_id
stringlengths 9
20
| title
stringlengths 0
3.57k
| text
stringlengths 35
6.13k
|
|---|---|---|
LA122789-0038_0 | DIGEST / LOCAL NEWS IN BRIEF: CRASH VICTIM IDENTIFIED AS LANCASTER MAN | December 27, 1989, Wednesday, Valley Edition Aman who was killed on Christmas in an auto accident near Palmdale was identified Tuesday as Carlos Jara, 26, of Lancaster, the California Highway Patrol reported. Jara was killed Monday at 8:40 a.m. on California 138, about 25 miles southeast of Palmdale, the CHP said. The driver of the car, Clay Stoller, 24, of Lancaster, was in serious condition at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena. The CHP said the accident occurred when Stoller apparently tried to pass a slower car while going west on the highway. He pulled into the oncoming lane and saw a car driven by Peter Carlomagno coming in the opposite direction. Both autos swerved to the shoulder of the road, where they collided, the CHP said. Carlomagno, 27, of Escondido, was in serious condition Tuesday at Huntington Memorial, and his mother, Beryl Ford, 62, of Palmdale was in stable condition at Antelope Valley Hospital Medical Center in Palmdale, the CHP said. Authorities said the CHP will seek vehicular manslaughter and drunk-driving charges against Stoller. |
LA122789-0039_0 | BRIDGES FOR IMMIGRANT CHILDREN | December 27, 1989, Wednesday, Home Edition All the passionate discussions about school overcrowding this year have pointed out the challenges inherent in educating California's burgeoning immigrant population. But in spite of the potential for chaos, there are a selected number of schools and organizations that are finding ways to make the public education system work for immigrant children. And now, with the publication of "Bridges," by the nonprofit organization California Tomorrow, there is a catalogue that lists the most promising of the state's multicultural education programs. "Bridges" includes several Los Angeles and Alhambra school programs that offer support for children making the transition to American life when they first arrive in this country, a model intergroup relations program offered at Irvine High School to students, faculty, parents and community members, and immigrant parent involvement programs throughout California. They are all programs that have proven successful. "Bridges" is a vehicle to spread the word to others who might want to emulate what works. Not reinventing the wheel is a smart way to establish a solid educational foundation for the children of California's future. |
LA122789-0042_0 | SURVEY SHOWS TOO MUCH TV MAY HAVE LOWERED CHILDREN'S SELF-ESTEEM | December 27, 1989, Wednesday, San Diego County Edition Children today watch more television than their parents did, according to a survey released Tuesday, a fact that may be closely linked to lower self-esteem among modern youngsters, experts involved in the study said. The survey reinforces the belief held by some child development experts that television has assumed a dangerously important role in family life and that it may indirectly contribute to a host of domestic ills ranging from low self-esteem and passivity to child and drug abuse. The poll also indicates that most parents spend more time with their children than their parents did, but found that parents still need help in communicating effectively with their kids. Parents also say they are less strict with their children. Possibly as a result, their children do not pitch in with household chores as much as they did, the poll found. Still, 80% of parents see themselves as generally more "effective" in bringing up their children than were their own parents, according to the survey. Nearly four out of five said they are more helpful with their children's homework than their parents were. The survey, which polled 600 parents in Los Angeles, Detroit and Baton Rouge, La., was commissioned by the Independent Order of Foresters, a not-for-profit fraternal benefit society whose marketing arm is based in Solana Beach. The survey's release was timed to help publicize a series of free "effective parenting " seminars that the organization will sponsor this spring in conjunction with elementary schools and PTAs in Detroit, Baton Rouge and Los Angeles, spokeswoman Dorie Arneel said Tuesday. With 30,000 members in San Diego County and 800,000 members nationwide, the organization has an "ongoing commitment to effective parenting and child abuse prevention," according to a statement announcing the results of the survey. The seminars will be conducted by Robert and Dorothy De Bolt of El Cajon, a husband and wife team who speak frequently on parenting topics. The De Bolts were the subject of an Emmy Award-winning television documentary on their upbringing of 20 children, 14 of them adopted and with multiple handicaps. All 20 children now lead "independent and productive lives," and Dorothy De Bolt said the absence of television from the De Bolt household was partly responsible for that. "The tendency is for parents to feel that, if they are watching TV with their kids, they are spending some |
LA122789-0042_1 | SURVEY SHOWS TOO MUCH TV MAY HAVE LOWERED CHILDREN'S SELF-ESTEEM | and Baton Rouge, La., was commissioned by the Independent Order of Foresters, a not-for-profit fraternal benefit society whose marketing arm is based in Solana Beach. The survey's release was timed to help publicize a series of free "effective parenting " seminars that the organization will sponsor this spring in conjunction with elementary schools and PTAs in Detroit, Baton Rouge and Los Angeles, spokeswoman Dorie Arneel said Tuesday. With 30,000 members in San Diego County and 800,000 members nationwide, the organization has an "ongoing commitment to effective parenting and child abuse prevention," according to a statement announcing the results of the survey. The seminars will be conducted by Robert and Dorothy De Bolt of El Cajon, a husband and wife team who speak frequently on parenting topics. The De Bolts were the subject of an Emmy Award-winning television documentary on their upbringing of 20 children, 14 of them adopted and with multiple handicaps. All 20 children now lead "independent and productive lives," and Dorothy De Bolt said the absence of television from the De Bolt household was partly responsible for that. "The tendency is for parents to feel that, if they are watching TV with their kids, they are spending some good time together," De Bolt said Tuesday. "These parents see TV as something they are sharing, but in fact they are passive objects sitting there with this boob tube entertaining them. "Children and parents (watching television together) aren't sharing any conversation, any values, any concerns or talking about goals and how they could help one another achieve those goals, which is the essence of what the family is all about," she said. Instead, the children absorb the values of situation comedies, De Bolt said, "which is a total disservice to any family communication because each sitcom has its exaggerated portrayal." The De Bolts' approach to parenting is to promote self-esteem by assigning the children responsibilities so they see themselves as assets to the household rather than liabilities. Communication among family members is another goal, she said. Yolanda Thomas, spokeswoman for the county's Department of Social Services, which operates the Child Abuse Hotline and other child protection services, said she agrees with the De Bolts' view that too much television is at the root of many families' problems. "TV is replacing parents" as the communicator of values to children, Thomas said, and the result is reduced family interaction. "Any time the |
LA122789-0061_2 | OUTDOORS; HE CAPTURES BEAUTY IN BID TO SAVE IT; NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY: RANCHO PALOS VERDES RESIDENT TRAVELS THE WORLD SEEKING MARINE MAMMALS, WHICH ALSO BENEFIT FROM HIS SUCCESS. | must have wondered what happened," Talbot said. Such an experience might deter some people from closely involving themselves with the creatures of the sea, but Talbot is driven by a genuine concern for marine mammals. The 1985 encounter with the gray whale is merely one he has had with many species, in many oceans. There was the time last March when he was shooting pictures of humpback whales off Hawaii, looking with a distorted view through a 14-millimeter lens and camera housing. "They came toward us and seemed a lot farther away," Talbot said. "I'm looking and I'm focusing and then I feel this thump in my side, and I thought it was the guy I was with. I get kind of frustrated so I try to shake him away. "But I look down and here's this giant pectoral fin of this humpback whale that I'm on top of, and didn't realize. I looked up and there's this huge eye staring at me, and I thought, whoops! And she just kind of suspended me there on her flipper, almost to hold me at flipper's length . . . and I just hung there for about 15 to 20 seconds." Talbot, 31, has traveled the world in pursuit of marine mammals, which he said "have this look in their eyes -- a lot of presence" -- that makes them more interesting than other animals. But while his pictures typically show the creatures alive and vibrant in their natural habitat, almost all belong to a species in some sort of trouble, generally caused by man. Last year, Talbot photographed pilot whales off Denmark's Faroe Islands. The whales are the subject of an annual hunt during which they are driven into shallow bays and massacred. "They're slit with knives, kids stick their hands in the blow holes. It's a big game for the locals," Talbot said. "They're even trying to set up their beaches so it's easier to do it." Before that it was the harp seals of Canada's Madeleine Islands, clubbed to death for their meat and snowy-white fur. Next on Talbot's agenda is a trip to New Zealand to assist environmental groups working to stop the killing of dolphins by tuna fishermen and their nets. "They're in real trouble over there," he said. What can one man and his camera do for a species in trouble? What does showing a dolphin |
LA122789-0065_0 | FAMILY CANCELS MARTIN AUTOPSY; FUNERAL FRIDAY; CRASH: CANCELLATION MAY HINDER OFFICIALS IN DETERMINING WHETHER ADDITIONAL CHARGES SHOULD BE FILED AGAINST DRIVER OF PICKUP TRUCK. | December 27, 1989, Wednesday, Home Edition An autopsy on former New York Yankee manager Billy Martin was canceled Tuesday at his family's request, and a prosecutor said the decision could make it harder to press charges against the driver of the truck in which Martin died. The Broome County sheriff's department reported slow progress in investigating the Christmas night accident that killed Martin, 61, and injured the driver, Martin's long-time friend, William Reedy of Detroit. Sheriff Anthony Ruffo said it would be another day or two before the alcohol level in Reedy's blood was confirmed through laboratory tests. Reedy was charged Christmas night with a misdemeanor driving-while-intoxicated charge and faces a fine of up to $1,000 and a year in jail. "In the observation of the deputy, the driver had been drinking to the point where he was intoxicated," Ruffo said. "We have to get the results of the blood test." Ruffo added that Reedy voluntarily took the blood-alcohol test. Broome County District Attorney Gerald Mollen said he hoped to persuade Coroner Patrick Ruddy to conduct an autopsy despite the family's wishes in order to pinpoint the exact cause of Martin's death. "I'm hoping that's not the final decision, to tell you the truth," Mollen said. "It's unusual that a coroner would not have an autopsy conducted when cause of death may be a legal question." But Ruddy said an autopsy on Martin's body would reveal little that an external examination did not. "He died, basically, of a fractured neck," Ruddy said. "The chest X-ray was reasonably intact, belly was normal, blood count was normal. It's all in the neck area." Mollen said it would be "days, at least" before he decides whether or not to charge Reedy with anything more serious than driving while intoxicated. He said a grand jury would convene next week and one would be in session continuously and could take up the case as soon as the investigation was complete. Further charges could still be brought against Reedy even if an autopsy was not conducted, Mollen said. But the absence of an autopsy report could make it difficult for prosecutors to prove in court the exact cause of death should additional charges be filed against Reedy. A viewing for Martin will be Thursday at the Frank Campbell Funeral Home in New York. Services will be Friday at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Authorities say the pickup skidded |
LA122789-0070_2 | ROMANIAN ALLY OF GORBACHEV TO HEAD NEW REGIME; EAST BLOC: ION ILIESCU WILL BE 'PROVISIONAL PRESIDENT.' STATE TV SHOWS THE EXECUTED BODIES OF CEAUSESCU AND HIS WIFE. | proved to be a critical factor in Ceausescu's downfall last Friday. Picked as minister of defense was Col. Gen. Nicolai Militaru, retired commander of the Bucharest garrison, one of the first military men to appear on the liberated television station in support of the uprising. The announcement marked the first important shakedown of the new National Salvation Front government, which up to now had functioned as an unwieldy committee of 39 widely diverse people, ranging from religious charismatics to movie actors and Communist Party members. Given the absence of organized political parties in the country, reaction to the new government was hard to gauge. Several hours after the names were announced on state television, several hundred angry demonstrators gathered on the central Plaza of the Republic, outside the former headquarters of the Romanian Communist Party, shouting, "Lies! Lies!" and "We want democracy without communism!" A group of dissidents, some of whom had been jailed under the Communists, denounced the new government for its heavy reliance on top Ceausescu-era officials. Washington moved quickly to recognize the new Romanian leadership. U.S. Ambassador Alan Green presented the Romanian Foreign Ministry with an official statement welcoming the new government as the "manifestation of the political will of the Romanian people." Aid Pouring In Sources said Iliescu has tentatively set a meeting with the American envoy today, in part to discuss distribution of massive amounts of medical and food aid that have poured into the country since the uprising began Dec. 16 in Timisoara, a western Romanian city of 300,000 people. Although American officials appeared pleased with the new leadership, the main long-term beneficiary may be the Soviet Union. Since the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, Romania has been a thorn in the side of Soviet foreign policy. In 1968, Ceausescu was the only Warsaw Pact leader who refused to participate in the military operation in Czechoslovakia. Under Ceausescu, Romania opposed the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and refused to support the Soviet-backed regime in Cambodia. It was the only Soviet Bloc country to participate in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Because of Ceausescu's maverick anti-Soviet stance on foreign affairs, the United States for years ignored widespread internal human rights abuses under the totalitarian police state. Until 1987, the United States granted Romania "most favored nation" trading status that gave the Ceausescu regime a range of tariffs and interest-payment concessions. As |
LA122789-0070_4 | ROMANIAN ALLY OF GORBACHEV TO HEAD NEW REGIME; EAST BLOC: ION ILIESCU WILL BE 'PROVISIONAL PRESIDENT.' STATE TV SHOWS THE EXECUTED BODIES OF CEAUSESCU AND HIS WIFE. | the Cold War melted under Gorbachev, however, Romania lost its usefulness as a thorn in the Soviet side. Citing gross human rights violations, the United States withdrew the special trade status in 1987. Conversely, the Soviet Union was willing to ignore Romania's rebellion on foreign policy. As long as the Ceausescu regime remained harsh and cruel, the Soviets did not have to face the scary prospect of Romanian nationalism jumping across their borders into Soviet Moldavia, where the majority of the population speaks Romanian and shares ethnic traditions with their neighbors. Although Ceausescu occasionally attempted to appeal to Romanian nationalism across the Pru River in Soviet Moldavia, it never was attractive to Moldavians, who viewed the Bucharest regime as more onerous than their own. With Romania finally on the road to reform, Moscow needs a friend in Bucharest, and many here believe they have found one in Iliescu, the interim Romanian president. Intelligent, fluent in Russian and English, Iliescu's major flaw appears to be his longtime affiliation with the Communist Party here, although he is generally considered a dissident within the party. According to diplomats here, Iliescu befriended Gorbachev when they were university students in Moscow and attended international Communist youth meetings together. Rose in Ranks After graduating from the Polytechnical Institute in Moscow, Iliescu was a powerful leader in the Romanian Communist Party until he criticized Ceausescu at a party conference in 1972. After that, he was removed from the party's Central Committee and given a series of minor jobs in the government, most recently as director of the central publication house. In 1987, he again demonstrated a break with Ceausescu when he published a full-page article in a literary weekly, Romania Literara, calling for greater freedom of information and the liberalization of social and political relations. "Iliescu has always been waiting in the wings," one Western diplomat here said. "He is widely known as Gorbachev's man in Romania. They attended meetings together in Moscow in the 1950s." Rebuilding leadership in a political void after the 14-year dictatorship of Ceausescu is proving to be very difficult here. "In Romania, you start from scratch," one diplomat said. "In East Germany and Czechoslovakia, you at least had some kind of government that was able to serve during the transition. Ceausescu was alone. Once he was gone, there was nothing left." By Tuesday, it was clear that the committee of 39 people |
LA122789-0089_0 | ORANGE COUNTY FOCUS: WESTMINSTER; ENCEPHALITIS VICTIM IS RELEARNING IT ALL | December 27, 1989, Wednesday, Orange County Edition There was a time when Debra Kezer would stay up all night reading romance novels, unable to tear herself away until the last page. These days, the Westminster resident must limit her reading to books by Dr. Seuss and other children's authors. At 30, she is learning to read all over again. In 1984, Kezer was bitten by a mosquito and contracted encephalitis, which left her in a coma for 10 days. The illness caused her brain to swell, and she suffered stroke-like damage that left her unable to care for herself. Kezer was one of four Orange County residents to be infected by the mosquito-carried virus. Its effects can be similar to an attack of the flu, and some cases go unreported because of the flu-like symptoms. In more serious cases, there is a possibility of permanent brain damage or death. "I got sick, but I thought it was a cold or the flu," Kezer said. "Next thing I knew, it was a month later and I was in the hospital. I didn't recognize my husband or my son. I was like a baby. They had to teach me how to eat, walk and go to the bathroom." After months of therapy, Kezer regained her physical abilities but was still unable to speak or read. For an avid reader and self-described nonstop talker, it was quite a blow. During the first year of her recovery, Kezer also suffered through a divorce from her husband, Donald, but the two remain friends, and she kept custody of their son, Donny. Through it all, Kezer said, she was determined to return to normal, something that didn't surprise her mother, Beverly Gulley. "She has such a fighting spirit and always has. That's what has gotten her through all of this," Gulley said. Through speech therapy at Cal State Long Beach, Kezer has learned to talk almost as well as she did before her illness. "Thank God, I can still talk a lot. If I didn't have such a strong desire to talk, I don't know if I would have come this far," she said. Learning to read again has come more slowly. For the past two years, she has been tutored through the Adult Literacy Program at Huntington Beach Central Library by 71-year-old Jean Smith, a volunteer. "When Debra came to us, she couldn't read anything |
LA122789-0101_1 | O.C. COMPANIES LOOK TO EUROPEAN MARKET IN 1990; TRADE: AN ANAHEIM FIRM HAS DONE WHAT OTHERS ARE NOW GEARING UP TO DO -- GET A FOOTHOLD ABROAD FOR A SHARE OF A UNITED EUROMARKET BY 1993. POTENTIAL MARKETS IN THE EASTERN BLOC WILL BE THE ICING. | advantageous." To say the least. The buzzword in business as we head into the 1990s is globalization and the key focus is likely to be Europe rather than the Pacific Rim, which was the hot spot in the 1980s. The reason is self-evident -- the EC encompasses 323 million relatively affluent consumers, 30% more than the population of the United States. The region's combined gross domestic product was $4.5 trillion last year. The sweeping changes in Eastern Europe and the potential new markets those countries represent are the icing. "If companies aren't operating in all three markets -- Japan, the United States and Europe -- then they will probably be owned by companies that are," said John Graham, professor of international business at UCI. "I'm completely serious about that." Orange County companies already export more product to Europe than any other region in the world. The county's Office of Protocol found in a 1987 survey of local businesses that 80% of respondents did business in Europe versus 77% in the Far East. Orange County last year exported roughly $4 billion worth of goods -- everything from windsurfers to military plane parts -- to the European Community, according to the World Trade Center Assn. of Orange County. Doing business in Europe isn't easy. For instance, a manufacturer of television sets must make 12 different models if it wants to penetrate every market because product requirements vary from country to country. Household electrical systems for instance differ between the nations. And that's not all. Exporters to the EC must deal with myriad tariffs and 12 currencies. EC 1992 promises to do away with all of the complications, thereby ensuring a standardized marketplace. No one stands to benefit more from the changes than companies that already have operations in EC countries. U.S. trade experts fear that EC 1992 will erect all kinds of barriers to limit the entry of non-European firms into the region, a phenomenon now tagged "Fortress Europe." "We find many customers there asking if this product is made in the EC," said Thielen. "There is definitely a new attitude." So consultants are advising companies to get into the European market now, before it's too late. "Orange County management needs to understand the implications of Europe in 1992. There is a definite lack of sense of urgency," said Henry Finn, an international trade consultant in Irvine. "American companies must position themselves |
LA122789-0101_4 | O.C. COMPANIES LOOK TO EUROPEAN MARKET IN 1990; TRADE: AN ANAHEIM FIRM HAS DONE WHAT OTHERS ARE NOW GEARING UP TO DO -- GET A FOOTHOLD ABROAD FOR A SHARE OF A UNITED EUROMARKET BY 1993. POTENTIAL MARKETS IN THE EASTERN BLOC WILL BE THE ICING. | first thing any businessperson must do is market research to ensure that the product the person is selling is something Europeans would want to buy. If so, find a distributor and do some test marketing. Down the road, think about setting up a subsidiary. "Companies are looking to establish an office or subsidiary there," said Susan Lentz, executive director of the World Trade Center Assn. Santa Ana. "They want their goods stamped 'made in Europe' so that by 1992, they will be tagged as a European company rather than an American company." Everybody from conglomerates such as Fluor Corp. to companies the size of Dyna Five are looking to expand in the EC. Newcomers are expected to flock to England or Ireland, traditional trading partners for the United States. But consultants suggest Orange County companies check into Spain, too. "Wage rates are going to be lower in Spain than in the U.K. so the cost of doing business there will be lower," Graham said. "And one edge many Southern California companies have is managers and employees who speak Spanish. It's a real competitive advantage." Small companies interested in going international can seek help from a variety of sources, including the Department of Commerce -- which is running a program called "Europe Now" -- as well as the World Trade Center Assn. If there is any doubt that EC 1992 is the wave of the future, look no farther than Japan. Fifteen percent of Japan's foreign investments are going into European projects and numerous companies such as Hitachi, Toshiba and Fujitsu are studying plans to build plants there. "The Japanese are investing in Europe, spending a lot of money building plants and establishing relationships making sure they are in the market by 1992," Graham said. "The window has been open for a while and it's shutting." ORANGE COUNTY'S EXPORTS TO EUROPE LEADING EXPORT COMMODITIES: 1. Office machine parts 2. Aircraft and spacecraft parts 3. TV and radio parts 4. Integrated circuits 5. Measuring and control devices 6. Edible nuts and oils Estimated exports to European Common Market countries from Orange County companies in 1988: United Kingdom: $1.1 billion W. Germany: $960 million France: $600 million Netherlands: $440 million Italy: $364 million Spain: $207 million Belgium-Luxembourg: $147 million Ireland: $121 million Denmark: $55 million Greece: $17 million Portugal: $15 million Source: World Trade Center Assn. of Orange County / Los Angeles Times |
LA122789-0106_0 | VATICAN CITES WORLD LAW, WON'T YIELD NORIEGA TO U.S. | December 27, 1989, Wednesday, P.M. Final The Vatican, citing international law, said today that it will not simply push Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega out of its embassy in Panama and hand him over to U.S. authorities. President Bush, in Corpus Christi, Tex., for the start of a six-day hunting and fishing vacation, said he was unaware of the Vatican statement. But "that complicates things if they said that," Bush said when asked about it by reporters. Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro also said the Vatican has not discussed with any countries the possibility of arranging exile for Noriega, who turned himself in to the Vatican Embassy in Panama City on Sunday. Cuba, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic have been reported to be contenders for accepting the ousted Panamanian leader. "It's too soon," Navarro told a news briefing. He added that "as of this moment," the Vatican has not made a decision about Noriega's bid for asylum status. Navarro was pressed repeatedly about Bush Administration assertions that the U.S. officials have forcefully demanded that Noriega be turned over to U.S. authorities so he can be tried on drug-trafficking charges. "The United States has put its case very clearly and with respect and very cordially," Navarro said. The Vatican presented its case "with the same clarity," Navarro said. "Taking into account international law and accepted procedure, I don't see how the embassy can hand over someone" to a nation other than the host country, he said. He added that the Panamanian government installed last week has not requested that Noriega be handed over to it. The Vatican spokesman declined to comment on the U.S. criminal accusations against Noriega. But, Navarro said, "he has also been head of government and of the armed forces. There's something more than a criminal case here." Earlier, White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Texas that Noriega "can talk about the CIA and Bush until he's blue in the face. It won't hurt anything." He was referring to things Noriega might reveal about his previous close relations with the U.S. government, including the period in the 1970s when Bush was CIA director and Noriega was an intelligence source. Bush, taking questions yelled above the roar of helicopter rotors at a naval air station, said there will be "no time limit" on negotiations over Noriega. The President defended his decision to take |
