The Wave (Port Lavaca, Tex.), Vol. 98, No. 161, Ed. 1 Monday, May 15, 1989 Page: 1 of 11
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1 j< Port Lavaca
1 HE WAVE
Monday
35<
May 15, 1989
The family newspaper of dynamic Calhoun County!
Vol. 98, No. 161
Port Lavaca, TX
USPS-438-780
8 Pages, 1 Section
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hospital site
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as
School Finance
Gambling
AIDS
Workers Compensation
Prison Reform
INDEX
Caperton says
PWD
TIDES
4
I
t
l
F
Court accepts
Alcoa Drive
imed up
spective
ons and
er Sun-
Eastern
ell and
that we
center
here is
can do
icarry-
laying
e more
shoul-
e work
head,”
L I’ve
ints as
and of
3 romp
pks in
ayoff
■ the
last
led .
been meeting sporadically to
resolve their differences.
Budget negotiators had set
Monday as the deadline to fin-
ish their plan.
A smorgasbord of other
issues is awaiting attention
between now and adjournment
on May 29, including:
Program. Other members of the subcommittee present at the
hearing are Chairman Henry Nowak of New York, Rep. Arlan
Strangeland of Minnesota and Rep. Jimmy Hayers of Louisiana.
Strangeland is the ranking republican on the subcommittee. The
hearing is being held in the Bauer Community Center.(Staff
photo by Abel Mayorga).
A master plan to overhaul the
state’s criminal justice system,
The weekend high was 89
with a low of 72. The Wave
recorded .04 inches of rain-
fal this morning.
Sunset 8:04 Monday
Sunrise: 656 Tuesday.
6-7
._5
_2
„4
„2
__3
..8
68
pnfer
Bulls
nicks,
three
[geles
West
dging
p7 95.
Voters in 1987 authorized
pari-mutuel horse and dog race
gambling for the first time in 50
years. The Racing Commission
has been licensing tracks, and
promoters say small-scale rac-
ing will begin this fail.
But no one sought licenses
for the Class 1, Kentucky Derby-
style tracks in the Dallas-Fort
Worth and San Antonio areas,
and Sen. O.H. “Ike” Harris says
he knows why. He says the state
gets too much in taxes for the
big tracks to be profitable.
Harris, R Dallas, has intro-
duced a bill to lower the state's
share of money wagered — cur-
rently 5 cents out of each dollar.
Harris proposes a sliding scale
beginning at 1 cent and rising to
a nickel when a track handles
$500 million in wagers.
It’s a controversial plan.
Gambling opponents said rac-
ing backers promised not to try
this when the law was written
and now are going back on their
word before the first horse has
even left the gate.
A massive lawsuit against the
state by poor school districts
had legislators talking in wor-
ried tones about how to equal
ize state funding to all
LlOOplus districts statewide.
A lower court found the cur-
rent system unconstitutional,
but an appeals court sided with
the state. The Texas Supreme
Court hasn’t made up its mind.
Both the House and Senate
have approved $500 million
plans as a start. A representa
tive of poor districts called that
“survival money."
Differences in the two ver-
sions must be resolved.
AUSTIN (AP) — If Goy. Bill
Clements stands by his veto
pledge of a cigarette tax
increase then an education
program Clements has prop-
osed may not get funded,
budget leaders say.
On Sunday, Sen. Kent Caper-
ton mentioned Clements' edu-
cational excellence program as
one that may’ have a difficult
time competing for budget dol-
lars with other state needs.
But Caperton, chairman of
the Senate budget negotiators,
said he was not trying to target
the governor’s initiatives.
"I don’t thinkthat kindofcon-
frontational approach is going
to work.” said Caperton, Il-
Bryan
But he added. “We have a
duty to articulate what our
needs are and what needs will
be unmet if we don’t take
advantage of revenue that is
easily within our grasp.’
Clements has stated there is
enough available revenue to
compose a state budget for the
199091 biennium, and that he
would veto a cigarette tax
increase.
Both the House and Senate
have passed proposed budgets.
Thought for the day: "Art is
science in the flesh “ —Jean
Cocteau
Classified —
Comics ——
Deaths......—
Editorial-----
Police beat.-
Society—
Sports............
Wavelengths
is hand
icago’s
to what
lied a
had 15
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oach
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biot -.
18 on
Id 11
&
hearing
is tonight
VICTORIA — A public hear
ing on proposed new fishing
and hunting regulations will be
leld by the Texas Parks and
Wildlife Department at 7 p.m
Monday.
