Port Lavaca Wave (Port Lavaca, Tex.), Vol. 96, No. 175, Ed. 1 Tuesday, March 31, 1987 Page: 4 of 14
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CHESTER C. SURBER
Editor and Publisher
Port Layaca Wave
Eltabhdwd 1890
Published each afternoon except
Christmas Day, Monday thru Friday
by Port Lavaca Wave, Inc.
301 S. Colorado. P O Box 88
Port Lavaca, Texas 77979 0088
Telephone (512) 552 9788
page 4 Port Lavaca Wave. Tuesday, Mar. 31. 1987
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there is one. more difficult to solve
The demand for federal action
against radon can ultimately lie
traced to a belief, power in en-
vironmental circles, that the tederal
government should seek to creat,
regardless of cost, a society in which
there are no risks Such a society is
thought to Im* possible based on
man’s ability to control nature and
trend it to his ends
1966
Sacond claw pottag* paid
at Port Lavaca, Taxaa.
Dahvwed by carrier;
(In araa with city aalat tax)
1 month $3 61 1 yaar $39 74
(In araa without city aalaa tax)
1 month $3.58 1 yaar $39 37
Delivarad by mail:
3 month* $15 62 6 month* $31.24;
1 yaar $57.27.
Out ot Stat* Mail Subacription*
3 month* $14 70 6 month* $29.40.
1 yaar $63 90
Subscription* includa applicable tala*
tax** and ar* payabla in advanca
Sala* tax doaa not apply to mail
•ubscription* going out ol ftata.
granted political asylum
Reagan administration could be
forced to reopen cases in which
asylum has been denied
Also, there are about 11.000 new
asylum cases that must be con-
sidered by the government each
year Add those to the number of
cases that could conceivably be
reopened and the problem takes on
much greater magnitude
Any way the problem of political
asylum is examined, the end result
is to base a conclusion on guess
work No one can tell for sure how a
foreign government will react
against citizens who leave their
native land and have to return
It is understandable, however,
that refugees harbor deep seated
fear about their face at the hands of
a government that has little or not
egard for human rights
Yet the fedearl Environmental
Protection Agency does nothing
about this national danger
some kind of toxic waste’’ No. 1
speak of water, in txxiies large
enough for people to drown, as more
than 5.000 people do in this country
each year
An absurd complaint’’ Only if the
EPA’s recent romance wiht radon is
absurd Eor like water most radon,
a radioactive gas, occurs naturally
Only a small part of the current
radon "crisis" is prompted by a con
cern over radioactive wastes Most
of the time, radon is found in
harmless concentrations in the air
But just as water becomes potential
ly dangerous when we choose to do
certain things in it or with it. so the
possibility of harmful exposure to
radon arises when we make certain
Refugees seeking political asylum
in the United States may henceforth
find it easier to remain here, accor
ding to the latest ruling in such cases
by the Supreme Court
By a 6-3 vote in a case involving a
Nicaraguan woman living in
Nevada, the court interpreted a I960
taw to mean that aliens seeking
political asylum are only required to
show a "well founded fear" they
would be prosecuted in their native
land
Government attorneys argued
that aliens must show a "clear pro-
; bability’ prosecution would occur
; The justices rejected that premise
.’ and substituted "well founded
! fear."
! There is a strong probability the
ruling will have a dramatic effect in
the future on the number of
Nicaraguans and Salvadorans
days
The Senate filed its objection within
the 30-day period
On Eeb 4. 1987, the House followed
suit However, officially, this was 31
days after President Reagan sent in
his recommendation
Members of Congress could now go
back to their constituents and say
they voted against the increase But it
still went into effect because the vote
did not come within the statutory 30
days
It seemed that Congress had found
a way to have its cake and eat it too
However, a group of congressmen,
consumer advocates — including
Ralph Nader and conservative or-
ganizations has filed suit contending
that Congress is counting incorrectly
million housing units
"The goal of having a home and
suitable living environment tor every
‘"""'y is part of America s psyche
says Census Bureau Director John G
Keane The United States can right
fully take pride in being among the
world's leaders in providing safe and
reasonably priced housing for its
people."
In Massachusetts, however, advo-
cacy groups for the poor offer com
pelhng evidence that "reasonably
priced housing" is not available to un
counted thousands of people
In a 1985 civil suit, those organiza-
tions noted that one of Massachusetts'
basic welfare statutes (enacted in
1913. when impoverished widows of-
ten were forced to surrender their
homeless, says Dorothy Stevens children to orphanages) requires that
president of the Massachusetts Coali-
tion for Basic Human Needs
5r
__,
require his agency to oversee
the lottery, if it is legalized.