LA122789-0131_0 | DRIVER OF MARTIN PICKUP LEGALLY DRUNK, TEST SHOWS | December 27, 1989, Wednesday, P.M. Final A blood alcohol test on the man blamed for the traffic accident in which former New York Yankee Manager Billy Martin died shows he was intoxicated according to legal definition, a prosecutor said today. Kevin Guyette, who prosecutes felony drunk driving cases in the Broome County district attorney's office, said the test on William Reedy supports the charge that Reedy was drunk Christmas evening when he drove Martin's pickup truck off the road near Martin's rural home. Guyette refused to say what Reedy's blood-alcohol level was, but he said Reedy was charged under the state law that says a person is intoxicated when his blood-alcohol level is at least 0.1%. Conviction on the misdemeanor charge carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Reedy, who remained in fair condition today at University Hospital in Syracuse, faces arraignment Jan. 4. Jon S. Blechman, Reedy's Binghamton lawyer, was not in his office and could not be reached for comment, his secretary said. The 53-year-old Reedy, of Detroit, told a sheriff's deputy that he and Martin, 61, had been out shopping and had stopped for a drink at a Binghamton bar, whose name he did not know, before the accident. Broome County Sheriff Anthony Ruffo said his investigators had not discovered which bar it was but said it would not have much bearing on the case. State records in Michigan showed that Reedy was convicted in 1987 of driving while impaired after police in Dearborn, a Detroit suburb, reported his blood-alcohol level at more than 0.07%. His license was restricted for three months and he was ordered to attend outpatient alcohol treatment classes, said Denise Yockey, spokeswoman for the Michigan Secretary of State's office. Reedy, owner of Reedy's Saloon near Detroit's Tiger Stadium, also had five driving infractions in Michigan, including careless driving, making an improper turn and speeding. |
LA122790-0079_0 | 3 LEADERS OF JEWISH UNDERGROUND FREED; ISRAEL: THEY SERVE LESS THAN 7 YEARS OF LIFE TERMS FOR ANTI-PALESTINIAN TERRORISM. LIBERALS CONDEMN THE EARLY RELEASES. | December 27, 1990, Thursday, Home Edition Three leaders of the anti-Palestinian Jewish Underground movement were paroled Wednesday after serving less than seven years of their life sentences for terrorist attacks. The three -- Menachem Livni, Shaul Nir and Uzi Sharbav -- were the last of 27 members of the so-called Jewish Underground to be freed from prison. The group carried out car bombings and other attacks in the Israeli-occupied West Bank in the early 1980s that killed three Palestinian students and maimed two West Bank Arab mayors. Livni, often described as the leader of the group, was convicted in 1985 of masterminding the car bombings that maimed Nablus Mayor Bassam Shaka and Ramallah Mayor Karim Halaf. Nir and Sharbav were convicted the same year of a grenade and gun attack on the Islamic College in the West Bank city of Hebron in which three Arab students were killed and 30 wounded. They were arrested in early 1984. Their life sentences were reduced in stages by Israeli President Chaim Herzog to 10 years. Two weeks ago, a parole committee further reduced the sentences, making the three eligible for parole on Wednesday. Hard-line supporters of the Jewish Underground, who favor harsh measures against the Palestinian uprising, applauded the releases, and some demonstrated outside the prison as the men met their families and returned to a Jewish settlement near Hebron. But Israeli liberals strongly condemned the early release of the men, whose movement was designed to intimidate Palestinians in the occupied territories. Avner Rubenstein, a left-wing member of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, called the early release of the three "a black day for the rule of law in Israel." Meanwhile, in the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip on Wednesday, a Palestinian man in his 20s, seemingly without provocation, stabbed and wounded three Israeli soldiers on duty in Gaza City's main Nasser Street. Police said an army officer standing nearby opened fire and killed the assailant. No reason was adduced for the attack, and two of the soldiers remained in serious condition late Wednesday with chest wounds, police said. In another development, a militant Jewish group called the Temple Mount Faithful announced late Wednesday that it will attempt to occupy the site of Solomon's Temple, now a Muslim shrine, in the Old City this morning. But police immediately said that the demonstrators will not be allowed inside the Temple Mount, which Arabs call Haram al Sharif, |
LA122790-0084_0 | HEATED U.S.-PANAMA BANKING FEUD MAY FURTHER CONFOUND RELATIONS; DIPLOMACY: ENVOYS FROM BOTH COUNTRIES CAN'T SEEM TO BRIDGE THE CULTURAL CHASM WHEN IT COMES TO MONEY. | December 27, 1990, Thursday, Home Edition The two aging men stood in the center of a large room crowded with stunned diplomats and shouted at each other. One was the American ambassador, the other Panama's foreign minister. It seems that every time they meet these days they end up yelling. "It's embarrassing, on one hand," said a European diplomat who witnessed the confrontation between Ambassador Deane R. Hinton and Panamanian Foreign Minister Julio Linares at a reception at the Vatican Embassy this year. "But it's also funny, maybe the best show in town. It's like unexpectedly walking in on a married couple in the middle of a fight over sex: You know it's rude to stay but you just can't leave." That's not a bad analogy, the image of two nations presumed to have almost identical interests bitterly arguing over one of the oldest of conflicts -- only in this case, it is money. At the center of the disagreement are American attempts to make millions of dollars of aid conditional on being given access to secret bank accounts in Panama. Hinton said the heat generated by the dispute reflects "the chemistry of the two people involved. . . . We do seem to set each other off." Yet officials of both countries, diplomats and other experts say that it's not just a clash of personalities and conflict over one policy question. It also involves different, often opposing perspectives about each nation's political, economic and cultural systems. These differences are so deep that if not reconciled they promise to further confound Panamanian-American relations at a crucial time. Panama is trying to overcome the devastation of more than 20 years of dictatorship and the U.S. invasion a year ago, while the United States seeks to use this tiny Central American country as a bulwark against the tidal wave of international drug trafficking. The specific cause of the dispute goes by the awkward acronym MLAT, for Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement. This is a congressionally mandated condition for U.S. foreign aid, usually aimed at gaining access into the recipient nation's banking records. Such pacts already exist to one degree or another with the Bahamas, Mexico, Switzerland and the Cayman Islands. The United States says that it will withhold $84 million of the $420 million in direct aid voted this year unless Panama signs an MLAT permitting American officials to inspect Panamanian banking records |
LA122790-0084_3 | HEATED U.S.-PANAMA BANKING FEUD MAY FURTHER CONFOUND RELATIONS; DIPLOMACY: ENVOYS FROM BOTH COUNTRIES CAN'T SEEM TO BRIDGE THE CULTURAL CHASM WHEN IT COMES TO MONEY. | officials access to bank records in search of people charged with violating a variety of so-called "fiscal crimes" in the United States. It didn't hold up. Claiming that the pact was an unacceptable infringement of Panamanian sovereignty and that National Assembly approval was thus precluded, Linares persuaded President Guillermo Endara to repudiate it. That decision wasn't unaffected by an extensive, well-organized effort by the nation's 130 banks and their retainers in the legal trade. American access to records of the billions of dollars deposited here, much of it with the acknowledged aim of evading taxes, would be a threat to their business. "Panama isn't called a tax haven for nothing," said one banker. "That's why people come here." Foreigners' deposits totaled as much as $40 billion before Noriega so angered the United States with his involvement in drug trafficking and money laundering that it tried to oust him by applying economic sanctions against Panama. Even now, bank deposits stand at $14 billion and growing. Linares, an international lawyer and longtime critic of what he sees as one-sided Panamanian concessions in past negotiations over the Panama Canal, has said he supports an agreement restricted to drug trafficking and money laundering, but that the Americans want to go way beyond that. "They want us to go beyond matters that are crimes in both countries to include acts that are crimes in the United States but not here," said Ruben Carles, a former head of Chase Manhattan Bank's Panama operations and now the country's controller general. It is here that the disagreement reflects more than a difference over policy and a way of life and doing business that is alien to American legal and ethical concepts. Carles and Ford both point to tax shelters and insider stock trading as examples. "Neither is illegal here," Carles said in an interview in his skyscraper office overlooking the Pacific end of the canal. "Why should the United States care about money in Panama banks that is deposited from Bogota or Buenos Aires or London, even if that money is U.S. dollars from companies ultimately owned by Americans?" No taxes are paid on that money in Panama so the banks themselves can make more money from it. Accordingly, they can afford to offer higher interest rates, which in turn are not taxed. It is a combination that attracts even more deposits. Insider trading is a "way of |
LA122790-0086_4 | SHADES OF GRAY: TIMELY TIPS; PRECAUTIONS CAN GO A LONG WAY FOR HOME, PERSONAL SAFETY | When confronted by police, he had no identification and reacted angrily to the investigating officer. They had an altercation; the man pulled out a knife. Fortunately, no one was hurt. The "prowler" was eventually identified as a resident of the area. When he was released from custody, he returned and apologized to the security officer. * If you have the feeling that someone is following behind you in a parking lot or sidewalk at night, walk toward the light, do not hesitate to scream when feeling endangered, run if you can. Call the sheriff if a phone is available. When driving, go to the nearest police station, busy gas station or market. Honk your horn all the way. * A woman should be wary of a man who stops her with an obscene remark; as she turns away in embarrassment, he can (and often does) grab her purse. If, by chance, someone does go after your purse, it is better for your health and safety to let it go. * In the car, do not place a wallet or pocketbook on the seat or on the floor when driving. It is easy to open the door and grab it. The floor in the back of the car is less visible, but the trunk is best. * When possible, shop with a friend; it is more fun and safer, too. Carry as little cash as possible and do not burden yourself with so many packages that you impede your ability to maneuver. * Most home burglaries occur during the morning hours. Answer the door but don't open it; let strangers know someone is home. * Beware of phone solicitors who ask a lot of questions: how many are in your household; what appliances do you have; how many and what make are your cars? The questions might sound innocent; the answers are chock full of information that can be used to your disadvantage. * If someone has entered your home, try to get to a phone and call the police. Don't try to be a hero. * The Crime Prevention Center in Sacramento publishes a fistful of brochures that deal with everyday problems, tips for seniors, personal security, elder abuse, telephone fraud, etc. If the Crime Prevention material cannot be obtained from your local police department, write to Crime Prevention Cener, Office of the Attorney General, P.O. Box 944255, Sacramento 94244-2550. |
LA122790-0087_5 | A HEALTHY CHOICE OF HOSPITALS; REGION IS SERVED BY 5 FACILITIES | skilled nursing facility. PALOMAR MEDICAL CENTER 555 East Valley Parkway, Escondido Calls: 739-3000 Beds: 341 Staff: About 1,800 Annual admissions: 12,000 Palomar is one of six trauma departments in San Diego County -- it is the only one in North County. A trauma department is different -- and more aggressive -- than a simple emergency room because the facility is always ready to give full immediate care, and the staff has been specially trained to deal with critical situations. "It's crucial that people know there is a trauma center here," said Maureen Goehring, who directs the trauma department at Palomar. Victims of automobile and motorcycle accidents, falls and assaults are often rushed to trauma centers. Paramedics summoned by 911 to the scene of an accident or other medical crisis will evaluate a patient based on a "CRAN" score. CRAN stands for circulation, respiration, abdominal movement and speech. That evaluation helps determine whether a patient will be sent to a trauma center. Before trauma centers were introduced to San Diego in 1985, emergency rooms were the only option. "If a patient was brought in at 9 p.m., you'd get pretty rapid care. However, if you came in at 3 a.m. and needed immediate surgery, a ruptured spleen for example, you'd have to get on the phone to find a surgeon at home and it could take from two to four hours. Patients were literally dying," said Goehring. In contrast, patients brought to the trauma center have the support of an emergency room physician, a trauma surgeon, an anesthesiologist, a control nurse who supervises and coordinates events and a support nurse. There is also a staffer called a scribe who takes minute-to-minute notes. In addition, a neurosurgeon, a respiratory therapist, an X-ray technician, CAT scan technician, a pharmacist and a social worker are on call in the building. The trauma centers have reduced the preventable death rate in San Diego County from 36% to 2%, Goehring said. Palomar has between 1,000 and 1,200 trauma patients a year. Goehring said the members of the trauma staff are "adrenaline junkies. This is work that makes a difference in people's lives." Palomar Medical Center and Pomerado Hospital together have an annual payroll of about $80 million. A recent $50-million expansion program left Palomar with more beds, a larger emergency room and almost twice as many operating rooms, including open-heart surgery and spinal surgery facilities. Palomar's |
LA122790-0110_6 | THE CURRENTS OF CHANGE; IN STORMY TIMES, THE ARTS PROVIDE ESCAPE -- AND A SOUNDING BOARD | paying customers is a worry for all music enterprises, from chamber to dance. Pop Music The recession may well dent attendance at expensive concerts. On the other hand, there is apt to be an increased trend toward home entertainment, which bodes well for sales of CDs, cassettes, the vanishing LP and for viewership of the razzle-dazzle of MTV. Economics aside, the pop music world seems to be heading in two somewhat contradictory directions. There is a good deal of what can be called cross-culturalization going on, as in rap music's full entry into the mainstream pop world via such performers as Vanilla Ice and M. C. Hammer. At a more senior level there are the pan-global musical explorations of Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel and David Byrne. Both trends are relatively tame, but they do open the door for more ambitious listeners to seek out the angrier raps and the less homogenized ethnic music. Seeking the safe, tame and familiar is the motivation for another trend in pop music: The segregation of tastes. Moderately serious music fans once had eclectic tastes and were eager to listen to almost anything. Now radio stations stick tight to a formatted taste and style, and fans of one brand of music are unlikely to hear the hits in another style only a few dial numbers away. The segregation also includes a widening generation gap. Many of today's parents grew up with rock 'n' roll and have little trouble relating to their children's fondness for New Kids on the Block or comparably traditionalist rock sounds. Nevertheless the parents cling to the music of their own generation, convinced that nothing good has happened since the Supremes, the Animals, the Byrds or, surely, the Beatles. Thus the proliferation of radio stations specializing in "golden oldies" and the 1967 rock hit parade. Technology is also having a major effect on the pop scene (including the lip-sync scandal of Milli Vanilli). Sampling and synthesizers have removed the creation of pop music from the live performance stage or a new group's garage to the high-tech studio. Thus the marketing of the music has little to do with actual performance (which may be largely pantomime) and more with image. Jazz In current jazz, there is a remarkable sort of generation closure visible and audible, with a senior generation of players and an extraordinary infusion of young players best symbolized by the Marsalis |
LA122790-0133_1 | AIR IS CLEANEST SINCE MONITORING BEGAN IN '73; POLLUTION: A COUNTY OFFICIAL SAYS THE WEATHER AND TIGHTER REGULATIONS ON INDUSTRY WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE GOOD SHOWING. | said Wednesday that they cannot claim much of the credit for the surprisingly good air quality of 1990. Weather factors were primarily responsible, said Richard H. Baldwin, Ventura County's air pollution control officer. "With the cooler than normal temperatures and better than normal winds, we didn't have the emissions sitting around to be cooked by the sunlight to form ozone," Baldwin said. District regulations on industry, which have reduced emissions that cause ozone by 25% over the last 10 years, also helped keep the ozone levels low in 1990, Baldwin said. Another factor, he added, was the effect of state regulations mandating reductions in motor vehicle tailpipe emissions. The effects of the weather make dramatic changes from one year to the next, but results of emission reduction regulations show up over the long term, he said. The result is a gradual improvement in air quality in Ventura County and statewide, despite population and industrial growth. "In general, air quality throughout the state has remained the same or slightly improved in the face of significant growth," said Bill Sessa, spokesman for the California Air Resources Board, which sets air quality policy for the state. The exception to the statewide trend is the San Joaquin Valley, where growth has been so intense in the last 10 years that air quality is worsening despite regulations, Sessa said. Ozone, a primary ingredient of photochemical smog, is formed when oxides of nitrogen react with hydrocarbons in sunlight. In Ventura County, the primary emission sources are motor vehicles and Southern California Edison power plants. The state and federal standards for ozone are based on the level at which ozone affects health, said Dr. Michael Lipsett, public health medical officer at the state Department of Health Services in Berkeley. According to federal standards, health is affected when the ozone concentration in the air reaches .12 parts per million. State standards put the health hazard at anything over .09 parts per million. Ozone pollution causes the lungs to lose their elasticity, decreasing their ability to deliver oxygen to the blood. "When you look at the inflammatory changes that take place in the lungs from exposure to ozone, they are very similar to the effects of early cigarette smoking," Lipsett said. Some tests show that ozone can also induce asthmatic episodes. The National Toxicology Program is also studying whether chronic ozone exposure can be linked to cancer, Lipsett said. |
LA122790-0141_0 | TAX CHANGES WILL NET SOME HAPPY RETURNS | December 27, 1990, Thursday, Home Edition Just as retailers are coping with gift returns, it is time for most individuals to start dealing with returns of another kind: tax returns. Starting this week, Americans will begin to receive their federal and state tax forms, signaling the beginning of the traditional tax filing season. And there are some changes that taxpayers should be aware of before they file their 1990 returns. Both the Internal Revenue Service and California's Franchise Tax Board have altered their basic "short" forms -- the federal 1040A and California's 540A -- to allow elderly people with pension and retirement income to use the simpler return. In the past, the 1040A and the 540A forms could not accommodate retirement income, so pensioners had to file the longer, more complex 1040 and 540 forms -- complete with schedules, itemized deductions and copies of other tax returns filed that year. But this year, both the federal and state governments added lines to include retirement income, deductions and credits that primarily affect the elderly. That should allow about 500,000 older Californians and about 4.5 million retirees nationwide to use the less-complex form. The catch: The forms are now just a touch more complex for everyone else. "We don't call it the short form any more because it's longer than last year," said Jim Reber, spokesman for the Franchise Tax Board in Sacramento. "We could have called it the longer-than-last-year's but-still-relatively-short form, but that seemed a little excessive." Reber said the California form is now about five lines longer. The federal form has a whole new schedule, said Jan Gribbon, an IRS spokeswoman in Los Angeles. Personal interest deductions have also fallen to 10% on federal tax returns. That means that the interest you pay on credit card debt and car and boat loans, among other things, is only 10% deductible for 1990 taxes. The deductions will be phased out completely next year. Other changes on the federal tax forms primarily have to do with indexing for inflation. Among them: * The personal exemption -- the amount exempted from tax for you, your spouse and dependents -- increases to $2,050 per person from $2,000. * For those who do not itemize deductions, the standard deduction jumped for single taxpayers to $3,250 from $3,100 and to $5,450 from $5,200 for married couples. * Tax tables have also been indexed for inflation, so you |
LA122790-0150_2 | JAPANESE AGAIN BULLISH ON U.S. STOCKS; OUTLOOK: A RESEARCH FIRM SAYS THAT ALTHOUGH JAPAN'S ECONOMY WILL OUTPACE THE UNITED STATES' THROUGH '95, U.S. FIRMS WILL SHOW STRONGER PROFITS. | Blockbuster Entertainment Corp. NRI analysts concluded that the painful restructurings that many big U.S. companies went through in the early and mid-1980s have paid off, leaving them better positioned for the 1990s. U.S. companies are forging valuable links with outside firms instead of taking the go-it-alone approach of the past. NRI cites Compaq's ties with computer dealers, relationships it says have given the computer maker valuable information about customer needs. In addition, companies here have learned some lessons -- namely, that it pays to fashion a product to the needs and customs of foreign markets instead of thinking that what's good for the United States is good for everyone else. One example: Procter & Gamble Co.'s "Dosing Ball," which dispenses liquid detergent more evenly throughout the wash. The company developed the product for Europe, which is dominated by front-loading machines. Front-loaders generally work better with dry detergent but the ball has been well received, helping P&G sell more liquid products. The Japanese researchers also noted that the sheer size of the United States, with its 250 million people, gives companies such as discount retailer Wal-Mart and others room to build their sales and earnings. "The market is bigger. Your land is bigger," said Hiranuma. "Your population is twice as large as the Japanese population." It is not just Nomura that is bullish on America. Merrill Lynch chief investment strategist Charles Clough is, as well. "The big advantage that the U.S. is going to have is our interest rates are going to be lower, and our costs of manufacturing are going to be lower," he said. Clough reckons that a drop in private borrowing by consumers will allow domestic interest rates to fall. "If that happens, you're going to see a lot of investment flow here," he said, adding that more money is already flowing here from abroad. In one recent example, Japan's Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. agreed to buy entertainment giant MCA Inc. for $6.13 billion. The deal will be the biggest foreign takeover by a Japanese company. Nomura's Picks Nomura Research Institute, the research arm of the world's largest brokerage, Nomura Securities, has assembled a report that recommends investing in U.S. stocks. Following are the report's forecasts of the average annual earnings growth for five domestic companies for the years 1990-95: Company Growth Cadence Design Systems 30% Blockbuster 28% Compaq Computer 23% Bristol-Myers Squibb 21% Merck & Co. 18% |
LA122790-0153_1 | JALISCO NATIVE HELPING OTHER IMMIGRANTS; CLUB: ORGANIZATION AIMS TO IMPROVE LIVES THROUGH BUSINESS LOANS AND EDUCATION. | the club's 200 members quit school after the third grade in Mexico and work on assembly lines and in service industries here. Only a few are small-business people, he said. The majority came here poor and uneducated, Arenas said. In contrast, Arenas arrived with a college degree in architecture and the benefits of a middle-class background. Today he owns several businesses in the Southeast area, including a real estate company, a travel agency and an import-export business. Arenas said the organization he founded is a place for South Gate Latinos to congregate and learn about the services available to them. The city cannot meet all the needs of the sizable Latino community, which accounts for more than 73% of its population of 82,000. "It is another way to help the city and our people from Mexico," Arenas said. Juan Jose Gutierrez, the club's education director, agreed. "The idea is that clubs by region should have more of a civic-oriented purpose that goes beyond the organizing of social parties and the crowning of regional queens. There are more essential needs, (such as) education," he said. Club officials direct members to state and federally funded adult education programs, which are usually offered through public schools, community organizations and community colleges. The long-term goal is for members to become literate in their native language as well as in English, and involved with vocational training, Gutierrez said. Much like other regional clubs, the organization also tries to maintain contact with the people of Jalisco. Recently some members drove a trailer of X-ray machines and beds to Jalisco and donated the equipment to a hospital there. State education officials confirm that Mexican immigrants in the last 20 years have tended to be from rural areas and have minimal education. Latinos, however, do not fare worse than other immigrant groups in educational level, said David Dolson, assistant manager of the bilingual office of the state Department of Education, adding that many immigrant groups come with little schooling. But club officials take little comfort in that knowledge. "Without education, Latinos are always going to be janitors and dishwashers, jobs where they don't need to speak the language," Gutierrez said. The club also works with other Latino organizations such as the Mexican Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles, which specializes in helping small-business enterprises, and the Willie C. Velasquez Center, which provides amnesty classes and education for immigrants. |
