Category: Fall 2002 Newswire
Hill of Dreams: A Challenge 100 Years Standing
WASHINGTON, Oct. 30, 2002–A century after the Wright brothers set the world record of flying 120 feet in a heavier-than-air, powered aircraft, a retired commercial airplane pilot who has spent thousands of dollars of his own money is going to fly on a precisely reconstructed 1903 Wright Flyer at the same place and the same time of day– but only for 118 feet.
That is how he shows his respect for the pioneers of aviation history. That is how he shows the secrets and greatness of one of the most significant achievements in human history. And that is how the 63-year-old man shows the pleasure of old-fashioned handcrafting to children who will form the future’s history.
His workplace is too big to be called an atelier, but too small to be called a hangar. It might look like a farm warehouse, but there are no fields or gardens around.
Instead, stretching beside the factory in the autumnally tinted woods is a mowed, still green-colored short strip of grass alongside a pond.
Warrenton is a town of hills, 50 miles west of Washington, and quiet. So is Ken Hyde, a placid person, though his passion still remains as strong as it was when he was flying Boeing 727s for American Airlines.
“We have put a man on the moon, but we really have not built a Wright airplane and flown it successfully,” Hyde said. “We want to make sure we do it just the way they did it. We will know exactly how they were able to do it.”
Even for this expert pilot, who concluded his 33-year professional career in 1998, it is an unsolved mystery how the brothers’ first-ever-built aircraft with a 12-horsepower engine and two wooden propellers floated over Kill Devil Hills, N.C., on a winter day in 1903.
On December 17, 2003, Hyde is figuratively going to become the youngest brother of the Wrights by sharing the same experience.
Since 1992, when he founded the Wright Experience, an enterprise devoted to exploring the Wright brothers’ contribution to aeronautics, Hyde, his wife, Beverly, and his teammates have duplicated a few Wright kites and gliders, but not a powered flyer yet.
No one has ever been able to build a complete duplicate of the 1903 Flyer, Hyde said, because the brothers left almost no blueprints. Furthermore, the particular kind of muslin fabric that the brothers used to cover the surface of the wings is no longer manufactured.
It turned out to be more difficult, more time consuming and costlier than Hyde had expected for the small private team to carry out the reconstruction of the 1903 Flyer, Hyde recalled.
But as soon as the Ford Motor Company offered to sponsor the project in January 2000, the Wright Experience team jump-started its efforts, gathering photographs, sketches, notes, letters, books, research papers–every piece of information that could help in completing the huge jigsaw puzzle.
“The research to make sure we are doing it 100 percent authentic is the hardest part,” Hyde said. In terms of the materials, he said, “having the fabric made is probably the most difficult. We have finally found a manufacturer that would make a thread for us, and another one that would weave it.”
The team is getting ready to finish its work, and it hopes to have the plane completed in three months. The muslin cloth will be shipped to Hyde’s factory soon to be sewn by Beverly. And the engine, which is being made in Wisconsin, is coming soon to be fit into the already assembled hand-carved ribs and hand-shaped propellers.
Hyde said it was amazing that the brothers, who did not go to college, designed and shaped the propellers, which must have required knowledge of complicated trigonometry,.
The aircraft’s ribs are made of white ash, and the propellers and other key parts are made of spruce, the same materials the brothers used to make the 1903 Flyer.
The only difference is that Hyde uses advanced computer techniques and machinery, while there were no such useful instruments in the early 1900s.
“What the Wright brothers do for us is to teach us that you can do anything if you want to, no matter what your education level is,” Hyde said.
“I think the young people of today, future engineers, technicians and scientists, are lacking this type of motivation.”
When he was a child, Hyde recalled, he enjoyed tinkering like his father, who built a house himself and made a crystal radio out of a cigar box. Whenever the family took a drive on weekends, the father always ended up taking everyone near airports to see airplanes taking off and landing, which gradually inspired Hyde.
“If I can inspire the next Orville or Wilbur Wright of the future, I feel like I have given back to aviation what aviation gave to me,” he said.
Though Hyde’s replica of the 1903 Flyer is as authentic as it can be the distance the plane will fly on the anniversary won’t be.
“We are not out there to break their record,” Hyde said. “They flew 120 feet. We only want to fly 118 feet. All we want to do is to demonstrate what they did.”