"The idea is foreign to ns, and
frankly, we’ve got our hands
full with our current tasks.”
For emergency purposes, the
lottery seems dead, although
time remains to pass it for
long term revenue goals
But the radon case suggests (hat
some in the EPA need to rethink how
far they want to pursue the goal ot
protecting man from nature Just as
it would be ludicrous to have a na
tional policy to fence ponds because
people drown in them, so the bias in
favor of zero-risk and the complete
control of nature undermines
serious debate over inqiortant en-
vironmental issues
To make the creation ot a zero-risk
society the goal of the federal
bureaucracy would Im- utopian and
dangerous, and it is fortunate that
despite internal and external
pressures that push the EPA in the
direction, it does not always act with
such a questionable result in view
But the credibility ol the federal role
in environmental protection will not
Im- enhanced by th*- actions taken in
the radon case The EPA will always
be open to such galles until it and the
public gain a clearer perspective on
what its broadest goals have been in
the past and should t>e in th** future
Every year, it kills thousands of
Americans Acting quickly, often
without warning, this substance
takes the lives of young and old
alike Some local governments do
their best to deal with the largest
threats, but the trained personnel
and round-the-clock vigilance re-
quired for complete safety are
beyond their means Despite the fact
that is can be found in one form or
another in every state of the union,
our lawmakers have been nearly
oblivious to its dangers, at most
passing measures to try to rescue
those already endangered
Under a revised formula families
living in private housing would re-
ceive AFDC payments ranging from
$864 to $926 per month while fam
dies living in public housing would get
$645 monthl
Grabau s ruling is being appealed
by the state w hich continues to pay
$1 940 per month for each of 500
homeless families temporarily'
housed in hotels and motels
Meanwhile Hazel Word continues
to search for an apartment to house
her homeless family When the kids
ask me when we re going to move into
an apartment. Um speechless, she
says I get so tired of walking
She adds You know w hat 1 dream
about' About cooking dinner at home
for my kids
BOSTON (NEA) - If the United
States now boasts of having 100 mil-
lion housing units, why can t Hazel
Word find a suitable, affordable
apartment for herself and her three
young children’’
Because her family, like thousands
of others throughout the country, re-
lies upon the federal-state welfare
system for its income — but the
monthly checks are grossly made-
up such chjld or children properly in
his or her own home
An unemployed single parent with
two children in Massachusetts (where
welfare benefits are more generous
than in many other states) qualifies
for $476 to $491 in monthly payments
under Aid to Families with Dependent
Children, the most popular public as
sistance program The working
poor" earning the minimum wage re-
ceive $576 in gross pay per month
before taxes
That income must cover not only
housing but also food, clothing, car-
fare. heat, electricity, laundry school
supplies and other household
expenses
The average monthly rent for a
two-bedroom apartment is $800 in the
Boston metropolitan area and $700
elsewhere in the state substantially
more than either a monthly welfare
payment or a low wage salary check
In a landmark decision early this
year, Superior Court Judge Charles
M Grabau held that the state must
comply with the 1913 law by estab-
lishing a new standard for welfare
payments that will enable homeless
people to afford shelter (Similar law
suits are pending in New York Cali-
fornia. Colorado. Wyoming and other
states)
Congress from increasing its own
salary
The amendment says that a salary
raise approved by Congress shall not
take effect until an election of repre
sentatives shall have intervened
This would mean that this year's in-
crease would not be effective until af-
ter the 1988 elections
The amendment was never ratified
by enough states But it was never re-
scinded either In fact, last year the
state of Utah became the 21st state to
approve it Approval by 38 of the 50
states is necessary for ratification
Nader and others are now urging
the remaining states to resume the
ratification process Last week the
measure was introduced into the Ne
vada legislature Legislators in sever-
al other states say they plan to do
likewise
GEORGIA HRDLICKA
Advertising Director,
General Manager
GARY FULGHUM-
Managing Editor
RICK WELCH-
Staff Photographer
CATHY WALL-
Classified Manager
DENNIS BURGART
Sports Editor
CAROLINE GRANAT0--
Circulation Manager
EDWARD HAWTHORNE JR -
Pressroom Foreman
Th* Aaaociatad Prw* t* antitlad
exclusively to the u*e for republication
of all the local news printed in thia
new*paper a* well a* all AP new*
dupatcha*
jeeted. arguing that, given the size of
the deficit, it was incorrect to in-
crease their salaries from $72,000 to
$84,000
Here's where the matter gets com
plicated Under the pay law. when the
president makes his recommendation
to Congress it automatically goes
into effect if both the House and Sen
ate do not formally object within 30
question that has no simple answer
The 20th Amendment to the Consti-
tution says that "Congress shall as-
semble on the 3rd of January unless
they shall appoint by law a different
day ” When the House adjourned last
fall, it appointed Jan 6 as the day to
reconvene
A spokesman for the legal counsel s
office of the House declined to com-
ment on the suit’s merits, saying it is
an issue the courts will have to decide
Most agree, however, that the suit
is far from frivolous
The way the pay raise was handled
this year has revived a 200-hundred
year-old debate over whether Con-
gress should be able to increase its
pay
On Sept 25. 1787, Congress ap
proved a constitutional amendment,
authored by James Madison, barring
___. lit
Lottery Teetering
Earlier, hopes had been
raised that the prisons could
be built with state lottery rev-
enues, if the Legislature could
hurry up and propose a con-
stitutional amendment
voters to approve.
