Arbor Update

Ann Arbor Area Community News

Memorial Service and Fund for Mary Beth Doyle

Posted by MarkDilley on 15. November 2004

via the Ecology Center

Thanks to all who have shared condolences about our friend and colleague Mary Beth Doyle. Her unfortunate death this past weekend feels both untimely and unfair, and we will all miss her greatly. She was tireless in her pursuit of justice for those who were damaged by environmental pollution, but joyful and filled with life in that work.

For those who would like to share in a memorial service for Mary Beth, there will be a service this Wednesday at 1:00 pm, at the Universalist/Unitarian Church at 4001 Ann Arbor-Saline Road.

The reception/wake will be after the service, 4 pm at the old Del Rio—on Washington Street, between Main and Ashley—and at the Old Fourth Ward Building (Hathaway’s Hideaway) at 310 S. Ashley.

Thanks to the many suggestions we have already received, we will also be creating a Memorial Fund in Mary Beth’s honor to continue her work. Contributions can be sent to: The Ecology Center c/o The Mary Beth Doyle Memorial Fund, 117 N. Division, Ann Arbor, MI 48104.

Cobb Raises $150k for Ohio Recount

Posted by Scott Trudeau on 15. November 2004

Green Party Presidential candidate David Cobb’s campaign has raised the necessary $150,000 to initiate a recount in Ohio. They are now attempting to raise another $100,000 ” to pay for training, mobilizing, and per diem expenses for the thousands of supporters who will be working on the recount effort throughout Ohio.” They are also calling for volunteers to join the effort:


Thousands of volunteers are needed in Ohio and from out-of-state to serve as observers in each of the 88 counties. If you want to be one of them, or can provide housing, please VOLUNTEER!

Together, let’s make sure that every vote counts….in Ohio and nationwide.


> More information is available at the Cobb-LeMarche ‘04 website .
> ArborUpdate: Cobb, Badnarik Call for Ohio Recount

Information sessions on Jail over-crowding

Posted by Murph on 15. November 2004

The Washtenaw County jail has struggled to get its population down to the state-mandated limit this past week, including boarding out prisoners at other facilities and releasing 26 inmates by reducing sentences and other means. The Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners plans to ask voters for a millage to expand the jail in February.

Tonight and tomorrow night, the Washtenaw County Criminal Justice Collaborative Council, a group of local elected officials and public safety professions, is holding a pair of public information sessions on the jail overcrowding, on options for addressing it, and on the impact of overcrowding on the community.

Tonight’s session is at 7pm at the Washtenaw County Library at 4135 Washtenaw (at the Washtenaw/Hogback County Service Center). Tomorrow’s is at 7pm at 200 N. Main St in Ann Arbor, in the Lower Level Conference Room.

See also,
> Ann Arbor News, 11 November, County jail overcrowding hits highest level
> Ann Arbor News, 13 November, In Brief: County jail eases overcrowding crisis

Business to be an option for U-M frosh

Posted by Matt Hollerbach on 15. November 2004

From ‘B-school to begin admitting freshmen’:

Instead of the current two-year program that only accepts juniors, the school will now accept freshmen and sophomores into a three- or four-year program, depending on when these underclassmen decide to apply.

Next year, the Business School will continue to offer enrollment for juniors, to ensure that nobody misses the opportunity to apply.

The webpage for the article also shows this comment from B-School BBA program director Scott Moore:

To clarify one point from the article: We will actually be accepting juniors for enrollment in Fall 2005 and Fall 2006. The Fall 2006 entering class will be the last one for juniors.

In Fall 2006 we will accept our first small group of freshman (about 70) and a full class of sophomores (about 350). In Fall 2007 we will again accept about 70 freshmen but we will only accept about 280 sophomores (who will join the previous year’s freshman class, making up the full class of 350). It will be about the same in future years, though we will adjust the ratio of freshmen and sophomores as we gain experience with those student populations.

More info: U-M Ross School of Business

Tutions are Up, as are Presidents' Salaries

Posted by Ari Paul on 15. November 2004

The Associated Press reports:

The number of university presidents earning more than half a million dollars jumped again this year—though overall they remain a small minority.

