Detroit Free Press (Detroit, MI) articles from April 2001

Detroit Free Press (Detroit, MI) archives from April 2001

Flower fan has sticky fingers.
April 30, 2001... Byline: Susan Ager I have never shoplifted anything, not even a pack of gum. If it has a price, the price must be paid. But I earthlift all the time. Especially at this time of year, when shrubs I don't have in my own small yard...

Little hope springs from Tigers' April.
April 30, 2001... Byline: Gene Guidi Guidi DETROIT _ Let's take time to reflect on the Tigers' victories in April. That didn't take long, did it? The Tigers completed the first month of the season with eight victories. No recount needed...

Food Lovers's Companion' expands.
April 30, 2001... Sharon Tyler Herbst has revised and updated her kitchen reference guide, "The New Food Lover's Companion" (Barron's, $14.95), considered by many to be the food bible. This small paperback with nearly 800 pages is chock-full of some 6,000...

Across the United States, counties flunking pollution tests.
April 30, 2001... Byline: Patricia Anstett DETROIT _ America's air is getting dirtier, and Michigan's is no exception, says a report released Tuesday by the American Lung Association. Nearly 400 counties get failing grades for unhealthy levels of...

For this auto racing writer, `Driven' rarely veers off course.
April 30, 2001... Byline: Steve Crowe Almost universally, reviewers have deemed "Driven" to be drivel. One wrote that the pet project of Sylvester Stallone, who stars and wrote the screenplay, is less "Days of Thunder" than "Days of Our Lives."...

`Superman' soars with remixes.
April 30, 2001... Byline: Terry Lawson "Superman: The Movie," starring Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel, sounds terrific on DVD. Far be it from me to suggest yet another awards show, but at some point, someone has to publicly acknowledge the...

Make sure buffet food is treated correctly.
April 30, 2001... Byline: Sylvia Rector Call me cautious, but I always scout out the room before I start filling my plate at a buffet. Sure, I want to avoid the disappointment that comes from loading up with meatballs and cabbage rolls, only to...

Never forget Florida, urge NAACP leaders.
April 30, 2001... Byline: Kim North Shine DETROIT _ While some voters might just as soon forget the presidential election last fall, the NAACP is urging Americans to never forget Florida, where ballot disputes caused the contest to linger for 36 days. ...

Floyd: Senior PGA Tour's death greatly exaggerated.
April 30, 2001... Byline: Jack Saylor DETROIT _ With a lot of carping going on that the Senior PGA Tour is dying and needs a lot of changes, Raymond Floyd popped into town this week in his role as defending champion of the Senior Players Championship. ...

Proper frying makes fish taste better.
April 30, 2001... Byline: Jimmy Schmidt Today's lesson: Fried foods have a reputation of being heavy and greasy, but frying right produces delicate crunchy crust while preserving the flavorful inner flesh. Today we will learn the tricks to perfect fish...

Winning legacy is passed down through decades in Kalamazoo.
April 30, 2001... Byline: Jo-ann Barnas KALAMAZOO, Mich. _ Take the opposite view, for a moment. Begin with the vanquished. Imagine how it must feel, year after year, to try to win the men's tennis team championship in the Michigan Intercollegiate...

Michigan to consider requiring videotaping of police interrogations.
April 30, 2001... Byline: David Zeman DETROIT _ Dorothe Ernest's daughter was murdered in Philadelphia. Jeanette Popp's daughter was murdered in Texas. The two mothers survived the worst ordeals of their lives with starkly different views about...

Palmer's HR fuels 6-1 win.
April 29, 2001... Byline: Gene Guidi DETROIT _ After right-hander Jeff Weaver lost his last start and his record dropped to 1-4, Dean Palmer told him the Tigers offense had to share the blame. "We just weren't giving him any runs to work with early...

Tigers' Magee could be out 4-6 weeks.
April 29, 2001... Byline: Gene Guidi DETROIT _ When a team has one of the least productive offenses in the American League, the last thing it needs is to lose a hot hitter. But that's what happened to the Tigers, who had to put outfielder Wendell...

