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(11/26/02 4:22am)
ALGIERS, Algeria -- An Islamic militant killed by Algerian security forces in a raid more than two months ago has been identified as a man Washington considers to be a top al Qaeda operative in Africa, Algeria's official news agency reported Monday.\nEmad Abdelwahid Ahmed Alwan, sometimes known as Abu Mohammed, was shot and killed in a Sept. 12 raid in the eastern Batna region, about 270 miles east of the capital, Algiers, the official APS news agency reported.\nAhmed Alwan, a 37-year-old native of Yemen, was identified after a two-month investigation by government experts, the report said. He was a leader of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network for northern and western Africa, it said.\nIn Washington, a U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, could not independently verify the Algerian report. But the official said Ahmed Alwan was among the top al Qaeda operatives in North Africa and that U.S. authorities would consider his death a positive development.\nAhmed Alwan had played a central role in setting up an organization in Yemen of Arab militants who had fought against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s, the report said.\nHe had been active in northern Africa since June 2001, APS said, and traveled extensively throughout the region, visiting Algeria, Chad, Niger, Nigeria, Mauritania and Mali.\nAccording to the report, Ahmed Alwan acted as an adviser for militant groups in the region and a liaison with operatives in Yemen. He was especially active in Algeria, where Islamic insurgents have fought with the government for 10 years.\nIn Algeria, Ahmed Alwan worked with the 4-year-old Salafist Group for Call and Combat, a militant group suspected of links to bin Laden, APS said.\nThe group is on a U.S. list of terror organizations, and Algeria is one of several countries that says the group has ties to al Qaeda. It is believed responsible for a number of deadly terror attacks in Algeria and elsewhere.\nAPS said al Qaeda is believed to have plans to use the group as a base for actions in the region and as a replacement for the loss of other centers of operations in Afghanistan and Somalia.\nFrench anti-terrorism police arrested five suspected members of the group last week in Paris and its suburbs, including a man who escaped from a Dutch jail in June.\nThe group killed nine soldiers and four police officers in two days of clashes last week. Algerian officials say the group has 600 members.\nThe presence of Ahmed Alwan in Africa indicated the importance al Qaeda places on its operations on the continent, the report said.
(11/26/02 4:21am)
QUITO, Ecuador -- A populist former army colonel who led a coup in 2000 and has pledged to fight corruption was elected as Ecuador's sixth president in six years, despite concerns that some of his radical supporters would scare investors.\nLucio Gutierrez, 45, won 54.3 percent support in Sunday's runoff vote, topping the 45.7 gained by billionaire Alvaro Noboa, who counts among his friends several members of the Kennedy clan and Hollywood actors such as Charlton Heston.\nGutierrez's run for the presidency worried some Ecuadoreans because of his support from a small Marxist party, radical Indian groups and leftist-led unions.\nBut since he won the first round of elections on Oct. 20, setting up Sunday's runoff vote, Gutierrez has toned down his rhetoric and shifted toward the center, describing himself as "center-left." He has even traveled to New York to woo Wall Street investors and softened his opposition to the U.S. military's use of Ecuador's Manta air base in the war against drugs.\nHe insists he is not part of the trend of leftist, anti-globalization presidents who have come to power in Venezuela and Brazil, with the likelihood of another being elected next March in Argentina.\n"I am not a communist. I am a profoundly Christian man who respects private property and human rights," he said during the campaign.\nNevertheless, his election is bound to galvanize leftist, anti-American groups around the region, which will see it as another step toward dismantling the free-market, pro-globalization policies that many countries implemented in the past decade.\nAlthough Gutierrez says he supports foreign investment as a way to battle poverty and develop Ecuador, he also opposes privatization of state enterprises, reflecting the position of Ecuador's nationalistic armed forces.\nBut apparently Gutierrez has also been convincing in his contacts with international financial organizations.\nDuring his visit to New York he promised to honor all of Ecuador's financial agreements, live within austere fiscal budgets and seek an accord with the International Monetary Fund to cover a budget deficit. IMF official Anoop Singh was favorably impressed, calling Gutierrez "a man with whom you can talk."\nIn a television interview Sunday night, Gutierrez sought to reassure Ecuadorean and international financial circles that his election was not a threat to investors.\n"I want to give the greatest of assurances to the national productive sector, the national financial sector and the international financial sector," he said.\nIn Washington, State Department spokeswoman Anne Marks said the Bush administration wanted to "congratulate Ecuador on the completion of what appears to be a free, fair and transparent election. We are pleased to see democracy working in Ecuador."\nThe 52-year-old Noboa, who controls a banana and shipping empire that includes 110 companies, had vowed his election would have attracted millions of dollars in foreign investment from his contacts in international financial circles, creating jobs for Ecuador's unemployed masses.\nBut polls showed Ecuadoreans were more drawn to Gutierrez's image as a strong leader who would clean up government.\n"I voted for Lucio because he is going to get rid of corruption and I think he is going to help the poor, those who have nothing," said Maria Alban, a 35-year-old street vendor. "I just hope he is not like the other politicians who offer everything and don't keep any promise."\nThe victory by a political outsider like Gutierrez -- who led a group of disgruntled junior officers and 5,000 Indian protesters in 2000 in a coup that forced out a highly unpopular president suspected of corruption -- underscored the fragility of Ecuador's democracy.\nEcuador's two-decade-old democracy has suffered through trying times in recent years. Since 1996, this small Andean nation of 12 million people has had five presidents. Two of them were driven from office in the midst of political and economic upheaval.\nIn an interview with The Associated Press last week, Gutierrez described himself as center-left and said leftist groups support him "because we agree on a lot of things. I want to fight corruption, poverty, social injustice, impunity. I share the desires of indigenous people to achieve better lives."\nBut political analysts predicted Gutierrez will come under pressure from the more radical members of his election alliance, including Ecuador's Indian organizations. They oppose the country's decision in 1999 to make the U.S. dollar Ecuador's official currency. They also oppose America's use of the Manta air base as a center of operations for its anti-narcotics war in Latin America.\n"Naturally, we are going to make up part of the government," Leonidas Iza, president of the powerful Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities, said Sunday night.\nMiguel Lluco, leader of Pachakutik, the political arm of the Indian confederation, said that Gutierrez has to be "true to himself, to his allies and to Ecuadoreans. That is a fundamental thing for us."\nIn an early sign of differences already developing within the coalition, Gutierrez has dropped his opposition to the use of the U.S. dollar as Ecuador's currency and said he would respect the U.S. presence at Manta.
