AP890920-0001
AP-NR-09-20-89 0002EDT
u a AM-Hugo 4thLd-Writethru a0800 09-20 1046
AM-Hugo, 4th Ld - Writethru, a0800,1072
Killer Hurricane Devastates Caribbean; Threatens U.S.
Eds: SUBS 5th graf, `At 10:30 ..., with 2 grafs to include Hugo's
track, speed; picks up 6th graf: `Hurricane warnings ...
LaserPhotos PAR3, PAR4, WX10, PAR9; LaserGraphic
By DAN SEWELL
Associated Press Writer
MIAMI (AP)
Hurricane Hugo, the Caribbean killer blamed for 25
deaths, seethed past the Bahamas Tuesday on an uncertain path that
threatens an area from Florida to North Carolina by Friday.
Disaster teams found death and destruction in Puerto Rico and a
string of resort islands clobbered by the mightiest storm in a
decade in the northeastern Caribbean. More than 50,000 people were
homeless, and military planes ferried radios, drinking water,
generators, chainsaws and other equipment to stricken areas that
pleaded for more help.
``Whole buildings just picked up and left,'' said James Grissim,
a resident of Water Island in St. Thomas. He recalled ``sheet metal
roofing flying through the air, singing as it went, and glass, the
sound of glass breaking all over the place.''
Forecasters used computers, satellites and charts of old storms
but could not predict Hugo's wobbly path. It lurched to the north
and west because other weather systems seemed to be blocking it from
heading into the open Atlantic.
At 10:30 p.m. EDT, the hurricane's center was near latitude 23.8
degrees north and longitude 69.5 west, about 190 miles northeast of
Grand Turk Island, a British island off the southern Bahamas,
according to the National Weather Service.
Hugo was moving northwesterly at about 12 miles per hour, but its
winds were down to 105 mph, and forecasters expected some
fluctuations in Hugo's strength overnight.
Hurricane warnings were downgraded to storm warnings for the
southern Bahamas as Hugo skirted past, but the Bahamian government
issued warnings for the central islands of the archipelago.
Islanders boarded up their homes as a precaution.
``No one is relaxing their vigil because it can change
direction,'' said Bill Kalis, press secretary for the government's
information office.
In Florida, NASA officials said they would wait until Wednesday
before deciding to move the space shuttle Atlantis, scheduled for
launch Oct. 12, from its launch pad and into shelter. They also put
off a decision on whether to remove a Navy communications satellite
from an Atlas-Centaur rocket on another launch pad until more is
known about Hugo's path.
``I think Hugo has certainly got people nervous,'' said Kathleen
Hale, director of the Dade County Office of Emergency Management.
Fred Krounse, spokesman at Brevard County's emergency management
office in Rockledge, Fla., said volunteers were getting 100
telephone calls an hour.
Cruise ships steamed out of the way, while American Airlines'
heavy Caribbean service, which uses San Juan as its hub, was
suspended.
In San Juan, National Guardsmen with automatic rifles patrolled
streets to help police with rescue and to prevent looting. Police
spokesman Tony Santiago said 40 businesses reported looting, much of
which occurred at the height of the storm. Police had arrested 30
people on looting charge, he said.
Puerto Rico, Gov. Rafael Hernandez Colon said he would ask the
federal government to declare the island of 3.3 million, a U.S.
commonwealth, a disaster area and seek immediate relief aid.
Looting by machete-wielding mobs was also reported on the island
of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Relief officials asked for cots and plastic sheetings to use for
shelters for the thousands of islanders whose homes were crumpled by
Hugo, the fourth hurricane of the season and the first to hit Puerto
Rico since 1956.
Coast Guard vessels from Puerto Rico would scour the waters off
the island because of reports ``there are a lot of people stranded
(on boats) out in the water,'' said Coast Guard Lt. Stan Douglas.
Hugo walloped the northeastern part of the island, then skirted
its populous northern coast on Monday. It churned on to the
northwest and toward open water. It whirled past but missed the
Dominican Republic.
At least 25 people in the Caribbean died from the storm, said
Cizanette Rivera, a spokeswoman for the Civil Defense in Puerto Rico.
Two people died on Puerto Rico while trying to remove a TV
antenna Sunday in preparation for the storm, according to Maria
Dolores Oronoz of the governor's office. She said no other deaths
had been reported on the island.
However, American Red Cross spokesman Brian Ruberry said in
Washington there were reports of 12 deaths and 100 injuries in
Puerto Rico, and that three-fourths of the island's residents were
without power.
Hugo's winds overturned cars, peeled roofs off houses and office
buildings and sent chunks of concrete plunging into streets in San
Juan. Fifty airplanes were reported destroyed, mangled into twisted
wrecks at the Isla Verde airport.
In Hawaii, Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan said $500,000
in emergency assistance funds were released to aid storm-stricken
areas of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Federal teams reached the U.S. Virgin Islands to assess damages
Tuesday before deciding whether to recommend disaster relief.
Sailboats were blown out of the water and thrown up to 150 feet
on shore in St. Thomas, and some waterfront businesses have
disappeared.
Hugo's itinerary included some of the most idyllic pearls in a
750-mile long necklace of Caribbean isles, beginning early Sunday
with the French resort of Guadeloupe in the Leeward Islands. Five
were killed, 80 injured and more than 10,000 lost their homes there.
Also damaged were the lush British isle of Montserrat, Antigua,
St. Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, the U.S.
Virgin Islands of St. Croix and St. Thomas and Puerto Rico.
Forecasters said it was the region's worst storm in terms of wind
strength since Hurricane David, which killed 1,200 people in the
Caribbean and Florida in 1979.
Last year, Hurricane Gilbert walloped the western Caribbean and
took a southern route through the Gulf of Mexico, killing more than
300 people and causing billions of dollars of damage in nine nations.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Iris was building up, although
forecasters said its strengthening would be slowed by Hugo's wake.
Iris, with 70 mph winds, was about 275 miles northeast of the
Leeward Islands on Tuesday and was moving northwest at about 12 mph.
At 10:30 p.m., Iris was near latitude 21.3 north, longitude 60.6
west.
AP890920-0002
AP-NR-09-20-89 0030EDT
r a PM-Lites 09-20 0387
PM-Lites,0403
On the Light Side
CRETE, Neb. (AP)
With a moo moo here and a cluck cluck there, a
jack-of-all-trades thinks he has found his calling.
Joel Vavra, who lives in the southeastern Nebraska town of Crete,
won earlier this month the Nebraska State Fair's ``Do Your Moo''
contest, which follow his victories in three national ``cluck-off''
contests held in Wayne.
The 39-year-old Vavra, a self-employed carpenter and plumber who
grew up on a farm, once blew the public address system while doing
his moo at the state fair. But that's old moos, er, news now, he
said.
``That was three years ago and I failed to qualify. The next year
I was scared, I guess, and I mooed too softly. But there was a lot
to offer this year, so I gave it a try,'' Vavra said.
Gillette Dairy offered the winner a trip for four to Florida.
``They had 4,247 people moo into the tape recorder, and I won,''
he said.
While the father of six tries not to be too cocky, he said he can
imitate any barnyard animal.
``If I can hear something once or twice I can do it. I can even
do exotic animals,'' he said. ``Do you wanna hear me do Tarzan?''
While Vavra is happy in his work, he said he may try to
capitalize on his nickname, ``Captain Cluck,'' and look to do
television commercials or offer his services as a mascot for a
sports team.
``Look at the San Diego chicken. All he does is pantomime. Think
what I could do with that body,'' Vavra said.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP)
Grubs lurking underneath lawns have attracted
raccoons and skunks, and one resident has found a solution.
Roy Palmquist, who said raccoons have torn up his yard, set up
three floodlights and plays a radio outside. So far, the grubbers
have stayed away.
John Fech, an extension agent-horticulturist for the Douglas
County Extension Service, said the white grubs damage grass, but
their predators rip up the lawns. Grubs are short, fat, wormlike
larva of certain insects.
He said two to three people a day have called his office to
report damage from the animals.
Fech said that since both raccoons and skunks are nocturnal
animals, residents could discourage them by keeping their yards
well-lit.
AP890920-0003
AP-NR-09-20-89 0030EDT
r a PM-People-MissOklahoma 09-20 0231
PM-People-Miss Oklahoma,0238
Hospitalized For Undisclosed Reasons
TULSA, Okla. (AP)
Miss Oklahoma Tamara Toshiko Marler was
hospitalized for observation. A hospital official said it was
unrelated to a concussion she suffered when struck by a bottle
before the Miss America Pageant.
Miss Marler was admitted Tuesday to St. John's Medical Center
here, said nursing supervisor Kay Hutchinson, who refused to give a
reason.
``She is just in here for observation and medical tests,'' Ms.
Hutchinson said. ``I can't say any more.''
Neither Miss Marler nor her family responded to telephone
messages left at the hospital.
Miss Marler was hit on the head by a bottle thrown from the crowd
Friday during a parade before the Miss America pageant in Atlantic
City, N.J. She spent Friday night in a hospital but went on to
compete among the 10 finalists Saturday night.
On Monday, Miss Marler complained that pageant officials treated
her and other contestants ``like little girls,'' and that they
prevented her from talking to the press from her Atlantic City
hospital room.
Pageant director Leonard Horn responded that each contestant was
given a hostess to help with her duties in the pageant. The ban on
hospital interviews, he said, was so she wouldn't get more media
exposure than other contestants.
``I'm shocked if she had anything to say but appreciative words
about what we did for her,'' said Horn.
AP890920-0004
AP-NR-09-20-89 0039EDT
r i PM-SovietShuttle Bjt 09-20 0947
PM-Soviet Shuttle, Bjt,0968
Soviet Space Shuttle Program Scraping for Money
Eds: An accompanying story is PM-Soviet Space City.
LaserPhotos MOSB1-2, Sent Sept. 15.
By ANDREW KATELL
Associated Press Writer
BAIKONUR COSMODROME, U.S.S.R. (AP)
Asked how much money the
Soviet Union has set aside for its space shuttle and other payloads
for its new superbooster, the rocket's designer dug into his pocket
and pulled out a handful of coins.
Boris I. Gubanov, a gray-haired man of 59, was joking _ in fact
the government is spending $2.1 billion a year on the Energia
booster rocket and the shuttle Buran it carries into orbit. But
beyond the mirth Gubanov and other Soviet space officials are under
pressure to economize and are facing serious criticism not unlike
that faced by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
and its shuttle program.
``We have stubbornly continued spending money on this hopeless
affair,'' Konstantin P. Feoktistov, an engineer and former
cosmonaut, said of the Soviet shuttle at a recent roundtable
discussion in Moscow.
When the gleaming white and black Buran, Russian for
``snowstorm,'' soared into orbit for the first time last fall,
President Mikhail S. Gorbachev hailed it as ``one more confirmation
of the kind of huge possibilities the Soviet Union has to solve any
problem.''
Perhaps just as important, Buran's pilotless, remote-controlled
flight and return to Earth proved that the Soviets were still very
much in the space race with the Americans.
But Feoktistov, in remarks reported by the weekly Moscow News,
said none of the technology developed for the shuttle has yet been
applied to improve the lives of the Soviet people and that launches
of cargoes by the Buran will be 20 to 40 times more expensive than
by expendable rockets.
Roald Z. Sagdeyev, a space scientist and member of the Supreme
Soviet (Parliament), said the Soviet Union developed a shuttle
solely as a ``symmetrical reply'' to the U.S. version, even though
officials knew it was not really needed.
He told the roundtable the program that resulted in a lookalike
Soviet version of the U.S. shuttle was ``the last refuge of
windowdressers.''
The attacks, fueled by chronic problems in the Soviet economy,
were targeted at a space program that had long been a sacred cow.
The cosmos had been a source of national euphoria and pride ever
since the Soviet Union ushered in the space age in 1957 with the
launch of Sputnik, the first manmade object put into orbit.
The mounting criticism has already forced cuts and delays in the
Soviet shuttle program, which began in 1976 and culminated in the
first and only flight of the Buran in November. Space officials
spoke initially of launching the shuttle again in 1990, building a
fleet of five or six and launching 10 by 1997.
Now they say the next flight won't take place until 1991, that
only three shuttles will be built and that only five missions will
be conducted through 1995.
The whale-sized Energia, the world's most powerful rocket booster
that flew a test mission in 1987 and propelled Buran into orbit, has
also suffered cutbacks.
Gubanov, its chief designer, told reporters who recently visited
the Baikonur Cosmodrome 1,560 miles southeast of Moscow that five or
six of the rockets could be produced annually but that he only has
enough money for one a year.
Gubanov and other project officials are countering the criticism
with a public relations campaign to put the best face on the
cutbacks and point out the program's benefits.
The Energia designer told a Moscow news conference in August the
project had come up with 600 innovations that can be applied in the
economy and that within the next 10 years, the value of such
spinoffs could reach 20 billion rubles ($32 billion).
Other officials defended the long waits for the next shuttle
flights, a 1991 unmanned mission to dock with the orbiting space
station Mir and the first piloted flight in 1992.
``We don't plan to launch several times a year like the
Americans,'' Yuri P. Semenov, the chief Soviet spacecraft designer,
told a recent news conference in Leninsk, the city near Baikonur
where space center workers live. ``They do this for business, out of
necessity. We don't have such a need.''
The veteran cosmonaut Alexei A. Leonov, who flew aboard a Soyuz
capsule that linked up with the U.S. Apollo spacecraft in 1975, has
said people shouldn't be surprised that Soviet officials are moving
ahead cautiously with the shuttle.
``We must have comfortable deadlines which don't force us to
rush,'' said Leonov, who now works in the Star City cosmonaut
training center near Moscow.
At Baikonur, there are few signs that work on Energia and the
shuttles has slowed. New launch pads, assembly buildings and a
runway have become part of the landscape, and Gubanov said 10,000
workers are involved in the project at the sprawling spaceport alone.
In the hangar where Energia is assembled, one rocket booster is
being prepared for a test flight next year, without the shuttle but
with a payload still to be determined.
The Buran, meanwhile, sits in a huge hangar where it is being
analyzed following its flight. The doors to the shuttle's payload
bay are open and specialists are removing some of the 40,000
delicate and expensive heat-shielding tiles to inspect the skin
underneath. A second shuttle is being assembled in another section
of the hangar.
Soviet officials have said the shuttle's tasks will include
transporting repairmen to space to repair satellites and for
rescuing crews stranded aboard space stations.
But the Supreme Soviet could put the shuttle under renewed
scrutiny and Gubanov said he is worried even further cuts might come.
AP890920-0005
AP-NR-09-20-89 0043EDT
r a PM-FuneralVideos 09-20 0813
PM-Funeral Videos,0831
Deceased Remembered Through Funeral Videos
Eds: Also in Wednesday AMs report.
By JAMES L. ENG
Associated Press Writer
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP)
Arthur ``Bud'' Brown was 79 when he died,
but Florence Brown remembers her husband as a younger man _ not the
man who lay in the casket but the one in the videotape playing on a
TV screen behind it.
There he was, flanked by three friends as he sat proudly in the
'29 Chevy roadster he used to court his wife. Cut to a 1952 photo,
the Browns at a party thrown by merchants on Garland Avenue. In one
from the mid-1970s, Brown is at the wheel of the motor home that
took the couple on scenic vacations.
The six-minute video played at Brown's funeral July 28
interspersed family snapshots with stills of majestic Northwest
sunsets, lakes and mountains, all to the tune of ``Just A Closer
Walk With Thee,'' his favorite gospel song.
``We thought it was wonderful,'' said Mrs. Brown. ``So many of
the people that were there that I have seen and talked to since
couldn't just get over the beauty of the whole thing. I had several
say that it was so beautiful that they almost clapped for approval.
They just thought it added a lot to the funeral.''
The ``Tribute'' video is the brainchild of Merrill Womach,
founder and president of National Music Service, a Spokane company
that has been providing recorded music and sound systems to funeral
homes and mausoleums since 1958.
``I first thought about it when John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
I looked at all the things that were done for him, and rightfully
so,'' Womach said.
``And I thought to myself, `Why can't a tribute be paid to us
normal peons rather than just reserved for heads of state? Do not
our families love us as much as JFK was loved?' I think everbody
who's lived deserves a memorialization or a tribute paid to their
life, no matter whether they were a president or a king or a brick
layer or a garbage collector.''
The idea got sidetracked until Womach's mother died 3{ years ago.
He remembered seeing her in a nursing home in her last three months,
haggard and weakened from several strokes. Every time he thought of
his mother, it was this somber scene. Then last year, he gathered
some old family album pictures of her cheerful, spirited and
smiling. The pictures were reproduced onto videotape.
``Now when I think of my mother, you know what comes to my mind?
Instantly it's that picture on the video.''
Several thousand ``Tribute'' videos have been sold in 17 states,
most through funeral homes, since they were introduced in April. The
videos, which can be played on a standard VHS recorder, cost an
average $100-$125. The music comes from National Music's 2,500-title
library and is recorded with the company's proprietary process.
Acquaintances of actress Amanda Blake _ Miss Kitty in the TV
series ``Gunsmoke'' _ bought a ``Tribute'' video that was played on
a huge TV monitor at her Aug. 24 memorial service in Sacramento,
Calif.
``What we're trying to do is to celebrate the life of the
individual. We resurrect a memory,'' said Womach, who almost died in
a Thanksgiving 1961 plane crash and has had a ``Tribute'' produced
of himself.
Partly because of the soaring demand for its videos, National
Music plans to double its staff of 100 next year.
``It's a very meaningful way to express a person's life and how
he lived it,'' said Larry Rayburn, a funeral director at Riplinger
Funeral Home, where ``Tribute'' tapes have been played at about 15
funerals, including Brown's.
``I personally think funeral services are something people do not
like to go to,'' Rayburn said. ``This is a way ... to notice that a
death has occurred but also to celebrate a person's life.''
In Warren, Mich., the family of a 5-year-old girl killed in a car
accident ordered a ``Tribute'' video after her funeral. Don
Temrowski, director of D.S. Temrowski Funeral Home, said the death
was especially traumatic because the girl died in her stepfather's
arms and her body was grossly disfigured.
After viewing the videotape, the girl's mother remarked, ``My
baby will live on continually,'' Temrowski said.
Cathy Robertson of Sandpoint, Idaho, who works in a funeral home,
ordered a video of her parents, who died within three months of each
other.
``It has been five years since they passed away and it's almost
like having them back for those few minutes,'' she wrote to Womach.
``I have watched my 11-year-old daughter watch it over and over .. .
``What a beautiful and lasting remembrance to pass on to the
grandchildren, especially the younger one when the memories are
starting to fade. Yes we have picture albums, but there is something
very different about the video.''
AP890920-0006
AP-NR-09-20-89 0044EDT
r a PM-NielsensList 09-20 0592
PM-Nielsens List,0662
List of Week's TV Shows Ratings
Eds: Year-to-date rankings not available.
With PM-Nielsens
NEW YORK (AP)
Here are the prime-time television ratings as
compiled by the A.C. Nielsen Co. for the week of Sept. 11-17. Top 20
listings include the week's ranking, rating for the week, and total
homes. A rating measures the percentage of the nation's 90.4 million
TV homes.
1. ``Roseanne,'' ABC, 25.9 rating, 23.4 million homes.
2. ``Chicken Soup,'' ABC, 21.8, 19.7 million homes.
3. ``Miss America Pageant,'' NBC, 20.0, 18.1 million homes.
4. ``Golden Girls,'' NBC, 19.5, 17.6 million homes.
5. ``Sister Kate Special,'' NBC, 19.1, 17.3 million homes.
6. ``60 Minutes,'' CBS, 18.8, 17.0 million homes.
7. ``NFL Monday Night Football: Giants vs. Redskins,'' ABC, 17.8,
16.1 million homes.
8. ``The Cosby Show,''NBC, 17.4, 15.7 million homes.
9. ``Cheers,'' NBC, 17.3, 15.6 million homes.
10. ``Life Goes On Special,'' ABC, 17.2, 15.5 million homes.
11. ``A Different World,'' NBC, 16.4, 14.8 million homes.
12. ``Wonder Years'' ABC, 15.8, 14.3 million homes.
13. ``CBS Premiere Preview,'' CBS, 15.5, 14.0 million homes.
14. ``Growing Pains,'' ABC, 14.9, 13.5 million homes.
14. ``FM Special,'' NBC, 14.9, 13.5 million homes.
16. ``Who's the Boss?'', ABC, 14.8, 13.4 million homes.
17. ``Wolf Special,'' CBS, 14.0, 12.7 million homes.
17. ``Perry Mason: The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel'' _ ``NBC
Monday Night Movies,'' 14.0, 12.7 million homes.
19. ``Full House,'' ABC, 13.8, 12.5 million homes.
20. ``In the Line of Duty: The FBI Murders'' _ ``Movie of the
Week-Tuesday,'' NBC, 13.8, 12.5 million homes.
21. ``Unsolved Mysteries,'' NBC, 13.7.
22. ``Empty Nest,'' NBC, 13.6.
23. ``48 Hours: Return to Crack Street,'' CBS, 13.4.
24. ``Murphy Brown,'' CBS, 13.3.
25. ``L.A. Law,'' NBC, 13.1.
25. ``Just the Ten of Us Special,'' ABC, 13.1.
27. ``Life Goes On Special,'' ABC, 12.8.
27. ``The Hogan Family,'' NBC, 12.8.
29. ``Golden Girls Special,'' NBC, 12.4.
30. ``ALF,'' NBC, 12.2.
31. ``ABC'S Comedy Sneak Peek,'' ABC, 12.1.
32. ``Roxanne'' _ ``CBS Sunday Movie,'' 11.7.
33. ``20-20,'' ABC, 11.5.
33. ``Designing Women,'' CBS, 11.5.
33. ``Newhart Special,'' CBS, 11.5.
36. ``41st Annual Emmy Awards,'' FOX, 11.4.
37. ``Matlock,'' NBC, 11.3.
38. ``Night Court,'' NBC, 11.2.
39. ``ABC'S Monday Night Football: 20th Anniversary Special,''
11.1.
40. ``Rescue: 911,'' CBS, 10.9.
41. ``Family Ties,'' NBC, 10.8.
42. ``Kate & Allie,'' CBS, 10.5.
43. ``Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic
Woman'' _ ``NBC Sunday Night Movie,'' 10.4.
44. ``Newhart,'' CBS, 10.3.
45. ``Unholy Matrimony'' _ ``CBS Friday Movie,'' 10.2.
45. ``Designing Women Special,'' CBS, 10.2.
47. ``Prizzi's Honor'' _ ``ABC Sunday Night Movie,'' 9.7.
48. ``Paradise,'' CBS, 9.3.
49. ``Koppel Report: Television-Revolution In A Box,'' ABC, 8.8.
50. ``60 Minutes: Retrospective,'' CBS, 8.7.
51. ``Mission: Impossible,'' ABC, 8.6.
51. ``Quantum Leap Special,'' NBC, 8.6.
53. ``Parent Trap III,'' Part 2, _ ``Magical World of Disney,''
NBC, 8.2.
54. ``Between The Darkness & The Dawn'' _ ``Movie of the Week,''
NBC, 7.8.
54. ``Primetime Live,'' ABC, 7.8.
56. ``ABC Mystery Movie: Columbo,'' 7.6.
57. ``Agatha Christie's Man-Grown'' _ ``CBS Tuesday Movie,'' 6.9.
58. ``Mr. Belvedere,'' ABC, 6.8.
59. ``Incredible Sunday,'' ABC, 6.7.
59. ``Great Adventures-Quests,'' CBS, 6.7.
61. ``ABC News Special: Survival Stories: Growing Up, Down, And
Out,'' 6.6.
61. ``Fall Preview Special,'' ABC, 6.6.
63. ``Homeroom Special,'' ABC, 6.4.
64. ``Yesterday, Today, Tommorrow Special,'' NBC, 6.1.
65. ``Hot Paint'' _ ``CBS Special Movie,'' 5.9.
66. ``COPS,'' FOX, 5.7.
67. ``US Magazine Live At Emmys,'' FOX, 4.7.
68. ``The Reporters,'' FOX, 4.2.
69. ``Tommy: `The Who,''' FOX, 3.9.
70. ``Beyond Tomorrow,'' FOX, 3.2.
AP890920-0007
AP-NR-09-20-89 0045EDT
r a PM-People-Maazel-Poland 09-20 0193
PM-People-Maazel-Poland,0199
Orchestras Donating Musical Items To Poland
PITTSBURGH (AP)
American musicians are banding together to give
music, instruments and musical supplies to people in Poland,
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra conductor Lorin Maazel said.
``Music has always been a way to bring people together in peace
and harmony, and we hope that our gift will send a message of
friendship and support to our brothers and sisters in Poland,''
Maazel, the United Nations Ambassador of Good Will, said from New
York on Tuesday.
The Pittsburgh orchestra is coordinating the month-long drive for
much-needed music and scores, recordings, books, strings, reeds and
other replacement parts for instruments. The effort is endorsed by
the U.S. Information Agency and the American Embassy in Poland.
In New York, Maazel presented a complete set of scores and
orchestral parts for Beethoven's nine symphonies to Ryszard
Krystosik, minister-counselor of the Polish People's Republic.
Musical items have been contributed by numerous organizations,
including the National Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, the
Philadelphia Orchestra and the St. Louis Symphony.
Maazel will lead the Pittsburgh Symphony in two performances in
Warsaw next month as part of the orchestra's eight-country European
tour.
AP890920-0008
AP-NR-09-20-89 0046EDT
r i PM-Cambodia-Vietnam 09-20 0855
PM-Cambodia-Vietnam,0881
Vietnam's 11-Year War Began With Christmas Day Assault
Eds: Also in Wednesday AMs report.
With PM-Cambodia Withdrawal.
By PETER ENG
Associated Press Writer
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP)
Vietnam's 11-year war in Cambodia
began with a tank-led assault in the season of joy.
Early Christmas Day 1978, columns of tanks charged down Route 14
from Ban Me Thuot in the Central Highlands to start Vietnam's
invasion of Cambodia and war with its former Communist comrade, the
Khmer Rouge.
Shielded by massive artillery and air barrages, a dozen divisions
surged west across the border including Route 7 and Route 1 leading
to Phnom Penh. One after another strategic points fell on the east
bank of the Mekong River: Kratie, Stung Treng, Neak Luong.
On Jan. 6, the Vietnamese crossed to the west bank at Neak Luong
and the next day marched into Phnom Penh. So unexpectedly swift was
the strike that the Khmer Rouge rulers left behind half-eaten meals
and tons of arms as they fled.
On Jan. 10 a new Communist government was proclaimed, led by a
former regional leader, commander Heng Samrin, and other Khmer Rouge
defectors who had fled to Vietnam from the regime's bloody purges.
All major towns were in Vietnamese hands within a few weeks. A
sweep in April left the Khmer Rouge in tatters and scattered along
the mountains and malarial jungles of the Thai border to the west.
But sanctuary from Thailand and arms from China soon raised the
Khmer Rouge up from its knees into a potent guerrilla insurgency.
The Third Indochina War, which was to split almost all Asia into
two hostile camps, was just beginning.
North Vietnam helped build the Khmer Rouge in the 1950s and armed
its insurgency against the U.S.-backed Lon Nol government in 1970-75.
But its quarrel over territory, race and ideology flared in the
open with skirmishes in disputed areas just after the Khmer Rouge
seized power from Lon Nol in April 1975.
The Khmer Rouge regime killed 1 million Cambodians in torture
chambers and slave labor camps as it attempted to fashion a pure
agrarian society.
The fanatics began raiding and shelling undisputed Vietnamese
territory in April 1977, burning down hundreds of villages and
beheading and mutilating men, women and children. Vietnamese
officials said the border conflict in 1977-78 killed 30,000
Vietnamese.
Vietnamese forces made a major incursion in October 1977 and the
fighting continued up to the full-scale war 14 months later. They
set up secret camps in Vietnam to train an army of Khmer Rouge
defectors.
Phan Hien, then a key Vietnamese negotiator, held talks on the
border clashes with Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot.
``Nothing came out of it. They didn't want to negotiate,'' said
Phan Hien, now minister of justice, in a recent interview in Hanoi.
The Khmer Rouge planned to try to seize Tay Ninh province and
perhaps even the southern commercial center of Ho Chi Minh City,
said Gen. Tran Cong Man, editor of the official Vietnamese army
newspaper Quan Doi Nhan Dan.
No one in the leadership had reservations about invading because
Vietnam had no other choice, Man said, ``although we knew the world
would not respond favorably.''
``We wanted to withdraw as soon as possible, but ... they (the
Khmer Rouge) got support from China and Thailand,'' said Vietnam's
current ambassador to Phnom Penh, Ngo Dien.
China went further. On Feb. 17, 1979, the People's Liberation
Army sent human waves across the frontier for a 16-day strike to
``punish'' Vietnam for invading Cambodia. Tens of thousands died in
the fighting that laid waste to vast areas of northern Vietnam.
Vietnam obtained arms from the Soviet Union, with whom it signed
a 25-year treaty the month before the invasion. Most non-Communist
Asian and Western nations joined China and Thailand in at least
diplomatic backing for the guerrillas.
In June 1982, the guerrilla backers helped form a coalition
joining the Khmer Rouge with the non-Communist forces of former
Cambodian monarch Prince Norodom Sihanouk and former prime minister
Son Sann.
Each year, the struggle for Cambodia alternated between
intensified dry season fighting and diplomacy in the fall at the
United Nations, where the coalition was overwhelmingly supported as
Cambodia's government in the General Assembly.
Vietnamese forces broke the cycle with a five-month offensive in
1984-85 that overran all major guerrilla bases inside the Cambodia
border. They drove the guerrillas and the 300,000 civilians they
controlled into Thailand. Fighting then subsided into mostly limited
guerrilla ambushes and psychological warfare in the villages.
Vietnam once declared the situation in Cambodia ``irreversible.''
But diplomacy increased after a Communist Party congress in late
1986 gave top priority to economic reconstruction.
In 1987, Sihanouk held his first talks with Phnom Penh's Prime
Minister Hun Sen. Vietnam first negotiated with the guerrillas in
1988.
Nineteen nations conferred for a month in August in Paris. But
they all failed to settle the quarrel over whether the Khmer Rouge
should participate in Cambodia's political future.
Vietnam claims it began annual partial troop pullouts in 1982.
The departure of what it calls the last 26,000 opens a new phase of
the war.
AP890920-0009
AP-NR-09-20-89 0021EDT
u a AM-Kemp-Homeless 1stLd-Writethru a0733 09-20 0782
AM-Kemp-Homeless, 1st Ld-Writethru, a0733,0801
Kemp Jeered at Soup Kitchen, Calls For More Help For Homeless
Eds: SUBS 5th graf, `But many ..., with 5 grafs to UPDATE with NYTimes
intvu; picks up 6th graf pvs: ``Johnson, Nixon ...
LaserPhoto HF1
By GORDON FAIRCLOUGH
Associated Press Writer
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP)
Housing Secretary Jack Kemp was jeered
during a visit to a soup kitchen Tuesday before he gave a speech
pledging to speed up government aid to the homeless.
Kemp offered few specifics during an impassioned talk to a group
of federal officials and portrayed the fight against homelessness as
part of a wider battle against poverty and despair.
``There are people in this country who are hurting. Those that
have been blessed have an obligation to be a blessing to someone
else,'' Kemp said.
Discussing the federal government's contribution to ending
homelessness, the secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban
Development said, ``Is it enough? No. Are we going to do more? Yes.''
Meanwhile, in an interview with the New York Times, Kemp proposed
ways to rid the troubled agency of influence-peddling. He said he
would seek to base the awarding of HUD subsidies on merit rather
than on the discretion of department officials, and to require that
consultants register their fees.
``I'm not chairman of the Republican National Committee,'' Kemp
said. Funding decisions ``will be based on objective criteria,
competition, merit, and need, not who you know or what your party
is,'' he said.
Under Kemp's predecessor, Samuel Pierce, HUD officials steered
housing subsidies to developers who had hired politically connected
Republican consultants.
Kemp said he would propose a mix of administrative, regulatory,
and legislative measures, as well as making all financing decisions
public.
In Hartford, many of those eating at the St. Elizabeth's House
soup kitchen, where Kemp stopped before his speech, doubted Kemp's
words would result in action.
``Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush. It's always the
same thing. It's just another name and we never get anything,'' said
a homeless woman who jeered the secretary during his visit to the
dining room crowded with about 100 people.
The woman, who asked not to be named, said she was angered that
Kemp chose the soup kitchen as a backdrop for a photo opportunity.
``I don't feel that they should come in here with their jackets
and ties on to have their pictures taken with homeless men, women
and children. Nobody asked our permission. It's humiliating,
degrading and total exploitation,'' she said.
Kemp was surrounded by reporters and photographers in the doorway
of the soup kitchen, and never made it inside the room.
Kemp's visit to Hartford began with a tour of a homeless shelter
that was empty for the day and ended with a pep talk to the
Interagency Council on the Homeless, where he announced a
rent-subsidy grant program.
``President Bush wants an all-out effort to wage war on
homelessness and despair, on drugs and poverty, and I plan to be a
leader in that fight,'' Kemp said.
Kemp's speech gave an outline for what he termed the ``first
steps'' in the effort to end homelessness. The secretary called for
improved coordination among federal, state and local officials and
non-profit organizations aiding the homeless.
He also said the government would cut through red tape and make
it easier for homeless people and those who provide for them to
receive government help.
Kemp announced a joint venture between HUD and a philanthropic
group, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, to create as many as
1,200 housing units in eight cities. HUD will provide rent subsidies
worth about $36 million over five years and $2.4 million in
foundation grants will be used for support services.
Kemp conceded that government procedures have resulted in a poor
record for helping the homeless. He said that since 1983 only 293
homes have been leased and 183 sold to organizations helping the
homeless.
Kemp said HUD has 49,200 houses available at a 10 percent
discount for purchase by non-profit organizations that can pay cash
at closing. In the past, he said, eligibility for such sales were
limited to tax-supported entitities, shutting out charitable groups
that had no funding from the government.
Such groups now will be able to receive the same benefits, he
said.
Kemp said help provided by his department will be part of a
broader anti-poverty strategy with the Department of Health and
Human Services.
``We will pool our resources and our ingenuity,'' he said in his
prepared remarks. ``If it requires waivers, we'll grant waivers. If
it requires new legislation, we'll propose it ... And if our efforts
require new money, I'll ask for it,'' the HUD secretary said.
AP890920-0010
AP-NR-09-20-89 0024EDT
u i AM-Hugo-PuertoRico 4thLd-Writethru a0776 09-20 1158
AM-Hugo-Puerto Rico, 4th Ld-Writethru, a0776,1191
National Guard Halts Looting in Hugo's Wake, 50,000 Lose Homes
Eds: LEADS with 20 grafs to UPDATE with nine reported dead in Montserrat,
governor's comments and Red Cross shipment. Picks up graf 16 pvs, `I escaped
...'
By KERNAN TURNER
Associated Press Writer
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)
National Guardsmen patrolled San
Juan Tuesday to prevent looting after Hurricane Hugo devastated the
island, leaving tens of thousands of people homeless and causing
food and water shortages.
A spokeswoman for the island's Civil Defense said two Puerto
Ricans were among the 25 people killed in eastern Caribbean islands
as Hugo slashed through the region Sunday and Monday with 125 mph
winds.
Ham radio operators reported their contacts in St. Croix in the
U.S. Virgin Islands said law enforcement had collapsed and that
there was widespread looting. They also were told some prisoners had
escaped from a jail, probably in Christiansted, and were roaming
free, according to Norbert Chwat of the Emergency Communications
Service Radio Club in Queens, N.Y.
Chwat said one St. Croix resident, who identified himself as a
retired doctor, claimed local National Guardsmen and police had
joined in the looting and appealed to the U.S. government to send
troops to the island. St. Croix has a population of about 53,000.
A British navy frigate, Alacrity, landed 16 Royal Marines late
Monday on the island of Montserrat to clear the airport and another
100 went ashore Tuesday to help restore communications and health
facilities.
Cmdr. Colin Ferbrache, Alacrity's commanding officer, was
interviewed by radio by AP Network News, and said, ``The damage _
it's absolutely devastating. The locals are calling it `trashed.'
And I think that's a pretty good summation of it.''
Reports late Tuesday said nine people were killed on Montserrat,
a British island with a population of 12,000. Earlier reports had
placed the death toll at six.
Montserrat Gov. Christopher Turner toured the island and told
reporters the damage would run into many millions of dollars.
``It looks as if some water will be available for people at
different times of the day,'' he said. ``We are doing a survey of
what stocks we have. Providing we get a landing barge with a supply
of food, people won't starve.''
Turner said 40 people were injured during the storm.
Queen Elizabeth II sent messages of sympathy to leaders of
Britain's Caribbean territories and other nations struck by Hugo,
Buckingham Palace announced.
In Puerto Rico, Gov. Rafael Hernandez Colon said, ``This is a
tragedy of major proportions'' and losses from the storm would
amount to ``hundreds of millions of dollars. ... At least 50,000
people lost their homes or had them severely damaged.''
Water in some areas was reported cut off or in short supply, with
residents of poorer communities outside San Juan using buckets to
bathe or store drinking supplies.
The governor initially estimated late Monday that 27,900 people
had been made homeless by the hurricane.
Colon said he would ask the federal government to declare the
island, a U.S. commonwealth, a disaster area and seek immediate
relief aid.
The American Red Cross announced in Washington that it is sending
its first relief supplies to the hurricane area at 9 a.m. Wednesday
on a plane leaving from Philadelphia.
Red Cross spokesman Brian Ruberry said the flight to San Juan
will carry supplies and 50 volunteers. The Red Cross also is
collecting 15,000 tents, blankets and kits containing soap,
toothpaste and other personal items and sending them to McGuire Air
Force Base in New Jersey for shipment to the islands, Ruberry said.
He said 400 Red Cross volunteers already are working in Puerto Rico.
Two Puerto Ricans were killed Sunday, a man and his cousin
electrocuted by a high-voltage power line while trying to remove a
television antenna, but no other storm-related deaths were reported
in Puerto Rico , according to Maria Dolores Oronoz, spokeswoman for
Colon.
Civil Defense spokeswoman Cizanette Rivera said the storm killed
25 people in the eastern Caribbean but she had no island-by-island
breakdown of the deaths. Previous reports said in addition to the
nine killed on Montserrat, five perished on the French territory of
Guadeloupe and two were killed in Antigua.
In the southeastern Puerto Rican town of Humacao, one woman
screamed, ``My house! My house!'' when she returned to what remained
of her home.
``I escaped with my father and when I returned this morning I
didn't have a house,'' said Anita Martinez Arzuaga. ``I wasn't able
to save anything.''
Hugo, the most powerful storm to hit the northeastern Caribbeean
in a decade, cut power to more than half the island's 3.3 million
people, officials said Tuesday.
Tree branches, shattered glass and metal sheeting littered the
streets of the capital. Bulldozers worked to clear them Tuesday.
Damage to Puerto Rico's electricity network was estimated at $20
million, said Jose A. Del Valle, executive director of the Puerto
Rico Electrical Power Co.
He said 35 of the island's 78 municipalites had no electricity
Tuesday.
Del Valle said the company expected to have service completely
restored to San Juan by Wednesday and to 80 percent of the island by
the weekend.
Damage to San Juan's Luis Munow International Airport, which
remained closed Tuesday, also was estimated at $20 million.
The governor said two islands, Vieques and Culebra, were the most
severely affected areas of Puerto Rico. He said Culebra's only
hospital was heavily damaged and most of the patients were
transferred to a makeshift hospital established in a retirement home.
Colon's wife, Lela Mayoral, in a radio announcement, appealed to
Puerto Ricans to bring food and supplies, especially baby food and
disposable diapers, to La Fortaleza, the governor's mansion, for
distribution to the needy.
Ms. Oronoz said the government called out 2,500 National
Guardsmen to help police with rescue and security. Guardsman with
automatic rifles were riding with police in their cruisers. Much of
the looting occurred at the height of the storm.
Police spokesman Tony Santiago said 40 businesses had reported
looting. Police arrested 30 people on looting charges, he said.
A woman who called in to a talk-show program on WOSO, San Juan's
English-language radio station, said looters burst into her home and
started removing her possessions just after some windows blew out.
``These people are crazy,'' she said.
Damage was extensive in the capital's Condado tourist and
residential district on the beachfront, which is dotted with hotels,
high-rise condoniniums, boutiques and restaurants.
Hugo appeared to have dealt a heavy blow to Puerto Rico's tourism
industry. Many hotels were damaged, although most managed to stay
open.
There appeared to be heavy damage to agriculture. Luis Orama,
mayor of the mountain town of Maricao, said loss to the coffee
harvest would run in the millions of dollars. Banana and orange
crops also were hard hit.
Civil Defense director Heriberto Acevedo said also hard-hit was
Ceiba, where Hugo's eye first passed over the Puerto Rican mainland.
AP890920-0011
AP-NR-09-20-89 0040EDT
r a PM-RockvsRachmaninoff Bjt 09-20 0758
PM-Rock vs Rachmaninoff, Bjt,0782
Classical Music Fights for Its Life as Speculators Crash the Radio
Market
By JOHN HORN
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP)
The switch by one of the nation's most
successful classical music stations to rock 'n' roll today
underscores fears that high finance is silencing high class on the
nation's radio waves.
Four months after being sold for $55 million, 58-year-old KFAC is
casting off Beethoven, Brahms and Bizet for the beat of contemporary
pop music, leaving the nation's No. 2 radio market with no full-time
commercial classical station.
``It's a great tragedy,'' said Robert Goldfarb, KFAC's departing
vice president for programming and operations.
From its debut in 1931, KFAC-AM, and later FM, was distinguished
as a citadel for the symphonic arts.
But that legacy was to end at 1 p.m. today, and classical radio
outlets elsewhere are hearing the same tune.
Melodious orchestral maneuvers aren't soothing the number
crunchers who have become increasingly influential in the radio
business, now that stations regularly trade hands for tens of
millions of dollars.
``Can any fringe format _ not just classical _ survive these
kinds of selling prices?'' asked Bob Caulfield, president and
general manager of Milwaukee classical station WFMR.
KFAC's new owners, Evergreen Media of Irving, Texas, hope the
programming change will yield an audience five times larger than
KFAC's. Although KFAC enjoyed a loyal following and generated
profits of up to $3 million a year, it never attracted more than a
fraction of local listeners.
``Economics have dictated that this change is necessary to
make,'' said KFAC's new general manager, Jim de Castro.
Since there's limited space on the dial, an established station
with a powerful signal offers a new owner the prospect of sizable
capital appreciation and healthy tax writeoffs.
No matter how well-managed, a typical classical station will
rarely attract more than 2 or 3 percent of listeners. A hot rock
station can grab more than three times that.
While most classical stations are unlikely to change formats
soon, commercial classical broadcasters are having to tune in to the
realities of this marketplace.
``I don't think anyone in the commercial radio business in the
classical music field hasn't realized that we have to play by the
same rules that all of our competitors are playing by. We've got to
generate attractive bottom lines,'' said Caulfield.
That may mean reinventing the classical format.
``The perception ... is that classical radio is dull and boring
and you have to have majored in it in college before you can turn
the radio on,'' said Matthew Field, senior vice president and
general manager of New York City's WNCN. ``And a lot of stations do
nothing to turn that idea around. This is no longer a time for ivory
tower thinking.''
Although it has attracted critics, WNCN has sought to enliven its
classical format with a morning drive-time team, comedy skits, a
classical ``hit''-oriented playlist, European vacation giveaways and
guest disc jockeys like actor John Cleese and ``Phantom of the
Opera'' star Michael Crawford.
Field said the station, bought by GAF for $2.2 million in 1976,
is profitable and should make about $2 million this year.
Contests and promotions aside, it could be that many people's
interest in classical music stops at third-grade piano lessons.
``It's true ... that classical stations can't make enough money
to be worth the value of the asset. Why is that? It's because there
aren't enough people who like classical music,'' said Goldfarb.
``Radio stations would be happy to program classical music if enough
people wanted to listen to it.''
In California, with 686 commercial and public stations, there are
only 27 classical stations, down from 29 in 1988. In New York state,
of 431 stations 18 are classical _ down from 19 a year ago and only
three more than big-band.
Rather than a large audience, what classical stations offer
advertisers are sophisticated, upscale listeners.
``The retailers and the merchants realize that we deliver less
waste audience,'' said John Ver Standig, president of Ver Standig
Broadcasting, owner of WGMS in Washington. ``We deliver almost
exclusively a demographic that both by age and by income is the
prime buyer for any merchant that is selling anything of value.''
Despite the audience's quality, it still isn't big enough for
some.
``Many stations are now bought and sold more as speculative moves
than bona fide intents to operate and own a broadcast service,''
said Mike Langner, past president of the Concert Music Broadcasters
Association.
``The speculators are driving out the broadcasters.''
AP890920-0012
AP-NR-09-20-89 0028EDT
u p AM-SeattleMayor 1stLd-Writethru a0731 09-20 0422
AM-Seattle Mayor, 1st Ld-Writethru, a0731,0432
Anti-Busing Campaign Leader and Black Candidate Lead Seattle Mayoral
Race
Eds: Leads with 10 grafs to UPDATE with early returns; picks up at
dash.
By DAVID AMMONS
Associated Press Writer
SEATTLE (AP)
City Attorney Doug Jewett, co-sponsor of an
anti-busing initiative, and former King County Executive Randy
Revelle led the early vote count among 13 candidates for mayor in a
primary election Tuesday.
Running a close third was City Council member Norm Rice, a black
community leader making his second attempt to become the city's
first black mayor.
Partial returns from 44.5 percent of the precincts in King
County, and absentee ballots showed Jewett with 5,231 votes or 27.5
percent, Revelle with 3,586 or 19 percent and Rice with 3,388 or 18
percent.
Two other City Council members, Jim Street and Dolores Sibonga,
were next with 14 percent and 9 percent, respectively.
The top two vote-getters advance to the general election Nov. 7.
Mayoral primaries were also held in Tacoma, Spokane and other
Washington cities and hamlets.
With no legislative or statewide races on the primary ballot, the
often-overlooked city and county elections had the spotlight.
In populous King County, where the Seattle mayor's race, school
board, port and county races have sparked interest, a 25 percent
turnout was predicted.
Jewett, the only Republican among the top mayoral contenders for
the nonpartisan job in a heavily Democratic city, has been the
municipality's chief legal officer for 12 years. In his last bid for
higher office, a run for the U.S. Senate in 1982, he was trounced by
the late Sen. Henry M. Jackson.
Mayor Charles Royer is stepping down in January after an
unprecedented 12 years as mayor of the city of 500,000 to become
head of the Institute of Political Studies at Harvard University's
Kennedy School of Government.
Rice was a last-minute entry in the non-partisan mayor's race,
but quickly jumped to the head of the field of candidates.
Rice, 46, is a former broadcast reporter, Urban League official
and a banker. He lost to Royer four years ago and finished second in
a Democratic primary for Congress last year.
He said he jumped into the fray because of what he called a
divisive anti-school busing initiative. The measure will be on the
November ballot.
Jewett is co-sponsor of the initiative, and backers said he could
ride it into the mayor's office. Revelle is an attorney who headed
King County government for four years after a stint on the Seattle
City Council.
AP890920-0013
AP-NR-09-20-89 0042EDT
r a PM-Nielsens 09-20 0482
PM-Nielsens,0497
ABC's `Roseanne' and `Chicken Soup' Lead Ratings
By JERRY BUCK
AP Television Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP)
ABC's new Tuesday night comedy combo,
``Roseanne'' and ``Chicken Soup,'' led the A.C. Nielsen Co. ratings
last week.
``Roseanne'' won big with its early season premiere and took the
new comedy series ``Chicken Soup'' along for the ride. The Roseanne
Barr show was 5 ratings points ahead and captured 40 percent of the
audience. ABC also had two other shows in the Top 10 last week,
according to the A.C. Nielsen Co.
NBC became the first network in television history to sweep every
week of a broadcast year from one season premiere to another. ABC
was second last week, followed by CBS. NBC won every week except for
a tie the week CBS telecast the miniseries ``Lonesome Dove.'' In
all, NBC was first for the last 65 weeks.
ABC's ``Chicken Soup'' stars comedian Jackie Mason as a former
pajama salesman who takes a new job at a community center. Preseason
forecasts were that ``Chicken Soup'' would be the biggest hit of the
new season.
The three networks previewed some shows this past week, but the
season officially began Monday.
NBC's highest-ranked show was its coverage of ``The Miss America
Pageant,'' which was third. A rerun of NBC's ``Golden Girls'' was
fourth and a preview of the network's new comedy ``Sister Kate'' was
fifth. CBS' ``60 Minutes,'' back with new shows, was sixth.
ABC's ``Monday Night Football'' game between the New York Giants
and the Washington Redskins was seventh. Reruns of NBC's ``The Cosby
Show'' and ``Cheers'' were eighth and ninth. ABC's Tuesday preview
of the new fall drama ``Life Goes On'' was 10th. Its Friday preview
of the same episode tied for 28th place.
``The Emmy Awards Show'' on Fox Broadcasting was in 37th place.
Only 19 percent of the audience watched the Sunday night show. The
pre-awards show on the arrival of the stars was 68th.
NBC won the week with an average prime-time rating of 12.4. ABC
had 11.8 and CBS 11.0.
The ratings is the percentage of the nation's estimated 90.4
million homes with televisions.
The CBS preview of ``Wolf'' tied for 17th place with the rerun of
an NBC ``Perry Mason'' movie. ABC's ``Just the 10 of Us'' season
preview tied for 26th place with a rerun of NBC's ``L.A. Law.'' The
premiere of ABC's new comedy series ``Homeroom'' was 64th.
CBS' ``Paradise,'' with another show featuring Hugh O'Brian
reprising his role as Wyatt Earp, was 49th.
Fox's special telecast of the rock opera ``Tommy'' starring The
Who was 70th.
The top-rated news show last week was ``The CBS Evening News''
with a 9.4 rating. NBC had 9.0 and ABC 8.9. The usually high-rated
ABC's ``World News Tonight'' was pre-empted or not telecast on 18
West Coast stations on Monday because of the return of ``Monday
Night Football.''
AP890920-0014
AP-NR-09-20-89 0043EDT
r a PM-TreePlanter Bjt 09-20 0963
PM-Tree Planter, Bjt,0991
Utah's Johnny Appleseed Makes a Desert Bloom
With LaserPhoto
EDITOR'S NOTE
President Bush has been making news in the West
this week by planting trees and urging Americans to dig holes in
their backyards and do the same. In Utah, a modern Johnny Appleseed
has been planting trees, against all good advice, for 30 years.
By DAVID FOSTER
Associated Press Writer
MAGNA, Utah (AP)
Even as a boy, Paul Rokich sensed his future
was tied to the barren hills behind Smelter Camp, the mining town
where he was born.
The hills were black as tar and just as dead. Decades of logging,
grazing, wildfires and sooty smelter fumes had whittled a
once-verdant forest down to a couple of old snags atop a ridge.
``When I was 6, I saw those two dead trees,'' Rokich recalled,
``and I knew I was going to go up and plant those mountains.''
Fifty years later, Paul Rokich has done just that. The
long-abused northern end of the Oquirrhs, a range of hills south of
the Great Salt Lake, has come alive with grasses, flowers, shrubs
and trees.
It's a marvelous transformation, but it would never have started
had Rokich listened to the experts. As a young botany student at the
University of Utah, he told professors of his dream to revive the
Oquirrhs (rhymes with smokers). They told him the eroded hills were
beyond hope.
On May 7, 1959, Rokich set out to prove them wrong. In the dead
of night, he parked his car, hoisted a pack and hiked into the
hills. He was trespassing on land owned by Kennecott Copper Corp.
Sulfurous mist from the smelter hung in the air. ``It was so
quiet and still, you couldn't believe it,'' he said. ``There was no
vegetation, no animals, nothing.''
That first trip, Rokich planted a Russian olive tree and two
plots of tall wheat grass. Over the years, he planted anything he
thought might grow in the ``desert pavement'' of the Oquirrhs. To
finance his obsession _ for that is what it became _ he borrowed
money from relatives, begged donations from seed companies and dug
into his modest earnings as a construction worker.
Once, one of his three boys was sick and the family was down to
$10. Rokich spent $5 on medicine, $5 on trees. ``We didn't have
extra money to spend on what he was doing,'' said his wife, Ann,
``but he had a vision.''
He also had the strength of a mule. At 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds,
Rokich still hikes fast enough to leave a visitor half his age
gasping. In the early days, he would start at 4 a.m., hiking and
planting for 15 hours. To leave room for seedlings, he packed
neither food nor water. He chewed elderberries found along the way,
spit out the seeds and planted them.
He had many setbacks. Young trees succumbed to drought, early
frosts, rock slides and hungry rabbits. One year, a sheep herder
burned off a hillside, killing 3,000 new Douglas firs and ponderosa
pines.
But slowly, grass took hold. Elderberry and sumac shrubs became
thickets, and trees reached skyward.
After years of looking the other way, Kennecott in 1973 sent
officials to inspect Rokich's work. They hired him. Rokich no longer
had to smuggle in seedlings. He drove a company truck, planted trees
by tractor and spread grass seed by the ton from a helicopter.
Today, in the canyon where Rokich started, fir trees are ``coming
in like hair on a dog's back,'' he said. Even Kesler Canyon, the
area closest to the smelter and the most devastated, is being
reclaimed.
``It was supposed to be impossible to grow things here in
Kesler,'' Rokich said during a recent visit. ``But look!''
Ten-foot-high locust trees poked up from a sea of grass.
Sunflowers waved in the breeze. A mule deer peered from a thicket.
``I bet you there are 50 deer out there right now, lying in the
bushes and watching us,'' Rokich said. There are also rabbits,
partridge, bobcats and coyotes. Golden eagles and yellow-tailed
hawks soar, and in autumn, the once-silent canyon echoes with the
bugling of 200 elk.
Kennecott modernized its smelter in 1977, reducing pollution and
giving vegetation a chance to grow. But company officials hand
Rokich most of the credit for the Oquirrhs' revival.
``Sure, the company would have done revegetation work,'' said
Frank Fisher, external affairs director. ``But it wouldn't be
anywhere as far along without a guy like Paul. He's truly a zealot.''
Rokich figures he has personally planted 60,000 trees and shrubs
on 14,000 acres. That first Russian olive tree is now 25 feet high;
last winter, an old bull elk looking for a place to die found
shelter under its spreading limbs.
The years have turned Rokich's hair white, but at 56 he is no
fading bull. His youthful optimism remains, evidenced by a perpetual
grin and earnest brown eyes always scanning the next ridge for some
happy surprise. The mountains have kept him young, he says, and his
work has kept him satisfied.
Sometimes he sits in his truck and reads the hillside like others
read a newspaper. Each precious plant has a history, and Paul Rokich
knows the details, for it's his history, too.
``You know, I thought that if I got this started, then when I was
dead and gone, people would come and see it. I never thought I'd get
to see it myself.''
He stretched his arms wide, as if trying to embrace everything:
the trees, the birds, the swaying grass.
``I'm amazed,'' he said. ``Look at what I've done. What more
could you want?''
EDITOR'S NOTE
David Foster is the AP Northwest regional
reporter, based in Seattle.
AP890920-0015
AP-NR-09-20-89 0105EDT
r i PM-Speedy 09-20 0393
PM-Speedy,0407
Tortoise, Owner Identify Each Other in Police Lineup
By GRAHAM HEATHCOTE
Associated Press Writer
LONDON (AP)
Police in Birmingham held a tortoise lineup and
claimed later to have solved the case of Speedy the wanderer.
``I am quite certain we have found the right owner,'' said police
superintendent Martin Burton, whose force in the English Midlands
plucked the runaway reptile from thundering traffic on a highway on
Monday.
Paul Dunn, 13, given time off school to attend Tuesday's lineup,
picked out Speedy as the pet that had been missing for two weeks.
``I knew that if it was Speedy I could prove it because he has a
dent in his shell and if I breathe heavily into his face he will
breathe back,'' said Paul.
Burton said highway patrol sergeant Brian Wevill spotted the
slow-moving tortoise walking on the M-6 highway on Birmingham's
outskirts.
One truck driver had halted to avoid running over the animal and
other vehicles were forced to filter around the tiny traveler,
Burton said.
When a radio newscast reported the rescue, the police said they
were flooded with calls from across Britain claiming ownership of
the tortoise.
One woman called from Australia to offer a home.
Owner and pet were reunited after police organized a lineup at
the Birmingham Nature Center zoo, where Burton had an infra-red
marking put on Speedy's shell to make sure it wouldn't get lost in
the crowd.
``We called him Speedy when we found him and it's just an amazing
coincidence that he really is called Speedy,'' the superintendent
said.
``Speedy loves greener pastures,'' explained Paul's mother,
Eileen. ``He has gone missing three times before and we have found
him walking down the road. But this is the first time he has
ventured on to the motorway. He has walked just over a mile in two
weeks so it is pretty good going.''
The number of claimants to Speedy was not surprising.
Tortoises are difficult to buy in Britain because of import
restrictions imposed following warnings from conservationists that
the creatures are fast diminishing in their native Greece and north
Africa.
Speedy will be going into winter hibernation soon and needs
plenty of nourishing meals to build up energy reserves.
Mrs. Dunn gave the wanderer a bowl of bread and strawberry jam,
soaked in milk.
``It's his favorite,'' she said.
AP890920-0016
AP-NR-09-20-89 0115EDT
r i PM-CambodiaWithdrawal 09-20 0732
PM-Cambodia Withdrawal,0757
Vietnam Predicts Long-Term Fighting In Cambodia After Its Pullout
By JOHN POMFRET
Associated Press Writer
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (AP)
Vietnam is predicting that
factional fighting will continue in Cambodia after its army
withdraws from the neighboring country it invaded nearly 11 years
ago.
The last Vietnamese soldier is supposed to leave Cambodia within
a week.
Maj. Gen. Nguyen Van Thai, chief spokesman for the Ministry of
National Defense, made the tacit acknowledgment Tuesday that Vietnam
had failed in its goal to wipe out Cambodian resistance.
He also claimed that Vietnam's major achievement during the war
was not strategic but involved saving the Cambodian people from
genocide at the hands of the Khmer Rouge.
The officer spoke at a news conference to announce the start of
the last stage of Vietnam's withdrawal, begun in July 1988.
The movement will mark the end of one phase of conflict and the
beginning of another in Indochina, which has not seen peace since
before World War II.
Between Thursday and Tuesday, 26,000 Vietnamese soldiers are
supposed to return to Vietnam, leaving behind a Cambodian government
army of an estimated 50,000 regulars and 60,000 to 80,000 poorly
trained militia.
Facing them will be a resistance coalition of roughly 45,000 men.
Recent reports from the Thai border indicate the fighting has
heated up, especially around the gem-rich area of Pailin and in Siem
Reap province. Thai corroborated the reports and claimed resistance
forces recently had received ``a massive shipment of weapons.''
``There might be trouble and fighting might continue without an
end in Cambodia,'' Thai said.
The first in a series of farewell parades, orchestrated by the
Cambodian government, is to kick off in Siem Reap Thursday morning.
More than 500 journalists from all over the world will be in
Cambodia to witness the troop movement, an action Vietnam hopes will
better its international reputation. The country, one of the poorest
in the world, is badly in need of Western aid, which was mostly cut
off after it invaded Cambodia.
Thai denied allegations by Cambodian resistance factions that the
withdrawal was a sham and Vietnamese soldiers were being disguised
among the ranks of the Cambodian army.
``Absolutely, there will not be any Vietnamese troops remaining
in Cambodia after Sept. 26,'' Thai said.
He said he was confident that Cambodia would be able to defend
itself against the resistance coalition led politically by the
former Cambodian king, Prince Norodom Sihanouk, and militarily by
the radical Communist Khmer Rouge.
However, he did not rule out a Vietnamese military return to
Cambodia.
``In case of a threat of the genocidal regime coming back then I
think the government of the state of Cambodia would call on the
international community for help,'' he said.
If called on for assistance, Thai said, the Vietnamese army
``would then announce its decision.''
Vietnam invaded Cambodia in December 1978, ending the bloody
four-year rule of the Khmer Rouge and installing a pro-Vietnamese
government in its place. During its rule, the Khmer Rouge killed
hundreds of thousands of people in trying to turn the country into
an agrarian commune.
Since it was installed in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, the
pro-Vietnamese government has gained some legitimacy in the eyes of
Cambodians. Buddhist monks are no longer harshly persecuted and the
economy has improved slightly.
Since 1979, Vietnamese and Cambodian government forces have
battled against a guerrilla coalition comprised of troops loyal to
Sihanouk, the Khmer Rouge and Son Sann, a former premier of Cambodia.
China, which fought a brief border war with Vietnam in 1979, is
the main military backer of the resistance coalition, which also
receives humanitarian support from the United States and the
capitalist countries of Southeast Asia. The Soviet Union is the main
military backer of Vietnam.
A series of internationally sponsored negotiations have failed to
arrive at a political solution to the conflict.
Recent talks in Paris collapsed because of a disagreement over
the future role of the Khmer Rouge in the Cambodian government.
When asked what he thought Vietnam's 10-year occupation of
Cambodia had accomplished, Thai said it had saved the Cambodian
people from genocide. In terms of strategic aims, Thai said, Vietnam
had succeeded in defending itself.
Thai said Vietnam lost 55,300 troops during its fight with
Cambodia, 25,000 of whom died during border clashes with Cambodia in
1977-78. Another 55,000 troops were seriously wounded.
AP890920-0017
AP-NR-09-20-89 0104EDT
u a AM-GoetzRelease 1stLd-Writethru a0786 09-20 0503
AM-Goetz Release, 1st Ld - Writethru, a0786,0512
Goetz Released from Jail
Eds: Leads with four grafs with release; picks up 5th graf pvs, `Ryles
said ....
NEW YORK (AP)
Subway gunman Bernhard Goetz was released from
jail early Wednesday after serving more than eight months in the
shooting of four youths on a subway train in 1984.
Goetz left the Brooklyn Center of Detention through a side door
to avoid about 30 photographers, reporters and eight camera crews
who were waiting for him by the front entrance.
``He refused to come out the front door,'' said Deputy Chief of
Operations Pete Mahn.
Before the release, Correction Department spokeswoman Ruby Ryles
said a privilege that Goetz and other inmates have upon being
discharged is to be driven to the nearest subway station. Mahn did
not say if Goetz was taken to the subway.
Ryles said Goetz, who became something of a folk hero among those
who saw him as a lone individual taking a stand against crime,
whiled away much of his time playing chess with fellow inmates in
his 18-cell protective custody block.
Others in the block included convicted child killer Joel
Steinberg, Jewish militant Mordechai Levy, and Bensonhurst race
attack suspect Joseph Fama.
Goetz, 41, had been a self-employed electronics technician before
he was arrested in the shooting on Dec. 22, 1984, of four teen-agers
he said were trying to rob him on a subway near the World Trade
Center when they asked him for $5.
The youths claimed they wanted the money to play video game
machines.
In June 1987, following a two-month trial, Goetz was cleared of
attempted murder and assault but convicted of illegal possession of
the gun he used to shoot the youths.
State Supreme Court Justice Stephen Crane sentenced him to six
months in jail, a $5,000 fine, 250 hours of community service and
ordered him to undergo psychiatric treatment.
Goetz and his lawyers appealed the sentence, calling it illegal.
The prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Gregory Waples, and the
State Supreme Court's Appellate Division agreed.
The appeals court sent the case back to Crane for resentencing.
In January, Crane sentenced Goetz to one year. With time off for
good behavior, he was expected to serve eight months in jail and
would have been released two weeks ago, but jail guards found a
plastic safety razor in his cell and he was ordered to serve 14 days
more as punishment.
Goetz said jail officials had given him a dirty razor and he was
afriad of getting AIDS. Ryles said inmates are given fresh, unused
razors every day. She said he refused to surrender the razor to
guards, claiming he was keeping it as evidence, and he drew the
extra two weeks in jail.
Goetz still faces a multimillion-dollar lawsuit filed by the
family of one of his victims, Darrell Cabey, who was left
brain-damaged and paralyzed.
Goetz, who lives in Manhattan, has said he might leave New York
City after he gets out of jail.
AP890920-0018
AP-NR-09-20-89 0554EDT
d a PM-BRF--CardinalKrol 09-20 0128
PM-BRF--Cardinal Krol,0131
Cardinal Krol Undergoes Brain Surgery
PHILADELPHIA (AP)
Cardinal John Krol underwent surgery to
remove a fluid buildup from his brain, and doctors expect the
78-year-old retired Roman Catholic archbishop to make a complete
recovery.
During Tuesday's 30-minute operation, Graduate Hospital's chief
neurosurgeon, Dr. Michael J. O'Connor, drilled a small hole in the
left side of Krol's skull.
``The cardinal is doing very well,'' O'Connor said. ``He was
awake during the operation, joking during surgery. The prognosis is
excellent.''
The operation was similar to that performed successfully on
former President Reagan, according to the Rev. John Sibel, spokesman
for the Philadelphia archdiocese.
Krol, who retired 1{ years ago, will remain hospitalized for six
days, O'Connor said. Doctors noticed the fluid during a brain scan.
AP890920-0019
AP-NR-09-20-89 0129EDT
u a AM-PasterExecution 1stLd-Writethru a0734 09-20 0473
AM-Paster Execution, 1st Ld-Writethru, a0734,0483
URGENT
Former Elvis Impersonator Linked To Five Murders Executed In Texas
Eds: UPDATES throughout with exeuction.
LaserPhoto DN3
By MICHAEL GRACZYK
Associated Press Writer
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP)
A man described as ``Satan personified''
was executed by injection early Wednesday for one of five slayings
he was accused of committing.
James Paster, 44, a onetime lounge singer and Elvis Presley
impersonator, was pronounced dead at 12:17 a.m.
Paster was sentenced to death for the 1980 contract killing of a
38-year-old Houston man, said Bill Zapalac, an assistant attorney
general.
On Tuesday, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals refused to grant
a reprieve. Defense attorneys contend jurors at Paster's trial
should have been allowed to consider evidence of his abused
childhood.
Paster's attorney, Stanley Schneider, said he spoke with Paster
by telephone Tuesday and found his client upbeat, but declined to
divulge the nature of the conversation.
Paster also was serving a life prison term for the rape and
murder of an 18-year-old Conroe woman. Stephen McCoy, Paster's
co-defendant in that case, was executed earlier this year.
Paster also pleaded guilty to the slaying of another woman and
has confessed to killing two other Houston-area women, although he
never was tried for those offenses.
In April, Paster and another condemned killer unsuccessfully
tried to escape from death row by squeezing through a 1-foot-square
air vent and sawing through an exhaust fan opening.
``I'm about as smart as a box of rocks,'' Paster, whose left arm
is adorned with a large tattoo of a swastika with the word ``Hero''
written through it, said recently in a death row interview. ``I'm
not trying to justify any darn thing. There's no justification for
what I've done.''
Paster was condemned for the Oct. 25, 1980, shooting death of
Robert Edward Howard, for which he said he was paid $1,000 and a
motorcycle. Howard was gunned down as he emerged from a Houston bar.
``Had I ever known this individual, had a drink or beer with him,
I wouldn't have done it,'' Paster said. ``It made it easier, like
hitting someone on the highway. I never got out of the car.
``It's not hard to take a life _ one shot, 20 feet away, in the
head,'' he said.
Howard's ex-wife, Trudy Howard LeBlanc, 42, is serving a life
prison term for hiring Paster and brothers Gary and Eddie LeBlanc to
commit the murder.
Paster served time in California and was in custody in Alabama
when he was arrested for the Howard killing. California officials
described him as having serious sexual problems and the potential
for being extremely dangerous.
Paster was the third inmate executed in Texas this year and the
32nd since 1982 _ the most of any state since the U.S. Supreme Court
in 1976 allowed capital punishment to resume.
AP890920-0020
AP-NR-09-20-89 0220EDT
r i PM-ProsciuttoReturns 09-20 0760
PM-Prosciutto Returns,0784
After Two Decades, Prosciutto Ham from Parma Returns to United States
Eds: Also in Wednesday AMs report.
By DENNIS REDMONT
Associated Press Writer
PARMA, Italy (AP)
Barred from the United States for 22 years,
prosciutto from Parma makes a comeback this fall. Italians
demonstrated to the Department of Agriculture that the air-cured,
raw ham is not hazardous to your health.
Parma had long exported its famous Parmesan cheese, along with
the opera music of its native Giuseppe Verdi and its conductor
Arturo Toscanini. But its light pink, tender, sweet-tasting
prosciutti were kept out in 1967, when swine fever swept Italy.
Fearing foot-and-mouth disease and hog cholera, the U.S.
government closed its borders. Americans had to make do with Swiss
ham from Tessin or imitations from Pennsylvania or Connecticut.
``But,'' claims Giorgio Orlandini, ``no one could ever match the
curing by sweet and foggy air drifting through pine, olive and
chestnut forests and the tradition of pork pummelers massaging hog
shoulders into tenderness for at least a year before they reach the
store.''
Orlandini, director of the Industrial Union of Parma, helped lead
the battle to get prosciutto back to the United States.
Only pigs bred in a special area on a combination of Parmesan
curds and other feed _ but not slop _ can be candidates for
prosciutto. They must reach 330 pounds at the end of a year before
going to registered slaughterhouses.
After hardening for 24 hours in deep freeze, hog shoulders are
pared of fat, salted, seasoned and frozen for another month.
The hams emerge to the kneading bench for the first of many
massages to squeeze out the salty juice and tenderize the meat.
They are kept at least 400 days in ventilated storage halls that
contain slats opened from time to time at night to allow the
balsamic air to waft through the hanging hams.
Finally, the hams are scrubbed with warm water, sandpapered to an
attractive finish and kept in a moist chamber until selling time.
At almost every stage, the ham massager gives them another quick
rubdown. Inadequate hams are eliminated, with the 214 members of the
prosciutto ham corsortium able to take a tax deduction.
The Parma ham symbol _ a ducal crown with five points _ burnt
into the prosciutto and a specially stamped metal joint guarantee it
is the real thing.
Parma produces over 8 million prosciutti a year, about half of
Italy's total raw ham production.
Processors say the long seasoning destroys all potentially
present microorganisms and should trim the ham to nearly half its
original weight, but no less than 15.4 pounds.
Stung by the U.S. ban, the consortium fought to prove that swine
flu had been licked and that the slaughtering, seasoning and
pummeling were as hygienic as in America.
A veterinarian from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service was sent to visit the 21
companies accredited for export to the United States. Changes were
made _ but five-century-old traditions remained, such as ceremonial
ham-by-ham ``smelling.''
An expert still inserts a thin bone from a horse's tibia to
discern if the aroma in the processing is just right.
``Finally, the innocence of prosciutto has emerged,'' says Franco
Scatozza, dean emeritus of veterinarian medicine at the University
of Parma.
``It would be absurd to suspect that if the animals suffered an
infection, these organisms would survive a long period of processing
and seasoning. And these illnesses would not be contagious for
humans.''
Scatozza said the U.S. government finally was persuaded, after
government-supervised experiments on both sides of the Atlantic,
that the long curing of the ham triggers self-sterilization and
eliminates any viruses.
On April 8, 1987, the news spread through this gastronomic
capital of Italy: the U.S. Department of Agriculture had lifted the
ban.
After clearance procedures, the go-ahead was flashed for
shipments to America this month.
The thin, silky slices of ham retail in Italy for about $15 a
pound. The price should hover around $20 a pound in the United
States, selling under such labels as ``Il Numero Uno.''
Macy's was reported ready to sell it for $14.95 a pound.
About 40,000 hams are scheduled for export to the United States
before yearend. Two million prosciutti are exported yearly, mainly
to other European countries.
Prosciutto agent Thomas Phiebig of Englewood Cliffs, N.J., says
prosciutto will be found initially at East Coast specialty shops
after an Oct. 1 gala dinner to welcome back the Italian ham at New
York's Hotel Pierre with Gov. Mario Cuomo in attendance.
AP890920-0021
AP-NR-09-20-89 0223EDT
r a PM-SuperpowerRendezvous Bjt 09-20 0640
PM-Superpower Rendezvous, Bjt,0656
Jackson Locals Not Impressed with International Hoopla
GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP)
Residents say they'll
welcome the U.S. and Soviet foreign ministers this week as long as
the tete-a-tete in the Grand Tetons doesn't crimp elk hunting or
trout fishing.
Bob Lunger, owner of Spike Camp sport shop, was too busy
outfitting dozens of hunters for the just-started elk season to
worry about the presummit meeting between Secretary of State James
Baker and Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze.
``This is my busiest time of year,'' Lunger said. ``I don't have
time to pay much attention to that stuff.''
Lunger's attitude isn't much different from that of many Jackson
Hole locals, who are about as impressed with visiting dignitaries
and celebrities as backcountry bull moose or black bears that wander
into the town of Jackson.
``There are a lot of celebrities that come through here. We just
don't make a big deal about it. We just go on about our business,''
said Amy Jones, floor manager for The Get Your Buns In Here Bunnery
in downtown Jackson.
President Bush has been a frequent visitor to the area, known for
its blue ribbon fly fishing, art galleries, wooden sidewalks, skiing
and towering 13,766-foot Grand Teton.
Former presidents Kennedy, Ford, Carter and Teddy Roosevelt all
vacationed in the area, which also has been home to movie stars,
artists and wealthy industrialists.
Actor Harrison Ford of ``Star Wars'' fame often is spotted at
local cafes and the Rockefellers and DuPonts have ranches in the
area.
While the presence of celebrities may be passe in this
cosmopolitan mountain town, the bakery manager conceded, ``this
(presummit) itself is a little more exciting than Bo Derek making a
movie.''
The superpower talks and accommodations will be at the 385-room
Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park, about 30 miles
north of Jackson and just south of Yellowstone National Park in
northwestern Wyoming.
Earlier this year Baker, who owns a ranch about 75 miles south of
Jackson, enticed Shevardnadze to agree to the meetings in Wyoming
after showing him photographs of the Tetons.
From the lakeside lodge the delegations will be able to gaze
through 60-foot tall windows at the snow-dusted mountains. A short
walk will take them through stands of golden aspen and, if they're
lucky, give them a view of a moose or two wading across Willow Flats
or into Oxbow Bend of the Snake River.
While the two delegations discuss arms control, human rights,
international law, the Middle East and the global environment, an
estimated 400 journalists from throughout the world will crowd
Jackson's motels, restaurants and bars.
The press will have little access to the lodge, prompting tourism
officials to try to take advantage of possible idle time for members
of the media. They have compiled hundreds of feature story ideas
about the area.
The setting itself can't help but provide a humbling environment
for the global powers to meet, said Gov. Mike Sullivan, who plans to
greet Baker and Shevardnadze upon their arrival Thursday night.
``Anybody that's been there knows there's a special aura about
the beauty of the Tetons and the peaceful nature of the valley,''
Sullivan said. ``You can get very close to nature in Jackson _
that's always helpful to any kind of deliberations.''
But can they get close to the western flavor of the area, settled
by fur trappers and mountain men in the early part of the 19th
century and now populated by the wealthy, ranchers,
environmentalists, shopkeepers and ski bums?
``I don't think you can be in Jackson Hole without experiencing
the flavor of the West,'' Sullivan said. ``Even if ensconced in
meetings, they'll feel the mountain air and see the clear rivers and
oversee the beautiful mountains _ if we don't get a cold front that
moves in.''
AP890920-0022
AP-NR-09-20-89 0226EDT
r a PM-Legionnaires'-Vaccine Bjt 09-20 0561
PM-Legionnaires'-Vaccine, Bjt,0580
Experimental Vaccine Protects Lab Animals Against Legionnaires' Disease
By PAUL RAEBURN
AP Science Editor
HOUSTON (AP)
Two experimental vaccines protected lab animals
against a lethal dose of the bacteria that cause Legionnaires'
disease, raising hopes for a vaccine to protect humans, a researcher
says.
Between 600 and 1,000 cases of Legionnaires' disease are reported
to the federal Centers for Disease Control each year. Estimates of
the actual number of cases range as high as 100,000 a year, said the
vaccine's developer, Dr. Marcus Horwitz of the University of
California, Los Angeles.
``It's clearly a major problem in hospitals,'' Horwitz said
Tuesday at a meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.
``It's a major cause of death from hospital-acquired pneumonia.''
The first vaccine Horwitz developed consisted of a weakened,
mutant strain of the bacteria Legionella pneumophila, which causes
the deadly disease.
Then Horwitz developed a vaccine consisting of a single chemical
from the virus. The single-molecule vaccine protected 21 of 26
guinea pigs from a lethal dose of Legionella bacteria.
None of 26 unvaccinated guinea pigs survived after the same dose,
Horwitz said.
Guinea pigs were used because they develop a disease similar to
Legionnaires' disease in humans, he said.
Dr. Robert Breiman, a Legionnaires' disease expert at the CDC,
said the vaccine, if it ultimately proves successful in humans,
could be especially useful for the transplant recipients, cancer
patients, the elderly and people taking steroids.
They all have weakened immune systems and are especially
susceptible to Legionnaires' disease, he said.
Horwitz and his colleagues ``have very nice results,'' Breiman
said. The vaccines ``look like they protect animals very nicely
against Legionella.''
``It remains to be seen whether this sort of vaccine would
protect these people'' who are especially at risk, said Breiman, who
worked with Horwitz before going to the CDC. ``It's a long way to a
vaccine in humans.''
Horwitz said it would be at least two or three years before he
was ready for a trial of the vaccine in humans.
He said he was surprised that ``you can immunize an animal with a
single molecule.'' Such a vaccine should be safer, easier to use and
cheaper than the mutant bacteria vaccine.
The molecule is called the major secretory protein, and its
function in Legionella infection is not understood, Horwitz said.
He does have a good theory of how the vaccine works, however.
Legionella bacteria infect certain white blood cells called
monocytes and then hide inside where the body's immune system can't
find them.
The immune system, primed by the vaccine, secretes substances
that change the monocytes in such a way that they lose most of their
ability to absorb iron as they normally do.
Legionella bacteria depend on iron, and when they don't get it,
they stop growing.
The next step in the research will be to show that the vaccine
can protect animals against various strains of Legionella
pneumophila, and against other species of Legionella.
Legionella pneumophila is responsible for 90 percent of
Legionnaires' disease, but five or six other species of Legionella
also cause disease, Horwitz said.
Another question to be answered is how long the immunity induced
by the vaccine will continue to protect against disease, he said.
Legionnaires' disease takes its name from its first known
outbreak _ at the Pennsylvania American Legion convention in
Philadelphia in July 1976.
AP890920-0023
AP-NR-09-20-89 0233EDT
r a PM-Cancun-Disease 09-20 0343
PM-Cancun-Disease,0354
Outbreak of Infection in Mexico Could Lead to Epidemic
By PAUL RAEBURN
AP Science Editor
HOUSTON (AP)
An estimated 500 Americans came home from Cancun,
Mexico, last year with a severe form of dysentery that sent some of
them to the hospital for a month, according to a U.S. government
study.
The disease was caused by a strain of bacteria almost identical
to one that infected 500,000 people in Central America between 1969
and 1972, killing 20,000, said Dr. Julie Parsonnet of Stanford
University.
``This is one of the most infectious organisms there is'' and one
``with a very high hospitalization rate,'' she said Tuesday at a
meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, where she
presented the results of an investigation of the 1988 Cancun
epidemic.
The occurrence of the epidemic raises concern that the disease,
which tends to peak every 25 years or so, may be on the rise again
in Mexico and Central America, she said.
She said that Americans should not cancel trips to Cancun, a
popular resort, because of the epidemic. ``The risk of getting this
illness is extremely small,'' she said.
Tourists who do visit Cancun should take the precautions
recommended for all visitors to Mexico, she said: Don't drink water
or beverages with ice and avoid uncooked foods.
Parsonnet, who until recently was at the federal Centers for
Disease Control in Atlanta, said she and her colleagues identified
51 Americans with infections of Shigella dysenteriae in 1988.
Forty-four had been to Mexico and 33 had been in or near Cancun.
Three of the 51 had life-threatening complications, and one
9-year-old girl almost died, Parsonnet said.
The symptoms include bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps that
women have described as being similar to labor pains.
The exact source of the infection in Cancun could not be
identified, she said.
Cases of the disease are still being reported to U.S. officials.
An increase is expected as reports from the summer begin to come in,
because the disease tends to peak in the summer, she said.
AP890920-0024
AP-NR-09-20-89 0234EDT
r w PM-SovietPentecostals Bjt 09-20 0625
PM-Soviet Pentecostals, Bjt,600
Evangelical Christians Fear for Their Soviet Brethren
By RUTH SINAI
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
New U.S. efforts to stem the flow of Soviets _
most of them Jews _ into this country may leave evangelical
Christians at the end of the line to face severe repression at home,
an evangelical group says.
The National Association of Evangelicals, through its World
Relief arm, is campaigning to prevent the Oct. 1 implementation of
an administration plan that would cut off the Christians' main
escape route through Vienna and Rome.
``This administration must not impede the escape of persecuted
individuals for the sake of bureaucratic convenience,'' said a
letter from World Relief to Congress. ``We fear for their safety in
a nation where political stability is, at best, precarious and where
persecution of this group remains unabated.''
Rep. Bruce Morrison, who chairs the House subcommittee on
immigration, said he planned to take up the evangelicals' plight in
a meeting today with Attorney General Dick Thornburgh and other
administration officials.
Evangelical Christians, most of them Pentecostals, have been
seeking to leave the Soviet Union since the 1960s. It was only last
year, with the opening of the Soviet Union's doors to massive
emigration, that evangelicals were able to leave in large numbers
among the flood of Jews and ethnic Germans.
However, in an effort to save money and streamline the processing
of the Soviet applicants, the administration has decided that all
Soviets seeking to come to the United States must apply at the U.S.
Embassy in Moscow starting Oct. 1. The Rome and Vienna facilities
will be closed.
The plan calls for allocating 50,000 refugee slots to Soviet
emigres in fiscal 1990 starting Oct. 1, far short of the estimated
150,000 expected to apply.
In addition, according to State Department figures, the backlog
of applicants _ most of them Jews _ in Rome and Vienna will exceed
30,000 by Oct. 1. Another 65,000 are already in line in Moscow.
The new plan means evangelicals may have to get in back of the
Moscow line and could wait as long as two years just for an
interview with an INS officer about their application, said Serge
Duss, who coordinates the Soviet Refugee Program for the NAE.
``I am very disturbed by the administration's galloping ahead
with the Oct. 1 deadline when many problems, including the
evangelicals, haven't been resolved,'' Morrison said. ``There is no
question they continue to be persecuted and deserve priority
treatment.''
A State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity,
said some evangelicals may get priority treatment even if they have
not yet applied to leave.
But Duss said that in private consultations, his organization _
which claims 15 million members _ had not received any such
assurances.
``Many evangelical Christians believe glasnost is merely a
breathing spell before more repression begins against religious
activity,'' he said.
In 1963, 35 evangelical Christians were turned away from the U.S.
Embassy where they sought help in emigrating. In 1978, seven
Pentecostal families, known as the Siberian Seven, found refuge in
the basement of the U.S. Embassy where they stayed for five years
until being allowed out.
Since January 1988, some 12,000 evangelicals obtained exit visas
for Vienna and Rome, where they applied for U.S. refugee status. In
recognition of the persecution they suffered, all but 5 percent were
granted refugee status, according to the Immigration and
Naturalization Service.
There are an estimated 800,000 evangelical Christians _
Pentecostals, Baptists and Methodists _ in the Soviet Union but only
about 25,000 of those want to leave.
``The only reason they want to leave is so they can practice
their religion,'' Duss said. ``They're the closest thing to the
American Pilgrim we have these days.''
AP890920-0025
AP-NR-09-20-89 0236EDT
r w PM-Congress-Drugs Bjt 09-20 0541
PM-Congress-Drugs, Bjt,520
Republicans Offer to Boost Bush Anti-Drug Package
By JIM DRINKARD
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
Senate Democrats are taking another look at
President Bush's anti-drug proposal in light of a Republican offer
to boost it by $800 million over the original plan.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va.,
said he would present the GOP offer to his Democratic colleagues
today. ``We'll take another look at the figures,'' Byrd said.
But he added that while the numbers may be flexible, two
principles in the more expensive anti-drug package he proposed last
week remain non-negotiable: a greater emphasis on drug treatment and
prevention, and an across-the-board cut of most federal programs to
pay for the stepped-up drug war.
The logjam over the size, shape and funding of the war on drugs
is holding up not only the anti-drug package but also a series of
spending bills needed to keep the government running after the
current fiscal year ends Sept. 30.
Byrd said his goal in demanding even cuts in defense and domestic
programs is to avoid pitting program against program, senator
against senator _ as would occur if the money were sought from
specific targeted agencies. That could lead to even more delay in
getting the spending bills through, he said.
At a meeting in the Capitol late Tuesday, Senate Republicans
offered to add some $800 million to the $7.9 billion drug war Bush
outlined Sept. 5, and agreed to pay for about half of the
improvements with an across-the-board spending cut of one-fourth of
1 percent.
The remaining $400 million in increased funding would come from
cuts in a yet-to-be-selected assortment of defense and domestic
programs drawn from Bush's original proposal, said Sen. Mark O.
Hatfield, R-Ore., the chief GOP negotiator.
Of the $800 million increase, about $200 million would go to
local law enforcement programs and $600 million would go for
drug-abuse prevention, education and treatment programs.
``We've talked to the agencies. There's only so much money they
can absorb at this time,'' said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a member
of the Republican task force. ``We don't want to just throw money at
it. We don't want to be stupid with this approach.''
The new GOP package represented a middle ground between Bush's
original proposal and a beefed-up $10.1 billion package Byrd
proposed last week, which put the emphasis on drug abuse prevention
and treatment.
Byrd's proposal would finance the programs through a cut of 0.575
percent across the board on all discretionary domestic and military
programs. That would take a $1.8 billion bite out of the Pentagon
budget alone, a cut deemed unacceptable by the White House.
``The ball is in their court,'' Hatfield said Tuesday. He said
Bush administration officials who were present throughout the day,
including budget director Richard Darman, had gone along with the
sweetened offer, but ``not willingly.''
But the reality on Capitol Hill is that the drug issue holds a
substantial political risk for anyone perceived not to be
wholeheartedly in the fight, Hatfield said.
``The president has captured the public's concern,'' he said.
``The down side is if the public perceives that Congress is
squabbling over nickels and dimes... It's not going to help any of
us.''
AP890920-0026
AP-NR-09-20-89 0239EDT
r i PM-Amnesty-Executions 09-20 0665
PM-Amnesty-Executions,0683
Amnesty International Renews Appeal to End Death Penalty
By LESLIE SHEPHERD
Associated Press Writer
LONDON (AP)
Amnesty International stepped up its campaign
against capital punishment today, appealing to the United States,
the Soviet Union, China, South Africa, Iran and Iraq to abolish it.
The London-based human rights organization said it has documented
at least 1,600 legally sanctioned executions worldwide during the
first eight months of this year but believes the true number to be
much higher.
Amnesty International has long opposed the death penalty, calling
it a cruel and unusual punishment inflicted disproportionately on
the poor, ethnic minorities and political opponents.
It released a study of capital punishment worldwide in April,
urging 100 countries to wipe it off their lawbooks. Today, the
organization said it was renewing its appeal to six countries
because a change in their practices could ``turn the tide of
state-sanctioned killings.''
Amnesty also announced that its branches in 46 countries would
lobby embassies of the six governments during the next week, sending
them hundreds of telex, telephone and facsimile messages.
Amnesty said 13 people have been executed this year in the United
States and 37 in South Africa.
It said at least one person is known to have been executed in the
Soviet Union and five are awaiting imminent execution after losing
their appeals for clemency. It said the Soviet Union has refused to
publish statistics on executions for more than 50 years.
Precise figures are also difficult to obtain from Iraq because of
government secrecy, but Amnesty said hundreds are reported to have
been executed there this year. In Iran, there have been at least
1,200 executions in the same time period, more than half for
drug-related offenses, it said.
Amnesty said that of 242 people known to have been executed in
China this year, 137 were killed after the army's bloody crackdown
on the pro-democracy movement June 3-4 and included people accused
of involvement in the protests.
It reiterated earlier concerns that the total of Chinese
executions was much higher.
Amnesty said it was ``gravely concerned'' by legal and political
developments regarding the death penalty in several countries in the
last year.
It singled out a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that the
execution of juvenile offenders and the mentally retarded does not
violate the constitution, adding:
``Since the ruling was handed down at least one U.S. prisoner
believed to be mentally retarded has been executed. Horace Dunkins,
aged 28, was electrocuted in the state of Alabama on July 14. The
first jolt of electricity failed to kill him, reportedly because the
electric chair had been wired incorrectly. He was only declared dead
19 minutes after the lever was first pulled.''
On South Africa, Amnesty cited the death sentence imposed on 14
men and women in May in connection with the killing of a police
officer.
It said 13 of the defendants were found only to have thrown
stones at the officer's house after security forces broke up a
protest meeting near the town of Upington, but were convicted of
sharing a ``common purpose'' in the murder.
This month, the chief justice of South Africa's Supreme Court
said 13 of the 14 could appeal both conviction and sentence, and the
other could appeal the sentence.
Amnesty said that since April, one country, Cambodia, has
announced its decision to abolish capital punishment.
Moves for abolition are under way in several other countries, it
said, including Italy, where lawmakers called in August for the
death penalty to be removed from the country's military penal code,
and Switzerland where moves have been made in parliament to abolish
the death penalty for all offenses.
In Ireland, two political parties in the governing coalition
proposed in mid-July to abolish capital punishment; in Jamaica 10
prisoners had their death sentences annulled in March and July, some
after having been on death row for 11 years; and in Hungary, the
death penalty was abolished for crimes against the state in June.
AP890920-0027
AP-NR-09-20-89 0242EDT
r w PM-CatastrophicCare 09-20 0592
PM-Catastrophic Care,590
Panel Wants Administration in on Catastrophic Compromise
By JIM LUTHER
AP Tax Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
The Senate Finance Committee appears ready to
salvage two-thirds of catastrophic medical insurance for retirees _
but not before forcing the Bush administration to take some of the
heat for reducing benefits.
The panel is considering a plan by leaders of both parties that
would reduce the surtax that pays for most of the program while
repealing benefits for most prescription drugs and scaling back
coverage for skilled nursing care.
But before the committee could begin discussion of that proposal
Tuesday, Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, D-Texas, the chairman, abruptly
adjourned a meeting because Louis Sullivan, the secretary of health
and human services, was not on hand to answer questions.
``I am deeply disappointed that Dr. Sullivan is not here. He has
no more important measure before his department,'' Bentsen said. ``I
want to understand where the administration is on this issue.''
An HHS spokesman said Sullivan had personally told committee
members earlier Tuesday he could not attend the session. He said he
did not know whether Sullivan would attend the committee's meeting
this afternoon.
William Diefenderfer, deputy director of the White House Office
of Management and Budget, complained at Tuesday's hearing that ``we
are in a politically unstable situation with catastrophic.''
Bentsen and even some Republican lawmakers have complained that
the administration had offered little guidance on how Congress
should respond to heavy pressure from some older Americans who want
the catastrophic coverage changed.
Bentsen's tactic of adjourning Tuesday's meeting is unlikely to
affect the fate of the program. But it does pull the administration
into public debate over the issue and to share whatever blame there
might be for reducing benefits.
Still unknown is how many of the 33 million people eligible for
Medicare want the program to continue as is and how many of them
want it scaled back. Most of the mail has been coming from opponents.
Even if the committee were to approve the bipartisan plan for
salvaging most of the program, there will still be serious efforts
on the floors of the House and Senate to repeal it entirely.
The program was enacted a year ago to insure older Americans
against being bankrupted by a catastrophic illness.
Some retirees, who have catastrophic coverage financed by their
former employers, are fighting the mandatory program on grounds they
don't need it. Other complaints comes from some of the 40 percent of
retirees whose incomes are high enough that they pay more than $150
a year in income tax; they pay a 15 percent surtax that finances
most of the program.
The package under consideration by the committee would:
_Reduce the surtax rate from 15 percent of income tax over $150
to 12 percent, and the maximum surtax this year from $800 per
Medicare enrollee to $585.
_Increase to $1,780, starting in 1991, the annual amount of
physicians' fees a beneficiary would have to pay before the
catastrophic program starts paying 100 percent of approved charges.
Present law sets that ``copayment'' at $1,370.
_Eliminate catastrophic coverage for most prescription drugs.
_Require that patients spend three days in the hospital before
qualifying for coverage for care in a skilled nursing facility.
_Permit a retiree to drop catastrophic coverage but only if
Medicare Part B coverage _ which pays physicians' fees for routine
illnesses _ is dropped as well.
Under the proposal, the cost of catastrophic coverage for the
five years from 1989 through 1993 would drop from $42 billion to
$29.1 billion.
AP890920-0028
AP-NR-09-20-89 0243EDT
r w PM-FarmScene 09-20 0967
PM-Farm Scene,940
Bargains Showing Up at Turkey Counters
By DON KENDALL
AP Farm Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
Larger grain crops this year are lowering costs
for turkey producers and are paving the way for some bargains at
supermarket poultry counters, say Agriculture Department economists.
Retail turkey prices dropped slightly in August after rising for
five straight months, according to the Consumer Price Index
announced Tuesday by the Labor Department.
Despite the decline _ less than half a cent per pound _ the
average retail turkey price last month was still slightly more than
$1.04 per pound, compared with 96 cents a year earlier.
USDA economist Larry Witucki said he expects further declines the
rest of the year and that there has been ``a lot of featuring going
on'' by supermarkets to sell more turkeys.
Witucki said in a telephone interview that USDA analysts don't
think the Labor Department surveys fully reflect the many price
specials grocery stores feature on turkeys and many other products.
Although retail turkey prices are easing down from their summer
peak, Witucki said they may still average about 99 cents per pound
for the entire calendar year, up from 95.7 cents in 1988 but below
the annual average of more than $1.01 in 1987 and almost $1.07 in
1986.
Meanwhile, the department's Economic Research Service said in a
report to be published in the October issue of Farmline magazine
that lower prices for corn and soybean meal are expected to reduce
turkey production costs in the last half of 1989.
Economist Mark Weimar said production costs last year, when
drought-reduced crops drove up feed prices, rose to as high as 73
cents per pound of whole dressed turkey.
But with larger harvests in 1989, costs may decline to around 58
cents per pound and possibly as low as 55 cents before the end of
the year, he said.
Per capita consumption of turkey averaged 16 pounds in 1988, four
times the rate in 1950. Beef is still the leader at 72.7 pounds last
year, followed by pork, 63.1 pounds, and chicken, 63.1 pounds. But
turkey is gaining.
``Today, consumers do not have to buy a 14-to-20-pound turkey in
order to have a turkey meal,'' Weimar said. ``Rather, they can
choose a breast or a package of thighs.''
Other cuts such as drumsticks, wings and tenderloins, ground
turkey, sausage and lunch meats are some of the other choices that
enable turkey to compete with fresh meats.
Most of the increase in consumption is due to
``further-processed'' turkey, meaning cut-up birds or processed
meat. But whole birds still comprise nearly 40 percent of the turkey
Americans eat.
The statistics show consumers are not necessarily willing to
substitute turkey for beef or chicken, but they are willing to
substitute for pork, the report said. Ham is turkey's biggest rival
for shoppers' attention.
WASHINGTON (AP)
An Agriculture Department report says cigarette
production is declining this year and so is the average smoking rate
among Americans _ for the 16th consecutive year.
Total output is expected to drop from last year's 695 billion
cigarettes because of higher prices, health concerns and smoking
restrictions, the department's Economic Research Service said
Tuesday.
