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by Tom Batiuk DOZORS are
sickened by
Pandas
Mexico's Pe-Pe and Ying-Ying have twins
Associated Press
MEXICO CITY — Pe-Pe and
Ying-Ying, Mexico’s panda pair,
have added twins to their family,
and medical service personnel were
mothering the tinier of the two while
Ying-Ying cared for the other,
Chapultepec Park Zoo administrator
Maria Elena Hoyo said Wednesday.
Ying-Ying began taking care of
the first twin as soon as it was born at
1:05 p.m. Tuesday, Hoyo said, but
the mother ignored the second twin
born two hours and five minutes
later.
"She didn’t reject it,” she said.
“She’s dedicated herself to the first
one and didn’t seem to notice the
second.”
Zoo veterinarian Patricia Reyes
said six or seven members of the zoo
medical service w ill take turns hold
ing the smaller panda and an incu
bator will be used only in case of
emergency.
“They’re white, they look like little
rats,” the veterinarian said in an in
terview.
“It needs the warmth of the
mother and when that is lacking, hu
man warmth,” she said. An incuba
tor, she said, “is a different kind of
warmth.”
“We can’t say that we have won
the battle 100 percent,” Reyes said,
noting that the smaller one is about
half the size of the other baby. But
she added {hat there had been no
significant problems the first day
and that “it moves and cries pretty
loud.”
“It appears to have a good appe
tite and looks like it’s in good
health,” Hoyo said. But she added,
“no one has been able to raise them
that way,” away from the mother.
She said the panda baby would be
held for 40 to 50 days.
Ying-Ying and the other baby also
appear to be healthy, Hoyo said. She
said no photographers would be al
lowed near the newborn pandas for
some time, perhaps weeks.
Hoyo said the smaller one is be
lieved to be a male, weighs 2.4
ounces and is 5.6 inches long and
has about a 50 percent chance of
survival. Because the first baby is
with Ying-Ying, it will be six months
before zoo doctors touch it, Hoyo
said.
The twins were the fourth and
fifth offspring of Ying-Ying and Pe-
Pe, given to Mexico by China on
Sept. 10, 1975, making them among
the most prolific pandas in captivity
in the Western world. They will be
11 years old this year.
Ying-Ying’s first baby was born in
1980, but the mother accidentally
crushed it to death eight days after it
was born.
Tohui, now weighing 308 pounds
and nearly as large as his father, was
born July 21, 1981. Liang-Liang,
who weighs 266 pounds, was born
on June 22, 1983.
The gestation period for the twins
w r as 90 days, less than that of the
other two, Reyes said.
Raw milk possibly used in cheese
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Citing a
“strong possibility” that unpasteu
rized milk was deliberately used in
tainted Mexican-style cheese, a dis
trict attorney announced a criminal
probe Wednesday of a bacterial out
break that has killed 48 people since
mid-March.
A search warrant citing suspicions
of involuntary manslaughter and of
several other crimes was used to
seize records at Jalisco Mexican
Products Inc. late Tuesday, authori
ties said.
Sue McPherson, wife of the com
pany president, said Jalisco would
decline immediate comment but
would have a statement later. s
District Attorney Ira Reiner said
records showed the Jalisco plant in
Artesia received about 10 percent
more unpasteurized milk per month
than was pasteurized for its final
product, indicating that unpasteu
rized milk somehow was mixed into
the cheese.
Still unanswered, Reiner said, was
“the question of whether this intro
duction of substantial nonpasteu-
rized milk in the product is the cause
of the listeria which has caused many
deaths,” but he added: “Presently
there is a strong suspicion that is the
cause.”
He said investigators found dur
ing the weekend that the plant’s pas
teurization equipment was working
properly and that unpasteurized
milk could not have been introduced
into the cheese inadvertently.
“It raises the strong possibility
that it was put there deliberately,”
Reiner said.
Asked about the involuntary man
slaughter mentioned in the warrant,
Reiner said: “It has not yet been de
termined if use of nonpasteurized
milk in their product caused the lis
teria.”
The warrant on file in Municipal
Court also cited suspicions of con
spiracy to commit such crimes as the
unlawful sale of adulterated milk
products and the unlawful sale of
unsanitary milk products, which do
not conform to state standards, un
lawful possession of non-aged
cheese made from unpasteurized
milk, unlawful sale of adulterated
food, unlawful adulteration of food,
unlawful receipt and delivery of
adulterated food, and adulteration
of food with the fraudulent intent to
sell.
“We executed the warrant at ap
proximately 7 p.m., and we were
there until about 11, 11:15 p.m.,”
district attorney’s spokesman
Schuyler Sprowles said.
Asked what investigators discov
ered, Sprowles said, “You don’t
know what you have until you’ve
really examined it.”
Local, state and federal investiga
tors participated in the search, he
said.
“What you have is a number of
agencies playing an investigative role
into what has become a criminal in
vestigation of Jalisco cheese,” he
said.