LA122790-0175_1 | DRUNK-DRIVER PUSH CITED AS O.C. TRAFFIC DEATHS DIP | to the county's relatively safe Christmas. The Christmas holiday death toll was lower than it has been for the past five years, according to the Orange County coroner's office. The county had four highway traffic deaths during Christmas 1986, five in 1987, seven in 1988 and five in 1989, the coroner reported. Meanwhile, during the five-day Christmas weekend this year, 404 people were arrested on drunk-driving charges in Orange County. The CHP arrested 152 of the total, and the remaining arrests were by all other police jurisdictions in the county. The CHP said its drunk-driving arrests in the county this year were up 36% compared to last year. Lt. Richard J. Olson, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department, said comparison data is not available for all other police jurisdictions because he began assembling holiday drunk-driving arrest statistics this year for the first time. Olson, however, said he thinks the number of drunk-driving arrests is up this year compared to other Christmas holidays. The sole traffic fatality between 6 p.m. Friday and 12:01 a.m. Wednesday was the death of a 19-year-old Fountain Valley man at 5:30 a.m. Saturday on the San Diego Freeway at the Magnolia Street on-ramp. Deputy Coroner William King said the youth, Major J. Johnson, lost control of the car and crashed into a call box. King said there was no indication that the accident was alcohol- or drug-related. Arresting alcohol-impaired drivers has been easier for police this Christmas season. A new state law that became effective Jan. 1 lowered the legal blood-alcohol level from the 0.10 to 0.08. Some cities, including Fullerton, reported that increased efforts to halt drunk drivers had led to higher arrest totals this year. Lt. Bud Lathrop said Fullerton had 534 driving-under-the-influence arrests in 1989 and has made 619 such arrests so far this year. But in Garden Grove, police reported that a sobriety checkpoint on Saturday night stopped about 1,100 cars and did not find a single drunk driver. Garden Grove Traffic Officer Fred McLean said the absence of drunk drivers at the checkpoint indicated that people are being more cautious about drinking. "It seems that if there's a lot of publicity that there's going to be a checkpoint, more people are using designated drivers," he said. In Huntington Beach, police arrested 11 suspected drunk driver during the five-day holiday. Lt. Ed McErlain said he had no number for comparison purposes |
LA122790-0175_2 | DRUNK-DRIVER PUSH CITED AS O.C. TRAFFIC DEATHS DIP | William King said the youth, Major J. Johnson, lost control of the car and crashed into a call box. King said there was no indication that the accident was alcohol- or drug-related. Arresting alcohol-impaired drivers has been easier for police this Christmas season. A new state law that became effective Jan. 1 lowered the legal blood-alcohol level from the 0.10 to 0.08. Some cities, including Fullerton, reported that increased efforts to halt drunk drivers had led to higher arrest totals this year. Lt. Bud Lathrop said Fullerton had 534 driving-under-the-influence arrests in 1989 and has made 619 such arrests so far this year. But in Garden Grove, police reported that a sobriety checkpoint on Saturday night stopped about 1,100 cars and did not find a single drunk driver. Garden Grove Traffic Officer Fred McLean said the absence of drunk drivers at the checkpoint indicated that people are being more cautious about drinking. "It seems that if there's a lot of publicity that there's going to be a checkpoint, more people are using designated drivers," he said. In Huntington Beach, police arrested 11 suspected drunk driver during the five-day holiday. Lt. Ed McErlain said he had no number for comparison purposes but believes that the number of arrests is low compared to other years. He too said this is a sign that fewer drunks are behind the wheel. "We like to think that our enforcement, combined with education efforts, are working," McErlain said. "The thing you like is never getting (drunk-driving accidents) to begin with," added Sgt. Richard S. Zschoche of the Anaheim Police Traffic Bureau. "You're looking for the deterrent factor." Anaheim was among Orange County cities that stepped up roving police patrols looking for inebriated drivers during the holidays. "We started this on Thanksgiving . . . and will continue right through New Year's," Zschoche said. The county's hundreds of Alcoholics Anonymous chapters aided the efforts to keep drunk drivers off the streets by holding more meetings than during non-holiday weeks. Some AA groups held what they called "marathon," or round-the-clock, meetings so that people with alcohol problems had a place to go regardless of the time of day. Ron LaPorte, manager of alcoholism programs for the county's Health Care Agency, said Wednesday that he feels certain that education and prevention efforts are now paying off. "I absolutely believe that we are having an impact," LaPorte said. "I also |
LA122790-0177_1 | ORANGE COUNTY FOCUS: COUNTYWIDE; D.A. PLAYS DOWN PROP. 115 RULING | ruling left intact other elements such as provisions for the broader uses of the grand jury system and for police testimony at preliminary hearings. "These many reforms permit us to operate more efficiently," Capizzi said. "I don't think the ruling has any impact on what's being done." Local opponents of Proposition 115 were pleased with the ruling but were not celebrating the state Supreme Court's decision to throw out a provision that required state courts to follow more restrictive U.S. Supreme Court rulings in applying a dozen constitutional rights in criminal cases. "It's no great shakes for the defense," Deputy Public Defender Kevin Phillips said, "but we're happy that a decision went our way." The provision that was struck down would have required state courts to strictly follow U.S. Supreme Court rulings in applying the rights of equal protection, due process, protection against unreasonable searches, assistance of counsel, personal presence at trial, speedy trial, the attendance of witnesses, privacy, and protection against self-incrimination and cruel and unusual punishment. The interpretation of these rights in state courts has often provided Californians with greater protections than under similar provisions in the federal Constitution. "All the court did (Monday) was say, 'Listen, you can't delegate that to the federal system,' " Phillips said. "It's a pretty limited decision." Capizzi said that while he would have liked for the provision to remain as a safeguard, the present makeup of the state's high court makes the ruling more palatable, given the absence of the court's more liberal leadership under former Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird. "It (the provision) would have prevented the court from taking us off to La-La Land or Bird land," Capizzi said. "With this court's philosophy, they are more inclined to correspond with the interpretation set forth by the U.S. Constitution." Other elements of the initiative that remained untouched in Monday's ruling were hailed by Capizzi as important in the day-to-day operations of his office. Most important, he said, were provisions that deny the right to preliminary hearings to defendants indicted by grand juries and the right of police officers to present hearsay testimony in preliminary hearings, saving victims from having to appear in proceedings other than at trial. He said those elements and the provision that will allow judges to question prospective jurors will speed up the criminal justice system and provide more time for the presentation of evidence. KEVIN JOHNSON |
LA122790-0186_0 | ZOO ELEPHANT'S DEATH STIRS FUROR; ANIMALS: HUMANE SOCIETY CRITICIZES SAN DIEGO ZOO OVER ITS 'EXTREMELY DANGEROUS' PACHYDERM EXHIBIT. BUT OFFICIALS SCOFF AT HIS STATEMENTS. | December 27, 1990, Thursday, Orange County Edition Investigators at the Humane Society of the United States sent a letter Wednesday to the San Diego Zoo charging that its elephant exhibit is inadequate and "extremely dangerous" for both the huge mammals and their keepers. The letter to Doug Meyers, director of the San Diego Zoological Society, was prompted by the death Sunday of Maya, a 51-year-old Asian elephant that was put to death after she fell into a moat and crippled herself. "We do not question the care Maya received after her tragic fall into the moat, nor the fact that euthanasia was the humane decision to make on her behalf," wrote David K. Wills, a vice president in the Humane Society's Department of Investigations. "However, we are concerned as to what steps zoo officials are going to take to improve conditions for the surviving elephants." Wills criticized the exhibit for its uninsulated floors and its lack of heat inside the barn, its limited outdoor shelter and its daily reliance upon chains to restrain the elephants. In addition, he charged that a catwalk that connects two areas of the elephant yard is precariously narrow, and he called for it to be widened. Jeff Jouett, a spokesman for the zoo, acknowledged that the nearly 30-year-old elephant yard is "not perfect," but he said the zoo is in the midst of making improvements. So far, they have planted shade trees, he said, and replaced decaying floor boards with cement. Jouett said the zoo also plans to widen the catwalk. But he rejected Wills' claim that "if the catwalk were widened, Maya might still be alive today," saying that while no one witnessed her fall, her placement in the moat indicated she did not fall off the walkway. Jouett also dismissed Wills' assertion that the exhibit, which now houses one African and three Asian elephants, is "grossly inadequate." "It has passed USDA inspections, and we'll welcome the USDA to come look at it again," Jouett said, noting that Wills has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate the exhibit. He called most of Wills' allegations "just exaggerations to catch the public's attention. It makes nice quotes but it's just not true." Dr. Homer Malaby, a USDA animal care specialist in Sacramento, said he will visit the zoo next week to investigate the Humane Society's allegations. Of particular interest, he said, was their charge |
LA122889-0030_0 | SAN DIEGO ARCHITECTURE IN THE EIGHTIES; CITY IS POISED FOR GREAT THINGS ARCHITECTURALLY | December 28, 1989, Thursday, San Diego County Edition Most architects seem to agree that the last decade was more of a painful adolescence than a graceful maturing. But many lessons learned during the past 10 years have advanced San Diego's architectural scene to the point where the city appears poised for great things in the '90s. Most observers are hard-pressed to name any landmark buildings put up in the past 10 years, and only one may stand the test of time: the new San Diego Convention Center, architect Arthur Erickson's masterpiece of concrete geometries. But if there weren't many outstanding buildings for a city that recently became the nation's sixth largest, there were other milestones. As the decade began, former Mayor Pete Wilson led the way toward developing a new downtown core. Its transformation from a place with little retail activity and virtually no residential base to an urban center that incorporates both, as well as the awesome pace of development elsewhere in the city, often proceeded too quickly for the good of architecture. Horton Plaza evolved from a mall with many street-level openings to a closed-in design. This has proven successful commercially but less viable as a tool aimed at revitalizing nearby streets. And architect Jon Jerde's Disneyland-ish takeoff on postmodernism is bound to look dated in a few years. Downtown, the Centre City Development Corp. struggled to create a mechanism by which significant new projects could evolve with input not only from their architects and developers, but also from city planners, community groups, economic consultants and politicians. The Courtyard, a 40-story apartment tower for a site at Front and G streets, typified this struggle. Three development proposals were sent back for revamping, and Johnson Fain & Pereira Associates of Los Angeles replaced San Diego architect Rob Quigley on the team that eventually won the job. Their proposed design seems good in terms of human scale and local context, but the confusion of the drawn-out CCDC process may have scared off developers and architects from future opportunities. Context, and the question of whether there could ever be a regional architecture here, continued to perplex San Diego architects. Some are starting to realize that "context" doesn't necessarily mean borrowing from Balboa Park's towers and domes, or lifting architectural elements from nearby buildings. It's a good sign that architects are finding more subtle ways of addressing the climate and life style |
LA122889-0052_3 | CITY CHANGED INTO URBAN CENTER DURING TURBULENT '89; LOOKING BACK: GLENDALE EXPERIENCES AN APARTMENT MORATORIUM BATTLE, A HOTLY CONTESTED CITY COUNCIL ELECTION, RUNAWAY SCHOOL CROWDING AND EMERGING GANG VIOLENCE. | a state mandate and set aside $2.9 million in property taxes from its redevelopment zone to finance low-income housing programs, with almost all of the money going to land purchases and developer incentives for three senior citizen housing projects. About the same time, officials learned firsthand that city residents are in dire need of direct housing subsidies. In June, more than 3,000 applicants -- the vast majority recent immigrants from Soviet Armenia -- erupted in a semi-riot during a sign-up session for federal housing vouchers in a south Glendale park. Their names were added to a waiting list of 1,400 for the city's 1,000 federal rent subsidies. Five months after the incident, the City Council voted to fund rent subsidies for the first time to complement the federal program -- $200,000 for 60 rental units. Enrollment in the Glendale Unified School District rose to 24,000, up by more than 1,000 from the year before and the highest in the past two decades. The classrooms have become increasingly diverse, increasing the demand for teachers with foreign language skills. The annual ethnic survey released by the district this year showed that enrollment by Middle Eastern students, which include Armenians, jumped nearly 4% to just under 6,000 students. Latino enrollment reached 5,800 after a modest increase this year, and minority enrollment overall remained steady at about 42%. The city's runaway growth placed unprecedented demands on the Police Department to fight urban crimes such as auto theft and gang violence, and to control traffic and monitor anti-abortion demonstrations. It was the year that Glendale witnessed its first drive-by killing and formed its first police gang unit. Auto theft became the No. 1 crime. The bulk of police overtime hours was spent monitoring Operation Rescue rallies at clinics and hospitals that perform abortions. Directing traffic became an everyday endeavor. Violent crime went up 23%. The urban-type crimes prevalent today, Police Chief David Thompson said, demand more police officers than those in the past. "The burglary rate has gone down, but there's been an auto theft explosion," he said. The Police Department added 17 officers this year, more than the total increase in the entire decade. Thompson used the additional positions to create an anti-gang unit and to beef up motorcycle and foot patrols. As a result of the city's growth, the city government had to grow too. In the past decade, city budget increases rarely |
LA122889-0070_0 | NATION IN BRIEF; WASHINGTON D.C.; WOMEN TO OUTPACE MEN IN DOCTORATES | December 28, 1989, Thursday, Southland Edition Women will be earning more doctoral degrees than men by the year 2000, the Department of Education predicted in a study entitled "Projections of Education Statistics to 2000." The department said also that elementary and secondary school enrollments wil rise dramatically and teachers will be paid 14% more in real purchasing power. Women have been earning more associate, bachelor's and master's degrees than men in recent years, but 1999 is expected to be the first year that they exceed men in the number of doctoral degrees received. Men are expected to continue to earn more first-time professional degrees in fields such as medicine and law. |
LA122889-0079_1 | PUTTING THE MUSCLE ON FLAB | to help us burn up the guilt of holiday calories. And sweat, we are told, has gone high tech. High tech has brought us "electronically enhanced stationary cycles" in place of ordinary stationary bikes. If you want to find out if you have too much fat, a mere pinch of the upper arm will no longer do; now, a little machine that looks as if it could also give you the temperature of your roasted turkey can tell your percentage of body fat. Will discussion of body fat percentages now join small talk about cholesterol levels as acceptable conversation over dinner? Or, more appropriately, over a couple of glasses of mineral water? These state-of-the-art machines and devices are the latest weapons in the never ending battle against flab: This time of year television, radio and newspapers are full of ads for speedy weight- loss promotions and programs. Some play on the guilt angle, typically showings pictures of slothful persons breaking springs on bathroom scales. Or there is the fantasy approach, with ads featuring the sinewy bodies of professional models -- the implication being that you can look like them if only you pulled yourself out of the easy chair and jumped onto the treadmill. And there are year-end sales for memberships in gyms that offer the use of exercise machines complete with video screens and sound effects that duplicate the exertion of climbing stairs, riding bicycles or rowing boats. But some experts say that since the body's cardiovascular system does not know the difference between walking up real stairs and using a machine to duplicate the task, the equipment's price tags are an expensive affect merely to satisfy a need for digital computer numbers and "bells and whistles." Instead of using sophisticated machines, one exercise science professor proposes a radical idea: walking daily wherever you can do it (no charge on that yet, unless a personal trainer walks with you). That makes more sense, he suggests, than having people drive and take elevators to go to a club filled with exercise machines. He may be right. But we hasten to suggest that if someone were to invent a motorized sidewalk cart that offered a sumptuous holiday meal, a cool drink -- and maybe a bell and a whistle -- that most of us would walk quickly after it. In fact, such a machine would probably sell like, well, hot cakes. |
LA122889-0081_0 | FREEDOM FOR INFORMANTS | December 28, 1989, Thursday, Home Edition In response to "Deals Won Jail Informant Freedom to Attack Again," Part A, Dec. 11: The article by Ted Rohrlich failed to recognize a fundamental principle of criminal sentencing practice in California courts. Prosecutors have a role to play in the sentencing process. We are obligated to seek proper sentences in criminal cases and, in discharging that responsibility, deputy district attorneys routinely urge judges to impose appropriate sentences based upon relevant considerations. In that context, a defendant who has provided significant assistance to law enforcement is entitled -- as a matter of law -- to have that favorable background information brought to the attention of the sentencing judge. In many cases, a defendant's background information warrants a harsh sentence and, in other cases, it warrants more lenient treatment. Obviously, the weight to be given such information is left to the discretion of the sentencing judge. An example of one aspect of this process can readily be found in the Stephen Cisneros case. At the request of Cisneros' defense attorney, Deputy Dist. Atty. Stephen Kay drafted a letter accurately outlining what Cisneros had done in the Norris-Bittaker case. That letter was ultimately presented to the court at Cisneros' sentencing hearing. The court took that letter into consideration in sentencing Cisneros. The tragic fact that Cisneros later committed a number of very serious crimes should not overshadow the absolute propriety of Kay's earlier conduct. RICHARD W. HECHT Director, Bureau of Branch and Area Operations District Attorney's Office Los Angeles County |
LA122889-0083_0 | FREEDOM FOR INFORMANTS | December 28, 1989, Thursday, Home Edition So, Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Gregory Thompson defends offering preferential treatment to jail informants. Informant Cisneros was granted an early release after giving his (perjured) testimony -- despite the fierce objections of his therapist and probation officer. Upon his release, Cisneros committed several brutal rapes. Deputy Dist. Atty. Kay calls this a "small, teeny little offshoot" of the informant program. I wonder if Kay (or the other attorneys and judges agreeing to the plea bargains) would agree that this was a "teeny" price to pay if his mother, sister, wife, or daughter were one of Cisneros' brutal rape victims. Somehow, I don't think so. DEBRA J. REED South Pasadena |
LA122889-0084_1 | IRON CURTAIN OF TECHNOLOGY | easy gauntlet trying to decide what technology can safely be sold to East Europe now that the region is trying to recover from 40 years of communism. If officials move too fast, they will stir up still-suspicious conservatives at home. But taking too long would tempt Western Europe to make its own decisions about what is safe, a development that could lose customers for American companies. And the prize for getting East Europe straightened out will be a chance to move to the even tougher question of what can be sold directly to Moscow. The question of how high is high technology was very much on Washington's mind even before last week, when the Soviet Union and the 12 members of the European Community signed their first trade agreement. The trade that interests the Soviets most is in technology that can help pull their economy into the 20th Century before the century ends. Under agreements between the United States and 17 other manufacturing nations, none sells technology that the United States thinks has military applications. But in the U.S., deciding what's hot military technology and what's not is a decision shared among the Pentagon, the Commerce and State departments. The Pentagon's take-no-chances definition usually prevails. Months ago, it included what by American standards is an ancient computer, available in most department stores. Commerce Secretary Robert A. Mosbacher wants to trim the list of forbidden technology for shipment to Hungary and any other Eastern European countries that agree to allow Western observers to verify that the technologies do not leak to the Soviet Union. The items with the highest priorities are medical equipment, electronic banking devices, airplanes, helicopters and classroom technology. Mosbacher argues that nothing belongs on the list if it can be bought on open markets elsewhere in the world. The next step would be to trim the same list for sale to or use by joint-venture companies in the Soviet Union. At least initially, it would make sense to require observers to make certain that technology did not move into military channels. The White House must knock heads as early and often as necessary to get the lists trimmed. That Europe does not see trade as either an abstraction or a military problem is exemplified by the way East Germans and West Germans are racing toward de facto unification through channels of commerce. Americans must be in the race. |
LA122889-0092_2 | HOMOSEXUAL CATHOLICS WHO KEEP THE FAITH AND LIFE STYLE; RELIGION: WORSHIPERS STRUGGLE TO REMAIN PART OF A CHURCH WHOSE LEADERS DO NOT CONDONE THEIR ACTIVITIES. | know priests who are still willing to come and do Mass for us," said Jack Stafford, president of the Los Angeles chapter of Dignity, which he said has a membership of about 200. "And if we can't get one for a particular Sunday, a para-liturgy is done. It's a Mass without a priest, like what is done in areas where there are priestless congregations." But their defiance goes only so far. Stafford said he does not know anyone in the underground group, which calls itself Greater Religious Responsibility, that took credit for spattered red paint on four area churches, including St. Charles Church of North Hollywood, in the early hours of Dec. 3, the first Sunday of Advent. "I had never even heard of that group before all this happened," Stafford said. "I understand why it has come to this. When people feel adamant about an issue and do not feel they are being effective by expressing themselves in words, they sometimes turn to the kind of acts that occurred." While he understands the motivation behind GRR's actions, he vehemently disagrees with them. "What they did was not effective at all," he said. "It will not get the church to listen. Just the opposite. It is not going to give us a positive image. "I am against all acts of violence, and I consider what they did to be violence, violence against the church and the community. It was an act of intolerance, and intolerance just breeds intolerance." Sandy, a member of a Los Angeles Dignity offshoot called Lesbian Catholics Together, is more sympathetic to GRR. "This archbishop has done nothing for lesbians and very little for Catholic women in general," she said. "The biggest problem is that he is spreading such misinformation. It makes it especially difficult for young people just coming out." But Sandy, 47, who lives in North Hollywood, has also chosen to stay in the church. "We have taught ourselves that we are the church," she said. "It's not some bureaucratic group of men who make pronouncements. It's people like us. We consider ourselves cultural Catholics, and it would be hard for us to leave, no matter how conservative the edicts are." Lesbian Catholics Together meets once a month in members' homes. Sandy said the group, which has about 25 active members, can usually find a sympathetic priest to say Mass. "It is almost like in |
