Detroit Free Press (Detroit, MI) articles from June 2000

Detroit Free Press (Detroit, MI) archives from June 2000

Dearborn, Mich., Auto-Parts Maker's Stock Rises on First Day of NYSE Trading.
June 30, 2000... Byline: Jeffery McCracken Jun. 30--Visteon Corp. Chairman and CEO Pete Pestillo rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange and showered a Wall Street crowd with orange Visteon baseball caps as the newest Fortune 500 company...

Detroit Free Press Business People Column.
June 30, 2000... Jun. 30--Glenn Roper was named senior technical coordinator at Duce Simmons Associates, a Troy architecture and interior design firm. He had been an architectural technician with Straub Pettitte Yaste. Dickinson Wright hired Robin Iori as...

Parent Company of Detroit Power Firm to Sell Backup Generators.
June 30, 2000... Byline: Brenda Rios Jun. 30--The parent company of Detroit Edison is trying to sell its customers backup generators that would automatically start when the utility's power fails. DTE Energy Technologies, a unit of DTE Energy Co.,...

Detroit Free Press Michigan Memo Column.
June 30, 2000... Jun. 30--BBK Ltd., a Southfield-based management company, has acquired Chicago-based Turnaround & Crisis Management Inc. as part of its strategic expansion plan. Financial terms were not disclosed. BBK has 80 employees and specializes in...

`Hot Springs,' by Stephen Hunter; Simon and Schuster (475 pages, $25).
June 30, 2000... Byline: Guy Powers Returning home from action in the Pacific during World War II with the Marines, Earl Swagger figures to have a bright future. He has a Medal of Honor, a beautiful wife waiting and a proud welcome from his home state of...

`Liar's Game,' by Eric Jerome Dickey; Dutton Books (336 pages, $23.95).
June 30, 2000... Byline: Kelley L. Carter It's almost scary how well Eric Jerome Dickey knows women. He knows how we think. He knows what sets us off. And he knows what type of story lines we like. In his newest book, "Liar's Game," the writer...

Dearth of Americans stalls CART.
June 30, 2000... Byline: Steve Crowe CLEVELAND _ Most agree there is nothing wrong with the CART FedEx series that couldn't be cured with Michael Andretti as points leader. "Yeah, they need to change that," Andretti joked Friday at Burke Lakefront...

Ask Dr. Fashion: Certain capri styles can work in the office.
June 30, 2000... Byline: Holly Hanson Dear Dr. Fashion: I work in an insurance office. The usual dress is shirt and tie for men (no jackets) and skirts or nice slacks for women. What do you think about capri pants in such a setting? _J., e-mail The...

Business-to-business regulation seems unlikely.
June 30, 2000... Byline: Janet L. Fix WASHINGTON _ Executives who came to Washington this week fearing the government might try to slow the burgeoning Internet business-to-business markets left Friday breathing a collective sigh of relief. A two-day...

What's new in record racks.
June 30, 2000... Byline: Brian McCollum TAPROOT "Gift" (Velvet Hammer/Atlantic) 3 stars As a band making its first foray onto the national scene, Taproot couldn't ask for a better buzz than the one it has cooked up for itself. With a formidable...

Bored kids may like to learn to sew.
June 30, 2000... Byline: Barbara Gash Are your kids bored already? Take advantage of the summer season to help them learn some new skills _ like basic sewing. Even if you're not an experienced home-sewer, you can supervise a few easy projects. Or...

The Up in Smoke tour raises the bar for live rap.
June 30, 2000... Byline: Brian McCollum CHULA VISTA, Calif. _ The coolest part, without a doubt, is when the giant skull starts talking. It comes late in the three-hour Up in Smoke show, somewhere in the middle of Dr. Dre's closing set. First there's...

You can fight child abuse by travelers.
June 30, 2000... Byline: Gerry Volgenau We have written about Florida college professor Marvin Hersh in the past and thought we'd bring you up to date. He recently began serving a 105-year sentence for having gone to Honduras to have sex with...

The Wayans brothers try to scare up some laughs.
June 30, 2000... Byline: Terry Lawson The hardest part of movie parody, says Marlon Wayans, is not writing the gags, "even though you write 20 for every one you use, so you basically end up writing about 20 scripts." Nor, says his brother Shawn, is...

