■
■i
The Battalion
Vol. 1 Mo. 192 6 Pages
College Station, Texas
Friday, August 12, 1988
Thornburgh confirmed
as new attorney general
WASHINGTON (AP) — The
Senate unanimously confirmed
Richard L. Thornburgh as attorney
general on Thursday, sending him
to take command of a Justice De
partment wracked by turmoil over
his predecessor’s ethical conduct.
The vote was 85-0.
Thornburgh succeeds Edwin
Meese III, who quit after pronounc
ing himself exonerated by an inde
pendent counsel’s report that con
cluded he “probably” broke the law.
The Senate also was ready to con
firm other key department nomi
nees who, along with Thornburgh,
will form the team that will shape
Justice Department policy for the re
mainder of the Reagan administra
tion.
The three already are serving in
acting capacities: Harold Chris
tensen as deputy attorney general;
Francis A. Keating II as associate at
torney general; and Edward S.G.
Dennis Jr. as chief of the criminal di
vision.
All four were recommended
unanimously for confirmation by
the Senate Judiciary Committee,
which acted on Thornburgh’s nomi
nation Wednesday by voice vote,
without debate. The other three
were cleared by the panel Aug. 3.
“Clearly, we have a superior nom
inee here,” Sen. Paul Simon, D-Ill.,
said of Thornburgh as members of
both parties praised the former
Pennsylvania governor.
Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C.
said Thornburgh has demonstrated
the characteristics needed for the
job: “character, integrity, good
judgment, competence and inde
pendence.”
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-
Mass., praised Thornburgh but also
criticized Meese as one willing to
“roll back decades of progress on
civil rights.”
Kennedy predicted Thornburgh
“will do as much as he can to repair
the damage of the Meese regime.”
Meese has strongly disagreed with
such comments, contending his con
duct was ethical and that depart
ment morale remained high while
he was investigated.
Thornburgh, 56, a former two-
term Pennsylvania Republican gov
ernor, promised senators last week
that he would run the department
with the “highest ethical standards.”
He pledged not to interfere with an
ongoing internal department inves
tigation of Meese.
The predecessors of Christensen
and Dennis — former Deputy Attor
ney General Arnold Burns and ex
criminal division chief William Weld
— announced their resignations last
March to protest Meese’s continued
tenure in the face of the investiga
tion by independent counsel James
McKay.
McKay concluded in an 800-plus
page report that Meese “probably”
broke two tax laws and twice violated
a federal conflict-of-interest statute.
Senate military budget
sends allies message
Window seal
ub Pierce seals a water leak under the windows in
|the walkway by the Engineering Building on
Photo by Scott D. Weaver
Thursday. The repairmen use scaffolding to reach
the windows.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The
Senate voted 90-4 Thursday to pass
its second Pentagon budget bill,
which includes an election-year mes
sage to Japan and Western Europe
to pay more for allied defense and
sets new restrictions on defense con
sultants.
President Reagan last week vetoed
the Democratic-controlled Congress’
first defense bill because he objected
to its cuts in his proposed Star Wars
budget and restrictions on nuclear
arms control policy.
The $282 billion defense budget
bill was the last major item keeping
the Senate from starting a nearly
four-week recess.
When Congress returns after La
bor Day, House and Senate negotia
tors will meet to iron out differences
between the defense bills passed sep
arately by each chamber. The House
version approved two months ago
contains neither of the major provi
sions voted Thursday.
One difference will be the allied
“burden-sharing” measure endorsed
Thursday on a voice vote by the Sen
ate as part of the defense spending
estaurant owner
infa will support
ush nomination
HOUSTON (AP) — Ninfa Lau-
enzo, the Houston businessman
ho parlayed a small Mexican res-
urant into a multimillion dollar en-
rprise, said she plans to speak
•me Spanish when she seconds the
omination of Vice President
eorge Bush next week at the Re-
ublican National Convention in
ew Orleans.
“I think it’s a great honor, espe-
ially for a woman — a Hispanic
/oman,” said Laurenzo, who has
nown Bush for years.
“I am absolutely excited. I feel
ery honored to be able to be in such
reat company and to not only rep-
esent my people but all the people
f this great nation of ours,” she
aid.
