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Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
michigandaily.com
GOVERNMENT
Judge rules
Detroit is
eligible for
bankruptcy
Troubled city same time, it has an opportunity
for a fresh start. I hope that every-
becomes largest body associated with the city will
.recognize that opportunity."
municipal default in Law School Prof. John Pottow,
U ..an expert in bankruptcy law, said
y Chapter 9 is a special type of bank-
ruptcy filing for government enti-
By SAM GRINGLAS ties such as school boards, counties
Daily StaffReporter and cities. Similar to Chapter 11
bankruptcy granted to businesses,
In federal court Tuesday, U.S. public entities have the opportu-
Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes nity to negotiate with their credi-
ruled that the city of Detroit is tors and negotiate a plan for partial
legally eligible to enter bankrupt- repayment of the debt.
cy - a decision that will allow For municipalities entering
the cash-strapped city to begin Chapter 9 bankruptcy, a federal
restructuring its $18 billion debt. judge must first determine the
The ruling also confirmed that entity's eligibility for bankrupt-
Detroit is now officially the largest cy, which includes authorization
municipal bankruptcy in Ameri- from the state, proof of the entity's
can history. insolvency and a record that good-
In a summary of his ruling, faith negotiations with creditors
Rhodes said the court found were carried out, Pottow said.
Detroit did not have the ability to Though the court's decision may
pay its debts and met the legal cri- end months of uncertainty regard-
teria for Chapter 9 bankruptcy, the ing the city's financial future, city
Detroit Free Press reported. leadership and creditors will face
"It is indeed a momentous day," further hurdles as the city com-
Rhodes said. "We have here a judi- piles a Plan for Adjustment in the
cial finding that this once-proud next few weeks.
city cannot pay its debts. At the See BANKRUPT, Page 3A
HOSPITAL
"UMHS acquires health system
University to absorb
Allegiance Health in
unprecedented deal
By STEPHANIE SHENOUDA
Daily StaffReporter
The University of Michi-
gan Health System formally
announced Tuesday a partner-
ship agreement with Allegiance
Health, a health system based
in Jackson, Mich. The agree-
ment will eventually grow
UMHS' patient capacity by 50
percent - adding Allegiance's
490 beds to its system.
Per the agreement, signed
Monday, the two organizations
would continue treating their
own patients but would share
resources and capital as needed
while the University takes on
the role of "parent company" to
Allegiance. Ultimately, UMHS
will absorb Allegiance.
Though the regulatory fil-
ings and due process necessary
to formalize the agreement
will likely progress through
mid-summer, UMHS CEO Ora
Pescovitz expressed enthu-
siasm for the project, repeat-
edly saying in a conference
call Tuesday that the purchase
will benefit both partners' pro-
grams.
"We're very excited about
the proposed affiliation, which
will enable us to serve the com-
munity better, make a big dif-
ference in improving health
and creating a better communi-
ty during health care reform,"
Pescovitz said. "Webelieve that
we're a state resource and want
to improve the quality of care
within Michigan. It's also criti-
cal to provide the right care, at
the right place, at the right time
and to keep local care local."
Patients requiring complex
care would be treated in Ann
Arbor, not unlike the referral
base the hospitals have built in
the past.
The University plans to
invest $25 million in Alle-
giance initially, which will
fund routine maintenance and
equipment. Over the next five
to seven years, there will be a
total of $100 million invested
in the partnership, though it's
expected that Allegiance will
See HOSPITAL, Page 3A
SCIENCE
Kickstarter
campaign hits
$50,000 goal
Aerospace profs goal in the time they've out-
lined. In fewer than 48 hours,
raise money for the CAT campaign had exceed-
ed its $50,000 goal.
mini-satellite project This is CAT's second attempt
at fundraising through Kick-
By JULIA LISS starter. Another campaign
Daily StaffReporter was launched July 4 and last-
ed about a month, but did not
At midnight Monday, pro- reach its goal.
fessors from the Department Engineering Assistant Prof
of Aerospace Engineering Benjamin Longmier, who
launched a campaign through works in the Plasmadynamics
crowd-funding web site Kick- and Electric Propulsion Lab
starter to fund the development at the University, is leading
and launch of a new project that the project. He said part of the
it is out of this world. problem with the group's last
The professors are CubeSat attempt was poor timing and
Ambipolar Thruster, which lack of awareness.
would allow a tiny satellite to "We thought people just who
go deep into space at a fraction were enthusiastic about space
of the cost of current missions. and technology might be the
CAT is also trying to earn a spot demographic and we saw that
in the Guinness Book of World mostly to be the case," Long-
Records for being the world's mier said. "We also thought
fastest university-built satel- people from the University
lite. of Michigan would be more
Kickstarter allows individu- excited about a Michigan proj-
als to pledge to donate as little ect, but we didn't have a lot of
as a dollar towards a cause. Michigan people involved and
Kickstarter recipients can only that was surprising, but that
accept the funds if the cam- was in the summer when no
paign meets its fundraising See AEROSPACE, Page 3A
I ITTI VICTOD
Reese Sternhagen, 6, smiles after a visit with Gustav Nyquist of the Detroit Red Wings. Members of the team
visited and hand out memorabilia to patients at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital Tuesday.
BUSINESS
South University br scene
was once a retail haven
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Funding
approved for
off-campus
bus route
CSG and IFC to fund
route from Oxford
area to C.C. Little
By CLAIRE BRYAN
Daily StaffReporter
The Central Student Government
Assembly voted Tuesday to begin
funding the late-night off-campus
Universitybus route, after the initia-
tive was announced by CSG officials
in October.
CSG and the Interfraternity
Council are working with Park-
ing and Transportation Services to
assign some of the University's Blue
Buses to a route that transports stu-
dents to off-campus areas between
the hours of 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. The
service will begin in January, as pre-
viously reported.
The route is expected to begin at
the corner of Oxford Road and Hill
Street, and will make stops on Hill
Street, South University Avenue,
Packard Street, Thompson Street
and North University Avenue, end-
ing at the C.C. Little bus stop. Most
locations are current Ann Arbor
See CSG, Page 3A
Longtime tenants
discuss avenue's
changing face
By SHOHAM GEVA
Daily StaffReporter
Like many streets in down-
town Ann Arbor, South Uni-
versity Avenue has lost its
retail appeal.
The area was prosper-
ous in the
1980s, but TR E
declined
in the late
'90s, shift-
ing from a retail focus to the
bar and restaurant scene it is
today. The street is the heart of
undergraduate life - or at least
it has the potential to be.
The area is still growing
and changing - this year see-
ing more than four new estab-
lishments open and two new
apartment buildings have
opened over the past several
years.
Today, it plays host to a mix
of bars, locally owned estab-
lishments, housing, franchises,
reduced retail venues and res-
See BUSINESS, Page 3A
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