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Tuesday, December 3,1996
IN THE NEWS
Top stories from the state , nation and world
Little Rascals owner loses
appeal; charges will stand
EDENTON A former day care
center owner lost his request Monday to
have new sexual abuse charges dismissed,
even after calling the prosecutor to tes
tify.
Robert F. Kelly Jr., 48, was indicted in
April on eight counts of molesting a girl
who did not attend Little Rascals Day
Care Center here.
Treatment of children at the center
was the heart of the longest and most
expensive criminal case in North Caro
lina history.
Kelly was convicted in 1992 on 99
counts of sexual abuse involving 12 chil
dren. He was sentenced to 12 consecu
tive life prison terms.
The conviction was overturned last
year by the state Supreme Court, which
ordered anew trial.
The new charges filed in April allege
that in 1987 Kelly molested a girl who
now is 18 and living in Texas. The charges
are expected to be tried early in 1997.
“There was an upping of the ante after
a successful appeal,” argued attorney
Gerald Beaver of Fayetteville.
Court upholds Calif, ban
on 'junk 1 phone calls
WASHINGTON ln action sure to
please many Americans aggravated by
the latest in “junk calls,” the Supreme
Court on Monday let stand California’s
ban on fully automated telephone sales
pitches.
The justices, without comment, turned
down abusinessman’s argument that two
California laws imposing the restrictions
violate his free-speech rights.
The laws similar to those imposed
by the federal government and at least 40
other states restrict the use of ma
chines that automatically dial telephone
numbers and play prerecorded messages.
HISTORIC
FROM PAGE 3
Payne also pointed out the economic
advantages of preserving the McDade
house as well as other historic homes.
“An important way of keeping the
town’s character is through its historic
buildings,” he said. “Preservation of char
acter is certainly an economic benefit.”
Robert Humphries, director of the
Downtown Commission, agreed. “The
historic residences speak of by-gone
days,” he said. “They’re part of what
make downtown Chapel Hill downtown
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Such devices can be used only if a live
operator first identifies the sponsor and
gets the listener’s consent to play the
message.
The federal law and both California
statutes have been upheld by the 9th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals.
In other matters Monday, the justices:
■ Rejected the appeal of a woman
convicted of blocking access to a Mil
waukee abortion clinic two years ago,
turning away her contention that she
WTongly was denied a jury trial.
■ Upheld Ohio’s latest congressional
redistricting plan despite a former
congressman’s complaint that drawing
new electoral districts has become too
political.
■ Heard arguments by California fruit
growers who invoked their free-speech
rights in a bid to escape federally im
posed mandatory dues for generic adver
tising of their crops. The court’s ruling,
expected by July, could have a major
impact on how farm goods are promoted.
Mother Teresa reads Bible
as her condition improves
CALCUTTA, India—MotherTeresa
was in critical condition and using an
oxygen mask Monday, but the 86-year
old nun showed signs of recovery as she
sat in a chair reading a Bible, the hospital
said.
Doctors were worried about the con
dition of her kidneys and lungs following
a heart attack and an angioplasty, but still
were optimistic that the nun would re
cover enough to return to her work of
caring for the poor.
“I am very hopeful and I am sure
Mother will survive,” said Dr. Patricia
Aubanel, one of seven doctors treating
her.
However, he added that her kidneys
were not working well because her heart
had been malfunctioning for several
months.
NASA hopes Mars rover
faces no further delays
CAPE CANAVERAL, FIa.—NASA
scientists hoped Monday for no further
delays in launching a Mars spacecraft
carrying the first-ever interplanetary
rover.
The Mars Pathfinder was to take off
aboard an unmanned rocket early Mon
day, but rain, clouds and strong winds
pushed back the launch by 24 hours.
Chapel Hill.”
The historic district draws tourists and
locals to the area, said Jay Parker, Presi
dent of Weaver Street Realty and Auc
tion Cos. “People like the historic district.
It’s a kind of magnet.”
Parker described the character of the
houses as “rich and diverse in terms of
architectural styles and periods. The his
toric houses and their materials and work
manship aren’t replaceable,” he said.
In an ideal world development and
preservation would co-exist, said Terry
Abernathy, director of the Economic
Development Commission, who thinks
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STATE & NATIONAL
NASA’s Global Surveyor was
launched in early November and is al
ready on its way to Mars. A Russian
spacecraft launched a week later plum
meted from orbit.
