The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA) articles from April 2000

The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA) archives from April 2000

The Philadelphia Inquirer Automotive Queries Column.
April 30, 2000... Byline: Al Haas Apr. 30--QUESTION: I have a 1993 Buick LeSabre Limited with 58,000 miles on it. About every four to six weeks, the positive battery terminal corrodes, and the car stops while I'm driving, and eventually won't start. I...

The Philadelphia Inquirer Cars Column.
April 30, 2000... Byline: Al Haas Apr. 30--BACK IN THE RECESSIONARY early '90s, roadsters were about as sought after as tickets to the Bubonic Ball. As a consequence, the topless two-seaters' numbers dwindled to a precious few. By mid-decade, the...

The Philadelphia Inquirer Personal Finance Column.
April 30, 2000... Byline: Jeff Brown Apr. 30--FOR YEARS, INFLATION HAS BEEN MERELY a potential problem -- a dangerous beast, to be sure, but asleep in its cave. Now the monster is awake and threatening to come out, and small investors, working people,...

Cards, McGwire slip past Phils.
April 30, 2000... Byline: Jim Salisbury PHILADELPHIA _ The trees aren't even in full bloom. You haven't planted your tomatoes or located your swimsuit yet. For gosh sakes, the Kentucky Derby is still five days away. The month of May is just hours old...

Phillies lose again.
April 30, 2000... Byline: Jim Salisbury PHILADELPHIA _ The rebuilding effort started in 1997 with a team that frequently was compared to the 1962 New York Mets, baseball's universal punch line. It marched on through 1998 and 1999, with teams that...

Phillies confront harsh reality.
April 30, 2000... Byline: Claire Smith It's too bad baseball is not a sport in which one player can be anointed as the great leveler, then make the hype stand up. If ever there was a team in need of one player capable of instantly righting all wrongs, it...

Iverson has chipped bone, but will play.
April 30, 2000... Byline: Stephen A. Smith PHILADELPHIA _ The Philadelphia 76ers learned Sunday that Eric Snow isn't their only backcourt player with a chipped bone in his right ankle. Team doctors discovered Saturday night that Allen Iverson, who has...

Lewis knocks out Grant.
April 30, 2000... Byline: Jay Searcy NEW YORK _ Lennox Lewis, the Englishman who has won everything in the heavyweight division except America's respect, solved that sticky problem Friday night. In front of a near-sellout crowd of 17,234 at Madison...

Lewis in a league by himself.
April 30, 2000... Byline: Jay Searcy NEW YORK _ Get used to it. World heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis is in a league by himself, and it's likely to stay that way for the rest of his career. "There is no heavyweight in the world who can beat him,"...

Eagles expect big things from 330-pound Jon Runyan.
April 30, 2000... Byline: Phil Sheridan Break out the thesaurus. Jon Runyan is going to have Eagles fans looking for new ways to describe just how huge (vast, immense, colossal) the team's new right tackle is. Even among the oversized men who play on the...

McNabb, Brown not quite ready to be called vets.
April 30, 2000... Byline: Phil Sheridan The "R" next to their names is gone. Officially, Donovan McNabb and Na Brown aren't rookies anymore. That doesn't make them feel like veterans, though. "I'm still a rookie," Brown, the second-year wide...

Flyers try to skate back into series.
April 30, 2000... Byline: Tim Panaccio The Philadelphia Flyers, who were off Sunday, soon may have lots of free time. Interim coach Craig Ramsay's team trails the Pittsburgh Penguins, two games to none, in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference...

Sudan's rugged roads make it costly place to deliver aid.
April 30, 2000... Byline: Andrew Maykuth KOBOKO, Uganda _ This once sleepy border post best known as the home village of former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin became a thriving town thanks to the millions of dollars in relief aid that flows through it. ...

Phillies fall to Cardinals.
April 29, 2000... Byline: Frank Fitzpatrick PHILADELPHIA _ The Phillies looked like a Penn Relays loser Friday night. They fell far behind early, pulled even at mid-race, then stumbled badly to the tape in a 7-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. And...