Boo-birds give Juan big reason to be gone.
June 29, 2000... Byline: Gene Guidi DETROIT _ I asked Bobby Higginson the other day why he thought fans didn't boo him when he wasn't hitting the way they boo Juan Gonzalez. "I don't know," Higginson said. "I struggled for a year and a half and...

Tigers burn Yankees early.
June 29, 2000... Byline: Gene Guidi DETROIT _ It was tough to tell which team in Wednesday's Tigers-Yankees game was the two-time World Champion and which was the team struggling to get within shouting distance of .500. The Tigers jumped on Yankees...

Speed decreases; chance of 1st win increases.
June 29, 2000... Byline: Steve Crowe In the dictionary under "patience" _ maybe even under "masochist" _ there should be a picture of Michael Waltrip kicking a tire. And please hold your chuckles, but Darrell Waltrip's little brother thinks he has a...

Reviews and ratings of feature films.
June 29, 2000... Byline: Terry Lawson ADRENALINE DRIVE 2 There's plenty of goofy, contagious fun but little to remember in this bubblegum chase movie from Japan about a fresh-faced young couple on the lam from the mob. Unrated; subtitled...

Seafaring stories worth their salt.
June 29, 2000... Byline: Terry Lawson Just as man has always been drawn to the sea, the movies have been drawn to seafaring adventures. After you've weathered "The Perfect Storm," here are five more classics to shiver your timbers. "Captains...

Detroit Free Press Business People Column.
June 29, 2000... Jun. 29--Ford & Earl Associates, a Troy-based interior architecture and graphic design firm, named Michael Fraley operations manager, signage-exhibit group. Fraley had been senior estimator and project manager at Design Craftsmen Inc. in...

Factors That Helped Spike Gas Prices Had Little Effect on Diesel in Michigan.
June 29, 2000... Byline: Alejandro Bodipo-Memba Jun. 29--Lost in the debate over rising gas prices this summer is the fact that diesel fuel prices haven't increased significantly in months. Unlike the sky-high gas prices for cars, light trucks and...

General Motors Executive Talks of Hopes, Hurdles.
June 29, 2000... Byline: Jeffrey McCracken Jun. 29--As the man who oversees the largest division of the world's largest automaker, Ron Zarella's job as president of General Motors Corp.'s North American operations is high-profile. The public...

Kmart Asks for Bids on $100 Million Advertising Campaign.
June 29, 2000... Byline: Jennifer Bott Jun. 29--Charles Conaway, Kmart Corp.'s new chairman, made his first major moves Wednesday, replacing a top executive and putting the Troy retailer's $100 million ad campaign up for grabs. The nation's...

Detroit Free Press Doron Levin Column.
June 29, 2000... Byline: Doron Levin Jun. 29--NO PORSCHES, PLEASE, WE'RE FROM CANTON: Discussion of the state's economy invariably degenerates into debate about high-tech, what's here, why Silicon Valley gets so much and what it takes to get more for...

Detroit Free Press Michigan Memo Column.
June 29, 2000... Jun. 29--GENERAL MOTORS CORP. will invest another $206 million and hire 390 more workers to double the capacity of its new transmission plant under construction near Baltimore. GM's investment, now totaling $423 million, will boost...

Ann Arbor, Mich.-Based Computer Service Firm Buys 7 Companies.
June 28, 2000... Byline: Jeff Bennett Jun. 28--A Danish computer services company that opened its North American headquarters in Ann Arbor four months ago, has acquired seven businesses to expand its presence in the U.S. electronic commerce market. ...

Detroit Free Press Business People Column.
June 28, 2000... Jun. 28--Amy Hepner was named art director at D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles/Detroit, an advertising and marketing firm. She had been an art director for Visual Services Inc. ASG Renaissance, a Dearborn technical and communications...

Detroit Hospital Hopes Renovation Shortens Emergency Room Wait.
June 28, 2000... Byline: Sheryl Kennedy Jun. 28--The completion of a $3-million renovation this summer at St. John NorthEast Community Hospital is expected to help reduce wait time in the emergency room and allow that department to run more efficiently,...

