News Scrapbook 1989

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e USD fraternity member charged in cross bu ning; others 'get off easy'

Salinas, CA (Monterey Co.) Californian (Cir. 6xW. 23,602)

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JUL 3 - 1989

By Julie Brossy Tribune Staff Writer

preserve within a two-year period. The park is a protected area for the rare Torrey pine tree. Schizas acknowledged m an inter- view that he had taken part in at least one other cross burning as a fraternity pledge. An official at the fraternity's national headquarters in Evanston, Ill., said the organization has been obliged to send out bulletins warning chapters against cros burn- ing every year for several years. Said ranger Wohl· "We're pleased that we were able to uncover the cul- prits who were doing this" Charles Reilly, USD director of public relations, said university offi- cials are still evaluating what, if any, disciplinary action the school will take against the fraternity chapter or any of its members. "The action by the city attorney will not affect our inve ligation or decISion whether or not to impose disciplinary action," Reilly said. Tribune staff writer Darla Welles contributed to this report.

where burning is prohibited said Kim-Thoa Hoang, the deputy city at- torney handling the case. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Schizas is scheduled to appear in court Sept 6. Schizas, who wrote a tatement de- scribing the ntual as a p eudo-relig- ious teaching process, was one of 27 members or initiates of the universi- ty's Sigma Chi fraternity chapter who took p rt. Hoang aid the rangers supplied the names of the others and copies of a voluntary statement by another man, but the second tatement had to be thrown out because rangers did not read the man his rights before he t?ld the~ he bad provided the gaso- line, earned the cross and lighted it "The evidence against the other 26 1s weak," Hoang said. "We only have their presence." Before the Sigma Chi roup wa apprehen ed. park range had found eight to 10 charred er · es in the

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. The San Diego city attorney's of- f1~e has charged a University of San Diego student with committing a misdemeanor by burning a cross in Torrey Pines State Reserve but de- cided against prosecuting 26 others who took part in the fraternity ritual Aranger who came upon the group minutes before the cross burn.~d on a moonlit night May 20 expressed dis- appointment with the decision not to prosecute all 27. "Definitely, they got off easy" Chief Ranger Bob Wohl said ' The students, in an anonymous let- ter ?f apology sent to media organ- 1~hons soon after the burning, de- med that the ritual had any racist overtones. Cross burning normally is associated with the Ku Klux Klan and other white-supremacist organ- izations. The student charged, Jeffrey Schi- zas, 21, was accused Wednesday of starting a fire in an area of the park

GWA S Medal is awarded to those indi- viduals who demonstrate out· standing achievement or merito- rious service in the performance of their duties on behalf of the Army. She L a tactical computer systems repairer with the 19th Signal Company. Education Michael J. O'Grady, a resi dent of Salinas, was among the 1,425 students receiving degrees tromtheUniv_mily an.Diego in May. O'Grady received his bacca- laureate degree in business eco- nomics. He plans to begin the international business masters program in the fall. He will be participating in the International Business Seminar Program in Asia for three weeks this sum- mer. [l YOUR WINNING WAYS rs a re- port on the accomplishments of local people and organizations. Send Items and photos to the Winning Ways Editor at P.O. Box 81091, Salinas, 93912.

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Achievements :J1S ) Lisa Marie Agliano, a gradu- ate of Brigham Young Universi- ty School of Law, was among those who successfully passed the State of California Bar Ex- amination in February. She was admitted to the practice of law following a June ceremony in San Francisco. Agliano is the daughter of Judge Nat A. Agli- ano of Salina . She is also a graduate of the University of California, Davis. n Ll o Andrew Vonnegut, son of Arlene and Martin Vonnegut of Salinas, was recently elected to the Phi Beta Kappa at the Uni- versity of California, Santa Bar- bara. Military Spec. Laura L. Armbruster, daughter of John H. and Monica R. Hawthorne of Salinas, has been decorated with the Army Commendation Medal at Fort Huachuca, Ariz. The Army Commendation