Cigarette use may drop about 3.5 percent from last year's average
of 3,096 cigarettes, or fewer than 155 packs of 20 each, the report
said.
The average is for all Americans 18 years and older, smokers and
non-smokers alike. It is a statistical comparison only and does not
indicate the actual smoking habits of the population.
Cigarette smoking peaked in 1963 at an average of 4,345 _ more
than 217 packs _ before beginning its long-time downward trend. The
annual average has blipped higher in several years, but USDA records
show the last increase was in 1973 when it rose to 4,148 cigarettes
from 4,043 in 1972.
Total U.S. tobacco production this year is up about 9 percent
from 1988, mostly because of increased acreage, the report said.
``Even with the larger crop and the continuing decline in U.S.
cigarette consumption, flue-cured (the most abundant type of U.S.
tobacco) auction prices are higher than a year ago,'' the report
said. ``The higher prices result from tightening supplies because of
reduced carryin (old inventories), a relatively good quality crop,
and higher price supports.''
Analysts said prospects for world tobacco use next season
indicated ``a small increase in sales and use of cigarettes and
unmanufactured tobacco.'' U.S. exports of unmanufactured tobacco
leaf ``may rise a little'' from last season.
WASHINGTON (AP)
A survey of sheep ranchers by Agriculture
Department researchers shows flocks are less likely to be attacked
by coyotes, wild dogs and other predators if a burly guard dog is on
watch.
The department's Agricultural Research Service said Tuesday that
scientists began studying guard dogs 10 years ago at the U.S. Sheep
Experiment Station in Dubois, Idaho.
``At that time, the dogs were considered a novelty,'' Jeffrey S.
Green, a wildlife biologist at the station, said in a report by the
agency. ``Livestock producers who had guard dogs were thought to be
foolish, brave, desperate or a combination of all three. Today, much
of the skepticism is gone.''
Green and his colleagues sent out 1,000 questionnaires to
ranchers and farmers who rely on the dogs to safeguard sheep, cattle
and goats.
More than 80 percent of the 399 who responded said a guard dog
was well worth its initial cost of about $500, plus the dollar or
two a day it takes to feed them, Green reported.
The dogs weigh 100 to 120 pounds and come from several breeds _
Great Pyrenees, Komondor, Akbash and Anatolian. Green estimates that
over the last decade as many as 8,000 of the guard dogs have been
used on 4,000 ranches throughout the United States and Canada.
AP890920-0029
AP-NR-09-20-89 0244EDT
r w PM-Hugo-Safety 09-20 0482
PM-Hugo-Safety,450
Early Warning Important to Surviving Hurricane
With PM-Hugo Bjt
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
Planning ahead is the key to hurricane safety,
and with Hurricane Hugo posing a threat to the United States,
residents of coastal areas may want to consider how to cope with the
danger.
The storm surge, a wall of water pushed ahead of these storms,
poses perhaps the greatest threat, although high winds and flooding
are also major hazards, weather experts warn.
For low-lying communities, evacuation is the safest measure, and
officials have warned that many fast growing communities lack plans
and proper roads to get everyone to safety in the face of a
fast-approaching storm.
The time needed to evacuate many coastal areas is greater than
the available warning time, the American Meteorological Society has
said. And many people are complacent or unaware of the danger, with
80 percent of the 40 million people living on the Atlantic and Gulf
coasts never having experienced a hurricane.
``It is imperative that coastal residents and visitors alike take
the threat seriously and acquaint themselves with hurricane safety
rules, and evacuate immediately if advised to do so,'' says Robert
Sheets, director of the National Hurricane Center in Coral Gables,
Fla.
Safety suggestions compiled by the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration and Federal Emergency Management Agency
include:
_Keep track of the developing weather through local radio and
television or NOAA Weather Radio, which broadcasts on special
frequencies that can be received by inexpensive weather radios.
_Learn local evacuation routes and shelter locations. If in a
vulnerable area, be prepared to leave, and do so promptly if
authorities recommend it.
_Keep the automobile fully fueled, and make a supply of fresh
water, batteries and food is available.
_Tape, board and shutter windows and tie down mobile homes before
leaving. Wedge sliding glass doors to prevent them from lifting off
their tracks.
_Bring in pets.
_Anchor small boats or move them to a safe shelter if there is
time.
_Secure outdoor objects that might be blown away and become
dangerous missiles. These include such things as garbage cans,
garden tools, signs, porch furniture and so forth.
_Remain at home only if it is sturdy and not in an area subject
to flooding. If staying home, keep away from windows. Fill
containers and bathtubs with several days supply of water.
_Avoid loose or dangling wires and report them immediately to
your power company. Report broken water mains, since low pressure
may hamper fire fighting.
After the storm has passed:
_Seek assistance if needed in Red Cross shelters.
_Stay away from disaster areas unless you are qualified to help.
_Be wary of fly-by-night repair services rushing into an area,
collecting money for work and then disappearing or doing shoddy
repairs. Check references, and wait if necessary.
_Check refrigerated food for spoilage if the power has been off.
AP890920-0030
AP-NR-09-20-89 0244EDT
r w PM-AirlineCompetition 09-20 0479
PM-Airline Competition,470
Government Says Smaller Cities Getting More Airline Choices
By JERRY ESTILL
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
Air travelers in smaller cities are benefiting
from increased competition brought on by airline deregulation even
though a few major airlines tend to dominate the major markets, says
an administration official.
Assistant Transportation Secretary Jeffrey N. Shane told a House
panel Tuesday that deregulation had brought the smaller cities more
alternatives in airlines even as travelers in large cities are
finding few choices.
Shane there is an ``apparent paradox'' between increased
concentration of air travel in a few big airlines at a few big hubs
and more competition when the air travel system is viewed as a whole.
Even though there are fewer carriers now than in 1979 when
deregulation took effect, he said, some of those remaining ``had
phenomenal growth as they expanded the scope of their operations
from a regional to a national basis.''
Shane told the Public Works and Transportation aviation
subcommittee that the use of hub cities gave them a strong incentive
to expand ``because they can cross-connect passengers at their hubs
only if they provide service to the passengers' ultimate
destinations.''
For example, he said, when Piedmont decided to establish a
hubbing center at Charlotte, N.C., it was little more than a
regional carrier in the East.
``For Charlotte to succeed as a hubbing center, Piedmont had to,
and did, expand service to major cities nationwide,'' he said.
``Most other major carriers have matched this expansion of
ocean-to-ocean and border-to-border route systems. So, while hubbing
has resulted in high levels of concentration at connecting hubs, it
has also greatly expanded the numbers of competitors in (smaller)
markets.''
Earlier studies have concentrated on hubs, but Shane said they
have not distinguished between passengers who travel only to the hub
and those who connect for other points.
``Most passengers at a hubbing airport fall into the latter
category and they are typically able to enjoy competitive service
from other carriers, often many other carriers, who offer connecting
service from the same origins to the same ultimate destinations over
different connecting hubs,'' he said.
And contrary to widely held perceptions, he said smaller cities
that are the ``greater beneficiaries of the hub-and-spoke system of
operation.''
Citing a department study of 1988 routes, he noted Akron, Ohio,
for example, where Piedmont was the only choice for people flying to
Piedmont's hub at Dayton.
But he said passengers in Akron also had access to six other
cities that were hubs for other airlines. ``And, obviously, when
Akron passengers move beyond one of the connecting hubs, many
competitive alternatives are typically available.''
Shane said Akron illustrates the ``good news and bad news''
aspect of air travel under deregulation.
``It simultaneously increases concentration at a connecting hub
and creates competitive alternatives for passengers moving beyond
the connecting hubs,'' he said.
AP890920-0031
AP-NR-09-20-89 0245EDT
r w PM-NewspaperRecycling 09-20 0514
PM-Newspaper Recycling,490
Publishers Oppose Laws Requiring the Use of Recycled Paper
By MIKE FEINSILBER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
The nation's newspaper publishers say they
favor using more recycled paper but decry as ``intolerable'' laws
that would compel them to do so.
``Government should not impose mandatory quotas affecting
newsprint use or purchasing,'' the publishers said through a policy
statement adopted by the board of directors of the American
Newspaper Publishers Association last week and made public Tuesday.
``Governments should not intervene in determinations of newsprint
quality.''
The statement added: ``Regulating newsprint is regulating
newspapers and it is intolerable in a free society.''
So far, 14 state legislatures have received proposals to steer
newspapers toward the greater use of recycled paper, ANPA said.
Connecticut is the only state to enact a law directing newspapers
to use recycled paper. The law would requires in-state papers and of
out-of-state papers that have a Connecticut circulation of over
40,000 to use recycled paper for 20 percent of their production by
1993 and for 90 percent by 1998.
A Florida law that took effect Jan. 1 imposes a 10-cent per ton
waste recovery fee for every ton of virgin newsprint use by a
publisher and grants a 10-cent credit for every ton of recycled
newsprint used.
Additionally, ANPA said, proposals to require the use of recycled
paper or to impose taxes on the use of virgin paper or grant tax
credits for the use of recycled paper have been offered in 12 other
states _ California, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska,
New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Virginia
and Wisconsin _ with no final legislative action taken.
The harshest measure is one pending before the New York State
legislature which would prohibit the sale of newspapers in the state
after 1991 unless at least 10 percent of their paper was recycled
paper.
While opposing such legislation, the ANPA statement called on
newspapers to encourage recycling by providing a market for recycled
paper.
``Recycling newsprint for reuse and for energy can help extend
supplies of a valuable natural resource, help extend the useful life
of municipal landfills and help provide energy through
environmentally-sound incinerator facilities,'' it said.
The statement also said:
``Old newspapers are already extensively recycled into many
products, and the newspaper business has worked hard to make that
happen. Newspapers will be asking for more recycled newsprint and
are working with newsprint manufacturers to help municipalities and
recyclers to increase recycling.
``More recycling can and will be accomplished, but it will not be
helped by government controls on the newsprint that makes a free
press possible. More voluntary effort will cause recycling to
increase most quickly and efficiently. Meanwhile, the development of
additional products that use old newspapers, the recycling of old
newspapers to energy and some use of landfills will be necessary.''
ANPA said a task force chaired by Frank A. Bennack Jr., president
and chief executive officer of The Hearst Corp., was looking into
``ways that newspapers, communities, collection agencies, newsprint
suppliers and government officials can cooperate in encouraging
recycling.''
AP890920-0032
AP-NR-09-20-89 0247EDT
r w PM-US-Soviet 09-20 0618
PM-US-Soviet,620
Baker Advises Soviets to Save Money by Pulling Back From Regional
Conflicts
By BARRY SCHWEID
AP Diplomatic Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
On the eve of new high-level talks, Secretary
of State James A. Baker III is advising Moscow to pull out of
regional wars around the world and put the billions of dollars saved
into the ailing Soviet economy.
The former treasury secretary, at a news conference Tuesday, also
fired back at Democratic critics of the Bush administration's
cautious foreign policy and sought to lower expectations that a date
was about to be set for a superpower summit meeting.
Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze is due to see
President Bush at the White House on Thursday. Then Baker and
Shevardnadze fly to Jackson Hole, Wyo., for talks through Sunday
morning.
At their last meeting in Paris in late July, Shevardnadze said,
``If we prepare well and carefully, then of course the summit will
take place rather soon.'' Baker, more cautious, said at the time
that ``obviously yes, at some point'' a summit would take place.
At the news conference Tuesday, his first since taking over as
secretary of state eight months ago, Baker was asked about a summit
between Bush and Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev.
``What I will say for you,'' he replied, ``is that it is
anticipated and intended that we have a full discussion about the
possibility of a summit.''
Bush said on Monday, ``I feel under no rush on that subject.''
The stance struck by the president and his secretary of state
reinforced the cautious character of U.S. foreign policy,
particularly in dealing with the Soviets and Eastern Europe.
Turning to the sagging Soviet economy, Baker said, ``there are no
simple or quick fixes.'' But he suggested the Soviets withdraw from
conflicts in Central America, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Cuba, Ethiopia
and elsewhere.
Besides contributing to international stability, Baker said, ``It
could also save the Soviets billions of dollars that we still see
spent in a disappointing pattern of support for those who fuel
conflict...''
He was especially harsh about Soviet support for the Marxist
government of Nicaragua.
While Gorbachev promised to end direct Soviet military aid to the
Sandinistas, Baker said weapons and other supplies were being
channeled to them indirectly. He apparently referred to Cuba and
some East European countries.
``We think they (the Soviets) could have a significant influence
on reducing (Sandinista forces) if they so chose,'' Baker said.
``They are spending billions of dollars in regional conflict
situations that we think could be put to better use to assist the
process of perestroika,'' he said, using the Russian word for
reconstruction.
Baker rejected Democratic criticism that the Bush administration
was overly cautious on arms control and in responding to economic
problems in Eastern Europe.
He said he hoped to conclude a chemical weapons agreement with
Shevardnadze by the weekend. And Baker announced that the Bush
administration will drop its proposal for a ban on U.S. and Soviet
mobile missiles.
With Bush urging Congress to finance development of the
single-warhead Midgetman, Baker acknowledged that the U.S.
negotiating position has been confusing.
He said his aim was ``to start the ball rolling'' in the
slow-moving talks in Geneva to reduce globe-girdling U.S. and Soviet
nuclear bombers, submarines and missiles by 30 to 50 percent.
Sen. Albert Gore, D-Tenn., called Baker's announcement ``a very
small step that has long been awaited and expected because the
proposal for a ban always was considered irrational, even within the
administration.''
Still, Gore said in an interview, ``the decision to remove it now
is symbolically important. It points toward a reliance on
singe-warhead missiles by both sides, which greatly reduces
vulnerabilities and fears of aggression.''
AP890920-0033
AP-NR-09-20-89 0250EDT
r w PM-CapitalPunishment 09-20 0507
PM-Capital Punishment,500
Strengthen Death Penalty, Shotgun Victim Urges Senators
By MIKE ROBINSON
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
A South Carolina woman hit in the face with a
shotgun blast a decade ago says Congress should enact strong capital
punishment laws and have executions carried out more swiftly.
``The problem I see with the death penalty is the lengthy appeals
process,'' Wanda Summers of Pawley's Island, S.C., told the Senate
Judiciary Committee on Tuesday as it weighed capital punishment
measures.
Mrs. Summers, at times composed and other times fighting back
tears, described how she was attacked and left for dead the night of
Feb. 22, 1979, when two men went on a murder spree that left four
dead. The one surviving attacker is now on death row.
``I believe the terrible crimes he committed do warrant the death
sentence,'' said Mrs. Summers. ``He did not give the four other
people the option of life or death.''
Mrs. Summers told the committee how she and a fellow worker at a
convenience store were taken to a deserted road, raped and
shotgunned. Her assailant, Ronald Woomer, left her for dead.
She turned her head at the moment of the shotgun blast, which
took away part of her mouth and her jaw. Despite her wound, she was
able find help. But her co-worker died.
Police found the assailants that night in a Myrtle Beach motel.
One of the assailants committed suicide. Woomer was captured,
convicted of murder and has been on death row since with his case on
appeal.
Mrs. Summers spoke in even tones as she told the committee how
reconstructive surgery and psychiatric care have helped her. She
fought back tears, however, as she told of the pain inflicted on her
family.
She also said it ``is hard to get up in the morning and look in
the mirror.''
``It's hard when little kids stare at you and adults try not to.
Its hard to smile when you know how you look when you do.''
The two assailants were ``drugged up'' on PCP and alcohol when
they went on their rampage, South Carolina state Solicitor James C.
Anders said.
As part of last year's anti-drug law, Congress approved capital
punishment for drug kingpins whose activities result in homicide.
A 1972 Supreme Court decision blocked use of a number of death
penalty provisions then on the books, calling unconstitutional the
discretion the law allowed juries and judges on whether to impose
execution.
As a result, Assistant Attorney General Edward S.G. Dennis told
senators, a jury can impose the death penalty for the murder of a
Drug Enforcement agent investigating a case but not for the murder
of an FBI agent responding to a bank robbery.
Legislation before the committee would restore the death penalty
for murdering a member of Congress, the Cabinet or the Supreme
Court. It would extend capital punishment provisions to murdering
foreign officials and official guests, kidnapping resulting in
death, attempted presidential assassination, murder for hire and
murder in aid of a racketeering enterprise.
AP890920-0034
AP-NR-09-20-89 0252EDT
r w PM-CleanAir 09-20 0654
PM-Clean Air,650
Bush Forces Win First Test Vote on Clean Air Bill
By LARRY MARGASAK
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
The Bush administration is getting its way in
the first test vote on clean air legislation, but stiff tests still
lie ahead for the pollution-cutting plan.
The Bush forces outmaneuvered environmental groups Tuesday in a
12-10 House subcommittee vote defeating a bid to toughen the
administration's anti-smog requirements for cities, less populated
areas and small business.
The vote came as President Bush challenged the Democratic-run
Congress to quicken its pace on the legislation. He commented at a
Spokane, Wash., centennial tree-planting ceremony.
White House lobbyists, who were credited by their chief opponent
with making the difference Tuesday, must work even harder to save
the most controversial part of the legislation _ letting automakers
comply with anti-pollution requirements by averaging emissions of
engine families.
The administration Tuesday proposed a modification of the
averaging language, to make clear that pollution reduction goals
must be met. The issue could face a vote in the House Energy and
Commerce environment subcommittee today, with environmental groups
making an all-out attempt to halt the emission averaging proposal.
During the next several weeks, the administration must defend
against challenges to other portions of the bill.
It will try to preserve language to prevent growth of sulfur
dioxide once it is reduced by 10 million tons over the next decade.
This provision could stunt the growth of electric utilities that use
high-sulfur coal, the chief source of acid rain.
There also will be attempts to force the administration to accept
nationwide cost-sharing of acid rain reduction, a burden that may
otherwise fall chiefly on nine states with dirty, coal-burning power
plants. The administration opposes cost-sharing, believing the
polluters should pay the cost.
The attempt to toughen the administration's proposed requirements
for reducing urban smog failed under a barrage of criticism. Bush
backers argued that jobs in small business would be lost, areas
statistically attached to cities in federal groupings would be
forced to meet stiff pollution-cutting standards, and cities could
not meet the proposal's deadlines.
``We should never be in a posture where we legislate absurdity,''
said Rep. William Dannemeyer, R-Calif., who supported Bush. Rep.
John D. Dingell, chairman of the full Energy and Commerce Committee
and chief Democratic sponsor of the Bush bill, called the
alternative ``harsh'' and ``punitive.''
Also working hard to defeat the plan was ranking committee
Republican Norman F. Lent of New York.
The vote in the Energy and Commerce environment subcommittee was
a defeat for the panel's chairman, Rep. Henry A. Waxman, D-Calif.,
champion of the environmental groups' positions and sponsor of the
amendment.
``The White House took it very seriously and was working hard
against it,'' Waxman said after a loss that followed a long day of
political maneuvering.
The Bush forces made the first major move of the day when Lent,
backed by Dingell, introduced the administration's package that
would modify auto emissions averaging.
While preserving the averaging concept, the package would
explicitly state that reductions in auto pollutants must equal the
improvement that would be achieved if each car were forced to meet
the emissions standards. Under current law, each car must pass the
test.
Even though the Bush plan would set tougher standards for
automakers to meet, environmentalists want to wipe out averaging
altogether because it would allow some cars to flunk anti-pollution
tests. Other cars would have to meet the standards with a
considerable margin of safety.
Environmental organizations argue that the margin of safety would
not be enough to offset the cars failing to meet the requirements,
and emissions would rise.
Other parts of the administration package would prevent a
weakening of current law on pollution from tall smokestacks; set
requirements for planning and responding to toxic chemical
accidents; strengthen motor vehicle inspection and maintenance
programs; protect air quality in national parks, and require
diagnostic equipment on autos.
AP890920-0035
AP-NR-09-20-89 0253EDT
r w Bush-Democrats 09-20 0527
Bush-Democrats,520
WASHINGTON TODAY: Bush and Foley `Together'
By TOM RAUM
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
It had the makings of a collector's item: a
campaign-style button showing President Bush alongside the nation's
top-ranking Democrat, House Speaker Tom Foley, bearing the
inscription: ``Together.''
Ironically, it came at a time when Bush and the
Democratic-controlled Congress are at odds on a variety of issues,
including the environment, Bush's drug program, crime, taxes and
education spending.
Actually, the button bearing side-by-side faces of Bush and Foley
had nothing to do with politics, even though it made Bush and Foley
look like running mates. It was a souvenir issued at a celebration
on Tuesday in Spokane, Wash., Foley's hometown, to commemorate
Washington state's 100th anniversary.
The button, given out to the several thousand who lined the banks
of the Spokane River at the city's Riverfront Park on Tuesday to
view the ceremony, proclaimed: ``Together: Saluting Washington's
Centennial.''
Bush has been mixing tree-planting with politics on his trip out
west to visit states celebrating their 100th anniversary.
Although Bush and Foley traded compliments _ Foley saying Bush's
visit was ``a proud moment for the state of Washington'' and Bush
saluting the Democratic leader as ``a man of integrity, decency,
fair play'' _ there was underlying tension in the get-together.
Bush pushed for speedier congressional action on his proposed
revision of the 1974 Clean Air Act. The environmental legislation is
just one of many Bush initiatives now in congressional limbo.
So far, Bush has sent to Congress the bulk of his 1988 campaign
agenda: proposals on child care, the environment, crime, drugs,
ethics, adoption, aid to Poland and Hungary.
And yet, with only a week left before the start of the 1990
fiscal year, only a few of Bush's initiatives have been addressed by
Congress.
Bush, as he has done on a budget blueprint and on the bill
bailing out the savings and loan industry, has signaled his
willingness to compromise with the Democratic leadership in Congress.
``I've been one who is chastised for too much compromise from
time to time,'' Bush told a news conference in Helena, Mont.,
earlier this week.
Even on his drug strategy, Bush administration officials have
made it clear that they're willing to deal on details of funding the
war on drugs.
Thus, the Bush-Foley ``Together '' buttons may point to a period
ahead of accommodation with Congress.
Still, Foley, who rode back to Washington with Bush on Air Force
One, was less than enthusiastic about the prospects for cooperation.
``I think there'll be plenty of disagreements,'' Foley said.
``This is a divided government, with Democratic leadership of the
Congress and a Republican president. And I think we're going to
cooperate on a great number of things, and we're also going to have
our disagreements.''
Foley said he disagreed with Bush's charges that Democrats were
always seeking to spend more and tax more.
``In a democratic society, we ought to put our best ideas forward
and see if we can come forward with the best of both the
administration's approach and that of Congress,'' Foley said.
``Sometimes constructive competition is not bad,'' said the
Democrat.
AP890920-0036
AP-NR-09-20-89 0255EDT
r w PM-MinimumWage 09-20 0432
PM-Minimum Wage,420
Democrats Seek Votes, Lower Target For Minimum Wage
By MATT YANCEY
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
Democrats, renewing a fight with President Bush
they have already lost once this year, are trying to increase the
minimum wage without the lower pay scale for all new workers that
Republicans are demanding.
On a party-line voice vote Tuesday, the Democratic-controlled
House Education and Labor Committee bowed to Bush's demand for an
increase only to $4.25. But the bill would raise the minimum wage in
two years instead of three and would set a subminimum wage only for
first-time workers.
Labor Secretary Elizabeth Dole repeated Bush's vow to again veto
any bill which raises federal wage floor to $4.25 in less than three
years or that does not set a lower floor for six months for
newly-hired workers.
Bush vetoed a bill in June that called for three annual increases
to $4.55 an hour by Oct. 1, 1991.
The new bill would provide annual increases of 45 cents in
January and again in January 1991 in the current minimum wage, which
has been $3.35 since 1981.
The committee chairman, Rep. Augustus F. Hawkins, D-Calif., said
the previous target was being reduced by 30 cents to gain support
from southern Democrats and some Republicans for another expected
attempt to override Bush's veto.
``There are some Republican members ready to change their votes
if the president doesn't'' compromise, Hawkins said.
Senate sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the bill
could be brought up there within the next three weeks. Just before
Congress recessed in August, the Senate Labor and Human Resources
Committee again approved the same $4.55 minimum wage bill Bush had
vetoed, although senators said it would likely be modified on the
Senate floor.
Bush, like former President Ronald Reagan, has insisted on
establishing a subminimum floor that would allow employers to pay
any newly hired worker 20 percent less for up to six months,
regardless of the worker's previous job experience.
Democrats and unions who had bitterly opposed such a subminimum,
agreed for the first time earlier this year to a ``training wage''
but only for 60 days and only for first-time entrants in the job
market.
Both Republicans and Democrats indicated a willingness Tuesday to
negotiate over their differences on the duration of the subminimum
period, but neither side is budging on who the lower floor applies
to.
Rep. Austin Murphy, D-Pa., said Bush's proposal would allow
employers to pay a $3.40 subminimum wage perpetually by rotating new
hires in and out every 60 days to six months.
AP890920-0037
AP-NR-09-20-89 0256EDT
r w PM-FHALoans 09-20 0570
PM-FHA Loans,570
Senate Boosts FHA Loan Cap to Nearly $125,000
By ALAN FRAM
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
The Senate wants to boost the ceiling on
housing loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration by
nearly $24,000, a victory for the White House over Democrats who
wanted to eliminate the cap.
In a reversal of an earlier vote, the Senate voted Tuesday to
increase the current $101,250 limit to $124,875. That tally came
shortly after lawmakers rejected an increase to $118,000 in favor of
Democratic language to remove the ceiling entirely.
The provision is part of a bill providing $67.2 billion for
housing, veterans, environmental and space programs for fiscal 1990,
which begins Oct. 1. The measure includes $1.85 billion for NASA's
space station program, $1.6 billion for Superfund toxic waste
cleanups, and $11.5 billion for veteran's medical care.
The future of the FHA loan ceiling language is in doubt, however.
The House version of the bill, approved July 20, contained no such
language. Negotiators for the two chambers will have to fashion a
compromise before it can be sent to President Bush for his approval.
The new cap, which would last for one year, would boost home
purchases by about $5 billion, said aides to sponsor Sen. Don
Nickles, R-Okla. It would pave the way for FHA loans for more
expensive homes to borrowers in metropolitan areas including Boston;
New York City; Stamford, Conn.; Washington, D.C.; San Francisco; Los
Angeles and San Diego, they said.
The FHA insured loans for the purchase of 855,000 homes last year
at an average cost of $63,500.
The agency insures loans of up to $101,250 or 95 percent of the
cost of the median home in the state or metropolitan area, whichever
is lower. The legal national limit of $101,250 is higher in two
states: Hawaii, where it is $151,850, and Alaska, where the maximum
is $135,000.
The Bush administration announced its opposition to elevating the
loan ceiling, arguing that reforms were needed to avoid deepening
the FHA's financial problems. The agency's main insurance loan fund
lost $452 million last year, its first losses since its founding in
1934, and Comptroller General Charles Bowsher has said it has ``very
serious'' management problems.
``If we want to have a son of S&L, we have one in the making
right here,'' Senate Republican Leader Bob Dole of Kansas said,
likening the FHA's problems to the massive bailout recently approved
for the nation's thrift institutions.
But with Democrats standing firm behind their proposal to drop
the cap entirely, Nickles began offering his amendments to set some
limit on the size of the loan. The Senate rejected a $118,000
ceiling by 50-49, but signed on to the nearly $125,000 maximum,
55-43, as most Republicans were joined by several Democrats.
Nickles and his supporters argued that eliminating the cap would
shift a greater share of the FHA's monies to help well-to-do home
buyers. Low-income borrowers couldn't afford expensive housing even
with the ceiling removed, they said.
Democrats said, however, that rising housing costs have hurt
``hundreds of thousands of hard-working families whose dreams are
being frustrated.''
Under the program, the FHA guarantees loans banks make to
borrowers, lowering the institution's risks and thus permitting them
to offer more attractive terms.
Although all work on the measure was completed, final passage was
held up pending resolution of a partisan dispute over an unrelated
anti-drug financing package.
AP890920-0038
AP-NR-09-20-89 0257EDT
r w PM-CigaretteExports 09-20 0500
PM-Cigarette Exports,500
Industry Sees Thai Market Opening Despite Anti-Export Sentiment
By GENE KRAMER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
Despite some strong U.S. public criticism of
tobacco exporting, an industry official says tobacco sellers may
succeed in getting Thailand to lower its barriers to the sale of
American cigarettes by the end of this year.
``When Thailand appreciates that certain norms have to be
respected, I expect they will devise some method of behaving to
international (market access) standards,'' said Owen Smith,
president of the U.S. Cigarette Export Association.
Thailand, Syria and Iran are the only non-communist countries
that ban the sale of U.S. cigarettes, Smith told reporters at a
hearing Tuesday on his group's petition to force Thailand to allow
the sale and promotion of American cigarettes.
Under threat of trade retaliation, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan
have opened markets to American cigarettes since 1986, offsetting a
decline in U.S. domestic sales.
Thailand's government runs a tobacco monopoly. The cigarette
association filed a petition with the U.S. trade representative
seeking government intervention after informal discussions with
Thailand ``didn't seem to be making headway,'' Smith said.
``I hope it will be resolved toward the end of the year,'' Smith
said at the hearing before a special committee of the U.S. trade
representative. Carla Hills, the U.S. trade representative, is to
recommend to President Bush by May 25, 1990 whether to formally
accuse the Southeast Asian country of unfair trade practices and
order reprisals.
The tobacco exporters are facing opposition in the United States,
however, with health organizations and other critics comparing their
pursuit of Asian markets to the 19th Century ``Opium War'' triggered
by efforts of British merchants to force China to import narcotics.
The argument for selling cigarettes abroad resembles that used in
the Britain in 1840 _ ``that if Britain did not profit from the sale
of opium, someone else would,'' said Dr. Anne Marie O'Keefe, vice
president of Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights.
``When we are pleading with foreign governments to stop the flow
of cocaine, it is the height of hypocrisy for the United States to
export tobacco,'' said U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop.
But Gov. Jim Martin of North Carolina, the major U.S.
tobacco-growing state, said that by raising health concerns, ``the
Thais speak out of both sides of their mouths in a simple effort to
protect the Thai cigarette monopoly.''
The Thai government did not testify but two Thai witnesses
predicted the aggressive promotion of foreign cigarettes would
reverse a decline in smoking recently achieved by a 15-year campaign
against tobacco use. They justified the government tobacco monopoly
system as a means of regulating and discouraging consumption under
their national health policy.
``Where is the concern for humanity once felt by the United
States?'' asked Thai Parliament member Surin Pitsuwan. He said
promotion of U.S. cigarettes in Thailand could distract the Asian
country from working with the United States against growing of opium
poppies and trafficking of heroin and other hard drugs.
AP890920-0039
AP-NR-09-20-89 0258EDT
r w PM-Jackson-Mayor 09-20 0293
PM-Jackson-Mayor,290
Democratic Chairman Believes Jackson Will Run
WASHINGTON (AP)
Democratic National Committee Chairman Ronald
H. Brown says he believes the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who recently moved
to the District of Columbia, will run for mayor of the city next
year.
``Most of the people close to (Jackson) believe he will run ...
and if he runs, I think he will be elected,'' Brown told a group of
reporters Tuesday.
His remarks were published in today's editions of The Washington
Post.
Questions about a possible Jackson candidacy arose as he moved to
the district, but he has not announced his candidacy and has said
that he would not run against Mayor Marion Barry, who says he is
seeking re-election.
Brown said whether Jackson runs for mayor in 1991 or for
president the following year, Jackson ``will continue to be a
significant force in Democratic politics. But the much more likely
event is that he will run for mayor.''
Brown, who was convention manager last year for Jackson's run for
the Democratic presidential nomination, said his remarks on a
mayoral race were not based on any ``inside'' information.
``I don't want to indicate that Rev. Jackson has told me he is
running for mayor,'' Brown said. ``He has not confided (that
decision) in me.''
Brown criticized Barry, who is being investigated as part of a
federal probe into alleged drug dealing by Barry associate and
former city employee Charles Lewis.
``There's no question there's been an erosion of support in the
city, but he seems determined to hang tough,'' Brown said, ``and I
doubt anything but legal proceedings will keep (another Barry
campaign) from happening.''
Barry said on Monday that he still has no indication that Jackson
intends to run for mayor.
AP890920-0040
AP-NR-09-20-89 0217EDT
u i BC-Japan-Stocks 09-20 0026
BC-Japan-Stocks,0025
Stocks Down In Tokyo
TOKYO (AP)
The Nikkei Stock Average closed at 34,470,58, down
0.49 points, on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Wednesday.
AP890920-0041
AP-NR-09-20-89 0305EDT
r a PM-Hoffa 09-20 0664
PM-Hoffa,0682
Interview: Hoffa's Dismembered Body Buried in Football Stadium
Eds: Note contents of 11th and 12th grafs, ``They plugged ...''
^By LINDSEY TANNER
Associated Press Writer
CHICAGO (AP)
Former Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa was killed
because of union and underworld rivalries, and his mutilated body
was buried in concrete near the end zone at Giants Stadium in New
Jersey, an ex-convict says.
Donald ``Tony the Greek'' Frankos, a self-described freelance
hitman, told Playboy magazine he was supposed to kill Hoffa but was
in prison when the labor leader disappeared on July 30, 1975. So
others killed him and described it to him later, Frankos said.
His account, one of many over the years purporting to reveal what
happened to Hoffa, appears in November's Playboy.
Frankos said Hoffa was shot in the forehead at a home near
Detroit, his body dismembered in the basement, then stored in a
freezer until his burial in the football stadium near New York.
The FBI refused to say if it finds the account credible.
An official with the State Commission of Investigations in New
Jersey called the story ``possible but ... improbable.''
And Jim Minish, stadium assistant general manager, said workers
dug nearly 4 feet into the concrete while replacing the artificial
surface during the past year and found nothing.
Frankos, a federally protected witness in the forthcoming New
York trial of reputed Mafia boss John Gotti, says he told the FBI in
1986 that Hoffa was killed by alleged Irish mob boss Jimmy Coonan at
a house in Mount Clemens, Mich.
Frankos said that Coonan, armed with a .22-caliber pistol with a
silencer, ``hit him twice in the forehead with the bullets _
exploded his brains.''.
With the help of John Sullivan, described by Frankos as a mob
hitman, Coonan carried the body into the basement.
``They plugged in the bucksaw and they also had a meat cleaver to
cut away any tendons,'' Frankos said.
``On the table was all these black-plastic bags and cut rope.
Coonan was cutting and Sullivan was bagging 'em up. Coonan severed
Hoffa's head and, with a pocket knife, cut a lock of hair from the
side of Hoffa's head and kept it for good luck,'' Frankos said.
The body was placed in a freezer and several months later was
trucked in an oil drum to the East Rutherford, N.J., site where
Giants Stadium was under construction, Frankos said.
He said alleged mob affiliate Joe ``Mad Dog'' Sullivan, no
relation to John Sullivan, buried the remains at the stadium, where
the New York Giants and Jets play.
Frankos said Hoffa was slain in a dispute over his desire to
regain control of the Teamsters upon his release from a federal
penitentiary where he was serving time for mail fraud and jury
tampering. A second motive, Frankos said, was Hoffa's prison fight
with Tony ``Tony Pro'' Provenzano, a New Jersey Teamster official
and reputed mobster.
Coonan and Joe Sullivan are serving lengthy prison terms in
unrelated cases, Frankos said. Provenzano is dead, and John Sullivan
``is the only one that's out there today who was an actual killer,''
he said. John Sullivan's whereabouts could not be determined.
FBI spokesman in Chicago, Washington, Detroit and New Jersey said
they could not comment on the article because the Hoffa
investigation remains active.
``We do believe that we have a much better understanding as to
what happened and why it happened and who the participants were,''
said John Anthony, an FBI spokesman in Detroit. ``The one piece to
the puzzle that remains unsolved is the disposition of the body ...
and of course the conviction'' of those involved, he said.
Frankos' story ``is possible but it's improbable,'' said Justin
Dintino, chief of organized crime and intelligence with the State
Commission of Investigations in New Jersey.
``In my opinion it's somewhat unlikely,'' he said. ``I think the
onus here is on the FBI, if they take it serious enough to start
digging up the Meadowlands.''
AP890920-0042
AP-NR-09-20-89 0305EDT
r a PM-Hoffa-Columbia 09-20 0191
PM-Hoffa-Columbia,0196
Official: Columbia U. Band Joked About Hoffa at Stadium
With PM-Hoffa
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP)
Columbia University's marching band
got a big laugh a few years back when they did a half-time routine
that suggested the final resting place of Jimmy Hoffa might be right
under their noses.
But New Jersey's top sports official was not laughing Tuesday
about a Playboy magazine report suggesting the former Teamsters
union leader may have been buried beneath Giants Stadium in East
Rutherford.
Robert Mulcahy, president and chief executive officer of the New
Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority, on Tuesday called the report
``an unsubstantiated rumor.''
Mulcahy earlier referred to antics several years ago by the
Columbia band in which members formed an arrow pointing toward
midfield, purporting to point the way to Hoffa's body.
According to a report by a self-described mob hitman in Playboy's
November issue, Hoffa is buried next to the west end zone in the
football stadium.
William Steinman, Columbia's sports information director, said
the team played four times at Giants Stadium in the late 1970s and
the early 1980s but he does not remember the routine.
AP890920-0043
AP-NR-09-20-89 0306EDT
r w PM-Teton-Tete-a-Tete 09-20 0708
PM-Teton-Tete-a-Tete,710
U.S.-Soviet Meeting Occuring in Shadow of Great Change
By BRYAN BRUMLEY
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
Secretary of State James A. Baker III is
meeting with Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze in
Wyoming at a time of tumultuous change in superpower relations
brought about by what both sides agree is a ``revolution'' in the
Soviet bloc.
The changes in the communist world have brought pressure on
Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev, who is probably sending his
foreign minister to the White House with new ideas for cuts in
strategic arms, experts say.
The installation of the first non-communist regime in a Warsaw
Pact nation since the Cold War began 40 years ago also leaves the
future of the Soviet alliance uncertain.
``The general secretary has called it a revolution, and we would
agree with that characterization,'' Baker said Tuesday at the State
Department.
Shevardnadze will see President Bush at the White House on
Thursday before he and Baker fly to Jackson Hole, Wyo., for talks
through Sunday morning.
Speaking in advance of the meeting, Baker said the administration
was dropping a demand that had presented a major obstacle to
conclusion of a proposed treaty to cut nuclear arsenals by up to 50
percent.
The administration will no longer insist on elimination of mobile
missiles, Baker said, acknowledging the demand complicated the
negotiations. The Soviets have already deployed two mobile missiles
and the United States is developing two of its own.
Administration officials say that although they have no advance
word, they are prepared for Shevardnadze to push hard for arms
control progress and say he may be carrying a new Kremlin proposal
when he meets Bush.
It would be customary for Shevardnadze to bring a letter from the
Soviet leader, and ``Gorbachev being Gorbachev, it would not be too
surprising for it contain some dramatic proposals,'' said one
official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Since Baker and Shevardnadze last met in July, a Solidarity-led
government has been installed in Poland, the first non-communist
regime in the Soviet bloc.
Hungary, another Warsaw Pact nation, is also moving toward a
multi-party system and has seen relations strained with an ally,
East Germany, over the flight of East Germans to the West through
the Hungarian frontier.
``The tremendous change in the nature of our discourse with the
Soviet leadership is primarily the result of unprecedented and
exciting developments which are taking place in the Soviet Union,''
Deputy Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger said in a speech
Tuesday.
But the crackdown on pro-democracy forces in China, and warnings
by Gorbachev of a possible conservative coup in the Soviet Union are
reminders that moves toward freedom could be reversed, and that
U.S.-Soviet relations could worsen again.
Gorbachev, in reforming Soviet foreign policy, has withdrawn
threatening tank forces from Eastern Europe and announced a cut of
500,000 in the Red Army.
The administration has reacted with restraint to the changes so
far, however, leading to criticism from some members of Congress who
want the White House to encourage change in the Soviet Union and
supply more aid to nations like Poland that are adopting reforms.
The White House announced in the past week plans to double food
deliveries to Poland to $100 million and grant Hungary most favored
nation status to reduce tariffs on Hungarian exports to the United
States.
The administration has also tried to expand the U.S.-Soviet
dialogue into such areas as fighting terrorism and drug trafficking
and cleaning up the environment.
``Today, we are witnessing what are potentially the first steps
in the transformation of a totalitarian society into one governed by
the rule of law,'' Eagleburger told a meeting of the National
Conference on Soviet Jewry.
``And as these changes unfold, the relationship between the
United States and the Soviet Union could move from an adversarial to
a cooperative one,'' he said.
Although the United States is dropping its demand to ban mobile
missiles, other sticking points remain in the proposed Strategic
Arms Reduction Treaty (START).
Shevardnardze and Baker, meeting in the shadow of the Grand
Tetons in Wyoming, are expected to announce several important steps
on other topics, including the environment, chemical weapons and the
verification of treaties on testing the largest nuclear weapons.
AP890920-0044
AP-NR-09-20-89 0330EDT
r i PM-GorbachevExcerpts 09-20 0702
PM-Gorbachev Excerpts,0724
Excerpts of Gorbachev Speech to Central Committee
With PM-Soviet-Ethnic, Bjt
MOSCOW (AP)
Here are excerpts of President Mikhail S.
Gorbachev's speech Tuesday to the Communist Party Central Committee.
It was translated by the official Tass news agency.
Deformities in inter-ethnic relations, the baneful effects of
excessive centralization and bureaucratic administration, and
injustices done to a number of peoples have recently come under
extensive and harsh criticism.
If somebody today claims that in terms of national development
and inter-ethnic relationships Soviet power has not wrought
essential changes as compared to the situation in pre-revolutionary
Russia, he is engaged in dishonest distortion of reality intended to
whip up nationalistic passions and to motivate various extremist
demands.
There are no grounds to question the decision by the Baltic
republics to join the U.S.S.R. and the choice made by their peoples.
It is also clear that the Soviet leadership, taking a variety of
measures to strengthen the country's security in the face of the
Nazi threat, committed gross violations of the Leninist principles
of foreign policy which rejects division into spheres of influence.
We resolutely condemn this.
The outrages against ethnic groups and their banishment from
their native parts during the Great Patriotic War must be condemned.
We should do everything to restore the flouted rights of the Soviet
Germans, Crimean Tatars, Meskhetian Turks, Kalmyks, Balkars,
Karachais, Chechens, Ingushes, Greeks, Koreans, and Kurds.
From this point of view, the gamut of measures affected as part
of perestroika means a new and landmark stage in implementing
nations' rights to self-determination.
In present-day conditions the principle is best reflected in
self-management, protecting ethnic identity and the right of each
ethnic group to enjoy all the fruits of sovereignty and to decide
all issues of its development _ economic, political and cultural _
as it sees fit.
The current phase in the self-determination of nations makes it
imperative to markedly broaden the rights of republics and
decisively remove the distortions and deformities of the past, whose
adverse effects are still being felt in various areas of society's
life.
While the union will retain the powers needed to perform the
common tasks of the federation, it is proposed to make fundamental
changes to earlier procedures whereby the union had the right to
take up and decide virtually any issue, making the competence and
sovereignty of republican authorities in many ways a mere formality.
To embark now on recarving the country's administrative and
territorial map would mean only complicating what is already a
difficult solution, to delay indefinitely the attainment of the real
goals of perestroika, which aim to imrove the life of the whole of
the Soviet people, all nations.
Our new nationality policy is designed to provide broad
possibilities for meeting the specific interests of every nation and
at the same time strengthening the guarantees of citizens' rights,
irrespective of their nationality.
We encounter ever increasing attempts by enemies of perestroika,
anti-social elements and groups to play `the nationalist card,' to
channel people's displeasure, which has accumulated over decades,
into the sphere of inter-ethnic relations. Any manifestation of
nationalism and chauvinism, or the instigation of enmity to any
nation are unacceptable to us.
In modern conditions ... attempts by relatively prosperous
republics and regions to isolate themselves and fence themselves off
would be extremely dangerous. This can bring fairly negative
consequences for those who embark on this road.
We need at this plenary meeting to say this once again in the
face of all peoples of the Soviet Union so that they do not give in
to demagogues, who conceal what the implementation of their slogans,
served under the `pleasant sauce' of independence, secession, etc.,
may lead to. This is irresponsible gambling with the destinies of
the people.
We are on the correct path and we should be firm in defending the
chief directions of the policy of perestroika. It is being claimed
that we are unable to resolve problems facing the country without
introducing capitalism into the economy.
On the other hand, I would say from the right, it is being
claimed that the entire policy of perestroika was imposed on us by
the West. This is nonsense.
AP890920-0045
AP-NR-09-20-89 0306EDT
u i AM-Japan-Markets 09-20 0136
AM-Japan-Markets,0141
Dollar Up, Nikkei Down
TOKYO (AP)
The U.S. dollar rose against the Japanese yen
Wednesday, while share prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange declined
slightly.
The dollar closed at 146.25 yen, up 0.52 yen from Tuesday's
close. After opening at 146.23 yen, the dollar ranged between 146.05
yen and 146.45 yen.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.49 points, or 0.001
percent, to finish at 34,470.58. It lost 1.47 points Tuesday.
A dealer with the Bank of Tokyo, who spoke anonymously, said the
dollar would remain ``steady'' at about the 146-yen level in advance
of an international monetary conference scheduled to begin Saturday
in Washington.
Participants in the so-called Group of Seven meeting include
monetary officials and central bank officials from Japan, the United
States, West Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada.
AP890920-0046
AP-NR-09-20-89 0355EDT
r a PM-Hugo-HamNetwork 09-20 0551
PM-Hugo-Ham Network,0566
Amateur Radio Operators Pitch in on Hurricane Relief Effort
With PM-Hugo, Bjt
By PETER JACKSON
Associated Press Writer
BELGRADE LAKES, Maine (AP)
From the serene stillness of a lake
2,000 miles away, amateur radio operator Glenn Baxter oversees a
bustling network that is providing a vital link to the
hurricane-ravaged Caribbean.
Baxter is the manager of the International Amateur Radio Network,
whose 2,000 members in 45 countries volunteer their expertise and
equipment to help disaster victims obtain emergency aid or contact
worried relatives.
``It's like a worldwide volunteer fire department,'' said the
47-year-old Baxter.
A sampling of messages that had accumulated since Hurricane Hugo
began its devastation Sunday included a facsimiled query from the
Los Angeles County sheriff's department seeking information about a
person in Antigua.
An Australian radio operator was trying to track down someone in
San Juan, Puerto Rico. A Maine woman anxious about her daughter's
safety in St. Croix broke down crying while talking by telephone
with Baxter.
``This is so important. This lady is hurting inside,'' Baxter
said Tuesday. ``And we're the only ones that can help her feel
better.''
The network, born in the aftermath of the 1985 Mexico City
earthquake, also works with the Red Cross and the Salvation Army in
directing disaster assistance to the areas that need it most.
Occasionally, the local ham operators themselves make arrangements
for medical supplies and equipment.
Baxter takes special pride in the speed with which the network
can reach disaster areas, communicating with victims while official
relief efforts are still gearing up.
``We're there in minutes,'' he said. ``They take days.''
Baxter himself also has become a source of information for
several news organizations, relaying recorded transmissions from ham
operators at the scene and gathering details that are impossible to
obtain otherwise in the hours following a disaster.
``I'm their roving reporter,'' said Baxter, a pleasant, talkative
type who said he agreed on a moment's notice to go on the air live
with the British Broadcasting Corp. on Tuesday morning. ``I'm just
pumping for informaton, because we need it just like they do.''
Messages to and from the Caribbean began flowing in earnest
Monday and, by midafternoon Tuesday, the network had dispatched
about 1,200, using voice transmissions as well as material that is
written on computers and transmitted by short-wave radio signals.
Each inquiry is given a code, so that responses can be expedited,
Baxter said.
On the islands, at least 100 radio operators were communicating
with network members in other parts of the world Tuesday, and Baxter
was working to assemble teams of operators from other countries to
travel to the Caribbean to spell weary resident operators.
The network, which last year provided services to victims of
Hurricane Gilbert and the Armenian earthquake, maintains a decidedly
humble world headquarters.
The small wooden building next to Baxter's home on Great Pond in
this central Maine town 65 miles north of Portland is crammed with
radio consoles, computers and other equipment. Radio signals are
beamed from antennas mounted atop 75-foot pine trees. The lake
provides a natural buffer from interference.
Baxter, who is trained as an industrial engineer, works part-time
in the same building repairing equipment sent to him from other ham
operators. But when disaster strikes, he plunges full-time into the
network.
AP890920-0047
AP-NR-09-20-89 0355EDT
r w PM-Bush-Democrats 09-20 0532
PM-Bush-Democrats,0549
RETRANSMITTING a0463, adds cycle designator.
WASHINGTON TODAY: Bush and Foley `Together'
By TOM RAUM
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
It had the makings of a collector's item: a
campaign-style button showing President Bush alongside the nation's
top-ranking Democrat, House Speaker Tom Foley, bearing the
inscription: ``Together.''
Ironically, it came at a time when Bush and the
Democratic-controlled Congress are at odds on a variety of issues,
including the environment, Bush's drug program, crime, taxes and
education spending.
Actually, the button bearing side-by-side faces of Bush and Foley
had nothing to do with politics, even though it made Bush and Foley
look like running mates. It was a souvenir issued at a celebration
on Tuesday in Spokane, Wash., Foley's hometown, to commemorate
Washington state's 100th anniversary.
The button, given out to the several thousand who lined the banks
of the Spokane River at the city's Riverfront Park on Tuesday to
view the ceremony, proclaimed: ``Together: Saluting Washington's
Centennial.''
Bush has been mixing tree-planting with politics on his trip out
west to visit states celebrating their 100th anniversary.
Although Bush and Foley traded compliments _ Foley saying Bush's
visit was ``a proud moment for the state of Washington'' and Bush
saluting the Democratic leader as ``a man of integrity, decency,
fair play'' _ there was underlying tension in the get-together.
Bush pushed for speedier congressional action on his proposed
revision of the 1974 Clean Air Act. The environmental legislation is
just one of many Bush initiatives now in congressional limbo.
So far, Bush has sent to Congress the bulk of his 1988 campaign
agenda: proposals on child care, the environment, crime, drugs,
ethics, adoption, aid to Poland and Hungary.
And yet, with only a week left before the start of the 1990
fiscal year, only a few of Bush's initiatives have been addressed by
Congress.
Bush, as he has done on a budget blueprint and on the bill
bailing out the savings and loan industry, has signaled his
willingness to compromise with the Democratic leadership in Congress.
``I've been one who is chastised for too much compromise from
time to time,'' Bush told a news conference in Helena, Mont.,
earlier this week.
Even on his drug strategy, Bush administration officials have
made it clear that they're willing to deal on details of funding the
war on drugs.
Thus, the Bush-Foley ``Together '' buttons may point to a period
ahead of accommodation with Congress.
Still, Foley, who rode back to Washington with Bush on Air Force
One, was less than enthusiastic about the prospects for cooperation.
``I think there'll be plenty of disagreements,'' Foley said.
``This is a divided government, with Democratic leadership of the
Congress and a Republican president. And I think we're going to
cooperate on a great number of things, and we're also going to have
our disagreements.''
Foley said he disagreed with Bush's charges that Democrats were
always seeking to spend more and tax more.
``In a democratic society, we ought to put our best ideas forward
and see if we can come forward with the best of both the
administration's approach and that of Congress,'' Foley said.
``Sometimes constructive competition is not bad,'' said the
Democrat.
AP890920-0048
AP-NR-09-20-89 0555EDT
d a PM-BRF--FuelLeak 09-20 0167
PM-BRF--Fuel Leak,0172
1,000 Evacuated Following Fuel Leak
BETHEL PARK, Pa. (AP)
Two underground tanks leaked gasoline and
explosive fumes through a suburban Pittsburgh sewer system, forcing
about 1,000 people to spend the night away from their homes,
authorities said today.
``The condition is extremely dangerous,'' Mayor Reno Virgili said.
About 60 people stayed overnight in a Red Cross shelter set up at
a school, said Joyce Brinkley, the group's disaster health
specialist.
The rest of those evacuated apparently stayed with friends or
relatives, said Ida Matthews, the Red Cross chapter's director of
emergency services.
Bethel Park and Allegheny County authorities planned to meet
today to determine when the evacuation order would be lifted,
firefighters said.
The leaks developed after an explosion and fire last week at a TV
repair shop. No injuries were reported. Officials determined the
evacuation was not necessary until Tuesday, Virgili said.
The leak was traced to two 6,000-gallon gasoline tanks, at a
convenience store and a nearby county maintenance warehouse.
AP890920-0049
AP-NR-09-20-89 0417EDT
r a PM-Kemp 09-20 0522
PM-Kemp,0538
Kemp Calls For Better Effort Against Homelessness
By GORDON FAIRCLOUGH
Associated Press Writer
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP)
U.S. Housing Secretary Jack Kemp called on
Americans to meet their obligation to society, saying the work of
volunteers is absolutely essential to conquering the problem of
homelessness.
``There are people in this country who are hurting. Those that
have been blessed have an obligation to be a blessing to someone
else,'' Kemp said in a speech to a group of federal officials
Tuesday.
The secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development
pledged to cut red tape and improve coordination among government
agencies and non-profit groups who help the homeless.
Kemp portrayed the fight against homelessness as part of a wider
battle against poverty and despair.
Kemp's pep talk to the Interagency Council on the Homeless, where
he announced a rent-subsidy grant program, followed a tour of a
homeless shelter that was empty for the day and a visit to a soup
kitchen, where he was jeered.
Meanwhile, in an interview published in The New York Times today,
Kemp proposed ways to rid the troubled HUD agency of
influence-peddling. He said he would seek to base the awarding of
subsidies on merit rather than on the discretion of department
officials, and to require that consultants register their fees.
``I'm not chairman of the Republican National Committee,'' Kemp
said. Funding decisions ``will be based on objective criteria,
competition, merit, and need, not who you know or what your party
is.''
Under Kemp's predecessor, Samuel Pierce, HUD officials steered
housing subsidies to developers who had hired politically connected
GOP consultants.
Kemp said he would propose a mix of administrative, regulatory,
and legislative measures, as well as making all financing decisions
public.
At the St. Elizabeth's House soup kitchen in Hartford, Kemp was
surrounded by reporters and photographers in the doorway and never
made it inside the room for a complete tour.
His speech gave an outline for what he termed the ``first steps''
in the effort to end homelessness. He said the government would cut
through red tape and make it easier for homeless people and those
who provide for them to receive government assistance.
``We would not be a moral society, we would not be a
Judeo-Christian society, if we did not recognize our obligation''
Kemp said.
Kemp conceded that government procedures have resulted in a poor
record for helping the homeless. He said that since 1983 only 293
homes have been leased and 183 sold to organizations helping the
homeless.
Kemp said HUD has 49,200 houses available at a 10 percent
discount for purchase by non-profit organizations that can pay cash
at closing. In the past, he said, eligibility for such sales were
limited to tax-supported entitities, shutting out charitable groups
that had no funding from the government.
He also announced a joint venture between HUD and a philanthropic
group, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, to create as many as
1,200 housing units in eight cities. HUD will provide rent subsidies
worth about $36 million over five years and $2.4 million in
foundation grants will be used for support services.
AP890920-0050
AP-NR-09-20-89 0503EDT
r a PM-PlayingHooky 09-20 0585
PM-Playing Hooky,0601
Black Boycotters Warned They Could Be Prosecuted Under Truancy Law
By KATHY EYRE
Associated Press Writer
JACKSON, Miss. (AP)
A new state law punishes parents whose
children skip school, and black parents are being warned it could be
used to force an end to the classroom boycotts they use to air
grievances.
The law, intended to cut truancy, makes parent of truants under
age 17 subject to a maximum of one year in jail and $1,000 fine.
During the last few years, classroom boycotts have been used to
put pressure on school officials to address blacks' grievances.
``Boycotting is the only effective tool that a minority of any
class or group of people have to sustain their rightful place in
society,'' said Robert Phillips, a former school board member in
Lowndes County in northeast Mississippi, who is leading a boycotting
parents group.
Phillips, whose granddaughter is among about 385 pupils
boycotting the new Motley Elementary School, said parents aren't
worried about the truancy law.
``It must be some scare tactics of the school board I imagine,''
Phillips said in a telephone interview Tuesday. ``The jail's not
going to hold all of us anyway. We're going as a package and not as
individuals.''
Tom Saterfiel, deputy state superintendent of education, said
Mississippi officials are warning parents of the consequences if
they don't enroll their children within 15 days after the start of
the school year or permit their child to accumulate more than 10
unexcused absences during the year.
``If the truant officers see that we have some kids absent more
days than the law allows, then they petition the judge and the judge
would decide whether to take action against the parents,'' Saterfiel
said.
He noted that state officials are most concerned about 15- and
16-year-olds who are legally required to attend school for the first
time this year under the state's amended 1982 Education Reform Act.
Mississippi traditionally has had among the highest dropout rates
in the nation. Last year, 32.5 percent _ or about one third _ of the
Mississippi students who had completed eighth grade failed to get a
diploma. However, that's down from a 40 percent dropout rate in 1980.
During a meeting last week of the black parents angry with the
Lowndes County School Board, the use of the compulsory attendance
law against them was raised.
State Rep. Alfred Walker of Columbus warned the parents of
boycotting Motley Elementary School students that they could be
prosecuted if they keep their children out of class more than 10
days.
``I came strictly to inform them of the compulsory law and its
consequences,'' Walker said after the parents' meeting.
The parents say their children won't attend the school until the
newly elected school board agrees to give it the name approved while
the school was under construction _ Martin Luther King Jr.
Elementary School.
The parents also said they're upset the cafeteria and library
wasn't completed before the school opened last week.
But more than 350 people at the meeting called by the Lowndes
County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People and the West Lowndes Parents Group said they weren't
worried about the truancy law and were willing to face the
consequences.
School Board President Gary Chism failed to return phone calls
for comment. However, the school board voted Monday night to try to
set up meetings with the black parents group, and Phillips said
discussions had been tentatively scheduled for Friday.
AP890920-0051
AP-NR-09-20-89 0502EDT
r a PM-People-Estefan 09-20 0266
PM-People-Estefan,0275
Pop Star Gloria Estefan Sues Ex-Managers
MIAMI (AP)
Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine were
bumped from a charity concert tour when Bruce Springsteen decided he
wanted more time to sing, and now the pop band is suing its ex-agent
over the foul-up.
In a $1.5 million lawsuit filed recently U.S. District Court, the
Sound Machine claims it rejected offers for $500,000 worth of
appearances during time set aside for last year's Amnesty
International concert tour.
The suit against the Los Angeles firm of Moress-Nanas claims the
group also missed out on valuable publicity when it was dropped from
the tour at the last minute.
``They said we were booked on the tour, and that we should not
accept live performance or production engagements,'' said the Sound
Machine's attorney, David Bercuson.
Moress attorney Philip Ryan said the Sound Machine was dropped
from the tour when Springsteen decided he wanted to play 90-minute
sets instead of the 20 minutes originally planned.
The tour, set up by London-based Amnesty to mark the 40th
anniversary of the International Declaration of Human Rights, was
whittled down to headliners Springsteen, Sting and Peter Gabriel,
Ryan said.
Ryan said the real issue is nearly $1 million in fees the group
owes their former agents.
In its own suit in federal court in Los Angeles, Moress has
accused the Sound Machine of failing to pay $750,000 in management
fees and $200,000 for its work on a $2 million CBS record deal.
``The Moress organization took the Miami Sound Machine and turned
it into a hit-making machine,'' Ryan said.
AP890920-0052
AP-NR-09-20-89 0404EDT
u i BC-FrenchPlane 1stLd-Writethru a0490 09-20 0242
BC-French Plane, 1st Ld-Writethru, a0490,a0493,0245
Military: Wreckage Of Missing Plane Located
Eds: COMBINES urgent series; No pickup.
PARIS (AP)
The wreckage of a DC-10 aircraft of the French
airline UTA that disappeared en route from the Congo to Paris with
171 people on board was located Wednesday in southeast Niger, the
French Ministry of Defense said.
There was no immediate information on whether there were any
survivors.
Among the passengers on Tuesday's flight was Bonnie Pugh, wife
the U.S. ambassador to Chad, Robert L. Pugh, the U.S. Embassy in
Chad said.
The plane was found shortly after dawn Wednesday by a Transall
aircraft sent by the French military contingent in the Chadian
capital.
The ministry said the wreckage was spread over a wide, rocky and
sandy area in the Termit mountains, between Lake Chad and Agadez.
UTA said contact was lost with Flight 772 less than an hour after
it took off from N'Djamena, Chad, on Tuesday afternoon after a
stopover on a flight that originated in Brazzaville, capital of the
Congo.
There were 156 passengers and 15-member crew on board, the
airline said in a statement Wednesday.
The search began at dawn with the French military in Chad sending
a Transall aircraft from N'Djamena to follow the path the UTA flight
should have taken north and slightly west across Niger.
Relatives and friends of passengers on board kept an overnight
vigil at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.
AP890920-0053
AP-NR-09-20-89 0501EDT
r i PM-Hugo-Bahamas 09-20 0484
PM-Hugo-Bahamas,0503
Bahamians Follow Daily Routine, Preparations for Storm Subdue
With PM-Hugo, Bjt
By PATRICK REYNA
Associated Press Writer
NASSAU, Bahamas (AP)
Busy shoppers and tourists from the
bustling cruise ship trade clogged downtown Nassau, displaying only
modest concern that Hurricane Hugo's 105 mph winds were blowing a
few hundred miles offshore.
On Tuesday, the government issued no emergency instructions or
orders, no evacuation route signs were visible about the city, no
emergency shelters were set up and there was no sense of urgent
storm preparation.
The prime minister, Lynden Pindling, was out of the country.
Pindling left the archipelago Monday for a Commonwealth Finance
Ministers meeting in Kingston, Jamaica. He was to head to
Washington, D.C., at week's end.
Forecasters early today said that if Hugo maintained its current
path, it would continue moving parallel to the Bahamas, bringing
high winds and rains to the islands but not the death and
destruction seen in other parts of the eastern Caribbean.
Officials at the Bahamas Meteorological Department in Nassau said
late Tuesday, however, there was cause for concern.
``It's not enough to deliver a devastating blow,'' said
Meteorolgist Nicholas Small. ``But it's not far enough away for us
to relax. We're going to get a healthy tropical wind ranging between
39 and 73 mph, and possibly higher in gusts.''
The government has begun some preparations: a work crew began
boarding up windows of government buildings. Reuben Henderson,
nailing plywood sheets over windows on a government office building,
said he and his crew had been given those instructions.
Dorothea Seymour, a shopkeeper in the busy downtown Straw Market,
didn't seem too concerned.
``Some people care, some people don't,'' she said. ``We're always
hearing about storms, but they never come.''
With her business 15 feet from Nassau Harbour, Ms. Seymour said
if the storm came, she would simply pack up her stock of straw
handbags, dolls, hats and T-shirts.
Four cruise ships were tied up at Prince George Wharf just yards
away, their passengers browsing through shops about the city.
``We have not had any cancellations of cruise ships,'' said
Cordell Thompson, a spokesman for the Ministry of Tourism. ``And
there have been no cancellations of air service.''
Thompson said he didn't think the Bahamas could avoid Hugo's
effects altogether.
``I suspect we're going to get a lot of rain and a lot of high
winds,'' he said.
If the hurricane made a sharp turn to the northwest or the west _
toward the Bahamas _ ``we might start getting nervous,'' Thompson
said.
Few vacationers appeared worried about facing a hurricane on New
Providence, the Bahamas' most populous island.
Michael Belt, and his wife Rachelle, of Henderson, Ky., were
among them.
``I guess all the people here have to ride it out and I guess
I'll have to ride it out with them,'' Belt said.
``I think we'll make it through,'' said Mrs. Belt.
AP890920-0054
AP-NR-09-20-89 0500EDT
r i PM-Hugo-Glance 09-20 0550
PM-Hugo-Glance,0568
Hugo's Path of Destruction
By The Associated Press
Hurricane Hugo, the mightiest storm to hit the northeastern
Caribbean in a decade, has spun a web of destruction across the
popular tourist islands of the region. Here is an island-by-island
look based on initial damage reports.
PUERTO RICO: Gov. Rafael Hernandez Colon estimated damage at
``hundreds of millions'' of dollars and said the homes of at least
50,000 people were destroyed or damaged in the U.S. commonwealth
with a population of 3.3 million. By Tuesday, 92 percent of the
island had telephone service and 75 percent electricity, the
governor said. He said 60 percent of the island remained without
water and that fully restoring water could take a few days. Some
2,500 National Guardsmen were aiding the cleanup and trying to stop
widespread looting. The Pentagon said some of its facilities,
including U.S. Naval Station at Roosevelts Roads in Puerto Rico,
were heavily damaged.
GUADELOUPE: Five people reported killed, 84 injured and more than
15,000 homeless on the French island of 340,000 people. Roofs were
torn off, power lines downed and crops damaged. France's Defense
Ministry assigned 3,000 soldiers, two military transport aircraft
and four cargo vessels to assist in restoring communications and
emergency services to the French territory.
ANTIGUA: Two people killed and widespread wind and rain damage
reported. Island hotels reported water and wind damage.
MONTSERRAT: Nine people were killed and hundreds of buildings
were flattened on the British island. The British government said
nearly all of the 12,000 island residents were homeless. Royal Navy
marines landed on Montserrat to help clear the airport runway so
planes could deliver supplies. British Overseas Aid Minister Lynda
Chalker said Britain would provide $1.57 million in emergency aid to
British islands struck by the hurricane.
ST. KITTS: Houses damaged and trees toppled but no reports of
casualties. Communications nearly severed across the island.
U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS: Popular tourist islands of St. Croix and St.
Thomas hard hit. Widespread looting reported, including raids by
machete-wielding gangs. Ham radio operators in New York were told by
contacts in St. Croix that prisoners had escaped from a jail and
were roaming free and that some National Guardsman and policemen
were joining in the looting. Ham radio operators also reported that
97 percent of the buildings were damaged or destroyed on St. Croix,
which has a population of 53,000. Sailboats were blown out of the
water and thrown up to 150 feet on shore in St. Thomas. Some
waterfront businesses disappeared.
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS: Trees uprooted and power and
communications knocked out. On the resort island of Tortola,
residents said there were numerous injuries and scores of homes
destroyed. Inns reported widespread damages.
THE BAHAMAS: Islanders boarded up homes and stocked up on
supplies as Hugo moved westward. Weather officials said the
hurricane would begin affecting the British colony of Turks and
Caicos Islands southeast of the Bahamas chain Tuesday night. The
storm was moving on a parallel course east of the Bahamas.
UNITED STATES: Forecasters said it was likely Hugo would hit the
U.S. mainland later in the week, but it was too early to predict
where. Forecasters said U.S. residents from the Florida Keys to
North Carolina should watch Hugo's path carefully.
AP890920-0055
AP-NR-09-20-89 0515EDT
r a PM-FilmTreasures 09-20 0756
PM-Film Treasures,0779
Government List of Films Draws Favorable Response in Hollywood
By BOB THOMAS
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP)
Director Billy Wilder, actor James Stewart and
other members of the film industry joined in praise of the Library
of Congress list of 25 films deemed ``culturally, historically or
esthetically significant.''
``I'm delighted,'' responded Wilder on Tuesday. His ``Some Like
It Hot'' and ``Sunset Boulevard'' appeared on the list.
``I wish things would go forward to reconstruct those films as
they were, not colorized and not butchered by cuts.''
Also on the list was Frank Capra's ``Mr. Smith Goes to
Washington,'' which starred Stewart.
``The first thing that crossed my mind, is that I'm glad that
Frank is still with us and can enjoy his vindication,'' Stewart
said. Capra has been in failing health at his home in La Quinta.
Stewart made his comments in Washington, D.C., before a visit to
the Senate to campaign for film preservation. He recalled the
premiere of the movie at Constitution Hall in 1939. Senators became
restive at the film's depiction of political corruption.
The film broke during the screening, Stewart recalled, and by the
time Capra returned to his seat after climbing to the booth to
repair it, ``half his audience was gone. ... The press was
completely against the picture, too.''
The aim of the list, said Librarian of Congress James H.
Billington in announcing the first 25, was to promote movies as an
American art form and generate public interest in preservation.
``I think it's as good a list as we can expect the first time
out,'' said Dave Kehr, a member of the National Film Preservation
Board and chairman of the National Society of Film Critics. A board
of 13 film figures made the final selection, drawing from a thousand
nominations from the public.
The major surprise among the selections for the National Film
Registry was the ``The Learning Tree,'' a semi-autobiographical film
of a black boy's rural childhood by Gordon Parks, famed Life
magazine photographer.
``I'm surprised, pleasantly so,'' said Parks at his New York
residence. ``I'm very happy. The film was very well received in its
release, and it's still playing in Europe and on television here.''
The National Film Registry is the outgrowth of protests by
filmmakers over colorization and editing for television of classic
films. Congress last year passed the National Film Preservation Act,
which called for the naming of 25 classic films annually for three
years.
``I'm delighted to be one of the 25, but I'm horrified at the
necessity of the act,'' said Stanley Donen, the director of the
musical ``Singin' in the Rain.''
Donen said that the act will do nothing to keep broadcasters from
editing movies for length or duplicating them with poor quality
control onto videocassettes.
Wilder was his usual acerbic self in calling for greater
protection for films: ``The television people call in a butcher, who
has failed at the Ralphs grocery store, to supervise the cutting of
pictures so they can slip in the Noxema commercials. Frankly, nobody
gives a ----.''
There were other surprises besides ``The Learning Tree.''
D.W. Griffith's mishmash of history, ``Intolerance,'' was
selected, but not his classic, ``The Birth of a Nation,'' perhaps
because of its sympathetic portrayal of the Ku Klux Klan.
King Vidor's ``The Crowd'' was included but not his more
impressive ``The Big Parade.'' John Ford Westerns are represented by
``The Searchers'' and not his landmark ``Stagecoach.''
Among the missing: ``The Treasure of the Sierra Madre''; ``It's a
Wonderful Life''; ``It Happened One Night''; ``All about Eve'';
``Shane''; ``Top Hat''; ``The African Queen''; ``Rebecca''; ``From
Here to Eternity.''
Besides Wilder, double selections were Victor Fleming, who
directed both ``Gone with the Wind'' and ``The Wizard of Oz'' in
1939, and Ford, ``The Grapes of Wrath'' and ``The Searchers.''
The top movies, listed alphabetically, were:
``The Best Years of Our Lives,'' 1946; ``Casablanca,'' 1942;
``Citizen Kane,'' 1941; ``The Crowd,'' 1928; ``Dr. Strangelove; or,
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb,'' 1964; ``The
General,'' 1927; ``Gone With the Wind,'' 1939; ``The Grapes of
Wrath,'' 1940; ``High Noon,'' 1952; ``Intolerance,'' 1916; ``The
Learning Tree,'' 1969, and ``The Maltese Falcon,'' 1941.
Also, ``Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,'' 1939; ``Modern Times,''
1936; ``Nanook of the North,'' 1922; ``On the Waterfront,'' 1954;
``The Searchers,'' 1956; ``Singin' in the Rain,'' 1952; ``Snow White
and the Seven Dwarfs,'' 1937; ``Some Like it Hot,'' 1959; ``Star
Wars,'' 1977; ``Sunrise,'' 1927; ``Sunset Boulevard,'' 1950;
``Vertigo,'' 1958, and ``The Wizard of Oz,'' 1939.
AP890920-0056
AP-NR-09-20-89 0555EDT
d a PM-BRF--ClassroomRobbery 09-20 0167
PM-BRF--Classroom Robbery,0171
Sixth-Grade Class Watches as Teacher is Robbed
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)
Twenty-seven sixth-graders saw a stranger
walk into their classroom and take $2 and some jewelry from their
teacher.
Teacher Carolyn Hudson said the intruder entered her classroom at
Wharton Middle School about 9 a.m. Tuesday and whispered he would
kill her if she did not give him her money. She said the man never
displayed a gun but a bulge was visible under his sweatshirt.
Hudson, 49, said the children did not realize what was going on
at first.
``I was frightened because I didn't know what he might do,'' she
said. ``Anyone who would come into a classroom of students with the
police next door meant business and could hurt somebody.''
Hudson, who has taught for 26 years in Metro Schools, told her
students they could assist police by writing down what they saw.
``We told them we were not going to give them a grade on
handwriting today,'' she said.
AP890920-0057
AP-NR-09-20-89 0531EDT
r a PM-DissidentRockers 09-20 0516
PM-Dissident Rockers,0530
Chinese Dissidents use Rock 'n' Roll to Sell Democracy Message
By EVE EPSTEIN
Associated Press Writer
BOSTON (AP)
Dissident Chinese students have spiced up their
message of democracy with a new rock 'n' roll beat.
The student leaders mixed politics and rock at a Boston recording
studio, taping three songs they hope will climb to the top of the
democracy charts.
``They were pretty good singers,'' said Harry King, who is
co-producing the tape. ``I was shocked. Politicians usually aren't
good singers.''
The students recorded three songs Sunday. The titles, translated
from Chinese, are ``Hold On Until Tomorrow,'' ``Back to the Square''
and ``For Momma,'' King said.
The rockers include Wu'er Kaixi, best known as the student who
challenged China's Premier Li Peng before troops stormed
pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The
others are Liu Yan, who escaped with Wu'er, and Shen Tong, who was
on the Chinese most-wanted list when he escaped from China.
Wu'er is now a student at Harvard University, Shen is at Brandeis
and Liu is studying at Boston University.
Money earned by sales of the tapes will go to a Democracy for
China fund, Shen said. But money wasn't on the students' minds when
they made the recording. The songs in Chinese are one more way to
keep the democracy movement's message alive, Shen said. The students
plan to distribute the tape in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
``A lot of people travel between Hong Kong and China,'' he said.
``If the song becomes very popular and it's in everybody's mouth,
it's easy to spread in China.''
Shen wrote the words to ``For Momma,'' a dialogue between a
mother and her son. ``It's a mother very worried if her son is
safe,'' said Shen, 21, whose father died about a month ago in China.
The three students used a backup band whose sound is similar to
Bruce Springsteen's, King said. But Shen likened the songs to the
``slower rock'' he prefers, like the Beatles and Simon and
Garfunkel. Shen said he sang songs like ``The Sound of Silence'' in
high school.
The music was written by Jimmy Jang, who approached the students
with the idea, Shen said. Musicians donated their time, and the
studio, Soundtrack, did the recording at bargain-basement prices,
King said.
Ordinarily, it would cost about $45,000 to produce three songs in
a studio, King said. He estimated the tapes will cost only about
$1,200.
A Taiwanese television station taped the recording session for a
news program, and may try to edit that into a video for a variety
show, said Yueh Chiou, a correspondent for the station.
The students also may try to distribute the tape in the United
States. ``I really want American students and American people to
know about the movement too,'' Shen said.
Shen, a biology major, said he isn't prepared to give up his
studies if rock stardom comes his way. Liu, speaking through an
interpreter, echoed his sentiments.
``I have no intention to become a rock star, but I want to be a
good student,'' she said.
AP890920-0058
AP-NR-09-20-89 0556EDT
d a PM-BRF--StolenRecipes 09-20 0192
PM-BRF--Stolen Recipes,0197
Burglar Makes Off With Acclaimed Chef's Recipes
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP)
A burglar who made off with Lindsey
Shere's purse got a lot more than her wallet. The thief got the
notebook with 18 years of irreplaceable dessert recipes collected by
the acclaimed pastry chef.
The burglar slipped into the Chez Panisse chef's home early
Friday and fled through with the purse.
``I feel a little numb,'' Shere said Tuesday. ``I've lost things
that I don't even remember. But I have to assume it's gone and go on
from there.''
The notebook contained recipes for ice creams, sorbets, brioches
and the secrets the restaurant's famed green walnut liqueur.
She is offering a reward for the recipes and said no questions
would be asked. She didn't say how much the reward would be.
``Losing something like that is like losing your manuscript,''
said Barbara Ury, a pastry chef at Wolfgang Puck's new San Francisco
restaurant, Postrio. ``It's sad. That's a serious loss.''
Many of the recipes were to have been published in Shere's second
book on desserts. Her 1985 Chez Panisse Desserts Cookbook was a
best-seller for Random House.
AP890920-0059
AP-NR-09-20-89 0535EDT
r i PM-Niger-WreckageSite 09-20 0413
PM-Niger-Wreckage Site,0423
Area Where Plane Found A Remote, Sunbaked Moonscape
With PM-France-Plane
By MORT ROSENBLUM
AP Special Correspondent
PARIS (AP)
The fragments of a lost French airliner, which
disappeared mysteriously with 171 people abroad, are strewn across a
sunbaked moonscape of southeastern Niger, best reached by camel.
A French Air Force plane sighted the wreckage between the Chadian
capital of N'Djamena and the Niger city of Agadez, ancient
crossroads of Tuareg tribesmen who roam the remote region.
Rescuers found debris near the rocky crags of the Termit,
outcroppings on a West African sea of rolling sands and scrubby
trees, for years a center of fierce drought and passing famine.
UTA flight 772, heading to Paris from Brazzaville, in the Congo,
passed over Lake Chad, heading northward toward the uranium-rich Air
Mountains. It lost contact after leaving N'Djamena.
Colonial literature is rich in explorers' tales of the desolate
region which the French fought hard to subdue. In 1897, Commandant
Toutee _ he used no first name _ was reminded of Egypt.
More recent visitors are struck by the same characteristics: vast
sweeps of multi-hued emptiness, sharp breaks in terrain, blazing hot
days and cold nights _ and silence.
After some attempts at settlement, it is still the unchallenged
domain of the Tuareg, the fabled ``blue men of the desert'' who
float through occasionally on their way to somewhere else.
French administrators once built a locust-control center in the
village of Termit, at the center of the 60-mile-across mountain
chain. After independence, Niger kept a small military post there.
Now Termit is peopled by a few dozen residents in crumbling old
barracks and mud hovels, visited only occasionally by Tuareg
caravans which stray off their preferred Bilma-Agadez route, across
easier terrain to the north.
The French petroleum company ELF built a short, packed-earth
runway near Termit several years ago, but its use is limited and it
is not listed on aeronautical charts.
When the Paris-Dakar Rally passed through the region in January,
only a handful of small aircraft and a DC-3 were able to set down on
the 2,600-foot strip.
Four-wheel drive vehicles can negotiate much of the zone, but
progress is slow, sometimes impossible, over the wide corridors of
high dunes, the sharp ravines and the dry watercourses.
Even in times of plenty, medical supplies, fuel and food are in
measured stocks. Niger's capital, Niamey, is a hard day's drive from
Agadez, the nearest major urban center to the crash site.
AP890920-0060
AP-NR-09-20-89 0502EDT
u i PM-Japan-Markets 09-20 0271
PM-Japan-Markets,0280
Dollar Up, Stocks Nearly Unchanged
TOKYO (AP)
The dollar rose against the Japanese yen today,
while share prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange ended nearly
unchanged for the second consecutive day.
The dollar closed at 146.25 yen, up 0.52 yen from Tuesday's close
of 145.73 yen. It opened at 146.23 yen and ranged between 146.05 yen
and 146.45 yen.
The Nikkei Stock Average of 225 selected issues declined 0.49
points, or 0.001 percent, closing at 34,470.58. The index had edged
down 1.47 points Tuesday.
On the foreign exchange market, dealings were slow and cautious
ahead of the meeting of the finance ministers of seven major
monetary nations in Washington Saturday, dealers said.
Volume totaled $6.315 billion, compared to a daily average of
about $10 billion.
Many market players also were wary about possible central bank
market intervention after monetary authorities sold dollars in the
United States Tuesday in efforts to stem the dollar's upswing.
``It's pretty much a wait-and-see attitude,'' said a dealer with
the Mitsubishi Bank.
Other dealers said they were concerned about whether the finance
ministers of the Group of Seven _ the United States, West Germany,
Japan, Britain, France, Italy and Canada _- would discuss measures
aimed at discouraging the dollar's surge.
On the stock market, the Nikkei index started on a firm note with
broad small-lot buying, but then turned weak over uncertainties
about prospects for exchange rates, dealers said.
In slow trading, volume totaled 600 million shares, down from
Tuesday's 650 million.
``Investors remained on the sidelines, trying to assess current
fluctuations and prospects for the market,'' a securities company
employee said.
AP890920-0061
AP-NR-09-20-89 0542EDT
r i PM-UN-Garba 09-20 0487
PM-UN-Garba,0500
New U.N. General Assembly President Leader In Fight Against Apartheid
By PETER JAMES SPIELMANN
Associated Press Writer
UNITED NATIONS (AP)
Maj. Gen. Joseph Garba, the Nigerian U.N.
ambassador who will serve as president of the General Assembly, has
distinguished himself as a soldier who has led the battle against
apartheid.
Garba, 46, an author and scholar, will preside in December over
the first special session of the General Assembly to focus
exclusively on South Africa's system of racial segregation and its
effects on all of southern Africa.
Born in Langtang, a town in Nigeria's middle belt with a
tradition of producing the country's leading military officers,
Garba began his career at age 13 when he enrolled in the Nigeria
Military School.
At 19, he was commissioned as the youngest second lieutenant in
Nigeria's army after he attended the British military school in
Aldershot; from 1972 to 1973, Garba also attended the Staff College
in Camberly, England.
He was appointed leader of the elite presidential guard for the
head of state, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, who was overthrown by a military
coup in July 1975.
Garba came to public prominence by announcing Gowon's ouster and
became foreign minister of the military government.
He won respect for the tough stance Nigeria took when it
nationalized the local subsidiary of British Petroleum, and for his
involvement in the negotiations that led to the independence of
Zimbabwe.
In an interview published last month in the Nigerian newspaper
The Lagos Vanguard, Garba said he was ``probably one of the luckiest
foreign ministers alive because we had a very active foreign policy
and we had the resources to back it up.''
``Nigerians felt proud that we were involved in international
events like the independence of Zimbabwe and Angola,'' Garba was
quoted as saying.
Nigeria's military government supported the Cuban intervention in
Angola to reinforce the Marxist-oriented MPLA party, which has held
power in the one-party socialist state since 1975.
When civilian government returned in Nigeria in 1978, Garba left
the Foreign Ministry to take charge of the country's top military
school, the Nigerian Defense Academy.
In 1980, Garba retired from the army with the rank of major
general. He briefly attended India's National Defense College that
year, then spent four years at Harvard University as a Fellow at the
Institute of Politics of the John F. Kennedy School of Government
and Center for International Affairs.
Nigeria appointed Garba ambassador to the United Nations in 1984.
Since then, he has been chairman of the U.N. Special Committee
Against Apartheid and the U.N. Special Committee on Peacekeeping
Operations.
Garba is the author of ``Revolution in Nigeria _ Another View,''
published in 1981; ``Diplomatic Soldiering (Conduct of Nigerian
Foreign Policy),'' published in 1987, and the forthcoming ``The Role
of the Military in African Development.''
Garba is a devoted squash and basketball player, and also enjoys
photography. He is married and has six children.
AP890920-0062
AP-NR-09-20-89 0542EDT
r a PM-TexasExecution 09-20 0513
PM-Texas Execution,0528
Man Described as `Satan Personified' Executed
Eds: Note contents of 7th graf, `Paster also ...'
By MICHAEL GRACZYK
Associated Press Writer
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP)
A former lounge singer described as
``Satan personified'' was put to death early today for one of five
slayings he was accused of committing.
James Paster, 44, was declared dead at 12:17 a.m., seven minutes
after corrections officials injected drugs into veins in his arms.
Paster, whose lounge act included an impersonation of Elvis
Presley, was condemned for the contract killing of Robert Edward
Howard, 38, who was gunned down as he left a Houston bar on Oct. 25,
1980. Paster said he received $1,000 and a motorcycle for the
slaying, which allegedly was set by Howard's ex-wife.
``I hope Mrs. Howard can find peace in this,'' Paster said in his
final words. It was unclear if he was referring to the victim's
ex-wife or mother.
He took two deep breaths, then gasped. There was no further
movement.
``He doesn't deserve to be on this earth,'' said Dorothy M.
Howard, Howard's 74-year-old mother. ``He's getting his just due.
It's good riddance for this universe. I don't know if God agrees,
though.''
Paster also was serving a life term for the rape and murder of an
18-year-old woman who had a nail driven up her nose by Paster to
ensure that she was dead. Paster's co-defendant in that case,
Stephen McCoy, was executed earlier this year.
Paster also pleaded guilty to killing another Houston-area woman
and confessed to killing two other women, although he never was
tried for those offenses.
``The death penalty was made for people like James Paster,'' said
State District Judge Ted Poe, who presided over Paster's trial.
Paster's execution was the 118th in the nation since the 1976
U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing states to resume capital
punishment. It was the third execution this year in Texas and the
32nd since 1982 _ the most of any state since the Supreme Court's
decision.
About three dozen death penalty opponents gathered outside the
prison before the execution, chanting ``Say No To Death Row'' and
``Reject The Injection.''
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Tuesday refused to grant
Paster a reprieve and his attorneys declined to appeal to the
federal courts. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an
emergency request.
Howard's ex-wife, Trudy Howard LeBlanc, 42, is serving a life
prison term for hiring Paster and brothers Gary and Eddie LeBlanc to
commit the murder.
Eddie LeBlanc, 34, also is serving life, while Gary LeBlanc, who
Paster said hired him, gave him the gun and drove him to the murder
site, is serving a 35-year term in exchange for his testimony.
Paster served time in California and was in custody in Alabama
when he was arrested for the Howard killing. California officials
described him as having serious sexual problems and the potential
for being extremely dangerous. Texas prison documents described him
as ``Satan personified.''
``If you knew me, I would be an unforgettable character,'' Paster
said. ``I'm a very likable individual.''
AP890920-0063
AP-NR-09-20-89 0543EDT
r a PM-ZsaZsaTrial 09-20 0565
PM-Zsa Zsa Trial,0584
Zsa Zsa Sobs and Calls Slap `Self-Defense'
LaserPhoto LA2
By JEFF WILSON
Associated Press Writer
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP)
Zsa Zsa Gabor's cop-slapping trial
took a bizarre twist even by Hollywood standards, with the actress
bolting the courtroom in tears on the day her accuser was injured in
a traffic accident.
The flamboyant Miss Gabor also took the witness stand Tuesday and
testified that her June 14 arrest by Officer Paul Kramer had
frightened her more than the Nazi invasion of her native Hungary
during World War II.
``He hated me, I could see it in his eyes,'' said the 66-year-old
former Miss Hungary. ``He was very handsome, but he was very scary
to me.''
The star of such movies as ``Picture Mommy Dead'' and ``Queen of
Outer Space'' was to continue her testimony today.
Earlier Tuesday, she bolted the courtroom shouting, ``I can't
take this. It's a lie,'' as another officer who assisted Kramer
testified that she cursed him and threatened to use her friendship
with former President Reagan to get him fired.
As the trial continued in the afternoon, Kramer suffered a head
injury and severe cuts and bruises when his motorcycle collided with
a police car.
The officer, who was answering an emergency call in pursuit of
suspected gunmen, was treated at a hospital and released.
Miss Gabor admitted Tuesday she scuffled with the 6-foot-4-inch
officer after he pulled her over for having expired license tags on
her Rolls-Royce.
``I'm a Hungarian woman ... not a milquetoast,'' she said.
But she added that she acted in self-defense.
``It was in self-defense,'' she said. ``He was unbelieveably
insulting. He can only talk to a streetwalker like that, not to a
lady.''
Kramer, a foot taller and 100 pounds heavier than Miss Gabor,
testified the attack was unprovoked.
The Beverly Hills cop stopped the actress twice on June 14, the
second time after she drove away as he attempted to cite her. When
he closed in on her a second time, she testified she feared he was
going to shoot her.
``I was saying to myself `Uh oh, Zsa Zsa Gabor. Now you've had
it.'''
She said Kramer cursed her during both traffic stops, dragged her
out of her car and handcuffed her.
``I screamed `Officer, you're hurting me, and he liked it. He was
smiling, he was enjoying hurting me,'' she told the court.
Earlier, Officer Scott Thompson testified that Miss Gabor cursed
him as he assisted Kramer.
``She looked at me and said, `You (expletive), I'm having your
job. I'm calling the Reagans on this,''' Thompson testified. Miss
Gabor, a longtime friend and neighbor of the former president, got
up and left at that point.
Defense attorney William Graysen immediately led her back into
the courtroom and she broke down in sobs. Municipal Judge Charles G.
Rubin ordered a recess while she regained her composure.
Until Tuesday, Miss Gabor had been relatively calm during the
trial, doodling on a pad and sketching pencil portraits of the
judge, clerk, bailiff and even a respectable rendition of Kramer.
Miss Gabor is charged with batery on a police officer, disobeying
an officer's orders, driving with an expired license and having an
open container of alcohol _ a flask of Jack Daniels whiskey in the
glove compartment _ in her car.
If convicted, she faces a possible 18-month jail sentence.
AP890920-0064
AP-NR-09-20-89 0553EDT
r a PM-People-TrumpTV 09-20 0330
PM-People-Trump TV,0339
Trump It Up: Donald Goes Video
By LARRY McSHANE
Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP)
Move over, Vanna, and make room, Monty.
Billionaire developer Donald Trump has unveiled his own syndicated
game show, ``Trump Card,'' which will debut next year.
Trump, who could buy enough vowels to create his own alphabet,
predicted Tuesday his game would follow in the successful tradition
of his Trump Shuttle, his Trump Plaza and Trump Castle casinos, and
his book ``Trump: The Art of the Deal.''
``I think it will be tremendously successful. We're trading on
the glamour of the Trump Castle, the Trump Princess,'' Trump told
reporters _ in the Trump Tower.
``The Trump name has never been hotter,'' he added after
producing Miss America 1990 Debbye Turner to say a few nice things
about him.
Trump said his share of the profits on the show will go to
charity.
The show, which will be syndicated and air Monday through Friday,
is based on a top-rated British game show called ``Full House,''
said Lorimar Television President David E. Salzman.
Lorimar developed the program and Warner Bros. will distribute
it. Trump said he decided to go with the idea after getting a
one-on-one sales pitch from a Lorimar executive he accidentally
encountered on one of his helicopters.
``This idea stopped us in our tracks,'' said Dick Robertson,
Warner Bros. president for domestic television distribution. ``It's
the best single new idea we'd seen in years.''
The show, to be filmed at the Trump Castle Hotel and Casino in
Atlantic City, N.J., will feature three contestants trying to answer
questions and thereby filling in their ``Trump Card'' _ a box of 15
squares. Prize money for the winners has not yet been determined,
said Salzman.
The show's host has not been decided yet either. Trump hinted he
may be appearing on the program himself.
``If that opportunity presents itself, I might just do it _ as
long as I win,'' said Trump.
AP890920-0065
AP-NR-09-20-89 0558EDT
r a PM-GoetzRelease 09-20 0424
PM-Goetz Release,0437
Goetz Freed, Turns Down Subway Ride
By HERB LASH
Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP)
Subway gunman Bernard Goetz, freed from jail
early today after serving 8{ months for shooting four teen-agers in
1984, turned down the city's standard offer of a ride to the nearest
subway stop.
Goetz was led out a side door of the Brooklyn Center of
Detention, avoiding eight camera crews and about 30 photographers
and reporters.
He did not want to face the news media, said Pete Mahon, the
jail's deputy chief of operations.
Ruby Ryles, a spokeswoman for the city Correction Department,
said a police officer drove Goetz from the jail, but she did not
know if he was met by friends as planned.
One privilege offered inmates being discharged is a ride to the
closest subway station, Ryles said. Goetz was brought to the
receiving room at 11:45 p.m. Tuesday and ``he was processed out at
12:01 a.m.,'' she said.
Goetz, 41, was arrested on Dec. 22, 1984, for the shooting of
four teen-agers who he said were trying to rob him when they asked
him for $5 on a train near the World Trade Center.
Dubbed the subway vigilante, Goetz became something of a folk
hero among those who saw him as an individual taking a stand against
crime. He had been a self-employed electronics calibrator before his
arrest.
Ryles said Goetz whiled away much of his time playing chess with
inmates in an 18-cell protective custody block. Others in the block
included convicted child killer Joel Steinberg and Joseph Fama, the
alleged triggerman in the Bensonhurst racial attack.
In June 1987, following a two-month trial, Goetz was cleared of
attempted murder and assault charges but convicted of illegal
possession of the gun he used to shoot the youths.
The trial judge, Justice Stephen Crane, at first sentenced him to
six months in jail, a $5,000 fine, 250 hours of community service
and ordered him to undergo psychiatric treatment.
Goetz and his lawyers appealed the sentence, calling it illegal.
The appeals court agreed, sending the case back for resentencing.
In January, Crane sentenced Goetz to one year. With time off for
good behavior, Goetz was to serve eight months. Two weeks were added
to his sentence when guards found a plastic safety razor in his cell.
Goetz now faces a multimillion-dollar lawsuit filed by one of his
victims, Darrell Cabey, who was left brain-damaged and paralyzed.
Goetz has said he might leave New York City after he gets out of
jail.
AP890920-0066
AP-NR-09-20-89 0607EDT
r a PM-SouthernBaptists 09-20 0442
PM-Southern Baptists,0456
Government Report on Homosexuality Angers Southern Baptist Leader
By SHERA GROSS
Associated Press Writer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)
Southern Baptists should be incensed by a
government report calling homosexuality ``natural and healthy'' and
blaming fundamental religion for many suicides among homosexual
teens, a church leader says.
Albert Lee Smith, spokesman for the denomination's lobbying
effort in Washington, D.C., told top church officials on Tuesday
that Southern Baptists should register their dismay with Congress
over the task force report by the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services.
``Taxpayer dollars are being used to promote something completely
contrary to Baptist convictions,'' Smith told the Southern Baptist
Convention's Executive Committee during its semiannual meeting.
Smith, an Alabama congressman from 1981-82, outlined a plan to
contact congressmen and government officials and to organize
grassroots campaigns on such ``church-state matters.''
``The greatest asset we have on legislation is the numbers of
Baptists,'' the Birmingham layman said of the 14.8 million-member
denomination.
The report, published in January and written by San Francisco
therapist Paul Gibson, explores the high risk of suicide among
homosexual youths.
The report noted that homosexual teen-agers were unduly pressured
in fundamentalist churches, such as the Southern Baptist church, and
traditional faiths, such as Catholicism, to renounce their sexuality
as immoral.
``Gay youths ... may feel wicked and condemned to hell and
attempt suicide in despair of ever obtaining redemption,'' Gibson
wrote.
Smith said the study contained ``anti-religious'' sentiment and
criticized it for calling homosexuality a ``natural and healthy
expression of human sexuality.''
The executive committee also was advised that the number of
Southern Baptist missionaries is at an all-time high. However,
officials said the church's goal of 5,000 missionaries by the year
2000 will founder without more money.
Records show 3,827 missionaries are spreading God's message in
the United States, its territories and Canada, said Larry L. Lewis,
president of the Home Mission Board.
``In no time in the history of our agency since (its creation in)
1845 has God called out so many,'' Lewis said.
The nation's largest Protestant denomination has set a goal of
having 5,000 missionaries and 50,000 churches by the year 2000.
The number of new churches grew by 1,000 to 37,567 in 1988 and
the number of chaplains increased to 2,014.
``More new churches were constituted in any year since 1963,''
Lewis said. ``More chaplains have been endorsed now than in any year
in our history.''
These advances were accomplished despite ``stringencies in budget
and reductions in staff,'' Lewis said on a 9.6 percent cut in his
board's upcoming budget. As a result, 26 positions have been
eliminated at the board's headquarters in Atlanta.