In baseball, it's all about timing.
April 29, 2000... Byline: Jim Salisbury PHILADELPHIA _ The direction of a baseball player's career can often be traced back to one or two pivotal seasons, years where success and failure stood like forks in the road. Some players make the right turns...

Sixers defeat Hornets.
April 29, 2000... Byline: Stephen A. Smith PHILADELPHIA _ First, the lights went out. Then, the noise nearly shook the First Union Center to rubble. And before the 76ers were introduced on Friday night, before the smoke and the fireworks had a capacity...

Sixers steal a big one.
April 29, 2000... Byline: Bill Lyon PHILADELPHIA _ When they're right, the ball is passed around like potato salad at a picnic. Everyone gets a taste, everyone gets a touch. Here's a dunk for you, a spot-up three for me, a pick-and-roll for our friends....

Butch Carter losing credibility, respect.
April 29, 2000... Byline: Stephen A. Smith PHILADELPHIA _ He has guided Toronto to its first playoff berth in franchise history and spent a majority of the season as a coach-of-the-year candidate. But if Raptors coach Butch Carter doesn't get his act...

Authenticity of Wilt Chamberlain 100-point ball is challenged.
April 29, 2000... Byline: Frank Fitzpatrick PHILADELPHIA _ Somewhere out there it exists. Maybe it lies forgotten in some California warehouse or on someone's dusty closet shelf. But the people who ought to know are convinced that the basketball an...

Eagles appear offensive-minded.
April 29, 2000... Byline: Phil Sheridan PHILADELPHIA _ One year later, the change is unmistakable. The Eagles' offense really looks like an offense this time around. It's only April. But it was only April when the Eagles ran their first minicamp under...

Disgruntled Dillon, Pickens down and out in Cincy.
April 29, 2000... Byline: Mike Bruton PHILADELPHIA _ Most notable among post-draft minicamp no-shows was disgruntled Cincinnati running back Corey Dillon, but most interesting was the Bengals' more-disgruntled wide receiver, Carl Pickens. Dillon, a...

Flyers need an energizer for Game 2.
April 29, 2000... Byline: Tim Panaccio PHILADELPHIA _ They were flat. They had no energy. Their legs had no jump. So the Flyers couldn't do what they do best against the Pittsburgh Penguins during Thursday night's 2-0 loss in their Eastern Conference...

Flyers in search of a big score.
April 29, 2000... Byline: Bill Lyon PHILADELPHIA _ The single most important thing there is in hockey is also the hardest and most vexing for the Flyers: Scoring goals. For this, they have only themselves to blame. The Flyers continue to...

Sharks are the surprise of the NHL.
April 29, 2000... Byline: Tim Panaccio PHILADELPHIA _ Among everything that happened in the opening round of the NHL playoffs, the least likely thing to expect was that the St. Louis Blues, the club that won the President's Trophy with the best record...

Flyers fall to Penguins, trail 2-0.
April 29, 2000... Byline: Tim Panaccio PHILADELPHIA _ They came out with the kind of explosive fire you would expect from a team down by one game in a series. They got every one of those obstruction calls they complained they hadn't gotten in Game 1....

Penguins aiming to seize control.
April 29, 2000... Byline: Ray Parrillo PHILADELPHIA _ Ron Tugnutt doesn't need a pocket protector to look like a math professor or computer geek or maybe even the guy who does your taxes and is afraid to cheat. With his wire-rimmed glasses, pencil...

Penguins could steal this series.
April 29, 2000... Byline: Claire Smith PHILADELPHIA _ The Flyers already know what it's like to watch the Pittsburgh Penguins steal their identity. On Saturday, they had better find a way to prevent Jaromir Jagr and Company from stealing another huge...

Message from death-row inmate prompts graduation protests.
April 29, 2000... Byline: James M. ONeill YELLOW SPRINGS, Ohio _ As the taped voice of convicted murderer Mumia Abu-Jamal started to play at the Antioch College graduation Saturday, several hundred police officers who were conducting a silent protest on...

Days blur together for African trucker on long-haul journey.
April 29, 2000... Byline: Andrew Maykuth ARUA, Uganda _ The days begin to blur together after more than a week on the road. "Tomorrow is Sunday?" Francis Kuria, the Kenyan driver who is hauling a load of American relief food, said Saturday. He looked...

