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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 14, 1988)
Friday, October 14,1988 The Battalion Page 9 sometl time in {J gained; | ronj da xl idea. [ ; >Wenis»;j ve Hif ilizesj klhep i stated have is (jj best ok jj othsaidi Mppt 'hov ere imii(t| ha list if J makes iJ thatnarij lation. udge sai;| linsthisj ion. e judge m lean Tice, would ttl isoun pluJ e\ton Safi onvincti] chose got Houston gains prominence after Jamaican drug sweep HOUSTON (AP) — About 40 people were being held in Houston Thursday af ter a nationwide crackdown on Jamaican drug trafficking led to more than 120 ar rests, and authorities who staged the sweep said Houston was gaining promi nence as a hub of the group’s criminal activities. The arrests began Wednesday night and covered 20 states, but were focused in Houston, Miami and New York, au thorities said. In Texas, the sweep also included Dal las. “There’s no doubt about it, the mes sage is very clear — not to mess with Houston, Texas,” said Ron Parra, dis trict director of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, one of 16 lo cal, state and federal agencies involved in the Houston crackdown. ‘‘We’re not going to let criminals con tinue this type of violence and this type of behavior to this extent in Houston,” Parra said. Of the 435 arrest warrants issued in the crackdown on Jamaican gangs, called posses, 90 were sought in Hous ton. Among more than 120 now in cus tody, 50 had been sought on Houston warrants, authorities said. “If you compare the statistics, almost State agency fights to stop rate hikes pv.:...| rlarion ter i - net s nploymai r econoL j nee | the Uni lat polic;:! ant of tkl at the PoiJ scussed t iveonp : idea thiil| tore is it (eech : and fe re evalintt imic vaiit ,(rations, each ai otnic to ho* licanadffi mderthesi i.hefoimh neater efe| at the its iswhanhi 1 time that ; econo® The tfpl haven®] ji than iJ said. of event!'• arte: a®' caused it I :hhyp< atic an votild ha't] jyinenttff-j ng to si) 1 an h Demo® ny m ni is goif] nistra® arises i jse in 0 r what od*! is. ned)' rate AUSTIN (AP) — A state agency [Thursday cited pervasive mismanage ment that drove up the price of the South Texas Nuclear Project and has requested billions of dollars in costs be removed from consideration when the plant’s util ity company partners try to raise rates. But the plant’s managing partner, [Houston Lighting & Power, disagreed with the report by the Office of Public Utility Counsel and said it would chal- [lenge its findings. “I’m confident that this is an unrea- | sonable position that they have taken and they will not be able to win,” said [HL&P spokesman Graham Painter. The Office of Public Utility Counsel, [which represents ratepayers in regulatory [proceedings, said partners in the twin- [nuclear reactor plant should absorb the [cost of mismanagement at the facility [rather than ratepayers. “The disallowances we have dis- [cussed appear to be large,” said C. [Kingsberry Ottmers, who heads the [agency. “However, the magnitude of [mismanagement is also great,” The public utility counsel filed its rec- |ommendations with the Public Utility Commission, in response to indications hat HL&P and Central Power and Light will file major rate increase re quests that will include capital costs for he first unit of the nuclear project. Unit of the facility located near Bay City has been operating since August. Unit 2 |is under construction. The agency’s report said that $1.28 billion of HL&P’s $3.04 billion share of STNP and $1.05 billion of CPU’s $2.49 billion share of the project should not be considered when the companies apply for rate increases. HL&P’s Painter said mismanagement costs associated with the plant totaled $500 million and have already been paid off in an out-of-court settlement with the plant’s original contractor. Brown & Root. He said subsequent costs are legiti mate expenses that should be recovered by the ratepayer. But the public utility counsel said mis management under Brown & Root caused a 38-month delay in completion and costs which exceed norms in the nu clear power industry by as much as 79 percent. Because of the delays, HL&P lost a major wholesale customer, Texas-New Mexico Power Co., while other ratepay ers turned to cogeneration to supply their power needs. “We may not be able to undo these in direct burdens on ratepayers, however, the magnitude of the damages under scores the importance of assuring that the disallowance of imprudent project costs is adequate and complete,” Ottmers said. If the Public Utility Commission were to allow the utilities to recover these costs, she said it could mean an additio nal 40 to 50 percent rate hike for CPL customers and 20 percent for HL&P. She said the recommendations of her agency may hurt the utilities financially, but added, “it would be a burden on the companies no doubt, but those burdens are the risk of the shareholders and not the ratepayers.” 