(24%) compared to 1 51 ,1 38 (23%) gamer...
[...](24%) compared to 151,138 (23%) garnered by State Senator Lana Pollack. (Pollack beat Carr by a six-to-one margin in Washtenaw County.) On the Republican side, conservative Spencer Abraham, with 291 ,388 votes (52%), beat out talk show hostess Ronna Romney, with 270,048 votes (48%). Carr and Abraham, both Washington insiders, will square off in November for the seat being vacated by Donald Riegle.
Carr has served 9 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Abraham spent the last two years as co-chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, and prior to that, two years as Vice President Dan Quayle's chief of staff.
Abraham favors a smaller government role in public life, lower taxes and fewer social programs.
Carr cites as one of his major accomplishments the securing of tens of millions of federal dollars for Michigan highways.
U.S. House of Representatives (13th District) The seat being vacated by retiring Rep. William Ford will be filled by either Democrat Lynn Rivers or Republican John Schall. Mich. State Rep. Rivers handily won her three-way primary while Schall narrowly defeated Cynthia Wilbanks in the four-way Republican race.
Rivers is a longtime liberal Ann Arbor politician. Among the issues she favors are abortion rights, a single-payer health care system, and gun control.
This is Schall's first run for elected office. He opposes abortion, gun control, and current health care reform legislation, and favors school prayer.
Washtenaw County Circuit Court The top two vote-getters in the three-way primary - Lore Ann Rogers and Kari Fink, respectively - will face each other in November for the judgeship. Rogers, who sits on the boards of the ACLU and Planned Parenthood, has practiced law in Washtenaw County for the past 11 years. Fink is serving his third term as judge in the 14A District Court in Ypsilanti.
State Court of Appeals (3rd District) Out of 20 candidates, the top eight vote-getters will compete in November. They include: Joel P. Hoekstra (59,932); Richard Bandstra (54,200); Michael R. Smolenski (44,147); Jane E. Markey (41,363); Dawn I. Krupp (37,014); Meg Hackett Carrier(37,002); William A. Forsyth (35,809); and Michael J. Flynn (35,065).
Ann Arbor City Council (3rd Ward) Democrat Jean Carlberg won easily in the only primary for city council. The retired high school teacher and Democratic Party activist beat onetime Republican Gary Hann by a three-to-one margin. She will face off against Republican Lee Pace in the general election.
Other Races Other seats on the ballot in November (for which there were no primaries) will include Ann Arbor Mayor (between fifth ward Democratic Council member David Stead and incumbent mayor Republican Ingrid Sheldon), other Ann Arbor City Council seats, and several County Commissioners.
Gays Win Benefits at U-M
The University of Michigan this summer joined a growing number of public and private institutions nationally in extending rights to gay and lesbian students, faculty and staff. The regents voted to offer the same benefits to committed same-sex couples that it offers to married couples, namely medical insurance and access to family housing.
Last September the Regents passed By-Law 14.06, which included sexual orientation as a category to be protected from discrimination. Late in April, a U-M Task Force studying ways to implement this by-law produced its report, which recommended that U-M extend the aforementioned benefits. On May 20, despite opposition mobilized by conservative Republican Regent Deane Baker, the Regents voted to accept the Task Force's recommendations
President Duderstadt endorsed the extension of benefits to gays and lesbians. "Non-discrimination is the appropriate stance for the university and society," he stated in The Ann Arbor News.
U-M Lesbian/Gay Male/Bisexual Programs Office Director Ronni Sanlo also welcomed the news. "As an employee, it means that my partner will be eligible for full insurance benefits, as well as our children," Sanlo told AGENDA. "For me, it's a validation of being a valued employee at U-M. It validates my family."
According to Sanlo, the changes will be in effect this school year. She said that family housing will accept applications from gays and lesbians for fall term and that this fall, a faculty or staff member can sign up their same-sex partner on their insurance plan. "I've been very impressed with the equality of the process," stated Sanlo. "U-M is doing it appropriately, by the number."
#5 U-M Student/Mom in Custody Battle
Another child custody battle made headlines this summer - this time affecting a U-M student. At issue is the right of a single woman to raise a child and place that child in day care while attending classes.
The case involves Jennifer Ireland, Steve Smith, and their 3-year-old daughter Maranda. Smith and Ireland conceived Maranda while both were high school students. Following one judicial ruling and a subsequent emergency order, Ireland has temporary custody of the child. The case now sits in the Michigan Court of Appeals.