Seventeen presidents of public universities and systems will earn more than $500,000 this year, up from 12 last year and six the year before, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education’s compensation survey. Tuition at four-year public colleges rose 10.5 percent this year.

Last year, U-M President Mary Sue Coleman was among the top paid University president’s in the nation. Her salary rose again this year.

This year, according to the AP,

Johns Hopkins University President William Brody’s total compensation of $897,786 topped all college presidents. The University of Washington’s Mark Emmert is the top earner among public presidents, with a package that will total $762,000 in pay and benefits.”

“I don’t underestimate the important work they do,” said Roger Bowen, general secretary of the American Association of University Professors and a former president in New York’s state university system. “But I think they’re starting to look more like CEOs than college presidents, and I think public trust is a real issue.”

> ArborUpdate 11-1-04: 2% = $9,500 – what is 2% for you?
> Ann Arbor News: U-M president among top paid

Detroit News Calls for Big Transportation Changes

Posted by Murph on 15. November 2004

An editorial in the Detroit News, Transportation Roadblock: Southeast Michigan faces a $30-billion detour of needed improvements over next 25 years, issues a call for serious changes in transportation funding. Unfortunately, their largest demand requires federal-level action,

Getting more transportation money for southeast Michigan doesn’t have to mean new taxes. Tens of millions of Michigan’s federal gas tax dollars go to other states. The state’s representatives in Congress ought to push for a fairer return of the federal gas taxes drivers here already pay. Michigan now gets a 90.5-percent return. On mass transit, the state really gets robbed, with 43 cents on the dollar coming home, thanks to a federal funding formula that heavily favors states with large rail systems.

Federal mass transit funding provides a very large portion of capital investment, but a lower portion of operating costs. Rail has a much higher ratio of capital to operating costs than bus, meaning a larger portion of total costs is covered by the federal government.

The editorial also demands that SEMCOG and the State give serious thought to raising the state gas tax, either for all gasoline or just for diesel, creation of toll roads or toll lanes, and a regional sales tax to support regional mass transit in southeast Michigan.

Taxes, Transportation, and Michigan's Economy

Posted by Murph on 15. November 2004

The Detroit News discusses barriers to Michigan’s economic growth; their article Taxes key to Michigan job growth cites a setback from the growth of the 1990s,

Recent tax increases, cuts in education funding, crumbling roads and bridges, decaying cities—all made worse by a four-year economic downturn—have convinced some economists that the state is growing less able to compete for jobs as other states and nations get stronger. Statistics support that fear.

. . .

Lawmakers and Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s administration will tackle many key issues next year, beginning with reform of the state’s antiquated business tax system and potentially including steps to graduate more college students and keep them in the state.

The article is accompanied by Formula for progress, a list of ten actions seen as essential to Michigan’s recovery.

Mary Beth Doyle was passionate about the environment.

Posted by MarkDilley on 14. November 2004

...she had a national reputation on toxic chemicals and human health

” Doyle, 43, was driving a 2002 Honda south on M-52 near Taylor Road in Franklin Township when an unknown vehicle tried to pass a 1996 Ford tow truck heading north, according to a report from the Lenawee County Sheriff Department. Doyle attempted to dodge the oncoming vehicle, skidded off the road, and then returned to it, colliding with the tow truck, the report said.”

Ann Arbor woman dies after collision

R.I.P., O.D.B.

Posted by Ari Paul on 14. November 2004

Ol’ Dirty Bastard, formerly of the Wu-Tang Clan, died at a New York recording studio on Saturday.

Tanks at LA Anti-war Protest

Posted by Scott Trudeau on 14. November 2004

The LA Independent Media Center is reporting that two Marine Armored Personnel Carriers arrived at an LA anti-war protest. According to email and blog posts, the Marines claim the tanks were “lost” or “stuck at a traffic light.” Many in the anti-war community think the presence of the tanks was an attempt at intimidation.

> LA IMC: MARINE APCs APPEAR AT ANTI-WAR PROTEST IN WESTWOOD
> Axis of Logic: They deployed two f***ing TANKS to counter an anti-war protest in LA

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