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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 14, 1998)
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Broadway • 484-0446 The nation’s best MCAT prep is coming to Eugene Let The Princeton Review help you to prepare for the MCAT! This summer, we will be offering comprehensive courses in Eugene to prepare students for the August 15th MCAT. Please call for more information. Classes begin May 30th THE PRINCETON REVIEW (SMALL CLASSES • GREAT TEACHERS • FREE EXTRA HFXP i ^FULL-LENGTH PRACTICE TESTS»GUARANTEED RESULTSJ 1-800 2 REVIEW www.review.com ^Looking for a GREAT CLASS? The School of Music has terrific fall term courses open to non-majors. Those with an asterisk (*) satisfy either Arts & Letters or Multicultural requirements. • Basic Music* • History ofThe Blues* • Bach and Handel* • Survey of Opera* • Intro to Music and Its Literature* • Music in World Culture* • History of Rock* • Film: Drama/Photography/Music* * Class Piano * Class Voice • Class Saxophone • Guitar Theory Basics • Guitar Classes: Classical, Jazz, or Blues • Tabla Class • Jazz Drumset * Band and Choral Ensembles For more information, call the School of Music: 346-3761 National News EPA licenses nuclear waste dump There will be a 30-day waiting period before Cold War refuse is hauled to New Mexico By Sue Majot Holmes The Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A nuclear waste dump carved out of ancient salt beds under the New Mexico desert finally got its feder al license Wednesday, 24 years af ter it was proposed, meaning truckloads of Cold War refuse could begin rolling in next month. In a long-anticipated ruling, the Environmental Protection Agency licensed the $2 billion Waste Iso lation Pilot Plant, or WIPP, 26 miles outside of Carlsbad. Energy Secretary Federico Pena promptly notified Congress that his department intends to open the repository—starting the clock ticking on a 30-day waiting period before shipments can begin travel ing the nation’s highways. And just as expected, environ mentalists promptly promised a court fight to halt the opening of the 2,150-foot-deep repository, which has been ready for a decade. Environmental groups question the safety of hauling radioactive waste across the country by truck and the Energy Department’s find ing that brine pockets in the salt couldn’t allow radioactivity to es cape to the surface. Federal officials said they’re confident they can win any legal battle and that they've done every thing possible to ensure the repos itory is safe. The repository’s opening would be "a major milestone in our na tion’s efforts to clean up the envi ronmental legacy of the Cold War,” said James Owendoff, the Energy Department’s acting assis tant secretary for environmental management. “WIPP is the right place for the permanent disposal,” he said. “It is in an isolated area where salt formations ... have remained geo logically stable for more than 220 million years.” Scientists chose to bury the waste in the salt bed of a former ocean partly because salt creeps ovgr time. Once a repository room is filled with waste, nature will be allowed to take its course: in seven to nine years, the room’s roof and walls will collapse, encapsulating the waste. Opponents question the Energy Department’s finding that brine pockets in the salt won’t allow ra dioactivity to escape to the surface and assumptions that state-of-the art oil and gas drilling near the repository wouldn’t accidentally breach it. Still, Jim Channell, of the Envi ronmental Evaluation Group, an independent state watchdog, said the license was expected. “We think it’s probably a rea sonable decision, and you can’t wait until everything is perfect on actions on this or you’ll never get started,” he said. Supporters in Carlsbad say the repository has created hundreds of good paying jobs in the city of 27,000 and led to better roads, an influx of educated people, and a center that helps laid-off potash and oil workers train for new jobs. Mayor Gary Perkowski said he’s happy the process is nearing an end. “The citizens of Carlsbad have worked hard for years keeping this project on the front burner in Con gress and the state Legislature,” he said. The EPA certified the facility can safely bury plutonium-conta minated clothing, tools, equip ment and sludge generated as a byproduct of decades of nuclear weapons work. Over WIPP’s estimated 30-year life, it would receive about 37,000 shipments, largely from federal sites in California, Colorado, Ida ho, Illinois, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Tennessee, South Carolina and Washington. The first truckload would come from Los Alamos National Labora tory in northern New Mexico, with later loads coming from Rocky Flats in Colorado and the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. New York cabbies go on strike for a day The protest was spurred by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s campaign to make the city more civil By Tim Whitmire The Associated Press NEW YORK — You want nice? We’ll show you nice. Thousands of New York taxi drivers went on strike Wednesday in a one-day protest against proposed new rules aimed at making cabbies more courteous. The strike brought unaccus tomed quiet to the city’s streets but meant big headaches for many New Yorkers and visitors, some of whom gave up looking for a cab and either walked or took the sub way or the bus. “It’s an inconvenience,” said Tom Blum, 39, ofManhattan, who was among those who had to wait in long lines for a cab at LaGuardia Airport in Queens. “The taxi sys tem is one of the aspects of New York you can always count on. ” The city has 12,200 cabs. Police said only about 200 were on the streets ofManhattan. The “yellow flu” was prompted by tougher rules proposed last month as part of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s campaign to make the city more civil. The Taxi and Limousine Com mission is proposing drug tests for drivers, a ban on smoking and blaring music, and fines of up to $150 for ignoring or cursing cus tomers. Other fines would triple or quadruple, some escalating to li cense revocation. The commis sion votes on the rules May 28. Biju Mathew, a strike organizer for the taxi drivers, who are not unionized, said the cabbies want more respect and a hand in rule making. “If these rules pass, I’ll have to go on welfare,” said Jaisin Ahmed, who has driven a cab for five years. The mayor said the drivers’ at tempt to bring the city to a halt had backfired. Summer's Che best time. Summer’s the best time for university students home on break to gain an edge with classes. Compare our prices with state colleges and universities. You’ll see you’re get ting your money’s worth at COCC, where teaching is our specialty. Don’t miss this opportunity to cut the cost of higher education while gaining credit toward your degree. (501) 383-7500 Local access in Madras or Warm Springs call now to find out how to enroll for summer classes CENTRAL OREGON COMMUNITY COLLEGE All Ways Travel Eugene To: Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya - $735.00* *Tax not included, restrictions apply, Eurail passes issued instantly and no service/ticket fees! 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