LA122889-0110_2 | SECRET POLICE, CEAUSESCU'S IRON GRIP LED TO VIOLENCE; NEWS ANALYSIS | 19th-Century political theorist Alexis de Tocqueville that no time is so dangerous for a repressive government than the moment when it begins to liberalize. Ceausescu may not have been a devoted reader of De Tocqueville, but he took it as a matter of faith that no compromise was possible. In the last decade of his rule, when his regime became harshest, no quarter was ever given to the few dissidents in the country. Most of the best-known dissidents, such as Doina Cornea, a Cluj University professor, were watched incessantly or kept under house arrest. Lesser-known "subversives" were dealt with even more harshly. When the demonstrations began in Timisoara on Dec. 16, the Securitate began to move into place. On Dec. 17, they began to act. Demonstrators -- the exact number remains unclear -- were shot down in the town square. That day and the next, 47 soldiers of the regular Romanian army were publicly executed by the Securitate for refusing to fire on the unarmed protesters. Fired on Crowds That action was an indication of what was about to come. Beginning last Thursday, as the protest spread for the first time to Bucharest, the ruthlessness of the Securitate became even more evident, and Romania's struggle began to look more like a coup attempt in a Third World country. On the other hand, what happened in Romania seemed even more irrational. Last Thursday night, the Securitate fired on crowds of thousands in the Palace Square. It has never been clear how many died, but doctors estimated the number to be at least several hundred. During the early morning hours, trucks were sent to the square to pick up the bodies, and the blood was washed off the cobblestones with fire hoses. Romanians knew, by now, the price they would have to pay for Ceausescu's overthrow. And they were willing to pay it. Doctors at one hospital told of one young man who came in with one eye forced out of its socket by the full blast of a high-pressure fire hose. The doctors were forced to remove the eye. The young man then went back into the streets and was on the square when the firing started. On Friday, Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, flew by helicopter from the roof of the Central Committee building on the Palace Square. By that stage, the army had gone over to the side |
LA122889-0116_0 | HOMELESS VETERANS IN 10TH DAY OF HUNGER STRIKE | December 28, 1989, Thursday, Home Edition Two homeless veterans living in the nation's first shelter exclusively for military veterans Wednesday entered the 10th day of a hunger strike to protest what they call "dictatorial" management at the Queens facility. Earl Bettoe and Benjamin Colon, whose protest is supported by many of the 400 veterans at the Borden Avenue Veterans Residence, told reporters that they started their fast after shelter managers warned them that they would lose their beds if they left for Christmas visits with their families. "Most of us are combat vets, and we are treated like children," said Colon, 36, leaning unsteadily on the cane he said he has carried since he was injured in Vietnam. "We want jobs, we want apartments, we want a place we can be with our children. This place doesn't help you get none of those." The veterans phoned the New York Civil Liberties Union, which has taken up their cause and arranged for negotiations with the Salvation Army employees who run the shelter under contract with New York City. Residents at the 2-year-old shelter, which has drawn inquiries from officials contemplating similar projects nationally, are demanding more medical care and assistance in finding jobs and permanent housing, and an easing of restrictions such as the 10 p.m. curfew. Alfred J. Peck, a Vietnam veteran hired by the Salvation Army to run the $4.2-million facility, said 80% of the shelter's clients are found to be drug or alcohol abusers and that 20% suffer some form of mental illness. The shelter's strict rules, he said, are "a motivator" to help the men learn responsibility. |
LA122889-0166_2 | SCOPE: ATHLETIC LEAGUE DIVERTS GANG YOUTHS INTO RING | an El Monte businessman who wished to remain anonymous. Ray Vasquez, 17, and Juan Cabrera, 16, belonged to rival Lynwood gangs but have become good friends since participating in the boxing program, said boxing coordinator Mike Ramirez. "These two guys are good examples of people learning to get along," Ramirez said. Vasquez said he still is a member of his gang but enjoys coming to the gym to spar. Cabrera said he no longer participates in gang activities. "This is like college. I'm learning things and it keeps me off the streets, keeps me from getting shot. I don't drink or smoke. I'm in shape," said Cabrera, who weighs 106 pounds. As Vasquez and Cabrera feinted and jabbed, several other youths, some as young as 8, hammered punching bags. An aerobics class was in progress nearby. About 45 women were dancing, panting and sweating to the rhythm of "Let's Go Crazy" by rock star Prince. Aerobics teacher Evelyn Davis, like most of the people who help the sheriff's deputies run the center, is a volunteer. She conducts the class three nights a week. "I enjoy it. I would be doing aerobics (at home), but this way I have a lot of company," said the energetic Davis, 28, who works with welfare families for the Department of Public Social Services. Her 7-month-old daughter, Dwanna, plays with her toys off to the side while her mother leads the class. "This is a family affair," said Deputy Fred Shaw, pointing to several parents waiting in an adjoining room while their children took part in a karate class. "We teach the kids discipline. We also stress education," added Scott Wiseman, the karate teacher. The youths must maintain a C average in their school grades to participate in the karate exercises, and they must bring their report cards to Wiseman, he said. "We have youths who were once D students now on the honor roll," said Wiseman, the holder of a black belt. Flye said it is difficult to measure the impact that the center has had on the more than 50 youth gangs in the area served by the Lynwood substation. But he said, "I think we have accomplished a great deal. We have had some subtle influences. "We don't hear reports of kids who come here continuing to get into trouble. They also bring other troubled kids to the center who we help." |
LA122889-0167_3 | SPORTS: THE NEXT DECADE; A PEEK AT THE STORIES OF TOMMOROW | round. EASY GOER SUICIDE VICTIM Depressed over second-place finishes. PGA WEIGHS RULE CHANGES Senior Tour golfers demand shorter holes, larger cups. NEW TED TURNER VENTURE UPSETS WHITE HOUSE '98 Goodwill Games set for Managua. PRESIDENT SALUTES CHAMPS Jackson welcomes Clippers to Rose Garden. SMALLEST BASEBALL CROWD EVER Mariner home game draws attendance of 17. Fans introduced instead of starting lineups to save time. NO MORE HOCKEY FIGHTING Crackdown proposed after four killed in Philadelphia-Hartford brawl. BALLPLAYER HOLDS OUT FOR $100 MILLION "Have to think of my family." SUGAR RAY RE-RETIRES Punchy ex-middleweight has speech, vision, respiratory problems, says he should have stuck to 1990, '92, '93 and '97 retirements. YOUNT NEARS ROSE RECORD Milwaukee DH approaches all-time hit mark; Pete Rose sells "Batboy and Robin" souvenir Louisville Sluggers on TV shopping network for $5,000 each. STRAWBERRY OVERSLEEPS THROUGH DECADE Met outfielder can't account for whereabouts from 1990-95, insists he set alarm. BOB KNIGHT GETS 10-15 YEARS Patient Puerto Rico authorities pleased after surprise extradition of U.S. coach. MAGIC FAREWELL TOUR ENDS Retiring Laker guard receives Rolls-Royce, Lear jet, Faberge egg, Picasso original, Hefner mansion, cruise ship and eight square blocks of downtown Culver City from fans. IDITAROD RACE CALLED OFF Dog-sled pursuit postponed in Alaska as dogs keep slipping on oil. NBC GETS CHINA OLYMPICS Pays $20 billion for 2000 Summer Games in Beijing. Twenty billion Chinese don't care. PBA ADOPTS INSTANT REPLAY Bowlers claim: "Now we can tell if pin was knocked down by rack." LASORDA RECUPERATING Dodger manager's spirits up after long bout with anorexia. WRESTLEMANIA XIV SET FOR FORUM Sellout audience expected for Deborah Norville-Jane Pauley cage match. TWO MORE HUNTERS KILLED Pushed by angry deer over cliff. ROME STAR VOTED ALL-STAR MVP Ferry's 34 points pace European Conference's 138-128 triumph over North Americans in NBA All-Star contest at Florence. Madrid's Charles Barkley adds 33. GRAF LOSES GRAND SLAM EVENT Tennis veteran's 2,000-match winning streak ends with loss to countrywoman from United Republic of Germany. BOSWORTH DUE BACK "Any day now," Seahawks told by linebacker, out 11 years with injury. SAM WYCHE SENTENCED Indicted coach given option of five years in federal prison or five weeks in upstate Ohio. REDS BOYCOTT SEASON OPENER Cincinnati players refuse to play for new owner, say it's "undignified" to work for late owner's St. Bernard. SCHEMBECHLER FIRED University of Michigan chancellor prefers "Michigan man to run Michigan athletics," dismisses Miami of |
LA122889-0196_0 | SHORT TAKES; FAN FRENZY FORCES CANCELLATION OF NEW KIDS BENEFIT CONCERT | December 28, 1989, Thursday, P.M. Final A benefit concert Wednesday night featuring the pop music band New Kids on the Block was canceled when hundreds of ardent fans, mostly screaming teen-age girls, surged forward and threatened to overrun the stage. The band appeared at Boston's World Trade Center for about one minute before retreating backstage to avoid the crush. "The kids were hysterical," said John Drew, head of the trade center. No arrests or major injuries were reported in the crush, but one report said several fans fainted or cried in the excitement and dozens of girls tried to sneak backstage to meet band members. About 4,000 concert-goers -- primarily teen-age girls and their parents -- attended the show, a benefit for Boston Against Drugs. New Kid Donnie Wahlberg called the fan attention "flattering." Backstage, the band presented Boston Against Drugs a $25,000 check. The band appeared in concert in Los Angeles earlier this month, without incident. |
LA122890-0023_1 | SOBRIETY CHECKPOINT FOR NEW YEAR'S EVE | 1990, Friday, San Diego County Edition San Diego police announced Thursday that they will establish a sobriety checkpoint somewhere in the city New Year's Eve but won't say where until two hours before it opens. A state law enacted last Jan. 1 lowered the legal blood alcohol level for drivers from .10% to .08%, a move that has led to a 16% statewide increase in arrests and a 10% increase in convictions for the first 10 months of this year. Between October, 1989, and September, 1990, San Diego police said, 8,238 people were arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, a 9% increase over the previous 12 months. From Dec. 21 to Christmas Day this year, 96 people were arrested in San Diego on suspicion of driving with alcohol or drugs in their systems. Motorists who approach the sobriety checkpoint on New Year's Eve -- Monday night -- starting at about 9 o'clock, will be greeted by an officer who will hand out a pamphlet on the hazards of drunk drinking and ask drivers if they have been drinking. Based on what the officer observes of the driver's condition or speech, the driver might be pulled over for further tests, according to Sgt. Ralph Priem. Drivers will be given several sobriety tests, such as touching the nose or standing on one foot. If an officer determines that the driver is somehow impaired, he or she will be given a choice of a Breathalyzer test, blood test or urine test. A driver who takes a Breathalyzer will either be released or arrested, depending on what the test shows. A driver who chooses a blood or urine test, which takes longer to process, will be arrested. Because of recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings, police agencies must provide alternate routes around the sobriety checkpoint, and cannot keep motorists at a checkpoint for more than three minutes without pulling them over for further tests. The high court also ruled that a law enforcement agency must make public the sobriety checkpoint location. Upon arrest, a motorist loses his driver's license, is given a temporary operating permit for 45 days, and within 10 days must ask the state Department of Motor Vehicles for a hearing to get it back. First-offense drunk drivers can lose their licenses for four to six months. Second-offense drunk drivers can lose their licenses for up to a year. |
LA122890-0050_0 | A TOUGH ROW TO HOE; BIG CHILL OF '90 TAKES TOLL ON COUNTY FARMERS AND LABORERS; GROWERS | December 28, 1990, Friday, Ventura County Edition In the midst of a forlorn battle to save his citrus crop from a deadly freeze,the U.S. Air Force Reserve notified Ojai grower Bob Davis to prepare for a possible call to active duty in support of Operation Desert Shield. Davis, a lieutenant colonel, was too involved with fighting nature to be overly concerned about going to war at age 51. "I thought, 'When it rains, it pours,' " said Davis of the letter that arrived Christmas Eve. "What else could go wrong?" Thursday, Davis learned that orchard heaters, wind machines, helicopters and relatives were enough to save only about half of his 100-acre orange and lemon crop. But Davis felt even worse for a neighbor as he listened to the wind rustling the freeze-dried leaves of an adjacent avocado grove. "Isn't that a terrible sound?" said Davis, standing in a section of his orchards where temperatures fell to 23 degrees Saturday. "That's certainly not the rustle of money." Davis said he remains upbeat because of his investment philosophy. "Real money is made slowly over a long period of time." But real money also was lost quickly last week. One of the century's worst freezes robbed Davis and other Ventura County growers of an estimated $100 million worth of produce. The full extent of damage might not be known for weeks. Davis, ranch manager Henry Cardoza and members of their families invested several nights of sweat equity trying to get ground temperatures above the 28-degree level. About a third of Davis' property, which his parents bought in 1937, lacked orchard heaters, helicopter support and water insulation, relying only on towering wind machines to keep temperatures from dipping below 28 for more than the critical four-hour period. Thursday, the president of the Ojai-Tapo Citrus Assn. toured Davis' property for a damage assessment. Al Bakalian, whose association is a growers' cooperative linked to Sunkist, estimated that half of Davis' crop might have survived the freeze, although much of the fruit could be damaged and will not bring a premium price. Davis fared better than many Ojai Valley growers, said Bakalian, who had toured 15 farms by Thursday afternoon. He estimated that 70% of the valley's citrus crop is lost. The freeze hit randomly throughout Davis' groves. Some trees bore crumpled, turned-up leaves that had changed to a lime-green color, while others across the road appeared |
LA122890-0052_0 | POLICE TAKE AIM AT NEW YEAR'S EVE GUNFIRE | December 28, 1990, Friday, Home Edition In a stepped-up effort to prevent a deadly barrage of gunfire on New Year's Eve, officials have enacted a citywide ban on munitions sales and announced plans Thursday to arrest revelers who shoot off firearms as part of holiday celebrations. The campaign, coupled with an advertising blitz, is designed to stop people from firing guns into the air to mark the new year -- an illegal and sometimes deadly tradition that police battle annually. Assistant Los Angeles Police Chief Robert Vernon said teams of officers will be sent to neighborhoods throughout the city on New Year's Eve to discourage the gunplay. "We're going to blanket the city with police officers," Vernon told a news conference. "And there's a good chance you'll get arrested if you fire (a) gun into the air." Every year, scores of revelers ring in the new year in Los Angeles and other cities by shooting rounds of ammunition skyward. And each year, police say, errant bullets wound and sometimes kill people and damage property. On New Year's Eve 1988, 1,247 shootings were reported to Los Angeles police and two people were killed. Things were better the next year: Shootings were down 43%, no one was killed and eight people were wounded, police say; 73 people were arrested under a new state law that makes such gunplay a felony. "Every Jan. 1 is a time of celebration," Vernon said. "Unfortunately, every Jan. 2 (is) a time we count the bullets that come back down to the ground. And unfortunately, we count some of those bullets in people." In the South-Central area of Los Angeles, where police say most of the shooting occurs, 685 officers -- more than twice the normal number -- will be on duty New Year's Eve, said Deputy Chief William M. Rathburn, commander of the South Bureau. Their orders this year, Rathburn said, are to stay out on the streets. In the past, police have often sought shelter from raining bullets under freeway overpasses or have stuck close to the station around midnight, he said. "We will not do that this year," Rathburn said. In addition to the police deployment, officials are placing billboards throughout the city, airing public service announcements on television and radio and distributing thousands of flyers to homes and schools. All warn that a bullet fired into the sky can kill. While officials have |
LA122890-0053_1 | 5 ANGLOS ON COUNCIL CALL TORRES A 'RACIST'; POLITICS: HIS REMARKS ABOUT NATURE OF THE BELL GARDENS LEGISLATIVE BODY TURN UP THE HEAT IN THE 1ST SUPERVISORIAL DISTRICT RACE. LAWMAKERS HAD ENDORSED CALDERON IN THE CONTEST. | Latino City Council member. Denying that his remarks were racist, Torres said: "I have nothing to regret." In their open letter to Torres, the council members called the state senator's remarks "morally repugnant." "Your statements call into question your ability to serve the many diverse cultures contained in the 1st Supervisorial District," the letter said. The controversy is an illustration of the continuing political fallout from the rapidly changing demographics of southeastern Los Angeles County, where Latinos are now a majority in several cities. The Jan. 22 supervisorial election was ordered by a federal court judge who found that the all-Anglo Board of Supervisors had drawn district boundaries to discriminate against Latinos. The judge created a new 1st District with a 70% Latino majority. In September, three Bell Gardens residents filed suit against the city in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, charging that the citywide election system is racially biased. Once a semi-rural bedroom community of Anglo Midwestern migrants, Bell Gardens has seen its Latino population skyrocket in the last two decades. The city of 42,000 people now is one of the state's most densely populated communities. In a City Council election last April, two defeated Latina candidates found the largest obstacle to their election was not their Anglo opposition but Latino voter apathy -- Bell Gardens has one of the lowest Latino voter registration rates in the county. In response to the accusations, Torres acknowledged that the council members were not entirely to blame for the Latinos' lack of representation. Latinos, he said, have "only themselves to blame" for their absence in city government. The controversy began when Torres addressed a Dec. 17 council meeting packed with 600 residents, most of them Latinos. The council voted at the meeting to approve new zoning laws aimed at reducing the population by ridding the city of many apartment buildings. More than 3,000 properties will be affected by the zoning change, scheduled to go into effect in 20 years. Some residents will be forced to move to make way for new commercial and industrial districts. Most of those displaced will likely be Latinos. Many have charged that the council is trying "to drive (Latinos) out of town." Council members Ronald Bird and Robert Cunningham said their accusations against Torres were not intended to influence the Jan. 22 supervisorial election. Still, they sent copies of the letter to the 19 city councils |
LA122890-0057_0 | VENTURA COUNTY NEWS ROUNDUP: CASITAS SPRINGS; PLANS FOR PLANT ALARM RESIDENTS | December 28, 1990, Friday, Ventura County Edition A proposal to build an ozone-generating plant on an earthquake fault has alarmed Casitas Springs residents who say their fears of toxic spills and other risks are not being addressed. Barbara Garcia Weed said she is one of 280 residents in the small community near Foster Park who oppose building a large water treatment plant below Casitas Dam. "We're so close. We're going to be in extreme danger if these toxic fumes will be released in this area," Weed said. Richard Barnett, chief engineer of Casitas Municipal Water District, said his staff heard residents' concerns in June and spent extra time addressing them in a draft environmental report released recently. The report concludes that the $27.8-million plant would not have any significant impact on the environment if all safety standards and procedures are followed. "There will be no ozone released into the atmosphere," Barnett said. The water district was ordered in 1987 to bring Lake Casitas water up to state and federal drinking water standards by 1992. The water is disinfected with chlorine to serve 56,500 residents in the western county. The new plant would filter and treat 32 million gallons of water per day. Hydroelectric turbines would provide power to pump ozone and other chemicals directly into the lines before the water is sold. Pat Baggerly of the Environmental Coalition of Ventura County said the coalition also questions several of the report's conclusions. "The Red Mountain Fault is an enormous concern they have not answered," Baggerly said. Various geologists predict that the Red Mountain Fault that runs under the dam could have an earthquake measuring from 6 to 7.5 on the Richter scale. A public hearing on the draft document has been scheduled for 7 p.m. on Jan. 9 in the Oak View Community Center. THIA BELL |
LA122890-0085_3 | LIGHTLY ARMED MARINES COULD GET CHEWED UP, SOME EXPERTS FEAR; MILITARY: MOBILE UNITS DESIGNED FOR QUICK STRIKES ARE ILL-SUITED TO TAKE ON THE ENTRENCHED IRAQIS, ANALYSTS SAY. | in Vietnam. Such a breakdown was not available from the Center of military History or the National Archives, however. Robb, who recently visited the Persian Gulf, acknowledged that he has "some reservations" about deploying Marines on the ground in ways that reduce their flexibility and create additional logistic supply difficulties. But he is confident, he said, that U.S. generals in Saudi Arabia "appreciate the strength and weaknesses of forces, American and allied, under their command." A senior Marine general, now retired, complained that comparing a Marine brigade to an Army armored division "is comparing apples and oranges." Both can have roughly the same number of personnel (about 15,000), but they are "different tools," he said. "Sure, if you have to go into a tank battle, or go 150 miles deep, I'd take an Army armored division or mechanized infantry division over the (Marine) amphibious assault force," he said. "But I'd also take them over the Army airborne. That's not what Marines or Army airborne were designed for. "The airborne is for dropping behind enemy lines, and the Marines are for end runs," he continued. "Like at Inchon (the amphibious landing during the Korean War), where we saved the day." Another retired Army general, also a Vietnam veteran, noted that the Army's airborne divisions are equipped even more lightly than the Marines in terms of tanks and artillery. These parachute troops, also deployed at the front in Saudi Arabia, appear as vulnerable as the Marines and also ill-suited for straightforward ground offensives, he said. "With airborne, there's a rule of thumb -- you've got about 72 hours to get in there and relieve them (after they are dropped), or you lose them," he explained. These shock troops can't sustain heavy fighting within enemy lines, so the main force must break through to them within about three days. He viewed the role and limits of Marines in similar fashion. "I can't imagine that (Gen. H. Norman) Schwarzkopf (who commands U.S. troops in the gulf) would want to use Marines for deep penetration missions overland when he has those armored divisions," said the ex-Marine general. Then why not pull them out? "Politics," according to one former Army officer. "The Marines have a large and effective lobby in Congress, like (former Marines) Chuck Robb and John Glenn (D-Ohio) in the Senate," he said. In a time of shrinking defense budgets, every service wants to |
LA122890-0094_1 | PADRES' SANTIAGO ARRESTED, CLAIMS POLICE BEAT HIM | If after review we find their conduct not within those standards, we will definitely pursue litigation." Said Adams: "Let's go to court. When the situation comes out in court, I think you'll find what Benito said is not accurate, and we'll prove it. "It's a free country. People can say what they want. Let Benito say whatever he wants. He's a public person." Adams went on to say he anticipated the matter will end up in court. "Sure," he said. "That's what most people in his condition do, go to court. People making $1 million a year. Zsa Zsa Gabor went to court, didn't she?" Padre President Dick Freeman said he knew nothing about the matter. "I'm not aware of it," Freeman said. "I've got no comment." Santiago said the incident occurred after he stopped his car to try to assist his sister and daughter, whose vehicle had been pulled over by police. According to James, who said he was reading from the police report, Santiago was arrested at 11:33 p.m. Sunday in the area of the Coronado Toll Plaza as he was traveling eastbound. "It appears that another vehicle was stopped for a traffic violation and the vehicle driven by Santiago pulled over and got involved in the stop the officer made on the other vehicle," James said. James said it was determined at that time that Santiago was under the influence of alcohol. "After he resisted arrest, he was subdued, taken into police custody and taken to the police department." He was then booked in the County Jail and released about four hours later. Santiago, 25, said he and his wife, Blanco, were leaving Coronado in one car and his sister, Eneida, 42, and daughter, Benny Beth, 5, were following him in another car. He said that they had just had dinner at his family doctor's house in Coronado and were on their way home to Chula Vista when Eneida's car was stopped by the police. According to Santiago, he also stopped because Eneida does not speak English. "I want to find out what's wrong," Santiago said. "They said, 'Stay inside your car.' I told the guy, 'I don't want no trouble.' A couple of minutes later, one more car came up." Boras said Santiago told him: "He went (to his sister's car) because he wanted to get his daughter because she was crying. The officer told him |