Pathfinder should beat the slower Glo
bal Surveyor to Mars by two months,
landing on July 4,1997.
Several hours after Pathfinder para
chutes down, the petals on the spacecraft
will unfold; asix-wheeled, 23-poundrover
will come out to roam the Martian sur
face, examining rocks and beaming back
data.
NASA has until the end of December
to launch the $ 196 million Pathfinder on
its 310 million-mile journey.
After that, scientists would have to
wait two years until Earth and Mars are
back in the necessary alignment.
Volkswagon stock price
falls due to alleged spying
FRANKFURT, Germany
Volkswagen stock fell nearly 5 percent
Monday on fears that the German
automaker may be forced to pay billions
of dollars to General Motors Corp. for
alleged industrial espionage.
Analysts said share prices may con
tinue to drop as long as the threat of
damages remain, with the market specu
lating that damages could range from
several hundred million dollars to as much
as $5 billion.
So far, the falling share prices have
accounted for about $4.5 billion worth of
Volkswagen’s value, said Brian
Wilkinson, German stock analyst at
HSBC James Capel in London.
“The market doesn’t take any chances
—and may not rest easy until that full
amount” is accounted for in the share
price, Wilkinson said. VW shares ended
floor trading in Frankfurt on Monday
down 29.50 marks ($19.67), or 4.8 per
cent, at 587.00 marks ($391).
The first real indication of what GM
wants in the way of damages may come
Tuesday, when both sides return to court
in Detroit to discuss how the trial will
proceed and whether an out-of-court
settlement is likely.
The shares of Germany’s largest
automaker slid 6 percent last week after
GM won an important ruling in a United
States federal court saying the U. S. ’ s larg
est automaker could use racketeering laws
to pursue its case, which automatically
would triple any damages.
FROM WIRE REPORTS
this solution is possible in Chapel Hill.
“I don’t see a direct conflict between
development and older buildings,”
Abernathy said. “Many buildings have
been saved because of development
around them. I don’t see the two in con
flict at all.”
Abernathy cited the Alamo in San
Antonio, Texas, and Carr Mill Mall in
Carrboro as examples of where develop
ment and preservation went hand-in
hand. “These places became attractions
after the areas around them were devel
oped,” he said. “Development generates
an interest in money to save the sites.”
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Mentos art gallery, big hair pages
top random year-end web site list
■ Unique web sites get their
chance to shine in 1996’s
final Site Seeing.
It’s the end of the year and like every
other publication, I feel I should do
a year-in-review of the World Wide
Web, or something to that effect.
But how can you document a medium
that changes daily and even every 10
seconds? I decided to compile some of
“the best of’ the more unique, random if
you will, sites I’ve stumbled upon. Some
are funny, on purpose or by accident, but
either way, they’re sure to provide laughs
if you’re procrastinating during finals.
One of my favorites, the Mentos home
page at http://www.mentos.com wins
first prize for "we have too much time on
our hands. ” Don’t get me wrong, a lot of
creativity went into the site that has a
Mentos art gallery and about a 20-page
FAQ. But Mentos?
The Mentos gallery contains famous
art works with the Mentos logo morphed
in. The creators shed new light on Van
Gogh’s “Starry Night” and the Venus de
Milo. The Frequently Asked Questions
section gives a play-by-play synopsis of
all of those goofy pseudo-Euro commer
cials. Sections are also devoted to perti
nent information such as some Mentos
history, the jingle lyrics (“The Fresh
maker”) and finally, the proper way to
Balanced budget prospects hopeful
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON After years of
summits, stalemates and just plain ne
glect, 1997 promises the best opportunity
yet for the White House and Congress to
finally shake hands on a deal aimed at
balancing the budget.
It won’t be slam-dunk easy; formi
dable political and policy obstacles re
main. Butwiththeeconomy robust,presi
dential elections over and both sides say
ing publicly that they crave such an agree
ment, Republicans and Democrats start
out with fewer, lower hurdles.
“The planets really are aligned this
year,” said Robert Reischauer, former
director of the nonpartisan Congressional
Budget Office, who thinks a pact is likely.