(11/26/02 4:20am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- As Christmas shoppers cash in on bargains, the state will be cashing in -- a penny at a time -- on every dollar spent in stores beginning Dec. 1.\nIn less than a week, Indiana's sales tax will increase to 6 percent from 5 percent -- a tax hike expected to raise more than $800 million a year.\n"It is the single biggest bang for the buck. It raises a lot of money quickly," said Richard Feinberg, director of Purdue University's Center for Customer-Driven Quality.\nBut "consumers will hardly notice" the increase, he insisted, "and their shopping habits won't be affected at all."\nThe higher sales tax was one of four general tax increases approved in June by the Indiana General Assembly, which grappled with a $1 billion deficit, a stagnant economy and a court-ordered reassessment that threatened to send some property tax bills through the roof.\nLawmakers hiked cigarette and gambling taxes to help plug the growing budget hole. They raised the gas tax to help pay for road construction.\nAnd they approved a sales tax increase, the first since 1980, to pay for tax credits to lower property tax bills of homeowners.\nThat means a $20 shirt will cost an extra 20 cents. A $500 television will cost an extra $5.\n"It's pretty much an invisible tax. People pay it out in little bits and pieces over the course of shopping for an entire year," Grant Monahan, president of the Indiana Retail Council, said Sunday.\nBut over a year, an extra penny here and there adds up.\nA household with a $25,000 income can expect to pay up to $150 more per year because of the higher sales tax. A household earning $75,000 will pay $230 more, said Purdue University economics Professor Lawrence DeBoer.\nIt can add up even faster on big-ticket purchases, such as cars.\nDon Sisk Pontiac-Buick-GMC in Indianapolis is trying to attract customers to its dealership by offering a "tax match" deal -- buy a car by Nov. 30 and save an extra 1 percent.\nGeneral Manager Jim Poindexter said the December sales tax hike isn't causing a surge of November car sales. But the sales tax increase could be enough to make the sale for those ready to buy.\nThe extra sales tax money -- from cars or any other products -- will go toward property tax relief. But money also is needed to plug what's now an estimated $760 million budget deficit.\nIn the fiscal year that ended June 30, Indiana reeled in nearly $3.76 billion in sales tax revenue. By the same time next year, state officials expect sales tax collections to climb to $4.15 billion.\nBob Lain, revenue chief for the State Budget Agency, said officials will have a better estimate on revenue when a new fiscal forecast is released next month.\nSales tax collections will only go up, insisted Purdue's Feinberg, because sales tax revenue is a fairly reliable, stable source of income for the state -- and a 1 percentage point increase won't make people stop shopping.\nSharon Martin of Evansville is among those who has no plans to curtail her holiday spending because of the new, higher tax.\n"Of course, I don't like to pay more taxes," said Martin, who was taking a break from some gift-buying last week at Circle Centre Mall in Indianapolis. "I'm still going to buy everything on my Christmas list"
(11/26/02 2:47am)
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Police fired tear gas and wooden pellets to break up rioting by college football fans who set fire to cars, threw bottles and burned furniture in the streets early Sunday in celebration of Ohio State University's victory over rival Michigan.\nOther football celebrations also got out of hand in South Carolina, California, North Carolina and Washington, leaving several people injured.\nIn the minutes after Ohio State's 14-9 victory Saturday, which assured a Fiesta Bowl appearance for the unbeaten Buckeyes, fans swarmed the field and threw chunks of turf at state troopers who used pepper spray to try to keep them from pulling down the goal posts.\nPolice said the crowds finally left the stadium, then got rowdy again around midnight.\n"Once we'd get one street under control, the crowds would move to one or two others and things would break out again," said police spokeswoman Sherry Mercurio.\nAt least a dozen fires were set near campus, nine cars were burned, and 45 people were arrested for disorderly conduct and alcohol violations. Officers used wooden pellets known as "knee-knockers" to disperse one crowd of several hundred people, Mercurio said.\n"I'd like to say most of these people are not our students, but unfortunately they are our students," said Bill Hall, university vice president for student affairs.\nBy midday Sunday, the burned cars had been removed and broken windows in nearby homes and other cars had been replaced or covered over.\n"Everyone pretty much expected this; everyone was drinking for like 12 hours," student Mark Stevenson, 21, said Sunday on the porch of his apartment. Nearby, a paper plate was taped over a hole in a window that he said was caused by a thrown bottle.\nDuring another Saturday game, at Washington State University, fans pelted visiting players from the winning University of Washington team with bottles, plastic souvenirs and other debris.\n"I feared for my life," Washington athletic director Barbara Hedges said following the dramatic 29-26 triple-overtime win, which was decided by a referee's call that went against Washington State.\nIn Clemson, S.C., a 67-year-old sheriff's officer and a female fan were injured when fans rushed the field and tore down a goal post following the Clemson Tigers' 27-20 win over South Carolina. Fans piled on top of Officer James Booth, who was hospitalized in stable condition. Details on the woman's condition weren't immediately available, but officials said her injuries were not life-threatening.\nIn Raleigh, N.C., one person's leg was broken and two people suffered knee injuries on the field when fans tore down goal posts following North Carolina State's 17-7 victory over No. 14 Florida State.\nIn California, some fans were taken away in handcuffs after hundreds of University of California fans overwhelmed security guards and tore down the goal posts following the Golden Bears' 30-7 win over rival Stanford.