Baseball's first month marked by element of surprise.
April 29, 2001... Byline: John Lowe n Lowe The Phillies tied the Cubs last season for the most losses in the majors. Now the Phillies lead the National League East, and the Cubs have led the NL Central for two weeks. The more stars that the...

Detroits' men in black.
April 29, 2001... Byline: Curt Sylvester PONTIAC, Mich. _ Matt Millen says he wasn't making a fashion statement, and, considering his sweatshirt-casual approach to fashion, we should probably take his word for it. But there was a definite Oakland Raiders...

Lions' minicamp: Mornhinweg likes team's adjustments.
April 29, 2001... Byline: Curt Sylvester PONTIAC, Mich. _ For a start _ the first three days in a new offense, with a new coach and new expectations _ it wasn't bad. Lions Coach Marty Mornhinweg liked just about everything he saw in the Lions' first...

Eye on Lions shows how sad our teams are.
April 29, 2001... Byline: Drew Sharp Sharp DETROIT _ A Red Wings spring used to be enough to satisfy everyone's appetite for competitive success, but Detroit's premature playoff exit makes this the most pitiful May we've had in quite some time. ...

A simple pea pod opens eyes.
April 28, 2001... Byline: Sylvia Rector Twining around the spindly wooden stakes and network of twine that my dad had built, the spring pea vines grew taller than a 6-year-old's head. So I could slip between the rows in our garden, unobserved by my...

Dandelion is a wonder in spring soup.
April 28, 2001... Byline: Jimmy Schmidt Today's lesson: For most people the dandelion is simply a weed, a yellow nuisance in an otherwise green lawn. Today we will unlock the cooking benefits of this hearty green that tastes similar to spinach. ...

Firms Resist Cost of Making Office Furniture Serve Workers, Not Computers.
April 28, 2001... Byline: Heather Newman Apr. 28--Look out over the offices of most metro Detroiters and you know what you'll see: cube farms. Cattle stalls. The "veal world." And whom do you have to thank for your boring surroundings? Don't blame it...

Detroit Free Press Susan Tompor Column.
April 28, 2001... Byline: Susan Tompor Apr. 28--Maybe it's time to ditch the R-word. The U.S. economy is not in a recession and could avoid a full-fledged fallout later this year, based on data released Friday. The U.S. gross domestic product --...

VW Passat gets tasteful tweaks.
April 27, 2001... Byline: Lawrence Ulrich It's not the fastest midsize sedan. It's not the roomiest. Or the most inexpensive. But I can't name a better affordable family sedan than the Volkswagen Passat. Along with its compact Jetta and New...

Lawyers say $3 tethers would limit damage done by air bags.
April 27, 2001... Byline: Alejandro Bodipo-Memba Air bags save lives. But are they inflicting a needless number of face and eye injuries on front-seat passengers because automakers are putting the wrong kind of bags in their cars and trucks? That is...

`Empire Falls,' by Richard Russo; Knopf (483 pages, $25.95).
April 27, 2001... Byline: Linnea Lannon The title of Richard Russo's wonderful, richly textured new novel can and should be read two ways. Empire Falls is the name of a small town in Maine without much going for it. Once the site of the Whiting...

`Henry VIII: The King and His Court,' by Alison Weir; Ballantine Books (632 pages, $28.00).
April 27, 2001... Byline: Alexa Capeloto When a life-size portrait of England's King Henry VIII went up on a palace wall in 1537, passersby said they felt "abashed and annihilated" by the imposing image of the 46-year-old monarch. In the picture stood...

Diana is found lacking (Napoleon, too).
April 27, 2001... Byline: John Smyntek _"The Queen & Di: The Untold Story," by Ingrid Steward; Arcade (272 pages, $25.95) _"A Treasury of Royal Scandals," by Michael Farquhar; Penguin (288 pages, softcover $13) X X X What can possibly be...

`The Unknown Errors of Our Lives,' by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni; Doubleday (268 pages, $23.95).
April 27, 2001... Byline: Marta Salij The Indian-American writer Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni writes a lovely, wistful fiction about what it means to feel as though you live in two cultures and the old life and the new cannot quite reconcile. That's not...