Ireland, 19, came to Ann Arbor last fall to attend U-M and plans to return to school this fall. She placed Maranda in day care while attending classes. Smith, in March 1993, initiated legal proceedings seeking permanent custody of Maranda. Smith argues that he would be a more fit parent, since his mother could care for Maranda while he attends junior college classes.
On July 25, Macomb County Judge Raymond Cashen ordered Ireland to turn Maranda over to Smith. In his decision, he cited his belief that Maranda would be better off in the care of Smith's mother . (who is a homemaker) than she would be in day care. Cashen wrote in his decision, "There is no way that a single parent attending an academic program at an institution as prestigious as the U-M can do justice to her studies and the raising of an infant child."
There were, in addition, charges traded by the parents - of domestic violence (against Smith) and child abuse and neglect (against Ireland). Ireland claimed Smith had pushed her against a wall, bruising her, for which she pressed charges. Smith charged that a broken wrist and ringworm suffered by Maranda were signs of abuse. Both have denied the charges.
"The issue of domestic violence is not pertinent here," wrote Cashen in his decision. "The parties in their youthful way apparently crashed or mauled one another. . . It is all superfluous and can have no bearing on this issue of custody."
Cashen also ignored the fact that Smith has fallen behind in child support payments, which Smith has requested be lowered from $62 per month to $12 per month.
Cashen did stipulate, however, that Maranda's transfer be delayed for 15 days, giving Ireland time to appeal the ruling. Ireland immediately sought, and subsequently won, from the Michigan Court of Appeals, an emergency order blocking the transfer. On August 9, the Michigan Court of Appeals granted Jennifer Ireland continued custody of her daughter until an appeal can be heard. A hearing is expected later this year or early next year.
Ireland is being supported by the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Organization for Women, as well as Macomb County child advocacy organizations.
"The right of single mothers to live independent lives, free of the intrusion of the state is under siege," stated Gloria Woods, President of Michigan NOW, in The Ann Arbor News. "We see this in the Ireland custody case and we see it in the growing attempts by government to control poor women's lives using the cover of welfare reform."
The National Congress for Men and Children - a fathers' rights organization fighting what they feel is a courtroom bias against fathers in child custody cases - is backing Smith.
A new group, the Single Parent Coalition, has formed at U-M in response to the case. They welcomed news of Ireland's tentative victory.
#6 Disabled Tenant Wins Groundbreaking Lawsuit
Natasha Franke and the Fair Housing Center of Washtenaw County broke legal ground in Michigan this summer, in the state's first case forcing a landlord to modify a building. Franke is a wheelchair-bound,15-year-old resident of the Glencoe Hills Apartment complex in Pittsfield Township. She has faced difficulties entering and exiting her family's apartment for the seven years she has lived there. There are five steps up, and then five down, to their first floor apartment. The apartment management company, McKinley Properties, had steadfastly refused to install a door at ground level. Instead, they suggested that Franke move.
Last year Franke, with the assistance of the Fair Housing Center, sued under the 1976 Handicapper's Civil Rights Act. In early June Franke settled out of court for the installation of an automatic ground-level door, three curb cuts, and $15,000 in cash.
"This is an important case for all people in the State of Michigan with disabilities because it addresses the owner's obligation to pay for modifications under the Michigan Handicappers Civil Rights Act," commented Fair Housing Center Director Pam Kisch.
Before the installation of the new door, it took two people to get Franke into her apartment. They had to move her out of her 400-pound wheelchair and into a smaller wheelchair, and then up and down a series of makeshift ramps. If two people were not available to help, Franke had to wait- sometimes for hours. Additionally, Franke has a form of spinal muscular dystrophy that makes it painful for her to be moved in and out of her chair.
#7 U-M Hikes Tuition, Again
While you were away for the summer they did it again! U-M Regents voted unanimously to raise your tuition.
Tuition for in-state undergraduates will increase by 6.9% this year, meaning that and second-year students will pay $5,200 for two semesters, while and fourth-year students will pay $5,741. Tuition for out-of-state students will increase by 5%, to $15,892 for freshpersons and sophomores, and $17,018 for juniors and seniors. Students attending U-M professional schools will also experience significant tuition hikes (i.e. in-state law students' tuition will go up 15%, to $14,334).
The Regents cited a slim 2.3% hike in the state's contribution to the U-M general fund, as the reason for the large tuition increase. The university's general fund, out of which it pays all expenses, will grow to $725 million this year- a $37.5 million jump from the previous year. Tuition costs will pay for 80% of this increase.