She will give a 90-second speech
ednesday night after U.S. Sen.
il Gramm of Texas gives his nomi-
ation speech. Laurenzo said she
till is working on what she will say,
she plans to give a bilinqual ad
dress in English and Spanish.
“I’ve done so many 30-second
rommercials, I am sure I can do it in
)0 seconds,” she said.
Observers say the selection of
Laurenzo, 64, is further evidence of
:he importance of Texas and its 29
Sectoral votes. Bush calls Texas
borne, but Democratic presidential
Phil i
lut
nominee Michael Dukakis raised the
stakes by choosing U.S. Sen. Lloyd
Bentsen of Texas as his running
mate.
Laurenzo dreamed of starting a
restaurant after her husband.
Tommy, died in 1969. Fifteen years
ago, with they help of her five chil
dren, she opened her first eatery —a
10-seat restaurant.
Since then, she has become a
Houston household name through
her chain of 11 Ninfa’s Mexican
food restaurants and eight Italian
eateries.
Laurenzo said she has known
Bush and his wife, Barbara, for
many years and considers them per
sonal friends. She also supports the
Republican Party.
“I believe in what the Republican
Party represents and what they can
do,” she said. “I like their philosophy
and especially the things the Reagan
administration has done for the His-
panics, like the amnesty (for illegal
aliens).”
Laurenzo said she does not be
lieve the Democratic Party philoso
phy is as beneficial to Hispanics as
that of the Republicans.
“What we need is great jobs from
better opportunities for small busi
nesses,” she said.
Reagan signs relief bill
to provide $3.9 billion
WASHINGTON (AP) — Com
mending “the indomitable spirit”
of drought-stricken farmers,
President Reagan on Thursday
signed America’s largest-ever di
saster relief bill.
“This bill isn’t as good as rain,”
Reagan said. “But it’ll tide you
over until normal weather and
your own skills permit you to re
turn to your accustomed role.”
The president signed the mea
sure just hours before the Agri
culture Department issued a new
crop forecast that said production
of the nation’s No. 1 crop, corn,
would be down more than a third
from last year. The drought will
cause consumer food prices to go
up an average 3 percent to 5 per
cent from 1987.
Reagan, standing before seve
ral farmers invited to the Rose
Garden signing ceremony, said
the $3.9 billion aid package “ex
presses a distinctly American tra
dition ... of lending a helping
hand when misfortune strikes.”
Reagan praised Democratic
and Republican congressional
leaders for putting aside partisan
differences to speed act on the
bill, and the heads of the House
and Senate agriculture commit
tees returned the compliment.
One of the farmers, Herman
Drought shrivels harvests
WASHINGTON (AP) —
Drought and high temperatures
have shriveled this year’s corn
harvest to an estimated 4.48 bil
lion bushels, down 37 percent
from 7.06 billion bushels har
vested in 1987, the Agriculture
Department said Thursday.
The new figures were based on
field surveys as of Aug. 1. In May
and June, before drought had
made its biggest impact, USD A
projected the corn harvest —
based on trends and an assump
tion of normal weather — at 7.3
billion bushels.
But those projections were re
vised downward a month ago to
5.2 billion bushels, assuming
farmers got normal weather the
remainder of the season.
Corn is the largest and most
important crop grown by Ameri
can farmers and, as a feed ingre
dient, is essential to the produc
tion of meat, poultry and dairy
products.
The soybean harvest was esti
mated at 1.47 billion bushels,
down 23 percent from 1.9 billion
bushels produced last year. Pros
pects last spring called for about
1.88 billion bushels, and the July
projection was 1.65 billion bush
els.
Krone, who gave Reagan a tour
of his ravaged corn and soybean
crops last month near Du Quoin,
Ill., said: “I think that Washing
ton has done one of their better
jobs right here.”
“It’s a good buffer, and it’s
probably enough to get most peo
ple over the hump this year,” said
Keith Salter, who is struggling
with his drought-baked wheat,
barley and oat farm near Meno-
ken, N.D.
“It won’t be like a crop, but it’s
better than nothing,” he said.