Mom's group tries to end taunting.
April 27, 2001... Byline: Lori Higgins DETROIT_Chandra Sansom looks at her 13-month-old daughter and with tears choking her voice, explains why she started Parents Against Teasing and Taunting. "I don't want her to have to go through what I went...

Illinois dude ranch is like visiting family.
April 27, 2001... Byline: Debra Weiner Reynolds It was a tiny, unassuming notice in a parenting magazine for a place called the "Old Triumph Dude Ranch," in La Salle County, Illinois. "Hayrides and horseback riding on trails are available," it read. ...

Ask Dr. Fashion: If someone makes it, Net search can find it.
April 27, 2001... Byline: Holly Hanson DEAR DR. FASHION: TanJay slacks are the most comfortable slacks I have ever worn. Sears is no longer stocking that brand. Do you know where I might be able to purchase them? _G.K., Eastpointe, Mich. THE DOCTOR...

Batch says pressure is on not only him.
April 27, 2001... Byline: Drew Sharp Sharp DETROIT _ Herman Moore's absence from the opening day of the Lions' minicamp Friday was precipitated by a high salary-cap number this year and a mediocre performance last year. Management is targeting...

Last dance for Coates at Detroit Skating Club.
April 27, 2001... Byline: Jo-ann Barnas arnas DETROIT _ One of the most successful coaching tandems in ice dancing history in this country is ending its partnership. Elizabeth Coates, who helped produce nearly 20 national and junior world...

Fury has festive mind-set for arena football opener.
April 27, 2001... Byline: George Sipple Sipple DETROIT _ Bands, barbecue and bashing bodies. Those are some of the selling points the Detroit Fury will use Saturday night in its first home game in the Arena Football League. The expansion...

Mourners remember missionary, baby killed in Peruvian crash.
April 27, 2001... Byline: Alexa Capeloto FRUITPORT, Mich. _ When Veronica and Jim Bowers adopted a newborn girl last year and named her Charity, their fellow worshipers at Calvary Church threw an elaborate shower. Seven months after that joyful...

What's new in music racks.
April 27, 2001... DESTINY'S CHILD `Survivor' (Columbia) 3 stars Beyonce Knowles recently said in an MTV behind-the-scenes special that Destiny's Child was not the "best-looking, most intelligent..." group out there. Her point was that her trio, which for...

Use care when cleaning and framing a sampler.
April 27, 2001... Byline: Barbara Gash Q. I have an embroidered sampler that's been in the family for several generations. It's in a frame, but is looking quite discolored, and I wonder if there's a way to restore such things. _P.T., Grosse Pointe Farms...

HEADLINE HERE.
April 27, 2001... Byline: Debra Weiner Reynolds If you go X X X IF YOU GO: Open year-round, the Old Triumph Dude Ranch (815-538-1863) gets busy summer weekends and during fall foliage season. Reservations are recommended. The ranch's three...

Like everything you've ever seen before! Maybe better.
April 27, 2001... Byline: Terry Lawson Below are quick-hit descriptions of the films scheduled for summer release, along with a "quick spin" analysis of how they're expected to fare. All dates are supplied by studios, distributors and theaters, and are...

Summer movies 2001: Return of the sequels.
April 27, 2001... Byline: Terry Lawson Did you like last year's summer movie preview? We know you did, because you told us so! So we're doing it again, just like before! Only better and bigger! This, we point out, is not for lack of original ideas. It...

Great Lakes cruise ships under full sail.
April 27, 2001... Byline: Gerry Volgenau Cruising: It's not just to tropical islands anymore. The Great Lakes has become the world's fastest growing destination for cruising. In 1996, 360 people cruised the big lakes. They had a choice of two...

Membership in Detroit-Based United Auto Workers Drops by 90,000.
April 27, 2001... Byline: Jennifer Dixon Apr. 26--Membership in the UAW tumbled by more than 90,000 workers in 2000, hitting its lowest level in half a century, according to the Detroit-based union's annual financial disclosure report. The report put...

