Ford Motor Co. is expected to formally announce next week at the Maker Faire that a shop filled with every imaginable tool and machine to turn ideas into manufactured goods will open this fall at a former Ford training center in Allen Park. The TechShop is scheduled to open Nov. 18 in about 15,000 square feet of a 38,000-square-foot office building at 800 Republic Drive. Though details and corporate approvals need to be worked out, William Coughlin, president and CEO of Ford Global Technologies LLC, would also like to turn some of the building into a showcase both for Ford IP and technology and for IP and technology other local companies and research universities such as the University of Michigan, Wayne State University and Michigan State University might be trying to license.

Facing a deadline this week, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has pledged to ask an entire federal appeals court to suspend and re-examine a landmark decision that overturned the state\'s ban on affirmative action in college admissions. But here\'s the key issue: Will a majority of the court\'s 15 active judges agree to take the case? It would be rare for the full court to sweep aside the work of one of its panels and start from scratch, but this is not a typical case. It involves a 2006 law approved by 58 percent of Michigan voters and a very contentious issue - the role of race and gender in decisions by public officials. Robert Sedler, an expert in constitutional law at Wayne State University's law school, said affirmative action may be \"politically hot,\" but that\'s not a reason for the full court to intervene. \"The reason may be it raises an important constitutional issue,\" Sedler said.

A Lansing State Journal (LSJ) editorial calls the state's lawmakers' accusations that Michigan State University and Wayne State officials were "getting cute with the definition of 'academic year' in determining tuition increases," a "silly sideshow" that needs to be resolved by Budget Director John Nixon. The appropriations bill says: " 'Tuition and fee rate' means the average of rates for all undergraduate classes, based on the highest board-authorized rate for any semester during the academic year." The provision never defines "academic year." According to the LSJ editorial: "One could more correctly argue that lawmakers used sloppy language in their bill." The editorial concludes: "Beating up higher education has become a hobby of some at the Capitol. It\'s destructive. And, given the reprehensible drop in state funding to universities over the past decade, it\'s also ridiculous. Michigan\'s universities are essential to its future economic prosperity. Harming them only hurts the state in the long term. Fortunately, Nixon and his boss, Gov. Rick Snyder, know that. Michiganians will be counting on them to do the right thing."

This year, 44,030 Americans are expected to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Just one in 20 will be alive five years later. Pancreatic cancer is resistant to traditional chemotherapy and radiation. Even if it appears to be localized, the cancer may have micro-metastasized elsewhere and show up months or years later, said Dr. Philip Philip, leader of the Gastrointestinal Oncology Multidisciplinary Team and professor of Internal Medicine and Oncology at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and Wayne State University School of Medicine. The bad odds mean there aren\'t a lot of pancreatic cancer survivors to whip up the type of support that raises millions of dollars each year for breast cancer or to lobby Congress or to encourage researchers, Philip said. In June, Philip and others traveled to Washington, D.C., to lobby members of Congress for greater research money for pancreatic cancer. \"Let me (be) blunt. Patients who have prostate or breast cancer -- many survive. They can walk and do a lot of fund-raising. Those with pancreatic cancer die,\" he said.

A brief notes that Wayne State University's College of Nursing received a $200,000 grant from the Michigan Nursing Corps to enhance its simulation technology for teaching clinical nursing skills. Barbara K. Redman, dean of Wayne State's College of Nursing, is quoted.