(11/25/02 5:25am)
Gasoline prices in Indiana are the lowest in the nation this week, according to the AAA's latest fuel survey.\nThe average price Thursday in a statewide survey was $1.26 for a gallon of unleaded fuel, compared with the national average of $1.42, the automobile association said.\nPrices in Indiana have fallen more than 20 cents per gallon in the past month.\nIn Indianapolis, prices Thursday averaged just under $1.19, more than 7 cents below the statewide average. Prices were as low as $1.10 in some areas of the city, and briefly dropped below $1 on the city's west side as rival filling stations competed for business.\nGas prices have dropped because the immediate threat of war with Iraq has eased, said Greg Seiter, spokesman for the Hoosier Motor Club.\n"The tensions in Iraq had kept crude oil prices higher than usual until about a week-and-a-half ago," Seiter said.\nSeiter was unsure why Indiana's prices are the lowest in the nation. The state usually ranks in the middle of the pack or lower.\nIf holiday tradition holds, prices will increase a bit during the long Thanksgiving weekend, Seiter said.
(11/21/02 6:02am)
Bank seeks foreclosure on YWCA center, women's shelter\nKOKOMO -- A bank has filed a foreclosure notice against the Kokomo YWCA, saying the group has not made payments on a $600,000 mortgage.\nThe complaint filed in Howard Superior Court by National City Bank of Indiana asks that the YWCA's three properties -- including its main building, its domestic violence shelter and a parking lot -- be sold at auction to pay the mortgage principal, interest and legal fees.\nDee Ann Bond, the YWCA's executive director, downplayed the threat of foreclosure on the properties.\n"That's just a legal instrument at this point. It's not anything etched in stone," Bond told the Kokomo Tribune. "I don't think that there is anything to justify any kind of real alarm at this point. Those things take a long, long time, sometimes up to a year."\nThat could be time enough for the group to raise enough money to either pay down or pay off the mortgage, she said.\nBond blamed the group's troubles on the loss of money from the United Way of Howard County, which in July suspended about $14,000 a month in funding. United Way and YWCA officials disagreed over whether the YWCA had complied with requests for financial information.\nAfter the United Way withdrew its funding, the YWCA had to use money that once went to pay the mortgage to pay for programming instead, Bond said.
(11/21/02 5:58am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- A single parent in Indiana would have to earn more than $13,000 above what the federal government classifies as poor just to scrape by for a year, according to a new advocacy group report.\nThe Indiana Community Action Association released its first report on the state of Indiana's low-income citizens Wednesday. The association is made up of the 24 local assistance agencies across the state.\n"Indiana must have an integrated and effective system of supports in place to make sure the working poor can continue to grow, develop and make the life changes they need to move into jobs that can truly lift them out of poverty," the report says.\nThe report shows that a single parent who worked full-time, year-round in Indiana would have to make a minimum of $13.44 an hour, or $27,947 a year, to meet a bare bones budget that covered only necessities such as housing, food, health care and transportation.\nThis scenario doesn't take into account saving money, emergency expenses or extras for children.\nHowever, the federal government sets the poverty threshold at $14,150, creating a $13,797 "reality gap" between what the U.S. government classifies as "poor" and the basic dollars it takes to barely scrape by in Indiana.\n"What we found was eye opening, troubling and needs immediate attention," Jeanne Robinson, president of the Indiana Community Action Association, said Wednesday in releasing the report. "In today's world, the official definition of poverty should be roughly twice the official guideline."\nUnemployment continues to be a problem in Indiana, while the jobs that are being created don't pay enough to support a family, the report says.\nIn 2000, eight of the 10 largest occupations in Indiana paid less than a single parent with two children needed to survive, the report says.\nThese eight occupations, including retail salespeople, cashiers and food service workers, all had median wages of less than $11 an hour and average annual earnings under $24,000.