LA122890-0095_2 | DAVE DISTEL: CHARGERS MOVING IN WRONG DIRECTION | ownership group not have the financial wherewithal to shop deluxe for its biggest needs, why didn't it go to a second-hand store and see if Hoyt Wilhelm was interested in coming out of retirement? Maybe Tom Werner is going to surprise us and merge his highest-priced talent. That could mean Bill Cosby at third base and . . . voila . . . Roseanne Barr covering both left and center. By herself. Without moving . . . Aren't going to places like Bloomington, Ind., to play basketball supposed to be excellent opportunities for gaining experience? You don't expect to win against Indiana, but you come away better for having been there. Tell it to USD. Since losing at Indiana, 91-64, the Toreros have stumbled on the road against UC Santa Barbara, 72-63; Cal State Northridge, 83-73; and Eastern Washington, 73-69. UC Santa Barbara figured to be a test, but the others should have been nothing more than nutritional supplements to the win column. If you are dreaming of a West Coast Conference championship and a trip to the NCAA tournament, you beat Northridge and Eastern Washington . . . anywhere. Those should have been road wins rather than road kills . . . With USIU's athletic program staggering toward a possible demise, an old theoretical question comes to mind. If a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? Athletics would be missed by the players and coaches and maybe even the secretaries, if they have any, and it would be a shame for them. It's a shame, of course, when anyone is put out of work and, more so, when youngsters are deprived of an opportunity to "play" their way to an education, assuming they are into the educational part of the equation. But this program would go under with barely a whimper of notice beyond the eucalyptus-lined roads of USIU's Scripps Ranch campus. In this community, which follows its largest university with chilling apathy, USIU athletics never really had a chance . . . at least at the Division I level . . . Playing as well as it did at the end of the season, San Diego State's football team would have fared quite well in maybe half of the 19 bowl games this year. In fact, Al Luginbill can probably talk about bowl aspirations in 1991 |
LA122890-0102_7 | SHE'S A REAL FIGHTER -- AND SHE'S BATTLIN'; BOXING: STEPHANIE LAMOTTA IS IN A LOT TOUGHER FIGHT THAN HER FATHER EVER WAS. THE OPPONENT IS MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS. | she is proud of her father's boxing career and occasionally accompanies him to major Las Vegas fights, she is not a fan. "Actually, I really don't like boxing," she said. "I really don't enjoy seeing men hit each other. But Dad gets ringside seats, so I like to go with him and meet important people. "Did I say that? That sounds terrible." She is not totally free of MS symptoms. "My legs are weak, I can't run at all," she said. "A year ago, I entered a 12-mile charity walkathon and practically finished on all fours. I was in bed a week after that." There is no evidence that boxing workouts, or any other kind of physical activity, wards off or lessens the degree of MS symptoms. "All I can tell you is that I feel good after these workouts, that my doctor tells me if it feels good, keep doing it," she said. Fact is, doctors know very little about MS. It's known that women are afflicted slightly more often than men, and that environmental factors are somehow related. The disease strikes people in temperate climates more often than in other regions. MS has been linked by some researchers to where a patient's first 15 years of life were spent. The disease is extremely difficult to diagnose, a process that can take up to five years. Most often, diagnosis comes only after a long list of other possibilities -- ranging from syphilis to cerebral infarctions to spinal arthritis -- are eliminated. There is no cure. Moreover, spontaneous remissions and the sudden onset of symptoms make any treatment difficult to evaluate. Research continues. More than $10 million was spent on MS research in 1990, according to the National MS Society. Researchers are hopeful that AIDS research may provide clues to the causes of MS. "It's believed there may be some parallels in the immunology of AIDS and MS," said Thomas Fauble, an Arcadia neurologist who keeps close tabs on MS research. "Very generally, the same thing happens in both diseases -- the immune system is disrupted and ceases to act in a normal protective fashion. Everyone hopes AIDS research will spill over, and help people with MS." LaMotta toweled off after her workout and talked about her outlook for her life. On May 25, she will marry Jacques Dreyfus, a Los Angeles musician. "I'm in remission," she said. "But some |
LA122890-0102_8 | SHE'S A REAL FIGHTER -- AND SHE'S BATTLIN'; BOXING: STEPHANIE LAMOTTA IS IN A LOT TOUGHER FIGHT THAN HER FATHER EVER WAS. THE OPPONENT IS MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS. | so I like to go with him and meet important people. "Did I say that? That sounds terrible." She is not totally free of MS symptoms. "My legs are weak, I can't run at all," she said. "A year ago, I entered a 12-mile charity walkathon and practically finished on all fours. I was in bed a week after that." There is no evidence that boxing workouts, or any other kind of physical activity, wards off or lessens the degree of MS symptoms. "All I can tell you is that I feel good after these workouts, that my doctor tells me if it feels good, keep doing it," she said. Fact is, doctors know very little about MS. It's known that women are afflicted slightly more often than men, and that environmental factors are somehow related. The disease strikes people in temperate climates more often than in other regions. MS has been linked by some researchers to where a patient's first 15 years of life were spent. The disease is extremely difficult to diagnose, a process that can take up to five years. Most often, diagnosis comes only after a long list of other possibilities -- ranging from syphilis to cerebral infarctions to spinal arthritis -- are eliminated. There is no cure. Moreover, spontaneous remissions and the sudden onset of symptoms make any treatment difficult to evaluate. Research continues. More than $10 million was spent on MS research in 1990, according to the National MS Society. Researchers are hopeful that AIDS research may provide clues to the causes of MS. "It's believed there may be some parallels in the immunology of AIDS and MS," said Thomas Fauble, an Arcadia neurologist who keeps close tabs on MS research. "Very generally, the same thing happens in both diseases -- the immune system is disrupted and ceases to act in a normal protective fashion. Everyone hopes AIDS research will spill over, and help people with MS." LaMotta toweled off after her workout and talked about her outlook for her life. On May 25, she will marry Jacques Dreyfus, a Los Angeles musician. "I'm in remission," she said. "But some people go into remission for 10 minutes, others for 50 years. "I'm totally annoyed by MS," she said. "That's about it -- I'm annoyed. Am I bitter? No. You're dealt cards in your life, OK? This is my card. I can deal with it." |
LA122890-0127_0 | BRIEFLY | December 28, 1990, Friday, Home Edition Benzene Found in Denture Adhesives: New York's consumer watchdog and the federal government warned that testing showed three brands of dental adhesive with high levels of the chemical benzene, a known carcinogen. The Food and Drug Administration identified the brands as Orafix Special, Brace and, to a lesser degree, Cushion Grip. All three are being recalled by their manufacturers. Officials said there was no immediate health hazard but that it could pose a danger over many years. |
LA122890-0132_1 | LATIN AMERICA TAKES STEPS TO STOP TOXIC IMPORTS FROM U.S.; ENVIRONMENT: EVERYTHING FROM HOUSEHOLD TRASH TO RADIOACTIVE SLUDGE IS DUMPED IN THE REGION, CAUSING A VARIETY OF LIFE-THREATENING DISORDERS. | is the world's leading waste exporter. American companies wanting to export hazardous waste must tell the Environmental Protection Agency. Such notifications rose from 12 in 1980 to 626 in 1989. A growing share of the waste went to Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and the Caribbean, according to EPA documents. "Latin America is a perfect dumping ground," said Rubens Born, director in Brazil for Greenpeace, the international environmental group. "There's lots of space, loads of corrupt inspectors and widespread ignorance of the problem." Waste exporters say wastes are tightly monitored by the EPA and shipments could not leave the United States if they contained dangerous levels of toxins. They also say the disposal methods they practice in foreign countries are comparable to those in the United States. Latin health officials argue that poorly paid, ill-equipped port inspectors are easily bribed to sign consent forms for importing hazardous waste or to look the other way when cargoes are disposed of illegally. U.S. law says foreign countries must be notified about waste shipments, but many Latin governments complain about the quality of the information. "The information we receive from the U.S. EPA is grossly misleading," said Dr. Waldemar F. Almeida, head of Brazil's National Institute of Health Quality Control. "We are rarely informed of the quantity, the type of waste or its destination." Wendy Grieder, director of the EPA's international office in Washington, responded in a telephone interview: "Waste is shipped with the understanding of all countries involved. Latin countries are told through our embassies what kind of waste they are getting, how much and the point of exit and entry." A 1988 report by the EPA inspector general said, however, that the agency did not know how much waste was shipped abroad or which exporters failed to comply with requirements for notification of intent. Foreign firms often approach debt-ridden Latin governments with offers of public works projects or increased investment in return for permission to dump waste. In 1988, a New York company offered to build schools, hospitals and roads in San Clemente, Peru, in return for the right to dispose of incinerator ash near the city. After public protests, Peruvian officials rejected the offer. On July 7, 1989, Summit Cement & Development Corp. asked the Bahamian government for permission to blend 88,000 tons a year of hazardous solvents with prime fuels to fire cement kilns on Grand Bahama Island, according to company |
LA122890-0149_3 | JOSEPH N. BELL: JOURNEY TO U.S.S.R. CHANGES PAIR'S LIVES | were about. The others would set up in a public park and play music and talk to anyone who stopped to listen. A concert would then be arranged at some local hall that evening. The concert (the young musicians were all amateurs) would consist of ethnic music -- ranging from the Beatles to black African -- followed invariably by invitations to members of the group to visit the homes of those in attendance. There, talk would often go far into the night. The one constant in these conversations was the hunger of Soviet citizens for information about the United States. "Until four or five years ago," Bill said, "the Soviet people were fed nothing but negative propaganda about the U.S. Then the doors were opened, and they were permitted an honest look. So in that very short span of time, they've gone from one extreme to the other in the way they think about us." Esther enlarged on this. "Most of the people we talked to think that Americans have all the answers. We thought it would make them feel better to know about the serious domestic problems we have, but they said, 'No, no. We don't want to hear that.' All they wanted to hear was that we could offer them absolute solutions to their problems." This hunger was demonstrated over and over, especially in the Ukraine, where, Bill said, "there is lots of despair because the people feel that if they don't get independence now, they never will." Except in Moscow -- "which is full of big-city people intent on making a living" -- the American visitors found the Soviet people they met "possessing a wonderfully generous spirit." (The DeTallys insist on the distinction between Soviet and Russian because they were startled and impressed by the diversity and independent nature of the dozens of ethnic groups that make up the Soviet Union.) Esther recalled a food shop in a Siberian town named Severo Vaikolsk "in the only shopping mall we saw on the whole trip." The DeTallys tried to buy canned milk and were turned away with a string of nyets by the storekeeper. They were standing there confused when a strange woman approached, handed them a slip of paper and disappeared. It was her ration stamp for milk, sugar and tea -- enormously valuable in a nation of severe food shortages. "Yet," Esther said, "she gave it |
LA122890-0150_0 | GROWTH HORMONE LINKED TO AGING | December 28, 1990, Friday, Orange County Edition Research suggests that treatment with human growth hormone may reverse some of the effects that aging has on the body. Injecting a genetically engineered version of the natural body hormone led to an increase in muscle mass and a decrease in body fat in a group of men ranging in age from 61 to 81 years old. However, the results are preliminary, and the long-term effects of human growth hormone have yet to be determined. "What is exciting is the possibility of using growth hormone on a short-term basis to assist recovery from illness, injury and surgery in older people," said Dr. Jir-Shiong Tsai, a specialist in geriatric medicine at New York University Medical Center. "Having more muscle strength in these situations could be highly beneficial," Tsai observed. "We are conducting clinical trials to test this theory." "Everyone loses muscle and gains fat with age," he explained. A decline in human growth hormone may be one reason why fat gathers and muscles wither as people grow older. "At this point, people should not be calling their physicians to ask if they should be taking growth hormone," Tsai said. "But the future looks very promising." Growth hormone is produced by the pituitary gland during sleep. As it circulates through the body, it stimulates the production of a protein that spurs tissue growth and helps maintain organ health. Over time, at least one-third of the population stops producing any useful amount of the hormone, Tsai said. In the study, healthy older men found to be deficient in that protein were given injections of synthetic human growth hormone. After six months, the men had significantly increased muscle mass and skin thickness, and decreased accumulations of body fat. |
LA122890-0151_0 | NEIGHBORHOOD PROFILE: CENTRAL EL TORO: CLIPBOARD | December 28, 1990, Friday, Orange County Edition For many long-term residents of Orange County, a drive through central El Toro brings back many fond memories of family outings and picnics in the nearby Cleveland National Forest. "It was the place we stopped for cold drinks and candy before heading up to Modjeska Canyon on Sunday afternoons," said Sharon Rhodes, who recently moved to El Toro from Garden Grove. "That was in the '50s." The neighborhood was very rural then; not many people lived here. But that's hardly the case now. In fact, this area has been the center of some of Orange County's most ferocious growth during the last 10 years. Since 1980, there has been a 166% increase in the population and an almost 200% growth in the number of households. It's hard to believe that as recently as 1970, fewer than a thousand people lived here. Despite the growth and construction of several large housing and condominium developments throughout the late 1960s and 1970s, the neighborhood has not completely lost its country atmosphere. Greenbelts shaded by eucalyptus trees wind throughout, providing pathways and trails between the houses. Many of the residences look like mountain cabins and are bordered by wood and stone fences. The area is rustic, with a touch of elegance. El Toro High School is located here, along with Serrano Intermediate and two elementary schools. In the mornings and afternoons, the streets and sidewalks are crowded with cars and children walking, skating and cycling home from school. Barbara Smith, principal of Serrano Intermediate, said the wooded area surrounding the school gives it a secluded, quiet atmosphere conducive to learning. "The kids are very active, of course, but the surroundings here are very pleasant." Serrano Intermediate was recently awarded a $40,000 California Technology Grant, which was used to install laser discs and computers in the science classrooms. "We are participating in a statewide program designed to reduce the dropout rate. So we decided to make our teaching methods more active, trying new ways to engage the students instead of having them just sit and listen," she said. "We've even started on a robotics program." Every year, the school receives more and more students of various ethnicities who need help learning English. "We videotape the child speaking in his native language, and later on we tape them speaking English. It's very encouraging for new students to see how |
LA122890-0166_0 | P.M. BRIEFING; FRANCE TO RESTORE CHINA CREDIT | December 28, 1990, Friday, P.M. Final France will restore official lines of credit for French-managed projects in China broken off last year after the crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators, an official said today. An Economics Ministry official said a protocol signed last week by China and France will free loans of $260 million to finance telecommunications and water treatment projects. The official said France's move is in accordance with a decision taken by the 12-nation European Community in November to normalize economic relations with Communist China. The funds will be the first official transfer from France to China since the Beijing government ordered the harsh crackdown on pro-democracy activists June 4, 1989, at Tian An Men Square. |
LA122989-0045_1 | INVESTMENT OVERSEAS BY U.S. FIRMS RISING | for four to five years. U.S. direct investment abroad rose by $25.01 billion in the first nine months of 1988 to $351.91 billion, after rising by $18.9 billion in all of 1988, according to Commerce Department estimates. In the same period, foreign direct investment in the United States grew faster, as it has for most of the decade. Foreign investment rose by $22.65 billion to $350.15 billion after surging $58.44 billion last year. Economists attribute the heavy investment flows both in and out of the United States to the globalization of manufacturing and other industries. Commerce Department economists said U.S. companies plan to spend $48.9 billion for plant and equipment at their overseas affiliates, up from $42.6 billion last year. Their outlays are expected to rise further in the new year, to $49.9 billion. "The underlying trend is definitely up," although the data is volatile, reflecting fluctuating exchange rates and accounting factors, said Cooney at the National Assn. of Manufacturers. In the past, the driving force behind U.S. investment abroad was the cheap foreign labor, said William Archey, an international economist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. But that is no longer the case. "The cost of labor is no longer a factor for overseas investment," he said. The main reason American companies want to invest overseas today is to manufacture goods for foreign markets at a competitive cost, even if the start-up expenses are high. "American companies will allocate more dollars abroad," as some 200 American manufacturers have enough cash to make the expensive overseas investment, Greene said. The rise in foreign investment, however, could spell trouble for the weak domestic manufacturing sector. Economists worry that there could be a repeat of the damage caused in the 1960s and 1970s when the domestic sector was hurt by the surge of U.S. investment overseas. "That is quite true, especially in the chemical and electronics industries," Greene said. "It is devastating for unions," he said, but added that "workers will not suffer much, as the service industry will absorb workers (who are pushed out of the manufacturing sector)," he added. As U.S. firms prepare to increase their presence in big markets in Europe and Asia, Japan's barriers to foreign investment are coming under renewed criticism. "Japan is a big market, but we cannot invest there," Archey said. He pointed to two kinds of obstacles: unique Japanese business practices, such as the |
LA122989-0046_2 | BURGEONING TOKYO CAREENS TOWARD A QUAKE CALAMITY | distant bay. "If we had understood the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the damages from the Great Kanto Earthquake which came just 17 years later could have been avoided," says Hirokazu Iemura of Kyoto University's Earthquake Engineering Laboratory. Iemura, who toured the Bay Area after last October's quake, is afraid history may repeat itself. The recent San Francisco temblor, he said, demonstrated what scientists call "non-linear" consequences of an earthquake. That means that in some cases the earth may tremble far more than the magnitude of the quake would suggest. The Bay Area quake suggested that Tokyo too may be much more vulnerable than experts had thought. For this and other reasons, Tokyo, most experts agree, has much to worry about. A study last year by Japan's National Land Agency concluded that if a great earthquake -- magnitude 8 or greater -- should strike Tokyo in the middle of the night it would kill about 80,000 people. If it came at lunch time, as it did in 1923, or in the evening when stoves would be lit for cooking and heating, fires would sweep through parts of the city and the death toll could reach 150,000. Many experts here think even those grim estimates are far too low. When the great quake strikes, as everyone here knows it must, it will hit a city that is already so crowded that on a typical day it dwarfs the worst traffic jams that Los Angeles has to offer. Despite widespread planning efforts, there will be few places for people to run, and it will be extremely difficult to reach safety even for those who know where to go. The danger will not be just from falling objects. It will be mainly from fire. "In the 1923 earthquake, 100,000 people burned to death," Iemura said. That is more than twice as many as were killed directly by the 7.9 temblor. And now, all these years later, Iemura and many other experts in Japan are afraid that history may repeat itself. "We are very afraid of fire," said Etsuzo Shima, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo and one of Japan's leading earthquake experts. "We have many wooden houses and the roads are very narrow, and if there is a big fire in the region, many of them will be burned." Nario Oyagi, a geologist-engineer with Japan's National Research Center for Disaster Prevention, thinks Tokyo's |
LA122989-0046_5 | BURGEONING TOKYO CAREENS TOWARD A QUAKE CALAMITY | constantly active. The Earth's crust is made up of giant tectonic plates that drift around the planet. The plates slide against each other in some regions, like California, causing earthquakes. In other areas, an oceanic plate slides beneath a continental plate through subduction. The latter is the process that created the active volcanoes of the Pacific Northwest. The islands of Japan are on the Eurasia Plate, which is sliding up over two other plates, the giant Pacific Plate (which also grinds against California on its opposite side) and the Philippine Sea Plate. The Philippine and Pacific plates are being pushed under Japan as the powerful forces crunch together, creating volcanoes as they heat the underside of the Eurasia Plate. And unfortunately for Tokyo, directly beneath the mega-city, the two oceanic plates are colliding as they sink into the Earth's mantle. Temblors occur as the plates are ripped apart while being forced under the Eurasia Plate, so they strike much deeper than the shallow earthquakes in California. However, they can be quite large, well above magnitude 8, so they pose a great danger to areas on the surface. Furthermore, the strength of an earthquake here is magnified by the geological conditions that underlie nearly the entire city of Tokyo. Like Los Angeles, Tokyo and many other cities in Japan are built on sedimentary deposits that have washed down from the mountains over millions of years. Those deposits have formed a huge sedimentary basin beneath what is now the city of Tokyo. In some cases, that basin is up to two miles thick. When an earthquake occurs, the waves of energy flowing from the epicenter are magnified by shifting sedimentary deposits, making the ground shaking more intense. Tokyo has an additional problem because the bedrock on which the sedimentary basin sits is shaped somewhat like a bowl. Shock waves striking the bedrock are reflected back up toward the surface, extending the life of the earthquake. "The duration of the shaking is very long," said Oyagi, of the National Research Center for Disaster Prevention. Officials here know those conditions could add up to disaster for Tokyo, a belief that was reinforced by Kyoto University's Iemura when he returned from his tour of the San Francisco Bay Area after the Oct. 17 quake. He has concluded that Japan still has much to learn from San Francisco as well as Mexico City, which was ravaged |
LA122989-0049_1 | SEX-SHOW SENTENCES DISALLOWED; COURT: STATE JUSTICES SAY A JURY TRIAL IS APPROPRIATE TO CONTEST CHARGES OF PERMITTING LEWD ACTS AND PROSTITUTION IN VIOLATION OF A COURT ORDER. | other cases, however, Bird court decisions were rejected or significantly modified. Significant Ruling The decision was hailed by an attorney for the Mitchells as a significant expansion of the right to a jury trial. "Historically, the jury has been a fundamental protection of the citizen against overzealous prosecutors and pliant judges," said Thomas Steel of San Francisco. "In a case like this, where emotions often run high, a jury is especially important. It keeps the average citizen in the process of decision-making." Amitai Schwartz, who represented the Bar Assn. of San Francisco in urging the justices to uphold the jury-trial right, said: "It's good to see the California Constitution is alive and well. . . . There's been no retreat." State Deputy Atty. Gen. Laurence Sullivan expressed disappointment with the ruling but declined to speculate on its potential effect. "We felt we had a reasonable argument against a jury trial here," Sullivan said. "But obviously the court disagreed. We accept that." In Thursday's action, the court set down other restrictive guidelines for contempt proceedings under the venerable abatement act, a law that allows officials to proceed against businesses that offer lewd performances and prostitution. The justices ruled that violators of injunctions in such cases may be charged with only one count of contempt for every day prohibited acts occur -- rather than being charged with one count per act. Permitting a $1,000 fine for each lewd act would be "totally out of proportion," the court observed. And while as an alternative, violators may be held liable for contempt without a jury trial under a separate, more lenient law -- one with a maximum five days in jail and $1,000 fine -- the accused must be notified at the outset under which law prosecutors intend to proceed, the court said. The ruling resulted from a nine-year legal battle between authorities and the Mitchell brothers, proprietors of a well-known film and live adult-theater business that has operated for more than 20 years here. In 1980, San Francisco prosecutors filed a public-nuisance action against the Mitchells and theater manager Vincent Stanich under the abatement law. A court injunction was issued barring the men from allowing acts of "lewdness or prostitution" at the theater. In 1982, police visiting the premises over a four-day period charged that performers permitted patrons to engage in oral copulation and other acts off stage in return for tips. On |