/ may face a ti-trust test

terpnse system, opening the door to . predatory pricing and the eliminina·-' tion of competition." Surprising Edison lobbyists, the Senate Judiciary Committee recent- ly eliminated the Ed1son-SDG&E merger exemption frdttr11ie'overall bill, which had already been ap- proved by the Assembly. The mea- sure will be taken up again by the Senate committee at 1:30 p.m. Tues- day for a formal vote. Killea said there is a cllance the entire Senate would approve the measure without the exemption, which would mean an Assembly-Sen- ate conference committee would have to decide whether the exemp- tion remained. The overall bill has the strong backing of Attorney General John Van de Kamp who wants all business mergers to be subject to the state's antitrust laws.

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tial adverse effects on the price of energy and competition by such a large utility '·are tremendous." Her statements were supported by Bob Fellmeth, head of ~ -University.-Of- San Dieg_o's for Public Inter: esfLaw. - ~and Fellmrtc are opposed to only a p>rt1on oi the Assembly bill, an amendment that would ex- empt the E:dison-SDG&E merger from scruti11y on anti-trust grounds. The overall measure, introduced by Assemblvman Lloyd Connelly, D- Sacramentc, would once again man- date that bJSiness mergers be auto- matically evaluated on anti-trust grounds. Astate Supreme Court deci- sion last year specifically exempted mergers fr,)m the broad-based Cali- fornia laws governing anti-competi- tive acts. Fellmetb said the court's decision "jeopardires California's free en-

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By Charles W. Ross

Staff Vmler / An Assembly bill that would re- quire the Ed1son-SDG&E merger to automatically face scril'ttlfy on anti- trust grounds IS likely to be approved next week by a Senate committee, Assemblywoman Lucy Killea, D-San Diego. said yesterday. The bill's fate in the Senate, how- ever, is uncertain, said the lawmak- er, who noted that Southern Califor- nia Edison lobbyists are conducting an all-out effort to defeat the bill, AB-671. Edison has contended the measure is not necessary because the state Public Utilities Commission is evalu- ating whether creation of the na- tion's largest utility would negative- ly impact competition among utili- ties in the Southwest. At a news conference on a down- town sidewalk, Killea said the poten- ,

JUL 19 1989

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si:pt. Widely exhibited° •: • and ammal studies executed in acrylic or oil pastel will be featured. The gallery is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 P-1!1· and is free and open to the public. For more informai- ton, call gallery director Therese Whitcomb at 260-4600, x4261. M1~west, C_hick's figurati"

&m Diego, CA. (San Diego Co.) San Diego Union (Cir. D. 217,089) (Cir. S. 341,840) - 1989

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Both sides on · ssue ee ul ·mate victory ;;?, By Li'a Petrillo rr Wr11 r

doing to keep abortion legal and un- restricted. Hampton and Thoene, who heads the American Civil Liber- ties Union at University of San Diego Law School, were among those who attended. Later, in the evening, an estimated 500 pro-choice demonstrators picket- ed in front of the federal building downtown, carrying balloons, banners and placards condemning the high court decision. Ahalf-0ozen police officers stood by, observing things at close hand, but otherwise had nothing else to do. Mark Sala, executive director of Planned Parenthood, likened the court decision to that of the Supreme Court decision in the Dred Scott case of 1857, which said that blacks could not be American citizens. "That was the las time the Su- preme Court turned back a funda- mental right," Sala said. "That also involved a Missouri case and a politi- cized Supreme Court." Yesterday's ruling upheld a Miss- ouri law co-written by that state's pro-life lobby, and basically allows states to stop public funding of abor- tions for the poor and to restrict abortions and counseling in publicly funded hospitals and clinics. The ruling has little immediate ef- fect in California, where abortions in the first two trimesters of pregnancy are legal, but that could change should anti-abortion activists push through legislation to limit the pro- cedure. Amoderate in the abortion debate in San Diego, the Rev. Joan Pettis, said yesterday that she believes the court decision attacks the poor and mostly restricts poor women who cannot afford abortions. "Most of us abhor the idea of abor- tion as birth control, but we are very frightened that someone other than the woman is making that decision of when and if she will give birth," said