Hyde would love to have questions from children. His e-mail address is kenwhyde@aol.com. For more details about his venture, visit http://www.wrightexperience.com.
The Anatomy of an Attack Ad
By Marty Toohey
WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2002--Grainy footage and unflattering photographs. Bold letters jarring a viewer's attention. A stern voice attacking a candidate's political record.
Attack advertising. It's a campaign technique that's proliferated over the past 20 years, and it's dominating the House race in the recently redrawn 5th District, a place where even beer and bikini babes are losing airtime to attacks on Republican Rep. Nancy Johnson and Democratic Rep. James Maloney.
Attack ads have furthered the perception that politics is a dirty game, but they have also proven an effective way to differentiate one candidate from another, most experts agree. But the ads work by distorting the issues and appealing to fear over intellect, and they create a population disenchanted with American politics, experts warn.
"The thing people need to remember is, these commercials are constructed very carefully, by very skilled people, to manipulate viewers' sensibilities and sell them a point of view," said Paul Petterson, chairman of the political science department at Central Connecticut State University. "Nothing in these ads is there by accident - every sound, every image is there to evoke a response."
The ads use some obvious techniques, like Johnson and Maloney accusing each other of gutting Social Security and forgetting the interests of the district.
"What's unfortunate is that a lot of these ads have no explanations," said Cindy White, professor of political communication at CCSU. "They're designed to give the average voter a very specific and neat peg to hang their vote on, like, 'Oh, that's the tax candidate.' They train us to think politics can be contained in a 30-second ad."
But attack ads also include subtle techniques, White said.
"When you see one of these ads, you see the worst possible photos while a voice attacks a candidate's record," she said. "Really, what they do is try to associate an ugly face with an ugly message.
"I saw an ad against Johnson with a photo that made her look like she had been up all night drinking," White continued. "And Maloney has been portrayed just as badly."
Appealing to fear is another technique commonly used, White and Petterson said.
That means ominous sound effects, threatening music and bold, shocking headlines. The color red frequently appears in attack advertisements; that color is used as "a red flag" that immediately puts viewers in an information-receiving mode, a mode in which they're a less discriminating audience, White said.
"They jar our attention, then use effects to bolster the notion that we can't trust this person or should even fear them," she said.
The ads are all about doing what it takes to differentiate a candidate from an opponent, Petterson said.
"What they're saying is, basically, 'I'm a good and decent person, while my opponent would try to sell you a broken car,'" he said. "I think in the case of Maloney and Johnson, their message has been lost in attack after attack after attack."
Despite the proven effectiveness of attack ads, first used on a large scale in the 1980 elections, Petterson and White warned that the ads can create disenfranchised and disgusted voters. Sometimes that's intentional and can favor a candidate; in the 5th District, that effect is probably unintended, White said.
"There is evidence linking attack ads to lower turnout," she said. "And my personal feeling, in talking with friends, co-workers and students, is that we're sick of them."
Published in The New Britain Herald, in Connecticut.
Port and Maritime Security Act Set to Pass in Congress
WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2002--The Maritime Transportation Antiterrorism Act of 2002, which its sponsors say would significantly improve security around the nation's ports, is set for final congressional approval when legislators return to Washington Nov. 12.
The bill, which has been stuck in a House-Senate conference committee since June, would integrate federal, state, local and private law enforcement agencies overseeing security at America's seaports. Much of the debate focused on how to fund the bill, which would authorize an estimated $1 billion in grants and programs through fiscal 2008.
Senate and House negotiators reached a tentative deal on the measure on Oct. 17 after Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee chairman Ernest F. Hollings (D-SC) dropped his insistence that a new cargo user fee or an extension of U.S. Customs Service tonnage duties fund the bill. Shippers and port authorities had opposed the Hollings plan, and the bill was held up for months until Hollings dropped his proposal.
The legislation would require the Coast Guard to work in conjunction with port authorities to develop terrorism response plans and establish local port security committees. It would also authorize $5.9 billion for Coast Guard operations in the current fiscal year.
"The bill has very important elements to it that gives the Coast Guard greater authority in protecting our ports and waterways," said Andrew Shinn, public affairs specialist for the First Coast Guard District in Boston.
It is not yet clear how the Coast Guard units in Newburyport and Gloucester, which mainly conduct maritime search and rescue efforts, would be integrated into the national port security efforts.