AP890920-0067
AP-NR-09-20-89 0615EDT
u i PM-Dollar-Gold 09-20 0268
PM-Dollar-Gold,0284
Dollar Edges Up, Gold Little Changed
LONDON (AP)
The dollar edged higher in early European trading
today and gold prices were little changed.
Foreign currency dealers said trading was uncertain as the market
waited for central bank actions, interest rate movement and a
weekend meeting of the Group of Seven industrialized nations.
``People are very unsure, very nervous,'' said a trader at a
large U.S. bank in Frankfurt.
``The market is waiting for news that will help give the dollar a
trend,'' said one analyst in Milan, Italy.
In Tokyo, where trading ends before Europe's business day begins,
the dollar rose 0.52 yen to a closing of 146.25 yen. Later, in
London, it was quoted at 145.98 yen.
Other dollar rates at midmorning compared with late Tuesday:
_1.9513 West German marks, up from 1.9505
_1.6912 Swiss francs, up from 1.6870
_6.5960 French francs, up from 6.5875
_2.2021 Dutch guilders, up from 2.2000
_1,408.25 Italian lire, up from 1,406.50
_1.1838 Canadian dollars, up from 1.1833
In London, the dollar was little changed. It cost $1.5718 dollars
to buy one pound at midmorning today, compared with $1.5720 late
Tuesday.
Gold opened in London at a bid price of $360 a troy ounce,
compared with late Tuesday's $360.50. At midmorning today, the
city's five major bullion dealers fixed a recommended price of
$360.75.
In Zurich, the bid price was $360.80 compared with $360.50 late
Tuesday.
Earlier, in Hong Kong, gold fell 34 cents to close at a bid
$361.42.
Silver was quoted in London at a bid price of $5.08 a troy ounce,
compared with Tuesday's 5.09.
AP890920-0068
AP-NR-09-20-89 0640EDT
r a PM-WeatherpageWeather 09-20 0261
PM-Weatherpage Weather,0268
Rain from Atlantic Coast to Nation's Midsection
By The Associated Press
Rain spread from the Atlantic Coast into the nation's midsection
today and thunderstorms rumbled across sections of the desert
Southwest.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Hugo, which spread destruction through the
Caribbean and has been blamed for at least 25 deaths, appeared about
to deal the Bahamas a glancing blow. Forecasters said it could hit
somewhere on the East Coast by week's end.
A combination of moist air from the Atlantic and an upper level
low pressure system caused showers and thunderstorms over much of
the Atlantic Coast states.
In some areas, the rainfall was heavy. More than 3 inches fell in
Elizabeth, N.J., and 3 inches of rain was recorded at Hamilton
Square, Pa.
Showers and thunderstorms also fell over southern Nevada, while
scattered showers and thunderstorms reached across New Mexico and
southeast Colorado.
Temperatures around the nation at 3 a.m. EDT included:
_East: Atlanta 67 partly cloudy; Boston 62 drizzle; Buffalo 51
foggy; Charleston, S.C., 66 drizzle; Cleveland 53 foggy; Detroit 54
foggy; Miami 77 partly cloudy; New York 72 foggy; Philadelphia 74
foggy; Portland, Maine, 59 rain; Washington 64 rain.
_Central: Bismarck 50 fair; Denver 62 partly cloudy; Des Moines
57 fair; Fort Worth 65 fair; Indianapolis 53 foggy; Kansas City 59
fair; New Orleans 65 fair; St. Louis 62 fair; Minneapolis-St. Paul
65 foggy.
_West: Albuquerque 67 fair; Anchorage 47 showery; Las Vegas 58
fair; Los Angeles 60 fair; Salt Lake City 58 cloudy; San Diego 59
fair; San Francisco 55 fair; Seattle 55 fair.
AP890920-0069
AP-NR-09-20-89 0654EDT
r p PM-SeattleMayor 09-20 0383
PM-Seattle Mayor,0393
School Busing Opponent, Supporter Square off for Mayor of Seattle
By DAVID AMMONS
Associated Press Writer
SEATTLE (AP)
Two candidates with opposing positions on school
busing will face off in November's mayoral election after finishing
atop a 13-candidate field in the primary race.
City Attorney Attorney Doug Jewett, a Republican and co-sponsor
of an anti-busing initiative, finished first in Tuesday's primary.
City Council member Norm Rice, a Democrat and leading opponent of
the measure, finished second. It is Rice's second bid to become
Seattle's first black mayor.
With a voter turnout exceeding 31 percent and nearly all votes
counted, Jewett had 23,299 votes or 24 percent and Rice, 20,763
votes or 21.4 percent.
Former King County Executive Randy Revelle was next with 14,880
votes or 15.4 percent, followed by City Council members Jim Street,
14,473 or 14.9 percent, and Dolores Sibonga, who had hoped to become
Seattle's first Asian-American mayor, 11,422 votes or 11.8 percent.
David Stern, advertising executive and creator of the ``Happy
Face,'' had 5,311 votes for 5.5 percent.
Mayor Charles Royer, a liberal Democrat and former president of
the National League of Cities, is stepping down after an
unprecedented 12 years in office. He'll become head of the Institute
of Political Studies at Harvard University's Kennedy School of
Government.
Rice was rated the pre-election favorite because of the name
familiarity he built in a losing 1984 mayoral race and congressional
bid last fall.
Jewett's campaign focused on his backing of Initiative 32, an
attempt to end mandatory busing in the city. The measure, which is
being challenged in court, is scheduled to appear on the city ballot
Nov. 7.
All the other major candidates opposed the initiative and
supported the new ``controlled choice'' program, adopted this year
to reduce the reliance on mandatory busing that has angered both
white and minority parents who want their children in neighborhood
schools.
Rice, 46, who said the school initiative was the main reason he
ran, told cheering supporters, ``This election is one of clear
choice.'' He accused Jewett and other initiative backers of being
racially divisive.
Jewett, 43, dismissed the criticism.
``The school issue is not a racial issue,'' he said. ``It's a
matter of choice and parents being able to send their children to
quality neighborhood schools.''
AP890920-0070
AP-NR-09-20-89 0700EDT
r i PM-Colombia 09-20 0624
PM-Colombia,0645
Defense Minister Says He Did Not Know of Mercenaries
By SUSANA HAYWARD
Associated Press Writer
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP)
Appearing before lawmakers, the defense
minister denied charges that he did not act on information that
mercenaries trained paramilitary death squads for Colombia's drug
bosses.
During a heated debate in the Senate on Tuesday, Gen. Oscar
Botero Restrepo said he was aware of rumors that Israeli and British
mercenaries were training paramilitary forces but was unable to
verify the information.
The British ambassador said the Colombian government knew about
British mercenaries as early as March, but did not mention Botero.
The special Senate session came after arrest warrants were issued
Monday for two Israelis, former army Col. Yair Klein and civilian
Arik Acek, accused of training hit squads for drug lords.
Israel has concluded an investigation into the case and the
Supreme Court there has to decide what, if any, action to take.
Israel and Colombia do not have an extradition treaty.
Klein and Acek are accused in Colombia of helping train civilians
to carry out paramilitary operations, mostly in the Magdalena Media
region of central Colombia where drug-backed death squads are said
to operate.
They reportedly arrived in Colombia in August 1988 and are said
to have returned to Israel sometime after the Colombian media
reported on April 10 that foreign mercenaries were training
Colombians.
Klein, now home in Tel Aviv, has said he trained Colombian
farmers to protect themselves against leftist guerrillas and knew
nothing about any links to drugs traffickers.
``I want to tell you honorable senators that since late last
year, our intelligence services had knowledge of rumors circulating
in the country that this type of activity was going on,'' Botero
said. ``But we were not able to verify the information.''
On Tuesday night, British Ambassador Richard Neilson told
Colombian television: ``The government of Colombia had information
about British mercenaries in Colombia in March and we were in a
position to help them (the government).''
Neilson said he would work to extradite to Colombia the British
citizens allegedly involved.
Sen. Alberto Rojas Puyo of the opposition leftist Patriotic Union
party is leading the attack on Botero.
The party alleged on April 24 that Botero was involved with Atlas
Security, a Colombian company, and claimed Klein was employed by it.
Botero, who commands the country's 250,000-man army, has denied
the allegation.
Rojas told the Senate, ``The history of Colombia will change
because the conscience of Colombians now dictates we re-evaluate the
conduct of our institutions.''
He said the turning point came Aug. 16, when Sen. Luis Carlos
Galan, the nation's leading presidential candidate and outspoken
drug foe, was assassinated. Drug-backed terrorists have been blamed
for the killing.
``We Colombians were all to blame for his death because we turned
our backs to reality and allowed the country to fall under the
tragedy of corruption,'' Rojas said.
The government began its crackdown on cocaine traffickers after
the murder. President Virgilio Barco revived Colombia's extradition
treaty with the United States, where the top cocaine lords are
wanted on drug charges. So far one trafficker has been extradited
and proceedings are under away against two others.
The traffickers have retaliated with bombings, shootings and
arson.
The debate on mercenaries began last week after Gen. Miguel Maza
Marquez, head of the country's Administrative Security Department,
similar to the FBI, renewed allegations that foreigners were
training death squads.
Senators also asked Botero on Tuesday about the security provided
to Galan as he was to give a speech in Soacha, a town on the
outskirts of the capital of Bogota, before being killed.
Botero said 65 police, 15 undercover security agents and Galan's
own bodyguards were around the podium before Galan was shot to death.
AP890920-0071
AP-NR-09-20-89 0719EDT
r a PM-Auschwitz-Vatican 09-20 0438
PM-Auschwitz-Vatican,0454
Jewish Groups Welcome Vatican Offer to Move Convent
NEW YORK (AP)
Jewish groups welcomed the Vatican's decision to
move a convent from the site of the Auschwitz death camp, but one
group pressed for a timetable.
The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity issued a statement by
Wiesel that thanked the Vatican but added, ``What is missing is a
deadline. Many of us hope that the Vatican in another statement will
offer a timetable.''
One deadline for the convent's removal already has passed.
The Vatican's decision was announced Tuesday by its Commission
for Religious Relations with Judaism.
``It's time to move on and implement the agreement,'' said
Executive Director Elan Steinberg of the World Jewish Congress.
Steinberg said the Vatican's decision would improve
Catholic-Jewish relations which had been severely strained over the
Polish convent and had also divided Catholic cardinals in a highly
unusual public split.
``We welcome this very important step in restoring the good word
of the church,'' he said in a statement.
Jewish groups have said they were offended by the presence of the
convent and a 23-foot cross at the Auschwitz-Birkenau site, where an
estimated 2.5 million Jews were among 4 million people killed at the
Auschwitz concentration camp.
Wiesel said that while he was ``gratified to know that there are
Catholics who try to understand our sensitivity, and who speak out
to help others understand as well,'' he was ``saddened by the
anti-Semitic remarks'' made by Cardinal Jozef Glemp, the Polish
primate.
Speaking in Bristol, England, Glemp said removal of nuns was a
``scandal.'' But in its first public declaration on the controversy,
the Vatican diplomatically but firmly rejected the position held by
Glemp.
The offer by the Roman Catholic Church's heirarchy included
helping to pay build a new prayer center outside the camp.
Glemp said the convent may be moved but the Jewish protests had
``touched the dignity'' of the nuns serving there.
He said building a prayer center away from the death camp would
be a ``great step, we hope, in order to solve this problem.''
In February 1987, Jewish and Catholic representatives agreed in
Geneva to move the Carmelite nuns from the convent at the edge of
the camp site.
The nuns were to be moved in February, but the deadline passed
and no prayer center was erected. On Aug. 10, the archbishop of
Krakow, Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, announced he was suspending
the agreement because Jewish protesters had created an ``atmosphere
of aggressive demands.''
Glemp fueled the controversy by saying the accord should be
renegotiated and that the Polish church lacked money to build a
prayer center.
AP890920-0072
AP-NR-09-20-89 0742EDT
u i PM-Yeltsin 09-20 0545
PM-Yeltsin,0561
Moscow News Criticizes Pravda for Printing Yeltsin Article
By JOHN IAMS
Associated Press Writer
MOSCOW (AP)
The Moscow News today said that an article in the
Communist Party daily that accused political maverick Boris N.
Yeltsin of boorish behavior on a U.S. tour was ``a joke in poor
taste.''
The feisty weekly, in an unusual slap at Pravda, dismissed
Yeltsin's alleged drinking and shopping spree as irrelevant and
criticized the Soviet press for ignoring most of what Yeltsin said
on his U.S. lecture tour.
On the morning of his return to Moscow Monday, Pravda reprinted a
scathing article that appeared in the Italian daily La Repubblica
depicting Yeltsin as leaving behind ``a wake of catastrophic
prophecies, insane expenses, interviews and above all the perfume of
Jack Daniels Black Label'' whiskey.
Yeltsin called the article ``garbage'' and accused Pravda of
seeking ``revenge for the fact that Americans received us with
admiration.''
Organizers of Yeltsin's tour and reporters who covered it said
the 58-year-old opposition legislator, who became a hero to many
Soviets by criticizing special privileges for party and government
officials, did not appear drunk during his speeches and interviews.
In its editorial, written by deputy chief editor Vitaly
Tretyakov, Moscow News did not challenge the accuracy of the La
Repubblica account but said Pravda failed to tell its readers
whether the report was reliable.
Moscow News, which is published in English and has a limited
circulation, has been at the forefront of newspapers that are
promoting perestroika, President Mikhail S. Gorbachev's economic
reform program.
``It's difficult to take the article from La Repubblica as
anything but a joke in poor taste,'' Moscow News said.
As it appeared in Pravda, the article described the tour as ``a
holiday, a stage, a bar 5,000 kilometers long'' and said Yeltsin was
downing two bottles of vodka and four bottles of scotch daily.
``Yeltsin was delivering lectures, gave seven interviews every
day and talked with the U.S. president for 15 minutes. But in the
Soviet press, only a few short articles appeared,'' Moscow News said.
Noting that the Soviet press practically never tells readers
which of their leaders drink or about their shopping habits abroad,
the editorial said:
``About Yeltsin, we now know. Pity that such a leap forward in
the sphere of glasnost was made by the Soviet press not on its own,
but with the help of Italian newspapers.''
Moscow News said Yeltsin should be seen as a political leader and
what he may have drunk or bought in the United States was not
important.
During his nine-city tour, Yeltsin said Gorbachev could face a
revolution if he fails to improve living conditions soon.
Yeltsin, the former Communist Party chief of Moscow, was stripped
of the job almost two years ago by Gorbachev, who criticized him as
politically immature and overly ambitious.
But, in a remarkable political comeback, the populist won 89
percent of the vote when he ran against an establishment candidate
to represent Moscow in the Congress of People's Deputies.
A month and a half ago, he was elected along with Nobel Peace
Prize laureate Andrei D. Sakahrov and a handful of other reformers
to the steering committee of the first organized opposition in the
Soviet parliament in almost 70 years.
AP890920-0073
AP-NR-09-20-89 0820EDT
r a PM-Gorillas 09-20 0349
PM-Gorillas,0359
New York Researcher Chosen to Continue Dian Fossey's Work
By PAT MILTON
Associated Press Writer
STONY BROOK, N.Y. (AP)
Dian Fossey's fight to save Africa's
mountain gorilla from extinction will be continued by a 33-year-old
New York woman.
Diane Doran, a researcher at the State University of New York at
Stony Brook, was chosen from 15 applicants to be the next director
of the Karisoke Research Center in Rwanda.
Fossey, who was portrayed in the movie ``Gorillas in the Mist,''
set up the center 1967 to study and preserve the mountain gorilla.
She was slain in her mountain hut in 1985. Two others have served
two-year stints as directors since then.
``I consider it a privilege,'' said Doran. ``Being able to study
animals in the wild is magical ... something very few people will
ever get to do.''
The Digit Fund, an animal conservation organization in Engelwood,
Colo., that finances the center, chose Doran in June. The fund is
named after one of Fossey's favorite gorillas.
A native of Whitesboro in upstate New York near Utica, Doran is
completing her doctoral thesis comparing pygmied and common
chimpanzees. She has worked in Africa and is fluent in Lingala, an
African language.
At the center, Doran will supervise research on the mountain
gorilla, assist in conservation efforts and oversee an anti-poaching
program. She will live alone in a cabin high in the mountains on the
border between Rwanda and Zaire.
Fossey, who studied the mountain gorilla for 20 years, set up
anti-poaching patrols to protect the threatened species, of which
about 300 remain. She became an enemy to poachers who slaughtered
the gorillas and sold their heads and hands to be made into ashtrays
and other souvenirs.
Doran said she never met Fossey but admired her pioneering work.
``When she went there it was unheard of for a woman or anybody to
study great apes,'' said Doran.
She said she doesn't fear for her safety because the Rwandans
have become supportive of conservation. Tourists who want to see the
gorillas are the country's third-largest source of revenue.
AP890920-0074
AP-NR-09-20-89 0831EDT
r i BC-DeKlerk-Excerpts 09-20 0483
BC-De Klerk-Excerpts,0499
Excerpts of South African President's Speech
With PM-South Africa, Bjt
PRETORIA, South Africa (AP)
Here are excerpts from the speech
delivered by F.W. de Klerk after he was sworn in for a five-year
term as president. He spoke in English and Afrikaans during the
speech. A text in English was made available by the government.
Our goal is a new South Africa; a totally changed South Africa; a
South Africa which has rid itself of the antagonisms of the past; a
South Africa free of domination or oppression in whatever form; a
South Africa within which the democratic forces _ all reasonable
people _ align themselves behind mutually acceptable goals and
against radicalism ...
We accept that time is of the essence and we are committed to
visible evolutionary progress ... While we are quite prepared to be
tested against our undertakings, we cannot accept responsibility for
over-enthusiastic or even twisted versions of our policy.
For years progress was hampered by, among others, lack of
cooperation, suspicion and mistrust. And, as critics of the
government would surely want to allege, also by actions and-or
failures on the side of the government...
The time has come for South Africa to restore its pride and to
lift itself out of the doldrums of growing international isolation,
economic decline and increasing polarization...
During the term of the new government we shall concentrate
especially on five crucial areas:
_We shall set everything in motion to bridge the deep gulf of
mistrust, suspicion and fear between South Africans ...
_The negotiation process will, from the start, receive incisive
attention...
_We are going to open the door to prosperity and economic growth.
We shall do this by breaking out of the international stranglehold
which, for political reasons, has been applied to our growth
potential...
_We are going to develop a new constitutional dispensation in
which everyone will be able to participate without domination.
_We shall continue to deal with unrest, violence and terrorism
with a firm hand ...
_We shall work urgently on proposals with regard to the handling
of discriminatory legislation. The continued removal of
discrimination remains an important objective ...
_We shall work just as urgently on the formulation of alternative
methods of protecting group and minority rights in a
non-discriminatory manner. This includes urgent attention to the
place and role of a human rights bill...
_The process of the release of security prisoners, which was
started by my predecessor, will be continued ...
My call to the international community is: take note of what is
happening in South Africa. There is a determination amongst millions
of South Africans to negotiate fair and peaceful solutions. Use your
influence constructively to help us attain that goal ...
And to the the leaders and the people of South Africa my appeal
is: help me and the government to make a breakthrough to peace.
AP890920-0075
AP-NR-09-20-89 0833EDT
r a PM-People-Nixon 09-20 0204
PM-People-Nixon,0212
Hometown Proclaims Nixon Birthday a City Holiday
Eds: Wedaa is cq.
YORBA LINDA, Calif (AP)
The birthday of former President
Richard Nixon is now an official day of rest for municipal workers
in the city of his birth.
The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to make Nixon's
birthday, Jan. 9, a holiday for about 100 employees in the city 30
miles from Los Angeles.
``We're not here to judge history, we're here to recognize it,''
said Mayor Henry W. Wedaa.
Nixon, who was born in a Yorba Linda farmhouse in 1913, said
``he's pleased'' with the honor, Wedaa reported.
The proposal to make the date a holiday was met warmly, Wedaa
said, despite Nixon's 1974 resignation in the Watergate scandal.
``Many of us have felt it was time for a holiday for President
Nixon, and the time has come,'' Wedaa said.
The Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library already is under
construction here.
``Fifteen years have elapsed since President Nixon's resignation
and history has shown the importance of his presidency, particularly
with respect to his brilliance in foreign policy,'' the holiday
resolution said.
Assistant City Manager Bruce E. Channing said the holiday will
cost the city about $100,000 a year.
AP890920-0076
AP-NR-09-20-89 0847EDT
r i PM-Quayle 1stLd-Writethru 09-20 0678
PM-Quayle, 1st Ld - Writethru,a0523,0692
Vice President Calls North A Continued Major Threat
Eds: Leads with 3 grafs to move up references to trade surplus, human
rights. Pickup 2nd pvs, `Quayle said...'
By PAUL SHIN
Associated Press Writer
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)
Vice President Dan Quayle said today
that U.S. forces will remain in South Korea to block threats from
Communist North Korea, which he said remains a major threat to peace
in the region.
Quayle also met with a top opposition leader who says the
government is waging a campaign against dissent. U.S. officials said
privately that Quayle told South Korean officials to respect human
rights.
The vice president also discussed South Korea's trade surplus
with the United States, which has caused friction between the two
governments. Washington wants South Korea to lift restrictions on
U.S. imports.
Quayle said the Bush administration remained committed to keeping
U.S. forces in South Korea at existing levels despite calls by some
U.S. lawmakers for troop cuts or a phased withdrawal.
Washington has 43,000 troops in South Korea under a mutual
defense treaty.
``Our commitment to Korea's security remains unwavering. U.S.
forces will remain in Korea as long as our two nations want them and
as long as they can contribute to peace and stability,'' Quayle said
in a speech to the Korean Newspaper Editors Association.
Quayle claimed North Korea poses a threat to South Korea's
security and the Soviet Union has been helping to bolster the
north's military capability with advanced new weapons. He said
Soviet aid to Pyongyang cast doubt on Moscow's claims to want peace
and stability in the region.
``The north (Korea) retains an extraordinary willingness to use
force and terrorism against the south,'' he said.
Radical students staged scattered protests against Quayle's visit
for a second day. About 50 students chanted ``Get out Quayle'' at
Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul but did not clash with police.
About 400 students yelling anti-American slogans battled riot
police with firebombs and rocks at Kyongbok University in the
central city of Taeju, police said.
Quayle assured President Roh Tae-woo and other South Korean
leaders in private meetings that the Bush Administration will keep
its forces in South Korea, U.S. officials said. Some U.S. lawmakers
have called for troop cuts, saying South Korea is capable of
defending itself.
South Korean leaders insist U.S. forces are vital in preventing a
North Korean attack. But dissident groups have been calling for the
immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops and an end to close ties with
Washington.
Quayle, on the first leg of an Asian trip that will also take him
to Japan, the Philippines and Malaysia, also praised the Korean
people for their efforts to build a democracy after years of
authoritarian rule. He praised Roh for helping bring in broad
democratic reforms.
U.S. officials, who declined to be named, said Quayle urged South
Korean officials privately to respect human rights and avoid abuses
of past regimes. The United States has expressed concern over the
arrests of hundreds of anti-government dissidents in recent months.
Two dissidents, Kim Dong-gil and Park Hyung-kyu, were invited to
have breakfast with Quayle along with a selection of other Korean
``opinionmakers.'' The dissidents criticized the Roh government at
the meeting with Quayle, but U.S. officials would give no details.
Quayle also met the leaders of the top three opposition parties
at the National Assembly, including Kim Dae-jung, who has been
indicted on charges of not reporting an opposition lawmaker's secret
trip to North Korea.
Kim contends the charges are an attempt by the government to
discredit him and cripple the opposition.
Quayle also discussed trade with Roh and other government leaders
as part of attempts to resolve friction between the two nations over
Seoul's huge trade surplus with Washington. The United States wants
free access to South Korea for its exports.
The United States intervened to aid South Korea when it was
attacked by North Korea in 1950 at the start of the Korean War. U.S.
forces remained in South Korea after the war ended in 1953.
AP890920-0077
AP-NR-09-20-89 0857EDT
r w PM-WashingtoninBrief 1stLd-Writethru a0469 09-20 0408
PM-Washington in Brief, 1st Ld-Writethru, a0469,400
Eds: CORRECTS spelling of Secord in first graf of 3rd item.
Leland Memorial To Be Built
WASHINGTON (AP)
Feed the Children, a worldwide hunger relief
organization, says it will build a feeding center in Ethiopia as a
``living legacy'' to the late Rep. Mickey Leland.
Feed the Children president Larry Jones said the Oklahoma
City-based organization plans to raise the estimated $150,000 needed
to build the facility, to be called the Mickey Leland Memorial
Feeding Center.
The center would initially be used to store food, prepare a hot
meal a day for children at an area school, and to distribute food to
needy families, Jones said.
Leland, a Houston Democrat who founded the House Select Committee
on Hunger, died in August when his plane crashed into an Ethiopian
mountain on its way to a refugee camp. It was Leland's sixth trip to
Ethiopia since 1984 on behalf of the hungry in the Horn of Africa.
___ ^Toy Bear Recalled
WASHINGTON (AP)
One member of the popular ``Kensington Bear''
toy family has been recalled because buttons may detach from clothes
the bear wears and choke small children, according to the Consumer
Product Safety Commission.
The CPSC said Tuesday the recalled model is number S7417. The
brown, 14-inch stuffed bear is clad in a maroon print dress trimmed
with pink and blue ribbons at the hem and three heart-shaped buttons
on the front.
No injuries have been reported although 1,800 bears have been on
the national retail market since January 1988, the panel said.
Consumers may keep the bear or return it for a refund from the
manufacturer, Heartline, a division of Kansas City, Mo.-based
Graphics International, Inc. by calling 1-800-821-7200.
___
Secord Criticizes Prosecutor
WASHINGTON (AP)
U.S. District Court Judge Aubrey Robinson has
rejected an attempt by Richard Secord to delay Secord's Iran-Contra
trial while an advisory panel investigates prosecutors.
Robinson said Tuesday that such a move would mean ``We're looking
at about a year'' delay in Secord's trial.
Lawyers for Secord contended Tuesday that prosecutors made ``an
irreparable mistake'' by failing to get Justice Department
permission before investigating Secord's congressional testimony for
perjury.
Secord, the retired Air Force major general enlisted by Oliver
North to run arms to the Contras and assist in the Reagan
administration's secret Iran initiative, is accused of obstructing
Congress, perjury and making false statements. His trial is
scheduled to begin Nov. 13.
AP890920-0078
AP-NR-09-20-89 0900EDT
u i PM-SouthAfrica 4thLd-Writethru a0535 09-20 0811
PM-South Africa, 4th Ld-Writethru, a0535,0831
F.W. de Klerk Sworn In as President, Promises End To White Domination
Eds: Leads with 6 grafs to UPDATE with opposition comment, more de
Klerk quotes. Pickup 6th graf, `He said...'
By LAURINDA KEYS
Associated Press Writer
PRETORIA, South Africa (AP)
F.W. de Klerk was sworn in as
president today and appealed to South Africans of all races to help
build a nation ``free of domination and oppression.''
He took the oath of office at a Pretoria church as reports spread
that his government would free jailed black nationalist leader
Nelson Mandela next year. Newspapers quoted officials as saying the
release would be part of several moves aimed at drawing blacks into
negotiations on a new constitution.
``Our goal is a new South Africa, a totally changed South Africa,
a South Africa which has rid itself of the antagonisms of the past,
a South Africa free of domination or oppression in whatever form,''
de Klerk, 53, said during the swearing-in ceremony.
A leading anti-apartheid activist, the Rev. Allan Boesak, said he
would give de Klerk six months to prove that blacks' skepticism
toward him is unfounded.
``If he does not move by then, our fears will be tragically
fulfilled,'' said Boesak, president of the World Alliance of
Reformed Churches. ``If he does move, then I think we might find
ourselves in a situation where one may begin to be hopeful.''
De Klerk said his government would move to eliminate
discriminatory laws, give ``urgent attention'' to adopting a bill of
rights and release prisoners such as Mandela if that would promote
peaceful solutions.
He said he hoped to ``gradually move away'' from the 3-year-old
state of emergency, which has severed restricted militant
anti-apartheid activity.
``Protest regarding past injustice, or alleged injustice, does
not bring us closer to a solution. Nor does unrest or violence,'' he
said. ``There is but one way to peace, to justice for all: that is
the way of reconciliation.''
He reiterated his vision of a new political system in which the
now-voteless black majority would be able to participate without
dominating the white minority, and he cautioned against unreasonable
expectations for his program.
De Klerk's eyes watered when a minister preaching at the
swearing-in ceremony urged him to press forward without fear. Chief
Justice Michael Corbett administered the oath of office before about
1,500 people in a Dutch Reformed Church near the University of
Pretoria.
In an indication of South Africa's international isolation, no
foreign heads of state were present.
As the ceremony began, a group of human rights lawyers in
Pretoria announced that de Klerk had commuted the death sentences of
seven prisoners on Death Row.
It was the second time in five weeks that de Klerk took the oath.
He became acting president on Aug. 15, a day after the Cabinet
forced President P.W. Botha to resign after his 11 years in power.
De Klerk did not mention Mandela by name in his speech, but said
security prisoners would be released if public order was not
threatened and prospects for peace could be enhanced.
Mandela has been jailed since 1962 and is serving a life sentence
along with other leaders of the outlawed African National Congress
guerrilla movement for plotting anti-government sabotage.
Since succeeding Botha, de Klerk has repeatedly stressed the need
for speedy reform and has called white domination of the black
majority unfair.
His National Party lost seats to both the left and right in
elections Sept. 6, but retained its parliamentary majority on a
platform calling for a vote for blacks on the national level by 1994.
Although he has spoken out against discrimination, De Klerk
opposes outright black majority rule, and favors segregated
neighborhoods and schools for whites who want them.
His personal style, conciliatory and affable, translated into
immediate political gain when he declared that police would no
longer interfere with peaceful anti-government protests.
Last week, tens of thousands of people of all races participated
in two of the largest marches in South African history.
Some of his staunchest black opponents praised de Klerk's
decision, seen as an attempt to defuse bitterness and encourage
black leaders to negotiate with the government.
But under the state of emergency, which grants police almost
unlimited powers to limit freedom of speech, press and assembly,
police continued to detain black leaders without charge while the
marches went on.
Throughout his 17 years in politics, including 10 years in the
Cabinet, de Klerk has been a low-key, loyal supporter of the
National Party and a policy of gradual, limited reforms.
De Klerk practiced law before entering Parliament in 1973. From
1978, he held a series of Cabinet posts and in 1982 took on the
powerful job of National Party leader in Transvaal, South Africa's
most populous and wealthy province.
De Klerk and his, Marike, wife have three children.
AP890920-0079
AP-NR-09-20-89 0939EDT
r a PM-BoiledBody 09-20 0378
PM-Boiled Body,0388
Dead Dancer's Boyfriend Called Himself the Anti-Christ
Eds: Note contents.
NEW YORK (AP)
A spurned lover charged with killing his
dancer-girlfriend and reducing her body to boiled, peeled bones
called himself the anti-Christ and advocated the overthrow of the
government, newspapers reported today.
``I say that I'm the new Lord,'' the New York Post quoted Daniel
Rakowitz as saying in an interview two months ago with a free-lance
writer.
``And I will take leadership of the satanic cultists to make sure
they do everything that has to be done to destroy all those people
who do disagree with my church.''
Rakowitz, 28, was arrested Monday before a bucket of bones was
found at a bus terminal. He remained jailed today in the slaying of
Monika Beerle.
Neighbors said Rakowitz carried a live rooster on the street. In
the interview, Rakowitz said New Yorkers should smoke marijuana,
kill cocaine and heroin dealers and overthrow the government.
A free-lance videographer and writer, Clayton Patterson, had
interviewed Rakowitz after he took part in a melee with police last
year in a park. Patterson said Rakowitz had shouted during the riot,
``Kill the pigs and feed them to the hogs!''
Miss Beerle, 26, lived with Rakowitz for two months before she
broke off the relationship Aug. 19 and asked him to move out, said
police. Miss Beerle came to New York last year from her native
Switzerland to study dance.
Miss Beerle was beaten and stabbed and her body slowly
dismembered and boiled to separate bone from flesh, said Deputy
Police Chief Ronald Fenrich. The flesh was flushed down the toilet
of the apartment, where another couple also lived, he said.
``We have a female witness who is now living in New Jersey and a
male witness,'' Fenrich said. ``These witnesses had heard something
and seen the body parts, which led us to the suspect.''
Rakowitz was arrested at a Brooklyn restaurant where he had
worked for two days as a cook. Bones in a five-gallon bucket were
discovered in a baggage claim area of a bus terminal.
``He was calm, not excited, didn't appear to be under stress, did
not offer any resistance and came voluntarily,'' Fenrich said. ``His
statement led us to the baggage check-in.''
AP890920-0080
AP-NR-09-20-89 0945EDT
u i PM-Hugo-StCroix 1stLd-Writethru 09-20 0609
PM-Hugo-St Croix, 1st Ld-Writethru,a0552,0627
Authorities Join Looters in U.S. Virgin Islands
Eds: Adds 5 grafs after last pvs to include background on report
of prisoners escaping, geography on islands, other damage from Hugo. No
pickup.
With PM-Hugo, Bjt
CHRISTIANSTED, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP)
Law enforcement
collapsed on St. Croix after Hurricane Hugo devastated the island,
and hundreds of looters were ransacking stores and loading garbage
bags full of food and jewelry, witnesses said today.
Tourists pleaded with reporters landing on this U.S. Virgin
Island to take them off, and the U.S. Coast Guard today said
gunshots and looting occurred during the night.
``It's very bad, extremely bad,'' said San Juan reporter Gary
Williams.
``When we landed (in a helicopter on St. Croix), we were pounced
upon by about 15 tourists. They said, `Please get food! Please get
water! Please help us! They're looting. We've seen police looting.
We've seen National Guard looting. There's no law and order here.'
``The women were in panic. Some were crying. They didn't know
what to do or how to get out of there,'' Williams said in a
telephone interview.
Ham radio operators reported Hugo's winds on Sunday night and
Monday destroyed or damaged 97 percent of the buildings on St.
Croix, which has a population of 53,000. Civil defense officials
reported no deaths on the island.
In San Juan, Coast Guard Petty Officer John Ware said Coast Guard
cutters were steaming offshore St. Croix today, ``showing the flag
and awaiting instructions (on possible military assistance).''
He said there were ``gunshots in the night, lots of looting going
on in the night. We have reports of widespread looting and civil
unrest.''
Williams said his helicopter flew over Sunny Isle shopping center
in Christiansted. He said there appeared to be 1,000 people in the
parking lot, many walking in and out of shattered shops with garbage
bags.
``They were walking to their cars with stuff,'' he said. ``The
Grand Union (supermarket) was just crammed with people at the door.''
At one jewelry store, ``We saw three men and a women walking out
with garbage bags loaded with stuff.''
He said one man was wielding an iron bar.
At another nearby jewelry store, where the store window had
already been shattered, people were trying to break open the metal
bars to get in, Williams said. He said he saw two women carrying
large boxes overflowing with toys.
``We did not see one cop in Christensted, and that's the main
town,'' he said. ``We saw a National Guard truck filled to capacity
with all kinds of stuff in it.''
When the guardsmen saw the reporters, they moved away quickly.
Miami Herald reporter Carlos Harrison today also said he saw a
National Guard truck loaded with merchandise.
``They didn't look like they were delivering things,'' Harrison
said.
Ham operators also heard reports that law enforcement had
collapsed. One, Stuart Haimes of Queens, N.Y., said an undetermined
number of inmates had either escaped or been released because of
prison damage and also were looting. Officials said St. Croix
suffered more damage than St. Thomas or St. John, the other two
islands in the U.S. chain southwest of Puerto Rico.
More than 50,000 people across the Caribbean lost homes in the
storm.
A Civil Defense spokeswoman in Puerto Rico, Cizanette Rivera,
said the storm claimed 25 lives Sunday and Monday as it churned
westward through the Leeward Islands and hit Puerto Rico before
heading northwest.
Two people were killed in Puerto Rico and other independently
confirmed deaths included nine people on the British Island of
Montserrat, five on the French territory of Guadeloupe and two on
Antigua.
AP890920-0081
AP-NR-09-20-89 1012EDT
u w PM-DC-10Safety 1stLd-Writethru a0448 09-20 0650
PM-DC-10 Safety, 1st Ld-Writethru, a0448,610
Top Aviation, Safety Officials Say DC-10 Safe
Eds: SUBS 4th graf, Within hours, to update with French airline saying
bomb most likely cause of latest crash.
Laserphoto WX6
By DAVID BRISCOE
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
Engine inspections and design modifications are
being ordered for the DC-10 following an Iowa crash that killed 112
people, but top aviation and safety officials still say the
wide-body jetliner is safe.
A congressional transportation subcommittee summoned the heads of
the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation
Safety Board and a McDonnell Douglas vice president Tuesday to
discuss the trouble-plagued airliner.
All said DC-10s are safe _ as safe as any other wide-body jet _
and there is no reason to ground the more than 400 in service.
Within hours after the hearing, there was another incident
involving a DC-10. The French airline UTA said a bomb most likely
caused the crash of one of its DC-10s carrying 171 people from
N'Djamena, Chad, to Paris. The scattered wreckage was found in
south-central Niger and there was no word on survivors.
FAA Administrator James B. Busey announced to the Senate
Commerce, Science and Transportation subcommittee an order to
inspect the fan disks of 220 DC-10 engines similar to the one
investigators believe failed prior to the July 19 crash of a United
DC-10 in Sioux City, Iowa, that killed 112 people.
James Kolstad, safety board chairman, told the same hearing that
a DC-10 modification recommended by aircraft builder McDonnell
Douglas last week should be made mandatory for all of the jetliners.
The manufacturer said the change would prevent the loss of all
hydraulic flight controls which occurred before the July 19 United
Flight 232 crash in Iowa.
Kolstad said DC-10s and other wide-body airliners are among ``the
safest airplanes in history.''
The subcommittee chairman, Sen. Wendell H. Ford, D-Ky., said the
hearing was called to get reassurances that the government is
adequately policing safety of the DC-10.
Busey described several government and industry groups set up to
look into possible improvements for the DC-10 and other airliners.
``At the outset I believe it is important that I assure you and
the public that the FAA considers the DC-10 to be a safe aircraft,''
the administrator said, adding that there was no reason to ground
the airliner.
Busey said that although investigators had not determined what
caused the explosive engine failure in the Iowa crash, one possible
scenario is the development of a crack in the engine fan disk ``as
the result of an internal flaw in the disk material itself.''
Inspections ordered by the FAA cover all General Electric CF6-6
engines built for the DC-10 using a ``double-vacuum'' melt process
during the formation of titanium material from which the rotor disks
are forged.
``The (inspection order) is needed to identify and remove from
service Stage 1 fan disks which may have metallurgical
imperfections. Such imperfections can adversely affect the service
life of the disk,'' the FAA said.
FAA officials earlier said a microscopic flaw was found in
analysis of six engines built from the same metal used in the Iowa
DC-10.
Busey said 55 engines would be inspected by Nov. 21, and the
remaining 165 before February 4.
Sen. Ernest F. Hollings, D-S.C., questioned the timetable,
calling for the FAA to say what is being done ``to minimize the
risks that those aircraft in operation pose until they clear FAA
inspections.''
Kolstad said the safety board's investigations into DC-10
accidents ``to date have uncovered no common thread that would
suggest a fundamental design flaw of the airplane.''
He said there is nothing to indicate that the DC-10's operating
history is significantly different from that of other wide-body
transport airplanes.
``While, in retrospect, all of these airplanes may have benefited
from some design improvements, their operating records have placed
them among the safest airplanes in history,'' he said.
AP890920-0082
AP-NR-09-20-89 1021EDT
r a PM-CompoundQ 09-20 0361
PM-Compound Q,0369
Underground Tests of AIDS Drug Show Promise, Dangers
SAN FRANCISCO (AP)
Organizers of underground tests of an AIDS
drug derived from Chinese cucumber roots say early results show
promise but also dangers.
``You can't use the word dramatic to describe the results of such
a preliminary, early study, but you can say it had a significant
effect,'' Martin Delaney, co-director of Project Inform, said
Tuesday.
The San Francisco-based AIDS information group secretly organized
the study of the drug, Compound Q, in May without authorization from
the Food and Drug Administration. Project Inform has said that
desperate AIDS patients already were experimenting on themselves
with the drug and wouldn't wait for government action.
More than 300 people crowded into the room where Delaney
announced results of the study of 34 patients from San Francisco and
New York. Tests results have not yet been tabulated for those taking
part in Los Angeles and Miami.
Two patients died after receiving Compound Q and three others
suffered severe dementia or seizures but recovered. All already had
severely disabled immune systems, and doctors did not blame the
deaths on Compound Q, Delaney said.
``This drug has serious risks associated with it, but it's too
important to be dismissed,'' said Delaney, who called for
accelerated federal research.
The promising effects in some patients treated with Compound Q
included slight rises in T4 lymphocyte cells, which are crucial for
a healthy immune system. Others showed drops in levels of p24
antigen, a protein the human immunodeficiency virus, which causes
AIDS, is thought to release as it reproduces in cells.
Delaney and the San Francisco doctors who designed the study _
Alan Levin and Larry Waites _ said the results indicate the compound
could be valuable in combination with other drugs such as AZT.
``These numbers are a little squishy,'' Levin said. ``But if you
get four squishy numbers and they're all pointing in the same
direction, you know you're on to something.''
Project Inform initiated its study after University of
California-San Francisco researcher Dr. Michael McGrath reported
that Compound Q appeared to selectively kill cells infected with the
virus in test tube studies.
AP890920-0083
AP-NR-09-20-89 1028EDT
u w PM-CongressionalPay 1st-Ld-Writethru a0466 09-20 0655
PM-Congressional Pay, 1st-Ld-Writethru, a0466,620
Foley Says House Will Consider Ethics Reform Package
Eds: LEADS with 5 grafs to update with Foley comments on ethics reform
package, picks up 2nd graf pvs, The proposal...
By LARRY MARGASAK
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
House Speaker Thomas Foley said today the House
would consider an ethics reform package this fall, but took no
position on a task force's tentative plan to raise congressional pay
35 percent over two years.
Foley said the task force has not presented the House leadership
with its preliminary recommendation, which, a congressional source
said, also includes a proposal to phase out controversial honoraria
payments.
``We've made no decision on that,'' Foley told reporters. ``We'll
listen to whatever recommendations are made.''
All recent attempts to reform House ethics rules have included a
pay increase along with reform of the honoraria system.
Asked if the House would still consider an ethics reform package
this year Foley said, ``I think we will consider an ethics package
this fall.''
The proposal would increase pay by about 10 percent next year,
another 25 percent in 1991 and tie pay boosts afterward to the cost
of living, the source said Tuesday night, speaking on condition of
anonymity.
The final recommendation of the 10-member bipartisan task force
is expected to be presented to congressional leadership this week.
The proposal is subject to change and is expected to go before the
full House by the end of October.
House and Senate members currently are paid $89,500 annually, and
leaders are paid more. A 35 percent increase would make the salary
$120,825.
A key part of the new plan would be a two-year phaseout of
honoraria _ fees for making speeches, often to organizations
lobbying for legislation. House members now may keep honoraria
totaling 30 percent of their pay, while the limit for senators is 40
percent.
The proposal also would eliminate a provision in current law
allowing House members who were in office by January 1980 to convert
excess campaign money to personal use. The task force has not
decided when that proposed change should take effect, according to
the source.
The plan also would tighten disclosure requirements for receipt
of gifts. The task force reportedly is considering several proposals
to allow outside earned income other than honoraria, including the
possibility of letting members keep 15 percent of their outside
earnings.
Former House Speaker Jim Wright, D-Texas, established the task
force earlier this year after lawmakers suffered through their
latest bitter feud over a pay increase.
Consumer advocate Ralph Nader led what became a public outcry
against a plan to raise lawmakers' salaries by 51 percent, a raise
that could have gone into effect without a vote if Congress had gone
along with the recommendations of a presidential pay commission and
former President Reagan.
Wright sought to save part of the raise by having the House vote
on a 30 percent increase that would have been offset by a phaseout
of honoraria, but the House rejected such a plan.
Congressional watchdog group Common Cause and other organizations
have called repeatedly for an end to honoraria, which usually is a
$2,000 per appearance fee for lawmakers who are invited to speak to
groups that have an interest in legislation.
Critics say the fees too often amount to a reward just for
showing up, sometimes at conventions at plush resorts for which the
member's expenses are picked up by the sponsors.
Backers of a raise say members have not taken cost of living
increases in recent years and need a substantial increase to catch
up with inflation. Many members feel they must maintain two homes,
one in Washington and one in their home districts, and face expenses
that others with similar salaries don't have, the supporters say.
The task force of 10 members is equally divided between the
parties and chaired by Reps. Vic Fazio, D-Calif., and Lynn Martin,
R-Ill.
AP890920-0084
AP-NR-09-20-89 1042EDT
r i PM-Refugees 09-20 0486
PM-Refugees,0501
400 New Refugees Arrive in West Germany, Some Moved from Warsaw Embassy
By NESHA STARCEVIC
Associated Press Writer
FRANKFURT, West Germany (AP)
More than 400 East German refugees
arrived in West Germany overnight, a border officials said today.
Some emigres said they swam the Danube River to get to Hungary and
the open border to the West.
Most of the new arrivals apparently made their way from
Czechoslovakia via Hungary and Austria.
Several of the refugees interviewed by West German television
said Czechoslovakia's Communist authorities were trying to prevent
East Germans from reaching Hungary, even though the refugees had
valid travel documents and visas for Hungary.
Some refugees told West German television in the border city of
Passau that they swam across the Danube River to reach Hungary.
One man said he was prevented from crossing to Hungary, went back
to Poland and then flew to Budapest. None of the interviewed
refugees was identified.
A West German border police spokesman, Klaus Papenfuss, said 416
East Germans crossed the border into West Germany overnight, most in
special buses.
Hungarian media on Tuesday confirmed previous reports by refugees
and relief workers that Czechoslovak authorities were trying to
prevent East Germans from reaching Hungary.
Hungary last week opened its borders to East German refugees and
more than 17,000 have since used the opportunity to emigrate to West
Germany.
Newspaper reports said the number of East German refugees in the
West German Embassy in Prague today swelled to at least 520.
In Bonn, Foreign Ministry spokesman Juergen Chrobog said 16 of
120 East Germans who had taken refuge in the West German Embassy in
Warsaw had been moved to a nearby Roman Catholic seminary.
The influx of refugees to the cramped embassy forced the West
German government to close the mission to the public on Tuesday. The
refugees are demanding free passage to West Germany.
Chrobog told reporters in Bonn the seminary was made available by
the Warsaw diocese at the request of West Germany's ambassador to
Poland, Franz-Joachim Schoeller.
Schoeller told West German television late Tuesday that Poland
has promised a ``pragmatic'' solution for the refugees.
The mass-circulation newspaper Bild said Poland's new government,
dominated by non-Communists and led by Solidarity activist Tadeusz
Mazowiecki, had assured Bonn that no East German refugees would be
sent back against their will to their hard-line Communist homeland.
Poland has a bilateral agreement obliging it to repatriate East
German refugees to East Germany, but the new government in Warsaw is
committed to respecting the 1975 Helsinki agreements guaranteeing
freedom of movement, Bild said.
Hungary had a similar bilateral agreement with East Germany but
suspended it on Sept. 10 and allowed thousands of East Germans to
cross Austria and enter West Germany, where they receive automatic
citizenship and help settling.
The dispute over the refugees is straining relations within the
Warsaw Pact, as well as between the two German states.
AP890920-0085
AP-NR-09-20-89 1049EDT
r a PM-HaitianBabies 09-20 0664
PM-Haitian Babies,0684
Haitian Immigrants, Stopped at Sea, Threaten to Drown Their Babies
By ALAN COOPERMAN
Associated Press Writer
BOSTON (AP)
Haitian refugees trying to reach the United States
in small boats have adopted a grim new tactic: threatening to throw
their babies into the sea unless the Coast Guard gets out of their
way.
In the most recent incident, 103 Haitians aboard a rickety,
40-foot sailboat in the Bahamas turned seven of their infants into
hostages Saturday night to try to keep a 110-foot Coast Guard cutter
at bay, said Lt. Paul Wolf.
When a larger, 205-foot cutter arrived Sunday morning, the
refugees gave up and were returned to Haiti, said Wolf, a spokesman
at the Coast Guard's East Coast operations center in Boston.
It was the third time in seven months that people fleeing the
depressed and strife-torn Caribbean island have threatened their
children's lives in a desperate effort to reach Florida, the Coast
Guard said.
Both previous incidents, on March 25 and June 1, also ended with
the peaceful return of the refugees to Haiti. In no case was any
infant tossed overboard.
But Coast Guard officials said they are concerned that the tactic
is spreading and may eventually result in death or injury.
``It's a variation on a hostage-taking, obviously a very delicate
situation, and the fact that you're on the open water makes it even
more delicate,'' said Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Karonis, a Coast Guard
spokesman in Miami.
``You're at the mercy of the weather all the time. It can get
dark. You have to worry whether they have enough food and whether
their vessel is going to sink. ... It can get very hairy.''
In all three incidents, the Coast Guard's response has been to
open negotiations with the refugees, try to calm them down and wait
them out.
But there is no formal policy on how to handle the threats, and
the commmander on the scene has wide latitude to act as he sees fit,
Wolf said.
``If it's a nice calm day, where the vessel is seaworthy, there's
time to talk and defuse the situation,'' Wolf said. ``But on other
days when the water is rough and the boat is in danger of sinking,
we might have to take immediate action.''
In the March 25 incident, a 50-foot sailboat packed with 250
Haitians held off a Coast Guard cutter for 30 hours before giving
up. One woman jumped into the water during the standoff, but none of
the babies was injured.
Refugees brandished machetes and knives during the second
incident, an eight-hour standoff June 1 between a boatload of 109
Haitians and three cutters. The refugees' leader allegedly
threatened to toss five babies into the water.
The wave of small boats trying to make the perilous one- to
three-week voyage to Florida began in the 1970s with worsening
economic conditions and political ferment in Haiti after the death
of dictator Francois ``Papa Doc'' Duvalier.
Up to 2,000 illegal Haitian immigrants were reaching Florida each
month before the Coast Guard interdiction program began in 1981,
said Henry Chomentowski, an Immigration and Naturalization Service
officer in Miami.
In recent years the number of refugees has fallen sharply, but
false rumors of a change in U.S. immigration policy were blamed for
a huge increase in March, when the Coast Guard intercepted 1,500
Haitians, the highest monthly total in eight years.
Aliens leaving their homeland for economic reasons are sent back.
Those trying to escape political repression are given asylum
hearings.
Of the more than 20,000 Haitians intercepted since 1981, however,
only 6 have been brought into the country for asylum hearings, the
INS said.
Coast Guard officials said the Haitians know that if they are
stopped, they are virtually certain to be sent home.
``Most of them submit passively,'' said Karonis. ``But when they
have been crowded in those boats for days and they think they have
nearly made it, they can get very agitated and hostile.''
AP890920-0086
AP-NR-09-20-89 1053EDT
r a PM-BarredAliens 09-20 0420
PM-Barred Aliens,0433
Government Must Reveal Why it Bars Some Aliens
NEW YORK (AP)
A judge has ordered the Immigration and
Naturalization Service to partially reveal its secret list of barred
aliens, believed to number as many as 40,000, and its reasons for
keeping them out of the country.
U.S. District Judge John M. Walker issued the order Tuesday in
connection with a lawsuit demanding to know why Patricia Lara, a
Colombian journalist, was barred three years ago.
Walker said the public had an interest in knowing the reasons the
government gives for barring aliens.
However, he said that while the barred aliens' occupations and
the reasons for their exclusion had to be revealed, their names
would not be made public.
``Some individuals could be placed in grave danger in their own
countries if it were learned that the American government suspects
them of being affiliated with terrorist organizations,'' he said.
The list, formally the National Automated Immigration Lookout
System, also is called the Lookout Book.
Walker exempted from disclosure documents involving national
security, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad A. Vignola.
The list probably will not be revealed until related documents
have been examined for national security considerations, said Miss
Lara's lawyer, Arthur C. Helton of the Lawyers Committee for
International Human Rights.
``She still wants to come to the United States and she is still
vitally interested in learning what it was that kept her out,''
Helton said.
Miss Lara, 35, a 1980 graduate of the Columbia University
Graduate School of Journalism, was working on a free-lance basis for
El Tiempo, a Bogota newspaper, when she came to New York in 1986 as
a winner of a Maria Moors Cabot Prize. The prizes are awarded for
advancing inter-American understanding and freedom of information.
She was detained at Kennedy Airport, her visa was revoked and she
was sent back to Colombia without a hearing.
An immigration regional commissioner, Michael D. Mosbacher, said
Miss Lara came under sections of the law dealing with people the INS
believed were likely to engage in subversive activities, or whose
presence would be prejudicial to public interest or endanger
security.
The lawyers' committee sought the reasons for barring her, but
the government produced only a few documents. The committee then
sued the FBI, CIA, State Department and INS.
Miss Lara reportedly was linked to a Colombian terrorist group.
She maintained she was barred for writing articles critical of
American policy in Central America.
She married Colombia's attorney general, Alfonso Gomez Mendez, in
April.
AP890920-0087
AP-NR-09-20-89 1115EDT
u i PM-Soviet-Ethnic 2ndLd-Writethru a0540 09-20 0751
PM-Soviet-Ethnic, 2nd Ld-Writethru, a0540,0768
Communist Hard-liners Back Gorbachev's Call for End to Anarchy
Eds: Leads with 15 grafs to UPDATE with Georgian, Lithuanian leaders
defending their republics. Pickup 12th pvs, `Yuri Yelchenko...'
By MARK J. PORUBCANSKY
Associated Press Writer
MOSCOW (AP)
Communist hard-liners supported President Mikhail
S. Gorbachev's warning about anarchy and ethnic separatism by
calling for a crackdown on groups seeking more freedom from Moscow,
reports said today.
But leaders of Lithuania and Georgia, two republics where ethnic
issues are causing the Kremlin headaches, blamed their problems on
processes taking place nationwide or on outside provocation intended
to cause a crackdown.
Absamat Masaliev, Communist Party chief of the Central Asian
republic of Kirghizia, told a meeting of the party's policy-making
Central Committee that the ``time has come ... to bring to order
those who openly speak out against our structure, our unity,
sabotage perestroika and abuse democracy.''
Masaliev said that calls to turn the party into a union of
independent groups, or to introduce a multiparty system, were ``an
extremely dangerous and destructive tendency.''
His comments and those of other party leaders were made Tuesday
and distributed today by Tass, the official Soviet news agency. The
Central Committee continued its work today, and Tass said it debated
a blueprint for ethnic relations offered by Gorbachev as part of his
reform drive.
The president opened the meeting Tuesday by offering the 15
Soviet republics more power to decide economic issues. But he said
the Kremlin would not tolerate anarchy or what he called separatist
demagogues. Ethnic disputes have become one of the most complex and
serious problems in this land of more than 100 nationalities during
the period of Gorbachev's reforms.
They have resulted in more than 200 deaths in the past 18 months,
the virtual blockade of one republic and calls for independence from
Moscow.
In April, 20 people were killed by soldiers during a nationalist
protest in Georgia, and activists said the violent crackdown was
ordered by Moscow.
The Georgian Communist Party chief, Givi Gumbaridze, claimed
today that ``excesses on nationalist grounds often are orchestrated
by outsiders, forcing authorities to impose curfews and special
forms of administration.''
He did not identify the outsiders.
Gorbachev urged Soviets ``not give in to demagogues'' with
slogans ``served under the pleasant sauce of independence,
secession, etc.''
He recounted how the Kremlin has tried to bring peace to the
Caucasus Mountain republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan, where Soviet
officials say the current situation is more tense than at any time
during an 18-month standoff over control of the Nagorno-Karabakh
region.
The Kremlin has imposed direct rule on the region to no avail,
and Gorbachev said the party was contemplating ``resolute measures''
to quell the violence.
Addressing demands in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia to recognize
that they were forcibly absorbed by dictator Josef Stalin as World
War II broke out, Gorbachev said Stalin's policy was wrong but that
the Baltic republics joined the Soviet Union voluntarily rather than
face Adolf Hitler's Nazi forces alone.
Algirdas Brazauskas, the Lithuanian party chief, said today that
Lithuania does not intend to try to leave the Soviet Union. But he
defended his republic by saying the transformation taking place in
the entire country under Gorbachev's reforms is simply moving ahead
faster in Lithuania.
Yuri Yelchenko, a secretary of the Ukrainian Communist Party,
said a ``series of independent formations have clear anti-socialist
platforms, the basis of which often lies in bourgeois nationalism.''
He said such groups were especially active in the western
Ukraine, and he accused the Narodni Rukh grass-roots political
movement of seeking to seize power from the Communists.
Local party leaders said they support plans to give them more
control over their economies. They complained that since many of the
factories and offices in their republics now are under the control
of national ministries in Moscow, they pay little in the way of
local taxes.
In its first decision Tuesday, the Central Committee backed
Gorbachev's proposal to hold the next party congress ahead of
schedule, in October 1990. The sessions are held every five years
and the last one opened on Feb. 24, 1986.
A congress gives Gorbachev the broadest possible opportunity to
remake the party leadership. It is theoretically the most powerful
party body, responsible for broad policy outlinesa as well as
electing the Central Committee. Since the 1986 congress, Gorbachev
has been able to demote committee members or promote others, and
only such a session can give him an entirely new Central Committee.
AP890920-0088
AP-NR-09-20-89 1118EDT
r a PM-OilSpill 09-20 0346
PM-Oil Spill,0356
Captain, Owner Of Tanker Sued For $40 Million In Oil Spill
By ALAN FLIPPEN
Associated Press Writer
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP)
Commercial fishermen have filed a $40
million lawsuit against the captain and owner of the tanker that
spilled nearly 300,000 gallons of oil into Rhode Island Sound in
June, a lawyer said today.
Richard K. Corley said he represents about 440 plaintiffs,
including clam diggers, shellfish dealers, lobstermen and other
fishermen who claim they were damaged by the June 23 spill from the
tanker World Prodigy.
The suit, filed Friday in federal court, seeks $5 million in
compensatory damages and $15 million in punitive damages apiece from
Ballard Shipping Co. and Iakovos Georgudis, captain of the
Greek-registered tanker.
It accuses Ballard and Georgudis of reckless conduct and
negligence.
The plaintiffs charge they were harmed by the closing of
Narragansett Bay shellfish beds for several days after the accident
and that consumers have been reluctant to buy local fish since then.
Corley said clam diggers who normally would earn 20 cents per
clam taken from the bay received 15 cents per clam in the two months
after the spill.
Bradford Gorham, a lawyer for Ballard, and Thomas Walsh,
representing Georgudis, declined to comment. They said they not seen
the suit.
Environmental officials said they closed the shellfish beds as a
precaution after the spill, which occurred about when the tanker,
operating without a harbor pilot, struck a reef.
There were no widespread reports of dead shellfish because the
heating oil floated and did not endanger bottom-dwelling clams,
lobsters and other shellfish, environmental officials said. An
unknown number of fish and free-floating shellfish larvae were
killed, however.
Ballard, a Liberian company, and Georgudis pleaded guilty to
violating the federal Clean Water Act. U.S. District Judge Ernest C.
Torres refused to sentence them Friday without more information
about their backgrounds and Ballard's willingness to pay for the
cleanup.
The Coast Guard has estimated the cleanup cost at $3 million.
Gorham said Ballard's insurer had promised to pay up to $7.7 million
in cleanup costs.
AP890920-0089
AP-NR-09-20-89 1125EDT
r a PM-Obit-Doreau 09-20 0148
PM-Obit-Doreau,0151
Bernard Rene Doreau, French Author and Journalist
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP)
Bernard Rene Doreau, a French author and
journalist best known in this country for a history of the du Pont
family, has died at age 88.
Doreau, who died Sunday, wrote several books on French history
and international family fortunes under the pen name Max Dorian. The
only one to be translated into English was ``The du Ponts _ From
Gunpowder To Nylon,'' which reviewer Virginia Kirkus described as
``indispensable to the student of economic history.''
The son of an army general and nephew of a longtime mayor of
Paris, Doreau came to the United States in 1949 as a correspondent
for several French newspapers. He retired in France but returned to
the United States to live in Newport in 1982.
He is survived by his wife, Dixie Reynolds, a son and two
grandsons.
AP890920-0090
AP-NR-09-20-89 1133EDT
r i PM-Israel 09-20 0420
PM-Israel,0434
Seminary Student Stabbed; Authorities Battling Forest Fire
By ALLYN FISHER
Associated Press Writer
JERUSALEM (AP)
An Arab attacker today stabbed a Jewish seminary
student in Jerusalem's crowded Old City, police said. Six
Palestinians were reported wounded in clashes with soldiers in the
occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
A soldier also was injured when he was struck by a stone thrown
by a Palestinian youth in the West Bank town of Beit Jala, the army
said.
In northern Israel, air force helicopters joined firefighters in
battling a huge forest fire blamed on Arab arsonists that raged for
a second straight day along the slopes of the Carmel Mountains.
Police said the flames destroyed 2,000 acres of pine groves,
vegetation and grassland, killing and injuring rare animals at a
nature reserve.
In Jerusalem, an Arab assailant stabbed Yehuda Avrahami, a
23-year-old Jewish seminary student in a marketplace near the walled
city's Damascus gate, police spokesman Uzi Sandori said.
Avrahami, who was slightly wounded, said he was returning from
praying at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, when he was
attacked. Police rounded up more than a dozen Arabs for questioning.
In the West Bank and Gaza, soldiers shot and wounded six people
in clashes, including a 10-year-old boy in the town of El-Bireh near
Jerusalem, hospital officials said.
In Gaza City, Palestinians staged a general strike to protest the
shooting death of a 21-year-old activist Tuesday by Israeli
soldiers, Arab reporters said.
At least 573 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers or
civilians during the uprising. Forty Israelis also have been slain,
and 114 Palestinians have been killed by fellow Arabs as suspected
collaborators with the occupation government.
Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir blamed the fire in northern Israel
on ``enemies who want to burn and destroy everything alive in this
country,'' Israel radio reported. Northern Police Commander Albert
Mussafia said six suspects were in custody.
``There is no doubt this was arson because the fire broke out in
five places at the same time, at distances of about 1{ kilometers
from each other. This doesn't happen coincidentally,'' Mussafia said.
Israeli media said a man with an Arab accent phoned Israel radio
Tuesday night and claimed the fire was the work of a previously
unknown group called ``Direct Revenge.''
Underground leaders of the Palestinian uprising have repeatedly
called on activists to set Israeli forests ablaze. In the summer of
1988, thousands of acres of forests and grasslands were destroyed by
fires blamed on the uprising.
AP890920-0091
AP-NR-09-20-89 1133EDT
r a PM-HostageTaker 1stLd-Writethru a0558 09-20 0550
PM-Hostage Taker, 1st Ld - Writethru, a0558,0561
Teen Gunman Meets Father, Pleads Guilty
Eds: LEADS with 9 grafs to UPDATE with comments, quotes from family
after meeting; PICKS UP 5th graf, `Clay County ...'; ADDS 3 grafs with
background on Stephen King novel, quote from author.
By ROB WELLS
Associated Press Writer
McKEE, Ky. (AP)
A teen-ager pleaded guilty to holding 11
classmates hostage at gunpoint for up to 10 hours, then got his
demand to see his father for the first time in 13 years.
Dustin Pierce, 17, had said during the siege Monday at Jackson
County High School that he was angry with his distant father and
wanted to see him. The boy, who had stormed the school with a
shotgun and two pistols, surrendered after firing two shots.
``There's a lot that has been resolved. There's also a lot that
needs to be resolved. We've got 13 years here to get caught up on,''
the father, Donald Pierce of Delray Beach, Fla., said Tuesday.
``We talked,'' he said. ``There was a lot of misunderstanding, a
lot of ...''
His voice trailed off and Pierce dropped his head in his hands
and cried.
The younger Pierce on Tuesday pleaded guilty to 26 counts of
kidnapping and wanton endangerment at a juvenile hearing. Hours
later, he met with his mother and father, whom he hadn't seen since
he was 4, at a State Police post, Detective Robert Stephens said.
``When we were negotiating, we agreed that this meeting would
take place,'' Stephens said. ``We agreed with them we would not talk
about what they said and we are not going to.''
The family later emphasized that Dustin didn't want to hurt
anyone during the standoff.
``He just wanted to see his dad,'' said his mother, Carol Pierce.
Clay County Attorney Clay M. Bishop Jr. said he decided to
prosecute Pierce as a juvenile. That means the boy, who turns 18 in
July, probably will spend less than a year in custody. If tried as
an adult, he could have received 325 years in prison.
``I think what you've got is just a scared, mixed-up little
kid,'' the prosecutor said. ``He didn't appear to us to be a
criminal. We're just trying to do what's best for him.''
Pierce was held for psychological tests. No sentencing date was
set.
Police said the normally well-behaved, straight-A student blew
out a classroom window with a shotgun shortly after taking over his
world-civilization class at the 500-student school in the rolling
Appalachian foothills. No one was injured.
``He was real nice. He didn't want to hurt anybody,'' said Brian
Bond, 17, one of the hostages and a close friend.
The boy apparently was acting out the scenario of a Stephen King
novel, ``Rage,'' in which a youth takes over a classroom in pursuit
of what the author describes as a ``pathological rage fantasy about
his father.''
King, who lives in Bangor, Maine, said he believed that Pierce
was acting out ``Rage'' even before it was reported that police had
found the novel in the boy's home. But he denied that the book was
to blame for the incident.
``If they didn't do it one way, they would do it another way,''
he told the Bangor Daily News. ``Crazy is crazy.''
AP890920-0092
AP-NR-09-20-89 1134EDT
r a PM-StrugglingCounty 09-20 0224
PM-Struggling County,0232
County Puts Aside Bankruptcy Money
OROVILLE, Calif. (AP)
Butte County is running out of money, but
it has put aside just enough to pay lawyers if it's forced into
bankruptcy because of a stagnant property tax base and rising
welfare costs.
Such a step would make Butte, a ranching and agricultural area
about 100 miles north of Sacramento, the first county in California
to go bankrupt.
Library servie was drastically cut back, the emergency reserve
raided for $518,000 and a $2.8 million state debt for fire service
deferred to balance the county's budget Tuesday.
It was the state's willingness to give the county 10 more months
to pay for fire service that enabled supervisors to erase a $3.5
million deficit and balance the $128 million budget.
The budget includes about $200,000 to pay lawyers who specialize
in bankruptcy cases should the county decide to declare insolvency.
Supervisors said they did not know if court action will be
necessary.
They blamed the money troubles on a low property tax base and a
higher-than-average number of welfare cases among its 167,000
residents.
Will Randalph, county administrator, said tax revenue has grown
26 percent in the last 10 years, while inflation has risen 48
percent in the same period. In the same time, county costs have
increased by 261 percent, he said.
AP890920-0093
AP-NR-09-20-89 1140EDT
r i PM-SriLanka 09-20 0289
PM-Sri Lanka,0295
Indian Troops Declare Cease-Fire in Sri Lanka
By DEXTER CRUEZ
Associated Press Writer
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP)
Indian peacekeeping troops today
declared a cease-fire in their 2-year-old battle against Tamil
guerrillas fighting for an independent nation. The rebels said they
would honor the truce.
The government said at least 53 people had been killed in ethnic
violence since Tuesday. The victims included seven family members
shot and hacked to death by suspected Sinhalese extremists.
Indian soldiers halted its military operations against the Tamil
rebels at 6 a.m. The suspension was part of an agreement signed
earlier by India and Sri Lanka that calls for all 42,000 Indian
soldiers to leave Sri Lanka by Dec. 31.
But Lt. Gen. A.S. Kalkat, commander of the Indian troops, said
his forces will take any action needed to maintain order in the
northeast, where they were deployed in July 1987 to supervise an
arms surrender by Tamil guerrillas.
Tamil rebel groups, including the largest and most militant
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, also said they would honor the
cease-fire.
``We will observe the cease-fire if the Indians cease all armed
operations against our cadres,'' the Tamil Tigers said in a
statement. ``We reserve the right to self-defense if the Indian army
launches any armed action.
Indian troops have on at least three previous occasions briefly
suspended military operations against the Tamil rebels. But for the
first time, the cease-fire that began today will be monitored by an
observer group headed by the Sri Lankan army commander, Hamilton
Wanasinghe, and Kalkat.
By midafternoon today, Sri Lankan army officials and residents in
the northeast said Indian troops were patrolling northeastern towns,
but there had been no immediate reports of confrontations.
AP890920-0094
AP-NR-09-20-89 1142EDT
u a PM-DeltaReport 1stLd-Writethru a0571 09-20 0542
PM-Delta Report, 1st Ld - Writethru, a0571,0553
Newspaper: NTSB Report Cites Delta, Crew in 1988 Crash
Eds: SUBS 6th graf pvs, `Delta's management ...' to CORRECT `casual'
to `causal.'
DALLAS (AP)
The government's final report on a Delta airline
disaster that killed 14 people found that the crew didn't set the
flaps for takeoff but still might have averted the crash if it had
followed emergency procedures, a newspaper reported today.
The National Transportation Safety Board report on the crash last
year at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport put the blame on
Delta Air Lines, the flight crew and the Federal Aviation
Administration, according to the Dallas Times Herald, which said it
obtained a copy of the report.
The Boeing 727 bound for Salt Lake City crashed on takeoff Aug.
31, 1988. Fourteen of the 108 people aboard were killed.
The 174-page report will be formally presented to the NTSB for
approval on Tuesday. Although the NTSB can alter the report, it
usually makes few changes in its staff reports.
The report concludes that the crew's failure to follow preflight
checklist procedures and ``complacent'' cockpit behavior led to its
neglecting to set the wing flaps, which provide lift for takeoff,
the Times Herald reported.
Delta's management policies ``with respect to crew guidance and
training were deficient and directly causal to this accident,'' the
report says.
It also also accuses the FAA of contributing to the accident by
failing to correct ``known deficiencies'' in Delta operations.
Earlier this year, Delta said an internal investigation showed
the crew had caused the crash by failing to set the flaps. The
Atlanta-based carrier accepted responsibility for the accident and
fired three crew members.
Jackie Pate, an Atlanta-based Delta representative, Tuesday night
would not comment on the report. Neither would the captain, Larry
Lon Davis.
At an October 1988 NTSB hearing, crew members said they performed
their jobs properly, although none could specifically remember
moving the flap handle or checking the flap gauges.
A cockpit recording, which indicates the crew and a flight
attendant talked about non-business topics in violation of federal
rules, ``clearly indicated a relaxed, almost complacent attitude in
the cockpit of Flight 1141,'' the report says.
The tape indicated that at the point where the co-pilot
customarily lowered the flaps, he was interrupted by ground
controllers and later conversations with the captain and a flight
attendant.
``The flight attendant's lengthy presence in the cockpit possibly
contributed to the flight crew's failure to visually'' check the
flap gauges, the report says.
Had Davis ``exercised his responsiblity'' and asked the attendant
to leave, ``the flap position discrepancy might have been
discovered,'' it says.
The report also says the ``accident may not have been
inevitable.'' It says the accident might have been avoided had Davis
advanced the throttles to full power and lowered the nose of the
plane shortly after encountering trouble.
A few months after the crash, Delta tightened its preflight
checklist procedures and began new training methods.
The report recommends that the FAA ensure that the roles of
flight crew members be clearly delineated in all carriers'
operations manuals.
It also recommends that the agency require that verifying the
flap position and proper procedures to save a faltering airplane be
included in manuals.
AP890920-0095
AP-NR-09-20-89 1156EDT
r a PM-FactorySlaying 1stLd-Writethru a0591 09-20 0166
PM-Factory Slaying, 1st Ld - Writethru, a0591,0165
Man Sought in Slayings at Bag Factory
Eds: RESTORES dropped `when' to lead.
MACOMB, Ill. (AP)
Police using dogs searched a wooded area
today for a man accused of shooting to death a former girlfriend and
another co-worker when they arrived at a plastic bag factory.
Fred Hopkins fled Tuesday from the Webster Industries Inc., then
abandoned his car about 50 miles southeast of Macomb, said Police
Chief Richard Clark.
Hopkins, 36, killed Pam Bucy, 29, of Table Grove, and factory
foreman Jimmy Cobb, 31, of Bardolph, Clark said. Clark said Bucy and
Hopkins had dated but that Bucy apparently broke off the
relationship recently.
Hopkins ``was trying to get the relationship going again,'' the
police chief said. ``How the other guy got involved, we're not quite
sure.''
A .38-caliber gun was recovered at the plant, Clark said.
Clark said Hopkins had worked at the plant for about four years
and was considered a good worker.
AP890920-0096
AP-NR-09-20-89 1202EDT
u a PM-Hugo-Bahamas1stLd-Writethru a0498 09-20 0579
PM-Hugo-Bahamas 1st Ld - Writethru, a0498,0597
Bahamian Prime Minister Returns Home, Hugo Veering East
Eds: LEADS with 6 grafs to UPDATE with prime minister returning home,
morning commuter conditions, shift in Hugo's position; PICKS UP 4th graf
pvs, `Forecasters today ...'
With PM-Hugo, Bjt
By PATRICK REYNA
Associated Press Writer
NASSAU, Bahamas (AP)
Prime Minister Lynden Pindling cut short
an official visit to Jamaica and returned to the Bahamas today
because of Hurricane Hugo, but it appeared the killer storm would
spare the islands a direct hit.
Tropical storm warnings were posted for the central and
northeastern islands. However, light winds and scattered clouds
greeted morning commuters in Nassau.
The center of Hugo was well to the east, in the open Atlantic,
and was on a course that would carry it safely past the northernmost
Bahamas.
Late Tuesday, when Hugo appeared more threatening, shoppers and
tourists from the bustling cruise ship trade clogged the city's
downtown, displaying only modest concern that Hugo's 105 mph winds
were blowing a few hundred miles offshore.
The government issued no emergency instructions, no emergency
shelters were set up and there was no sense of urgent storm
preparation.
Pindling left the Bahamas on Monday for a Commonwealth Finance
Ministers meeting in Kingston, Jamaica. He was to head to Washington
at week's end.
Forecasters today said that if Hugo maintained course, it would
continue moving parallel to the Bahamas, bringing high winds and
rains to the islands but not the death and destruction seen in other
parts of the eastern Caribbean.
Officials at the Bahamas Meteorological Department in Nassau said
late Tuesday, however, there was cause for concern.
``It's not enough to deliver a devastating blow,'' said
meteorolgist Nicholas Small. ``But it's not far enough away for us
to relax. We're going to get a healthy tropical wind ranging between
39 and 73 mph, and possibly higher in gusts.''
The government has begun some preparations: a work crew began
boarding up windows of government buildings. Reuben Henderson,
nailing plywood sheets over windows on a government office building,
said he and his crew had been given those instructions.
Dorothea Seymour, a shopkeeper in the busy downtown Straw Market,
didn't seem too concerned.
``Some people care, some people don't,'' she said. ``We're always
hearing about storms, but they never come.''
With her business 15 feet from Nassau Harbour, Ms. Seymour said
if the storm came, she would simply pack up her stock of straw
handbags, dolls, hats and T-shirts.
Four cruise ships were tied up at Prince George Wharf just yards
away, their passengers browsing through shops about the city.
``We have not had any cancellations of cruise ships,'' said
Cordell Thompson, a spokesman for the Ministry of Tourism. ``And
there have been no cancellations of air service.''
Thompson said he didn't think the Bahamas could avoid Hugo's
effects altogether.
``I suspect we're going to get a lot of rain and a lot of high
winds,'' he said.
If the hurricane made a sharp turn to the northwest or the west _
toward the Bahamas _ ``we might start getting nervous,'' Thompson
said.
Few vacationers appeared worried about facing a hurricane on New
Providence, the Bahamas' most populous island.
Michael Belt, and his wife Rachelle, of Henderson, Ky., were
among them.
``I guess all the people here have to ride it out and I guess
I'll have to ride it out with them,'' Belt said.
``I think we'll make it through,'' said Mrs. Belt.
AP890920-0097
AP-NR-09-20-89 1209EDT
u i PM-Lebanon-Israel 2ndLd-Writethru 09-20 0367
PM-Lebanon-Israel, 2nd Ld-Writethru,a0573,0378
Israeli Warplanes Raid Palestinian Targets
Eds: Leads throughout to UPDATE with at least two fighters wounded,
guerrillas taken by surprise. No pickup. ADDS byline.
By MOHAMMED SALAM
Associated Press Writer
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP)
Israeli warplanes today raided a
Palestinian guerrilla base south of Beirut, and Palestinian sources
said at least two guerrillas were wounded.
A Lebanese police spokesman said two Israeli planes flew in from
the Mediterranean, dived low over the target and fired two missiles
near Naameh, 10 miles south of Beirut. They quickly climbed and flew
southward.
Guerrilla defenders ``opened up from twin-barrelled 23mm
anti-aircraft guns after the planes fired the missiles. They were
obviously taken by surprise,'' said the spokesman, who could not be
named in line with standing rules.
He said smoke and dust billowed from the stricken base as
ambulances and fire engines rushed to the area.
In Jerusalem, the Israeli army identified the target as a base of
the Ahmed Jibril's Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine-General Command. A short statement said the radical group
used the position to plan attacks on Israel's northern border but
did not elaborate.
The group, backed by Libya and Syria, is opposed to Palestine
Liberation Orgnization chairman Yasser Arafat and his peace
overtures.
The Lebanese police spokesman said he could not tell which
Palestinian group controls the stricken base. The area's wooded
hills that overlook the Mediterranean house several Palestinian
guerrilla bases.
Guerrillas ``sealed off the area, preventing police patrols from
inspecting the damage.''
Palestinian sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said two
wounded guerrillas were taken to a nearby hospital. They gave no
other details.
It was Israel's 13th air strike on Lebanon this year.
By police count, 17 people have been killed and 101 wounded in
the previous 12 air attacks since Jan. 11.
Israeli fighter bombers blasted Palestinian guerrilla bases in
the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp near the southern coastal city of
Sidon on Thursday.
Three guerrillas were wounded in that attack, which targeted a
base of the Marxist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine,
the PLO's second-largest faction, and two others belonging to the
dissident Fatah-Revolutionary Council of the terrorist mastermind
Abu Nidal.
AP890920-0098
AP-NR-09-20-89 1219EDT
r a PM-StaynerDeath 09-20 0192
PM-Stayner Death,0202
Suspect in Hit-and-Run Surrenders
MERCED, Calif. (AP)
A worker at a tomato packing house was
jailed today in the hit-and-run death of Steven Stayner, a former
child kidnapping victim whose story was told in the TV movie ``I
Know My Name is Steven.''
Antonio Loera, 28, surrendered as he crossed the border from
Mexico on Tuesday and was flown back early today to Merced, where he
lives.
Friends had identified him as the driver of a car that pulled in
front of Stayner's motorcycle Saturday near Merced, about 125 miles
east of San Francisco.
Stayner, 24, was abducted from a street as he walked home from
school when he was 7. He lived for seven years as the son of Kenneth
Parnell, who sexually abused Stayner before his escape in 1980.
Parnell served five years in prison.
The story was told this spring in the NBC movie.
Loera was to be charged with felony hit-run and misdemeanor
manslaughter, California Highway Patrol spokesman Tom Sawyer said.
Although companions said Loera was drinking before the accident,
he was not captured soon enough to give a blood-alcohol test, Sawyer
said.
AP890920-0099
AP-NR-09-20-89 1225EDT
u w PM-Homosexuals-Politics 1stLd-Writethru a0455 09-20 0894
PM-Homosexuals-Politics, 1st Ld-Writethru, a0455,870
Frank Rejects Suggestions He Would Resign
EDs: LEADS with 12 grafs to update with Frank's remarks today rejecting
resignation, response to Michel, picks up 7th graf pvs, Frank, a ...
By JOAN MOWER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
Rep. Barney Frank today rejected suggestions he
would resign, saying that would be ``cowardly and inappropriate,''
while the House ethics committee probes his acknowledged involvement
with a male prostitute.
Frank, the Massachusetts Democrat who asked for the ethics
inquiry following the charges against him by Stephen L. Gobie, also
disputed suggestions that congressional and Democratic Party leaders
have urged him to resign.
``I haven't been asked by anybody to resign,'' Frank told
reporters today.
He repeated his intention to remain in office and await an
inquiry by the House ethics committee.
``I think that resignation would be a great mistake,'' he said.
``It would cut off the ethics committee process. And I think that
would be a cowardly and inappropriate way to proceed.''
Frank termed an ``inaccurate accusation'' remarks by Rep. Robert
Michel of Illinois, the House Republican leader, who on Tuesday said
the Frank case was becoming ``a stain upon the House of
Representatives'' and suggested Frank was benefiting from a double
standard.
``If it were anyone other than Barney Frank ... If I were to have
a woman prostitute in my employ for my own self-gratification, I'd
be run out of town,'' Michel told a news conference.
Frank responded: ``I think it'd be a great mistake for anyone to
suggest that the ethics committee is somehow going to be
administering a double standard. I don't see that at all.''
With Frank under Republican attack, homosexual activists say the
controversy over his personal life raises a debate on whether to
respect the privacy of politicians who are secretly homosexual but
publicly appear anti-gay.
``It's not a new debate, but with the whole Barney Frank thing,
people are focusing in on it,'' said Don Michaels, publisher of The
Washington Blade, the city's homosexually oriented newspaper.
The Washington Times today quoted anonymous congressional
Democrats who said the party leadership was working on a way to get
Frank to resign.
``They are trying to figure out a way to do it, to get the word
to Barney,'' said a congressman the Times identified only as a
liberal Democrat from a Western state. ``The death drums are
pounding and he must go.''
Frank, a liberal who disclosed his homosexuality in 1987, has
come under scrutiny since acknowledging his relationship with a male
prostitute, Stephen Gobie.
Frank paid Gobie for sex in 1985 and then hired him as a personal
assistant. Gobie contends he provided prostitution services from
Frank's Capitol Hill home and Frank knew about it, but Frank has
denied having any such knowledge.
The congressman has asked the House ethics committee to review
his case, and will await the panel's decision before deciding his
political future.
Ronald Brown, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said
the ethics committee's investigation should go forward, but he
conceded that ``pressure is building'' for Frank's resignation. The
Boston Globe, Frank's hometown paper and long his editorial
supporter, has called for him to resign.
Homosexual activists, meantime, said Frank should not quit. ``I
hope he doesn't resign ... it's up to the voters,'' said Robert
Bauman, a former Republican congressman from Maryland who was
defeated after revelations that he engaged in homosexual sex with a
juvenile.
Kevin Berrill, a spokesman for the National Gay & Lesbian Task
Force, said he was angry about GOP attacks on Frank. ``I am
disturbed by a pattern of incidents that are emerging from the
Republicans,'' he said.
Besides attacks on Frank, Berrill cited a memo that originated
earlier this year from the Republican National Committee implying
that House Speaker Thomas S. Foley, D-Wash., was a homosexual. RNC
chairman Lee Atwater disavowed the memo and the staffer who wrote
the memo resigned.
One of those upset by the Foley episode was Frank, who, at the
time, threatened to reveal the names of Republican congressmen he
said he knew were homosexual.
Homosexuals said anger in the gay community over the Frank affair
has spurred the debate over whether to expose homosexual politicians
who fail to support gay rights.
``I can understand people getting so angry fighting bigots who
practice what they rail against,'' said Michaels, the newspaper
publisher who has been openly homosexual since the 1960s.
He said he opposed ``bringing anyone out of the closet against
their will,'' but he would publish the name of a homosexual
politician who ``actively worked at odds with gay movement
objectives.'' The Blade would have to have ``incontrovertible
proof'' the person was homosexual, such as a sworn statement from a
partner, before a name was published, he said.
``It's a complex issue,'' said Eric Rosenthal, political director
of the Human Rights Campaign Fund. ``Generally questions of sexual
orientation are private. They don't have a bearing on how
politicians do their job.''
But Rosenthal said hypocrisy _ having a homosexual life while
seeming to be anti-gay _ is ``an important part of character. One
should make an issue of that.''
He drew an analogy between a politician who actively worked
against the South African regime because of its racial policies
while at the same time holding financial interests in the
white-ruled nation. ``That's hypocritical,'' he said.
AP890920-0100
AP-NR-09-20-89 1224EDT
r i AM-BRF--WarGames 09-20 0138
AM-BRF--War Games,0142
Japan, United States Set to Hold Biggest Military Manuever
TOKYO (AP)
Japan's defense forces and the U.S. Navy will stage
their biggest joint naval exercises this month, a Defense Agency
official said Wednesday.
The war games begin Sept. 29 and last until Oct. 14, the official
said.
About 20,000 Japanese military personnel, 100 ships and 120
aircraft will take. 60 U.S. vessels and 230 aircraft will be the
Pentagon's contribution.
``It will be the largest ever joint naval exercise in terms of
aircraft and vessels,'' the official said, speaking on condition of
anonymity.
The two nations began joint naval manuevers in 1984.
The official said the games are intended as training in marine
tactical warfare and will include two U.S. battleships armed with
Tomahawk cruise missiles _ the New Jersey and the Missouri.
AP890920-0101
AP-NR-09-20-89 1227EDT
r k BC-EditorialRdp 3Takes 09-20 0872
BC-Editorial Rdp, 3 Takes,0911
By The Associated Press
Here are excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers throughout
the country:
Sept. 19
Delaware County Daily Times, Primos, Pa., on the homeless:
While estimates on the current number of homeless people range
between 655,000 to 4 million, Congress has found a possible answer.
Spend as little money as possible and let as many people as
possible try to find as many cures as possible.
This is impossible.
As proof, we have seen the federal government slash $25 billion
from housing programs since 1981 while cities and states conduct
half-hearted, uncoordinated and underfinanced efforts to combat the
homeless problem.
Nothing has worked, because the number of homeless is growing 20
to 40 percent each year.
The main federal program, the Stewart McKinney Homeless
Assistance Act, empowers the government to spend up to $3 billion
over five years for programs for the homeless. Yet, since the
legislation was enacted in 1987, Congress has only provided $1.1
billion in funding.
What's the deal?
State and local governments, which are left in a precarious
position scrambling to fill the funding gaps, are reluctant to do
much, hoping that the federal government will step back in and take
charge.
No such luck.
We see homelessness as a national problem, something that must be
coordinated properly from the top. Allocating a few bucks and
considering the matter resolved doesn't cut it.
Sept. 19
The Flint (Mich.) Journal on the importance of the U.S.
Constitution:
Most of the nation's self-proclaimed patriots must have been too
consumed with wrapping themselves in the flag or with hand-wringing
over proposed flag-burning legislation to have noticed the 202nd
anniversary of the signing of U.S. Constitution Sunday.
That's too bad because it is our Constitution, more than our
flag, that is really the premier icon of U.S. freedom and governance.
We celebrate with great gusto, as we should, our Declaration of
Independence and, to a lesser degree, Flag Day. But it is our
precious Constitution _ the oldest written constitution continuously
in force _ that we should especially celebrate and respect. More
than a symbol to ourselves and the rest of the world, this document
is a specific declaration of who we are and what we stand for.
Sadly, while many Americans claim pride in our Constitution,
survey after survey reveals appalling public ignorance about what it
says and means.
Perhaps our nation should spend less time arguing about the flag
and spend more time reading or rereading this four-page 5,000-word
document that gives our flag meat and meaning. Why not turn off the
tube and start tonight.
Sept. 16
The Seattle Times on the evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut:
Thirty years of U.S. diplomatic presence in Lebanon ended this
month with the evacuation of the American Embassy in Beirut.
For Beirut, the epicenter of sectarian violence, the chaos of
1989 is just another moment in 3,500 years of destruction at the
hands of religious enemies and foreign invaders. ...
Since 1975, Beirut has been self-destructing in bloody fits and
starts of civil war and sectarian vengeance. Christan and Moslem
forces are now locked in a final frenzy of destruction. The battles
are over the corpse of a once celebrated center of trade, learning
and cosmopolitan sophistication.
Beirut's demise affirms an eternal verity: Religion and
government do not mix. Intolerance poisons secular affairs. ...
U.S. presidents and their diplomatic envoys hardly cut and ran
from Lebanon. They endured bombings, assassinations, hostages, and
vicious shellings. But the hatreds were too old and too
misunderstood for Uncle Sam to prevail.
Beirut is dead, but it may flourish again. Renewal, like
destruction, is part of the city's history.
Sept. 19
Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine, on the Alaska oil spill:
So what do we learn from this disaster?
Primarily, that prevention is a lot better than attempted cure.
Once the oil is out of the tanker, it's too late. Quick response to
the accident _ totally lacking in Prince William Sound _ would have
helped, but even that isn't a sure thing. A smaller oil spill off
Rhode Island a month later wasn't successfully contained despite
quick response because rough seas broke up the oil.
Yet prevention is receiving relatively little attention. Congress
is spending more time haggling over the liability for future spills
than on keeping them from happening.
Common sense solutions to make another Exxon Valdez less likely
have been getting short shrift.
Two are particularly important:
_ A requirement that all oil tankers built for U.S. service have
double hulls. A double hull probably would have prevented serious
leakage from the Exxon Valdez, despite the extent of the damage it
sustained. Existing single-hulled tankers should be phased out.
_ Much stricter licensing standards for tanker crews should be
adopted. Inexperience and inattention played a huge part in the
Exxon Valdez grounding. Most of the time, tanker operations are
routine _ but in an emergency every second counts. Crews should have
the expertise necessary to help protect against the huge risks of
another spill.
It's fine to debate the merits of the Prince William Sound
cleanup. But it's much more important to keep such an accident from
happening again.
MORE
AP890920-0102
AP-NR-09-20-89 1228EDT
r i AM-Japan-Typhoon 09-20 0147
AM-Japan-Typhoon,0151
Typhoon Wayne Leaves Seven Dead and One Missing
TOKYO (AP)
Typhoon Wayne pounded Japan's Pacific coast
Wednesday, leaving seven dead and at least one person missing,
police said.
A National Police Agency official said the fatalities included
three children who drowned when they fell into swollen rivers after
the storm first hit the island Tuesday.
Three people died in mudslides, including a 46-year-old housewife
who was buried when a landslide destroyed her house in Ehime
Prefecture on the island of Shikoku, the police official said,
speaking on condition of anonymity.
More 4,000 homes have been flooded and landslides have occurred
in 33 prefectures, or provinces, on Tuesday and Wednesday, the
official said.
Weathermen said Wayne, the 22nd typhoon this year, was centered
at a point in the Pacfic Ocean about 150 miles off Iwaki in northern
Japan and moving in a northeasterly direction.
AP890920-0103
AP-NR-09-20-89 1231EDT
r k BC-EditorialRdp 1stAdd 09-20 0911
BC-Editorial Rdp, 1st Add,0949
UNDATED: happening again.
Sept. 19
The Indianapolis Star on firearms sales:
Would a stricter firearms sales law have kept Joseph T. Wesbecker
from legally buying the AK-47 rifle he used in a killing rampage in
a downtown Louisville printing plant?
Seven people were shot to death (an eighth died later) and 13
others wounded, three critically, when Wesbecker, who had been put
on permanent disability leave last year because of mental illness,
sprayed bullets as he went from floor to floor and then killed
himself. ...
Louisville police said he had spent time voluntarily in mental
institutions.
Federal law prohibits firearms purchases only by people who have
been committed to a mental health facility under court order. ...
Relatives said Wesbecker was a manic depressive who had attempted
suicide three times. A former co-worker said he had threatened his
bosses before being put on leave. ...
Almost at once the Louisville massacre brought an outcry for bans
on gun sales. Nothing is to be gained by enacting new laws that
would keep responsible persons from buying or owning guns.
But the Louisville rampage and others like it point to a need for
revising legislation to prevent sale of firearms to the mentally
ill. A law that fails to keep someone as unbalanced as Wesbecker
from acquiring a high-powered arsenal is a fatally ineffective law.
Sept. 13
The Bulletin, Bend, Ore., on the link between coffee prices and
cocaine:
Lower coffee prices prompt more Andean planters to shift to
another cash crop; coca leaves and paste, but the Bush
administration is unwilling to acknowledge the connection.
Early this summer ... the Colombian government pleaded with the
United States to support an extension of the International Coffee
Agreement to keep coffee prices stable. Instead, the U.S. trade
representative's office helped dismantle the agreement, which has
unleashed a price war and caused coffee prices, in real terms, to
drop to their lowest level in 40 years. ...
More farmers will abandon coffee and turn to the more profitable
venture (of coca). ... The result is more economic muscle for the
drug kingpins. ...
The coffee issue makes Bush's recent speech to the nation ring
hollow. Bush promised a ``coordinated, cooperative commitment of all
our federal agencies'' in the war on drugs. Isn't the U.S. trade
representative's office a federal agency?
Sept. 15
Worthington (Minn.) Daily Globe on fighting substance abuse:
Many of these new tough anti-drug and anti-alcohol proposals
being proposed by members of both political parties are missing a
key ingredient.
Rather than tougher penalties and prison (sentences) and heavy
fines for chemical users, more of the funding should be placed into
chemical dependency treatment programs. Rather than force the drug
users to pay fines, the judges should require defendants to go to
treatment programs and pay their own way whether it be in-patient or
out-patient programs.
Many people have witnessed the ``miracles'' of the treatment
programs in Minnesota, a leader in this field.
More also need to see this side of the story. Maybe President
Bush should spend some of his time visiting some of these treatment
centers and programs.
Tougher penalties often don't help. Not until a person gets
caught.
Sept. 13
Valley News, Lebanon, N.H., on the term ``drug war'':
In some ways the image of war is apt. And a declaration of war
carries the proper implication of seriousness of purpose.
But this language offensive stretches the lines of communication
too far. War is hell and so is the drug problem, but that's not all
that need be said.
Only war is war; debased rhetoric is only debased rhetoric. The
image we need to replace that rhetoric is that of a national
movement that produces a social revolution in drug attitudes; that
offers a compassionate hand to the addicted; that protects
constitutional rights; that wisely and patiently educates our
children.
Sept. 17
The Sun-Herald, Biloxi, Miss., on the Social Security earnings
limit:
Some people in Congress have discovered a no-new-tax way to
increase the federal government's revenues and the method is
eminently sensible: Do away with the Social Security earnings limit.
The House Republican Research Committee got a report from two
Texas organizations that showed the government would clear an
estimated $140 million by simply not penalizing Social Security
recipients for earning income.
Older workers between 65 and 69 now lose $1 in Social Security
benefits for every $2 they earn above $8,800. Eliminate that
earnings limit, the reports says, and at least 700,000 additionally
elderly retirees would enter the labor market, increasing government
revenue by $4.9 billion. That would more than offset the higher
Social Security benefits that would be paid.
There was a time when one of the purposes of Social Security was
to encourage the elderly to retire from the workplace to make room
for younger workers. Things are different now.
The Social Security system has undergone many changes. This would
be one of the more beneficial.
Doing away with the earnings test would benefit the government by
increasing revenues, the retirees who would like to return to work
but not lose their benefits, and the near-retirees who would like to
continue working. It also would do no harm to the retirees who want
to stay retired and the near-retirees who want to quit working.
This is such a no-lose proposition that the full Congress ought
to run it through on the fast track.
MORE
AP890920-0104
AP-NR-09-20-89 1232EDT
r i AM-BRF--Snakes&Frogs 09-20 0118
AM-BRF--Snakes & Frogs,0118
Food For Thought: Frog Imports Jumping
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)
A demand for health potions has spurred
a jump in frog and snake imports to South Korea, a government report
said Wednesday.
