The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Thursday, A pril 8, 2010 - 3A

NEWS BRIEFS
ROCHESTER, Mich.
0 Students protest
weapons ban
Gun rights advocates are pro-
testing Oakland University's stu-
dent weapons ban by wearing
empty holsters on the suburban
Detroit campus.
Police at the Rochester school
say they know of about five peo-
ple who have participated in this
week's protest.
University President Gary
Russi says the student code of con-
duct prevents students from car-
rying weapons, while the school
"regrettably" recognizes the legal
. right of others to carry weapons
on campus.
Group member Brett Mctsaac
of Rochester says people should
be able to defend themselves if
they have the legal right to carry
a weapon.
Campus police Chief Sam
Lucido tells The Oakland Press
of Pontiac the group Students for
Carrying Concealed Weapons has
20 to 30 members.
CLEVELAND, Ohio
Murderer suing
newspaper $50M
for damages
A judge presiding over the Ohio
trial of a man charged with killing
11 women and hiding their bodies
around his home is suing a news-
paper covering the case for $50
million in damages.
. An attorney for Cuyahoga (ky-
uh-HOH'-guh) County Common
Pleas Judge Shirley Strickland
Saffold and her daughter, Sydney
Saffold, filed the lawsuit yester-
day.
The suit says The Plain Deal-
er newspaper, parent company
Advance Publications Inc. and the
company that runs the newspa-
per's Web site released confiden-
tial information that violated the
site's privacy policy.
The newspaper reported March
26 inflammatory anonymous
comments posted on its Web site
about murder suspect Anthony
Sowell were traced to the judge's
personal AOL e-mail account.
BANGKOK
Thai P.M. declares
state of emergency
Thailand's beleaguered prime
minister declared a state of emer-
gency to quell weeks of paralyz-
ing protests costing businesses
tens of millions of dollars. But the
demonstrators championing the
rights of the rural poor remained
uncowed, and whether the show-
down can end without violence is
unknown.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vej-
jajiva acted after mostly peaceful
protests escalated yesterday when
demonstrators burst into parlia-
ment and forced lawmakers to flee
on ladders over a back wall, with
senior officials hastily evacuated
by helicopter.
Yesterday's chaos was a contin-
uation of the long-running battle

between partisans of the coun-
try's former leader - Thaksin
Shinawatra, who was ousted by a
2006 military coup - and those
who oppose him. Thaksin was
accused of corruption and show-
ing disrespect to the country's
0 revered monarch.
The demonstrators, called the
Red Shirts for their attire, bene-
fited from Thaksin's populist poli-
cies such as cheap health care and
village loans. They have demand-
ed that Abhisit dissolve parlia-
ment within 15 days and call new
elections, claiming he took office
illegitimately in December 2008
with the help of military pressure
on parliament.
INDIANAPOLIS, In.
Roberts says court
can't compromise
U.S. Chief Justice John Rob-
erts says the lack of consensus
in many of the Supreme Court's
decisions reflects its fundamen-
tal inability to strike compromis-
es on laws, as Congress can when
writing them.
Roberts spoke yesterday at the
0 Indiana University School of Law
in Indianapolis.
Roberts was asked about a
remark during his 2005 confir-
mation hearings in which he said
he wanted to build consensus on
the court. Roberts responded that
* justices differing in their inter-
pretations of law cannot act like
lawmakers and strike compromis-
es halfway.
-Compiled from
Daily wire reports

Nancy Pelosi
harassed by
Calif. man,

MICHAEL HENNiNGER/AP/POST-GAZETTE
West Virginia State Police officers direct traffic in front of an entrance to the Massey Energy Co.'s Upper Big Branch mine in
Montcoal, W.Va. after an explosion in the mine.
W~a.gov., measured in
discussing mine fallout