(11/21/02 5:56am)
MISHAWAKA, Ind. -- Ruth Newhouse said many prayers as her kidney disease worsened over the years, seeking consolation in a friend she met online in a Christian chat room.\nAs it turned out, that pal gave her more than just an online shoulder to cry on -- he also offered her one of his kidneys and proved a match.\nSteve Rainwater is scheduled go under the knife Friday when surgeons transplant one of the Lorton, Va., man's kidneys into Newhouse.\n"I've told him, 'I can't believe you're giving me this kidney,"' said Newhouse, 55. "He tells me, 'I'm not doing it. The Lord is. I'm just his instrument."'\nThe Mishawaka woman met Rainwater, 40, in a chat room about four years ago. They finally met Tuesday, three days before the scheduled surgery at the Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis.\n"We would chitchat (online) two or three times a week. We just became really good friends," said Rainwater, a heavy equipment operator.\nRainwater, who teaches Sunday school classes, said he has dedicated his life to his faith and had no hesitation about donating one of his kidneys.\nAs the pair corresponded in e-mail and instant messages over the years, Rainwater learned more about Newhouse's kidney disease. Eventually, he told Newhouse he would donate a kidney when she was ready.\nNewhouse, who has been suffering from kidney disease for more than half her life, was placed on the national transplant list this summer because of her fading kidney function.\nBut the transplant list is long -- with 80,553 people waiting for a new kidney as of Tuesday. Last year, the National Kidney Foundation said 2,025 patients died while waiting for a kidney transplant.\nThe way to beat the odds is to arrange with a private donor, usually a family member.\nThe team at the IU Medical Center that will perform the surgery was at first skeptical about the surgery, given that Newhouse and Rainwater had never met face-to-face. They weren't convinced that Rainwater was sincere.\n"They really weren't in favor of it because of how we met," she said.\nBut Rainwater, who is single, convinced them of his sincerity and when he passed all the tests, the transplant was approved.\nHe and Newhouse will be admitted to the hospital Thursday night in advance of Friday's four-hour surgery. There is about a 6 percent risk the organ will be rejected.\nRay Bearden, pastor of a Woodbridge, Va., church where Rainwater teaches Sunday school, said he was not surprised by Rainwater's decision.\n"Steve's just a big old lovable guy," he said. "It's quite a sacrifice, but for Steve, it's in his character. He's just a generous spirit"
(11/19/02 5:10am)
Suspected food poisoning sickens Oklahoma band members during contest\nINDIANAPOLIS -- A group of Oklahoma high school students competing in a national band contest was apparently stricken by food poisoning that sent more than two dozen students and two adults to hospitals.\nTwenty-six members of the Moore High School marching band and two adults were treated and released from Indianapolis hospitals Saturday after experiencing severe nausea, vomiting and brief fainting spells.\nThe victims were treated for food poisoning and extreme dehydration.\nMembers of the group from Moore, Okla., located about 10 miles south of Oklahoma City, fell ill as they were preparing for a 13-hour bus ride home after competing in the 27th annual Grand National Championships.\nThe band did not reach Saturday night's finals at the RCA Dome.\nAlthough some of them ate at the sporting facility, Indianapolis Fire Department investigators and RCA Dome officials said they were convinced the illness was not caused by concession food.\n"We can assure you that the band members did not get food poisoning from eating at the RCA Dome," Capt. William W. Brown, events coordinator for the Indianapolis Fire Department, told The Indianapolis Star.\nJohn Althardt of the Marion County Health Department said the ill teens and two adults were being asked to list the places where they had eaten. He said it was unlikely they became sick from food at the dome.\n"They all ate as a group, and we are trying to determine where they got the food poisoning," he said.\nPair accused of organizing dog fight; police confiscate dogs\nMIGHIGAN CITY, Ind. -- Two northern Indiana men have been accused of organizing a dog-fighting contest after authorities confiscated three pit bulls and 10 puppies from a home.\nThe charges may be the first in LaPorte County for placing dogs into combat with one another.\n"As we've known for some time, this is occurring on a regular basis, not just in Michigan City, but all over," Chief Deputy Prosecutor Atley Price said.\nPolice declined to say how they learned of the fight Friday evening, but officers arrived as the men were trying to stop the fight and round up the dogs, which were wounded and had scars, Price said.\nLaymon Fly, 21, and LaRon Ross, 20, were charged with using animals in a fighting contest, a Class D felony.\nThe adult dogs, along with 10 pit bull puppies that were being kept in an enclosed back porch, were taken to an animal shelter.\nBecause there were only three spectators, Price does not think betting triggered the fight. It may have been a sudden bid for "bragging rights" over who had the toughest animal, he said.\n"It would appear it was something more on the spur of the moment," Price said.\nMan arrested after sheriff says he drove too close\nLAPORTE, Ind. -- A man was charged with driving while intoxicated after LaPorte County Sheriff Jim Arnold said the man was tailgating his unmarked police car.\nArnold was driving to his daughter's wedding rehearsal Friday evening when he said a pickup truck drove toward his car until only inches separated the two vehicles.\n"I really thought he was going to rear end me," Arnold said.\nWhen he pulled over to let the truck pass, Arnold said the truck stopped behind him and the driver began revving its engine.\nArnold said he then approached the truck, displayed his badge and attempted to give the driver, Sammy Robbins, 40, a lecture about his driving habits.\nSheriff's deputies then arrived and arrested Robbins.\nRobbins refused to take a blood-alcohol test, but Arnold said he smelled alcohol when he reached inside Robbins' truck.
(11/15/02 5:03am)
EVANSVILLE -- Bishop Gerald Gettelfinger said his experience working with a priest who admitted having a sexual relationship with a teenager but later repented helped motivate him to vote against new policies covering Roman Catholic priests.\nGettelfinger, leader of the Evansville diocese, was one of seven bishops to vote Wednesday against the policies aimed at preventing child sex abuse by priests.\nGettelfinger said the policies would give bishops the power to remove priests from public ministry after one act of sexual abuse of a minor, but would not give them the discretion to return priests to the ministry who had sought forgiveness and experienced a spiritual conversion.\nHis arguments were based largely on the case of the Rev. Michael Allen of Celestine, who admitted to a sexual relationship with a teenager more than 20 years ago, Gettelfinger told the Evansville Courier & Press for a story Thursday.\nAllen was later removed as pastor of the parish about 50 miles northeast of Evansville.\nIt is unfair, Gettelfinger said, to subject priests to new regulations years after any abuse.\nGettelfinger said he was sympathetic to the victims and was trying to maintain a balance of sensitivity to the victims and fairness to priests.