Some Korean men believe snake soup and frog meat build stamina.
According to an Agriculture and Fisheries Ministry report to the
National Assembly on imports of foreign food items, South Korea's
imports of snakes in the first half of this year climbed to
$380,000, surpassing the $295,000 in imports during all of 1988.
The report also said that South Korea imported $48,000 in frogs
in the first six months of this year, compared with $37,000 through
all of last year.
AP890920-0105
AP-NR-09-20-89 1235EDT
r k BC-EditorialRdp 2ndAdd 09-20 0899
BC-Editorial Rdp, 2nd Add,0940
UNDATED: fast track.
Sept. 17
Las Cruces (N.M.) Sun-News on smoke-free flights:
The space in which the smokers of America can indulge their
craving keeps shrinking. Smoking is now banned in many public
buildings. Private employers have banned it in office and workplace,
or restricted it to certain areas.
Latest defeat for smokers, and the tobacco industry, came when
the Senate approved a ban on smoking on all domestic airline
flights. The tide is clearly running against the tobacco habit.
America's propensity for proscribing bad habits doubtless traces
in part to the puritanism inherited from our early forefathers. But
part is certainly attributable to the exceptional concern Americans
have with their health.
And, of course, we give a wide berth to anything that poses a
risk of cancer. Tobaccos happens to be near the top of that list.
That doesn't bode well for the tobacco industry.
Smokers are doubtless destined to become an ever-smaller minority
increasingly subject to the displeasure of a vehement majority.
Smokers may complain of the tyranny of the majority. But that's the
American way. The people impose the curbs on personal behavior. The
government just ratifies them.
Sept. 16
Daily Tribune, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., on smoke-free flights:
It was good to see the U.S. Senate stand up to the pressures of
the tobacco interests and do something positive for Americans'
health.
The Senate ... voted to ban smoking on all U.S. airline flights.
The action is in the interest of health and safety.
Non-smoking sections on airplanes typically are in the same cabin
as designated smoking areas, so the smoke can bother those who don't
care to inhale it, and studies have pointed out the negative effects
of second-hand smoke.
There already is a temporary ban on cigarette smoking on all
domestic flights of two hours or less. That measure will expire in
April.
The House of Representatives last month passed a measure to
permanently ban smoking on the flights of two hours or less.
Now, a Senate-House conference committee will attempt to work out
a compromise. One would think that means the Senate should back down
from the total ban. However, four-fifths of all domestic flights are
two hours or less, so why not make the smoking ban easy to follow by
simply applying it to all flights?
Airline passengers can't step outside to get away from the smoke.
They deserve to have clean air to breathe while they're locked up in
these aircraft.
In addition, banning all smoking would enhance fire safety on the
planes. One careless smoker can cause a lot of harm if a discarded
cigarette starts a fire.
In an era when more Americans are trying to be health-conscious,
it seems reasonable to make the skies smoke-free.
Sept. 13
The Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette on TV commercials that offend:
Stroh Brewing Co. pledged $600,000 for National Audubon Society
television specials. But one show about harmful logging in the
Pacific Northwest _ ``Ancient Forests: Rage Over Trees'' _ caused
Northwest loggers to threaten a boycott of Stroh's beer.
The brewery announced it will ``review'' its funding of Audubon
shows. A Stroh's spokesman said the decision wasn't related to the
boycott threat _ that the company just wants to cut costs.
That's not credible. Stroh's ... is worried about offending
customers. The review is a sellout of the environmental movement. ...
Meanwhile, the other Audubon sponsor, maverick broadcaster Ted
Turner, still is paying his share for the controversial show,
scheduled to air Sept. 24. Turner doesn't mind boycotts. In fact, he
invites them.
When anti-abortion groups protested a Turner Broadcasting System
show on a women's right to choose, he suggested that they watch a
different channel.
Sept. 13
The State, Columbia, S.C., on the East German exodus:
The mass emigration of East German refugees to West Germany by
way of Hungary is an extraordinary development that signals a
radical shift in policy behind the Iron Curtain. Significantly, the
exodus celebrates the free will of human nature and concedes the
fallacy of authoritarianism and repression as effective tools of
governance. ...
Nobody really knows at this juncture how many East Germans will
ultimately cross over into West Germany. Some estimates go as high
as 100,000 by the end of the year.
Taking note of that possibility, West German Chancellor Helmut
Kohl has urged East Germany's leaders to introduce the sort of
reforms that are being tried in Poland and Hungary. If life in East
Germany improved, he reasoned, more East Germans might stay at home.
Freedom-loving people everywhere watch and listen with cautious
approval, mindful that in today's uncertain world of realpolitik and
trigger-happy turbulence, a populist celebration can change rapidly
into a tragic hangover.
Sept. 15
The Providence (R.I.) Journal-Bulletin on the defeat of Edward
Koch:
(New York City Mayor Edward) Koch's defeat at the hands of David
Dinkins ... has been treated in the press as something like the
triumph of good over evil.
That is not only unfair but untrue.
The man who began his political life as a Greenwich Village
reformer had scarcely lost sight of his Democratic orgins, or
progressive ideals; he had merely combined them with pragmatism and
common sense that offended some observers.
So be it.
This interesting combination of liberal conservative policies
pleased the voters of New York for three successive terms.
End Editorial Rdp
AP890920-0106
AP-NR-09-20-89 1248EDT
r a PM-NumericalRevolt 1stLd-Writethru a0458 09-20 0334
PM-Numerical Revolt, 1st Ld - Writethru, a0458,0336
Residents Revolt at Selectmen's Attempt at Renumbering Houses
Eds: INSERTS one graf after 3rd graf pvs, ``People were ...' with
details on numbering.
ADAMS, Mass. (AP)
After a revolt by residents, selectmen
decided against trying to straighten out the confusing house
numbering system in this Berkshire Hills village.
Irate residents voted unanimously to reject an attempt by town
officials to renumber the maze of Victorian homes in order to help
police, fire and ambulance crews respond to calls.
``People were attached to their house numbers. It's like taking
away your grandmother,'' said Tony McBride, who helped organize the
Committee Against Numerical Tyranny.
The confusing system stems from the age of the village, founded
in the 1700s. The village has many duplicate numbers and duplicate
street names, and the streets that wind around textile mills and
quarries and spread up hillsides.
McBride said the selectmen's number changes meant 98 percent of
the 9,000 residents would have to change addresses on everything
from Social Security checks to credit cards and driver's licenses.
Businesses also would have faced thousands of dollars worth in
changes in billing lists.
``It's amazing what little issues can drive people up a wall,''
McBride said. ``In 20 years, I've never seen emotion and irritation
with government so openly expressed. If the people could have voted
to unseat the selectmen right then and there, they would have been
gone.''
After the 126-0 vote in Monday night's town meeting, the two
sides agreed to establish a study committee, comprised of three
residents and two selectmen, to find a compromise.
The phones started ringing in Town Hall immediately after the new
numbering system, which assigned a grid of house numbers to every
50-feet of street, went into effect July 28.
``It's taken all our energies for the past two months,'' said
Matthew J. Wilk Jr., chairman of the selectmen. ``Our decision will
have to be reversed. I'm not really happy, but the majority will
rule.''
AP890920-0107
AP-NR-09-20-89 1250EDT
u i PM-Hugo-Damage 2ndLd-Writethru 09-20 0895
PM-Hugo-Damage, 2nd Ld-Writethru,a0555,0919
Gas Line Explodes, Catches Fire at San Juan Airport; 2 Injured
Eds: Leads with 13 grafs to UPDATE with airport reopening, fire in
Delta terminal, two other deaths. Pickup 11th pvs, `Hotels, businesses...'
With PM-Hugo, Bjt
By PIERRE-YVES GLASS
Associated Press Writer
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)
A propane gas line exploded and
caught fire at Puerto Rico's international airport today as it
reopened after Hurricane Hugo. At least two people were reported
injured.
On St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, food and water were in
short supply, looting was rampant and law enforcement had collapsed.
Witnesses said today that hundreds of looters were ransacking stores
on the hard-hit island and loading garbage bags full of food and
jewelry.
Tourists pleaded with reporters landing on the Virgin Island to
take them off, and the U.S. Coast Guard today reported gunshots and
looting in the night.
``We did not see one cop in Christensted, and that's the main
town,'' said Gary Williams, a San Juan reporter who flew to the
island. ``We saw a National Guard truck filled to capacity with all
kinds of stuff in it.''
The propane gas explosion occurred in a Delta Air Lines terminal
being built at San Juan's Luis Munos Marin International Airport,
and firefighters were battling the blaze, said Jose Felix,
superintendent of airport security. He said two people were overcome
by gas fumes and taken away in an ambulance.
The airport remained open, despite the blaze.
Gov. Rafael Hernandez Colon of Puerto Rico said Tuesday that
damage to his island alone would run in the hundreds of millions of
dollars.
``This is a tragedy of major proportions, which has left
desolation among the people and a swath of destruction,'' he said.
More than 50,000 people across the Caribbean lost homes in the
storm.
Civil Defense spokeswoman Cizanette Rivera said the storm, the
region's worst in a decade, claimed 25 lives Sunday and Monday as it
churned westward through the Leeward Islands and hit Puerto Rico
before heading northwest.
She had no island-by-island breakdown of the deaths.
Police in Puerto Rico said today that a power authority lineman,
William Cancel Armai, 40, was killed Tuesday and that authorities
discovered the body of a man on a pleasure boat off the eastern port
of Fajardo. Police identified him as Robert Williams of Michigan,
but gave no age or hometown.
The latest reported deaths bring the toll to four people killed
in Puerto Rico. Other confirmed deaths included nine people on the
British Island of Montserrat, five on the French territory of
Guadeloupe and two on Antigua.
Hotels, businesses and homeowners on the U.S. commonwealth were
busy cleaning up and doing repairs Tuesday, but it appeared that
damage was so extensive that it would be weeks before life would
return to normal.
The American Red Cross said in Washington that it would send its
first relief supplies including 15,000 tents to Puerto Rico today on
a flight from McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey.
A plane chartered by the British Red Cross was to leave Britain
today with plastic sheeting, 1 million water purification tablets
and blankets for Antigua, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands and
St. Kitts.
In London, British honeymooners and vactioners returning home
from the Caribbean today likened Hugo's devastation to World War II.
``It was a bit like the Blitz,'' said 84-year-old Vera Herridge,
referring to the Nazi bombing of London. Others among the 250
British tourists told of hiding from the storm in bathrooms, closets
and under beds while hotel balconies collapsed and palm trees
crashed through windows around them.
Ham radio operators reported that 97 percent of the buildings
were damaged or destroyed on St. Croix, which has a population of
53,000.
There were reports of gangs moving through the streets with
rifles.
Witnesses said authorities were joining in the looting.
Ham operators corroborated the report of the collapse of law
enforcement. One, Stuart Haimes of Queens, N.Y., said an
undetermined number of inmates had either escaped or been released
because of prison damage and also were looting. On Montserrat, which
has a population of 12,000, Gov. Christopher Turner said the island
suffered millions of dollars of damage and that tourism would be set
back by at least six months.
British sailors ``working like Trojans'' today reopened
Montserrat's airport and worked to restore power and roads links,
said captain of the Royal Navy warship Alacrity, Cmdr. Colin
Ferbrache.
Hernandez Colon, who has requested federal disaster aid, said he
would ask the Bush administration to delcare 55 of the U.S.
commonwealth's 78 municipalities disaster areas eligible for federal
help.
Most hotel managers in San Juan would not give dollar estimates
of damages but Hugo shattered the windows of many and flooded rooms.
``We have much more than $100,000 in damage,'' said Henry
Walther, general manager of the Condado Plaza and Casino, one of
Puerto Rico's swankiest hotels.
Juan Miguel Domenech, director of Puerto Rico's Department of
Tourism, said the government will begin a U.S. advertising campaign
to offset any negative effect on local tourism caused by the
hurricane. Nearly 860,000 tourists visited the island last year,
spending about $1.1 billion.
Hernandez Colon said at least 50,000 people in Puerto Rico either
lost their homes or had them severely damaged. Officials said 27,000
people were housed in temporary government shelters Tuesday.
AP890920-0108
AP-NR-09-20-89 1254EDT
u a PM-BakkerTrial 1stLd-Writethru a0507 09-20 0595
PM-Bakker Trial, 1st Ld - Writethru, a0507,0606
Bakker: `Not Here to Make Money'
Eds: LEADS with 7 grafs to UPDATE with today's presentation; PICKS
UP 5th graf pvs, ``I'm sincere.''
By PAUL NOWELL
Associated Press Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)
Prosecutors today showed videotapes of Jim
Bakker assuring viewers he's ``not here to make money'' as they
sought to portray the TV evangelist as a big spender whose money
came from believers who could hardly make ends meet.
``This is a deal of a lifetime,'' Bakker said in an 1986
broadcast played in court. ``There are no fees. This is not a
profit-making organization.''
Bakker was offering a new program that promised $500 donors three
days and two nights' lodging in 16-unit facilities called bunk
houses. Only one bunk house was completed when Bakker quit the
evangelical empire in 1987.
``We're not here to make money,'' Bakker said in another
videotape. ``I hope my critics wake up and realize I'd be a fool if
I tried to make money off something like this.''
The prosecutions contends that Bakker used PTL funds raised for
``partnerships'' to live in high style. PTL ``partners'' were
guaranteed lodging at the ministry's hotels.
According to evidence, in September 1986, after Bakker had sold
34,000 bunkhouse memberships, PTL builder Roe Messner sent him a
memo agreeing to reduce the number of bunkhouses from six to three.
In six hours of tapes of Bakker's ``The PTL Club'' shown Tuesday,
Bakker appealed for donations and asked his followers to trust him.
``I'm sincere,'' Bakker told viewers in 1984. ``I would not lie
to you about anything.''
But over and over, prosecutor Deborah Smith halted the tape to
ask FBI agent John Pearson to compare Bakker's statements to
behind-the-scenes testimony about Bakker's television ministry.
In a 1984 videotape, Bakker urged his audience to pay for
partnerships with a credit card, saying he bought his with a credit
card because he didn't have any cash. The same year, prosecutors
said, Bakker received $1 million in salary and bonuses and bought a
Palm Desert, Calif., home and a Rolls-Royce.
Bakker is accused of diverting more than $3.7 million in PTL
money raised from the partnership sales to pay for personal
luxuries. If convicted of the 24 counts against him, he could be
sentenced to 120 years in prison and fined more than $5 million.
Pearson testified that from 1984 through 1986, Bakker repeatedly
misled viewers about how many donors, or ``lifetime partners,'' had
taken part in the program, which offered three nights' lodging each
year for life in return for $1,000.
At first, Bakker exaggerated the number of partnerships PTL had
issued, apparently to project a sense of urgency, Pearson said.
Later, the FBI agent said, Bakker understated the tally and
didn't acknowledge that he had exceeded his own ceiling and
endangered the partners' chances of using their lodging privileges.
Earlier in the trial, prosecutors put on the stand several PTL
partners _ including the wife of a retired coal miner suffering from
black lung disease and living on disability pay _ who testified they
bought partnerships but could not get rooms.
Others have testified that partnerships were oversold and that
the money from such promotions often was used to cover PTL's
day-to-day operating costs rather than finance construction of the
guaranteed rooms and buildings.
Pearson said more than 66,000 partnerships were sold to viewers
by the time Bakker left PTL in March 1987, despite a publicized
limit of 25,000.
Bakker didn't watch much of the videotapes. He scribbled notes
and looked through documents.
AP890920-0109
AP-NR-09-20-89 1352EDT
d a AM-BRF--BountyHunters 09-20 0116
AM-BRF--Bounty Hunters,0119
PTAs Recruited As `Bounty Hunters'
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)
PTA members have been acting as bounty
hunters, collecting rewards for ferreting out young people who had
not started school.
Superintendent Arthur Steller said he established the one-week
reward program because more than 650 students hadn't shown up for
class two weeks into the school year.
Members of Parent-Teacher Associations were urged to call or
visit the absent students' homes. By the end of the program, 53
students had enrolled, officials said.
PTAs earned $25 for participating, plus $10 for each high school
student who enrolled. The bounty on elementary students was $5.
District officials said they paid $937 to 27 participating PTAs.
AP890920-0110
AP-NR-09-20-89 1254EDT
u w PM-Senate-Poland 2ndLd-Writethru a0598 09-20 0716
PM-Senate-Poland, 2nd Ld-Writethru, a0598,700
Democrats Vote to Boost U.S. Aid to Poland, Hungary
EDs: SUBS 3rd graf to CORRECT billion to million
By LAWRENCE L. KNUTSON
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
overriding objections from the Bush administration, voted 10-1 today
to endorse a Democratic aid plan for Poland and Hungary that would
send nearly $1.2 billion to the East Bloc nations over three years.
Republicans, accusing Democrats of playing politics on the issue,
walked out before the vote. Only Sen. Richard G. Lugar of Indiana
stayed to register the lone no vote, calling it ``an egregious
mistake.''
The economic development funds in the Democratic measure, which
dwarf the $100 million requested by President Bush over a three-year
period, represent an urgently needed ``gamble for freedom'' in
Eastern Europe, said Sen. Paul Simon, D-Ill.
Raymond Seitz, assistant secretary of state for European Affairs,
testified that although the legislation contains most of the
elements of the Bush proposal, ``the administration cannot endorse
the higher funding levels.''
``To do so would be contrary to the budget principles of the
Congress and the administration,'' Seitz said.
Seitz said the surging reform movements in Eastern Europe are
genuine and ``something we have hoped for all of our lives.''
``It would be the saddest thing if we wrecked it in some sort of
procedural or partisan wrangle,'' Seitz said.
``We're headed for the rocky shoals of a partisan debate which is
not going to result in anything good for the Poles,'' said Lugar who
said no additional funds are available to pay for increased
assistance for the two countries.
``In my view this is an attempt to tweak the president, to cause
a partisan row on the Senate floor,'' Lugar said. ``But the rest of
the world is not amused by this kind of irresponsibility.''
Sen. Alan Cranston, D-Calif., called the Bush proposals
``pathetically timid'' and said they ``failed to grasp the historic
opportunity at hand.''
On Monday, Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, D-Maine, also
criticized the administration's proposed aid for Poland and Hungary
as a failure to exploit an historic opportunity in the Soviet bloc.
Secretary of State James A. Baker III said Tuesday that Mitchell
was playing politics on the issue. ``The president is rocking along
with a 70 percent approval rating in foreign policy,'' said Baker.
``And if I were the Senate majority leader I might have something
like that to say, too.''
Mitchell called Baker's response to his remarks ``predictable and
disappointing.''
Baker ``will better serve the nation and the president if he
addresses the substance of my remarks, rather than resorting to
accusations about politics,'' said Mitchell.
The $1.18 billion Democratic aid proposal would authorize $423
million in the 1990 fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 and $381 million in
both the 1991 and 1992 fiscal years.
Additional Democratic-sponsored legislation to boost food aid to
Poland is pending before the Senate Agriculture Committee.
President Bush initially proposed $119 million in aid for Poland
over three years. Last week, in response to congressional pressure,
including appeals from Senate Republican Leader Bob Dole of Kansas,
he proposed another $50 million in food assistance.
The centerpiece of the Democratic proposal is an annual $300
million ``enterprise fund'' over the next three years to support
economic development in Poland.
Itwould also authorize spending $75 million for each of the next
three years to provide a similar fund for Hungary.
Cranston said Democrats would skim the money from the $40 billion
spent by the Pentagon each year for research and development.
The bill, which combines elements of the administration's aid
proposals with proposals by congressional Democrats, would also:
_Authorize the extension of Overseas Private Investment Corp.
guarantees to U.S. businesses investing in Poland and Hungary.
_Authorize the extension of trade preference benefits to Poland.
_Authorize $11 million in scientific and education exchanges
along with medical assistance and help in building democratic
institutions for Poland and Hungary.
_Authorize $25 million in aid to help modernize Poland's
telecommunications system.
_Authorize $3 million for Peace Corps activities in Poland and
Hungary.
_Direct the president to encourage debt-for-equity swaps and debt
rescheduling negotiations to help Poland deal with its massive
foreign debt.
_Authorize the president to pursue other initiatives, including a
possible airlift of food to the Polish people.
AP890920-0111
AP-NR-09-20-89 1310EDT
r a AM-LAWater 09-20 0294
AM-LA Water,0303
Bottled and Filtered Water Preferred Over Tap H2O
LOS ANGELES (AP)
A majority of city residents drink bottled or
filtered water rather than that from from household taps, a survey
found.
Respondents said tap water doesn't taste good, and treated water
is considered safer, according to the survey released this week.
Another survey found that those relying on bottled or filtered
water include a majority of city Department of Water and Power
employees.
The first survey of customers reported 64 percent use bottled or
filtered drinking water, with 53 percent preferring only bottled
water, and 19 percent using home filters. Some used both.
Employees surveyed indicate that 59 percent use bottled or
filtered water, or both. Employees from inside and outside city
limits were surveyed.
DWP officials were concerned about the findings, but were not
completely surprised because of publicity given to toxic
contamination levels in some water supplies.
``We're just fighting an uphill battle to try to get out the
correct information about the water supply,'' said Dan Waters, a DWP
assistant general manager. DWP provides water and electric power to
the more than 3.3 million city residents.
Better taste was cited by 54 percent of the customers who used
alternative sources, while 40 percent said they were concerned about
safety.
Douglas Nelson, president of the International Bottled Water
Association, estimated that one of every two residents of Southern
California drinks bottled or filtered water.
Nelson said the findings of the survey indicated the ``highest
incidence in the country'' of bottled and filtered water use.
Independent researchers from Reichman-Karten-Sword Inc., of San
Francisco, interviewed 1,001 DWP customers for the survey. Another
firm, Evaluation and Training Institute of Los Angeles, interviewed
1,688 of DWP's 11,573 employees for the other.
AP890920-0112
AP-NR-09-20-89 1305EDT
u w PM-Education-Democrats 2ndLd-Writethru a0579 09-20 0738
PM-Education-Democrats, 2nd Ld-Writethru, a0579,750
Democrats Proposing National Education Goals
EDs: INSERTS two grafs after 2nd graf, bgng ``Arkansas Democratic''
and three grafs after 10th graf, bgng ``At a;'' DELETES 17th graf. ^By
TAMARA HENRY
AP Education Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
Congressional Democrats, trying to get a jump
on President Bush's education summit, announced a series of goals
today aimed at upgrading America's school system.
Declaring ``our leadership in education is indisputable,'' the
Democratic leaders proposed six performance goals ``to reinvigorate
the American partnership in education to set a benchmark for the
education summit with the governors.''
Arkansas Democratic Gov. Bill Clinton, in charge of the National
Governors' Association's preparations for the summit, insisted that
money is not a key issue and that funding would ``fall in line''
once there is public commitment from everyone.
But Sen. Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island said, ``The emphasis on
funding is needed so that the proven programs we have begun can do
even better work, and so that, together, we might achieve the
ultimate goal of educational opportunity for all.''
The goals are:
_ Increase each year the number of preschool children attending
early childhood development programs _ such as Head Start _ until
all disadvantaged 4-year-old children are served by 1995.
_ Raise the basic skills achievement of all students to their
grade level, and sharply reduce the discrepancy in test scores among
white, black and Hispanic students by 1993.
_ Improve the high school graduation rate every year by reducing
the number of dropouts and the number of illiterate Americans.
_ Annually improve the math, science and foreign language
performance of American students.
_ Increase college participation by all Americans, especially
minorities, by 1993, and reduce the imbalance between grants and
loans in financing a college education by the year 2000.
_ Increase each year the number of fully qualified teachers
available in the schools.
``Proposing specific goals is in itself a bold step forward,''
the Democrats said in a joint statement. ``Never before have
Congress, the White House, or the states sought to develop
performance goals for our schools and colleges. Our list is the
basic minimum, but vital and necessary. These goals will, if
achieved, result in enormous improvements.''
At a separate news conference, Keith Geiger, president of the
National Education Association, released ``A Classroom Agenda for
the Education Summit'' that proposed essentially the same types of
activities as outlined by the congressional Democrats and the
National Governors' Association.
Geiger insisted that money should be a key focus of the summit
and noted that for every $3 state and local governments added to
education in the 1980s, the federal government took $1 away. He said
the federal share of the school dollar for elementary and secondary
schools declined from 9.2 percent in 1981 to 6.3 percent in 1989.
``This is no way to meet a national challenge,'' declared Geiger.
``Now more than ever, we need to guarantee adequate funding for
education at all levels: local, state, and federal. The federal
government must become a more active partner in promoting progress.''
Senate Democratic Leader George Mitchell of Maine and House
Majority Leader Richard Gephardt of Missouri said they were not
trying to upstage the president by releasing their proposal a week
before the summit.
``The Democratic Party has long championed educational
opportunity for all Americans,'' said Mitchell. ``The major federal
education programs were Democratic initiatives. Our leadership in
education is historic and enduring.''
The congressional leaders, joined by Sens. Edward Kennedy,
D-Mass., and Claiborne Pell, D-R.I., and several House Democrats
used a highly acclaimed suburban Maryland high school as the
backdrop today to announce the ambitious goals.
Bush, who will lead the education summit with the nation's
governors in Charlottesville, Va., next week, has supported the view
of many governors that discussions should focus on how to establish
national performance goals or targets.
The president has indicated actual goals would be set later,
after educators, parents, members of Congress and others give their
opinions.
The Democrats say their performance goals can be used by the
White House as they hammer out more details and specific numerical
targets in finalizing national standards.
The summit will mark the third time a president has called the
governors together to tackle one subject.
Theodore Roosevelt brought the governors together in 1908 to
discuss how to conserve America's natural resources. In 1933,
Franklin D. Roosevelt sought governors' advice on the Great
Depression.
AP890920-0113
AP-NR-09-20-89 1305EDT
u w PM-Bush 2ndLd-Writethru a0597 09-20 0571
PM-Bush, 2nd Ld-Writethru, a0597,590
Republican Leaders Predict Massive Cuts in Government Programs
EDS: Inserts grafs 4-5, White House, with Fitzwater comments.
By CHRISTOPHER CONNELL
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
Republican leaders said today it is almost
certain Congress will fail to agree on a deficit reduction measure
by mid-October, leading to automatic spending cuts in hundreds of
government programs.
Sen. Pete Domenici, after a meeting with President Bush, said the
cuts would total about $16.8 billion, including a 5.3 percent cut in
domestic spending, and about 4.6 percent from defense programs.
The Gramm-Rudman deficit-reduction law requires Congress and the
president to reduce the deficit to within $10 billion of the $100
billion 1990 deficit target by that date. Failure to come in under
that ceiling triggers automatic spending cuts in almost all budget
categories under the law.
White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater agreed there was a
``somewhat bleak prospect'' for averting the spending cuts.
Several spending issues stand in the way of agreement, he said,
and he urged Congress to overcome the problems.
The deficit reduction bill needed to avert those cuts is
threatened with defeat in the House because most Democrats oppose
its cut in the capital gains tax rate. Republicans oppose other
provisions, including child care legislation.
It is ``almost certain'' that Congress will fail to reconcile
competing financial interests and get the budget passed by the
deadline of Oct. 1, the beginning of fiscal year 1990, said House
Republican leader Newt Gingrich.
After the GOP meeting, Bush held the second in a series of
pre-education summit consultations with leading educators, saying he
hoped they did not feel ``they were talking to a deck that had
already been stacked.''
The annual spending bills needed to keep the government operating
are stalled in the Senate, where Republicans are blocking action in
an attempt to force Democrats to back down on their plan to expand
the president's anti-drug plan.
Gingrich said Bush was firm in his opposition to a tax rate
increase to help raise revenues to offset the deficit.
To propose such an increase is ``to guarantee a veto,'' as is
inclusion of add-on spending projects that Bush opposes.
``If in fact it has a childcare bill that is unacceptable, and if
it has pension proposals that are unacceptable, he'll veto it.''
He blamed the House and Senate leadership for the failure to get
agreement on the budget, and said the cuts, which would begin Oct.
16 would ``lead to a tremendous amount of confusion,'' throughout
the government as programs such as student aid, drug and enforcement
and other areas try to cope with the cuts.
On the education front, the educators have not been invited to
Bush's summit with governors in Charlottesville, Va., next Wednesday
and Thursday.
Bush, explaining the educators' exclusion, said, ``I'm putting a
lot of stock in the governors' conference because they have
expressed a keen interest in this. They are on ... the cutting edge,
and we think it's an appropriate way to have a national conference.
``The fact that it's the governors does not mean that we want to
limit the input to governors alone,'' the president told the
educators, including University of Tennessee President and former
governor Lamar Alexander and Ernest L. Boyer, president of the
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Bush urged them to offer their recommendations to the governors
as well as the White House.
AP890920-0114
AP-NR-09-20-89 1305EDT
u w PM-US-HurricaneRelief 09-20 0152
PM-US-Hurricane Relief,150
Bush Declares Virgin Islands Disaster Area
WASHINGTON (AP)
President Bush today declared the
Hurricane-ravaged Virgin Islands a disaster area and his spokesman
said a similar declaration was expected soon for Puerto Rico.
Presidential press secretary Marlin Fitzwater also said that the
Interior Department had made available $500,000 ``for immediate
use'' in the U.S. Virgin Islands. He said the money would be spent
to buy food, emergency supplies and safety items.
A disaster declaration makes an area eligible for disaster
relief, low-interest loans for home and business rebuilding and
grants for police work and for repair and rebuilding of roads and
other public structures.
Fitzwater said paperwork was not yet complete for the disaster
declaration for Puerto Rico, but such a declaration was
``anticipated soon.''
He said that the U.S. military was providing a variety of cargo
planes, personnel and equipment for relief efforts in the stricken
areas.
AP890920-0115
AP-NR-09-20-89 1328EDT
r a PM-TeacherTest-Blacks 09-20 0300
PM-Teacher Test-Blacks,0309
Blacks Disproportionately Failing Teacher Test
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)
Most black college students aspiring to
become teachers in South Carolina fail a test that ninth-graders
should be able to pass, state education officials say.
Over the past five years, 31 percent of the blacks who took the
state Education Entrance Examination passed it on the first try,
compared with 80 percent of whites, according to a state Department
of Education review.
College students have three chances to pass the test, a
requirement for admission to a teacher education program.
After the third attempt, about 91 percent of the 11,999 whites
who took the test had passed. Blacks did better, too, with 46
percent of the 1,802 who took it passing. Not everyone who fails
takes the test again.
``One of the main problems is that minorities have a history
nationally of not doing well on standardized tests,'' said Elmer
Knight, director of teacher education and certification.
But Earline M. Simms, dean of education at South Carolina State
College, a predominantly black school, said the difference probably
has more to do with how rich or poor the students' families were and
whether education was emphasized in their homes.
Simms said she was ``sick and tired of that excuse'' about
standardized tests being a problem for blacks.
``We do have a crisis in black education,'' Simms said. ``We do
have a crisis in the black family. It's disintegrating. But it's not
just a black problem. ... There are many white students reading at a
sixth-grade level.''
The test was first given in 1982 to weed out students who didn't
have basic reading, writing and mathematics skills.
Knight said the test had produced better teacher candidates by
forcing some who were borderline to go back to strengthen their
skills.
AP890920-0116
AP-NR-09-20-89 1307EDT
u w PM-Bush-Visits 09-20 0174
PM-Bush-Visits,150
Mexican and Egyptian Presidents to Visit
WASHINGTON (AP)
Mexico's President Carlos Salinas de Gortari
and Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak will travel to Washington next
month to meet with President Bush, the White House announced today.
Salinas, making his first official trip to Washington since
Bush's inauguration, will be in the United States fropm Oct. 1 to
Oct. 5, with a state dinner planned in his honor on Oct. 3.
He also will meet with Cabinet, congressional and State
Department officials as well as private sector individuals
interested in Mexico. He will travel to New York for a series of
meetings, and will receive an honorary doctoral degree Oct. 5 at
Brown University, said White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater.
Bush and his wife Barbara will host Salinas and his wife for a
weekend visit to the presidential retreat in Camp David, Md.,
Fitzwater said.
Mubarak will come to Washington on Oct. 2 for a private visit
with Bush.
Mubarak made an official state visit to the United States in
April.
AP890920-0117
AP-NR-09-20-89 1331EDT
r w AM-HurricaneHistory 09-20 0828
AM-Hurricane History,800
Hurricanes Haunt America's Past
With AM-Hugo, Bjt
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
From the storm that threatened Christopher
Columbus in 1494 to last year's powerful Gilbert, the death and
destruction wrought by hurricanes have been an intimate part of life
in America.
``Good God, what horror and destruction,'' wrote a 15-year-old
Alexander Hamilton after experiencing a hurricane in the West Indies
in 1772.
``The roaring of the sea and wind, fiery meteors flying about in
the air, the prodigious glare of almost perpetual lightning, the
crash of falling houses and the ear-piercing shrieks of the
distressed were sufficient to strike astonishment into angels,''
Hamilton reported in a letter to his father.
``Hurricanes have played an awsome role in the American panorama.
They have touched the lives of Americans great and small and, at
times, changed the course of our destiny _ as well as the shape of
our coastline,'' writes Patrick Hughes, managing editor of
Weatherwise magazine.
The deadliest of these massive storms killed 6,000 people,
sweeping away much of Galveston, Texas, in 1900. And thousands have
perished in other storms over the years.
Yet one hurricane may have prevented war between the United
States and Germany, another inspired Shakespeare's play, ``The
Tempest,'' and a third caused a young planter's daughter to leave
her Caribbean home for France, eventually to wed Napoleon and become
Empress Josephine.
Columbus and his crew were probably the first Europeans to
encounter a hurricane, sailing through the fringes of one near
Hispaniola in 1494 and confronting another at full force near Santo
Domingo in 1502.
A weather-wary seaman, Columbus recognized the signs of the
approaching tempest and took his ship into a protected cove to ride
out that second storm.
Others refused to heed his warning and set forth for Spain.
Twenty ships and 500 men led by Adm. Frencisco de Bobadilla were
never seen again.
In the next few years, both Ponce de Leon and Hermando Cortes
were shipwrecked in hurricanes, though both went on to become famous
explorers.
In 1609, the English were seeking to settle the New World, and
one small fleet heading for Virginia was overwhelmed by a hurricane.
While many ships limped into Jamestown, the ship Sea Adventure
was feared lost until 10 months later when its passengers and crew
arrived in a small boat they had built from the wreckage of their
ship.
The Sea Advanture had been driven ashore on Bermuda, an island
unknown to sailors until that event. When the account of their
harrowing voyage and discovery was published in London in 1612 it
intrigued William Shakespeare, who was inspired to write the play,
``The Tempest.''
It was August 13, 1766, when a hurricane swept over the tiny
Caribbean island of Martinique, wiping out the farms of wealthy
planter Joseph-Gaspard Tascher.
With the family facing poverty, one of his daughters, Josephine
Marie Rose, returned to France where she met and married an
ambitious young army officer named Napoleon Bonaparte.
A storm just six years later sent America one of its young
revolutionaries. Hamilton's letter to his father describing the 1772
storm so impressed local planters on the island of St. Croix that
they took up a collection and sent him to college in America.
Weather historian David M. Ludlum speculates in his book ``The
Weather Factor'' that a hurricane may have prolonged the American
Revolution.
British and French fleets were facing off near Rhode Island in
1778, with the French upwind and holding the advantage until a
hurricane arrived, damaging many ships and scattering the vessels.
Had the French been able to engage and defeat the British, Ludlum
suggests, they might have achieved naval supremacy and thus hastened
the American vistory.
Another hurricane thousands of miles away and just over a century
later may have prevented a war.
The 1880s were a time when many nations were establishing
colonial empires, and Germany sought control over several islands in
the Pacific.
In 1888, a German naval task force seeking to take control of
Samoa shelled a native village. Some American property was destroyed
and an American flag was torn down by German sailors.
American warships rushed to the scene and naval vessels of the
two nations faced one another at Apia harbor on March 16, 1889.
But before hostilities could begin, a savage hurricane
overwhelmed the area, and ships of both nations were wrecked or
driven aground. Sailors from both sides came to one another's aid in
the struggle to survive.
Nearing the present, no hurricane can compare with the toll of
6,000 American lives lost when a hurricane driven surge of water
swept over Galveston Island in 1900. Another 1,000 likely died
elsewhere in that storm, though the exact toll may never be known.
Gilbert, in 1988, was perhaps one of the stringest hurricanes of
this century, though it spent most of its fury in the islands and
Mexico, claiming only a few lives in Texas.
AP890920-0118
AP-NR-09-20-89 1334EDT
r a AM-Obit-McShain 09-20 0179
AM-Obit-McShain,0187
Constructor of Pentagon and Kennedy Center
NEW YORK (AP)
John McShain, a contractor and developer
responsible for the Pentagon and the Kennedy Center, died of a
stroke in Killarney, Ireland. He was 90.
John McShain Inc., based in Philadelphia, was one of the largest
construction companies in the country before and after World War II.
Other projects he was responsible for in Washington are the State
Department and the Jefferson Memorial, as well as the 1951
renovation of the White House, The New York Times said Wednesday.
McShain died Sept. 9.
He erected several important buildings in Philadelphia, including
the original Philadelphia International Airport, the Naval Hospital,
the Municipal Court House and the State Office Building.
McShain was also a major property owner in Philadelphia,
including the Barclay Hotel, where he lived.
He entered thoroughbred racing in the 1950s and established
stables in the United States and Ireland that produced several
trophy winners.
He spent summers for the last three decades at his Irish estate.
McShain is survived by his wife, Mary, and a daughter.
AP890920-0119
AP-NR-09-20-89 1327EDT
u w PM-Hinckley 09-20 0397
PM-Hinckley,400
Hinckley Says He Does Not Have Serious Mental Illness
By PETE YOST
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
Presidential assailant John Hinckley said today
he does not have a serious mental illness and wants to conduct up to
two interviews a month with the news media to demonstrate that.
Barred by the government from meeting with the press, Hinckley
said he has been placed in a maximum-security ward at a mental
hospital by federal officials who want to keep him isolated from the
press.
``I wish to be able to meet with somebody ... who is not part of
the hospital ... or ... the government,'' Hinckley told U.S.
District Court Judge June Green during a hearing on his request.
A directive at St. Elizabeths Hospital where Hinckley is held
bars maximum-security patients from conducting personal interviews
with the media. It permits such patients to correspond with the
media by mail.
Hinckley said he wants ``somebody who is impartial'' to ``talk
with me and decide for themselves if I am mentally ill or not and
then report that finding.''
He said the government has ``orchestrated'' a campaign to portray
him as psychotic and that ``for me to battle ... without being
permitted to show otherwise'' is ``a great handicap to me.''
``The way the situation is now we have the blackout going where I
can never in any way be seen or heard by anybody who is in the least
bit impartial,'' Hinckley said under questioning by his lawyer, Mark
Lane. ``I think it's set up that way intentionally. I don't believe
I am this seriously ill person.''
He said he wants to conduct interviews with The Washington Post
and ABC News.
He said he doubts he would do two interviews a month, even if
permitted to do so. He said he specified that number in his request
``so the court doesn't think I would go hog wild.''
Hinckley was acquitted in 1982 by reason of insanity of shooting
President Reagan, then-presidential press secretary James Brady, a
Washington police officer and a Secret Service agent. The shooting
has left Brady partially paralyzed.
Excerpts from a psychiatrist's 1987 evaluation of Hinckley said
his mental condition was showing improvement and that he exhibited
remorse and guilt over the 1981 shooting incident. In 1982, the
evaluation noted, Hinckley said the incident was akin to shooting
``a mannequin.''
AP890920-0120
AP-NR-09-20-89 1334EDT
r a PM-CoalStrike 09-20 0212
PM-Coal Strike,0221
Judge Gives Strikers Ultimatum
ABINGDON, Va. (AP)
A federal judge today gave striking miners
until dusk to end their occupation of a Pittston Coal Group plant.
U.S. District Judge Glen Williams said the nearly 100 United Mine
Workers could leave before the deadline without penalty for shutting
down the plant since Sunday.
``Hopefully, the union will peacefully vacate without having to
do so by force,'' the judge said.
Union attorney Judy Scott said the order would be delivered to
the miners. Union leaders were not in court.
The National Labor Relations Board had requested the hearing to
punish the union for defying a court order to end the occupation in
Russell County. Pittston had sought fines against the miners.
UMW spokesman Joe Corcoran said no damage would be done to the
plant, where 98 miners barricaded themselves inside the control room
with gas masks, sleeping bags and a week's worth of food.
Coal is cleaned and sorted at the plant and then loaded on rail
cars and trucks.
Pittston's 1,695 UMW employees from Virginia, West Virginia and
Kentucky have been on strike since April over wages and working
conditions. The union has been fined roughly $22 million by state
and federal judges for illegal demonstrations and violence.
AP890920-0121
AP-NR-09-20-89 1328EDT
u w BC-AmericanVictims 09-20 0095
BC-American Victims,100
With France-Plane
WASHINGTON (AP)
Following are the names of the American victims
on board the French DC-10 jetliner that crashed Tuesday in Niger,
according to the State Department:
1. Mrs. Bonnie Barnes Pugh, wife of the U.S. ambassador to Chad.
2. Ms. Margaret Schutzius, U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Chad.
3. James Turlington, Esso Exploration.
4. Mark Corder, Esso Exploration.
5. Patrik Huff, Parker Drillig Co.
6. Donald Warner, Parker Drilling Co.
7. Mihai Ali Manestianu (no affiliation given).
The ages and U.S. hometowns of the Americans were not provided.
AP890920-0122
AP-NR-09-20-89 1337EDT
r a PM-WilliamBuckley 09-20 0296
PM-William Buckley,0302
Buckley Says U.S. Should Buy Soviet Arsenal
FLORENCE, Ala. (AP)
William F. Buckley Jr. says he's come up
with a idea to simultaneously help the Soviet economy and eliminate
the threat of attack _ buy the Soviet arsenal and dump it in the
ocean.
``I would propose a purchase of non-replenishable Soviet military
equipment _ nuclear and non-nuclear _ at $100 billion per year for
the next three years,'' said the merrily provocative host of
television's ``Firing Line'' and founder of the conservative
magazine National Review.
``The missiles and warheads, and tanks and submarines and armed
carriers would file out of Soviet ports onto U.S. shipping, and upon
reaching the continental shelf the cargo would be jettisoned out to
sea,'' he said Tuesday at the University of North Alabama.
``The financing of the enterprise would be done by reducing our
own military budget by $100 billion per year for three years, which
under these special circumstances we could afford to do,'' he said.
Buckley called his proposal ``complicated in detail ... but not
inconceivable.''
On another subject, Buckley said the war against drugs will
result only in ``more of the same _ more crime, more corruption,
more hospitalization, more deaths.''
The author received an ovation with his proposal that the sale of
all drugs be legal to anyone over the age of 21, at a price that
would prevent the rise of a black market for drugs. He also said
anyone convicted of selling drugs to a minor should be given the
death penalty.
``The two proposals have, I think, the advantage psychologically
of expressing society's acceptance of biological realities, while at
the same time allowing our society to express the gravity with which
it views the drug problem,'' Buckley said.
AP890920-0123
AP-NR-09-20-89 1347EDT
r w AM-No-HandsComputer 09-20 0563
AM-No-Hands Computer,580
Controversial High-Tech Center Opens
By JAY ARNOLD
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
A Virginia center for high technology,
criticized by some for being too costly and secretive, opened
Wednesday with a splashy display of gadgets designed for business,
medicine and the military.
The Center for Innovative Technology, formally dedicated five
years after being chartered by the state General Assembly, displayed
a dozen center-supported projects, including a computer operated
with eye movements and a bed designed to benefit both hospital
patients and insomniacs.
Reporters attending an open house Tuesday in advance of Wednesday
night's official dedication of the $34.5 million center also were
shown a fiber-optic sensing system designed to warn of aircraft
vibrations or help make submarines quieter and a device that allows
handwritten data to be entered into a computer.
There was a fire-extinguishing system for computers;
electromagnetic bearings that can replace traditional lubricating
systems for machines; a briefcase-size computer workstation and
facsimile machine that can send encrypted messages by cellular
telephone; and a testing kit to find bacterial infections in milk
cows.
The controversial center, which symbolizes the nationwide push by
state legislatures to attract and hold high-technology businesses,
is located in an inverted pyramid-shaped building near Washington
Dulles International Airport.
It has been under fire since 1984, when Virginia lawmakers
approved a plan by then-Gov. Charles Robb to establish a non-profit
facility to link private enterprise with the state's college and
university research programs.
The center has had four presidents in as many years, investing
more than $37 million in research projects while attracting nearly
$56 million in matching funds from private industry and other
sources.
Its 1988-90 budget is $27.2 million and it is seeking $41.6
million for 1991-1993. It has a staff of 30.
Critics say its mission remains unfocused, it is too costly and
secretive, and that the money could better be spent by Virginia
educational institutions.
Its president, former Virginia Gov. Linwood Holton, said Tuesday
he thinks the center is ``over that hump.''
But Holton acknowledged there is an image problem caused as the
center tries to balance being accountable to taxpayers with not
revealing trade secrets that have potentially high economic values.
CIT officials say nearly 400 companies have been persuaded to
co-sponsor more than 450 research projects, including the Eyegaze
computer system developed by LC Technologies of Fairfax, Va., based
on research at the University of Virginia.
The machine costs between $32,000 and $68,000, and two have been
sold to disabled individuals. A third was sold to the Virginia
Department of Rehabilitative Services. CIT received a $1,600 royalty
check from one of the private sales, Holton said.
Eyegaze looks like a personal computer, but uses a camera system
that interprets the eye movements of the operator. By focusing
briefly on a keyboard on the computer screen, a user may type
messages, open or close files or gain access to IBM-compatible
software.
Eye movements also will operate household appliances such as
lights and televisions with LC Technologies software that links the
machine with off-the-shelf mechanical hardware.
Another invention, the Good Turn Bed, can contort into seven
different positions to relieve patient suffering, or it can aid
insomniacs by continually moving to reduce tossing and turning
during sleep.
The center also has helped develop a machine that harvests
cucumbers without bruising them and a process to remove polluting
sulfur from coal.
AP890920-0124
AP-NR-09-20-89 1350EDT
r a PM-CocaineAttorney 09-20 0258
PM-Cocaine Attorney,0267
Uninvited Lawyer Slapped for Subpoena
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP)
A Miami lawyer who showed up in court
unexpectedly to represent two alleged cocaine smugglers was slapped
with a subpoena for a grand jury investigation into whether he had
been sent by far-off drug bosses.
``This is an outrage,'' said the lawyer, David S. Markus. ``This
is what U.S. attorneys do to discourage people from hiring their own
attorneys.''
The two drug suspects already had been given court-appointed
attorneys when Markus joined them at the defense table during a bail
hearing Tuesday.
Federal prosecutors immediately subpoenaed him.
``Our obligation, the court's obligation and the bar's obligation
is to assure that lawyers actually represent the clients in the
courtroom and not a drug boss located far away who's only interest
is to shut up the defendant and to hamper law enforcement,'' said
U.S. Attorney Raymond Lamonica.
``We will use all lawful means to determine the scope of a
criminal conspiracy and those involved.''
The drug suspects, Leonardo Eugenio Macchiavello, 35, of Miami,
and Hector Baraditt, 39, of Elmhurst, N.Y., were accused of
attempting to transport $17 million worth of cocaine through Baton
Rouge in a station wagon.
One of the court-appointed attorneys, David Stanley, told U.S.
Magistrate Stephen Riedlinger that he and the other court-appointed
counsel received a phone call last week from an unidentified man who
said lawyers had been retained by the families of Macchiavello and
Baraditt.
But Macchiavello and Baraditt told the magistrate Tuesday that
they were happy with their court-appointed lawyers.
AP890920-0125
AP-NR-09-20-89 1411EDT
r a AM-Mecham 09-20 0665
AM-Mecham,0682
Arizona Supreme Court to Hear Impeachment Appeal
By LARRY LOPEZ
Associated Press Writer
PHOENIX (AP)
Evan Mecham, the first governor removed by
impeachment in nearly 60 years, is asking the state Supreme Court to
overturn his conviction, reinstate him and pay him about $500,000.
The maverick Republican conservative, who is running for governor
again in 1990, says he expects to win in federal court if the state
high court rejects the arguments he'll present Thursday.
But government lawyers defending Mecham's House impeachment and
Senate conviction say the Supreme Court should not even take
jurisdiction of such a ``frivolous'' case, much less grant Mecham's
motions.
Attorney General Bob Corbin is asking that the case be thrown out
and that Mecham be assessed costs of bringing the lawsuit.
Lawyers on both sides know of only one case, a 1919 ruling in
Alabama, in which an impeached official was reinstated. Courts
generally have held that impeachments are political in nature and
that they are not subject to court review in the absence of a major
violation of constitutional rights.
Mecham was ousted by the Senate on April 4, 1988, on civil
charges that he misused money in a state protocol fund and
obstructed justice by trying to thwart an investigation of
allegations that one of his aides had threatened another aide.
He had taken office less than 16 months earlier, after a bruising
campaign during which he upset several establishment favorites to
become governor on his fifth try.
And though he had predicted smooth sailing with the
Republican-controlled Legislature, he drew criticism with vetoes,
controversial appointments, cancellation of a holiday honoring
Martin Luther King, and statements that appeared to insult women,
homosexuals, blacks and Orientals.
By the time impeachment proceedings began in earnest, he was
telling audiences that Attorney General Bob Corbin, a fellow
Republican, had been spying on him with laser beams.
``Mecham was not impeached and convicted for `high crimes,
misdemeanors or malfeasance;' instead, he was impeached and
convicted for being Mecham,'' his attorneys argued in briefs filed
before Thursday's hearing. ``The sad truth is that, notwithstanding
Mecham's election to office by the people of Arizona, Mecham was a
political outsider, having few partisans among established
legislators or in the media.''
Mecham's lawyers argue the impeachment should be overturned
because the senators failed to vote separately on each subcharge
within each main charge, leaving it unclear whether lawmakers ever
reached the required two-thirds majority on any one accusation.
They also say the protocol fund statute was unconstitutional to
begin with because of a drafting flaw and that Mecham was denied his
right to due process by irregularities in the Senate trial,
including the absence of some of senators at times.
The government's lawyers say it doesn't matter whether the
protocol fund statute was constitutional because Mecham's
representatives signed a contract agreeing to abide by it and that
Mecham committed malfeasance when he violated the contract.
They also say the state constitution clearly gives the Senate the
right to make its own rules about such things as attendance and
charges.
Furthermore, they say, Mecham waited too long to bring the
lawsuit and should have filed it in a lower court.
In addition to reinstatement as governor, Mecham wants about
$200,000 for attorneys' fees in the impeachment, about $182,000 to
cover his costs in preparing for a recall election that was canceled
by his ouster, the $92,000 that was in the protocol fund, and back
pay as governor.
He also is seeking return of the protocol fund in a Maricopa
County Superior Court suit filed earlier. The money came from
campaign supporters but, after questions were raised over whether it
had been collected legally, campaign aides administering it agreed
it would be used as a protocol fund.
Besides Mecham's claims, Thursday's 90-minute hearing involves an
overlapping set of motions by two long-time Mecham supporters who
claim their constitutional rights were abridged by the impeachment
because lawmakers were told not to listen to their constituents.
AP890920-0126
AP-NR-09-20-89 1413EDT
r w AM-Stars&Stripes 600 09-20 0618
AM-Stars & Stripes, 600
Renewed Charges of Censorship At Military Paper
By SUSANNE M. SCHAFER
AP Military Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
Amid expressions of concern from two members of
Congress, a Pentagon-appointed ombudsman has left for the Far East
to look into allegations of censorship and employee harassment at
the Pacific edition of the military newspaper Stars & Stripes.
The ombudsman, Philip M. Foisie, planned to meet with the
newspaper's staff during his trip, as well as with the
commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, Adm. Huntington
Hardisty, a Pentagon official said Wednesday.
The official spoke on condition he not be named.
Foisie, a former Washington Post editor, was appointed to the
post of ombudsman for the Pentagon's military newspapers earlier
this year, partially in response to the ongoing problems at the
publications.
Rep. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said in an interview Tuesday that
civilian employees have contacted her office with allegations of
censorship and actions taken against employees who have dealt with
Congress about the problems.
``What we have here is harassment of whistle blowers and
censorship,'' Boxer said. ``It's bad enough to censor the news. Our
men and women in uniform deserve the news as all of us get it, as
harsh as it is. But they're not getting it.''
The General Accounting Office, assisted by the Society of
Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi, reported last year that
it found evidence of censorship and improper management at the
government-run daily paper.
Boxer and Earl Hutto, D-Fla., chairman of the House Armed
Services readiness subcommittee, have written Hardisty, asking him
to investigate the situation.
Pentagon spokesman William Hart said the paper's military editors
deny the claims of censorship and contend they have not been given
solid evidence to back up the allegations.
``We'll let the ombudsman play his role,'' Hart said. ``These
newspapers are essential to the military overseas. If there is
evidence of censorship, that needs to come out. But if it is only
editorial judgment that is being exercised, that needs to come out
too.''
In her letter, Boxer cited ``evidence of harassment of
journalists who have expressed their views to senior management and
to members of Congress.''
Boxer cited the cases of Bill Bartman, who was removed from his
position as the Washington bureau chief of the Pacific edition, and
Pacific editor Dewey Brackman, who has been temporarily relieved of
his duties and assigned work as a supervisory editor.
Hutto, in a letter obtained by the Associated Press, said he had
received information about ``questionable management and personnel
practices, including continued efforts at news management'' at Stars
& Stripes.
The GAO recommended that the editor-in-chief should be a civilian
_ rather than a military officer _ with solid journalism credentials.
The House Armed Services Committee, in the defense authorization
bill report for fiscal 1990, said the editor should have solid
journalistic credentials but stopped short of calling for a civilian
in the post.
The GAO investigation was launched last year at the request of
former Sen. William Proxmire, D-Wis.
Although frequently referred to as one newspaper, the Stars and
Stripes is published in two separate editions by largely autonomous
bureaus in West Germany and Japan.
They were designed to serve as the ``hometown paper'' for
American servicemen posted overseas. The papers have a long history
that dates to publication in France during World War I.
The Pentagon describes the papers as ``authorized but unofficial
publications.'' Both operate under a charter to provide ``a free
flow of news and information ... without censorship or news
management.''
Reporters who have worked for the papers say they walk a
tightrope between reporting the news and satisfying military
commanders worried about local sensitivities in the host country.
AP890920-0127
AP-NR-09-20-89 1425EDT
r a AM-RacialPrank 09-20 0354
AM-Racial Prank,0362
Naked White Fraternity Members Dumped at Black College Campus
Eds: Note language 5th graf, `Witnesses said...'
OXFORD, Miss. (AP)
Members of a University of Mississippi
fraternity painted racial slurs on the naked bodies of two white
pledges and dumped them on the campus of a mostly black college
nearby.
``They had no idea that there were racial connotations in it.
They should have, but they appeared not to have viewed it that
way,'' Ole Miss public relations director Ed Meek said Wednesday.
``When I was informed of it I was shocked and angered,''
university Chancellor Gerald Turner said Tuesday night. He said he
had apologized to Rust College and had instructed the Beta Theta Pi
fraternity, which was involved in the Monday night incident, to do
the same.
Ishmell Edwards, dean of students at Rust, 25 miles north in
Holly Springs, said the fraternity chapter's officers apologized in
person and in writing to college officials.
Witnesses said the two naked fraternity members, with ``KKK'' and
``we hate niggers'' painted on their chests, ran into the Rust
College security office to escape pursuing Rust College students.
``We're treating this as a very serious violation of good taste
and ethics on our campus and we're doing a thorough investigation,''
Meek said.
He said a closed disciplinary hearing ``for perhaps individuals
as well as the fraternity'' has been scheduled for Friday. Ole Miss
officials probably won't announce results until Monday or Tuesday.
``My impression is it was a small group of students, all of whom
where freshmen,'' Meek said of those involved in the prank, adding
that ``it was not students who were familiar with campus rules'' or
who were ``more mature.''
Fraternity Treasurer Brad Gunner, a senior from Tupelo, said
national leaders of Beta Theta Pi had suspended the Ole Miss
chapter's charter and were coming to Oxford to investigate.
``Personally, I believe there's going to be a lot of cleaning
house in that there will be a totally different chapter in about two
weeks if a chapter at all,'' said Gunner, who is also president of
the campus Interfraternity Council.
AP890920-0128
AP-NR-09-20-89 1408EDT
u i AM-SouthAfrica Bjt 09-20 0756
AM-South Africa, Bjt,0776
New President Sworn In; Promises Blacks Role in Government
LaserPhoto JOH1
By LAURINDA KEYS
Associated Press Writer
PRETORIA, South Africa (AP)
F.W. de Klerk was sworn in as
president Wednesday and promised a new constitution that would bring
blacks into South Africa's government by the end of his five-year
term.
He appealed to South Africans of all races to help build a nation
``free of domination and oppression.
``We accept that time is of the essence and we are committed to
visible, evolutionary progress,'' de Klerk said in his inaugural
speech.
He has vowed to eliminate discrimination and allow blacks, who
currently cannot vote, participation in government under a five-year
plan.
But he did not specify any apartheid laws he would repeal. Nor
did he say how he would implement his goal of providing limited
political rights to the 28-million black majority while maintaining
the political domination of the country's 5 million whites.
De Klerk, 53, took the oath of office as reports spread that his
government will free jailed black nationalist leader Nelson Mandela
early next year. Newspapers quoted official sources as saying the
release will be part of a package of reforms to draw blacks into
constitutional talks.
``The negotiation process will, from the start, receive incisive
attention,'' de Klerk said in the speech following his swearing-in
ceremony.
His conciliatory words, affable style, and new policy of allowing
peaceful protests against the government have generated optimism
among foreign observers and many South Africans. But de Klerk
rejects the basic demand of most black leaders: majority rule.
The Rev. Allan Boesak, a leading anti-apartheid activist and
president of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, said he will
give de Klerk six months to prove that blacks' skepticism is
unfounded.
A tear rolled down de Klerk's cheek at a Dutch Reformed Church
when the Rev. P.W. Bingle, a family friend preaching at the
swearing-in, urged the new president to press forward without fear.
Chief Justice Michael Corbett handed de Klerk a paper from which
he read the oath of office in Afrikaans and English before about
1,500 people. No foreign heads of state were present, an indication
of South Africa's international isolation.
Motorcyle policemen, a cavalry unit and white-jacketed
presidential guards with drawn swords lined the route of de Klerk's
motorcade to an amphitheater at Union Buildings, the seat of the
executive branch of government, on a ridge overlooking Pretoria.
Black and white choirs sang hymns and African songs, three Impala
air force jets flew over trailing smoke in the blue, white and
orange colors of the South African flag, and several people among
the crowd of 3,500 screamed when a 21-gun salute began announcing de
Klerk's arrival.
In his 20-minute inaugural speech, de Klerk said his goal is ``a
South Africa free of domination or oppression in whatever form.''
``We hope that he will ... demonstrate that he is serious about
his vision for a new South Africa, because that is the vision we
want,'' Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize
winner, said in Windhoek, Namibia.
De Klerk said his government will move to eliminate
discriminatory laws, give ``urgent attention'' to adopting a bill of
rights, ``gradually move away'' from the 3-year-old state of
emergency, and release security prisoners.
De Klerk did not mention Mandela by name, but said political
prisoners would be freed if public order was not threatened and
their release would enhance peace prospects.
Many South Africans consider Mandela their top leader and his
freedom has been demanded as a condition for negotiations. Mandela
was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1962 for allegedly plotting to
overthrow the white government.
As Wednesday's ceremony began, a group of human rights lawyers in
Pretoria announced de Klerk had commuted the death sentences of
seven convicted murderers, including a black activist convicted of
burning to death of a black constable during nationwide
anti-government unrest that prompted former President P.W. Botha to
impose the national emergency.
De Klerk became acting president Aug. 15, a day after the Cabinet
forced Botha to resign after 11 years in power.
De Klerk's National Party retained power after national elections
on Sept. 6 but suffered huge losses in Parliament to leftist and
rightist factions.
De Klerk practiced law before entering Parliament in 1973. From
1978, he held a series of Cabinet posts, and in 1982 took on the
powerful job of National Party leader in Transvaal, South Africa's
most populous and wealthy province.
De Klerk and his wife, Marike, have three children.
AP890920-0129
AP-NR-09-20-89 1412EDT
u a AM-Leona Bjt 09-20 0524
AM-Leona, Bjt,0537
Leona Helmsley Inspires Books, TV Movies, Songs
Eds: Ransdell is cq in 11th graf.
LaserPhoto NY20
By BETH J. HARPAZ
Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP)
First came the ads featuring Leona Helmsley as
the perfectionist queen of her hotel empire. Then came her trial and
conviction for tax evasion. Now Leona is coming to bookstores, piano
bars and TV screens near you.
At least three books, several songs and two television movies in
the works pay tribute to the arrogant penny-pincher whom Mayor
Edward I. Koch once dubbed ``the Wicked Witch of the West.''
Mrs. Helmsley may also be a big hit on Halloween. Said Paul Blum,
owner of the Greenwich Village novelty shop Abracadabra: ``We do
have a Leona Helmsley wig, and then we put you in a prisoner outfit
with a crown.''
In August, Mrs. Helmsley was convicted of evading $1.2 million in
taxes by billing $3 million in personal expenses to her business.
Her husband, Harry, 80, was declared incompetent to stand trial.
According to testimony from disgruntled former employees, Mrs.
Helmsley insisted that bottles be returned for the nickel deposit,
billed $8 worth of underwear to her business, and once said: ``Only
the little people pay taxes.''
She will be sentenced Nov. 14.
``She epitomizes the 1980s to an extreme,'' said Newsday reporter
Michael Moss, whose book ``Palace Coup'' was published by Doubleday
in April. ``She was an incredibly selfish, self-centered, insecure
person who hurt dozens of decent people in her unbridled lust for
power.''
Or, as singer Christopher Mason put it: ``Everyone simply adores
to loathe her.''
Mason wrote a ditty about Leona to the tune of ``I'm Just Wild
About Harry.'' The lyrics include the lines: ``The moral of the
story, as if you couldn't guess, is it doesn't pay to mess with the
IRS.''
Franklin Roosevelt Underwood, who like Mason sings at parties and
piano bars around town, wrote lyrics about Mrs. Helmsley to the tune
of ``Ramona.'' The refrain goes, ``When Leona's at the helm of the
Helmsley.''
After the trial, Bantam Books rushed into paperback with ``The
Queen of Mean: the Unauthorized Biography of Leona Helmsley,'' by
New York Post reporter Ransdell Pierson. The book will be available
nationally Friday.
``People are fascinated by why rich people do things that even us
not-rich people wouldn't think of doing,'' said a Bantam spokesman,
Stuart Applebaum.
New American Library is bringing out ``The Helmsleys'' by Richard
Hammer next spring. ABC is making a TV movie based on the book
starring Anne Bancroft as Leona. Spector Corp. in Los Angeles has
bought an option to turn Moss' book into a TV movie also.
Mrs. Helmsley's rags-to-riches story and subsequent fall makes
for good drama. Daughter of a poor hatmaker, she made $1 million in
real estate before marrying billionaire Harry. Together, they ran a
$5 billion hotel and real estate empire.
``It's the ultimate degradation for someone who's very rich and
very powerful to become a common felon and they sentence her to live
behind bars where she's not going to wear fancy gowns anymore or
live in a penthouse,'' Hammer said.
AP890920-0130
AP-NR-09-20-89 1416EDT
u a PM-Hugo 5thLd-Writethru a0607 09-20 0903
PM-Hugo, 5th Ld - Writethru, a0607,0925
Hugo Expected to Brush Bahamas, Appears Likely to Hit U.S.
Eds: UPDATES with emergency declaration, emergency preparations on
East Coast. EDITS to shorten. No pickup.
LaserPhoto staffing
By SANDRA WALEWSKI
Associated Press Writer
MIAMI (AP)
Residents from Florida to North Carolina stocked up
on groceries, flashlights and window-reinforcing tape for Hurricane
Hugo's expected assault and the Navy sent ships to sea today to ride
out the killer storm.
Looting broke out on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands in the
wake of the storm blamed for at least 25 deaths in the Caribbean.
President Bush declared the islands a disaster area, and the
government made available $500,000 for food and emergency supplies
there.
Forecasters said the chances of the hurricane hitting the East
Coast late this week were steadily increasing, and most projected
paths had the storm hitting between Cape Canaveral and Cape
Hatteras, N.C., by early Saturday.
The storm today brushed northeast of the Bahamas with winds of
105 mph and was expected to bring mostly high wind and rain. Workers
boarded up government buildings, and Prime Minister Lynden Pindling
cut short a visit to Jamaica.
``Although the indications are that it's going to move east of
the more populated areas, no one is relaxing their vigil because it
can change direction,'' said Bill Kalis, a spokesman for the
Bahamian government.
At noon EDT, Hugo's center was 360 miles east of Nassau in the
Bahamas. Its coordinates were 25.8 north latitude and 71.5 west
longitude and it was moving northwest at 12 mph, a course it was
expected to maintain through today.
The Navy today began to send ships to sea from a base at
Charleston, S.C., to avoid storm damage.
Looters ransacked stores and law enforcement collapsed on St.
Croix, where tourists pleaded with reporters for help in getting out.
``When we landed, we were pounced upon by about 15 tourists,''
said Gary Williams, a reporter for a San Juan newspaper. ``They
said, `Please get food! Please get water! Please help us! They're
looting. We've seen police looting. We've seen National Guard
looting. There's no law and order here.'''
Hugo so far has left millions of dollars in damage, more than
50,000 Caribbean residents homeless and hundreds of injuries. It
ripped away roofs, flattened houses, flipped planes, damaged cash
crops and knocked out power and communications.
The death toll was incomplete, and officials feared it would grow
as rescuers searched collapsed buildings.
On Monday, the hurricane's 125 mph winds smashed directly into
Puerto Rico, where officials said 10,000 people were homeless and
25,000 were in shelters.
Two Coast Guard planes carrying fresh water, food and lumber
arrived in Puerto Rico late Tuesday, and several other relief
flights were planned today. President Bush was expected to declare
the island a disaster area.
The hardest-hit islands were still cut off from normal
communication early today. On the tiny British island of Montserrat,
officials said nearly every building was destroyed, including the
only hospital on the island of 12,000.
``It's as if a bomb has been dropped in the buildings and
everything has been blown out. All trees are like stubble. There's
not a flower left standing,'' said Cmdr. Colin Ferbrache of the
Royal Navy vessel H.M.S. Alacrity, which was stationed off
Montserrat.
National Hurricane Center specialist Bob Case said the East Coast
would feel the storm's fringe effects of rain and some gusty winds
at least through Thursday night, if Hugo stayed on its track
parallel to the Bahamas.
In Georgia, residents stocked up on batteries, food, plywood and
generators. Insurance companies told agents to hold up writing some
types of policies until the storm passed. Boaters were advised to
move inland.
Sheriff Van Findley in Effingham County, Ga., said he was
rounding up generators for emergency medical headquarters and
shelters and arranging for chainsaws for use in cutting trees that
may block evacuation routes.
``I see a lot of people buying water and canned goods like pork
and beans,'' Bryan Raleigh, manager of a grocery in the Wilmington,
N.C., area. ``It's been pretty steady all morning.''
Off Charleston, S.C., a ship salvaging $400 million in gold from
a sunken 19th-century steamship sought safe harbor. In Myrtle Beach,
S.C., officials began moving bulldozers to where they would be
readily accessible if the storm hit.
A Mount Pleasant, S.C., hardware store manager said residents
grabbed batteries, masking tape, flashlights and lamp oil. ``I think
people are taking it seriously,'' said Louis Middleton. ``There are
some old-timers who have memories of Hazel and Gracie,'' hurricanes
that hit South Carolina in the 1950s.
Others took a wait-and-see attitude.
``We have quite a few tourists still, but everybody seems pretty
calm,'' said Mabel Gaskins of coastal Ocracoke, N.C. ``Most of them
are waiting for Thursday or Friday to see what it does.''
Workers at Kennedy Space Center were ready to move space shuttle
Atlantis, scheduled for launch Oct. 12, from the launch pad to a
hangar if necessary. They also were prepared to remove a Navy
communications satellite from an Atlas-Centaur rocket on another
pad. Decisions on both missions might not come until Thursday, NASA
said.
Meanwhile, forecasters said Tropical Storm Iris is weakening
because of its closeness to Hugo. At noon, Iris was near latitude
21.5 north and longitude 62.8 west, or 230 miles north of the
Leeward Islands and moving northwest at about 12 mph.
AP890920-0131
AP-NR-09-20-89 1420EDT
u a PM-Hugo-Relief 2ndLd-Writethru a0588 09-20 0762
PM-Hugo-Relief, 2nd Ld - Writethru, a0588,0780
First Relief Flights Arrive; More Ready to Go
Eds: LEADS with 7 grafs to UPDATE with disaster declaration, federal
aid. PICKS UP 6th graf pvs, `Money to ...'
With PM-Hugo, Bjt
By CATHERINE WILSON
Associated Press Writer
MIAMI (AP)
U.S. relief efforts intensified today in the
hurricane-battered Caribbean as the Red Cross dispatched 50
specialists to help distribute supplies airlifted into Puerto Rico
by the Coast Guard.
President Bush today declared the hurricane-ravaged Virgin
Islands a disaster area in the wake of looting and other violence on
St. Croix, and the government made $500,000 available for food and
emergency supplies there. The White House said a disaster
declaration was expected soon for Puerto Rico.
The American Red Cross launched its biggest domestic relief
project in four years, packing 15,000 cots and cartons of blankets
for shipment when airports are able to receive them, spokeswoman
Barbara Lohman said in Washington.
About 200 Red Cross workers were running shelters for more than
8,000 people Tuesday night in Puerto Rico, she said, and 50 other
disaster experts from across the country left from Philadelphia this
morning.
They were told to expect to spend at least three weeks in Puerto
Rico, where authorities estimate Hurricane Hugo has caused damage in
the hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Red Cross expects to spend more than $2.5 million for relief,
Gary Miller, the director of the effort, said today.
A federal disaster declaration makes an area eligible for loans,
grants and other relief to rebuild homes, businesses and public
works.
Money to rebuild is Puerto Rico's most crucial need, said Nydia
M. Velazquez, a spokeswoman for the commonwealth in New York.
Fund-raising in the New York area, which Velazquez said has about
1.5 million people of Puerto Rican descent, included concerts,
telethons on Spanish-language stations and special bank accounts.
Red Cross volunteers in the Carolinas were on alert and two
hurricane-watch centers were opened in Florida and Georgia as the
latest forecast indicated the highest chance _ just over 10 percent
_ of Hugo hitting the U.S. mainland was between Fort Pierce, Fla.,
and Morehead City, N.C., by 2 a.m. Saturday.
``We are definitely moving on the mainland right now, and
obviously we're doing all we can in the Caribbean to help those
people,'' Ms. Lohman said.
A Coast Guard cutter was due this afternoon in Montserrat, one of
the worst-hit islands, and the State Department asked the vessel to
ferry 200 medical school students from Montserrat to the nearby
island of Antigua.
Coast Guard C-130 cargo planes from Florida, South Carolina and
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, reached San Juan on Tuesday with water, food
and lumber, said spokesman Steve Sapp in Miami.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, the nation's lead agency
for long-term disaster recovery, flew a C-141 transport from
Martinsburg, W.Va., to the U.S. Virgin Islands, where the National
Guard reported damage to 90 percent of the buildings.
Hamilton International Airport in St. Croix was open _ but
without its tower, lights and radio, said Bill McAda, an agency
spokesman in Washington.
``We flew in in a C-141, blind if you will,'' he said. ``One of
the things we want to do is have our own first-hand look at what's
going on.''
Two planes carried communications vans to re-establish contact
with the U.S. mainland. McAda said one aboard the transport plane
that landed in St. Croix was capable of serving as a control tower.
American Airlines arranged a special Airbus flight from Miami
this morning to send in technicians to examine the San Juan runways
and terminal. The carrier also scheduled four commercial flights
today to San Juan from New York and Miami.
With widespread telephone outages in the islands, helicopter
pilots and bulldozer operators were among the first to report
widespread damage in outlying towns.
In Miami, the government tourist office for Puerto Rico was
flooded with calls from people who hadn't heard from relatives, but
regional manager Teresa Morales said she couldn't reach anyone
either.
``We're in the same boat,'' she said. ``I do have all of my
relatives down there, and I haven't been able to get through.''
In Texas, the Puerto Rican Association of Dallas began
arrangements with companies to send drinking water to the island.
Among those in Texas with relatives in Puerto Rico are two
members of the Texas Rangers baseball team _ outfielders Ruben
Sierra and Juan Gonzalez.
``It's family, especially my mother,'' Sierra said. ``It makes it
hard. You can't concentrate on the game when something like this is
happening.''
AP890920-0132
AP-NR-09-20-89 1429EDT
r a AM-FalwellVisit CORRECTIVE 09-20 0086
AM-Falwell Visit, CORRECTIVE,0085
Eds: Members who used a0618 or a0679, 1st Ld, AM-Falwell Visit, sent
Sept. 11 under a Tucker, Ga., dateline, are asked to use the following
story.
TUCKER, Ga. (AP)
The Associated Press erroneously reported
Sept. 11 that the Rev. Jerry Falwell called abortion rights
protesters ``skinheads, Nazis and gays'' during an appearance at a
suburban Atlanta church.
Falwell actually said he had heard that protesters outside the
church included ``skinheads, Nazis, pro-abortionists and gays. ...
They probably deserve each other.''
AP890920-0133
AP-NR-09-20-89 1432EDT
r w AM-McNamara'sIdea 09-20 0666
AM-McNamara's Idea,630
Strike a Deal to End the Cold War, McNamara Urges
With AM-US-Soviet, Bjt
By MIKE FEINSILBER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
Even if Mikhail S. Gorbachev is ousted in the
upheaval he has touched off in the Soviet Union, his ideas will
survive, former Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara predicts in a
book urging the United States to seize Gorbachev's offer to end 40
years of mutual hostility.
``If Gorbachev's efforts fail _ and they may _ his successor will
face the same problems,'' McNamara writes. ``To solve them he will
be required ultimately to introduce the same solution. There may be
steps forward and steps back, but for the next decade or two it is
likely the Soviet Union will move in the general direction laid down
by the general secretary.''
So, McNamara argues, there is little risk in striking a deal with
Gorbachev.
In ``Out of the Cold,'' the former president of the Ford Motor
Co., who served in the Pentagon during the Kennedy and Johnson
administrations and then headed the World Bank, offers his ideas for
shaping a post-Cold War relationship.
Gorbachev's ideas have been ``so dramatic, so revolutionary as to
literally imply a desire to end the Cold War,'' says McNamara, but
the United States has found it difficult to offer anything but
``skeptical, unimaginative and very cautious'' responses.
In an interview, McNamara declined to join fellow Democrats in
blaming President Bush for a timid response to Gorbachev.
``I think all of us are skeptical,'' he said. ``We're captive of
this Cold War mentality.''
Senate Democratic Leader George Mitchell of Maine this week
accused the administration of acting as though it were ``almost
nostalgic about the Cold War.''
Secretary of State James Baker III characterized Mitchell's
comment as partisan and responded, ``When the president of the
United States is rocking along with a 70 percent approval rating on
his handling of foreign policy, and I were the leader of the
opposition party, I might have something similar to say.''
McNamara said that what he would ask Bush to do is ``visualize a
world without the Cold War. That seems simple and obvious and naive,
but it isn't. My whole life has been lived as a participant in the
Cold War.''
He said in writing the book that he went back to the world before
the Cold War. He proposes an update of the Atlantic Charter, framed
by two world leaders of that day _ Winston Churchill and Franklin D.
Roosevelt.
The ``Code of Conduct'' McNamara offers calls for settling
disputes through diplomacy rather than by military threat and
agreeing to stay out of regional conflicts, particularly those on
the doorstep of a rival superpower.
If such a code had been in effect in place of the Cold War,
Soviet intervention in Afghanistan would have been avoided, he says,
as well as Soviet intervention in Angola via the Cubans, in
Indochina via the North Vietnamese and in Korea via the North
Koreans.
And the world would have been spared American intervention in
Vietnam _ of which he was an architect _ as well as in the Dominican
Republic, Nicaragua, Grenada and the Persian Gulf; and French and
British intervention in Egypt.
Even in the Soviet Union, there has been much speculation that
the processes Gorbachev has started will lead to his downfall. In
his book, McNamara said most U.S. experts on the Soviet Union appear
to believe that Gorbacev has moved so fast and so far that he will
be unable to survive. He said he does not share that view.
But glasnost _ the system of openness and new thinking Gorbachev
has unleashed _ will prove irreversible, McNamara wrote, and the
United States should take advantage of its opportunity to forge a
new relationship.
Even if Gorbachev stumbles, Soviet leaders and intellectuals
``understand there is no alternative to his political and economic
reforms if long-term economic crises and resultant political
disorders are to be avoided,'' McNamara said.
AP890920-0134
AP-NR-09-20-89 1446EDT
r w AM-Congress-NewMembers 09-20 0266
AM-Congress-New Members,270
Congress Swears in Two New Members
By JENNIFER DIXON
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
Democrats from Texas and California were sworn
in by House Speaker Thomas S. Foley on Wednesday, filling seats left
vacant by the resignations of House leaders Jim Wright and Tony
Coelho.
Pete Geren of Fort Worth was elected to the seat vacated by
Wright, who served in the House for 34 years and was speaker when he
resigned in June in the wake of an ethics committee investigation
into his personal finances.
Gary Condit, who represents California's 15th District, replaces
Rep. Tony Coehlo, the majority whip. Coehlo resigned over the summer
after questions were raised about his financial dealings.
After the swearing in, Geren introduced his first piece of
legislation, was coached on talking to the cameras in the House
broadcast press gallery and gave his first news conference as a
congressman.
He said his first bill would give the president broad authority
to deal with countries that aid drug trafficking.
Geren, who won the seat by a razor-thin margin last week in a
run-off with Republican physician Bob Lanier, said he had some
``awfully big shoes to fill'' in taking Wright's place as the 12th
District representative.
Condit, who won with 57 percent of the vote in his San Joaquin
Valley district, was introduced by Democratic Rep. Don Edwards, dean
of the California delegation.
``Gary comes to us with fine experience as an elected officer,''
Edwards said, pointing to his 1972 election as mayor of Ceres,
followed by his election in 1982 to the state Assembly.
AP890920-0135
AP-NR-09-20-89 1519EDT
r w AM-EconomicOutlook 09-20 0536
AM-Economic Outlook,510
Economy Growing At a Mixed Pace
By JOHN D. McCLAIN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
The economy continued to grow late this summer
at a pace ranging regionally from slow to moderate, while inflation
eased over much of the nation, the Federal Reserve reported
Wednesday.
Analysts said the report indicates the Fed continues to attain
its goal of easing inflationary pressures without slowing the
economy so much that it is driven into a recession.
``It says there's some softness, but no declines,'' said Samuel
D. Kahan, chief financial economist for Kleinwort Benson Government
Securities Inc. in Chicago. ``It suggests yet again the
`soft-landing' scenario seems to be unfolding,''
In a survey of economic conditions around the country, the
central bank said most of its districts ``describe the growth of
economic activity as modest or slow, although regional variation in
activity is substantial.''
The survey also found that pricing pressures have eased in five
of the 12 Fed districts, while increasing only in the Kansas City
region.
The survey by the 12 district banks is compiled in the Fed's
``beige book'' every six weeks to prepare for the next meeting of
the Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed's monetary policy-setting
arm. The next meeting is Oct. 3.
Kahan said the report is likely to lead the Fed ``to put monetary
policy on hold even though its bias is toward easing'' interest
rates.
While growth was generally mixed from region to region, the
survey results were consistent with the Fed's earlier findings this
year.
Fed districts reported Aug. 9 that the ``nation's economy
continues to grow slowly'' and on June 21 said ``economic activity
for the most of the nation continues to advance'' with ``ebbing
rates of expansion'' in some regions. The economy was growing at ``a
moderate, sustainable pace'' in the May 3 survey.
In its latest survey completed Sept. 12, the Fed reported
``consumer spending has been mixed, but most districts report strong
sales of apparel and cars recently.''
In some districts, it found, increased sales of women's apparel
spurred overall apparel growth.
``A surge in auto sales has helped reduce auto inventories over
most of the nation,'' it said.
However, auto sales were driven by incentives during much of the
summer and dealers in several districts expressed fears that those
sales would cut into purchases of 1990 models later this year.
Demand for loans also continued to vary considerably by region
and type of loan, the survey said. Auto loans appeared to be a major
factor in determining consumer loan growth.
The survey found manufacturing performance generally satisfactory
or improving in the South and West, but weakening in New England and
much of the Midwest. Manufacturing inventories generally were at
satisfactory levels.
It also said there was ``substantial variation in the strength of
construction and real estate activity,'' with several districts
reporting falling mortgage rates had stimulated the construction and
sales of existing homes.
Only three districts _ Boston, St. Louis and San Francisco _
reported labor shortages.
``Agricultural conditions have improved over much of the
country,'' the survey said, while ``the mining ndustry has showed
increased activity in the Minneapolis, Dallas, Atlanta and Kansas
City districts in recent months.''
AP890920-0136
AP-NR-09-20-89 1457EDT
u i AM-ArmsTalks 09-20 0635
AM-Arms Talks,0654
NATO to Present New Arms Cut Proposals
By GEORGE JAHN
Associated Press Writer
VIENNA, Austria (AP)
NATO will present new proposals that for
the first time foresee limiting the number of troops taking part in
military exercises across Europe, diplomatic sources said Wednesday.
The proposals are in a package of conventionial arms control cuts
that the Western alliance intends to present Thursday to the Warsaw
Pact, the sources said on condition of anonymity.
They would oblige both sides to give advance notice of a major
mobilization of reservists and of large troop movements and
concentrations, said the sources.
Other proposals they outlined would mandate easy access to
specific weapons depots holding up to a fifth of each side's
arsenals, and simplify surveillance of equipment in units with a low
level of readiness.
The package is little changed from one that was to be offered two
weeks ago at the opening fall session of East-West non-nuclear
talks, which was delayed by squabbling among NATO members.
New is the suggestion both sides limit war games to a ceiling of
several tens of thousands of troops or several hundred battle tanks,
the diplomatic sources said. They refused to be more specific about
the figures.
At the Sept. 14 session, both sides expressed hopes for speedy
progress toward a treaty reducing conventional forces of both
military alliances from the Atlantic Ocean to the Ural mountains.
Soviet chief delegate Oleg A. Grinevsky pledged to get down to
hard work at the six-week session on Conventional Armed Forces in
Europe. Stephen J. Ledogar, his U.S. counterpart, welcomed Warsaw
Pact agreement to try and reach a draft treaty within a year.
President Bush challenged the East bloc to accept that time frame
in May when he proposed limiting foreign-based U.S. and Soviet
troops to 275,000 each. Bush's package also envisioned slashing
numbers of military aircraft and other weapons.
NATO proposals drawn from Bush's speech were presented to the
Warsaw Pact at the end of a second round of talks July 13, but the
Soviets and their allies have yet to respond.
Stances seem furthest apart on air forces, with NATO proposing
each alliance have no more than 5,700 combat aircraft and 1,900
helicopter gunships. The July 13 initiative also would restrict any
one country to 3,420 combat aircraft and 1,140 combat helicopters.
While not presenting specific figures, the Warsaw Pact insists
combat interceptors based near Moscow and the Urals be excluded _ a
stand NATO rejects.
Other thresholds proposed by the West would limit each alliance
to 20,000 tanks, 16,500 artillery pieces and 28,000 armored
personnel carriers.
The Warsaw Pact has been more vague, suggesting overall
reductions of 10 percent to 15 percent in aircraft and five other
weapons categories by 1994. That would be followed by a further 25
percent cut by 1997, with the ultimate goal of purely defensive
forces by the year 2000.
While the Warsaw Pact has dropped decades of objections to NATO
claims that it is outmanned and outgunned, wide differences continue
to exist on numbers.
The new NATO proposals were not presented during the opening fall
session after Greece voiced a last-minute objection to provisions
mandating that only maneuvers with 40,000 or more reservists and
1,200 or more armed carriers be announced in advance.
Athens, wary of NATO partner Turkey's greater military strength,
wanted a lower limit. Without elaborating, the sources said the
dispute has been papered over.
Because of other internal disagreements, the NATO proposals
remain purposely vague on how to exchange information on force
makeup and verification of compliance with an eventual arms treaty,
said the sources.
Western negotiators at the 23-nation talks have said the United
States and Canada are seeking strict surveillance, while their
European partners object to frequent inspections of their facilities
by the Warsaw Pact.
AP890920-0137
AP-NR-09-20-89 1525EDT
r i AM-MotherTeresa 09-20 0272
AM-Mother Teresa,0281
Mother Teresa Better, But Not Out of Danger
By FARID HOSSAIN
Associated Press Writer
CALCUTTA, India (AP)
Doctors treating Mother Teresa said the
Nobel laureate was getting better Wednesday, but added it is too
early to determine whether she is out of danger because of the
chance of a relapse.
``The mother had a comfortable day without chest pains or
fever,'' said one of her physicians, Dr. A.K. Bardhan.
He said the 79-year-old Roman Catholic nun's temperature was
normal and she had had no chest pains since Monday night.
Although her general condition is improving, Bardhan said, Mother
Teresa must remain hospitalized for at least two more weeks.
``The possibility of a relapse always exists,'' Bardhan said.
``But if her condition maintains this level of improvement, she
should be out of intensive care in a few days ... we cannot say she
is out of danger until another 48 hours have passed.''
Mother Teresa has had intermittent chest pains since she suffered
a heart attack on Sept. 8, three days after being admitted to
Woodlands Nursing Home with a high fever and acute vomiting.
After she leaves the hospital, doctors said, she will have to
give up the hectic schedule that earned her a Nobel Peace Prize in
1979.
Despite health problems in recent years, the Yugoslav-born nun
has traveled widely to offer care and comfort to the poor and
suffering.
Mother Teresa devoted her life to the dying and destitute and
founded the Missionaries of Charity in October 1950 to work in the
slums of Calcutta. The order now has 3,000 nuns working in 87
countries.
AP890920-0138
AP-NR-09-20-89 1501EDT
u w AM-Senate-Poland 09-20 0633
AM-Senate-Poland,590
Committee, Minus Republicans, Endorses More Aid for Poland, Hungary
With AM-US-Soviet, Bjt
By LAWRENCE L. KNUTSON
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on
Wednesday endorsed nearly $1.2 billion in aid for Poland and
Hungary, far more than President Bush has requested, after all but
one of the panel's Republicans walked out.
Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana was the only Republican left in the
room as the committee voted 10-1. Before leaving, many of Lugar's
GOP colleagues denounced the Democratic initiative as a politically
motivated slap at the president.
For their part, the Democrats said Bush's request _ $100 million
in development funds for Poland and $25 million for Hungary, spread
over three years _ was ``pathetically timid.''
The vote came after Raymond Seitz, assistant secretary of state
for European Affairs, testified that while the Democrats' proposal
contains all the elements of the president's proposal, ``the
administration cannot endorse the higher funding levels.''
Saying that the surging reform movements in Eastern Europe are
``something we have hoped for all of our lives,'' Seitz told the
committee, ``It would be the saddest thing if we wrecked it in some
sort of procedural or partisan wrangle.''
Lugar told the panel that it was ``headed for the rocky shoals of
a partisan debate which is not going to result in anything good for
the Poles. ...
``In my judgment, this is an attempt to tweak the administration,
to cause a partisan row on the Senate floor. That may be interesting
to watch, but the rest of the world is not amused by this kind of
irresponsibility.''
Yet, the Democrats hailed their proposal as ``a gamble for
freedom'' and an urgently needed signal of support to the
non-communist reform movements in Poland and Hungary.
``Democracy now has an opportunity to prove it can work in
Poland,'' said Sen. Alan Cranston, D-Calif. ``The administration
proposals are pathetically weak. They have fumbled the ball. They
have failed to grasp the historic opportunity that now exists.''
The $1.18 billion Democratic aid proposal would authorize $423
million in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 and $381 million in
each of the next two years.
The centerpiece of the plan is an annual $300 million
``enterprise fund'' to support private economic development in
Poland.
The plan also would also authorize spending $75 million in each
of the next three years to provide a similar fund for Hungary.
Cranston said Democrats propose skimming the money from the $40
billion spent by the Pentagon each year for research and development.
But Republicans said the funds Bush proposed for Poland and
Hungary are sufficient to spur democratic progress and are all that
can be responsibly provided in a time of severe budget constraints.
``You call the president of the United States timid for political
reasons,'' said Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C. ``It's one-upmanship.''
Helms expressed the fear that the United States might find itself
being ``snookered'' by the communist parties of Eastern Europe.
Nevertheless, some Republicans appeared to signal an interest in
an eventual compromise that would increase aid for Poland and
Hungary at some later point.
``I would press for a compromise somewhere in between'' the Bush
plan and the Democratic proposal, said Sen. Frank Murkowski,
R-Alaska.
And Sen. Gordon Humphrey, R-N.H., indicated all-out support for
significantly increased aid levels.
``The press indicates the president is worried about support for
this on the right,'' Humphrey said. ``Frankly, I'm a very
conservative fellow and I'd like to see more. We may all end up with
egg on our faces. But there may be a window that will close if we do
not act with imagination and daring.
``The opportunity that exists could be the last for a generation
or two if we don't respond aggressively enough,'' Humphrey said.
AP890920-0139
AP-NR-09-20-89 1530EDT
r w AM-Leakey-Elephants 09-20 0371
AM-Leakey-Elephants,380
Leakey Sees Japan as Key to Saving Elephants
By CARL HARTMAN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
Japan is the key to saving the African
elephant, the director of Kenya's Wildlife Conservation said
Wednesday.
``If Japan has stopped importing ivory, the elephants can start
dancing,'' Richard D. Leakey said in an interview.
Japan, a leading center for the manufacture of ivory products,
Friday announced it would ban imports at least until the end of the
year. Most of the world's ivory comes from the tusks of the African
elephant.
Japan imported 106 tons of ivory last year, compared with 143
tons in 1987 and 475 tons in 1983.
Conservationists warn that illegal slaughter could make the
African elephant extinct in the wild by the mid-1990s. Leakey
predicted that elephants will one day only live in national parks or
other reserves.
Leakey, who wore a necktie with a pattern of skulls, is known for
his research on the first humans.
He made his most important find at the age of 26 on a hillside in
his native Kenya: a skull and other bones he judged to be nearly 3
million years old. The discovery provided important evidence about
the early stages of human development.
The 103 governments that signed the Convention on Illegal Trade
in Endangered Species are to meet in Lausanne, Switzerland,
beginning Oct. 9. A major issue will be whether to switch the
African elephant from a ``threatened'' to an ``endangered'' species.
Trade is banned in products from endangered species, though limited
exceptions may be granted.
Some countries, including Zimbabwe and South Africa, may oppose
the switch on the ground that they are effectively managing their
own elephant herds, so that there should be no objection to their
sales of ivory.
``For South Africa that's probably the case, for Zimbabwe,
probably not,'' Leakey said.
Leakey praised the United States government, which has banned
ivory imports, and the American public for its attitude toward
buying ivory objects. The public attitude is more important than any
government ban because illegal slaughter has risen only because of
increased demand, he said.
``When the people of the world stand up to be counted, ivory will
no longer be sold,'' he said.
AP890920-0140
AP-NR-09-20-89 1536EDT
r a AM-People 09-20 0604
AM-People,0632
People in the News
LaserPhoto NY44
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP)
Actor Harvey Korman plans to pack it in
if his new television show ``The Nutt House'' isn't a hit.
``The show feels right, and we have a strong lead-in (Night
Court). If we blow the lead-in and I'm wrong about the show, then
that's it ... definitely,'' he said of Wednesday's debut on NBC.
Korman, 62, has been trying for a hit since ``The Carol Burnett
Show.'' The show, produced by Mel Brooks, will be try No. 4.
``I have my four Emmys and I have my place in `Who's Who.' And
that should be enough, but to tell you the truth, I need the
activity,'' Korman said. ``That's why I took this job. My wife keeps
asking me why I put myself through all this, but a man has to work.''
The show co-stars Cloris Leachman and is set at a rather odd New
York hotel.
Eds: Also moved on sports wires.
IRVING, Texas (AP)
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones plans to
skip the sidelines during Sunday's home opener to entertain
Elizabeth Taylor in a private, stadium suite.
``She asked if she could become involved in coming to see the
football game,'' Jones said Tuesday. ``All of my life I've watched
her as many of us have and I'm a big fan.''
Miss Taylor was coming to Dallas anyway to promote her perfume,
Passion. She'll have quite a view from the suite in Texas Stadium.
``I might make a friend out of Elizabeth,'' Jones said.
ATLANTA (AP)
A chauffeur-driven Mercedes-Benz and a trail of
autograph-seekers make Emmanuel Lewis something of a spectacle on
the campus of Clark Atlanta University.
Now 18, the plucky former star of television's ``Webster'' began
freshman classes in August. He plans to major in mass communications
and move soon to a room at a boys' dormitory that's big enough for
his body guard.
``I came to get away from the lights and dig down deep into
studies,'' Lewis said in an interview published Wednesday by The
Atlanta Constitution.
Lewis' older brother, Chris, is a sophomore at the school. Lewis
has been commuting to classes from his family's summer home south of
Atlanta.
The 3-foot-7 Lewis said he doesn't mind on-campus fans who seek
him out for autographs.
``I think it's neat,'' he said.
MADRID, Spain (AP)
Prince Felipe de Borbon, heir to the Spanish
throne, has the White House on his list of stops during a 10-day
tour of the United States and Canada that he began Wednesday.
The 21-year-old son of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia plans a
visit Sept. 29 with President Bush. Among his Canadian stops are
Montreal, Quebec and Toronto, where he will visit with former
classmates at Lakefield College.
In the United States, the prince will dedicate a museum wing for
Hispanic art in Sante Fe, N.M., and tour the Texas cities of Austin,
Houston and Clearlake.
YORBA LINDA, Calif (AP)
City employees have former President
Nixon to thank for a holiday Jan. 9.
The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to make Nixon's
birthday a holiday. Nixon was born in a Yorba Linda farmhouse in
1913.
``We're not here to judge history, we're here to recognize it,''
Mayor Henry W. Wedaa said.
Nixon said ``he's pleased'' with the honor, Wedaa reported.
About 100 employees of the city 30 miles from Los Angeles will
take Jan. 9 off each year.
The proposal to make the date a holiday was met warmly, Wedaa
said, despite Nixon's 1974 resignation in the Watergate scandal.
AP890920-0141
AP-NR-09-20-89 1546EDT
r w AM-Bloch 09-20 0356
AM-Bloch,370
Bloch's Wife Quits Foundation Job
By JOAN MOWER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
The wife of suspected spy Felix Bloch has
resigned as executive director of a charitable foundation, and an
official of the group said Wednesday that the investigation into her
husband's alleged activities damaged her job effectiveness.
Lucille Bloch resigned from the American Austrian Foundation
about two months after revelations that her husband was being
investigated.
No charges have been filed against Bloch, who has denied any
wrongdoing.
``Just imagine the terrible pressure and the problem she is
having,'' said Thomas J. McGrath, a Manhattan lawyer who serves as
the group's secretary. ``I'm sure every time she turns around, they
say, `Oh, you're that man's wife.'''
McGrath said Mrs. Bloch's effectiveness had been damaged by the
investigation.