Detroit Free Press Susan Tompor Column.
June 28, 2000... Byline: Susan Tompor Jun. 28--THERE IS LITTLE RELIEF IN SIGHT FOR SPUTTERING AUTOMAKER STOCKS: Alan Greenspan & Co. proved one point in the past year: The quickest way to kill auto stocks is to raise interest rates. No matter what...

US Airways' Bulk May Become Its Salvation.
June 28, 2000... Byline: John Gallagher Jun. 28--Like Chrysler Corp. two decades ago, the chronically underachieving US Airways may be too big to just let fail. The financially troubled airline, the sixth largest in the industry, agreed in May to be...

Higginson's mad dash in 11th wins for Tigers.
June 28, 2000... Byline: Gene Guidi Guidi DETROIT _ Bobby Higginson scored on an infield grounder in the 11th inning Tuesday night, giving the Tigers a 7-6 victory over the Yankees at Comerica Park. Higginson had reached base on his fourth hit;...

Michigan State tally: Cleaves 14th, Peterson 21st.
June 28, 2000... Byline: Jemele Hill Minneapolis _ Morris Peterson and Mateen Cleaves have always seemed so opposite of one another. Peterson is quiet; Cleaves boisterous. Cleaves is in-your-face; Peterson leads by example. Their reactions at...

Pistons get their man: Cleaves.
June 28, 2000... Byline: Perry A. Farrell arrell DETROIT _ The Pistons' offense has a new bandleader. Michigan State guard Mateen Cleaves, regarded as the best orchestrator in college basketball, gets a chance to stay in the state and play for...

Raw players picked early, and Crawford benefits.
June 28, 2000... Byline: Drew Sharp Sharp Minneapolis _ He's only 18, just days removed from high school. He can fly down the floor and already has developed an impressive repertoire of slam dunks. But he can't shoot the ball to save his life, and...

The Tyson crazy train: All aboard at own risk.
June 28, 2000... Byline: Steve Crowe Crowe X X X Mike Tyson "A disgrace" _ London Telegraph "Never again in Britain" _ London Times "Get out of my (bleeping) face" Mike Tyson X X X DETROIT _ Lennox...

Puzzle at the pumps continues.
June 28, 2000... Byline: Alejandro Bodipo-Memba o-Memba DETROIT _ Lost in the debate over rising gas prices this summer is the fact that diesel fuel prices haven't increased significantly in months. Unlike the sky-high gas prices for cars, light...

Last champion quarterback of Lions is gone.
June 28, 2000... Byline: David A. Markiewicz iewicz DETROIT _ Detroit always will remember Tobin Rote for his accomplishments on the football field, especially for what he did during the fall of 1957. Rote, filling in for injured quarterback...

Kmart asks for bids on new ads.
June 28, 2000... Byline: Jennifer Bott r Bott DETROIT _ Charles Conaway, Kmart Corp.'s new chairman, made his first major moves Wednesday, replacing a top executive and putting the Troy, Mich., retailer's $100 million ad campaign up for grabs. ...

Ready to ride? First, a few tips for packing.
June 28, 2000... Byline: Eric Sharp Sharp DETROIT _ The woman was maybe 5-feet-2 and 110 pounds _ counting her cycling helmet _ and the duffle bag she lugged toward the baggage truck during the Michigander cross-state mountain bike ride was nearly...

Busy Izumi taking time to fish at Canadian Open.
June 28, 2000... Byline: Eric Sharp Sharp DETROIT _ This guy loves to fish. And unlike most tournament pros, who spend their time focusing on a single species like bass or walleye, Canada's Bob Izumi will go just about anywhere anytime to catch...

These drifters enjoy outing but few fish.
June 28, 2000... Byline: Eric Sharp Sharp DETROIT _ Cyrena Knight of Geneva, Ill., fly-casts from the bow of the drift boat as Vic Edwards of Grand Rapids maneuvers down the Au Sable River. Drift boats are ideal for fly fishing on large sections of...

Conner's crew not sad to see Kiwis split up.
June 28, 2000... Byline: Eric Sharp Sharp DETROIT _ Stars & Stripes sailor Tom Whidden is shedding no tears after the wholesale defection of the New Zealand crew that won the America's Cup. The Kiwis left for syndicates headed by billionaires in...

