Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 7

B6 The Arloni Republic Monday. October 6, 1997 A TO Editor Paul J. Si halt 444X475 3 Another View LOUIS 4. WEIL III Chairman JOHN F. OPPF.DAIIL President.

Publisher, CEO The Arizona republic Incorporating The Phoenix Gaette 200 E. Van Buren, Phoenix AZ 85004 Founded In 1890 PAM JOHNSON, Mf PresidentSews and Executive Editor STEVE KMCKMEYER, Managing Editor HOVJSTOSFOR INITIAL? PALL J. SCHATT, Editor of the Editorial Pages CATHY DAVIS, Senior Vice President Marketing A Development RICH COX, Mi PresidentOperations Product Management JON HELD, Chief Financial Ojfwer WILLIAM R. SHOVER. Director of Public Affairs Phoenix Newspaper Inc.

EUGENE C. PULLIAM 1889-1975 Publisher, 1946-1975 Wiot Spirit of the Lord there is Liberty. II Corinthians 3:17 future More digits, fewer problems the 602 code. No existing customers in the 602 area code would be required to change their area code. Though it would be technically possible to retain some seven-digit local dialing, the Federal Communications Commission has ordered that if this alternative is used within the United States, all local calls would require 10-digit dialing to reduce any competitive advantage that US West would have with most of its customers served by the "old" area code.

Plan does, indeed, seem to be a more permanent long-term solution, inasmuch as customers will not need to change their Letters phone numbers on a continuing basis, unlike the situation in Los Angeles, where Challenge to school tax credit more worn-out rhetoric customers who were originally in the 213 are code have been required to repeatedly change their numbers. I'm writing in regard to your article in the Sept. 30 edition concerning school Less confusing than Plan A the system that involves some seven digits and Acting Chair EuropeanAmerican Issues Forum San Bruno, Calif. Airline commission cuts We are writing to correct some tax law. I'm interested in finding out who this coalition is and exactly what is its purpose.

some 10 digits Plan is likely to be operational for seven years and simplifies future changes when another area code is Kay Lybek of the Arizona Education added, lessening the need for number or dialing changes. Ott concedes neither alternative is with Association refers to the tax credit as wrong and unconstitutional. Lybek continues by insisting the tax credit is a voucher system and therefore illegal. I find her statement to be interesting when Problem: Arizona needs to add a new area code because of the extraordinary demand for new phone numbers coming with everything from a population surge to fax machines and modems and cellular phones. Solution: To be determined by the Arizona Corporation Commission.

But because telephone service providers were unable to reach consensus on a plan for implementing the new area code that will be in addition to 602 and 520 codes, the Corporation Commission issued an order in August asking the Central Office Code Administrator in Arizona to submit a recommendation. This has now been done. And of two options submitted by Jack Ott, the numbering plan administrator for North America, Plan is clearly the more acceptable. Plan A would divide the 602 area code into two areas, the first including most of the city of Phoenix and some areas of Paradise Valley and Glendale. These areas would keep the 602 code, in addition to all existing wireless phones within the 602 area.

The second area, made up of small parts of Phoenix and the remaining suburban area from Apache Junction to Black Canyon City would be transferred to a new area code. Customers in these areas would be required to change the area code portion of their 10-digit telephone numbers. Because two different area codes would be serving the same local calling area, a new dialing method for local calls would be required. Calls between the same area code would remain unchanged with seven digits, but local calls placed between different area codes would require 10-digit dialing, a necessity mandated by the fact that 40 to 50 percent of customers' seven digit phone numbers will be duplicated in another area code. Plan A is favored by some because many people want to retain seven-digit dialing as long as possible and want to retain the geographic uniqueness of area codes rather than having multiple codes serving the same area.

Plan involves placing a new area code over the same geographic area served by out inherent problems and customer impact, but Plan is the preferred option, avoiding the need to -split area codes for businesses you consider the fact that the public school system currently allows vouchers with their charter schools. I suppose this is legal because it falls under the with branch locations, school districts, police and fire departments, and municipal auspices of the school districts. To quote governments. Lybek, "A voucher is a voucher is a To those already in the throes of apoplexy over these changes, we say get a grip. Evidence indicates that when imple voucher," but only OK.

when it is administered by the public school districts. Why is the privatization of the public school system right when it is administered by the district? mented in Maryland, "overlay" area codes became operational without incident. There Another interesting aspect of the legal were not, for example, a plethora of automobile accidents as motorists "with cell children a quality education, then my response is to dismantle the charter schools, which I subsidize. This legal challenge is nothing more than the old worn-out rhetoric we continue to hear from those in charge of a system that has failed our children. The real reason behind the lawsuit is the concern of those who feel they ill lose control of their monopolistic grip on their livelihood.

