The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Tuesday, September 24, 2013 - 3
NEWS BRIEFS
LANSING, Mich.
Snyder pushes for
privatization of
prison food
Gov. Rick Snyder says he
intends to push ahead with plans
to privatize food service for the
state's 45,000 prison inmates
under a proposed $145 million,
3-year contract.
Snyder will consider objec-
tions from state Sen. Tom
Casperson, R-Escanaba, as well
as unionized prison employees
and others but won't let them
block the process, the governor
told the Detroit Free Press.
The State Administrative
Board is slated to consider the
contract Tuesday with Ara-
mark Correctional Services
of Philadelphia. The contract
would eliminate 370 Corrections
Department jobs.
The Snyder administration
has said the change could cut
prison food service costs by 20
percent, or about $16 million a
year.
DENVER, Col.
Colorado flood
death toll rises
A 79-year-old woman whose
house was swept away by the Big
Thompson River was found dead
on the river bank, authorities said
Monday, bringing to eight the
death toll from the massive flood-
ing in Colorado.
As the number of people unac-
counted-for dwindled to six,
Vice President Joe Biden viewed
the devastation from a helicop-
ter before meeting with disaster
workers.
"I promise you, I promise you,
there will be help," Biden said,
trying to mute concerns that
a possible federal government
shutdown could derail relief
efforts.
The latest victim was identi-
fied as Evelyn M. Starner. Lar-
imer County authorities said she
drowned and suffered blunt force
trauma. Starner was previously
listed as missing and presumed
dead. Authorities initially said
she was 80.
LAS VEGAS
Teen named
ASSEMBLY
From Page 1
the SACUA secretary, said the
president's thinking and agenda
starts to solidify after the first
six to eight months.
Another avenue discussed
was attending the board's
Thursday public forum on the
search.
Masten was less optimistic
that attending the forum would
allow the assembly to impact the
search.
"We get to tell them what
we think is important, but we
don't know if they will weigh
those things - we won't have
anybody who will see the
responses of the candidates,"
he said.
Members also discussed what
they saw as ideal characteristics
of the University's next presi-
dent. Many members said that
the new leader should have an
academic and research back-
ground, with a focus on cre-
ativity. Other members favored
a more corporate background,
citing the unique problems of a
public institution, such as solidi-
fyingstate government funding,
creating new revenue streams
and competing with private
institutions.
Still other members valued
communication and technologi-
cal skills, with an emphasis on
leadership and gravitas.
Prof. George Garcia said the
academic and corporate debate
is closely linked, given the
amount offundingnecessaryfor
research.
"The ultimate mission of the
University is to educate the
students. The second - and
it's a close second - is to do
research," Garcia said. "And
the most important thing that
we put out in the research
arena, are the students that we
train to go out to do research,
not necessarily the research
discoveries."
Garcia added that while
the members have differing
visions of their ideal president,
in the end, the entire Univer-
sity community has the biggest
impact.
"We're not getting a mes-
siah. We're getting a presi-
dent," he said. "The person
needs to be a leader and have
a vision, but it's going to be all
of us working with that per-
son that's going to solve these
problems."
FITNESS
From Page 1
Blanchard said the idea of creat-
ing a networking group based
on wellness came to him while
running with a friend in Detroit,
where he was perplexed that
there were no runners along the
recently renovated waterfront.
Having heard about the group
through Facebook, about 30 peo-
ple came to the first event. That
number rapidly grew to more
than 200 people within the first
few months.
The program soon attracted
guest appearances by promi-
nent local figures, and it went
on to win a Spirit of Detroit
Award in 2012. After the pro-
gram expanded to Chicago,
Blanchard said his next goal
was to reach out to a college
campus. Michigan, his alma
mater, was the first choice.
"We understand the demo-
graphic at Michigan is a bit
different with respect to
there's more younger people
that are excited about fitness,"
Blanchard said. "And they
should be exposed to 'network-
ing out.' "
The ultimate goal of RTC is to
branch out and introduce as many
students to "networking out" as
possible.
"It brings relationships
into a different category, so it
enables students to be in the
network in a different realm,"
Blanchard said. "Which will
help students in more ways
than one - both physically and
professionally."
The program is currently
recruiting University students,
faculty and administrators as well
as professionals from the Ann
Arbor community.
"RTC's networking out ses-
sions provide a venue for aspiring
professionals of all fitness levels
to participate in collaborative fit-
ness sessions," Hashwi said. "As
well as expand their personal,
professional and healthy lifestyle
networks."
The organizers plan on host-
ing their meetings on the Diag
to begin with a pre-workout
session in one, larger group
and then breaking into smaller
groups based on a exercise pref-
erence.
A frequent runner, Public Pol-
icy senior Olivia Thompson said
she thinks it will be a unique way
to get to know professors other
than meeting with them during
office hours.
"It's a cool way for students to
interact with teachers outside of
the classroom," she said.
