Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 16, 1986)
THeBattalion 82 No. 34 GSPS 045360 10 pages - College Station, Texas Thursday, October 16, 1986 State high court OKs liability law for bar owners AUSTIN (AP) — The Texas Supreme Court led Wednesday that bar owners can be held Je lly liable in traffic deaths caused by drunken pa- irons who become drunken drivers. In affirming a Houston appeals court ruling, the Supreme Court effectively gave Texas a amshop” liability law that the Legislature has re ed for many years. J'The courts have taken on the role of the Legis- ture in that they have departed from a long-stand ing tradition that an individual is not responsible for “e acts of a third person,” said Richie Jackson, ex- tive director of the Texas Restaurant Associa- i. Iforty-one other states have laws or court deci sions that impose liability on commercial servers of pholic beverages, according to the National Alco- jit Beverage Control Association in Washington. JWithout writing an opinion, the Supreme Court let stand a 14th Court of Appeals ruling in a lawsuit filed against an El Chico restaurant. A Houston pdge had ruled in the restaurant’s favor, without convening a full trial, because the state has no iramshop liability law. ■The suit was filed by the parents of Larry Bryan Bole, who was killed in a Jan. 31, 1983, traffic peik in Houston when a drunken driver ran a red iglit and slammed his car into Poole’s. ■The runken driver, Rene Saenz, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 0 months in prison and 15 years on probation. Saenz testified he had consumed “a lot” of scotch ind water during “Happy Hour” at an El Chico in [orthwest Houston. toole’s family sued El Chico for unspecified dam- he Houston appeals court said, “He remem bered arriving at El Chico and getting his first drink The next thing he remembered was the im- |:t of the crash. He remembered nothing about his le spent at El Chico or when or how he left.” lustice William Junell, in his June 12 opinion for the Houston appeals court, said jurors should have Itn allowed to decide if El Chico was liable because hallowed Saenz to drink and then drive. |VVe hold that a bar operator owes a duty to the Sgtoring public to not knowingly sell an alcoholic Berage to an already intoxicated person” Junell laid “Whether El Chico breached that duty and whether that breach was a proximate cause of the atal accident are issues for a jury to decide if the ev idence raises such issues.” Jjiinell said, “It is up to the civil courts to change Bcepts of duty as social conditions change.” nadian, 2 Americans ake Nobel in chemistry Oft Astros’ last-gasp rally falls short . mtm " i ; illl ■< * ** v , ‘ Photos by Greg liuiley Students gathered to watch Wednesday’s Astros-Mets game outside Hart Hall. The Mets’ 7-6 win sends the team to the World Series where it will face the Boston Red Sox. r ? > i fj ^ /•'Ts: Mets nab NL series 7-6 in 16 innings HOUSTON (AP) — Ray Knight keyed a three-run 16th inning Wednesday and the New York Mets survived one last Houston Astros’ rally to win their third National League pennant, 7-6, in the longest postseason game ever. The Mets’ extra-inning rally was their second of the game as they erased a 3-0 deficit in the ninth in ning and took a 4-3 lead in the 14th before the Astros’ Billy Hatcher tied it in the bottom of the inning with a home run that hit the screen at tached to the left-field foul pole. New York will open the World Se ries at home Saturday against the Boston Red Sox, 8-1 winners over California in Game 7 of the Ameri can League playoff series. It may take that long for the Mets to come down from their pennant clincher, a game that provided bril liant pitching and clutch hitting and saw the Astros’ dream finally die with the winning run on base. Astros left-hander Bob Knepper held the Mets to two hits before they rallied in the ninth, while Mets pitch ers shut out the Astros from the sec ond until the 14th. Darryl Strawberry, hitless in four previous at-bats, started the winning rally with a pop-fly double off losing pitcher Aurelio Lopez. Strawberry hit the ball off his fists into center field, and the ball fell between Hatcher and second baseman Bill Doran. The ball hit the artificial turf and bounced over Hatcher’s head as Strawberry went to second. Knight, traded from the Astros to New York in 1984, then singled to right field. Houston right fielder Ke vin Bass’ throw was up the third-base line and too late to get Strawberry. Knight went to second on the throw, and Jeff Calhoun relieved Lopez. Calhoun threw a wild pitch that sent Knight to third, and Wally Backman walked. A second wild pitch by Calhoun scored Knight and Len Dykstra added a single off the glove of first baseman Glenn Davis to score the final run. New York reliever Jesse Orosco, who allowed Hatcher’s home run, earned his third victory in the series despite allowing Houston to once again draw near. Houston’s Mike Scott, who won two games while allowing one run and eight hits in 18 innings, was named the series most valuable player. The Mets have won three divisio nal