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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 13, 1985)
Page 16/The Battalion/Wednesday, February 13, 1985 Temple calls for action to halt rise in oil imports Associated Press HOUSTON — The United States is depending more and more on im ports of refined petroleum prod ucts, a situation that “threatens our national security and our economic well-being,” Texas Railroad Com missioner Buddy Temple said Tues day. “This is An alarming trend,” Temple said, speaking to mortgage bankers and real estate developers At a program sponsored by Commerce Title Co. of Houston. “In 1984 alone, according to the Department of Energy, product imports jumped 15 percent over 1983 levels, to some 2 million barrels a day. By 1990, if this trend continues, product im ports would rise by another 24 per cent, to nearly 2.5 million bArrels a day. “In the near future, product im ports are forecast to take an even greater share of the U.S. market, further deepening our vulnerability to foreign suppliers and eroding our domestic refining industry.” Temple proposed to halt the trend by backing a boost in the im port tax on refined products or by reimposing quotas on the products. “Both of these measures would encourage domestic exploration, production and refining, and in so doing would create jobs for Ameri cans, he said. In addition, he said, they would trim the energy trade deficit and put the burden of the im port fee on the OPEC nations. Temple is chairman of the three- member Texas Railroad Commis sion, which regulates the oil and gAs industry in Texas. Chief among the imports are gas oline, diesel fuel and home heating oil, he said, with gasoline imports in 1984 up more than 30 percent from the previous year and home heating oil and diesel engine fuel imports rising 62 percent in the same period. And, he added, the growth is not likely to abate as six new refineries come on line in the next three years in the Middle East and North Africa. “These refineries, often subsi dized by their governments, will add some 1.1 million barrels per day of petroleum product to world mAr- kets,” he said. “Market forces and surplus refin ery capacity, together with competi tion from cheaper foreign products, have put refineries in recent years in a serious plight. Refining capacity is down along the Texas Gulf Coast and some operations hAve shut. “In all, it’s a bleak picture.” Temple blamed the boost in im ports on the strength of the U.S. dol lar abroad, foreign government in vestment in their own refineries, and strict import limitations in countries other than the United States. Child-sex ring Initial probe full of errors, no new charges Associated Press ST. PAUL, Minn. — No new criminal charges will be filed in the case of an alleged child-sex ring be cause investigators who handled the original probe made too many er rors. “The credibility problems re sulted from the initial handling of these cases by Scott County authori ties, including repeated questions, a lack of investigative reports and cross-germination of allegations,” said Minnesota Attorney General Hubert H. Humphrey III said Tues day. The 14-month investigation by county, state and federal agencies scandalized the small town of Jor dan, southwest of Minneapolis-St. Paul, drawing national attention last year. Convicted child molester James Rud pleaded guilty to charges of criminal sexual conduct, a couple was Acquitted and charges against 22 other defendants were dropped. Humphrey said it is known some children in Scott County were sex ually abused, as Rud and two juve niles have admitted. Some children maintain they have been abused by other adults, Hum phrey said, but “in the circumstances of these cases, the belief that a child is telling the truth, by itself, cannot support a criminal conviction or es tablish proof beyond a reasonable doubt. “The manner in which the Scott County cases were handled has re sulted in it being impossible to deter mine, in some instances, whether sexual abuse actually occurred, and if it did, who may have done these acts,” he added. The Minneapolis Star and Tri bune on Tuesday quoted an uniden tified source in the criminal justice system as saying the state had enough evidence to recharge five or six people. The problem, sources told the newspaper, was that the child witnesses nad been interviewed by investigators so many times they probably no longer could provide reliable testimony. Eleven of the 27 children kept out of their homes as a result of sekual abuse charges have been allowed by family court judges to rejoin their parents since Humphrey took over the investigation. Eight more are ex pected to return home by the end of February. Anything Your Sweethearts Desire... Cards Gifts Apparel O 700 University Drive East 846-0857 SHOE by Jeff MacNe f HE COUiWT PIT A TUEeWSlPEOF P ' A SUMP WITH ' * TUATIUlWcr. ^ He'ZAVemwt than r mw$ •RESI ists pain gernails. 