Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service articles from April 1999

Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service archives from April 1999

Party leaders blame each other for sending signal that could prolong conflict.
April 30, 1999... WASHINGTON _ The House's failure this week to back the air war against Yugoslavia ignited a partisan firestorm in Congress Thursday as party leaders angrily blamed each other for sending a garbled signal that some fear could prolong the...

Palestinian leadership votes to delay independent statehood.
April 30, 1999... CAIRO _ After three days of debate, the Palestinian leadership voted Thursday to postpone declaring an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza until after Israel's upcoming elections. The Palestinian Central Council decided in Gaza to...

Macedonia may be on the brink of civil war.
April 30, 1999... SKOPJE, Macedonia _ When Slobodan Casule drives the streets of this obscure Balkan capital on the roads clogged with military jeeps, or listens to the helicopters churning the skies overhead, he is reminded not of his hometown but of another...

Governor orders formation of youth-violence task force.
April 30, 1999... RALEIGH, N.C. _ Troubled by the Littleton massacre and subsequent safety threats at North Carolina schools, Gov. Jim Hunt has ordered the creation of a statewide task force to examine the causes of youth violence. The task force, to...

Final victim of shooting rampage buried in graduation regalia.
April 30, 1999... DENVER _ Isaiah Shoels will not be there when his high school classmates graduate three weeks from now. But Thursday, in his coffin, he wore his cap and gown. Shoels, 18, was the last of the 13 victims of the April 20 massacre at...

Kids can be traumatized anywhere.
April 30, 1999... Littleton, Colo., Kosovo or around the corner. The place doesn't matter. Kids are being traumatized everywhere. In America, the numbers are staggering. According to CIVITAS, the child trauma programs at Texas Children's Hospital and...

Experts in the treatment of traumatized children and adults.
April 30, 1999... Recognized experts in the treatment of traumatized children and adults: _Dr. James A. Chu, Harvard Medical School, McLean Hospital, Proctor House 3, 115 Mill St., Belmont, Mass. 02478-9106. Phone: (617)-855-2761. _CIVITAS Child...

Books on trauma.
April 30, 1999... _``Rebuilding Shattered Lives: The Responsible Treatment for Complex Post-Traumatic Stress and Dissociative Disorders,'' by James A. Chu, M.D., Ph.D. (John Wiley & Sons. 1998). _``Dissociation in Children and Adolescents: A Developmental...

Handicapped Scuba Association wants everyone to get wet.
April 30, 1999... With warm weather on the way, what better time to jump into the water. Jim Gatacre, founder of the nonprofit international Handicapped Scuba Association, wants everybody to get wet. Gatacre helped get the scuba organization going in 1974...

Consider several factors in picking sunscreen.
April 30, 1999... Q. There are so many sunscreens with different ingredients. Which is the best to protect yourself from skin cancer? A. Sunscreens can protect you from sunburn and premature aging and wrinkling of the skin, but it's debatable how much they...

NATO ties pull U.S. foreign policy down the wrong road.
April 30, 1999... It wasn't too long ago that American politicians boasted about the ``peace dividend,'' the savings in military expenses and reduction in overseas military missions that would accompany the end of the struggle between Western democracies and...

Must religious conservatives give up on U.S. politics?
April 30, 1999... NEW YORK _ As the 2000 presidential campaign lurches toward the starting line, one of the unresolved questions is the role religious conservatives will play. The New York Times has already declared that ``the movement is struggling...

Protectionist clouds on the horizon.
April 30, 1999... After fifty years of preaching the benefits of global trade, the United States is in the throes of a protectionist revival. Last week, no less an authority than Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan warned of impending dangers to free...

Partition of the former Zaire may be inevitable solution to devastating war.
April 30, 1999... LONDON _ Far removed from the current NATO intervention in Kosovo, another war involving at least nine nations, 50,000 soldiers and a proliferation of U.S., Soviet, French and British weaponry is taking place. Its impact on the global...