titles since they were born of ex pansion in 1962. They won the World Series over Baltimore in 1969 and lost to Oakland in 1973. Houston’s only other playoff ex perience was in 1980 when it lost in five games to the Philadelphia Phil lies, with four of those games going extra innings. The longest previous game in postseason play had been Game 2 of the 1916 World Series when the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox played 14 innings. Houston’s final attempt at victory came when pinch-hitter Davey Lopes walked with one out. Doran singled to left, advancing Lopes to second. Hatcher singled to left-cen ter, scoring Lopes with Doran stop ping at second. Denny Walling hit into a forceout. Glenn Davis singled to center, scoring Doran and send- See Mets win, page 8 Shrimp farms hold promise for Texas STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) — #oAmericans and a Canadian won e|Nobel Prize in chemistry esday and three Europeans the physics prize, with all six Ifor helping man view the tiny arid of molecules and atoms, budley R. Herschbach, 54, of pard University, Yuan T. Lee, i,of the University of California at irkelev and John C. Polanyi, 57, of f University of Toronto shared tchemistry prize for their study of ^molecules interact to form new (stances, the Swedish Academy of iences said. The academy awarded the physics iieto three inventors of high-pow- «(f microscopes: Ernst Ruska of est Berlin, who built the first elec- iwnicroscopes in the 1920s and 30s, Gerd Binnig of Frankfurt, estGermany and Heinrich Rohrer Switzerland, who designed a new I of electron microscope called ['scanning tunneling microscope. The academy described Ruska’s microscope as “one of the most im portant inventions of this century” and said it made possible important advances in physics, biology and medicine. For example, electron micro scopes, which magnify objects up to 1 million times, enabled scientists to see many viruses too tiny to be per ceived through conventional micro scopes. The scanning tunneling micro scope developed by Binnig and Rohrer can magnify objects up to 300 million times. It scans surfaces with an electron beam so fine that a single atom forms the tip, and has given re searchers the first pictures of indi vidual atoms. appl d tht of research and the manufacture tiny silicon computer chips. Herschbach, 54, told The Asso ciated Press after learning of the See Nobel, page 10 By Bob Grube Staff Writer Shrimp could be the agricultural crop of the future for Texas, a Texas A&M professor says. “Shrimp is the new kid on the block as far as an agricultural crop is concerned,” says Dr. Addison Law rence, a mariculture professor. “We could have another chicken on our hands.” While shrimp mariculture (farm ing) already is being practiced in South America and the Orient, A&M researchers and others are de veloping it for Texas and the Gulf Coast. Today, two-thirds of all the shrimp eaten by Americans are im ported. This not only increases the cost per pound of shrimp but also creates a large imbalance of trade for the United States. Amy Broussard, head of the Ma rine Information Service, says while shrimp mariculture can’t eliminate the trade imbalance, it could lessen it by some degree. However, Lawrence, who also is a project leader for the Texas Agricul tural Experiment Station, says the shrimp industry’s problem is that the world’s oceans currently are being harvested at maximum yield. “The oceans are giving up as many shrimp as they can,” Lawrence says. “If we had 10,000 more shrimpers, the amount of shrimp taken from the oceans would not in crease. It would probably decrease.” Broussard says Texas shrimpers should not worry about mariculture cutting into their profits. “Since mariculture started in the mid-1960s, shrimpers have worried about decreased profits,” Broussard says. “In 1980 the United States im ported $3.65 billion of shrimp. The goal of shrimp mariculture is to off set the trade imbalance.” Lawrence says because shrimp mariculture still is being developed, it has a high capital investment risk. However, he says, it can have high economic returns because the poten tial profit for shrimp farming is about $400 per acre. Grain sorghum profits run about $250 per acre. The real economic impact of shrimp farming can be seen in its crop value. The crop value of shrimp can be as high as $4,000 per acre, compared to $500 per acre for cotton. Of the 200 varieties of shrimp, Lawrence says about 10 are being farmed around the world today. Lawrence says people may not think of farming shrimp the same way they do other farming. “When you think of shrimp farm ing, think of cattle, horses and pigs,” Lawrence says. “You can’t give the same feed to all the animals, and you can’t give the same feed to all the shrimp. Each variety is raised differ ently.” Lawrence says other countries have a headstart on the United States but that U.S. researchers have developed a feed that is about $800 cheaper per ton than the feed used by the other countries. Lawrence says the feed used by other countries is made of animal meals, which increases the price