Lansing State Journal from Lansing, Michigan • Page 1

to oyroal araou Wednesday November 19, 2003 Partly cloudy High in the low 50s. Page SB 1 jij if T. Kill The power of knowing www.lsj.com MSU HOOPS "We will not go forward with it until the business community has signed off on it." Mayor Tony Benavides, on proposed schedule for sewer separation, road repairs in Lansing's downtown area its PREVIEW First game is Friday at Breslin Center. asftidad U.S Inside Ts 130 crasn iLlVING 'Bachelor' gets his big day on TV Folks who knew "Bachelor" Bob Guiney back in East Lansing say he's well-suited for his current fame. Page ID militants Commander: 'We re going to use a sledgehammer 1 tZ3 an on gay By Alissa J.

Rubin and Patrick McDonnell Los Angeles Times BAGHDAD, Iraq Automatic weapons fire pounded from helicopter gunships and dozens of rounds of air-launched cannon fire resounded Tuesday night as the U.S. military conducted operations throughout the Iraqi capital in an effort to root out insurgents. The offensive, which included some of the strongest firepower used in Baghdad since major combat ended in May, was matched by a similar operation earlier in the day in Tikrit. They were both part of ongoing military crackdowns in central Iraq, where anti-American militant activity has been strongest. "This is war," Maj.

Gen. Charles Swannack com- marriage in Mass. overturned State high court rules law is unconstitutional Staff and wire reports 4 T' i I -v )n fa.Jr .....1 rif-ffliirlintlW4iiilfiiilji mander of the 82nd Airborne Division based in Ramadi in western Iraq, said during a briefing in Baghdad. "We're going to use a sledgehammer to crush a wal Inside Italians lay to rest 19 killed in Iraq. British police prepare for protests during Bush visit.

Page 3A BOSTON Massachusetts' highest court ruled 4-3 Tuesday that the state's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional and gave lawmakers 180 days to fix the problem. "Whether and whom to marry, how to express sexual intimacy, and whether and how to establish a family these are among the most basic of every individual's liberty and due process rights," the majority opinion said. "And central to personal freedom and secu CHRIS HOLMESLansing State Journal Downtown traffic: Cars pass in front of the Radisson Hotel retailers fought the original Capitol Loop renovation plan, saying that recently in downtown Lansing. Some downtown businesses and it would drive away customers and force businesses to close. Proposal extends work to 16 years nut.

We're going to use enough in our arsenal to win this fight." The operations Tuesday were portrayed by U.S. military officials as designed to crush the anti-American insurgency. In northern Iraq, meanwhile, a senior U.S. military official said two survivors of Saturday's crash of a pair of military helicopters, including a pilot, told investigators that they did not see any tlireatening ground fire before they crashed. The official, who requested anonymity, cautioned that their statements do not mean hostile fire had been ruled out as a cause of the crashes, which killed 17 soldiers and injured five.

New Capitol Loop plan City of Lansing and Michigan Department of Transportation officials have scrapped the original Capitol Loop project in favor of a new one they hope businesses will accept Some downtown business owners have said they would shut down if the city went forward with the original plan. By Tom Lambert Lansing State Journal An $18.7 million project that would have disrupted the lives of thousands in 'downtown Lansing closing major streets over two years has been stretched out over 16 years under a new city proposal. The controversial Capitol Loop rity is the assurance that the laws will apply equally to persons in similar situations." Detroit-area native Rob Compton and his partner are one of the seven same-sex couples who sued the state of Massachusetts after being denied a marriage license. Compton and David Wilson were turned down two years ago. "It is a win for Response The following is a statement by President Bush: "Marriage is a sacred institution between a man and a woman.

Today's decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court violates this important principle. I will work with congressional leaders and others to do what is legally necessary to defend the sanctity of marriage. JI 11 11 11 ULJLJLJ ii ii I 1 2004-05 stage mniaVasseest I Hlsi Isll Ottawa St fsj I Michigan Avfl 4a 2013-20 stage Ifotllpi 2006-07 stage II IjKalamazwStl ii rinrFnrTnry ni What's next Two public meetings seeking input on the new Capitol Loop proposal will be held at The Parthenon, 227 S. Washington Square: 7:30 a.m. Thursday 4 p.m.

Tuesday Capitol Avenue and Grand and Michigan avenues. The price of the new project won't be known until MDOT and city officials figure out the scope of the work, Berridge said. Mayor Tony Benavides said Gov. Jennifer Granholm has assured him the state would help the city with the new project any way it could. "We will not go forward with it until the business community has signed off on it," Benavides said.