Dean Jones, public affairs officer for the First Coast Guard District, said specific policy information would not be known until the bill is approved. Jones said that since Sept. 11, 2001, all First Coast Guard District units have become "multi-mission capable" in order to conduct homeland security operations and that the new law would further improve their ability to protect Massachusetts's ports.
A spokesperson at Coast Guard headquarters in Washington declined to comment on pending legislation..
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) co-sponsored the Port Threat and Security Act, which was incorporated into the larger bill. It would direct the Secretary of Transportation to report to congressional committees on the activity of foreign ships in U.S. ports and on U.S. steps to improve registration procedures for all ships. It would also place sea marshals on vessels with potentially dangerous cargoes entering the United States.
"Our nation's ports and harbors our are first line of defense, and over 2 billion tons of freight move every day from our ports to all corners of our country via railways, highways and pipelines," Kerry said Oct. 23. "Even before Sept. 11 our maritime and port security was in sorry shape. However, the attacks on New York and Washington made it clear we must take immediate steps to secure our ports against any terrorist attacks."
If Congress approves the bill next month, it will be sent to President Bush, who is likely to sign it.. However, Congress may not decide how to fund the bill--either through regular appropriations or other legislation-until next year.
The House approved its version of the bill in early June, and the Senate acted last December.
The act would mandate for the first time that all ports, facilities and vessels have comprehensive security plans maintained by port authorities and the Coast Guard. It would also direct the Department of Transportation to institute maximum-security plans by conducting background checks of port employees, issuing transportation security identification cards and limiting access to security-sensitive areas.
The Coast Guard would be authorized to board ships entering U.S. ports to deter highjackings and other terrorist threats, as well as to check seafarers for proper identification and restrict firearms and other weapons at ports.
The American Association of Port Authorities, the alliance of leading ports in the Western Hemisphere, was one of the groups opposing the Hollings plan to tax the maritime industry. The group's president, Kurt Nagle, said he was pleased Congress had finally reached an agreement to pave the way for final passage next month.
"Enhancing seaport security is a top priority for U.S. ports today, and we look forward to partnering with the federal government to protect our international borders," Nagle said.
Federal authorities would have a better idea of how the Department of Transportation and the Coast Guard intend to implement the new maritime security measures once Bush signs the bill into law.
Published in The Newburyport Daily News, in Massachusetts.
Statistics Show New Hampshire Remains Safe
By Tia Carioli and Gregory Chisholm
WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2002--New Hampshire is the safest state in the country according to FBI statistics released Monday. However there is a glaring exception in the area of sexual assault.
NHPR Correspondent Tia Carioli reports from Washington.
New Hampshire is the 18th worst state in the US in terms of forcible rape. There were 458 reported rapes in 2001.
While these numbers are down from 2000 they are unusually high for a state that ranks as one of the safest in violent crimes.
Some experts believe that the rape numbers reflect the success of state outreach programs and law enforcement training to ensure that these crimes are reported.
Grace Mattern is the Executive Director of the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence:
New Hampshire does do a good job in bringing the different players to the table to collaborate and talk about what's the best way for us to come together to fully meet the needs of victims.
However, Nicole Tower of the YWCA in Manchester believes that only one quarter of rapes in New Hampshire go reported because she says the judicial system badgers rape victims. This, she says, creates no deterrence to the crime.
For NHPR news, this is Tia Carioli, In Washington.
Broadcast on New Hampshire Public Radio, in New Hampshire.
Of Helicopters, Pork, And An Age-Old Argument
By Marty Toohey
WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2002--It's only seven extra helicopters.
It's only $116.5 million in a $355 billion defense budget.
And it's seven extra choppers that the Army is delighted to have, especially with so much dysfunctional equipment and a war brewing.
But the inclusion in the military's budget of seven extra Black Hawk UH-60 helicopters, manufactured in Connecticut, is also the crystallization of an old argument between fiscal responsibility groups and policymakers - an argument about congressmen's power to send federal dollars to their home state, a power its critics derisively call pork barreling.
Whatever you call it, the result of an appropriations request made by Connecticut lawmakers on Capitol Hill is seven more helicopters than the Army requested in this year's budget, with the $116.5 million the choppers will cost going to Connecticut helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky, whose parent company, United Technologies Corp., contributes heavily to nearly every member of the state's delegation.
