Etcetera
AGENDA is interested in receiving items from you for etcetera. Press clippings, press releases, summaries of local events and any other ideas or suggestions are welcome. Just mail them to: Etcetera Editor, AGENDA, 220 S. Main St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Silent Auction Report
AGENDA sends a big "thanks" to everyone who contributed to the success of our Silent Auction. We have raised nearly $1,150 to date. There vas a total of 83 bids on 71 available items.
This was the first time AGENDA has attempted to raise funds through an auction. We have learned several ways in which to make it better, should we repeat it next year. For those of you who forgot about the silent auction until it was too late, here's advance warning to watch for it next November!
An especially big thanks goes out to all the businesses and individuals who donated goods and services. We encourage AGENDA readers to take note of the list of donors and patronize them!
EMU's Hotel Goes Bust
The Radisson on the Lake hotel, part of a public-private complex which includes Eastern Michigan University's Corporate Education Center (CEC) and golf course, has failed.
As EMU students were taking finals, a federal bankruptcy judge lifted chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from developer Huron Shores Limited Partnership. The general partner in the firm is Joseph Levin, a cousin of U.S. Senator Carl Levin. While Joseph Levin sought a $3.5 million bailout, the State of Michigan, which has $23 million from their employees' pension fund sunk into the project, objected to the plan. As the largest creditor, the state will get the hotel.
The City of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township stand to lose investments of $2.1 million and $500,000, respectively. A preliminary study predicted that a hotel built at the Radisson's location would fall. Developers, however, hoped that the CEC would bring in enough business to fill the $100 per night rooms. This never happened, and the hotel never showed a profit.
EMU now plans to transfer the CEC to the Eastern Michigan University Foundation, an allegedly private Corporation that the regents created with university assets.
Election Results, Reproduction Rights
Female candidates gained seats recently in both state and federal elections. In Michigan, nine new women candidates were elected to the House, boosting their overall representation to almost 25 percent. There was a net gain of two strong pro-choice votes and three with mixed records on the subject. Forty-six out of 110 representatives are now strongly pro-choice and seven have mixed records. No State Senate seats were up for election.
In the U.S. House of Representatives, 48 out of the 106 women who ran for office were elected, raising the total number of women lawmakers from 29 to 48. In the Senate, five out of the 11 women who ran won, increasing the number of women senators from two to six. There was no gain in the overall number of pro-choice Senate members, but the choice gain in the House is 18 seats.
Burial Lots Available
Arborcrest Memorial Park has accepted several donations of burial lots for use by those in financial need. The lots (both traditional and cremation) are free of charge and can be pre-assigned. No time is too soon to plan for your burial estate. If you are in need, contact Arborcrest at 761-4572.
Oxfam America Benefit at the Ark
On Thurs., Jan. 14 Oxfam America will hold a benefit concert to raise funds for the organization's work in Somalia and Southern Africa. Oxfam is an internationally respected non-profit agency which funds disaster relief and self-help development projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Rex Balie (of Rex Balie & The Last Call) will open the show with a solo set of blues & rockabilly. Shari Kane, Dave Steele & Dave Morris wlll perform as a trio.
The show begins at 8 pm at the Ark, 637 1/2 S. Main. Cover is $6 at the door. For more information call Bob at 761-2509.
Listen to Tenant Talk!
The Ann Arbor Tenants Union is now sponsoring a program on WCBN FM 88.3, Mondays from 6:30 to 7 pm. Leam about repairs, withholdlng rent, lease breaking, evictions, privacy, sexual harassment, bugs, heat and weatherization, and more. To leam more, call the AATU at 936-3076.
Forum: Black Political Prisoners
Former Black Panther political prisoners Dhoruba Bin Wahad (who served over 19 years in New York prisons) and Ahmad Abdur-Rahman (imprisoned over 21 years in Michigan) will speak about Black political prisoners in the U.S. on Wed. Jan. 20 at 7 pm at the U-M Power Center.
Wayne State Univ. Professor Gloria House, an activist who led the campaign to free Rahman, and another possible surprise guest will also speak. For more information call the Baker-Mandela Center at 936-1809.
U-M Hosts Health Care Conference
"Building Coalitions for Children" is a three-day health conference beginning Jan. 16 that will address community-based health care for children and women.
Faye Wattleton, former President of Planned Parenthood, will kick off the conference with a talk on "Equality and Justice: Women's Unfinished Health Care Agenda." The flrst two days of the conference will focus on children' s health issues, while the third will be devoted entirely to women's health.
The conference will be held at the Towsley Center of the U-M Medical School. The cost is $15 ($10 for students). The third day is free and open to the public. For more information call Arleen Bradford at 936-9800.
Lesbian & Gay Film Series Begins
The U-M Women's Studies Program is sponsoring a winter semester Lesbian and Gay Film Series. Films will be shown at 7 pm in Angell Hall, Aud. B. The series runs through April 9.
Two films by Marlon Riggs are scheduled for Jan. 15. "Tongues Tied," is about the African-American gay community in San Francisco and "No Regrets" is about five seropositive Black gay men who speak of their individual confrontation with AIDS through music and poetry.
Two films by Su Friedrich will be shown on Jan. 29. "Damned if You Don't" is a vivid portrait of a young nun fighting a losing battle with her sexual desires. It combines narrative and experimental elements, among them the testimony from the trial of a 17th century nun accused of lesbian relations. "First Comes Love," Friedrich's newest film, with footage of four traditional weddings accompanied by an ironic medley of love songs will also be shown. For more info. call 763-2047.