A secretary at the group's Washington office said Mrs. Bloch was
not available for comment, and she did not immediately return a
message left on her home answering maching.
McGrath said the foundation, which received private contributions
as well as about $39,000 from the Austrian Foreign Ministry in 1988,
accepted Mrs. Bloch's resignation at a board meeting in New York.
The foundation will close its Washington office and move to New
York. McGrath said the foundation is will hire a successor to run
programs that include fellowships for young journalists to visit
Austria and sponsorship of cultural events.
Bloch, the former No. 2 official at the U.S. Embassy in Vienna
and a veteran of 30 years in the Foreign Service, has been under
surveillance by FBI agents since June.
The Justice Department launched its probe after Bloch was
photographed handing a briefcase to a suspected Soviet agent in a
restaurant in Paris in May, U.S. sources have said, commenting on
condition they not be named.
Bloch, 54, was placed on administrative leave with pay in June, a
month before allegations against him were made public.
Bloch was trailed for weeks by reporters and photographers as he
went about his business, operating from his apartment. More
recently, he has disappeared from the media spotlight.
The FBI refused to discuss the status of the case.
AP890920-0142
AP-NR-09-20-89 1608EDT
r a AM-ToddlerCocaine 09-20 0235
AM-Toddler Cocaine,0243
Girl, 3, Dies With Cocaine In Her Blood; Probe Begins
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP)
Police are investigating the death of a
3-year-old girl after cocaine was found in her blood, authorities
said Wednesday.
Samantha Allen died Sunday from pneumonia brought on by a series
of seizures that weakened her, according to an autopsy performed
Monday.
``They've been unable to determine if the cocaine is connected
with the seizures or her death,'' said Sgt. Timothy Erwin. ``We are
trying to ascertain how the child got the cocaine.''
Police don't know if the child was given the cocaine or if she
accidentally ingested it herself, Erwin said.
Two weeks ago, the girl's mother, 38-year-old Lois Smith of
Syracuse, was placed on five years probation for fourth-degree
criminal possession of a controlled substance.
``Our investigation revealed there was considerable drug use in
the house,'' Erwin said.
The mother has not been charged in the child's death.
He said the child had problems with seizures since birth and was
taking an anti-seizure medication.
The mother ran out of the prescription Aug. 26 and took her
daughter to the hospital Aug. 29 after she suffered severe seizures,
the sergeant said.
``The mother did try to get some of the medication that Saturday,
but the drug store was closed,'' Erwin said. ``She contacted another
doctor, but he wouldn't give her any medication because he didn't
know her.''
AP890920-0143
AP-NR-09-20-89 2216EDT
d a AM-BRF--SchoolGift 09-20 0194
AM-BRF--School Gift,0198
School Library Given New Furniture
AUSTIN, Texas (AP)
More than 30 years after Ruben Acosta
learned multiplication tables at Metz Elementary School, he returned
with a gift.
Acosta and eight other employees at Texwood Furniture on Tuesday
delivered about $5,000 worth of new furniture for the school
library. Through the Adopt-A-School program, the employees donated
bookshelves, card catalog units, a magazine rack and dictionary
stand.
``We are so used to settling for second-, third- and fourth-best
at this school that when we get a gift like this, I'm not really
quite sure how to say thank you,'' Principal Jorge Luis Rodriguez
said.
``I've heard a lot about the problems,'' said Acosta, 44.
``That's why I think what we are doing here today will mean so much
to the kids.''
``This is like a birthday,'' said school librarian Patricia
Kaplan.
``We adopted Metz because it's very close to us,'' said Texwood
President Carolyn Lewis. ``It is largely Hispanic and our work force
is about 90 percent Hispanic. When we found out that some of our
employees had attended Metz or had children going there, it seemed
like the perfect school.''
AP890920-0144
AP-NR-09-20-89 1522EDT
u w AM-GeneticTests Bjt 09-20 0740
AM-Genetic Tests, Bjt,710
Panel Says Tests Of Genetically-Modified Plants, Microbes Safe
By PAUL RECER
AP Science Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
Field testing of genetically modified plants
and microorganisms ``will not pose any hazard'' to the environment
if done carefully under existing laws, a National Academy of
Sciences panel concluded in a study released Wednesday.
Genetically engineered plants and microbes are ``not
intrinsically dangerous,'' the study found. But the experts said
field tests should be allowed only after evaluating the effect on
the environment if the modified organism were to ``escape'' from the
test area.
``We feel fairly confident that if this thing is done right it
will not pose any hazard,'' said Robert H. Burris, an emeritus
professor of biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin. ``We
hope that this will be reassuring to the public.''
Jeremy Rifkin of the Foundation on Economic Trends, a long-time
opponent of field testing of genetically-altered organisms, attacked
the report as ``irresponsible public policy.'' He said science has
no way to evaluate the risks of releasing such organisms into the
environment.
Burris, who was chairman of the academy's committee on evaluation
of introduction of gene-modified microorganisms and plants, said
that some 80 modified plants and microbes have been tested in the
environment and ``we haven't had any accidents as yet.''
The committee said that federal agencies reviewing field test
proposals should base approval on three points: how familiar
scientists are with the modified organism; how well the organism
will be confined or controlled, and the probability of adverse
effects on the environment if the organism were to escape from the
field test.
Science is now able to manipulate basic characteristics of plants
and bacteria by adding, removing or rearranging genes. For instance,
a bacteria that resists the formation of ice has been sprayed on
strawberries to help the plants resist frost. Some bacteria has been
experimentally altered so that it would break down pollutants. And
some tomato plant genes have been altered to make the fruit more
firm.
Rifkin's organization and some other public advocacy groups,
however, have objected that field testing genetically-altered
organisms runs the risk of releasing into the environment a plant or
bacteria that could cause ecological disaster.
He said some other nations, including Japan and Denmark, have put
a five-year moratorium on testing genetically-altered organisms
because of the uncertainty of the risk.
Rifkin said the National Academy of Sciences report is ``politics
and not science'' and added, ``We will oppose these
recommendations.''
Burris said, however, that the committee examined the dangers and
believes the hazards can be controlled if federal agencies follow
the three-part guidelines in considering field test applications.
The report said the ``major environmental risk'' from genetic
modification of plants is that an altered plant will escape
cultivation and become a weed species, or that it will pollinate
wild plants and create a new type of weed.
``The likelihood of enhanced weediness is low for genetically
modified, highly domesticated crop plants,'' the report said.
Modified microorganisms, such as bacteria, pose another kind of
hazard because they are prone to spontaneous mutations, suggesting
the possibility that a damaging organism could developed from one
that had been manipulated by man.
The report said that such a hazard could be controlled by adding
to the modified microorganism a ``suicide gene.'' This would be a
genetic instruction that would cause the organism to die when it
encounters a temperature change or is deprived of certain types of
nutrients.
Genetic manipulations of this type, the report said, could
``guarantee that the organism could not survive outside the target
environment.''
The committee determined that there was no need to change
existing laws. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the
Environmental Protection Agency currently regulate field testing of
modified organisms.
``The laws that exist now are adequate for this,'' said Burris.
``We're not suggesting that any laws be changed.''
Burris said genetic manipulation of microorganisms and plants has
great promise for a wide variety of uses.
Some manipulated bacteria, he said, could be used to remove
sulphur or other undesirable elements from mineral ore, leading to a
concentration of minerals in an ore that might otherwise not be
economically recovered.
Microbes also could be manipulated so that they would ``eat''
toxic pollutants, changing the poisons in chemical dumps, for
example, into inert gasses, he said.
By manipulating genes, agricultural scientists could develop food
plants that are resistant to insects, disease or drought, Burris
said.
AP890920-0145
AP-NR-09-20-89 1623EDT
r a AM-King-SchoolHostages 09-20 0368
AM-King-School Hostages,0378
Novelist Agrees that Kentucky Hostage Scenario Had Familiar Ring
BANGOR, Maine (AP)
Author Stephen King said that although a
high school student who held 11 classmates hostage at gunpoint was
acting out the scenario of one of his novels, books don't cause such
incidents.
``If they didn't do it one way, they would do it another way,''
he told the Bangor Daily News. ``Crazy is crazy.''
King said he knew from the time he watched a television news
account of Monday's classroom standoff in McKee, Ky., that it was a
case of imitating the plot of ``Rage,'' the novel he wrote in 1977
under the pen name Richard Bachman.
``It was my story,'' King said, adding that he reached that
conclusion even before it was reported that police had a copy of
``Rage'' in the home of 17-year-old Dustin Pierce, the student taken
into custody after the standoff.
State police and FBI agents also described ``Rage'' as a
blueprint for Monday's hostage-taking.
But Pierce denied Tuesday that he was influenced by King's novel,
saying he had never read it.
In King's novel, the main character, gun in hand, takes over his
classroom in pursuit of what King described as a ``pathological rage
fantasy about his father.''
Police said Pierce demanded to talk to his father, who he had not
seen in years.
King said he was grateful no one was injured in Monday's standoff
and that Pierce had surrendered peacefully. In ``Rage,'' the young
protagonist kills his teacher and a classmate.
This is not the first time that a King novel has been part of a
blurred image of reality. The Bangor resident said he has received
news clippings about police finding the word ``redrum'' near bodies
of murder victims. The word, which is murder spelled backward,
appeared in the 1976 novel ``The Shining.''
King said his works aren't the only ones in which life has
imitated art.
One man stabbed his grandmother to death after seeing Alfred
Hitchcock's ``Psycho,'' he said, while the Charles Manson murders
had references to Beatles music and the 1986 Tylenol cyanide
poisoning cases were preceded by a book which depicted poisoned
drugs being used to commit murder.
AP890920-0146
AP-NR-09-20-89 1537EDT
u w AM-CongressionalPay 09-20 0422
AM-Congressional Pay,380
Members Recoil at Prospect of Another Battle over Pay
By STEVEN KMOAROW
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
House Speaker Thomas S. Foley said Wednesday he
would examine a plan to raise congressional salaries 35 percent, but
many lawmakers looked warily at reviving the unpopular issue.
``I don't think the wounds have healed from February,'' said Rep.
Mike Synar, D-Okla., recalling the bruising battle for a 51 percent
pay raise that helped speed the downfall of former Speaker Jim
Wright, D-Texas.
Rep. Beryl Anthony of Arkansas, chairman of the Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee, chuckled that a pay hike could
pass _ ``if it's a private vote in the middle of the night.''
GOP leader Robert Michel of Illinois called any talk of a pay
raise now ``just that _ talk.''
The House Democratic and Republican leadership is expected to
receive the report from their bipartisan task force on ethics
Thursday. A key part of the recommendation is a phase-out of speech
honoraria coupled with a 35 percent raise for lawmakers over the
next two years.
Senators and representatives now earn $89,500 a year, except for
each chamber's officers, who earn more. In addition, members of the
House are allowed to accept honoraria up to 30 percent of their
salary, senators up to 40 percent.
``I suppose we will listen to whatever recommendations are made
... among other things, questions regarding compensation,'' said
Foley.
``Here we go off into the valley of death,'' cracked Rep. Pat
Williams, D-Mont., who said he could support a modest pay boost if
it were tied to honoraria elimination. ``Talking up front about 35
percent seems to doom it,'' he added.
Foley has said he expects that an elimination of honoraria, money
for speeches that lawmakers take from special interest groups, would
have to be coupled with a pay increase for his colleagues to approve
it..
He also said that President Bush's support would be needed.
There was no immediate White House reaction. Bush supported that
51 percent raise proposal earlier this year.
Synar said he doubted public sentiment had changed since then,
when the prospect of higher congressional pay drove many
constituents to write to Congress.
At a recent town meeting in his district, he said he asked the
crowd how many favored replacing that ``dirty, filthy
special-interest money'' with a nice, clean pay raise for Congress.
``And not a single hand went up,'' he said.
``No, the House is not ready to deal with the pay raise,'' said
Rep. David Nagle, D-Iowa.
AP890920-0147
AP-NR-09-20-89 1627EDT
r a AM-Hugo-SpaceShuttle 1stLd-Writethru a0658 09-20 0316
AM-Hugo-Space Shuttle, 1st Ld-Writethru, a0658,0309
Hugo Slows But Does Not Stop Preparations for Shuttle, Satellite
Launches
Eds: LEADS with 3 grafs, satellite launch postponed a day; picks
up 3rd graf, `We're continuing'; DELETES now-redundant last graf, ``The
Atlas-Centaur...''
With AM-Hugo, Bjt
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)
Hurricane Hugo on Wednesday did not
appear to pose a major threat to this space center, but it once
again delayed a satellite rocket launch and NASA said it was ready
to move space shuttle Atlantis off a launch pad if the storm shifted
toward the cape.
Officials put off from Sunday until Monday the launch of an
Atlas-Centaur booster with a Navy communications satellite. Liftoff
had been set originally for Friday but that earlier was put off two
days after the rocket's fuel tank was drained as a Hugo precaution.
Space agency spokesman George Diller said the additional day's
postponement would give launch officials more time to assess Hugo's
direction before ordering refueling of the Atlas-Centaur.
``We're continuing to prepare both the shuttle and the
Atlas-Centaur for launch, but we'll be ready to take protective
measures if the storm suddenly turns this way,'' said NASA spokesman
Karl Kristofferson.
Forecasters said if Hugo continued on its present northwest
course it would pass at least 150 miles east of Cape Canaveral, not
close enough for its wide-ranging wind and rain to affect the
shuttle or the Atlas-Centaur.
To prepare for a possible Atlantis move, workers parked a giant
tracked transporter at the base of the launch pad to carry the
shuttle to the safety of an assembly building. The transporter,
moving at maximum speed of 1 mph, would take about six hours to
cover the 4.2 miles to the building.
Atlantis is scheduled to be launched Oct. 12 with a crew of five
astronauts who are to send the Galileo spacecraft on a six-year
journey to the planet Jupiter.
AP890920-0148
AP-NR-09-20-89 1630EDT
r w AM-Barry-Gesture 09-20 0462
AM-Barry-Gesture,450
Washington Mayor Apologizes for Gesture
By RICHARD KEIL
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
Mayor Marion Barry apologized Wednesday for
making a vulgar gesture to hecklers at a street festival, but
brushed aside questions on possible damage to his re-election
campaign.
Jesse Jackson, considered by many a likely rival in the race, was
cheered by the same crowd last Sunday. Democratic National Chairman
Ronald Brown said Tuesday that he expects Jackson to run in the
November 1990 election.
Barry said he had spoken Wednesday with Jackson ``and he is not
running.'' However, Jackson, who moved his headquarters to
Washington from Chicago this year, has not publicly ruled out such
an effort.
As for Barry's gesture with his middle finger, the mayor said at
his monthly news conference, ``When I got there, there was a small
group of people who were cursing ... calling my wife names, calling
my mother-in-law names, and I reacted. ... If I offended some
people, and I'm sure I did, I want to apologize.''
When asked whether the incident will hamper his campaign for a
fourth term, Barry dismissed the question and refused to answer
other queries on the matter.
While Barry was booed and heckled at Sunday's gathering, Jackson
was greeted with cheers when he was introduced a few moments later.
Talk of a Jackson candidacy got a further lift when Brown
suggested the two-time Democratic presidential hopeful will run
``and if he runs I think he will be elected.'' Brown, who handled
Jackson's operation at the Democratic National Convention last year,
said he had no inside information and was just giving his opinion.
When Barry was asked about that, he said, ``I talked to Jesse
Jackson this morning, and (we) talked on Sunday night, and he knows
that I am running for mayor, and he is not running. ... What other
people say is their business.''
Jackson has said he would never run against his old civil rights
colleague, but he has left open the possibility of a bid for the
office if Barry dropped out.
The mayor has testified twice to a grand jury that is part of a
federal drug probe of former Barry associate and city employee
Charles Lewis.
Published reports have said Lewis has told prosecutors he and
Barry used cocaine together during a visit Barry paid to the Virgin
Islands in early 1988 and during a trip by Lewis to Washington last
December.
The federal probe began after reports that city police called off
an attempt to make an undercover drug buy from Lewis last December
when they learned that Barry was in Lewis' downtown Washington hotel
room.
The mayor has acknowledged visiting Lewis' room on several
occasions but has repeatedly denied he saw, used or purchased drugs.
AP890920-0149
AP-NR-09-20-89 1652EDT
r a AM-GoetzRelease 09-20 0506
AM-Goetz Release,0518
Goetz Free _ To Face $50 Million Lawsuit
By LARRY McSHANE
Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP)
Subway gunman Bernhard Goetz was out from behind
bars Wednesday for the first time since January but due in court
next week for the $50 million lawsuit filed by the one of the young
men he shot nearly five years ago.
His 12:01 a.m. release from jail ended one chapter in the highly
publicized case, which began Dec. 22, 1984, when Goetz fled
Manhattan after shooting four teen-agers on a subway train, leaving
one paralyzed from the waist down.
``This morning, Goetz walked out of prison. Darrell Cabey will
never walk out of his prison,'' Ron Kuby, an attorney for the
paralyzed 23-year-old said Wednesday. ``Darrell gets no time off for
good behavior. No parole, no appeal. And it's that way for the rest
of his life.''
Goetz, who spent 250 days in jail after his Jan. 13 sentencing,
left through a side door, avoiding eight camera crews and 30
reporters and photographers gathered at the front door, jail
officials said.
Neither supporters nor demonstrators turned out for the release
of Goetz, who became a folk hero to some and a symbol of racism to
others after the shooting.
Goetz, who is white, claimed the four young black men were about
to rob him; the teen-agers said they were panhandling for change to
play video games.
A police officer drove the 41-year-old Goetz away from the jail,
and he arrived at his apartment early Wednesday, dodging
photographers as he entered the building. Phone calls to his
apartment went unanswered through the day.
Goetz whiled away much of his time in jail playing chess with
inmates in an 18-cell protective custody block, Ruby Ryles, a
spokeswoman for the city Correction Department, said. Others in the
block included convicted child killer Joel Steinberg and Joseph
Fama, the alleged triggerman in the Bensonhurst racial attack.
Goetz said before his release that he might leave New York City
to escape the constant attention his presence generates.
``For the past 4{ years, he has been a prisoner of the media.
Perhaps it's time for Bernhard Goetz to be left alone,'' said his
attorney, Barry Slotnick. ``Fortunately, this episode in his life is
closed, and it's time that he be left alone.''
But his reclusiveness will end Sept. 29, when Goetz is scheduled
to give a deposition in the Cabey lawsuit, said Kuby.
``I'm going to try to open it up to the public. There's no reason
for it to be closed, and there's certainly public interest,'' said
Kuby. Depositions, although a part of the public record, usually are
done in private.
Slotnick would not comment Wednesday on the civil lawsuit. He and
co-counsel Mark Baker had tried unsuccessfully to cut Goetz's
one-year sentence, taking his case all the way to the U.S. Supreme
Court.
Goetz was convicted of illegal gun possession on June 16, 1987,
by a jury that acquitted him of four counts of attempted murder and
assault.
AP890920-0150
AP-NR-09-20-89 1653EDT
r a AM-JaffeFuneral 09-20 0182
AM-Jaffe Funeral,0186
Service Held For Former National Job Corps Director
PHILADELPHIA (AP)
A funeral service was held Wednesday for
Richard A. Jaffe, former national director of the Job Corps, who
died of a heart attack. He was 56.
The service was held at Goldstein Funeral Home, followed
immediately by burial. Jaffe died Monday in his office.
Jaffe served in the 1960s as a founding member of President
Lyndon B. Johnson's task force for establishing the Office of
Economic Opportunity and the Job Corps program.
In the early 1970s, he became Philadelphia regional director of
the Job Corps and in 1979 he was appointed national director of the
Job Corps and also the National Young Adult Conservation Corps.
After leaving the government in 1984, Jaffe worked as a private
consultant before joining Rollins Environmental Services Inc., a
national firm that specializes in hazardous waste cleanups and is
based in Wilmington, Del., where Jaffe died in his office.
He is survived by his wife, Audrey Braude Jaffe, two daughters
and four brothers. He and his family lived in Elkins Park, Pa.
AP890920-0151
AP-NR-09-20-89 1550EDT
u i BC-Soviet-Politburo 1stLd-Writethru 09-20 0293
BC-Soviet-Politburo, 1st Ld-Writethru,a0679,0302
URGENT
Three Politburo Members Retired
With PM-Soviet-Ethnic
Eds: New thruout to UPDATE with more background on retired men and
more on their successors. No pickup.
MOSCOW (AP)
Three members of the ruling Communist Party
Politburo were dropped Wednesday in a dramatic consolidation of
Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev's power.
The most important was Vladimir Shcherbitsky, 71, a holdover from
the Brezhnev era and the Ukraine Communist Party chief. A Politburo
member since 1971, he was considered one of the most conservative
forces on the body.
Also retired was Viktor Chebrikov, 66, who had moved from head of
the KGB in September to a new party position overseeing legal
affairs.
The third was Viktor Nikonov, 60, who has been a Central
Committee secretary and a Politburo member since 1987.
Chebrikov's successor as KGB chief, Vladimir Kryuchkov, was
elevated to the Communist Party's ruling body, the Tass news agency
reported at the end of a two-day meeting of the party's
policy-making Central Committee.
The head of the state planning commission, Yuri Maslyukov, also
was promoted from candidate to full membership in the Politburo.
Two candidate members of the Politburo, Yuri Solovyev and Nikolai
Talyzin, also were retired, Tass said. Solovyev is the Leningrad
Communist Party chief.
The news agency said Gorbachev ``warmly thanked'' the three
Politburo members for their ``many years of fruitful activity'' in
the party, indicating they were retiring in good graces.
In a series of stunning changes capping a Central Committee
meeting devoted to ethnic affairs, two candidate members of the
Politburo also were named.
Tass said that Yevgeny Primakov, head of the Soviet of the Union
legislative chamber, was named a non-voting Politburo member, as was
Boris Pugo, head of the party commission overseeing discipline.
AP890920-0152
AP-NR-09-20-89 1739EDT
r a AM-Hugo-Relief 09-20 0625
AM-Hugo-Relief,0642
Coast Guard, Red Cross Lead Relief Efforts
With AM-Hugo, Bjt
By CATHERINE WILSON
Associated Press Writer
MIAMI (AP)
Relief groups on Wednesday gathered tons of cots,
blankets, communications gear and other emergency supplies for the
hurricane-battered Caribbean islands, while Coast Guard cutters
helped to restore order.
``We can act pretty quickly. We're geared to. If someone calls on
the phone and says they need help, we can go,'' said Coast Guard Lt.
Cmdr. Jeff Karonis. ``The problem is with these islands, the
communications have been lost.''
President Bush declared the U.S. Virgin Islands a disaster area
and freed $500,000 for immediate use by the Interior Department, and
a similar declaration was expected soon for Puerto Rico.
The Coast Guard cutter Bear off St. Croix, where law enforcement
collapsed amid heavy looting, served as a combination command
center, satellite communications platform and helicopter pad,
Karonis said. Officers also planned to send an armed party ashore.
The Coast Guard also was summoned to tow a disabled 200-foot
cargo ship into port after its anchor broke off St. Johns, to
deliver 10 tons of relief supplies and to evacuate 200 medical
students from the island of Montserrat. Crewmen also moved Coast
Guard families left homeless on St. Thomas, where 1,800 people have
been served by the American Red Cross.
``A lot of people lost a lot of things in St. Thomas,'' Karonis
said.
Helicopters and boats shuttled supplies in Puerto Rico from San
Juan to the devastated island of Vieques, where 1,000 of 6,000
families were receiving Red Cross aid.
About 12,000 people remained in more than 100 shelters Tuesday
night in Puerto Rico, said Barbara Lohman, Red Cross spokeswoman in
Washington.
``Once we can start moving in, it's a question of what else do we
need and how do we get it in there,'' she said.
The British Red Cross flew a planeload of blankets, rolls of
plastic, water storage containers and 2 million water purification
tablets to Antigua, a staging area for aid to Montserrat, and the
Canadian, Australian and German Red Cross societies also promised
aid.
Coast Guard cargo planes capable of carrying up to 20 tons of
equipment carried Red Cross supplies to Vieques and a communications
satellite van to St. Thomas to re-establish contact with the island,
while another C-130 flew to Miami to pick up electronics gear,
plywood and roofing materials.
In Dayton, Ohio, Red Cross disaster workers stuffed supplies into
four semi-trailers for shipment to the nearby Wright-Patterson Air
Force Base and wherever it is needed next.
The relief effort included 8,500 cots, 5,050 blankets and more
than 700 cases of comfort kits containing basic toiletries, said
Dianna Klein, director of disaster services for the Dayton area
chapter.
``They're essentially emptying the warehouse at this point,'' she
said. ``There is not a flight plan at this time.''
Gracela and Carmin Seijo, two Orlando sisters who were born in
Puerto Rico, were called back from retirement to join a charter
flight of 50 Red Cross disaster experts flown from Philadelphia to
Puerto Rico to help the 500 volunteers already in place.
``It's an offer you can't refuse,'' said Gracela, who served 23
years with the Red Cross. Word had been received that a third sister
living outside San Juan survived the hurricane.
In New York, home to about 1.5 million people of Puerto Rican
descent, weekend fund-raisers were in the works, including a pop
concert with stars such as Lisa Lisa, and a telethon on local
Spanish-language television stations.
``There is a mixed feeling of happiness and sorrow'' as relatives
received good news of storm survivors coupled with reports of heavy
damage, said Nydia M. Velazquez, secretary of the Puerto Rican
government office of community affairs in Manhattan.
AP890920-0153
AP-NR-09-20-89 1559EDT
u w AM-US-Hungary 09-20 0609
AM-US-Hungary,570
Speaker of Parliament Says Hungary Wants To Be Neutral
With AM-US-Soviet, Bjt
By RUTH SINAI
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
The speaker of the Hungarian Parliament said
Wednesday that his country would like to eventually withdraw from
the Warsaw Pact and become neutral. He urged the United States to
hasten economic aid to help that process along.
Matyas Szuros, a leader of the reformist wing of Hungary's ruling
communist party, also said his nation was structuring its economic
and political reforms in such a way that if the reforms espoused by
Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev fail, Hungary's changes would not
be rolled back.
In a conversation with several reporters at the Hungarian
Embassy, Szuros said he had told administration officials like
Deputy Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger and National Security
Adviser Brent Scowcroft that Hungary would like the NATO and Warsaw
pacts to become political rather than military blocs.
Once that happens, Hungary, which is currently a member of the
seven-nation Soviet bloc alliance, would leave. ``It's not right now
that we want to leave,'' but within a decade or so, he said.
``Hungary would like a status of neutrality, with international
guarantees,'' such as the model adopted by Finland and Austria after
World War II, Szuros said. ``The basis of neutrality must be
prepared gradually, without losing touch with reality,'' he
cautioned.
Szuros indicated he did ot think the Soviet Union would block
such a move if it were done in a measured way.
``The Hungarian process is getting more and more independent from
the Soviet Union, but it's only natural that the Soviet Union is an
important hinterland for us,'' he said.
Just as Hungary would like the Soviet reforms to succeed, so
Gorbachev wants the Hungarian moves toward democracy to bear fruit,
the Speaker said.
But, ``we are striving to create conditions under which failure
in the Soviet Union would not divert us in our way,'' he said.
Szuros predicted that Czechoslovakia, one of the most repressive
communist societies, would undertake reform, and the expected
leadership change in East Germany could also lead to liberalization.
But Romania is a ``rather dark, nepoticstic dictatorship'' and no
movement should be expected there soon, he said.
Hungary's move toward a multi-party democracy, including general
elections scheduled for next year, cannot succeed without Western
help, Szuros said.
Until recently, the Bush administration had adopted a
``wait-and-see attitude'' of making future U.S. aid conditional on
full implementation of democratic change, he said.
But from his conversations with officials here, Szuros said he
got the impression the United States is now aware of the urgency of
Hungary's needs.
In a reference to the dispute between Democrats and Republicans
over the levels of U.S. aid for Hungary, Szuros said Hungary had
become part of ``internal policy debates'' in the United States.
``I'm glad to see this interest in my country,'' he said with a
laugh, but ``I hope the result will be constructive.''
As he spoke, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted for a
Democratic plan to aid Poland and Hungary with nearly $1.2 billion
over three years, far more than that proposed by President Bush,
whom Democrats accused of missing a historic opportunity to champion
reform in the communist world.
Republicans, accusing Democrats of playing politics on the issue,
walked out before the 10-1 vote, warning that the partisan wrangling
could endanger the future of U.S. aid to the Eastern bloc nations.
Szuros said that what his country needs most are favorable
trading arrangements with the United States, liberalized credits to
help ease its foreign debt, an easing of limitations on technology
transfers and investment by American entrepreneurs.
AP890920-0154
AP-NR-09-20-89 1625EDT
u w AM-Bush-UN 09-20 0279
AM-Bush-UN,270
Bush to Address United Nations Next Week
WASHINGTON (AP)
President Bush will travel to New York next
week for his first speech as president to the United Nations General
Assembly, and meet with representatives of several countries.
Combining politics with the international focus of the trip, Bush
will first stop in New Jersey to speak at a fund-raiser for Rep. Jim
Courter's gubernatorial bid, address a luncheon sponsored by the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese in Boston and spend two nights at his
vacation home in Maine.
On Monday, Bush will speak before the 44th United Nations General
Assembly. He also will visit the U.S. Mission, meet with U.N.
Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar and with the new General
Assembly president, Joseph Nanven Garba of Nigeria, said White House
Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater.
The president also will consult with foreign ministers of the
NATO Alliance, and representatives of Japan, Korea and Australia, as
well as other countries.
Bush's last speech before the United Nations was last year as
vice president, when President Reagan dispatched him to explain the
U.S. position regarding the shooting down of an Iranian civilian
jetliner by a Navy warship.
During their long day in New York, Bush and his wife, Barbara,
will host a reception for senior dignitaries from the international
community, and a dinner for heads of state, government and foreign
ministers.
Bush travels this Friday to New Jersey for the New Jersey State
Republican Party fund-raising event for Courter, before heading to
his seaside vacation home in Kennebunkport, Maine.
He will take a day trip to Boston on Saturday to speak to the
Archdiocese of Boston Catholic Lawyers Guild luncheon.
AP890920-0155
AP-NR-09-20-89 1958EDT
r a AM-TMIStorage 09-20 0329
AM-TMI Storage,0338
NRC Staff Approves Environmental Review Of TMI Storage Plan
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP)
A plan to put the heat-damaged reactor at
the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant into long-term storage
does not threaten the environment, the staff of the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission has concluded.
The staff released its final environmental impact statement on
the Post-Defueling Monitored Storage plan, NRC senior project
manager Michael Masik said Wednesday.
The staff is now working on evaluating the plan's safety and a
hearing may be held sometime next year before any NRC final vote,
Masik said.
TMI Unit 2 was damaged in March 1979 in the worst accident ever
at a U.S. commercial nuclear power plant. A combination of operator
and mechanical errors led to loss of cooling water and over half of
the radioactive uranium fuel core melted. Radioactive gas escaped to
the atmosphere.
Fuel removal will be completed next month, said Doug Bedell, a
spokesman for the plant operator, GPU Nuclear Corp.
Less than 1 percent of the fuel will remain in hard-to-reach
places, but will not pose any hazard, the company has said.
Under GPU's long-term plan, the reactor containment building will
be closed and monitored for 20 to 30 years by a staff of about 50
people.
All water will be removed from the plant and lighting and
ventilation will be maintained, Bedell said.
The NRC reviewed nine alternatives, including no further action,
immediate dismantling, and long-term storage. The only option not
acceptable to the NRC staff was taking no further action.
GPU Nuclear favors storage because it will allow time for natural
decay of high radiation levels in the plant's basement and because
more immediate steps to dismantle the plant could expose workers to
higher doses, Bedell said.
He also said the company felt it wasn't prudent to start knocking
down a building with 4-foot thick concrete walls on the same site as
an operating nuclear power plant, the undamaged TMI Unit 1.
AP890920-0156
AP-NR-09-20-89 1643EDT
u i PM-France-Plane 10thLd-Writethru a0665 09-20 1034
PM-France-Plane, 10th Ld-Writethru, a0665,1061
URGENT
Jihad Claims Responsibility for Downing French Plane
Eds: Leads with six grafs to move higher claim of responsibility
by radical Shiites for downing plane. Picks up graf 6 pvs, `French army
...'
By CHARLES CAMPBELL
Associated Press Writer
PARIS (AP)
A radical Shiite group today claimed responsibility
for the downing of a French DC-10 jetliner over a desolate stretch
of northern Africa in which all 171 people aboard were killed, the
airline UTA said.
The airline said a bomb most likely caused the crash of the
jetliner, which exploded in the sky Tuesday shortly after taking off
from Chad for Paris. UTA said it received an anonymous call from a
man claiming responsibility for the crash on behalf of the Moslem
terrorist group Islamic Jihad.
The airline said it was not in a position to judge its
authenticity and informed the French Foreign Ministry.
The wreckage of the aircraft was found today scattered widely
across the rocky, sandy and remote section of south-central Niger.
Later today, an unidentified man telephoned a Western news agency
in London and read a statement in English said to be from Islamic
Jihad. The statement linked the crash to Israel's capture of a
Shiite Moslem cleric, Sheik Abdul-Karim Obeid, in southern Lebanon
on July 28.
``In the name of Allah and Imam Khomeini, the Islamic Jihad
issued this statement: We are proud of this action which was very
successful. We would like to say the French are warned not to
exchange information regarding Sheik Obeid with the Israelis no
more. We demand the freedom of Sheik Obeid and otherwise we will
refresh the memories of the bombings in Paris of '85 and '86. Long
live the Islamic Republic of Iran,'' he said.
French army soldiers stationed in neighboring Chad were the first
to reach the crash site. They said all 15 crew members and 156
passengers, including eight children, died in the crash. The
passengers included the wife of the American ambassador to Chad and
a member of the Chadian Cabinet.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said today that it
was sending a team of U.S. investigators to help determine the cause
of the crash.
Contact was lost with the Paris-bound jet less than an hour after
it took off Tuesday from the capital of Chad, N'Djamena, after
originating in the Congo.
``It exploded at high altitude, leaving every reason to believe
it was a bomb,'' UTA airline spokesman Michel Friess said on French
television. He said it was possible, but less likely, that a
technical failure was to blame.
``It appears to have exploded in flight at high altitude,'' said
a Foreign Ministry spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
``The pieces are widely scattered, so it didn't crash on impact.''
Islamic Jihad is among several radical fundamentalist groups in
Lebanon presumed to be part of Hezbollah, the Iran-financed
guerrilla group that is believed to hold most of the 16 Western
hostages in Lebanon, including eight Americans.
On Dec. 21, a New York-bound Pan Am jumbo jet exploded over
Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 people aboard and 11 on the
ground.
Investigators said a bomb disguised in a radio-cassette player
was put aboard Flight 103 in a suitcase at Frankfurt, where the
flight originated. Investigators also said the main suspect in the
bombing is an Arab terrorist group, the Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine-General Command.
On March 10, 1984, a bomb exploded on a UTA DC-8 flying the same
route just before the plane was to take off from N'Djamena, injuring
25 people on board. An otherwise unknown group calling itself
``Group Idriss Miskini'' claimed responsibility but the Chadian
government blamed Libya for the bombing.
Chad fought with Libyan-backed rebels for more than a decade, but
the situation has been calm for the past two years, and Chad and
Libya recently signed an agreement to settle their border dispute
peacefully.
Among the passengers who boarded in N'Djamena was Bonnie Pugh,
wife the U.S. ambassador to Chad, Robert L. Pugh, the U.S. Embassy
in Chad said.
The French news agency Agence France-Presse, quoting unidentified
sources, said Chadian Planning Minister Mahamat Soumahila was also
on the plane, headed for the annual meeting of the International
Monetary Fund in Washington.
Most passengers appeared to be French, Chadian and Congolese,
said the Foreign Ministry spokesman.
There were 156 passengers and 15-member crew on board, the
airline said. A UTA spokeswoman declined to say when it would
release a passenger list.
The wreckage was found shortly after dawn by a Transall aircraft
sent by the French military contingent in N'Djamena, the Chadian
capital.
The Defense Ministry said the wreckage was spread over a wide
rocky and sandy area in the Termit mountains, north of Lake Chad.
French military spokesmen said twin-engine Puma helicopters were
being dispatched from N'Djamena with medical crews for immediate aid
to survivors, if any are found. The Transport Ministry said it also
was sending investigators.
UTA said contact was lost with Flight 772 less than an hour after
it took off from N'Djamena after a stopover on a flight that
originated in Brazzaville, capital of the Congo.
The airline said the last radio contact between the plane and air
traffic controllers indicated everything was normal. It reported no
unusual weather.
UTA purchased the aircraft in 1973 and it had logged 60,000 hours
in the air. UTA said the plane was in excellent condition. Civil
aviation authorities in France said the plane had CF6-50 engines
made by General Electric.
The plan disappeared just hours after the U.S. Federal Aviation
Administration ordered a detailed inspection of the fan disks of 220
CF6-6 engines built by General Electric for the DC-10.
An explosion in the tail engine of a United Airlines DC-10 on
July 19 severed hydraulic lines operating the airplane's controls,
forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing near Sioux City,
Iowa, in which 112 people died.
FAA Administrator James B. Busey and National Transportation
Safety Board Chairman James Kolstad subsequently declared the DC-10
to be safe.
A Korean Air Lines DC-10 crashed on landing July 27 at Tripoli,
Libya, killing 78 passengers and four people on the ground.
AP890920-0157
AP-NR-09-20-89 1644EDT
u w AM-Mammography 09-20 0422
AM-Mammography,400
First Lady Joins Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign
By DEBORAH MESCE
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
Barbara Bush on Wednesday helped the National
Cancer Institute launch a national breast cancer awareness campaign,
urging all women 40 and older to have regular mammograms.
The president's wife asked these women to ``pick up the phone and
make a life-saving appointment for a mammogram.''
Breast cancer strikes one in 10 American women. It is the leading
type of cancer among women in the United States and is second only
to lung cancer in cancer deaths among American women.
This year, breast cancer will be diagnosed in 142,000 women in
the United States and will cause 43,000 deaths, according to the
American Cancer Society.
Mrs. Bush called on about 200 leaders of women's, community and
business groups attending the Women's Leadership Summit on
Mammography to ``get the word out'' about early detection of breast
cancer and the need for regular mammograms.
The cancer institute recommends that women with no symptoms have
a mammogram every one to two years and a clinical breast exam every
year beginning at age 40. After age 50, all women should have both
exams annually, the cancer institute says. Women with a family
history of breast cancer should consult with their doctor about the
frequency of exams.
Deaths from breast cancer could be reduced by at least 30 percent
if all women 40 and over had regular mammograms, said Louis
Sullivan, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
A 1987 survey shows that only 17 percent of U.S. women age 40 and
older had had a mammogram in the previous year and only 37 percent
of all women in this age group had ever had a mammogram, said Samuel
Broder, director of the cancer institute.
Beginning Jan. 1, 1990, Medicare will cover mammography tests
every two years for women 65 and over. For women eligible for
Medicare because of disability, mammography will be covered annually
for those 50 to 64 and for those 40 to 49 who are at high risk of
developing breast cancer, and every two years for those 40 to 49 not
at high risk. One mammography exam will be covered for women 35 to
40.
Legislation introduced in the House this week by Rep. Barbara
Vucanovich, R-Nev., would require state Medicaid plans to provide
coverage of mammograms under the same schedule as in the Medicare
regulations. It also would change the Medicare law to provide
mammogram coverage annually for those 65 and over.
AP890920-0158
AP-NR-09-20-89 1649EDT
u w AM-US-FrancePlane 09-20 0554
AM-US-France Plane,560
RETRANSMITTING to CORRECT cycle designator
U.S. to Help in Niger DC-10 Crash Probe
With AM-Niger-Crash, Bjt
By DAVID BRISCOE
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
A U.S. team will help investigate the downing
of a DC-10 that French UTA airline officials say exploded over
northern Africa, killing all 171 people on board.
Airline officials said the plane apparently was brought down
Tuesday by a bomb, but they didn't rule out the possibility of a
mechanical failure.
Seven Americans were aboard, including Bonnie Pugh, wife of the
U.S. ambassador to Chad, Robert L. Pugh. The wreckage was scattered
over a wide area in a rugged part of Niger.
Representives of the National Transportation Safety Board, the
Federal Aviation Administration and builders of the plane and
engines, McDonnell Douglas and General Electric, were to leave late
Wednesday for Niger, said NTSB spokesman Ted Lopatkiewisc.
U.S. investigators are routinely sent to assist in the
investigation of crashes in other countries when they involve
U.S.-built jetliners, Lopatkiewisc said.
In separate telephone calls to the airline and to a Western news
agency, a caller claiming to represent the Moslem extremist group
Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for downing the plane.
Presidential press secretary Marlin Fitzwater said the government
had offered its assistance to France and Chad.
``The obvious wide-spread nature of the debris suggested it blew
up in the sky and not on the ground,'' Fitzwater said, adding that
President Bush had been briefed on the mishap.
The FAA on Wednesday announced $630,000 in fines against Pan
American World Airways for alleged security violations related to
another flight downed by a bomb: Pan Am Flight 103 that exploded
Dec. 21 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people.
The FAA accused the airline of failing to properly screen
passengers and cargo before the flight's departure from airports in
Frankfurt, West Germany, and London.
Also Wednesday, the House authorized $270 million for modern
security equipment at many U.S. and foreign airports.
The legislation, approved 392-31, orders a wide array of security
measures and would require commuter airlines for the first time to
screen passengers and their carry-on luggage.
The disappearance of the French plane on a flight from Chad to
Paris, came a few hours after a congressional hearing in Washington
at which the top officials of the FAA, the safety board and
McDonnell Douglas gave assurances that DC-10s are structurally safe.
U.S. participation in the investigation, Lopatkiewisc said, is
not related to increased concern over the DC-10 after the July 19
crash-landing of a United Airlines DC-10 that killed 112 people at
Sioux City, Iowa.
That crash has been blamed on an explosive engine failure that
cut off hydraulic flight controls.
Lopatkiewisc said investigators would be looking for anything
they can learn about the aircraft. Safety board representatives
going to the site included chief investigator Barry Trotter and an
airliner structural specialist.
The investigation will be led by French or Niger authorities.
The FAA on Tuesday ordered inspections of 220 General
Electric-built DC-10 engines such as those used on the Iowa plane to
look for microscopic defects that officials say could have led to
cracking of the engine's fan disk.
McDonnell Douglas also has recommended additions of valves to
hydraulic lines in all DC-10s that would prevent pilots from losing
all steering control when the lines are cut.
AP890920-0159
AP-NR-09-20-89 2216EDT
d a AM-BRF--NoAbortion 09-20 0173
AM-BRF--No Abortion,0177
ACLU Joins Pregnant Woman's Case
PITTSBURGH (AP)
The American Civil Liberties Union asked state
Superior Court to overrule a judge's order barring a 26-year-old
woman from having an abortion because her boyfriend said he wants to
raise the baby.
The ACLU filed its request Tuesday in Pittsburgh after Blair
County Judge Norm Calan ruled in Altoona in favor of the woman's
boyfriend.
Marion Damick, associate director of the ACLU in Pittsburgh, said
Wednesday the organization will represent the woman in arguing that
Calan overstepped the law Monday in issuing the preliminary
injunction.
Calan said he the abortion laws unsettled and he preferred to err
on the side of the fetus.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1976 that states cannot give
husbands veto power over their pregnant wives' decisions to have
abortions, and lower courts have applied the ruling to unmarried
couples.
In keeping with the Supreme Court ruling, Pennsylvania has no law
to support Calan's ruling, according to the ACLU and the National
Abortion Rights Action League.
AP890920-0160
AP-NR-09-20-89 1656EDT
u i AM-Refugees 09-20 0675
AM-Refugees,0700
Daily Refugee Arrivals Top 800, Set Off Worldwide `Emotional Wave'
By CAROL J. WILLIAMS
Associated Press Writer
BONN, West Germany _ More than 800 East Germans still are
flooding to the West every day, Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich
Genscher reported on Wednesday.
The West German government urged East bloc leaders to be
pragmatic about the exodus, and an East German politician asked for
reforms to stop ``children of the revolution'' from fleeing.
Genscher said the refugee crisis has set off ``an emotional wave
affecting the whole world,'' government spokesman Hans Klein
reported.
Klein told reporters the rush of East Germans escaping through
Hungary continued, with 416 new arrivals in West Germany in the 24
hours ending noon Wednesday.
He said an additional 400 East Germans with permission to
emigrate have been arriving in West Germany daily over the past few
days.
More than 17,500 East Germans have come to West Germany through
Hungary in the past 10 days, swelling the emigration tide through
mid-September to the 100,000 mark earlier predicted for the entire
year.
As many as 200,000 are expected to get to West Germany this year,
a record of legal emigration and refugees since the Berlin Wall was
built in 1961.
Most refugees are young families fleeing economic stagnation and
a Stalinist political system that East Berlin's leaders refuse to
change despite reforms sweeping the communist world.
Manfred Gerlach, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats aligned
with the East German Communist Party, on Wednesday suggested some
rethinking.
``We must ask ourselves why they are resigning, these who are
mostly children of the revolution, raised and politically educated
here,'' Gerlach wrote in the party daily, Der Morgen.
His comments were the first by an influential politician to
suggest changes, but his calls were vague and his support for a
socialist government unwavering.
The main East German party newspaper, Neues Deutschland, ignored
Gerlach's commentary. It has accused Bonn of luring East German
citizens westward and has defended the policies of ailing Erich
Honecker, the 77-year-old Communist leader.
Bonn's embassies in Eastern Europe are sheltering about 650 other
East Germans demanding to emigrate.
At a Cabinet meeting Wednesday, the government called on East
bloc leaderships to seek ``pragmatic and humanitarian resolution''
to the exodus, Klein told reporters.
Genscher presided over the meeting in the absence of Chancellor
Helmut Kohl, who is recovering from prostate surgery. Kohl received
a telegram from President Bush on Wednesday wishing him a speedy
recovery, Klein said.
He said Kohl talked with Cabinet members by telephone.
The Cabinet also asked Czechoslovakia to stop impeding East
Germans with legal travel documents for Hungary. Several refugees
have accused Prague authorities of trying to do this.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Juergen Chrobog said Bonn is trying to
resolve the problem through diplomatic channels.
It is much easier for East Germans to obtain travel permission to
Hungary than authorization to emigrate. Many of those arriving in
West Germany used the escape route that became available in May when
Budapest took down barbed-wire fences on its border with Austria.
East Germans can travel freely to Czechoslovakia, and hundreds
have escaped across to Hungary to make their way West.
Newspaper reports said 520 East Germans are at the West German
Embassy in Prague, seeking Bonn's help in emigrating.
Czechoslovak barriers have prompted some East Germans to try
risky escapes.
Refugees told West German TV Wednesday they swam across the
Danube River to reach Hungary. One man said he was kept from
crossing to Hungary, so he went to Poland then flew to Budapest.
Those interviewed were not further identified.
Chrobog said 16 of 120 East Germans who took refuge in Bonn's
Warsaw embassy were moved to a nearby Roman Catholic seminary, since
West Germany had to close the cramped embassy to the public on
Tuesday.
Bonn's ambassador to Poland, Franz-Joachim Schoeller, told West
German TV Tuesday that Poland has promised a ``pragmatic'' solution
for the refugees.
The newspaper Bild said Poland's new government, led by
non-communists, assured Bonn no East German refugees will returned
home against their will.
AP890920-0161
AP-NR-09-20-89 2012EDT
r a AM-People-Pauley 09-20 0239
AM-People-Pauley,0247
Jane Pauley Talks with NBC About Her Future on `Today'
NEW YORK (AP)
NBC News executives are talking with Jane Pauley
about her future with the ``Today'' show. But they won't comment on
speculation that she is unhappy with changes affecting the show and
wants to leave it, an NBC spokeswoman said Wednesday.
``Conversations are taking place which we feel are appropriate,
timely and private,'' said the spokeswoman, Peggy Hubble.
She said Pauley's talks with NBC News President Michael Gartner
and NBC Sports President Dick Ebersol, who also is the news
division's vice president for ``Today,'' concerned her future with
the program.
Other than to confirm that talks were taking place, ``we have no
further comment on it,'' Hubble said.
Pauley joined ``Today'' as a co-anchor in October 1976.
There have been two major changes at the show this month.
One was NBC's announcement Tuesday that it has hired David Nuell,
executive editor of the syndicated ``Entertainment Tonight'' series,
as senior executive producer of ``Today,'' among other duties.
The other was the shift of John Palmer, the ``Today'' news
anchor, to the earlier ``NBC News at Sunrise,'' and the move of that
program's anchor, Deborah Norville, to the ``Today'' slot that
Palmer held for seven years.
Norville this summer signed a five-year contract with NBC News,
which she joined in January 1987. Like Pauley, she previously worked
as an anchor at NBC-owned WMAQ-TV in Chicago.
AP890920-0162
AP-NR-09-20-89 2013EDT
r a AM-SweetheartSlayings 09-20 0257
AM-Sweetheart Slayings,0262
Man Convicted of Murdering Couple in Car Theft and Robbery Plan
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP)
A 27-year-old man was convicted
Wednesday of murdering a pair of college sweethearts who were
abducted during a car theft and shot to death in a field four years
ago.
Stanley Bernard Davis of Los Angeles was found guilty by a Los
Angeles County Superior Court jury on 10 counts including murder,
kidnapping, arson, grand theft and burglary.
Special circumstance allegations were also proved, allowing the
death penalty to be considered. The penalty phase of the trial
begins Monday.
Davis was the triggerman and mastermind of a plot to grab Brian
Harris, 20, a sophomore at California State University, Northridge,
and Michelle Ann Boyd, 19, a freshman at the University of
California, Los Angeles, in order to commandeer Harris' car for a
store robbery, a jury found.
Harris and Miss Boyd, who had been sweethearts since attending
high school, were on a date near UCLA on Oct. 1, 1985, when Davis
and others stole Harris' car with a plan to drive to Barstow and rob
a liquor store.
Harris was stuffed into the trunk of his car and Miss Boyd was
forced into the back seat. They were only allowed out of the car
after Davis drove to a secluded field, where he shot the couple.
Two other men were previously convicted of murder for their roles
in the crime. One received 18 years to life in prison and the other
was sentenced to a life term.
AP890920-0163
AP-NR-09-20-89 2014EDT
r a AM-SpyTrial 09-20 0277
AM-Spy Trial,0285
Turkish National Sentenced to Life in Spy Case
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP)
A federal judge Wednesday sentenced a
Turkish national to a life term in federal prison for conspiring
with a Fort Stewart warrant officer to commit espionage against the
United States.
Judge B. Avant Edenfield also ordered that Huseyin ``Meister''
Yildirim, 61, of Belleair Beach, Fla., be ``banished from the United
States, never to return'' if he ever wins parole.
Yildirim was convicted July 20 of scheming with James W. Hall, an
intelligence analyst in the G-2 section of the 24th Infantry
Division at Fort Stewart, to sell military intelligence to East
German and Soviet agents.
Yildirim, who did not testify at his trial, told Edenfield in a
rambling statement Wednesday that he was innocent and had acted on
behalf of America.
``In the reality, I am not guilty. I protected America,''
Yildirim said.
Edenfield rejected pleas by Yildirim and his court-appointed
lawyers that his sentence be comparable to that given Hall by a
military court.
Hall admitted his role in the espionage scheme and was sentenced
by a military judge to 40 years in prison. He will be eligible for
parole in 10 years.
``The only proper sentence for Mr. Hall would have been death at
a firing squad,'' Edenfield said. ``Mr. Hall did not get justice.''
Prosecutors contended that from 1982 to 1988, Yildirim carried
classified military intelligence from Hall to East Bloc agents and
returned with money.
According to evidence, Hall had access to all levels of
intelligence during tours at the Army's Field Station Berlin
listening post and in Frankfort, West Germany; Fort Monmouth, N.J.;
and Fort Stewart.
AP890920-0164
AP-NR-09-20-89 1844EDT
r a AM-Brites 09-20 0284
AM-Brites,0296
Bright & Brief
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)
A woman who gave birth at the same time on
the same date this year and last said Mercy Hospital will have to do
without her next Sept. 16.
Dianne Overby of Oklahoma City gave birth both times at exactly
7:40 p.m. She even had the same labor and delivery nurse, Theresa
Tobin.
Last year, Ms. Overby had a son. This year, it was a daughter.
Ms. Overby went into the hospital a few hours later this time,
but the labor was quicker.
Ms. Tobin said it was a first for Mercy Hospital. Ms. Overby said
it will be a last, at least for her.
``We will not be back at the same time next year,'' she said.
HOPE, Ind. (AP)
A 136-year-old, one-room schoolhouse is headed
for a new life as a museum after it gathered dust on a farm for most
of this century.
The Simmons School, adopted for refurbishment by residents, was
hauled off Kenneth and Julia Bense's property on Tuesday and placed
between two modern schools.
Residents and businesses donated about $40,000 to turn the brick
building into a museum, complete with an old-time classroom.
The school closed in 1906 and has been used for storage on the
family farm ever since. The couple donated the school to the Flat
Rock-Hawcreek School Corp. for fixing up.
``We want it as a part of our school site, as the focal point of
the school complex,'' Superintendent Glen Keller said.
The 125-ton school was so wide it crossed both sides of a state
highway, so traffic had to be diverted Tuesday to transport it by
truck to its new home.
AP890920-0165
AP-NR-09-20-89 2021EDT
r a AM-People-Bush'sMother 09-20 0120
AM-People-Bush's Mother,0122
President's Mother Remains In Fair Condition
GREENWICH, Conn. (AP)
Dorothy Walker Bush, President George
Bush's 88-year-old mother, remained in fair condition Wednesday
while undergoing treatment for pneumonia, a spokeswoman said.
Mrs. Bush, who lives in Greenwich, was admitted to Greenwich
Hospital on Monday and was expected to remain several more days,
hospital spokeswoman Michelle Brown said.
``There's no fever. She's feeling much better than yesterday,''
Brown said. ``But the doctors are still not guessing whn she'll be
going home.''
Mrs. Bush spent four days in Greenwich Hospital in May for
treatment of a blood clot in her right leg. She had been admitted
with a 102-degree temperature. The president visited her here later
that month.
AP890920-0166
AP-NR-09-20-89 2025EDT
r w AM-FarmOutlook 09-20 0434
AM-Farm Outlook,420
Financial Condition of Farmers Improving, USDA Says
By DON KENDALL
AP Farm Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
The Agriculture Department said Wednesday the
financial condition of farmers continues to improve from the crunch
of the mid-1980s.
Recent surveys show that farm bankruptcy filings in 1988 were
down 50 percent from 1986, the peak year for the decade, the
department's Economic Research Service said in a preliminary report.
``Despite the 1980s farm financial crisis, farm numbers fell less
than in preceding decades,'' the report said. ``Farm numbers
declined by 266,600 (per year, on the average) during 1980-89,
compared with 1.7 million in the 1950s, 1 million in the 1960s, and
516,000 in the 1970s.''
The brief analysis was in a summary of the October issue of
Agricultural Outlook magazine to be issued later this month.
Greg Gajewski, the magazine's economics editor, said the
summary's account did not portray fully, however, the impact of the
decline in farm numbers during the 1980s.
``There were proportionately more of the large, commercial farms
that went out of business in the '80s than in the earlier decades,''
Gajewski said in a telephone interview.
But the peak of financial stress for farmers, collectively, has
passed, he said. There are still exceptions, including many who are
having problems repaying loans made by the department's Farmers Home
Administration.
Others with debts to commercial banks and the Farm Credit System
are faring much better than they were a few years ago.
The report also said that 1989 ``net cash income'' of farmers is
still expected to decline 5 percent to 13 percent from last year's
record of $59.9 billion. That was unchanged from the forecast a
month ago.
Higher expenses associated with larger crop plantings are major
factors in the expected decline in cash income this year. Also,
federal payments to farmers will be lower.
Net cash income is the amount of gross cash income generated by
farmers during the calendar year minus cash operating expenses. It
includes the sales of inventory stocks build up over previous years.
Last year's drought helped push up 1988 net cash income as
farmers sold accumulated inventories at higher prices.
Another measure used by the agency is ``net farm income''
accounting, which measures the value of the current year's
production plus government payments, minus total costs. Allowances
also are made for the value of family dwellings and other factors.
By this method, net farm income could rise 5 percent to 16
percent this year to a range of $48 billion to $53 billion from
$45.7 billion in 1988, also unchanged from the August forecast.
AP890920-0167
AP-NR-09-20-89 2025EDT
r w AM-Bush-TopJobs 09-20 0277
AM-Bush-Top Jobs,270
Democrats Say Bush Still Behind in Nominations
WASHINGTON (AP)
President Bush has been so slow in staffing key
positions in his administration that serious questions arise as to
``whether the Bush administration will ever reach full strength,'' a
report by House Democrats said Wednesday.
Eight months after his inauguration, Bush has yet to fill 55
percent of the top jobs in government, according to the report by
the House Democratic Study Group.
As of Sept. 18, the report said, Bush has made known his choices
to fill 178 of the top jobs in U.S. departments and agencies.
But it said 219 positions, representing 55 percent of the total,
remained vacant.
While the number of nominees submitted to the Senate for
confirmation in the 40 days before Sept. 18 grew from 60 to 68,
``the principal problem remained the inability of the White House to
make nominations,'' the report said.
The pace of recent presidential nominations does little to cut
into the ``enormous number of remaining vacancies,'' the report said.
``It raises serious questions as to whether the Bush
administration will ever reach full strength,'' the report said.
Since 1961, it said, presidential appointees have, on average,
remained in their jobs for 18 to 20 months.
Thus, in an average month about 5 percent of the top-ranked jobs
became open, it said.
``Since Aug. 9, the Bush administration has made 12 appointments
per month, equal to about 3 percent of the total number of
appointive jobs,'' the report said.
``In other words, the current rate of appointments is not even
sufficient to maintain stability in Executive Branch staffing over a
full four-year term.''
AP890920-0168
AP-NR-09-20-89 1747EDT
u a PM-NightStalker 1stLd-Writethru a0664 09-20 0226
PM-Night Stalker, 1st Ld-Writethru, a0664,0228
URGENT
Jury Returns Guilty Verdict in `Night Stalker' Case
Eds: LEADS with 2 grafs to UPDATE with guilty verdict.
LOS ANGELES (AP)
Richard Ramirez was found guilty of multiple
murder counts today from a list of 43 verdicts returned by jurors
who agreed Ramirez was the devil worshiping ``Night Stalker'' who
terrorized Southern California during the summer of 1985.
Readings of the verdicts were delayed when Ramirez asked to be
excused. He was led from the courtroom to a cell one floor below,
where he reportedly listened to the rulings via remote loudspeaker.
Ramirez, a 29-year-old drifter from El Paso, Texas, is accused of
13 murders and a series of assaults that terrified Los Angeles in
the summer of 1985.
The prosecution claimed Ramirez is the ``Night Stalker'' who left
symbols of demon worship at some murder scenes and gouged out one
victim's eyes.
The defense claimed that Ramirez was a victim of mistaken
identity.
Superior Court Judge Michael Tynan agreed at the outset of
deliberations to give attorney Daniel Hernandez six hours to fly
from his home for the verdict.
The jury, which considered 13 murder and 30 felony charges, had
to restart deliberations twice _ once when a juror was dismissed for
napping, and again when a member of the panel was slain by her
boyfriend.
AP890920-0169
AP-NR-09-20-89 1804EDT
u w AM-PowellNomination 1stLd-Writethru a0686 09-20 0537
AM-Powell Nomination, 1st Ld-Writethru, a0686,500
Powell Nomination Approved by Senate Armed Services Committee
EDs: TOPS with 3 grafs with committee approving nomination of Powell;
picks up 3rd graf, bgng, Powell, who xxx
By DONNA CASSATA
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
The Senate Armed Services Committee on
Wednesday unanimously approved Gen. Colin L. Powell, President
Bush's nominee to head the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The panel voted 20-0 to recommend the nomination to the full
Senate. If confirmed, the 52-year-old Powell would be the first
black and the youngest officer to hold the nation's top military job.
The committee decision followed nearly three hours of a
confirmation hearing in which Powell told Congress that cuts in the
Bush administration's budget request for various weapons programs
could undermine a U.S.-Soviet pact on reducing strategic arms.
Powell, who served as President Reagan's national security
adviser, told lawmakers that political changes in the Soviet Union
should not lead to cuts in the Star Wars program, land-based nuclear
missiles or the B-2 stealth bomber.
The House bill that cuts $502 million from the administration's
$1.1 billion request for the multiple-warhead, rail-garrison MX
missile and eliminates all $100 million earmarked for the
single-warhead, truck-mobile Midgetman ``would completely unhinge
our START negotiating position,'' Powell said.
His remarks came one day after Secretary of State James A. Baker
III announced a shift in the U.S. position on the land-based
missiles. The administration will no longer insist on elimination of
mobile missiles, according to Baker, who conceded the position has
complicated negotiations.
The Soviets have two mobile missiles while the administration is
asking Congress to fund the MX and Midgetman.
Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze will meet with
Bush on Thursday before traveling to Wyoming for sessions with Baker
this weekend.
During nearly three hours of questioning, Powell told the
committee that scaling back the program to build 130 stealth
bombers, considered the most expensive plane in history at $530
million a copy, would force the United States to go rethink its
position.
``If there is no B-2, we have essentially started a phase-out.
... Without the B-2, we no longer have the same START position that
we did for the last several years and I believe it most unlikely
that there will be a treaty up here to ratify,'' he said.
``We would have to go back quite a ways and renegotiate a
different type of treaty.''
On other issues, Powell said:
_He supported using the armed forces in the war on drugs and in
response to terrorist attacks.
_Cuts in troops in South Korea, Europe and other overseas posts
in response to the growing sentiment in Congress for U.S. allies to
share more of the defense burden should not be done unilaterally.
Powell said he was ``very hesitant'' to do it to satisfy current
budget demands.
Powell, a decorated veteran of two combat tours in Vietnam, is
commander of the Army Forces Command in Fort MacPherson, Ga. He was
hailed by Democrat Albert Gore Jr. of Tennessee and Republican Pete
Wilson of California as likely the best appointment made by Bush.
If confirmed by the full Senate, Powell would succeed Adm.
William J. Crowe Jr., who is retiring Sept. 30.
AP890920-0170
AP-NR-09-20-89 1800EDT
u i AM-Niger-Crash 2ndLd-Writethru a0692 09-20 1020
AM-Niger-Crash, 2nd Ld-Writethru, a0692,1049
Authorities Believe Terrorist Bomb May Have Felled Jetliner
Eds: LEADS throughout to UPDATE with U.S. team to travel to crash
site, raise background on Islamic Jihad, recent hostage crisis. No pickup.
LaserGraphic NY17
By JEFFREY ULBRICH
Associated Press Writer
PARIS (AP)
A Moslem extremist group claimed responsibility
Wednesday for the downing of a French DC-10 jetliner in southern
Niger that killed all 171 people on board.
U.S., French and UTA airline authorities said they believe the
plane, bound Tuesday from Chad to Paris, was blown out of the sky by
a bomb. A U.S. team of investigators was to leave later Wednesday
for Niger.
Two callers who claimed to represent Islamic Jihad but did not
give their own names made their claims of responsibility in separate
telephone calls to the airline and to a Western news agency.
Islamic Jihad is among several radical fundamentalist groups in
Lebanon believed to be part of Hezbollah, or Party of God, the
umbrella groups thought to hold 16 Westerners hostage in Lebanon,
including eight Americans.
Hezbollah was at the center of a hostage crisis earlier this
summer, when Israeli forces in southern Lebanon kidnapped a group
member, Shiite Moslem religious leader Sheik Abdul-Karim Obeid.
Three days after the July 28 abduction of Obeid, the pro-Iranian
Organization of the Oppressed on Earth claimed it retaliated by
hanging U.S. Marine Lt. Col. William R. Higgins, abducted while on
U.N. duty in Lebanon. Doubt has been cast on claims Higgins was
hanged or whether he died earlier.
Among the passengers on the French jetliner were seven Americans,
including Bonnie Pugh, wife of the U.S. ambassador to Chad, Robert
L. Pugh.
UTA Flight 772 was on a flight from Brazzaville, Congo, to Paris
when it crashed Tuesday shortly after making a stop in N'Djamena,
Chad. Debris was scattered over a 16-mile expanse of desert about
400 miles northwest of N'Djamena.
The French army, whose troops stationed in neighboring Chad were
the first to reach the scene, said the 15 crew and 156 passengers
died, including eight children.
Authorities said indications are that the aircraft was felled by
a bomb.
``It exploded at high altitude leaving every reason to believe it
was a bomb,'' said UTA spokesman Michel Friesse. He said it was
possible, but less likely, the explosion was due to technical
failure.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity,
echoed that sentiment: ``The pieces are widely scattered, so it
didn't crash on impact.''
``The obvious wide-spread nature of the debris suggested it blew
up in the sky and not on the ground,'' presidential press secretary
Marlin Fitzwater said, adding that President Bush had been briefed
on the mishap.
Representives of the National Transportation Safety Board, the
Federal Aviation Administration and builders of the plane and
engines, McDonnell Douglas and General Electric, were to leave
Wednesday night for Niger, said NTSB spokesman Ted Lopatkiewisc.
U.S. investigators are routinely sent to assist in the
investigation of crashes in other countries when they involve
U.S.-built jetliners, Lopatkiewisc said.
UTA said it had received an anonymous phone call from a man
claiming responsibility on behalf of Islamic Jihad.
In London, an anonymous caller also telephoned a Western news
agency and said:
``In the name of Allah and Imam Khomeini, the Islamic Jihad
issued this statement: We are proud of this action which was very
successful. We would like to say the French are warned not to
exchange information regarding Sheik Obeid with the Israelis no
more. We demand the freedom of Sheik Obeid and otherwise we will
refresh the memories of the bombings in Paris of '85 and '86. Long
live the Islamic Republic of Iran.''
The Ministry of Transport sent four investigators from the Civil
Aviation Authority to the scene of the crash. The authority said
military helicopters had reached the site and found debris scattered
over 16 miles of desert.
Cargo aircraft made fuel drops at the desolate site so the
helicopters could refuel for the return flight.
The DC-10, which went into service in May 1973, took off from
N'Djamena on the five-hour flight to Paris. The plane made a last
contact with the N'Djamena airport control tower about 40 to 50
minutes after it took off, UTA said. The crew did not indicate any
trouble.
The wreckage of the plane was found at daylight Wednesday by a
French military aircraft.
Chadian authorities said 77 passengers boarded the plane in
Brazzaville and 79 during the stop in N'Djamena.
Security is considered tight at the N'Djamena airport, and access
to planes is restricted to passengers. The Brazzaville airport also
restricts access but does not routinely check luggage.
On March 10, 1984, a bomb exploded aboard a UTA DC-8 flying the
same route just before the plane was to take off from N'Djamena.
Twenty-five people were injured.
A group calling itself ``Group Idriss Miskini'' claimed
responsibility, but the Chadian government blamed Libya, with whom
it had been fighting a war in the north, for the bombing.
On Dec. 21, a New York-bound Pan Am jumbo jet exploded over
Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 people aboard and 11 on the
ground. Investigators said a bomb disguised in a radio-cassette
player was put aboard Flight 103.
Investigators also have said the main suspect in the Lockerbie
bombing is an Arab terrorist group, the Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine-General Command.
UTA, which said the aircraft had logged 60,000 hours in the air,
said the plane was in excellent condition. Civil aviation
authorities in France said the plane had CF6-50 engines made by
General Electric.
The plane disappeared just hours after the U.S. Federal Aviation
Administration ordered a detailed inspection of the fan disks of 220
CF6-6 engines built by General Electric for the DC-10.
An explosion in the tail engine of a United Airlines DC-10 on
July 19 severed hydraulic lines operating the airplane's controls,
forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing near Sioux City,
Iowa, in which 112 people died.
FAA Administrator James B. Busey and National Transportation
Safety Board Chairman James Kolstad subsequently declared the DC-10
to be safe.
AP890920-0171
AP-NR-09-20-89 2031EDT
r w AM-AirForceRadar 09-20 0451
AM-Air Force Radar,430
Report Says Fighter Defects Undermine Combat Readiness
By DONNA CASSATA
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
Test equipment used by the Air Force to
determine the effectiveness of radar-warning receivers and other
electronics on tactical fighters has been faulty and unreliable,
says a report released Wednesday.
The General Accounting Office, an investigative arm of Congress,
said the problems with the test equipment undermine the combat
readiness of the aircraft and the ability of the planes to fly
combat missions.
The aircraft are equipped with electronic warfare systems
consisting of a radar-warning receiver that alerts the pilot when
his airplane is being tracked by enemy radar and a jammer that
transmits signals to deceive enemy radar.
Specifically, the study found that at five tactical units in the
United States, Europe and Asia, almost half of about 455 jammers the
Air Force deemed ready for combat had undetected defects.
``The cost for this kind of carelessness can be staggering,''
said Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., the chairman of the House
Government Operations subcommittee on legislation and national
security. ``And the risk it poses to our national security and to
the lives of our pilots is simply unacceptable.''
Conyers' subcommittee had requested the GAO report.
The study attributed the problems to the Air Force's acquisition
process. In one instance, the Air Force purchased 72 test sets at a
cost of $272 million before testing them.
``The Air Force has not adhered to policies requiring that test
equipment be developed and deployed simultaneously with electronic
warfare systems,'' the GAO said. ``To deploy the warfare systems as
quickly as possible, the Air Force has not taken steps to assure
that the electronic warfare system can be adequately maintained in
an operational environment.
``The Air Force's strategy may result in additional cost and will
continue to place combat readiness at risk.''
The report also said that the Air Force is relying on its
contractors to keep its electronic warfare systems operating.
According to the GAO, in one year contractor technicians made 60
percent of all repairs at one tactical unit in Asia. In Europe, at
another unit, contractor technicians made 40 percent of the repairs.
The price tag: An average annual cost of $154,000 to $215,000 for
each technician.
Defense Department officials told the GAO that they had ``used
the strategy of concurrent development and production of electronic
warfare systems to expedite fielding of the systems.''
``They (Pentagon officials) said the fielding of test equipment
has lagged behind deployment of new electronic warfare systems,''
the GAO said.
The Air Force declined comment on the report until it had
reviewed the study, said Capt. Susan Strednansky of the Air Force
public affairs office.
AP890920-0172
AP-NR-09-20-89 1818EDT
u w AM-CatastrophicCare 09-20 0426
AM-Catastrophic Care,400
Administration Bill Back Overhaul
By JIM LUTHER
AP Tax Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
The Bush administration announced Wednesday it
would support major overhaul of catastrophic medical care for
retirees to stave off repeal of the new Medicare program.
``We want to do everything we can to preserve the core benefits''
in the program, Louis Sullivan, secretary of health and human
services, told the Senate Finance Committee. ``Repeal would be a big
mistake.''
Sullivan said specifically that the administration would support
a plan recommended by Senate leaders of both parties that would
repeal coverage for most prescription drugs and significantly reduce
the income surtax that pays for most of the program. That plan would
scale back reimbursement for physicians' fees but would retain full
coverage of hospital costs.
The committee could vote on that proposal Thursday.
Nearly two dozen times during a 90-minute session, Sullivan
repeated that the administration prefers that the catastrophic care
program be kept intact. Nevertheless, he said that ``I recognize you
have been under tremendous pressure from throughout the country''
and that some changes are inevitable.
Congress has been receiving heaps of mail from older Americans
who oppose one or more parts of the programs. Much of the mail is
from federal retirees who already have a government-paid
catastrophic care program and don't want another. Complaints also
are pouring in from higher-income retirees who object to the surtax,
which applies only to them.
As a result, there is strong sentiment in Congress to repeal the
program outright. Although Bentsen opposes such action, he told
reporters that the House seems certain to vote for repeal.
Bentsen and some colleagues have complained that the
administration's hands-off policy has allowed the president to avoid
facing the issue and to dump the whole problem into Congress's lap.
After failing to attend a Finance Committee session Tuesday,
Sullivan showed up Wednesday and promised administration backing for
any amendments that represented good health policy, that did not
worsen the budget deficit and that were ``politically stable.''
At least two members of the Finance Committee, Sens. William
Roth, R-Del., and John C. Danforth, R-Mo., want to repeal the
program. Danforth said that the nation should look at all its health
needs and set priorities before rushing into a major new health
program.
Sen. Bill Bradley, D-N.J., said any discussion of repeal should
include recognition that ``people's lives are at stake.'' Repeal, he
said, would amount to ``denying someboey the right to get an
operation in a hospital and allow them to live ... without going
bankrupt.''
AP890920-0173
AP-NR-09-20-89 2038EDT
r w AM-Cousteau-Treasure 09-20 0227
AM-Cousteau-Treasure,200
Cousteau Hasn't Found a Treasure Ship _ And He's Glad of It
WASHINGTON (AP)
Jacques-Yves Cousteau says he's glad his
undersea explorations have led never him to a treasure ship _ and if
they did, he wouldn't admit it.
The famed French explorer and captain of the research vessel
Calypso was asked at a National Press Club appearance if he ever
thought he had gotten into the wrong profession in light of a
pending salvage operation off the coast of the Carolinas, in which
that crew hopes to recover up to $1 billion in sunken booty.
Cousteau, who has discovered more than his share of natural
treasures under the sea, fished a penny out of his pocket and
declared, ``Absolutely not.''
``First of all, I'd lose my crew, because they would all want a
share,'' he laughed.
Cousteau then explained that France requires its citizens to
report and turn over any such treasure to the government _ which can
then force the finder to assist it in the salvage effort. Any
compensation is left to the government's discretion, he said.
``So, knowing of those regulations, I would really hate to find a
treasure ship,'' he said. ``And if I did, I would look the other
way.''
Besides, the 79-year-old Cousteau added, ``I'm trying very hard
to leave not 1 cent when I die.''
AP890920-0174
AP-NR-09-20-89 1820EDT
u w AM-Cousteau-Antarctica 09-20 0583
AM-Cousteau-Antarctica,600
Cousteau Wants U.S. to Scuttle Antarctica Treaty
By LEE BYRD
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
Explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau launched a
campaign Wednesday to persuade the United States to scuttle a treaty
that could open Antarctica, ``the last unspoiled area of our
planet,'' to mineral exploration.
``The results of an industrial accident there would be
incalculable,'' said the 79-year-old captain of the research vessel
Calypso.
Had the Exxon Valdez spilled its oil off Antarctica instead of
Alaska, he said, ``it would take hundreds of years to repair the
damage.''
Cousteau, at a speech and news conference at the National Press
Club, assailed a treaty adopted last year by the 39 signatory
nations of the original Antarctic Treaty of 1961, which included the
United States and Soviet Union.
``Why should we needlessly pillage the last unspoiled area of our
planet?'' he asked.
The so-called Wellington Convention, adopted in Wellington, New
Zealand, would open Antarctica to mineral exploration and
development, though stringent, if not insurmountable, environmental
guidelines would apply.
The treaty lacks an enforcement mechanism for the environmental
rules and Cousteau argues that ``once `careful' mining is allowed,
careless mining can happen.''
The treaty is virtually dead already, despite backing by the
Reagan and Bush administrations, because France and Australia, two
of the seven nations with veto authority, have suspended
ratification.
``I am here because the United States is extremely important as
the nation which has done the most scientific research in
Antarctica,'' Cousteau said. ``Accordingly, it has increased
responsibility'' to discourage mineral exploration.
No one has demonstrated the commercial feasibility of mining
Antarctica for oil or any other mineral resource. The best
possibility, said Cousteau, ``is drilling for oil offshore _ the
worst thing imaginable. To do that would present a far greater
danger than it does in the North Sea.''
The dangers, he said, would apply both to the environment and
those who would attempt exploration.
``We're talking about the harshest weather conditions in the
world. And that, sooner or later, would cause an inevitable
disaster,'' Cousteau said, citing heavy fog and dagger-like winds
that often reach 200 mph among the hazards.
After the Exxon Valdez spill in Prince William Sound last year,
he said, ``4,000 people were sent to clean it up. Can you imagine
4,000 people being sent to Antarctica? Certainly not.''
He said that the benign bacteria that act as nature's own
scrubbers of oil spills, even in the cold waters off Alaska, are
virtually non-existent in the harsher Antarctic climate.
Antarctica comprises 90 percent of the ice and 70 percent of the
fresh water in the world, yet its climate is classified as desert
because it receives less rain than the Sahara.
The frigid waters team with krill and plankton, icefish and
sponges. Whales, seals, skuas, albatrosses and penguins also thrive
within the continent's boundaries.
The continent already has endured pillaging. Long ago, crews
slaughtered more than half the seals and 90 percent of the whales.
Earlier this year, an Argentine supply ship ripped open its hull
on a rock and spilled several tons of oil. Thousands of birds were
killed, and a small area of the sea was sterilized, jeopardizing
scientific research at the U.S. Palmer Station.
The Antarctic Treaty of 1961 affirms that ``it is in the interest
of all mankind that Antarctica shall continue forever to be used
exclusively for peaceful purposes and shall not become the scene or
object of international discord.''
It did not specifically bar commercial exploitation of its
resources.
AP890920-0175
AP-NR-09-20-89 2047EDT
r a AM-SchoolsChancellor 1stLd-Writethru a0698 09-20 0590
AM-Schools Chancellor, 1st Ld - Writethru, a0698,0600
Miami Superintendent to Head New York's Schools
Eds: INSERTS 2 grafs after 9th, `New York ..., to UPDATE with with
teachers union comment and no-comments from mayoral candidates; INSERTS
2 grafs after 11th graf pvs, `In 1987 ..., to UPDATE with quote on ambivalence
toward job.
By RONALD POWERS
Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP)
Miami school Superintendent Joseph A. Fernandez
was named Wednesday to head New York's public school system, the
nation's largest and one beset by educational and criminal problems.
Fernandez, a 53-year-old native New Yorker, will start as school
chancellor in January or February and be paid $195,000 a year, Board
of Education chief Robert Wagner Jr. said.
``He will stand as a splendid role model,'' Wagner said.
His selection to replace Richard Green, who died in May of an
asthma attack, means that a minority group member will continue to
lead a school system in which 80 percent of the 940,000 children
belong to minority groups. Green, hired away from Minneapolis, was
the first black chancellor. His two immediate predecessors were
Hispanic.
Fernandez was born in East Harlem of Puerto Rican heritage and
attended public schools in New York. He dropped out of high school,
but received an equivalency diploma while in the Air Force and went
on to attend Columbia University.
A high dropout rate among Hispanic students is one of many
problems Fernandez will face as chancellor, along with overcrowded
and dilapidated buildings, corruption, a difficult bureaucracy and
the infiltration of guns, gangs and drugs even at elementary schools.
Fernandez's entire educational career has been in Florida, where
he started as a math teacher. Within 10 years of joining the Miami
school system in 1962, he became the city's first Hispanic principal.
As superintendent of the Miami-Dade County system, Fernandez
began a decentralization experiment that has reached 100 out of the
city's 260 schools. In those schools, principals teachers and
parents confer to make decisions that previously were made at a
central office.
New York City's schools were decentralized by legislation in
1970, resulting in a system often criticized as flawed by patronage.
The United Federation of Teachers, which represents 102,000 New
York City school employees, welcomed the appointment and praised
Fernandez for emphasizing ``school-based management and shared
decision making.''
Democratic mayoral nominee David Dinkins and Republican Rudolph
Giuliani had no immediate comment on Fernandez's selection. Dinkins
had suggested the board pick a chancellor before the November
election, while Giuliani had favored waiting until the new mayor is
chosen.
Fernandez was one of three candidates considered by the New York
board. Robert R. ``Bud'' Spillane, superintendent of schools in
Fairfax County, Va., was interviewed Tuesday and the third, Matthew
W. Prophet, superintendent in Portland, Ore., withdrew from
consideration.
In 1987, during the search that was to lead to Green's
appointment, the board had asked Fernandez to apply but he said the
timing was wrong, since he had just been named to lead the Miami
system, the nation's fourth-biggest.
When approached anew this year by the city's search committee,
Fernandez initially expressed interest. Then he said he did not want
the job, but last week changed his mind.
``He was torn between his sense of commitment to Miami-Dade and
his sense of the challenge of taking on the problems of the city,''
Wagner said.
New York offered him a $40,000 raise over his Miami salary of
$155,000 a year, or $45,000 more than Green was paid.
Fernandez and his wife, Lily, have four grown children.
AP890920-0176
AP-NR-09-20-89 1852EDT
u i AM-Greece-Wiretap 09-20 0384
AM-Greece-Wiretap,0396
Parliament Approves Sending Former Premier Before Court
By NIKOS KONSTANDARAS
Associated Press Writer
ATHENS, Greece (AP)
Parliament agreed Wednesday to send former
socialist Premier Andreas Papandreou before a special high court on
charges of masterminding a wiretapping network while in office.
The court will be made up of the Supreme Court president and 12
Supreme Court or Appeals Court judges. It will investigate the
charges against Papandreou and try him if it finds enough evidence.
The 300-seat Parliament voted for the proposal, 169-2, after a
two-day debate. The 124 members of Papandreou's Panhellenic
Socialist Movement boycotted the vote.
The lawmakers acted on the recommendation of a 12-member
parliamentary committee, which concluded that Papandreou was behind
the wiretaps of both political friends and foes from May 1987 to
last April.
Papandreou was defeated in elections in June after eight years in
power.
The conservative New Democracy party and the Communist-led
Coalition of the Left and Progress are in a governing alliance that
has declared its aim of putting on trial Papandreou and several
former ministers and officials of his party. It accuses them of
involvement in scandals.
The 70-year-old former premier boycotted parliamentary sessions
to investigate the scandals. However, he sent a memorandum on
Tuesday charging that his opponents were ``penalizing political
life, slandering political figures, and undermining institutions and
normality.''
The parliamentary commission of inquiry reported last week that
Papandreou had ``willfully instigated through national intelligence
chief Costas Tsimas and intelligence service employees ... the
decision to commit illegal acts and carry out the tapping of
telephones.''
The report named former Greek Telecommunications Organization
managing director Theofanis Tombras and Tsimas as Papandreou's
accomplices and called for their prosecution as well.
In an open vote, Parliament approved sending Tombras and Tsimas
to the special court along with Papandreou.
Tsimas is now a member of the European Parliament.
Constantine Mitsotakis, head of the New Democracy party,
presented Parliament with official intelligence documents which he
said proved that reports from wiretaps were sent to Papandreou.
Another parliamentary commission reported last week that enough
evidence existed against Papandreou and four people who served as
his ministers to send them before a special court in connection with
the purported embezzlement of $210 million from the Bank of Crete.
Parliament will debate that proposal next week.
AP890920-0177
AP-NR-09-20-89 2047EDT
r a AM-AlaskaQuake 09-20 0199
AM-Alaska Quake,0203
Moderate Quake Shakes Islands
PALMER, Alaska (AP)
A moderate earthquake occurred in the
western Aleutian Islands on Wednesday, but there were no reports of
damage, the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center said.
The quake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale was centered in the
Rat Islands of the Aleutian chain and occurred at 5:19 a.m. ADT,
officials at the Palmer center said.
The quake was felt in Amchitka, an Aleutians community about 30
miles from the epicenter.
The 1964 ``Good Friday'' earthquake in Alaska measured 8.5 on the
Richter scale and was centered in Prince William Sound. It generated
large waves that devastated several coastal communities and killed
131 people as far south as Oregon and Hawaii.
The Richter scale is a measure of ground motion as recorded on
seismographs. Every increase of one number means a tenfold increase
in magnitude. Thus, a reading of 7.5 reflects an earthquake 10 times
stronger than one of 6.5.
An earthquake of magnitude 3.5 can cause slight damage, 4
moderate damage, 5 considerable damage, 6 severe damage. A magnitude
7 quake is a major earthquake, capable of widespread damage; 8 is a
``great'' quake capable of tremendous damage.
AP890920-0178
AP-NR-09-20-89 1903EDT
u a AM-WeatherpageWeather 09-20 0316
AM-Weatherpage Weather,0327
Rain Up And Down East Coast As Hurricane Approaches
By The Associated Press
Hurricane Hugo continued its track toward the continental United
States on Wednesday, while Tropical Storm Iris weakened and locally
heavy rain fell along much of the Eastern Seaboard.
Hugo, still packing wind blowing at a sustained 105 mph, was
southeast of Savannah, Ga., during the afternoon.
Forecasters warned that the storm blamed for at least 25 deaths
in the Caribbean could come ashore late Thursday or early Friday
anywhere from northeastern Florida to Cape Hatteras, N.C.
Behind Hugo, Tropical Storm Iris began to weaken, having gotten
too close to Hugo. The storm, north of the northern Leeward Islands,
had maximum sustained wind speed of only 55 mph.
Rain fell across much of New England and along the middle
Atlantic Coast and showers and thunderstorms were scattered along
the rest of the coast.
North Carolina, New York state, Vermont and the middle Atlantic
Coast reported 1 to 3 inches of rain during the 24-hour period up to
8 a.m. EDT. Three to 6 inches of rain drenched sections of eastern
Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey.
During the 6 hours up to 2 p.m. EDT, 1.50 inches of rain fell at
Richmond, Va.
Syracuse, N.Y., got 1.77 inches of rain Tuesday, a record for the
date.
Coincidentally, on the West Coast, Los Angeles also had a record
rain amount for the day, at 0.27 of an inch.
Two to 3 inches of rain was reported in New York state's Essex
County early in the day, prompting a flood warning for the Au Sable
River.
Elsewhere, showers and thunderstorms developing along a warm
front were scattered from northern Utah to Nebraska and the Dakotas.
A few showers and thunderstorms developed over the lower Rio
Grande Valley of Texas.
Wednesday's low in the Lower 48 states was 24 degrees at West
Yellowstone, Mont.
AP890920-0179
AP-NR-09-20-89 2054EDT
r w AM-AIDFraud 09-20 0308
AM-AID Fraud,300
High-Living Bookkeeper Pleads Guilty to Fraud
By JAMES ROWLEY
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
A bookkeeper who bought 17 mink coats and was
driven to work in a limousine pleaded guilty Wednesday to pocketing
$355,200 from two organizations that administered federal grants.
Tara Gloria Lewis purchased 17 mink coats plus one fitted for her
Barbie doll during the time she diverted the money from two bank
accounts she managed, according to sources who spoke on condition of
anonymity.
Co-workers reported that Ms. Lewis rode to work in a
chauffeur-driven limousine, said the sources.
Ms. Lewis faces a possible 10-year sentence for pleading guilty
to bank fraud and wire fraud, charges that made no mention of her
purchases.
She admitted she had diverted $268,578 from the International
Council on Education and Teaching by forging signatures of the
organization's officers onto checks payable to herself and others.
She also admitted forging signatures on bank wire-transfer
authorization forms to divert an additional $86,650 from that
organization and from the Council on Education for Teaching, another
organization that employed her as a consultant to do bookkeeping and
accounting.
The two organizations administered Agency for International
Development grants and Ms. Lewis knew that most if not all of the
money she diverted came from AID, prosecutor Richard W. Roberts told
U.S. District Judge June Green.
AID said in a press release that the diversion of funds from the
grant was discovered during an annual review of the agency's Bureau
for Food and Voluntary Agencies.
According to a plea agreement filed in court, the government
agreed that for the purposes of sentencing, Ms. Lewis admitted
diverting only $340,000. Under this agreement, the court cannot
order her to pay restitution of more than $340,000.
In addition, Ms. Lewis could be fined $250,000 or three times the
loss to the victim.
AP890920-0180
AP-NR-09-20-89 1913EDT
u i AM-Soviet-Ethnic 1stLd-Writethru a0676 09-20 0961
AM-Soviet-Ethnic, 1st Ld-Writethru, a0676,0986
Party Adopts Ethnic Policy, Gorbachev Demands Order
Eds: LEADS with 7 grafs to UPDATE with Politburo shake-up. Picks
up graf 5 pvs, `The party ...' with minor editing thereafter to conform
By MARK J. PORUBCANSKY
Associated Press Writer
MOSCOW (AP)
The Communist Party on Wednesday demanded that the
nation's troubled republics quiet their growing calls for
independence but promised to grant them more control of their
economies.
President Mikhail S. Gorbachev, speaking at the close of a
meeting by the party's policy-making Central Committee, said it was
time to ``strike a determined blow at those who offer us inss and serious
affairs, adventurist platforms.''
The session was called to adopt a program addressing burgeoning
ethnic tensions and unrest among the Soviet Union's numerous
nationalities.
Later Wednesday, Tass news agency reporttead of
politiced a stunning shake-up of
the ruling Communist Party Politburo by Gorbachev. Gorbachev, who is
party general secretary as well as the country's president, retired
three full members in a dramatic consolidation of power.
Those stepping down were former KGB chief Viktor M. Chebrikov,
66; Viktor P. Nikonov, 60, and Ukrainian party chief Vladimir V.
Shcherbitsky, 71.
That will leave Vitaly I. Vorotnikov of the Russian republic as
the only one left on the 11-member as not appointed
by Gorbachev.
At Wednesday's Central Committee session, Gorbachev spoke
extemporaneously and jabbed his finger in the air for emphasis as he
asked party members to fall in behind the program aimed at curbing
unrest. He said the country could not afford to be ``dragged into
any reshaping of borders ... changing shapes of national
formations.''
The party platform, under development for the past 18 months, is
a blueprint for calming the tensions that have caused more than 200
deaths and brought calls in some republics, particularly in the
Baltics and the Caucasus republic of Georgia, for outright
independence.
It declared that republics have the right to own and manage their
resources without Kremlin central planning. It said that the
republics should ``enjoy broad opportunities to invigorate their
economy and culture'' while relying on the overall strength of the
national economy.
In adopting the program, the Central Committee called the program
the ``political basis for the renewal of the Soviet federation.''
In the two-day debate, party officials split on thorny ethnic
problems with hard-liners calling for a crackdown on disorder in the
republics and reformers shooting back that they cannot be blamed for
processes unleashed by the reform-minded Gorbachev's tolerant views.
The differences in the Central Committee, evident in speeches
distributed by Tass Wednesday, reflected Soviet society's
polarization over calls for sovereignty.
``Part of the population has fallen under the influence of
extremist political slogans, another part is of a conservative mood,
not feeling real changes in the social conditions of life,''
Politburo member Vitaly I. Vorotnikov told the meeting.
In a critique that apparently included Gorbachev, Vorotnikov said
party officials from the local level up through the ruling Politburo
were guilty of mistakes in analyzing the political situation.
Local Communist leaders, in remarks reported Wednesday, supported
plans togive local officials more control over their economies.
Officials said that many factories and offices that are under direct
control of government ministries in Moscow pay little or no local
taxes and therefore do little to improve the living standards in the
provinces. That contributes to local discontent, they said.
But Absamat Masaliev, Communist Party chief of the Central Asian
republic of Kirghizia, said the line must be drawn at calling for
outright independence from the Soviet Union.
``The time has come ... to bring to order those who openly speak
out against our structure, our unity, sabotage perestroika and abuse
democracy,'' he said.
Masaliev said calls to turn the Soviet Communist Party into a
union of independent parties or to introduce a multiparty system
represent ``an extremely dangerous and destructive tendency.''
Yuri Yelchenko, a secretary of the Ukrainian Communist Party,
said legislation must be passed to disperse what he called
``nationalistic or chauvinistic organizations and groups.''
A score of people were killed by soldiers during a nationalist
protest in the Georgian republic in April, and some Georgian
activists have charged that the violence was ordered specifically by
officials in Moscow.
The Georgian Communist Party chief, Givi Gumbaridze, charged that
``excesses on nationalist grounds often are programmed ahead and
intended to require curfews, imposition of special forms of
administration, and that means a rejection of democratic
principles.''
Algirdas Brazauskas, party chief of the Baltic republic
Lithuania, said his republic had no intention of trying to leave the
Soviet Union. But he said the stormy discussions taking place there
about the future of the republic are only a reflection of the forces
unleashed by Gorbachev's reforms.
Brazauskas said the party platform on ethnic relations did not go
far enough to condemn the abuses of Josef Stalin, who absorbed
Lithuania and its neighbors Latvia and Estonia, then killed or
exiled thousands of their residents.
Gorbachev said Tuesday that Stalin's policies were wrong but that
the Baltic republics joined the Soviet Union voluntarily rather than
face Adolf Hitler's Nazi forces alone.
Moscow is faced with one of its toughest ethnic problems in the
Caucasus republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan, which have been locked
for the past 18 months in a bloody dispute over control of the
Nagorno-Karabakh region, a predominantly Armenian enclave within the
territory of Azerbaijan.
About 100 people have been killed in ethnic violence there,
including two policemen who were knifed on Tuesday as Gorbachev was
telling the nation the Kremlin would not tolerate anarchy there.
Armenian Communist Party chief Suren Arutyunyan asked officials
why they had done nothing over nearly two months to stop what he
said is an economic blockade of his republic by Azerbaijan.
AP890920-0181
AP-NR-09-20-89 2054EDT
r a AM-Delta1141-Report 09-20 0420
AM-Delta 1141-Report,0433
Newspaper Says Federal Report Finds Delta, Crew to Blame in 1988
Crash
DALLAS (AP)
Federal investigators are blaming a 1988 Delta
crash on the flight crew and the airline, which has already accepted
reponsibility for the disaster which killed 14 people.
Delta Air Lines has admitted that the flight crew failed to
properly set wing flaps before takeoff Aug. 31, 1988, from
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. The Boeing 727 crashed and
exploded on takeoff, killing 14 people; 95 survived.
Investigators for the National Transporation Safety Board reached
the same conclusion, according to a draft report obtained by the
Dallas Times Herald. The crew also failed to follow proper emergency
procedures, the newspaper reported in Wednesday's edition.
NTSB spokesman Michael Benson said the report is not necessarily
the government's final word on the crash.
``The report is unofficial,'' Benson said Wednesday. ``The only
time it becomes official is when the five-member NTSB board votes to
take action on the report. They may make revisions or adopt the
report as is.''
The board meets next Tuesday to consider the 174-page report.
The newspaper said the report concludes that the crew's failure
to follow preflight checklist procedures and its complacent cockpit
behavior led to its neglecting to set the flaps.
Cockpit tapes revealed that the crew talked about a previous
fatal plane crash, politics and other non-flight related issues
before takeoff, in violation of federal rules.
The management policies of Delta regarding crew guidance and
training ``were deficient and directly causal to this accident,''
the report says.
It also finds fault with the Federal Aviation Administration,
which it contends contributed to the accident by failing to correct
``known deficiencies'' in Delta's operations.
Jackie Pate, an Atlanta-based Delta representative said Wednesday
that Delta officials had not seen the report and would not comment
until the board's findings were made official.
Delta has fired the three crew members of Flight 1141, and the
crew is appealing the firing.
The NTSB draft report also says that the accident might have been
averted had the captain advanced to full power and lowered the nose
of the airplane shortly after encountering trouble.
A few months after the crash, Delta tightened its preflight
checklist procedures and began retraining.
The report recommends that the FAA ensure that the roles of
flight crew members are clearly delineated in all carriers'
operations manuals. It also recommends that the agency require that
verifying the flap position and proper procedures to save a
faltering airplane be included in manuals.
AP890920-0182
AP-NR-09-20-89 1910EDT
u i AM-Hugo'sAftermath 4thLd-Writethru a0764 09-20 1020
AM-Hugo's Aftermath, 4th Ld-Writethru, a0764,1057
URGENT
Coast Guard Evacuates People from St. Croix Because of Looting
Eds: LEADS with 14 grafs with details of troops, disorder; picks
up graf 14 pvs `Tourists pleaded....' SUBS graf 27th pvs `In Washington...'
to CONFORM; pickup 28th pvs `The Federal...' ADDS byline
With AM-Hugo, Bjt
By JEAN McNAIR
Associated Press Writer
CHRISTIANSTED, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP)
The Coast Guard on
Wednesday began evacuating people from the resort island of St.