Italian Eatery to Come to Detroit Area.
April 27, 2001... Byline: Jennifer Bott Apr. 27--Fazoli's, fast food's answer to Italian cuisine, is moving into metro Detroit. The Lexington, Ky.-based company plans to open a store in Canton in June and one to three more in the market before the end...

Ford Motor Co. High-Mileage Hopes for Diesel.
April 27, 2001... Byline: William Diem Apr. 27--PARIS--A new small diesel engine introduced Thursday and developed with a competitor should help push Ford Motor Co. back into contention in Europe. The 1.4-liter Duratorq TDCi will get as much as 69...

San Francisco-Based Online Car Dealer Runs Out of Gas.
April 27, 2001... Byline: Jeff Bennett Apr. 27--Add another nail to online car sellers' coffin. San Francisco-based iMotors, a direct seller of used cars over the Internet, announced Thursday that it is ending operations due to a "lack of sufficient...

Detroit Free Press Shopping Column.
April 27, 2001... Byline: Holly Hanson Apr. 26--ATTENTION SHOPPERS: JUGGLING CUSTOMERS WITH STYLE: Some salespeople struggle to cope with one customer at a time, but not Sara Miller. Juggling a varied and ongoing parade is all part of the job for...

Detroit Free Press Mike Wendland Column.
April 27, 2001... Byline: Mike Wendland Apr. 26--BEWARE: CYBER SPIES ARE WELL-EQUIPPED: Tricia Brown knew something was wrong when an acquaintance showed her an e-mail containing a credit card number she had been using. Someone had forged an Internet...

Tigers pounce early, score 8-2 victory over Orioles.
April 26, 2001... Byline: John Lowe n Lowe DETROIT _ On a sunny and lovely day for baseball, many Tigers performances stood out Thursday. Chris Holt threw a complete-game nine-hitter and walked no one. He beat Baltimore for his first Tigers...

Red Wings' ouster leaves Tigers in plain sight.
April 26, 2001... Byline: Gene Guidi DETROIT _ The worst thing that could have happened to the Tigers was the Red Wings' early exit from the NHL playoffs. While the Wings had the town's attention, the troubled Tigers could go on losing in relative...

LoPiccolo's radio show might not go on in Motor City.
April 26, 2001... Byline: Steve Crowe Crowe DETROIT _ Vito LoPiccolo, 75, says he's 75 percent certain his long-running "Motor City Motor Sports" will be permanently parked this fall. His friends and associates are 100 percent certain they can't let...

Apple Cinnamon Creme Brulee; Grilling guru; durable dishes.
April 26, 2001... Byline: Susan Selasky SWEET INSPIRATION Host a monthly neighborhood get-together of bunco, toss in a chef's cooking torch and the Food Network will come calling. It did for Canton resident Darlene Deeg, anyway. The network's...

Michigan women's rowing has graduated from club status to national prowess.
April 26, 2001... Byline: Jo-ann Barnas Barnas DETROIT _ Forty-five minutes later, his voice was still calm and soothing _ synchronized to the rhythm of eight, long elegant oars dipping into the water as one. Eight women from the University of...

Moore aims to be at Lions' minicamp.
April 26, 2001... Byline: Curt Sylvester vester DETROIT _ Marty Mornhinweg has an agenda for his first minicamp with the Lions, and he said he expects wide receiver Herman Moore to be part of it, despite the uncertainty of Moore's future with the...

Are the Red Wings done? They say no way, just look at the Devils.
April 26, 2001... Byline: Helene St. James James DETROIT _ Where once the New Jersey Devils brought nothing but heartache to mind, today they are a source of hope for the Red Wings. Captain Steve Yzerman cited the Devils, who in 1995 swept Detroit...

Michigan couple gives $40 million for cancer research.
April 26, 2001... Byline: Patricia Anstett DETROIT_A Bloomfield Hills couple plans to give $40 million _ one of the largest grants for medical care and research in Michigan _ to fund breast cancer programs at William Beaumont Hospitals and prostate...

It's just about time for morels to sprout.
April 26, 2001... Byline: Eric Sharp DETROIT _ Wow, was this one for the books. Walking the banks of the Rifle River in Omer to take pictures of dozens of people fishing for suckers on a chilly day in early April, I saw a cluster of morel mushrooms...

