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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 16, 1989)
■The Battalion STATE & LOCAL 3 >wVednesday, August 16,1989 eland widow stands good chance o succeed husband, observers say I HOUSTON (AP) — Three city maJouncilinen with strong ties to ™4ickey Leland are being discussed s possible successors to tne late con- ressman, but observers said Mon- ay his seat could go almost uncon tested to his widow if she wants it. I ‘‘In the great Southern tradition, |’s the wife who would come for- ard. If Mickey Leland’s wife is in Eiere, you’re not going to have any-. e tr rr one running against her,” Rice Uni- tt Bersity political science professor vulnera| Robert Stein said when asked about ^fie possibility of a bid for Leland’s at by Alison Leland. Leland, a 30-year-old investment anker with Shearson Lehman, is yo months pregnant and has a 3- lear-old son. I “I would think her first concern is her health and child,” Stein said. Local newspapers contained sto ics Monday speculating that Leland pd three Houston councilmen with es to her husband — Rodney Ellis, Lnthony Hall and Ben Reyes — ght run for his 18th Congressio- al District seat. cars m K s imaji 3 just lit 5ts whs t a time icketed > beefs i counc, fore tit tin than cord lizingc; Insurance firms ask for 35 percent hike in premiums vail. Tit aters itandait the in jrceist s optin; y morel vorth Gov. Bill Clements must decide ei ther to schedule the race for Le land’s seat during the next regular election Nov. 7 or declare an emer- In the great Southern tradition, it’s the wife who would come forward. If Mickey Leland’s wife is in there, you’re not going to have anyone running against her. — Robert Stein, Rice political science professor gency and call a special election be fore then. “Alison is an attractive woman and would, if she were interested, be an imposing symbol and a formida ble opponent to anybody,” said Har ris County Democratic Chairman Jack Carter, whose county includes Houston. “In fact, so many people know her personally and out of re spect for Mickey and her, she could walk in. “She’s been involved in political life as wife of a congressman . . . but I’ve never heard her express any in terest in running,” Carter added. “Whether she wants to do that, it’s a tough thing to do. But Hale Boggs’ wife did it and Alison may consider it.” In October 1972, a plane carrying Boggs, a Louisiana Democrat and then House majority leader, crashed in Alaska. His body never was found. Boggs’ wife, Lindy, was elected to his seat in 1973 and con tinues to serve. Similarly, the widow of Rep. George Collins, D-I1L, who died in a 1972 plane crash, was elected to his seat the following year. Cardiss Col lins still represents the Chicago dis trict. After word came that the wreck- AUSTIN (AP) — Warning that he workers’ compensation insur- nce system in Texas is on the rerge of collapse, the insurance industry Tuesday called for an average increase in premiums of 34.9 nt. Robert Hilton, senior vice pres ident of the National Council on Compensation Insurance, said tingsfc rising workers’ comp insurance osses have “become intolerable” md are driving insurers away "rom Texas. “If something isn’t done to bal- nce cost and price, . .s s then the ystem is going tp collapse,,Insur ance companies are not going to write the product,” Hilton, of Boca Raton, Fla., said. State lawmakers this year failed after a 140-day regular legislative session and 30-day special session to reform the insurance system that compensates employees in jured on-the-job. Gov. Bill Clements has said he will call the Legislature into a fall special session on workers’ comp. Kay Doughty, public counsel for the Consumer Protection Di vision of the State Board of In surance, said many businesses would not be able to afford a 34.9 percent increase, on top of in creases that have averaged 148 percent since 1985. vhytlii street s hat tlie time to he rijii' d. "Ill “Once again the ratepayers in the state of Texas are being asked to take it on the chin and to pay for a system that is broke,” Doughty said. has e« :etskai nice tal of s'! She said the proposal would cause more companies to drop workers’ comp insurance, leaving injured employees unable to re cover timely benefits and employ- COnoitfl ers vulnerable to costly lawsuits [that could drive them out of busi- of sll ness - Both Doughty’s division and the Insurance Board staff will later present alternative rate rec ommendations. Hance starts campaign for Texas governor by emphasizing experience AUSTIN (AP) — Kent Hance, cit ing a lengthy resume in state and federal government, Tuesday kicked off his second bid for the Re publican gubernatorial nomination by promising to try to ban state in come taxes and increase local control of schools. “I am the one candidate who does not need on-the-job training,” said Hance, a former state senator, con gressman and currently chairman of the Railroad Commission. “As your governor, I will lead on day one.” Hance pledged to pursue an anti- abortion agenda with the Legis lature, to ban bail for accused drug dealers and create special “drug courts” in the state’s larger cities. “The other party will offer the