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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 2000)
Candidates tackle spending limits BY GEORGE GREEN Big bucks from many contrib utors are covering expensive tele vision advertising bills in this year’s Senate race. These high-priced and nega tive ads raise questions about whether the campaign-finance system needs to be reformed. Nebraska’s senatorial candi dates say some type of reform is necessary to remedy campaign spending problems. Attorney General Don Stenberg, the Republican candi date, and former Gov. Ben Nelson, the Democratic candidate, both support the Kerrey-Hagel bill, which changes the campaign finance system. Nebraska’s senators, Bob Kerrey, whose seat Nelson and Stenberg are battling for, and Chuck Hagel, teamed to propose the bill Congress hasn’t acted on it The bill would increase the amount of money a candidate can receive from contributors so peo ple, instead of special interests, can influence elections, said Christine Vanderford, a spokes woman for Stenberg. It also places a cap of $60,000 per calendar year on the amount of soft money a political party or candidate can accept from con tributors, making individual con tributors more important, said Marcia Cady, a spokeswoman for Nelson. Soft-money contributions are unregulated donations by special interest groups and other organi zations that escape current cam paign-finance laws. “Stenberg believes that more individual contributions mean less need for soft money,” Vanderford said. Furthermore, she said, many of the individual contributor spending limits are based on old information and need to be updated. Nelson also believes that more individual contributions and less money from special-interest groups will translate into more equitable elections, Cady said. Nelson would go a step further in restricting spending, Cady said, by banning people who are not U.S. citizens from making soft money contributions. The candidates, though, maintain that spending soft money in elections is a First Amendment right and should not be abolished. “(Nelson) would defend the First Amendment rights of issue orientated groups to organize political-action committees and conduct independent expendi tures ... as long as the ... groups followed the letter and spirit of laws,” Cady said. Despite their theoretical agreements about campaign finance reform, the candidates have clashed over soft money. After Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, a major pro ponent of campaign-finance reform, recommended stopping soft money ads, Nelson suggested both candidates stop running their television spots paid for with soft money, Cady said. Stenberg knew soft money was an important part of how his campaign was run, so he didn’t accept the offer, she said. “We wanted (Stenberg) to stop “Stenberg believes that more individual contributions mean less need for soft money." Christine Vanderford Stenberg spokeswoman talking and do it,” she said. Stenberg maintains things happened differently. When the campaign began, Nelson didn’t want to stop using soft money, Vanderford said. But when Nelson learned how much of an advantage he had in soft-money contributions, he decided to stop the ads because he already had a big edge over Stenberg in terms of dollars, she said. Stenberg didn’t accept Nelson’s offer because he would have been at a disadvantage because of Nelson’s funding lead, Vanderford said. “It was a little late to change the rules,” she said. OSHA investigates trench collapse HB ▼ Ounlr/w i r/>l BBHIHBHBHHHBH^BHBIHBBBBiBUBHBi^^HBBHBHilBBBH^BBHBI ■ iwo construction warners were killed Monday when the walls caved in. BY JOSH FUNK A trench collapse that killed two men Monday evening is under investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The construction company could face penalties if the inves tigation finds the trench was not properly supported or the work site was otherwise unsafe. The two men were part of a Skoda Construction company crew repairing a sewer line near 27th Street and Interstate 80. Skoda Construction officials refused to comment Tuesday while OSHA investigators visit ed the now-quiet work site just Louis Burchfield, 45, of Gresham, and Gregory Matthes, 42, of Lincoln, were directing a backhoe from inside the 12 foot-deep trench when the walls collapsed at 5:09 p.m., officials said. Burchfield was partially buried. Co-workers dug him out within eight minutes, but he had already had a heart attack, Lincoln Police Capt. Jon Sundermeier said. Burchfield was taken to a Lincoln hospital where he was later pronounced dead. Matthes remained buried under five feet of dirt, and it took 45 minutes to free him, Sundermeier said. Matthes was pronounced dead at the scene. Fears of another collapse slowed rescue efforts. OSHA Area Director Ben “We have not maae any determination oft violations. It will take several weeks to complete the investigation Ben Bare OSHA area director Bare said his investigators will interview everyone who was at the work site Monday. “We have not made any determination of violations,” Bare said. “It will take several weeks to complete the investi gation." OSHA guidelines require trenches deeper than five feet to have cave-in protections such as shoring or sloping, Bare said. Lincoln Fire Capt. Dustin Morton said the walls of the trench that collapsed Monday had not been supported before the accident. Bare said construction com panies must also make sure a competent person, who knows OSHA regulations, is at the job site to inspect the trench daily and ensure worker safety. Employees also must be trained, Bare said, and all of the dirt removed from the trench must be piled away from the opening. The Associated Press con tributed to this report. Grants fund youth education, health BY JILL ZEMAN which brines troubled families The University of Nebraska Lincoln’s Center for Children, Families and Law was given a $1 million boost through two grants from the federal Department of Health and Human Services. One grant will establish the Midwest Child Care Policy Research Partnership, which will be based at the center. The partnership will receive $300,000 this year and $200,000 for each of the next two years, pending congressional approval. The second grant will fund the Adoption Opportunities Demonstration Project, which will focus on getting children into permanent placements more quickly. The project will receive more than $570,000 over three years. The grant also will focus on Family Group Conferencing, together to find ways to protect children, said Vicky Weisz, research associate professor at the center. The conferences will include family members, teachers, counselors, social workers, cler gy, doctors and state mediators from the Department of Health and Human Services, she said. The conferences have already been piloted in parts of rural Nebraska, she said. Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy counties will be targeted by the project. More than 80 per cent of the children in the state who have been out of their homes for more than 15 of the previous 22 months are from these counties. The two grants are part of more than $10 million awarded federally for child care research. "Increasing our knowledge of what child care systems work best and disseminating that “It will be enjoyable. It’s needed in the state, and it’s useful Vicky Weisz Center for Children, Families and Law associate professor knowledge throughout the country are important steps in improving the quality of child care,” said Donna Shalala, sec retary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in a statement. The center, at 121 S. 13^ St., was established in 1987 to han dle interdisciplinary research, teaching and public service on child and family policy and services. The center, which is located within the College of Arts and Sciences, employs 43 full-time, part-time and student workers. Weisz said she was excited about the opportunities the grants fostered. “It will be enjoyable,” she said. “It’s needed in the state, and it’s useful.” Buy now and save $10 $$ $30 until Jan. 1,2001 ^ SENIORS We’re offering you the opportunity to get your senior portrait taken by a professional photographer for only $10. We’ll be in the City Campus Union Alcove: Nov. 6-10 Nov. 13-17 Dec. 4-8 noon to 8 p.m. noon to 4 p.m. noon to 8 p.m. For more information call us at 472-6248 or e-mail yearbook@unl.edu. Speaker: Kosovo needed NATO ■MaurizioCremasco spoke Tuesday at UNL, justifying force under international law. BY GWEN TIETGEN With an Italian accent and a powerful voice, Maurizio Cremasco spoke to UNL stu dents Tuesday about NATO’s management of the 1998 Kosovo crisis. Cremasco is a scientific adviser for security studies to the Institute of International Affairs in Rome, and he served as a Fulbright professor for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln during the 1997 spring semester. Cremasco said he wanted to focus on answering two ques tions: Why did the North Atlantic Treaty Organization decide on military intervention, and could military intervention be legiti mate under international law? Cremasco said on March 23, 1999, there was thought to be 260.000 internally displaced per sons within Kosovo, more than 100.000 internally displaced per sons or refugees in the region and more than 100,000 refugees and asylum seekers outside of the region. To answer his two questions, Cremasco said why he thought it was vital that NATO decided to intervene in Kosovo. There was a human factor involved, he said, and if some thing was to be done to stop President Slobodon Milosevic’s ethnic cleansing, NATO military action was the only option.The United Nations Security Council was ruled out because its hands were tied with the veto power of China and Russia, which were against military action. “With the NATO air strikes, 19 countries, 19 different govern ments said they would agree to the use of military force,” Cremasco said. "All 19 countries were responsible to public opinion for their decision, and they were able to stick with their decision,” he said. Though Cremasco recog nized the NATO air campaign was not formally justified in terms of international law, he said because the rights of the Kosovo Albanian population were being violated, military action can be seen as legitimate. Shawna Muldoon, a sopho more political science major, said Cremasco was good at explaining the opinion of the European Union on NATO’s intervention. “He was really concise about his views and didn’t leave ques “With the NATO air strikes, 19 countries, 19 different governments said they would agree to the use of military force." Maurizio Cremasco Institute of International Affairs tions unanswered,” Muldoon said. David Forsythe, political sci ence professor, said Cremasco was popular with his students when he taught at UNL and proved that, with his credentials, “he knows his stuff.” “I thought his speech was a good overview. It was solid, ana lytical and presented with great interest and enthusiasm," Forsythe said. Though Cremasco found the Kosovo crisis very sad, he said using force can sometimes be seen as legitimate. “NATO decided to make this decision,” he said, “and in the end, 1 million refugees returned to their homes and were able to start a normal life.” Forum to address national security BYJILLZEMAN The former director of the Central Intelligence Agency will appear on campus today to speak about national security at the onset of the 21st Century. James Woolsey will be the first lecturer to speak in the 2000-01 E.N. Thompson Forum on World Issues at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Woolsey will speak at 3:30 p.m. at the Lied Center for Performing Arts. The event will be free and open to the public. The lecture will also be broadcast live on Channel 21 on Lincoln cable television and on the campus radio station, KRNU (90.3 FM). Woolsey has served in mat ters related to national defense for every president since Richard Nixon, said Bob Nefsky, Thompson foundation member. Woolsey will speak about Persian Gulf and Middle East political issues, as well as alter native sources of fuel, including ethanol, he said. “He’s probably as good of a speaker as anyone who’s ever spoken at the Thompson Forum,” Nefsky said. “This is a great opportunity for people, especially students, to learn more about important issues." Wayne Babchuk, member of the Thompson Forum planning committee, said Woolsey will also speak to a political science honors class today. “He’s a very important per son in the political arena in the United States,” Babchuk said. “We’re very excited he’s coming.” The forum is funded prima rily by the Cooper Foundation, which was founded in 1934. It was renamed in 1990 in honor of E.N. Thompson, former chair man of the foundation. UNL co sponsors the series. Four speakers are scheduled to appear on campus for the Thompson Forum this year. Last year, the forum had six speakers, and Babchuk said he hoped one or two more people could be scheduled to come to campus this academic year. David Forsythe, UNL Charles J. Mach Distinguished Professor of Political Science, will deliver a lecture Nov. 28 entitled, "Justice After Injustice: What Response After Atrocities?” On March 5, Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, University of California at Davis anthropology professor will speak about how maternal instincts shaped the human species. Rick Foster, vice president for programs at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, will speak April 3 on international food systems. The speakers are selected by the planning committee. Sometimes, committee mem bers will suggest a topic rather than a speaker, and other times, someone from outside the com mittee will suggest a speaker, Babchuk said. Babchuk said he thought the Thompson series was the best lecture series at UNL " We’re really proud of it,” he said. ■II. I II . ■■ ■ ■ , . ____ ■M