Copyright 1999 Gannett Company, Inc.
USA TODAY
April 28, 1999, Wednesday, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 10A
LENGTH: 3970 words
HEADLINE:
ACROSS THE USA News from every state
BYLINE: From staff
and wire reports
BODY:
Alabama: Montgomery -- The
Alabama Legislature voted
to invite civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks to
address them in a
joint session. Her appearance will be scheduled at her
convenience,
state Rep. Alvin Holmes said. "The state of Alabama has never
given any kind of recognition to Rosa Parks," Holmes said. The
86-year-old Parks was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for
launching
the civil rights movement 40 years ago.
Alaska: Juneau -- Two
backcountry skiers were killed
in an avalanche near Juneau, bringing to 11
the number of people
killed in snowslides in the past five weeks. Katrina
Winchell,
32, and Matthew Brakel, 33, both of Juneau, died of multiple
trauma
at Bartlett Regional Hospital after they were airlifted from the
slopes of Mt. McGinnis near the Mendenhall Glacier, said Marijo
Toner, a
hospital spokeswoman.
Arizona: Phoenix -- Arizona is a major
destination
for drugs and drug money smuggled from Mexico and the situation
warrants a special designation that could boost federal funds,
law
officers say. Thomas Raffanello, of the Drug Enforcement Agency
office in
Phoenix, and Police Chief Harold Hurtt said designating
the state as a
high-intensity trafficking area could bring about
$ 5.8 million a year to
pay for a drug-fighting task force.
Arkansas: Little Rock -- State
Sen. Nick Wilson
and nine others were charged in a racketeering indictment
that
alleges the influential lawmaker netted $ 1.3 million in a scheme
involving kickbacks during the 1997 Legislature. Many of the charges
center on grants for legal work on behalf of children caught in
the
middle of custody cases and attempts to enforce payment of
child support
money, prosecutors said. Wilson, a Pocahontas Democrat,
was first elected in
1970.
California: Sacramento -- Gov. Davis' proposals
to
increase state funding for school districts and public colleges
and
universities survived the Legislature's first budget vote.
The latest
version of the Democratic governor's $ 77.5 billion
spending plan for the
fiscal year beginning July 1 retains his
3.3%, $ 192-per-student annual
increase in state spending. It also
retains his proposals to keep
undergraduate fees at current levels
at the University of California, state
university and community
colleges and cut graduate fees 5%. A Redding doctor
and pharmacy
owners who face three murder charges for prescribing and
dispensing
large amounts of powerful narcotic painkillers will be tied to
additional deaths, The Sacramento Bee reported. State justice
department prosecutors notified lawyers for physician Frank Fisher
and
pharmacy owners Stephen and Madeline Miller that the state
will present
evidence at a preliminary hearing of six more deaths,
the newspaper
reported.
Colorado: Denver -- Sponsors of a bill to ban female
genital mutilation won final approval for the measure in the Colorado
House. The measure was amended and must go back to the Senate,
where it
was approved earlier. The measure makes it a crime to
engage in the
practice, in which a girl's genitals are cut to
eliminate sexual sensation.
The practice is common in some countries
and carried on by some immigrants,
sponsors said.
Connecticut: Hartford -- A Hartford Superior Court
judge ruled that Northeast Utilities cannot generate power at
the
Millstone 2 nuclear power plant until a lawsuit over the reactor's
impact on
fish is resolved. Members of the environmental group
Fish Unlimited sought
the temporary restraining order, arguing
the plant's cooling system has
killed off winter flounder that
spawn in the Niantic Bay area.
Delaware: Dover -- Rep. Donna Stone, R-Dover, has
proposed a
bill that would eliminate the state transfer tax for
first-time homeowners.
If passed, the measure would cost the state
between $ 2.7 million and $ 4.1
million a year in revenue. Backers
say the bill would particularly help low-
and moderate-income
buyers.
D.C.: The Men's Rape Prevention
Project will host the first
annual Frederick Douglass Awards today to honor
local men for
their commitment to non-violence toward women. The award
honors
a renowned advocate for gender equality. MRPP is a District-based
non-profit group established in 1997. Six men will be recognized.
Florida: Tampa -- Florida's 1 million alligators
are on the
prowl for mates and food, posing a threat to people
and pets, state wildlife
officials said. A Tampa man was bitten
in the face by an alligator Monday
while he was swimming in a
canal, authorities said. He was in good condition
at a Tampa hospital.
