The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Monday, March 14,2011 - 3A
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, March14, 2011 - 3A
NEWS BRIEFS
LANSING
Jackson County
judge leaves jobs
to oversee courts
A Jackson County judge has
been hired to oversee the Michi-
gan court system.
Chad Schmucker is the new
state court administrator after
20 years as a judge. Robert Young
Jr., chief justice of the Michigan
Supreme Court, Lays he's highly
respected and an innovator in
technology and how courts oper-
ate.
The state court administra-
tor oversees the operations of
Michigan's trial court system.
Schmucker was made a judge in
1991 by Gov. John Engler and was
Jackson County's chief judge for
10 of his 20 years on the bench.
Schmucker is succeeding Carl
Gromek, who is retired as state
court administrator.
REDONDO BEACH, Calif.
Tons of dead
sardines scooped
from Calif. harbor
Cleaning crews yesterday fin-
ished removing millions of fish
found floating dead in a Southern
California marina, five days after
the slimy, stinking mass of sar-
dines was discovered.
Crews from several coastal cit-
ies and more than 700 volunteers
removed about 140 tons of dead
sardines from King Harbor in
Redondo Beach, city officials said
in a statement.
The fish were taken to a com-
posting center where they will be
turned into fertilizer.
The city said that while the
fish were gone, local crews will
continue cleaning up the after-
math of the die-off in the harbor
for another week.
Biologists from the University
of Southern California and the
California Department of Fish
and Game have said critically low
oxygen levels in the water caused
the sardines to suffocate.
COVINGTON, K.Y.
Crews recover
restaurant floating
along Ohio River
Crews moved a floating res-
taurant back to shore yesterday
after it partially tore loose from
its moorings and stranded more
than 80 people on board for
hours.
By late in the afternoon, the
crippled Waterfront restaurant
was sitting in the river near a
landing, waiting for crews to
secure it.
The restaurant broke loose on
the Ohio River on Friday, requir-
ing everyone on board to be res-
cued using ladders and ropes for
a makeshift gangplank. Authori-
ties said Cris Collinsworth, a
former NFL star long associated
with Ruby, was among those
taken from the boat during the
hours-long rescue.
It remained unclear yesterday
why the restaurant pulled away
from its moorings.
LONDON
Queen Elizabeth II
celebrates role of
women in address
Queen Elizabeth II celebrat-
ed the role of women in private
and public life across the world
in a message marking Common-
wealth Day on Monday.
The queen focused her annual
address on the importance of
women as "agents of change,"
highlighting their contribution
in every walk of life and calling
on people to think of ways to pro-
vide support to girls and women
so they could lead fuller lives.
"This year, the Common-
wealth reflects on what more
could be achieved if women
were able to play an even larger
role," the monarch, who heads
the loose association of 54
countries, said in a prerecorded
address.
-Compiled from
Daily wire reports
BRIDGES
From Page1A
set to begin in October, which
is later than some city officials
were expecting.
"I think we all expected con-
struction to begin this spring,"
Ann Arbor City Council mem-
ber Sabra Briere (D-Ward 1)
said. She added that the pros-
pect of construction not begin-
ning until October is "very
disappointing."
The bridges were built in 1917
and 1928 and have received a
Federal Sufficiency Rating of
only two out of a 100-pointscale.
According to Briere, both bridg-
es are monitored "constantly"
by city engineers to ensure the
public's continued safety.
The construction activ-
ity will necessitate closure of a
section of East Stadium Boule-
vard from Nov. 28 through the
duration of the project, accord-
ing to Senior Project Manager
Michael Nearing. South State
Street will also be closed for
about two weeks this December
to allow for the demolition of
one bridge.
Nearing said he is not expect-
ing "any major difficulties"
regarding road closures. He
added that officials will moni-
tor the detour and will make
"modifications as needed" dur-
ing the construction process.
Officials are working on final-
izing construction plans and
expect to have them completed
by early June. Bids will then be
solicited through the Michigan
Department of Transportation
during September.
In addition to the $13.9 mil-
lion supplied by the TIGER II
grant, MDOT's Local Bridge
Program will provide $1.67
*. _ ,
:<<
:_ ..-_.
'
' \ ,
JAPAN
From Page 1A
to make sure they were in a safe
place," he said.
About 1,400 people were
killed in the natural disaster and
thousands more are missing or
thought to be dead. In addition,
four nuclear power plants in
northeastern Japan were dam-
aged in the earthquake.
The U.S. State Department
issued a travel alert yesterday
recommending that all U.S. citi-
zens avoid non-emergency travel
to Japan, but no travel warning
has been issued. The University
has a policy that prohibits Uni-
versity-sanctioned study abroad
programs in countries with State
Department travel warnings.
John Greisberger, director of
the University's International
Center, offered his condolences
to about 100 international stu-
dents from Japan studying at
the University through an e-mail
sent on Friday.
