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REVIEW
Seattle Cancels Y2K
Countdown
Government waylays Y2K fears
A ssociated P ress
Eat, drink and be merry on New Year’s Eve,
because the advent o f the year 2000 should
cause few, if any, problems, a bevy o f federal
officials said Sunday.
Hospitals, power plants, air traffic control
systems and prisons are all Y2K ready, they
said. The top aviation official will be in the air
as the new year begins, and military personnel
will be monitoring missiles with the Russians.
Indeed, officials said Americans should make
no more preparations for New Y ear’s this year
than they would do for any long winter
weekend.
“Our goal has been to avoid overreaction,
President Clinton’s top Y2K adviser, John
Koskinen, said on ABC’s “This Week. We
would like people to be prepared for a long
midwinter weekend but we think that s all
SEATTLE - The mayor has scrubbed the
city ’ s planned New Year’s Eve celebration
below its trademark Space Needle, where
an estimated 50,000 people had been
expected to gather. The city’s nerves have
been stra in e d in re c e n t w eeks by
tumultuous, sometimes violent World
Trade protests, news that a man arrested at
the U.S.-Canadian border with alleged
bomb-making materials had booked ahotel
room near Seattle Center.
Jet Hijackers Want
Guerrillas Released
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Hijackers
are demanding $200million ransom and the
release of35 guerrillas before hostages are
freed from an Indian Airlines jetliner, an
In d ian new s agency rep o rted . The
hijackers, who have held 155 passengers
and crew members for five days, also
demanded that the body o f the rebel leader
be exhumed from Indian-held Kashmir.
Indian negotiators are communicating with
the five hijackers by walkie-talkie. The
hijackers had threatened to start killing the
passengers and crew. Earlier, a masked
hijacker left the plane as insurance when
an Indian engineer boarded the jet for
repairs. The engines shut down earlier,
cutting power to the plane.
Rebels Counterattack |
in Chechnya
G R O Z N Y , R ussia - Rebel fighters
c o u n te ra tta c k e d R u ssian tro o p s in
Chechnya’s mountainous south in an effort
to free up crucial supply lines blocked by
federal forces, military officials said. In a
new attempt to crush rebel forces, Russian
jets dropped aerosol bombs on rebel bases
in southern Chechnya, the Interfax news
agency reported. The bombs release a
large cloud o f inflammable gas and cause
massive explosions that can clear out
bunkers. Meanwhile, Russian artillery and
jets kept up their onslaught on Grozny with
ground troops trading fire with rebels.
that’s necessary.”
The Y2K problem arises out o f the fear that
older computers programmed to readjust the
last two digits o f a year will read “00 as
“ 1900” rather than “2000." Billions o f dollars
have been spent to correct the problem.
An Associated Press poll taken earlier this
month found only 5 percent o f respondents
expectingmajor Y2A.’problems, down from 11
percent in July. Thepoll’s marginoferrorwas
plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Even ifsome of the Y2K scenarios ofcomputer
failures do come true, officials said they were
prepared to handle any emergencies.
“Hospitals are in the business o f preparing
for the unexpected,” American Hospital
Association chairman Fred Brown said on
ABC. “I don’t think there really will be an
inconvenience. The American public can feel
very confident if they have to go to hospitals.
John Koskinen,
chairman. President's
Council o f Year 2000
Conversion, stands in
the middle o f the
White House ’s Y2K
crisis center in
Washington Nov. 15.
The government
established the $50
million center to
monitor potential
disruptions as
computers worldwide
have to deal with
dates beyond 1990.
Koskinen said prisons and power plants had
been tested and found to be Y2K compliant.
“The power plants we think have done their
Y2K work,” Koskinen,
"We do not expect
there is any risk.”
Most emergency 911 call centers also are
prepared. A December survey from the
National Emergency Number Association
found 98.5 percent saying their equipment
was Y2K ready, and others may have been
fixed since then.
Federal Aviation Administrator Jane Garvey
said she planned to be en route to San
Francisco, to show her confidence that the
aviation system is prepared for Y2K. She
expects no problems on domestic flights, and
if there are computer glitches, air controllers
can respond and space out takeoffs and
departures.
“Air traffic will be safe,’’ she said. “If it wasn’t
safe, we w ouldn't allow the planes to fly. All
systems are Y2K compliant. We ve tested
Existing Home Sales
Rebound
WASHINGTON - Sales o f existing homes
surged in November, after four straight |
m onths o f d e c lin e s, as c o n fid e n t
consumers scrambled to lock in deals
before mortgage rates climbed higher. The
National Association o f Realtors said that
sales of existing single-family homes rose
6 percent last month to a seasonally
adjusted annual rate o f 5.09 million unites.
The association expects existing-home
sales to total a record 5.18 million units this
year, which would be a 4.4 percent increase
overlast year’srecordof4.97 million units.
LOS ANGELES - The movie industry is
putting the wraps on its second straight
record-breaking year. Ticket sales in the
United States totaled $7.5 billion, up from
$6.95 billion in 1998.
them from end to end. W e’re ready.’
Garvey said that some airlines may cancel
international flights to countries that are not
prepared for Y 2K , but most overseas
destinations tavored by American« will not
be among them.