We have failed our children miserably and continue to do so. Is it not about time we try something different? Let us put the children first just once, before we feed our greedy needs. I can guarantee you I will be one of the first in line to donate my tax dollars to a needed cause. Robert Fish Gilbert Logging and owls This is in reference to the article on Sept. 13 concerning logging and the spotted owl.

I applaud the efforts made in protecting the habitat and the spotted owl from a deplorable act that would have caused its extinction. For those people who are crying over their loss of logging jobs, that should have been anticipated. How many forests, deserts and other natural habitats must we destroy before we realize that the extinction of various wildlife rests solely on our shoulders? It is a terrible and unforgiving loss to our planet to have caused the extinction of an innumerable amount of beautiful and harmless species, all for greed, sport and irresponsibility! Susie Borgardt Phoenix WWII internments It is not true that German- and Italian-Americans were not interned during WWII as stated by Rick Noguchi in the Sept. 14 article "Project looks at Japanese internment." It is true that more Japanese-Ameri phone struggled to punch in three extra digits. challenge filed by this coalition is the fact that it does not challenge the portion of the bill that allows donations to be given to the public schools.

The taxpayers can donate up to $200 to the public school of their choice and receive a direct tax credit in the amount of their donation. Dialing three extra numbers, part of Plan What Lybek fails to tell you is that no taxpayer is excluded from donating, therefore this tax is not intended for any A or Plan is unlikely to inconvenience telephone customers, now sophisticated enough to punch convoluted Web site addresses into their home computers. The Corporation Commission will hold public forums and is likely to issue a decision by early 1998. Whatever is decided, including the addition of three extra digits to phone numbers, we think Arizonans' fingers are up to the challenge. one specific group.

The religious connotation is just a smoke screen to otherwise scare the taxpayers into believing they are supporting religious education. misinformation being put forth by our nation's airlines last week. The largest air carriers would have travelers believe that they are reducing travel-agent commissions in order to avoid raising airfares. In reality, the commission reductions are the latest attempt by the airlines to increase the prices travelers will pay to The airline commission cuts are designed to force consumers to assume the cost of processing airline tickets. This "processing cost pass-through" is a hidden fare increase airlines retain the PR value of not raising published fares, already at record-high levels, while forcing consumers to pay the ticket processing costs via a travel agent.

At the same time, the airlines want to limit travelers' access to accurate and unbiased information so they have fewer choices in purchasing travel. The simple math of the airline commission cut is incontrovertible; airlines are paying travel agents for transacting the airlines' product at a rate below their costs. No supplier can reasonably expect its marketing force to operate under such conditions and the airlines don't expect this. They do expect that travelers will pony up the extra fees that are involved in processing airline tickets or to contact the airlines directly, thus limiting travelers' access to accurate and unbiased travel information. No one familiar with the history of the airlines should be surprised at this brazen attempt to foist higher prices on the traveling public.

Their record profits and the incredible cost of airline tickets demonstrate this. Patricia A. Farrar and Judith Knoth Valley Travel Inc. Tempe Bureaucratic spending I was amused by a letter to the editor in the Sept. 23 paper stating that the "Scottsdale Fat Cats" shot down the half-cent sales tax for public transit improvement.

Please remember that the citizens of Phoenix also voted this down. My congratulations to the people of Phoenix and Scottsdale for having the wisdom to prevent the counterproductive bureaucrats to collect a one-half cent sales tax for the rest of our lives. The voters have all witnessed how well the bureaucrats spend the money they already collect. John A. Sullivan Scottsdale Penny Kotterman of the AfcA later states the money could be used to hire high-quality teachers and reduce class size.

Currently, not a penny in tax dollars has been taken from the school districts. So, am I to believe that the districts have YES TO LOCKS Smith Wesson not been hiring high-quality teachers but will begin to as soon as this tax law is defeated? Also, should the private schools enroll their children into the public system and further the overcrowding of the classroom? When Kotterman states the tax credit does nothing to give Far more preferable, however, is the voluntary inclusion of the trigger locks as shown by Smith Wesson. Many law-enforcement agencies, including those in the Valley, issue locking devices for officers to secure their weapons at home, while other agencies advocate the free distribution and use of these devices to the general public. The growing concern for gun safety and the acceptance of trigger locks is a worthwhile phenomenon that serves public safety. Smith Wesson has proven that responsible gun manufacturers can act without the need for federal mandates and without sacrificing any elements of the Constitution guaranteed by the Second Amendment.