worn-out, liberal view of big govern ment and higher taxes,” he said. “We will offer the conservative view that creates jobs and promotes op portunity.” Hance, a former Democrat, was elected to the state Senate from Lub bock in 1974. He beat George W. Bush in 1978 for a seat in Congress and became a “Boll Weevil” Demo crat who backed Republican Presi dent Reagan’s income tax cut. After losing the 1984 Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, Hance switched parties. He lost the 1986 GOP gubernatorial primary to Gov. Bill Clements, who in 1987 ap pointed him to the Railroad Com mission. Hance became the first Re publican elected to that panel by winning the seat in 1988. Topping what he called his “new vision” for Texas was Hance’s prom ise to seek a state constitutional ban on income taxes and a constitutional requirement that two-thirds of the House and Senate approve any tax increase. Borrowing a campaign line from President Bush, Hance said, “To the liberal, special interests of this state — read my lips, no state income tax in Texas.” Hance also called for more local control over schools and for making the state education commissioner’s job an elected one. He proposed allowing the 1,100 local school districts to select text books, rather than state education officials, and he called for an educa tion task force to study elimination of “as many of the rules and regula tions as possible.” “I want to return to the basics. I want to see a return to strict disci pline in our classrooms,” he said. Hance joined two other declared Republican gubernatorial candi dates — Clayton Williams and Jack Rains, both Texas A&M former stu dents—- in calling for tougher action against drug dealers. He proposed creating around- the-clock “drug courts” in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin and El Paso to hasten processing of drug cases and urged a constitutional amendment to prohibit bail for ac cused drug dealers. “There must be no mercy for them,” he said. “We must get tough, stay tough and be relentless in our prosecution of drug dealers.” Hance described himself as anti abortion, saying he hopes the Legis lature will require parental consent for women under 18 and “protect ing the taxpayers who feel that their money should not be spent on abor tions.” He predicted lawmakers would pass such laws, adding, “My personal belief certainly is to be able to go fur ther. I would sign a bill that would go further. My position is I am op posed to abortion. . . . The only ex ception would be the life of the mother.” age of Leland’s plane had been found Sunday in Ethiopia, Secret Service agents summoned to the family’s home here escorted Alison Leland to an undisclosed location. She could not be reached for com ment Monday. “She is a very strong young woman, but she has been badly sha ken,” said the Rev. William Lawson, a family friend. “All in all, she has been extremely courageous and she has taken it extremely well.” If Clements sets the election for Nov. 7 to coincide with the Houston city election, the three council mem bers legally could not appear on the ballot as candidates for both the council and Congress. Ellis, a former top Leland aide, friend and political ally was viewed as the strongest candidate, according to Stein. Asked for comment, the coun cilman’s office coordinator, Rhonda Belt, said Ellis would not be in the office all week. She said he has not discussed running for Leland’s seat with her. Reyes, another Leland friend, could not be reached because he had gone to Ethiopia to be close to the search for the congressman. Hall, an old Leland friend who lost a 1978 runoff against the con gressman, said he did not feel it was appropriate to comment on the pos sibility he might run for the seat. “Mickey Leland was a dear and personal friend, and it is my hope I can exercise appropriate dignity un til we get him home and buried,” Hall said. Grand jury indicts man for poisoning historic Treaty Oak AUSTIN (AP) — Paul Sted- man Cullen, in jail since his arrest in late June, was indicted Tues day by a Travis County grand jury in the poisoning of the 500- year-old Treaty Oak. The indictment charged Cul len, 45, of Elroy, with felony criminal mischief, causing dam age in excess of $20,000. The charge is a second-degree felony carrying a maximum penalty of two to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. According to a statement is sued by the Travis County district attorney’s office, Cullen was con victed of burglary in 1986. That could increase the criminal mis chief charge to a first-degrfee fel ony, punishable by up to life in prison, the district attorney’s of fice said. Cullen has been in jail in lieu of $20,000 bail. A grand jury indict ment allows a defendant to be held until trial, officials said. The poisoning of the landmark tree occurred when the herbicide Velpar was poured on the soil around the centuries-old live oak. In struggling to survive the chem ical, the oak has dropped several sets of leaves. Richard C. Jenkins of Dallas, Cullen’s attorney, has said he would consider asking for a change of venue in the case from Travis County because of public ity surrounding the case. “The folks in Travis County are very fair-minded,” he