Arafat wisely delays independence decree.
April 30, 1999... The following editorial appeared in the Miami Herald on Wednesday, 4-28: X X X It is inconsequential whether Palestinian strongman Yasser Arafat ``backed down,'' yielded to U.S. and European pressure or simply recognized the folly...

The basics of how autos work, for men and women.
April 30, 1999... Many women don't know anything about cars and aren't afraid to admit it. This definitely isn't true of men. Most of the ones I talk to don't know much more about how a car works than their wives do, but are genetically incapable of...

Berlin makes a good capital for united, dynamic Germany.
April 30, 1999... The following editorial appeared in The Providence Journal on Wednesday, 4-28: X X X After their country was reunited in 1990, the Germans voted to move their capital from Bonn, a sleepy university town in the Rhineland, back to...

North Korea: A ticking time bomb in Asia.
April 30, 1999... The following editorial appeared in The Orange County Register on Thursday, 4-29: X X X Even as diplomats prepared for a 50th anniversary NATO celebration turned somber by realities on the ground in Kosovo, a program at last week's...

So gun control is bad, but it's okay if kids shoot each other?
April 30, 1999... Let's face it _ love is blind. Especially the love some people have for guns. I'm not talking about a lot of gun owners. Most are sensible people who use guns for protection, hunting or target practice. But there are many gun...

Lost boys: Why our sons turn violent and how we can save them.
April 30, 1999... ITHACA, N.Y. _ The morning after the school shooting in Jonesboro, Ark., in May 1998, my 16-year-old daughter sat at the breakfast table reading the newspaper. After she finished the detailed account of the attack by 13-year-old Mitchell...

To save Europe, turn up the power.
April 30, 1999... With all the people who are volunteering to pronounce the benediction over NATO's intervention in Kosovo, you might assume the Serb aggression has not only succeeded, but humiliated NATO. It would be nice, of course, if Yugoslav President...

Tomatoes aside, NAFTA is a peachy deal.
April 30, 1999... Give some of the credit to La Nina. But give most of it to La NAFTA. We're talking tomatoes here. Depending on where you live in this party to the tripartite (United States-Mexico-Canada) North American Free Trade Agreement, you may,...

Virginia teachers worry about order to report `dangerous' students to police.
April 30, 1999... NEWPORT NEWS, Va. _ Fred Atwell will never forget the teacher's words about his son, then a seventh-grader at Reservoir Middle School in Newport News. ``He told us, `Your son is a very violent kid,' `` Atwell recalled. The Atwells were...

Hundreds of counselors tend to the ripples from Columbine.
April 30, 1999... COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. _ The drawings presented to therapists by students who attend an elementary school near Columbine High School literally speak volumes. ``Pictures of people with guns and blood dripping from things, maybe a child...

Keeping century-old concept new and viable in a changing world.
April 30, 1999... Fuel cells. Nickel-hydride batteries. Cars driven by a combination of electric motors and small gasoline engines. No doubt about it, we'll be seeing some big changes in automotive propulsion in the next century. But the power plants...

Sexually transmitted diseases are rampant, experts say.
April 30, 1999... Since being diagnosed with herpes in 1982, Alice has gotten used to dealing with the painful sores that erupt on her genitals. She's gotten used to the shame and stigma that surround her disease. She's even growing to accept the fact that...

Tips on protecting yourself.
April 30, 1999... What can you do to protect yourself? Plenty. Here's what you need to know: _Sexually transmitted diseases can be spread through vaginal, oral and anal sex. Some viruses, such as the human papilloma virus, also can be transmitted through...

Small class sizes in the earliest school years makes a difference, study shows.
April 30, 1999... SAN JOSE, Calif. _ Students who study in smaller classes during their early school years continue to outperform those who don't through high school, according to a ground-breaking study released Thursday. Researchers who have been...

Not all apparently parentless children in Kosovo are orphans.
April 30, 1999... There's the mother who was fleeing Kosovo on foot with her family. A neighbor, also a refugee, passed her on a tractor. He didn't have room for the whole family, but said ``I can take the baby.'' Now the neighbor, the tractor and the infant...

