Congress, drug manufacturers disagree about price changes By Stephanie Greer Staff Writer Discussions between the U.S. Senate Committee on Aging and major U.S. pharmaceutical companies heated up recently when allegations surfaced that the companies had broken promises to keep costs of their products down. “The elderly are having to choose between food, heat and medicine,” said Andrea Boldon, press assistant for the U.S. Senate Committee on Aging. Boldon, who stated that three-fourths of America’s elderly paid for their pre scriptions with money from their own pockets, said the top-30 pharmaceutical manufacturers in the United States had Free speech an issue in magazine decision By Adam Bianchi Staff Write- In a controversy many experts be lieve could have First Amendment implications, the publishers of Soldier of Fortune magazine recently lost then appeal in a suit brought against them concerning a man killed by an assassin who advertised in the publication. In 1985, a Georgia man was mur dered by a paid killer who had solic ited business in the June 1985 classi fied section of the magazine, A businessman paid the mercenary to kill his partner. The gunman was arrested and con victed of murder in the case. The fam ily of the murdered man sued Soldier of Fortune in an Alabama trial court and received a judgment of $4.3 mil lion in punitive damages against Omega Group Limited, the publisher of Soldier of Fortune. Berrett Prettiman, a lawyer who represented the Omega Group Lim ited, said the case represented an in fringement of Soldier of Fortune’s First Amendment right to free speech. Prettiman said he thought the case could create a legal precedent that might infringe on the rights of the advertising business. “The plaintiffs belief that the magazine had a respon sibility to block advertisements that presented a public danger 'on then face (value) and without investiga tion' is too broad and too vague,” he said. “This same rule could be applied to advertisements for cigarette smok ing and alcohol consumption.” Lee Levine, a lawyer for publica tions such as Time magazine and the New Republic, wrote a legal brief about the case in which he stressed the rights of publishers to print what they wished. “The Eleventh Circuit Court deci sion went far beyond previous corpo rate media law interpretation,” he said. If the ruling becomes precedent in its widest interpretation, Prettiman said, newspapers and magazines would Uhlenberg eluding one who died not long after of lung failure. “It was hard,” Pam Uhlenberg said. “People have this idea that because we have so many kids, we have this re moved relationship with them. But this was very real.” The other two children with handi caps are doing well now, she said. The mother said raising adopted chil dren of various ethnic backgrounds was not much different from raising other children, except when they reach ado lescence, when they struggle to find their identities. “The hardest part is help ing them figure out who they are.” Both Peter and Pam Uhlenberg said God was the main strength and support for their family. “We feel God is caring for us and God is in control of things and he loves us,” Peter Uhlenberg said. But that doesn’t mean it’s not hard sometimes, Pam Uhlenberg said laugh Recycle from page 3 lock said. “It’s hard to predict the future,” he said. “(It won’t begin) in the next six months.” Pollock said the only complaint from residents about the new plan was that newspapers now had to be placed in paper bags at the curb. “Residents have been conscientiously not getting paper bags at the grocery store, and now we’re asking them to use paper bags, and they’re resisting,” he said. “When they wear out, residents can recycle them and get another one to use,” he added. Pollock said the change was made because it was dangerous for residents to lump all of their recyclables together. FgOLDEN CHINA RESTAURANT 41,/JS£ Authentic Chinese food hidden away in Carrboro Plaza... 11/ ”^ l ' s orienta ' delight of a restaurant serves lunch for $3.50 and up Mon.-Fri., 11 :30 am-2 pm On Sundays, lunch buffet is only $6.50 from 11:30 am-2 pm Jp-jl Iv. Dinner hours are 5-9:30 pm, Sun.-Thuts. & 5-10 pm, Fri. & Sat. for $5.50 and up... 'i' Sunday lunch buffet includes 15 items 1 Mk j. Dine in or carry out • Banquet facilities available. mm Flaza, 54 Bypass • Carrboro, NC • (919)967-6688 been targeted in the committee’s alle gations. In 1991, the U.S. Senate’s Prescrip tion Drug Cost Containment Act in structed the top-30 pharmaceutical manufacturers to keep the costs of their products at or below the rate of general inflation, Boldon said. U.S. Sen. David Pryor, chairman of the Senate Committee on Aging, said the companies had not done so, Boldon said. Boldon also said the Senate commit tee thought legislation was needed to help regulate the pharmaceutical indus try. “There are a number of studies and reports that show that pharmaceutical have to “turn down all ads or risk heavy damages.” However, Prettiman said he be lieved the case presented no real threat to publishers, calling it “a blip on the screen, not a general ruling.” Alan Caruba, an independent ex pert on legal issues concerning the media, said he agreed with the jury’s decision against Soldier of Fortune. Caruba said the First Amendment protection issue was “vastly overstated and not accurate in this case. “The jury, when finding the pub lisher guilty of criminal negligence, made Soldier of Fortune culpable as an active participant in the crime. (The publishers) are responsible for all in formation printed. In this case the weapons’ ad services were for the purpose of violence and were a public danger.” Levine said he believed the jury’s decision had been caused by a point of semantics.