Then Comptroller Bob Bul-
lock reminded lawmakers they
had until April 1 to pass the
issue if they want the rev-
enues to be spent in the 1988-
89 budget. That’s the latest
date to hold a constitutional
election within the current
session.
But House memliers led by
Tyler Rep. David Hudson
said they had 70 votes, enough
to kill the lottery in the House.
“The lottery is a dead skunk
in the middle of the road,”
Hudson said.
Bullock also wrote law-
makers to advise them not to
AUSTIN—At a certain
stage, the legislative session
resembles a passle of freight
trains hell-bent on a collision
course, driven by engineers
determined not to give an
inch.
Lawmakers reached
stage last week. Why?
Overcrowded Texas prisons
closed their doors again last
week for the umpteenth time,
the Texas crime rate was re-
ported up 15 percent, and
federal authorities stayed twe
death penalties here. And all
the while, Texas faces a fed-
eral court order for not solv-
ing a prison problem that has
lingered for years.
On top of that, the State
Treasurer warns on a weekly
basis that state checks will
start bouncing in the fall un-
less taxes are raised.
And still, half-way through
the session the legislative
leadership isn’t close to agree-
ment on how to solve the pris-
on problem or fiscal deficit.
But just as the freight
trains seem to avoid collision
at the last minute, perhaps
this Legislature will too, for
the leadership is proving flexi-
ble. They just don’t agree.
I-atest Prison Solution
Governor Rill Clements al-
tered his opposition to new
taxes to support a proposal to
let voters decide whether they
want to bear a $750 million
sales tax hike dedicated to
new prisons.
Did Congress approve or bar its big pay hike?
® ® ......... ,l .u- _____..__.L-. u„._______i..________ Cnnurou from increasing its own
WASHINGTON (NEA) - By regis-
tering an essentially meaningless
vote against proposed federal pay
hikes after a 30-day limit had elapsed
House members were able to tell
their constituencies that they voted
against the raises while at the same
time allowing the increases to go
through
But now an "anti-raise" group has
filed suit contending that the vote to
block the raise actually came within
the 30-day limit
When President Reagan sent
through his budget recommendations,
he proposed increases amounting to
$12,000 annually for members of Con
gress and slightly less for bureaucrats
and judges
But many members of Congress ob-
[jw
It claims that the vote to block the
raise did come within the 30-day
limit
On Jan 5. the day the salary recom-
mendation went to the Hill, the House
had not yet reconvened for the 100th
Congress That did not happen until
Jan 6. the next day Thus, the salary
opponents argue, since the House hail
not reconvened on Jan 5. there was
no Congress in existence to receive
the recommendation That did not
happen until Jan 6
Because the "clock" on the salary
recommendation did not start run-
ning until Jan 6. the argument contin
ues. the House vote to block the in-
crease on Feb 5 was actually on the
30th day. not the 31st. and thus was
within the statutory period
Congressional parliamentary ex-
perts say the suit raises an interesting
• Attorney General Jim
Mattox was asked to probe
the case of Death Row inmate
Clarence Brandley, accused of
killing a student, after new
testimony came to light.
• Two rival state govern-
ment groups joined forces
seeking pay raises and bene-
fit increases, saying state em-
ployees have sacrificed more
than their share in meeting
the fiscal crisis.
• The feds okayed the
merger of Texas Commerce
Bancshares and Chemical New
York Corp., the first major
merger under the new Texas
interstate banking law.
