News Digest
California powerless against blackouts
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Traffic lights
and computer screens went dark Monday
in Beverly Hills, Silicon Valley and other
communities up and down California as
rolling blackouts swept across the state for
the first time.
The keepers of the state’s power grid
ordered the outages after electricity
reserves fell almost to zero because of a
transformer fire, high demand and a lack
of power imports.
Police officers and sheriff’s deputies
scrambled to direct traffic at intersections.
At the Public Utilities Commission in San
Francisco, deputy chief of staff Harriett
Burt worked through the outage with a
battery-powered lantern.
“I think we’ll just carry on as everybody
else does with these,” she said cheerfully.
Rolling outages were last ordered Jan.
17 and 18, but they were limited to parts of
Northern California. This time, the black
outs stretched from San Francisco to San
Diego and, for the first time, reached into
the suburbs of Los Angeles. Los Angeles
was unaffected because it has its own
municipal power company.
"Everything has come to a stop,” said
Joan Tockey, a clerk at Mahogany Smoked
Meats and Meadow Farms Country
Smokehouse in Bishop, 270 miles north of
Los Angeles. “We'll have to lock the door.”
The blackouts knc ~ked out power in
the busy Los Angeles-area port of Long
Beach and affected homes in suburban
San Diego and the state capital of
Sacramento. At San Francisco Fire Station
15, surprised crews scrambled to get
power from emergency backup genera
tors.
The blackouts were ordered by the
California Independent System Operator
shortly before noon after the state fell
1,000 megawatts short of the power it
needs. A thousand megawatts is about
enough to power 1 million homes.
The ISO declared a Stage 3 alert, the
highest level of emergency. It blamed
increased demand for electricity because
of a warm snap, less power from the
Northwest and the loss of 1,400 megawatts
because of a transformer fire at a Southern
California plant. It also said 12,000
megawatts were unavailable because of
idled plants - including some where offi
cials say they haven’t been paid for months
and cannot afford to buy the natural gas
they need to operate.
The ISO ordered the state’s two biggest
utilities - Pacific Gas & Electric and
Southern California Edison - to cut a total
of 1,000 megawatts. The two utilities
together serve 8.7 million customers
across the state. A third utility, San Diego
Gas & Electric Co., also cut power to some
41,000 customers.
SoCal Edison ordered blackouts across
the Los Angeles area, including Chino,
Beverly Hills, Long Beach and Santa
Monica, for up to an hour. Spokesman
Paul Klein said about 20,000 customers
had their service interrupted.
PG&E spokesman Ron Low said the
order would affect about 105,000 cus
tomers. He refused to specify locations,
but the power went out in Oakland, Palo
Alto and Salinas, south of San Jose.
Power alerts had been lifted in
February, thanks to more imported elec
tricity and the return of power plants that
had been down for repairs.
California is anticipating a summer of
power shortages and potential rolling
blackouts. Natural gas supplies are tight,
water supplies are down and a heat wave
could drive up demand for power.
USS Greeneville
crewman admits
he ignored sonar
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii—A
key crewman aboard the USS
Greeneville admitted Monday
that he violated orders requiring
him to report ships nearby but
said he never realized one vessel
was dangerously close.
Petty Officer 1st Class Patrick
Seacrest told a Navy court of
inquiry that he never noticed a
ship was within 4,000 yards of the
submarine before a fatal collision
because he was analyzing anoth
er sonar contact
"I did not see that 4,000
yards,” said Seacrest, the
Greeneville’s fire control techni
cian.
That statement conflicts with
the testimony of a Navy investiga
tor, who said Seacrest earlier
claimed he didn’t report the close
contact because civilians blocked
his access to officers. Seacrest
said Monday the civilians were
not an impediment
Seacrest was expected to be
the final crewman to testify at the
inquiry into the Feb. 9 collision
between the Greeneville and the
Japanese trawler Ehime Maru.
The submarine was demon
strating a rapid-surfacing drill for
16 civilians when it rammed into
the trawler and sank it Nine peo
ple, including four teen-agers on
an expedition to learn commer
cial fishing, were killed.
The inquiry has focused on
whether Greeneville Cmdr. Scott
Waddle, with his ship running
behind schedule, rushed prepa
rations for surfacing and whether
he failed to look long enough or
high enough to detect the Ehime
Maru during his periscope
search. Also under investigation
are the executive officer, Lt. Cmdr.
Gerald Pfeifer, and the officer of
the deck, LL j.g. Michael Coen.
A Navy doctor was scheduled
to testify after Seacrest. Lawyers
for the three officers will then
present their cases. Attorneys for
Waddle and Coen were still await
ing word on requests for testimo
nial immunity, which would pre
vent prosecutors from using the
*None of my crew
members should be
accountable or
responsible for that
accident."
Scott Waddle
Greenville commander
officers’ testimony to seek future
charges.
Waddle’s civilian lawyer,
Charles Gittins, has said the skip
per wouldn't testify without pro
tection. Lawyers for Coen and
Pfeifer, who hasn’t requested
immunity, have declined to com
ment.