The Army calls the extra helicopters an unexpected bonus. The Connecticut delegation calls them a boost for national defense and the state economy. Watchdog groups call them pork from politicians to the companies that bankrolled their elections. Defense experts call them all of these things.
They also call it business as usual.
"This is pretty typical" and non-controversial, said Tom Donnelly, a defense analyst with the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank. "There is no doubt that the Connecticut delegation, and especially Senator (Joseph) Lieberman, have an influential voice in getting money for their home state. But at the same time, it's not like they made the Pentagon bend over and cry" for more helicopters.
Indeed not. In their budget request, the Army asked for 12 such helicopters, and receives about 10 to 15 of them annually, according to an official in the Army's force development department. The official also said the Army is 90 helicopters away from fulfilling a contract to purchase 1,680 Black Hawks.
Lieberman, a Democrat, requested the seven additional choppers in this year's budget, and with President Bush signing the military budget Wednesday, the Army this year will receive 19 of what Donnelly calls "one of the most useful tools they can have."
"This is really a good deal," said Army spokesman Major Rudy Burwell.
But one group crying out is Citizens Against Government Waste, a watchdog group that says it's ridiculous for Congress to spend more money than the military asks for.
"We have very smart people at the Pentagon to determine what we need to defend this country," said David Williams, vice president of policy for the organization. "I'm sorry, but members of Congress don't have that expertise."
Even more egregious, he said, was $3.29 billion appropriated for 15 C-17 Globemaster III cargo planes, which are constructed mainly in California. The military didn't request the planes, and the House didn't include them in its version of the defense budget. But California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, added the extra planes and the extra money for her state, Williams said.
Feinstein's office did not return calls for comment.
"It's trying to curry favor back home," Williams said. "This is money that could be used to raise the salaries of soldiers living on food stamps. It seems to me like their biggest concern is defending the interests of the state's businesses instead of the country."
But that's how these things work, defense experts say.
Donnelly said that sometimes, to keep its total requests down, the Pentagon will ask for less than it wants in areas where it has a sympathetic ear, such as Feinstein on the Appropriations Committee or Lieberman as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Airland Subcommittee.
"There's a certain ritual aspect to this," Donnelly said. "They might say, 'We'll only ask for a dozen Black Hawks because we know we could get more.' "
The extra helicopters seem to be a hit in military circles, including the Pentagon, which has given some brutal assessments of Army programs recently, like the canceled $11 billion Crusader mobile artillery system that Oklahoma's congressional delegation is still fuming about losing.
"We certainly haven't heard anything negative about the added helicopters" within the Defense Department, said Pentagon spokeswoman Susan Hansen, who deferred to the Army for an official statement but said, "We're certainly delighted with the president's budget."
In total, House appropriators added $619 million to the Pentagon's request, while their Senate counterparts added $768 million, some of which overlapped with the House bill. An additional $38.8 million was added in the conference between the two chambers. The defense appropriations bill - which included the Black Hawks - is $355 billion, and total defense spending increased $45.9 billion from last year's budget, including an average 4.1 percent raise for military personnel, well above the current inflation rate of about 1.5 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The other Pentagon spending bill that Bush signed Wednesday, the military construction appropriations bill, is $10.5 billion.
It's the largest military spending increase since President Reagan and the Star Wars ballistic missile defense program.
Lieberman and Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) aren't shy about touting the money headed to their state. A joint release from their offices details $15 billion in projects either mostly or entirely done in Connecticut, the bulk of which went to defense contractors Electric Boat, Pratt & Whitney, Goodrich and Sikorsky.
The 15 Globemaster IIIs were mentioned in the release because Pratt & Whitney, another United Technologies subsidiary, makes their engines.
The Connecticut delegation usually divvies up appropriations requests. A spokeswoman for Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-3), who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, said office policy is to not comment on appropriations requests, but also said, "Rosa fights hard for the Black Hawk."
Published in The New Britain Herald, in Connecticut.
Washington Speaks on Importance of N.H. Senate Race
WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2002--The New Hampshire Senate race between Rep. John E. Sununu (R-1st) and Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen "could make or break who controls the Senate," Jennifer Duffy, a political analyst for The Cook Political Report, said.
Because both the Senate and the House are so closely divided, Duffy said, not only the New Hampshire race but also other races around the country could be historic.
"This is the closest both the House and Senate have been since 1932, so it's really an election 70 years in the making," said Duffy, whose Washington-based publication is regarded as a key source on political contests. "This election is a true reflection of a 50-50 America."