Flavorful fiddlehead ferns sparkle in spring gratin.
April 26, 2001... Byline: Jimmy Schmidt Today's lesson: Cool spring weather slowly brings to life the wild fiddlehead fern, which offers the flavor of asparagus and artichokes simultaneously. Today we will unlock the mysteries of this fabulous...

Reviews and ratings of feature films.
April 26, 2001... Byline: Terry Lawson ALONG CAME A SPIDER 2 While the second film culled from James Patterson's series of best-selling crime novels starring profiler Alex Cross (played again by Morgan Freeman) is less exploitive than ``Kiss the...

Prom night has them in stitches.
April 26, 2001... Byline: Barbara Gash If it's spring, it must be prom season. A teen who sews will love the idea of creating a one-of-a-kind dress, reflecting her own taste but still conforming to peer standards. This season, according to Toby...

Which is weakest? Which is a survivor?
April 26, 2001... Byline: Julie Hinds Hinds In CBS's corner, it's the king of the Nielsens, an hour of turmoil to make your life look good by comparison _ "Survivor." In NBC's corner, meet the hot newcomer that assaults your sense of fair play _...

FAA Reports Detroit Growth Is on Target.
April 26, 2001... Byline: John Gallagher Apr. 26--The nation's airports are growing more congested but Detroit Metro remains among the leaders in adding new capacity to deal with it, the Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday. "Demand at...

Former Worker Details Parking Firm's Overcharges at Detroit Airport.
April 26, 2001... Apr. 26--David Crisovan says he spent half the year running parking lots in Montreal, Toronto and Windsor, even though he was being paid a full-time salary of up to $85,000 plus bonuses up to 20 percent to manage the Wayne County's parking...

Auto Parts Supplier to Close Tennessee Plant.
April 26, 2001... Byline: Jamie Butters Apr. 26--Auto parts maker ArvinMeritor will close a Tennessee plant to cut costs, the company said Wednesday after reporting lower sales and profits for the first three months of 2001. The Troy-based maker of...

DaimlerChrysler's Loss Is Smaller Than Expected.
April 26, 2001... Byline: Jeffrey McCracken Apr. 26--The red ink didn't flow quite as heavily as expected at DaimlerChrysler AG or its Chrysler Group. Nevertheless, the world's fifth-largest automaker lost $2.07 billion for the first three months of...

Detroit Free Press Lawrence Ulrich Column.
April 26, 2001... Byline: Lawrence Ulrich Apr. 26--It's not the fastest midsize sedan. It's not the roomiest. Or the most inexpensive. But I can't name a better affordable family sedan than the Volkswagen Passat. Along with its compact Jetta...

End of a life can be a story as good as any.
April 25, 2001... Byline: Susan Ager When baseball great Willie Stargell died earlier this month, his obituaries told us so much about the achievements of his life, and so little about the achievements of his dying. We learned only that he had been in...

Links to a century of baseball celebrate at Comerica.
April 25, 2001... Byline: Gene Guidi Guidi DETROIT _ To baseball fans, Ty Cobb is remembered as a take-no-prisoners performer, as well as one of the best baseball players in history. His granddaughter, Cindy McGowin, has different memories of the...

Garner re-shuffles amid run drought.
April 25, 2001... Byline: John Lowe n Lowe DETROIT _ Tigers manager Phil Garner said he usually likes to wait 25 games into a season to shake up his lineup. But with the Tigers in possession of the majors' worst record and desperate to create scoring...

`Bay of Angels,' by Anita Brookner; Random House (204 pages, $23.95).
April 25, 2001... Byline: Lev Raphael The lives of many of Anita Brookner's heroines are often like that low-speed chase of O.J. Simpson: hypnotic, pitiable, a little weird. These painfully shy, reclusive types try to escape the prison of their own...

`All Loves Excelling,' by Josiah Bunting III; Bridge Works Publishing (301 pages, $22.95).
April 25, 2001... Byline: Emiliana Sandoval You know the type: pushy, demanding parents who accept nothing but the best from their kids. For status-obsessed Tess Bahringer, that means Dartmouth, even though daughter Amanda's stats aren't good enough to...