BURGER Quickie Burger, Frita Batidos The Ann Arbor BurgerFi
and Five Guys. Before it closed, will be the chain's 30th loca-
From Page 1 Blimpy Burger was a go-to spot tion nationwide. The company,
near campus. which originated in Florida in
options suitable for student Stein added that because 2011, hopes to open 100 loca-
budgets. they're open until 3 a.m., the tions nationwide by the end of
BurgerFiwilljoinanumberof restaurant will likely compete 2014, and plans to open chains
other popular burger establish- with late-night joints like Pan- in Vancouver, Canada and the
ments in Ann Arbor, including cheros. Middle East.
Back from bailout,
Chrysler to go public
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Sept.17, Netanyahu
will meet U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington on Sept. 30 an Israeli official said on Tuesday.
Obama inches closer to direct
talks with Iran's new government
- vvnt in mird Under continued
16suspect in murder
A Las Vegas-area teenager who
had been sought as a missing per-
son since his mother and 9-year-
old brother were found stabbed
to death last week was named
Monday as the prime suspect in
the killings.
Adrian Navarro-Canales, 16,
was named as an adult in a war-
rant accusing him of killing his
mother, Elvira Canales-Gomez,
40, and brother, Cesar Navarro,
Henderson police spokesman
Keith Paul said.
Navarro-Canales had been
sought as a possible victim since
the bodies were found Friday in
an apartment where he lived with
the two victims.
The Clark County coroner
determined Canales-Gomez and
Cesar Navarro both died of stab
wounds to the chest.
CANBERRA, Australia
Rare Asian snake
found in plane
A tiny Asian snake was found
on a Qantas Boeing 747 airliner
in Australia, leading to 370 pas-
sengers being grounded over-
night.
Staff found the 20-centimeter
(8-inch) Mandarin rat snake in the
passenger cabin near the door late
Sunday before passengers were
due to board the flight bound for
Tokyo from Sydney International
Airport, Qantas said in a state-
ment Monday.
Australia's flagship airline said
passengers weregivenhotelrooms
and left Sydney on a replacement
plane Monday morning. Qan-
tas said the original jet would be
fumigated before returning to
service in case there were other
snakes on board.
The snake was taken by quar-
antine officials for analysis.
-Compiled from
Daily wire reports
suspicion of nuclear
activity, U.S. looks at
first talk in 30 years
NEW YORK (AP) - The
Obama administration edged
close to direct, high-level talks
with Iran's new government
on Monday, with Secretary
of State John Kerry slated
to meet his Iranian counter-
part this week and the White
House weighing the risks
and rewards of an encoun-
ter between President Barack
Obama and Iran's president,
Hasan Rouhani.
An Obama-Rouhani
exchange on the sidelines of
the U.N. General Assembly
would mark the first meet-
ing at that high level for the
two nations in more than 30
years. Such talks could sig-
nal a turning point in U.S.-
Iranian relations - but also
could be seen as a premature
endorsement for a new Irani-
an government that has yet to
answer key questions about
the future of its disputed
nuclear program.
Obama advisers said no
meeting was scheduled. But
they added that the U.S.
planned to take advantage
of diplomatic opportunities
while in New York and indi-
cated they were not leaving a
possible encounter between
Obama and Rouhani to
chance.
"I don't think that anything
would happen by happen-
stance on a relationship and
an issue that is this impor-
tant," Ben Rhodes, Obama's
deputy national security
adviser, told reporters travel-
ing with the president to New
York.
The election of Rouhani,
a moderate cleric, has led to
speculation about possible
progress on Iran's nuclear
impasse with the U.S. Particu-
larly intriguing to American
officials are Rouhani's asser-
tions that his government has
"complete authority" in nucle-
ar negotiations. That would
be a marked change from
previous governments and
their relationship with Iran's
Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei.
The U.S. and its allies have
long suspected that Iran is
trying to produce a nuclear
weapon, though Tehran insists
its nuclear activities are only
for producing energy and for
medical research.
American officials say
Rouhani's change in tone is
driven by the Iranian public's
frustration with crippling
economic sanctions levied by
the U.S. But it is still unclear
whether Iran is willing to take
the steps the U.S. is seeking in
order to ease the sanctions,
including curbing uranium
enrichment and shutting
down the underground Fordo
nuclear facility.
State Department offi-
cials said Kerry would seek
to answer that question on
Thursday when new Iranian
Foreign Minister Mohammad
Javad Zarif joins nuclear talks
between the U.S. and five other
world powers. Zarif's partici-
pation, which was announced
Monday, sets up the first meet-
ing in six years between an
American secretary of state
and an Iranian foreign minis-
ter, though it's unclear wheth-
er the two men will break off
from the group and hold sepa-
rate one-on-one talks.
Catherine Ashton, the
European Union's foreign
policy chief, told reporters
after meeting with Zarif that
she saw "energy and deter-
mination" for talks to move
ahead with the U.S., Russia,
China, Britain, France and
Germany.
