Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • 1

Ci; ON GUARD FOR 175 YEARS I I 50 CENTS WWW.FREEP.COM FEB. 21, 2007 METRO EDITION i M-niMii in 1 (V- AUTO fflDUSTRY Lent begins today If WW it 4j Analyst: Workers may have to give up more to keep jobs I 1 i By KATIE MF.RX and TIM HIGGINS 1RH PRfSMMISISKSHRIURS I Future's a puzzle for AN KAJf VSV Oertoit f-w Of? Ricky Kauffman, 2, of Hamtramck wolfs down a paczek at the New Deluxe Polish Bakery in Hamtramck on Tuesday, Packzi are a tasty tradition in metro Detroit. DCX workers. IE At freep.com: Weigh in. Huge pay cuts at Ford.

CM shilling production to Mexico. Chrysler ex FASTING Lent begins today, and many Christians will give up meat until Easter. Go to Page 1C for eight of our favorite fish-and-chip shops. if i (. -'J FAT STUFF Tuesday was Paczki Day in Michigan, and we chowed down on the jelly-filled pastries by the thousands.

Lines trailed out the door to pick up the sugary treats in the traditionally Polish community of Ham and regional representatives Tuesday morning in Ypsilanti, Sean McAlinden, the chief economist for the Center for FAITH Automotive Research in Ann panding on its week-old turnaround plan. It's no secret that Detroit autc-makers are expected to push for significant changes in UAW wages and bene tramck. STORY, IB Arbor, said the Detroit auto industry is in its darkest days and Today is Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent for millions across that decisions made in the con Sean McAlinden tract being negotiated this year hi r- will go a long way to determining how and where the Detroit SYLVIA RECTORCetroit Free Press Lent means lots of fish for Christians, many of whom give up meat. automakers do business. Michigan.

In thousands of churches, clergy will mark people's foreheads with a sign of the cross. More coverage Thursday. FESTIVALS Mardi Gras in New Orleans bounced back strong this year after being subdued in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Throngs of revelers turned out Automotive analysts on some of McAlinden's '7" predictions. fits in the contract being negotiated this year.

But one of the nation's top automotive economists raised eyebrows Tuesday among his industry colleagues when he suggested that hourly workers may have to give up more than ever before to protect U.S. assembly jobs. Speaking to auto industry fa. But on the heels of what could be the first year since 1991 that all the Detroit automakers lost money, UAW mid-contract WHAT WILL YOU 6IVE See AUTOS, 7A UP? "Coffee. That will be tough," said one respondent at freep.com.

"I'm going to give up making stupid resolu for parades, and almost all of the city's 30,000 hotel rooms were filled. "This is like old times," said Pete Fountain, whose Dixieland band kicked off the day. 2005 photo 0v J. KYLE KEENS R. 0FP Today is Ash Wednesday, which marks the start of Lent.

tions," said another. Tell us what you're giving up at freep.com. Prison to be closed by July; 1,500 to be freed More at freep.com: Paczki videos, Mardi Gras and PAT SEMANSKYAssociated Press A member of a Mardi Gras parade tosses beads to people in the crowd in New Orleans on Tuesday. tish-try photo galleries. Flus a Mike Wendland video on that other Lenten delicacy: Muskrat! Plan aims to save state $92 million By CHRIS CHRISTOFF and CECIL ANGEL FR1F.

PRBS -lH WRITKRS Life quality and no-fault rule clash 10 miles to'ilWiyJhfiiM Ann Arbor Jackson' washtenaw WUNTY House could alter Mick standard CATHOLIC EDUCATION Ave iMaria Law is heading south Former Domino's Pizza owner Tom Monaghan is taking his Ave Maria School of Law, which he founded to train Catholic attorneys, to Florida starting in 2009, he announced Tuesday. IB By DAVID ASHENFF.LTER mn press swiwmim It doesn't take much for Source: Free Press Detroit Free Press Richard Kreiner to get a painful reminder of how life has changed since the automobile accident a decade ago. Too much time working on -IK a ladder does it. So does trying LANSING The state will close one of five prisons in Jackson by July and free 1,500 inmates, the first step in Gov. Jennifer Granholm's plan to cut costs by releasing 5,500 low-risk prisoners.

The release plan ultimately is to save the state $92 million as it faces a potential deficit of more than $1 billion for the fiscal year beginning Oct. L. The closures would be the first major downsizing of a prison system that has expanded since the early 1980s and swelled to 51,000 inmates one of the biggest in the Midwest. The Southern Michigan Correctional Facility will be closed and its 1,481 inmates either released or moved to other prisons, Russ Marian, spokesman for the Department of Corrections, said Tuesday. Included are 500 inmates to be removed from the nearby Egeler Reception Guidance Center.

"This is the start of implementing the governor's budget plan," Marian said. In addition to reducing the number of inmates, 425 state corrections jobs will be affected. Marian said although most workers would be offered jobs at other prisons, he would not rule out possible layoffs. He said the 1,500 inmates released would be chosen from among 51,000 inmates around the state. He said they would to pick up a heavy load.

For the 43-year-old self-employed carpenter from Lapeer County, hours on the job can trigger throbbing in his back, hips and legs. Kreiner, who was hurt in a Tom Monaghan -w i 1997 crash caused by another driver, has become the poster PATRICIA BECK. Detroit Frw Press Richard Kreiner, a self-employed carpenter from Attica, uses this support device "if I know I'll be do something that will aggravate my back." and two dozen other groups, drivers who caused their inju- They're battling over a 2004 ries. Michigan Supreme Court rul- That ruling which bears ing that made it harder for mo- torists to successfully sue the See HEARING, 6A boy in a legislative showdown between the state's insurance industry and a coalition of trial lawyers, medical associations See PRISON, 6 A 38 1 28 FEBRUARY GOES BALMY Some sun peeks out. Chuck Gaidica's forecast, 6B INDEX Vol.

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