Reagan said the legislation,
which also provides assistance to
dairy cattlemen and ethanol pro
ducers, “represents the largest di
saster relief measure in history.”
ubbock church prepares for gathering
Thousands of worshippers to share messages from Virgin Mary
LUBBOCK (AP) — Volunteers at St. John
Neumann Catholic Church busily answered
telephones and finished banners Thursday as
church officials planned how to handle as
many as 20,000 participants in a weekend
feast day celebration.
Parishioners claiming to have received
messages from the Virgin Mary during
weekly rosary recitations predict miracles of
physical and spiritual healing will occur at the
celebration.
Worshipers from across the country have
chartered buses and booked hotel rooms for
Monday’s Feast of the Assumption, the day
Roman Catholics celebrate Mary’s assump
tion into Heaven.
Electric saws buzzed as volunteer carpent
ers hurried to finish an altar and pulpit being
constructed on the roof of the underground
church.
Although the church’s sanctuary seats 850,
Monday evening’s Mass and rosary will be
outside to accommodate the throngs of pil
grims, said the church’s pastoral assistant,
Cynthia Wynn.
“We feel like people will be all over that
field and spread across the parking lot,” she
said, surveying a large grassy area beneath
the rooftop altar.
As word has spread in the past month
about the “messages” from Mary, the church
office was forced to install four new phone
lines to handle the flood of inquiries.
However, church officials remain unsure
how many people will attend the four days of
worship highlighted by the Monday evening
service.
Confessions will be heard all day Saturday,
and three rosary services and two Masses will
be held Sunday.
On Monday five rosary services are
planned, capped by the main evening Mass
and rosary.
Parishioner and Lubbock attorney David
Garza said trying to plan the event without
knowing how many will come hasn’t been
easy.
“We are one of the smallest parishes in
town. We don’t have a lot of money, but peo
ple have been very generous,” he said.
Ideas for how to accomodate the crowd
were based on his trip last September to see
Pope John Paul II in San Antonio, Garza said.
“I started writing in my notebook all the
things that I remembered from the pope’s
visit — medical tents, water, ambulances,” he
said.
St. John Neumann will have 20 portable
toilets, two medical tents, two first-aid sta
tions, and drinking water will be available, he
said.
bill. No similar measure was part of
the companion bill approved by the
House two months ago.
The Senate provision orders a
major review of U.S. overseas com
mitments, a limit on American troop
deployments to Japan and Soutn
Korea, and a ceiling on spending for
U.S. military personnel stationed
overseas. The last provision requires
the allies to pay the difference if de
ployment costs of U.S. troops rise
above 1988 levels.
The Senate rejected, 59-36, an
other provision calling for a 10 per
cent cut in the total of American de
pendents living overseas with
servicemen.
Later, the Senate gave voice vote
approval to an amendment by Sen.
David Pryor, D-Ark., providing
strict new reporting requirements
for private consultants to the Penta
gon and defense contractors.
‘Satellite’
parking lots
option in fall
By Alan Sembera
Staff Writer
This fall Texas A&M students,
faculty and staff will have the op
tion of parking their cars at off-
campus “satellite” parking lots
and catching the shuttle bus to
campus.
The two lots, at K-Mart and
Post Oak Mall, are part of a plan
by the new Parking and Transit
Department to help alleviate the
campus parking shortage.
Thomas G. Williams, head of
the department, said the lots will
be served by existing bus routes.
The parking lot at K-Mart will
be in the northern part of the lot
next to Valley View Thrive, and
will be part of the EM 2818 bus
route.
The buses on this route stop at
the South Stop on campus, which
is near Joe Routt Boulevard and
Throckmorton Street.
The Post Oak Mall lot will be
west of the J.C. Penney Co. store
and will be part of the Dartmouth
route.
The Dartmouth route buses
stop at the East Stop on campus,
near the intersection of Lubbock
and Bizzell streets.
Williams said plans also are un
derway to create a Bryan satellite
lot in the 29th Street area.
Parking permits are not re
quired to park at the satellite lots,
but riders must buy a $46 bus
pass each semester.
The buses run about 15 min
utes apart from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.,
and run every 30 minutes from 6
p.m. to 10 p.m.
Williams said no plans have
been made to expand the bus
fleet because of the new lots.
“If it’s sucessful and we get
more riders than we’ve got buses,
we might do something,” he said.
“But we’ll do with what we’ve got
right now.”