`Surviving Galeras,' and `No Apparent Danger'.
April 25, 2001... Byline: Marta Salij Is it enough for a memoir to tell a personal _ and by definition partial and biased _ story? Or does it ever have an obligation to tell a whole truth, or as much of it as can be unearthed? The question comes up...

Earthly use for heavenly high-tech: GPS makes the grade.
April 25, 2001... Byline: Jeff Bennett DETROIT _ Ray Ryan doesn't own a home computer, but put a satellite-supported Global Positioning System screen in front of him and watch him work. Ryan, a bulldozer operator, has relied on wooden stakes,...

DaimlerChrysler's first-quarter loss is mammoth, but still less than expected.
April 25, 2001... Byline: Jeffrey McCracken racken The red ink didn't flow quite as heavily as expected at DaimlerChrylser AG or its Chrysler Group. Nevertheless, the world's fifth-largest automaker lost $2.07 billion for the first three months...

FAA reports Metro growth is on target.
April 25, 2001... Byline: John Gallagher The nation's airports are growing more congested but Detroit Metro remains among the leaders in adding new capacity to deal with it, the Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday. "Demand at Detroit is...

Ask Dr. Fashion: Please don't dye wedding shoes.
April 25, 2001... Byline: Holly Hanson DEAR DR. FASHION: As mother of the bride, I have chosen a sleeveless, periwinkle blue gown with matching jacket. The church and reception will be air-conditioned, and I wouldn't want to wear a sleeveless dress to a...

Sorenstam's season just as exciting as Woods'.
April 25, 2001... Byline: Jack Saylor When rain washed out the second round of the LPGA Longs Drugs Challenge near Sacramento, Calif., last weekend, Annika Sorenstam went to see the movie "Along Came a Spider." Saturday and Sunday, along came Se Ri...

Holland won't rush to judge Red Wings.
April 25, 2001... Byline: Nicholas J. Cotsonika DETROIT _ Ken Holland hasn't read the newspapers since Monday night, when his Red Wings were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 1994. He flipped on the radio for a minute...

Scotty Bowman should skate away.
April 25, 2001... Byline: Drew Sharp DETROIT _ Many have tried decoding Scotty Bowman's intentions, certain that particular words or actions bear some underlying meaning. Such an attempt is a futile one. The best way to figure out Bowman is by not...

Michigan author thrills kid readers.
April 25, 2001... Byline: David Lyman `I can't write books fast enough," says Christopher Knight, better known to thousands of young Michigan readers as Jonathan Rand, author of the Michigan Chillers book series. He has cranked out eight of them in the...

Abuses in management of Detroit's airport parking lots detailed.
April 25, 2001... Byline: Daniel G. Fricker and Tina Lam DETROIT _ David Crisovan says he spent half the year running parking lots in Montreal, Toronto and Windsor, even though he was being paid a full-time salary of up to $85,000 plus bonuses up to 20...

A skating gold medal for 13-year-old.
April 25, 2001... Byline: Jo-ann Barnas DETROIT _ She's just 13, but Alissa Czisny treated her first international figure skating competition like a veteran. Czisny, U.S. junior silver medalist from the St. Clair Shores Figure Skating Club, won the...

Don't remain quiet about environment.
April 25, 2001... Byline: Eric Sharp GRAYLING, Mich. _ It's endlessly fascinating to listen to political arguments among hunters and anglers. In my experience, they lean to the conservative side, yet the politicians they support usually are those who are...

How to go wild with your lawn.
April 25, 2001... Byline: Eric Sharp Sharp GRAYLING, Mich. _ You spend long hours weeding, watering, feeding and cutting your lawn. And for what? So that a few days later you can do the same thing again? Tom Huggler, a well-known Michigan...

Conditions appear ideal for trout opener.
April 25, 2001... Byline: Eric Sharp GRAYLING, Mich. _ Joe Butler, a clerk at the Fly Factory, walked out on the dock to take the temperature of the Au Sable River. He dropped a six-inch thermometer on a piece of fishing line into the water, and a 20-inch...