However, the particular aggressiveness of the New Hampshire race is fairly typical of New England general elections, Duffy said, because the state doesn't hold its primary election until September.
National representatives of both political parties agree that the New Hampshire Senate race is one of the keys to control of the Senate.
"With the Senate so closely divided, every race in the country is important," Dan Allen, press secretary for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) said. "New Hampshire is important because we don't want to lose a seat already held by a Republican."
In addition to fundraising, the NRSC has been working with Sununu's campaign by running ads examining Shaheen's record and issues "where she's dropped the ball," Allen said.
"Our objective is to regain the majority so that the Senate will work with President Bush as opposed to the Democrats who have blocked him," he said.
While Republicans in Washington know the value of keeping Republican-held seats-the New Hampshire seat is held by GOP Sen. Bob Smith, whom Sununu defeated in the primary-Democrats see the race as a chance to gain a seat and maintain the Senate majority.
"The Republicans hold the White House, the House, they seem to have a slight edge in the Supreme Court," said Tovah Ravitz, communications director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC).
The DSCC sees the New Hampshire race as one of the party's "best opportunities to pick up a seat" because of Shaheen's strong record as governor, Ravitz said. She added that Shaheen's ability to speak out about her beliefs and to raise funds across the state-demonstrating a wide base of support-make for a great combination.
However, running as a governor can sometimes be a campaign detriment, Duffy said, because many governors from both parties have suffered in voters' eyes as a result of the struggling economy. "Shaheen is probably not an exception to that rule," she added.
Although Shaheen's being a woman is not a defining factor in the race, Ravitz said, the DSCC's experience has been "that a lot of women candidates are overthrowing these guys." She named Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) as examples of women elected in 2000.
"We've had very good experience [with women candidates], and people obviously like to hear new voices," Ravitz said.
Both Duffy and Norman Ornstein, resident scholar at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, said the New Hampshire Senate race is set apart from other races because of a write-in effort for Smith.
"When a race is close, every vote counts," Duffy said. "I think when analyzing the race, you have to take it [a Smith write-in effort] pretty seriously."
The race could be complicated not only by the write-in campaign, Ornstein said, but also by the divisive split in the Republican Party over Sununu's battle with Smith.
Ornstein said a Republican win in New Hampshire and GOP control of the Senate would be important for that party's judicial nominations.
"Control of the Senate means control of the agenda, which means that you get to see what happens and when," Ornstein said.
Published in The Keene Sentinel, in New Hampshire.
Local Colleges See Tuition Increases
WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2002--Colleges nationwide saw increases in tuition and fees this year, a new study says-and Endicott College and Salem State College are part of that trend.
In a study by the College Board, a nonprofit association that offers students information about higher education, four-year private institutions' tuition and fees increased by an average of 5.8 percent and four-year public institutions' costs spiked 9.6 percent from the 2001-2002 academic year to the current year.
Endicott College in Beverly, a private four-year school, increased tuition and fees 5 percent during that period. Its tuition and fees now total about $24,000, but 60 percent of the roughly 2,800 students receive some form of financial aid.
Salem State College in Salem, a four-year public institution, tacked on $900 to its fees this year for the student body of about 7,400, sending the combined total of tuition and fees to about $4,000 for in-state students. That's an increase of about 30 percent, well above the national average for public colleges.
Because of the state's budget crisis, Salem State College's funding was cut back this year, said Jim Glynn, staff associate in the college relations office. "In order to provide the services for the students, we were forced to increase the fees."
The increase is a consequence of the slow economy, said Karen Cady, director of college relations for Salem State College. But Salem State did not raise tuition this year, only fees. "Basically, the tuition money goes back to the state, and we get appropriations. We do keep the fees."
According to Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board, a shrinking tax revenue base has affected the increase in tuition and fees at public universities. "As tax revenues decline, public colleges have searched for other sources of funding, and for many, that has led to tuition increases," he said in a statement.
In the academic year 2001-2002, a record $90 billion in student financial aid was available, the College Board said. This is encouraging, Caperton said, but he added that students are relying more on loans than on grants to help pay for their college educations.
According to a College Board news release, in 1991-1992, loans accounted for 47 percent of student aid, compared to 54 percent in 2001-2002. Grants declined from 50 percent to 39 percent of total aid over this period.
