michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Thursday, January 9, 2020
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
The
Regional
Transit
Authority
of
Southeast
Michigan (RTA) is looking
to make travel between Ann
Arbor and Detroit less of a
hassle.
The RTA held a public
hearing about a potential new
bus service, in collaboration
with
TheRide,
connecting
the two cities on Wednesday
evening at the Ann Arbor
District Library. About 40
people attended the public
hearing about the new pilot
bus service looking to connect
the two major cities.
Matt
Webb,
general
manager of the RTA, said the
pilot program aims to connect
Ann Arbor and Detroit in a way
that other transport services
do not provide by evaluating
the market ridership between
the two communities to cater
the service to them.
“We will also use this to test
the effectiveness and build
the ridership base, so when
the
Michigan
Department
of
Transportation
looks
to
rebuild
I-94
in
the
future, it might be a viable
transportation
alternative
that is already in place, and
ridership and people will be
comfortable and already used
to the service,” Webb said.
The pilot program will
provide
a
bus
service
connecting downtown Detroit
and downtown Ann Arbor.
This service will provide an
hourly direct route between
the Blake Transit Center (Ann
Arbor) and Grand Circus Park
(Detroit). It will operate from
6 a.m to 10 p.m. on Mondays
through
Fridays
with
a
limited weekend schedule.
Some
attendees
had
concerns concern about the
limited
weekend
schedule.
Yuri Popov, an Ann Arbor-
Detroit commuter, praised the
availability of the bus service
during
the
weekdays
but
expressed his concern about
the weekend schedule.
“While
the
weekday
frequency is excellent, I think
the weekend frequency can be
improved further,” Popov said.
“With only four round trips
per day, it is still comparable
to the existing services. The
main
recreational
riders,
particularly U-M students,
might be using this service if
it is more frequent.”
The
Whitmer
administration is looking to
tackle poverty in the state.
Gov.
Gretchen
Whitmer
signed an executive order
on Dec. 18 creating a task
force within the Department
of
Labor
and
Economic
Opportunity (LEO) to focus
on the impact of poverty on
families and communities in
Michigan.
The
Michigan
Poverty
Task Force will meet for
the first time this month,
working both to understand
the impact of poverty in local
communities and to advise
the governor on how best to
uplift
Michigan
residents
from poverty.
According
to
the
2019
United Way Asset Limited,
Income
Constrained,
Employed Report, 43 percent
of
Michigan
households
struggle to afford necessities
such as food, housing, child
care and healthcare. The
report cites the combination
of
increasing
costs
of
living with low wages and
reduced hours as a source of
inequality.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXIX, No. 46
©2019 The Michigan Daily
N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
CL A SSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
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For more stories and coverage, visit
At least one University
of Michigan student was
arrested over the weekend
in
Key
West,
Florida
after
illegally
capturing
photographs
at
a
Navy
base.
According to the Miami
Herald, two international
students,
Rackham
students Yuhao Wang and
Jielun Zhang, both from
China,
approached
the
guard station at Sigsbee
Annex in the Naval Air
Station at 8:30 a.m. on
Saturday in a blue Hyundai
car.
After being asked for
military
identification,
which
neither
student
gave, Wang and Zhang were
asked to leave but instead
drove into the restricted
property, parking their car
there.
In an email to The Daily,
University
spokeswoman
Kim
Broekhuizen
confirmed that Zhang is
enrolled at the University
of Michigan.
Students
arrested
at Florida
Navy base
CRIME
BARBARA COLLINS
Daily News Editor
Town hall talks prospective new bus
route from Detroit to Ann Arbor
Regional transit authority hosts public hearing on potential new bus service
GOVERNMENT
Follow The Daily
GABRIEL BOUDAGH
For The Daily
Yuhao Wang, Jielun
Zhang trespass, take
illegal photographs,
authorities confirm
Ann Arbor and Detroit residents voice their opinion on the new RTA bus routes from Detroit to Ann Arbor at the Ann Arbor District Library Wednesday evening.
Governer’s executive
order looks to address
struggling households
in state of Michigan
ANGELINA LITTLE
Daily Staff Reporter
See ARRESTED, Page 3
See BUS, Page 3
See WHITMER , Page 3
Whitmer
creates
poverty
task force
Following the U.S. airstrike
that killed former Iranian
Major
General
Qasem
Soleimani on Jan. 3, hundreds
of students, faculty and Ann
Arbor community members
organized
Wednesday
outside Angell Hall for a
demonstration against U.S.
imperialism
and
potential
war in Iran.
The event featured nine
different speakers, including
students
from
various
multicultural
organizations
on campus and a University
of Michigan professor. Each
spoke against potential war
in Iran and related their
personal experiences to the
events
happening
in
the
Middle
East.
LSA
junior
Amytess Girgis emceed the
demonstration.
People
gathered
in
solidarity at the event to
oppose
the
imperialistic
tendencies of the American
government,
Girgis
said.
As
an
Iranian-American,
she told The Daily she felt
especially devastated by the
recent events.
“We’re
Americans,
and
we’re really, really frustrated
with
the
way
that
our
administration
is
acting
and the degree to which
it
can
militarize
around
the
world
without
many
repercussions,” Girgis said.
“So, as an Iranian-American
and as an American, and as
someone who cares about
people here and around the
world, I am frustrated.”
Political
tensions
between Iran and the U.S.
span several decades, and
have been escalated by the
recent airstrike. The Trump
administration
and
the
Pentagon claim they decided
to strike against Soleimani
to protect Americans from
a future Iranian attack and
because
past
actions
of
Soleimani had resulted in
the deaths of hundreds of
Americans.
Iran retaliated by releasing
more than a dozen ballistic
missiles at two military bases
in Iraq that housed about 500
members of the U.S. military.
There were no casualties.
In response, Trump gave
an
address
Wednesday
morning, saying Iran seems
to be standing down but that
he will be imposing new
sanctions on Iran.
While
speaking
at
the
Parnia MAZHAR
Daily Staff Reporter
See WAR, Page 3
JULIA SCHACHINGER/Daily
University students and members of the Ann Arbor community protest the U.S. attack that killed Iran Major General Qasem Soleimani on the steps of Angell Hall Wednesday evening.
ALEC COHEN/Daily
‘No War On Iran’: Hundreds
rally against military action
Protesters call outTrump administration following U.S. airstike killing Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani