In the news

Lawmakers should save windfall revenue

This editorial points out that Michigan 's state tax revenues in the past two months came in $140 million above projections, and "naturally, state lawmakers and the administration are hustling to find ways to spend it." The News suggests that it would be wise to save the money for now while waiting to see if the trend toward increased revenue from taxes continues. "If revenues continue to rise, lawmakers should consider building an additional business tax cut into their plans to revise the state's tax structure," the newspaper opines.

Performing arts are alive, well at WSU

"Senior Scene" columnist Ruth Cain writes about WSU's performing arts program, noting that widely known actors and actresses such as Ernie Hudson and S. Epatha Merkerson are graduates of the program. "Did you know that the Hilberry Theatre is the only graduate school repertory theatre in the country?" she asks readers. She mentions the WSU backgrounds of several other performers and concludes her column with " Wayne State University 's Fine Arts school can truly be called a Detroit cultural treasure." Cain mentioned that she learned much about the programs from a recent issue of WSU Alumni Magazine.

EMU tuition up 15%

Tuition at Eastern Michigan University this fall will be up 13.5 percent from last year's rate under a new budget that also allows the university to issue bonds to cover improvements of campus buildings. The increase to students would have been only 9.5 percent, but the university needed additional money to repay debt created by the bond issue, the article says. Other increases at state public universities have ranged from 7.5 percent at Saginaw Valley State to 19 percent at Central Michigan . Wayne State is mentioned as raising tuition by 18.5 percent.

BRIAN DICKERSON: A fifth vote against U-M?

With each passing day, we\'re learning a little more about the man President George W. Bush has nominated to replace Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. We now know, for instance, that as a young lawyer in former President Ronald Reagan\'s Justice Department, John G. Roberts betrayed an abiding skepticism about affirmative action -- a posture that strikes one constitutional scholar, Cornell\'s Gary Simson, as strikingly similar to Robert Bork\'s. Bork\'s Supreme Court dreams ran aground on his own candor. But so far nothing has emerged to upset the conventional wisdom that Roberts will win confirmation by a comfortable majority in the U.S. Senate. Which begs a question: If Roberts is confirmed, will all the skirmishing over efforts to put an anti-affirmative action initiative before Michigan voters next year prove to have been beside the point? The whole idea behind the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, after all, is to nullify the 5-4 Supreme Court decision upholding race-conscious admissions at the University of Michigan and its law school. If O\'Connor is replaced by someone more hostile to affirmative action, why shouldn\'t opponents of that policy sit tight and wait for the reconstituted court to reverse course?

State official offers hope NMU may be spared budget crisis

Sen. Mike Goschka, chairman of the state Senate Appropriations Higher Education Subcommittee, told Northern Michigan University officials that he is considering whether proposed funding cuts to the university might be adjusted to be less severe. "I don't want to say I've changed my mind. I'm assessing (the situation)," he said. Under a proposed Senate budget plan, Northern Michigan and Wayne State are the only universities slated for budget cuts. Goschka, who toured the NMU campus Tuesday, said he has advised the Senate majority leader that "I think it would be appropriate to reassess this thing."

Tuition at EMU spikes 13.5%

Eastern Michigan University on Tuesday boosted tuition and fees 13.5 percent and committed nearly a quarter of the additional revenue to building or renovating facilities. But putting the burden of improving buildings directly on students came as a shock, said Bobby Murkowski, a senior from Saline and president of EMU\'s student council. \"We are not happy with the Board of Regents. It was a brash decision and made in a day without input from students or the community,\" said Murkowski, who added that the administration had earlier indicated the tuition boost would be less than 10 percent and never included discussions about a bond for building. Wayne State's tuition increase is noted in a sidebar item.

Voters whittle school board choices

City voters on Tuesday moved closer to seating their first elected school board since the 1999 state takeover, winnowing a list of 51 candidates for 11 seats. \"This is a crucial election,\" said Sharon Elliott, associate professor of teacher education and a Detroit resident. \"As the Detroit Public Schools goes, to a great extent, the city of Detroit goes.\" \"It is a year of potential, but there is no time to be dragging feet.\" Elliott said having members elected by the district will help improve the board. \"Then there will be some immediate accountability,\" she said.

Wayne People in the News

Nardina Mein and Shawn McCann are the primary grant writers of a proposal that won a $150,000 grant for Wayne State University from the Library of Michigan. The state awarded 10 grants as part of a statewide effort to digitize valuable local and state-related information held in Michigan libraries. WSU will use the grant money to further develop the Virtual Motor City photo collection, an online resource already containing more than 15,000 digitized images from The Detroit News Collection, a photojournalistic resource held at the Reuther Library at Wayne State.

Hospital, college share grant

Henry Ford Community College and Henry Ford Hospital have received a $680,273 state grant to begin a fast-track nursing education program for the hospital's employees. The program is designed to help fill the gap in a severe nursing shortage across the state and Metro Detroit. The program is one of 21 partnerships to receive state funding to pump up Michigan's supply of nurses. Michigan awarded $1.2 million to fund a similar partnership between Wayne State University and Harper Hospital, and about $544,000 for a partnership between Oakwood Healthcare System and the Michigan State University College of Nursing.

Time for reform?

A group called "Detroiters for Reform" is seeking to change the way Detroit City Council members are elected. The intent is to make that body more responsive to ordinary citizens by changing the current at-large system to one where council members represent specific districts. Ron Brown, professor of political science, says Reeves and his group face a tough fight. "What they are up against are elected officials who have established political machines who can tell people what's wrong with that idea," says Brown, who teaches city politics and American government. "And that's going to be an uphill battle for this group."

EMU tuition up 15%

Tuition at Eastern Michigan University this fall will be up 13.5 percent from last year's rate under a new budget that also allows the university to issue bonds to cover improvements of campus buildings. The increase to students would have been only 9.5 percent, but the university needed additional money to repay debt created by the bond issue, the article says. Other increases at state public universities have ranged from 7.5 percent at Saginaw Valley State to 19 percent at Central Michigan . Wayne State is mentioned as raising tuition by 18.5 percent.

Wayne State University Warriors

This issue carries a "Great Lakes Football Fan Preview" that includes schedules and a brief write-up on several university teams in southeast Michigan . The entry on Wayne State notes that Paul Winters is entering his second year as head coach of the Warriors, who were 1-9 in conference play last year. The team roster includes nine returning starters on offense and eight on defense. The season opener is Sept. 3 at home against Northwood. "Tartar/Warrior Day" is set for Sept. 24 against Indianapolis .