Pot, it's not _ it's a valuable resource that can help farmers.
April 30, 1999... Imagine if during Prohibition it was forbidden to grow corn because of it's capacity to make alcohol. Or barley, for that matter, or grapes. Billions of dollars would have been lost to the American farmer. Consumers would have been...

Americans, Vietnamese have diverse customs.
April 30, 1999... BILOXI, Miss. _ The joint-rattling whine of electric grinders echoed across the water. Sparks flew, and the white-hot crackle of an arc welder came from the bow of a shrimp boat, where a Vietnamese youth repaired the pulpit that holds the...

Today's video games are more dangerous than those of the past.
April 29, 1999... Late 1970s. Athens, Ga. I took a hard left on the steering wheel and heard a satisfying scream as another running figure fell. This was my best run yet. A record breaker. The black screen was strewn with the tombstones of my previous...

Ignoring hate welcomes violence.
April 29, 1999... Indifference is a welcome mat for violence. From the dragging death of a man in Texas last year to the beating death of a gay college student in Wyoming, acts of hate are proliferating in America. In 1997, the Intelligence Project of the...

Not healthful, just trendy: Campus craze loaded with tar, nicotine.
April 29, 1999... CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ They are flavored like cherries or chocolate or root beer. They look a little like a joint. And they're cheap. Those are some of the reasons the hand-rolled East Indian cigarettes called Bidis are becoming a...

Push for faster progress in Kosovo may mean more risk-taking.
April 29, 1999... WASHINGTON _ So far, the Yugoslavian air campaign has been nearly spotless: 11,000 sorties in a month with only two downed aircraft, just a few errant missiles and no American body bags. It's been what the public wants: a war without risks....

NATO confirms an errant missile form allied plane hit Bulgarian suburb.
April 29, 1999... BRUSSELS, Belgium _ NATO, which has stressed the precision of its weaponry, confirmed Thursday that a missile from an allied plane hit an upscale suburb of the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, 30 miles from the Yugoslav border. The Bulgarian...

Soothing words can't ease painful truth of Japanese economy.
April 29, 1999... WASHINGTON _ When Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi meets President Clinton Monday at the White House, he will say almost everything Clinton wants to hear. All of it will be true _ but it won't amount to much, because it will pale in...

Orioles-Cuba exhibition game is more than just a baseball game.
April 29, 1999... WASHINGTON _ Under the lights of Baltimore's Camden Yards Monday night, a baseball game will be played that is anything but just a game. The exhibition game between the Baltimore Orioles and a Cuban team is having its share of...

`The Best American Short Stories of the Century,' edited by John Updike, co-edited by Katrina Kenison; Houghton Mifflin (800 pages, $28).
April 28, 1999... Surely no other literary form so success fully captures what William Saroyan in these pages calls ``the crazy glory everywhere'' as does the American short story. With its economical settings, its manageable stock of characters, its concise...

From suburbia to inner cities, killing reflects our society's hate.
April 28, 1999... The violence we've witnessed in small-town, suburban USA since 1997 is unrivaled by any other, including that in the inner city. It's the sort of callous display of hate and destruction that we would rather blame on some foreign...

Littleton's lesson: Violence isn't OK in suburbia, the city, anywhere.
April 28, 1999... The car smashed into us just behind the right passenger door and we went spinning like a carnival ride, the vehicle hurling itself across somebody's front lawn. Mom was at the wheel, hanging on for dear life. I was flying around the back...

In the wake of massacre, a nation recoils against guns.
April 27, 1999... The following editorial appeared in the Miami Herald on Friday, April 23: X X X What will be the lasting effects of the Columbine High School massacre? Will America remember, or care, 10 years from now? Will the images of teens...

Parents must be willing to intrude at every turn.
April 27, 1999... I want to tell the parents of the killers in Littleton how badly I ache for them. Then I want to take them outside into the cold, clear light of the Colorado day, let everyone feel their shame and suffering and tell parents everywhere,...

Alienated students today have more access to tools of violence.
April 26, 1999... There have always been teen-age outcasts: too smart or short or clumsy or shy to fit in, spending too many Saturday nights alone in their rooms dreaming of getting even with classmates who shun or torment them. But they didn't kill. ...