Some legislators and a state fiscal agency report say the universities failed to factor increases to tuition for the current summer semester, pushing the real increase beyond the cap. According to the agency's report, Michigan State University students will be paying 9.4 percent more in tuition than the year before, while Wayne State University's increase will be 8.4 percent. The increase, some legislators say, appears to violate a provision in the state budget which placed a 7.1 percent cap on raising tuition. A legislative committee met Thursday morning to discuss the issue and hear from MSU officials and some of its students. WSU did not send anyone to Lansing, and released a written statement later in the day. Matt Lockwood, a spokesman for WSU, said in a written statement: \"The state budget director has asked all Michigan public universities for certification that their tuition will not increase by more than 7.1 percent in the coming school year. We have begun that process and are confident that we are in compliance with the state\'s tuition restraint incentive.\"

Michigan State University officials defended their tuition increase Thursday before a House committee questioning whether they exceeded the limit to receive the university\'s full state appropriation. Their testimony followed a report by the nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency last week saying MSU\'s fall tuition hike is 9.4 percent - above the 7 percent threshold set by the Legislature to get a hefty tuition restraint incentive. The agency also found that Wayne State University exceeded the limit with an 8.8 percent tuition hike, jeopardizing $12.8 million in funding. WSU claims their increase is 6.9 percent. The universities say they are in compliance. Wayne State University will also have to answer to the subcommittee, said state Rep. Bob Genetski, R-Saugatuck, the subcommittee chairman. He said members will meet with WSU officials in person before deciding whether to hold another hearing.

In his column, business editor Tom Walsh lauds Wayne State University's efforts as an economic driver. He says that America\'s universities have a spotty record as economic drivers, given the flaccid growth numbers for the U.S. economy compared with China and other hotspots. Walsh notes that Wayne State President Allan Gilmour gave this issue immediate emphasis when he took the reins at WSU earlier this year, creating the new post of vice president for economic development and hiring Ned Staebler in May to fill it. Staebler says, \"Economic development is all about your asset base, what you\'ve got and how you use it." He adds, "Allan is all about the data, the metrics, the tactical plans.\" Staebler will represent WSU on initiatives ranging from TechTown and NextEnergy to the M1 light-rail project and the Live Midtown incentives to attract more Wayne, DMC and HFH employees to live in Detroit.

A Dearborn-based nonprofit social services agency is working with Wayne State University to study asthma in the Detroit suburb\'s heavily industrial south end. WSU and the Arab American Center for Community and Economic Social Services, known as ACCESS, will be recruiting participants starting this fall for the three-year study. Researchers will collect air samples and examine them for contents that can trigger asthma. The study is focusing on the area that includes three steel mills, an oil refinery and a wastewater treatment plant in Dearborn and neighboring Detroit.

U.S. astronaut and Mir cosmonaut Jerry M. Linenger opined about his space career writing that "probably the greatest gift that I received from traveling in space was a change in perspective." Linenger, a graduate of East Detroit High School, the U.S. Naval Academy and Wayne State University's School of Medicine, pursued a career serving in the U.S. Navy and the astronaut corps for 22 years. He wrote: "I am now back in Michigan because I believe that it is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. And after 2,000 orbits, I am somewhat an expert on these matter." Linenger added that there are a lot of people pulling for Detroit. "There are some great leaders, both in the private sector and in government, that have faced the reality and are doing all that they can to make this not the end, but a transition to something better. The sprawling, gritty Detroit we knew is flying its last mission. We need to bring it through a tough but dignified transition so that we can go \"boldly forward\" to a bright future.

The Thomas M. Cooley Law School, based in Lansing, is suing four anonymous bloggers and a New York law firm in two separate, but related, suits that claim the school\'s reputation was defamed by a series of Web postings. The suit alleges that law firm Kurzon Strauss singled it out in a Web posting that claimed the school \"grossly inflates\" job-placement data and is under federal investigation. To win the defamation suits, Cooley would have to show the defendants knowingly posted false information in an effort to intentionally injure, said Wayne State University Law School professor Jonathan Weinberg. And getting an Ingham County judge to order Web site hosting companies to reveal the identities of anonymous bloggers/posters will be a tough hurdle to clear, he said. In today\'s Internet-dominated age, unmasking anonymous bloggers and Web posters has become a more common request of courts, Weinberg said.