The department is asking the
Parks and Wildlife Commission
to impose a limit of one shark
per day on both recreational
and commercial fishermen
effective September 1.
The regulation is being prop
osed at the request of the Gulf
of Mexico Fishery Management
Council to reduce the taking of
sharks while federal regula
tions are being developed.
The hearing will be followed
by another public hearing on
the Welder Flats Coastal Pre
serve in Calhoun County.
The meetings will be held at
the Town Plaza Mall in
Victoria.
Late night and early morn-
ing clouds with continued
chances rain and thurnder-
storms. Highs in the mid 80s
with a low in the upper-60».
Southeast winds near 10
mph.
The extended forecast for
the upper Texas coast from
Port Arthur to Port O'Connor
calls for southeast and south
winds near 10 knots. Seas 3 to
5 feet
om
[in
Da
ick
95
Lows at 12:55 a.m. and 10:15
a m. on Tuesday.
WEATHER
)5
iree
L.ak-
ttle
Jffs,
the
iree
:ers
the
.ak-
in.
the
the
re a
on
aft-
ers
alf
inc lading construction of24,000
more prison beds, has been
OK’d by the House. The Senate
still is looking at its version.
One controversy, whether to
pay for the construction with
cash or sell state bonds to
finance the work.
J
The problem of workers’
compensation is so knotty, a
special session was predicted
even before the regular session
began. Extra innings still may
be needed.
The House passed an over-
haul to the system of compen-
sating workers injured or killed
in job-related incidents. The
bill has widespread business
support.
A Senate subcommittee last
week approved a substitute on
a 4-3 vote, indicating it will face
stiff opposition on the Senate
floor.
Major disagreements center
on how to compensate injured
workers and resolve disputed
claims.
Business wants to keep work-
ers from taking their cases to a
jury. Labor and lawyers who
night as
veep.
er, will
overing
repair
| played
before
floor on
ave the
cen left
and Lar-
ged left
DALLAS (AP) — Hourly
workers of GTE Southwest Inc.
are ready to strike if a contract
agreement isn’t reached by
midnight, a union leader says.
GTE Southwest’s 7,000 hourly
workers are represented by
Local 6171 of the Coinmunica
tions Workers of America,
which is meeting with company
officials in San Angelo.
In a vote taken during the last
month, workers by a 5 to l mar
gin gave strike authorization,
said Ben Turn, chairman of the
local’s bargaining committee.
Before a strike can begin, the
local must receive the approval
of CWA’s board.
A GTE official doesn’t think
the employees will strike even
if an agreement is not reached
by midnight,
“As far as we know, there are
no problems there," said Rex
Timms, vice president for publ-
ic affairs for GTE Southwest.
He called the strike vote a "rou
appraisal of seven proposed
sites for the advisory
committee
Mikula told the Wave today
that he was concerned about
the location of the proposed
overpass of Highway 35 and
where would begin and where
it would end.
Mikula also said Schimdt
said the donated site was 20
acres, not 15 acres as shown on
the report presented to the
court Mikula said he suggested
to Schimdt that a proposed
access road from the rear of the
site that will join Highway 35 be
extended to join Highway 87.
Following the recess, the
vote was retaken and Mikula
changed his vote to the
affirmative.
Prior to the vote, a report pre-
pared by the citizens advisory
committee chaired by Michael
Hynes by approved by the MMC
board was presented to the
court.
Mikula expressed concern
that the estimates for another
donated site on Independence
Drive. “I wanted to clarify (with
Schmidt) the feasiblity figures
for the development cost on
Independence Drive. I felt and
still feel that the figures were
inflated."
Mikula said that the cost of
some work that didn’t need to
be done was included in the
estimate of ths Independence
Drive site.
Mikula said that the cost of
the Independence site should
not have included the widening
of Independence Drive nor
work to be done on FM 1000.
The total cost of the Indepen-
dence Drive site should have
been around $176,000, instead
of the $791,000 presented.
“When it gets down to tax dol-
lars," Mikula said. “Indepen-
dence Drive costs $176,000 and
Alcoa came in at $95,000 "
Mikula said that the site on
Alcoa Drive was not the origi-
nal site on Alcoa Drive that he
had seen.
“If it had not been for the
leverage of the donated site on
Independence Drive, we might
not have gotten the Alcoa Drive
site donated," he said.