"The Supreme Court has thrown down the gauntlet. This is war," de- clared local feminist Gayle Thorne after the U.S. high court ruling yes- terday relinquishing some control over abortion rights to state legisla- tors. Local abortion activISts, defeated in the key legal battle, sought to turn 1t into a rallying cry, holding two public demonstrations yesterday, while their opponents held one. ''Fear is a great mobilizer," said Sylvia Hampton, an abortion rights advocate. "Now you'll be seeing the silent majority that has always fa. vored the right to choose, but never really did anythmg about it until the wolf was at their door." Local anti-abortion leaders on the other hand, hailed the high court's ruling, and quickly staged a demon- stration at a La Mesa clinic that pro- vides abortions. "This is truly a historic moment. The fact that it's in the hands of the states is a great advantage for us," said Operation Rescue member Angela Phelp of El Cajon, who has been arrested for blocking entrances to clini that provide abortions. "The fight is on in California.'' To punctuate group leaders' re- Ive to never stop protesting, Oper- ation Rescue staged a demonstration at noon at the Family Planning Asso- ciates Medical Group office in La Mesa. Eight people were arrested for blocking the clime entrance. "We must continue what we are domg," said Joan Patton of the Right to Life Council of San Diego County. Pro-choice activist yesterday mounted a p h of their own to get the attention of legislators who may now be deciding the abortion issue. FJI'it, a dozen local pro-choice ead rs held a news conference to ex- lain what their groups would be

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The San Diego Union/Barry Fitzsimmons

Women hold a candlelight vigil in downtown San Diego yesterday after the Supreme Court's abortion ruling.

That could affect San Diego Coun- ty because it receives state and fed- eral funds to administer public health programs and oversee medi- cal treatment services to the poor, including abortion. Leon Williams, chairman of the county Board of Supervisors, said he personally favors a woman's right to choose whether to have an abortion. He is studying the decision and the next three abortion cases before the court, he said, because further re- strictions to abortion could leave this county and all governments footing the bill for caring for all the addi- tional births. Su.ff writers Gregory Gross, Rex Daltoa, Geltge Fl}'l111 and Suzette Parmley also contributed to this story.

the Missouri law that declares the life of each human being begins at tonception. What also concerns both Grobstein and pro-choice leaders is that if •abortion is banned at tax-supported institutions, such as a major hospital like UCSD Medical Center, then med- ical students might not get training in safe abortion techniques and how to handle post-abortion complica- tions. While abortion techniques have improved to the point where the pro- cedure is considered routine, re- search in reproductive medicine re- search could slow down because of restrictions authorized by the court, said Grobstein, author of "Science and the Unborn."

"They just don't have the courage, so instead they will backpedal," . Fellmeth said. UCSD biologist Clifford Grobstein, an expert on reproductive medical issues, shook his head in wonderment at the medical wisdom of the high court's decision. Yesterday's Missouri decision calls for doctors to perform "viability tests" on women seeking abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, to see if the fetus is formed enough to live outside the womb. The lungs of developing fetuses have not matured sufficiently by 20 weeks to be kept alive, Grobstein said, so "we will need an entirely dif- ferent technology than the one in use now." Grobstein also had criticism for

Pettis, who will be holding a prayer vigil at her Lemon Grove Congrega- tional United Church of Christ to pro- test the Missouri decision. USD law Professor Robert Fellmeth called the high court deci- sion "hypocrisy." ''Either this (abortion) is a funda- mental right, or it's not," Fellmeth said. '.'If this was a basic right, you don't let anyone mince around with it, you don't let Arkansas say parents have to consent, or Missouri say pub- lic funding can't be used." In Fellmeth's view, the new con- servative court, reshaped by the anti-abortion Reagan administration, obviously wants to overturn the con- troversial 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision that declared abortion a constitution- ally guaranteed right of privacy.

JUL 1 - \989

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