Scholarship," Boyd said. Boyd said the responsibility of coming up with a state budget that includes the governor's top priorities rests on the legisla- ture's shoulders. "It is the responsibility of the state House and Senate to put a budget on the governor's desk that she will sign into law," Boyd said. If the state's legislature isn't able to reach a decision by the Oct. 1 deadline or pass a con- tinuing resolution of last year's budget, there will be a partial government shutdown similar to the one policymakers faced in 2007, which lasted four hours. Though Boyd would not say whether the governor would reject a budget that didn't include the program, she said the admin- istration would stand with those who continue to fight for it. "We respect Rep. (Joan) Bauer (D-Lansing) for not supporting the recommendation to eliminate the Promise Scholarship and we will continue to fight to retain that scholarship," Boyd said. See PROMISE, Page SA Officials on alert after Denver arrest of terrorism suspects By MATT AARONSON Daily News Editor Bags of all sizes will be prohib- ited in Michigan Stadium for this Saturday's homecoming football game against Indiana University, according to University security officials. The ban "includes, butis not lim- ited to, purses, lunch sacks, binocu- lar cases, fanny packs and diaper bags," according to a press release posted on the Department of Public Safety website and e-mailed to tick- etholders. Exceptions will be made for those with written permission from medical professionals, according to the press release. DPS spokeswoman Diane Brown said the policy was changed as a result of FBI and Department of Homeland Security bulletins issued to law enforcement officials across the country this week. She said the bulletins indicated that sports stadiums, entertain- ment complexes and hotels could be at risk. Brown emphasized that there have not been any specific threats "in our stadium or in the state of Michigan at this point." The stricter security at the Big House comes after federal agents arrested Najibullah Zazi in Den- ver last Saturday. The airport shuttle worker was believed to have been plotting an attack on New York trains with backpack bombs. In a subsequent search of Zazi's apartment, investiga- tors found bomb-making instruc- tions and evidence he had been researching stadiums, entertain- ment complexes and hotels on his computer. Backpacks and cell phones were See BIG HOUSE, Page SA FOOTBALL SATURDAYS The end of State Street pregames? City leaders talk upside of a downturn Pan A th City attorney sends BOX House, others cease-and-desist letter for tailgates By JILLIAN BERMAN Daily News Editor The 900 block of South State Street is known for its raucous tail- gates on football Saturdays. But if the Ann Arbor City Attorney's Office has anything to say about it, then maize andeblue clad fans, spill- log into the sidewalks at the corner of Sate Street and Hoover Street from the BOX House and other properties, could be a thing of the past. On Tuesday, Senior Assistant City Attorney Kristen Larcom sent a letter to Michelle Grobler of Arch Realty Company, asking the residents of 917, 927 and 933 S. State St. to "cease and desist from engaging in illegal and dangerous conduct." The letter goes on to say that city officials are prepared to file lawsuits against the landlord if the behavior continues. "We appreciate your willing- ness to pass on to your tenants that there is 'zero tolerance' for illegal activities, such as possession of open intoxicants in public, minors in possession, littering, excessive noise and other disorderly con- duct," the letter states. In an interview yesterday, Lar- com said the City Attorney's Office has sent similar letters to landlords in years past, adding that the office sent the same letter to the entire block. "We sent them to houses where the problems occurred," she said. In the letter, Larcom writes that the office will take action if the block continues to be a "public nui- sance" on football Saturdays. "Rooftop activities and crowds spilling onto the public sidewalk are among the behaviors thatcrete significant public safety hazards," the letter states. "A failure to volun- tarily discontinue such dangerous behaviors will require the city to take more forceful action." But despite the warning, LSA senior Alex Girard, who has lived at 933 S. State St. - better known as the BOX house - for three years, said students walking by his house on Saturday won't notice much of a change. Girard added that the "sole rea- son" he chose to live in the house was because of its Saturday tradi- tions. "I don't really think that we have to do much," he said. "Really just keep people off the roof and keep people off the sidewalk." Girard said he's "not really con- cerned" about the letter and he See TAILGATES, Page SA tel discusses Ann The panel, comprised of Mayor John Hieftje and other communi- rbor's future in ty leaders and activists, discussed numerous issues, including health ie energy sector care, housing, the environment and food. By EMILY ORLEY "We have to do something dif- Daily StaffReporter ferent, what we've been doing in Michigan isn't working," Hieftje t night, at a town hall meet- told the crowd. titled "Michigan's Economic Hieftje said solutions to Michi- ion: Crisis or Opportunity?," gan's problems can be found in our el argued that the current own backyard. mic recession is, in fact, "One of the things I think we itive opportunity for Ann, miss doing in Michigan is looking 's future. around the way we should and if we wanted to find examples we only need to look across the lake to Ontario," he added. Hieftje explained that Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario has built wind tur- bines, which have allowed the city to decrease its carbon footprint. Additionally, the structureshelped to increase employment, since all of the steel for the operation was produced locally. "It's difficult to say you can't do something when someone is already doing it," Hieftje said. Across the board, members of the panel said that an overall transformation, rather than a basic recovery, was essential to the city's long-term economic development. Economics Prof. Tom Weissko- pf, said the nature of today's eco- nomic crisis in many ways mirrors the Great Depression of the 1930s with high unemployment rates and decreasing economic activ- ity. However, he stressed that the currentsituation is not as severe as the one of the past. "Whether it's amatter of rein- vigorating the economy or trans- forming it, it's going to call for See PANEL, Page SA Las ing ent Situati a pan: econoi a pos Arbor University students rally at G-20 Summit Financial leaders are meeting to discuss clean energy options By MALLORY BEBERMAN Daity StaffReporter Early yesterday morning about two dozen University students embarked on a six-hour bus ride to Point State Park in Pittsburgh. They were on a mission to bring their concerns about climate poli- cy to attention of, banking officials and business leaders from around the world who were in town for the G-20 Summit. The rally precedes the G-20 Summit - a meeting between both industrial and emerging-market countries on key issues related to global economic stability - which will be held in Pittsburgh today and tomorrow. According to a press release dis- tributed by The Alliance for Cli- mate Protection, the rally's goal is to promote the passage of compre- hensive clean energy and climate legislation that will provide mil- lions of jobs, help end U.S. depen- dence on foreign oil and aid in a solution to the climate crisis - all at the same time. The rally is a collaboration of The Alliance for Climate Protec- tion's Repower America campaign, the United Steelworkers and the Blue Green Alliance's Clean Ener- See RALLY, Page SA ARIEL BOND/Daily Students board a bus headed for a clean energy rally at the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh. WEATHER HI 72 TOMORROW LO: 56 GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-763-2459 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know. NEW ON MICHIGANDAILY.COM INDEX NEWS.............................2A CLASSIFIEDS...................6A Former UM dean resigns as U. of Illinois president Vol. CXX, No.13 OPINION..........................4A SPORTS..... .................,..7A MICHIGANDAILY.COM/BLOGS/THE WIRE 9 Thechigan Daily SU DOKU ...................A THE I-SIDE. . . 1 B michigonduily.com " " " " "