House Speaker Jase Bolger has added a wrinkle to the spate of recalls under way this summer, by challenging the procedure citizens can use to throw lawmakers out of office. In what Calhoun County Clerk Anne Norlander calls a \"summer of discontent,\" Bolger is one of at least 18 House and Senate lawmakers facing recall or who have recall language against them awaiting review by county elections commissions. Bolger contends the makeup of the boards is unlawful. Wayne State University constitutional law professor Jocelyn Benson said the issue doesn\'t strike her as a legitimate challenge. \"It\'s well established in law that (the county elections commission) is the board that reviews these claims,\" Benson said. \"You\'re asking an official to evaluate the legality of language, which falls within the purview of what a judge does.\"

The Edsel and Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores will be the location for a look at fairy tales from an adult perspective at 7 p.m. on Aug. 2. Wayne State University professor Donald Haase, an expert in folk and fairy tales, will explore their use in print film, and other expressive forms. Haase likens folk and fairy tales to cultural artifacts, and says they are therefore important to study. He adds they can be seen in film and on TV. \"Last year, there was the live-action feature-length movie \'Red Riding Hood,\'\" says Haase. \"Also this fall, NBC will launch the TV series called \'Grimm.\'\"

The Detroit Association of Phi Beta Kappa, which is comprised of members of the national scholastic honor society residing in the Detroit area, awarded scholarships of $1,000 to two graduating seniors who achieved a 4.0 grade point average and will enroll at Wayne State University in the fall. They are Lizna Rahman, of Center Line High School, and Justin Malyn, of Edsel Ford High School in Dearborn.

A new study concludes that one-third of Michigan\'s senior citizens are considered \"economically insecure,\" far more than suggested by the federal poverty line. Even in some of the wealthiest counties, where suburbs buoy the county\'s overall median income, at least 1 in 4 senior citizens struggles to make ends meet, according to the paper, \"Invisible Poverty: New Measure Unveils Financial Hardship in Michigan\'s Older Population.\" \"There\'s the popular perception that they have this nice car and their house is paid off and they travel the country. And that\'s true for some,\" said Thomas Jankowski, one of the study\'s authors and associate research director at Wayne State University\'s Institute of Gerontology. \"But others, many, many others, just skate on the edge of economic security.\"

Anat Cohen, an Israeli-born clarinetist and tenor saxophonist will be performing at the Detroit Jazz Festival in September. She\'s also participating in the festival\'s educational and outreach activities, including appearing Friday with the Wayne State University Big Band in a free lunchtime concert at Campus Martius Park in downtown Detroit.

Dr. Jay Berman, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology and associate chief medical officer for the Wayne State University Physician Group, was a guest on "The Craig Fahle Show" discussing the Affordable Care Act and the recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine in terms of women\'s health.

Details of the Live Downtown residential incentive program will be unveiled Monday with at least five major downtown employers taking part. Live Downtown is modeled on the popular Live Midtown program which provides incentives for employees at Wayne State University, DMC and Henry Ford to move to the area. Announced in February, the Live Midtown incentive has attracted hundreds of applicants and seen dozens approved to buy or rent a residential unit in the city's Midtown district.

Wayne State University is hosting Get Schooled, a free program designed to expose underprivileged students to higher education and career paths. Students are attending sessions in actual classrooms and lecture halls, learning new study skills, being introduced to the ACT exam, performing a community service activity and spending the week in one of Wayne State's residence halls. "We want to provide students with a real college experience and get them thinking about all the wonderful things they can do with a college education," said Monita Mungo, program manager of WSU's Community Engagement office and creator of Get Schooled.

Detroit Free Press editorial page editor Stephen Henderson opines about Gov. Rick Snyder's remarks during an immigration conference held at Wayne State University earlier this week. Henderson writes: "Snyder\'s right to focus on trying to harness the economic power of immigration in Michigan\'s turnaround, and just as right to resist efforts to make Michigan a more hostile place for foreigners." Henderson continues: "Legislators would be smarter to work with the governor on ways to enhance, rather than discourage, immigrant participation in the new Michigan economy."