Manchin incorrectly
told families that all
workers had survived
Sago collapse in 2006
NAOMA, W.Va. (AP) - Gov. Joe
Manchin four years ago delivered
what seemed to be miraculous
news: a dozen miners had survived
an explosion at the Sago mine -
only to then have to tell devastated
families that all but one were dead.
Those who watched the tragedy
unfold on the national news were
dumbfounded: How could the gov-
ernor so carelessly lift spirits with-
out knowing for certain the miners'
fate?
As the worst U.S. mining disas-
ter in two decades unfolds this
week, Manchin has been a cau-
tious and calm presence, vowing
to communicate with families with
compassion and frequently even if
he doesn't have much new to tell

them. The explosion at the Upper
Big Branch mine killed 25 and four
others remain missing; rescuers
have been laboring for the pasttwo
days to try to reach tiem while also
battling poisonous gases that bottle
up underground.
The shadow of the 2006 Sago
mine disaster has hung over the
explosion at Upper Big Branch.
Manchin has kept a high profile,
delivering regular briefings to the
media, and updating families in
person every two hours.
He's been measured in tone and
in the news he delivers. The cau-
tiousness is a change from Sago, but
in some ways Manchin is playing
the same role: comforter-in-chief
to a state whose identity is so linked
with coal that a statue of a miner
graces the grounds of the Capitol.
At Sago, Manchin heard along
with relatives the wildfire rumor
that all but one of the 13 miners had
survived, and then joined in their
celebration and helped to relay the
bogus information that only made

the heartache worse when reality
set in.
"It was the euphoria of the
moment," Manchin recalled later.
"The (church) bells were going off,
everybody was hugging and kiss-
ing. We'd been together for two
days, and to get news like this..."
This time, miners' families have
been largely sequestered from the
media on the site, unlike at Sago,
where the two groups mingled.
Information comes from Manchin,
or from one of the officials by his
side, atfrequent briefings.
Manchin has also changed.
While people cling to the hope that
their loved ones are among the four
who haven't been found dead, the
governor serving his second term
has tempered that optimism with
frank talk about the enormity of
the blast.
"You're always hoping for that
miracle," he said, his voice trail-
ing off after adding, "but when you
have an explosion of this magni-
tude..."

Man angry about
health care bill,
results in angry
voice mails
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A
California man angry about health
care reform allegedly made threat-
ening and harassing phone calls
to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi,
including at least one call in which
he got through and spoke to her
directly, law enforcement officials
said.
Gregory Lee Giusti, 48, was
arrested Wednesday at his San
Francisco home, said Joseph
Schadler, spokesman for the FBI's
San Francisco office. Schadler
would not disclose the charges
against Giusti, saying they were
under seal until his first appear-
ance before a federal magistrate,
scheduled for Thursday.
The arrest came a day after a
Washington state man was arrest-
ed for allegedly leaving threaten-
ing voicemails for U.S. Sen. Patty
Murray, and as other Democratic
lawmakers have faced vicious ver-
bal attacks over their support of
the historic health care overhaul.
Several federal officials said
Giusti made dozens of calls to
Pelosi's homes in California and
Washington, as well as to her hus-
band's business office. They said
he recited her home address and
said if she wanted to see it again,
she would not support the health
care overhaul bill that since has
been enacted.
One official said the man is
believed to have spoken directly
with Pelosi at least once.
The officials spoke on condition
of anonymity because they were
not authorized to discuss the case
publicly.
Giusti has been in trouble pre-
viously for making threats. In
2004, he pleaded no contest in