On Twitter, the U.S.-edu-
cated Zarif called his meeting
with Ashton "positive," and he
added, "Need new start under
new circumstances."
The prospect of bilateral
talks between Kerry and
Zarif did little to tamp down
speculation about a meeting
between the U.S. and Iranian
presidents, who both arrived
in New York on Monday. The
most obvious opportunity for
a direct exchange appears
to be at a U.N. leaders' lunch
both are scheduled to attend
on Tuesday.
But a lunch meeting would
put Obama in the risky posi-
tion of engaging Rouhani
before knowing what the Ira-
nian leader will say during his
highly anticipated address to
the U.N. General Assembly.
Rouhani is scheduled to speak
late Tuesday afternoon, while
the U.S. president will address
the U.N. in the morning.
No American president has
met with an Iranian leader
since the 1979 Islamic revolu-
tion that led to the ouster of the
pro-American Shah Moham-
mad Reza Pahlavi. However,
U.S. secretaries of state and
Iranian foreign ministers have
had occasional encounters. The
most recent was in 2007, when
Secretary of State Condo-
leezza Rice exchanged pleas-
antries with Foreign Minister
Manouchehr Mottaki during a
meeting in Egypt.
Suzanne Maloney, a former
State Department official, said
Obama should be wary of mak-
ing a bold diplomatic gesture
with so much about Rouhani's
intentions still unknown.
Back in Washington, sena-
tors urged Obama to reaffirm
at the U.N. that, despite Rou-
hani's recent overtures, the
U.S. will not accept a nucle-
ar-capable Iran. two separate
letters, top Democrats and
Republicans also called on
the president to make clear
that the U.S. will continue
tough sanctions against Teh-
ran.
Chrysler prepares
to offer some of its
shares to the public
after discussion
DETROIT (AP) - Chrysler
Group is reluctantly preparing
for an initial public offering of
some of its shares.
The automaker is proceeding
with the IPO after it failed to
reach an agreement on the value
of the stock with the retiree
trust that owns it.
Chrysler shares haven't been
publicly traded since 1998,
when the company merged with
Daimler AG. The Auburn Hills,
Mich.-based automaker is now
majority owned by Italian auto-
maker Fiat SpA.
The shares that would be sold
are owned by a United Auto
Workers-run trust that pays
the health care costs for around
130,000 blue-collar Chrysler
retirees. The trust owns a 41.5
percent stake in Chrysler. It will
get all of the proceeds from the
IPO if it goes forward.
Sergio Marchionne, the CEO
of both Fiat and Chrysler, has
made it clear that he wants to
buy up the UAW's share and
combine Fiat and Chrysler. But
the two sides have been unable
to agree on a price. The trust has
set the value of the stake at $4.27
billion, while Fiat says it's worth
$1.75 billion.
At the trust's request, Chrys-
ler filed the IPO paperwork with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission late Monday. But
Chrysler emphasized that the
shares may never be publicly
sold. The two sides could still
reach an agreement on the price
of the shares without an IPO.
"There can be no assurance
that any such offering will be
made or as to the timing of any
offering that is made," the com-
pany said in a statement emailed
to The Associated Press.
Richard Hilgert, a Morning-
star analyst who watches Fiat
and Chrysler, said it's unlikely
that the IPO will ever take place
because it's not in the best inter-
est of either the trust or Fiat.
"This is just the negotiat-
ing dance that they have to go
through to come to an agree-
ment," he said.
Hilgert thinks Fiat will likely
exercise options that it has tobuy
another 16.6 percent of Chrysler
stock, giving it 75.1 of the com-
pany's shares. That leaves 24.9
percent that would be sold to
investors who might have differ-
ent interests from Fiat.
Last year, Fiat sued the trust
in Delaware Chancery Court,
saying a 3.3 percent stake it
wanted to buy was worth $139.7
million. The trust contended the
sharesmwere worth $200 mil-
lion more than that. In July, a
judge refused to set a price and
said the issue would have to go
to trial, a process that could take
several more years.
The trust did not immediate-
ly respond to an email seeking
comment. But it likely calcu-
lated that its shares are growing
in value as Chrysler's sales and
profits improve with the econo-
my.
Chrysler reported its eighth
straight quarterly profit in the
April-June period, with net
income up 16 percent to $507
million. Worldwide sales were
up 10 percent to 643,000 vehi-
cles. Among Chrysler's best sell-
ers is the Ram truck, which has
seen sales surge in the U.S. this
year as contractors and other
small businesses have begun
buying trucks again.
In its filing, the company also
warned that the IPO could hurt
Fiat's alliance with Chrysler.
Fiat owns 58.5 percent of Chrys-
ler.
Chrysler exited the U.S. pub-
lic market 15 years ago, when
Daimler acquired it. But the
combination was a disaster, and
Daimler sold most of Chrysler
to private equity firm Cerberus
Capital Management in 2007.
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