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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (July 21, 1998)
World News Magnate buys paper to bolster venture 1 TORONTO — Conrad Black, who already controls more than half of Canada’s daily news papers, acquired the nation’s No. 1 business daily Monday to re duce the competition for a new national newspaper he plans to start in October. Black’s Southam Inc. an nounced it will obtain the Toronto-based Financial Post from Sun Media Corp., which will get four Ontario daily news papers in return. Southam said the deal would strengthen the prospects for its new, as-yet-unnamed national newspaper, but did not elabo rate. Some analysts suggested the Post might be incorporated into the new paper as its business section. Four Ontario dailies owned by Southam — the Hamilton Spec tator, the Kitchener-Waterloo Record, the Guelph Mercury and the Cambridge Reporter — will become Sun Media papers. In exchange, Southam gets Sun Me dia’s 30 percent interest in the Financial Post and $101 million. The Financial Post also circu lates nationwide, as does the Toronto-based Globe and Mail. Military leader plans democracy transition 2 ABUJA, Nigeria — Mapping out his plan to return Nigeria to democratic rule, the nation's new military leader on Monday announced plans for elections and a civilian president by May 29, 1999, ordering a purge of the country’s political structure. Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar, who took over Africa’s most pop ulous nation when military dic tator Gen. Sani Abacha died in June, swept aside the flawed transition program begun during Abacha’s rule. He ordered the dismissal of all charges against political prison ers and the dismantling of the previous regime’s electoral com mission, and dissolved the five state-sponsored political parties created to support Abacha. He also said he would give indepen dence to the judiciary, which was often criticized for its close ties to the previous regime. ‘‘Nigerians want nothing less than true democracy in a united and peaceful country,” he said in a nationally televised speech. In his speech, he promised elections would be held in the first three months of next year. Man charged in fatal firebombing 3BELFAST, Northern Ireland — A 23-year-old man was charged Monday with killing three young brothers in a firebombing that stunned Northern Ireland and prompted Protestant leaders to tone down efforts to hold a divi sive march. The suspect in the July 12 at tack in Ballymoney, 40 miles northwest of Belfast, was not identified. He will appear in a Belfast court on Tuesday, police said, giving no other details. Police investigating the slay ings of the Quinn brothers — Richard, 11, Mark, 10, and Jason 9 — said the attack was linked to tensions caused by a violent standoff outside Portadown, 25 miles southwest of Belfast. Protestant marchers faced off against armed authorities block ing them from parading down a largely Catholic road for nearly a week. Stunned by the killings, some leaders of the Orange Order frater nal group that organized the march called for an end to the confrontation. The standoff quiet ed down, and efforts to continue the march have now virtually ended. Initiative could cost state millions The proposed ban on clearcutting would cause a drop in tax revenue, officials say The Associated Press PORTLAND — A ballot mea sure that would ban clearcutting and pesticide use in Oregon forests would reduce the state’s annual timber harvest by more than 60 percent, according to a draft analysis prepared by state of ficials. The document, prepared by state forestry and revenue offi cials, estimates the financial im pact on Oregon’s timber industry, which harvests $1.5 billion worth of timber each year and employs more than 50,000 people. According to the analysis, the initiative would require a host of new regulations costing the state at least $4.9 million annually to administer, and requiring 95 full time positions. At the same time, state and lo cal tax revenues from logging could be cut by $75 million, in cluding a $33.2 million drop in school revenues. Late last week, the state treasur er, the secretary of state, and direc tors of revenue and administrative services signed the document. State law requires a financial analysis for each ballot measure. A public hearing on the analy sis is set for July 30; the final docu ment must be approved by Aug. 5. A summary will be included in the State Voter’s Pamphlet for the Nov. 3 election. The ballot measure was devel oped by a statewide conservation coalition called OLIFE, Oregoni ans for Labor Intensive Forest Eco nomics. Joshua Binus, an initiative coor dinator, disputes the state analy sis. It overstates the effect on har vests, he said, while ignoring the economic benefits, including healthier soils, cleaner water and strengthened populations of fish and wildlife. “We’d like to see a sustainable forestry model,” Binus said. “We can’t sustain this rate of ecological devastation.” If the measure gains voter ap proval, it would force fundamen tal