(11/15/02 5:01am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency is investigating Indianapolis physicians and pharmacies suspected of providing excessive prescriptions for painkillers, a prosecutor said.\nThe Indianapolis Star reported that Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, who earlier this week admitted a past addiction to painkillers, may be questioned in connection with the probe. It did not identify its sources.\nMarion County Prosecutor Scott Newman confirmed the Drug Enforcement Agency probe, but officials in his office and the U.S. attorney's office in Indianapolis would not say whether Irsay was under investigation.\nIrsay, 43, has not been charged with any crimes.\nNewman's chief deputy, John Commons, told The Star that Irsay was not likely to face criminal charges because he apparently had a prescription for the painkillers. State law says having or using prescribed drugs is legal unless the patient lies to the doctor or forges a prescription.\n"We don't charge people who get valid prescriptions," Commons said. "We were satisfied that we had no need to go any further."\nThe Star reported that Commons and Marion County Sheriff Jack Cottey met with then-Colts security director Michael Zunk in August, a few days after learning of the DEA investigation, and learned that Irsay was in rehab.\nThe DEA's top regional official, Rick Sanders, refused to say whether the DEA is investigating any case involving Irsay. U.S. Attorney Susan Brooks also would not comment.\nNFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Irsay had discussed his problems with commissioner Paul Tagliabue and "voluntarily sought professional treatment to help overcome his dependency on certain prescription drugs."\n"We have no reason to believe that Mr. Irsay is currently the target of any investigation," Aiello said.\nIrsay acknowledged Tuesday he became dependent on prescription painkillers, and said he has overcome the problem since undergoing treatment this past summer.\nIrsay's statement said: "After several years of orthopedic operations and procedures, accompanied by long bouts of chronic pain, I became dependent on prescription pain medications."\nHe said he sought professional help at a treatment center outside Indiana.\nIndianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson, who is negotiating with Irsay to keep the Colts in the city, said he had seen no indication of Irsay's addiction and he would be hesitant to complete a deal if Irsay was being investigated.\n"It would cause me to pause and take a very close look at the situation," Peterson said.\nThe NFL's drug policy, which covers illegal drugs, alcohol and prescription drugs, says substance abuse is detrimental to football. The policy covers players and employees, but owners are covered by the league's bylaws and can be subject to review by the commissioner.\nNumerous players, including former Colts player Shawn King, have been tested and suspended under the policy, and their punishments have been announced publicly.\nColts president Bill Polian said Wednesday the team had nothing more to say about the situation.\n"There's really no need to comment further except to say that Jim and his family have our wholehearted support to move forward," he said.
(11/14/02 4:46am)
HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- A suburban Detroit official said he is gradually building support for designating Lake St. Clair one of the Great Lakes.\nMacomb Water Quality Board Chairman Doug Martz said he was told privately the Wayne County Board of Commissioners would support the effort. A committee of the Wayne County board asked Martz to state in a letter why the 420-square-mile lake should get the designation, he said.\nThe justification for the designation is that "4 1/2 million people get their drinking water from Lake St. Clair," Martz said. "It affects everyone in the region."\nBackers think Great Lakes status could bring more federal funding to the polluted lake and help the shipping industry. Opponents think the move is unnecessary and that the number of Great Lakes should remain at the traditional five.\nA request to recommend to Congress that the designation be approved was to have gone before the Great Lakes Commission last month in Cleveland. But supporters withheld it amid fears it would be voted down.\nThe commission told Martz to collect resolutions of support from communities in the region, and to submit them at next year's meeting. Supporters on record so far include St. Clair Shores and Belle River, Ontario, located 20 miles east of Detroit on Lake St. Clair's south shore.\nLetters seeking support from the boards of commissioners in Macomb, Oakland and St. Clair counties were drafted Tuesday, Martz said.
