SPOBTS 2
Sweden’s sexiest Jm
NU swimmer Therese Alshammar lives her life
by own rules and own philosophy. It helped to
make her “Sweden’s Sexiest Woman.’’ PAGE 16
A & E
Reel reruns
“Psycho,” re-created by Gus Van Sant, hits theaters
next month. It is only the latest in a spree of old
films remade for modem audiences. PAGE 8
TUESDAY
November 10, 1998
A Mixed Bag
Light snow, windy high 37. Clearing tonight, low 22.
VOL. 98 COVERING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN SINCE 1901 NO. 55
P Street decision delayed
I After 4lA hours of testimony,
the City Council tabled the vote
on P Street’s traffic flow until
next week’s meeting.
By Josh Funk and Adam Klinkkr
Staff writers
The ongoing ordeal of seeking a resolution
regarding P Street’s traffic flow will again be
delayed after the Lincoln City Council voted to
postpone a vote until next week's meeting.
After 4>/2 hours of testimony from citizens
concerned about the routing of traffic on the
downtown access street, the council decided not
I . I
to take action.
Testimony was heated as opponents and pro
ponents of one-way traffic on P Street voiced
their opinions.
Jim Wrenholt, a P Street business owner and
the most active figure in the fight to reconfigure
P Street back to eastbound, one-way traffic, ques
tioned the motives of the council in its decision to
make P Street a two-way thoroughfare.
“How can you claim to be our representatives
when you won't stand up for our streets?”
Wrenholt asked. “P Street is a main arterial street.
It’s not a shopping mall. It's not a residential
area.”
But two-way traffic supporters argued that
the new P Street must be given time to demon
strate the benefits of a marketplace plan.
“Two-way traffic was part of the vision for
what P Street could become,” said Cecil Steward,
city planning commission member and dean of
University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s College of
Architecture. “We are on the cusp of realizing
that vision, and going back is not the answer.”
The original decision to reconfigure P Street
was made m a pre-council meeting m September
1997. Wrenholt said no public hearing was held,
and he found no record of minutes kept.
One-way proponents said the council did not
follow proper procedures to change the street.
“The people of Lincoln deserve the truth,”
Please see P STREET on 6
. . Dawn Dietrich/DN
ROBERT HITCHCOCK, UNL associate anthropology professor and department chairman, has worked in Africa, the Middle East and through
out the United States to protect the rights of indigenous populations. He will speak Thursday as part of the E.N. Thompson Forum on World
Issues at the Lied Center for Performing Arts.
Nebraskans
living longer
than in past
By Todd Anderson
Senior staff writer
Following recent historical trends, average
Nebraskans are healthier at birth and live longer
when compared to past state and national trends,
experts said.
An annual vital statistics report compiled by the
Nebraska Department of Health and Human
Services revealed fewer babies were born in
Nebraska, and a lower number of those died in 1997
than in previous years.
Of the 23,313 live births in Nebraska in 1997,
fewer than 200 died.
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infant mortality rate, from 8.7 per thousand in 1996
to 7.4 per thousand in 1997.
Marla Augustine, spokeswoman for Health and
Human Services, said the lower infant mortality rate
reflects improved health care in Nebraska and fol
lows a national trend of mothers giving birth to
healthier babies.
Ian Newman, professor of health education, said
Nebraska’s low infant mortality rate is lower than
the national average.
He said Nebraska has a relatively homogenous
population with fewer economic and social prob
lems that might impede early prenatal care, which is
the most irhportant factor in determining the success
ofbirth.
But while a drop in the infant mortality rate in
Nebraska is a good sign, Newman said, the United
States as a whole fares worse than most other indus
trialized nations.
Fewer babies die in those 25 to 30 countries
because they have fewer social and economic dis
crepancies, which usually translates into better over
all access to care.
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Ill 177/, 111U1C 11CWUU1115 111 WClgllCU
less than average than in 1996. This may cause long
term problems and birth defects, which rose in
1997.
That increase might be a result of more pregnan
cies carried to full term because of better prenatal
care, Augustine said.
“Doctors have the ability to closely monitor the
unborn baby now and bring it to full term,” she said.
Though the lower weight of newborns also may
be attributed to drug use by the mother, those num
bers are not available because the information is
given voluntarily, Augustine said.
Please see VITALS on 3
Professor takes rights movement worldwide
By Lindsay Young
Senior staff writer
A comfortably large and rustic
room, Robert Hitchcocks office in
Bessey Hall has a little bit of every part
of his life in it.
What seems like hundreds of books
on various cultures and human rights
span the walls, placed on makeshift
bookshelves of concrete-blocks and
lumber. The space left is covered with
photos of what he's seen, things most
see only on television or in magazines.
On top of the shelves lie gifts
Hitchcock has brought home from his
excursions overseas.
Often sitting behind the wooden
desk on the left side of the room is
Hitchcock, associate professor and
chairman of the UNL anthropology
department.
Much of the time he can be found
there, fielding dozens of phone calls a
day, preparing for class or shaping his
latest speech on human rights.
The next will be Thursday at 3:30
p.m. in the Lied Center for Performing
Arts as part of the E.N. Thompson
Forum on World Issues.
Hitchcock said he’s a bit nervous.
Please see HITCHCOCK on 6
Hitchcock to speak in Thompson series
From staff reports
An associate anthropology profes
sor hopes tq tell of the positive steps
African indigenous populations have
taken in human rights.
“What I would like to show is
some of the positive things that are
going on,” said Robert Hitchcock,
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
anthropology department chairman.
Hitchcock will address major
issues facing Africa in his speech,
“Africa: Environmental Conservation,
Development and Human Rights,”
Thursday at 3:30 p.m. in the Lied
Center for Performing Arts as part of
the E.N. Thompson Forum on World
Issues.
Hitchcock is one of few University
of Nebraska faculty members to speak
in the series, which features such
notable figures as Peter Arnett, a
Pulitzer-prize winning CNN interna
tional correspondent.
Hitchcock, who has been a long
time advocate of indigenous peoples’
rights, has worked in such places as
Botswana, Swaziland, Somalia and
throughout the United States.
He will discuss the increase of
small, community-centered programs
helping to alleviate poverty and to
conserve diverse societies and ecosys
tems, and also issues facing Africa.
Read the Daily Nebraskan on the World Wide Web at http:/ /www.unl.edu/DailyNeb
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