Still, experts caution that while the United
States has made extensive preparations for
Y2K, some other nations are not as well
(Please see Y 2K ’ page 5)
Seattle’s millennium countdown canceled by threats
A ^ utated P ress
Spooked by terrorism fears and still wounded
by violent protests during the recent World
Trade O rganization m eeting, Seattle is
cancelling plans for a blowout millennial New
Year’s Eve bash beneath the Space Needle.
“It is safer to be prudent,’ Mayor Paul Schell
said after meeting Monday with police, fire
and FBI officials, and members o f the City
Council.
“It’s also a time, following WTO, for the city
to take a breather from tension.”
Thecity had been scaling back its New Year’s
plans since an Algerian man was arrested
Dec. 14 for bringing bomb-making materials
into Washington state from Canada. Ahmed
Ressam’ s arrest sparked nationwide concerns
o f a terrorist attack in the United States.
Last week, officials decided to postpone
Seattle’s Hopes and Dreams Fire Ceremony
— thetorchingofa 17-piecewood-and-papier-
mache sculpture. On Sunday, poor ticket sales
forced cancellation o f a New Year’s Eve
performance o f Cirque Eos.
Afternoon concerts will proceed as planned,
and showers o f fireworks will still erupt from
the Space Needle at midnight. But the 7 5-acre
center grounds will be cleared and the gates
locked at 6 p.m, Schell said. Only a long-
scheduled private party in the N eedle’s
revolving restaurant will be allowed to
proceed.
“Adding another layer o f anxiety at this time
would not be a prudent thing to do,” Schell
said at a morning news conference.
“Nobody will give the city credit if 12 people
don’t die at the Seattle Center," said Jim
Compton, one o f several council members
who attended the news confererence.
“This was too risky. I think the city has made
a very wise decision.”
Folks who stay after they’re told to clear the
area “are going to be arrested and dealt with
accordingly,” Schell said in a Tuesday
interview with KIRO Radio. “There will be no
tolerance o f lawbreaking.
The decision to cancel was heavily influenced
by an assistant police chief who had been
overruled during the WTO protests. The
Seattle Times reported Tuesday.
John Pirak had wanted to declare a state of
emergency as early as 11 a.m. during the first
frill day o f WTO protests but his opinion was
overruled and the emergency was not declared
until five hours later, the Times reported.
This time, his approach earned the day. Pirak
spoke first dunng the 90-minute meeting
Monday afternoon. City Councilwoman Jan
Drago, who was present, said Pirak argued
that the event would be an opportunity for
terrorists and said it would be difficult to
defend against unknown terrorism.
“He spoke very persuasively in favor o f the
option to close,” Drago said.
Several City Council members said his advice
swung the tenor o f a meeting that began with
Schell’s staff leaning toward holding the
event, the Times said. Some applauded
S c h e ll’s decision, but others scoffed,
characterizing it as kowtowing to fear
“I think people are relieved and appreciative
that the mayor is putting their safety first,”
Councilwoman Sue Donaldson said Tuesday.
“It’s another target that’s not going to be
there.” said Dick Rogers, 60, o f Monroe.
Curtis Mayfield, R&B and soul musician, dies at 57
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Kevin Fuller decided that the music o f
legendary musician Curtis Mayfield would be
the perfect backdrop for his organization s
third annual Kwanzaa celebration rites o f
passage program.
The theme o f the Bridge Builders Kwanzaa
Gala and Gentlemen’s Ball held Sunday was
“People Get Ready,” a title o f a Mayfield hit.
As Portland residents - young and o l d -
sw ayed to M a y fie ld s m u sic , F u lle r
announced that Curtis Mayfield had died that
morning. After sounds o f surprise filled the
room, silence fell. Mayfield was 57.
Mayfield’s music was inspiration forthe teens
involved in the 4-year rites o f passage
program. Fuller said. “Curtis Mayfield wrote
message music." Fullcrsaid Each song talked
about uplifting us up as a people and that’s
the type o f inspiration they needed.”
* In addition. Fuller said that the father o f one
o f the young men participating in the program
was a member o f the popular Portland-based
Street Com er Singers and one o f the last
songs that Igwe W aters’ father sang was
“People Get Ready " ♦Fuller said it was ironic
that Mayfield should die on the day o f a
tribute to him. Portland was not alone this
week in mourning the loss o f a legend.
Music lovers and civil rights leaders on
M onday m ourned the death o f C urtis
Mayfield, a prolific composer and singer
whose songs evoked the struggle o f African
Americans.
“From the cotton-picking days to the civil
rights movement we African Americans have
found solace and encouragement from our
music,” said Rev. Fred Taylor o f the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference. “Curtis
Mayfield’s music told us that despite all odds,
we are here and we will continue to fight until
we become equal partners in the social fabric
o f this country.”
Mayfield, a rhythm and blues legend whose
music helped de fine the Chicago sound in the
1960s and whose funky style influenced artists
from pop to hip hop. died on Sunday at North
Fulton Regional Hospital in suburban Atlanta.
His publicist, Karen Lee, said the cause o f
death had not been released but it was likely
the musician died o f complications related to
his struggle with diabetes.
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