The Battalion r was vo| t Year ini ‘>m his r r he had/ol. 71 No. 174 •Reds,) Pages IngSShn >ug to tit *d by tl^ three-as; •d commit u» 1975 Hreut >» Flori d ton nbsei Thursday, July 13, 1978 College Station, Texas News Dept. 845-2611 Business Dept. 845-2611 Inside Thursday: • Pajama Tops’ begin rehearsals - P 3. • New summer courses at craft shop - p. 4. • Weiskopf chokes - p. 6. itter' ension marks 4LT II talks and li; ^nitod Press International »gmot. r V.A’ Switzerland — Secretary of o !*at .rus Vance and Soviet Foreign lav inNev Andrei Gromyko opened 'houldn ,irrns limitation talks Wednesday p, ,| darkening cloud of the dissident he Soviet Union. i, e who/ 0 n "-‘ n chatted cordially and >a\ Iw^ photographers behind a table in ean»lt ern conference room on the nee b • ,or °l tl 11 * U.S. delegation build- . i hen began their meeting four ,| v Tate to tr\' to resolve two major he * n die way of an agreement u \i,,,cti°n s on the testing of new 970 |j and limitations on the Soviet bomber. Ana an . i . . h m uth Bronx and Harlem will never felt In’(cover. i age. tional attention, it appears Medicaid has changed its mind. “Medicaid advised us to draw out the savings and put it under another name,’ said King’s son. Herb. “They said there would be no problem from then on. “There was a whole world of difference in the Medicaid people after the case got so much publicity.” The elder King is reasonably pleased with what appears to be Medicaid’s change of heart, but wants to wait to the end of the month to make sure. “I think it’s OK now, but I won’t know for sure until the end of the month when I see for myself if they send the check (to Mrs. King’s nursing home.)” The younger King also indicated his father’s partial payments for Mrs. King's treatment might go up from $59 per month to $70, out of a pension monthly income of $280. Those that did reopen did so with the help of $33.7 million in loans from the federal Small Business Administration and $2.8 million in grants from a city emergency aid fund. The city’s Office of Economic De velopment claims business losses from the blackout surpassed the $61 million mark. The federal government placed the final tab for the blackout — in cluding overtime for police and firemen, losses from a day’s stock transactions and closed stores — at $309 million. Psychologist Morton Bard of New York’s City University described the looting as “a Robin Hood-type thing — steal from the rich and give to the poor.” But most of those looting were not poor. Almost half of those ar rested had jobs — an employment rate half as high again as among those normally arrested. Fewer than 10 percent were on welfare. Despite the mayor’s demands that the looters be dealt with harshly, the conviction rate was less than 50 percent. Most paid fines or were given sentences equal to the days they spent waiting for arraign ment in the decrepit Tombs jail, eat ing catered bologna sandwiches. Looking for a quick victim, Beame immediately pointed the finger at Consolidated Edison and charged the company with “gross negligence. ” New Yorkers, turning their ire on the utility they love to hate, filed 19,295 claims against Con Ed de manding $15.3 million in damages, mostly for spoiled food. They, in turn, got a polite letter from the company, disclaiming any liability. Tax cuts come fast in Austin United Press International AUSTIN — Legislation providing the largest tax reduction in Texas history has moved through the House and Senate eas ily and taxpayers could feel the benefits of the bills as early as September. The House and Senate Wednesday each unanimously passed different versions of bills repealing the state sales tax on utility bills and increasing inheritance tax exemp tions. Speaker Bill Clayton said a confer ence committee probably will be neces sary to resolve differences in the two ver sions of the bill. Depending on which version is finally approved, the net saving to taxpayers in the next three years could range from the $486 million in the Senate hills to the $535 million reduction in the House proposals. Clayton said the sales and inheritance tax reductions may wait in conference committee to determine what other tax reduction proposals may be passed by the special legislative session called by Gov. Dolph Briscoe. "These bills are going to pass, there’s no question about that, Clayton said. “It may be we hold this bill while we work on some others and see what the price tag on some of the other hills will be. Briscoe asked the legislators to approve a program that could reduce state taxes up to $1.6 billion in the next three years, virtually depleting a projected state surplus. The bill approved by the House 136-0 Wednesday would repeal the 4 percent state sales tax on residential and small business utility hills, permit cities to re peal the 1 percent city levy and exempt the first $200,000 value of an estate from inheritance taxes. Under the House plan, the repeal of the sales taxes on utility bills would take effect Sept. 1, while customers are paying high electric bills for summer cooling. Senators proposed to make the repeal effective Oct. 1. The House defeated 72-69 an attempt by Rep. John Wilson, D-La Grange, to also repeal the sales tax on utility bills paid by commercial customers, giving an additional $210 million tax saving to busi nesses. Rep. Tom Schieffer, D-Fort Worth, op posed Wilson’s amendment, saying large retail stores would receive the biggest benefits. “This bill is not going to give mom and pop a tax break, it’s going to give the big tax break to Sears, Safeway and Neiman- Marcus,’’ Schieffer said. “Sears, Safeway and Neiman-Marcus are going to get $240 million out of this amendment and mom and pop are going to get $3 million. II