USOC sending a clear message: win or else.
April 29, 2000... Byline: Bob Ford PHILADELPHIA _ The greatness of the Olympic movement _ at least as portrayed in the heartwarming commercials of its largest sponsors _ is that trying one's best for country, family, and the sheer joy of competition is a...

Looking ahead to the Kentucky Derby.
April 29, 2000... Byline: Jay Searcy PHILADELPHIA _ Can you say Fusaichi Pegasus? Try it: Foo-sah-EE-chi PEG-ah-sus. There you have it: The winner of the 126th Kentucky Derby, coming up Saturday at Churchill Downs. At least the big bay colt...

TCU sprints to record performance.
April 29, 2000... Byline: Ron Reid PHILADELPHIA _ Speed, speed and more speed captivated a sun-splashed, ecstatic crowd of 45,203 at Franklin Field on Saturday, as sprinters working at high velocity graced the 106th Penn Relays with one world-record...

Big Three runners from U.S. come up big at Penn Relays.
April 29, 2000... Byline: Joe Juliano PHILADELPHIA _ As far as the Franklin Field crowd of 45,203 was concerned, Saturday marked the beginning of the 2000 Olympic season for the best sprinters in the United States, plenty of reason to hoot and holler and...

Suspect in suburban Pittsburgh shootings was immigration lawyer.
April 29, 2000... Byline: Leonard N. Fleming and Barbara Boyer PITTSBURGH _ As police continued investigating Saturday the man who they say fatally shot five people _ including three immigrants _ in an apparent rampage of hate killings, a picture of a...

U.S. men's soccer team gains Olympic berth.
April 29, 2000... Byline: Mike Jensen HERSHEY, Pa. _ "Nervous? Yeah, I'm nervous," Chris Albright said Friday afternoon when his father asked about butterflies. "This is the most important game of my life!" It quickly turned into the greatest night...

Philadelphia Residents May Get Cable Television Provider Competition.
April 29, 2000... Byline: Patricia Horn Apr. 29--Negotiations aimed at giving Philadelphia residents a choice in cable-TV service for the first time could be wrapped up within a few weeks, according to representatives of the city and cable provider RCN...

CEO Says If Oracle Achieves Monopoly Status, It Won't Behave Like Microsoft.
April 29, 2000... Byline: Leslie J. Nicholson Apr. 29--Call Larry Ellison the anti-Bill Gates. He appears polished, while Gates comes off a bit square. Ellison is quick with the one-liners, while Gates is quick with a mouse. The 55-year-old...

« HEADLINE ».
April 29, 2000... Byline: Fawn Vrazo Apr. 29--LONDON--At the last annual general meeting of SmithKline Beecham P.L.C. yesterday, there was little nostalgia and mostly optimism about the merger with Glaxo-Wellcome P.L.C. and the creation of the world's...

Movie Sound Editing Project in Philadelphia Inches toward Approval.
April 29, 2000... Byline: Henry J. Holcomb Apr. 29--Actor Will Smith's proposed high-tech movie sound stage and recording studio in South Philadelphia took two small steps toward reality yesterday. City Councilman Frank DiCiccio introduced legislation...

AT&T Wireless Group IPO Receives Ho-Hum Investor Response.
April 28, 2000... Byline: Patricia Horn Apr. 28--Investors greeted the largest IPO in Wall Street history with a ho-hum response yesterday as AT&T Wireless Group's new tracking stock climbed a modest $2.31 to $31.81 per share after going public at $29.50....

Philadelphia Mayor Wants Downtown Stadium for Baseball Team.
April 28, 2000... Byline: Clea Benson Apr. 28--Mayor Street said flatly yesterday that - despite outraged neighbors, probable delays and unknown costs - a downtown ballpark remains his first choice if it is deemed the best location for the city. ...

New Acura Coupe Quite an Improvement over Predecessor.
April 28, 2000... Byline: Al Haas Apr. 28--Tracing the derivation of the new Acura 3.2 CL is no mean genealogical feat. It's worthy of a federal grant, and would generate enough 3-by-5-inch note cards to fuel a nostalgic Boy Scout paper drive. ...