U-M's tuition increase is significantly higher than those of Michigan State University and Eastern Michigan University. These public institutions raised tuition for the coming year by 3.5% and 5%, respectively.
MSA President Julie Neenan argued against the hike at the July 14 Regents meeting where the hike was decided. "Obviously, l'm not happy about (the tuition hike)," Neenan told AGENDA. "It's an upward spiral and I don't see where this is going to end. I can't imagine who will be able to afford it. We're approaching elitism, l'd say. Our diversity is being jeopardized."
#8 Property Taxes Fall: Do Tentants Gain?
Students, most of whom are renters, may find themselves on the losing end of Michigan's tax reform. While the sales tax hike (from 4% to 6%) eats away at everyone's pocketbook, the much-touted property tax cut benefits only homeowners.
Under the Engler administration's new tax code, the average Ann Arbor homeowner this year will experience a property tax decline of 20% - roughly $800. Proposal A, which was passed in March, cuts property taxes used for school funding and replaces them with the increased sales tax.
It is generally assumed that part of the rent a landlord collects goes toward property taxes. Nowhere in Proposal A, however, does it stipulate that landlords pass on the tax cut to tenants, in the form of lower rent.
Pattrice Maurer, Coordinator of the Ann Arbor Tenants Union, recommends that tenants learn how much of a tax cut, if any, their landlord has received. One can access these records at the tax assessment office at Ann Arbor City Hall. The tax on any property is a matter of public record. Just look up last year's and this year's taxes for the address of your rental unit, and you will leam how much your landlord is saving.
According to Maurer, if a tenant verifies that their landlord is paying less in taxes, that information can be used as "some form of leverage in your next round of lease negotiations." She adds that tenants living in apartment buildings or complexes can use a landlord's tax savings as an issue to organize around. "Particularly if the landlord is not making repairs or is raising the rent, or both, tenants can use the fact that the landlord is getting a windfall savings, in a publicity campaign."
"There have been people who have had some success in getting landlords to pass on the tax cut," stated Maurer. "It's worth a try."
#9 Progressives Win School Board Elections
Following a June election, the Ann Arbor School Board is back in the hands of progressives. The three New Challenge candidates - Diane Hockett, Ann Lyzenga, and Nicholas Roumel- gamered atotal of 18,117 votes. That placed them just 1,434 votes ahead of their opponents, the Citizens for Better Education candidates. The progressives' 6-3 majority on the board enables them to name a board president and set new priorities for the district.
This election represents the latest in a series of yearly flip-flops in the politics of the board since 1991. The conservative Citizens for Better Education, who control led the board for the last year and in 1991-92, advocated strict school discipline, fiscal conservatism, and traditional school programs.
The New Challenge (formerly known as the Quality Education Drive) platform calls for alternatives in education (which may include new alternative schools), violence prevention efforts, and the right of expelled students to an education.
According to New Challenge school board member Ann Lyzenga, the priorities for the board in the coming year will include completion of contract talks with the teachers union, enacting policies that make the schools responsive to students' needs, and supporting innovative programs like team-teaching initiatives and block scheduling. "We want to make students and parents feel invested in their school," Lyzenga told AGENDA.
Parking Tickets: Four Strikes & You're Out!
Did you leave town last spring without paying your parking tickets? If so, a rude surprise may be awaiting you - and your car! Just four unpaid parking tickets can now be your car's ticket to a ride on a tow truck. And it's not a free ride.
A new Ann Arbor city policy authorizes the towing of cars with four or five unpaid parking tickets (the old policy made "six" the magic number). City employees are checking records and hunting down delinquent vehicles. Such vehicles can be taken from legal or illegal parking spots, from private property, or even from you while you're driving. A series of three written notices will be sent out by the city before it will tow, giving the driver a chance to pay up. However, if you were unreachable at your address on file with the Department of Motor Vehicles, you may not be aware that your car is "wanted." Even paying off tickets in post-three-week status is a much better bargain than settling your costs after your car has been towed. Currently, a ticket on an expired meter is $3 if paid within an hour, $5 thereafter if paid within two weeks, $1 during the next week, and $25 after three weeks. If you don 't settle up in time and your car is towed, you'll pay a towing fee of $46-48, a city fee of $20 and a daily storage fee of $8 a day- in addition to the costs of the unpaid parking tickets.