of the feed. The feed developed by U.S. researchers is made of surplus soy, corn and wheat, which de creases the price per ton and helps the farmer at the same time. Shrimp mariculture in Texas also can use hundreds of miles of land from Port Aransas southward along the Gulf Coast. That land is too salty for normal crop growth. “Shrimp farming can make a profit on land along the coast that isn’t in use now,” Lawrence said. Shrimp mariculture has the po tential to solve many economic prob lems for Texas, but several areas must be refined through research before Texas can reap benefits. louse approves compromise immigration plan WASHINGTON (AP) — The ouse passed a bill Wednesday to )wthe influx of illegal aliens with a ■ot-and-stick program of amnesty those with roots, and penalties employers who hire undocu- Ked workers. This came less than three weeks |e Election Day as the House Senate pushed to whittle a stack major domestic measures to over- 1 immigration laws and finance government. mgressional leaders tried to Ip up legislative business and ad- Bt by today or Friday, two weeks |r the original adjournment tar- t of Oct. 3. The compromise immigration Jjtion, written by a conference nmittee, went to the Senate after B-173 vote. Voting for the bill were 161 Dem- |t$and 77 Republicans. Opposed Ire 80 Democrats and 93 Republi- he Hispanic caucus was split, Gramm calls immigration bill an 'outrage of spending' WASHINGTON (AP) — Texas congressmen opposed an immigration reform bill passed by the House 20-6 Wednesday, with some members expressing concern that it would cause the state economic problems. Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, called the bill an outrage of spending, and said he would begin studying related laws to determine if the expen ditures contained in the bill violate budget rules. “This is a very expensive bill,” Gramm said. “As you can imagine, legalizing 4 million people and moving them toward public assistance is a very, very big cost.” The House version of the immigration bill would have cost $9.2 billion and the Senate ver sion $4.5 billion, according to the Office of Man agement and Budget, Gramm said. That could violate budget ceiling limitations, he said. The bill retains criminal and civil sanctions against employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens and provides amnesty for millions of for eign workers. Several Texas congressmen said this amnesty could cause further economic problems for the state. An agreement favored by all but one of the House-Senate conferees was announced Tues day after over 5 hours of closed-door bargaining. The House dropped its proposal to end crimi nal and civil employer sanctions after 6‘/a years unless Congress extended them. Rep. John Bryant, D-Dallas, the only Texan on the committee, said, “The purpose of this bill is to send a message to the world that people shouldn’t come here illegally hoping to find work.” An estimated 3 million aliens entered the United States illegally last year and numbers are growing, according to figures a Bryant aide said were released by the Congressional Budget Of fice. Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, D-Texas, agreed that the time had come to stop negotiating and pass a bill, saying,“This is not a perfect bill, but apparently it’s the best we can get. I intend to vote for it.” with five members voting “yes” and six voting “no.” The Texas delegation, whose members expressed concern that amnesty would cause the state eco nomic problems, opposed the bill by a 20-6 margin. House approval of the compro mise immigration measure had been expected. But the legislation still could become tied up by opponents in the Senate. The bill would use as its “stick” a system of fines and prison terms against employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers. As a “carrot,” those who crossed the bor der illegally before 1982 and estab lished roots in the United States would be given legal status. The bill would provide $4 billion over four years to reimburse state and local governments for providing benefits to newly legalized aliens, who would be barred from receiving federal assistance for five years. The employer penalties would start after a 6-month education pe riod. Employers would have to keep records to show they checked docu ments to verify that employees were legal residents. Another major item on the agenda was a more than $560 bil lion, spending bill to meet the fund ing needs of most government oper ations and programs for the fiscal year which began Oct. 1. Congressional negotiators settled on the final version of the massive spending bill Wednesday morning. However, the Senate was not tak ing up the measure before today, leaving the government technically broke. Consideration of the spending package was made possible Tuesday night after bargainers settled on $291.8 billion worth of military spending — less than the adminis tration’s $320 billion request. During the day, Congress ap proved this separate military spend ing authorization — first by 283-128 in the House and then by voice vote in the Senate.