LA122989-0055_0 | AIRLINE TELLS OF BOMB THREAT TO PARIS FLIGHT, LETS PASSENGERS CANCEL | December 29, 1989, Friday, Home Edition Northwest Airlines took the unusual step Thursday of offering to cancel reservations on one of its international flights because of a bomb warning. Reservations clerks were informing callers of a "security threat" made against Saturday's Flight 51 from Paris to Detroit. The Federal Aviation Administration said it knew about the telephoned threat and was making sure that airport security is increased in Paris. The airline said that the flight would go as scheduled, but it was giving customers the option of making other travel arrangements. "This is an unusual threat in the fact that it's very specific, directed at a specific flight on a particular day, and that is what adds to the precautions that we're taking surrounding it," Northwest spokesman Douglas Miller said in St. Paul, Minn. He said that someone telephoned the airline and warned that a bomb would be aboard the flight and that Northwest had informed the FAA, FBI, CIA and foreign agencies. He would not say when or where the threat was received and would give no other details. Security precautions were being stepped up on all Northwest flights out of Paris, Miller said. "We intend to fly the plane," he said. "We feel that we have all the precautions and security measures in place to operate the plane safely." Miller said that the airline had not decided whether to notify passengers individually before show-up time for the flight. A printed advisory about the bomb threat will be handed to those who go to the airport for departure on Saturday, he said. "They can change their itineraries without penalty," he said. Airlines usually prohibit reservation changes or charge extra for them. FAA spokesman John Leyden said that officials were "working with Northwest and with the French authorities to ensure there is extra security on the flight." Leyden said the bomb threat came in an anonymous telephone call and was one of about 300 that U.S. carriers receive each year. Survivors of those killed when Pan Am Flight 103 blew up over Scotland on Dec. 21, 1988, have been critical of airlines and the FAA for not warning passengers of threats made against flights on that route. |
LA122989-0056_0 | FEARFUL BEIJING NOW UNLIKELY TO LIFT MARTIAL LAW | December 29, 1989, Friday, Home Edition The bloody uprising in Romania culminating in the execution of longtime leader Nicolae Ceausescu has alarmed China's hard-line leaders and dimmed hopes for an early relaxation of martial law in Beijing. American and other Western officials have repeatedly advised China that the removal of martial law would be a key step in restoring ties with the West. It would also help President Bush, who has been under fire from Congress for being too soft on China. But diplomats said Thursday that Beijing could not afford to risk removing martial law, imposed more than six months ago, about two weeks before the army smashed its way into the capital to crush mass student-led protest demonstrations. "The leadership is twitching with fear," said a Western diplomat. "China's leaders are extremely tense because of Romania. It is much more difficult for them to move (on martial law) now." Eastern European diplomats agreed. "I don't see how they can lift martial law now," said an East European envoy. "They may have to keep it in place until the Asian Games." Beijing hosts the games next September. Bush has sent his national security adviser, Brent Scowcroft, to China on two missions to try to repair damage to ties from Beijing's crackdown on students in June. He has agreed to allow China to launch three U.S.-built satellites and removed a ban on trade credits by the U.S. Export-Import Bank. "China is aware that Congress is profoundly unhappy with Bush over the Scowcroft missions and that something is expected in return," a Western diplomat said. China's response has been minimal. It has agreed to allow the Voice of America broadcasting service to replace an expelled correspondent in Beijing, and to talk about an academic program. Beijing's public reaction to the upheaval in Romania has been cautious. It played down the unrest initially, giving its citizens only brief and vague reports, but later reported the execution of Ceausescu, the hard-line Communist president who resisted reforms sweeping Eastern Europe and was one of Beijing's staunchest allies. Beijing has since congratulated the new leaders and expressed its wishes for continued friendship. Out of the public eye, it has taken a tough position, tightening security at campuses, giving Communist Party members the "correct" version of events and accusing Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev of ultimately being to blame. China insists that it is different from |
LA122989-0059_1 | 200 GRIEVE IN ORANGE COUNTY FOR SOLDIER, 19 | Anaheim. Drake urged the mourners not to criticize the invasion of Panama that was ordered by President Bush -- whom Drake called "Roy's commander in chief" -- but to blame the reasons why it was necessary. "If we are quick to criticize, if we're quick to ask why, let us criticize the Noriegas, let us criticize the drug lords, as Roy did and would, let us criticize those that would end our freedoms and let us criticize those that would poison our young people," Drake said. Other speakers remembered not the soldier, but the young Orange County man they knew. "He had an impish smile, sort of a . . . not a Dennis the Menace smile, sort of like Opie (a character on the old 'Andy Griffith Show')," said John Halsey, band director at Magnolia High School in Anaheim, where Brown once played trombone. "He had a lot of funny antics, but I can't share them all here now because some of his teachers may be here." Brown's maternal aunt and uncle, Mimi and Bill Campbell of Darby, Mont., also recalled their nephew as a youngster who was full of life and was given to occasional practical jokes. "Roy was really a special baby -- he was quick to come into the world," Mimi Campbell said. "It was a short 8 1/2-minute delivery, as if he was in a hurry to do what he had to do. More than 70 years he packed into 19 years of life. "I look at Roy's life like an unfrosted cake," she said. "It didn't need the icing because it was wholesome and good just as it was." Although Halsey and the Campbells occasionally smiled while recalling memories of the young man, they all fought back tears as they concluded their eulogies. After the service, a police motorcycle escort led the mourners in a long funeral procession to Holy Sepulcher Cemetery in east Orange. At the hillside grave site, with a backdrop of mountains crowned by gray skies, a time-honored military ceremony was enacted when a seven-member honor guard fired three volleys, and a lone bugler played taps. Six soldiers then folded the flag that draped Brown's coffin and handed it to his mother, Julie Otto. The ceremony concluded with Maj. Gen. Todd Graham, deputy commander of the 6th Army based at the Presidio in San Francisco, handing Otto her son's Purple Heart. |
LA122989-0060_3 | ADMINISTRATION TRYING TO INCREASE PRESSURE ON VATICAN; DIPLOMACY: OFFICIALS ARE GATHERING NEW EVIDENCE IN AN ATTEMPT TO PERSUADE THE POPE TO TURN NORIEGA OVER TO THE U.S. | Fitzwater appeared to harden the Administration's position Thursday, saying that the United States could not accept a deal that would give Noriega refuge in another country because of the heavy price the United States has paid for his ouster. Last spring, as U.S. officials despaired of deposing Noriega, the Panamanian leader was encouraged to voluntarily leave Panama for a third country, with the understanding that he would not be extradited to the United States. Such an offer is no longer on the table, said Fitzwater, who is traveling with the vacationing President Bush in Texas. Officials said they are confident that the Panamanian government would find a way to turn Noriega over to the United States if the Vatican decides to deliver the general to local authorities. "Panama has been pretty flexible," said one. "There are many ways of bringing this to a resolution. He can be turned over or surrendered or declared a detainee of U.S. forces. . . ." Panama's constitution prohibits the extradition of a Panamanian citizen to a foreign country. But officials said that the government there could hand Noriega over without formally invoking the extradition process, thus sidestepping the constitutional issue. The Vatican's diplomatic missions around the world, like other embassies, have long been sanctuaries for those fleeing political or religious persecution. Under accepted international law, foreign embassies cannot be entered by police or armed forces seeking to seize refugees. The Times reported Thursday, however, that Laboa, the Vatican's diplomatic representative in Panama City, had granted authority to the U.S. Army to take the necessary steps to free any Vatican embassy personnel taken hostage by Noriega or anyone else. Asked whether the Administration sees a serious threat of hostage-taking, Fitzwater said: "We have no indication there is trouble within the nunciature. There are no hostages we are aware of." But, he said, he assumed that the letter granting the unusual authority to the Army had been written because "when you have people of the ilk of Mr. Noriega and his cronies, there certainly is reason to be concerned. If there is any danger there, we would be prepared to offer assistance." Fitzwater added that Bush had not spoken with the Pope about Noriega. "We think it's appropriate that we not try to intervene in a way not appropriate to the decision-making process," he said. Times staff writer James Gerstenzang contributed to this report from Texas. |
LA122989-0063_0 | 4 DIE IN FREEWAY COLLISION WITH TANKER | December 29, 1989, Friday, Home Edition Four people were killed when a Chevrolet Blazer slammed into a jackknifed gasoline tanker on the San Bernardino Freeway in Claremont late Wednesday, causing a fiery explosion that left authorities with few leads Thursday as to the victims' identities. A 36-year-old Glendora woman, whose name was not released, was believed to be at the wheel of the Blazer when it hit the twin tanker, authorities said. The three other victims also were riding in the vehicle, police said. It will be several days before a comparison of dental records can be made to confirm the identities of the four people who were trapped in the flaming vehicle, Los Angeles County coroner's spokesman Bob Dambacher said. The tanker driver, Linzell Washington, 52, of La Puente, was uninjured in the crash, which occurred at 11:25 p.m. Wednesday. The inferno closed the freeway in both directions for several hours. Washington told CHP officers that he was driving westbound at about 55 m.p.h. when the tanker's brakes locked and spun the rig out of control, stopping about 200 feet east of Indian Hill Boulevard, CHP spokesman Dennis Paulson said. The spin-out left the tanker jackknifed, straddling three lanes of the freeway, with the cab's headlights pointed northeast. Paulson theorized that the driver of the oncoming Blazer "could have been distracted by the headlights" of the tanker. Washington had left his cab to check on the damage when the Blazer struck the rear tank of the rig. The spectacular fire that followed left authorities with few leads in trying to determine the victims' identities. The identification of the 36-year-old Glendora woman could only be described as "tentative." Firefighters needed an hour to extinguish the blaze. Officials estimated the tanker had been carrying 20,000 gallons of gasoline. Both directions of the freeway were closed between Indian Hill Boulevard in Claremont and Central Avenue in Montclair until 4:30 a.m., when eastbound lanes were opened. The westbound lanes were opened at 6:45 a.m. A CHP spokeswoman said it is believed that the other three victims were two teen-age boys and a child about 10 years of age. The younger child's sex was unknown, the spokesman said. Dambacher, however, indicated that the victims included the Glendora woman, an adult male and a teen-age boy and girl. |
LA122989-0092_4 | CONSUMER AFFAIRS / S.J. DIAMOND: BEST (OR WORST?) OF THIS YEAR'S COMPLAINTS | Service has been widely offered -- up to 10 million pieces in a mailing -- and widely subscribed, with 1 million members now. It's also of questionable value: One should review one's credit report periodically, but such reports (which list all recent orders for copies) are available to consumers for the asking ($8 in California, $2 to $15 in other states). Anyone denied credit gets one free. Moreover, most people want one only when they're about to apply for a loan, and even Credential Service members only order a couple a year, on average: Why bother subscribing? Obviously there's money in nervous consumers -- for TRW and for co-marketers like Chase Manhattan Bank, Broadway stores, Charles Schwab and others willing to tout the service to their customers in return for commissions from TRW. And now TRW and other credit reporting bureaus never will feel obliged to verify adverse information provided by creditors, or to notify consumers (free) of faulty information that's about to cause them trouble. Finally, we must give recognition to marketing ploys so widely practiced now that they've become traditions, and consumer inquiries have virtually stopped. One is the persuasive offer of a "pre-approved" credit line or loan, which nevertheless requires income information, employer's name and address, and a credit check to see whether the applicant's "credit status has changed since pre-approval" (Chase Manhattan's wording). Another is the credit card "protection" pressed on every cardholder, providing "registration" (listing) of all one's cards, creditor notification of lost or stolen cards and some extra junk (accident insurance, emergency cash, etc.). All too often now, automatic enrollment and urgency are implied ("Detach and mail the top portion of this form right away," says Robinson's in Los Angeles), and fees are obscured, buried perhaps in a small-print list of benefits that one is getting. But if consumers have learned enough suspicion now to protect themselves from such small persuasions, why do so many, presented with an obviously suspect deal, so willingly throw all suspicion away? There seemed an unusually high number of calls this year from people who had bought everything from trash bags to gems to computer systems over the phone and everything from audio speakers to car repairs from strangers who approached them in parking lots or on sidewalks. All their stories began with "I know I was stupid" and ended with a request for help. Sigh . . . |
LA122989-0097_0 | BRIEFLY | December 29, 1989, Friday, Home Edition Solar Plant Begins Delivering Power: LUZ International Ltd. said a new 80-megawatt solar power plant in the Mojave Desert, which it called the world's largest, began delivering electricity to the Southern California Edison utility grid. Located 140 miles northeast of Los Angeles, the system will provide enough power to serve about 75,000 homes, Edison said. LUZ, Edison's main solar provider, said the new system allows it to produce 274 megawatts of electricity in Southern California. |
LA122989-0104_0 | PAN AM OBJECTS TO EASTERN'S SALE OF ROUTES | December 29, 1989, Friday, Home Edition Pan American World Airways said Thursday that it would vigorously fight the planned sale to American Airlines of Eastern Airlines' routes in Latin America. Meanwhile, Eastern announced that it planned to cut 600 jobs, mostly managerial, in connection with the proposed transaction. It also announced wage cuts. The objection by Pan Am was not surprising given that it is a major competitor in Latin America of Eastern and American. A spokeswoman for the Justice Department said Thursday that the agency is looking into the proposed sale on antitrust grounds and will listen to any third parties who oppose it. "We strongly object to the further concentration of American's market dominance in Latin America and the Caribbean through the purchase of government route authorities and facilities," said Pamela Hanlon, a Pan Am spokeswoman. "With its already significant operations in the Caribbean and Latin America, American's purchase of these routes is clearly anti-competitive." Hanlon said three U.S. carriers currently serve the area -- American, Pan Am and Eastern. "With the American-Eastern agreement, there will be, in effect, only two competitors." Eastern announced on Dec. 19 that it would sell its Latin American routes and a number of other facilities for $471 million. It needs the funds to operate while in bankruptcy proceedings and to pay its creditors. The Miami-based carrier filed for bankruptcy protection in March, five days after it was struck by its machinists, pilots and flight attendants. It plans to file a reorganization plan and emerge from bankruptcy proceedings early next year. Hanlon said Pan Am planned to file its objections with both the Transportation and Justice departments. Hal Paris, a Transportation Department spokesman, said neither Pan Am nor anyone else had yet filed in opposition to the proposed sale. But, he said, if there were such a filing, "we would make a careful review of the sale of any international routes to see if it would have any effect on competition." A Justice spokeswoman said that agency also had not heard anything from Pan Am. American declined comment on the Pan Am objection. Eastern also said it would implement employee wage reductions of 20% for six months and 10% the following six months, mostly for non-union workers. Although it plans to reduce its 19,000-person work force by 600, it will try to find positions elsewhere for these people. |
LA122989-0111_3 | DEMOCRATS TAKE AIM AT PRINGLE; POLITICS: THE POLL GUARD CASE SETTLEMENT PROVIDES FODDER FOR DEMOCRATS' ATTEMPTS TO WIN THE 72ND ASSEMBLY DISTRICT SEAT. "PRINGLE IS THE NO. 1 TARGET," ONE POLITICO SAYS. | had talked a few months before the election about having "poll watchers" to guard against rumored fraud by Democrats. But he said he did not know until Election Day that uniformed security guards were on hand. "In my opinion," Pringle said, "it was inappropriate to use uniformed security people in the polling places." Orange County prosecutors, working with federal law enforcement officials, are still investigating the possibility of criminal charges arising from the poll guards, Deputy Dist. Atty. Wallace J. Wade said Thursday. But even without criminal action, local Democrats say the combination of the $400,000 settlement and state legislation that arose from the incident, banning security guards near poll sites, are enough to hurt the Republicans. "This is over as far as the courtroom battle is concerned," said Santa Ana City Councilman Miguel A. Pulido, who is considering a run for Pringle's seat. "But it will be many, many years before the outrage in the community over this passes." State Assemblyman Richard Katz, a Democrat who helped in Christian F. (Rick) Thierbach's failed race against Pringle in 1988, added: "This one is going to be tough for the Republican Party in Orange County to shake." One person who some Democrats think could take advantage of that situation is Umberg, 34, who has concentrated largely on drug prosecutions in his more than two years as a federal prosecutor in Santa Ana. Umberg said Thursday that he could not comment on a possible run but acknowledged that "a number of people are encouraging me." And his name has been widely mentioned by Democrats in recent weeks as an attractive candidate. One potential liability mentioned by some Democrats and Republicans alike, however, may be the perception of Umberg as an outsider in the district. He had lived in Irvine but just recently moved to Garden Grove. "It's very commendable that he wants to run for office, but I think a candidate should live in a district for a while and know it well to represent it," said Westminster City Councilwoman Lyn Gillespie, a Democrat who said she herself has effectively ruled out a run for the seat. The sole announced candidate so far for the seat is Jerry Yudelson, a strong environmentalist who worked in Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr.'s Administration and lost a bid for Congress in Orange County. Times staff writers Catherine Gewertz and Dave Lesher contributed to this story. |
LA122989-0120_0 | ORANGE COUNTY FOCUS: HUNTINGTON BEACH; CITY BUCKLES DOWN ON SEAT BELT LAW | December 29, 1989, Friday, Orange County Edition In an effort to persuade drivers to buckle up, Huntington Beach police plan to start a special enforcement program next week along Beach Boulevard. Officer Dave Humphreys said the city's team of motorcycle officers will post additional signs warning drivers that they are entering a special traffic law enforcement zone and advising them to make sure their seat belts are on. "We're pushing this whole concept throughout the department. We going to push this seat belt issue this whole year," Humphreys said. The traffic law enforcement team has operated for months primarily as an education tool to encourage motorists to slow down and drive more safely. While motorists are pulled over for even the slightest infractions, they are usually simply given warnings and a pamphlet. State law prevents police from stopping drivers because of a seat belt violation. But Humphreys said if the team's officers find unbuckled motorists who were stopped for other reasons, they most likely will be ticketed. The new seat belt program is scheduled to start Tuesday on Beach Boulevard between the San Diego Freeway and Warner Avenue. The zone will be posted with signs reading, "Seat Belt On?" and "Buckle Up!" First-time seat belt offenders must pay fines of $20 plus court costs. CHRIS WOODYARD |
LA122989-0132_7 | HOLLYWOOD: A DECADE DRIVEN BY DOLLARS, NOT DREAMS; MOVIES: IN A DECADE MARKED BY NATIONWIDE ENTREPRENEURIAL FERVOR, MAJOR STUDIOS WERE DETERMINED TO MAXIMIZE PROFITS ON ALL FRONTS. | of '87 proved to be the final nail in the coffin. By 1988, the indie boom had gone bust. "Independents were the victim of two diseases which often plague this business," says entertainment lawyer Peter Dekom. "Ego disease and the failure-to-learn-from-the-mistakes-of-yourself-and-others disease. Between them, they've killed more people in Hollywood than drugs, alcohol and traffic accidents." Studios, faced with rising costs, also drew on outside capital. Limited partnerships (which proliferated in the early to mid-'80s after tax reforms of the late '70s essentially wiped out tax shelters) were one way the majors could raise money cheaply and cover their down side. Speculators would invest a minimum of $5,000 interest-free in a portfolio of films in return for a piece of the net. Not surprisingly, in a business in which only three out of 10 films makes money, no one got rich. Disney's Silver Screen Partners, bolstered by an incredible string of hits, was one of the few delivering a decent return. Even so, participants would have done far better investing in Disney stock. And, instead of selling off some of its considerable upside, cash-rich Disney would have been better off going into the marketplace, borrowing money at current interest rates. Theater ownership was another attempt on the part of the majors to tighten their grip on the industry. A re-interpretation of the anti-trust doctrine over the last decade helped them along. When Columbia Pictures, in a benchmark case, was allowed to purchase part of the Walter Reade theater chain in 1981, other studios jumped in. Warner and Paramount went on to become partners in the Mann and Festival chains (which have since merged to become Cinamerica) and Tri-Star bought the Loews chain. Money from abroad has increased the number of credible players (the Japanese, for instance, have recently provided backing for producer Lawrence Gordon, ex-Columbia chief David Puttnam and independent Morgan Creek), but it's still a giant's game. The majors took in more than 90 cents of every dollar earned from the distribution of movies last year and are expected to be even more dominant in the years ahead. For Hollywood has seen the future, and it's called globalization and consolidation. Short-term, that makes for business as usual. Despite a growing xenophobia in Hollywood, most analysts say foreign money need not spell disaster. In a business that trades on relationships, buyers have wisely opted to keep industry insiders in charge. |
LA122989-0140_6 | THE CHINESE OF ORANGE COUNTY; PARENTS WANT TO PRESERVE HERITA, THEIR CHILDREN WANT FAST TRACK TO ASSIMILATION | waves of immigration threw themselves into the process of becoming acculturated in their new society, but they always stopped far short of full assimilation for themselves and for their children. Their situation is the classic one for any immigrant group. "They feel they are an endangered species in this country, maybe the last of their line to truly practice and honor the traditional Chinese ways," said Albert Chu, whose son attended the school. Chu is president of the Asian American Planning Council in Orange County, an umbrella organization for Asian-American community groups. Another parent, engineer Tsun-sen Fu, whose wife, Mitzi, was principal of the Irvine Chinese School when it opened with 30 students in 1975, put it this way: "We are worried, yes, that our children will forget where their families came from, what we lived through, what we believe in. Yes, we are very concerned about our children's Chinese identity, about their roots." The weekly Chinese culture and language classes are one answer. The schools, launched by the parents themselves and supported by tuition fees, have multiplied over the past several years. There are now 16 in Orange County with a total enrollment of 3,000. The Irvine program is the largest, but other major schools include those in Huntington Beach, Anaheim Hills, Fullerton and Fountain Valley. The parents do not rely on the formal instruction on Sunday mornings alone, however. They reinforce the Chinese traditions at home. The parents are role models. They pride themselves on their smooth entry into American society -- mingling easily with Caucasians at work and at American school functions, cultivating the image of being low-profile, hard-working, well-behaved achievers -- part of the model minority. Yet their social lives still revolve around other Chinese, the preferred language is still Mandarin or another Chinese dialect, and their reverence for Chinese traditions is powerfully maintained. They insist that their children adhere to the Chinese traditions of familial obedience, respect for elders, observing ancient holidays and seeking perfection through diligent attention to education. Specialists in intercultural relations, however, point out that some of these parents, like many in other Asian immigrant groups -- underestimate the stresses their children confront in trying to satisfy the demands of two cultures. Speaking of the experience of Asian immigrants in general, Gene Awakuna, a psychologist and director of UC Irvine's student counseling services, put it this way: "The parents believe they are |