Croix because of security fears following widespread looting after
Hurricane Hugo.
In Washington, President Bush authorized sending U.S. troops,
including military police units, to the U.S. Virgin Islands ``to
help restore order,'' the White House announced Wednesday.
Earlier, Bush ordered federal troops to help Puerto Rico, which
was also battered by the hurricane.
The president declared the U.S. Virgin Islands a disaster area,
making the island chain south and east of Puerto Rico eligible for
emergency relief.
On St. Croix, a popular U.S. vacation site about 70 miles east of
Puerto Rico, frantic tourists pleaded for evacuation, and witnesses
said police and some National Guardsmen took part in the looting.
``The private citizens around here are beginning to walk around
with pistols on their hips, and there's going to be real trouble if
somebody doesn't come in and quiet it down,'' Stu Ragland, a doctor
on St. Croix, told an amateur radio operator.
A Coast Guard office in Miami said personnel from the 270-foot
cutter Bear went ashore Wednesday.
Petty Officer John Ware, of Coast Guard headquarters in San Juan,
said the cutter came ashore and took 40 people.
Allen Burd, also a petty officer in San Juan, said anybody would
be taken off who wants to get leave, but he had no immediate
information on where the evacuees would be going.
A source in the Puerto Rican government said they were being
taken to that island.
Coast Guard officers earlier described the looting as ``serious''
and said the crew was evacuating ``all people from the island who
fear for their safety.''
The statement added that a C-130 cargo plane in Puerto Rico was
ready to help if needed.
White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said, ``The president has
authorized the deployment to the U.S. Virgin Islands of such
Department of Defense forces as are necessary.'' There was no
immediate statement, however, about numbers of troops being deployed.
Attorney General Dick Thornburgh said earlier that he ordered 100
U.S. marshals and FBI agents to St. Croix, said David Runkel, a
Justice Department spokesman.
Tourists pleaded with reporters landing in the St. Croix city of
Christiansted to take them off.
``When we landed (in a helicopter), we were pounced upon by about
15 tourists,'' said Gary Williams, a reporter for the San Juan daily
El Nuevo Dia. ``They said, `Please get food! Please get water!
Please help us! They're looting. We've seen police looting. We've
seen National Guard looting. There's no law and order here.'''
Jose Antonio Resto, 30, supervisor for a bakery chain in St.
Croix, also said looting was widespred.
``Everybody is taking part in the looting, even policemen, in the
entire island,'' Resto said Wednesday. ``Police tried to stop the
looting yesterday by shooting in the air, when they saw that it was
of no use, they started looting too.''
``It's like a free giveaway. There's no light, there's no water,
there's no food.''
He said he saw U.S. Army personnel arrive by plane on Tuesday and
a Coast Guard helicopter arrive on Wednesday.
The U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday a total of six cutters were
in area of St. Croix, the largest island in the Virgin Island chain,
to help restore order. It said gunshots were heard overnight.
Ham radio operators heard reports that inmates had either escaped
or been released because of prison damage and also were looting.
The National Guard reported Hugo's winds on Sunday night and
Monday destroyed or damaged 90 percent of the buildings on the U.S.
Virgin Islands. No deaths were reported on the islands.
Looting was also reported in St. Thomas and Puerto Rico, and more
than 50,000 people in the eastern Caribbean were homeless.
A Civil Defense spokeswoman in Puerto Rico, Cizanette Rivera,
said Hugo claimed 25 lives Sunday and Monday as it churned westward
through the Leeward Islands and hit Puerto Rico before heading
northwest.
Officials of the British Virgin Islands reported damage of more
than $150 million. The government said more than a third of the
private homes were ruined on the island of Tortola.
The Caribbean island chains are plagued by poverty and
unemployment and heavily dependent on the travels of well-off
tourists. Deep currents of resentment often surface during disasters.
In Washington, Fitzwater said the Interior Department had made
available $500,000 to buy food, emergency supplies in the Virgin
Islands.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, the nation's lead agency
for long-term disaster recovery, flew a C-141 transport Tuesday from
Martinsburg, W. Va., to St. Croix.
Hamilton International Airport in St. Croix was open _ but
without its tower, lights and radio, said Bill McAda, agency
spokesman in Washington.
Williams said his helicopter flew over Sunny Isle shopping center
in Christiansted on Tuesday. He said there appeared to be 1,000
people in the parking lot, many walking in and out of some of the 40
shops with garbage bags.
``They were walking to their cars with stuff,'' he said. ``The
Grand Union (supermarket) was just crammed with people at the door.''
At one jewelry store, ``We saw three men and a women walking out
with garbage bags loaded with stuff.''
``We did not see one cop in Christiansted, and that's the main
town,'' he said. ``We saw a National Guard truck filled to capacity
with all kinds of stuff in it.''
Miami Herald reporter Carlos Harrison also said he saw a National
Guard truck loaded with merchandise.
``They didn't look like they were delivering things,'' Harrison
said Wednesday.
Officials said St. Croix, which has 53,000 residents, suffered
more damage than St. Thomas or St. John, the other two islands in
the U.S. chain south and east of Puerto Rico.
AP890920-0183
AP-NR-09-20-89 1919EDT
u i AM-Peru 09-20 0247
AM-Peru,0256
Peru Declares Area Curfew After Mayor is Assassinated
AYACUCHO, Peru (AP)
Peru imposed a nighttime curfew in the
provinces of Ayacucho and Huancavelica in response to the
assassination of the mayor of this historic Andean city, authorities
said Wednesday.
Mayor Fermin Azparrent was killed Tuesday in his home by three
young men firing submachine guns, police said. They said the killers
escaped and identified them as members of the Maoist Shining Path
rebel group.
Police said Shining Path rebels also killed a village mayor in
the Amazon jungle, and that two rebels died in a shootout with a
police patrol in the central Andes.
Fifty mayors now have been killed in political violence in Peru
in the past five years.
Relatives said the 64-year-old Azparrent received numerous death
threats from leftist guerrillas and from paramilitary death squads
and survived at least eight earlier attempts on his life.
He recently resumed his duties in Ayacucho, a mountain city of
120,000 people 235 miles southeast of Lima, after spending months in
the capital because of the death threats.
Government officials say the Shining Path is out to sabotage
nationwide municipal elections scheduled for Nov. 12.
The curfew affects about 1 million people in the two Andean
provinces, already under state of emergency restrictions due to the
violence. The indefinite curfew restricts free movement and
gatherings.
It is the sixth curfew in the city of Ayacucho since the Shining
Path launched its armed insurgency in 1980.
AP890920-0184
AP-NR-09-20-89 1919EDT
u a AM-Hugo-Glance 09-20 0317
AM-Hugo-Glance,0326
A Glance At Hugo's Aftermath, Relief Efforts, Path
With AM-Hugo, Bjt
By The Associated Press
Here is a glance at developments related to Hurricane Hugo:
STORM PATH: Forecasters said Hugo could come ashore by late
Thursday or early Friday anywhere from northeastern Florida to Cape
Hatteras, N.C., with residents from Savannah, Ga., to Charleston,
S.C., most likely to be in harm's way.
PREPARATION: Coastal residents from Florida to North Carolina
stocked up on batteries, canned goods and other emergency supplies,
as well as plywood, tape and materials to protect their homes. The
Navy began sending ships from the Charleston Navy Base in South
Carolina to sea to ride out the storm and prevent damage at dockside.
LAW ENFORCEMENT: The Coast Guard had six ships near the U.S.
Virgin Islands and sent an armed landing party to help restore order
after violence and widespread looting was reported on St. Croix.
President Bush authorized U.S. troops, including military police, to
help restore order. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh ordered 100
U.S. marshals and FBI agents to the island. Bush also directed the
Pentagon to make troops available for relief efforts in Puerto Rico,
where National Guardsmen were trying to stop widespread looting.
Attorney
RELIEF EFFORTS: Relief groups from Ohio to Florida gathered tons
of cots, blankets, communications gear and other emergency supplies
for the hurricane-battered Caribbean islands. President Bush
declared the U.S. Virgin Islands a disaster area and freed $500,000
for immediate use by the Interior Department. Coast Guard planes
flew Red Cross supplies to St. Thomas and other islands.
DAMAGE: Hugo caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage in
Puerto Rico alone. The British Virgin Islands reported more than
$150 million in damage and the National Guard said 90 percent of the
buildings were destroyed or damaged on the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Guadeloupe, Montserrat and other islands also reported widespread
damage.
AP890920-0185
AP-NR-09-20-89 2104EDT
r w AM-ArlingtonAshes 09-20 0322
AM-Arlington Ashes,350
House Panel OKs Burial of Ashes at Arlington
By ROBERT GREENE
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
An area of Arlington National Cemetery would be
set aside for the unmarked burial of the ashes of veterans as a way
to prevent overcrowding, according to legislation approved Wednesday
by a House panel.
The ashes, which would not be placed in urns, would be buried
under sod or in small holed.
The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Charles E. Bennett, D-Fla.,
envisions a well-tended green area for the remains, with a wall
bearing the names of those whose ashes are buried there, according
to a Bennett aide who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The House Veterans Affairs Committee approved the measure. Such
burial would be optional and would not use any space designated for
caskets.
``We don't know what kind of response this is going to get,'' the
aide said, adding that the Army would insist on a fitting ceremony
and interment to address concerns ``that it may seem like a mass
grave.''
Arlington, on a hillside directly across the Potomac from
Washington, is expected to run out of casket space in 2020. The
columbarium, where urns are stored, is expected to be full in 2029.
Veterans may request burial at Arlington or other national
cemeteries.
More than 9 million World War II veterans are still alive. The
number of veterans over 65 total nearly 6 million and should be
nearly 9 million by the turn of the century.
Restrictions were placed on burials in 1967 in the first effort
to prevent the cemetery from filling too rapidly. About 190,000
people are buried in the 612-acre cemetery.
In another action, the committee approved legislation to create a
World War II memorial in or near the District of Columbia, paid for
by donations and taxes.
No cost estimate is possible because no decisions have been made
on size, location or design.
AP890920-0186
AP-NR-09-20-89 1921EDT
u a AM-Hoffa 1stLd-Writethru a0708 09-20 0564
AM-Hoffa, 1st Ld-Writethru, a0708,0576
Playboy Editor Says Hoffa Story Checked Out
Eds: SUBS 6th graf, `FBI officials ..., with 2 grafs to UPDATE with
quote from FBI official in Chicago.
By DARLENE E. SUPERVILLE
Associated Press Writer
NEWARK, N.J. (AP)
An editor at Playboy magazine said Wednesday
that extensive investigation turned up no reasons to disbelieve an
informant who says former Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa was buried
beneath Giants Stadium.
``I lived with this story for seven months,'' said Peter Moore,
an associate articles editor for Playboy. ``You're kind of walking
on eggs on a story like this.''
The story in the Chicago-based magazine's November issue quotes
Donald ``Tony the Greek'' Frankos, a self-described hitman and
federally protected witness in the upcoming New York trial of
alleged organized-crime boss John Gotti.
Frankos claims he told the FBI in 1986 that Hoffa was shot to
death by alleged Irish mob boss Jimmy Coonan and dismembered in a
house near the Detroit suburb of Mount Clemens. Coonan is serving a
lengthy prison term in an unrelated case.
Frankos says Hoffa's body was stored in a freezer until it was
buried in concrete next to the west end zone of the football stadium
near New York.
FBI officials have declined to comment on Frankos' account, one
of many purporting to explain Hoffa's July 1975 disappearance.
In Chicago, FBI spokesman Bob Long said Wednesday that ``aside
from saying there is still an active investigation, there wouldn't
be any statement. We would not be commenting on the validity or lack
of validity on that story.''
New Jersey state police Superintendent Col. Clinton L. Pagano
said he places little credibility in the report. That view is shared
by Robert Mulcahy, president and chief executive officer of the New
Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority, which runs Giants Stadium.
Frankos says Hoffa was killed in a dispute over his desire to
regain control of the Teamsters union after his release from federal
prison in Lewisburg, Pa., where he was serving time for mail fraud
and jury tampering.
``Confirmation, for me, would be finding the body,'' Moore said
in a telephone interview. ``We confirmed it to the degree that it is
possible when you're dealing with major underworld figures.''
Moore said he received a telephone call seven months ago from
someone with a husky voice, offering information on where Hoffa's
remains could be found.
Moore said he was doubtful, but began research. Moore said he and
at least three staff members conducted scores of interviews, checked
on the relationships Frankos claimed to have and were able to
uncover no inconsistencies in Frankos' story.
``We got to the point where we believed that enough of Don
Frankos' story was checking out that we had to run with it,'' Moore
said.
``It was a real game to get information that can corroborate a
story like this,'' he said. ``There are people trying to put him in
jail for the same thing we're trying to report on. We were doing a
dance for a while.''
The only person to meet Frankos was Lake Headley, a private
investigator. Moore only spoke with Frankos by telephone.
Headley, of Wysocki & Associates in Las Vegas, conducted the
interview which will appear in Playboy's November issue. He was en
route Wednesday to New York and could not be reached for comment,
according to his partner, Mike Wysocki.
AP890920-0187
AP-NR-09-20-89 1926EDT
u i AM-Hugo-PuertoRico 09-20 0543
AM-Hugo-Puerto Rico,0562
Water, Gasoline Shortages Plague Puerto Rico in Hugo's Wake
With AM-Hugo, Bjt, and AM-Hugo-Aftermath, Bjt
LaserPhoto
By ROBERT GLASS
Associated Press Writer
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)
Thousands of people lined up with
water buckets at National Guard tanker trucks in 91-degree heat
Wednesday as crews struggled to restore water and electricity to
this hurricane-wracked island.
Utility officials said 70 percent of the island was still without
running water and 35 percent without electricity two days after
Hurricane Hugo slammed into the U.S. commonwealth of 3.3 million
people.
In Washington, President Bush ordered federal troops to help the
island get back on its feet. He also authorized soldiers to help
restore order in the nearby U.S. Virgin Islands, which were wracked
by widespread looting.
Esteban Romero, assistant director of the Puerto Rico's
Electrical Energy Authority, said power could be fully restored by
Wednesday night to San Juan, the capital where one-third of the
population lives.
However, the official said hard-hit towns in the extreme
northeast could be without water for up to three weeks.
Police spokesman Baltasar Vazquez said that in one San Juan
neighborhood, police had to be called after residents mobbed
firefighters distributing water.
People stood in double file, 150 to a line, at National Guard
tanker trucks filling water buckets. Residents opened fire hydrants
to bath.
Thousands of Puerto Ricans converged on the southern coastal city
of Ponce, which escaped the worst of the storm, to stock up on
bottled water, ice and gasoline.
``I came from San Juan to buy gasoline in Ponce,'' said Carlos
Gonzalez. ``I need gasoline because I'm a salesman.''
The state morgue appealed to private funeral parlors to bring
corpses there because it had a generator-operated cooler to preserve
the bodies.
The storm-related toll in Puerto Rico rose to four with reports
of the death of one man in a pleasure boat and a power linesman who
was electrocuted making repairs.
Civil defense officials say a total of 25 people were killed
Sunday and Monday as Hugo churned north and westward through the
Caribbean.
Hundreds of tourists jammed San Juan's Luis Munoz Marin
International Airport, which reopened Wednesday for the first time
since Sunday evening. Many were turned back because of fully booked
flights.
``If I had known what was going on, I never would have come
here,'' said Jennifer Hargreaves, 25, of Philadelphia.
The tension at the airport intensified when a propane line
exploded at the construction site of a new Delta terminal, igniting
a fire and sending up billows of heavy smoke. Two people were
reported injured.
Juan Garcia, director of the Association of Insurance Companies,
said ``claims are going to be in the order of eight figures. We are
talking tens of millions of dollars.''
Officials estimateddamage to roads at $40 million and to the
electricial system and the airport at $20 million each.
Acting Agriculture Secretary Alfonso Davila said 80 percent of
the coffee crop was lost, thousands of chickens were killed, and
losses to the milk industry were running at $600,000 a day.
Coast Guard and National Guard cargo planes were flying food,
water and other supplies to the offshore islands of Culebra and
Vieques, where hundreds of people remained cut off from the mainland.
AP890920-0188
AP-NR-09-20-89 2111EDT
r a AM-BakkerTrial 09-20 0637
AM-Bakker Trial,0655
Prosecutors Wrap Up Case Against Jim Bakker
By PAUL NOWELL
Associated Press Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)
Prosecutors wrapped up their case
Wednesday at PTL founder Jim Bakker's fraud trial, saying his
ministry had sold $157.9 million worth of lodging rights to 152,903
believers by the time he quit.
The government showed the jury a final piece of videotape showing
Bakker urging his followers to send money for so-called lifetime
partnerships in his ministry.
Prosecutors contend that Bakker used the money raised through
partnership sales to finance a lavish lifestyle instead of building
lodging he had promised the partners, who were supposed to get a few
days of free lodging every year.
The government case in Bakker's fraud and conspiracy trial
started Aug. 28.
Before presenting their evidence, Bakker's attorneys asked that
the charges be dismissed, saying Bakker's rights were being
violated, not those of his followers.
``What we have is a ministry, a religious entity,'' said Attorney
Harold Bender said. ``Everything it did was religious in nature. The
Constitution prohibits government interference in a religion.''
Prosecutor Jerry Miller disagreed, saying: ``This is not a case
about religion. It is a case about lying to the people on television
and cheating them out of their money.''
The motion was denied by U.S. District Judge Robert Potter, and
the defense began by showing the jury more tapes of the PTL
television show.
Earlier, FBI agent John Pearson recapped testimony showing that
as of May 31, 1987 _ two months after Bakker resigned _ PTL had
152,903 fully paid partnerships costing $157.9 million.
Pearson said contributors sent $66.9 million for Heritage Grand
partnerships and about 52.8 percent of that was spent on
construction of the hotel.
More than $74 million was spent for Towers Hotel partnerships,
Pearson said, and 15.4 percent of that was spent on the partially
built hotel. About $17 million was sent by believers for
partnerships in bunkhouses and 5.6 percent was spent on construction
of one 16-room bunkhouse.
Testimony showed that Bakker sold lodging rights in a 16-room
bunkhouse to more than 42,000 people and agreed to cut the number of
bunkhouses in half while urging more people to send money.
During a broadcast of his ``PTL Club'' show, Bakker told viewers
he wasn't trying to profit from lifetime partnership sales at PTL's
Heritage Park USA complex in Fort Mill, S.C.
``We're not here to make money,'' Bakker said in an August 1986
broadcast. ``I hope my critics wake up and realize I'd be a fool if
I tried to make money off something like this.''
``This is a deal of a lifetime,'' Bakker told viewers in another
August promotional broadcast. ``There are no fees. This is not a
profit-making organization.''
Bakker's comments came while he offered a new lodging program
called the Family Heritage Club. Donors of $500 would get three days
and two nights in 16-unit ``bunkhouses,'' he said. Only one
bunkhouse was completed when Bakker resigned in disgrace in March
1987.
Bakker is accused in 24 fraud and conspiracy counts of diverting
more than $3.7 million in PTL money raised from the partnership
sales to pay for personal luxuries. If found guilty of the 24 counts
against him, he could be sentenced to 120 years in prison and fined
more than $5 million.
At one point, Bakker said all the partnerships available had been
sold. Then in March 1987, second-in-command Richard Dortch said in a
telethon that more partnerships in the never-finished Towers Hotel
were available because 70 percent of the people on the monthly
installment plan had not lived up to their obligations.
The first defense videotape showed a July 4, 1984, dedication
ceremony at Heritage USA for three facilities: a water park, a home
for handicapped children called ``Kevin's House,'' and Fort Hope for
the homeless.
AP890920-0189
AP-NR-09-20-89 2216EDT
d a AM-BRF--AlumniDonations 09-20 0154
AM-BRF--Alumni Donations,0158
Kentucky College Retains No. 1 Alumni-Donation Ranking
DANVILLE, Ky. (AP)
For the sixth consecutive year, Centre
College is No.1 in the nation in the percentage of its alumni that
provide donation, according to the school's Office of Development.
Centre received annual donations from 6,023 of 7,993 alumni for a
participation rate of 75.4 percent, tying the school's national
record set in 1987-88.
The school's annual fund also attained $1,573,609, a 5 percent
increase from 1987-88.
Rounding out the top five were Willliams College (Mass.), 65.4
percent; Bowdoin College (Maine), 62.7; Hamilton College (N.Y.),
62.5; and Dartmouth College (N.H.), 61.0.
Amherst College (Mass.) headed the second five with 60.9 percent,
followed by University of the South (Tenn.), 60.1; Lehigh University
(Pa.), 60.0; Randolph-Macon College (Va.), 59.0; and Gustavus
Adolphus (Minn.) 58.5.
Centre is among the nation's 20 oldest coeducation liberal arts
colleges. It has an enrollment of about 860 students.
AP890920-0190
AP-NR-09-20-89 2003EDT
u i AM-Soviet-Politburo 1stLd-Writethru a0754 09-20 0952
AM-Soviet-Politburo, 1st Ld-Writethru, a0754,0979
Gorbachev Completes Major Politburo Shake-up
Eds: LEADS throughout to UPDATE with details. No pickup
By MARK J. PORUBCANSKY
Associated Press Writer
MOSCOW (AP)
Mikhail Gorbachev pulled off a major shake-up of
the Communist Party Politburo on Wednesday, retiring a quarter of
the ruling elite in one stroke and promoting his KGB chief and his
top economic planner.
Dropped from power was the 71-year-old Ukrainian party chief,
Vladimir V. Shcherbitsky; former KGB chief Viktor M. Chebrikov, 66;
and Viktor P. Nikonov, 60; leaving only one pre-Gorbachev appointee
on the 11-member Politburo.
KGB Gen. Vladimir A. Kryuchkov, who presided over a partial
opening up of his secrecy-bound agency, and economic planning chief
Yuri D. Maslyukov, were promoted.
At a time when economic failures and ethnic violence prompted
some Soviets to fret openly about the possibility of a coup or civil
war, the move demonstrated Gorbachev's firm control at the pinnacle
of Soviet power.
It also gave him a stronger hand in Moscow as the leadership
writes a new program and rules to govern the party in the 1990s.
The Central Committee on Tuesday moved up the date for the next
congress to October 1990, handing Gorbachev an early opportunity to
reach deep into party ranks to completely remold its top echelon.
Gorbachev is both the nation's president and the general secretary
of the Soviet Communist Party.
The shake-up came at a meeting of the party Central Committee
after the 251-member policy-making body approved a program demanding
that restive Soviet republics stifle calls to leave the union but
acceding to demands for more local control of the economy.
The oft-delayed session was called to address burgeoning ethnic
tensions and unrest among the Soviet Union's numerous nationalities.
It sought to calm the strife while drawing a line at calls for
independence or secession.
For activists in some republics, the removal of Shcherbitsky and
Chebrikov probably will ease the sting of Gorbachev's toughly worded
rejection of drives for sovereignty.
Tass, the official news agency, said Gorbachev thanked the three
Politburo members warmly for their ``many years of fruitful
activity'' in the party, indicating they were retiring in good grace.
Shcherbitsky, regarded as a conservative force both in Moscow and
his native Ukraine, was the last Politburo member other than
Gorbachev still serving from the time of President Leonid I.
Brezhnev. His retirement makes Vitaly I. Vorotnikov of the Russian
republic the only pre-Gorbachev appointee remaining on the Politburo.
Brezhnev was in power from 1964-82.
Rumors of Shcherbitsky's impending retirement circulated for
years because of his conservative views. He presumably will remain
party chief in the Ukraine until a replacement can be named.
Chebrikov had moved from head of the KGB last September to a new
party position overseeing legal affairs. Said to be one of those
responsible for Gorbachev's selection as party chief in 1985, he
nevertheless has been regarded recently by some Western analysts as
a foe and potential rival to Gorbachev.
His departure was likely to please activists in Georgia
especially, where Chebrikov was suspected of having prior knowledge
of a military assault that killed a score of nationalist
demonstrators in April.
Nikonov had described himself earlier this year as a deputy to
Yegor K. Ligachev on party agricultural policy. He appeared to serve
no clear function on the Politburo, and his views on major policy
questions were not well known.
In Dallas on Friday, opposition Soviet politician Boris Yeltsin
singled out Chebrekov and Shcherbitsky as two Politburo members he
said must go. Yeltsin, chairman of a newly formed independent caucus
in the Soviet congress, said Ligachev and Vitaly Vorotnikov were two
others who must leave the Politburo.
He said their departure was needed ``to reduce the pressure on
Gorbachev from the right, which is preventing him from acting more
decisively.''
Yeltsin also had called for a party congress soon during his U.S.
visit.
Newly designated Politburo member Kryuchkov is a career
intelligence officer who has engaged the KGB in a charm offensive.
He has undergone an unprecedented legislative confirmation
hearing, begun granting interviews and authorizing news conferences,
and said the KGB seeks to cooperate with its Western counterparts to
control terrorism and drug trafficking.
Maslyukov, the head of the State Planning Committee, also was
promoted to full Politburo membership. His difficult tasks include
sorting out economic relations with republics that are clamoring for
more economic independence from Moscow.
Three regional party chiefs with agricultural expertise, Yegor S.
Stroyev of Orel, Yuri A. Mananyenkov of Lipetsk and Gumer I. Usmanov
of the Tatar region of Russia, were promoted to the Central
Commmittee's secretariat in Moscow. So, too, was Andrei N. Girenko,
a long-time Communist official who ran the party organization in the
Crimean peninsula.
Two candidate, or non-voting members of the Politburo, Yuri
Solovyev and Nikolai Talyzin, also were forced out. Their places
were taken by Yevgeny Primakov, head of the Soviet of the Union
legislative chamber, and Boris Pugo, head of the party commission
overseeing discipline.
Solovyev was embarrassed in March when he was rejected in an
election for the new Congress of People's Deputies parliament even
though he ran unopposed. He subsequently was removed as Leningrad
party chief.
Talyzin was Maslyukov's predecessor as planning chief, but was
demoted twice before finally being dropped from the Politburo.
Gorbachev on Tuesday told the Central Committee the Kremlin could
tolerate neither anarchy nor separatist demagogues. He said in
closing remarks Wednesday it was time to ``strike a determined blow
at those who offer us instead of politics and serious affairs,
adventurist platforms.''
He called for support of the program, saying the country could
not afford to be ``dragged into any reshaping of borders ...
changing shapes of national formations.''
AP890920-0191
AP-NR-09-20-89 2122EDT
r w AM-Carter-Nicaragua 1stLd-Writethru a0717 09-20 0628
AM-Carter-Nicaragua, 1st Ld-Writethru, a0717,620
Group Questions Carter's Effectiveness in Monitoring Elections
Eds: SUBS 8th graf pvs `The Nicaraguan ...' with 3 grafs to UPDATE
with Carter's meeting with Bush on Thursday; administration plan to ask
Congress for $9 million for opposition campaign. Picks up 9th graf pvs
`Although there ...'
By W. DALE NELSON
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
Members of a conservative-backed group denied
entry to Nicaragua to monitor elections there questioned Wednesday
whether a delegation led by former President Carter will be able to
effectively judge the fairness of the voting.
``We would hope that their people will get out into the
countryside and do what we would have done,'' said Curtin Winsor,
co-chairman of the Bipartisan Commission on Free and Fair Elections
in Nicaragua and former Reagan administration ambassador to Costa
Rica.
``If they don't, I am afraid that at best their work will be
incomplete and at worst it will be badly flawed.''
Another commission member, Alan Keyes, assistant secretary of
state for international organization affairs in the Reagan
administration, said he didn't think the Carter group ``is going to
help us one bit to make our judgment about the process over time;
they are only going to help, perhaps, to make a judgment about
election day,''
Commission member Elaine Kamarck, a writer and teacher who has
been an adviser to Democratic presidential candidates, said Carter
``did a wonderful job'' as an election observer in Panama, where he
denounced the May elections as fraudulent.
He ``certainly has some credibility,'' she said, adding that the
former president will need input from observers who are less
well-known than he.
``I have every faith that Jimmy Carter will process all
information and data appropriately,'' Ms. Kamarck said. ``I think
the problem will be making sure that he gets the right information.''
The Nicaraguan elections are scheduled for Feb. 25. Carter, who
ended a three-day visit to the country Tuesday, will meet with
President Bush at the White House on Thursday to discuss the
elections.
Also Wednesday, congressional sources said the Bush
administration would ask for $9 million for direct and indirect aid
for Chamorro's campaign.
The money _ to be funneled both directly to the opposition
political coalition and indirectly through the quasi-governmental
National Endowment for Democracy and United Nations election
observers _ would meet an estimated 80 percent or more of Chamorro
election budget, according to administration estimates.
``Although there are problems, the agreements reached ... give us
optimism that the elections will be free and fair,'' Carter said
before leaving Managua, noting that the opposition had accused the
leftist Sandinista government of failing to live up to agreements.
He said his team would organize an independent vote count the
night of the elections, but won't release its tallies until after
the official returns are announced.
The Nicaraguan government, the Supreme Electoral Council and the
political opposition invited Carter to observe the elections as
chairman of the Council of Freely Elected Heads of State, an
Atlanta-based organization.
The United Nations and the Organization of American States also
will send observer teams.
The privately financed Bipartisan Commission was created by the
conservative World Freedom Foundation to establish criteria for the
election and observe its fairness.
The Nicaraguan Embassy announced Sept. 13 that it had denied the
group visas, saying that the president of the foundation had
recently visited Contra camps in Honduras and expressed his support
of the rebels.
Winsor, Keyes and Ms. Kamarck appeared at a luncheon at the
conservative Heritage Foundation.
The commission's other members are former Sen. Gaylord Nelson,
D-Wis., who with Winsor is co-chairman of the group; Sergio Bendixen
a Democratic political consultant who has worked in Latin American
campaigns; and Vic Gold, an aide to then-Vice President George Bush.
AP890920-0192
AP-NR-09-20-89 2126EDT
r w AM-Budget 1stLd-Writethru 09-20 0749
AM-Budget, 1st Ld - Writethru,a0745,700
Democrats Propose IRA Tax Relief as Capital Gains Cut Alternative
Eds: ADDS six grafs on drug spending meeting
By STEVEN KOMAROW
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
House Democratic leaders said Wednesday they
would fight President Bush's capital gains tax cut with an
alternative that would raise levies on the wealthy to partially
restore tax breaks for middle-class individual retirement accounts.
Republican leaders predicted the Capitol Hill budget battle would
push past Congress' deadlines for enacting deficit-reduction
legislation, forcing nearly $17 billion in government-wide spending
reductions.
The House Democratic plan was modeled loosely on a proposal by
Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, D-Texas, to provide a 50 percent tax deduction
for money put into individual retirement accounts, said Rep. Dan
Rostenkowski, D-Ill.
In addition, IRA contributions could be withdrawn without penalty
if the money were used for education or a first-time home purchase.
To pay for the IRA program and raise more money toward reducing
the deficit, the Democratic plan would raise to 33 percent the
marginal tax rate for the nation's wealthiest taxpayers. Most now
pay a top rate of 28 percent on most of their income, even though
some in the upper middle class pay 33 percent on part of their
income.
According to a study earlier this year by the Congressional
Budget Office, extending the 33 percent rate into the upper incomes
would raise $42.9 billion over the next five years.
The exact cost of the IRA tax break had not been determined
because details of the proposal were still being worked out.
However, Rep. Leon Panetta, D-Calif., said it would be less than the
money gained from the upper-class tax increase and leave ``a
significant amount for deficit reduction.''
The Democratic leadership plan will be offered as an alternative
to the capital gains tax cut supported by Bush, House Republicans
and a group of mostly conservative Democrats.
Republican leaders, after a meeting Wednesday with Bush at the
White House, said it was almost certain Congress would fail to agree
on a deficit-reduction measure by mid-October, the deadline in the
Gramm-Rudman budget-balancing law.
Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., the senior Republican on the budget
committee, said the cuts would total about $16.8 billion, half from
defense and half from domestic programs.
The Gramm-Rudman deficit-reduction law requires Congress and the
president to reduce the deficit to within $10 billion of the $100
billion 1990 deficit target by Oct. 15 or cuts are mandated to bring
the deficit down.
However, the lion's share of the deficit reduction needed this
year is contained in the big budget bill carrying the capital gains
provision and a host of other contentious issues, including child
care and revisions to the catastrophic health insurance program.
White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater said there was a
``somewhat bleak prospect'' for averting the spending cuts.
House Republican Whip Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., speaking after the
morning meeting, said Bush was firm in his opposition to a tax rate
increase to help raise revenues to offset the deficit.
To propose such an increase is ``to guarantee a veto,'' as is
inclusion of add-on spending projects that Bush opposes.
``If, in fact, it has a child care bill that is unacceptable, and
if it has pension proposals that are unacceptable, he'll veto it.''
Meanwhile, senators of both parties met for more than an hour and
Republicans agreed to consider a Democratic proposal to add $1
billion to the war on drugs with money saved through a .425 percent,
across-the-board cut in all federal spending programs.
The two sides were negotiating not only in an effort to pay for
the drug war but to get appropriations moving again on the Senate
floor. Republicans have stalled action on the money bills with 10
days before the start of the new fiscal year as means of gaining
leverage in the dispute over the narcotics program.
Democrats initially sought a 0.5 percent, across-the-board cut as
a means of finding $2.2 billion to add to the drug war, mainly in
the realm of prevention, education and treatment. The Bush
administration balked at that on grounds that it would hit too hard
at the Pentagon.
The Democratic plan really was a counterproposal to a Republican
offer made earlier of a 0.25 percent, across-the-board cut combined
with targeted spending reductions in specific programs.
Sen. Mark O. Hatfield, R-Ore., the chief Republican negotiator,
said afterward that the meeting was ``all very positive.''
``It certainly narrows the gap in many ways,'' Hatfield said.
AP890920-0193
AP-NR-09-20-89 2030EDT
u a AM-NightStalker 3rdLd-Writethru a0774 09-20 1317
AM-Night Stalker, 3rd Ld-Writethru, a0774,1357
Ramirez Convicted on All Counts in `Night Stalker' Serial Murders
Eds: Leads with 11 grafs to UPDATE with Ramirez quote, penalty phase
set for Sept. 27, lawyer comment; DELETES grafs 8-9 pvs, ``Ladies and ...,
to tighten; picks up 12th graf pvs: `The jurors spent ...
LaserPhotos LA7,9
By LINDA DEUTSCH
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP)
Richard Ramirez was convicted of 13 murders
and 30 felonies Wednesday by a jury that decided he was the
devil-worshiping ``Night Stalker'' whose nocturnal attacks terrified
California in 1985.
In addition, the jurors found 18 special circumstances existed,
making Ramirez eligible for the death penalty.
The defendant, convicted on all counts against him, demanded to
be absent from court when the 63 separate verdict forms were read by
Superior Court Judge Michael Tynan.
The judge granted his request, saying a recent appeals court
decision gave him no choice. Ramirez, who left the courtroom with
shackles rattling around his ankles, heard the verdicts from
loudspeaker in a nearby holding cell.
His attorney said later that Ramirez had no reaction while
listening to the verdict. As he was taken from the courthouse,
Ramirez flashed a two-finger ``devil sign'' to photographers.
Asked what he thought about the verdicts, the 29-year-old El Paso
native said only: ``Evil.''
The jurors found that Ramirez was the demonic killer who
committed crimes of rape, sodomy, oral copulation, burglary and
attempted murder in addition to murder.
They found that 12 of the murders were first-degree, but decided
the killing of Tsai-Lian Yu was murder in the second-degree. She was
dragged from her car and killed as she screamed for help on March
17, 1985.
In the packed courtroom, relatives of three of the victims sat
with their heads bowed as the verdicts were read. Tynan said the
penalty phase of the trial would begin Sept. 27.
The trial lasted more than a year and it took more than a month
for the jury to reach its verdicts after bizarre interruptions _
including the murder of a juror _ required them to restart their
deliberations twice.
``My personal feeling is the jury could no longer be objective
after the death of the juror,'' defense attorney Daniel Hernandez
said after the verdicts were delivered. ``And the media was so
overwhelmingly decided of his guilt that no one could give him a
fair trial.''
The jurors spent 22 days in their second set of talks after the
slaying.
The juror's murder was a likely basis for the defense appeal of
Ramirez' conviction. It came on the heels of the dismissal of
another juror for sleeping during deliberations.
The jury was then 13 days into its talks. A day after
deliberations restarted with an alternate replacing the sleepy
juror, the panel was jolted again.
Juror Phyllis Singletary failed to appear one morning and was
found beaten and shot to death at the home she shared with her
boyfriend. The next day, the man committed suicide and left a note
saying he killed her in an argument.
Jurors wept when they learned of the tragedy, and Tynan was faced
with his most trying legal challenge. Lawyers said there were no
legal precedents for the situation.
Defense attorneys argued that the jurors were too distraught to
resume their talks and noted that Ms. Singletary's murder was
similar to the gruesome attacks attributed to the ``Night Stalker.''
Tynan decided to move forward. ``We must get on with the task
life has given us,'' he told jurors, ordering them to begin
deliberations with an alternate replacing the dead juror. The
defense motion for a mistrial was denied.
The verdicts came four years after Southern California's searing
summer of terror. In 1985, residents slept behind locked doors and
windows fearing a demonic killer who struck in the night, often
leaving a husband dead and a wife raped and beaten.
The news media dubbed the assailant the ``Night Stalker.''
Some of the crimes were grisly beyond imagining: A woman's eyes
were gouged out after she was slain. A man was murdered in his bed
and his wife was raped beside the dead body. The killer beat a small
child and attempted to sodomize him.
There were signs of devil worship _ a pentagram drawn on the wall
at one murder scene and survivors' accounts of being ordered to
``swear to Satan.''
The first killing was in 1984, but 12 of the murders attributed
to the same killer happened between March and August of 1985. There
were other murders in Orange County and San Francisco. By July, the
killer was striking only a few days apart. On some days, he struck
twice.
On July 21, police released a drawing of the ``Night Stalker''
suspect, a man with dark curly hair and bad teeth.
But it was not until Aug. 30 that authorities linked a
fingerprint found at one murder scene to Richard Ramirez. His photo
was published in newspapers and shown on TV.
Soon, police were inundated with reports that the suspect had
been sighted in East Los Angeles and they launched an air and ground
search.
On Aug. 31, citizens captured Ramirez after he pulled a woman
from her car and tried to grab her keys. She screamed, ``It's the
killer, the killer!''
Neighbors grabbed metal pipes and sticks and began chasing the
man.
``We ran after him halfway down the street,'' said a man who
joined the chase. ``We just all gang tackled him and we just held
him down.''
Law enforcement officers who arrested Ramirez formed a human
chain of 50 officers to protect him from a crowd shouting, ``Kill
him! Kill him!''
With Ramirez' capture, the case moved into the courts with
lawyers vying to represent the famous defendant. Ramirez chose a
pair of relatively inexperienced attorneys from San Jose.
Daniel and Arturo Hernandez, not related, frustrated judges and
the prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney P. Philip Halpin, with
repeated maneuvers for delay. More experienced counsel were
appointed to assist them.
Ramirez' court appearances drew crowds. The lanky, shaggy-haired
defendant rarely stood still, rattling shackles around his ankles as
he danced in place to imagined music only he could hear.
At one court session, Ramirez shouted, ``Hail, Satan!'' and
displayed a pentagram drawn on the palm of his hand.
In 1986, a preliminary hearing disclosed for the first time the
ghastly details of each victim's ordeal, and Ramirez was ordered to
stand trial. Various judges came and went from the case until it was
finally assigned to Superior Court Judge Michael Tynan, who pushed
for a speedy trial.
Jury selection began in July, 1988, and took six months.
Testimony opened in January. By then, Ramirez was a subdued figure
slumped in his chair at the counsel table as witness after witness
identified him as the ``Night Stalker.''
``I know it's him because I'll never forget his face, even
today,'' said a woman who had been raped and beaten by the assailant
who killed her husband.
Ramirez laughed as a tiny, foreign-born woman struggled to
describe her rape.
A woman who had seen her husband slaughtered lashed out at
Ramirez from the witness stand.
``You son of a bitch, why did you kill him?'' she shouted. ``I
gave you everything you wanted. ... What's wrong with you? ... He
was such a nice man.''
Ramirez' defense was mistaken identity. Attorney Ray Clark, who
assisted Daniel Hernandez after the lawyer said he was ill from
stress, said that witnesses were too traumatized to make accurate
identifications.
Defense witnesses included Ramirez' father, who claimed his son
was in El Paso, Texas, for a family gathering when two murders
occurred.
Clark argued that there was reasonable doubt of his guilt.
Halpin urged conviction on all counts.
``These were murders of men in their sleep, rapes and sodomy of
women after their husbands were dead,'' said Halpin. ``These were
consummate acts of cowardice.''
AP890920-0194
AP-NR-09-20-89 2052EDT
u i AM-Israel 09-20 0547
AM-Israel,0565
Arab Stabs Jewish Seminary Student in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (AP)
A Jewish seminary student was stabbed by an Arab
Wednesday after praying in Jerusalem's Old City, and a soldier
underwent emergency surgery after running into a stone-throwing
ambush in the Arab village of Beit Jala.
Israeli troops meanwhile shot and wounded 11 Palestinians in
clashes in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, Arab hospital
officials said. The army was checking the reports.
Student Yehuda Avrahami, 23, was slightly wounded when stabbed in
a crowded market in the Old City. He said he was returning from
praying at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site. He told Israel
radio ``everybody closed their shops and ran away'' and that he
stumbled to nearby Damascus Gate where paramilitary police called an
ambulance.
Police spokesman Uzi Sandori said 54 Arabs were held for
questioning in the stabbing but all were released.
The soldier, whose name was withheld, was injured when
Palestinian youths pelted with stones a water truck in which he was
traveling in Beit Jala near Bethlehem, the army and Israel radio
said.
In Gaza, two Palestinians escaped from Israeli troops after a
submachine gun was found in their car, but were later caught, army
officials said.
The body of a 45-year-old woman, apparently an American tourist,
was found Wednesday in the Arab neighborhood of A-Tur on the
outskirts of annexed east Jerusalem, Israeli media reports said.
Israel Television said the woman was a guest at the house of a
local leader and Israel radio said no signs of violence were found
on the body. The woman carried no documents. An autopsy was planned.
The military command said an army force patrolling the border
with Jordan captured two Jordanian infiltrators who planned to
attack an army patrol. It said the men were armed but did not resist
when captured Sunday. No explanation was given for the delay in the
announcement.
The military said the two were seized near Mt. Sodom on the Dead
Sea, 43 miles southeast of Jerusalem, and belonged to no Palestinian
guerrilla group.
Firefighters aided by air force helicopters brought a major
forest fire under control on Wednesday on Mt. Carmel near Haifa.
Forestry officials estimated the two-day blaze destroyed 2,000
acres of woodland and the fire consumed 80 percent of a natural
reserve on Mt. Carmel, killing 20 rare animals.
Two Arab groups, the Lebanon-based Islamic Jihad and the
previously unknown Direct Revenge, claimed responsibility for the
fire.
Police said six Arabs were detained for questioning.
Underground leaders have repeatedly urged Palestinians to use
arson as a weapon in the 21-month-old revolt against Israeli
occupation of the territories.
Israeli soldiers or civilians have killed at least 573
Palestinians since the uprising began in December 1987. Forty
Israelis also have died, and 114 Palestinians have been killed by
fellow Arabs as suspected collaborators.
In Lebanon, Palestinian sources said at least two guerrillas were
wounded on Wednesday when Israeli warplanes raided a Palestinian
guerrilla base south of Beirut.
The Israeli army in Jerusalem identified the target as a base of
Ahmed Jibril's Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General
Command.
A Lebanese police spokesman in Beirut said two Israeli planes
fired two missiles at the target near Naameh, 10 miles south of the
Lebanese capital.
AP890920-0195
AP-NR-09-20-89 2057EDT
u i AM-Soviet-PolitburoList 09-20 0350
AM-Soviet-Politburo List,0371
A List of Soviet Politburo Members
With AM-Soviet-Politburo
MOSCOW (AP)
With the changes announced Wednesday, the Communist
Party Politburo consists of the following people. The dates shown
after their names are their dates of election to their current
Politburo seats.
FULL MEMBERS:
1. Mikhail S. Gorbachev, October 1980, Soviet president and the
country's leader as Communist Party general secretary since March
11, 1985. Born March 2, 1931.
2. Nikolai I. Ryzhkov, April 1985, Soviet prime minister. Born
Sept. 28, 1929.
3. Vitaly I. Vorotnikov, December 1983, president of the Russian
federation. Born Jan. 20, 1926.
4. Lev N. Zaikov, March 1986, Moscow party chief. Born April 3,
1923.
5. Yegor K. Ligachev, April 1985, Central Committee commission
chairman for agriculture. Born Nov. 29, 1920.
6. Nikolai N. Slyunkov, June 1987, Central Committee commission
chairman for socio-economic policy. Born April 26, 1929.
7. Eduard A. Shevardnadze, July 1985, Soviet foreign minister.
Born Jan. 25, 1928.
8. Alexander N. Yakovlev, June 1987, Central Committee commission
chairman for international policy. Born Dec. 2, 1923.
9. Vadim A. Medvedev, September 1988, Central Committee
commission chairman for ideology. Born March 29, 1929.
10. Yuri D. Maslyukov, September 1989, chairman of the State
Planning Committee. Born Sept. 30, 1937.
11. Vladimir A. Kryuchkov, September 1989, chairman of the KGB.
Born 1924.
CANDIDATE (NON-VOTING) MEMBERS
1. Georgy P. Razumovsky, February 1988, Central Committee
commission chairman for personnel issues and party construction.
Born Jan. 19, 1936.
2. Gen. Dmitri T. Yazov, June 1987, Soviet defense minister. Born
Nov. 8, 1923.
3. Alexandra P. Biryukova, September 1988, Soviet deputy prime
minister and head of the State Social Development Bureau. Born Feb.
25, 1929.
4. Anatoly I. Lukyanov, September 1988, Soviet vice president.
Born May 7, 1930.
5. Alexander V. Vlasov, September 1988, chairman of the Council
of Ministers of the Russian federation. Born Jan. 20, 1932.
6. Yevgeny M. Primakov, September 1989, chairman of the Soviet of
the Unions legislative chamber. Born Oct. 29, 1929.
7. Boris K. Pugo, September 1989, chairman of the Communist Party
Control Committee. Born Feb. 19, 1937.
AP890920-0196
AP-NR-09-20-89 2155EDT
r a AM-BRF--IngersollPrizes 09-20 0153
AM-BRF--Ingersoll Prizes,0157
Ingersoll Prizes Go to Novelist and Educator
ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP)
The 1989 Ingersoll Prizes, honoring authors
whose works affirm Western civilization's moral principles, were
awarded Wednesday to novelist George Garrett and educator Edward O.
Wilson.
The awards include cash prizes of $20,000, said John Howard,
president of The Ingersoll Foundation, which makes the awards.
Garrett will receive the T.S. Eliot Award for Creative Writing,
while Wilson is honored with the Richard M. Weaver Award for
Scholarly Letters.
Garrett has published more than 25 works of fiction and poetry
and is the Hoyns professor of creative writing at the University of
Virginia. He has recently completed ``Entered From the Sun,'' a
mystery.
Wilson is Frank B. Baird Jr. professor of science and curator of
entomology at Harvard University. His books include ``Sociobiology:
The New Syntheses.''
The Ingersoll Foundation is the philanthropic division of
Ingersoll Milling Machine Co. in Rockford.
AP890920-0197
AP-NR-09-20-89 2117EDT
u w AM-Bush-Appointments 1stLd-Writethru 09-20 0190
AM-Bush-Appointments, 1st Ld-Writethru,a0770,150
Bush Nominates Judges in New York, Illinois, Arkansas
Eds: Adds two grafs on Arkansas judgeship; CORRECTS style on titles
in 1st graf
WASHINGTON (AP)
President Bush said Wednesday he intends to
nominate U.S. District Judge John M. Walker to the Second U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals in New York.
Walker, 48, is a former assistant secretary of the treasury who
has been a federal judge in New York since 1985. If confirmed by the
Senate, he would succeed Irving R. Kaufman on the appeals court.
Bush also said he will nominate an Illinois jurist, George W.
Lindberg, to the federal bench in Illinois.
Lindberg, 57, an appellate court justice for Illinois since 1978,
would succeed Prentice H. Marshall as U.S. District judge for the
Northern District of Illinois. Lindberg is a former state
representative.
Bush also said he will nominate Susan Webber Wright, a law
professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, to be a
federal judge in Arkansas.
Ms. Wright, 41, of Little Rock, would succeed Elsijane Trimble
Roy as U.S. district judge for the eastern and western districts of
Arkansas.
AP890920-0198
AP-NR-09-20-89 2124EDT
u i AM-Hugo-Islands 09-20 0533
AM-Hugo-Islands,0550
A Glance at Conditions on Islands Wracked by Hurricane Hugo
With AM-Hugo, Bjt; and AM-Hugo-Aftermath, Bjt
By The Associated Press
Hurricane Hugo, the strongest storm to hit the northeastern
Caribbean in a decade, wrecked havoc on several popular tourist
islands of the region Sunday and Monday. Here is an island-by-island
look at the status of the worst-hit areas Wednesday.
PUERTO RICO _ At least four deaths are reported on this island.
Seventy percent of the island is without running water and 35
percent without electricity. Officials estimate damage at $80
million to the island's roads, the electrical system and major
airport. In addition, 80 percent of the coffee crop is reported to
be lost.
This island of 3.3 million people, about 1,000 miles southeast of
Florida, is a U.S. commonwealth; its capital and largest city is San
Juan. It is a mostly mountainous territory of 3,435 square miles.
Puerto Rico is the easternmost of the West Indies group called the
Greater Antilles.
U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS _ Severe, widespread looting is reported on
St. Croix, the largest and most populous island of this group. Coast
Guard personnel have begun to evacuate those who want to leave, and
President Bush has authorized use of American military forces to
restore order. Widespread looting is reported and some hotels are
posting armed guards for protection. Almost all the buildings on St.
Croix are reportedly damaged or destroyed; food and water is
reported in short supply.
Slightly less severe damage and fewer reports of looting on St.
Thomas, the second most populous of the Virgin Islands with about
52,000 residents. Hotels there reported structural and water damage
but no serious problems. Some cruise ships in the main bay also
reported slight damage.
No immediate report of problems from St. John, the smallest of
the three major Virgin Islands.
The island group consists of St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John
as well as 50 smaller islands and cays. St. Croix lies about 70
miles east of Puerto Rico. The total land area of the islands, known
for their clear waters, jungle-like terrain and near-steady
temperatures yearround, is only 133 square miles.
MONTSERRAT _ Nine people are reported dead on this little-known
British island. A British frigate is at the scene for assistance.
Island officials say food will last only until the end of the week.
The island, only 33 square miles with a population of 12,000
people, is about 300 miles southeast of Puerto Rico near Antigua and
Guadeloupe.
GUADELOUPE _ Five people on these densely jungled French islands
are reported dead. The French government is mounting a major relief
effort.
These islands lie about midway along the arc between Puerto Rico
and Grenada, at the southern end of the Lesser Antilles. Guadeloupe
consists of the islands of Basse-Terre and Grande-Terre as well as
five island dependencies. The population of 328,000 lives on a
territory of 657 square miles.
ANTIGUA _ This island, part of the independent nation of Antigua
and Barbuda, reports two deaths.
Antigua and Barbuda, formerly a British colony, has a population
of 82,000. The country is about 300 miles southeast of Puerto Rico
next to Montserrat.
AP890920-0199
AP-NR-09-20-89 2201EDT
r i AM-UN-Lebanon 09-20 0170
AM-UN-Lebanon,0174
Security Council Endorses Arab League Effort for Lebanon Truce
With AM-Lebanon
UNITED NATIONS (AP)
The 15-member Security Council on Wednesday
unanimously declared its support for the Arab League effort to
arrange a truce in Beirut and a political settlement to end
Lebanon's 14-year-old civil war.
It backed the League's appeal ``for an immediate and
comprehensive cease-fire, the implementation of the security
arrangements and the establishment of the necessary conditions for
national reconciliation in Lebanon.''
The statement supported Arab League efforts to guarantee
Lebanon's ``full sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity
and national unity,'' but did not mention the presence of Syrian and
Israeli troops in Lebanon.
Council President Paulo Nogueira-Batista of Brazil read out the
statement.
The Arab League sought council endorsement after the Security
Council prodded the League into renewing its peacemaking efforts.
The League's three-member committee on Lebanon _ consisting of
Algeria, Morocco and Saudi Arabia _ had announced on Aug. 1 that it
was suspending its efforts because they had come to ``a dead end.''
AP890920-0200
AP-NR-09-20-89 2204EDT
r a AM-Hugo-Sheets 09-20 0465
AM-Hugo-Sheets,0480
Director of Hurricane Center Thrives in Pressure-Cooker Atmosphere
By SANDRA WALEWSKI
Associated Press Writer
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP)
After flying into about 200 hurricanes,
Bob Sheets doesn't appear at all fazed by his responsibility as
director of the National Hurricane Center to predict the path of the
ferocious storms.
Sheets, 52, friendly and low-key, is in his third season as head
of the worldwide command center for hurricane data in this suburb of
Miami.
``You look out there and see the chaos ... but it really works,''
he said Wednesday while surveying the low-ceiling, wide-open room
jammed with forecasters and reporters, cameramen and photographers
covering Hurricane Hugo.
Hugo, whose winds dropped to 105 mph after churning through the
Caribbean, is the most powerful of nine named storms this year, six
of which became hurricanes. Storms like Hugo make Sheets a household
name.
Killer hurricanes like Hugo, which left at least 25 dead, tens of
thousands homeless and millions of dollars in damages in its rampage
through the eastern Caribbean, make Sheets a household name when
they threaten the U.S. mainland.
A typical half hour for Sheets: do live feeds for the networks
and local television stations; squeeze in a few minutes with a print
reporter; grab a phone to talk with a government official in Myrtle
Beach, S.C.; consult with his team of forecasters on incoming data.
Then it starts all over again.
``He's a cool, collected person _ the ideal person for this
pressure job,'' said Gil Clark, a 34-year veteran of the hurricane
center. ``He's got a real feeling for hurricanes and everything that
goes with it.''
Sheets also gets high marks from his colleagues for scientific
ability and poise.
``He worked here as a forecaster before becoming deputy director
and then director,'' said hurricane specialist Hal Gerrish. ``He's
not just an administrator. He can sit down and be able to pull one
of the shifts with us.''
One of the biggest pressures on Sheets is to pinpoint where a
hurricane will blast ashore _ a decision that can result in
evacuations and huge expenditures. It is one of his biggest
frustrations.
``It's frustrating not to be able to say with a great deal of
confidence this is where it's going to move,'' said Sheets.
Hugo has been an especially difficult storm to forecast beyond a
couple of days, but he said the devastation in the Caribbean had
been lessened because of forecasts and warnings issued by the center.
Sheets, in 16 years of research flights, had his share of close
calls flying into the eye of hurricanes. He says he finds his
current job very fulfilling despite offers to join reconnaissance
crews checking Hugo.
``There's nothing there that I need to go and experience again,''
he said, grinning.
AP890920-0201
AP-NR-09-20-89 2146EDT
u i AM-Colombia 09-20 0602
AM-Colombia,0619
Corruption, Mercenaries Shake War on Drugs
By SUSANA HAYWARD
Associated Press Writer
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP)
For the first time in a month Columbia
had a day without bombings Wednesday, but the war on drugs reeled
from allegations that the cocaine cartels have paid spies at work in
the government, army and police.
The Senate on Tuesday night heard six hours of testimony from
Defense Minister Gen. Oscar Botero Restrepo, who denied opposition
charges he is connected to foreign mercenaries training
assassination squads for drug bosses.
Botero said the government was aware since late 1988 of rumors
that Israeli and British military trainers were operating in the
Magdalena Medio, a central mountainous region known as a haven for
paramilitary groups and cocaine labs.
But he said he could not confirm the reports until Colombian
media reported about them in April. Video tapes of civilians getting
explosives training, shooting from moving cars and attacking houses
were sent to lawmakers.
``The government never authorized or helped foreign mercenary
groups that came to Colombia,'' said Botero.
British Ambassador Richard Neilson told Colombian TV On Tuesday
night, ``The government of Colombia had information about British
mercenaries in Colombia in March and we were in a position to help
them (the government).''
The special Senate session came after arrest warrants were issued
Monday for two Israelis, former army Col. Yair Klein and civilian
Arik Acek, accused of training assassination squads for drug lords.
The drug cartels have used the paramilitary groups against
leftist guerrillas, considered enemies of the traditionally
right-wing traffickers. The guerrillas often wage their battles in
the same regions drug lords have processing labs and hideouts.
Death squads are also believed to have been used in an internal
war between the Medellin and Cali cocaine cartels, which compete to
smuggle drugs to the United States.
Interior Minister Orlando Vasquez Velasquez told senators he
knows ``there is a massive infiltration of narco-traffickers in the
government, the armed forces, police and congress.''
Officials say 85 members of the army and national police have
been dismissed this year and charged with wrongdoing, most for
alleged links to cocaine merchants.
Criminal investigations director Omar Henry Velasco said Tuesday
the government is in the process of producing proof of corruption in
high echelons of society here.
A group of senators urged the government to make public a rumored
``black list'' of politicians and journalists allegedly being paid
by the drug cartels.
Many in Congress also allege the U.S. Embassy has a list of
politicians denied visas to the United States because of purported
ties with traffickers. The embassy denies such a list exists but a
U.S. Embassy official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said many
Colombians have been denied visas this year because of involvement
in drug trafficking.
There was a lull Tuesday in the daily barrage of terrorist
bombings retaliating for the government crackdown. But police
reported two Colombians fighting the cartels were killed Tuesday by
gunmen.
Police said army Lt. Cesar Augusto Garcia was shot in a
restaurant Tuesday in Medellin, hub of the cocaine cartel. A police
inspector in Puerto Parra also was reported shot in the back by two
men.
The deaths bring the toll to at least seven people killed since
President Virgilio Barco launched the drug war. Many more are
believed to have been slain but it is difficult to differentiate
between deaths connected to other criminal activity and those
related to the drug war.
Barco's action was triggered by the Aug. 18 assassination of
popular presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galan, reportedly by
gangs opposed to the senator's staunch anti-drug position.
AP890920-0202
AP-NR-09-20-89 2212EDT
r i AM-Israel-Egypt 09-20 0488
AM-Israel-Egypt,0506
Egypt's President Asks Israel to Accept His Peace Plan
By ALLYN FISHER
Associated Press Writer
JERUSALEM (AP)
Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak appealed to
Israelis on Wednesday to accept his ideas for starting peace talks
with Palestinians instead of ``banging your heads against the wall.''
In an unusual interview with Israel's state-owned radio station,
Mubarak asked Israelis if they balked at accepting Palestinians from
outside the occupied territories as negotiators for fear they would
``bite.''
Mubarak, interviewed in Cairo, addressed his remarks to the
Israeli public.
``Do you not understand that nobody in the (occupied) territories
can do anything without a green light from Palestinians abroad?'' he
asked.
Mubarak's remarks, translated by the interviewer from Arabic into
Hebrew, were broadcast a day after Israel's Prime Minister Yitzhak
Shamir rejected Egypt's 10-point peace plan.
Mubarak proposed basing negotiations on the land-for-peace
principle and letting the 140,000 Arabs in Israeli-annexed east
Jerusalem vote in the Palestinian elections.
Egypt is the only Arab country to have a peace treaty with
Israel. It is seeking to mediate between Israel and the Palestine
Liberation Organization, which the Jewish state views as a terrorist
organization.
Shamir said he mainly objected to these Mubarak points: trading
land for peace, letting east Jerusalem Arabs vote, and letting
Palestinians from outside the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip take
part in peace talks.
Israel's peace initiative, approved in May, calls for Palestinian
elections leading to negotiations between Israel and representatives
of the West Bank and Gaza Strip on limited autonomy for the occupied
territories.
The Israeli government has not taken an official stand on
Mubarak's plan. The coalition Cabinet is divided on it, with
Shamir's right-wing Likud bloc opposed and the left-of-center Labor
Party in favor.
Leading Likud opponents of the plan, headed by Trade Minister
Ariel Sharon, gathered Wednesday to declare their ``total rejection
of the ... joint initiative by the PLO and the president of Egypt,''
Sharon told Israel radio.
Deputy Premier David Levy, also a Likud member, said, ``Egypt's
initiative envelops the two dangers we have warned about: the PLO
and a Palestinian state.''
In his remarks, Mubarak suggested including either Palestinians
deported by Israel or those living in the United States as two
representatives to a peace dialogue.
``What will two of a delegation of 10 do? These two from abroad,
will they bite? And if Israel says it will never speak to the PLO,
I'll bring two from outside the territories who have no sign saying
they are PLO,'' Mubarak said.
He scoffed at Israeli fears that by letting outside Palestinians
join peace talks, they would open the door to thousands of people to
try to return to homes their families left during the 1948
Independence War.
``A Palestinian in Egypt or elsewhere who has struck roots isn't
going to return to you,'' Mubarak said.
He suggested Israelis would never find Palestinian dialogue
partners not linked to the PLO.
AP890920-0203
AP-NR-09-20-89 2210EDT
u w BC-Hugo-USTroops-List 09-20 0114
BC-Hugo-US Troops-List,170
WASHINGTON (AP)
Here are the units being sent to the Virgin
Islands to restore order, according to the Pentagon's announcement
Wednesday night:
The 16th Military Police Brigade Headquarters from Fort Bragg,
N.C., with about 75 people.
The 720th MP Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas, with about 470 people.
The battalion is made up of these companies:
_258th MP Company, Fort Polk, La.
_411th MP Company, Fort Hood.
_463rd MP Company, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
The 503rd MP Battalion, Fort Bragg, N.C., with about 560 people.
The battalopn is made up of these companies, all based at Fort Bragg:
_21st MP Company.
_65th MP Company.
_108th MP Company.
AP890920-0204
AP-NR-09-20-89 2212EDT
u i AM-St.Croix-Witness 09-20 0355
AM-St. Croix-Witness,0369
Island Devastation Startling to This Witness
An AP Extra
With AM-Hugo's Aftermath
EDITOR'S NOTE
Hurricane Hugo has left devastation in its wake.
Here is an eyewitness account by an Associated Press reporter who
visited St. Croix on Wednesday.
By JEAN McNAIR
Associated Press Writer
CHRISTIANSTED, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP)
As our chartered
helicopter landed Wednesday amid overturned seaplanes on a tiny
runway in Christiansted, one resident rushed to the aircraft.
``They're tearing the island up,'' said John Delamater, an
employee of the seaplane company. ``Anything at all that they want
to steal, they're taking.''
During our six-hour visit to the island of St. Croix, which was
virtually devastated by Hurricane Hugo, residents and tourists were
anxious to talk about the storm damage and the lawlessness that
followed.
The world did not know what they had suffered, they said, because
all communications had been cut. Telephones were out, lines down,
supplies of food and water dangerously low. Pure devastation, they
said, of an island usually thought of as a Caribbean paradise.
But even though many residents carried guns or knifes, somehow we
never felt in danger.
Even the looters, the poorer locals who picked over the remaining
merchandise in the wrecked stores, moved at a leisurely pace. They
tolerated a photographer and easily answered my questions about why
they were stealing.
Everybody was doing it, they said, and residents were worried
that they were going to run out of food and supplies.
The friendliness of the residents was amazing, considering what
they had gone through. Although gasoline supplies were running out,
we found several residents happy to drive us around the island and
point out the worst damage.
I had never visited the Virgin Islands before but had envisioned
the place as a lush paradise. Now, its trees are stripped of all
greenery, leaving a barren brown landscape riddled with rubble.
Even so, several residents predicted that the tourism industry on
this island of 53,000 will recover in a few years.
Delamater was not quite so optimistic.
``There's no way this place will recover in two years,'' he said.
AP890920-0205
AP-NR-09-20-89 2227EDT
r a AM-BRF--LiteraryAwards 09-20 0185
AM-BRF--Literary Awards,0190
Six American Authors Receive Awards
NEW YORK (AP)
Six American writers have been chosen to receive
the first Lannan Literary Awards, which encourage high-quality
contemporary literature in the English language, the Los
Angeles-based Lannan Foundation said Wednesday.
This is the first year the foundation, established by the late
collector and entrepreneur J. Patrick Lannan, has bestowed the award
which offers each winner $35,000.
A special award for outstanding literary achievement was awarded
to Kay Boyle, a poet, essayist and novelist who founded the San
Francisco chapter of Amnesty International.
The award for poetry was given to Cid Cemon, author of more than
60 books, who owns and operates a small home-made ice cream store in
Kyoto, Japan.
Environmentalist Wendell Berry, whose works focus on the earth's
limited resources and the problems of agriculture, won the award for
non-fiction.
Novelist and screenwriter John Berger won the fiction award. For
the past 15 years Berger has been living in a village in the French
Alps and writing about peasant life.
Two California poets, Peter Levitt and George Evans, won special
literary fellowships.
AP890920-0206
AP-NR-09-20-89 2238EDT
r i AM-France-Trains 09-20 0487
AM-France-Trains,0502
Premier Inaugurates High-Speed Trains to Western France
PARIS (AP)
A new high-speed rail line with trains that can go
185 mph opened its first link between Paris and western France on
Wednesday _ but the first two trains were late, thanks to protesters.
The sleek locomotives are called TGV for the French ``train a
grande vitesse,'' or high-speed train. They will cut traveling time
from the capital to Brest from 5 hours, 33 minutes to just under
four hours.
Premier Michel Rocard praised the state railway Societe Nationale
des Chemin de Fer, or SNCF, as he inaugurated the line at
Montparnasse and predicted the service would prove a technical,
financial and commercial success.
``At a time when many were questioning whether the train was an
obsolete form of transportation, the SNCF applied itself to proving
the contrary,'' Rocard said. ``It has given railwaymen confidence in
the future.''
But the first train of the day on the Nantes-Le Mans-Paris run
was 12 minutes late and the second more than an hour. Protesters
blocked the tracks and covered the trains with stickers to
demonstrate against ticket prices.
Prices on the new lines are subject to a peak-time sliding scale.
For the one-hour run from Le Mans to Paris, for example, the one-way
price can vary from $25 to $43.
In its first phase, the TGV Atlantic will serve 12 cities in
northwestern France including Angers, Brest, Guincamp, La Baule,
Laval, Le Croisic, Le Mans, Morlaix, Nantes, Rennes, St. Brieuc and
St. Nazaire.
The service is to expand to the southwest in September 1990 with
main lines running through the Bordeaux wine country, the Toulouse
region and the coastal resort of Biarritz.
When complete, the Atlantic service will include 97 of the
blue-and-silver trains, each with two electric engines and 10
passenger cars.
The railway estimates their worth at about $1.21 billion. New
track and improvements to existing rails push the cost up a further
$1.5 billion.
The government hopes to offset part of the development cost by
selling rolling stock and technology to other countries.
Rocard said recent Spanish and Australian interest in the French
technology ``shows the TGV has a future outside our borders.''
The new-generation TGV differs in some ways from its predecessor,
which has been running from Paris to southern France since Sept. 27,
1981.
Its top speed is 185 mph compared to 165 mph for the old model
and rides more smoothly. It also comes equipped with telephones as
the SNCF makes a push for business travelers.
The towns closest to Paris along the new TGV line hope the trains
will carry industry their way as well as passengers.
In Le Mans, one hour from Paris on the TGV compared to one hour,
40 minutes on standard rail, the municipal government has invested
in a complex of hotels, high-technology industries and office
buildings in anticipation the TGV will bring economic growth.
AP890920-0207
AP-NR-09-20-89 2243EDT
r i AM-Panama-Hunger 09-20 0355
AM-Panama-Hunger,0367
Former Presidential Candidate Declares Hunger Strike
PANAMA CITY, Panama (AP)
Former opposition presidential
candidate Guillermo Endara said Wednesday he is going on a hunger
strike to call attention to a campaign to cut revenues for the
government installed by Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega.
``From this moment, I'm on a hunger strike until the `Not One
Penny More' campaign is known and supported by the people of
Panama,'' said Endara, who won the May 7 presidential election by a
3-1 margin, according to international observers.
The Noriega-controlled government annulled the vote and named a
provisional president on Sept. 1, when the former president's term
was expired.
The opposition wants Panamanians to avoid playing the government
lottery, gambling in casinos or betting on horse races to cut
government revenue.
The government, hurt by U.S. economic sanctions, has been
depending on gambling revenues for much of its money.
The United States has been trying to oust Noriega since February
1988, when he was indicted on drug trafficking charges in Florida.
As commander of Panama's Defense Forces, Noriega is the most
powerful political and military figure in Panama.
Endara said he was initiating the hunger strike ``as a personal
offering to a people who are suffering from hunger for justice,
democracy and liberty.''
``During this strike I will follow Mohandas Gandhi's rules. I
won't eat anything, and will limit myself to water, medicine
prescribed by my doctors and the sacred host when I take
communion,'' said the 53-year-old Endara.
The opposition has demanded that its May election victory be
recognized and that Noriega step down as Defense Forces chief.
The government instead appointed economist Francisco Rodriguez as
provisional president and said the situation would be reviewed in
February to determine if new elections would be called.
Endara conceded that the opposition campaign could affect the
income of lottery ticket sellers, but asked for understanding. He
said ticket sellers could set up their own raffles and asked the
public to take part if that happened.
Endara said he would be staying in opposition party headquarters
in a room furnished with a chair and a small bed.
AP890920-0208
AP-NR-09-20-89 2247EDT
r i AM-Afghanistan 09-20 0224
AM-Afghanistan,0231
10 Reported Killed in Rocket Attacks on Kabul
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP)
More than a dozen rebel rockets
slammed into the Afghan capital of Kabul on Wednesday, killing 10
people and wounding 15, state Radio Kabul said.
The broadcast also said government defenders killed 32 rebel
fighters around the besieged garrison town of Khost, about 10 miles
west of the Pakistani border.
The radio, monitored in Islamabad, blamed the Kabul rocket attack
on U.S-backed insurgents headquartered in Pakistan.
In other reports Wednesday, guerrilla sources in Pakistan claimed
they shot down a transport plane attempting to resupply Khost. They
said the plane was shot down Wednesday with sophisticated
American-supplied anti-aircraft Stinger missiles.
They also said they downed a Soviet-made jetfighter.
The guerrillas launched an offensive against the heavily
fortified government garrison at Khost earlier this month. A rebel
victory at Khost would open a direct supply link from Pakistan to
guerrilla fighters in northern and western Afghanistan.
The insurgents have also been battering Kabul with almost daily
rocket attacks since June, killing more than 300 people and injuring
700.
However, they have failed to capture a major city since the
Soviets withdrew their last troops in February. Moscow continues to
supply the Kabul government with weapons.
The Moslem guerrillas have been fighting for more than a decade
to overthrow successive Marxist governments.
AP890920-0209
AP-NR-09-20-89 2243EDT
u w AM-Hugo-USTroops 10thLd-Writethru a0835 09-20 1007
AM-Hugo-US Troops, 10th Ld-Writethru, a0835,950
Bush Directs Troops to Virgin Islands
Eds: INSERTS 3rd graf with governor's denial that he made request
By CHRISTOPHER CONNELL
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
President Bush on Wednesday ordered more than a
thousand U.S. military police to the Virgin Islands ``to help
restore order in the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo'' and suppress
widespread looting.
The Pentagon announced later Wednesday night that two MP
battalions of three companies each and a headquarters unit would
arrive in the Virgin Islands in 16 Air Force transports early
Thursday morning.
Some confusion over the origins of the decision to act arose
later Wednesday night. Though Bush said the governor of the islands
requested the troops, the governor denied doing so. A White House
spokesman, Steve Hart, said later the governor's denial was
``contrary to the information I have.''
A presidential executive order said ``members of the armed forces
of the United States will be used to suppress the violence'' in the
Virgin Islands.
Presidential assistant James Cicconi was asked what orders would
be given the troops about the use of force. He replied, ``I'm sure
they'd use only that which was necessary and appropriate.''
A Pentagon official, who spoke on condition he not be identified
by name, said troops would not arrive before daylight because there
appeared to be no lights available to guide landing planes.
Top generals met in the underground operations center at the
Pentagon to work out details of dispatching the 720th MP Battalion
and its companies from Fort Polk, La., Fort Hood, Texas, and Fort
Leonard Wood, Mo., totaling about 470 people; the 503rd MP Battalion
and its companies, all from Fort Bragg, N.C., with about 560 and the
16th MP Brigade Headquarters from Fort Bragg with another 75.
The MPs will take three OH-58 helicopters, some of their vehicles
and ``appropriate medical support'' aboard 16 C-141 Starlifter
transports. said the Pentagon announcement.
Army spokesman Lt. Col. Keith Schneider said the soldiers would
take with them their ``individually assigned weapons.'' He did not
specify what those weapons were, but MPs usually carry a pistol.
The troops would join U.S. marshals and FBI agents on St. Croix,
where and armed Coast Guardsmen landed from cutters earlier
Wednesday. Troops already had been ordered to help relief efforts in
Puerto Rico.
``I have been informed that conditions of domestic violence and
disorder exist in and about the Virgin Islands,'' Bush said in a
statement.
White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said Bush ``authorized the
deployment to the U.S. Virgin Islands of such Department of Defense
forces as are necessary.''
Defense Secretary Dick Cheney was visiting the Marine Air-Ground
Combat Center at Twenty-nine Palms, Calif. The Pentagon official
said Cheney ``has been kept informed'' and would not interrupt his
trip.
The last time federal troops were used to suppress riots was in
1968 in Washington, D.C., after the assassination of Martin Luther
King.
President Reagan authorized the use of troops in 1987 to deal
with prison riots in Atlanta, but that trouble subsided before they
were deployed.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Dick Thornburgh ordered 100 U.S.
marshals and FBI agents to St. Croix, said Justice Department
spokesman David Runkel.
They will protect federal officials and property, but their
presence would also help bolster local law enforcement, Runkel said.
A small team of FBI agents was sent in to set up a command post.
Earlier Wednesday, armed Coast Guard crewmen from at least one of
the six Coast Guard ships in the area went ashore on St. Croix to
help restore order after National Guardsmen and police reportedly
joined prison escapees and others in wild looting by machete-armed
mobs.
Gunshots were fired, and ham radio operators heard reports that
inmates had either escaped or been released because of prison damage
and were looting.
Tourists pleaded with reporters landing on the island to take
them off. Coast Guard cutters evacuated frightened tourists and
residents.
Usually, the National Guard would be used in such cases, but the
situation in the Virgin Islands was unclear, officials said.
``We can't be sure what's happening. We've heard the reports of
looting,'' said another Pentagon official, who also spoke on
condition of anonymity.
A spokesman for the Pentagon's National Guard Bureau, Maj. Bob
Dunlap, said the reports of looting by National Guardsmen were not
confirmed.
Federal law normally prohibits the use of regular military
forces, which in peacetime does not include the Coast Guard, as
civilian law enforcement officers. The president does have to power
to use troops in that way if he finds local law enforcement is not
up to the job.
Fitzwater said Bush was authorizing use of the troops ``including
military police units to help restore order in the aftermath of
Hurricane Hugo.''
``The president's decision was based on a thorough assessment of
the situation by appropriate federal authorities and followed a
request this afternoon from Gov. (Alexander) Farrelly of the U.S.
Virgin Islands requesting federal assistance.''
Bush's proclamation, headed ``Law and Order in the Virgin
Islands,'' said he was taking the action because ``the law
enforcement resources available to that territory, including the
National Guard, are unable to suppress such acts of violence and to
restore law and order.''
Bush on Wednesday declared the Virgin Islands a disaster area and
his spokesman said a similar declaration was expected soon for
Puerto Rico.
On Tuesday night, Bush directed the Pentagon to make Defense
Department troops and equipment available for relief efforts in
Puerto Rico, Fitzwater said.
U.S. forces stationed in Puerto Rico were to help restore
electricity and water on the island, he said. It was the first such
presidential authorization under a disaster assistance act passed by
Congress last year.
Fitzwater said also that the Interior Department had made
available $500,000 ``for immediate use'' in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
He said the money would be spent to buy food, emergency supplies and
safety items.
Fitzwater said that the U.S. military was providing a variety of
cargo planes, personnel and equipment for relief efforts in the
stricken areas.
AP890920-0210
AP-NR-09-20-89 2246EDT
u w AM-Hugo-Governor 1stLd-Writethru 09-20 0327
AM-Hugo-Governor, 1st Ld-Writethru,a0841,230
Virgin Islands Governor Says He Did Not Request Troops
Eds: INSERTS grafs 6-7 with White House reaffirmation
WASHINGTON (AP)
The governor of the Virgin Islands said
Wednesday night he did not ask for the federal troops ordered to the
island by President Bush.
Interviewed by telephone by AP Network News from his offices in
Charlotte Amalie, Gov. Alexander Farrelly said, ``We spoke to
Washington as to whether, if we requested assistance, under the
control of my adjutant general, whether that would be OK.
``And we got the impression that if we asked for help we would
get it.''
The adjutant general is the top National Guard officer. There
have been reports that National Guard troops joined looters in the
islands.
Asked whether he had in fact asked for federal help in restoring
order, Farrelly said, ``We have not done so yet.''
White House spokesman Steve Hart, informed of Farrelly's remarks,
said, ``That's contrary to the information I have.''
Hart said the White House would stand by its earlier statement,
which said in part: ``The president's decision was based on a
thorough assessment of the situation by appropriate federal
authorities and followed a request this afternoon from Gov.
(Alexander) Farrelly of the U.S. Virgin Islands requesting federal
assistance.''
Told that troops were being sent to the islands, Farrelly said,
``That may or not be correct. I can't tell you that.''
Bush has ordered two military police battalions and a
headquarters unit totalling about 1,100 men to the islands to
restore order.
There was this exchange with the governor:
Q: So, if troops are being sent to the island, they are not being
sent at your request?
A: Not yet.
As to reports of looting and rioting, the governor said: ``There
is some looting, no doubt about that. But there is no near state of
anarchy. And I should know. I'm in the streets every day and I'm the
governor of this territory.''
AP890920-0211
AP-NR-09-20-89 2350EDT
r a AM-NightStalker-Movie 09-20 0143
AM-Night Stalker-Movie,0149
Night Stalker Movie Wraps Production on Friday
With AM-Night Stalker, Bjt
LOS ANGELES (AP)
A television movie on the investigation and
arrest of the man convicted as the ``Night Stalker'' serial killer
wraps up production on Friday.
The NBC movie, tentatively titled ``Trackdown: The Search for the
Night Stalker,'' ends with the arrest of Richard Ramirez, said
Gillian Rees, NBC director of media relations for movies and
miniseries.
It is expected to be telecast in November during the ``sweeps''
month.
The movie focuses more on the investigators than Ramirez, 29, who
appears only briefly in the film when he is arrested.
Ramirez was convicted of 13 murders and 30 felonies Wednesday by
a jury that decided he was the devil-worshiping ``Night Stalker,''
whose nocturnal attacks terrified California in 1985.
The sentencing phase of Ramirez' trial begins Sept. 27.
AP890920-0212
AP-NR-09-20-89 2350EDT
r a AM-Gallo-Thunderbird 09-20 0383
AM-Gallo-Thunderbird,0398
Gallo Withdraws Cheap Wines From U.S. Skid Rows
By JACK SCHREIBMAN
Associated Press Writer
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (AP)
E.&J. Gallo Winery, the world's
largest winemaker, on Wednesday stopped selling its high-alcohol
Thunderbird and Night Train brands to retailers in Skid Rows
throughout the country.
The Skid Rows were not identified.
Thunderbird and Night Train, cheaply made with a hint of wine
flavor and laced with grape brandy to make them about 18 percent
alcohol, usually sell for 90 cents to $1.50 for a screw-top,
three-quarter liter bottle.
Gallo, which accounts for more than 26 percent of U.S. wine sales
and reportedly has annual sales of more than $1 billion, said it
would wait six months to see whether the removal makes any
difference.
The company called the wines ``an affordable alternative to other
alcoholic beverages.'' A wine industry economist estimated that
Gallo annually sells about nine million gallons, or about four
million cases, of these wines.
Gallo's move, ordered by Chairman Ernest Gallo, follows by about
three months the removal of the brands from groceries in San
Francisco's derelict-inhabited Tenderloin district.
A drive to get the wines off Tenderloin shelves was started by
Safe and Sober Streets, a citizen group which complained that
resident were harassed and attacked by drunks drinking Gallo and
other cheap wines.
Gallo challenged the communities where Skid Rows and winos exist
to enforce laws to prevent sellers of high-alcohol wines from
dealing with alcoholics.
Gallo's announcement Wednesday said the company was convinced
that most people who drink the so-called fortified wines are ``many
thousands of moderate and responsible consumers, many of whom are
retired and on fixed incomes.''
Gallo said it was ``regrettable'' that a few retailers sell the
wines to obvious alcoholic derelicts.
``This practice has led to the assertion that these products
cause Skid Row conditions and, therefore, that stopping the sale of
high-proof wine the problem of Skid Row can be solved,'' the winery
said.
``We believe this thinking is naive and that the use of these
products on Skid Row is merely a symptom and not a cause.''
Gallo said the derelict problem ``will never be solved until
state and local regulatory agencies enforce existing laws which
forbid retailers from selling alcoholic beverages of any kind to the
habitual drunkard.''
AP890920-0213
AP-NR-09-20-89 2313EDT
u w AM-ForeignAid 2ndLd-Writethru 09-20 0875
AM-Foreign Aid, 2nd Ld-Writethru,a0725,780
Senate Lifts Restrictions from Aid to El Salvador
Eds: Inserts gtrafs 9-10 bgng: ``However, the,'' with Iran-Contra
language retained
By JIM DRINKARD
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
Heeding pleas to give El Salvador's new
president ``a chance to succeed,'' the Senate voted Wednesday to
boost his country's aid to $90 million for the coming year and
remove restrictions on the money.
On a vote of 67-33, the lawmakers stripped from a $14.4 billion
foreign aid bill a provision that would have cut the aid into three
slices to be sent at four-month intervals and would have given
Congress what amounted to veto power over the final installment.
Minutes later, they approved a substitute that would increase the
military aid from $85 million to $90 million and offered rhetorical
praise for peace talks now taking place between the Salvadoran
government and the leftist FMLN guerillas. That vote was 82-18.
To have attached strings to the aid would have been an unfair
gesture of no confidence in Salvadoran President Alfredo Cristiani
at a time when there is a chance to end a decade of civil war in his
country, opponents of the restrictions argued. Cristiani was sworn
in June 1 as the winning candidate of the rightist Arena party.
``It will be a blow to him politically, at the very moment _ the
very hour _ when we ought to be encouraging him to go forward,''
said Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., who joined in a rare alliance
with conservatives, including Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., to oppose
the restrictions.
``He is doing exactly what we've been trying to accomplish over
the last 10 years. We ought to give President Cristiani a chance to
succeed.''
Proponents of the restrictions, led by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.,
argued that Cristiani's party has been linked to death-squad
activity in the past and has still not completely eliminated human
rights violations.
The Senate still has to complete work on the overall aid measure,
then work out differences with the House before sending the bill to
Bush for his signature.
However, the measure contained one provision which Republicans
said would alone be sufficient grounds for a presidential veto: a
prohibition on using U.S. aid to other countries as bait to get
those countries to carry out policies which are prohibited by U.S.
law. The restriction grew out of the Iran-Contra affair, in which
the United States pressured other nations to aid the Nicaraguan
Contras despite a ban on direct U.S. aid to the rebels.
Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., sought to redraft the section at the
request of the State Department, but failed on a vote of 57-41.
The annual foreign aid money bill pays for a wide variety of
programs aimed at bolstering the military power of friendly
countries, supporting economic development and giving direct
infusions to foreign governments.
In the first concrete gesture of congressional disenchantment
with Bush's response to Eastern Europe, the bill contained $45
million for economic aid to Poland, substantially bettering the
administration's $10 million request for next year.
Poland has for the first time in more than four decades elected a
non-communist-dominated government, making it an irresistible target
for rewards by lawmakers.
As they worked through a series of other controversial issues in
the bill, the lawmakers voted 52-48 to reverse a four-year-old
policy and resume U.S. aid to the United Nations Population Fund,
over objections that the fund supports Chinese forced-abortion
policies.
Lawmakers backed a provision in the bill providing $15 million to
the United Nations population control agency, which last received
U.S. money in 1985. The Reagan administration shut off aid then in
light of charges that China has a one-child-per-family policy
enforced through compulsory sterilization and abortions. President
Bush has continued that policy.
``The People's Republic of China continues to engage ... in
ethically heinous, grievous violations of the human rights of
parents'' and of unborn children, argued Sen. Gordon Humphrey,
R-N.H., an abortion opponent.
But the sponsor of the policy change, Sen. Barbara Mikulski,
D-Md., said even the State Department's Agency for International
Development has found that while the UN agency operates in China, it
does not engage in or support such objectionable policies. She
included in her provision a stipulation that all U.S. money be kept
in a separate account and that none of it go to pay for operations
in China.
As usual, the largest recipients of aid in the bill are Israel
and Egypt, a reward for their participation in the Camp David peace
process. Israel would get $1.8 billion in military aid and $1.2
billion in economic assistance, and Egypt would get $1.3 billion in
military and $815 million in economic aid.
Another large benefit would go to the Philippines, which would
get at least $160 million toward the U.S. share in a multinational
economic development program led by Japan. That amount was $40
million less than Bush asked for.
Other money was earmarked for: Pakistan, $230 million each in
military and economic aid; $565 million in development aid for
Africa; $500 million in military aid for Turkey; $350 million in
military aid for Greece; $115 million for the war on drugs; $615
million for the Export-Import Bank and $370 million for refugee
programs.
AP890920-0214
AP-NR-09-20-89 2322EDT
u w AM-WorldBank-China 09-20 0227
AM-World Bank-China,200
World Bank to Resume New Loans to China
WASHINGTON (AP)
The World Bank expects to resume making new
loans to China soon, bank President Barber Conable said Wednesday.
Conable held up seven loans worth $780 million after the Chinese
government used the army to shoot down protesters in June. The bank
has kept on disbursing loans previously granted to China.
Averaging $2 billion a year, China is its bigget borrower after
India.
``There are 1.1 billion poor people in China and we don't want to
give up contact with them,'' Conable told reporters.
He spoke on the eve of annual meetings among representatives of
the 152 governments that own the bank and its sister organization,
the International Monetary Fund. Treasury Secretary Nicholas F.
Brady will represent the United States and President Bush is
expected to speak.
China will be represented and Conable said resumption of new
lending will be among the subjects discussed. The bank's staff in
Beijing, withdrawn in June, has now returned.
He said he believed that most of the member governments would
like to see loans resumed, but prefer not to have a vote on that
now. The United States has the largest vote, over 16 percent.
``We have every expectation that the lending will resume in a
reasonable time,'' he said, but he declined to specify a date.
AP890920-0215
AP-NR-09-20-89 0547EDT
r a PM-DigestBriefs 09-20 1000
PM-Digest Briefs,1038
By The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP)
Former Housing Secretary Samuel R. Pierce Jr.
faces a subpoena vote today by House investigators seeking at least
three appearances to testify about alleged mismanagement at his
department.
Republicans said they would join Democrats in voting to subpoena
Pierce, who failed to appear as requested last Friday to testify
about reports of fraud, influence-peddling and mismanagement at the
Department of Housing and Urban Development.
``The chairman has total support of the committee on this,'' said
Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., the ranking Republican on the
employment and housing subcommittee of the House Government
Operations Committee.
Pierce's attorney, Paul L. Perito, said the former secretary _
who appeared voluntarily before the panel in May _ was willing to
testify but needed another two weeks' time for preparation.
GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP)
Residents say they'll
welcome the U.S. and Soviet foreign ministers this week as long as
the tete-a-tete in the Grand Tetons doesn't crimp elk hunting or
trout fishing.
Bob Lunger, owner of Spike Camp sport shop, was too busy
outfitting dozens of hunters for the just-started elk season to
worry about the presummit meeting between Secretary of State James
Baker and Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze.
``This is my busiest time of year,'' Lunger said. ``I don't have
time to pay much attention to that stuff.''
Lunger's attitude isn't much different from that of many Jackson
Hole locals, who are about as impressed with visiting dignitaries
and celebrities as backcountry bull moose or black bears that wander
into the town of Jackson.
WASHINGTON (AP)
Mikhail Gorbachev's ideas will survive the
upheaval he touched off in the Soviet Union even if he doesn't,
former Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara predicts in a book
urging the United States to seize Gorbachev's offer to end the cold
war.
In ``Out of the Cold,'' McNamara faults the United States for
``skeptical, unimaginative and very cautious'' responses to
Gorbachev's initiatives on the world scene.
The Soviet leader's ideas have been ``so dramatic, so
revolutionary, as to literally imply a desire to end the cold war,''
said the one-time president of the Ford Motor Co., who served in the
Pentagon in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations and then headed
the World Bank.
McNamara finished writing the book in April. He does not mention
President Bush or his administration's response to Gorbachev's
initiatives. But his views run parallel to those recently expressed
by a number of Democrats who say the president lacks imagination in
dealing with the Soviets.
WASHINGTON (AP)
New U.S. efforts to stem the flow of Soviets _
most of them Jews _ into this country may leave evangelical
Christians at the end of the line to face severe repression at home,
an evangelical group says.
The National Association of Evangelicals, through its World
Relief arm, is campaigning to prevent the Oct. 1 implementation of
an administration plan that would cut off the Christians' main
escape route through Vienna and Rome.
``This administration must not impede the escape of persecuted
individuals for the sake of bureaucratic convenience,'' said a
letter from World Relief to Congress. ``We fear for their safety in
a nation where political stability is, at best, precarious and where
persecution of this group remains unabated.''
Rep. Bruce Morrison, who chairs the House subcommittee on
immigration, said he planned to take up the evangelicals' plight in
a meeting today with Attorney General Dick Thornburgh and other
administration officials.
WASHINGTON (AP)
A House ethics task force is proposing a 35
percent congressional pay raise over two years while controversial
honoraria payments are phased out during the same period, according
to a congressional source.
The proposal would increase pay by about 10 percent next year,
another 25 percent in 1991 and tie pay boosts afterward to the cost
of living, the source said Tuesday night, speaking on condition of
anonymity.
The final recommendation of the 10-member bipartisan task force
is expected to be presented to congressional leadership this week.
The proposal is subject to change and is expected to go before the
full House by the end of October.
House and Senate members currently are paid $89,500 annually, and
leaders are paid more. A 35 percent increase would make the salary
$120,825.
WASHINGTON (AP)
Senate Democrats are taking another look at
President Bush's anti-drug proposal in light of a Republican offer
to boost it by $800 million over the original plan.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va.,
said he would present the GOP offer to his Democratic colleagues
today. ``We'll take another look at the figures,'' Byrd said.
But he added that while the numbers may be flexible, two
principles in the more expensive anti-drug package he proposed last
week remain non-negotiable: a greater emphasis on drug treatment and
prevention, and an across-the-board cut of most federal programs to
pay for the stepped-up drug war.
The logjam over the size, shape and funding of the war on drugs
is holding up not only the anti-drug package but also a series of
spending bills needed to keep the government running after the
current fiscal year ends Sept. 30.
WASHINGTON (AP)
A new military ombudsman is heading to the Far
East to investigate allegations of censorship and employee
harassment at the Pacific edition of Stars & Stripes, the military
newspaper.
``What we have here is harassment of whistle blowers and
censorship,'' said Rep. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. ``It's bad enough to
censor the news. Our men and women in uniform deserve the news as
all of us get it, as harsh as it is. But they're not getting it.''
Civilian employees have contacted her office with allegations of
censorship of their stories, Boxer said, creating what she called
``an intolerable situation.''
The General Accounting Office, assisted by the Society of
Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi, reported last year that
it found evidence of censorship and improper management at the
government-run daily paper.
AP890920-0216
AP-NR-09-20-89 1016EDT
a a PM-JunkArt-PhotoPkg Adv27 09-20 0576
PM-Junk Art-Photo Pkg, Adv 27,0595
$Adv27
For Release Wed PMs, Sept. 27, and Thereafter
An AP Photo Package: Junk Art Makes a Statement
LaserPhotos by Lennox McLendon
By KELLY L. ANDERSON
Associated Press Writer
DETROIT (AP)
Looking around artist Tyree Guyton's neighborhood,
some people see abandoned drug and prostitution houses and vacant
lots strewn with broken glass and garbage.
Guyton sees hypocrisy.
To convey that vision artistically, he has taken over five
abandoned houses and at least as many lots _ and decorated them with
hundreds of discards he has collected over nearly three years: from
hubcaps to armless baby dolls, old shoes to street signs.
``I see things around me and I want to make people aware of
what's going on,'' said the 33-year-old artist.
``These kids are in an area where they see nothing but trouble.
What's to stop them from becoming criminals?''
One sculpture of painted doors on Heidelberg Street symbolizes
the closing of doors in a child's face, and the opening of a door
for someone to climb out of a rut, the artist said.
In another project, ``Baby Doll House,'' he festooned an
abandoned drug house with scores of dolls, some naked and dirty,
some hanging upside down, some aboard broomsticks.
``Each doll represents something,'' Guyton said in an interview
before the building, long on the city's demolition list, was razed.
``They tell the horrors of drugs and the pity of a neglected child.''
As one of 10 children in a single-parent home, Guyton knows
neglect. Through an addicted brother, he's observed drug abuse. He
hopes his art will warn children away from drugs.
Few neighbors understand Guyton's art, but some think it has
improved the looks of the neighborhood.
``Every time I look out my front door I wonder what color the
bench will be that day,'' said Tina Bell, who lives two lots east of
Guyton's blue two-story wood-frame house, spared decoration other
than an often-changing sculpture on the front porch.
Bell said she remembers Guyton's first project, ``Fun House.''
Initially, she said she thought her neighbor was crazy.
``He told me these were the things that were going on in his
head,'' she said. ``I can't always see his statements but I know
it's there.''
Anthony Dicus has a personal interest in one of the objects.
``That turquoise bike hanging on the tree is my first bike,''
said the 24-year-old Dicus. ``One man's garbage is another man's
art.''
Guyton's art is beginning to look more and more like garbage to
some neighbors and a Detroit City Council member who say it is
becoming an eyesore.
``If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, this guy must be
blind,'' Councilman Jack Kelley said.
Still, the full council awarded Guyton and his wife, Karen,
``Spirit of Detroit'' pins in June for the creative work on the
vacant lots and abandoned houses.
Dorothy Jones, who lives two blocks away, is another detractor.
``Art is supposed to be beautiful, right? That's not art,'' she
said.
The works attract gawks from the occupants of thousands of cars
that cruise the neighborhood about five miles northeast of downtown.
Visitors have come from far away, as three 2-inch-thick guest
books filled with signatures attest. ``The neighbors loved it when I
introduced them to some Japanese men who bowed before them,'' Guyton
said.
``I see people who would never dream of coming in this
neighborhood.''
End Adv for Wed PMs, Sept. 27
AP890920-0217
AP-NR-09-20-89 0826EDT
a e PM-APonTV-Duncan Adv21 09-20 0816
PM-AP on TV-Duncan, Adv 21,0836
$Adv21
For Release Thurs PMs, Sept. 21, and Thereafter
Sandy Duncan Stars in Movie About Singing Trio's Reunion
LaserPhoto LA1 of Sept. 19
By JERRY BUCK
AP Television Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP)
The movie's plot is this: The Bouffants split
up after their only hit song 25 years ago. They haven't seen or
spoken to each other until they're reluctantly reunited for a
nostalgic television special.