• Ellen Garwood, the wid-
ow of a former Texas Su-
preme Court justice, is listed
as a top contributor, $2.5
million, to the group that fun-
neled money to Nicaraguan
contras via White House aide
Oliver North.
choices Prominent among these are
living in well-insulated and poorly
ventilated houses and smoking Is
federal action required to respond to
these choices?
Atmospheric radon is estimated to
cause up to 20,000 deaths per year
due to lung cancer, atxiut tour times
the number of deaths by drowning
Is the difference enough to make the
one a federal case and not the other'’
Al best this distinction is callous, but
it is undermined by the fact that lhe
EPA also seeks to eliminate all
naturally occurring radon from
drinking water simply because it is
estimated that in this form radon
causes as many as 730 deaths per
year
Another argument for EPA in
tervention in the case of radon is no
more compelling than one that could
tie made for a federal anti-drowning
program Both "problems" exist ail
over the country The temptation to
confuse situations that are
widespread with problems that de-
mand the ciMirdinating action ot the
federal government is a powerful
one these days, but one worth
resisting
Concern about radon should pro
nipt people to buy ventilation Ians,
not write their congressmen To de
mand that lhe federal government
"take the lead," as many en
vironmental groups and state en
vironmental agencies are doing, is
to make th*- problem, to lhe extent
Clements said he wouldn’t
mind letting citizens vote on
all tax issues, reviving the
initiative and referendum
issue
But Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby,
who dislikes both dedicated
funds and l&R, killed it in the
Senate, and then warned that
checks definitely will bounce
soon, unless $2.5 billion is
raised.
At the same time, the Census Bu
_____ ______ reau in Washington proudly pro-
quate compared with the cost of rent- claims that the country now has 100
al housing
In recent years, an increasing pro-
portion of the nation's poor — includ-
ing many who work — have become family
homeless because the low-income
housing they once relied upon has
been demolished by real estate pro-
moters with plans for more lucrative
developments
Rooming houses are always first
to be plucked off by developers
They've been decimated." says Kath
erine Mainzer, executive director ot
the Massachusetts Coalition for the
Homeless The number of rooming
houses in Boston s South End has
shriveled from 25,000 in 1950 to 250
today, she adds
There are two-parent families out
there earning $20,000 a year who are
The Senate
Texas Senators approved
and sent to the House mea-
sures to allow limited alimony
payments here for the first
time, to allow the state to con-
demn ingress-egress ease-
ments through private prop-
erty to get to state land, and
to repeal property taxes on
pleasure boats.
The alimony bill would al-
low judges to order alimony
payments in cases where a
marriage had lasted at least
10 years and one spouse had
no ready job skills because of
a homemaker role. Opponents
argued it opens the door to
sweeping payments.
The ingress-egress bill al-
lows the state or its lessees to
claim a road through private
land to landlocked state tracts.
The House
Speaker Lewis joined sup-
porters of a bill allowing
private citizens to carry hand-
guns, despite opposition from
lawmen But Lewis, who owns
a gun shop in Fort Worth,
said police officers are overre-
acting Only Texas bans car-
rying handguns.
If passed, citizens of sound
minds could carry guns every-
where except to school-
grounds, polling places, gov-
ernment offices, places that
sell alcohol, or while drinking
and driving.
The House also voted to al-
low prison guards to use
force against inmates for self-
defense or to prevent escape.
Other Highlights
• Amid continuing “Pony-
gate” rumors, Gov. Clements
denied he and other SMU of-
ficals knew of schemes to fix
grades or hire coeds to pro-
vide sexual favors to football
recruits.
• His UT regents nominee,
Louis Beercherl of Dallas, was
approved after he told the
nominations panel he did not
secure the post by promising
to oust chairman Jess Hay.
• U.S. Surgeon General C.
Everett Koop asked the legis-
lature to provide sex educa-
tion in schools to warn about
AIDS.
• l.and Commissioner Gar-
ry Mauro and his predecessor
Bob Armstrong said they will
go along with a U.S. Depart-
ment of Interior recommenda-
tion to add some 245,000 acres
to the Coastal Barrier Re-
sources Svstem.
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Surber, Chester C. & Fulghum, Gary. Port Lavaca Wave (Port Lavaca, Tex.), Vol. 96, No. 175, Ed. 1 Tuesday, March 31, 1987, newspaper, March 31, 1987; Port Lavaca, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1280585/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Calhoun County Public Library.