Board delays insurance rate decision
Associated Press
AUSTIN — The State Board of
Insurance Wednesday postponed a
decision on a staff recommendation
for a S58 million homeowners’ in
surance premium increase — a
statewide average hike of 6.7 per
cent.
Overall, the board staff recom
mended a net increase of $28 mil
lion, or 2.2 percent, on rates for
homeowners, renters, fire, extended
coverage, farm and ranch owners
and related coverages.
The insurance industry wants a
10.2 percent overall increase in pre
miums, including a 15.8 percent av
erage hike in homeowners insur
ance.
After two hours of presentations
from the staff and the Texas Insur
ance Advisory Association, Board
Chairman Lyndon Olson said the
case would be taken “under advise
ment.” He did not indicate when a
ruling would be made.
The staff recommendation was
presented by actuary Gaylon Daniel,
who told the board that property in
surance “offers the potential for cat
astrophic loss.”
“We were all recently reminded of
the Gulf Coast’s vulnerability to hur
ricanes,” Daniel said. “And it is an
accepted fact that northern and
western areas of the state have expe
rienced severe tornado and hail
losses on several occasions.”
The staff proposal includes a $58
•million (6.7 percent) increase in
homeowners’ coverage, a $23 mil
lion decrease (25 percent) cut in
renters’ insurance and a $1 million
(4 percent) hike in farm and fanch
coverage.
The industry proposal, presented
by the Texas Insurance Advisory As
sociation, includes a 15.8 percent
hike in homeowners’ coverage, a
17.2 percent cut in renters’ insur
ance and a 15.8 percent hike in. farm
and ranch coverage.
chemical fire
Associated Press
THERMAL, Calif. — A chemical
spill and fire at a pesticide plant re
leased a 300-foot cloud of black va
por Wednesday, sickening about 50
people and forcing the evacuation of
this desert community’s 1,000 resi
dents.
The fire, reported at 6:30 a.m. at
Wilbur-Ellis Co., ignited tons of pes
ticides inside the plant. At least 49
people Were treated for nausea, diz
ziness and vomiting.
“We were told to evacuate the
premises because there had been an
-explosion,” Maria Ramirez said. “We
got out of the house real quick. We
got kind of sick with the smoke.”
Ramirez went to a Red Cross shel
ter after she and her son, 10,'were
evacuated from their home about 75
miles north of the Mexican border.
A series of explosions was re
ported, but Coachella Fire Depart
ment dispatchers could not confirm
them.
Insecticides, pesticides and other
agricultural products — including
parithion, paraquat, diazanine, cor-
bine 8 and sodium nitrate — were
among the chemicals storied in the
warehouse, said Riverside County
Fire Department spokesman Dana
Jones. Gasoline and diesel fuel sup
plies were also stored in the struc
ture, he said.
About 3,000 pounds of the highly
toxic insecticide malathion were also
believed to be among the stored
chemicals in the plant, authorities
said.
“The fire is not contained,” said
the dispatcher for the Coachella Fire
Department who asked not to be
identified. “We cannot use water.”
Water is reactive with many of the
-chemicals and can cause the release
of additional gases.
“We’re not putting any more wa
ter on the fire to allow it to burn it
self out,” Jones said.
Stage Center
presents
Bus Stop
8:00 p.m. June 27>29 at the Allen Academy Auditorium, 1200
Ursuline in Bryan. Admission $3.50 with Student I.D. For
more ticket information call 693-0050.
Regnant?
consich oM tke
alternatives 0
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Adoption is a viable alternative
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6487 Whitby Road, San Antonio, Texas 78240
(512) 696-2410
TOLL FREE 1-800-292-5103
Sponsored by the Methodist Student Movement through the Wesley Foundation
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•Manicures •Sculptures •Refills
•Pedicures •Tips *Nail Jewelry
Sculptured Nails
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New Tanning Bed $6 50 30 min.
Hours 8:30-5:30 Tues.-Fri.
846-0292
3731 E. 29th St. Bryan
Town & Country Center
FISH RICHARD’S:
HALF CENTURY HOUSE
—introduces—
for a limited time
The Dinner Club
Membership includes • 12 Free Meals
• Monthly Mailout with Unadvertised Specials
> Free Champagne on your Anniversary • Free
Slice of Cheesecake on your Birthday
Enjoy the dining experience that is
FISH RICHARD’S and ask about the
Dinner Ciub.
Lunch Poor Richard’s Revenge Dinner
M—F 11:30-2:30 M—F 4:30-6:30 Mon-Sat 5-10:30
“if You Haven’t Been to FISH RICHARD’S
Lately, You Haven’t Been to FISH RICHARD’S.’
Q
'<y
v
Aurora Gardens
is your way out. . .
Large 3bd 2ba
* 2 Blks from campus
* outside storage
* PETS accepted
* flat & studio floorplans
* w/d connections
* covered carports
* Families welcome
* Shuttle Bus Service
prices from $380
Stop by 401 Aflderson, College Station for yo
or Call 693-6505