(11/14/02 4:42am)
EVANSVILLE -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says the state's five top choices for an extension of Interstate 69 into southwest Indiana would damage the area's wetlands and forests.\nThe agency has recommended the state reconsider a route using U.S. 41 and I-70, saying it would do the least amount of environmental damage and still meet the project's top aim of improving travel between Indianapolis and Evansville.\nThe U.S. 41/I-70 route, which is backed by environmentalists, was not one of five top choices identified by state officials in a draft environmental impact statement released this summer.\nThe EPA said the fastest of the more-direct routes of new construction favored by state officials would cut less than 20 minutes off the estimated travel time using the U.S. 41/I-70 option.\n"We do not consider this difference to be compelling," the EPA said.\nThe findings and recommendations were cited in a letter and report sent to the Federal Highway Administration dated Nov. 7 by Thomas Skinner, the regional administrator of the EPA in Chicago.\nA message seeking comment was left Wednesday for Indiana Department of Transportation officials.\nThe state's report released in July said the proposed route following the existing four-lane U.S. 41 from Evansville north to Terre Haute, then east on I-70 to Indianapolis scored poorly regarding travel time, freight movement and economic growth.\nA comment period on the draft environmental impact statement ended Nov. 7.\nState highway Commissioner J. Bryan Nicol has said a route for the extension will be selected by the end of the year. It would then need to be certified by the Federal Highway Administration.\nThe EPA recommended that Indiana highway officials meet with other state and federal agencies before choosing a route.\nSkinner's letter said that the U.S. 41/I-70 route "has at least, two or three times less impact on multiple resources when compared to the 'preferred alternatives' with the lowest construction costs and very low operation and maintenance costs."\nThe preferred routes would have "significant impacts" on wetlands and aquatic resources and "potential impacts" to surface and ground water, the letter said.\nOne organization that has opposed new-terrain routes said the EPA's stand could be significant.\n"I think this really throws a major roadblock into how INDOT would like to proceed," John Moore, an attorney with the Environmental Law and Policy Center, said.\nMoore said the EPA has recognized that the U.S. 41/I-70 route would have environmental problems that likely could not be overcome by careful routing of the highway.\nHe said if state officials proceeded with a new-terrain route anyway, they would incur serious legal risks "regardless of who would sue."\nJames Newland, director of the I-69 Mid-Continent Highway Coalition, said he has not seen the letter, but that he believed any environmental challenges can be worked out.\nHe said the extension is not just about saving travel time, but bringing industry to areas of the state that do not now have access to a major highway.\n"Southwest Indiana has endured a long and painful history as Indiana's neglected transportation stepchildren," Newland said. "The time has come to correct this inequity."\nIn 1996, the EPA said further analysis was needed on a state study done on building an interstate from Evansville to Bloomington. It said more examination was needed on alternatives to the proposed highway and potential impacts.\nThe recommendations were made based on the stated purpose and need for the project being based on bringing economic growth.\nFurther study was halted when it was determined I-69 would be built in southwest Indiana as part of the planned NAFTA superhighway through the central United States from Canada to Mexico.
(11/14/02 4:40am)
After a growing season in which the rain never seemed to fall at the right time, Indiana farmers are finishing up a less-than-bountiful harvest.\nThis year's corn crop is expected to decline 30 percent compared with last year's record harvest, with the soybean crop declining by 15 percent, the Indiana Agricultural Statistics Service said.\nNearly ideal harvest-season conditions have been about the only positive thing farmers can point to from 2002, said Steve Wilson, deputy statistician for the Purdue University-based agency.\nRecent rain has been light enough to allow farmers to finish bringing in crops, yet substantial enough to leave the soil sufficiently moist in advance of the next planting, Wilson said.\n"The soil moisture condition is improving for the planting of winter wheat, and we'll carry that soil moisture through to next spring's planting as well," he said.\nAbout 90 percent of Indiana's corn had been harvested through the end of last week, with 96 percent of the soybeans in, the statistics service said.\nHarvests of those crops are slightly ahead of last year's pace despite heavy spring rains that left many fields too wet for planting, causing delays. Warm, dry weather in late June and July allowed young plants to mature quickly, making up for lost time, Wilson said.\nBut that helpful dry spell persisted and extended into a summer-long drought, leaving fields parched and leading to forecasts of small harvests.\nIn contrast, Indiana farmers last year enjoyed record harvests and yields for corn and soybeans that pushed the value of Indiana crops up six percent.\nIn September, Purdue agricultural economists forecast a decline of around 40 percent in 2002. \nIndiana corn production this year is expected to total nearly 617 million bushels, down from nearly 885 million a year ago, the statistics service said.\nThe expected yield of 117 bushels per acre is 25 percent below last year's and nearly 16 percent below the average for the previous five years.\nCorn yields varied widely, with farmers in western, central and northwestern Indiana seeing yields at or slightly below average. The rest of the state was hit harder by fickle weather, with the south-central Indiana recording an average yield of 78 bushels per acre, the lowest among nine regions.\nProduction of soybeans, Indiana's No. 2 crop, is forecast at 233 million bushels, 15 percent below last year. The statewide yield is forecast at 41 bushels per acre, down from 49 a year ago.\nMeanwhile, grain prices have rebounded from a year ago, in part because of this year's smaller crops.\nIndiana farmers received an average price of $2.42 last month for a bushel of corn, up from $1.83 a year ago. Soybean growers received an average $5.21 a bushel in October, up from $4.17 a year ago.\nAlthough the price increases are not expected to make up for the drop in yields, farmers can get help. Last month, the federal government approved Indiana officials' request for disaster assistance that will permit farmers in 74 of the state's 92 counties to apply for low-interest emergency loans for crop and livestock losses. Farmers in 13 counties adjacent to the disaster counties can also seek help.