00500 which a celain ct dental cr he c< PBS looks to new funding methods Associated Press NEW YORK — Mr. Whipple isn’t squeezing the Charmin on “The Jewel in the Crown” and Mr. Rogers isn’t singing the praises of the cotton in his sweater. But public TV has been uncovering new money sources since funding has been cut by the Reagan administration. “People who work in public TV and raise money have been trying an awful lot of things for a long time, but anytime your back is against the wall, you work even harder,” said Michael Soper, PBS’ vice president for development. During an experimental phase in the early 1980s that provoked much internal debate over commercialism, New York’s public TV outlet, WNET, showed an American Ex press credit card with the catch phrase: “Don’t leave home without it.” Lance Ozier, PBS’ vice president for program administration and de velopment, said that wouldn’t be done these days, although new PBS guidelines do allow broadcasts to cite specific products and brand names. In April, eight General Foods brands, including Oscar Mayer Ba con and Cool Whip Topping, will underwrite a new PBS series, “The Sporting Life,” and spearhead a cou pon-clipping drive. President Reagan’s first budget, for fiscal year 1982, cut PBS’ fund ing from $200 million to $137 mil lion. Last year, Reagan vetoed two bills that would have authorized higher spending ceilings, calling them “excessive.” Since then, bipartisan congressio nal maneuvering has restored some of those cuts, and Reagan's pro posed budget, introduced last week, calls for $150.5 million for PBS in fiscal year 1985, $159.5 million in 1986 and $186 million in 1987. The cuts forced public television to find new financial outlets. Besides the liberalized rules on commercial underwriting, Soper said PBS sta tions are strengthening their relationship with members. One ap proach is using studios as lecture nails. On May 11, Gerard Njerenberg, whose lectures and writings on the art of negotiating have been used by hundreds of companies and the State Department, is scheduled to conduct a closed-circuit seminar at WNET that will be linked by satellite to studio audiences at other PBS sta tions around the country. Stations will benefit by charging Nierenberg for production costs ana keeping 40 percent of the gross, paia by those attending the seminar, said Diane Tryneski, WNET’s direc tor of video conferencing. _ the symb qut she F Dead rosafc can cheei^ AWC show e’ though s said Dr. sender Associated Press SAN DIEGO — With Valenti Day coming up Thursday, flower business should bebk ing. Kevin Milmoe hope r ! Erl same holds true for dead M, for dead romances. Milmoe, 28, started the t Rose Co. — which charm!; per bad bouquet — afterm* a friend over the pain oflt| jilted. Ifor p; crown, C ration fc accept tl dreds ha ff“It sta sort of 2 colors a Clark sa tient, am “He was miserable mill didn't know what to do aboul Milmoe said. r nc “I said, 'Why not semU; something to let her kno»:; - l' IV" you feel? Milmoe took ?. wiltedbunc roses, w rapped them inblad: sue with a black ribbon andiiq ered them — brown, limp: ugly — to the offending pan: JACI filly na track ir loo Coll needed has bee “She didn’t know whit think, but it cheered himii up," Milmoe said. “It seemed like a politek telling that not-so-special one exactly how you feel.” JBocg'jrcfcw 813 WELLBORN 693-4045 C.S.TEXAS winning i “We’ John \ opmenl domina Jacksor The Knight came ir after f grandf; theprh ■ King B> the Willian I “The I CH he was uted to Th with th abused than 5( “In turned dren w for you Th f BAR DRINKS SC ALL Every Thurs., Fri., & Sat. Night til Close Cover Charge: $2 Girls $3 Guys Free Beer from 8-9 p.m. Count) iieves ii edge o presen i For in the l collect! Heb collect! attend! - Whil went tc farm ir purcha ter, wb more ti Bau: vdthou He