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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 18, 1997)
Friday • April 18, IS I A&M, state education officials reach deal on arena financim * ^ COLLEGE STATION (AP) — Texas A&M University officials said Thursday they have settled a dispute with state education regula tors over financing of the school’s new arena. Texas A&M said it will use private dona tions to immediately create an endowment of at least $2 million for academic scholar ships. The University promised to have at least $5 million in the endowment within five years. The school also will allot at least $2 mil lion more than planned to an endowment for operations and maintenance of Reed Arena, now under construction. “I’m pleased,’' A&M President Ray Bowen said. “I never had any doubt from the beginning that we’d reach an under standing about it.” The deal requires formal approval by the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. The agreement came three months after the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board urged A&M to raise more private mon ey for construction of the special events cen ter when a land donation yielded $ 12 million less than expected. Some board members said approval of the arena in 1994hinged on proceeds from the tract near Katy, and that they were told it was worth $13 million. It ultimately sold for $1 million. They believed A&M had promised to use private money to pay for a significant por tion of the construction costs. ■ ; | : &§a lifil ilJlrtl ■ rAiv n Bowen said there had been a misunder standing since student fees were to be used to pay for the stadium. But the university did plan to reimburse the student fund with profits from the land deal. Bowen and Leonard Rauch, the coordi nating board chairman, decided Thursday on scholarships instead of putting the money into the general student fund and possibly spending it on something else in the future. “It’s a more direct, very visible benefit. I think :■' . V . i mmmmmmmtti CITIBANCO /CtdO-* / > <2-44t4- 4128 0012 3454 lb V/SA S tatic 4128 VALID FROM EXPIRATION DATE 0 2/96 Oil/3; 1/99 ¥/ |s:S|, t ilgf mm wm Wm Wm i ;ft§ isti 111 ii | 111 s di W 1111 1111:11 mmmmm ym : K-' ... : : .'V: THINK AHEAD. APPLY TODAY. " CALL ■•800*CITIBANK 1997 Citibank (South Dakota). N.A. it made everybody feel good,” Bowen sail Rauch also was satisfied with the agreei “What I didn’t want is money being en away from student use fees to pay! building,” Rauch said. The $36.8 million arena, the schools! special events center, will seat 12,50Cl host graduation, basketball games, cone rodeos and ice shows for 43,000 students; the surrounding community. It isschedt to open in spring 1998. Lawyer indict on ambulance chasing charge COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)-(i of the nation’s richest penoJ injury lawyers was indirl I lim sciiiyonambulance-choil l| charges, accused of hiring 'a(leli| dent mnniMs” to recruitclien:# 1 'I ter a deadly airline crash. F 1 *' John M. O’Quinn, whoea;l an estimated $40 million§j breast implant cases, iL^i charged along with three0:M se | Houston lawyers with illejmj soliciting clients after their crash of USAir Flight lObidal Charlotte, N.C. ■ B| “1 have done nothingwrl and I am innocent of tk; charges,” said O’Quinn, whofi resents the families of fivevitt from the crash. “Not one client has cn plained about me. Nobody I resent in the USAir case bases: plained about me.” Flight 1016 was traveling! Columbia when it went dowiiE thunderstorm, killing37oftlti people aboard. Most of the victims were! South Carolina. Of the five families O’Quim resents, three have settled claims, while two othersareiist 01 dement talks with the airline. O’Quinn and the others at accused of improperlysott ing the business of founictims 1 families following theW crash, state Attorney GmjjjP?- Charlie Condon said. »‘ e The lawyers also face cons: acy charges in the hiringthes lawyer “accident runners.” i South Carolina bars law from personally solicitingP dent victims. O’Quinn also is charged! splitting fees or agreeing to fees with non-lawyers andso! ns iting legal business in Southfc Wi olina without having been * mitted or sworn to practicel ^ I in the state. Attorneys Carl D. Shaw Charles Benton Musslewhiti were indicted on charges of spiracy, solicitation, spYittffig with non-lawyers and praeff law without being admittei I sworn. Lawyer Charles Musslewhite Jr. was indictedd solicitation charge. The indictments end ay' long investigation pronf when Condon was contacts U.S. District Judge JosephAni son, who was the trial judgi the case brought against If by some victims’ families 1 survivors. A 12-member jury lastmc found the airline, nowknotf USAirways, liable for actual^ ages but not for potentially^ 1 costly punitive damages. Se' jiassengers and victims’faro have settled with the carriet the amounts remain secret. Similar civil allegations" 1 ? filed against O’Quinn others in December by the) 1 Bar of Texas. O’Quinn earned an estimated SlOf lion in 1994 from his wort breast implant and similar es, according to Forbes m zine — denied any wrongd®! at that time. The Texas Bar alleged O’Quinn paid about $100,0 the elder Musslewhite to pay for lining up clients. Mu white allegedly signed up^ attorney “runners” to coi potential clients. Betty Edward of Houston," allegedly was a runner in the Air case, was granted imiflii 1 from charges in exchange^ formation on the lawyers don’s spokesman Robb Mo neysaid. “Basically I’m finally gW 1 they’re trying to get this 01 said the elder Musslewhite oad WOi