(11/12/02 9:34pm)
FORT WAYNE -- An executive with a company that settled with the state over alleged violations of Indiana's no-call provision is angry that its name appears on a listing of businesses that made illegal calls.\nTim Badgley, the operations manager of New Look Co., said he was shocked when he opened the newspaper last month and found that the company had agreed to pay fines for violating the state's Telephone Privacy Law.\nThe law prohibits most telemarketers from calling telephone numbers on the state's no-call list.\nBut New Look Co. -- just like 79 other businesses listed by the state as making illegal calls -- never admitted breaking the law and was not found guilty of doing so.\nInstead, Badgley said he signed a settlement agreement paying "administrative and investigative expenses" to end the inquiry into seven complaints.\n"We knew we were in compliance because I spent a lot of money to be in compliance," Badgley said. "But my attorney said we could fight it or settle it and save both sides a lot of time, energy and money"
(11/12/02 9:27pm)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana's newly nominated House speaker and four other lawmakers received a total of at least $50,000 in one of the most expensive fund-raisers ever held for a state-level politician, a newspaper reported Saturday.\nThe Indianapolis Star analyzed recent campaign finance reports to trace the source of contributions at B. Patrick Bauer's May 9 event that was held the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.\nBauer was nominated last week to be the new speaker of the Indiana House.\nThe event was held by several lobbyists with gambling clients days before the General Assembly met to debate a bill Bauer authored to expand gambling in Indiana. Bauer said the event was scheduled before the special session was called.\nMoney raised at the event was divided among Bauer and four Democratic supporters: Reps. William Crawford of Indianapolis, Earl Harris of East Chicago, Ronald Liggett of Redkey and Dennie Oxley of English.\n"It's been described as a gambling fund-raiser. It wasn't. It was friends who came together -- the usual group," Bauer said. "We followed Indiana law."\nBauer blames political rivals and lobbyists who support Republicans for suggesting the gambling link. So many lobbyists and law firms represent gambling clients that almost any fund-raiser could be labeled a gambling event, Bauer said.\nBut Luke Messer, executive director of the Indiana Republican Party, said the fund-raiser drew attention because of the suggested donation level and the timing.\n"It seemed like they went to great lengths to hide the fact this was $10,000 a pop," Messer said.\nThe donations included $5,000 from a lawyer whose firm represents riverboat casinos in Hammond and Lawrenceburg, and $9,000 from an official who represents someone with an ownership interest in Hoosier Park at Anderson.\nAlthough much of the cash came from supporters with ties to Indiana's gambling industry, regulators say they found no illegal money from casino investors.\nOne gambling lobbyist, Lacy Johnson, said he was motivated by friendship. He wrote personal checks to Bauer for $5,000 and later to Crawford for the same amount.\n"Pat's a champion for the little guy," Johnson said. "For me, that's important. I didn't ask for any of my partners to give or any of my clients to give. It was a personal thing"
(11/12/02 9:27pm)
TERRE HAUTE -- Five people under the age of 18 successfully registered to vote in Vigo County.\nThey did not show up to cast ballots on election day, which was a relief to election workers who did not catch the mistakes until after Tuesday.\nSeveral times each year, the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles inadvertently allows teenagers younger than 18 to register to vote even though they are ineligible, said Debbie Kirk, director of the Vigo County Voter Registration Office.\nAfter an inquiry from the Tribune-Star Thursday, county election officials conducted a computer scan based on dates of birth, and found five individuals registered to vote who were underage, Kirk said.\nJust before the election, the county found two other cases of underage teens who were registered, Kirk said.\nVigo County has about 73,000 registered voters.\nThe federal motor-voter law requires states to allow voter registration at license branches and other state service agencies in addition to clerk's or voter registration offices. The law is intended to make the registration process more convenient, and to reach potential voters who failed to register.\nTeenagers are not required to be 18 when they register to vote, but they must turn 18 by the next general election.\nMedia Trent, spokeswoman with the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles in Indianapolis, said staff members should check birth dates to make sure teenagers are the appropriate age.\n"If it slips by us, we hope voter registration will catch it, but ultimately it is our responsibility," Trent said.\nWhen there are problems, the bureau hears about it, Trent said.\n"After each election, we remind our employees and let them know how we did," Trent said. "It's a working relationship between the clerk's office, voter registration and Bureau of Motor Vehicles"
(11/12/02 9:26pm)
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Democratic candidate for state representative in northern Indiana's District 15 has filed a petition with the Indiana Secretary of State's Election Division contesting the results of Tuesday's election.\nGeorge Baranowski, of Schererville, contends that Republican Don Lehe, of Brookston, failed to meet a residency requirement that demands he live within the district for one year prior to the election.\nLehe defeated Baranowski 2,899 votes to 2,349 votes in the race to fill the seat vacated by State Rep. Dan Dumezich, R-Schererville, who did not seek re-election.\nBaranowski previously said that Lehe had changed his voter registration from a residence outside of the district to a new residence within the district on Dec. 6, 2001.\nLehe countered that residency and voter registration are not the same and said he was a resident of the district by Nov. 5, 2001.\n"We own several houses," Lehe said. "I moved my residence last fall. Then I transferred my voter registration last December. I don't see the issue there. I'm more concerned about getting to work for the state of Indiana and the people of the 15th district."\nAn attorney for Baranowski disagreed.\n"(Baranowski) thinks this is an unqualified candidate and that the district is unrepresented because of an unqualified candidate," David Austgen said. "As the next highest vote getter, he is entitled to the office."\nThe petition requests the State Recount Commission grant a contest proceeding, the results of which must be decided by Dec. 19.