The Lansing City Council is expected to vote on a bond authorization Dec. 1. On Nov. 3, the council considered killing the entire road and sewer project after see Streets Page 4 A project has been drastically scaled back to alleviate business owners' concerns. Some re 1 Comp marriage, ton said.

"It seemed like it took forever bauS Benavides 1 i vv to get to today." The Supreme Judicial Court left the details of the same-sex marriage issue to the Legislature. In Michigan, marriage is defined as between one man and one woman. The law prohibits recognition of same-sex marriages from other states. A bill proposed by state Sen. Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt, aims to reinforce that Source: City of Lansing the Michigan Department of Transportation, is trying to come up with a solution both sides will embrace.

"We want to evaluate what works for downtown but still get all the infrastructure complete," said David Berridge, Lansing's public service director. The first phase of the work 2004 to 2005 would include sewer separation, roadway enhancement and water Lansing State Journal main work on parts of Ottawa, Allegan, Pine and Walnut streets and possibly Capitol Avenue between Ottawa and Allegan. In 2006 and 2007, parts of Michigan Avenue and Larch Street would be worked on. From 2008 to 2012, work will continue on the project's perimeter. Between 2013 and 2020, work would take place on Ottawa and Allegan east of 1.

ii ii in. 7 il IT ii i. Im.M tailers were displeased with the original plan, claiming that taking on the entire project over two years would devastate their businesses and force them to close. Other businesses said the city should have gone forward with the initial project to get it done sooner. The city, working with Associated Press Airstrike: In this U.S.

Air Force image, a target is obliterated Monday during an airstrike in Kirkuk, Iraq, aimed at crushing militants. See BAN I Page 4 A try 64 Defense plans insanity plea Poll: 56 call war justified Gannett News Service WASHINGTON A thin majority of Americans believe Iraq was worth going to war over, but most need to be convinced the decision to fight has made the United States safer from terrorist attacks, a USA TODAYCNNGallup Poll shows. Fifty-six percent say going to war in Iraq was worth it; 48 percent say it has made the U.S. safer from terrorist attacks. At the same time, in slaying of MSU professor CHARLES KRUPAAssociated Press In Boston: Plaintiffs Hillary Goodridge, Robert Compton (center) and David Wilson respond Tuesday to a Massachusetts ruling overturning a ban on marriage for same-sex couples.

Lk R. Hamilton B. Hamilton Online Complete poll results at www.usatoday.com. approval for the way the United States has handled Iraq since major assist in his own defense during a trial, Green said. Green said he requested the evaluation based on the nature of the crime; he would not elaborate.

"Whenever you have a crime that's committed by a family member against another family member, especially a son against a mother it only makes sense," Green said. Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III said the evaluation is appropriate and that he would have requested it if Green hadn't. Contact Tracy Burton at 377-1206 or tburtonbj.com. Hamilton's preliminary hearing, which will determine if there is enough evidence to send the case to trial, to Jan. 22.

Police found longtime Michigan State University professor Ruth Simms Hamilton dead in her Okemos home Nov. 11. Her son turned riimself in the same day and is charged with murder. He is being held without bond in county jail until he goes to Ypsilanti Ingham County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Joyce Dra-ganchuk said the insanity plea means a person doesn't understand the wrongfulness By Tracy Burton Lansing State Journal MASON The attorney of an Okemos man charged with stabbing his mother to death plans to file an insanity defense this week. Bramlett Hamilton, 35, will be sent to The Center for Forensic Psychiatry in Ypsilanti for evaluation, said his attorney, Vincent Green.

Ingham County Chief District Judge Thomas Brennan Jr. granted Green's request for the evaluation Tuesday and ordered the results be submitted within 60 days. The development moves Index Main A Lottery 2A Opinion 6A I Local Deaths 5B Sports Business 5C Stocks 6C.7C Living Advice 2D Movie ads 3D Television 5D Classified. Source Lansing State Journal Home Delivery: 1.800.234.1719 Copyright 2003 Lansing State Journal, Lansing, Michigan. A Gannett Newspaper What's next Bramlett Hamilton has a preliminary and competency hearing set for Jan.

22. of his or her actions. The evaluation will determine if Hamilton could be accountable for the charge against him and if he could fighting there end- ed has dropped by nearly half from a high of 80 percent in late April, when tanks rolled into Baghdad, to 42 percent today. Overall, 55 percent disapprove of the ad-rninistration's post-combat management, the highest since the invasion began. The Nov.

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