The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 1

nn- JINDIANAPOLI MUd Low 48, high 68 Page B8 newsstand price City "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty" Cor. 3:17 FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 20Q3ZIZI 3Kltth GENERAL ASSEMBLY Jazz fest strains to stay afloat Oft'' Ml) "ZZrL i 4 i -A i Matt Detrich The Star Holiday finery: Linnea Karahalios, 4, Carmel, checks out an Easter outfit complete with bunny ears at Little Women Company in Indianapolis. On average, consumers will spend over $100 each on the holiday. The greening of Easter t's beginning Easter has become in lvS "One or two phone calls can spook a legislator." Debt-laden event may be rescheduled after organizers scrub June 13-15 dates. By David Lindquist david.lindquistiaindystar.com The 2003 Indy Jazz Fest, struggling with debt and a leadership in transition, won't happen as scheduled and faces an outside chance of being canceled.

The annual festival, which salutes an Indiana Avenue musical scene that produced players such as guitarist Wes Montgomery and trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, was scheduled for the weekend of June 13-15. Although no dates or a performance lineup are set, the event could be rescheduled later in the summer. If a fifth edition of Indy Jazz Fest happens, it's likely to be under the management of the American Pianists Association, a locally based organization known for its promotion of emerging jazz and classical musicians. Executive Director Helen Small said the group is finalizing details for a takeover and hopes rescheduled dates will be announced next month. But the outgoing festival executive director said booking top-notch acts on short notice won't be easy.

"For any organization that hasn't done it before, it's going to take a lot of work to get even remotely close to what we've had in the past," said Tasker Day, who left his position this week. Since the inaugural event in 1999, greats Aretha Franklin, B.B. King, Ray Charles, James Brown and Al Green have appeared as headliners. Jazz luminaries have included Branford See Jazz, Page A7 a retail magnet with sales ot holiday-related food, greeting cards, flowers and other items. to cost a lot, like Christmas Lawmakers switch votes after complaints that proposal is hassle, infringes on rights.

By Michele McNeil Solida michele.mcneil.solidagiindystar.com Twenty-five lawmakers in the Indiana House switched their votes Thursday, dooming a child-safety proposal that would have required booster seats for youngsters. Approved by more than a 2-to-l margin last month, House Bill 1434 fell under the weight of intensive lobbying by parents who objected to the government telling them how to care for their children. The bill, which failed 45-53, would have required children ages 4 to 7 to ride in booster seats unless they weigh more than 80 pounds or stand at least 4 feet 9 inches tall. Current law says children through age 3 must ride in car seats; children up to age 12 must wear seat belts. "This is another way to protect children," said the bill's sponsor, Peggy Welch, D-Bloomington, who has few options and little time left to revive the issue before April 24, when the legislature had hoped to adjourn.

See Booster, Page A6 Average per-person spending for Easter Rep. Peggy Welch, D-Bloomington, the bill's sponsor, after 25 lawmakers switched their votes Thursday after initially backing the measure Vote check OlndyStar.com: To find out how your legislator voted, go to Star Links at Easter ranks 2nd in money heels of Santa Claus when it comes to holiday spending. Consumers like Keay have boosted Easter to second on the holiday retail spending list behind Christmas, according still i 1 ii coraing io most surveys, some SDent On nOliaaV Placeitthird, behind Halloween. A 4 survpv hv thp National to most surveys. Some A survey by the National Retail Average spending by category and percentage of consumers who will buy in that category: Food: $27.10 (70) Clothing: (51) Gifts: $14.57 (64.7) Candy: $14.40 Federation found that consumers who celebrate Foster will spend an average of $102.76 each this year.

Christmas spending in 2002 averaged $648.85. The survey polled 10,403 By Dana Knight dana.knight(aindystar.com It will take a pretty big basket for this: two giant stuffed dinosaurs, a darling monster, a tricera- consumers Marcn 6-13 ana has a 1 percentage point margin of error. "When we got this Easter spending survey back, everybody thought, said Flowersdecorations cards: $10 or less Adult stuff. Easter baskets aren't just for kids and hold more than candy. E1 tops action figure and, most likely, bendable zebra and giraffe toys.

This is the Easter that De-bi Keay's 4-year-old son has come to know: toys, candy and more toys. By the numbers 4 team up to vote out library chief at meeting Ellen Tolley, spokeswoman for the federation. The spring holiday that started as a Christian celebration of rebirth has turned into such a commercialized boon that this year it's skewing April retail sales figures. The National Retail Sales Estimate reported Tuesday that U.S. retail sales rose by 63 per- See Easter, Page AH "I'm being really bad," said the mother, who admittedly spoils her only child.