(11/07/02 11:13pm)
WASHINGTON -- Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt intends to announce Thursday that he will not seek a new term as House Democratic leader, senior aides said.\nThe expected announcement would clear the way for a succession struggle among Democrats, who have been in the minority for eight years and lost seats to Republicans in midterm elections on Tuesday.\nGephardt has long signaled his interest in running for president in 2004, but it was not clear whether he would address that race when he announces his plans Thursday.\nTwo senior Democrats, Reps. Nancy Pelosi of California and Martin Frost of Texas, have already indicated they would run for party leader if Gephardt chose not to, and jockeying broke out even before word spread of the Missouri lawmaker's plans.\n"The country moved to the right yesterday and House Democrats won't win a majority by moving further to the left," said Tom Eisenhauer, spokesman for Frost, attempting to depict Pelosi as too liberal to lead the party back into power.\nSpokesman Brendan Daly responded for Pelosi. "It's not a matter of ideology. It's a matter of drawing a clear distinction between the Democratic and Republican Party on issues that the Democrats are united about and that the American people strongly support," he said. He cited education funding and Social Security as examples.\nRank-and-file Democrats are expected to meet next Thursday to pick the party's leaders for the Congress that convenes in January.\nGephardt flew to the capital from Missouri earlier in the day, and aides said then that he would spend his time making a decision about his plans. "If he chooses to run for minority leader we're confident he'll win," said his spokesman, Erik Smith.\nAt the same time, two members of the rank and file publicly prodded Gephardt to renounce another term as leader.\n"It is now clearly time for him to step down," said one, Rep. Peter Deutsch of Florida.\nSaid Rep. Harold Ford, D-Tenn.: "If Mr. Gephardt, or Dick, decides to run again, he should be prepared to face opposition. I think the caucus deserves -- the Democrats in the House, that is -- deserve to hear an alternative and deserve to hear another set of ideas and what another approach would look like." He spoke on CNN.\nGephardt, 61, was majority leader when the 1994 landslide swept the GOP into power in the House. He was elected minority leader several weeks later, and spent the next eight years attempting to return his party to power.
(11/07/02 6:08am)
WASHINGTON -- President Bush and his party savored sweeping midterm election victories Wednesday and began sketching an agenda for a new, Republican-controlled Congress. Minority House Democrats jockeyed for position in the event Rep. Richard Gephardt steps down as party leader.\n"I'm excited to be able to be on offense," said Republican Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, the once and future Senate majority leader. He said GOP priorities will include a new Department of Homeland Security as well as targeted tax cuts to help the economy. He added that Bush's judicial nominees could expect speedier review.\nBush made no public remarks during the day, and aides said he wanted to avoid giving the appearance of gloating. "There's a lot more to do and the president looks forward to working with Democrats and Republicans to do it," said his spokesman, Ari Fleischer.\nRepublicans were assured of 51 seats in the new Senate, a gain of two. Democrats had 48, including one independent. One race remained in doubt, in Louisiana, where Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu will face Republican Suzanne Terrell in a December runoff.\nIn the House, Republicans had 227 seats -- a gain of four -- and led for one more. Democrats won 203, and led for three. There was one independent.\nThe elections marked a remarkable triumph for Republicans, who bucked history to gain seats in a midterm election in which they held the White House.\n"I think you have to give an awful lot of credit to the president of the United States," said Lott. "He put his prestige on the line and I think it made a huge difference in this election."\nOne Republican polling firm circulated the results of an election-night survey that made the same point, saying that late-deciding voters gave Bush higher approval ratings than the country at large -- and that support for the president was higher, still, among voters in the pivotal House districts where the battle for control was settled.\nDemocrats conceded the obvious. "This was one tough night," Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle said on the morning after, appearing on NBC's "Today" show.\nAnd some party activists grumbled about the party's leadership. "There wasn't any unified message," said David Worley, former chairman of the party in Georgia. "I think the national leadership did a miserable job of giving a theme to the election."\nEight years in the minority, now facing two more, House Democrats looked ahead uncertainly to leadership elections next week.\nWith Gephardt expected to decide on his plans within a day or two, a race to replace him was already shaping up between a California liberal, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, and a Texas moderate, Martin Frost of Texas.\n"The country moved to the right yesterday and House Democrats won't win a majority by moving further to the left," said Tom Eisenhauer, spokesman for Frost. Pelosi ranks second on the current leadership ladder, one rung above Frost.\nGephardt, a likely contender for the presidency in 2004, flew back to the capital from his Missouri congressional district to decide his next step. The 26-year congressional veteran is "going to spend a day with his wife and family and talk to friends and advisers and begin making a decision about his future," said his spokesman, Erik Smith. "If he chooses to run for minority leader we're confident he'll win."\nEven so, one Democratic lawmaker suggested publicly it was time for a change.\n"It's obvious that we need some fresh faces and in some cases fresh ideas," Rep. Harold Ford, of Tennessee said on Don Imus' syndicated radio show. Rank-and-file Democrats are asking "some pretty tough questions about his leadership," Ford said of Gephardt.\nA nationwide survey conducted by Public Opinion Strategies, a GOP firm, found a "late surge to Republicans," much as was the case in the GOP landslide year of 1994. Interviews showed that "the handling of Senator Wellstone's memorial service and the way the ballot situation was handled in New Jersey was clearly a factor in helping drive Republican intensity this election," the firm said.\nThat was a reference to a memorial service in Minnesota for the late Democratic Sen. Paul Wellstone several days before the election. Many Republicans complained the event veered into politics, and Democrats had privately expressed concern about possible fallout.\nNew Jersey represented a political victory for Democrats, who prevailed in a court case to replace Sen. Robert Torricelli on the ballot even though the deadline for a switch had passed.\nDemocratic chairman Terry McAuliffe looked for a bright side to the elections.\n"It was an extraordinary night for Democratic gubernatorial candidates. Fifty-five percent of Americans woke up today having a Democratic governor," he said.\nDemocrats made gains in the governors' races, although if the election trend held, they would fall short of their goal of winning a majority of the nation's statehouses.