But it takes a lot of persuasion to get the trio, played by Sandy
Duncan, Jill Eikenberry and Judith Light, to reprise their hit on
the NBC movie, ``My Boyfriend's Back,'' which also is the name of
their song.
Duncan sympathizes with her blast-from-the-past character.
``It's awful to live long enough to see your music become
nostalgia,'' she says, then adding, ``I love the music of the '60s.
It's feel-good music. It's snap your fingers and dance. It was
before the protest music.''
The movie, which also stars Stephen Macht, Alan Feinstein and
Robert Costanzo, will air Monday. It follows NBC's ``The Hogan
Family'' in which Duncan plays the divorced sister of a widower with
three sons.
``My Boyfriend's Back'' may bring happy memories for rock 'n'
roll fans, particularly those who now are fortysomething.
It features cameo appearances by Mary Wells doing ``My Guy,''
Gary Puckett singing ``Young Girl,'' Gary Lewis reprising ``This
Diamond Ring,'' and Peggy March doing likewise with ``I Will Follow
Him.''
In the film, it is explained that the Bouffants, after their solo
hit, broke up after arguments between Eikenberry's and Light's
characters over who would be lead singer. Duncan was the peacemaker.
``I wasn't the lead singer,'' said Duncan, who starred in ``Peter
Pan'' on Broadway. ``My kids didn't understand that. Jill was the
lead singer and Judith and I were the backups.''
In the film, a television producer, working on a '60s
retrospective, finds the three singers, one by one, and brings them
together. There have been some changes since their Bouffant days.
Duncan is married to a sportscaster, played by Feinstein, and has
children. Eikenberry is now an executive of a large cosmetics
company and her singing career is a well-kept secret. Light never
gave up her dream. But now she sings in bowling alleys and lounges.
When they reunite, Duncan said, ``It's a coming of age thing,
since we're now in our 40s. The three of us really hit it off.''
But it's a rough go at first, she explained, because Eikenberry's
character ``doesn't want to commit to the show. When things don't
work out she walks away. My character is the one who makes it work
and look easy.
``Any one of the three of us could have played any role. There
are aspects of ourselves in each character. When we get back
together we're loving and fighting all over again. Each walks away
from the experience with a new sense of her own identity.''
Ensemble singing is not the easiest of tasks. But the three
co-stars recorded their characters' group vocalizing in the film.
``We do our own singing,'' Duncan said. ``Jill did a Broadway
musical while I was doing `Peter Pan.' Judith has done a lot of
singing in summer stock. We certainly sing well enough for what we
were required to do.''
Duncan enjoyed making the film. One reason for her enjoyment:
``It was wonderful to be on a show where they don't have food
fights.''
``I showed a tape of it to my father,'' she said. ``I guess he
liked it. He said, `At least I didn't fall asleep during it.'''
The actress recently returned from Paris, where ``The Hogan
Family'' filmed a three-part story about the family's visit to
France. The episodes began Monday and will conclude Oct. 2.
The plot is the standard one for a European visit. A member of
the cast, Jason Bateman, in this case, falls in love with a girl who
turns out to be a princess.
``It's a travelogue,'' Duncan said. ``We stood in front of every
landmark in Paris. We ended up with a ball in a hotel and I danced
with a count. ... We were there for two weeks, then came back and
went back to work immediately to finish the interiors.''
Duncan said her next project will be to develop a TV movie called
``Mountain Charley,'' based on the true story of a woman who led a
double life as a woman and a man in the 1800s.
Elsewhere in television:
RODDY COME HOME ... Roddy McDowall, who starred in the first
``Lassie'' movie in 1943, will make a special appearance on the new
syndicated ``Lassie'' series. Dee Wallace Stone and Christopher
Stone star with the seventh-generation Lassie, owned and trained by
Robert Weatherwax. The dog in the 1943 movie was trained by the late
Rudd Weatherwax, Robert's father.
End Adv for Thurs PMs, Sept. 21
AP890920-0218
AP-NR-09-20-89 1027EDT
a a PM-OntheMoney Adv21 09-20 0651
PM-On the Money, Adv 21,0669
$adv 21
For release PMs Thursday, Sept. 21
Saving for a Rainy Day a Way of Life for the Japanese
By ELAINE KURTENBACH
Associated Press Writer
TOKYO (AP)
The Japanese may appear to be the world's most avid
consumers of luxury goods, but they're just as enthusiastic about
stashing money in the bank.
Japan's 39 million households held an average of about $130,000
in personal savings last year, according to a recent report by the
Bank of Japan.
Total personal savings rose 11.4 percent to $5.15 trillion in
1988, more tha double the 4.5 percent growth in consumer spending.
It was the third straight year that personal savings grew at
double-digit rates. The figures count savings deposited at banks and
postal offices or held in the form of stocks, bonds and insurance.
It was also a clear indication that the Japanese haven't
abandoned their habit of saving a substantial part of their incomes
in financial assets.
Japanese are more likely to put their money into paper property,
while Americans are more likely to invest in housing.
Housing is not counted in personal savings figures, which is one
reason the reported savings rate is much lower in the United States
(5 percent to 6 percent) than in Japan (16 percent), says Richard C.
Koo, senior economist at Nomura Research Institute.
The habit of saving has created a massive pool of capital for
Japanese industry, a foundation of Japan's powerhouse economy.
``While the value of land in Japan tends to appreciate, housing
actually depreciates. People know that their houses will not be
worth much 10 years from now, so they don't invest in housing,'' Koo
said.
``Americans put their savings into keeping their homes up,
because they expect them to appreciate in value,'' he explained.
Traditionally, housing in Japan _ vulnerable to earthquakes and
fires _ has been torn down and rebuilt rather than maintained.
Numerous surveys say the Japanese put money into savings rather
than housing to prepare for illness and disaster, for retirement and
education fees for children.
``I've always stashed whatever I could in the bank, so I'd have a
nice nest egg,'' said Seitarou Komatsu, 41, an employee of a major
Japanese industrial firm.
The prospect of long years of retirement is a crucial reason
behind the high savings rate in Japan. Average life expectancy here
is 82.1 years for women and 75.9 years for men, while the mandatory
retirement age at many companies is 55 to 60.
``The Japanese are much less confident about the future than
Americans in many ways,'' said Koo. ``They know how much things cost
here, and they're wise to prepare for their old age.''
The expansion of two-income families has contributed to the
growth in personal savings, along with rising values of financial
assets.
The average monthly wage for a Japanese worker in a company with
30 employees or more was $2,317, while monthly spending per
household averages $2,000.
Averages tend to distort the actual level of savings per
individual family.
A survey by the Management and Coordination Agency of 6,000
families nationwide showed average family savings of more than
$61,000 in 1988, but median savings per household of only a little
more than $14,000.
This indicated that the savings of a wealthy few tend to skew the
average, with the majority of families holding much more modest nest
eggs. The median is the dividing line where half the households have
more savings and half have less.
Families of aged persons hold the largest savings, $386,000 in
average cash assets, according to a poll of 2,000 elderly couples
conducted by the Tokai Bank in 1988.
``There's a lot of very, very rich people _ including anyone with
land in Tokyo _ but most people are penny-pinching their way through
... wondering how to plan their old age,'' Koo said.
End Adv PM Thurs Sept. 21
AP890920-0219
AP-NR-09-20-89 1103EDT
a a PM-ReligionintheNews Adv22 09-20 0755
PM-Religion in the News, Adv 22,0773
$adv22
For Release Fri PMs Sept. 22 or Thereafter
Dialogue Concludes East-Bloc Religious Persecution Self-Defeating
By DAVID BRIGGS
Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP)
Soviet leaders apparently have decided the best
way to win converts to atheism is to grant greater religious
freedoms, say Western participants in a dialogue between humanists
and atheists in Moscow.
Delegates from the International Humanist and Ethical Union and
the Soviet Institute for Scientific Atheism concluded that more than
seven decades of militant atheism have been self-defeating in
swaying Soviet believers from their faith.
``It's my opinion the situation in Poland made the Russians aware
that attacking religion may paradoxically support it,'' Rob Tielman,
a co-president of the humanist union, said in a telephone interview
from his home in the Netherlands. ``By giving freedom to religion
... the Russians hope atheism will develop in a more positive way.''
The July dialogue was the first in a planned series of meetings
between Soviet atheists and Western humanists. A Soviet delegation
has been invited to the 11th Humanist World Congress in Brussels,
Belgium, in August 1990.
Humanists distance themselves from doctrinaire atheism by saying
that although they reject belief in God, they stand for human
freedom, including religious freedom.
Paul Kurtz, a co-president of the humanist union and a philosophy
professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo, said he
thinks the humanists receive ``an insight others don't get'' into
Soviet thinking because the Soviets view them as comrades in
theology because of their shared skepticism of religion.
Soviet attempts to supplant religion with atheism, ranging from
persecution of religious to the introduction of ``naming
celebrations'' to replace baptisms, have failed, Soviet delegates
told Western participants.
Under Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev, Tielman said, the
Soviet Union has decided to take a more practical approach,
recognizing that Soviet society needs less mistrustful citizens if
it hopes to enlist them in rebuilding its shattered economy.
``They seem to be moving toward a policy of a neutral state, a
neutral view of religion,'' said Kurtz. ``Atheism will no longer be
the official doctrine.''
Kurtz said they were told by Soviet atheists that 2,000 churches
have reopened in the past two years, seven new seminaries will open
in the fall, and the publication of limited editions of the Bible
and the Koran, the Islamic holy book, has been permitted.
On his own visit to Arbat Street in Moscow, Kurtz said he even
noticed Hare Krishnas were being permitted to proselytize.
In July, the Vatican appointed a bishop in the Soviet republic of
Byelorussia, the first bishop there since the aftermath of the
Russian Revolution. Several religious leaders have been elected to
the new Soviet Parliament, including Russian Orthodox Patriarch
Pimen; Metropolitan Pitirim, head of church publishing; Leningrad
Metroplitan Alexei, and Armenian Catholicos Vaskin I.
For Jews, greater tolerance by the Kremlin has meant a rise in
emigration _ an eight-year high of 20,000 Jews departed in 1988 _
less harassment at Jewish holiday celebrations and the opening of a
private Jewish museum and library in Moscow.
Within the Soviet Union, many still seek greater religious
freedom. Last Sunday, tens of thousands of Ukrainian Catholics
marched through the city of Lvov demanding legal status for their
church.
The human rights organization Amnesty International says Soviet
citizens still can be prosecuted for exercising freedom of religion.
But Tielman and Kurtz said the Soviets indicated they learned a
lesson from Poland, where an entrenched Roman Catholic Church
prevailed over official attempts to limit its influence.
In Poland, Tielman said, ``in a way, they forced people that were
not sympathetic to the Communist Party into the church.''
The humanist leaders said Soviet atheists were particularly
concerned about the growth of Moslem fundamentalism. Up to 50
million Moslems live in Soviet Central Asia.
The advice the humanists gave the Soviets: If you want to beat
the church, don't turn atheism into a form of state religion.
``One of the reasons why atheism did not succeed completely is
that it was identified completely with party politics,'' Tielman
said.
The humanist delegation encouraged the Soviets to allow people
who do not believe in God to meet in private groups free of state
control to promote atheism as an alternative to religion.
``We don't believe the state should either promote theism or
atheism,'' Kurtz said. ``The key point is the free mind. ... Any
effort by the state to repress it is going to be counterproductive.''
End Adv Fri PMs Sept. 22
AP890920-0220
AP-NR-09-20-89 1409EDT
a a PM-BusinessMirror Adv21 09-20 0710
PM-Business Mirror, Adv 21,0734
$adv21
For release PMs Thursday, Sept. 21
A Rare Situation in the Job Market
By JOHN CUNNIFF
AP Business Analyst
NEW YORK (AP)
More than six million members of the labor force
are without work, but many companies are having a hard time filling
good-paying entry jobs that require no special skills and no
experience.
The rare situation isn't a national phenomenon, but it could
become one. Already it exists in pockets in most geographical areas
of the country, from border to border and coast to coast.
In Wilton, Conn., a supermarket with ``excellent progressive
salary scale, paid holidays, vacations, sick pay, life insurance,
medical plan and pension'' must advertise for part-timers at $6.50
an hour.
The jobs, as clerks and cashiers, require no experience, because
the company trains those it hires and raises their hourly rate to
$6.85 after six months. Those assigned to night shifts begin at
$7.60 an hour.
Not many years ago such jobs would be snapped up before the
employer advertised. There might have been a waiting list too, and
some people would have considered themselves lucky to be on it.
Times have changed.
The situation results from an economy operating at the limit of
its ability to produce new workers. The U.S. labor supply is
growing, but at a feeble rate, likely to average less than 1.5
percent a year into the 1990s.
It is forcing companies such as the supermarket and fast-food
outlets into ``niche'' hiring, or finding workers who might not
ordinarily be in the labor force, such as 15-year-olds, homemakers
and the retired.
``Attention senior citizens,'' declares a headline in the
supermarket ad. ``We ... welcome seniors who long to get back into
the work force. A part-time position with Stop & Shop can help you
...
``Supplement your income.
``Develop a new social outlet.
``Become a role model for younger employees.''
Beneath it is another headline: ``Attention 15-Year-Olds. We have
positions available for you to earn money and spend the proper
amount of time on schoolwork.''
How can this be when, in August, 6.4 million workers were
unemployed? These weren't labor force dropouts; in order to be
included in the work force they must have been actively looking for
work and obviously not finding it.
Sociologists never will run out of explanations:
_The unemployed list constantly changes. Many of those listed as
jobless are merely between jobs _ temporarily unemployed and all but
assured of finding work within a few weeks.
_National figures do not apply locally. In some areas the jobless
rate is even lower than 5 percent.
_The jobs are inappropriate for skilled adults.
_High as the beginning pay is _ almost double the minimum wage _
it is insufficient in communities where rents might run $1,000 a
month and public transportation might not serve the job site.
_Some job seekers cannot pass basic health or competency tests,
may have police records, may have demonstrated in previous jobs that
they are unreliable. Some may have chemical dependency problems.
_Some just don't want to work, though they remain in the work
force and, for the record, are looking for work.
Employers, therefore, must seek new sources. Audrey Freedman, a
Conference Board analyst, says two likely niches are the 14 million
women who stay home with the kids and 3.3 million early retirees.
Youngsters are another.
However, even this group is reduced by sickness and by life
styles that do not leave time for work. Under examination it quickly
reduces.
Moreover, some of these people _ though not officially in the
work force _ have jobs from time to time. Official data show only 19
percent of Americans between ages 20 and 65 remain out of the work
force all year long.
In order to makes themselves attractive, niche employers also
have to create niche jobs. In some of these jobs, for example, the
hours are whatever the employee chooses to work. The employer is
happy to adapt.
In the short term, a recession could reverse the situation,
conceivably making people line up for such positions. If the economy
continues to expand, however, niches are likely to be part of the
scene for several more years.
End advance for PMs Thursday, Sept. 21
AP890920-0221
AP-NR-09-20-89 1401EDT
a a AM-RaceRelations Adv25 09-20 1058
AM-Race Relations, Adv 25,1096
$Adv25
For Release Mon AMs, Sept. 25, and Thereafter
Black Leaders Bend Attitudes in Race Workshops
By SONYA ROSS
Associated Press Writer
ATLANTA (AP)
Nervous laughter and friendly small talk floated
above the 17 whites and eight blacks closeted in a hot conference
room.
Five minutes later, it was quiet.
Charles H. King, minister, civil rights activist and former
professor, had just told the whites they are the reason racism
thrives in America.
They were clearly offended.
Before long, a furious black woman lunged at an argumentative
white man two feet away. The air rang with teary curses from the
woman and shouts from King.
The races were separated, shaken blacks shuttled into another
room where some cried. Equally shaken whites discussed what they saw
and why they did not intervene on the woman's behalf. Some were
beginning to believe King was right.
Then came illustrations of the Black Man's Raw Deal in slides,
recordings and diagrams on a blackboard.
In the end, everybody came out smiling, agreeing with the King
theory: bigotry reigns because (1) white people let it, (2) they
want it that way and (3) black people are all but powerless against
it.
Companies are sending executives and office managers to race
relations seminars, hoping to create understanding that can be
applied in the workplace. The workshops also have found their way
into courts: Ku Klux Klansmen agreed to a seminar as part of the
settlement of a lawsuit stemming from a 1979 clash between Klan
members and black civil rights marchers in Alabama.
King has been at it for 20 years, and has instructed at least 28
others on his technique to send it into companies across the country.
Generally, the workshop puts people on uncomfortable chairs in
uncomfortable rooms for anywhere from four hours to two days,
forcing frank, often heated discussion of what racism is and isn't.
``I had no idea of what the black person experiences,'' said
Robert Miskimins, a white sales executive for Chicago-based Inland
Steel. ``Now, I think more black, because I'm more aware of what
blacks feel.''
``It reaffirmed my blackness. It made me feel good about me,''
said Linda Eastman, one of Miskimins' co-workers. ``It made me feel
better able to articulate my feelings in an intellectual way.''
Inland sent 19 employees, mostly from its sales department, to
King's workshop. One black sales executive, Oliver Copeland, said he
hopes to learn King's technique in order to start an in-house
program by 1990.
The workshops aim to enlighten whites through oppression. There
are no apologies from King, who pioneered the technique in 1968
during an angry moment in a all-white class he taught at an Ohio
college.
``They were just arguing back with me. And I really gave them all
the feeling and anger I had. No matter what you say, if it's to a
black person's favor and a white person's detriment, they always
argue back.
``When you directly approach a white person with emotion, they
begin feeling, for the first time in their lives, what blacks are
saying.''
The Rev. C.T. Vivian, a civil rights activist who learned his
workshop technique from King, said demand for his 14-year-old
seminar rose meteorically after it was dramatized on ``The Oprah
Winfrey Show'' this year. ``They saw something that worked. People
are concerned about racism but they just don't want to talk about it
because they feel it's useless to talk about it.''
Vivian's Black Action Strategies & Information Center workshop
booked solid through January 1990 and already has March dates.
King, who has run seminars for federal agencies ranging from the
Defense Department to the FBI, will do one for the Navy in Germany
later this year. His pace has been slowed by recent cancer surgery
but he's booked through the year.
``They're vying for space,'' he said. ``I have to turn people
down now.''
Both workshops teach that discrimination and prejudice toward one
black affects all blacks; that blacks often undergo racial identity
crises when they are placed in a white environment; that whites are
prejudiced because of what they were taught and blacks because of
the way they've been treated; and that whites profess to be ignorant
of racism in order to avoid it.
Participants arrive thinking they may not like what they hear.
They're often not wrong.
``There is no reason for a white male to not succeed in this
country,'' King shouted during a recent workshop. ``What do you have
holding you back? You're not black; you're not women.''
``We all can't be president,'' one white participant said.
King whirled in anger.
``Don't get smart with me. Don't try to change the subject, move
it to that level. That ain't what we're talking about.''
Inland Steel's Edna West was arguing with a white co-worker when
she branded ``all white people'' with an obscene description.
Another man in the workshop intervened, and so did King.
``Don't interrupt an angry black woman! Don't try to stop black
anger! What do you want to stop her for?''
Ms. West said afterward that the confrontation ``showed me I
shouldn't just sit back and silently condone what they continue to
do.''
King asked blacks to describe what it is like to work in a
majority white situation. They spoke of isolation, despair, dashed
hopes for promotions.
King said ``any progressive-thinking businessman'' would want to
combat those feelings because ``that's a stick of dynamite in your
personnel file.''
For that exact reason, an Atlanta business forum, Leadership
Atlanta, has been sending participants to King's Urban Crisis Inc.
workshops for 13 years, said spokeswoman Elaine Alexander. About 800
of the 1,200 executives who have gone through Leadership Atlanta
also went through King's workshop.
``Virtually everyone who participates in one of Dr. King's
seminars is changed by it,'' Alexander said. ``It's a very emotional
experience. It enhances their sensitivity toward the total
community.''
Eighty-six percent of business participants and 94 percent from
colleges said in follow-up surveys by BASIC that the seminars had
changed their outlooks on race, Vivian said.
``It's a beautiful thing to see, man. Black people say, `Yeah,
we've seen 'em change here, but how long is it going to last?' But
up to 94 percent effectiveness? On an issue as deeply emotional as
this?''
End Adv for Mon AMs, Sept. 25
AP890920-0222
AP-NR-09-20-89 1400EDT
a a AM-LakesAccess Adv26 09-20 0889
AM-Lakes Access, Adv 26,0908
$Adv26
For Release Tues AMs, Sept. 26, and Thereafter
`Golden Pond' Symbolizes Struggle Over Access to Lakes
With LaserPhoto
By NORMA LOVE
Associated Press Writer
HOLDERNESS, N.H. (AP)
Thirty years ago, a friend gave Dr. Henry
Crane a lakeside boat ramp so he'd have easy access to his home on
an island in Squam Lake, one of New Hampshire's largest and
prettiest.
Crane opened the ramp to all comers, making it the only free
public access to Big and Little Squam Lakes, scene of the 1981 movie
``On Golden Pond.''
Few know about Crane's ramp. It isn't on maps, and locals don't
go out of their way to advertise it. Public access for a price is
almost as bad; the few facilities open to the public handle only
small boats or have limited parking.
Squam is one of 1,021 lakes New Hampshire owns for the public
benefit. It illustrates how the state, while touting outdoor
recreation as part of its high quality of life, has relinquished
much of its stewardship to lakefront owners.
About 500 lakes, including Squam, have no state-owned access,
virtually excluding those unable to afford property selling for an
average $2,000 a foot of shorefront. On New Hampshire's largest
lake, Winnipesaukee, the state owns one park and one public boat
ramp along 240 miles of shoreline.
Rather than buy access, the state traditionally has relied on the
good will of people like Crane and lake associations that open areas
to the public.
``I think that lake belongs to the public,'' said Crane, 70. ``I
guess I'm old-fashioned.''
Such hospitality is disappearing. And even when there is access,
said state Sen. Roger Heath, lake associations and many residents
have a ``slightly conspiratorial attitude ... not to post access
points.''
Such silence by townspeople has proven an effective way to
restrict usage since the state has no published map or list of ways
to get to the water.
Gov. Judd Gregg has called improving lake access a priority, but
critics find little encouraging in the state's recent record.
Though land has been added to some parks, the last new state park
with water access was built more than 20 years ago. New Hampshire
has no park on Squam Lake, its second largest, or on another large
lake, Winnisquam, though it owns undeveloped land there. A new state
program given $38 million to preserve open space has bought a dozen
properties with access mostly to rivers. Its most notable purchase
is a wilderness area far from population and tourism centers.
From 1940 to 1979, the state, using mostly federal funds, built
or bought 250 shallow-draft boat ramps for fishermen, but only 110
are functional.
The program contained no money for maintenance, bathrooms, trash
disposal or parking. Some of the narrow roads to ramps are
overgrown; others have been taken over by land owners. Towns
complain that neglect makes them garbage dumps and teen hangouts;
some want ownership so they can close them to outsiders.
The state's 2-year-old attempt to regulate boat moorings, the
poor man's dock, on five large lakes also has failed to increase
public access. When it regulated moorings, the state gave shorefront
owners the power to veto permits letting strangers moor in front of
their property, even though the moorings are on state waters over
state land. The trade-off was the creation of two types of mooring
fields, one for use by anyone, the other for grous like sailing
clubs.
Dozens of applications have been filed and approved for
restricted fields, but only one has been approved for the public.
The lone public operator is Merrill Fay, owner of Fay's Boat Yard
on Lake Winnipesaukee, who says requirements for a public field are
so stringent that few could afford to put one in. Aside from
bathrooms and similar amenities, the state requires a boat taxi
service, dinghy docking, access to highways and liability insurance.
The state also controls rental fees.
The state restricted moorings ``assuming towns would use some of
their property around the lake for public fields,'' said Robert
Danos, until recently the supervisor of the state Marine Patrol.
``It's not being done.''
Some say there is much the state could be doing, and at little
cost.
``Every time a condominium development has been given 50 docks,
they should've said, `You dedicate 10 of them to public use,''' said
Fay. ``Everybody ought to be helping out.''
Until recently, the state routinely granted requests for major
dock developments, like marinas, in perpetuity. Dock developers now
get renewable leases but older marinas are taking advantage of the
old policy to sell slips for thousands of dollars. The state has not
challenged such sales as a change in use subject to state review.
As the demand for lake access has grown, it has spread to
smaller, uncrowded lakes, prompting residents to pressure lawmakers
for controls. An effort to ban jet skis is but one example. The
conflict has even led to talk of limiting the number of outsiders
allowed on public waters on a given day.
Heath would rather see more public access. ``The state has walked
away from it. We make so much of our lakes, and rightfully so, we
ought to let some of our citizens get on them and enjoy them.''
End Adv for Tues AMs, Sept. 26
AP890920-0223
AP-NR-09-20-89 1612EDT
a a AM-Education-Choice Adv25 09-20 1049
AM-Education-Choice, Adv 25,1083
$Adv25
For Release Monday AMs, Sept. 25, and thereafter
In East Harlem School District, Choice Triumphs, But Money Still
Talks
Eds: Education Summit is Sept. 27-28.
With Laserphoto
By LEE MITGANG
AP Education Writer
NEW YORK (AP)
Outside the battered metal doors of Intermediate
School 117 in East Harlem, crack vials litter the pavement and row
after row of tenements stand empty and graffiti-scarred.
But inside is what President Bush has called ``the single most
promising idea'' in education _ an idea certain to be high on the
agenda at the education summit this week between Bush and the
nation's governors in Charlottesville, Va.
The idea is ``choice'': the belief, as espoused by Bush and
others, that if parents are allowed to choose the best public
schools for their children, the resulting competition would compel
schools everywhere to improve.
Minnesota, Iowa and Arkansas have already adopted ``open
enrollment'' plans permitting parents to choose among schools
throughout those states. Many other states offer more limited choice
options aimed at gifted students or youngsters with academic
problems that only certain districts can handle. Scores of local
districts have offered magnet and alternative programs for years.
A Gallup education survey in August found Americans support the
principle of school choice by a 60-31 margin, with 9 percent saying
they weren't sure.
Minnesota's plan, voluntary for two years, became mandatory this
fall for districts with at least 1,000 students. In Iowa, a law
signed this year gives students the right to apply to any school in
the state. They must stick with their choice for at least four years.
Arkansas this year passed a comprehensive open enrollment law
permitting students aged 5 through 18 to choose schools across
district lines as long as there is room and as long as it doesn't
upset desegregation efforts.
But advocates say no place offers better proof than East Harlem
that choice's benefits can extend even to urban America's neediest.
In 1972, District 4 ranked last among New York City's 32 school
districts in reading and math achievement. Only 15 percent read at
or above grade level.
With federal and private funds, then-superintendent Anthony
Alvarado gradually broke up or replaced existing schools in the
district with magnet schools and alternative ``schools within
schools,'' small enough to give students individual attention and
academically attractive enough to draw pupils from all over the city.
Some are selective, like the gifted programs or the school for
the performing arts. Others take nearly all comers.
The district has weathered some recent problems. Last December,
superintendent Carlos Medina was suspended on allegations he and
fellow board members funneled district money into a secret bank
account and used it for trips, food, liquor and improper loans.
And citywide school budget cuts may force reductions this year in
some of the district's innovative magnet programs, said assistant
superintendent John Falco.
Still, everyone agrees the district has been transformed for the
better by the bracing effects of competition.
Even Keith Geiger, president of the National Education
Association, which has given only qualified support to the idea of
choice, calls District 4 ``choice at its very best.''
Today, reading scores of District 4's 14,000 pupils rank 16th in
the city, and 65 percent read at grade level or higher. Pupils can
choose among 23 alternative schools specializing in such areas as
science and humanities, performing arts and environmental science.
Choice has also meant that poor programs which no longer attract
students don't last. A school specializing in maritime science was
closed about three years ago, Falco said. It reopened recently with
a new director.
I.S. 117 was once a failing, impersonal middle school bulging
with more than 2,000 students. It now houses four academies, or
schools within schools, each occupying one floor and each with only
about 200 pupils. There is a gifted and talented program; the
``Harbor School'' for the performing arts; the ``Career Academy,''
which helps poorly prepared students take a seemingly outlandish
goal such as becoming a lawyer and plan how to attain it; and the
``Key School'' with classes of no more than 18 students and
intensive instruction for youngsters with emotional difficulties.
Most pupils come from East Harlem. But the magnet schools are so
appealing that this once-downtrodden district is drawing students of
all races and economic circumstances from every corner of the city.
Nearly 200 children from around the city applied for 70 places in
the entering class of the Harbor School this year, says assistant
director Harold Roth.
Fourth-grader Chenoa Rommereim takes a car pool each day from the
Bronx to attend I.S. 117's gifted program. She is one of the
estimated 15-25 percent non-minority students in District 4 magnet
programs, Falco said.
Even staunch supporters of choice note its limitations. District
4 has shunned choice for elementary schools, Falco said, because at
that early age it's more important for parents and children to
maintain neighborhood ties.
Sy Fliegel, an early architect of choice in District 4, recently
wrote that choice worked in East Harlem because it came gradually,
one school at a time. And successful programs were kept small. It's
far better to have parents clamoring for a few excellent programs
than to offer lots of poor choices.
``When I hear about a school district deciding to become a
complete choice system in one blow, I worry,'' Fliegel wrote.
And as the Bush education summit approaches, educators here greet
their fame with a mix of pride and frustration.
Some worry that District 4's accomplishments are being used to
demonstrate that choice alone, without additional money, will fix
the nation's schools. Few here believe that choice is an educational
cure-all.
``In the final analysis the folks in Washington seem to be
saying: `Federal dollars aren't necessary. What's needed is to have
more schools like THAT one,''' said Phil Batton, a computer and
Spanish teacher who has been at I.S. 117 for 24 years.
``I have two feelings,'' said Maria Bonet, director of Northview
Tech, a magnet school on East 116th Street specializing in computers
and writing. ``It's very positive that people are noticing us. Let
them notice. But send us more money.''
EDITOR'S NOTE
Lee Mitgang has covered education for the AP
since 1981.
End Adv for Mon AMs, Sept. 25
AP890920-0224
AP-NR-09-20-89 1404EDT
a i AM-ReligionToday Adv22 09-20 0904
AM-Religion Today, Adv 22,0929
$adv22
For Release Friday AMs, Sept. 22, and thereafter
New Edition Highlights Neglected Genius of English
LaserPhoto
By ROBERT BARR
Associated Press Writer
LONDON (AP)
The salt of the earth. The signs of the times. The
spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
Those well-worn phrases, as William Tyndale intended, have become
as familiar to the laborer as to the scholar. Incorporated into the
King James Bible, they became part of common English, while the
author sank into obscurity.
David Daniell, who has edited Tyndale's 1534 New Testament for
modern readers, regards the translator as a neglected giant of
English prose.
``I think the Authorized (King James) Version deserves its
tremendous reputation ... except that it is a stolen reputation from
Tyndale, and that is grossly unfair,'' Daniell said in an interview.
Tyndale, a 16th century scholar-priest, was the first to
translate Scripture from the original Hebrew and Greek into English.
For that he was branded a heretic, his books were burned and so,
eventually, was he. Only a dozen of the books are said to survive.
Tyndale's translations were as much a threat to ``the powers that
be'' _ another of his phrases _ as the ``samizdat'' manuscripts of
banned books that were passed from hand to hand in the Soviet Union
before the era of glasnost.
Thomas More _ scholar, chancellor to Henry VIII and eventual
Catholic martyr _ condemned Tyndale as ``one of the hell-hounds that
the devil hath in his kennel.''
For the new edition published by Yale University Press, Daniell
rendered Tyndale's work in modern spelling but found no need to
tamper with the text.
``If you read Tyndale, particularly the New Testament
translation, against any other prose of the 1530s, you are
astonished by its modern clarity,'' said Daniell, senior lecturer in
English at University College, London.
``Tyndale's power is in getting a Greek that is the Greek of the
common people into an English that is the English of the common
people, with incredible beauty.''
Where the King James version differs from Tyndale, it often
rejects the Anglo-Saxon word or phrase for what Daniell calls a
self-consciously ``posh'' alternative rooted in Latin.
For instance, Tyndale's ``the old things are gone'' became ``the
former things are passed away'' in the King James version.
If readers prefer the latter, ``then Tyndale will be disliked and
there is no way to mend it,'' Daniell writes in the introduction to
the book.
He points also to the last verse of the sixth chapter of Matthew:
``Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof,'' says the King James
Bible, while Tyndale says, ``For the day present hath ever enough of
his own trouble.''
``One is mandarin. One is saying you have to know the word
`sufficient,' it's a Latin word, you have to be a little bit clever
to understand Jesus,'' Daniell said. ``The other is saying, no you
don't, because everyone can say each day hath enough of its own
trouble.''
John Foxe, who compiled the ``Book of Martyrs'' in 1563, tells of
the young Tyndale arguing theology with a scholar, and exclaiming,
``If God spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that
driveth the plow shall know more of the Scripture than thou dost.''
There had been earlier Bibles in English, prepared around 1400 by
followers of John Wycliffe, but these were translated from the Latin
Vulgate version. In reaction, the English bishops in 1408 banned
biblical translations.
A century later, reform was boiling in Europe. Erasmus, the great
humanist scholar, published a Greek New Testament, and in 1517
Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door.
Tyndale, born in 1494 in Gloucestershire and a graduate of Oxford
University, was caught up in the new ideas. He offered his services
as a translator to Bishop Cuthbert Tunstall of London, a friend of
Erasmus, but was turned down.
Tyndale moved to the continent in 1524, and published his first
New Testament translation in Cologne in 1525.
Tunstall was the most enthusiastic buyer, consigning Tyndale's
books to bonfires at the rear of St. Paul's Cathedral.
More and Tyndale exchanged insults in pamphlets that did neither
man much credit, but Daniell said Tyndale was right and More wrong
on specific points of translation.
For instance, Tyndale translated the Greek word ``ecclesia'' as
``congregations.'' More, following the Vulgate, thought it should be
rendered as ``church.''
Likewise, Tyndale translated ``repentance,'' something anyone
could do at home, where the Vulgate said ``do penance,'' which
requires confession and the direction of a priest.
In 1535, Tyndale was imprisoned in Belgium and the following year
he was strangled and his body burned at the stake. Ironically,
England by then was a Protestant country, and the stubbornly
Catholic Thomas More had been beheaded a year before Tyndale's death.
As a pioneering translator, Daniell said, Tyndale had to invent
some words, including Jehovah, passover, scapegoat, peacemaker and
mercy seat.
Daniell included a glossary of words from Tyndale's time that
have fallen into disuse: advoutry (adultery), debite (deputy), earer
(plowman), noosell (train or nurture), pyght (pitched), weet (know)
and weenest (supposes).
Daniell said one or two words defied definition, ``but I think
there are only two, and that tells a story about Tyndale,'' he said.
``Because he is writing in everyday English, he is not going to use
outlandish words.''
End Adv for Fri AMs, Sept. 22
AP890920-0225
AP-NR-09-20-89 1629EDT
a e AM-APArts:FilmFestival Adv22 09-20 0832
AM-AP Arts: Film Festival, Adv 22,0852
$adv22
For Release Friday AMs, Sept. 22, and thereafter
New York Film Festival Opens With French Comedy
By MARILYN AUGUST
Associated Press Writer
Short, lumpy and nearing middle age, French actress Josiane
Balasko makes her American debut when the prize-winning ``Too Good
for You'' opens the 27th New York Film Festival.
Written and directed by Bertrand Blier, the movie won a special
jury prize at this year's Cannes film festival and established
Balasko _ admired for her roles in sidesplitting French comedies _
as one of France's foremost actresses.
The film opens the annual festival Friday with a special
screening at Avery Fisher Hall.
The festival will feature 26 other movies from the United States,
Finland, Japan, Taiwan, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, Ireland,
Burkina Faso, Poland, Canada, Australia and Hungary.
Closing night on Oct. 9 will showcase Bill Forsyth's ``Breaking
In,'' an engaging story of two small-time thieves written by John
Sayles and starring Burt Reynolds. It is the festival debut for the
Scottish director of ``Local Hero'' and ``Gregory's Girl.''
The festival will have a special avant-garde program devoted to
new, innovative works by Abigail Child, Warren Sonbert and Pat
O'Neill.
``Too Good for You'' is the story of a car dealer (Gerard
Depardieu) who betrays his beautiful and refined wife (Carole
Bouquet) by falling passionately _ and inexplicably _ in love with
his ordinary-looking, overweight temporary secretary.
``The film's theme is a cliche _ adultery and the rejected woman,
but everyone I know was touched, one way or another, by it,'' said
Balasko. ``What happens in the film can happen to anyone, and we all
know it.''
Balasko said Blier, whose past hits include ``Going Places''
(1973) and ``Get Out Your Handkerchiefs'' (1977), wrote the film
especially for the cast.
``The character played by Gerard is completely passive, which is
not the way audiences are used to seeing him,'' she said. ``Here
he's swept along by his own emotions, torn between his wife,
Florence, whom he describes as so perfect there's no room for
fantasy, and Colette, who's fat and ugly and ordinary, but with whom
he has a lot in common.''
Blier heightens an overriding sense of malaise by eliminating
straightforward narrative techniques. Instead, his characters jump
ahead, imagining what life might be like, and flash back,
remembering happier times.
In one tricky scene, Depardieu and Bouquet's wedding party turns
into a nightmarish, stuffy bourgeois dinner for their narrow-minded
nouveau riche friends who cannot understand why Depardieu throws
over Bouquet for the dumpy Balasko.
``The film is disturbing because it's full of interior monologues
performed as speeches,'' Balasko said. ``In one scene I have to get
up and say, `I know I'm ugly and fat.' These are the kinds of things
people think to themselves, but never say out loud. It was extremely
difficult.''
She's not exactly ugly and fat, but Balasko hardly fits the
stereotypes of stardom. She has none of the sex kittenish charms of
Brigitte Bardot or the chiseled features of Catherine Deneuve.
Instead, she is a small, heavyset redhead who likes to wear
T-shirts, baggy black pants and red eyeglasses.
In the movie, she is made to look her worst, dying her hair dark
brown and sporting unflattering skirts and tight sweaters that
emphasize her full form.
Critics have praised Balasko for her ``courage'' in playing
Colette, and touted her as a front-runner for best actress in next
year's Cesar awards _ the equivalent of an American Academy Award at
Cannes.
Balasko has 18 films to her credit, including ``Les Bronzes''
(``The Suntanned''), a satire on Club Med-type organized vacations,
and ``Le Pere Noel Est une Ordure'' (``Santa Claus Is Rubbish''), in
which she plays an uptight do-gooder who gets stuck in an elevator
on Christmas Eve.
Balasko, who has written and directed many films of her own, says
she is not a part of the French film establishment and never expects
to be. Blier, in fact, is the first internationally known director
to write a script with her in mind.
Blier's ``Menage'' was one of the hits at the 1987 film festival,
which also showcased ``Get Out Your Handkerchiefs.''
Betrand Tavernier (``Round Midnight'') returns to the New York
cinema fete with the poignant ``Life and Nothing But,'' set during
World War I. American director Jim Jarmusch returns with ``Mystery
Train,'' the third in a filmic trilogy that includes ``Stranger Than
Paradise'' and ``Down by Law.''
The festival will also show the documentary ``Thelonius Monk:
Straight, No Chaser,'' a portrait of the brilliant and moody jazz
artist.
D.W. Griffith's epic 1916 masterwork, ``Intolerance,'' will be
shown as a retrospective. As part of an eight-year restoration
project by the Museum of Modern Art, the film has been reconstructed
to a color-tinted print with more than 30 minutes of newly
discovered footage. Four separate stories set in Babylon, Roman
Palestine, Reformation France and industrial America, grapple with
the theme of intolerance.
End Adv for Friday AMs, Sept. 22
AP890920-0226
AP-NR-09-20-89 1355EDT
a a BC-BehindtheWheel Adv30-01 09-20 0786
BC-Behind the Wheel, Adv 30-01,0805
$adv30
$adv01
For Release Weekend Editions, Sept. 30-Oct. 1, and thereafter
Oldsmobile Silhouette: Olds Enters the Minivan Fray
With LaserPhoto, LaserGraphic
By ANN M. JOB
For The Associated Press
Move over, Chrysler. Oldsmobile wants a piece of the minivan
action, and it's going nose-to-nose with all comers to get it.
Yes, Olds dealers for the first time are selling a van, although
you wouldn't know it by driving their new vehicle, the Silhouette.
It feels more like a car. In fact, it feels distinctly like an
Oldsmobile car _ soft ride over the bumps, smooth acceleration, an
upscale experience.
This minivan, being sold under the Olds, Chevrolet and Pontiac
nameplates, has plastic, rust-resistant body panels glued to a steel
frame _ a first in the industry. In fact, the Oldsmobile Silhouette,
along with its sister vans, the Chevrolet Lumina APV and Pontiac
Trans Sport, are the world's largest mass-produced plastic-skinned
vehicles.
That's not all. These General Motors minivans are the first to
feature separate rear seats that can be removed individually. No
more struggling with big, heavy bench seats.
The folks at Oldsmobile aren't shy about saying they're going
after buyers of Chrysler's popular minivans, the Plymouth Voyager
and Dodge Caravan, which started the minivan craze early this decade.
But Oldsmobile also is trying to appeal to that group's upper
crust, people who appreciate a cushioned ride, a well-appointed
vehicle, even optional leather seats.
They will be buyers of some means, given the $19,000-plus price
tag of the leather- and accessory-appointed test vehicle. In
contrast, Chrysler's basic minivans start at $11,995.
Buyers ``will be families who may not have real young children;
the children might be 10 years of age, not 2,'' said Craig
Oppenlander, manager of the utility vehicles business team at
Oldsmobile. ``Buyers will be in their late-30s to mid-40s. Annual
income will be up in the $60,000s. The majority will have college
education, and they'll be in professional, white-collar jobs.''
They're also folks looking for contemporary utility.
The Silhouette has a rakish, aerodynamic outer design with a long
nose that takes some getting used to. I kept stopping more than a
foot short of where I wanted until I adjusted to that big snout.
The rear lighting was something new. Brakelights and blinker were
up high, on posts beside the rear window. This high-tech look was
eye-catching, especially when combined with darkly tinted rear
windows.
Inside, the Silhouette had plenty of room, even for a burly
passenger in the rear-most seat. One sliding door on the passenger
side offered easy entry.
The test vehicle came fitted with six bucket seats. A seventh
could be added in the middle row.
It was pretty simple to take the four rear seats out. They
weighed considerably less than the bench seats of other minivans,
and they were smaller and easier to maneuver. The Silhouette seats
even had little rollers underneath to help guide the latches back
into the floor holes during installation.
Each of the four back seats had a flat, vinyl back with
indentations for holding cups, a thoughtful touch for tailgaters.
I also enjoyed sitting in the rear-most seat and putting down
just the seat backs of the middle seats and using them as ottomans.
But the Silhouette's cruise control buttons protruded awkwardly
from the turn signal stalk. As I've done in other GM vehicles, I
found myself accidentally moving the lever to the on position a few
times. The cruise doesn't activate unless another button is pushed,
but it's unnerving, nonetheless.
And the huge windshield wipers took some getting used to _ they
looked like insect claws. They need to be big to cover the mammoth
front windshield, fully a third larger than that of most large
sedans. Don't worry about the heat such a large windshield might
transmit, especially in a sunny climate _ GM puts a layer of
metallic film in the glass to reflect heat energy and reduce the
``solar load'' by 30 percent.
The Silhouette's 3.1-liter V-6 was teamed with a three-speed
automatic, the only transmission offered. It performed well and
responded smoothly.
Oldsmobile wouldn't give sales projections, noting that its
portion of van production at the Tarrytown, N.Y., assembly plant _
shared with Chevrolet and Pontiac _ will be allocated based on
demand for all three vehicles. The plant's production capacity is
more than 200,000 minivans annually.
Because the Silhouette is new, Consumer Reports magazine does not
have an owner complaint report.
EDITOR'S NOTE
Ann Job, former executive business editor of The
Detroit News, writes biweekly automobile reviews for The Associated
Press. She has covered the automobile industry for seven years.
End Adv for Weekend Editions, Sept. 30-Oct. 1
AP890920-0227
AP-NR-09-20-89 1356EDT
a a BC-BehindtheWheel-SilhouetteBox Adv30-01 09-20 0121
BC-Behind the Wheel-Silhouette Box, Adv 30-01,0134
$adv30
$adv01
For Release Weekend Editions, Sept. 30-Oct. 1, and thereafter
With BC-Behind the Wheel, b0660
With LaserPhoto, LaserGraphic
1990 Oldsmobile Silhouette
BASE PRICE: $17,195.
AS TESTED: $19,587.
TYPE: Front-engine, front-drive, six-passenger minivan.
ENGINE: 3.1-liter V-6.
MILEAGE: 18 mpg (city) 22 mpg (highway).
TOP SPEED: not available.
LENGTH: 194.2 inches.
WHEELBASE: 109.8 inches.
CURB WT: 3,648 lbs.
ASSEMBLED AT: Tarrytown, N.Y.
OPTIONS: Package with power options (includes power windows,
power driver seat, power door locks, floor mats) $960; value package
(includes leather seats and AM-FM stereo with cassette player) $540;
rear window defogger $160; touring suspension $232.
DESTINATION CHARGE: $500.
End Adv for Weekend Editions, Sept. 30-Oct. 1
AP890920-0228
AP-NR-09-20-89 1521EDT
s a BC-AsbestosRefugees Adv24 09-20 1002
BC-Asbestos Refugees, Adv 24,1027
$adv24
For Release Sunday, Sept. 24, and thereafter
Refugees From Asbestos Blast Distraught Despite Their Resources
LaserPhoto planned
By BETH J. HARPAZ
Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP)
Susan Saltrick, her husband and 3-week-old
daughter are unlikely refugees _ affluent New Yorkers who left
behind Japanese prints and a thousand prized books to take shelter
in a rent-free apartment that is anything but home.
Even less likely, they and 350 neighbors, also cast from their
homes, have hired a public relations firm to try to persuade ``60
Minutes'' to focus on their plight.
But their misfortune is very real. On Aug. 19, a steam pipe
wrapped with asbestos exploded, showering their neighborhood with
potentially cancer-causing fibers and rendering them homeless.
They left behind possessions collected over lifetimes. They
suffer anxiety and depression. And they have no idea when or if they
will return to their contaminated homes.
``You try real hard to keep up a good face and be strong and
tough and get through it all,'' said Saltrick, who gave birth 12
days after the blast. ``We're alive, we're healthy, my daughter is
fine, you basically have your health and that's pretty important.
But I do get depressed, worrying about where we're going to be.''
Shoeless and pregnant, Saltrick clambered down a fire truck
ladder when the underground steam pipe blew up in front of her
building at 32 Gramercy Park South on the east side of Manhattan.
One of her neighbors, the mother of a 5-month-old boy, was killed
when steam and debris wrecked her apartment as she napped. Also
killed were two workers for Consolidated Edison, the electric
utility that owns the steam pipes.
A geyser of mud 12 stories high roared like a rocket for four
hours; some residents later sought psychological help for nerves
frazzled by the deafening noise.
Only later did people learn the mud was full of asbestos.
Saltrick and her husband, John Meyer, spent the night at a
friend's house. The next day they found their apartment untouched by
the blast and moved back. Saltrick and others turned on air
conditioners and vacuumed the dirt they tracked in. Unwittingly,
that may have spread asbestos into units that might otherwise have
remained uncontaminated.
Con Ed had tested for asbestos but said nothing about possible
contamination in the neighborhood. Building managers discovered the
asbestos three days later through tests of their own. Lawyers for
the buildings as well as city officials have accused Con Ed of a
cover-up. The utility has been cited six times since 1988 by the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration for allegedly failing
to test accurately for asbestos in other cases.
On Aug. 23, Saltrick, Meyer and neighbors were given three hours'
notice to leave their homes for what they thought would be a few
days.
Days turned into weeks. Con Ed spokeswoman Pat Richardi now says
the buildings should be cleaned up by Thanksgiving. But victims say
Con Ed is again denying reality.
Saltrick and Meyer, with the baby on the way, were counting on
selling their one-bedroom cooperative apartment to finance purchase
of a bigger unit. The man who'd agreed to buy Saltrick's co-op
before the blast has since had mortgage applications rejected by two
banks.
Con Ed is paying about $500,000 a week for the 350 displaced
residents to stay in hotels, eat out every night and replace
essential items _ including computers for some who had worked at
home.
Saltrick says Con Ed offered her only $200 to replace all the
baby furniture she left in her apartment. Nine months pregnant, she
stood up at a public meeting to complain; the utility agreed to pay
for whatever she needed.
But Saltrick didn't want to bring newborn Sarah back to a hotel.
One hour before she went into labor, she found a one-bedroom
apartment through a company that houses executives on short-term
transfers. Con Ed pays the $2,000 monthly rent.
Everyday, Saltrick contacts Con Ed and her building managers for
the latest on the cleanup. Then she spends hours shopping for the
basics her new apartment lacks: spices, a garbage can, toiletries.
Sarah will never get to use the baby-shower gifts still sitting in
her old apartment with the toys and crib she and Meyer bought months
ago.
Their $15,000 homeowner's insurance policy won't begin to cover
the rugs, clothes, upholstery and other porous items that will have
to be discarded because they absorbed asbestos fibers. Richardi says
Con Ed expects plenty of hefty claims and lawsuits once the cleanup
is complete.
Until 1975, Con Ed wrapped its steam pipes in asbestos to reduce
heat loss. Other insulating materials have been used since
scientists determined long-term exposure to the fiber causes cancer.
But no level of exposure to asbestos is considered safe.
``Doctors are telling these people, `Come back every six months
for the rest of your life and I'll let you know if you've been
affected,''' said David Jaroslawicz, a lawyer who filed a $30
million lawsuit against Con Ed on behalf of the building at 151 E.
20th St., which was evacuated the same night as Saltrick's building.
The cleanup is an enormous undertaking. Entire buildings have
been swathed in plastic. Environmental officials hired a special
company to decontaminate art objects, antiques and computers.
Contractors have even scrubbed down trees.
Dan Sitomer, a lawyer retained by Saltrick's building, says the
victims of Gramercy Park are to be no less pitied because they have
the resources to demand and get the help they need.
``There's no class system when a disaster strikes,'' he said.
``There are only people who have been touched and hurt.''
Sheldon Adler, president of Saltrick's co-op board, is confident
that Saltrick and other victims will ultimately force Con Ed to make
appropriate restitution.
``We had the terrible misfortune of having our building
damaged,'' he said. ``But Con Ed had the misfortune of running up
against people who know what they're doing.''
End Adv for Sunday, Sept. 24
AP890920-0229
AP-NR-09-20-89 1540EDT
s e BC-APArts:MetOpera Adv24 09-20 1018
BC-AP Arts: Met Opera, Adv 24,1063
$adv24
For Release Sunday, Sept. 24, and thereafter
Metropolitan Opera Opens New Season
With LaserPhoto
By MARY CAMPBELL
Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP)
The Metropolitan Opera opens its new season
Monday with an all-star cast singing ``Aida.'' But the most
anticipated performance will come a few days later with the debut of
an exciting young American tenor, Richard Leech, singing Rodolfo in
``La Boheme.''
Monday's ``Aida'' stars Aprile Millo and Placido Domingo. On the
second night, Teresa Stratas returns to the Met after eight years.
Leech will sing Saturday.
Leech, 32, walks like an athlete, with a brisk spring in his step
_ and that's part of his appeal.
``I try to allow the fact that I'm young and can move around to
creep into the action on stage, when it's appropriate,'' said Leech,
who did some diving and played football in high school.
In ``The Elixir of Love'' at the Tri-Cities Opera in Binghamton,
N.Y., he slid 15 feet from a roof to the stage, about 15 feet to the
ground, an unusual staging for the opera.
Leech, who grew up in Binghamton and started as a teen-ager in
the opera's chorus, is confident on stage since he's been performing
so long.
The first three ``La Boheme'' productions in which he performed
were in Binghamton. He was in the chorus, then the small part of the
toy vendor.
``By the time I got around to singing Rodolfo, `La Boheme' was an
old friend,'' he said.
``Growing up on stage is how I look at myself. When you're on
stage it's no big deal _ that's how it needs to be. Then you have
the presence of mind to deal with it when you go on in your debut in
Vienna in `Rigoletto' with no rehearsal.
``That's a standard in some European houses that the Met has
managed to avoid _ the attitude that in the standard repertoire
everybody knows how it goes. That's no way to get great
performances. I did `Lucia di Lammermoor' in Berlin the same way.''
``La Boheme'' is a particular favorite for Leech. He made his New
York City Opera debut in the opera in 1984, and his Lyric Opera of
Chicago debut in it in 1987. He'll sing in the first eight
performances at the Met this season.
He'll make his La Scala debut next May as Pinkerton in ``Madama
Butterfly,'' which he performed as his debut in Florence, Italy, and
Washington.
``That's another of my favorites. I don't have much to sing in
the second act, but the first act love duet makes the whole opera
worthwhile to me,'' he said.
A recent feather in his cap was singing in the Verdi ``Requiem''
at the opening of the new Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in
Dallas in early September.
As debuts at the Met and other major opera houses approach, Leech
is not too overly excited.
``I find that I tend not to,'' he said. ``I'm excited because
it's the proper progression of things and it's nice to have
happening. It is very much fun. But excited in the sense of nervous
or too much anticipation, I don't do. Placing too much importance on
that one night, you set yourself up to fail that night.''
Leech looks at a debut as just another performance.
The tenor was born in North Hollywood, Calif., the middle one of
three children. When Leech was 8 his father took a job with IBM in
Binghamton. His school took classes to the opera, and Leech saw his
first, ``Romeo and Juliet,'' in seventh grade. ``I fell in love with
Juliet.''
When he was 15, his choir teacher said he should take voice
lessons. ``Since we had this opera company, we went there and I
began studying with Carmen Savoca and Peyton Hibbitt, the two men
who founded the Tri-Cities Opera. They're rare and incredible
teachers. I just fell into the luck of being in the right place at
the right time.'' He decided at 17 to stay in opera.
And he stayed in Binghamton. He went to the Eastman School of
Music for a semester, decided he preferred the training at home and
returned to Savoca and Hibbitt. In 1980 he entered the Caruso
competition for tenors under 25 in Milan, Italy, and tied for first
place with William Matiuzzi. Part of the prize was studying two
years at La Scala. Leech declined and went back to Binghamton. Leech
went on to be hired by regional operas _ Pittsburgh, Cincinnati,
Baltimore, San Diego, Washington. His European debut, much
commended, was in 1987 in Berlin, as Raoul in a new production of
``Les Huguenots.''
So he had some international acclaim before coming to the Met.
``I'm relatively outspoken when it comes to talking about what I
will and will not do. From Day 1 (of talks with the Met) they were
aware I wasn't going to come in and work my way up from the bottom
of the ladder again,'' he said.
Leech's wife, Laurie, is assistant stage director of the
Tri-Cities Opera. ``She supports me very well in what must be a very
difficult thing to do,'' he said. ``I wouldn't want to be a tenor's
wife.
``As much as a tenor tries not to be neurotic I think he tends to
be. You always worry about your health. Inevitably, when it comes
down to being nervous about health or performances, I think opera
singers will take it out on those around them. I try not to do that
but I have a feeling I occasionally do. Laurie is masterful at being
able to balance when to give me room and the support I need.
``Her ability to understand singers' psyches also makes her a
good stage director.''
Leech is amazed by the Met's schedule for the season.
``I cannot imagine trying to get on the number of performances
they have here,'' he said. ``I'm glad that's not my job. My job is
simple compared to that. I just sing.''
End Adv for Sunday, Sept 24
AP890920-0230
AP-NR-09-20-89 0050EDT
r f PM-BusinessHighlights 09-20 0850
PM-Business Highlights,0891
WASHINGTON (AP)
Consumer prices did not rise at all last month
as big declines in the cost of gasoline and women's clothing
combined to provide the best news on inflation since early 1986, the
government said.
The August performance of the Labor Department's Consumer Price
Index followed modest increases of 0.2 percent in both June and July
and left analysts marveling Tuesday at the better-than-expected
showing on inflation.
``The August inflation result was outstanding from the point of
view of the consumer,'' said Allen Sinai, chief economist of the
Boston Co.
WASHINGTON (AP)
Housing construction, depressed by a spike in
mortgage rates, fell by 5 percent in August, the government said in
a report many analysts viewed as only a temporary setback for the
housing industry.
The Commerce Department said Tuesday that new homes and
apartments were built at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.35
million units last month, down from 1.42 million units in July.
It was the first decline since May and the largest setback since
a 12.7 percent fall last February.
NEW YORK (AP)
Campeau Corp. obtained a $250 million rescue loan
enabling its department stores to pay creditors and suppliers but
forcing the heavily indebted company's founder, Robert Campeau, to
relinquish control.
Word Tuesday that the Canadian property and retailing company had
secured the emergency funds from Olympia & York Developments Ltd.
soothed financial markets.
Much of Campeau's troubles can be traced to the huge amount of
high-interest junk bond debt it accumulated in building a
coast-to-coast retail empire.
LONDON (AP)
Ford Motor Co. announced plans to buy up to 15
percent of Jaguar PLC, saying it wanted a long-term relationship
with the unprofitable British luxury automaker.
Jaguar, which has been battered by flagging sales in its
principal U.S. market during the past year, maintained Tuesday that
it wanted to remain independent but didn't rule out collaborating
with another car company.
Ford, which already has a huge European presence and is
negotiating a possible transaction with Swedish automaker Saab,
could benefit from an association with the well-known Jaguar line,
analysts said.
WASHINGTON (AP)
The nation's top aviation official and the head
of the board investigating the DC-10 crash in Iowa told Congress the
McDonnell Douglas Corp. jetliners are safe, but they also called for
mandatory inspections and changes.
James B. Busey, head of the Federal Aviation Administration,
announced an order Tuesday to inspect the fan disks of 220 DC-10
engines similar to the one investigators believe failed prior to the
July 19 crash of a United DC-10 in Sioux City, Iowa, that killed 112
people.
CHICAGO (AP)
Most of United Airlines' 24,000 non-union workers
face a 10 percent pay cut if the $6.75 billion employee buyout of
parent UAL Corp. goes through as planned, according to a published
report.
Meanwhile Tuesday, United pilots, who are spearheading the
takeover effort, demonstrated their good faith by flying the
airline's new Boeing 747-400 jets, something they had refused to do
since June due to a labor dispute.
In Washington, Transportation Secretary Samuel Skinner pledged to
prevent excessive debt or foreign control from threatening the U.S.
airline industry. Skinner said he would revoke an airline's
certificate to fly if a buyout or other transaction threatened its
continued fitness.
WASHINGTON (AP)
Federal and state regulators said commercial
banks, despite record post-Depression failures, are not falling into
a crisis similar to that experienced by the savings and loan
industry.
But they told a House Banking subcommittee Tuesday they are
keeping a wary eye on potential trouble spots, including Third World
debt, leveraged buyout loans, junk bond failures and real estate
losses.
NEW YORK (AP)
Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank's planned investment in
Manufacturers Hanover Corp. represents the latest effort by
cash-rich Japanese banks to gain firmer footing in the United
States, particularly in financing of mid-sized, bread-and-butter
companies, experts said Tuesday.
In recent years, Japanese banks have made significant inroads in
the U.S. market by adding and expanding their own branch offices
here, or buying into established financial units, from banking to
securities operations.
NEW YORK (AP)
Chasing business while living out of a suitcase
can be a wearying battle _ but the ``Road Warriors'' who do so are
the heroes of a new $25 million marketing campaign by the Howard
Johnson hotel chain.
Howard Johnson Franchise Systems Inc. wants to expand its 8
percent share of the $3.5 billion that it says business travelers
spend on mid-priced hotels, which generally charge $35 to $70 a
night.
By The Associated Press
The stock market closed narrowly mixed in featureless trading
Tuesday. The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials lost 0.19 point to
finish at 2,687.31.
The dollar turned mixed in nervous worldwide trading amid reports
the Federal Reserve intervened to keep the currency down. Gold
prices declined.
Treasury bond prices inched lower.
Soybeans for spot delivery fell to a 22-month low; oil futures
were sharply lower; cocoa futures advanced; livestock and meat
futures were mixed; and precious metals inched lower.
AP890920-0231
AP-NR-09-20-89 0051EDT
r f PM-Campeau Bjt 09-20 0777
PM-Campeau, Bjt,0804
Campeau Retail Empire May Be Revamped
By MARYBETH NIBLEY
AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP)
Campeau Corp., rescued from a cash shortage with
a $250 million emergency loan, may have to dismantle its
coast-to-coast retail empire to permanently resolve its debt
troubles.
For the time being, the Canadian holding company may continue to
have a credibility problem with major suppliers to its department
stores, possibly making it difficult for them to stock up adequately
for peak Christmas demand.
Despite announcement Tuesday that Campeau had reached a
definitive loan agreement with Olympia & York Developments Ltd.,
analysts said the financial ailments at Campeau's Allied Stores
Corp. and Federated Department Stores Inc. divisions aren't
automatically cured.
``It will be a precarious situation with the Federated and Allied
stores through Christmas,'' said Herbert Wittkin, a New York retail
consultant.
Meanwhile, Heller Financial Inc., a company that acts as a
middleman for retailers and vendors, said it was continuing to
monitor Campeau's condition.
Last week, Heller advised its clients that if they shipped goods
to Campeau-owned retailers, they would have to do so at their own
risk; Heller said it temporarily wouldn't accept the risk due to
Campeau's uncertain situation.
John Brooklier, a Heller spokesman, said Campeau's announcement
Tuesday didn't immediately alter Heller's position.
Heller, based in Chicago and owned by Japan's Fuji Bank Ltd., is
one of the biggest factoring firms in the retail business. Factoring
companies buy retail receivables from apparel makers and often act
as their credit managers, thereby exerting considerable influence in
the way vendors do business.
The loan pact gives Olympia & York more clout in the management
of Campeau and reduces the financial stake of Robert Campeau, the
company's founder, who remains chairman and chief executive officer.
Olympia & York, an investment holding and real-estate development
company closely held by Toronto's wealthy Reichmann family, gained
three seats on a new 10-member Campeau board and got the right to
buy almost 16 million shares of Campeau stock.
Olympia & York also was given authority to help steer Campeau
through a major financial overhaul, which Wall Street analysts
expect could bring change in Campeau's retail operation. The
previously announced sale of the Bloomingdale's chain could be
followed by more sales of selective holdings.
``There is such a lot of debt, they're going to have to get the
money from somewhere,'' said Pamela Stubing, an analyst at Moody's
Investors Service Inc.
``I would assume ... that there would be assets on the block. I
would think they wouldn't try to dump a lot of them on the block
because that would depress the market.''
Campeau spokeswoman Carol Sanger said possible asset sales would
be among many options considered by a newly formed restructuring
commmittee. For now, Campeau is seeking buyers for Bloomingdale's
only, she said.
Numerous potential bidders are believed interested in New
York-based Bloomingdale's.
Bloomingdale's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Marvin S.
Traub has said he would try to lead a management buyout of the
17-store chain he has run since 1978. Crown American Corp., a
privately-held firm that is a major U.S. shopping mall developer,
also said it may go after Bloomingdale's.
Under the definitive agreement with Olympia & York, a new board
of directors was appointed. Three members of the new board come from
the Campeau group, three from Olympia & York and four represent
minority shareholders.
The board formed a restructuring committee headed by one of the
three Reichmann-appointed members of the board, Lionel Dodd. The
company's U.S. arm will select a chief executive officer and chief
financial officer, who will report directly to the board and
restructuring committee.
The executives' main mission will be to supervise the
restructuring of Campeau's U.S. retail operations, which also
include the Jordan Marsh, Stern's, Ralphs, Lazarus, Burdines and
Rich's-Goldsmith's chains.
The first portion of the loan from Olympia & York became
available immediately. The agreement calls for up to $150 million to
be channeled to Federated and the remainder to Allied, which are
both based in Cincinnati.
``With these loans, Federated and Allied anticipate being able to
continue to meet all of their obligations to suppliers and creditors
in a timely manner,'' the company said in an announcement issued by
its Toronto headquarters.
In return for providing the cash, Olympia & York will receive
warrants entitling it to purchase up to 15.625 million ordinary
Campeau shares at $16 each until Sept. 18, 1991.
The share purchase would raise Olympia & York's current 24.5
percent stake in Campeau to about 38.4 percent, on a fully diluted
basis. Meanwhile, Robert Campeau's stake will drop to 43.2 percent
from about 54 percent under the agreement.
AP890920-0232
AP-NR-09-20-89 0052EDT
r f BC-Campeau-States 09-20 0189
BC-Campeau-States,0216
States With Campeau Operations
With PM_Campeau, Bjt
NEW YORK (AP)
Here is a list of the U.S. retailers and
properties owned by Campeau Corp. and the states in which the
holdings are located, according to the company's 1989 annual report:
Allied Stores Corp.:
Jordan Marsh, 26 stores _ Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island.
Maas Brothers-Jordan Marsh, 28 _ Florida, Georgia.
Stern's, 24 _ New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania.
The Bon, 39 _ Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming.
Federated Department Stores Inc.:
Abraham & Straus, 15 _ New Jersey, New York.
Bloomingdale's, 17 _ Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts,
Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia.
Burdines, 30 _ Florida.
Lazarus, 43 _ Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia.
Ralphs, 134 _ California.
Rich's-Goldsmith's, 26 _ Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina,
Tennessee.
Shopping Centers:
Shoppers World, Framingham, Mass.
Northshore Mall, Peabody, Mass.
Tacoma Mall, Tacoma, Wash.
Northgate Mall, Seattle, Wash.
Bergen Mall, Paramus, N.J.
Columbia Shopping Center, Kennewick, Wash.
Office and Mixed_Use:
333 Bush Street, San Francisco
Business Parks:
United States, 937,000 square feet of net rentable area.
AP890920-0233
AP-NR-09-20-89 0053EDT
r f PM-FactoryWorkers 09-20 0190
PM-Factory Workers,0197
Manufacturing Company Employees Want More Training, Survey Says
NEW YORK (AP)
More than half the participants in a survey of
22,000 manufacturing company employees said they see a need to
improve the climate in which they work, a consulting firm said.
Rath & Strong, which conducted the survey and released it
Tuesday, said the most often-cited desires were for better feedback
on performance, more training and career development, and better
ways of resolving conflicts.
``More and more employees are getting more and more restless,''
Dan Ciampa, president of Rath & Strong, said in an interview.
Fifty-four percent rated their supervisors as effective managers
and 67 percent of all hourly employees said their jobs are not
reviewed enough to keep employees as productive as possible.
``This information suggests that production employees care as
much, perhaps even more, than managers about quality, but are
frustrated by their company's slowness to respond,'' John Burns, a
vice president of the Lexington, Mass.-based consulting firm, said
in a news release.
The survey covered 22,600 employees of Fortune 500 manufacturing
companies. About 46 percent were hourly workers and 54 percent
salaried.
AP890920-0234
AP-NR-09-20-89 0053EDT
r f PM-BearRecall 09-20 0188
PM-Bear Recall,0196
Buttons on Kensington Bear Pose Choking Hazard
WASHINGTON (AP)
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has
recalled one member of the popular ``Kensington Bear'' toy family
because buttons may detach from clothes the bear wears and choke
small children.
The commission said Tuesday the recalled model is number S7417.
The brown, 14-inch stuffed bear is clad in a maroon print dress
trimmed with pink and blue ribbons at the hem and three heart-shaped
buttons sewn on the front.
The bear's outfit also includes white lace bloomers and a straw
hat with a pink bow.
The panel said the buttons ``may pose a potential choking hazard
for children under age three'' who might loosen and pull the buttons
off the dress and swallow them.
No injuries have been reported although 1,800 bears have been on
the national retail market since January 1988, the panel said.
Consumers may keep the bear or return it for a refund from the
manufacturer, Heartline, a division of Kansas City, Mo.-based
Graphics International, Inc. by calling 1-800-821-7200.
The commission recommends consumers keep the toy remove and
dispose of the buttons.
AP890920-0235
AP-NR-09-20-89 0054EDT
r f PM-US-JapaneseBanks Bjt 09-20 0697
PM-US-Japanese Banks, Bjt,0724
Japanese Banks Gaining Further U.S. Foothold
By VIVIAN MARINO
AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP)
Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank's planned investment in
Manufacturers Hanover Corp. is the latest effort by cash-rich
Japanese banks to gain firmer footing in the United States,
particularly in the financing of mid-sized, bread-and-butter
companies, experts said.
``You can say that their interests are in two areas: learning the
tricks of the trade here ... and in diversifying to increase
earnings,'' Masaru Kakutani, an associate director of the investment
research firm Moody's Investors Service Inc., said Tuesday.
In recent years, Japanese banks have made significant inroads in
the U.S. market by adding and expanding their own branch offices
here, or buying into established financial units, from banking to
securities operations.
In California, for example, Japanese-owned banks reportedly
account for nearly 20 percent of the banking business. And in New
York, eight of the 10 largest foreign bank branches are part of
Japanese banks.
Japanese institutions make about 5 percent of all U.S. loans and
hold about 9 percent of U.S. banking assets, according to Kakutani's
estimates. He and some other experts predict those figures will
climb steadily in the next 18 months as Japanese banks try to
maintain a competitive edge with each other. But Dai-Ichi, the
world's largest bank with assets of $414 billion, made the biggest
commitment in U.S. banking thus far when it agreed to acquire a 4.9
percent stake in Manufacturers Hanover and a 60 percent interest in
CIT Group, the bank's financial services unit, for about $1.4
billion.
The deal, announced by both banks Monday and subject to
regulatory approval, was part of a sweeping recapitalization plan by
cash-hungry Manufacturers Hanover, the seventh-largest U.S. bank
with $70 billion in assets. That plan includes a $950 million
addition to loan-loss reserves to cover shaky Third World debt and
the issuance of as much as $500 million in new common stock by
year's end.
Because Manufacturers will retain a minority stake in CIT and
current management will remain intact under the deal, Dai-Ichi will
be receiving the American know-how it needs for expansion while
saving money in the long run, some analysts said.
Leasing and lending to medium-sized U.S. companies, which is
CIT's primary business, are areas Japanese companies have been eager
to enter because they are among the most profitable parts of the
U.S. financial market.
Profits are larger in the middle market because such companies
have less access to the stock and bond markets than the larger
corporations, and therefore, less say in negotiating loan terms,
said Richard A. Mueller, an analyst with Duff & Phelps Inc. in
Chicago.
At the same time, James J. McDermott Jr., of Keefe Bruyette &
Woods in New York, said startup efforts in those areas are costly
and time consuming.
And Yuko Oana, Dai-Ichi's senior managing director, conceded,
``We lack the technology ... and local expertise.''
He said CIT ``will enable us to offer a considerably broader
product line to our customers around the world ... (and) at the same
time, we believe that CIT will benefit from the international
exposure and prespective that DKB can provide.''
Other Japanese banks have made similar deals.
As the Dai-Ichi-Manufacturers Hanover announcement was being made
Monday, Daiwa Bank Ltd. said it agreed to acquire the U.S.
commercial banking operations of Britain's Lloyds Bank PLC for about
$200 million. Earlier this summer, Mitsui Bank Ltd. agreed to pay
$100 million for a 5 percent stake in a Security Pacific Corp.
finance unit that includes leasing, commercial and consumer finance.
In 1984, Fuji Bank paid $425 million for control of Heller
International Corp., a commercial finance company like CIT.
Even Japanese companies outside of banking have gotten into the
act. In August, Orix Corp., a major Japanese leasing company, agreed
to pay $190 million for a capital equipment financing subsidiary
owned by First Interstate Bancorp.
In addition, a number of big Japanese banks control primary
dealers in U.S. government securities.
U.S. financial institutions, on the other hand, have been slower
to expand in Japan, primarily because access to Japanese markets
hasn't been as open as access for Japanese firms to U.S. markets.
AP890920-0236
AP-NR-09-20-89 0054EDT
r f PM-AirlineBuyouts 09-20 0401
PM-Airline Buyouts,0416
Skinner Warns Against Excessive Debt for Airlines
With PM-Airline Competition, Bjt
By DAVID BRISCOE
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
Transportation Secretary Samuel Skinner says he
would revoke an airline's certificate to fly if debt incurred by a
buyout or other transaction threatened its fitness.
Skinner also told an international aviation industry group
Tuesday that he was keeping close watch on investments by foreign
carriers in U.S. airlines.
The Transportation Department is expected to complete within a
few days an assessment of the takeover of NWA Inc., parent company
of Northwest Airlines, by California investor Alfred Checchi in a
deal that leaves the carrier with $3.1 billion in debt.
The department also has begun examining the planned $6.75 billion
buyout of United Airlines' parent company by a group including its
pilots and current management.
``I will not allow excessive debt in the airline industry to
jeopardize the public interest, especially in the important area of
safety,'' Skinner said in a speech that did not refer directly to
the Northwest or United takeovers.
He said that if an airline's fitness is called into question,
``rest assured that the department will not hesitate to make
adjustments to the airline's operating certificate.''
``Or, if absolutely necessary, and I hope that doesn't take
place, we will revoke the certificate,'' he said.
On foreign investment in U.S. airlines, Skinner said, ``As long
as I am secretary, you can rest assured that I will keep an eagle
eye on these transactions. The interests of the American public
cannot and will not be sacrificed.''
Royal Dutch Airlines has a share in the Northwest deal and
British Airways PLC would hold a minority interest in UAL, parent
company of United, in that buyout. Other foreign airlines recently
have acquired minority shares of U.S. airlines.
Under law, foreign investment in a U.S. airline is limited to a
25 percent stake.
``They are not cookies. They are not hairspray. They are a
valuable natural resource,'' Skinner said of U.S. airlines.
He expressed support for increased international trade and
investment but said foreign investment in U.S. airlines raises
national security questions and poses problems in negotiating for
air routes.
``In some circumstances, I think we would have to reconsider our
practice of sharing our negotiating position (on foreign routes)
with the U.S. airlines,'' he said, indicating that the information
might be made available to the airlines' foreign partners.
AP890920-0237
AP-NR-09-20-89 0109EDT
r f PM-WorkingMother-Companies Bjt 09-20 0613
PM-Working Mother-Companies, Bjt,
Magazine Lists Top 60 Companies For Working Moms
By RICK GLADSTONE
AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP)
Sixty U.S. companies have taken extraordinary
steps to accommodate working mothers, with benefits and other
inducements that range from child care centers to generous parental
leave, Working Mother magazine reports.
Its survey on ``The Best Companies for Working Mothers,''
published in the October issue on sale today, includes corporate
giants such as International Business Machines Corp., DuPont and
Merck & Co. Inc., as well as smaller concerns such as regional banks
and hospitals.
``The pity is there aren't more companies. It's too bad it's not
the 600 best companies,'' Judsen Culbreth, editor of the magazine,
said Tuesday. ``But we do want to credit these companies as being
forward-thinking.''
The working mother is the fastest-growing category of the labor
force. More than half of all women with children younger than 6
years old work outside the home, vs. 12 percent in 1950, the Labor
Department says.
By the year 2000, the department estimates 84 percent of all
women of childbearing age will be working. Nonetheless, less than 1
percent of all U.S. companies provide child care aid to their
employees.
Culbreth said the 60 companies on the list recognize ``there's a
labor shortage and they see family benefit packages as a real
recruiting tool.''
Working Mother deputy editor Susan Seliger said the list was
based on questionnaires mailed to hundreds of American businesses,
as well as follow-up interviews with managers and employees. She
said the company did not attempt to rank the finalists from best to
worst due to the difficulty of doing so.
``It's not like the Fortune 500, which is cut and dried,'' she
said. ``This is something subtler, more difficult to quantify.''
The magazine said the finalists were chosen based on salary,
advancement opportunity, support for child care, and a benefits
package that included maternity leave, parental leave, adoption aid,
flexible schedules, part-time work, job sharing and support for care
of elderly dependents.
It said the top 10 companies were selected based on their
superior showing in these categories.
Among the top 10, for example, is Apple Computer Inc., which
provides one of the most competitive pay and benefit packages of any
U.S. company. It offers a child care center at its Cupertino,
Calif., headquarters that is open until 7 p.m. Apple also bestows
$500 on all new babies of its employees and provides up to $3,000 in
adoption aid.
At Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM, where 20 percent of managers are
women, mothers get three years of unpaid leave with benefits and
employees have a two-hour window within which to arrive and leave
work.
Merck, the world's largest producer of prescription drugs, is
breaking ground for a new child-care center at its Rahway, N.J.,
headquarters, provides part-time hours for new mothers returning to
work and allows employees to work at home.
Other entries include Cary, N.C.-based SAS Institute, a computer
software maker where nearly half the managers are women and the
company provies a free on-site child care center; and Beth Israel
Hospital in Boston, where nurses can earn up to $63,000 a year, and
nursing mothers can use breast-pump stations so they don't have to
abandon breast feeding when they return to work.
Other members of the top 10 included DuPont of Wilmington, Del;
Fel-Pro Inc. of Skokie, Ill.; Hoffman-La Roche Inc. of Nutley, N.J;
Morrison & Foerster of San Francisco; and Syntex Corp. of Palo Alto,
Calif.
Working Mother, a 10-year-old magazine headquartered in New York,
has a circulation of 460,000. Formerly part of the Working
Woman-McCalls Group, it is now published by Lang Communications Inc.
AP890920-0238
AP-NR-09-20-89 0110EDT
r f PM-WorkingMother-List 09-20 0286
PM-Working Mother-List,0349
With PM-Working Mother-Companies
NEW YORK (AP)
Here is the 1989 roster of the 60 best companies
for working mothers published in the October issue of Working Mother
magazine. The companies are listed alphabetically, with dashes
denoting companies in the magazine's top 10 list:
Aetna Life & Casualty, Hartford, Conn.
America West Airlines, Phoenix, Ariz.
American Bankers Insurance Group, Miami, Fla.
American Express, New York.
AT&T, New York.
_Apple Computer, Cupertino, Calif.
Arthur Andersen, Chicago.
Atlantic Richfield, Los Angeles.
Baptist Hospital, Miami.
Barrios Technology, Houston.
_Beth Israel Hospital, Boston.
Campbell Soup, Camden, N.J.
Champion International, Stamford, Conn.
Corning, Corning N.Y.
Digital Equipment, Maynard, Mass.
Dominion Bankshares, Roanoke, Va.
Dow Chemical, Midland, Mich.
_DuPont, Wilmington, Del.
Eastman Kodak, Rochester, N.Y.
_Fel-Pro, Skokie, Ill.
First Atlanta, Atlanta, Ga.
Gannett, Washington.
Genentech, South San Francisco, Calif.
General Mills, Minneapolis.
Grieco Bros., Lawrence, Mass.
Group 243, Ann Arbor, Mich.
G.T. Water Products, Moorpark, Calif.
Hallmark Cards, Kansas City, Mo.
Hechinger, Landover, Md.
Herman Miller, Zeeland, Mich.
Hewitt Associates, Lincolnshire, Ill.
Hewlett-Packard, Palo Alto, Calif.
Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos, Boston.
_Hoffmann-La Roche, Nutley, N.J.
_IBM, Armonk, N.Y.
Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick, N.J.
S.C. Johnson & Sons, Racine, Wis.
Lancaster Laboratories, Lancaster, Pa.
Leo Burnett, Chicago.
Lincoln National, Fort Wayne, Ind.
Lost Arrow, Ventura, Calif.
_Merck, Rahway, N.J.
3M, St. Paul, Minn.
_Morrison & Foerster, San Francisco.
NCNB, Charlotte, N.C.
Nordstrom, Seattle
Official Airline Guides, Oak Brook, Ill.
Pitney Bowes, Stamford, Conn.
Polaroid, Cambridge, Mass.
Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati.
_SAS Institute, Cary, N.C.
Steelcase, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Stride Rite, Cambridge, Mass.
_Syntex, Palo Alto, Calif.
Time-Warner, New York.
Trammell Crow, Dallas.
UNUM Life INsurance, Portland, Maine.
US West, Englewood, Colo.
Warner-Lambert, Morris Plains, N.J.
Xerox, Stamford, Conn.
AP890920-0239
AP-NR-09-20-89 0136EDT
r f PM-BankHearing 09-20 0540
PM-Bank Hearing,0559
Regulators: Commerical Banks Not Heading Toward Crisis
By JOHN D. McCLAIN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
Federal and state regulators say that
commercial banks, despite record post-Depression failures, are not
falling into a crisis similar to that experienced by the savings and
loan industry.
But they told a House Banking financial institutions subcommittee
Tuesday they are keeping a wary eye on potential trouble spots,
including Third World debts, leveraged buy-out loans, junk bonds
failures and real estate losses.
``The Bank Insurance Fund is solvent and can meet the obligations
as we foresee them today,'' L. William Seidman, chairman of the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., testified.
Subcommittee Chairman Frank Annunzio, D-Ill., scheduled three
days of hearings on the state of the bank and credit union insurance
systems in light of the failure of the savings and loan insurance
fund and the subsequent congressional authorization of $50 billion
to bail out the industry.
At Tuesday's opening session, Annunzio claimed there are
similarities between the two financial sectors.
``While thrifts were making bad loans in the United States, banks
were making bad loans all over the world,'' he said. ``While thrifts
made ADC (acquisition, development and construction) loans, banks
made LBO (leveraged buy-out) loans.''
Annunzio pointed to other problems:
_In 1988, the FDIC, which insures individual deposits against
losses up to $100,000 each, had a net loss of $4.2 billion, its
first loss in its 50-year history.
_Two hundred banks failed in 1988.
_Another 1,000 banks are rated as problem institutions.
``Some observers of the banking industry have suggested that
commercial banks will soon face a crisis similar to that experienced
by the savings and loan industry,'' Comptroller of the Currency
Robert L. Clarke testified.
``In my view, such concerns are overstated and are inconsistent
with observable trends in bank performance,'' he said.
Seidman also noted the bank failures and the cost of assisting
troubled banks but said, ``We believe that the worst of the problems
in the banking industry are behind us.''
``We expect this year's failure rate to be similar to or slightly
better than last year and we project the pace of bank failures to
slow next year,'' he said.
Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Manuel H. Johnson, noting the large
number and the size of the failed banks, told the subcommittee the
recent problems have demonstrated the strength of the bank insurance
fund. But he added:
``In our view, for the system to remain sound, it must be
governed by an adequate supervisory framework that strikes the
proper balance between reasonable prudential rules, such as minimum
capital standards, and an adequate on-site supervision and
examination program.''
Jill M. Considine, chairman of the Conference of State Bank
Supervisors, also noted the debate over capital standards and said
they should not be lowered just because thrifts entering the bank
insurance sytstem cannot meet a specified standard.
She also called for a separation of bank chartering and insurance
functions, saying ``the essential conflict between the proactive,
perfomance-oriented goals of the charterer and the risk-adverse
attitude of the insurer demands balance.
``We saw this breakdown in the Federal Home Loan Bank Board,''
which until the new savings and loan law was enacted, both chartered
and insured thrifts, she said.
AP890920-0240
AP-NR-09-20-89 0141EDT
r f PM-FHALoans 09-20 0634
PM-FHA Loans,0657
Senate Votes Cap for FHA Loans
By ALAN FRAM
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
A divided Senate voted to boost the price
ceiling on home mortgages the Federal Housing Administration can
insure, heading off a Democratic effort to eliminate the cap
entirely.
Adoption of the measure Tuesday, increasing the current $101,250
limit to $124,875, was a reversal by the lawmakers. Minutes earlier,
they narrowly rejected a similar provision that would have raised
the ceiling to just $118,000.
Democrats, with a sprinkling of Republican support, had sought to
eliminate the price ceiling on mortgages, arguing that the move
would benefit borrowers living in the nation's priciest housing
markets.
But sensing a campaign issue, Republicans said the Democratic
proposal would mostly benefit well-to-do people and divert FHA
resources away from poorer home buyers.
``This is a classic case where my colleagues on the other side
talk about the poor and the underclass and low-income and medium
income, and are reaching out again to help the rich,'' said Senate
Minority Leader Bob Dole, R-Kan.
The provision is part of a $67.2 billion measure financing
federal housing, veterans, space and environmental programs for
fiscal 1990, which begins Oct. 1.
By a 55-43 vote, the Senate rejected a Democratic attempt to
scuttle the proposed $124,875 ceiling. The cap, which will last for
one year, was then adopted on a voice vote.
``I think people were knowledgeable that I was going to keep
working at it,'' said Sen. Don Nickles, R-Okla., who sponsored both
the $118,000 and $125,000 cap proposals and had threatened to keep
introducing amendments until one was adopted.
Sen. Alan Cranston, D-Calif., who fought for removing the cap
entirely, said afterward that his side was ``caught by surprise'' by
Nickles' repeated efforts.
That vote came after the chamber rejected, 50-49, to reject the
proposal to raise the limit to $118,000.
Thirty-nine Republicans and 16 Democrats voted against blocking
the $124,875 ceiling proposal. Only 36 Republicans and 13 Democrats
had supported the lower cap on the earlier vote.
Aides to Nickles estimated the $125,000 ceiling might stimulate
about $5 billion worth of additional home purchases. They said
metropolitan areas where borrowers would be able to take advantage
of the higher cap include Boston; New York City; Stamford, Conn.;
Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; San Francisco; and San Diego.
The Bush administration had opposed removing the FHA mortgage
cap, arguing it would be unwise to do so without reforming the
fiscally troubled agency.
Opponents of eliminating the cap entirely said that would expose
the government to huge losses from additional loan defaults. The
FHA's main insurance fund lost $452 million last year, according to
a congressional report, as default payments outweighed collected
fees.
Congress was told last month by Comptroller General Charles
Bowsher that FHA has ``very serious'' financial management
difficulties.
Opponents also argued that removing the ceiling would in effect
shift more of the FHA's resources from low-income to high-income
people and would be most beneficial to buyers in wealthy areas such
as New York and California.
``If they ever want a fat-cat provision, this is it,'' said Sen.
Jesse Helms, R-N.C.
Supporters of scrapping the $101,250 ceiling argued that it would
make more FHA loans available in many of the country's most
expensive areas. In 18 states plus Washington, D.C., the median home
price already exceeds that limit, according to the National
Association of Home Builders.
More than 17 million families have used FHA insurance since the
agency was founded in 1934.
Under the program, borrowers obtain their loans from banks, and
the loans in turn are guaranteed by the government. Because the bank
is making a risk-free investment, it is able to offer better terms
to borrowers.
The House version of the bill, passed July 20, did not contain
the FHA provision.
AP890920-0241
AP-NR-09-20-89 0142EDT
r f BC-EmbezzlingCharges 09-20 0321
BC-Embezzling Charges,0332
Former AMC Official Accused of Embezzling
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)
A former executive of AMC Inc. was
indicted Tuesday on charges of stealing more than $2 million from
the Kansas City-based motion picture theater company.
George B. Jones, 42, of Olathe, Kan., was charged in a 21-count
indictment returned by a federal grand jury, said Frank J. Storey,
agent in charge of the Kansas City FBI office.
Storey said Jones, AMC's former vice president of accounting, is
charged with 12 counts of interstate transportation of stolen money,
four counts of money laundering and five counts of income tax
evasion.
Storey said the indictment resulted from a 10-month investigation
by the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service, begun after AMC
officials discovered irregularities in vendor payments allegedly
arranged by Jones.
Jones declined to comment Tuesday. His attorney, James Wyrsch,
said: ``At this point, until we have an opportunity to evaluate the
evidence, we don't have any comment. At some point we intend to make
our side of it known.''
The indictment said Jones asked AMC to issue checks to Designs
Unlimited, described as a fictitious business he established and
represented as a project he was administering for the chairman of
the board.
According to the indictment, Jones deposited the checks into the
account of D.L. Jones Construction Co., doing business as Designs
Unlimited, at a bank where he had established lines of credit in
both names.
Jones allegedly took cash advances from the lines of credit and
repaid them by depositing embezzled AMC checks, resulting in a loss
of $2.3 million to the company.
The indictment also charged that Jones filed false income tax
returns by understating his income for 1983 through 1987, and that
he engaged in money laundering by depositing embezzled funds into
the bank.
Conviction on all counts could mean a sentence of up to 185 years
and fines of up to $4.5 million.
AP890920-0242
AP-NR-09-20-89 0143EDT
r f PM-RoadWarriors 09-20 0629
PM-Road Warriors,0653
Howard Johnson Hotels Target `Road Warriors' in New Marketing Campaign
By SKIP WOLLENBERG
AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP)
The Howard Johnson hotel chain is inviting ``road
warriors'' to spend the night and isn't the least bit concerned that
the guests will trash the place.
The road warriers whom Howard Johnson wants to reach through a
$25 million marketing campaign unveiled Tuesday are business
travelers who spend about 50 nights a year away from home.
Howard Johnson Franchise Systems Inc. wants to expand its 8
percent share of the $3.5 billion that it says business travelers
spend on mid-priced hotels, which generally charge $35 to $70 a
night.
The leader in this market segment is Holiday Inn, industry
executives say, while Ramada and Best Western also are major
competitors.
In an effort to boost its share of the market by 15 percent,
Howard Johnson has targeted frequent business travelers with
humorous new advertising, front desk amenities ranging from panty
hose to contact lens solution, and a frequent-lodger incentive
program.
In television commercials that debut Sunday on the CBS pro
football telecast, a knight dons armor, an Indian applies warpaint,
an Amazon checks her weaponry and a Viking adjusts his horned
headdress.
``There's a special breed of people who do battle day after
day,'' a narrator says in an ominous tone.
``Their arena ... the business world. Their territory ..the
road,'' the announcer adds as they leave their rooms and stride to
the elevator.
But just before the door closes with all four aboard, the knight
recognizes the Indian.
``Ray? Ray Camp!'' the knight says. ``Dave!'' the Indian replies.
``On the road again, huh?'' the knight says as the door closes.
``Three times this week,'' the Indian is heard to reply.
In the lobby, all four exchange pleasantries as they head for the
door in full war regalia. But once they pass through the hotel door,
they emerge in regular business clothes.
``Howard Johnson. Home of the Road Warrior,'' the announcer says.
Chris Browne, senior vice president of sales and marketing for
Howard Johnson, said the business travel segment offers stronger
growth potential than leisure travel market does for the lodging
industry over the next five years.
He said the new ad campaign, produced by the agency Lintas:New
York, was designed to get the attention of business travelers who
may not perceive much difference among mid-priced hotels and are
staying elsewhere out of habit.
The concept of a ``road warrior,'' he said, conveys immediately
that this hotel is for business people who may spend 50 nights a
year or more in hotels.
Browne said under the new program, frequent business travelers
will be encouraged to register for an express check-in card which
will be plastered with a ribbon for every 10 or 15 nights they stay
at one of Howard Johnson's 400 North American hotels, lodges and
suites.
They also will earn credits toward rewards of merchandise, travel
or services under a program that begins Jan. 1.
He said Howard Johnson plans to spend $8 million on the
advertising that will continue through October on TV broadcasts of
college and pro football and the Major League baseball playoffs as
well as on radio and in print. The total cost of the marketing
program is $25 million through the end of 1990.
The campaign replaces ads that for the past three years have
called attention to the $320 million in renovations that its hotels
have undergone.
Shortly after the hotel company was acquired by Prime Motor Inns
Inc. of Fairfield, N.J., in late 1985, it ran a campaign called
``We're Turning Howard Johnson Upside Down'' and followed it in 1987
with ads that showed surprised guests admiring the new facilities
and asking, ``This is Howard Johnson?''
AP890920-0243
AP-NR-09-20-89 0119EDT
r f PM-Next Bjt 09-20 0804
PM-Next, Bjt,0830
Jobs' Next Inc. Sees New Software as Key to Business World
By STEVE WILSTEIN
AP Business Writer
MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP)
Steve Jobs, pitching Next Inc.'s pricey
workstation to the business world, recalled the first time he saw a
computer spreadsheet.
It was 1977, and one of the creators of the spreadsheet was
showing it off at Apple Computer Inc., the Cupertino company
co-founded by Jobs.
``Somebody was ushering him through, saying it's the most
incredible thing we've seen in software,'' Jobs remembered. ``We
hardly knew how to spell software back then. It was this visual
calculator and they were trying to decide what to call it.''
The name chosen was Visicalc, and the product turned the Apple
II, co-invented by Jobs, into a practical business computer and a
huge success.
``That was the first education we got as to how important these
things were going to become in our lives,'' Jobs said. ``Any of us
who went through that experience never forgot how much a spreadsheet
shapes the future of the computer. We saw the same thing with
Macintosh.''
Jobs, who left Apple after a dispute, believes his new company,
Next Inc., will have even greater success cracking the business
market after the introduction Tuesday of the versatile Wingz graphic
spreadsheet from Informix Software Inc. and completion of Next's 1.0
operating system.
Next recently began shipping its sleek, black $9,995 workstation,
and demand is picking up rapidly, said David A. Norman, chief
executive officer for Businessland, Next's U.S. distributor. Norman
said he is sticking by his estimate that Next will account for $100
million in sales within 12 months.
``We have sold hundreds of (Next) machines into the corporate
marketplace and we need to sell thousands,'' said Norman. ``What we
needed was, one, an operating system, and two, real applications.
Today marks the beginning of real applications.''
Jobs said Next's heavily automated plant in Fremont is ready to
speed up quickly for high-volume shipments to match Norman's sales
expectations.
``It has a large enough capacity to support a $1 billion
company,'' Jobs said. ``We have ambitious goals. I think we've
passed some real significant milestones. But I think we have a lot
of work left to do.''
Jobs said that when Apple developed the Macintosh under his
direction, ``we kind of went into corporate America through the back
door. We weren't really accepted in the front door.''
The Next machine, though, was designed to meet the needs of
businesses that want to develop their own software quickly and
efficiently and use it on an easily operated and reliable
workstation.
``Next is coming in the front door now,'' Norman said. ``We're
getting the heads of management information systems to see this
product and take the factory tour. It's a lot easier for us to get
the products evaluated and get on the approved lists so people can
buy the products.''
Part of Jobs' ambitious plans are tied to a software development
relationship with International Business Machines Corp. _ a company
he once disparaged in ads as ``Big Brother.''
IBM's interest in Next stems from the usefulness of NextStep in
speeding software development and the desire by IBM to get software
for its workstations into the marketplace quickly.
The two companies struck a deal giving IBM the right to evaluate
NextStep and establish royalty rates and contingency payments if IBM
decides to offer it.
NextStep, which programmers say allows up to 33 percent faster
development of software, was used by Informix to create its Wingz
version for Next. NextStep is a layer of software that sits between
the operating system, which controls the inside of the computer, and
the application programs, such as word processors and spreadsheets.
If the Next-IBM relationship proves successful, it could mean big
trouble for software leader and longstanding IBM partner Microsoft
Corp., and workstation manufacturers Sun Microsystems Inc., Digital
Equipment Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Corp.
``Jobs' wooing of IBM is just the opening skirmish in what has
become a sordid battle for intellectual leadership of the
industry,'' says Stewart Alsop, editor of P.C. Letter.
Jobs is working with more than 70 software companies, including
Lotus Development Corp., encouraging them to ``do to Microsoft with
the Next computer what Microsoft did to them with the Macintosh.''
Microsoft gained its preeminence in the industry by developing
software for IBM and then capturing nearly the entire business
application market for the Macintosh.