The Philadelphia Inquirer Andrew Cassel Column.
April 28, 2000... Byline: Andrew Cassel Apr. 28--It's a good thing sports and politics aren't like economics. Otherwise we might see stories in the paper like this: "The Phillies won yesterday. However, further analysis reveals they actually lost."...

Philadelphia Developer Tries to Keep Alive Disney Complex Idea.
April 28, 2000... Byline: Henry J. Holcomb Apr. 28--The proposed DisneyQuest retail-entertainment complex in Center City "is not a dead duck," real estate baron Ronald Rubin told a gathering of business leaders yesterday. "Our people are in California...

Sierra Club, Home Builders' Lobby Clash over Blame for Sprawl.
April 28, 2000... Byline: Alan J. Heavens Apr. 28--Open warfare has broken out again between the Sierra Club and the National Association of Home Builders over the issue of sprawl. The environmentalist group went on the attack early this month with...

Tenet Healthcare to Slash Ties to Many Philadelphia-Area Doctors.
April 28, 2000... Byline: Karl Stark Apr. 28--Tenet Healthcare Corp. yesterday said that it will sever employment contracts with a substantial number of its doctors in the Philadelphia area by the end of July, representing dramatic evidence that health...

Unisys CEO Says Revenues Should Bounce Back Later This Year.
April 28, 2000... Byline: Leslie J. Nicholson Apr. 28--Six months after taking a big hit to its stock price, Unisys Corp. is still struggling to recover. But its chief executive predicts investors will respond once the company's revenues begin bouncing...

Oracle Corp.'s Ellison challenging Gates as richest man.
April 28, 2000... Byline: Leslie J. Nicholson Call Larry Ellison the anti-Bill Gates. He appears polished, while Gates comes off a bit square. Ellison is quick with the one-liners, while Gates is quick with a mouse. The 55-year-old chairman and...

Elian raid stirs Republicans into action.
April 28, 2000... Byline: Dick Polman PHILADELPHIA _ Ever since the Clinton impeachment probe exploded in their faces like a live grenade, Republicans on Capitol Hill have been cultivating a kinder, gentler image and trying to persuade Americans that they...

Launch of high-speed Amtrak trains derailed until late 2002.
April 28, 2000... Byline: Bob Fernandez PHILADELPHIA _ The high-speed and heavily anticipated Acela trains, a cornerstone of Amtrak's strategy to wean itself from federal subsidies by late 2002, will be delayed well into summer, likely jeopardizing the...

Tons of ash from Philadelphia worries South Floridians.
April 28, 2000... Byline: Stacey Burling PHILADELPHIA _ Two thousand tons of ash from a Philadelphia waste incinerator that have been searching for a final resting place for 14 years _ yes, 14 years _ have left Haiti and is now causing consternation off...

Falling water levels mean lighter loads, more trips for Great Lakes shippers.
April 28, 2000... Byline: Raad Cawthon DULUTH, Minn. _ The grimy docks of the "twin ports" of Duluth and Superior, Wis., are clogged. There are mountains of coal from Montana and Wyoming and mounds of taconite, iron ore ripped from the Iron Range in...

Health and science notes.
April 28, 2000... Avoid extreme exertion: Now you know why they invented the stair climber. A 24-year-old Glens Falls, N.Y., cabdriver who apparently mountain-climbs downtown buildings in the middle of the night for exercise and boredom relief broke his...

Staying fit helped man recover from Lyme disease.
April 28, 2000... Byline: Art Carey PHILADELPHIA _ It was a good season in Ed Angelo's life. The Vietnam vet had made a bundle in commercial real estate. He was healthy and fit. While many of his peers had let their bodies go to seed, he had maintained...

Penguins handle physical Flyers.
April 28, 2000... Byline: Ray Parrillo PHILADELPHIA _ The notion was that the Pittsburgh Penguins feel the first pangs of defeat each time their plane touches down and the flight attendant announces, "Welcome to Philadelphia." Based on the fact that...

Flyers fall to Penguins.
April 28, 2000... Byline: Tim Panaccio PHILADELPHIA _ So you thought the Flyers were going to sweep the Pittsburgh Penguins right through the door of the First Union Center, down the Pennsylvania Turnpike, across Grant Street in downtown Pittsburgh, and...