"The International Center
was reaching out to all of the stu-
dents ... to express our concerns
for them and their families and
also to see if any of them needed
any assistance," Fitzgerald said.
Yoshiki Masada, president of
the Japan Student Association
on campus, wrote in an e-mail
interview last night that the
organization raised money at
their annual Japan Culture Fes-
tival on Saturday to help those
affected by the earthquake and
tsunami.
"When we heard of (the earth-
quake), we knew we had to help
Japan through this event," he
wrote.
With the United Asian Ameri-
can Organization, Masada wrote
that the group raised more than
$600 and is planning to set up
more support efforts. The Japan
Business Association at the Uni-
versity is also planning to raise
funds to aid Japan, according to
Masada.
One of the most perilous situa-
tions was at the Fukushima Dai-
ichi nuclear complex where one
explosion occurred Saturday.
Because the earthquake elimi-
nated the plant's power supply
and the tsunami flooded backup
generators, Japanese govern-
ment officials were concerned
that another explosion was
imminent.
Residents who lived within 12
miles of the Dai-ichi plant had
been preemptively evacuated.
Officials said that 1,500 people
have been examined for radia-
tion poisoning and at least 160
people may have been exposed to
radiation.
The incidents at the plants
have resulted in a power short-
age throughout Japan, with
about 2 million homes out of
power yesterday. Today, rolling
blackouts will be used in Tokyo
and other cities to preserve elec-
tricity.
- The Associated Press
contributed to this report.
One of the bridges on East Stadium Boulevard that passes over South State
Street on Friday, March 11.
million for the construction,
and the state's Transportation
Enhancement Funding pro-
gram will provide an additional
$1.2 million.
According to Nearing, the
city's portion of the bill is about
$6.2 million and will be covered
by a variety of sources includ-
ing road repair millages.
However, recently proposed
cuts to the 2011 federal budget
in the U.S. House of Represen-
tatives have called into question
the TIGER II funding. Accord-
ing to Briere, council members
have not been told that the Sta-
dium bridges' specific funds are
in jeopardy.
According to Ann Arbor
Council member Christopher
Taylor (D-Ward 3), even if
federal funding for the project
were compromised, the city
would move forward with its
plans.
"Building the bridges is
imperative, and it will be done,"
Taylor said.
According to the city's
TIGER II grant application, the
entire cost to repair the bridges
will be made up in less than
a year since the city will save
money from fewer car crashes
and delays, and more people
will travel to Ann Arbor.
The construction will also
provide an opportunity to add
bike lanes, a wider sidewalk,
energy-efficient LED bulbs
for streetlights on each of the
bridges and will eliminate vehi-
cle weight restrictions.
In the project planning stag-
es, Nearing said the bridges
pose no threat to motorists and
pedestrians.
"They don't look very nice,"
he said. "They're kind of run
down, but they're not hazard-
ous at all."
NYC plans $3 billion
a
In waterfront repairs
Top Iraqi lawmakers, ministers
investigated for forged documents
About 20,000
employees may have
false credentials
BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraq's par-
liament is investigating some
20,000 government employees
who appear to have used fake
diplomas and other forged edu-
cation certificates to get their
jobs, a lawmaker said yesterday.
Layla Hassan, a lawmaker
and member of an investigatory
panel, said employees with fake
credentials may include minis-
ters, deputy ministers and other
top lawmakers.
"Some of those who have fake
education certificates are senior
officials in the current and for-
mer government," Hassan said in
an interview, declining to name
any until the investigation is
complete.
"These people should not be
pardoned. Otherwise, others will
do the same in the future," she
said.
Officials from Iraq's higher
education ministry could not be
reached for comment.
The revelation could further
anger many Iraqis, as frustration
with shoddy government ser-
vices, corruption and high unem-
ployment have prompted dozens
of protests across the country in
recent weeks.
The use of fake diplomas has
become widespread the last sev-
eral years, creating a thriving
black market in a country with 15
percentunemployment.
The use of such documents
"has a devastating effect on the
country, because it means that
it is being run by inefficient and
even illiterate people," saidBagh-
dad political analyst Hadi Jalo.
Jalo blamed the surge in forg-
eries on the lack of law enforce-
ment that followed the 2003
U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. During
Saddam Hussein's government,
when life-threatening penalties
were imposed against criminals,
the use of fake documents was
mostly limited to passports to
leave Iraq, Jalo said.
The costs range from $1,500
for a high school diploma to
$7,000 for Ph.D. credentials,
according to a forger interviewed
yesterday in Baghdad's poor Sadr
City neighborhood.
The man, who would iden-
tify himself only as Abu Haidar,
claimed that the forgers are pro-
tected by police and some gov-
ernment officials.