Trappers killed the alligator. Two dogs have been
killed in St.
Petersburg by alligators in the past two weeks. West Palm
Beach
-- Roosevelt Middle School has banned student backpacks for
the
sake of safety and spines. Beginning next fall, students will
not be allowed
to use the popular carry-alls, which can hurt students'
backs and provide a
hiding place for weapons, officials said.
To compensate, officials plan to
buy twice as many books so students
could leave one book at home and one at
school.
Georgia: Atlanta -- Though Georgia's welfare rolls
have
dropped 42% in the last two years, the state has barely reduced
its welfare
staff. The number of caseworkers and other staff members
has declined only
4.5% since 1997, when the state imposed a four-year
time limit for welfare
recipients to find work. Since the four-year
limit was imposed, the state's
welfare caseload has dropped from
115,165 to 66,644. The state's welfare
staff dropped from 1,538
in fiscal 1996 to 1,468 in fiscal 1999.
Hawaii: Honolulu -- The city is changing procedures
for tests
that firefighters take to get promotions after allegations
of cheating on
the last exam. Although an investigation found
no evidence of widespread
cheating, officials say they now will
require that all applicants for a
promotion take a test at the
same time. In November, 300 firefighters took
the test during
three separate time slots. Some say that allowed those who
took
the test first to pass on answers to those taking it later.
Idaho: Boise -- The Kempthorne administration announced
there
was an across-the-board surge in state tax collections in
March that pushed
the cash surplus to its highest level of the
budget year. That creates a
financial cushion of $ 14.7 million
heading into the final quarter.
Officials hope it will help the
governor avoid any tax increases in the next
budget, which is
expected to be tight.
Illinois: Springfield --
Gov. Ryan is assembling
a five-year, $ 12 billion public works program to
repair Illinois'
crumbling roads, schools and mass transit systems, The
Associated
Press reported. Illinois taxpayers would foot $ 6.3 billion of
the cost directly, with another $ 3 billion coming from federal
construction funds and $ 2.7 billion generated by local communities.
Ryan said he would not discuss details until next week. Chicago
--
Regaining his strength after a bout with pneumonia, state
Attorney General
Jim Ryan resumes his cancer therapy today, spokesman
Dan Curry said. Ryan,
53, who has a tumor in his jaw, will receive
antibodies intravenously to
boost his immunity.
Indiana: Indianapolis -- State lawmakers moved a
step closer to increasing their pay, saying the move is long overdue
and
is needed to attract quality people to serve in the General
Assembly. Under
a tentative agreement, out-of-session per diem
would be set at 35% of
in-session per diem. That would increase
it from $ 25 now to $ 39.20 per
day. Lawmakers make an annual base
salary of $ 11,600.
Iowa: Des
Moines -- House Speaker Ron Corbett, a
Cedar Rapids Republican, announced he
will resign his leadership
position today. Corbett said earlier this year
that he was stepping
down to head the Cedar Rapids Chamber of Commerce.
Republicans
elected House Majority Leader Brent Siegrist of Council Bluffs
to replace Corbett.
Kansas: Topeka -- The state water czar would
be
less independent under a bill signed into law by Gov. Graves.
The law
is designed to increase public trust in the state's system
of dealing with
water rights, Graves said. Many legislators argued
that the chief engineer
has nearly unchecked power to rule on
water rights. The law also creates a
19-member task force to make
recommendations regarding the water division
and chief engineer.
Kentucky: Frankfort -- Gov. Patton introduced
the
idea of state-run casinos to finance a $ 100 million-per-year
preservation
program. But he said any discussion of casino gambling would
have
to be premised on whether it would help the horse racing industry
remain strong. A program to preserve "ecological treasures"
would
require $ 100 million a year for a sustained period of time.
Louisiana: Baton Rouge -- Representatives passed
legislation
that would protect the budgets of state universities
from cuts for three
years if a community college opens nearby,
even if the university loses
students to the community college.
Opponents complained universities
shouldn't receive the same level
of funding if they have fewer students.
Maine: Augusta -- The Maine Senate killed a bill
that would have
exempted some pension and retirement benefits
from state income taxes.
Senators turned back an effort by the
House to keep the bill alive and
negotiate a compromise. The Democratic
majority said the exemption would
have cost the state $ 60 million
a year in revenue. Republicans favored the
measure.