Names in the news.
April 28, 2000... New York Yankees great Whitey Ford is battling cancer again. The 71-year-old Hall of Fame pitcher missed spring training (as a uniformed guest of the team's owners) this year for the first time in 49 years. The New York Times...

Tragedies personal, public and potential drive participants to this month's Million Mom March, seeking gun control.
April 28, 2000... Byline: Lini S. Kadaba PHILADELPHIA _ Mothers who will march in Washington this month in support of gun-control laws say they'll be there for, well, a million reasons. Because of a daughter shot and killed at 14. Because of a son...

East African odyssey: youthful soldiers.
April 28, 2000... Byline: (EDITORS: Fifth in a series) By Andrew Maykuth y Andrew Maykuth GULU, Uganda _ Christine Akullu had written off her son as dead three years ago after he was kidnapped by the Lord's Resistance Army, a cruel and...

How to protect yourself if inflation growls.
April 28, 2000... Byline: Jeff Brown For years, inflation has been merely a potential problem _ a dangerous beast, to be sure, but asleep in its cave. Now the monster is awake and threatening to come out, and small investors, working people, home...

`Frequency' leads to two new movie roles for Jim Caviezel.
April 28, 2000... Byline: Steven Rea Even before ``Frequency came out on Friday, the buzz on the smart little sci-fi thriller and its star, Jim Caviezel, was, well, buzzing. The lanky actor _ who landed his first screen role (as an Italian airline...

`Law & Order' producer wants to break `Gunsmoke's' record.
April 28, 2000... Byline: Gail Shister Look out, Marshall Dillon. Dick Wolf is gunning for ``Gunsmoke. Wolf's ``Law & Order, in its 10th season on NBC, was just renewed through May 2005. At that point, it will become the second-longest running...

Darwin Judge and Charles McMahon, the last of the 58,000.
April 28, 2000... Byline: Steve Goldstein MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa _ When the grandfather clock in their living room chimed 10 one recent morning, both Henry and Ida Judge turned their heads to look. Their son Darwin crafted the clock out of maple his...

Ho Chi Minh Trail paved way to victory, North Vietnamese say.
April 28, 2000... Byline: John L. Plaster PHILADELPHIA _ Five years ago, a former U.S. peace activist visiting Vietnam asked a retired North Vietnamese officer this question: "Was there anything the Americans could have done to prevent your victory?" ...

Stock slide delivers strong blow to Gates' personal fortune.
April 28, 2000... Byline: William R. Macklin PHILADELPHIA _ Bill Gates lost big last week. Not only did the government recommend that his company, Microsoft, be cleaved in two after a recent court ruling that the monopolistic Windows software-maker...

Tourist traffic expected to swell when Nauvoo's Mormon temple is rebuilt.
April 28, 2000... Byline: Raad Cawthon NAUVOO, Ill. _ Estel Neff, 71, always had faith that Nauvoo's Mormon temple would be rebuilt on the hill overlooking the Mississippi River chosen by Joseph Smith, the faith's founder, in 1842. "I always thought I...

West hasn't kept promises to Albania for its help in Kosovo.
April 27, 2000... Byline: Jeffrey Fleishman hman TIRANA, Albania _ Down a stretch of broken sidewalk, a Gypsy sells sunflower seeds from a shot glass, and Veli Binjaku, grumbling and miserable as ever, charges passersby a nickel to weigh themselves on...

Car questions answered.
April 27, 2000... Byline: Al Haas (Sunday 4/30 release) Q. I have a 1993 Buick LeSabre Limited with 58,000 miles on it. About every four to six weeks, the positive battery terminal corrodes, and the car stops while I'm driving, and eventually won't...

Acura 3.2 CL is fun to misbehave in.
April 27, 2000... Byline: Al Haas Tracing the derivation of the new Acura 3.2 CL is no mean genealogical feat. It's worthy of a federal grant, and would generate enough 3-by-5-inch note cards to fuel a nostalgic Boy Scout paper drive. According to an...