NATO leaders split on blockade of Yugoslavia.
April 26, 1999... WASHINGTON _ Unveiling a new ``strategic concept'' to guide NATO into the next century as they vowed unity in the Kosovo conflict, allied leaders publicly broke ranks Saturday over the wisdom of imposing a naval blockade of oil shipments to...

Police investigate hate group formed after shooting in Colo.
April 26, 1999... Brimfield Township police are investigating 12 Field High School students who allegedly formed a hate group and declared solidarity with the ``Trenchcoat Mafia'' responsible for the shooting rampage in Littleton, Colo. The action was one...

Family, friends mourn sophomore who loved truck, friends and God.
April 26, 1999... LITTLETON, Colo. _ Michelle Oetter imagined herself happily dancing at a prom next Saturday with her boyfriend, John Robert Tomlin. Instead, she found herself Friday struggling to speak through her tears at his memorial service. A light...

SCHOOL SHOOTINGS UNLIKELY TO BOOST GUN CONTROL ISSUES IN CONGRESS.
April 26, 1999... Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service News Budget for papers of Sunday, April 25, 1999 KRT News Desk: 202-383-6080, news(AT)krtinfo.com Sunday news supervisor: Sunday/Books/Food Editor Karen Kirk, 202-383-3734, kkirk(AT)krtinfo.com...

Phillies defeat Expos.
April 26, 1999... MONTREAL _ Unable to acquire a starting pitcher in spring training, the Phillies were left with no choice but to anoint Chad Ogea as the No. 2 arm in their rotation. Three weeks into the season, the righthander is showing he's worthy of that...

Dream season continues for Seniors rookie Bruce Fleisher.
April 26, 1999... CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ Before his dream-like rookie season on the PGA Senior Tour began, Bruce Fleisher was handed a note by friend and former tour member Roger Kennedy. The note said, ``Three wins and top five on the money list.'' ``I...

Straka suddenly Pens' go-to guy.
April 26, 1999... PITTSBURGH _ Pittsburgh Penguins center Martin Straka said he didn't want to talk about his remarkable weekend because he didn't want to jinx himself. But perhaps he knew he might be better off letting his actions speak for themselves. ...

Damon Jones pays instant dividend.
April 26, 1999... BOSTON _ The Celtics signed guard Damon Jones to a second 10-day contract, and he thanked them by playing a career game Sunday. Jones scored 15 points and added 6 assists, both career highs, in Boston's 113-84 rout of the Washington...

Wings survive shaky start thanks to Osgood.
April 26, 1999... ANAHEIM, Calif. _ For a team now one victory removed from a first-round sweep, the Detroit Red Wings had anxious moments Sunday at Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim. The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions were outplayed by the Mighty Ducks...

Standing shuffled after wreck on 49th lap.
April 26, 1999... TALLADEGA, Ala. _ The wreck wasn't that big, but its consequences were profound. The largest wreck of Sunday's DieHard 500 at Talladega Superspeedway came early, on the 49th of the 188 laps, and involved seven cars. Mike Skinner and Tony...

McNown picked off twice on final day of mini-camp.
April 26, 1999... CHICAGO _ The Chicago Bears' first mini-camp with rookies and veterans ended Sunday, with some new players receiving lovely parting gifts from vets to take home and ponder. Linebacker Rico McDonald, reprising his role as unofficial team...

Fill-in Rios makes like Bonds with a go-ahead HR in Giants' win.
April 26, 1999... SAN FRANCISCO _ Armando Rios sucked in the adulation. There he stood in the seventh inning, just above the top step of the San Francisco Giants' dugout, as a 3Com Park crowd of 23,099 roared its pleasure. Rios pumped his fist, kissed his...

Nets pound Pacers by 22.
April 26, 1999... EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. _ Anyone who can come up with a more baffling NBA result this season than Sunday's Nets-Indiana Pacers game, please state your case. Consider the Pacers knew they had a chance to move into a virtual tie for the...