Barbecue recipes.
June 27, 2000... Barbecue recipes tested by Susan Selasky: Sweet-and-Smoky Baby Back Ribs Ribs: 6 baby back pork rib racks 1 cup bourbon Rub: 3 tablespoons coarse salt 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar 3 tablespoons paprika...

Barbecue cooking and handling tips.
June 27, 2000... Byline: Susan Selasky Backyard barbecuing and outdoor entertaining are a lot of fun but can present food dangers. Sheryl Leonard, Michigan State University Extension home economist for Wayne County, offers this advice when cooking...

Barbecue means many different things to regional cooks.
June 27, 2000... Byline: Susan Selasky What is barbecue, anyway? Your answer may depend on where you live or how much of a purist you are. To some folks, barbecue just means an outdoor cooking event. To others, it's a certain flavor or a particular...

Juan Gonzalez returns, and so do boos at Comerica.
June 27, 2000... Byline: John Lowe DETROIT _ Tigers Manager Phil Garner hoped Juan Gonzalez, the object lately of so many boos at Comerica Park, would receive a large ovation Tuesday night. Gonzalez was making his first appearance in Detroit since...

Out of Flint and into the NBA.
June 27, 2000... Byline: Jemele Hill EAST LANSING _ This is how they planned things on the Flint playgrounds, when one was Magic Johnson and the other was Isiah Thomas. They wanted to be first-round picks in the NBA draft, become stars in the league, and...

Pistons may make a trade before draft.
June 27, 2000... Byline: Perry A. Farrell DETROIT _ Joe Dumars was considered one shrewd card player in his Pistons playing days. He had a knack for getting the cards to fall his way. Dumars needs to pull off something similar as the Pistons'...

Bush calls for more crude oil to bring down gasoline prices.
June 27, 2000... Byline: Chris Christoff Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush on Tuesday said the high cost of crude oil it to blame for high gasoline prices, and said that as president he would convince OPEC allies such as Kuwait and Saudi...

Looks like soft-serve, tastes like silk.
June 27, 2000... Byline: Sylvia Rector It was an unseasonably chilly Friday evening on the edge of an industrial park on the outskirts of Brighton, Mich., not the kind of weather or place that would normally draw an ice cream crowd. Still, there we were,...

Braveheart in America: Mel Gibson in `The Patriot'.
June 27, 2000... Byline: Terry Lawson nt In "The Patriot," Mel Gibson plays a character inspired in part by Francis Marion, the Revolutionary War hero known as the Swamp Fox for his guerrilla-style stealth attacks on the British. But in the final...

Clafouti captures tender essence of cherries.
June 27, 2000... Byline: Jimmy Schmidt The summer sun kisses the smallest member of the stone fruit family, the cherry, into both sweet and tart ripeness. Today we will make Mixed Cherry Clafouti, a simple baked dessert incorporating both kinds of...

US Airways' bulk may become its salvation.
June 27, 2000... Byline: John Gallagher DETROIT _ Like Chrysler Corp. two decades ago, the chronically underachieving US Airways may be too big to just let fail. The financially troubled airline, the sixth largest in the industry, agreed in May to be...

Transportation Agency Finds Major Airlines Still Fail Customers.
June 27, 2000... Byline: John Gallagher Jun. 27--Major airlines are bracing for another round of bashing as the U.S. Department of Transportation readies a report critical of the way airlines treat passengers. The report, from the Inspector General's...

Ameritech Announces Promotion of Top Two Michigan Executives.
June 27, 2000... Byline: Brenda Rios Jun. 27--Less than a week after state lawmakers cut some Ameritech fees and froze rates, the company has promoted its top two executives in Michigan. Ameritech Michigan President Robert Cooper will move to a...

Farmington Hills, Mich.-Based Software Company Restructures Services Division.
June 27, 2000... Byline: Jeff Bennett Jun. 27--Compuware Corp.'s professional services division is close to becoming a billion-dollar business. But the reliable division is beginning to struggle. It had high expenses in fiscal 2000 because at least...

