The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Tuesday, February 9, 2010 - 3 NEWS BRIEFS DETROIT Bernero enters bid for Dem. primary in governor's race Partisanship and insider poli- tices are blocking efforts to restore Michigan's economic health, Lan- sing Mayor Virg Bernero said yes- terday as he kicked off his bid for the Democratic nomination for governor. Speaking at the Detroit Chassis LLC plant, the 45-year-old son of a former General Motors Co. worker said the state has tried Republican and Democratic ways of governing and now needs to find "the Michi- gan way." "Our current leaders have deliv- ered little more than the same old partisan bickering, obstructionism and gridlock," he said to roughly 100 supporters. Bernero is no stranger to the Statehouse; he served in the House O 2001-02 and in the Senate 2003- 2005, where he took office the same year Democrat Jennifer Granhoim took over as governor. He left three years into his four- year Senate term to become Lan- sing mayor in January 2006 after winninga nonpartisan election. MIDDLETOWN, Conn. Power plant blast kills five in Conn. Authorities have released the names of the five men killed in an explosion at a power plant that was under construction in a Connecti- cut town. Middletown police say Peter Chetulis ofThomaston, Conn.; Ron- ald J. Crabb of Colchester, Conn.; Raymond Dobratz of Old Saybrook, Conn.; Chris Walters of Florissant, Mo.; and Roy Rushton of Hamilton, Ontario, died in Sunday's blast at the Kleen Energy plant. Kleen Energy says about 114 workers were on the site and nine subcontractors were working there at the time. The company says six workers are still hospitalized. WASHINGTON, D.C. Federal gov. pledges $78.5M to help fix Asian carp problem Navigational locks and gates in " Chicago-area waterways crucial for shipping may be opened less frequently than usual under a $78.5 million campaign to prevent Asian carp from overrunning the Great Lakes, federal officials said yester- day. . The plan falls short of clos- ing the navigational structures entirely, as demanded by Michi- gan and five other Great Lakes states. They fear the locks will provide an opening to the lakes for the giant carp, which some scientists say could devastate the region's $7 billion fishing indus- try. But the Obama administration described the plan as part of an effective strategy for keeping the invasive fish at bay while long-term biological controls are developed. The government said it would take 25 actions to slow the advance of the carp, which can reach 4 feet long and 100 pounds. Nancy Sutley, head of the White O House Council on Environmental Quality, called the plan "an unpar- alleled effort on the part of the fed- eral government." "Today, we have an opportunity to work together to prevent envi- ronmental and economic damage before it happens," Sutley said after talks yesterday with several gover- nors from the region. CARACAS, Venezuela Chavez declares energy emergency in Venezuela President Hugo Chavez has signed a decree declaring an energy emergency in Venezuela to facili- tate his government's efforts to ease severe energy shortages. Venezuela imposed electricity and water rationing in Decem- ber to prevent a collapse of the electricity grid as severe drought drops water levels behind the Guri Dam to critical lows. The dam supplies most of Venezuela's electricity. Energy Minister Ali Rodri- guez says the government must accelerate plans to reduce energy consumption while boosting pro- duction. - Compiled from Daily wire reports Man without passport causes security breach DAVIDGOULDMAN/AP Automotive technician Jason Winston, works to correct a gas pedal recall on a Toyota Camry at a dealership in New York Saturday U.S. p lcians involved CRsiin Toyotarecalsal to have ties with carmaker Portion of Detroit airport evacuated, nothing found ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) - A por- tion of a terminal at Detroit Met- ropolitan Airport was evacuated yesterday after a man without a boarding pass walked through a passenger screening checkpoint and refused to obey security offi- cers, officials said. The man failed to stop about 7:45 a.m. at the McNamara Termi- nal, the Transportation Security Administration said. He was sub- dued by airport police after a stun gun failed to stop him, an FBI agent said. In a criminal complaint filed with U.S. District Court in Detroit, FBI agent Michael Thomas said the man, identified as Kaylan L. Poli- cherla, walked through the check- point and a metal detector with his hands inhis jacket pockets. Transportation Security Administration workers activated an alarm, security doors were low- ered at the portion of the terminal between the security checkpoint and terminal concourse, and peo- ple were evacuated from that area, airport spokesman Mike Conway said. A TSA screener followed Poli- cherla until airport police arrived and ordered him to stop, Thomas said. An officer discharged a Taser at Policherla but it had no effect, and officers then wrestled him to the floor and handcuffed him, Thomas said. Dogs were used to search the portion of the terminal that had been evacuated, but nothing was found, Conway said. Security screening resumed about an hour later, officials said. The complaint alleges that Poli- cherla violated federal security requirements. Policherla remained in custody yesterday evening, buta court appearance was not immedi- ately scheduled, FBI spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold said. U.S. senator and congresswoman owe wealth to Japanese car company WASHINGTON (AP) - The lawmakers now investigating Toyota's recall