Cheers to them. Cheers, please, for the gun manufacturer Smith Wesson, following its recent announcement that all of its products will now be equipped with a two-piece, keyed safety lock. Safety locks are a good idea. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, in the past 10 years, more than 2,300 American children 14 years old or younger have died from unintentional shootings. Undoubtedly, a trigger restraint, immobilizing the firing mechanism, would have prevented many of those shootings.

In fact, several states have implemented laws requiring that safety locks be included with every Jiandgun sale, a requirement that President Clinton seeks to have included in federal legislation. cans were housed in relocation camps, which are different than internment camps, than German- and ltalian-Amer-ians. However, German- and Italian-Americans were interned at about the same number, 16,000, as Japanese-Americans. The San Francisco Unified School District has been erroneously teaching that only Japanese-Americans were interned. It is reviewing the evidence we presented to it, and hopefully that error will be corrected.

Congressman Rick Fazio, has introduced a bill for our government to acknowledge the inappropriate treatment of some Italian-Americans by the internment, forced relocation and travel restrictions placed on them during WWII. Louis Calabro LETTERS POLICY Letters are welcome, should be 200 words or fewer and are subject to editing. Letters must include your name, address and a daytime phone number. If your letter is selected for publication, we will notify you. Write to: Letters to the Editor, The Arizona Republic, RO.

Box 2244, Phoenix, AZ 85002 Fax: 602-444-8933 E-mail: Opinionsaol.com Fax and e-mail letters must also include name, address and phone number. Few note event that changed race relations in America GUEST COLOI we pause to reflect upon that time in history, we must recognize that improving race relations in America is an act of individual responsibility. Regardless of race or ethnicity, we must each commit to achieving that vision, as difficult as it may be. It's not something somebody else can do for us. Toby Radasky Kornreich is a senior policy analyst at ASU's Morrison Institute for Public Policy.

He grew up in New Orleans. Readers are invited to submit guest columns, preferably on local issues. Col- umns are 650 words and should include name, address and phone number. Send them to: Guest Column, The Arizona Republic, P.O. Box 2244, Phoenix, AZ 85002, or opinionsaol.com via e-mail experience and practice.

and my classmates, learned human beings must all regard one another with respect, civility and objectivity. Instruction much more difficult to master than calculus or chemistry. And I fear that as a society, we are regressing, not progressing, in our efforts to learn those lessons. Today's media are replete with reports about widening gaps in our country's efforts to achieve racial parity and equity. President Clinton appointed a panel to explore that very topic.

What happened in Little Rock 40 years ago was a defining moment for American society. Its ramifications are ongoing and confront each of us daily. As old, black and white, found their classrooms, sat next to each other and peacefully exited at the end of the day. And so it went for the next three years. It was by no means a seamless transition, but in the world that was our high school, we were learning the lessons of racial harmony.

My senior class president was black; so was the homecoming queen and the vice president of the Honor Society. I look back on that time with wonder and with pride. I have long realized that the most important things I learned in high school were lessons no books or professors could ever teach. They could be obtained only through personal gration. It was a full decade later before the school district ran out of delaying tactics and "capitulated" to the desegregation of its entire K-12 system.

It was September 1967. 1 was entering high school and clearly remember my first day of 10th grade. My first day of desegregation. The airwaves and the headlines bristled with anticipation. Social change of this magnitude was indeed historic.

But was it something to be scared of? The ring of police cars and army of reporters surrounding the school made us all jittery, black and white alike. But the day turned out to be totally uneventful. Students new and By Toby Radasky Kornreich For too many of us, the anniversary of an important historical, event passed last week. Some 40 years ago, nine African-American students held their breaths, calmed their nerves and crossed the threshold of Little Rock Central High School. Their footsteps set a course that changed contemporary American society.

Their footsteps still echo in our national debate of race relations and racial equality. And yet, as I read and watched news reports of the commemorative events honoring that historic day, I kept wondering how many people knew or cared. I cared be- cause it changed my life. Born and bred in the Deep South, I am old enough to have clear memories of "separate but equal" facilities. I sat in the front of the bus, African-Americans in the back.

I drank out of water fountains clearly marked "white." In theaters, 1 comfortably watched from the orchestra while black patrons were required to sit in the balcony. And, of course, my schools were singularly Caucasian. For years after the Central High School desegregation effort, politi-cos in my hometown resisted inte.