Roadster renaissance puts new models on the street.
April 27, 2000... Byline: Al Haas Back in the recessionary early '90s, roadsters were about as sought after as tickets to the Bubonic Ball. As a consequence, the topless two-seaters' numbers dwindled to a precious few. By mid-decade, the Chevy...

Phillies defeat Diamondbacks on bases-loaded walk.
April 27, 2000... Byline: Jim Salisbury PHILADELPHIA _ One big hit. One big pitching performance. One big play. Throughout their early-season perils, the Phillies have maintained that they were one big something away from getting themselves...

Byrd has better time vs. Diamondbacks.
April 27, 2000... Byline: Jim Salisbury PHILADELPHIA _ If Paul Byrd had felt a little uneasiness facing the Arizona Diamondbacks Thursday, it might have been understandable. This, after all, was the same lineup that had pounded Byrd for six runs in...

Playoff pandemonium aplently in Philadelphia.
April 27, 2000... Byline: Stephen A. Smith mith PHILADELPHIA _ Calm down. That's what Philadelphia 76ers coach Larry Brown usually feels like saying to the fans before most big games. He recognizes their tendency to set themselves up for...

Capsule reviews of new video releases.
April 27, 2000... Byline: Christopher Cornell An incredibly weird comedy tops this week's list of new movies on home video. BEING JOHN MALKOVICH 3-{ stars (USA Films, `99)* 112 minutes. John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, Orson Bean, Mary...

Voters should consider what sort of judges the candidates would nominate.
April 27, 2000... Byline: Larry Eichel Now that he's ended his Elian-induced disappearing act, Vice President Gore is back in the spotlight, declaring himself a fiscal conservative and decrying George W. Bush's "casino economics." And Bush is...

Eagles to get first glance of 2000 draft class in minicamp.
April 27, 2000... Byline: Phil Sheridan PHILADELPHIA _ A month ago, they were names in the draft guides. Two weeks ago, they became the Eagles' 2000 draft class. On Friday, for the first time, they will step on the field in Eagles uniforms. Well, in...

Flyers goalie Boucher gets even, not agitated.
April 27, 2000... Byline: Tim Panaccio PHILADELPHIA _ While Flyers rookie goaltender Brian Boucher appreciates the comparisons to Ron Hextall and that terrific playoff run Hextall had in 1987 as a Flyers rookie, he is quick to point out that, unlike the...

Lindros-Clarke tragedy-comedy takes a well-deserved rest.
April 27, 2000... Byline: Claire Smith PHILADELPHIA _ Tranquility, the one ingredient the Flyers could not buy this season, was the one they could least afford to do without in the playoffs. What was lost, though, has been found and nowhere is that more...

Personal briefing on home an garden.
April 27, 2000... Finishing touches: Finished with your basement? Many people who thought they were are giving them a second look. Home remodelers say that after a long lull, more owners of existing homes are deciding to finish their basements. "Finished...

Kids' questions answered.
April 27, 2000... Byline: Peter Mucha Here's a quiz based on children's questions. The right answers are at the end. 1. Why are the Lakers called the Lakers? _Mike Ford Los Angeles' pro basketball team, which stars Shaquille O'Neal and Kobie...

Search for genes that cause schizophrenia narrows.
April 27, 2000... Byline: Shankar Vedantam Searching for the genes that cause schizophrenia is like looking for a light switch in a dark amphitheater. Make that several switches _ and all in different places. On Thursday, a New Jersey researcher...

Antioch College invites convicted cop-killer as commencement speaker.
April 27, 2000... Byline: James M. O'Neill PHILADELPHIA _ Antioch College, which has invited death-row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal to speak at its commencement Saturday, has never tried to mask its activist traditions _ the school Web site notes that many of...

Names in the news.
April 27, 2000... Erin Brockovich's ex-boyfriend and ex-husband were arrested and charged with trying to extort $300,000 from the crusader played by Julia Roberts in one of the year's biggest box-office movies. Shawn William Brown, 38, the ex-husband; Jorg...

Web stats aside, your house is worth what someone will pay for it.
April 27, 2000... Byline: Alan J. Heavens We spend months crunching numbers, analyzing sales and price data, waking up at 3 a.m. with ideas on how to report and attractively package what we've learned, and yet it remains that what your house is worth is...