include a sena- tor who was so eager to lure the Japanese automaker to his state that he tramped along through fields as its executives scouted plant sites, and a congresswoman who owes much of her wealth to a Toyota supplier. They and others on the con- gressional committees investi- gating Toyota's massive recall represent states where Toyota has factories and the coveted well- paying manufacturing jobs they bring. Some members of Congress have been such cheerleaders for Toyota that the public may won- der how they can act objectively as government watchdogs for auto safety and oversight. The company's executives include a former employee of the federal agency that is supposed to oversee the automaker. Toyota has sought to sow good will and win allies with lobby- ing, charitable giving, racing in the American-as-apple pie NAS- CAR series and, perhaps most important, creating jobs. Will those connections pay off as it tries to minimize fallout from its problems? The Senate's lead Toyota inves- tigator, West Virginia Democrat Jay Rockefeller, credits himself with lobbying Toyota to build a factory in his state. A member of a House investigating panel, Cali- fornia Rep. Jane Harman, repre- sents the district of Toyota's U.S. headquarters and has financial ties to the company. Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, has known Toyota's founding family since the 1960s. He was so closely involved with Toyota's selection of Buffalo, W.Va., for a factory that he slogged through cornfields with Toyota executives scouting locations and still mentions his role in the 1990s deal to this day. "By the time Toyota decided to make Buffalo its new home,":. Rockefeller said in 2006 during the plant's 10th anniversary, "I felt like a full-fledged member of that site selection team." Rockefeller's committee is expected to review whether the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration acted aggres- sively enough toward Toyota. The agency's new chief, David L. Strickland, worked for eight years on Rockefeller's committee as a lawyer and senior staffer. Strickland has such close rela- tionships with Rockefeller and other senators that Republican Sen. George LeMieux of Florida asked Strickland at his confir- mation hearing two months ago whether he could disagree with Rockefeller, his former boss: "The oversight for you in your role will be from the committee that you once served on," LeMieux told him. "I will be honest with you, sir," Strickland answered. "I've had disagreements with the chair- man personally. But he signs the paycheck, and he wins. But I will have no problem with thatall, sir." Rockefeller sees no reason to step aside from his committee's investigation. Consumer protec- tion is a cornerstone of his work as chairman and that is reflected in the steps he and the commit- tee are taking, including NHTSA briefings and plans to hold hear- ings and seek recall-related docu- ments, Rockefeller spokeswoman Jamie Smith said. ' "While this important work proceeds, Sen. Rockefeller is encouraged that Toyota is mak- ing every effort to minimize the impact on its U.S. work force, especially during these difficult economic times." Smith said. "He hopes and expects that Toyota will remain a strong company and is capable of getting back on the right track with safety and consumer confi- dence." LeMieux on Monday asked Rockefeller to hold a hearing promptly. "This is a matter of public safe- ty," LeMieux wrote. Iran said to increase its nuclear' capacity Iran informs U.N rods needed for the reactor. France and the U.S. said that nuclear efforts the latest Iranian move left no choice but to push harder for a are peaceful fourth set of U.N. Security Coun- cil sanctions to punish Iran's VIENNA (AP) - Iran pressed nuclear defiance. ahead Monday with plans that Even a senior parliamentarian will increase its ability to make from Russia, which traditionally nuclear weapons as it formally opposes Western ambitions for informed the U.N. nuclear agen- new U.N. sanctions, suggested cy of its intention to enrich ura- the time had now come for such nium to higher levels. additional punishment Alarmed world powers ques- Konstantin Kosachev, head of tioned the rationale behind the the international affairs com- move and warned the country it mittee of the State Duma - the could face more U.N. sanctions if lower house of parliament - told it made good on its intentions. the Interfaxnews agencythatthe Iran maintains its nuclear international community should activities are peaceful, and an "react to this step wyith serious envoy insisted the move was measures, including making the meant only to provide fuel for regime of economic sanctions Tehran's research reactor. But more severe." world powers fearing that Iran's Iranian President Mah- enrichment program might be moud Ahmadinejad had already a cover for a weapons program announced Sunday that his coun- were critical. try would significantly enrich at Britain said the Islamic least some of the country's stock- Republic's reason for further pile of uranium to 20 percent. enrichment made no sense Still, Monday's formal notifica- because it is not technically tion was significant, particularly advanced enough to turn the because of Iran's waffling in resulting material into the fuel recent months on the issue. Tuesdays Are South Of The Border GoronaSo/Mode3IaPciMco Specials All Night $2.50 Tequila Sunrise & Vodka Drinks 25% Off Mexican Fare All With NO COVER 310 Maynard SI - ToO Orders 734.995.1100 ~Next Ix Ihe M ynard Parking Slrucure Are You Considering a Career in Health? 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