Since students at all income levels can obtain unsubsidized loans, financial aid professionals fear that low-income students are having a more difficult time in getting a college education because of the competition.
Pell Grants, federally subsidized loans for low-income students, are available, but at most they cover only 42 percent of the average cost of attending a public four-year institution compared to 84 percent 20 years ago, Caperton said.
For a four-year private institution like Endicott College, with higher costs than public institutions, that puts an added economic strain on students and their families.
"The burden has fallen on institutions and it has fallen on families" to cover the costs of a higher education, said Thomas Redman, vice president of admissions and financial aid at Endicott College.
But students should not feel that a college education is financially unattainable, Caperton said: "No matter what the numbers say, there are still very affordable options for students with a dream for college."
To try to ease the financial pressure, colleges like Endicott and Salem State offer students options such as scholarships and work-study programs.
But university professionals agree that a higher education is still worth the financial sacrifice.
College graduates can still expect $1 million more over their working lives than their high-school counterparts, Caperton said.
Redman and Cady agreed that the long-term benefits outweigh the high costs.
"It should be deemed a college investment," Redman said. "It's simply going to open up doors of opportunity."
The tuition at Endicott College is used for new residence halls, athletic facilities and upgraded technologies, he said.
"As we increase the value, families better understand where they want their sons and daughters to go to college based on what they want and what they're willing to spend," Caperton said.
For Salem State College, a public institution, the lower tuition and costs do not mean less effort on upgrading facilities and creating new ones.
"We're academically on par with the finest colleges in the state," Cady said. "An education is really kindergarten through college."
Published in The Salem News, in Massachusetts.
Smith Snubs Bush
By Tia Carioli and Gregory Chisholm
WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2002--Since his loss in the primary to John Sununu, Senator Bob Smith has refused to aid his fellow Republican in the upcoming election and has even turned down the President's request for help. NHPR Correspondent Greg Chisholm reports from Washington.
According to an article published Thursday in Roll Call, Republican Senator Bob Smith refused several White House requests to join President Bush on his recent visit to New Hampshire to support John Sununu.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Scott McClellan confirmed that Smith was contacted but declined the invitation because of a prior family commitment.
The article reports that Karl Rove, Bush's top political advisor called Smith three times attempting to convince him to travel with the President on Air Force One as a show of Republican solidarity.
The article suggests that Smith might have been rewarded for his cooperation with a job in the Bush administration. McClellan dismissed that assertion as "ridiculous."
A spokesperson for Smith confirmed the invitation but would not comment on private
conversations between Smith and White House officials.
For NHPR News, I'm Gregory Chisholm in Washington.
Broadcast on New Hampshire Public Radio, in New Hampshire.
Possible Snipers Caught, People Relieved
WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2002--Last Saturday, Antonette Russell realized how afraid she was of the D.C. sniper. When leaving her house to walk her dog, she spotted a white van and quickly ducked back into her home.
"I almost popped the poor dog's head off trying to get back inside," Russell said. "He wouldn't cooperate, so I leashed him and left him outside."
Russell, 27, of the Capitol Hill area, hadn't even pumped her gas since the sniper shootings started. She finally ran out last Saturday and made sure she brought her car into a heavily populated area to pump gas.
"I finally broke down and I didn't even pump it myself," Russell said. "I had my boyfriend pump it while I stood beside him."
Since the possible snipers were taken into custody early Thursday morning, however, Russell said she feels a lot safer, but still carries the fear around.
"I am thinking they may be the ones who are asking for the money, but might not be the snipers," Russell said. "If they are the people they are accused of being, they are stupid because you don't shoot everyone first and then ask for money."
The sniper task force surrounded a freeway rest stop before dawn, arresting the two suspected snipers, John Allen Muhammad, 42, also known as John Allen Williams, and his 17-year-old stepson John Lee Malvo, a Jamaican citizen. The arrests were made on federal warrants. The two victims were to be arraigned Thursday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.
The police recovered a Bushmaster .223-caliber rifle from the vehicle impounded during the overnight arrest of the suspects. All of the victims have been hit by a single .223-caliber shot. Washington radio station WTOP reported that a scope and a tripod also had been recovered from the suspects' vehicle.
John Nguyen, 27, of Silver Spring, said he lives down the street from the last sniper shooting, of bus driver Conrad Johnson. Nguyen said he trusts the police and thinks the sniper case is finally over, because all reports and evidence point to the two men.
