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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1989)
te Battalion STATE & LOCAL ednesday, February 1,1989 ferClements highlights taxes, Measles outbreak hits state, nt economic growth in speech avoids Brazos County area ■ AUSTIN (AP) — Gov. Bill Clem- White House j]i ts ’ ' n l'' s State of the State address, that’s wheiiB'^ Tuesday economic devel- ■unent remains his top priority and ■•ged the Legislature to avoid rais- kincl of horfls taxes ’ which he said would stall p” shows. y! exas ’recovery. T . ■ 1 re-emphasize that our eco- msu l ail) o| pkmic development will be placed in ~ ©pardy by increasing any taxes,” Jlements told a joint House-Senate ssion. In a 28-minute speech that some iwmakers said often lacked specif- s, Clements urged the mergers of merous state agencies, including veral in criminal justice and one hich oversees financial institutions. He also backed the proposed ergers between the University of pablum-pulii; king aboutlil line is a poll ect utilize even! oom for iniej Mort has i r-intellectualiil teach us alli ir animal insii exas and Texas A8cM with South tom we disagi litening one’s tie feelings. to really in losing an aii exas institutions. But the governor, who says he on’tseek re-election, said the key to antinuing successes of the past two ears is to leave taxes alone. “The bottom line is we do not |eed a tax increase,” he said. “We imst reach a consensus on the bud- jet that fits within our commitment cc that the'W maintain our economic recovery. „ Max increase will choke it off.” Some lawmakers have said an ad- ight, we musi ig. It’s fun to miebody on i one reason k he most po| program in c Mort fork he’ll bethefi in his coni' ting exceptyi litional $1 billion will be needed |ver the $45 billion in state revenue rojected for the 1990-91 budget leriod. Clements indicated support for a ilan offered by Comptroller Bob hillock that would give the Legis- ature that .$1 billion by shifting ,ome state monies from various spe- ial funds into the all-purpose Gen- ral Revenue Fund. Clements, the only Republican iclemn Mort air chance- ily criticized! i whole shov hit please vr and watch A list of open -Student Senate seats will be posted today in the Student Government office on , the second floor of the Pavilion, ig, oi the am Applications will be available Feb. 3and will be due Feb. If). Questions should be directed to Michael Kelley. Speaker Pro- Tempore, at 845-3051. Hounded. [ watched ions and won reek of show >wney was a« Student Senate positions open governor this century, said 329,000 more Texans are working now than in 1987 and said continuing that growth is the major goal of his final two years in office. “At this time in our history, we have no higher purpose, no greater mission than to enhance and expand our economic development,” he said. “We must not settle for second best. We cannot be satisfied with what we have achieved. We must dedicate ourselves to building a state economy in which every Texan who wants a job has a job.” Saying the state’s economic pro gress is closely tied with Mexico, he announced a meeting with Mexican President Carlos Salinas in Mexico City on Feb. 15. Clements, for the first time, pub licly backed the merger of both Pan American University campuses into the University of Texas System, and merger of the University System of South Texas into the Texas A&M system. The governor also backed “flexi ble tuition” proposals, which would allow Texas college and university regents to set tuition charged at their schools. By Melissa Naumann REPORTER A recent outbreak of measles in Harris County is beginning to show up in other parts of Texas, but has yet to affect the Brazos County area. Although no cases of the highly contagious disease have been re ported in the Bryan-College Station area, health officials are recom mending that some people be re immunized. “Our guidelines are to reimmu nize everyone who was immunized prior to Jan. 1, 1968,” Catherine Judge might allow INS to keep applicants for asylum in Texas BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A federal judge Tuesday said he probably will allow the Immigration and Naturalization Service to return to a policy of keep ing political asylum applicants in southern Texas while their cases are reviewed. U.S. District Judge Filemon Vela extended until Feb. 20 an order blocking the procedure, and said, “At that time, unless I’m persuaded otherwise, the restraining order will be lifted.” “We’re pleased with the results,” said William Joyce, associate general counsel for the INS, who traveled from Washington for Tuesday’s hearing. INS critics cited a sharp increase in homeless Central Americans living in squalid conditions in the area after the procedure took effect Dec. 16. A group of immigra tion attorneys sued the INS over the matter here on Jan. 6, and Vela on Jan. 9 issued a temporary re straining order blocking the procedure. The only issue Vela agreed to consider in the class- action lawsuit on behalf of Central Americans and other asylum-seekers in the INS’ Harlingen District was whether the INS instituted the change without allowing time for public comment as required in the federal Ad ministrative Procedures Act. “I am somewhat inclined to believe that probably what was taking place here would not require a notice and comment . . . was more procedural than substan tive,” Vela said. Robert Rubin, one of the attorneys suing the INS, said the plaintiffs still hope the judge will rule against the INS after taking a closer lopk at the suit. “The judge certainly indicated that he was not happy with the situation as it existed, and strongly admo nished the government that he would he concerned if conditions ever returned to the state that existed prior to his issuance of a temporary restraining order,” said Rubin, with the San Francisco Lawyers’ Committee for Urban Affairs. Prior to Dec. 16, the INS allowed asylum-seekers who voluntarily presented themselves to the Harlingen Dis trict to travel on to their U.S. destinations, where they often were allowed to work while pursuing their claims for refugee status. The district on Dec. 16 began