Many flights canceled,
delayed during holiday
1 BOSTON — Logan Interna
tional Airport controllers
guided arriving planes Sunday us
ing a composite radar system from
three regional airports, one day af
ter a wind storm knocked out its
central antenna.
Delays and cancellations at the
country’s ninth busiest airport
were felt nationwide over the
Easter holiday weekend, a busy
travel time as families gather for
celebrations and students return
from spring break.
“I wish it was happening last
weekend, or next weekend. But
there’s really no ideal time,” said
Bart Bartanowicz, New England
regional administrator for the Fed
eral Aviation Administration
New radar equipment from a
supply center in Oklahoma City
arrived at Logan Sunday, officials
said. A team of five technicians
was traveling with the heavy
equipment, which could take sev
eral days to assemble and test,
Bartanowicz said.
Until the new radar is ready, Lo
gan was using a triangular “com
posite” system of radar from
Truro, on Cape Cod; Cumming
ton, in western Massachusetts
near the Berkshire Mountains;
and Providence, R.I.
The antenna damage — plus
rainy and windy weather —
caused 210 cancellations Satur
day and 130 by noon on Sunday.
Earthquake that shook
Tacoma called normal
2 TACOMA — A small earth
quake that rattled Pierce
County over the weekend was
normal for the region and almost
identical to one reported a year
ago in the same place, a
spokesman at the University of
Washington’s Seismology Lab
said.
The quake, which was felt by
some area residents just before
midnight Friday, was of magni
tude 3.6 — at the very low end of
tremblers that can be felt by peo
ple nearby, scientists say. It was
followed by two small after
shocks. No injuries or property
damage was reported.
The UW Lab said the quake oc
curred at 11:43 p.m. and was cen
tered about 10 miles west of
Mount Rainier and about 5.5
miles underground.
It takes a quake of at least mag
nitude 5.4 to cause structural
damage to even poorly construct
ed buildings.
Increasing bold coyotes
threaten Vancouver
3 VANCOUVER, British Colum
bia — Like brazen bandits,
Vancouver’s urban coyotes are
pulling off daring daylight kid
nappings and robberies.
Wildlife control officer Dennis
Pemble says coyotes have moved
into the city, invading city parks,
green spaces and even people’s
back yards.
The coyotes are becoming in
creasingly bold and aggressive,
taking cats and small dogs right
off porches.
Officials are even beginning to
fear for the safety of small chil
dren.
“They have moved right into
downtown Vancouver and you
can see them in broad daylight
and they are doing things we’ve
never seen coyotes do before,”
Pemble said. “You’ll see them ly
ing in the parks under the trees in
broad daylight.
“They are running right up to
little kids, not because they are
intent on attacking them but be
cause they’ve learned that is a
way to get food.”
If the children become scared
and drop their lunches, coyotes
learn that taking'a run at a child
will net them a free lunch.
People have also been warned
to keep pets inside at night.
WAS YOUR WRITING TEACHER
EXCEPTIONAL?
Composition
Teacher
of the Year
1999-00
Help us reward him/her.
If you have had an excellent teacher this year in an
English-Composition class (any class with a“WR” prefix),
nominate him or her for an Outstanding Composition
Teacher Award. Leave a note or a detailed letter with Mike
Stamm in the English Department (118 PLC) or mail it to
Director pf Composition, Department
of English, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403.
Nomination must be post marked
or submitted by Friday, April 28,2000.
For more information, call 346-391 I.
Man arrested for murder
of two teenagers
4 ALCALDE, N.M. — After is
suing an appeal for help, state
police received a tip Sunday that
led to the arrest of a man accused
of shooting to death two teenagers
making a spiritual pilgrimage to a
church where thousands of peo
ple hope for miracles.
Carlos Herrera, 19, was arrest
ed at a friend’s home at about 2:40
a.m., state police Sgt. Royleen
Ross-Weaver said.
Ross-Weaver said Herrera was
an acquaintance of the 17-year
old shooting victims, high school
sweethearts Richard Martinez
and Karen Castanon. She did not
elaborate. The teens’ bodies were
found Friday.
“We received bits and pieces
from different people, put it to
gether and started pursuing the
information,” Ross-Weaver said.