you think Sears, Safeway and Neiman-Marcus are going to give this money back to consumers in the form of lower prices, you still believe in fairy tales.” Both the House and Senate adjourned for the weekend after approving the tax reduction proposals. Committee hearings are scheduled Monday on other of Bris coe s tax relief plans, hut Lt. Gov. William Hobby indicated the Senate may have passed all it will pass this session. Subdivision project goes underground Battalion photo hy Pat O’Malley “Where is he when I need him? Moving out is always a hassle. This young lady seems to be looking for her knight in shining armor in the Krueger-Dunn parking lot to help her with that heavy load. She is moving out of the dorm before the second summer session starts Friday. B-CS police request help catching rapist The College Station and Bryan police have yet to apprehend the person or per sons responsible for two rapes and three assaults in this area during the month of June. Though no such attacks have been re ported since police issued a press release July 6 warning citizens and requesting their help in locating the attacker, police still fear the attacks could be repeated. Police are searching for a black male suspect in his early twenties, about 5-foot 10-inches tall, and weighing approxi mately 165 pounds. Despite the attacker’s recent inactivity police are continuing their investigation, though to date they have had no success. Police ask that anyone who might have Marijuana wins as favorite weed over tobacco United Press International BOULDER, Colo. — University of Colorado students who smoke prefer marijuana to tobacco, according to a recent survey. The survey, conducted by a university journalism class, found that marijuana smokers outnumber cigarette smokers al most 3-to-l at the school. The class randomly selected 360 stu dents and interviewed them by telephone this past spring. The survey found that 56 percent of the students smoke marijuana while only 20 percent smoke cigarettes. Most of the students interviewed — 83 percent — would like to see marijuana legalized or decriminalized. The survey showed that about 30 per cent of students described themselves as conservative smoke marijuana, as well as 56 percent of the moderates. The survey indicated the sophomore class has more marijuana smokers than any other class. It also indicated the sopho more class had more liberals and the most teetotalers of those surveyed. information that could be helpful or who notices anyone fitting the suspect’s de scription under suspicious circumstances contact them. Should a person notice such a suspicious individual leaving the area by car, police ask that he or she take note of the car’s make and license number if pos sible, then notify local police. United Press International FORT WORTH — A land speculator hopes to break ground on the nation’s first earth-covered subdivision before the new year. “We ll build 7 to 10 earth-covered spec houses in a subdivision, and try to deter mine from their sales what to do next, said Robert Needham. “I think we 11 be the first in the nation to undertake this kind of project. But if Fort Worth architect Frank Moreland is right, Needham’s subdivision won’t be the last. “In four or five years, what I call hill- homes will be a significant part of the housing market nationwide,” predicts Moreland, an architecture professor at the University of Texas at Arlington. Fort Worth has an application pending for federal funding to build four demon stration homes in older neighborhoods. A decision is expected by the end of the month. A Moreland-designed hill-home is under construction in Waxahaehie, Texas, and four more will be constructed in nearby Colleyville. “Think of the earth-covered home as a house shoved into a hill, sideways,” Moreland explained. One side of a hill-home is uncovered, with lots of glass windows. The other three sides are set into a hill, either manmade or natural. Over the living area is a 16-inch slab of concrete reinforced with four to six layers of steel, and over the slab is nine feet of earth. In Moreland’s designs, the homes are set no more than three feet into the ground. Needham says he won’t use Moreland’s plan, requiring nine feet of earth over the home. Instead, he 11 use no more than four feet, which significantly cuts the construc tion price. "The energy savings are better with the larger amount of earth, hut our design is more cost-effective,” he said. "And with optional energy sources such as solar- electric cells and wind generators, we re hoping to offer a home that will feature a zero energy hill. Moreland says people interested in hill-homes aren’t concerned with aesthe tics. But while the exteriors of his homes look like shrub-covered hills, the interiors are extremely liveable. More important than design is function, according to Moreland. “We anticipate reducing energy bills by 90 percent,” he said. “It's getting where people are paying as much for utilities as they are* on their mortgages, and that’s where we have such a great advantage.” Moreland and Needham agree that it’s still difficult to get conventional financing for an earth-covered home. Needham says final plans for the homes aren’t ready yet, but he expects construc tion to begin in December or January. No sites have been selected. “When the government finally accepts the practicality of this type of design, we ll be seeing a lot of them. A going away present Battalion photo hy Pat O'Malloy Aggies on their way home are not immune to park ing tickets as Charles Demack (far right) learns while loading his car to leave for the summer. Offi cer Les Cline is ticketing Demack for parking illeg ally in the lot shared by Aston Hall residents and senior Corp cadets.