The Anniston Star from Anniston, Alabama • Page 2

Page 2A Saturday, April 5, 1997 vine nniBto Mideast peace talks may hinge upon White House Dlavins a stronger role 1 issues, such as Jerusalem. From Page 1A i 1 Palestinians are skeptical, believing that a leap into the most difficult remaining questions will bypass the Oslo agreements and leave the Palestinians at an even greater disadvantage. "Right now, the eyes are fixed on Washington," said former Israeli negotiator Joel Singer, now a Washington lawyer. "This time, there appears to be some sort of barrier between Netanyahu and Arafat. If the two sides are not able to sit together, none of the issues can disappear and new issues are accumulating." Makovsky said the U.S.

challenge is to move the debate beyond Har Homa. Netanyahu seems unlikely to halt construction: "I doubt it," said the Israeli diplomat when asked whether a stoppage at Har Homa will be on the table when Netanyahu reaches Washington. 1 Employees Susan Robertson and Holly Trimper uncover exhibits at the Anniston Museum of Natural History. Museum humidifier malfunctions Oxford Civic Centei units' cut-off signals malfunctioned, causing the steam to run continuously throughout the night. As moisture condensed on the ceiling and support beams, a shower of dusty water fell, damaging a large portion of the exhibit hall.

The Adaptations Hall, better known as the Africa Hall, received the most significant damage, along with Birds of Prey and Attack and Defense exhibits. "Nothing has ever happened this dramatic before," said Susan Robertson, museum spokeswoman. "When something like this happens in a museum environment, it's very serious." Ms. Donovan declined to name the company that supplied the equipment. However, she said April I I TIL l.j IMIMMIMIMHlliatMWM STORE LOCATION opensunday face, for the first time.

The chief topic in October was Israel's delayed withdrawal from the West Bank city of Hebron, an issue they later resolved. "Then, we had one specific issue. Hebron. Here, the entire process is at stake," a glum Israeli diplomat said this week. "There are no talks, no dialogue, no negotiations.

Now, we are facing terrorism, which we didn't face then, and the Arab deci- sion to boycott." The official White House line states that peace can be made only by the Arabs and Israelis themselves. The long-held view is that arm-twisting is both distasteful and counterproductive. "It's up to the Israelis and Palestinians, ultimately, to define the content, as well as the structure, of their peace negotiations," said State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns. "We, as a mediator, can play a role in suggesting ideas, but it's their decision." Yet as the peace process once so promising falls apart, the calls for a strong White House role are growing. Widely read New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman wrote this week of Clinton that Israeli leader Yitzhak Rabin "died for this process and so far you haven't been willing to take even an ounce of political heat to keep it alive." Translated, most calls for a more active American role mean greater White House pressure on Netanyahu.

That, in turn, means potential criticism from Jewish-American voters who supported Clinton in his campaigns not to mention inevitable resistance from Netanyahu, who aims to please his restive right-wing supporters. Washington analyst Judith Kipper says she believes it is time to press Netanyahu to negotiate the creation of a demilitarized Palestinian state. She thinks Clinton worries too much about offending Jewish voters and the pro-Israel lobby in the United States. "If the United States says what it means and means what it says, they get it. It's time for the U.S.

to say mat we believe the end game should be this kind of Palestinian state; that we will host the negotiations," said Kipper, a Middle East specialist at Georgetown University's Center for Strategic and International Studies. Whatever the ultimate White House strategy, escalating tensions make it more difficult for the Clinton administration to finesse its differences with the Israeli leadership on the contentious issues of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and the final status of Jerusalem. Netanyahu demands a united Jerusalem under Israeli control, while Palestinians insist that part of Jerusalem seized by Israel during the 1967 war should become the capital of a Palestinian state. They consider Netanyahu's unilateral decision to build the project at Har-Homa a deliberate violation of the 1993 Oslo peace accords. "I think we have our right to build a Jerusalem united, for Israeli people and for the Palestinians that are living there," Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai said Thursday in Washington.

"Chairman Arafat and his commanders must fight against the terrorism and deny all the terrorism and violence in the area." To break the stalemate, Netanyahu has proposed accelerated talks on the so-called final status NOW OPEN 7 DAYS LIAR, LIAR (PG) 7:10:00 7:10 Cor I NEXT TO FOOD WORLD SHOPPING U'" 2752 CRESTWOOD BLVD. SAVINGS FACTORY The challenge facing Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who has not yet visited the Middle East in her new role, is clear, "I have a feeling that it will take a senior-level invention," said Makovsk' "either Albright or Clinton, to get this thing going to calm the parties and get them back at the table." Due to an unexpected maintenance situation on Friday, April 4, The Anniston Museum of Natural Histoty was temporarily closed. Wetegret that we were not able to accommodate our visitors. We are truly sorry for this inconvenience and hope that everyone who attempted to enjoy their last day of spring break at the Museum will visit us again very soon. 4th 6th 12 Mos.

SAC with jminimum monthly pmt. required FREE COVER FREE DELUXE CHEMICAL KIT FREE DELIVERY DIRECT Outdoor Fun! NO MIDDLEMAN Money! Tttd fha1lAl SlOl -0l 1 in II nftnoMttU' tnii 6ocfC Mt is the first i fa? Lvain lamtZ I've had in TtaiVC SW rv felt listened assistance- Actors visit to teed it is tfte first, docw aby r-S' i Eddie MotesThe Anniston Starr museum officials will meet with representatives of the supplier, along with those who installed the system, to correct the problem. Museum Maintenance Supervisor Harlen Jackson discovered the damage while making a 7 a.m. security check. The staff was notified and a cleanup effort began immediately.