“We were able to develop the sus
pect and we also have physical
evidence linking him to the
crime.”
She wouldn’t comment on a
motive.
Ray Martinez, father of the
slain boy, said his son did not as
sociate with Herrera.
The arrest gave only brief com
fort on a painful Easter, he said.
“These kids were beautiful.
They were drug-free, alcohol-free,
like peanut butter and jelly,” he
said.
The teenagers were among
thousands of pilgrims making the
annual spiritual trek to the Santu
ario de Chimayo, a small Roman
Catholic church in the village of
Chimayo that is said to contain
healing dirt.
Nine rebels killed in raid
5 ZAMBOANGA, Philippines
— Philippine forces advanced
on the mountain base of Muslim
rebels, hammering their defenses
with air strikes and artillery in an
attempt to free some 27 hostages.
The top general vowed to push
ahead with the offensive against
Abu Sayyaf rebels on southern
Basilan island, despite rebel
threats to kill more hostages after
beheading two last week.
The rebels killed those two af
ter authorities refused their de
mands for the release of Muslim
militants jailed in the United
States, including the mastermind
of the 1993 World Trade Center
bombing.
At least three soldiers were
killed in Sunday’s fighting, offi
cials said.
Nine teenage rebels were killed
as they tried to escape bombard
ment of their camp on the slopes
of the mountain range leading up
to the main camp, Basilan Gover
nor Wahab Akbar said.
Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu
Ahmad denied any rebel casual
ties. He said two hostages,,hipiupl:'/
ing a child, were injured in the
shelling. Military officials said
they could not confirm the report
but have denied targeting the
main camp, where the hostages
are thought to be held.
Pope denounces racism, pro
motes peace on Easter
6 VATICAN CITY — Capping a
grueling Holy Week schedule,
a weary-sounding Pope John Paul
II offered Easter wishes for peace
in 61 languages and called on the
world Sunday to end racism and
xenophobia.
So many Holy Year pilgrims,
tourists and Romans turned out
for the pope’s late-morning Mass
in St. Peter’s Square that by the
time he delivered his Easter mes
sage at noon, the crowd, number
ing close to 150,000, was spilling
over into the boulevard leading to
the Vatican.
The faithful passed through
metal detectors recently installed
in the colonnade around the
square as part of security con
cerns over the heavy Holy Year
schedule of public appearances
by the pope.
Sounding tired toward the end
of the two-hour appearance, John
Paul expressed hope that the
sense of life associated with East
er may “overturn the hardness of
our hearts” and “impel individu
als and states to full respect” for
human rights.
Praying for the success of peace
efforts around the world, includ
ing in Africa and Latin America,
the pope cited “persistent ten
sions in the Middle East, vast ar
eas of Asia, and some parts of Eu
rope.”
“Help the nations to overcome
old and new rivalries, by rejecting
attitudes of racism and xenopho
bia,” the pope prayed.
Unlike past years, the pope did
not single out any one country.
John Paul asked God to “grant the
human family of the third millen
nium a just and lasting peace.”
Students stabbed on school
shooting anniversary
7 TORONTO — A 15-year-old
boy accused of stabbing five
people at his high school appar
ently planned the attacks to coin
cide with the first anniversary of
the massacre in Littleton, Colo.,
police said Sunday.
Det. Sgt. Ken Doyle said com
ments by witnesses and other evi
dence indicated the attacks
Thursday were tied to the an
niversary of the April 20, 1999,
shootings at Columbine High
School, where two students
killed 13 people before turning
their guns on themselves.
The stabbings Thursday began
at about 11:21 a.m. — the exact
same time of day that the
Columbine shootings started.
Doyle refused to provide
specifics about the evidence. Sgt.
Leo Janveau said police had
“some evidence of planning” pri
or to the stabbings, which left mi
nor puncture wounds on four stu
dents and a lab technician who
worked at Cairine Wilson high
school in Orleans, a suburb of Ot
tawa.
Some witnesses interviewed by
police would be interviewed
again because of details they gave
to news media that were missing
from their police statements,
Doyle said.
Classmates quoted in newspa
per and television reports said the
boy, who was not identified, was
a loner and was teased about his
thick, curly hair and acne. Doyle
said none of the people inter
viewed by police so far had men
tioned teasing.