said, but he added, “The real trial’s al ready been held in the press.” Jenkins scoffed at allegations by authorities that the Velpar may have been poured around the tree during some sort of rit ual. He said the amount of Cul len’s bond usually is reserved for a kidnapper or murderer. “By golly, we’ve got our own Salem witchcraft trial in Austin, Texas,” he said. There was an outpouring of public support for the tree after the poisoning was discovered. An $11,000 reward was of fered for information leading to the conviction of the poisoner, with $10,000 being put up by Du Pont, which manufactures Vel par. The Texas Forestry Associa tion put up the other $ 1,000. Dallas billionaire H. Ross Perot pledged funds, and experts gave advice in the fight to save the tree. Visitors to the oak have left get-well messages, flowers, cans of chicken soup and rock crystals, which some believe have healing powers. Legend has it that Stephen F. Austin, the father of Texas, signed a treaty with the Indians under the oak’s branches. How ever, the Handbook of Texas says there is little foundation for the tale. Four-fifths of jobless Texans didn’t collect unemployment WASHINGTON (AP) — Less than one-fifth of jobless Texans col lected unemployment benefits last year, according to a study Tuesday that found nearly half a million peo ple did without unemployment in surance. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said only 19.4 percent of jobless Texans collected unemploy ment benefits in an average month last year, while 488,100 Texans were without. Nationally, 31.5 percent of jobless workers were covered by un employment insurance. The liberal non-profit organiza tion also found unemployment cov erage most limited among jobless Hispanics, with just one in seven re ceiving benefits last year. Only one in five jobless black workers was paid jobless benefits. Although Texas had the most people not receiving benefits, it ranked 47th out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia in the per centage of people not covered by un employment insurance. Only New Hampshire, Virginia, Oklahoma and Florida had a smaller One factor is the growing number of two-income families, he said. When one, >vage eayner is laid off, the jobless person may not apply for unemployment benefits because there is still another income coming in. Another factor is the state’s strong work ethic, and that the unemployed may simply seek another job rather than file for jobless benefits. Also, the state does not have as many unions making sure unem ployed workers know how to apply for jobless benefits, compared with states with a strong union oase. Grossenbacher said the state’s fast-growing service economy also appears to be able to absorb laid off workers much more quickly than highly specialized workers such as highly skilled tool and die makers. That means many unemployed may not file for benefits because they know they can get another job. Teachers rate impact of educational reforms at Austin-area schools percentage of unemployed workers Hance joined a growing field of receiving benefits. Republican candidates that includes Midland oilman Williams and Rains, a Houston lawyer and former secre tary of state. Amarillo oilman and corporate raider T. Boone Pickens this week said he would decide by month’s end whether he will seek the GOP nomi nation. William Grossenbacher, adminis trator of the Texas Employment Commission, said a number of fac tors contribute to the state’s low per centage of covered workers. He did not dispute the center’s findings, which were based on U.S. Labor De- E artment figures and its own calcu- itions. AUSTIN (AP) — Five years after passage of school reform legislation, Austin and four other area school districts are among 60 throughout the state that will be graded by teach ers to measure educational progress. Other Austin-area districts to be graded include Bastrop, Lake Tra vis, Pflugerville and Round Rock, according to the Texas Federation of Teachers. During the 1989-90 school year, the federation said it would solicit opinions from teachers on the im pact of House Bill 72, which was en acted by the Legislature in 1984. The report card, which was devel oped by the federation, will allow teachers to give grades “A” through “F” for each of the following sub jects: class size; minimum skills test; pre-kindergarten and kindergarten programs; career ladders; teacher autonomy; essential elements; no pass, no play; teacher salaries; tea cher evaluation system; and paper work reduction. The final grades for all 60 districts will be released in the fall of 1990. SHORT ON CASH? advertise with the Battalion classified ads 845-2611 we won't sell you short BOTHER’S BOOKSTORE Save Money on our Large Supply of Used Books! We have plenty of new and used books, paperbacks, school supplies, pens and pencils, paper, laboratory supplies, study guides and Reference books. Bring Your Schedule In We Do The Rest Full refund if you drop a class within the first two weeks of school OPEN LATE FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL We Accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express 340 Jersey 901 Harvey Rd. Across from University Police Woodstone Shopping Center