“ The term 'Gun for Hire’ appeared at the head of the advertise ment,” he said. “The jury felt a public danger was presented by this term.” He also pointed out that in an ear lier case involving the magazine, the jury ruled in the publication’s favor. “In a very similar case two years ear lier the jury concluded in favor of Soldier of Fortune,” Levine said. An anonymous spokesman for Omega Group Limited said an outside agreement in the case was probable. “We are negotiating with the plain tiffs right now,” the source said. “Ob viously, we don’t have $4.3 million. We will prpbably reach some agree ment separate from the court case.” The source stated the ruling was a “danger as we see it to anyone running personal ads and also to the funda mental right to free speech.” The source added-that a wide vari ety of groups had disagreed with the decision. “The free-speech issue is the first time High Times, The Village Voice and the National Rifle Associa tion ever agreed on anything.” from page 1 ingly. “We’re constantly challenged as parents.” Peter Uhlenberg said they also re ceived much support from the commu nity and their church. The Uhlenbergs’ biological children also support their parents’ choice to adopt. “I’ve always been in support of what my parents have done,” said Jeff Uhlenberg, a senior at Wheaton Col lege in WTieaton, 111. Although the Uhlenbergs have no immediate intentions of adopting any more children, they are always open to the possibility. But for now, they are taking things one day at a time. “Life is not boring,” Pam Uhlenberg said. “This is a challenging world they’re growing up in. We’re just letting God show us the way.” Peter Uhlenberg added, “You expe rience a lot of highs and lows. We have a really meaningful relationship that is very satisfying.” wo core hair 306 B W. Franklin St. (Formerly Fowlers Market) Student/Faculty Days Wednesday & Sunday *6- 95 WETCUT with ID • regularly $8 No appointment necessary Mon.-Fri. 9 - 9 • Sat. 9 - 6 • Sun. 10-5 932-3900 STATE AND NATIONAL companies cannot impose any kind of restraint on themselves,” Boldon said. Boldon said the committee found that prices for many pharmaceutical companies’ products had exceeded the 1992 general inflation rate of 3 percent. Glaxo Inc., a Research Triangle Park based pharmaceutical manufacturer, was accused by the committee of in creasing its prices by 4.4 percent during 1992, but Glaxo employees disagreed with the committee’s statistics. “If you look at the numbers, that’s not the case,” said Rick Sluder, senior manager of corporate communications at Glaxo Inc. Sluder said the company kept its prices at an increase of only 1.8 percent Groups work to provide opportunities for minority youth By Brad Williams Staff Writer In response to indications that young black, Hispanic and Native-American men face similar problems, a number of federal and independent groups are at tempting to create opportunities for ur ban minority teenagers. One such program, the Rockville, Md.-based Office of Minority Health, is involved in funding independent pro grams designed to improve the lives of these disadvantaged minority youth. Blake Crawford, senior public af fairs specialist with the Office of Mi nority Health, said, “the key to the mi nority male programs we have been funding is to tap the talent and energy of minority males.” Since it was founded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Ser vices in 1990, the Office of Minority Health has given federal funds to 130 projects, Crawford said. Eighteen of the programs funded by the group are long-term projects, Crawford said. The multiyear programs are given three-year grants worth $250,000 to $300,000 per year, and the funds can be renewed after three years. The Dallas Urban League Institute, a program funded by the Office of Minor ity Health, focuses on building self es teem and providing employment train ing for minority males, said Eric Ander son, the institute’s director. Fraternities construction and demolition of houses in the historic districts first must be approved by the commission by filing a certificate of appropriateness. This is required to ensure that all the buildings in the historic district are in BCC fere with the joint group’s goal of pro posing the best possible BCC. “It’s not the kind of thing you want this kind of project to go up or down over,” he said. “I know the students have strong feelings about the Wilson site, but I hope we can negotiate as a group together.” The Wilson site could “comfortably” hold abuilding of at least 110,000 square feet, Rutherford said. He added that the size of the proposed BCC would prob ably fall somewhere closer to 50,000 square feet. Eubanks said the final report to the BOT should include more than one site option for the BCC building. McDonald said group members ex pected the matter to be before the BOT at their March 26 meeting. At the Black Student Movement candidates forum Wednesday night, BCC advocates esti mated that the current BOT would vote 10-3 against the new center, including a Bossio from page 3 patients in Peru was underreported be cause many people cannot afford hospi talization and the military and police do not report AIDS cases. “ExhiliratintL Sarandon, Nolte and A Spellbinding Story Of Obsessive Love— Miller hit the mark in a wrenching tale.” NEW YORK FUM c **TICS’ CIRCIX WINNER —Robbie Roberts, Raleigh NERO N “The Best Film Bfi : i Of The Year." a WfflrmPnfllWWWTllfll