Maryland: Annapolis -- Expanding on a new program
aimed
at helping troubled students and improving school safety,
state officials
will double the number of probation officers supervising
juvenile offenders
in high schools to 70 in 1999-2000. The "Spotlight
on Schools" expansion was
made possible by a $ 750,000 grant from
the state. The officers will work
with students at up to 160 schools
throughout Maryland.
Massachusetts: Boston -- After nearly a decade of
steady
declines, cases of gonorrhea and chlamydia jumped up last
year, leading
health officials to consider better ways of educating
the public. The state
registered 150 cases of infectious syphilis
in 1998 -- down from 1,175 in
1990, the Department of Public Health
report said. But reported cases of
chlamydia rose to 8,363 in
1998 from 7,330 in 1997. In 1990, there were
12,251 cases statewide.The
number of reported cases of gonorrhea jumped from
2,077 in 1997
to 2,258 in 1998.
Michigan: Lansing -- Forty-six
percent of Michigan
voters oppose a bill that would require county gun
boards to approve
a concealed weapon permit unless an applicant has a
criminal record,
a history of mental illness or is under 21. Currently, gun
boards
decide who gets a permit based on a variety of factors. Forty-three
percent favored the change; the rest were undecided.
Minnesota:
St. Paul -- Democratic U.S. Rep. David
Minge said he probably will decide by
fall whether he will run
against GOP Sen. Rod Grams in 2000. Minge, a
Montevideo lawyer,
is in his fourth term representing the 2nd Congressional
District,
which stretches from the western Minneapolis suburbs south to
the Iowa and South Dakota lines. After his news conference, state
GOP
officials handed out news releases describing Minge's philosophy
as "liberal
tax and spend."
Mississippi: Natchez -- Adams County officials
believe
a new law giving them some flexibility in setting tax rates for
casinos could help in efforts to get a gambling house to locate
outside
the city. The county previously had two options for taxing
casinos' gross
revenue, 3.2% or nothing. The law enacted by the
1999 Legislature allows the
county to set a tax rate anywhere
within that range.
Missouri:
Maryland Heights -- The state's restrictive
boarding times at riverboat
casinos are not only a nuisance but
are potentially dangerous, gamblers told
the Missouri Gaming Commission.
About 200 people attended a public hearing
in this St. Louis suburb
on the possibility of eliminating boarding times.
The commission
plans to hold another hearing next month in Kansas City.
While
none of Missouri's 10 riverboat casinos actually cruise because
of
passenger and vessel concerns, boarding times have remained
in place.
Montana: Yellowstone National Park --The park gets
almost $ 1 of
every $ 5 it spends each year from entrance and other
fees paid by visitors,
newly released budget information shows.
Yellowstone last year collected $
6.3 million in fees from tourists
entering the park, accounting for 21% of
its budget. The largest
piece of its $ 30 million budget, $ 12.3 million,
was used for facility
maintenance and operations.
Nebraska:
Lincoln -- Gov. Johanns appointed Laurel
farmer and pork producer Robert
Dickey to represent the Legislature's
18th district. Dickey replaces Sen.
Stan Schellpeper, of Stanton,
who died earlier this month of an apparent
heart attack. Schellpeper
was re-elected to a four-year term last November,
but Dickey will
serve until a successor is elected next year.
Nevada: Las Vegas -- The 30th annual World Series
of Poker has
begun 18 days of high-stakes play that will culminate
in a new poker world
champion taking home $ 1 million. The 16-game
tournament at Binion's
Horseshoe Club will offer some $ 12 million
in overall prize money. The
final game of the tournament is a
$ 10,000 buy-in no-limit Texas Hold'em
competition.
New Hampshire: Concord -- Combining two child welfare
agencies would help ensure children get "intervention, prevention
and
detention" when they need it, supporters said. Deputy House
Speaker Donnalee
Lozeau's bill would meld the Department of Youth
Development Services with
the Division for Children, Youth and
Families.
New Jersey: Ocean
City -- A bitter feud between
Atlantic City Mayor James Whelan and two
brothers who have heckled
him at public appearances returned to a courtroom.
The brothers
pleaded innocent and then filed cross-complaints against
Whelan.
Less than two weeks ago, Craig Callaway, 40, and David Callaway,
35, both of Atlantic City, were convicted of harassing Whelan
at a
flag-raising ceremony at City Hall last year.