"Before I was zig-zag walking and scoping out my surroundings when I left the house," Nguyen said. "This afternoon, when I came outside for lunch I did cartwheels."
Nguyen, who works at a computer firm, said he will begin his running routine again.
"This is such a great feeling," he said. "It's horrible to feel like you can't run in your own neighborhood for fear that a sniper is hiding behind a tree with a rifle."
A group known as the Guardian Angels will continue to pump gas for scared people in the area until all reports are final, according to John King Ayala, 33, the D.C. chapter leader of the nationwide group.
"Mostly women have been asking for their gas pumped," Ayala said. "They pull up with tears in their eyes. They are so happy to see us there."
The Guardian Angels are trained to patrol areas and call the police if they see any illegal activity. They also are trained in self-defense, and break up fights when necessary. Angels from Florida, New York and Pennsylvania have been filtering into the D.C. area, volunteering to help with gas pumping and patrolling duties.
Wearing their standout red berets, white T-shirts and black pants, they also plan to patrol various school neighborhoods until they know for sure that the sniper has been captured.
"Ever since the sniper sent the letter threatening to our children, we have been out there on the streets trying to keep the streets safe," Ayala said. "We aren't going to stop until everyone is sure because we aren't going to leave the children unprotected."
Sniper investigators were looking into a possible connection to a fatal shooting at a liquor store in Montgomery, Ala. Montgomery Police Chief John Wilson said Thursday that there were "some very good similarities" between Malvo and a composite sketch of the attacker at the Sept. 21 shooting.
Authorities said Thursday they had made a match between a fingerprint lifted from the scene and Malvo. But Wilson said the weapon used in the Alabama shooting is not the same as the one used in the sniper shootings in the D.C. area.
Published in The Kennebec Journal and The Morning Sentinel, in Maine.
New USDA Organic Code May Be More Harmful to Small Farmers
WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2002--When the new organic food standards went into effect last Monday, they were touted as helpful to both consumers and farmers. But now the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association says they might be more harmful to smaller farmers.
Everything from organic meat to milk would be governed by a single set of federal standards put out by the United States Department of Agriculture.
Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe, who voted for the 2002 Farm Bill, which provided funding for farmers to implement the standards, said Monday in a statement: "Under these new standards, farmers in Maine will for the first time be able to sell organic produce to retailers in other states with the confidence that the organic label will be accepted and recognized by consumers there."
She also said that United States Department of Agriculture standards would help the costumers by giving them standards to judge by, which means no more confusion.
"For consumers this rule means clear and consistent labeling that will affirm the content, production process and handling of organic food-whether it is milk, cheese, vegetables, fruit, grain, meat or poultry," Snowe said Monday in a statement.
The new labels will say "100 percent organic," which means exactly that; or "organic," which means the product is 95 percent organic; "made with organic ingredients," requiring the product to be at a minimum 70 percent organic; or "some organic ingredients," which classifies foods with less than 70 percent organic ingredients.
However, some people aren't as enthusiastic about the standards as Snowe is.
"This will take a lot of sorting through," said Russell Libby, director of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, which is Maine's organic certifying agency.
Only those farmers who sell more than $5,000 worth of product must become certified, according to the MOFGA certification coordinator Mary Yurlina. Small producers who possibly have misused the "organic" label now could be subject to a $10,000-a-day fine.
"While small producers now have more reasons than ever to get certified, the paperwork burdens and the rise in the fee might stop them," Libby said. "The increased paperwork burdens might make people wonder whether they actually want to be certified."
In Maine, people have usually had that one-one connection with their farmer, so the USDA organic standards won't be changing much at all.
"If people trusted their farmers before, what will these standards mean to them?" Libby said. "Maine has a very local food system."
Libby also said there were still many questions that need to be answered by the USDA before the new year takes effect.
"We don't feel as if we're getting clear answers from the federal government," Libby said.
Libby explained how the farmers have used a number of botanical pesticides for years. The pesticides haven't been approved for next year.
"We're left wondering what we'll use or if it'll be approved," Libby said. "They haven't offered us alternatives either."
The organic industry is growing between 20 and 25 percent annually, and has been for the last several years. U.S. retail sales of organic foods reached approximately $7.8 billion in 2000, with global sales topping $17.5 billion.
Published in The Kennebec Journal and The Morning Sentinel, in Maine.