LA122989-0142_0 | PARENTS TOLERATE AMERICANIZATION; CHILDREN GAIN RESPECT FOR HERITAGE | December 29, 1989, Friday, Orange County Edition After 21 years of living in America, Shih-how and Jane Chang have witnessed the slow but unmistakable Americanization of their three daughters. No matter how often they speak Chinese to them, no matter how many stories of their families and the "old country" they pass on, no matter how many Chinese classes are given, the parents see in their own daughters the gradual loss of a great heritage. It isn't that the Changs didn't expect this to happen. It is the rapidity and thoroughness of their daughters' Americanization that amazes them. And recently, as if to underscore the reach of assimilation in their family, their eldest daughter married a Caucasian. But the parents, immigrants from Taiwan who became U.S. citizens more than a decade ago, had long ago made their choice. "America is our home. If you do your best here, you have more opportunities. Our children will have them too. But we know there will be cultural adjustments too," said Shih-how, 54, an American-educated engineer and the current principal of the parent-run Irvine Chinese School. As he spoke, his serious, bespectacled demeanor and carefully worded English seemed to fit the stereotype of Chinese in America. Yet both parents' naturally vibrant personalities can surface quickly, even among strangers, especially when the Changs slip back into speaking Mandarin. But the subject this evening at their Irvine home was a particularly crucial one, and Jane Chang, 53, also confronted this matter of assimilation solemnly. "Yes, I worry a lot about it," she said in still halting English. "Yes, it makes me sad when the culture goes, the language goes. When young people look like a Chinese, but don't speak or think Chinese, it is very sad." It may be that assimilation, at least in the case of the Chang daughters, hasn't been that thorough. Consider this from 25-year-old Sherry Jystad, whose vivacity and restless curiosity -- like her sisters Julie, 20, and Karen, 16 -- is as much Chinese as it is American. "Now we realize that we're a lot more Chinese than we thought," said Sherry, a UC Irvine-educated computer programmer. "This surprises us because -- living here in Orange County -- most of our friends and the things we do are non-Chinese." Maybe, she suggested, something of what they were taught by their parents and at the Irvine Chinese School has rubbed off. |
LA122989-0143_2 | OLDER GENERATION FEARS YOUNG WILL LET ROOTS SLIP AWAY | -- that this kind of bilingual, ethnic-pride activism can perpetuate Asian isolation. Besides, this issue, the Yows suggested, is not really so simple. For one thing, no one is questioning the obvious fact that English "is America's language." And Hon said their belief is strong that "America is the best place in the world in so many ways -- the best democracy, the most stable system, the most opportunities for our children." Indeed, Hon added, Chinese immigrant parents "believe we can be proud of being American citizens and still be proud of being Chinese." Most of the parents in the Chinese school, including the Yows, are U.S. citizens. "America is famous as a multicultural society, where other people -- from Europe, from Latin America, from other countries -- also want to preserve the languages and heritage," said Ping, who was principal of the Irvine school in 1988-89. "For us, the old language is the key to preserving the old culture," she said. "For many (immigrants), it is the way we communicate." The Yows' most personal goal -- their "Chinese dream," they said -- is to return sometime in the next few years to Taiwan or Singapore with their daughters. Asked if bringing their children back to live in Asia might be resented by some Americans, Ping, who was born in Shanghai, replied: "It would be the same as American students, those in college, who go abroad to study or work to learn about a second culture," she said. "Only, we want to give our children this same opportunity while they are younger." "It would be for only a few years," she added. "It would not be forever." "Books are fine, and we are grateful for having a Chinese school" in Irvine, said Hon, who was born in Malaysia, his father an immigrant from China's Guangdong Province. But, he added, "this is not quite the same. Our children should have the chance of direct experience, of being there in the old society." The Yows themselves have engaged in this kind of global mobility. Hon, 45, an engineer, was schooled in Singapore and Bangkok and studied at Taiwan National University. Ping, 42, a graduate of the same university, went on to study sociology in Canada in the early 1970s and hold jobs in Houston and Boston. And after they were married in Taipei in 1978, Hon's line of work took them elsewhere |
LA122989-0143_4 | OLDER GENERATION FEARS YOUNG WILL LET ROOTS SLIP AWAY | on the international circuit -- first to Olympia, Wash., back to Singapore, then finally to Irvine in 1985. Such a plan for their children would greatly please the family matriarch. After all, said Tze-fan Deng's daughter, the issue, as always, comes down to passing the torch. "We know what can happen to the children," Ping said. "They go through a period of doubts. They are not proud of our heritage." Ping, her voice subdued, then added: "We don't want that to happen. We must do our best to avoid it. It would be a very terrible loss." Like the other Irvine Chinese School parents, the Yows feel an immense loss over the martial-law crackdown in China. For decades, a return to the mainland was unthinkable, particularly for such families as Ping's, who fled to Nationalist-governed Taiwan in the late 1940s and have their own stories of Communist persecution to remember. Ping was barely 2 years old when her father -- Jack Deng, a Shanghai textile entrepreneur -- had to bring the family to Taiwan, just as the Communist armies were sweeping closer to the Yangtze River delta. When her father returned alone to Shanghai in early 1949 to find a sister and recover some textile machinery, he was captured by the Communists and imprisoned. Later, the new regime allowed him to run his old factory. But in 1962, he managed to flee to Hong Kong, where he eventually rebuilt his business. In 1977, he died of a lung ailment, the result, his family said, of his Communist imprisonment. By the late 1970s, when the Beijing regime was opening the mainland to more tourists and foreign ventures, Chinese from outside regions began returning to see aging relatives. Hon Yow, then working for a Singapore corporation, in 1986 made a hotel-development business trip to the mainland -- his first visit ever there -- that included a meeting with relatives in Guangzhou. And Ping's 78-year-old mother, Tze-fan Deng, in 1986 traveled to Shanghai for a reunion, the first in 38 years, with her sister and other relatives there. Ping did not go. "Before (last) June 4, I thought I might eventually go. I felt there was some hope there," Ping explained. "But no, not after Tian An Men (the massacre). People are scared to go now." Neither she nor Hon plan to return. "All of a sudden, any hope is crushed. It makes |
LA122989-0147_0 | WORLD; QUEEN HANDS OUT 947 HONORS | December 29, 1989, Friday, P.M. Final Britain today gave author V. S. Naipaul a knighthood, made actress Maggie Smith a dame and honored police and rescue workers in the search for victims of bombed Pan Am Flight 103. The colony of Hong Kong, to return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, also was heavily represented on Queen Elizabeth II's semiannual honors list, which is compiled by the government. The queen will carry out the investiture of the 947 awards made in the New Year list at a later ceremony. Former New Zealand Prime Minister David Lange, whose anti-nuclear stance put him at odds with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, was made a companion of honor, a prestigious order headed by the queen and never numbering more than 65 members. |
LA122989-0149_0 | NATION; SOCIAL SECURITY TAX CUT SOUGHT | December 29, 1989, Friday, P.M. Final Accusing the Bush Administration of "thievery" of Social Security Trust Fund money, Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.) said today he plans to introduce a bill repealing a 1990 increase in Social Security taxes. Moynihan said the measure, to be introduced when Congress returns Jan. 23, would save a couple paying at the top rate about $600 in taxes and would result in a $55-billion tax cut for the nation. He said he was making the proposal because it had become clear that the Administration was using trust fund surpluses to finance the federal budget deficit, perverting the original purpose of the fund surplus to provide for retirement payments in the next century. "There is one word for this . . . and it is thievery," Moynihan told a news conference. |
LA122989-0152_0 | INDIA BUS FIRE KILLS 22 | December 29, 1989, Friday, P.M. Final At least 22 people were killed when a bus caught fire in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, the Press Trust of India reported today. It said six more people were missing and feared dead when darkness curtailed the search for bodies Thursday night. There was no immediate explanation for the fire. |
LA122989-0154_0 | HONG KONG POLICE STORM REFUGEE SITE; BOAT PEOPLE: TENSIONS AMONG 56,000 VIETNAMESE GROW IN THE FACE OF A PROMISED NEW ROUND OF FORCED REPATRIATIONS. | December 29, 1989, Friday, P.M. Final Riot police firing tear gas stormed a refugee camp today, seizing more than 400 weapons and arresting boat people only hours after a group of 111 Vietnamese voluntarily returned to their homeland. It was the second consecutive day of disturbances in Hong Kong's tense detention centers, where more than 56,000 Vietnamese are awaiting resettlement abroad or a one-way ticket back to Hanoi. One Vietnamese was killed in what officials said was a gang fight in a closed detention center Thursday night. The clashes came in the face of a promised new round of forced repatriations to Vietnam by British and Hong Kong authorities, who say the voluntary program is too slow to make a substantial reduction in the population of the colony's crowded camps. At least 21 officers and eight boat people were hurt today in the melee in the Chi Ma Wan detention center, where authorities said Vietnamese threatened security forces and threw stones at them during what was described as a "routine search" for hidden weapons. More than 300 police and detention officers in full riot gear stormed one section of the camp, firing canisters of tear gas into crowds of boat people. Police said they arrested 19 Vietnamese and seized 430 weapons in the operation. Secretary for Security Geoffrey Barnes said authorities negotiated for five hours with the boat people to give up their weapons and allow a search before officers moved in. "However, despite repeated efforts to obtain the cooperation of the boat people and warnings that the search would have to be carried out regardless of their objections, the boat people still refused to give up their weapons," Barnes said. "In the circumstances, (detention officers) and police were forced to conduct the search as planned. "The boat people, in order to make the operation more difficult, pushed their women and children to the front. In the end, it was necessary for (tear gas) to be used to disperse the crowds and to reduce the possibility of serious injuries." The clash came hours after a group of 111 boat people voluntarily left Hong Kong this morning on a chartered airliner for Hanoi rather than face months or years in the crowded camps without hope of resettlement abroad. Those who left today made up the eighth group to return to Hanoi under a U.N.-sponsored voluntary repatriation program, bringing to more than |
LA122990-0012_1 | VENTURA COUNTY NEWS ROUNDUP: OJAI; IT'S A LONELY LOT, BUT FACE LIFT MAY HELP | and out, I'm the only one there," said Westrom, executive director of the Ojai Valley Chamber of Commerce. Downtown workers, merchants and shoppers avoid the free parking, despite complaints that parking spaces are scarce near the city's core, Westrom said. They don't park there because tree roots have buckled a walkway from the lot at 414 E. Ojai Ave. And, except for flagging down the passing trolley, commuters have no regular public transportation from the lot, she said. Officials hope the lot will become a "park-and-walk" lot. There is no commuter service out of Ojai other than a South Coast Area Transit bus that runs several times daily from Ventura and back -- but it stops at the post office, several blocks from the park-and-ride lot. Ojai Public Works Director Stan Moore said more people will use the lot when improvements are made, but they are eight months behind schedule. "We feel like it's going to be a tremendous asset once it becomes complete," he said. Plans include taking down a chain-link fence around the lot and putting up signs along Ojai Avenue, directing motorists where to park. A passenger shelter will allow people to wait for taxi service or regular bus and trolley stops. The lot also will be lighted at night, Moore said. Bicycle racks will be put in, and a new sidewalk to Montgomery Street will be installed, Moore said. The city Public Works Department is ready to do the work, but Caltrans is reluctant to approve a mid-block crosswalk across California 150, he said. "We may have to forfeit the crosswalk to get the permit approved," Moore said. Meanwhile, Westrom said she will continue to park in the lot and encourage others to take advantage of its benefits. She walks the two blocks from her car to her office. "I feel secure when it gets dark that I'm walking on Ojai Avenue instead of a back street," she said. "And whenever buses come into our community with seniors, I always have them park down there because it's safer to unload." But she admits one of her reasons for using the lot could end if it becomes more popular. "The kids ride skateboards in the other municipal lot, and they use our cars as backstops," she said. "In the park-and-ride lot I don't get any nicks in my paint from skateboards or other car doors." THIA BELL |
LA122990-0031_0 | JURY PAY | December 29, 1990, Saturday, Home Edition How can it be possible that the state only pays it citizens $5 per day and 15 cents per mile one way for transportation when they are asked to report for jury duty? This doesn't evencome close to minimum wage. The daily pay barely covers lunch in one of the local restaurants, and the allowance of 7 1/2 cents per mile does not even cover the price of gas for a car. Some people who serve are compensated by their employers, but those who are unemployed and/ or retired are insulted by a payment of $5 per day for their time. This is an injustice and certainly should be remedied in the near future. LESTER PRICE Reseda |
LA122990-0032_0 | DEALING WITH SOCIOPOLITICAL WORLD CHANGES | December 29, 1990, Saturday, Home Edition I am disappointed in The Times. After spending an enjoyable hour reading your paper, I ran across Page H7 (World Report), and an article on the Third World poor. The article was enlightening as was the adjacent chart defining the world's 11 poorest nations. Why is there a picture of a dump in Manila at the center of the article, with the caption describing 20,000 people living at the dump? Your "Smokey Mountain" picture seems to be shorthand for the image of poverty. You will note that the adjacent article does not mention the Philippines, nor is the Philippines listed as one of the poorest countries, which it is not. In addition, people don't "live" in the dump in Manila any more than people live in the dump in Los Angeles. There is considerable poverty in Manila, and I suggest you wait to show the "Smokey Mountain" photo until you are reporting on the subject. DAVID S. FROELICH Panorama City |
LA122990-0048_1 | PERSPECTIVE ON THE PERSIAN GULF; DEFANG THE FUTURE SADDAM HUSSEINS; IRAQ IS A TEST CASE FOR HOW THE WORLD WILL DEAL -- OR NOT -- WITH POST-COLD WAR NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION. | weakened the relative influence of all external powers. Had Middle Eastern nations not been able to play the superpowers off against one another, militarily and diplomatically, the history of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries might have been very different. The United States would have found more pliant regimes in the region, and oil prices would not have skyrocketed. Since the '70s, the most important change in the region has not been the rise of Saddam Hussein or his aggression, but the collapse of the countervailing Soviet influence in the region. This created a power vacuum into which Hussein adventured. The gigantic American military force now in the region would not have been possible if the Soviets were still a major factor. Today, they need U.S. aid more than the benefits they might derive from their Middle East commitments. The Middle East could, as some worst-case scenarios suggest, explode into holy war and pan-Arab nationalist frenzy. But the reverse is more likely. Hussein has splintered the cause of Arab unity. Even the Palestinians, his warmest supporters outside Iraq, seem to be having second thoughts. A more likely scenario is the further spread of Islamic fundamentalism as the spear point of resistance to external influences in the region. In the meantime, however, American influence is greater than ever. And this could give the United States a long-term edge in its hyper-competition with Europe and Japan, both of whom are far more dependent on Middle East oil than America. In effect, the United States stands with its foot on the hose line that carries energy to its chief competitors. Thus the major oil issue is not whether petroleum countries or companies get rich right now, but who will dominate oil policy long after Hussein is forgotten and what that will mean in the hypercompetition among the world's three biggest economic powers. The second factor in this great global game is financial. Ironically, the United States has turned to others to help finance the costs of this projection of military power. Neither the Europeans nor the Japanese relish the thought of Saddam Hussein directly or indirectly controlling world oil prices. With Kuwait in his pocket, and his military machine aimed directly at Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, he could literally destroy the economies of Europe and Japan. Far better to enhance American influence, which is limited in any case, than to allow |
LA122990-0055_0 | STATE STUDY DETAILS AIDS NEEDLE MISHAP AT MERCY | December 29, 1990, Saturday, San Diego County Edition Improperly trained technicians, sloppy lab techniques and a lack of written procedures are to blame for a young woman's injection with a syringe used on an AIDS patient at Mercy Hospital last September, state investigators report. For the first time, the state report lays out the chilling chronology of how the mistake was made and some of the reasons the woman wasn't notified of it for 36 hours. Based on an October inspection, the report this week from the licensing and certification division of the State Department of Health Services says the error occurred because a nuclear medicine technician recapped a used syringe before placing it into its protective lead container. It is routine hospital procedure not to recap used syringes, so they won't be mistaken for sterile ones. Compounding the problem, it says, a second technician failed to read the name label on the syringe before taking it from atop a small refrigerator and injecting the woman with it to diagnose the reason for her back pain. Shortly after her injection at 11 a.m. Sept. 25, the technicians discovered the error when they found a full syringe with the woman's name on it, the report says. That means not only that the woman was injected with someone else's used syringe, but also that she probably received the wrong radioactive substance for the test she was supposed to have been given. Instead of notifying the woman's doctor -- as hospital policy specifies -- or their supervisor, the technicians took it upon themselves to confirm the error that afternoon with a lung X-ray test that a doctor never requested. They also decided to inject the woman with a radioactive isotope a second time, this time so she could have the correct test on her back performed. The reduced-dose level in this second injection was determined by a technician, not by a doctor, and neither it nor the preceding events were recorded in the patient's chart, the state report says. Indeed, Mercy's nuclear medicine technicians at the time routinely failed to document basic data on the tests they did on patients, the report says. The woman's lawyer, Harvey Levine, said she was told that the second injection was needed because they had "missed the vein" the first time. But a technician later told the state investigator that "patients are not told (of errors) because |
LA122990-0067_2 | ASK THE HANDYMAN: A LITTLE CONDENSED MILK HELPS A BIT WHEN DRILLING PORCELAIN | it's weak, it's more susceptible to parasites. Also, make sure the plants around the trees aren't afflicted with the flies. Use the solution wherever you see them." Q: I foolishly used some Lime-Away to clean the marble floor in our entry hall. It left heavy dark smudges in numerous spots. Is there any way to get these off? L.S., Fullerton A: "What may have happened is the marble wasn't completely sealed after it was installed," says Ken Kettering of Del Piso Brick and Tile in Anaheim. "Most people think marble is a very hard, resilient rock, but in its natural state it's really very porous and can be easily stained. There is a pumice mixture on the market that you can use to bring the stain up to the surface, but it's not easy to work with. If you're really concerned about it, it may be best to call in a professional marble cleaner." Q: I've got a hanging fixture on a polished brass chain that I'd like to move to another room. However, I want to know how to remove a couple of the links without damaging their finish. M.T., Orange A: "There is no perfect way to do it. Even the pros will scratch the finish on a chain," says David Galluccio of Harbor Lites in Costa Mesa. "Your best bet is to use a good set of chain pliers, which are usually available in hardware or lighting stores and run about $10. They make it easier than trying to do it with a standard pair of pliers, but they're not perfect. Just be patient and be careful." Q: I've heard a lot of pros and cons about glue guns. Some people tell me not to use them if I'm working with wood, others say they work great with wood. Who's right, and are there different types of glue sticks for different jobs? C.D., Fountain Valley A: "I know of just two types of glue, one that dries clear and another that dries white," says Robert Valdez of Clarke Dye Hardware in Santa Ana. "As for what works better with wood, it depends on the job. The glue from glue sticks will be more rubbery and you can disconnect two pieces of wood if you needed to. When you use wood glue, however, it sticks and stays. You'd better like your job as it is after it dries." |
LA122990-0072_0 | 33 INJURED AS TROLLEYS COLLIDE; DRIVER TESTS POSITIVE FOR ALCOHOL | December 29, 1990, Saturday, Home Edition A trolley car rammed into another trolley that was unloading commuters Friday morning in an underground station on the edge of Boston Common, injuring 33 people, officials said. The driver of the moving trolley tested positive for alcohol in his blood. The accident involving the Green Line trains occurred at Arlington Station. The Green Line is one of four subway lines operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. "I just screamed out: 'Everybody hang on and get down. We're going to hit,' " passenger Steve DePaula said. "It just seemed like seconds later we smashed into the trolley in front of us. People just went flying everywhere." DePaula said the moving trolley was going faster than usual. But Thomas Glynn, the transit authority's general manager, said officials did not know how fast the second car was going. "I was looking at the lady across from me; next thing I knew, the lights went out and she was on the floor," said Ernest Jones, a passenger on the stationary trolley. "I saw one man . . . on the floor on his back, crying, obviously in agony, hurt." The driver of the moving trolley told officials his brakes failed, Glynn said. Both operators, whose names were not released, underwent drug and alcohol tests immediately after the accident. "The driver in the rear car, the car that did the hitting, . . . was found to test positive for alcohol," a transit spokesman said. The driver was suspended without pay pending the outcome of an investigation, officials said. Most of the 33 people injured were treated and released at hospitals. One person was in intensive care at New England Medical Center. |
LA122990-0073_2 | NATIONS, FIRMS ITCHING TO DO BUSINESS WITH IRAQ; GLOBAL ECONOMY: IN MESSAGES BOTH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE, THEY LET IT BE KNOWN THAT THEY ARE EAGER TO RESUME LUCRATIVE DEALS WITH BAGHDAD ONCE THE GULF CRISIS IS ENDED. | of the dealings involve a joint agreement for up to 600 Soviet technicians to stay in Iraq despite the danger and the effects of the U.N. embargo on trade with the country. The Soviets "welcomed Iraq's decision to allow Soviet experts to leave or stay in the country as they wish," said a communique issued after the most recent meeting. Earlier this month, Iraq had indicated that the Soviets must fulfill their contracts. But 900 Soviet workers have flown home during the past week, leaving about 1,400 in the country. The economies of Turkey and Iraq are tightly bound, and both countries have sent messages of assurance that long-range relations can be friendly once the crisis is over, diplomats say. Iraq is especially eager to reduce tensions with Turkey: In the event of war, its neighbor might serve as a springboard for a U.S.-led attack from the north. Also, the sources of one of Iraq's main rivers lie in Turkey. With a new dam that was completed in the fall, Turkey can literally turn off the tap that would affect much of Iraq's water supply. "Iraq is mad at Turkey, but in the long run, it must promote good relations," said an Arab diplomat. Before its Aug. 2 invasion of Kuwait, Iraq had offered a rare Third World bonanza for industrialized countries. During its eight-year war with Iran, Iraq was a major international weapons purchaser. It bought millions of dollars of arms from the Soviet Union as well as France and the United States. Over the years, it has tried to buy the means of producing chemical weapons -- from Germany and Switzerland -- and nuclear weapons -- notably from France. Baghdad also has bought missiles from the Soviet Union, China and Argentina. After the Iran-Iraq War, Baghdad engaged in a hasty scheme meant to rebuild an economy strained by the drawn-out conflict and to dive headlong into industrialization. It dusted off ambitious development plans, and several European countries along with Japan rushed to help finance and participate in them. A contract for a new $1.5-billion oil refinery to supply fuel to Baghdad and central Iraq was set to be signed early in 1991. Japan and Italy were to provide designs and equipment, and Czechoslovakia skilled labor. Japanese companies were helping modernize Iraqi telecommunications and along with Italy were constructing a new oil pipeline that would pass through Saudi Arabia. |