New Mexico: Santa Fe
-- Gallup gasoline distributor
J&R Mercantile and Rogers Oil, accused of
tax fraud in Texas,
owes $ 6.5 million in unpaid state gasoline taxes in New
Mexico,
said tax Secretary John Chavez. The New Mexico Taxation and Revenue
Department has filed liens against the firm, Chavez said. Texas
state
comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander closed 19 J&R-owned
stores Monday
after accusing the company of defrauding Texas out
of more than $ 2.8
million in motor fuels taxes.
New York: New York -- Mayor Rudy
Giuliani re-injured
his hand over the weekend after shaking about 100 hands
during
the Joe DiMaggio memorial in Yankee Stadium. Giuliani said he
originally hurt his hand in an accident at home about two weeks
ago. The
mayor will have to lay off heavy handshaking for the
foreseeable future.
White Plains -- A retired policeman
who shot and killed his wife and
daughter last year, then talked
cold-bloodedly about watching them die,
pleaded guilty to manslaughter
after psychiatrists found he was suffering
from extreme emotional
disturbance. Anthony Ambrosovitch, 66, had been
charged with first-degree
murder, but when doctors ruled on his emotional
state, the murder
charge was automatically reduced, said District Attorney
Jeanine
Pirro.
North Carolina: Raleigh -- The state Senate OK'd
a plan to end the election of judges to the state Court of Appeals
and
the state Supreme Court. Under the proposal, appeals courts
judges would be
appointed by the governor and later subject to
an up-or-down vote in which
they would run not against another
candidate, but against their own record.
If the bill is OK'd by
the House, voters would have final say on the
proposal in a referendum
held next year.
North Dakota: Bismarck
-- The North Alfalfa Producers
Association plans to research the probability
of building a farmer-owned
plant to process the crop into a product that can
be shipped more
economically. Northeast North Dakota farmers are turning to
alfalfa
as a rotational crop that is helping them overcome depressed wheat
prices. Farmers can net about $ 60 an acre for high-quality alfalfa.
Ohio: Cincinnati -- A drop in crime, fewer claims
and increasing
revenues have created a $ 28.1 million surplus in
a state fund for victims
of violence, prompting some Ohio officials
to say the fund should be
re-examined to make it more useful to
crime victims. The Ohio Court of
Claims administers the program,
created in 1976. It is designed to pay
losses incurred by crime
victims such as medical expenses, counseling,
physical rehabilitation,
lost wages, funeral expenses and income loss to
dependents.
Oklahoma: Oklahoma City -- State educators lashed
out at Gov. Keating and the Legislature, declaring "no confidence"
in
their ability to resolve a funding crisis in the state's public
schools. The
Oklahoma Education Assn. passed a proclamation over
the weekend holding
Keating and legislative leaders responsible
for "this inexcusable,
continuing funding crisis. Oklahoma is
last in this region in per-pupil
spending and among the last in
the nation. Keating compared the action to
throwing a tantrum.
Oregon: Salem -- A fish biology team is sweeping
the city's waterways this spring for signs of threatened salmon
and
trout that federal authorities are trying to save. Salem undertook
the $
20,000 survey after the government threatened to list spring
chinook salmon
and steelhead trout in the Willamette River system
under the Endangered
Species Act. The survey aims to determine
whether rare fish live in Salem
and to identify habitat problems.
Members have not found threatened fish.
Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh -- Pittsburgh-area Catholic
cemeteries
unfairly exploit their customers' religious beliefs
to coerce them into
buying costly prepaid monuments and burials
instead of cheaper plans, a
lawsuit contends. Nine local monument
companies claim the Catholic
Cemeteries Association uses unfair
business practices. A spokeswoman for CCA
declined comment.
Rhode Island: Cranston -- The state Lottery
Commission
has voted to increase the number of video lottery terminals
allowed
at Newport Grand Jai Alai and Lincoln Park by nearly 50%. The
commission ignored the objections of Gov. Almond and anti-gambling
activists. The two facilities plan to add 850 of the slot-machine-like
terminals to keep people from wagering at Connecticut casinos.
Newport
and Lincoln Park estimates the new machines will push
the state's revenue up
from about $ 66 million in 1998 to about
$ 117 million in 2000.