Michigan-Based Mainframe Computer Company Branches Out to Other Technologies.
June 27, 2000... Byline: Jeff Bennett Jun. 27--Compuware Corp. has built much of its success, and is betting much of its future, on mainframe computers. It became the biggest Michigan-based high-tech company, with sales of more than $2.2 billion a...

Farmington Hills, Mich., Computer Company Branches Out into E-Commerce.
June 27, 2000... Byline: Jeff Bennett Jun. 27--The booming e-commerce industry is causing a significant shift at Compuware Corp., a company traditionally tied to the mainframe industry. The Farmington Hills company's revamped e-commerce division...

Detroit Free Press Doron Levin Column.
June 27, 2000... Byline: Doron Levin Jun. 27--The Internet, as we discover daily, changes everything. Ford Motor Co. will find out whether the Net can change how Ford brands are licensed and marketed throughout the world. This morning, Ford and HA-LO...

Detroit Free Press Michigan Memo Column.
June 27, 2000... Jun. 27--THE NATIONAL AUTOMOBILE DEALERS ASSOCIATION, based in Detroit, has launched DriversSeat.com, an Internet portal that will allow car buyers to check out what vehicles are sitting on dealer lots near them. The site,...

Indians are tuned in to the Gonzalez saga.
June 26, 2000... Byline: David A. Markiewicz CLEVELAND _ The Detroit Tigers weren't 't the only ballclub at Jacobs Field Monday night with an avid interest in the most recent episode of that long-running drama, "Whither Juan?" Over on the other side...

Long-term offer absent; Gonzalez stays with Tigers.
June 26, 2000... Byline: John Lowe CLEVELAND _ Juan Gonzalez isn't going to the Yankees, and Drew Henson isn't headed home to the Tigers. The Tigers' conditional trade of Gonzalez for Henson and two other players collapsed Monday. Gonzalez's agent,...

U-M's Henson smiles: He's still a Yankee Drew.
June 26, 2000... Byline: Bill L. Roose Roose FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER Norwich, Conn. _ Drew Henson sat comfortably _ and with a clear mind _ on a rickety futon Monday, analyzing his swing on a laptop computer. It was the first time in a...

Short Michigan stint, long NBA road for Crawford.
June 26, 2000... Byline: Michael Rosenberg When the NBA holds its annual guessing game Wednesday night, there is a decent chance Jamal Crawford will be drafted before Mateen Cleaves or Morris Peterson. Cleaves and Peterson earned enough accolades at...

Holdsclaw's clash with coach childish.
June 26, 2000... Byline: Charles Robinson It took a few years, but Washington finally has found itself another Cold War. The razor-thin relationship between Washington Mystics coach Nancy Darsch and star forward Chamique Holdsclaw officially bottomed...

Michigan's Carr gets contract extension.
June 26, 2000... Byline: Michael Rosenberg ANN ARBOR, Mich. _ Lloyd Carr has always said he has the best job in the country, and it just got a little better. Carr, Michigan's football coach, will earn more than $1 million annually starting next year...

Airlines still fail customers, U.S. finds.
June 26, 2000... Byline: John Gallagher Major airlines are bracing for another round of bashing as the U.S. Department of Transportation readies a report critical of the way airlines treat passengers. The report, from the Inspector General's Office...

Charity outings rake in bucks and pay out, too.
June 26, 2000... Byline: Jack Saylor Saylor ACME, Mich. _ It's summertime, the living is easy, and it's boom time for charity money-raising. Golf and charities have been linked for some time, and Michigan is at the forefront. In one event, the...

Brits hit bottom in love match with Kournikova.
June 26, 2000... Byline: Mitch Albom WIMBLEDON, England _ Ah, the British. So much more sophisticated than us. So much more refined. More mannered. More tasteful. Except _ tee-hee _ when it comes to _ tee-hee _ sexuality _ tee-hee _ where the Brits...

Norwich. Conn., would miss Drew Henson.
June 25, 2000... Byline: Bill L. Roose NORWICH, Conn. _ Tater the Gator is a true-blue New York Yankees fan, and he is not alone in his opinion of third base prospect Drew Henson. The giant green mascot in the purple admiral's jacket entertains fans...

