MSC
political Everyone is Welcome!
FORUM
Political Forum General
Committee Meeting
Wed. April 15th 7 p.m.
301 Rudder
Committee Awards Will Be Presented
Page 4/The Battalion/Wednesday, April 15, 1987
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MSC
CepJieid Variable
presents >
at : 7:30 & 9:45
on: Thursday
April 16th
in : Rudder Theatre
•*»* ^ ■C' -o & <£- o «ai—-o—c>- —4> <s» < ►
BoRKlEP our? celebrate
after FINALS!!
MSC Travel
PUERTO
VALLARTA
ONLY $350.00
MAY 17-21
DEADLINE extended
to April 17
for more info call
845-1515
The doctors of optometry affiliated
with Texas State Optical know that every
contact lens prescription must be exact.
The fit must be precise. You must be
completely comfortable.
Yet every year people spend fortunes
on contacts, put them away in a drawer
and never wear them.
Because they’re uncomfortable.
They don’t fit right.
These people have never been to
Texas State Optical.
Y)u can’t afford
contact lenses
that don’t fit right.
At any price.
Call Battalion Classified 845-2611
Mauro offers pistachio farm
as good land-use example
By Olivier Uyttebrouck
Senior Staff Writer
Texas Land Commissioner Gary
Mauro said Tuesday that the state
must find new ways of using the mil
lions of acres of land it manages
rather than rely entirely on oil and
gas revenues and offered a west
Texas pistachio farm as one possible
solution.
Mauro also described a 62-acre
Oriental vegetable farm near Tom-
ball, owned by the General Land Of
fice and operated by Cambodian ref
ugees as an example of creative land
use.
The entire 900,000 acres man
aged by Mauro’s General Land Of
fice yields only $500,000 in surface
revenues, largely from grazing
leases, he said. In addition, 200,000
acres of land in the trans-Pecos re
gion, managed by his office, is cur
rently unleased because of the ari
dity of the region, he said.
Mauro, speaking at an MSC Great
Issues event in Rudder Tower said
that innovative land uses such as
aquiculture, specialized crop farm
ing and recreational hunting could
increase the revenues generated by
these lands, and he emphasized the
role of the state’s agricultural schools
in designing these programs.
One such program is a 320-acre
pistachio tree orchard the Land Of
fice is creating in the trans-Pecos re
gion of the state, he said. The 18,000
seedlings are currently in a green
house, and it will be seven years be
fore Texas produces its first crop of
pistachios, he said.
Mauro said the land will be plan
ted with asparagus in the meantime.
Though the project was started at
a cost of less than $12,000, Mauro
said that if pistachio prices sta\
where they are, the orchard will pro
duce an income of close to $500,000
during its 29-year life.
Photo by l
Texas Land Commissioner Gary Mauro talks with Ajay Raj, prtsi
dent of the MSC Political Forum, after speaking at a Political Forum
presentation on land use.
Pistachios were chosen because
they are resistant to the saline soil of
the region, and because Iran was
once the chief producer of pista
chios. But, the Iran-embargo has
raised the nut’s price, he said.
“I hope we can make Texas pista
chio-independent,” Mauro said.
As another example, Mauro cited
a 62-acre Oriental vegetable farm,
started at the urging of Houston of
ficials anxious to find work for a
group of newly-arrived Cambodian
refugees. Mauro said the Land Of
fice surveyed Oriental restaurants
and learned that the many kinds of
vegetables they used were all im
ported f rom outside the state.
Eighteen Cambodians make their
living entirely from the 16-variety
vegetable patch. Other truck farm
ers in the area are !>eginning to get
into what Mauro describes as a ‘‘tre
mendous market’’ in Oriental?
tables.
“And now that land prate
of $35 a year in revenue (
state.” Mauro said.
Mauro defended hisolfc
and ranch loan program Ai
make available low-interestte
up to $100,000 available to i
farmers. Such loans have a ttij
multiplici effect, hesaid.Eat
la i loaned to a small farmer'
change hands live tosevenffi
the local community.
20 percent of El Paso’s vehicles
flunk new tailpipe emissions tesl
EL PASO (AP) — Up to 20 per
cent of the city’s vehicles are flunk
ing new tests designed to bring El
Paso’s air into compliance with fed
eral standards for carbon monoxide,
officials say.
El Paso is the only city in Texas
that exceeds carbon monoxide ceil
ings set by the Environmental Pro
tection Agency.
The tailpipe emissions test began
in January and since then, an esti
mated 15 percent to 20 percent of
the 70,000 vehicles tested have
failed, said Danny Wilkinson of the
Texas Department of Public Safety.
The EPA won’t begin compiling
statistics until August. The tailpipe
emission tests are part of the manda
tory annual inspection of vehicles.
In most cases, minor repairs will
bring the vehicles into compliance
with emission standards, Wilkinson
said Monday.
As expected, low-income areas
had the highest rate of failures, said
Sgt. Glenn Wood of the DPS.
The DPS is in charge of training
and registering service stations that
administer the tests. The agency also
runs checks to make sure attendants
at the service stations are inspecting
the vehicles properly for signs of
tampering with anti-pollution de
vices and for non-compliance with
emissions standards.
So far this year, six inspectors in
El Paso have been suspended for
one year for "flagrant” violations of
inspection procedures, Wilkinson
said. Seven stations have been fined
and 17 warnings have been issued.
At a meeting sponsored by the
League of Women Voters, El Paso
residents quizzed air pollution offi
cials on how successful the cl
going to be with its air pllutte
trol program.
Raul Munoz, head of the ere
mental division of the City-C*j
I lealth District, said El Pasov;|
ways have air pollution problt: j
cause it is next to Ciud
Mexico.
Vehicles in Juarez general^
worse condition than in ElPasctj
are not required to have anti
ion devices.
Last week, EPAandDPSo
stopped about 500 cars throt
the city to check for tamper® 1 ]
anti-pollution devices, said 1
Officials say they are aware(
drivers register their vehiclesM
re/, or in neighboring New .'Id!
which also does not have polls]
controls.
HOWTO
THE BOSS
When you want to take
command, you’ve got to
look smart. Your
smartest way is to
control the cost of
the best clothes
you can buy. It’s
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shop Suzannes
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spring career
fashions helps you
manage beautifully. 5
S u
BLOUSES Dept. Store $44 $50
$19.99-$24.99
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/Y $14.99$ 19.99
\ SKIRTS Dept. Store $32 $46
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ENTIRE STOCK OF
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ALSO save $5-$20 on every
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