"But I don't like my little boy to have a whole lot of candy. Besides, Easter is just an excuse to buy him some' stuff, which I love to do," she said after loading up at Kits Kaboo-dle in Glendale Mail. The Easter Bunny is nipping at the By Cathy Kightlinger cathy.kightlingergindystar.com Four members of the Marion County Public Library Board surprised some and angered others ft 1 A J) -J Portion of Midwesterners who will celebrate Easter 9.6 million Number of lilies that will be sold $118 billion Amount that will be spent on candy $440 million Amount that will be spent on decorations 60 million Number of chocolate bunnies that will be sold 15 billion Number of jelly beans that will be sold Source: National Retail Federation Robert Dorreii The Star Chocolate choice: Dark and white chocolate bunnies fill the cases at Donaldson's Finer Chocolates at I-65 and Ind. 39 in Lebanon. "You'd be amazed how many big kids expect their bunnies and eggs," says owner George Donaldson.

Erik Campos Knight RidderTribune A pause: Pvt. Ron Manzano takes a break from the war as the United States prepares to rebuild Iraq. Big firm picked to rebuild Iraq i Thursday when they used their majority on the seven-member board to oust Chief Executive Officer Edward Szynaka. At a meeting earlier in the day, some board members asked Szynaka to resign, but he did not, said board member D. Mark Bowell, who made the Marion County Library Director Ed Szynaka had held his post since September 1994.

INDEX Pair of geese attack disabled man near nest E2 Comics E4, 6 Editorials A18 For the Record E2 Billy Graham E2 E3 Lotteries A2 Movies G4.6-13 Obituaries B6.7 Public notices F5, 6 Puzzles E6 Scoreboard D9 Star Classifieds 12 G36-38, Fl-14 Stocks C4-8 Television E7 Weather B8 Bechtel Corp. could be paid $680 million over 18 months to fix nation's infrastructure. By Elizabeth Becker and Richard A. Oppel Jr. The New York Times WASHINGTON The Bush administration Thursday awarded the Bechtel Corp.

the major contract to rebuild Iraq, giving the company a toehold in one of the most lucrative building programs in decades and further solidifying the U.S. imprint on postwar Iraq. The contract, which was awarded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, had set off a heated contest among some of the nation's most politically connected construction concerns. The award will initially pay Bechtel, a closely held San Francisco company that posted $12.7 billion in revenue last year, $34.6 million which could rise to $680 million over 18 months.

But those amounts could be just a frac- See Rebuild, Page A4 Canada geese Weight: Up to 20 pounds Wingspan: Up to 6 feet Nesting: Egg laying begins in early April, with four to six eggs per nest The eggs usually hatch in the first More inside Snagged: U.S. forces captured Barzan Ibrahim Hasan, one of Saddam Hussein's half brothers. A3 Inspectors: The United Nations says it's ready to resume its weapons-finding mission in Iraq but not under a U.S. flag. A3 Called to duty: Gunnery Sgt.

Charles Ray, one of many Hoosiers serving in the Middle East, has a wife and a new daughter awaiting him when his tour is over. A4 No charges: Two get warnings in destruction of eggs, nests. A9 Canada geese are aggressive while nesting hissing, flapping or chasing people who come near. They also foul grassy areas near ponds, as well as sidewalks and driveways in residential areas. Jon Marshall, a DNR spokesman, said federal authorities had granted Indiana U00 nest- motion to relieve Szynaka of his duties.

"How did we arrive at this motion?" asked Jesse B. Lynch, who voted against the move. "It's important that the public understand what is really happening. I want the public to know that certain members of the board didn't know what was coming down tonight." Madge Engle cast the other "no" vote. She said after the meeting that "politics is playing into this" and accused one board member, whom she would not identify, of having "a personal vendetta against Ed." Szynaka, who makes about $98,000 annually, could not be reached for comment Thursday.

He has held the post since September 1994, overseeing about 700 employees and an annual operating budget that stands at See Library, Page A7 By George McLaren george.mclarenindystar.com A disabled Plainfield man was attacked by two Canada geese outside a Northwestside department store in the latest conflict between people and the growing number of the aggressive birds settling in at local ponds. The geese have become so prolific that the state Department of Natural Resources has almost exhausted the 1300 nest-destruction permits it can issue this year. Those permits let businesses, neighborhoods or individual homeowners destroy eggs but not adult geese on their property. The state distributes the permits under an arrangement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

half of May. destruction permits for this year, up from 1,200 in 2002. But II! II $0,501 Star file photo already, officials have issued about 1,200 this year, including nearly 70 in Marion County and Copyright 2003 The Star See Geese, Page A8 WSQSl.