50 percent of all the arrests were made in Houston, more than 50 percent of the cash seizures occurred in Houston and a tremendous percentage of the firearms and narcotics that were seized all came from the Houston operation,” said Phil lip Chojnacki, special agent in charge with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, To bacco and Firearms. Authorities in Houston began their sweep at 7 p.m. Wednesday, and before daylight had arrested 39 people and lo cated 11 others already in custody, and confiscated 12 guns, 45 rounds of am munition, 35 ounces of cocaine and 35 pounds of marijuana. Of approximately $139,000 in confis cated in cash nationwide, $63,000 came from the Houston arrests, Chojnacki said. Thirty-five pounds of marijuana also was seized in Houston, he said. The numbers further convinced offi cials of Houston’s growing role in Jamai can drug traffickers’ nationwide opera tions, officials said Thursday. “Our cooperative intHlippnre data in dicates these individuals are being exclu sively imported into the United States to commit crimes and also for the importa tion of narcotics,” Parra said. “Houston has become a fulcrum both for the activity coming in and also as they commit their crimes in other parts of the United States,” he said. “They re turn to Houston because of the interna tional flavor of Houston, to more or less cool off until they can return back to the country or back to other (U.S.) cities.” However, John Ross, coordinator of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, said the Jamaicans are known for violence and also have been a dangerous force within the city. “They are, in fact, increasing their operations in the city of Houston to the point that they are becoming a very se rious problem,” Ross said, citing their willingness to use violence. “When we are referring to posse ac tivities, we’re talking about street-level crack dealers,” he said. Space (Continued from page 1) cause it also could be used to carry such heavy payloads as a module for a large space station and components for inter planetary missions. Although the Soviets haven’t yet launched their shuttle, Thomas said, they have flown a vehicle that the United States hasn’t. “They have a small space plane, with about a 16-foot wingspan,” he said. “With a delta-wing flat shape, it’s shaped something like the shuttle is shaped. “It carries a single person, and they have test-flown it about a dozen times now. As far as I know, it has not been manned. “I think that’s a significant little vehi cle. Their military doctrine calls for a space fighter plane. I think that little space plane they’ve developed could be that.” But using the space plane to defend a space station or to destroy satellites is not the only possibilty for its use. The plane also could be useful for reconaissance missions, crew transport and satellite re pairs and maintenance. • •••S' • t „jm Write/V S me® 1 Bail'-' 1 ' i aifire'; ir If W i#- Help ONE LIFE TO LIVE find a college campus to shoot several exciting episodes of its soap - within -a - soap '' Fraternity Row.'' If you're a college student, write and tell us why your campus would be the perfect location for "Fraternity Row.'' If possible, enclose a couple of photographs of your school's exterior and mail to Location Search, P.O. Box 795, Radio City Station, New York, NY 10019. (Sorry, we can't return them.) We must hear from you by November 18, 1988, so write today! • We Deliver • 846-5273 • We Deliver • 846-5273 • IfiSM Steakhousef S 108 College Main • Friday Night Special 5-9 pm Expires 10/215 T-Bone Steak $5. CD 89incl: Baked Potato or Fries, Salad, Texas Toast & with this coupon Tea £4 Thomas said the Soviets also have been talking about a making a joint effort with the United States to send a manned mission to Mars. He said, however, that he is not sure how genuine their interest is. The Soviets need United States tech nology to accomplish a Mars mission, he said. If the United States cooperates with the Soviets and the mission succeeds, he said, the Soviets would be able to justify their claim that their space program is equal or superior to ours. Justifying that claim is of great impor tance to the Soviet Union, he said. “The Soviet space program ... is one of the stars in the Soviet crown,” Thomas said. “The space program is very important to them,” he said. “The Soviets use sci ence as a way of elevating their self-es teem, and indeed, they have a lot of that science. “They have done a lot of excellent work in science generally. The space program is a kind of subset of that. It is their effort to claim parity or superiority with other scientists around the world.” • We Deliver • 846-5273 • We Deliver • 846-5273 • THE LION‘S BREW The official beer of Oktoberfest LOOK FOR SUPER SPECIALS at your favorite store or tavern AEROBICS "A Register NOW University PLUS Craft Center Basement Of MSC Low - Impact Aerobic Exercise B M/W, 5-6pm, Oct 17 - Nov 21 D M/W, 6-7pm, Oct 17-Nov 21 Intermediate Aerobic Exercise F T/Th, 6-7pm, Oct 18-Nov 22 Beginning Aerobic Exercise H M/W, 7-8pm, Oct 17- Nov 21 J T/Th, 5-6pm, Oct 18 - Nov 22 L T/Th, 7-8pm, Oct 18-Nov 22 \$20/Sfudenf $22/Nonstudent 845-1631 m PLUS FREE DELIVERY 846-0379 405A W. University Northgate Mon-Fri 11am-12am Sat 1 pm-2am Sun 1 pm-12am Pizza Original Italian Thin Crust Hot Sandwiches Italian Meat Ball Hot Sausage Plain Extras Salami & Cheese Ex Large 18 in. $8.00 $1.00 Ham & Cheese Large 16 in. $7.25 $1.00 Capicollo Large Medium 14 in. $6.25 $ .80 Provo I one $4.00 Small 12 in. $5.25 $ .80 Tuna Small Original Italian Thick Crust (Siciliana Pizza) Large $9.00 Half $5.40 Toppings Pepperom. Anchovies. Ham. Green Peppers. Onions. Sausage. Extra Cheese, Black Olives. Hot Peppers, Mushrooms, Canadian Bacon. Hamburger Pepperoni Rolls 1 /2 Dozen $6.00 Dozen $11.00 zsessssasssss&s&s&s&sez Stromboli Large $7.95 Small $6.00 Salads Antipasto Salad $4.75 Chef Salad $4.75 Pasta Dishes, Entrees, Salad FOR DELIVERY ADD .50 EXTRA Pepperoni & Cheese Steak & Cheese Large $5.00 Special Steak Large $5.50 $2.75 Small $3.00 $5 99 + tax Large 16” 1 topping exp 10/31 Spaghetti 5 kinds of sauces includes salad & bread Small $3.30 Pasta Dishes All Dishes Come With Bread Spaghetti (5 Sauces).......... $4.00 Spaghetti Carbonara*. $4.95 Spaghetti AI Pesto $4.95 Cannelloni .$5.25 Manicotti $5.25 Tortellini $5.25 Ravioli Meat or Cheese $4.95 Fetticcine Alfredo $5.25 Lasagna $4.95 Garlic Bread-Sm.$1,25-Lg.$1.75 Entrees Chicken Cacciatore $5.50 Egg Plant Parmigiana••••••«*$5.25 r $4 99 + tax exp 10/31 $4 95 + tax Small 12” 2 toppings exp 10/31