Parliament may not require
offenders to return their pay-
checks if they voluntarily
acknowledge getting their
government jobs with fake
credentials, said Hassan, the
lawmaker. But they will face jail
time if convicted, she said.
Iraq is struggling with solidi-
fying its fragile democracy,
while insurgents seek to under-
mine it with attacks.
Project aims to
reverse years of
disconnect
NEW YORK (AP) - For
decades, development in New
York was about concrete, sky-
scrapers and roads - highways
that often ringed the city and
kept people from the hundreds
of miles of waterfront shoreline
that help define the city. Now, the
city's first waterfront plan in two
decades will spend billions of dol-
lars to reunite New Yorkers with
their water.
The $3 billion-plus plan, to be
announced by the Bloomberg
administration today, would add
SO new acres of parks, expand
dozens more, overhaul the city's
sewage system to reduce waste
pushed into the rivers and dredge
waterways to make room for
giants ships that are rarely seen
on the East Coast.
The blueprint is New York
City's attempt to reverse more
than a century of planning that
left much of the city's 520 miles
of shoreline inaccessible to resi-
dents and instead directed them
inland for their recreation and
relaxation.
"New York City has more
miles of waterfront than Seat-
tle, San Francisco, Chicago,
and Portland combined - but
for decades, too many neigh-
borhoods have been blocked
off from it," Mayor Michael
Bloomberg said in a statement.
our-waterfront-and water-
ways - what we are calling New
York City's sixth borough - are
invaluable assets, and when our
work is complete, New York City
will again be known as one of
the world's premier waterfront
cities."
For much of the city's history,
the waterfront was viewed more
as dumping ground than desti-
nation. The Erie Canal's opening
in the early 1800s made the city
America's main port, and indus-
trial toxins and human waste
turned much of New York Har-
bor to muck. The harbor's oys-
ters died, methane gas bubbled
to the surface, and the horrific
smell wafted inland and kept
the city's upper class far from
the water.
After violence, new settlement
housing approved in West Bank
Mourners shocked
by details of deaths
and bloody assault
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel
responded defiantly yesterday
to a bloody Palestinian assault
against West Bank settlers by
approving construction of new
settlement housing, retaliat-
ing for the stabbing deaths of a
father, mother and three small
children with a measure that
infuriated Palestinians and,
together with the attack, threw
already shaky peace efforts into
a new tailspin.
Even in a country long accus-
tomed to violence, the grisly
details of the killings late Friday
stunned Israel. Among the vic-
tims were a 4-year-old boy and
his baby sister. Their pictures
leaped from Israel's front pages,
pushing news of the Japanese
earthquake and tsunami disas-
ter aside. As Israel's military
searched for the Palestinian
suspects in a broad sweep in the
WestBank, thousandsofmourn-
ers thronged a Jerusalem ceme-
tery for the funeral.
"There is not a Jewish heart
that is not shedding a tear,"
Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger said
in a eulogy, his voice cracking
in anguish. "After such horrific
pictures, with whom do we have
to sit and talk peace?"
Mourners screamed and
wailed as the bodies of the three
male victims were brought in
wrapped in white and black
prayer shawls, the two females
in blue shrouds. The pouch con-
taining the infant was no larger
than a potato sack.
Many rocked back and forth
in prayer as speakers addressed
the audience, and family mem-
bers collapsed in grief. Some
mourners bore signs in Hebrew
reading, "The government
demolishes homes, Arabs mur-
der Jews."
The bloodshed, which shat-
tered a lengthy lull in the West
Bank, threatened to drive Israe-
li-Palestinian peacemaking even
further out of reach. Peace talks
have been stalled since Sep-
tember, and the combination of
deadly violence against Israelis
and new settlement construc-
tion was likely to deepen the
mutual distrust.
Officials said assailants cut
through a fence surrounding the
settlement of Itamar, entered
the home of the Fogel family and
killed the parents - Udi, 36, and
Ruth, 35, - and three of their
children, Yoav, 11, Elad, 4 and
3-month-old Hadas.
An older daughter who was
out with friends came home and
discovered the carnage. The
attack took place shortly after
the family finished the weekly
dinner celebrating the Jewish
Sabbath.
Footage of the gory scene
broadcast on Israeli media
showed children's toys in pools
of blood and tipped over furni-
ture. A settler group released
photos of the dead lying on the
floor with bloody wounds. One
of the pictures showed the body
of a baby and an adult laying on
blood soaked sheets, further
shocking already traumatized
Israelis.
Israel indirectly blamed the
Palestinian government for the
carnage. Israel has long con-
tended that Palestinian text-
books and official media are
full of hatred toward the Jewish
state, and that killers of Israelis
are often glorified.
Yesterday, a group of activ-
ists from Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah move-
ment dedicated a square in the
West Bank city of Ramallah
after Dalal Mughrabi, a female
militant who carried out a 1978
bus attack that killed 37 Israelis.
U-M Computer Showcase
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