Before court Monday, Waddle
told reporters that if he did testify,
he would take the blame for the
collision.
“The first word I will say to the
court will be that fact - that I’m
accountable, and I’m responsible
for the accident that led to the
tragic collision and sinking of the
Ehime Maru,” Waddle said.
“None of my crew members
should be accountable or respon
sible for that accident.’’
Nevertheless, Monday’s testi
mony showed Seacrest was at
least partially responsible.
The technician, who was
granted immunity for his testi
mony, admitted he fell down on
the job and violated several
orders regarding his duties.
As fire control technician.
Seacrest takes sonar data and
does a computer analysis to
develop a detailed picture of the
location and distances of other
vessels. He is then supposed to
manually plot that data on a
graphic display inside the sub’s
control room. He admitted that
he failed to maintain that plot
and never told officers he
stopped.
“You got lazy, didn’t you Petty
Officer Seacrest?” demanded
Capt Bruce MacDonald, counsel
for the court.
"Yes, sir,” he replied. "A little
bit”
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Newsmakers
Elephants from the Ringling Bros. And Bamum & Bailey Grcus pass by Capitol Hill on their to the MCI center on Monday.
Socialists win Paris election
■ Election winner Delanoe
aims to improve the quality of
life in the country's capital.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PARIS — The Socialists con
quered the French capital in
municipal elections Sunday,
wrenching Paris from President
Jacques Chirac’s conservatives
and a century of nearly unbroken
rule by the right.
Winner Bertrand Delanoe, an
unassuming, openly gay politi
cian, was relatively unknown
before the campaign but struck a
chord with Paris’ 2 million resi
dents by focusing on improving
the quality of life. He promised to
reduce pollution and address
concerns about the poor sub
urbs.
But Sunday’s historic victory
in the city of light, and a second
prestigious win in the rightist
bastion of Lyon, were dimmed by
the left’s loss of more than two
dozen sizable towns around
France. Losses by several high
profile ministers in Socialist
Prime Minister Lionel Jospin’s
government proved a particular
humiliation.
The runoff local elections
provided a measure of the politi
cal landscape a year ahead of
presidential balloting in which
Chirac and Jospin may run
against each other.
The Paris and Lyon victories
saved the left s face.
“Today, Parisians have freely
decided in favor of change in the
capital," said Delanoe in a victory
speech at his campaign head
quarters. Delanoe, 50, defeated
Philippe Seguin, a candidate for
Chirac’s Rally for the Republic
party'.
“Paris is liberated,” chanted a
crowd that gathered in front of
City Hall.
This Sunday, Delanoe will
officially become mayor of Paris -
a post held by Chirac for 18 years
- when the city council, which
serves as a sort of electoral col
lege, votes him in.
He will replace incumbent
Mayor Jean Tiberi, whose own
candidacy divided the right. In
his public demeanor, Delanoe is
a man like his patron, Jospin,
France’s dry, pro* jssorial prime
minister. The two are friends.
One of a handful of openly
gay politicians in still-conserva
tive France, Delanoe revealed his
homosexuality on a television
program in 1999. He is an active
supporter of gay issues, taking
part in Gay Pride marches and
campaigning for a controversial
law to give some legal rights to
unmarried couples, including
same-sex couples.
His victory was widely seen as
a cry for change at City Hall, tar
nished by kickback scandals that
allegedly date to the era of Chirac.
Tiberi’s refusal to withdraw
from the race got him expelled
from Chirac’s party and added
further drama to a contest that
riveted the nation. However, the
left’s losses in big cities they had
held like Strasbourg tempered
the humiliation suffered by the
right.
Seguin blamed the indirect
voting system, and Tiberi’s
refusal to withdraw, for his loss.
Some districts provide more city
councilors than others.
“It is clear,” Seguin said. “That
if we had had a direct (vote), I
would be the mayor of Paris
tonight.”
The elections, which began
with a first round March 11, were
the first in years in which the far
right National Front took a back
seat.
Macedonian army in the fight
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TETOVO, Macedonia — Government tanks rum
bled into Macedonia’s second-largest city Monday to
fight ethnic Albanian insurgents, while NATO
pledged to “starve” the rebels by cutting supply lines
from neighboring Kosovo.
A spokesman for the Macedonian government,
Antonio Milososki, pledged “definite action” - a major
counterattack - saying field commanders would give
the order “soon.”
The appearance of heavy armor in Tetovo also
seemed to be an attempt by the government to show
that the army was part of efforts to prevent the
monthlong guerrilla war from expanding further
southward from its origins along the border with
Kosovo.
The government has relied primarily on police
and anti-terrorist units to fight the rebels, leading to
speculation about the loyalties of the conscript army,
particularly its ethnic Albanian members. The rebels
have called on all ethnic Albanians in Macedonia of
fighting age to join their ranks.