San Mateo County, just south of
San Francisco, to a felony charge
of making criminal threats and
was sentenced to a year in jail and
three years of supervised proba-
tion. Other details of that case
were not immediately available.
A statement from Pelosi's
spokesman Wednesday praised the
efforts of law enforcement and said
the House Speaker would have no
further comment "at this time."
On Tuesday, Pelosi told report-
ers in San Francisco that "people
have been active in expressing
their disagreement." Sometimes
those expressions have risen "to
the level of threats or violence,"
she said, explaining that she was
not allowed to comment on her
own situation.
Rose Riggs, a neighbor of Giusti
in a public housing complex in the
city's Tenderloin district, said she
saw two plainclothes and two uni-
formed officers take him away in
zip-tie cuffs. Riggs, 62, said Giusti
was known for engaging in heated
political debates with others in the
building.
"He was not one of my favor-
ite people. He had a real attitude
problem," she said.
Neighbor Greg Little, 53, said he
also saw officers take Giusti away.
"He was real quiet when they
took him out. He wasn't combat-
ive," Little said.
Sister Lorna Walsh, commu-
nity operations manager of the
Mercy Housing complex where
Giusti lives, said he had lived in
the subsidized housing for almost
10 years. She would not comment
further.
On Tuesday, federal authorities
in Washington state announced
charges against Charles Alan
Wilson, 63, for allegedly made
threatening calls to Murray. Offi-
cials said he left voicemails for the
senator, including ones in which
he's accused of saying "there's a
target on your back now" and "it
only takes one piece of lead."



Sarah Palin speaks at the "Showdown in Searchlight" Tea Party rally in Searchlight, N
speech at California State University on June 25 for the school s SOth anniversary.
State en.: Pali visi
State UniVersity bre

Fundraiser must be
disclosed to state in
advance, Yee says
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)
- A California lawmaker said
yesterday that a state university
is breaking the law by failing to
disclose correspondence about an
upcoming fundraiser appearance
by Sarah Palin.
Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Fran-
cisco, filed a public records
request with California State
University, Stanislaus last week,
requesting any documents relat-
ed to the former Alaska gover-
nor's scheduled June 25 speech
to mark the school's 50th anni-
versary.
The university's compliance
officer, Gina Leguria, responded
to Yee on Tuesday, saying there
were no such documents.
Yee said he has evidence to the
contrary. Yesterday, he circulated
a March 29 e-mail sent from a top
university administrator to fac-
ulty and staff that he said should
have been disclosed.
In the e-mail, Susana Gajic-
Bruyea, vice president for uni-
versity advancement, justifies
the choice of Palin, who com-
mands speaking fees as high as
$100,000.
Gajic-Bruyea said the high-
profile - and controversial
- public figure would attract
significant interest and boost

attendance at the black-tie gala,
whose tickets cost $500 each. She
stressed that private donations
would fund the event hosted by
the nonprofit CSU Stanislaus
Foundation.
"Not a cent of state funds will
be used for this event," she wrote.
Yee said Gajic-Bruyea's e-mail
is the sort of document that
should have been provided in
response to his public records
request. He has asked the state
attorney general to investigate
the matter.
"What other documents and
correspondence are they hid-
ing?" Yee said.
Evan Westrup, an attorney
general's office spokesman, said
the office had received Yee's
request and would review it.
University spokeswoman Eve
Hightower said that the fund-
raiser is a foundation event and
that all public records requests
are being referred to foundation
board president Matt Swanson.
She said the university did not
include Gajic-Bruyea's e-mail in
its response to Yee because the
e-mail had already been made
public when it first went out.
"It was circulated to staff,
faculty, student leadership, and
meant to be shared with anyone,"
Hightower said.
The Associated Press and other
organization have sought details
of the compensation package pro-
vided to Palin in exchange for her
appearance. The foundation has

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JAE C. HONG/AP
ev. Palin is slated to appear and give a
1 4 5
" O6 3
it to Cal if. 6 87
lakslaw 8 -$
said its contract with Palins pre -I5
mation, and yesterday it rejected 2
the AP's public records request,
citing the non-disclosure clause. 7 91
Yet said no contract stipula-
tion can override the California
Public Records Act, but a 2001 81 7 6
state appeals court ruling could- - - - -
give the foundation grounds for 4
disputing its public records obli-
gations. The court ruled that
auxiliary associations acting on
behalf of public bodies are not
subject to public records requests.
To address that loophole, Yet is
sponsoring a state bill that would )
require campus foundations andteee
auxiliary organizations to adhere Y S
to public records requirements
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