LA122990-0073_5 | NATIONS, FIRMS ITCHING TO DO BUSINESS WITH IRAQ; GLOBAL ECONOMY: IN MESSAGES BOTH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE, THEY LET IT BE KNOWN THAT THEY ARE EAGER TO RESUME LUCRATIVE DEALS WITH BAGHDAD ONCE THE GULF CRISIS IS ENDED. | notably France, Italy and Germany, modernized power plants, oil pipelines and steel mills. The Soviet Union was involved in developing oil fields and updating power plants. The United States was a relative latecomer to the Iraqi market, but Washington had signaled an intention to compete by participating in the November, 1991, Baghdad trade fair, especially in development of Iraqi oil production. The bulk of U.S. exports to Iraq during 1989, the last year for which full data is available, consisted of agricultural goods, mainly wheat. In 1989, the United States exported $1.2 billion worth of products to Iraq and imported $2.4 billion in oil. Even less-developed countries found a place in the Iraqi sun. Turkey, Yugoslavia and India won contracts for road, bridge and dam projects and, along with poorer nations like Egypt and Bangladesh, exported cheap labor to work on them. "It is hard for countries doing business with Iraq to just turn away," said a European economist. "Everybody would like to come back." Iraq was something of a 1980s rarity among Third World countries. Unlike most Latin American and African countries, it had money to invest, or at least a steady source of oil income to help finance big projects. "The war with Iran left Iraq running behind the other gulf states," said a Western European diplomat. Iraq's vision of itself as a kind of Ruhr Valley of the Arab world also led to headlong efforts to industrialize with all the latest technology -- a windfall to eager Western and Japanese traders. "Even the Soviets would sublet contracts to Western firms in order to satisfy the Iraqi demand for the latest," said the West European diplomat. Thousands of foreign businessmen and workers fled Iraq after Saddam Hussein decided to set them free rather than detain them as a shield against attack. Now, individual companies, regardless of their home country's stand on the gulf crisis, are finding ways of signaling a willingness to return. Businessmen are phoning government contacts to discuss how to resume operations and negotiate the terms of possible penalties they might incur for late work, diplomats say. Some have left a skeleton staff of local employees to staff their offices rather than close. "These are signs of good faith," said a Western diplomat. "Some companies spent 20 years trying to build a working relationship here. They don't want to throw it away in a couple months." |
LA122990-0080_1 | GULF CRISIS FOUND TO BE 1990'S TOP STORY | development that drew similarly close attention was a direct spin-off of the gulf crisis: the rise in gasoline prices caused by the invasion's impact on world petroleum markets. Each month, the Times Mirror Center for The People & The Press surveys a sample of Americans to determine what news stories attracted the most attention and what the public learned from them. In its year-end report, the center said the gulf crisis had generated unusually intense and prolonged interest among news consumers. With one exception, the only news stories that attracted more than 40% interest in this year's monthly surveys were those involving the U.S. military buildup in the gulf, the hostages held in Iraq and Kuwait and the steep rise in gasoline prices at home. The single exception was the U.S. invasion of Panama, which was closely followed by 60% of those who participated in last January's survey. By contrast, the peaceful revolution in Eastern Europe and turmoil within the Soviet Union attracted relatively little attention. In no month were stories on these topics closely followed by 30% of those surveyed. The intense focus on the gulf conflict appeared to divert attention from news closer to home. Besides the gasoline price rise, the top-rated domestic stories were the decline of the economy and sensational crimes. News interest intensified as the U.S. economy began to slip in late summer, according to the surveys. By November, 39% of respondents said they were closely following economic news. Only sensational crime stories tended to attract as much attention. The September murders of five people near the University of Florida campus registered 36% on the "closely followed" index, and 29% of survey participants said they focused on the bizarre Boston suicide and murder of Charles Stuart and his wife. Meanwhile, there was a clear consensus on the most over-covered story of the year: the marital troubles of Donald and Ivana Trump. In March, a record 55% of those surveyed said they were fed up with news about the Trumps' travails. The center also tallies how many respondents can correctly identify names in the news. The results suggest that even the key figures in the most closely followed stories are not well known. Only 17% could correctly identify Gen. Colin Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the nation's top military leader. However, 37% were able to correctly identify Marla Maples, Donald Trump's paramour. |
LA122990-0094_2 | SUPERVISORIAL ELECTION; DONATION CAP LIFTED IN RACE FOR 1ST DISTRICT; POLITICS: CANDIDATES ARE FREE TO RAISE UNLIMITED AMOUNTS. JUDGE CITES A FEDERAL COURT RULING THAT STRUCK DOWN PROP. 73 LIMITS AS AN ABRIDGMENT OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION. | to influence the election. "We are going to have to raise larger amounts of money in order to be competitive," she said. Flores, when informed of the ruling, said: "That's great. . . . I'm going to ask for as much as I possibly can." Calderon and Flores, a former aide to retiring Supervisor Pete Schabarum, said the ruling would benefit Torres the most. Torres was unavailable. But his spokeswoman, Dee Dee Myers, said, "I don't think there is any doubt we will be able to raise more money," but she could not say how much. Myers contended that all of the candidates would benefit. With the slumping economy, the holiday season and contributors tapped out from the November statewide election, "it's a tough time to be out raising money," she said. She contended that Flores could benefit the most. "There are a lot of business interests who have business before the county who want to make sure a Republican gets elected and the board philosophy doesn't change," Myers said. Dana said he would consider funneling money from his $700,000 campaign fund to Flores, but no decision has been made. Antonovich could not be reached. Bill Robertson, executive secretary-treasurer of the County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, applauded the ruling. "It is going to increase our ability to make contributions to our candidate, which is Art Torres." Robertson could not specify an amount. In the latest reports covering fund raising through Dec. 8, Molina raised $108,260; Torres, $53,578; Flores, $28,318; and Calderon, $10,300. The state Fair Political Practices Commission advised candidates last month that the limits applied to the 1st District race because it is a special election. But the commission did not send an attorney to Friday's court hearing, sending a letter instead agreeing to abide by the court's decision. "No one is really opposing this," Zebrowski noted. A union attorney argued that the Jan. 22 election was not a special election because the seat has not been vacated by Schabarum. Robert Stern, co-director of the California Commission on Campaign Financing, said Zebrowski's decision allows "retiring or sitting officeholders -- Democrat or Republican -- to once again play power broker in the district." The Jan. 22 election in a redrawn 1st District was ordered by U.S. District Judge David V. Kenyon, who ruled that the old district lines denied the county's 3 million Latinos political representation on the county board. |
LA122990-0099_1 | DOCTOR'S DEFENDERS SPEAK OUT; HEARING: TESTIMONIALS AND THE PRESENCE OF FERVENT SUPPORTERS DOESN'T SWAY A JUDGE WHO REFUSES TO LIFT AN ORDER BARRING CHARLES WESLEY TURNER JR. FROM PRACTICING. | the mothers and babies he treats." Among the doctor's backers Friday was the mother of a baby whose delivery Turner speeded up so that the infant could be displayed at the Melodyland Christian Center at midnight last New Year's Eve. Though the state alleges that Turner acted negligently in his handling of that birth, the mother, Brigitte Palmer, said neither she nor her daughter, Myra, were harmed by the experience. "Even after all the allegations I've heard today, I'm pregnant and I'm expecting my third child, and I want him to deliver it," Palmer said in the courthouse hallway after the judge ruled against Turner. In a spirited courtroom defense, Turner's attorney, Roy O. Moss Jr., argued that Turner is a competent, caring, Christian physician who treats immigrants and the indigent regardless of their ability to pay. Noting that overburdened emergency rooms and hospitals are no longer welcoming uninsured women, even those in labor, Moss said that Turner's removal will hurt the needy most. "The poor people are going to suffer -- the ones that only have Medi-Cal or no medical insurance and can't find a hospital to take them," he argued. Moss contended that the fetal death rate of infants at Turner's Covenant Birthing Center, located on the grounds of Melodyland, is 1.3 per 1,000 live births. That compares with an Orange County average of 6.4 deaths in 1988, Moss said. "If you review Dr. Turner's records on infant and maternal mortality, he's the guy that everybody in this county ought to go to," Moss said. Gesturing to a courtroom packed with at least 50 supporters, some of whom clutched Bibles and quietly held their palms up in a gesture of charismatic prayer, Moss argued that Turner's patients were "voting with their feet" by attending the hearing. At one point, Turner's backers murmured their support for Moss' arguments, and the judge ordered them to be silent. Moss said that 51 people, including two doctors and scores of patients, had submitted letters to the court in Turner's defense. He said that Turner had not had time to have other doctors review his cases and rebut the Medical Board's "expert" testimony. The allegations against Turner, Moss argued, are based on a review of 12 of the doctor's worst cases. But the 65-year-old physician should be judged by his entire record, because in delivering 19,000 babies, he has lost only one mother |
LA122990-0100_0 | HOW A RAP CONCERT BURST INTO VIOLENCE | December 29, 1990, Saturday, Orange County Edition The following account of the incidents at the Celebrity Theatre Thursday night is based, in part, on reports by Times pop music writer Mike Boehm, who was in the theater reviewing the rap show, and Times staff photographer Alexander Gallardo, who was outside when a teen-ager was shot. As rap shows go, the one at the Celebrity Theatre on Thursday night was fairly ordinary in the beginning. As usual, patrons lined up outside, waiting to be searched for weapons and contraband. Inside, the audience danced and rocked to the frenetic beat. But about an hour into the show, all hell broke loose outside. Later, skirmishes also erupted inside the theater. Some witnesses said the melee inside the theater that led to the show's cancellation was linked to the gunfire just outside that left a 16-year-old boy with a stomach wound. Others -- including the police -- said it appeared that the violence inside and outside the theater were not related. Some said gangs started the fights, while others -- including some performers -- said lax security and poor management heightened tensions and caused the crowd to erupt. Amid all of the conflicting accounts, one thing is clear: The actions of a few troublemakers quickly turned a few hours of enjoyment for 2,500 happy rap fans into a chaotic frenzy. The star attraction for the evening was Ice Cube, the outspoken rapper formerly with Compton rap group N.W.A. A sellout crowd traveled from all over the Southland to see his performance, but he never made it on stage. The show began at 8 p.m. with Kid Rock, who was followed, after about 20 minutes, by another rapper from Los Angeles, Yo-Yo. Fans who got past the security checkpoints in time for the opening acts were enjoying themselves. "It's harder to get into here tonight than Fort Knox," said Gary D, a disc jockey at radio station KDAY-AM and the show's master of ceremonies. Before the trouble started, he said there was "nothing to be scared about. We're just here to have a good time." Outside in the cold, the situation grew tense. At 9 p.m., an hour after the show started, hundreds of concert-goers were still lined up, waiting to be frisked and scanned with hand-held metal detectors by staffers from VIP Security Services. "That's normal at a rap show," John Reese, president of |
LA122990-0102_0 | ORANGE COUNTY FOCUS: COUNTYWIDE; PULLING OUT THE STOPS ON DRINKING DRIVERS | December 29, 1990, Saturday, Orange County Edition Several law enforcement agencies plan to set up sobriety checkpoints in hope of taking drunk drivers off the road during the New Year's holiday weekend. Sheriff's deputies will set up a checkpoint in Laguna Niguel tonight on Street of the Golden Lantern between Marina Hills Drive and Hidden Hills Road. Garden Grove police will set up checkpoints at two undisclosed locations from tonight until New Year's Day. The California Highway Patrol plans to operate one checkpoint at an undisclosed location tonight. One day last weekend, Garden Grove police saw 1,100 cars pass through a checkpoint without making an arrest, Lt. Bill Dalton said. "It's obvious that these (checkpoints) are working," Dalton said. Signs are posted along roads to alert drivers that a checkpoint has been set up. Drivers have a chance to turn off at a cross street before coming to the checkpoint, said Sheriff's Lt. Joe Davis of Laguna Niguel. If traffic is heavy, officers may stop every 15th car or so, he said. More cars are stopped if traffic is light. At a checkpoint on Crown Valley Parkway on Dec. 14, officers stopped 889 cars of 1,690 that passed through, Davis said. Many times, officers encounter people who have been selected as the designated sober driver for the evening and are ferrying passengers who have had too much to drink. "The sobriety checkpoints really are a deterrence factor," Davis said.MARY ANNE PEREZ |
LA122990-0107_1 | CONSULTANTS ARE SPREADING WORD ON WORLD TRADE | market beginning in 1992. Meanwhile, Pacific Rim countries like Japan and Taiwan are slowly opening their markets to foreign products to help shrink huge trade surpluses with the United States. And, of equal importance, a sluggish U.S. economy has prompted many American firms to get serious about selling abroad to help fuel their growth. In Orange County, 1990 was a big year for international deals. There were transactions to sell fuel-cleaning systems in Spain, hamburger franchises in Indonesia, computer hardware to China, Playboy and other magazines in the Soviet Union and to mine gold in the Philippines. And these deals sparked demand by companies in Orange County and elsewhere for consultants who specialize in a particular country's business practices, government regulations, customs and language. Nationwide, there was a 25% jump in requests for consultants, according to Carl Kline, president of National Consultant Referrals, a San Diego firm that matches companies with professional consultants. In 1990, his firm has logged more than 12,500 calls from companies seeking consultants. About one-fourth of the approximately 4,000 consultants listed in the firm's referral service were added this year. "Many companies, especially during an economic slowdown, do not want to keep a very expensive permanent staff, so they keep a small core staff to keep their overhead low and use consultants for special projects," Kline said. One consultant new to the trade is Bernard Jubb, formerly a communications director for MAI Systems Corp., a Tustin computer company. Jubb was laid off during a corporate restructuring at MAI in October. Jubb, a native of Great Britain, hopes to use his knowledge of Western European markets to help U.S. companies seeking business in those markets after European economic unification in 1992. Likewise, his familiarity with the U.S. market, he reasons, may be useful to European companies that want to sell their products in the United States. "I can do the marketing studies and test market their products for them," he said. "What I don't have is a lot of corporate resources, but I have the ability to make fast decisions and move very quickly to put my decisions into action." The lure of increased trade opportunities have also prompted executives in troubled businesses to get into the consulting field. Markram Nawar, a Newport Beach developer, turned to consulting when the housing market went into a slump. Nawar, an Egyptian immigrant, has helped U.S. and Canadian companies put |
LA122990-0138_1 | SOVIET CHURCHES UNSURE OF COURSE AS NATION STRUGGLES FOR FREEDOM; EASTERN EUROPE: THE PEOPLE ARE EAGER FOR SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN, BUT THERE IS NO PRECEDENT FOR HOW RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS SHOULD ACT AND THINK IN THIS ENVIRONMENT. | Black Sea and the Ukraine to the Kremlin -- struck me as an apt parable of a huge country in rapid and irreversible change. The blustery old-line authority is wavering while the new guard is trying to figure out who or what will replace it. At the same time that leaders are adjusting to glasnost and perestroika, inefficiency, scarce resources and a lack of motivation are crippling the country's efforts to stave off political chaos and economic collapse. And Soviet religion is caught in the middle in this new era of unprecedented freedom and opportunity, vulnerability and peril. There is simply no precedent for how the church should live and think in this environment. I found a certain naivete as well: 70 years of repression have left many Soviets with the belief that religious values, if only allowed to flourish, could now quickly instill moral leadership and install charitable services that communism has so dismally failed to provide. Meanwhile, unsophisticated church leaders, with only rudimentary theology and a paucity of sound religious literature, are easy targets in a supermarket of spiritual beliefs and self-anointed messiahs now abroad in this vast land. As a first-time visitor to the Soviet Union, I shared what I suspect are the assumptions and preconceptions of many Americans. I knew that Russia is only one member, although the most populous one, of the still-intact 15-republic Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which stretches across 11 time zones and occupies one-seventh of the world's land mass. But I gained a firsthand appreciation of the country's immense size when our group spent long days and weary nights just to travel around the western fifth of it. I had read that this ancient culture, stemming from Babylonian times, consists of 130 cultural groups, 91 "major" languages and four alphabets. But I felt the fierceness of the ethnic and regional rivalries when Estonian Christians said they were insulted by being greeted in Russian, and pastors in the Ukraine insisted that they needed more Bibles -- but only in the Ukrainian language. I had been aware that shortages and long lines forced Soviet citizens to wait for food and household items. But the burden of the scarcity and poor quality became real to me when I talked to a woman in Tallinn, Estonia, who had been standing in line for three days waiting unsuccessfully for a basic sewing machine she had ordered |
LA123089-0008_0 | THE AMERICAN MILITARY ACTION IN PANAMA | December 30, 1989, Saturday, Home Edition The U.S. action against Noriega has provided yet another illustatrion of the invariably critical, antagonistic and negative stance of the media. The same commentators and reporters who severely criticized the Administration for not taking more decisive action at the time of the attempted coup now exhaust every possible extreme to discredit the positive action taken. W. H. COLEMAN Cambria |
LA123089-0013_0 | THE AMERICAN MILITARY ACTION IN PANAMA | December 30, 1989, Saturday, Home Edition The widespread international castigation of the American intervention in Panama, particularly by Libya, the Soviet Union, and neighboring Central and South American countries, is unadulterated hogwash. It is analogous to condemning the police for storming a house wherein a drug-crazed criminal is holding a helpless child hostage. The republic of Panama is a Frankenstein's monster that the United States created in 1903 by aiding in its secession from Colombia, and the Canal is our "baby" -- a product of American ingenuity and determination. Far from interfering in the internal affairs of another nation, we are merely safeguarding our own crucial interests, and assuring that the Panama Canal will remain open to inter-ocean traffic from all the countries of the world. MARVIN H. LEAF Rancho Mirage |
LA123089-0033_0 | ON THE WATERFRONT: GROUP WORKS TO REGULATE WHALE WATCHING | December 30, 1989, Saturday, Orange County Edition Last winter, Judy Lakin went whale watching for seven hours at a stretch, every weekend for eight weeks -- regardless of the weather. She was there not so much to watch the whales, but to watch the people who watch the whales. As a volunteer observer, Lakin was gathering information for an informal study that would help the Orange County Marine Institute develop an educational program to teach boaters how to watch the giant marine mammals without harming them or interfering with their migration. Each year from January through March, thousands of people venture out to sea in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the migrating California gray whales that travel 12,000 miles from the Bering Sea off Siberia and Alaska to Mexico and back. During recent years, there has been speculation that some whale watching actually results in harassment of the marine mammals. As a result, the National Marine Fisheries Service is in the process of drawing up whale-watching regulations that should take effect sometime in 1991, according to Jim Lecky, a wildlife biologist with the service. "We are drafting the regulations now," Lecky says, "but it is unlikely that they will take effect in 1990." The new regulations will probably convert the existing whale-watching guidelines published by the National Marine Fisheries Service into enforceable laws, according to Lecky. Current guidelines instruct whale watchers to approach whales slowly from behind, maintain a slow, consistent speed, and stay at least 100 yards away from the whales. "Our intention is to codify our guidelines so that they will be easier to enforce," Lecky says. "We held a big conference in Monterey last year and the consensus of that group was that there needs to be regulations. The major problem is not the commercial whale-watch operations. The biggest problem is the weekend boaters, out there in their own boats, who tend to be uninformed and do not understand that their action may be detrimental to the long-term survival of these populations" of gray whales, Lecky says. In the informal study conducted last year by the Orange County Marine Institute, it was found that 69 of 264 vessels observed approached within the 100-yard limit recommended by the National Marine Fisheries Service, according to Harry Helling, director of education at the Marine Institute. And during 12 of the 23 whale watches conducted during the study, at |
LA123089-0057_0 | METRO DIGEST / LOCAL NEWS IN BRIEF: REPORT ON DAM REPAIRS NOT NEEDED, OFFICIAL SAYS | December 30, 1989, Saturday, Home Edition The state's chief expert on dam safety says an environmental impact report is unnecessary for repair work at the leaking Garvey Reservoir in Monterey Park. Monterey Park officials had requested that the state conduct extensive geological and environmental studies on the impact of repairs on two large cracks in the reservoir. The damage, discovered in the last month, had contributed to flooding around nearby homes and prompted the closure and draining of the reservoir. Some local residents have become so upset that they are demanding permanent closure of the 150-acre facility, which serves as a critical link in the supply system of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. But Vernon H. Persson, chief of the Division of Dam Safety in the state Department of Water Resources, informed the city in a Dec. 12 letter that "the investigation and anticipated repairs (are) categorically exempt" from environmental impact requirements. Meanwhile, a spokesman for the water district said Friday that the reservoir is unlikely to be reopened by the dry season next summer. "That means we could have some water delivery problems. But we're not going to rush the reservoir back into service at the risk it will seep again," Jay Malinowski said. |
LA123089-0061_3 | FOR GRATEFUL DEAD FAN, IT WAS A FINAL CONCERT; INVESTIGATIONS: COLLEGE SOPHOMORE DIED IN POLICE CUSTODY. OFFICIALS ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WENT WRONG. | one point, Jarrett said, unresponsive to his friend's questions about what was wrong. "He was waving his hands," Jarrett said. "He didn't say anything. I thought he was mad at me and that he wanted to be on his own." Shanahan, dressed in a tie-dyed shirt, jeans and white tennis shoes, walked off. The two friends did not see each other again. A police report of the incident said an officer on patrol after the concert spotted Shanahan standing rigid with a blank stare on his face. He did not respond to questions and suddenly dropped to his knees, yelling and laughing to himself, the officer reported. When Shanahan resisted the officer's efforts to handcuff him, police said, backup officers were called. After the officers wrestled Shanahan to the ground, police said, he broke free. One of the officers then "placed him in a carotid control hold," or chokehold, the police report says. Shanahan continued to struggle as three officers lay on top of him and others put on leg restraints. He stopped struggling but continued yelling, the report said. It was when police were en route to the police station -- with Shanahan in the back seat -- that they noticed he had stopped breathing. They changed course and took him to nearby Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital, where he was declared dead. The autopsy report released Thursday said Shanahan died from "compression of the neck during restraint." Contributing factors in the death were listed as "multiple injuries and acute LSD intoxication." Shanahan's family was en route to Orange County on Friday from New Hampshire, where they had buried Shanahan the week before. They have hired attorney Trygstad and pathologist Irving Root to sort out the details. Trygstad said his investigation showed that Shanahan's trachea had reportedly been crushed during the arrest. Trygstad said he has spoken to about 20 witnesses to the arrest, many of whom called him after reading a flyer distributed at a series of Grateful Dead concerts in Oakland by an area resident concerned about the death. Inglewood police refused to comment on the matter Friday, but the department previously has denied using excessive force against Shanahan. Detectives are investigating Shanahan's death, while internal investigators look at the police response. In 1982, the Los Angeles Police Department banned the use of carotid control holds because authorities were concerned about the possibility of injuries resulting from them. |