Fighting ebbed by mid-afternoon Monday, and
only the occasional boom of government artillery' lob
bing shells into the foothills skirting Tetovo was heard,
leaving the city of 80,000 at its quietest since late last
week. Still, edgy residents continued to flee.
The rebels, who say they are Fighting for greater
rights for ethnic Albanians, insist their battle is not
being instigated by the former Kosovo Liberation
Army in Kosovo, a province of Serbia, the main
Yugoslav republic.
But the latest uprising shares the aspirations of
ethnic Albanians in Kosovo for self-determination, if
not outright independence, potentially in a “greater”
Kosovo expanded with ethnic Albanian parts of
Macedonia and southern Serbia. Although ethnic
relations in Slav-dominated Macedonia have been
relatively trouble-free - an ethnic Albanian party’ is a
partner in the government - substantial numbers of
the minority feel they are treated as second-class citi
zens.
European Union foreign ministers meeting in
Belgium agreed on measures for Macedonia that
included technical aid for a census - one of the
demands by the rebels, who claim the number of eth
nic Albanians is underreported.
Four government tanks were initially sent to
Tetovo. Later Monday, one more tank, eight armored
personnel carriers and eight army trucks were seen
entering the city.
As the army boosted its presence, NATO
Secretary-General Lord Robertson said the interna
tional force in Kosovo was moving more troops to die
border with Macedonia to cut off the supply lines to
insurgents.
“We are determined to starve this limited group of
extremists of the means” of carrying on the fighting,
Robertson told reporters in Brussels.
Macedonian Foreign Minister Srdjan Kerim said
his government was not asking for the alliance to
cross the border.
“The Macedonian security’ forces are able and will
be able to take care of the security’ of our country'”
once NATO cuts off the rebel supply lines.
The Associated Press
■ Algeria
Islamic militants suspected
in attacks against motorists
ALGIERS —Armed groups
killed five people and injured 23
others in three attacks in the
African nation of Algeria, newspa
per reports said Monday.
Islamic militants are suspect
ed of detonating an explosive and
spraying cars with mortar fire
Saturday near Thenia, about 30
miles east of Algiers, Le Matin
newspaper reported. Two civil
ians were killed and 23 were
wounded, it said.
The group of 20 assailants had
set up two roadblocks along the
road from Thenia to Boumerdes,
a common method of extorting
money from motorists.
In another attack, assailants
shot two police officers to death
Saturday evening in Guelma,
about340 miles east of the capital,
the daily Liberte reported. That
same day, a homemade bomb
killed a 28-year-old policeman in
nearby Annaba as security forces
carried out a search operation,
the paper said.
■ Idaho
Mostly Republican,all-white
legislature called insensitive
BOISE — At 89 percent, the
Idaho Legislature is the nation’s
most Republican. At 100 percent,
it also is the whitest
Many of the 105 lawmakers
pressing to conclude their 2001
session represent constituencies
with small but growing minority
populations.
But not a single legislator
belongs to a minority group, per
haps contributing to the rash of
racially and ethnically insensitive '
statements some of them have
made this year.
The House State Affairs
Committee rejected a Senate
passed bill to eliminate place
names with the word “squaw” -
the derivation of which is unclear,
but a term many American
Indians find vulgar and offensive.
One legislator, who voted
against that change, defended his
earlier use of the term “Jew ’em
down” during a committee
debate.
And in a House floor debate
on eliminating the agriculture
industry’s exemption from the
$5.15 minimum wage, one law
maker referred - by reading a let
ter from a constituent - to farm
workers who live on welfare and
food stamps and send their pay
checks home to Mexico.
■ New York
Spike Lee to write column
arguing Babe Ruth was black
NEW YORK — He loves bas
ketball and he’s from Brooklyn.
But filmmaker Spike Lee will be
writing about baseball for a new
upscale Manhattan magazine.
Lee has been hired to write a
sports column for Gotham. His
debut effort will appear in the
magazine's third issue and,
according to Monday’s Daily
News, will contend that Babe
Ruth was black.
Lee did not respond to
requests for comment, and
Gotham editor Joseph Steuer was
unable to shed light on the sub
ject.
“All I know is that basically he’s
writing a column for me, and I
was asked to pull a picture of Babe
Ruth for it,” Steuer said.
■ Michigan
Safety group: Chrysler sold
defective vehicles knowingly
DETROIT — Chrysler has
spent $1.3 billion since 1993 buy
ing back vehicles with chronic
defects, then reselling the bulk of
these to consumers, a safety
group says documents show.
The automaker said the docu
ments, unsealed last week in
North Carolina, showed no
wrongdoing and were being mis
characterized by consumer
groups and product-liability
attorneys.
Chrysler was bought by
Germany’s Daimler-Benz in 1998
and is now a unit of
DaimlerChrysler.
According to the documents,
Chrysler said it repurchased more
than 50,000 vehicles with persist
ent mechanical problems, then
recouped about two-thirds of the
investment, reselling the majority
of them to dealers at auction.