change in the Oregon logging industry, which depends on clearcutting to harvest more than 80,000 acres a year; coastal forests are almost exclusively clearcut. After the harvests, the industry then sprays herbicides on much of that acreage to help spur the growth of the next generation of trees. Industry leaders say clearcut ting is essential to modern forestry, and can be done without harming the environment. They say the ballot measure is extreme, and will be rejected by Oregoni ans. But they’re not taking chances. They’ve formed a group called the Healthy Forests Alliance to launch a high-powered effort to defeat the initiative. “This is important enough that if substantial resources are need ed, they’ll be there,” said Ray Wilkeson of the Oregon Forest In dustries Council, a trade associa tion that is part of the alliance. The ballot measure strikes at one of the timber industry’s most controversial practices. Public concern about clearcut ting was heightened two years ago as landslides emanating from logged areas killed five people and destroyed more than a dozen homes. The legislature last year passed a temporary ban on clearcutting slopes at high risk of sliding. The initiative would ban clearcuts on all forest lands, sloped or flat. It encompasses pri vate, state and federal lands, though federal land managers al ready have shifted away from clearcuts. DOS: Vans c< running by v\ ■ Continued from Page 1 said. The situation became com pounded, though, because the fi nal budget signed by University President Dave Frohnmayer and Oregon University System offi cials contained both the PFC allo cation and the ballot measure money, giving DDS control over $76,212. Although it was generally agreed that DDS would tap only $50,000 of the money, Cowling said she urged Smith to be "cau tious" with his spending to avoid any appearance of fiscal irrespon sibility. During the first week of July, however, the ASUO Executive blocked two purchase attempts by Smith. The DDS director had filed paperwork for the purchase of a $1,500 computer laser print er and a $16,383 nine-passenger van. In a letter to DDS, the execu tive said DDS did not need its own printer because the program used a common printer in the ASUO office along with several other programs. The executive ctiMj saiu in me letter that the at tempt to pur chase a van “di rectly violates the wishes of the students" be cause a separate DDS ballot mea sure asking vot ers to fund a new SMITH van had tailed in the April elec tions. Smith said that the printer sit uation could be “negotiable,” but he and the executive differed on interpretation of the failed mea sure for a new van. Smith claimed the measure was intend ed to fund a third van as an addi tion to the DDS fleet. The vehicle he attempted to purchase was meant as a direct replacement for the oldest van, not as a third vehi cle, he said. “The steering is shot, the trans mission is shot, and it needs en gine work,” Smith said of the 12 year-old, nine-passenger van. "It’s not safe.” On July 12, the ASUO Execu tive indefinitely froze the original $26,212 PFC allocation and di rected Smith to submit an item ized budget in order to access the $50,000 ballot measure funds. According to Cowling, $26,212 of the ballot measure money was freed immediately in order to al low DDS to function while the funding situation was sorted out. The amount was determined in large part because the ASUO Con troller had already created ledgers based on the $26,212 PFC alloca tion. The student senate retains the power to transfer the remaining $23,788 to DDS. On Sunday, sena tor Selena Brewington made a mo tion to approve the transfer of funds, but after a long discussion, the Senate voted 4-1 to table her motion until its next meeting on Aug. 1. “I don’t think any of us were prepared to go through a $50,000 budget tonight,” Brewington said at the senate meeting. The senate and Smith still need to resolve some issues centered on a recent switch from stipend pay to hourly pay for DDS workers. On Sunday, the senate debated the large boost in pay that would re sult for the top program positions. In response, Smith told the senate he was concerned about legal is sues that may arise if the program is forced to revert to stipends. )uld be weekend "I hired people at $7 an hour and they’re going to be pretty up set if I have to tell them in the fall that their pay has been cut,” Smith said. According to Smith, DDS is not currently operating because of safety concerns about both aging vehicles. However, he said he hopes that at least one van would be running by the weekend. "We’re going to shoot for this Fri day and Saturday,” he said. Instant passport pictures, Immigration pictures & I.D. pictures to speed you on your way Flattering passport pictures, in full color or black and white, in just two minutes. When it comes to your passport, it really makes sense to travel first class. And you can - with beautiful color or black and white passport pictures finished in a matter of minutes - while you wait. 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