Jobs, who seeded Next with $7 million of his own money in 1985
after he left Apple, owns 50 percent of the company, which has a
total valuation of $600 million.
Canon Inc. of Japan, which invested $100 million in Next earlier
this year, owns 16.67 percent of the company, and the Perot Group,
headed by investor Ross Perot, owns 12.51 percent. Next employees
own 20 percent.
AP890920-0244
AP-NR-09-20-89 0759EDT
r f PM-ResortsInternational 09-20 0545
PM-Resorts International,0564
Resorts International Plans to Restructure Debt
By JOYCE A. VENEZIA
Associated Press Writer
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP)
Resorts International Inc. wants its
bondholders to accept a bond exchange plan aimed at cutting its
extensive debt.
The hotel-casino company owned by entertainer Merv Griffin also
indicated in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission
that it was considering the possible sale of several Atlantic City
properties, including land leased to the Showboat Hotel and Casino.
Under the exchange plan announced to bondholders Tuesday, Resorts
bondholders would trade in their existing bonds for new debentures,
cash totaling about $54 million and common stock amounting to 25
percent of Resorts' outstanding shares.
Resorts operations this year are not likely to generate enough
money to cover its debt payments. Griffin took on $900 million in
debt when he purchased the casino company from developer Donald
Trump last November.
To help ease its cash crunch, Resorts would have the option of
not paying interest on the bonds given to its junior bondholders for
five years, while for three years it would have the option of paying
interest to senior bondholders in the form of additional notes.
The investment firm Salomon Brothers Inc. of New York presented
the refinancing plan at a bondholders meeting that Griffin did not
attend.
Resorts' bondholders must approve the reorganization plan, but no
voting date has been scheduled. Ninety percent of each class of
bonds must approve for the plan for it to take effect.
Resorts officials said bondholders might organize and select
representatives to discuss the plan with the company.
``We believe it makes more sense to work with us ... than to
throw up your hands and make it collapse,'' Resorts President David
P. Hanlon said.
``Salomon believes that Resorts is a healthy company, is
profitable and is making money,'' said Jay F. Higgins, a vice
president of Salomon Brothers. ``But we believe an unhappy marriage
exists between the operations of the company and the liability
structure, and it needs to be changed.''
Some bondholders already have filed a class action suit against
Resorts, charging that the company's top officers inflated the worth
of the company in a prospectus. Issued by Drexel Burnham Lambert
Inc. last year, the prospectus offered $325 million of notes on top
of more than $600 million of Resorts' existing notes.
Resorts faces payments of more than $133.5 million in interest
and principal this year. Its operations in the first half of 1989
generated just under $16 million in cash flow.
Resorts' problems stem partly from competition from newer casinos
that have sprung up in Atlantic City, poor management and
deteriorating physical facilities, said Hanlon.
The company also poured money into its massive Taj Majal casino
project, which remained unfinished when Trump took control of
Resorts. Trump retained the Taj Majal when he sold the company to
Griffin.
In its SEC filing, Resorts indicated that required renovations
and improvements at its Atlantic City hotel and casino operations
were more extensive than management originally estimated and could
take $50 million more than normal and recurring expenses.
Properties that Resorts is considering selling include the land
leased to the Showboat, which is part of a 27-acre tract, plus
various other undeveloped sites in Atlantic City.
AP890920-0245
AP-NR-09-20-89 0803EDT
r f PM-CumminsStock 09-20 0224
PM-Cummins Stock,0230
Asian Investor Ups Stake in Engine Maker
COLUMBUS, Ind. (AP)
A Hong Kong-based investment firm has
increased its stake in Cummins Engine Co. to 11.5 percent, but a
spokeswoman for the company says it does not suspect a takeover
attempt.
Industrial Equity Pacific Ltd. said it has purchased an
additional 164,000 shares of Cummins stock, increasing its total to
1.175 million shares.
In a document submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission
in July, Industrial Equity said it was seeking regulatory approval
to increase its share to as much as 24.9 percent.
``We have received a copy of the filing and it seems pretty
straightforward,'' said Cummins spokeswoman Maureen Phillips.
``There seems to be no change in their intent. We view it as a kind
of an update,'' she said Tuesday.
In the July SEC filing, Industrial Equity, a unit of New
Zealand's Brierley Investments Ltd., said it had acquired the
Cummins stock as an investment.
That filing came the same month that two members of the Miller
family that had founded Cummins paid a $5 million premium to buy out
a 9.79 percent stake in the company owned by a British concern,
Hanson PLC, and quell takeover fears.
Robert G. Sutherland, president of Industrial Equity's North
American office in La Jolla, Calif., could not be reached for
comment.
AP890920-0246
AP-NR-09-20-89 0809EDT
r f PM-CFM-IrishEngines 09-20 0125
PM-CFM-Irish Engines,0130
CFM to Provide Engines for Irish Airline
EVENDALE, Ohio (AP)
A jet engine manufacturer jointly owned by
General Electric Co. and a French company has received an order
worth at least $1 billion to build at least 200 jet engines for GPA,
an Irish airline.
CFM International Inc. said Tuesday that GPA Group has agreed to
buy the engines to power Airbus Industries and Boeing jet airplanes.
The order from GPA Group, one of CFM International's major
customers, means more than 900 of the CFM56 engines will be in
service with GPA worldwide by the year 2000, said Richard Shaffer,
marketing director for CFM International.
CFM International is a joint venture of General Electric Co. and
the French manufacturer SNECMA.
AP890920-0247
AP-NR-09-20-89 0847EDT
r f PM-MGMGrand 09-20 0340
PM-MGM Grand,0357
MGM Grand Plans Movie Theme Park, Hotel in Vegas
LOS ANGELES (AP)
MGM Grand Inc. intends to bring a little
Hollywood glitz and glamor to the desert gambling oasis of Las Vegas
with a movie theme park slated to include a behind-the-scenes studio
tour.
Fred Benninger, MGM Grand's chairman and chief executive officer,
said Tuesday that the new park would incorporate the company's MGM
Grand Hotel, which will have more than 4,000 rooms when completed.
Benninger said the park's attractions would be drawn from
existing movie studio theme parks in Orlando, Fla. and Los Angeles.
``We envision this theme park as a comprehensive trip to
Hollywood,'' Benninger said.
On Sept. 6, MGM Grand filed suit against the Walt Disney Co. in
Clark County District Court in Las Vegas seeking a determination to
use the MGM Grand name and related trademarks in an amusement park
whose central theme is the movie industry.
In 1985, Disney acquired certain rights from MGM@UA
Communications Corp. to use the MGM name, but not the MGM Grand
name, at its Orlando Disney-MGM Studios theme park. That license
currently is the subject of litigation between MGM@UA and Disney.
MGM Grand had obtained a license to use the MGM Grand name in
1985 from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., predecessor of MGM@UA, to use
in connection with its hotel and casino business.
Australia's Qintex Corp. on Friday topped a bid by Rupert Murdoch
to buy out MGM-UA for $1.5 billion.
MGM Grand may tie its planned theme park to its 821-room Desert
Inn Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, but is reviewing alternate sites
for the park, Benninger said.
Also Tuesday, Benninger announced that MGM Grand had agreed to
purchase 143 acres of land it presently leases at the Desert Inn
site for $28 million.
MGM Grand also agreed to acquire a 110,000 square-foot Beverly
Hills office building from MGM@UA, MGM Grand said.
The building will go for the higher of $43 million or its
independently appraised value, including an outstanding construction
loan, the company said.
AP890920-0248
AP-NR-09-20-89 0926EDT
r f PM-Australia-Bond 09-20 0366
PM-Australia-Bond,0381
Bond Sells Half Stake in Australian Brewery to New Zealand Firm
PERTH, Australia (AP)
Australian businessman Alan Bond is
selling half of his brewery empire to a New Zealand company to raise
cash for his debt-burdened Bond Corp. Holdings Ltd.
Bond intends to sell his holdings to Auckland-based Lion Nathan
Ltd., a brewer and retailer, for more than about $760 million.
Analysts said the move shattered Bond's dream of creating a major
world-size brewer to complement his holdings that span the United
States and Australia in media, property and natural resources.
Bond, a hero in his own country for winning the America's Cup in
1983, on Tuesday unveiled a complex series of corporate maneuvers
but gave few financial details of his plans.
Under the transaction, Lion Nathan buys a 50 per cent interest in
and management of Bond Corp.'s Swan, Tooheys and Castlemaine
breweries, and the group's hotel and associated liquor interests.
The brewery concern is one of Bond's most valuable assets. Bond
Corp. was reported by Australian media to have outstanding debt of
around $4.6 billion.
Bond deferred for 12 months any decision to part with his U.S.
brewery interest, G. Heileman Brewing Co.
Bond's maneuvering increasingly is seen as crucial to his
survival.
In other developments Tuesday, Bond Corp. agreed to sell its 67.7
percent interest in the Harriet oil field off the northwestern coast
of Australia. The decision followed one last week that saw Bond
Corp. bailing out of its 20.4 percent stake in British conglomerate
Lonrho PLC for $490 million.
Bond said in a statement that the brewery deal was ``another
positive step in the restructuring and strategic refocussing'' of
his group. He said it would create a ``formidable brewing alliance''
in the region, aimed at the Pacific as well as Asia.
Under the proposal, the brewing assets will be folded into a new
joint venture company, Australian Breweries Pty. Ltd., equally owned
by Bond Corp. and Lion Nathan.
Bond Corp. on Wednesday issued a statement saying it would not
``enter into fuller public discussion'' on the deal.
Separately, the National Companies and Securities Commission was
due Wednesday to start an inquiry into some of Bond Corp.
transactions.
AP890920-0249
AP-NR-09-20-89 1007EDT
r f BC-PeugeotStrike 09-20 0275
BC-Peugeot Strike,0285
Strikers Paralyze Production At Peugeot Plant
MULHOUSE, France (AP)
Striking workers halted production at the
Peugeot SA auto plant Wednesday as management and union activists
appeared to harden their positions in the two-week pay dispute
against the French automaker.
Between 600 and 800 strikers blocked access roads to Peugeot's
plant at Mulhouse in eastern France with barricades and burning
tires, witnesses said, preventing non-strikers from going to work.
The assembly lines were shut down because ``they are missing
workers,'' a Peugeot spokesman said. The plant employs 12,000
workers and manufactures Peugeot's economy 205 model.
Four unions representing metalworkers at Mulhouse and Peugeot's
plant in nearby Sochaux went on strike Sept. 5 to force the company
into negotiations over a pay plan to take effect Oct. 1.
But Peugeot President Jacques Calvet maintains the proposed
raises exceed the rate of inflation.
The company has offered a 2.4 percent cost-of-living and 1.4
percent merit-based increases, while the unions seek salary hikes
between 10 percent and 15 percent, plus increased benefits.
The average Peugeot worker with 15 years on the job earns about
$21,000, the company says.
At the Sochaux plant, the company's largest with 23,000
employees, between 1,000 and 3,000 strikers demonstrated in the work
areas Wednesday to slow down the assembly lines.
They failed to bring a full halt in production to the 605 luxury
model, the Peugeot spokesman said. The car was introduced recently
amid much fanfare to compete against Mercedes-Benz and BMW.
The two-week series of slowdowns, walkouts and interference with
the assembly lines has meant the loss in scheduled production of an
estimated 16,000 cars, the company said.
AP890920-0250
AP-NR-09-20-89 1020EDT
u f PM-WallStreet10am 09-20 0290
PM-Wall Street 10am,0307
NEW YORK (AP)
Stock prices inched ahead today, renewing their
bid to rally from the market's early-September decline.
The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials rose 5.32 to 2,692.63 in
the first half hour of the session.
Gainers slightly outnumbered losers in nationwide trading of New
York Stock Exchange-listed issues, with 457 up, 423 down and 560
unchanged.
Volume on the Big Board came to 22.84 million shares as of 10
a.m. on Wall Street.
Analysts said stocks had apparently pulled back enough since they
hit a record high before Labor Day to attract some catch-up buying
by investors who had been waiting for an opportunity to increase
their stockholdings.
But brokers also noted uneasiness over the market's uninspired
showing Tuesday, when the Dow Jones industrials gave up a gain of
about 10 points to finish slightly lower.
That represented a sluggish response to the news that the
consumer price index held steady in August, providing fresh
encouragement on the inflation outlook.
Upjohn dropped 1\ to 35[ in active trading. The Food and Drug
Administration said an advisory committee was investigating the
safety of Upjohn's prescription sleeping agent Halcion.
AMR, whose American Airlines subsidiary posted fare increases to
take effect next week, rose | to 77[.
The NYSE's composite index of all its listed common stocks gained
.26 to 192.72. At the American Stock Exchange, the market value
index was up .80 at 379.63.
On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.19 to
2,687.31.
Advancing issues narrowly outpaced decliners in nationwide
trading of New York Stock Exchange-listed stocks, with 739 issues
up, 696 down and 536 unchanged.
Big Board volume came to 141.61 million shares, up from 136.94
million in the previous session.
AP890920-0251
AP-NR-09-20-89 1042EDT
u f PM-Britain-RTZ 09-20 0204
PM-Britain-RTZ,0212
RTZ Sells Chemicals Group To Rhone-Poulenc
LONDON (AP)
RTZ PLC, a British natural resources company, said
today it agreed to sell its chemicals group to France's
Rhone-Poulenc SA for about $892 million.
Under terms of the deal, Rhone-Poulenc will pay RTZ $804 million
in cash and assume debt totaling $88 million.
The RTZ chemical businesses had an after-tax profit of $37
million, with net assets of $364 million at the end of last year.
The announced sale puts RTZ closer to its goal of strengthening
its interest in base and precious metals mining while selling off
parts of its largely natural resources-based group.
RTC disposed of two major oil-production assets last year, and
earlier this year, purchased the minerals and mining businesses of
British Petroleum Co. PLC.
``RTZ is now even more clearly focused on its low-cost mining
portfolio and its leading related industrial manufacturing
businesses,'' Chief Executive Derek Birkin said in a statement today.
The acquisition will boost state-controlled Rhone-Poulenc's
presence in the high-margin area of specialty chemicals and
complement its previous U.S. expansion moves, including the purchase
of Union Carbide Corp.'s agrochemicals division in 1986 and its 1987
purchase of the basic chemicals operations of Stauffer Chemical Co.
AP890920-0252
AP-NR-09-20-89 1104EDT
u f PM-TalkingEncyclopedia 1stLd-Writethru 09-20 0679
PM-Talking Encyclopedia, 1st Ld-Writethru,0703
Perfect School Tool for TV Kids: A Talking Encyclopedia
Eds: SUBS 4th graf, Compton's MultiMedia ..., and INSERTS 1 graf
after 12th graf, The compact ..., to CLARIFY that special kind of CD player
required; picks up 15th graf, A single ....
LaserPhoto NY9
By PETER COY
AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP)
The publishers of Compton's Encyclopedia are
launching a computerized ``talking'' version that has everything
from snatches of Mozart to Richard Nixon saying, ``I'm not a crook.''
The talking encyclopedia, scheduled to be announced today, is
intended for schools teaching students in the fourth through eighth
grades, although Compton's says other students could learn from it
as well.
Compton's, not sparing the hyperbole, said there has not been
such a significant development in publishing ``since Gutenberg
originated the method of printing from movable type.''
Compton's MultiMedia Encyclopedia comes on a compact disc that
works in conjunction with a special kind of CD player and a personal
computer. The student can search through the disc by typing on a
computer keyboard or clicking a hand-held device called a mouse.
Besides sounds, the talking encyclopedia has animated pictures,
such as a moving skeleton; 15,000 still pictures, maps and charts;
the full text of the 26-volume standard Compton's Encyclopedia; and
the 65,000-entry Merriam-Webster Intermediate Dictionary.
A student who types in a single word _ say, ``castle'' _ will be
given references to all kinds of related topics, including
construction techniques and the history of the Middle Ages.
Compton's, a unit of Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., appears to be
in the lead in the field of talking encyclopedias. Grolier Inc. has
had the text of its Academic American Encyclopedia on disc since
1985, but it does not have any pictures or sound.
Encyclopedia Britannica itself also is available on compact disc,
although in text only.
The talking encyclopedia appears well-suited to the the
channel-flipping TV generation, since it encourages casual browsing.
Students who look up ``bees'' can click on one symbol to see a
picture of bees and another symbol to hear them buzzing.
``The sound is no gimmick, but rather an important component of
the multimedia approach that makes learning compelling and more
rewarding,'' Stanley Frank, president of Britannica Software, said
in a statement.
Students can zoom in on things that interest them. For example,
they can zero in from a picture of the globe to a continent to a
particular portion of one country in seven stages. The same goes for
a timeline of U.S. history and a color anatomy of the human body.
The compact disc requires an IBM-compatible personal computer
with a color screen, a speaker and a compact disc read-only memory
(CD-ROM) player, which together cost about $3,000. The disc itself
costs $895, compared to $695 for the regular encyclopedia.
Britannica Software said compatible CD-ROM players are available
now from Sony Corp., Hitachi Ltd. and Amdek.
A single disc can serve a network of 15-20 computers, Compton
says.
A few bugs remain to be worked out. The animated sequences are
not yet ready and a brief look through the disc Tuesday turned up a
typographical error. Although the publishers say a student can type
in a question and be directed to an answer, the program tends to get
hung up by even simple questions.
About 250 schools have bought the unfinished version for the fall
semester, and it will officially go on sale Jan. 1, 1990.
The talking encyclopedia isn't suited to long stretches of
reading, but Compton's hopes it will stimulate students to go off in
a corner and read the regular volumes.
The talking version isn't just for students who lack
concentration, said Norman J. Bastin, executive director of planning
and development for Encyclopedia Britannica. He said he has a
14-year-old daughter who loves it.
``She plays with the atlas for three or four hours at a time.''
Nationwide, sales of compact disc information products totaled
about $125 million last year and are growing almost 20 percent a
year, estimates Link Resources Corp., a New York-based consulting
firm.
AP890920-0253
AP-NR-09-20-89 1117EDT
u f PM-WallStreet11am 09-20 0251
PM-Wall Street 11am,0265
NEW YORK (AP)
Stock prices eked out a small gain today,
renewing their bid to rally from the market's early-September
decline.
The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials rose .76 to 2,688.07 by
11 a.m. on Wall Street.
Gainers slightly outnumbered losers in nationwide trading of New
York Stock Exchange-listed issues, with 582 up, 546 down and 554
unchanged.
Analysts said stocks had apparently pulled back enough since they
hit a record high before Labor Day to attract some catch-up buying
by investors who had been waiting for an opportunity to increase
their stockholdings.
But brokers also noted uneasiness over the market's uninspired
showing Tuesday, when the Dow Jones industrials gave up a gain of
about 10 points to finish slightly lower.
That represented a sluggish response to the news that the
consumer price index held steady in August, providing fresh
encouragement on the inflation outlook.
Upjohn dropped | to 35} in active trading. The Food and Drug
Administration said an advisory committee was investigating the
safety of Upjohn's prescription sleeping agent Halcion.
Jaguar PLC rose { to 8 5-16 in the over-the-counter market. Ford
Motor's European arm said Tuesday it was interested in buying as
much as 15 percent of the luxury car manufacturer.
The NYSE's composite index of all its listed common stocks gained
.12 to 192.58. At the American Stock Exchange, the market value
index was up .87 at 379.70.
Volume on the Big Board came to 47.32 million shares at
midmorning.
AP890920-0254
AP-NR-09-20-89 1143EDT
u f PM-BoardofTrade Open 09-20 0336
PM-Board of Trade, Open,0348
Crop Futures Rise On Frost Potential
CHICAGO (AP)
Grain and soybean futures prices were mostly
higher in early trading today on the Chicago Board of Trade, partly
in reaction to forecasts for frost in the Corn Belt early next week.
The early rally followed two days of sharply lower prices.
At least one major private forecasting firm was calling for frost
late Monday as far south as northern Illinois, northern Indiana and
parts of Ohio.
But meteorologists were divided on the chances for frost, and
analysts said freezing temperatures at this late stage of the growth
cycle would pose little threat to the crops.
``In realty, it won't do anything but speed up the leaf-drop
stage of the soybeans in Illinois and Indiana _ but it would hurt
the Ohio beans,'' said William Biedermann, director of research with
Allendale Inc., a futures brokerage in Crystal Lake, Ill.
He said the markets also were supported by extremely light farmer
sales of grain, a function of the recent drop in prices.
In early trading, wheat futures were } cent to 1\ cents higher
with the contract for delivery in September at $3.81 a bushel; corn
was \ cent to 1 cent higher with September at $2.34\ a bushel; oats
were { cent lower to 1 cent higher with September at $1.33{ a
bushel; soybeans were 2 cents to 5} cents higher with September at
$5.65 a bushel.
Cattle futures were lower while pork futures were mixed in early
trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
Live cattle were .12 cent to .30 cent lower with October at 71.02
cents a pound; feeder cattle were .07 cent to .40 cent lower with
September at 83.10 cents a pound; hog futures were .05 cent lower to
.23 cent higher with October at 41.65 cents a pound; frozen pork
bellies were .10 cent to .30 cent lower with February at 47.37 a
pound.
Cattle futures settled mostly lower on Tuesday while pork futures
were mixed.
AP890920-0255
AP-NR-09-20-89 1210EDT
u f PM-WallStreetNoon 09-20 0267
PM-Wall Street Noon,0282
NEW YORK (AP)
Stock prices were little changed today in a
quiet, drifting session.
The noon Dow Jones average of 30 industrials stood at 2,687.31,
unchanged from Tuesday's close.
Gainers just slightly outnumbered losers in nationwide trading of
New York Stock Exchange-listed issues, with 625 up, 614 down and 547
unchanged.
Analysts said stocks had apparently pulled back enough since they
hit a record high before Labor Day to attract some catch-up buying
by investors who had been waiting for an opportunity to increase
their stockholdings.
But brokers also noted uneasiness over the market's uninspired
showing Tuesday, when the Dow Jones industrials gave up a gain of
about 10 points to finish slightly lower.
That represented a sluggish response to the news that the
consumer price index held steady in August, providing fresh
encouragement on the inflation outlook.
Upjohn dropped | to 35} in active trading. The Food and Drug
Administration said an advisory committee was investigating the
safety of Upjohn's prescription sleeping agent Halcion.
AMR, whose American Airlines subsidiary posted fare increases to
take effect next week, rose \ to 76}.
Jaguar PLC added 7-16 to 8\ in the over-the-counter market. Ford
Motor's European arm said Tuesday it was interested in buying as
much as 15 percent of the luxury car manufacturer.
The NYSE's composite index of all its listed common stocks gained
.05 to 192.51. At the American Stock Exchange, the market value
index was up .51 at 379.34.
Volume on the Big Board came to 70.36 million shares at noontime,
against 66.72 million at the same point Tuesday.
AP890920-0256
AP-NR-09-20-89 1214EDT
r f PM-CarpentersUnion 1stLd-Writethru f0026 09-20 0576
PM-Carpenters Union, 1st Ld-Writethru, f0026,0592
Union Sues Advisers Over $95 Million in Bad Real Estate Loans
Eds: SUBS grafs 8-9 pvs, Empire attorney ..., with two grafs to CORRECT
spelling of Sorkin. A version moving on general news wires.
By JOHN KING
AP Labor Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
A 600,000-member union says bad real estate
loans are threatening $95 million of its $200 million general
treasury, a financial crisis it blames on negligence by its
financial advisers.
The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners said Tuesday it
was suing the consultants and hopes to recover the money but that it
is establishing a $45 million reserve to reflect anticipated losses.
``We're taking every step necessary to stabilize the situation,''
union President Sigurd Lucassen told reporters. He said the loans
were approved by his predecessor, Patrick Campbell, and that he
would no longer involve the union in risky, direct real estate loans.
He said any losses would not affect union operations or services.
The money is from general treasury reserves and does not involve
pension assets.
The union has filed suit in District of Columbia Superior Court
against Empire Contracting Consulting, a New York-based firm that
also serviced and monitored the loans.
Lucassen said Empire and its top two officials, Paul W. Adler and
Stanley J. Burns, repeatedly assured union officials the loans and
projects were ``in great shape'' but that all now had either been
foreclosed or are near foreclosure.
The suit filed alleges the officials failed to properly analyze
the loan proposals, failed to monitor the performance of the
developers and misled the union.
Empire attorney Ira Lee Sorkin denied the allegations and said
the company was being drawn into an internal dispute between
Lucassen and Campbell.
``Empire worked to the best of its ability to represent the best
interests of the union,'' Sorkin said.
The most expensive project is a Baltimore waterfront condominium
development that is partially completed and occupied and now being
run by the union. The union took it over from the developer, who has
filed for bankruptcy. The project, Henderson's Wharf, got a $34.6
million loan from the union, according to its attorney.
The other troubled projects are:
_Clermont Condominiums in Nyack, N.Y., developed with an $18.1
million union loan.
_Reddie Point, a land development in Jacksonville, Fla., financed
with a $14.8 million loan from the carpenters' union.
_Towne Square, a retirement center in Merrillville, Ind., which
got a $13.1 million loan from the union.
_Butler Care Center, in Warrandale, Pa. The developers received a
$2.7 million loan from the union to convert a motel into a nursing
home.
In addition, the union's general board authorized spending an
additional $7 million to pay for necessary work at some of the
projects, either to complete them or secure the buildings. A sixth
Empire-recommended loan for a development in Illinois is not in
default. In all, the loans and related expenditures total $95
million.
Lucassen said the union hoped to recover as much of the money as
possible through sales of the properties or its lawsuit but said it
might have to spend more first to complete work that would make the
projects more attractive to buyers.
Unions generally are tight-lipped about their finances but must
file annual reports with the Labor Department. Lucassen said the
union's report would be filed soon and the organization wanted to
first publicly disclose the problems so it would not be accused of
hiding them.
AP890920-0257
AP-NR-09-20-89 1303EDT
r f BC-DebitCards 09-20 0184
BC-Debit Cards,0193
Utah Joins Suit Against Visa, Mastercard
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP)
Utah has joined a dozen other states
in suing Visa U.S.A. Inc. and MasterCard International Inc. for
allegedly conspiring to slow the introduction of debit cards.
The suit claims the credit-card companies violated antitrust laws
by conspiring to prevent competitors from launching national debit
card networks, and to inhibit the use of a debit card they developed
jointly.
Visa and MasterCard have called the charges unfounded.
A debit card can be presented at stores like a credit card, but
the money is automatically transferred from the cardholder's bank
account to the merchant's.
With a credit card, credit companies extend funds to a merchant
to cover the purchase and then bill the consumer. Credit card
companies typically receive a fee from the merchant, based on a
percentage of the purchase price, and charge consumers interest on
unpaid balances and annual fees.
Besides Utah, which filed suit on Tuesday, California,
Connecticut, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota,
Tennessee, Texas, Washington, W. Virginia, Wisconsn and New York
states are plaintiffs in the case.
AP890920-0258
AP-NR-09-20-89 1306EDT
u f BC-Dollar-Gold 09-20 0287
BC-Dollar-Gold,0304
Dollars Wanes, Gold Up
Eds: AMs planned by 5:30 p.m. EDT
LONDON (AP)
The U.S. dollar declined in European trading
Wednesday as dealers worried about a possible West German interest
rate hike.
Gold rose sharply.
Saturday's meeting of financial officials from the Group of Seven
industrial nations added to traders' qualms.
The dollar was quoted in London at 1.9400 Deutsche marks, down
from 1.9505 marks late Tuesday.
``There is distinct nervousness about a German rate hike,'' said
the chief dealer at a U.S. investment bank in Frankfurt, West
Germany.
If West Germany does nothing, he said, the dollar is likely to
bounce back on Thursday but only to around 1.9550 marks.
The market also was worried that participants in Saturday's G-7
meeting might express concern over the dollar's recent strength. The
dollar tested the 2.00-mark level late last week, before dropping to
1.9350 marks Friday.
In Tokyo, the dollar rose 0.52 yen to a closing 146.25 yen.
Later, in London, it dipped to 145.55 yen.
Other late dollar rates compared with late Tuesday: 1.6800 Swiss
francs, down from 1.6870; 6.5585 French francs, down from 6.5875;
2.1890 Dutch guilders, down from 2.2000; 1,399.50 Italian lire, down
from 1,406.50; 1.1824 Canadian dollars, down from 1.1833.
In London, the pound traded at $1.5820, down from $1.5720 late
Tuesday.
Gold traded late in London at a bid price of $363.25 an ounce, up
from $360.50 a troy ounce late Tuesday.
In Zurich, the closing bid price was $363.50, up from $360.50
late Tuesday.
In Hong Kong, gold fell 34 cents to close at a bid $361.42 per
troy ounce.
Silver was quoted in London at a bid price of $5.13 a troy ounce,
up from Tuesday's $5.09.
AP890920-0259
AP-NR-09-20-89 1333EDT
u f BC-Britain-Stocks 1stLd-Writethru 09-20 0195
BC-Britain-Stocks, 1st Ld-Writethru,0202
London Shares Close Higher
Eds: UPDATES with close
LONDON (AP)
Stock prices in London closed higher Wednesday on a
flurry of bargain-hunting and some renewed takeover-related interest.
But the session overall was marked by modest volume and the
continued absence of active institutional participation.
The Financial Times-Stock Exchange 100-share index, closed at
2,369.6, up 8.3 points, or 0.4 percent. But it was substantially off
its session high of 2,379.8, hit in an early rush. The session low
was the opening of 2,366.3.
Volume was 513.1 million shares, up from Tuesday's light 393.5
million shares.
Dealers said the news Tuesday that Ford Motor Co. plans to buy up
to 15 percent of Jaguar PLC gave the market a much-needed shot in
the arm.
They said that speculation over prospects for other friendly or
hostile suitors for Jaguar helped to rekindle general takeover
speculation on the London market. The government has limited stakes
in Jaguar to 15 percent each until the end of next year.
Some buy programs early in the session also helped support the
market, dealers added. They attributed the buying the bargain
opportunities presented by Tuesday's moderate declines.
AP890920-0260
AP-NR-09-20-89 1343EDT
r f BC-MercFine 09-20 0220
BC-Merc Fine,0230
Firm Penalized by Merc
CHICAGO (AP)
A commodity options firm accused of defrauding its
customers has been fined $100,000 by the Chicago Mercantile
Exchange, which stopped short of banning the company from trading.
The firm, Siegel Trading Co., agreed to improve record-keeping
and withdraw from clearing membership at the exchange. Clearing
members are the highest-ranking members of futures exchanges, with
authority to process the trades of lower-ranking member firms.
Siegel agreed to pay the fine while neither admitting nor denying
guilt, exchange officials said Tuesday.
Last week, the Chicago-based company was charged by the Commodity
Futures Trading Commission with using high-pressure sales tactics to
bilk its customers out of more than $30 million.
An exchange committee said Siegel, which operates primarily in
California, ``favored its own rather than its customers' best
interests.''
Siegel referred calls to its lawyer, William Phelan, who was not
immediately available to comment on the Merc action or the CFTC
accusations.
Between January 1984 and May 1989, Siegel made about $40 million
in commissions while its customers lost $33.6 million, the CFTC
contends in its lawsuit.
In the same lawsuit, the CFTC says another trading firm,
International Trading Group Inc. of San Mateo, Calif., made $233
million in commissions while its customers lost $428 million.
International Trading has denied the allegations.
AP890920-0261
AP-NR-09-20-89 1424EDT
s f BC-StLouisSun Adv24 09-20 1154
BC-St Louis Sun, Adv 24,1193
$adv24
For release Sunday Sept. 24
Newest Newspaper About to Debut
LaserPhoto planned
By RANDOLPH PICHT
AP Business Writer
ST. LOUIS (AP)
Sure, it's exciting, nerve-racking and unique to
start a major metropolitan newspaper like the St. Louis Sun from
scratch. It's also a little weird.
Take it from Kevin Horrigan, lead columnist of the tabloid that
premieres Monday.
He traded a columnist job at the historic St. Louis
Post-Dispatch, founded by Joseph Pulitzer nearly 111 years ago, to
join the Sun, which has no history and as it turns out, no
typewriters.
Horrigan scoured the Sun's color-coordinated, high-tech 11th
floor newsroom, which overlooks Busch stadium and the Mississippi
River, for a typewriter.
``Here we are ... this is all going to be 21st century
technology, but excuse me, I'm used to having a typewriter,'' said
Horrigan. ``I went out and paid 50 bucks for my own manual
typewriter as sort of a security blanket.''
There are no scraps of obsolete lead type at the Sun, no dusty
boxes holding 1950s photographs.
The Sun has attracted enormous attention in the stagnant
newspaper industry because it is new, from the newsroom computer
terminals and electronic page imagers to the cafeteria furniture. If
the Sun succeeds, it could reverse the conventional thinking that
new newspapers are a thing of the past.
Without printing a word, the Sun already has attracted 40,000
subscribers and the number is growing daily, said the newspaper's
Editor-In-Chief Ralph Ingersoll II, who also is chairman and chief
executive officer of Ingersoll Publications Co., a fast-growing
communications concern.
The newspaper's $2.5 million promotional campaign evidently is
working. Advertisements have been pouring in so fast that the Sun's
sales staff hasn't made sales calls, Ingersoll said.
``We were expecting in the Show Me state, a much more
stand-offish, skeptical, show me, prove it to me attitude,'' he
said. ``Not a day goes by here that we don't pinch ourselves and ...
say what the hell is going on here.''
Ingersoll's venture in St. Louis comes against a background of
signs that the newspaper business is suffering in many parts of the
country.
Total newspaper circulation in the United States has been flat
for at least 20 years and the percentage of Americans who read
newspapers has been declining, American Newspaper Publishers
Association statistics show.
In 1988, 64 percent of the adult U.S. population read a daily
newspaper compared with 73 percent in 1973, said association
spokesman Joe Lorfano.
``No matter what happens in St. Louis, I don't think you're going
to see many people rushing to try the same thing around the
country,'' said John Morton, a Washington-based newspaper analyst.
Morton said only 19 American cities still have two competitive
newspapers, and it appears that number will shrink.
``There still are some good old-fashioned newspaper wars, but no
one has sought that kind of thing out,'' Morton said.
Ingersoll said he's not wading into a newspaper war unarmed.
He noted that as recently as five years ago the now-defunct St.
Louis Globe-Democrat was the area's most popular paper and total
paid daily circulation for the Globe and the Post-Dispatch was about
500,000.
Today, the Post-Dispatch has a paid daily circulation of about
370,000 and a Sunday circulation of 550,000.
Ingersoll said he hopes the Sun will lure many readers lost when
Newhouse Newspapers decided to shut down the Globe-Democrat.
``I think it's pretty clear that print has a good future. I
haven't the least doubt the St. Louis Sun will be profitable. It's
one of the lower risk ventures we've undertaken,'' he said.
Ingersoll, 43, plans to move from his native Connecticut to St.
Louis and is shopping for a home in the city's historic Central West
End District.
His other weapons include an energetic staff of 80 editorial
employees and an established chain of 43 free weekly or bi-weekly
newspapers distributed to 700,000 homes in suburbs around the city.
The first bomb in what could be a newspaper war came when the Sun
was announced in March and Ingersoll hired away Thomas M. Tallarico,
general manager of the Post-Dispatch, to be his publisher.
The most recent salvos came when he hired Horrigan, a popular
Post-Dispatch columnist, and won exclusive use of Knight Ridder News
Service in the Sun.
``We definitely welcome competition,'' said Post-Dispatch
Managing Editor David Lipman. ``We find it exciting and challenging.
It has accelerated some changes that had been proposed or approved
but not necessarily scheduled.''
He said the Post-Dispatch has redesigned its editorial page,
added a news summary on page two, moved its news columnist, Bill
McClellan, to page three and revamped its calendar section on
Thursdays.
On the frontlines of any battle will be the Sun's staff,
assembled from all over North America including Los Angeles, New
York, Winnipeg, Miami, Boston and Houston. They've spent the last
few weeks getting ready for the big debut.
``The joke around here has been that we all get cranky unless we
get our three hours of sleep,'' said Managing Editor Peter
O'Sullivan, who was editor-in-chief of the Houston Post before
coming to St. Louis.
One problem with bringing in journalists from all over is
communication, said Mike Thompson, the Sun's editorial cartoonist
who came from Milwaukee.
``The lingo that's used is so different. I remember having a
conversation with someone who was telling me to get what they called
a flat and it's something I had always known to be a galley sheet,''
said Thompson.
Other problems: no one knows each other, no one knows what the
person at the next desk is doing and everyone is learning as they go
along.
The who's who problem has been compounded because Ingersoll has
brought in about 20 editors and reporters from some of the company's
other 47 daily newspapers around the country.
``It's like putting a basketball team on the court and you don't
know who can rebound, who can dribble, who can shoot,'' said
Horrigan. ``It's bizarre to take all these people and say, `OK,
here's what we're going to do, we think.'''
Ingersoll, however, says he has a clear vision of what's ahead.
Rob Dudley, the Sun's art director, calls it ``Ralph's vision.''
He defines it as a sophisticated, colorful, quick-read newspaper.
``We have to get people, through our design, to trust the
editorial content,'' Dudley said.
The newspaper will be about 90 to 100 pages, with color photos
and artwork on the cover and section fronts. It will cost 25 cents
on weekdays and $1 on Saturday.
The paper will publish its expanded weekend edition on Saturday,
instead of Sunday, an idea aimed at further differentiating the Sun
from the Post-Dispatch.
The editorial position of the newspaper will be a pragmatic,
issues-oriented approach that will probably be perceived as leaning
toward the conservative, Ingersoll said.
The Post-Dispatch is considered to take more liberal editorial
positions.
End adv for Sunday Sept. 24.
AP890920-0262
AP-NR-09-20-89 1516EDT
r f BC-LatinDebt 09-20 0288
BC-Latin Debt,0299
Latin Nations Demand More Support for Debt Relief
CANCUN, Mexico (AP)
Seven debt-burdened Latin American nations
are demanding more support from multilateral development
organizations, commercial banks and industrialized nations in
renegotiating their foreign debt.
In a communique released Tuesday night at a conference of Latin
American economic officials, finance ministers said that even more
aid, beyond debt relief, will be necessary if Latin American nations
are to make an economic recovery.
The effort to reduce the debt burden is an ``important first step
in the solution of the crisis,'' the ministers of the so-called
Group of Eight said.
The Group of Eight consists of Argentina, Brazil, Mexico,
Uruguay, Peru, Venezuela and Colombia. Panama has been excluded
temporarily because of the political crisis there involving Gen.
Manuel Antonio Noriega's rule.
The communique noted that the International Monetary Fund and the
World Bank are holding important meetings next week where debt
reduction will be discussed, and that the presidents of the Group of
Eight are to meet in Lima, Peru, on Oct. 11-13.
The three-day conference included finance ministers, central bank
governors and other financial officials of Latin American nations,
Spain and the Philippines.
Officials agreed that inflation, debt and the social cost of
implementing economic reform have reached a dangerous level in Latin
America.
The problems threaten democracy because of the social conflicts
they represent, Enrique Iglesias, president of the International
Development Bank, told reporters.
Gert Rosenthal, executive secretary of the Economic Commission
for America, said economic austerity has ``reached a stage where
social pressures could overflow.''
Rosenthal said economic austerity caused in part by the need to
make foreign debt payments has translated into an unprecedented
deterioration in Latin American standards of living.
AP890920-0263
AP-NR-09-20-89 1515EDT
u f PM-WallStreet3pm 09-20 0266
PM-Wall Street 3pm,0281
NEW YORK (AP)
Stock prices declined slightly today in a quiet,
drifting session.
The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials slipped 2.66 to 2,684.65
by 3 p.m. on Wall Street.
Losers outnumbered gainers by about 7 to 6 in nationwide trading
of New York Stock Exchange-listed issues, with 631 up, 742 down and
541 unchanged.
Analysts said stocks had apparently pulled back enough since they
hit a record high before Labor Day to attract some catch-up buying
by investors who had been waiting for an opportunity to increase
their stockholdings.
But brokers also noted uneasiness over the market's uninspired
showing Tuesday, when the Dow Jones industrials gave up a gain of
about 10 points to finish slightly lower.
That represented a sluggish response to the news that the
consumer price index held steady in August, providing fresh
encouragement on the inflation outlook.
Upjohn dropped { to 35~ in active trading. The Food and Drug
Administration said an advisory committee was investigating the
safety of Upjohn's prescription sleeping agent Halcion.
AMR, whose American Airlines subsidiary posted fare increases to
take effect next week, rose 1 to 77{.
Jaguar PLC added 7-16 to 8\ in the over-the-counter market. Ford
Motor's European arm said Tuesday it was interested in buying as
much as 15 percent of the luxury car manufacturer.
The NYSE's composite index of all its listed common stocks lost
.09 to 192.37. At the American Stock Exchange, the market value
index was up .49 at 379.32.
Volume on the Big Board came to 116.04 million shares with an
hour to go.
AP890920-0264
AP-NR-09-20-89 1523EDT
u f BC-BoardofTrade Close 09-20 0233
BC-Board of Trade, Close,0243
Crop Futures Advance on Frost Fears, Export Hopes
CHICAGO (AP)
Grain and soybean futures prices closed mostly
higher Wednesday on the Chicago Board of Trade, boosted by fears of
frost and hopes for new export sales of U.S. grain.
The soybean and soybean oil markets led the rally, charged up by
rumors the Agriculture Department may be planning to offer vegetable
oil to Poland and the Soviet Union at subsidized prices.
The talk was keyed to upcoming talks between Secretary of State
James Baker and the Soviet foreign minister.
Indications that China was seeking to buy vegetable oil also
supported the markets.
Corn and soybean prices were bolstered by forecasts for freezing
temperatures in the Midwest early next week, although analysts said
the frost no longer posed much of a threat to the crops.
The September grain and soybean contracts expired at noon CDT
with wheat at $3.80 a bushel, corn at $2.34{ a bushel, oats at $1.35
a bushel and soybeans at $5.68\.
At the close, wheat futures were { cent to 3 cents higher with
December at $3.91} a bushel; corn was \ cent lower to 1{ cents
higher with December at $2.28} a bushel; oats were } cent lower to \
cent higher with December at $1.39{ a bushel; soybeans were 5} cents
to 6} cents higher with November at $5.75 a bushel.
AP890920-0265
AP-NR-09-20-89 1549EDT
u f AM-Poland-U.S.Commerce 09-20 0586
AM-Poland-U.S. Commerce,0608
Mosbacher Remains for Talks To Build Business Confidence
By DRUSILLA MENAKER
Associated Press Writer
WARSAW, Poland (AP)
U.S. Commerce Secretary Robert Mosbacher on
Wednesday signed investment and tourism agreements and extended his
stay to negotiate a pact to persuade American companies to do
business in the new Poland.
The proposed accord would address the concerns of U.S. companies
considering investing in the economically and politically volatile
country, which has the East bloc's only non-communist-led government.
Mosbacher and Polish Foreign Trade Minister Marcin Swiecicki are
discussing how far the new government is willing to go to increase
Western investment through a series of favorable agreements.
The pacts would address removing profits from Poland, offer
guarantees against expropriation of property, protect technology,
patents and other intellectual property, and govern taxation.
``I think this will add confidence and comfort and a level of
excitement for American businesses and bring more ... to invest in
Poland,'' said Mosbacher, who extended his stay by one day to
Thursday.
Mosbacher's visit comes as Poles are looking to the West for
support of the new government's efforts to dismantle four decades of
communist rule amid what Solidarity Prime Minister Tadeusz
Mazowiecki calls ``economic chaos.''
In Washington, Democrats contending the Bush administration is
failing to back the reforms have proposed a $1.8 billion aid plan
that would dwarf a $100 million package offered so far by the White
House.
Neither the comprehensive ``Business and Economic Agreement''
under discussion nor the agreements signed Wednesday has any
significant cost to the U.S. government, Mosbacher said.
But they do represent a largely unprecedented encouragement of
U.S. commerce with a communist country in transition.
Solidarity leader Lech Walesa met with Mosbacher in Gdansk on
Wednesday and said it will likely be some time before the benefits
of investment are felt.
``The Americans propose that Poland reduce inflation first and
then they will provide us with some specific help,'' he said.
``I think I managed to persuade (Mosbacher) that it should be the
other way around because I am sure that without this help we will
not make it,'' Walesa said. ``It would be a vicious circle.''
Mosbacher and Swiecicki, one of four remaining communist cabinet
members, signed an agreement to foster contact between American
business and the developing private sector in Poland.
Under the pact, business experts will be brought to Poland and
management training programs will be developed for an economy in
which companies have been run by a centralized bureaucracy.
The other agreement is to improve tourism and expand
opportunities for U.S. investment in hotels and other travel
projects in Poland.
Mosbacher stayed at the Marriott Hotel, expected to open next
month in a skyscraper that was unfinished most of the decade due to
lack of funds. The project is considered a prime example and key
test of the potential for U.S. investment.
Tourists now have legal access to a more favorable exchange rate
that had been only available only on the black market until currency
laws were changed earlier in the year.
But they still are required to exchange set amounts and pay for
lodging and other services at the lower ``official'' exchange rate.
A series of programs now before the U.S. Congress include a $100
million fund to promote development of private firms in Poland and
the rewriting of tariff laws to allow 4,100 products to be imported
to the United States without tariffs.
About $70 million of current Polish exports would be covered,
including furniture and light machinery.
AP890920-0266
AP-NR-09-20-89 2200EDT
s f BC-LayingLow Adv24 09-20 1131
BC-Laying Low, Adv 24,1170
$adv24
For Editions Sunday Sept. 24
Takeover Strategists of the Past Keeping a Low Profile
LaserPhoto planned
By JOYCE M. ROSENBERG
AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP)
Asher Edelman, T. Boone Pickens Jr. and Herbert
Haft used to make big headlines by stalking big companies, but you
haven't heard much from these takeover strategists lately.
They haven't left a business that became a major trend of the
1980s. Yet for reasons that range from rising costs to
court-sanctioned obstacles, they've been keeping a low profile, one
they're likely to maintain for some time.
Probably the biggest reason is money: Prices are too high and
financing is harder to get. Now that Campeau Corp. has stumbled
following its acquisition of Federated Department Stores Inc. and
Allied Stores Corp., big investors will be even more cautious.
``People don't want to chase deals at these high levels,'' said
economist Lawrence Chimerine of Wefa Group, a Bala Cynwyd, Pa.
economic forecasting firm.
Said Leon Lowenstein, a professor of corporate finance at
Columbia University's School of Law, ``The prices were sensible
years ago and in the last five, six years, increasingly left sanity
behind.''
It is clear that many takeover strategists agree.
Last year, Edelman, who bid in the past for Lucky Stores Inc. and
Fruehauf Corp., decided he'd had enough of the high prices in the
United States, and began to look for new business in Europe. He made
a friendly $1.2 billion offer for British retailer Storehouse PLC
earlier this summer, but was rejected.
Some big investors are pursuing deals in this country, but their
targets are smaller than earlier targets.
Earlier this year, groups controlled by Revlon Group Inc.
Chairman Ronald O. Perelman bought Coleman Co. Inc., a camping
equipment maker, for $545 million; New World Entertainment Inc., a
television production company, for about $120 million; and Marvel
Entertainment Group Inc., the comic book company, for $82.5 million.
These transactions are a far cry from the unsuccessful $4.12
billion bid Perelman made for Gillette Co. in 1986 or the $1.83
billion he paid for Revlon the previous year.
Perelman did undertake a billion-dollar acquisition late last
year _ but the deal was financed by the federal government.
Perelman's group bought five insolvent Texas savings and loan
institutions for $315 million and got a $5.1 billion cash infusion
from government.
This last transaction illustrates what takeover strategists are
looking for _ deals that are low-priced or that carry low risks and
low debt.
The panic in the junk bond market caused by Campeau's inability
to handle its $11.5 billion debt load will only heighten investor
caution.
Junk bonds suffered heavy losses after Campeau said it had to
restructure and sell its coveted Bloomingdale's store chain.
Campeau's buyout strategy had relied heavily on financing provided
by the sale of junk bonds, debt securities that pay high rates of
interest in exchange for the high risk of owning them.
With junk bonds currently out of favor, it is going to be
difficult to use them to back a buyout.
To further complicate matters, ``There's been a movement toward
caution, particularly among commercial banks in financing these
deals,'' said Alfred Rappaport, a professor at Northwestern
University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management. ``The higher the
price, the more difficult the financing.''
Chimerine said, ``Some people have probably concluded this is a
time to be more cautious and conservative.''
But some takoever strategists have individual reasons for laying
low.
Pickens, whose record includes unsuccessful bids for Phillips
Petroleum Co., Unocal Corp. and Gulf Corp., decided earlier this
year that the hostile takeover business was too frustrating and
ultimately unsatisfying.
``You make the offer and you go through a routine that's similar
to the last go-round and then you don't get the company,'' he said
in a recent interview.
One of Pickens' objections _ which Edelman has also cited _ was
the number of legal obstacles to buying a company. His 1985 bid for
Unocal was stopped by the Delaware courts.
Also like Edelman, Pickens is exploring his options overseas.
Through his privately held Boone Co., Pickens has bought a 26
percent stake in Japan's Koito Manufacturing Co.
Pickens used his Mesa Limited Partnership and its predecessor,
Mesa Petroleum Co., to launch past bids, but Mesa has been
preoccupied recently with absorbing a Tenneco Inc. subsidiary
purchased for $715 million last year.
Herbert Haft and his son Robert made a string of hostile attempts
for retailers including Safeway Stores Inc., Supermarkets General
Corp., Dayton Hudson Corp., and most recently, a $4.32 billion bid
for Kroger Co. in September 1988.
Their company, Dart Group Corp., never acquired their targets,
but the Hafts profited handsomely from their stock in the companies
and earned reputations as corporate raiders. Observers questioned
whether they were serious about acquiring a retailer.
In October 1988, Dart disclosed that the Securities and Exchange
Commission staff was investigating whether the firm should be forced
to register as a company that invests in securities for a pool of
small investors.
Dart was never forced to take that step, but the SEC action may
have clipped the Hafts' wings _ they haven't made a bid since.
The Hafts declined to be interviewed, but a source close to Dart
said the company has focused on running its Trak auto supply and
Crown book stores and Shoppers Food Warehouse operations.
Trans World Airlines Chairman Carl Icahn, another veteran of big
takeover battles, has been sitting on a pile of cash ever since he
sold his Texaco Inc. holdings for more than $2 billion in June.
Immediately after the sale, speculation arose that he would bid
for USX Corp., in which Icahn holds a large stake, or that he would
purchase an interest in Continental Airlines.
Icahn has not made a move and has turned aside questions about
his plans.
It is likely that if the right deal came along, any of these
investors would go for it.
``I'm not going to completely close the door,'' Pickens said.
``Something could come into range.''
One investor who has been notoriously active lately is Harold
Simmons, who has substantial stakes in Georgia Gulf Corp., which he
has considered bidding for, and Lockheed Corp.
But caution is his watchword, too.
``I don't go into a major investment or an attempt to buy another
company unless I'm ready, all the factors are ready,'' Simmons said
in an interview. ``I have to have my own house in order, my
operations all working smoothly, and I have to have available
financing and money.''
Simmons said he was looking for ``a good deal, and the market
conditions have to be right.''
Meanwhile, he said, ``I'm always doing something. It may not be
in the process of a takeover.''
End Adv for Sunday Sept. 24
AP890920-0267
AP-NR-09-20-89 1620EDT
u f PM-WallStreetClosing 09-20 0111
PM-Wall Street Closing,0121
NEW YORK (AP)
Stock prices posted a small loss today in a
drifting session.
Trading was quiet.
Analysts said stocks had apparently pulled back enough since they
hit a record high before Labor Day to attract some catch-up buying
by investors who had been waiting for an opportunity to increase
their stockholdings.
But brokers also noted uneasiness over the market's uninspired
showing Tuesday, when the Dow Jones industrials gave up a gain of
about 10 points to finish slightly lower.
That represented a sluggish response to the news that the
consumer price index held steady in August, providing fresh
encouragement on the inflation outlook.
MORE
AP890920-0268
AP-NR-09-20-89 1955EDT
r f AM-GELawsuit 09-20 0314
AM-GE Lawsuit,0326
New York Sues General Electric To Clean Area Surrounding Dump
By DAVID BAUDER
Associated Press Writer
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)
New York state sued General Electric Co. on
Wednesday to force it to clean up an area surrounding a dump where
fish containing 22 times the acceptable level of PCBs have been
found.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court asks GE to return to
work near a Rensselear County dump the Fairfield, Conn.-based
company spent five years and $2.3 million cleaning up earlier this
decade.
But a GE spokesman said the company already has agreed to pay for
the necessary cleanup and will continue to work with the state.
During the 1950s and 1960s, GE dumped 37,530 tons of the
cancer-causing PCBs and other chemical wastes at the former Dewey
Loeffel dump. The company agreed to pay the state $2.3 million in
1980 to clean the dump, a job that was finished in 1984.
Testing done recently showed that PCBs had leaked into the nearby
Nassau Lake and Valatie Kill, state Attorney General Robert Abrams
said.
Fish were found to contain PCBs at 22 times the level the federal
government regards as safe to eat. The state has advised the public
not to fish in Nassau Lake, formerly a popular fishing hole, Abrams
said.
The lawsuit asks General Electric to pay for any necessary
cleanup and for damages to the environment. The state hasn't
estimated what those damages might be, Abrams said.
GE spokesman Jack Batty said the company signed an agreement in
November 1988 to pay for damages to the area around the dump.
But Abrams spokeswoman Nancy Connell said GE agreed last November
only to discuss the cleanup, not to pay for it.
Waste from GE plants in Schenectady, Waterford, Fort Edward and
Pittsfield, Mass., were dumped in the landfill before GE stopped in
1968, officials said.
AP890920-0269
AP-NR-09-20-89 2012EDT
r f AM-American-Miami 09-20 0560
AM-American-Miami,0579
American Announces Expansion Plans; Eastern Continues to Add Flights
By JOAN THOMPSON
Associated Press Writer
MIAMI (AP)
An American Airlines executive announcing an
increase in the carrier's Miami service said Wednesday that American
wants to become a ``major player'' in the Miami market even without
strike-crippled Eastern Airlines' prized Latin American routes.
Meanwhile, an Eastern spokesman said the company's rebuilding
efforts, regardless of American's competition, are moving along at a
``healthy clip.''
American officials announced plans to nearly double daily
flights, mostly through commuter service, by the end of the year.
The number of employees is conservatively predicted to double to
more than 2,600 within the next several years, officials said.
American is taking advantage of opportunities for expansion by
making the Miami airport the headquarters for the company's new
Florida-Caribbean-Latin America division, said Don O'Hare, vice
president of field services for the new division.
``We want to be a major player in this market,'' O'Hare said.
Efforts by Dallas-based American, the nation's largest carrier,
to buy Eastern's Latin American route network recently fell through
when Eastern decided not to sell them. But O'Hare said American
would seek government approval for routes on its own.
O'Hare and other executives Wednesday dedicated the airlines' new
$27 million Concourse D, occupied primarily by Eastern before
Eastern's massive strike beginning last March. American, which
currently has 35 flights out of Miami, expects to have about 70 by
year's end with nearly all but a couple of the additional departures
by its commuter service, American Eagle.
American Eagle, set to begin service next month, would fly into
smaller south Florida cities and, with government approval, cities
in the Bahamas. American plans to begin service to Grand Cayman in
the Caribbean next month.
At Eastern, spokesman Robin Matell said his company will increase
its Miami departures to about 80 flights by the end of the year.
Eastern, which peaked at 105 daily flights out of Miami before the
strike, currently has about 27 departures, Matell said.
``We've been rebuilding at a very healthy clip and the rebuilding
program has been going extremely well,'' he said.
American has asked the U.S. Department of Transportation for
route authority between Miami and Cancun, Cozumel and Merida in
Mexico's Yucatan peninsula.
But Matell said the Miami-Cancun route belongs to Eastern and the
airline plans to restore service on Dec. 1.
``It's our position that we are the designated carrier on that
route,'' he said.
American, along with Pan Am Corp., also is asking the
Transportation Department for non-stop route authority between Miami
and Toronto. New York-based Pan Am recently announced plans to
expand its Miami service.
Although Eastern hasn't flown the route since the strike began,
it will be flying between Miami and Toronto by November, in time for
the peak winter travel season, Matell said.
The DOT has not issued a decision on any of the routes. But
Matell said the two airlines' applications for the Miami-Toronto
route should be denied.
Bilateral route agreements between some foreign governments and
the United States require that service be controlled and authorized
by the United States and the foreign government.
American, often a leader in fare increases, plans to raise its
prices on advance-purchase discount fares beginning next week. But
O'Hare said the proposed increases would not ``place us at a
competitive disadvantage in the Miami hub.''
AP890920-0270
AP-NR-09-20-89 1731EDT
u f AM-WallStreet 1stLd-Writethru 09-20 0477
AM-Wall Street, 1st Ld-Writethru,0497
Eds: Updates with closing prices throughout.
By CHET CURRIER
AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP)
Stock prices hovered in a narrow range Wednesday,
contining their recent sluggish trend in a quiet session.
The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials dropped 3.42 to 2,683.89.
Advancing issues and declines ran about even in nationwide
trading of New York Stock Exchange-listed stocks, withwn and 547 unchanged.
Volume on the floor of the Big Board came to 136.64 million
shares, down from 141.61 million in the previous session.
Nationwide, consolidated volume in NYSE-listed issues, including
trades in those stocks on r 697 up, 726
doegional exchanges and in the
over-the-counter market, totaled 164.94 million shares.
Analysts said stocks had apparently pulled back enough, since
they hit a record high before Labor Day, to attract a little
catch-up buying by investors who had been waiting for an opportunity
to increase their stockholdings.
But brokers also noted uneasiness over the market's uninspired
showing Tuesday, when the Dow Jones industrials gave up a gain of
about 10 points to finish down .19.
That represented an unethusiastic response to the news that the
consumer price index held steady in August, providing fresh
encouragement on the inflation outlook.
A.C. Moore, director of research at Argus Research Corp., said
his ficcelerated space exploration.
Keith Geiger, president of the National Education Association,
said Wednesday the idea of a slogan the president can leave with the
nation at the end of the two-day gathering in Charlottesville, Va.,
was broached during a recent White House meeting with educators.
``That's one of the things we talked about with the president and
at several other meetings'' among education leaders, Geiger said.
``It has to be something that's catchy and doable.''
Despite brainstorming over the idea, Geiger, who took over the
helm of the nation's largest teacher's union this month, has come up
empty handed so far.
President Kennedy, in his second State of the Union message of
1961, called for America to achieve the goal, ``before this decade
is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the
Earth.''
Such achievement, Kennedy said, demanded ``a major national
commitment'' and a ``degree of dedication, organization and
discipline which have not always characterized our research and
development efforts.''
In July 1969, astronauts Neal Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin landed
on the moon.
``What we need in this country,'' New Mexico Gov. Garrey
Carruthers said at a recent National Governors' Association news
conference, ``is a clear cut policy statement of the caliber of
Kennedy's.''
Geiger said a catchy slogan would force a ``discussion not on
what we are going to do but what we need to do to achieve it.''
AP890920-0271
AP-NR-09-20-89 2022EDT
r f AM-CarbideSettlement 09-20 0415
AM-Carbide Settlement,0430
Union Carbide $15 Million Settlement With Former Employees Approved
DANBURY, Conn. (AP)
A New York court Wednesday approved a $15
million settlement between Union Carbide Corp. and 375 former
employees, ending a dispute over payments due from the sale of some
product lines in 1986.
The former employees, or the estates of those who have died, will
receive about $38,000 each under the settlement approved by the New
York State Supreme Court, according to their attorney, Frederick T.
Davis.
The money was owed under a managment incentive program operated
by Union Carbide from 1959 to 1970.
The settlement approved by Judge Elliot Wilk also includes
$660,000 for legal fees and $81,000 for ``other disbursements,''
Davis said.
Union Carbide spokesman Ed Van Den Ameele said officials at the
Danbury-based corporation had no comment on the settlement.
The dispute arose in 1986 when Union Carbide successfully fought
a hostile takover bid by GAF Corp but cut staff, repurchased some of
its stock and sold off divisions.
Union Carbide also promised to pay a ``special dividend'' to
shareholders based on proceeds from the sale of its Everyready
battery line to Ralston Purina for $1.4 billion and the sale of its
line of Prestone antifreeze, Simoniz wax and Glad plastic products
to First Brands Corp. for $800 million.
The dividend was to be equal to the proceeds of two deals less
book value of those divisions and totaled about $33 a share. Both
deals were completed in April 1986.
Under the terms of the program, the 375 former Carbide managers
were eligibile to receive dividend equivalents giving people who may
or may not own stock the right to cash payments equal to dividends
paid shareholders.
But the company said the special dividend was not covered by the
incentive program and decided not to pay the former employees.
Union Carbide filed suit in New York Supreme Court seeking a
judgment it was not obligated to pay the dividend equivalents. The
375 former employees filed a class-action counterclaim seeking
payment.
The two sides reached a tentative agreement to settle July 18,
pending approval by the former employees and the court. Davis said
payments will be made to the former employees 30 days after the
judge signs the settlement order.
The surviving former employees, who range from 54 to 88 years
old, and the estates of the other former employees will receive 9
percent interest on their dividends dating from July 18 until actual
payment, Davis said.
AP890920-0272
AP-NR-09-20-89 1744EDT
u f AM-Dollar-Gold 09-20 0433
AM-Dollar-Gold,0448
Dollars Wanes, Gold Moves Higher
NEW YORK (AP)
The dollar slumped in skittish trading Wednesday
as investors worried that West Germany might raise its interest
rates.
Gold prices moved higher.
Analysts said the dollar was buffeted by rumors the Federal
Reserve was intervening in the market to push the already weak U.S.
currency lower.
Also troubling traders was the prospect that the West German
central bank, the Bundesbank, would move interest rates in that
country higher on Thursday. Such a move, unless matched in this
country by the Fed, would likely weaken the dollar.
Overseas dealers said Saturday's planned meeting of financial
officials from the Group of Seven industrial nations added to
traders' qualms. The market was concerned that participants in the
meeting might want to see the dollar decline.
The dollar fell against the British pound. In London, sterling
was quoted at $1.5820, up from $1.5720 late Tuesday, and in later
New York trading it was quoted at $1.5835, up from $1.5710.
Other late dollar rates in New York, compared with late Tuesday's
prices, included: 1.93965 West German marks, down from 1.9535;
1.6815 Swiss francs, down from 1.6905; 6.5560 French francs, down
from 6.6010; 1,399.00 Italian lire, down from 1,406.50; and 1.18325
Canadian dollars, down from 1.18455.
In Tokyo, the dollar rose 0.52 yen to a closing 146.25 yen.
Later, in London, it dipped to 145.55 yen and in New York, it
slipped to 145.10 yen from late Tuesday's 145.85.
Other late dollar rates in Europe, compared with late Tuesday's
rates, included: 1.9400 Deutsche marks, down from 1.9505; 1.6800
Swiss francs, down from 1.6870; 6.5585 French francs, down from
6.5875; 2.1890 Dutch guilders, down from 2.2000; 1,399.50 Italian
lire, down from 1,406.50; and 1.1824 Canadian dollars, down from
1.1833.
In gold trading in New York, a troy ounce of the precious metal
picked up $3.70 a troy ounce to close at $364.90 in trading on the
Commodity Exchange. Republic National Bank later quoted a bid of
$363.60 for a troy ounce of gold, up $3.60 from late Tuesday.
Gold traded late in London at a bid price of $363.25 an ounce, up
from $360.50 a troy ounce late Tuesday.
In Zurich, the closing bid price was $363.50, up from $360.50
late Tuesday and in earlier Hong Kong trading, gold fell 34 cents to
close at a bid $361.42 per troy ounce.
Silver rose 5.8 cents on the Commodity Exchange in New York,
closing at $5.119 a troy ounce. In earlier London trading, silver
was quoted at a bid price of $5.13 a troy ounce, up from Tuesday's
$5.09.
AP890920-0273
AP-NR-09-20-89 1759EDT
u f AM-CommodityRdp 09-20 0687
AM-Commodity Rdp,0712
Coffee Futures Rally on Slim Hopes for Quota Accord
By DAVID DISHNEAU
AP Business Writer
Coffee futures prices surged Wednesday on New York's Coffee,
Sugar & Cocoa Exchange amid developments that at least momentarily
appeared to improve the chances for a resumption of export quotas to
support coffee prices.
On other markets, futures prices for energy, precious metals,
grains and pork all advanced, while cattle futures prices declined.
Coffee futures settled 1.88 cents to 3 cents higher with the
contract for delivery in December at 82.55 cents per pound of green,
unroasted coffee.
The market, which had languished for most of the day, surged late
in the session on news that President Bush had offered support to
Colombian President Virgilio Barco for a revival of coffee export
quotas.
Coffee prices have fallen by about a third, hurting Colombia's
economy, since the International Coffee Organization suspended
export quotas in July due largely to U.S. dissatisfaction with the
system.
But the market quickly lost interest in the letter from Bush
after learning the president had not altered the United States'
previously stated conditions for rejoining the coffee pact: no more
sales of coffee to non-member nations and greater availability of
high-quality arabica coffee beans.
``The president had a very sympathetic response but our
objectives remain unchanged,'' said Bert Ruiz, a vice president with
the futures brokerage Balfour Maclaine Corp. in New York.
The letter quickly was replaced by another ostensibly bullish
factor _ a report that Jorge Cardenas, president of the Colombia
National Coffee Federation, would meet in Washington on Friday with
U.S. trade negotiator Robert Murphy before both of them travel to
London for a two-week meeting of the International Coffee
Organization beginning Monday.
The report renewed speculation that U.S.-Colombian cooperation
would lead to a new coffee agreement.
But analyst Kim Badenhop of Merrill Lynch Capital Markets Inc.
said the Murphy-Cardenas meeting had been planned for some time and
predicted the ICO meeting would produce nothing substantial.
``The most positive thing to come out of that meeting would be
that maybe they would talk about quotas and agree to come back at a
later date,'' Badenhop said, ``but I don't even think we'll get
that.''
Energy futures rose sharply on the New York Mercantile Exchange,
led by the gasoline market on fears of Hurricane Hugo's threat to
refinery operations in the Caribbean Sea and the U.S. Gulf Coast.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil settled 8 cents to 34 cents
higher with November at $19.68 a barrel; heating oil was 1.05 cents
to 1.60 cents higher with October at 56.55 cents a gallon; unleaded
gasoline was 1 cent to 2.07 cents higher with October at 59.74 cents
a gallon.
Gold and silver futures rose strongly on New York's Commodity
Exchange in response to oil's gains and a weaker dollar.
Gold settled $3.50 to $4.30 higher with October at $365.70 a troy
ounce; silver was 5.5 cents to 6.8 cents higher with September at
$5.119 a troy ounce.
Grain and soybean futures ended mostly higher on the Chicago
Board of Trade, boosted by fears of frost and hopes for new export
sales of U.S. grain.
Wheat futures settled } cent to 1{ cents higher with December at
$3.91} a bushel; corn was \ cent lower to 1\ cents higher with
December at $2.28{ a bushel; oats were } cent lower to 1 cent higher
with December at $1.35 a bushel; soybeans were 6 cents to 7 cents
higher with November at $5.75{ a bushel.
On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, frozen pork belly futures
soared the 2-cents-a-pound daily limit in a rally inspired by
technical factors, analysts said.
The runup supported hog futures, which also settled higher, but
cattle futures finished slightly lower.
Live cattle settled .07 cent to .28 cent lower with October at
71.15 cents a pound; feeder cattle were .15 cent to .38 cent lower
with September at 82.90 cents a pound; hog futures were .10 cent to
.63 cent higher with October at 41.77 cents a pound; frozen pork
bellies were unchanged to 2 cents higher with February at 49.50
cents a pound.
AP890920-0274
AP-NR-09-20-89 1817EDT
u f AM-MissingMercedes 1stLd-Writethru f0183 09-20 0679
AM-Missing Mercedes, 1st Ld-Writethru, f0183,0695
Mercedes Benz Missing From EPA Auto Mileage List
Eds: SUBS 3 grafs for grafs 9-10 pvs, `Indeed, 11... to note new
total of guzzlers, include that Mercedes made 1989 list in time; PICKS
UP `11th graf pvs, `The Mercedes...
By H. JOSEF HEBERT
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
Call it the mystery of the missing Mercedes _
15 of them, in fact. The luxury cars, most of them gas guzzlers, all
failed to show in the Environmental Protection Agency's auto mileage
survey this week.
Was it an innocent lapse or by design?
Among the 981 cars, whose expected gasoline efficiency was
detailed in the EPA list and then widely distributed by the news
media, were cars ranging from the 58-mpg Geo Metro to the 6-mpg
Lamborghini Countach, not to mention a half dozen versions of the
Rolls-Royce.
But no Mercedes-Benz.
Don Larson, branch manager at the EPA's auto testing laboratory
in Ann Arbor, Mich., said that every year some cars _ perhaps 80 or
90 _ do not make the list because manufacturers do not provide the
testing data for certification early enough to make the deadline for
sending the list to the printer.
Nevertheless, he said, ``it would be unusual for a manufacturer
to have his entire product line not listed.''
Federal law requires automakers to submit the data and have it
approved before a car may be put on the market. But Larson said
there is no requirement that the test data be submitted by a
specific date or meet the deadline for the initial list, which gets
the widespread publicity.
Larson said in a telephone interview, ``I don't know what was in
the minds of Mercedes in making their decision. But they do have
relatively fuel inefficient vehicles.''
Indeed, 11 of the Mercedes cars showed overall mileage of 18
miles per gallon or less and are subject to a ``gas guzzler'' excise
tax, according to figures provided upon request to The Associated
Press by the EPA. Those 11 would bring the number of official
guzzlers to 43 in the 1990 model year compared with 40 on the
initial list for the previous year.
At least three of the 1990 Mercedes models had mileage so low
they likely would have been among the ``worst ten'' in mileage for
1990 had they been included in the EPA survey.
The original list of 1989 models did include 12 Mercedes cars,
seven of them official gas guzzlers.
The Mercedes mileage figures were submitted to the EPA's
certification office in Ann Arbor on Sept. 9, four days after the
agency deadline and two days after the information already had gone
to the printer, according to Eldert Bontekoe, an official at the
certification office.
A.B. Shuman, manager of public relations at Mercedes-Benz of
North America in Montvale, N.J., said in an interview that the
mileage performance of the cars was ``absolutely not a factor'' in
the data being submitted late.
``It was just getting it all done,'' said Shuman, who said that
the company had been unable to complete all of the testing in time.
EPA officials said they were unaware of any testing backlog at
Mercedes-Benz.
Shuman also noted that Mercedes does not put its 1990 models on
the market until Nov. 1 and therefore, absent any specific
government deadline, has more time to submit the test data than many
other automakers whose 1990 models hit the showroom in September and
October.
``We sometimes miss the filing deadline, I guess. It's not the
first time we haven't been included in the first publication of the
mileage list,'' said Shuman. He said at times a delay has ``worked
to our disadvantage'' when diesel models with relatively high
mileage weren't included.
The mileage data for the Mercedes cars _ along with figures for
any other cars submitted late _ will be included in an updated
mileage list in February.
But EPA spokeswoman Martha Casey acknowledged that the revised
list usually gets little public attention. The EPA normally doesn't
even distribute a press release, she said.
AP890920-0275
AP-NR-09-20-89 1827EDT
u f BC-Tyson-HollyFarms 1stLd-Writethru f0131 09-20 0252
BC-Tyson-Holly Farms, 1st Ld - Writethru, f0131,0257
Tyson Plans To Sell Three Holly Farms Divisions To Ease Debt Burden
Eds: New throughout to CORRECT that Holly Farms planning to sell
only two divisions, DELETE reference to $500 million being raised, CLARIFY
Dixie Portland portion. No pickup.
SPRINGDALE, Ark. (AP)
Tyson Foods Inc. is considering the sale
of two divisions of recently acquired Holly Farms Corp. to raise
about $300 million and help ease the debt load stemming from the
takeover, Tyson said Wednesday.
Tyson General Counsel Jim Blair said divisions being negotiated
for sale are Dixie Portland Flour Mills Inc. and National Byproducts
Inc., which handles rendering operations. He declined to name the
prospective buyers.
Tyson acquired Holly Farms of Memphis, Tenn., in July for $1.29
billion after a seven-month battle with ConAgra Inc.
Blair said Tyson is ``temporarily over-leveraged'' with more than
$1 billion in debt and needs to raise the $300 million through asset
sales.
Tyson expects to sell Dixie Portland Flour Mills and one of its
subsidiaries, White Lily, within a week, said Blair. He said the
sale of other pieces of the flour and bakery division, Globe
Products Co. Inc., Rustco Products Co. and Diana Fruit Preserving
Co. Inc., is likely but may be weeks away.
He also said the sale of National Byproducts was weeks away.
The nation's largest poultry producer also is considering selling
the distribution division of Harker's Inc., a subsidiary of Holly
Farms, but bids have not been requested, Blair said.
AP890920-0276
AP-NR-09-20-89 2048EDT
r f AM-PublicTV 09-20 0216
AM-Public TV,0240
Corporate Sponsors Donate $70 Million to PBS
WASHINGTON (AP)
Corporate backers donated a record $70 million
for national public television programs in fiscal 1989, with 20
corporations giving more than $1 million each, the Public
Broadcasting Service said Wednesday.
The $70 million in fiscal 1989, which ended June 30, was 6.9
percent higher than the previous year, PBS said. Seventeen
corporations and their foundations were in the $1 million club in
1988.
The companies and the programs they helped support were:
Aetna Life and Casualty Co., ``The American Experience.''
AT&T, ``The MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour.''
Bell Atlantic Corp., ``Science Journal.''
Chevrolet Motor Division, ``Hometime.''
Chevron USA, ``National Georgraphic Specials.''
Chrysler Corp., ``Learning in America.''
Chubb Group of Insurance Cos., ``American Playhouse'' and ``War
and Peace in the Nuclear Age.''
Control Data Corp., ``The Mind.''
Digital Equipment Corp., ``Evening at Pops'' and ``The Infinite
Voyage.''
Exxon Corp., ``Live From Lincoln Center.''
GTE Corp., ``Discover: The World of Science.''
Jos. E. Seagram & Sons, ``Sixteen Days of Glory.''
Johnson & Johnson Family of Cos., ``Nova'' and ``Innovation.''
Martin Marietta Corp., ``Great Performances.''
Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., ``Adam Smith's Money World.''
Mobil Corp., ``Masterpiece Theatre'' and ``Mystery.''
Nestle Co., ``The Power of Choice.''
NutraSweet Co., ``Bodywatch.''
Southwestern Bell Corp., ``Smithsonian World.''
Weyerhaeuser Co., ``This Old House.''
AP890920-0277
AP-NR-09-20-89 1905EDT
u f AM-ClaridgeSale 09-20 0470
AM-Claridge Sale,0489
Claridge Sale Deal Canceled
By JOYCE A. VENEZIA
Associated Press Writer
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP)
An investor group said Wednesday it
has canceled plans to buy the Claridge Casino Hotel, leaving the
financially strapped business again looking for a buyer.
Alfred J. Luciani, president of A.L.M. Moonstone Inc., said his
investor partnership could not reach agreement with Claridge
officials ``over money and time.''
The deal originally contemplated an Aug. 15 closing, but Claridge
officials said continued negotiations made it unclear whether the
deal could close this year.
A statement issued Wednesday announced that the Claridge board of
directors voted Monday to stop negotiations with A.L.M. Moonstone.
Instead, the Claridge Corp. will concentrate on renewing its gaming
license, which expires Oct. 31.
``The way the deal was structured, it would have left us with
severe tax consequences if itclosed in 1990,'' said Shannon Bybee,
chairman of the Claridge board of directors.
``It wasn't a problem when we were talking about an Aug. 15
closing, but the Claridge decided it was just too risky to continue
negotiating,'' he said. ``Too many things could happen to prevent it
from closing this year.''
Luciani, who is a former vice president of the former Golden
Nugget Casino, and 11 other partners signed an agreement April 15 to
buy the struggling Claridge, a 501-room gaming hall one block from
the Atlantic City Boardwalk. The purchase price was undisclosed.
At the time, Luciani announced plans to rename the Claridge,
restructure the gaming floor and offer better odds to gamblers.
The Claridge lost about $20 million in 1988 on revenue of $174.6
million. In June, Claridge Corp. took control of the casino hotel
from the Del Webb Corp. of Phoenix after completing a financial
restructuring plan.
Luciani said the deal fell through because ``there were questions
about whether the deal was worth it under their terms and time
constraints.''
Failing to meet the Claridge directors' deadline, he said, would
have led to economic consequences that ``would have created a
substantial increase in price.''
The Claridge's casino license expires Oct. 31, and company
attorneys need to spend time concentrating on the relicensing
hearings next month, Bybee said.
``At this point, we feel comfortable that we can convince the
Casino Control Commission that we will be financially viable for the
next two years,'' he said.
But Bybee said the Claridge still needed to find a buyer that
would provide the capital infusion needed for refurbishing the
hotel-casino.
``We would have to do things piecemeal, and we believe it's
important to the Claridge's long-term viability to get it done. So
the simplest way to do it is to sell,'' Bybee said.
Bybee, who said the Claridge would consider a sale again next
year, had received numerous contacts by interested parties after the
Aug. closing date passed.
AP890920-0278
AP-NR-09-20-89 1916EDT
u f AM-MoneyLaundering 09-20 0624
AM-Money Laundering,0646
Government Breaks Up Alleged 13-State Money Laundering Scheme
By SHERI T. PRASSO
Associated Press Writer
CHICAGO (AP)
The government said Wednesday it broke up a
13-state, $2 million money laundering scheme, indicting a dozen
people and seizing 67 currency exchanges in what prosecutors called
the largest bust of its kind.
A nine-month sting operation by undercover Internal Revenue
Service agents found a string of currency exchanges willing to
launder money they were told came from the sale of a ton of cocaine,
U.S. Attorney Anton Valukas said.
The exchanges were concentrated in Chicago, Texas, Georgia and
Massachusetts, he said.
Valukas said cash was delivered to the exchanges, which would
break down $20,000 amounts into four separate $5,000 money orders.
Federal law requires currency transaction reports to the IRS on
amounts over $10,000 and prohibits restructuring transactions to
evade requirements.
``The apparent willingness of some financial institutions to put
their facilities at the disposal of people whom they believe have
ties to the criminal and narcotics community presents an enormous
problem for American society,'' Valukas said.
``This is the single largest indictment of its kind involving
currency exchanges,'' he added.
The 61-count racketeering indictment alleges that Leonard Keller
of Skokie, who has a half or partial interest in all 67 exchanges,
arranged to have the dealers facilitate currency transactions of
more than $10,000.
During the undercover operation from June 1988 to March 31,
Keller's exchanges illegally processed $2 million in government
money _ ranging from $14,000 to $200,000 at a time, the indictment
says.
The exchanges, under the name of ``Check Cashers'' in most of the
states, were placed under the control of the U.S. Marshals Service.
They will continue operating under the agency's supervision, Valukas
said.
The exchanges could be forfeited under the federal Racketeer
Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act if the defendants are
convicted. A judge froze the 13 defendants' interests in the
currency exchanges Wednesday.
Harvey Silets, Keller's attorney, denied the charges and called
the seizure of control of the exchanges ``an outrageous exercise in
government authority.''
Drug traffickers often convert large amounts of cash into small
money orders and avoiding attention they would otherwise draw from
investigators if they were to use large amounts to make purchases,
Valukas said.
Keller is charged with two counts of racketeering, 30 counts of
structuring currency, 22 counts of evading reporting, six counts of
using interstate facilities for racketeering and one count of making
false statements to prosecutors.
He faces 365 years in prison if convicted on all counts, fines of
$28 million and forfeiture of his business interests in the
exchanges.
David Weisbaum, a manager of a Chicago exchange, is charged with
two counts of racketeering, three counts of structuring currency and
two counts of evading reporting.
Charged with racketeering and use of interstate facilities for
the practice are exchange managers Carl Franco, Atlanta; Mark
Brotman, Decatur, Ga.; Philip Singer, San Antonio; Edward Franco,
Boston; Steven Waitzman, New Orleans; Timothy Urwin, Cincinnati; and
Robert Peterson, Jacksonville, Fla.
Charged only with racketeering are Minerva Franco, a cashier in
El Paso, Texas; Mark Sonshine, a manager in Indianapolis; and Herman
Diehl, a manager in Portsmouth, Va.
The defendants face possible maximum penalties of five years and
$500,000 on each violation of reporting requirements, 10 years and
$250,000 for use of interstate facilities, and 20 years and $250,000
for racketeering.
Nine Chicago exchanges operated under various names, including
North Central, Chicago Crawford and Currency Exchange, the
indictment charges. In Texas, they carried the ``Cash-It-Here'' name.
Other exchanges named in the indictment operated under the
``Check Cashers'' name in Jacksonville, Fla.; Indianapolis; New
Orleans; Detroit; Charlotte, N.C.; Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio;
Nashville, Tenn.; Boston; Portsmouth, Newport News, Norfolk and
Richmond, Va.; and Milwaukee.
AP890920-0279
AP-NR-09-20-89 2120EDT
r f BC-MissingMercedes-List 1stAdd 09-20 0109
BC-Missing Mercedes-List, 1st Add,0042
WASHN: not listed.
Model@ ^Cy Hw Cm Cid-Cy Tr
TWO-SEATERS
Mercedes 300SL-G 16 22 18 181-6 A5
Mercedes 300SL-G 15 21 17 181-6 M5
Mercedes 500SL-G 14 18 15 304-8 A4
SUBCOMPACTS
Mercedes 300CE-G 17 21 18 181-6 A4
COMPACTS
Mercedes 300E 17 22 19 181-6 A4
Mercedes 300E-G 4wd 17 21 18 181-6 A4
Mercedes 300SE-G 16 19 17 181-6 A4
MID-SIZE CARS
Mercedes 560SEC-G 14 17 15 338-8 A4
Mercedes 300SEL-G 16 19 17 181-6 A4
Mercedes 420SEL-G 15 18 16 256-8 A4
Mercedes 560SEL-G 13 17 15 338-8 A4
MID-SIZE WAGONS
Mercedes 300TE Wag-G 17 20 18 181-6 A4
AP890920-0280
AP-NR-09-20-89 2149EDT
r f BC-Celtics-WFXT 09-20 0243
BC-Celtics-WFXT,0254
NBA Club to Purchase Fox Station
BOSTON (AP)
The Boston Celtics Ltd. Partnership and Fox
Television Stations Inc. announced an agreement in principal
Wednesday to sell the network's Boston station, WFXT-TV, to the
National Basketball Association club.
In a statement, Fox President Robert Kreek and Celtics Chairman
Don Gaston announced the agreement but did not provide details.
``Now the deal is that the two parties have not yet announced a
final agreement. They're working on one and it is assumed it will
take several weeks to complete,'' said Joe Robinowitz, general
manager of WFXT.
The Federal Communications Commission would have to approve any
sale.
Robinowitz said the team began seriously negotiating to purchase
the UHF station about two months ago.
In April, the Federal Communications Commission granted a request
by media magnate Rupert Murdoch, who controls Fox, to transfer
ownership of WFXT to a trust to comply with FCC rules that bar
ownership of a broadcast station and newspaper in the same city.
Murdoch's holdings including the Boston Herald.
David Zuccaro, a Celtics spokesman, said he had not been informed
of the deal prior to the announcement and could not elaborate.
Fox has more than 120 affiliates across the United States. It
owns seven of those television stations, Robinowitz said.
The Boston Celtics basketball games are broadcast on cable TV's
Sportschannel and WLVI-TV in Boston. The team's contract with WLVI
reportedly ends at the end of the 1989-1990 season.
AP890920-0281
AP-NR-09-20-89 2122EDT
u f AM-MacintoshPortable 09-20 0559
AM-Macintosh Portable,0577
Apple Unveils Portable Macintosh Computer
By E. SCOTT RECKARD
AP Business Writer
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. (AP)
Apple executives defended their new
portable Macintosh computer Wednesday as a friendly PC whose
spectrum of features makes up for its heavy construction, bulky
build and intimidating price.
At a lavish, laser light-laced unveiling of the Portable
Macintosh, John Sculley, Apple Computer Inc.'s chairman and chief
executive officer, said he was confident people will want the
portable computer, despite the fact it is too heavy for many laps
and more expensive than some new cars.
``We have had people say, `I wish it were lighter, I wish it were
cheaper. How can I buy one?''' Sculley said. ``We went for a
Macintosh product without compromise.''
The Macintosh Portable gives users all the power and features
they would find in a full-size Macintosh, including snazzy graphics,
with the added bonus of portability and battery operation for up to
12 hours, the company said.
Cupertino-based Apple hopes to sell the Macintosh Portable to
people who already own or use the full-sized Macintosh and want an
easy-to-use, compatible portable. The company also is looking to
sell it to colleges and universities, traveling business people and
operators of small companies.
Allan Loren, president of Apple USA, said that as of Wednesday,
20,000 Macintosh Portables had been ordered for $100 million in
revenue.
But computer industry analysts have greeted the new offering with
a lukewarm response, citing the computer's weight and high price.
The portable lists at $5,799, or $6,499 with an optional
40-megabyte hard disk to store data. It costs an extra $449 for a
modem for communication over phone lines.
The computer weighs 13.7 pounds, or 15.7 pounds with the optional
hard disk _ too heavy to reasonably be called a lap top. That makes
it heavier by more than a pound than portables manufactured by
International Business Machines Corp. and Compaq Computer Corp.
Jean-Louis Gassee, president of Apple, acknowledged that the
computer's weight may worry some would-be buyers, but stressed that
its computer's features make up for any disadvantages.
``All I know is, when people touch it, when they put their hands
on it, they want it, even if its heavier,'' he said.
The Macintosh Portable's screen, though one-tone rather than
color, is unusually sharp, thanks to a separate transistor for each
screen dot, or picture element.
The screen has more than 250,000 picture elements in a 640 by 400
array, making the screen 50 percent larger than the screen on a
Macintosh SE.
Sculley declined to say whether a Japanese company supplied the
screen, but said, ``We are confident we have a good supply.''
To conserve the portable's battery power, Apple used a low-power
kind of memory chip and a version of the Motorola 68000 processor
chip that requires 80 percent less power. The rechargeable lead acid
batteries last six to 12 hours, Apple said.
Apple also announced the Macintosh IIci, an advanced version of
the Macintosh IIcx, which it billed as ``the most powerful Macintosh
that Apple has ever developed.''
The Macintosh IIci ranges in price from $6,269 to $9,152, putting
it in the price range of some computer work stations, machines
designed for scientists and engineers. The Macintosh IIci delivers
55 percent higher performance than the Macintosh IIcx or IIx and has
built-in video capabilities, Apple said.
AP890920-0282
AP-NR-09-20-89 2203EDT
r f BC-Mexico-Telephones 09-20 0436
BC-Mexico-Telephones,0458
Government Increasing Private, Foreign Participation
By JOHN WRIGHT
Associated Press Writer
MEXICO CITY (AP)
Private investors will begin to provide
services such as cellular phones and data transmission in
competition with the government telephone monopoly, the Salinas
administration said Wednesday.
Communications and Transportation Secretary Andres Caso said the
change would be part of the transfer of majority control of
Telefonos de Mexico to the private sector, announced Monday by
President Carlos Salinas de Gortari.
The plan to decrease state ownership in the company, known as
Telmex, from 56 percent to 25 percent comes under a program of
government withdrawal from non-strategic and unprofitable firms.
Caso said the government will focus on what he said was its basic
responsibility, meeting the country's social needs.
Plans call for $10 billion in investment in Telmex over the next
five years, Caso said. Of that, he said, private investment will
provide $3 billion and the rest will come from reinvestment of
profits by current owners.
``Gradually we will pull out'' of ownership, Caso said.
Foreign participation is now limited to the 25 percent of Telmex
traded on the New York Stock Exchange, he said.
He would not identify private companies involved in negotiations,
but he said some foreign companies are interested.
Any new investment must have majority Mexican participation, he
said. He added that no foreign individual or company may own more
than 10 percent of Telmex.
Telmex would retain control of basic telephone service, but new
competition in the other areas would be healthy, Caso added.
Such concessions would be renewable every five years and require
companies to prove their service records, he said.
The main goal is to improve service. Describing phone service in
Mexico as ``bad,'' he added that the company is way behind in
meeting needs for new installations.
Despite the poor service, ``the company is financially healthy,''
he said. He said there is a limit to public expenditures and private
capital can fill the gap.
``Without new investment, it would take 15 years to meet urgent
needs,'' he said.
Part of the restructuring will involve establishing new quality
standards for phone service.
Caso quieted fears that workers might lose their jobs and said
that foreign participation would not affect Mexico's sovereignty.
Phone company employees also will be allowed to purchase a
still-to-be-determined percentage of the company.
He said the government will will announce the complete
privatization plan next month.
Salinas on Monday told telephone workers that the government will
maintain regulatory control of the company as its ownership
decreases to 25 percent.
Telmex has been in government hands for 16 years.
AP890920-0283
AP-NR-09-20-89 2209EDT
r f BC-Rhone-Poulenc-GAF 09-20 0179
BC-Rhone-Poulenc-GAF,0189
Rhone-Poulenc to Buy GAF's Surfactant Business
PRINCETON, N.J. (AP)
France's largest chemical company,
Rhone-Poulenc SA, has reached an agreement to buy GAF Corp.'s
surfactant chemical business for $480 million, Rhone-Poulenc said
Wednesday.
The purchase is aimed at expanding Rhone-Poulenc's position in
so-called performance and fine chemicals worldwide, especially in
the United States, the company said.
Performance chemicals are additives that improve production
processes or improve the finished product. Surfactant chemicals are
surface acting agents such as detergents.
The company also signed an agreement to purchase the specialty
chemicals operations of RTZ Corp., a British mining and industrial
group, for about $800 million.
Wayne-based GAF produces specialty chemicals and building
products. The company's surfactant business employs about 270
people. Sales projected for 1989 are about $190 million.
Rhone-Poulenc SA operates in 140 countries and had sales of about
$11 billion in 1988.
Rhone-Poulenc Inc., its American subsidiary, is based in
Princeton. The company has more than 6,000 employees in 41 U.S.
locations.
The two agreements are expected to be finalized by the end of the
year.
AP890920-0284
AP-NR-09-20-89 2327EDT
r f BC-Comerica-Plaza 09-20 0229
BC-Comerica-Plaza,0237
Michigan and California Banks Agree to 1991 Merger
DETROIT (AP)
Comerica Inc. will acquire Plaza Commerce Bancorp
of San Jose, Calif., for $117 million on Jan. 1, 1991, the date
California opens its boundaries to full interstate banking, Comerica
said Wednesday.
The companies have signed a letter of intent to carry out the
$16.50-a-share transaction subject to approval of regulatory
agencies and Plaza Commerce stockholders, Comerica announced.
Comerica is a Detroit-based multibank holding company with $11.5
billion in assets. It has nine banks in Michigan and also operates
banks in Texas and Ohio, lending offices in California, Colorado,
Indiana and New Mexico, and a trust operation in Florida.
Plaza Commerce has offices in San Jose, Sunnyvale and Fremont,
all in the San Francisco Bay area. It has assets of $450 million.
``Plaza Commerce will be our California flagship holding company
from which we will expand our California operations, much in the way
we have begun to do in Texas through our Dallas affiliate,''
Comerica President and Chief Executive Officer Eugene A. Miller said
in a statement.
Plaza Commerce President and Chief Executive Officer Jack W.
Conner said his institution also would get a boost. ``The kind of
growth and profitability that we anticipate through an affiliation
with Comerica represents a level ... we could not soon achieve if we
were to remain independent,'' he said.
AP890920-0285
AP-NR-09-20-89 2341EDT
u f AM-CoalStrike 2ndLd-Writethru f0303 09-20 0759
AM-Coal Strike, 2nd Ld - Writethru, f0303,0778
Striking Miners Leave Plant; Promise More Disruptions
Eds: LEADS with 9 grafs to UPDATE with occupation over; picks up
8th graf, `The union...'. Also moving on general news wires.
By DAVID REED
Associated Press Writer
CARBO, Va. (AP)
Striking coal miners ended their four-day
occupation of a coal processing plant Wednesday, hours after
ignoring a judge's ultimatum to leave the plant or be removed by
force.
Union officials promised to use similar tactics in the coming
weeks against the Pittston Coal Group Inc., the target of the United
Mine Workers strike that began April 5.
UMW Vice President Cecil Roberts, carrying an American flag, led
the miners out of the Pittston plant at 9:20 p.m., and declared the
occupation a success.
``We're going to hurt this company economically,'' he said.
``We're going to cut off their production until they wake up and
we're going to do it peacefully.''
Roberts, who did not participate in the occupation, said the next
move to cut off coal production could come next week but he wouldn't
elaborate. Asked why the union decided to bring the miners out,
Roberts said, ``We're going to use them again.''
Protected by 3,000 miners and union supporters who rallied
outside the plant, the 98 miners inside ignored a 7 p.m. deadline
set by U.S. District Judge Glen Williams.
Williams said the miners would face no federal penalties if they
left before 7 p.m. Otherwise, they should be prepared to be carried
out by force.
Some state troopers drove off at dusk and law enforcement
authorities let the deadline pass without trying to get inside the
plant. Two hundred-fifty miners in camouflage clothes blocked the
road to the plant.
The union leadership and the striking miners inside the plant
pledged earlier in the day to maintain the occupation as long as
they could.
``They're going to have to haul us out of here,'' said Eddie
Burke, one of the occupiers and the UMW's southeast regional
coordinator. ``If they've got enough jail cells and enough buses,
I'm sure they'll get us eventually. We're not going to resist.''
The judge said strikers who remained in the plant would lose
their $200 a week in UMW strike benefits and face contempt charges,
and the union would be fined $600,000 for each day of the occupation.
``Hopefully, the union will peacefully vacate without having to
do so by force,'' Williams said during a hearing in Abingdon. ``I
not only hope but pray that they have the sense to come out.''
Williams said he was concerned that an assault on the building
would be dangerous even though the demonstrators were unarmed. ``I
can visualize a lot of things that would be unpleasant,'' he said.
The men were ocupying a plant control room reachable only by way
of a narrow staircase.
Meanwhile, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., chairman of the
Senate Labor Committee, announced Wednesday evening that the
committee was launching an investigation of the labor dispute
between Pittston and the UMW.
Kennedy said the panel would hold a public hearing on the matter
once the investigation was completed. He did not give a timetable
for the review.
Pittston's 1,695 UMW employees from Virginia, West Virginia and
Kentucky went on strike in a contract dispute. Union members at
other coal companies staged wildcat strikes in June and July.
The miners and one religious leader had stormed the plant Sunday,
equipped with gas masks, sleeping bags and food and water for 10
days, when only a dozen security officers were on the grounds.
They barricaded themselves inside the control room and shut down
production at the plant, where coal is cleaned, sorted and shipped.
Replacement workers had been operating the plant since the strike
began April 5, although production has been about half of normal.
Union leaders said they wanted to halt production, force Pittston
Co. Chairman Paul Douglas to join contract negotiations and make a
dramatic public statement about what they consider unfair treatment
by the company, which they contend is trying to break the union.
Massive fines have taken away all other avenues of peaceful
protest, such as sit-down demonstrations and mass picketing, they
said.
Pittston President Michael Odom called the demonstrators
terrorists and said their actions amounted to extortion. ``We cannot
and will not negotiate with terrorists,'' he said.
UMW spokesman Joe Corcoran said Odom was closing the door to a
peaceful solution. He said the demonstrators have done no damage to
plant property and were armed only with playing cards and checkers.