Budget hangs
on smoke taxes
on
The Calhoun County Commis-
sioners Court accepted the
recommendation of the Memor-
ial Medical Center board of
trustees and a citizens advisory
committee that a proposed new
county hospital be built on
Alcoa Drive between U.S. High-
way 87 and the First Assembly
of God Church.
The court voted 3-1 in favor of
the action with commissioner
Roy Smith casting the dissent-
ing vote.
Their action also authorized
County Judge Alex Hernandez
to sign all legal documents
required to complete the dona-
tion of 10 acres each by the Wil-
let Wilson and Roy Cullen
Estates.
An earlier poll indicated the
court was hung 2-2. Smith asked
that the recommendation be
tabled for further study but
commissioner Stanley Mikula
announced his readiness to
take a second poll if the court
would first take a 15-minute
recess.
During the recess, Mikula
conferred with Tom Schmidt of
Urban Engineering in Victoria,
who prepared an engineering
session nears end
After numerous public pro-
tests, including one that drew
15,000 people to the Capitol,
legislation to provide more
money for treatment and edu-
cation programs on the deadly
disease remains pending.
Budget negotiators last week
angered AIDS activists by vot-
ing to cut AIDS spending below
the level approved by eitherthe
House or Senate.
“In an effort to not be seen as
(See MAJOR. Page 2)
Wetlands hearing
Members of the Water Resources Subcommittee of the House
Committee on Public Works and Transportation began taking
public testimony on shoreline erosion and wetlands loss prob-
lems on the Texas Gulf Coast Monday morning. U. S. Rep. Greg
Laughlin(D-Bay City), a member of the subcommittee, arranged
the hearing with representatives of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Soil Conservation Service and the Sea Grant Extension
GTE employees
approve walkout
tine procedure” and said he
expects the employees will con-
tinue to work under the existing
three-year contract
Turn did not release vote tot-
als, but said the “overwhelming
support of the membership ...
shows a willingness on their
part not to accept the conces
sionary dexands the company is
seeking."
The union covers all of the
company’s non management
workers, including installers,
cable splicers, line workers,
operators and clerical workers
in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mex
ico and Arkansas.
Timms said phone service to
GTE Southwest's one million
customers in Texas would not
be affected by a strike. Manage
ment employees would fill in
for hourly workers, he told the
Dallas Times Herald.
GTE Southwest workers last
went on strike in 1980, staying
off their jobs for 26 days.
and a conference committee
has been negotiating on the
final spending plan to total
more than $46.5 billion for the
next two years.
But legislative leaders say
they still find themselves $300
million to $600 million short of
paying for all needed services.
To help bridge that gap, law-
makers have discussed increas-
ing the cigarette tax by 7 cents,
from 26 cents per package of
cigarettes to 33 cents. That
increase would bring in $166
million in state revenue and
$274 million in federal ftinds.
“With the cigarette tax we
can have a budget we cam be
proud of. Without it we have a
budget we can tolerate,” Caper-
ton said.
Caperton said without the
additional cigarette tax. gener-
al tax handing of other neces
sary programs, such as higher
education, public education,
and prisons, will have to be
shaved.
“The bottom line is that we
are not going to be able to write
a budget that will really keep us
moving forward without some
extra revenue." Caperton said.
(See BUDGET. Page 2)
represent injured workers say
a jury (rial Is a fundamental
right. They also want stricter
job-safety provisions.
Major issues unresolved
AUSTIN (AP) -r The Legisla-
ture returns Monday for the last
two weeks of its regular session
with much business unfinished,
including the one bill it must
pass to keep state government
running.
Of the thousands of bills
introduced since lawmakers
first met in January, most of the
biggest issues remain
unresolved.
They will be become law or
die in a final rush to adjourn-
ment that will feature a vote-
taking frenzy bordering on
tradition in the Texas Capitol.
Heading the list of work
remaining is final passage of a
1990-91 state budget, the one
thing lawmakers must do so
state agencies can be ftinded
for the next two years.
Although the end is nearing,
the 1989 Legislature is in better
shape on the budget than it was
in 1987, when the 14Oday time
limit expired without passage
of a spending plan. That had to
be done in a July special
session.
Thisyear, both the House and
Senate have passed budgets —
totaling $46.5 billion and $46.75
billion respectively — and a
conference committee has
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Surber, Chester C. & Fortney, Paul, Jr. The Wave (Port Lavaca, Tex.), Vol. 98, No. 161, Ed. 1 Monday, May 15, 1989, newspaper, May 15, 1989; Port Lavaca, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1298329/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Calhoun County Public Library.