White Sox' streak ends at 6.
April 26, 1999... CHICAGO _ The Chicago White Sox's six-game winning streak was more than modest, sometimes thrilling and, now, is definitely over. Despite McKay Christensen's first career home run and the first two-homer game of Ray Durham's career, the...

Game 3 notes: Northlands or Skyreach? Plenty of memories.
April 26, 1999... EDMONTON, Alberta _ Richard Matvichuk first played at the old Northlands Coliseum, the site of Sunday night's game, when he was 8. Darryl Sydor had to wait for his first NHL game to play there, but that made it even more memorable. Both...

Sutter mum on goaltending call.
April 26, 1999... SAN JOSE, Calif. _ San Jose Sharks Coach Darryl Sutter said he has reached a decision on whether Mike Vernon or Steve Shields will start in goal for Game2. It's a decision he is keeping to himself. ``Nobody knows,'' Sutter said. ``It's...

Dodgers sign Mike Maddux in hopes of helping bullpen.
April 26, 1999... LOS ANGELES _ Antonio Osuna has a bone spur in his elbow. Alan Mills is pitching with a sore shoulder. The Dodgers have six pitchers in their bullpen and three are rookies _ Jamie Arnold and left-handers Onan Masaoka and Jeff Kubenka....

Skrudland feels like a rookie again.
April 26, 1999... EDMONTON, Alberta _ Brian Skrudland is a veteran of 145 playoff games. He has had a hand in eight overtime postseason game-winning goals. He has his name on the Stanley Cup. And yet he was being treated like a rookie Sunday entering his...

Dodgers don't take advantage of chances in loss to Cardinals.
April 26, 1999... LOS ANGELES _ The Los Angeles Dodgers got two hits on Sunday to raise their batting average with a runner in scoring position to .199, which is as high as it has been since April 9 when they were at .222. And they know that to do anything...

Blues fall 5-4 during Game 3 slugfest.
April 26, 1999... ST. LOUIS _ In a game full of fights, penalties, rink-rattling hits andwild momentum swings, the Phoenix Coyotes were just happy it ended before thingsgot any worse. Phoenix rolled to an early 4-0 lead and chased goalie Grant Fuhr, but...

McLennan assumes his share of brawling duties against Coyotes.
April 26, 1999... ST. LOUIS _ With enforcers Tony Twist and Kelly Chase watching from thepress box, St. Louis Blues goalie Jamie McLennan handled some of the fighting duties Sunday. The Blues trailed Phoenix 4-0 when McLennan replaced struggling goalie...

Grimson's intentions better than his timing.
April 26, 1999... ANAHEIM _ The door swung open and Stu Grimson sat alone, sharp in a dark suit, like a defendant ready to plead. He was ready for the easy part, although most distressed athletes find it too hard. He would stand up and tell the world that...

Modano starts to contribute just in time.
April 26, 1999... EDMONTON, Alberta _ For the first 170 minutes of the playoffs, Tom Hicks deserved a refund. He hadn't been getting his $12 million worth. That, give or take a few Jaguars, is what the Dallas Stars owner is paying Mike Modano and Brett...

Stars rally, takes 3-0 series lead.
April 26, 1999... EDMONTON, Alberta _ Maybe the Dallas Stars' alternate sweaters do have some magical power after all. After lucking out all game against a determined bunch of Edmonton Oilers, the Stars fired in three third-period goals and took a stunning...

Hull remains unconcerned about line's goal output.
April 26, 1999... EDMONTON, Alberta _ Dallas Stars coach Ken Hitchcock and a legion of reporters were all asking why the Dallas big guns like Brett Hull and Mike Modano were so quiet in this Stanley Cup playoff series against Edmonton. ``Why isn't it...

Edmonton turns up aggressiveness.
April 26, 1999... EDMONTON, Alberta _ The Edmonton Oilers had this problem in Games 1 and 2. They were getting hardly any shots on goal. They were shooting, mind you, but not enough, and the shots they were getting weren't getting to Stars goalie Eddie...