Business of trading no shock to Henson.
June 25, 2000... Byline: Bill L. Roose NORWICH, Conn. _ No news is just that for Yankees top prospect Drew Henson _ no news. Henson, whose name surfaced two weeks ago as part of a possible four-player trade involving Tigers slugger Juan Gonzalez,...

Tigers' bats doze again, 2-1.
June 25, 2000... Byline: Gene Guidi CLEVELAND _ The Tigers' feast-or-famine offense had one of its lean days Sunday. The result was a 2-1 loss to the Cleveland Indians at Jacobs Field. The Tigers allowed one earned run _ Enrique Wilson's...

Gonzalez deal with Yankees not dead yet.
June 25, 2000... Byline: John Lowe CLEVELAND _ As of early Sunday night, one thing remained certain about Juan Gonzalez's immediate baseball future: He was due at Comerica Park on Tuesday night for the Tigers-Yankees series opener. It's unknown...

Draft warms Red Wings' hopes.
June 25, 2000... Byline: Nicholas J. Cotsonika CALGARY, Alberta _ Red Wings management left the Saddledome on Sunday feeling very good about the entry draft. The Wings selected 11 players, making minor trades here and there to nab players they wanted...

Smile! Scotty's coming back.
June 25, 2000... Byline: Nicholas J. Cotsonika CALGARY, Alberta _ Scotty Bowman will be back. He announced Sunday afternoon that he will return for an eighth season as Red Wings coach _ and that he will do so as the leader of the new NHL coaches'...

Kalamazoo, Mich., wrestler beats rival for Olympic berth.
June 25, 2000... Byline: Jemele Hill DALLAS _ The moment it was over, he jumped off the mat, ran up the arena stairs, and hugged the woman who had been sitting there, clutching a mustard seed like a lifeline. After four days of controlled passion at...

Okemos, Mich.-Based Malpractice Insurer to Merge with Alabama Company.
June 24, 2000... Byline: Alejandro Bodipo-Memba Jun. 24--Okemos-based insurer Professionals Group Inc. is merging with Medical Assurance Inc. of Birmingham, Ala., in a $240-million deal that will create the nation's third-largest provider of medical...

Detroit Free Press Michigan Memo Column.
June 24, 2000... Jun. 24--TECUMSEH PRODUCTS CO. warned it expects third-quarter and full-year results to be below 1999 levels partly because of slow sales of lawn and garden engines. The Tecumseh-based maker of engines for lawn mowers and snow throwers...

Auto Purchasing Alliance Searches for Home, Leader.
June 23, 2000... Byline: Jeffery McCracken Jun. 23--BRESCIA, Italy--Who will lead the multibillion-dollar auto purchasing alliance called Covisint and where it will be based are still anyone's guess. But two things are becoming clear: The new...

Detroit Free Press Business People Column.
June 23, 2000... Jun. 23--Auto Club Insurance Association, based in Dearborn, has appointed Steven Monahan president and CEO. Monahan was field vice president for Allstate Insurance Co.'s north central region. Terry Kline was named vice president and...

Detroit Free Press Michigan Memo Column.
June 23, 2000... Jun. 23--VISTEON CORP., a Dearborn-based auto parts supplier, has been added to the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. Visteon is to become independent from Ford Motor Co. following a planned spin-off June 28. Visteon will join the index after...

Detroit Area Auto-Plastics Suppliers Face Mounting Debt, Questionable Future.
June 23, 2000... Byline: Jeffery McCracken Jun. 23--Plastics. That one word, to paraphrase a line from the 1967 Dustin Hoffman movie "The Graduate," seems prophetic when applied to the auto industry. Consider the proliferation of plastic parts...

`Open-mined' Gonzalez mulls joining Yankees.
June 23, 2000... Byline: John Lowe CLEVELAND _ Juan Gonzalez still is considering whether to accept a trade to the Yankees, one of his agents said Friday. "Juan has an open mind to it," Fernando Cuza said. "He is willing to listen about going to New...

Hype over deal to join Tigers shocks Henson.
June 23, 2000... Byline: Bill L. Roose NORWICH, Conn. _ While waiting to catch the train back from Grand Central Station, Drew Henson saw the newspaper headlines Friday morning but couldn't believe his eyes. "Every one of those papers had me traded...