South Carolina: Columbia -- The state does a poor
job of
managing its vast property holdings and the Legislature,
which requested an
investigation, should make changes to improve
that, the Legislative Audit
Council said. The state needs a system
to manage its nearly 1 million acres
and 8,415 buildings, auditors
said. North Carolina, Virginia, Texas and
Florida all manage state-owned
property better than South Carolina, the
report said.
South Dakota: Pierre -- The state Public Utilities
Commission has rejected U S West's plan to add a 17-cents-a-month
surcharge to local phone bills in Sioux Falls. The company wanted
the
fee to recover the nearly $ 135,000 in annual revenue lost
when calls from
Sioux Falls to Del Rapids and Colton became local
instead of long distance.
The company has the options of asking
the PUC to reconsider or appealing the
decision in court.
Tennessee: Chattanooga -- AIDS groups have been
unable to recruit local dentists to treat uninsured clients, even
though
federal money for the service is available. The groups
are seeking dentists
to sign contracts under the Ryan White Care
Act, a federal
program that provides money for medical care and
other services. None of the
100 dentists contacted by Chattanooga
CARES responded to requests to provide
treatment.
Texas: San Antonio -- Two weeks after firing the
director of a $ 483 million school construction program, School
District
trustees authorized rehiring him and 28 other administrators
they'd
dismissed. Trustees voted for reinstatement after a public
outcry. Houston
-- Lawrence Russell Brewer, the second
man to face trial in the dragging
death of a black man in Jasper,
may be tried in Georgetown this summer.
Jasper County District
Attorney Guy James Gray said he is considering moving
the trial,
less than a week after he won a court fight to keep it in Jasper.
Brewer is one of three white men charged with capital murder for
the
June 7 slaying of James Byrd Jr., 49, who was dragged behind
a pickup truck
for nearly three miles.
Utah: Salt Lake City -- Rural airports in 20
Utah
communities stand to lose state and federal funds for runway
improvements
due to state budget cutbacks; some could be forced to close.
Most
are in communities that rely on the airstrips for emergency
transportation
and business aviation. Among those affected: Roosevelt's
municipal
airport and airports in Bluff, Bullfrog Basin, Manila, Delta and
Duchesne.
Vermont: Montpelier -- Education Commissioner Marc
Hull handed in his resignation to the State Board of Education.
Hull
will leave by Sept. 15 because of an inner ear ailment that
will require
medical treatment and six to eight weeks of rest.
Educators praised Hull's
work in improving the state's quality
of education and in implementing the
new testing system that enables
educators to pinpoint schools that need more
attention.
Virginia: Richmond -- For the first time since 1945,
Virginia may execute two inmates on consecutive days. Eric Payne,
26, is
to die by injection today for killing two women during
a six-day spree of
hammer beatings in the Richmond area in June
1997. On Thursday, Ronald
Yeatts, 38, is to receive a lethal injection
for stabbing to death a
70-year-old widow during a 1989 robbery
for drug money in Pittsylvania
County.
Washington: Olympia -- The state Utilities and
Transportation
Commission will vote today on U S West's request to set its
own
rates for directory assistance calls. The company feels that customers
can choose other companies for directory assistance if they don't
like U
S West rates. Residential customers currently get one free
call a month.
Each additional in-state call costs 60 cents and
additional out-of-state
calls cost 85 cents each.
West Virginia: Charleston -- Gov.
Underwood wants
legislators to focus on divorce law and nothing else during
a
special session he plans to call in May, a spokesman said. Last
week,
state Sen. Ed Bowman asked Underwood to allow lawmakers
to discuss school
safety issues during the session in light of
the shooting at a Littleton,
Colo., high school.
Wisconsin: Madison -- Milwaukee police officers
acted reasonably when they took a man into custody and then searched
his
vehicle even though they did not see him selling drugs, the
Wisconsin
Supreme Court ruled. The court reversed the 1st District
Court of Appeals,
which said police did not have "reasonable
suspicion" to justify detaining
Roosevelt Williams in November
1995 and searching his car.
Wyoming: Jackson -- The date ranchers can bring
cattle onto
Grand Teton National Park grazing allotments has been
pushed back to June 1,
15 days later than the traditional May
15 date, park officials said. The
delay is designed to minimize
the killing of calves by wolves. Officials
hope the extra time
will force wolves to hunt elk and deer instead of cattle
before
leaving their dens.
LOAD-DATE: April 28,
1999 