KEN GRIFFEY JR. HAS THAT DESIGNER LOOK.
April 26, 1999... Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service KRT Sports Budget for Sunday, April 25, 1999 KRT News Desk: 202-383-6080, news(AT)krtinfo.com KRT Sports Desk: Sports Editor, Tom Peterson, 202-383-6088, tpeterson(AT)krtinfo.com KRT Photo...

Stars' Shawn Chambers enjoying extra ice time.
April 26, 1999... EDMONTON, Alberta _ Shawn Chambers, the Dallas Stars' most punishing defenseman, says he got the chills. The game was ruthlessly physical, the pace was more like a maddening drum solo, and when the home team finally went ahead, the arena went...

NATO SUMMIT ENDS WITH UNITY, MISSION INTACT.
April 26, 1999... Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service News Budget for Sunday, April 25, 1999 KRT News Desk: 202-383-6080, news(AT)krtinfo.com KRT Photo Service: 202-383-6099, photo(AT)krtinfo.com KRT Graphics Network: 202-383-6064,...

In the end, the Balkan puzzle is still just that.
April 26, 1999... What is happening in the Balkans does not make sense to me. I mean, I read analysis pieces and I understand what they are saying about this part of the puzzle or that part of the puzzle, but at the end it is still a puzzle and incomplete. ...

In Miami, the Cuban publishing scene is hot.
April 26, 1999... ``More Cuban books are published in Miami than in Cuba!'' says writer Reinaldo Bragado. Indeed, when I was editing the Sun-Sentinel's Spanish-language weekly Exito in Miami I would receive at least two invitations a week to new book readings....

Enjoy chocolate guilt-free; new cookbooks.
April 26, 1999... Those milk promotion folks are always thinking. This time they're offering those watching their weight a way to enjoy chocolate in combination with dairy products, of course. Here's the pitch: With summer approaching, many adults are...

Sutter Home Pinot Noir.
April 26, 1999... The Sutter Home winery made its reputation on white zinfandel and continues to produce good-value red zinfandel. But here's proof that this is no one-grape winery: a 1997 pinot noir with a fresh, lively mouth feel and a ripe cherry taste. ...

Completion of skate park slated for June.
April 26, 1999... GULFPORT, Miss. _ County officials say contractors are on target to complete the Harrison County Skate Park off DeBuys Road by the end of June. County Engineer Bobby Knesal said work crews are assembling the steel frame for the park's...

Actresses recreate Eleanor and Alice.
April 26, 1999... WASHINGTON _ There I was, sitting in an old saloon next door to the house where Abraham Lincoln died, having coffee with Eleanor Roosevelt and her beautiful, temperamental, tart-tongued cousin, Alice Roosevelt Longworth. To be sure, the...

Kids' questions answered.
April 26, 1999... Q. What's the difference between a mousse and a pudding? _Christian Hoechst A. Here's a tasty way to get the basic idea. Get some chocolate pudding and put whipped cream on top. Now take a spoon and mix the whipped cream and pudding...

Estrogen may protect against heart disease; other science and medical briefs.
April 26, 1999... Estrogen taken by women after menopause may be a more powerful protector against heart disease than previously thought. Scientists had known that estrogen lowers LDL, the bad cholesterol involved in clogged arteries, and increases HDL,...

The Single Guy: Dating game a little different in the Big Apple.
April 26, 1999... Eyes down. Go straight to ground transportation. Find the M-60 bus. Buy a MetroCard. Ride the N train to 34th and 4th. Make no eye contact. Don't look up at one of the tallest buildings on the planet. People will know you're from out of...

A look at recent self-help books.
April 26, 1999... ```Getting Out From Under: Redefining Your Priorities in an Overwhelming World,'' by Stephanie Winston (Perseus hardcover, $22). Winston, author of three books on getting organized, tries a more internal approach with this one. It's not...

Neither age nor disabilities _ nor fear of fungus _ need keep one from the rain forest.
April 26, 1999... HOH RAIN FOREST, Wash. _ From the beginning there was never any question that Irene would go along, at least in her mind. It'd be a classic, 2{-day whirlwind trip to Washington's Olympic Peninsula _ Port Townsend, Hurricane Ridge,...