The museum reopened to the public at 1 p.m., but visitors were allowed access to only about one-fourth of the attractions. The last day of AEA week brought close to 250 visitors to the museum. The week is typically the museum's busiest of the year, with hundreds of visitors each day, Ms. Robertson said. An average day in any other week sees around 60 visitors, she said.

crew of seven astronauts will set how flames spread in weightier undergrou The tests are "fully consistent" with the nuclear test-ban treaty signed by President Clinton last September, said Joan Rohlfing, deputy assistant secretary for national security. "It will not in any way facilitate new-weapons development," Rohlfing said in a conference telephone call with reporters. In anticipation of the government's announcement, several hundred protesters gathered at gates to the Nevada test site in recent days. Twenty-two protesters were arrested Thursday when they blocked highway traffic by chaining themselves to concrete-filled barrels. Critics have questioned whether these experiments are needed to ensure the existing nuclear stockpile is reliable as DOE nuclear scientists contend.

They argue that scaled-back tests at weapons labs can develop the information needed. "The program they have put together is vastly larger and more expensive than what is needed. It's a program that, if it were ultimately successful, would also enable them to design new weapons without testing," said Tom Cochran, a leading nuclear weapons expert with thepri vate Natural Resources Defense Council. From Page 1A tested during installation, Thursday night was the first time it was left on unattended. "When museum pieces such as hides or animal feathers become too dry, they can crack and said Holly Ringer, museum registrar.

"Its vital for museum environments to remain constant because many pieces can never be replaced if they're lost" The new system is designed to maintain a precise 50 percent humidity level and a 70 degree temperature. The steam units, installed high above the cat walks and support beams, work in conjunction with the thermostat at floor level. The problem occurred when the Viewers to get to choose from five newscasts From Page 1A another newscast from Birmingham could replace the local reporting lost in the WJSU-WCFT merger. "I don't see how they can do anything different than the other Birmingham stations are doing," Ford said. "They can't possibly do more than cover the really big events because the bulk of their viewers are in Birmingham and they want to serve them.

I would like to be proven wrong." According to Land, the proof is in the works. "We are going to make sure that we never disenfranchise the major communities of Gadsden and Anniston," he said. "There is a difference between word and deed. And you will see that our performance lives up to the expectations of the people in Gadsden and Anniston." Phone giants would cut access fees From Page 1A cost areas and for low-income customers, and $20 billion in annual "access" fees that long-distance companies pay local phone companies. The FCC is expected to take action next month.

Gene Kimmelman, co-director of the Consumers Union's Washington office, said the phone companies' plan would raise monthly bills by more than $3 billion a year in new charges and fees. The FCC chairman said, "I don't think Congress intended to have us raise residential basic dial tone like and Bell Atlantic propose. And, I think I'm reading Congress right on this." Robert Blau, a BellSouth vice president, also opposes the plan. 'This is a ruse for the companies to reduce the amount of money that goes to support local phone service in high-cost areas and would put pressure on state regulators to increase local rates" to make up the difference. But Tom Tauke, executive vice president of Nynex, said the proposal would not jeopardize subsidies that keep phone service affordable and would not boost phone bills.

Nynex, which provides local phone service in the Northeast; Bell Atlantic, a provider of local service in the mid-Atlantic states; and longdistance giant asked the FCC to approve the plan so it can take effect July 1. The proposal would increase some charges to residential and business customers but would net them $400 million in savings, mostly from reductions in access fees long-distance companies pay local "companies to routeaHsTmeoni- panies said. i i i Associated Press Orbital spring break The space shuttle Colombia, framed by American and orbiter flags, lifts off into a clear Florida sky Friday at the Kennedy Space Center. Thirty-three laboratory experiments are planned for the 16-day mission, all of them considered precursors for a future international space station. Among the experiments, the many as 200 fires in orbit to observe ness.

U.S. plans two nuclear explosions this year No referral necessary We accept most insurance Most appointments within 24 hours Anniston Gadsden 236-7246 442-6011 It Saves You By H. Josef Hebert Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON After a year's delay, the Energy Department said Friday it will conduct two underground explosions this year using nuclear materials at the federal test site in Nevada. The tests have prompted protests from anti-nuclear proliferation groups, which view them as a possible prelude to renewed atomic testing and development of new weapon designs. Energy Secretary Federico Pena, who announced the tests, said they are "an essential component of the department's program for ensuring the safety and reliability of the (nuclear weapons) stockpile." Energy Department scientists took pains to emphasize that each of the two underground tests one in June and a second in the fall will involve chemical, not nuclear, explosions.

Officials said the largest explosion would be equivalent to 8 1 pounds of TNT. Although small amounts of plu-tonium -r- about a pound for each of three charges in the firsttest will the3ck8C-is designed so that it will not- achieve a nuclear chain reaction. Materials As As Landscape Pina Straw Concrata Sand Firewood I i I 1 1 i Much on aii Your Pin Bark Mulch Whit Sand Llmaston Scraanad Topsoll River Gravel Cross ties iUi i -m-4- tt IJi.