Unlike two years ago, President
Clinton and many congressional Demo
crats now voice acceptance of the GOP’s
premise that federal deficits must be elimi
nated by 2002. Clinton does not face
re-election and has less to gain by casting
Site Seeing
eat Mentos
(“They must be
bom, squeezed
out of the wrap
per and gently
placed in the
palm of the
hand”).
Other com-
puter-altered art can be found at the Gal
lery of Advertising Parody at http://
www.dnai.com/~sharrow/
parody.html. Well-known advertise
ments for products such as Marlboro
cigarettes, Absolut Vodka and Gap cloth
ing have been transformed to look like
the original, but with a twist.
Speaking of twisting, french twist that
is, the Style Texas Big Hair page at http: /
/www.dallas.net/~styletx/home.html
shows the best of big hair from around
the country. The site’s creator admits
that big hair is not for everyone, but
nonetheless, provides how-tos on achiev
ing that teased hair-sprayed look that we
all want to have.
Click on the desired coiffe of choice
and step-by-step photos will guide you in
creating your own do. Or if you don’t
have the materials to flip your hair up, try
on a digital wig.
To see more great hair, or lack of, take
a swing at Fabio or Tori Spelling at the
Celebrity Slugfest at http://
slugfest.kaizen.net/index. ht ml Pick
the meeny or wuss you’d like to take on,
including Bill Gates, Dave Letterman
Republicans as coldhearted budget-slash
ers. Looking to his legacy, he has even
said if he could achieve only one thing in
his second term, it would be balancing
the budget.
Months of budget bargaining failed
last January but left the two sides within
shouting distance of each other’s propos
als for tax cuts and savings in Medicare,
Medicaid and other programs. And most
Republicans, who in 1995 unsuccessfully
tried ramming their budget priorities
down Clinton’s throat, now hail com
promise and incremental action, with
even House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-
Ga., predictingan “implementation Con
gress” next year.
“There is no locked-in anything,”
House Budget Committee Chairman
JohnKasich, R-Ohio, said recently about
GOP demands. “The only locked in is
we’ll balance the budget by 2002 with no
smoke and mirrors.”
Some Republicans, speaking on con
* Offer ends December 20,1996 or while supplies last
£ljp Bath) (Tar HmL
and Mr. Rogers, and throw a punch.
More stars can be found at the Midi
Karaoke web site at http://
geodties.com/Broadway/3386 “where
you are the star. ” Choose from a range of
songs to croon to: “We Are the Champi
ons,” “Hotel California,” “Stand by Me”
and probably the worst, “Macarena."
Once you make it to the “audition,”
lyrics come up and you can belt away.
If you are still star-struck, there might
be a reason. The UFO abductee test at
http: //tucson.com/ufotest will ask you
questions such as “Have you ever
dreamed you saw or were on a spaceship
or flying saucer?” or “Have you experi
enced ’missing time?”’ to determine if
you really have been abducted. If so, you
can send away for the Abductee Recov
ery Package to disconnect you from any
negative experiences you might have had.
Finally, to reconnect to reality through
household appliances, the Random light
bulb joke page at http://
www.crc.ricoh.com/~marcush/
lightbulb/random.cgi will bring you
back to Earth. Every 10 seconds, anew
joke appears about how many (fill in the
blank) it takes to screw in a lightbulb.
An even better question might be how
many (fill in the blank) does it take to
create really random web pages like these.
If the Oscar rewards the best cinema and the
Grammy is for best music, what is the name of
the award for the best web site? E-mail
jlbanov@email.unc.edu with suggestions.
dition of anonymity, say they are likely
to seek not much more than the $122
billion in tax cuts over six years they last
proposed, a bow to the lack of public
demand for lowered taxes. They also
may limit their Medicare savings to what
ever Clinton wants to shield themselves
from Democratic attacks. They previ
ously proposed saving $l5B billion from
Medicare, compared with Clinton’s $ 124
billion. But there are still substantial bar
riers to the effort to eliminate deficits for
the first time since 1969.
Republicans must overcome bitter
memories of an election in which Clinton
and congressional Democrats repeatedly
accused them of plotting to gut Medi
care, Medicaid and other social programs.
The experience left some GOP lawmak
ers cautious about supporting budget
cutting proposals that Democrats might
attack later, and explains why they are
insisting that Clinton reveal his own plan
before talks can begin.
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