requiring asylum appli cants to file their claims in Harlingen and await deci sions there in 30 days, a period in which they were not allowed to work. The most visible effect of the travel restriction was a rugged campsite east of Brownsville, where more than 300 Central Americans camped out on the ground un der discarded cardboard and old sheets of plastic. Hundreds, and possibly thousands of Central Ameri cans left the area on northbound buses and other vehi cles after Vela made it possible for them to travel again J an ' 9 ‘ . Officials from the Miami area then visited southern Texas to tell Central Americans that they had no shelter for them, and joined officials in South Texas in calling on the federal government for help. Vela said he was concerned with past asylum statistics showing that of the thousands who traveled into the U.S. interior, 75 percent never showed up at INS of fices to pursue legally their cases. More than 30,000 Central Americans, about half of them from Nicaragua, passed through the Harlingen District in 1988, most having crossed the Rio Grande il legally in the vicinity of the border city of Brownsville, according to the INS. Smith, a registered nurse with Infec tion Control of the Brazos County Health Department said. “Also, we immunize infants at 15 months.” Almost 500 cases of measles have been reported in Houston and Har ris County and the epidemic could last for six to eight months, a Hous ton Chronicle Article reported Thursday. The Texas Department of Health recommends that all those immu nized prior to 1980 be reimmunized if an outbreak of measles occurs on their campus. If this is not possible, an alternate method is to reimmu nize those people immunized before they were 15 months old. Those born before 1957, before a vaccine was available, are likely to have gotten the disease during child hood and are generally not consid ered susceptible to the illness again. Some symptoms to watch for are a runny nose, watery eyes, fever, coughing and a blotchy, red rash that appears about four days after the other symptoms. While the A.P. Beutel Health Center does not administer measles vaccinations, the Brazos County Health Department does for $4. The Immunization Clinic is open Mon days and Wednesdays from 9:30- 11:30 a.m. and from 1:30-4 p.m. Dallas apartment complex seized by U.S. marshals DALLAS (AP) — U.S. marshals seized control of an apartment complex where police claim drug dealers were allowed to operate by paying the build ing’s management a rent pre mium. Although similar seizures have been made in New York and Houston, confiscation of the Deauville Inn apartments was the first of its kind in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, authorities said Mon day. Federal agents and Dallas un dercover police officers, in affa- davits, alleged that an elderly couple who owned the complex had knowingly rented apart ments to drug dealers and charged them an extra fee. The agencies used civil proce dures to seize the 29-unit build ing, valued at $400,000. No crim inal charges were filed in the seizure. One undercover police officer reported apartment complex owner Arthur Coffman, 71, and his 67-year-old wife, Murlene, told him “he could deal drugs out of the apartment for $600 per month in' addition to his rent of $400 per month.” Officers have executed 12 search warrants and arrested 22 people at the Deauville Inn since June 1987, said Dallas police nar cotics Capt. Eddie Walt said. “This is the worst thing that ever happened to us,” Coffman told Deputy Federal Marshal Roy Stapp when federal officers noti fied him that the apartment com plex was being seized. The federal forfeiture statute allows law enforcement agencies to seize property of drug dealers or those who knowingly assist drug dealers. It was the first time authorities have used the statute in North Texas to confiscate the property of someone who was not sus pected of being directly involved in drug dealing, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Ann Moore. The statute has been used in the past to seize apartment build ings in New York City and Hous ton, she said. All legal tenants of the com plex would be allowed to con tinue to live there, said Walt. He said officers found only three tenants actually had leases. There was no paperwork on the others, he said. tains a vanet) that many oil o with resped ophomore co nd a column up (who could hen it conies >w). with one ; organizatia ■parted thed e of chairs a: ncil-neck geel uld have tali he had seen despised Frt idicate M fulcwN ImIailil Welcomes: MANURE RICKY VAN SHELTON Friday - February 10th G. Rollie White Coliseum 8:00 p.m. TICKETS NOW ON SfiLE Tickets are $15.50, available at the MSC Box Office & Dillards in the Post Oak Mall. For more information call 845-1234. Student Organizations! Do you need a speaker for your next meeting? We provide presentations on: Responsible Party Planning Alcohol Liability and the Law Cocaine and Crack Physiological and Psychological Effects of Alcohol Marijuana and its Effects Drug Testing in the Workplace Health and Wellness issues Presentations can be tailored to meet time and topic specifications for any type of group. For more information call or come by The Center for Drug Prevention and Education 845-0280 222 Beutel Health Center Texas A&M University ...a part of the Division of Student Services Great ideas come from clear maids. Contact Lenses Only Quality Name Brands (Bausch & Lomb, Ciba, Barnes-Hinds-Hydrocurve) $ 'TQ 00 pr. "-STD. DAILY WEAR SOFT * ^ LENSES $ QQ00 pr. "-STD. EXTENDED WEAR SOFT LENSES $QQC0 pr. *-STD. TINTED SOFT LENSES ^ ^ DAILY WEAR OR EXTENDED WEAR SAME DAY DELIVERY ON MOST LENSES Call 696-3754 For Appointment CHARLES C. SCHROEPPEL, O.D., P.C. DOCTOR OF OPTOMETRY * Eye exam & care kit not included 707 South Texas Ave., Suite 101D College Station, Texas 77840 1 Mock South of Texas & University NEEDED: RHYTHM GUITARIST For The Must read music No equipment necessary 845-5974 clip and save — Brazos Valley Safety Agency Feb. 3,4 Feb. 7, 8 Feb. 21,22 March 1,2 March 7, 8 March 21,22 March 29, 30 All Classes are held at the Hilton, College Station For more information phone 693-8178 clip and save