Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • Page 30

6 Section 1 Chicago Tribune, Monday, March 2, 1998 Linking Peachtree and Beale Streets Huntsville, pushes for better access to Atlanta and Memphis IND. ILL. '75 KY. VA. ,65.

MO. 40 24 General route of proposed highway ToV N.C. Cities along the proposed highway TENN. Chattanooga ARK. s.c.

20- Florence jm Huntsville emphls Rome Tupelo i DeCatur Payne Atlanta Across the nation From Tribune News Services MISSISSIPPI Texas governor Bush is victor in GOP presidential straw poll BILOXI Despite skipping the event, Texas Gov. George W. Bush topped a Southern states straw poll of possible GOP contenders in the year 2000 presidential race. Bush was the choice of 18 percent of 1,106 delegates at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, an organization of GOP activists in 13 states from Oklahoma to Virginia. Publisher Steve Forbes came in second at 15 percent followed by former Vice President Dan Quayle at 12 percent and Sen.

Fred Thompson of Tennessee at 10 percent. While contenders claim the results meant little, some delegates said the poll indicates how the GOP rank and file feel about the party's presidential lineup. "It doesn't say what's going to happen," said Robert Foy of Dathan, Ala. "But as of right now, I think it is significant for this moment." House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who politicked from table to table Saturday, polled only 6 percent, trailing Sen. John Ashcroft of Missouri at 9 percent and former Tennessee Gov.

Lamar Alexander at 8 percent. Any Republican who lives in a conference state was eligible to attend the poll and vote. Although Bush did not show, he did send a number of political strategists to the event. Politicians who attended and spoke before the voting Saturday night said it was too soon to read anything into the results. "I wouldn't pay much attention to it," said Alexander, who was a candidate for the GOP nomination in 1996.

"It's much too early. People are just forming their opinions." NEW YORK GA. 75 Birmingham A MISS. ALA. 20 1C 65 LA.

100 miles By Janita Poe Tribune Staff Whiter ATLANTA-By the early 2010s, if all the funding is obtained, a $2.5 billion superhighway could link the Southern meccas of Atlanta and Memphis, making east-west travel in the Southeast safer and faster. Not many people in Atlanta are talking about this road, known as the Memphis-to-Atlanta Highway. It's also no big deal in Memphis. But in the halls of business and politics in Huntsville, people are anticipating its arrival the way Atlantans anticipated the coming of the 1996 Summer Olympics. "We really need this highway," said Huntsville Mayor Loretta Spencer, 60, who has lived in the city since her family moved from Birmingham in 1944.

"As metropolitan as we are in Huntsville, it sets us back by not having access to a major interstate." Indeed, the muscle behind the movement in Congress to get this highway, which would run through northern Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi and southwestern Tennessee, is not in Atlanta or Memphis but in Huntsville. The residents say their city's growth has been stymied because of the lack of any major east-west road to link it to the interstate systems surrounding Memphis and Atlanta. They particularly cite their exclusion from the east-west plotting of the federal interstate system during the mid-1940s. Huntsville's struggle to get a major highway built nearby is mirrored in dozens of other communities across the U.S. According to the Federal Highway Administration, some 50 cities with populations of more than 50,000 have no direct interstate access.

This includes larger areas such as Fresno and Bakersfield, which have a four-lane highway that links them to the interstate but no east-west highway, as well as communities such as McAllen, Texas, and Lancaster, Calif. Some fairly large communities don't even have a four-lane high- they expect the Memphis-Atlanta project will get enough funding to begin construction, which could be complete by 2013. The push for the highway can be traced to Rep. Bud Cramer a Huntsville native who vowed to get the road built if elected to Congress in 1990. Shortly after he took office, Cramer gained a seat on the Transportation Committee and began fighting to get the highway for the Southeast.

Cramer said he and his community have a personal stake in the plan. "This corridor is very important for our future," Cramer said. "We think it is very important that we be connected to these communities, especially considering how fast we've been growing." Some Huntsville residents say Cramer and other Alabama politicians were savvy in promoting the road as a link between Atlanta and Memphis, even though those cities weren't especially interested in connecting to each other. Still, they stress they always made it clear that Huntsville would benefit from the project. There is no doubt that the complexion of a city such as Huntsville could change for the better with an additional interstate link.

Road experts say well-maintained four-lane roads and interstates are much safer and faster than old U.S. highways and other roads. They also help attract business and new residents. Spencer said the city has gained some technology-based businesses because the government's Redstone Arsenal, an aviation and missile construction site, and Marshall Space Flight Center, a NASA research center, are in the area. She also said the city has lost out on adding some businesses because of the poor road options to places such as Atlanta.

"I think we could attract a lot more businesses and retail to the area if we were in the loop with a connection to Atlanta," Spencer said. 0 I t-fci: -it a Tye5k fir Chicago TribuneDavid Jahntz distinguish itself in the race for a major highway because it is pushing a project that is linked to major cities such as Memphis and Atlanta. Although the Huntsville area, unlike some communities, is directly served by Interstate Highway 565 and nearby Interstate Highway 65, a north-south highway, residents say traveling by road to some destinations is still a headache. Getting to Memphis, only 160 miles away, takes almost four hours. Even more irksome is the four-hour drive to Atlanta, which involves traveling on mountainous roads and through small towns.

"There is no easy way to Atlanta," said Linda Green, the Huntsville Chamber of Commerce chairwoman. In 1991, Congress considered hundreds of proposals for road and bridge construction. Only 20 made the lawmakers' short list as projects with "national significance." Included was the Memphis-Atlanta highway project, which received $25.4 million under the federal government's ISTEA (Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act) plan. State planners are using that money for route plotting and environmental studies. Later this year, Congress will vote on a major transportation bill.

Though the act doesn't have a price tag, political insiders say way anywhere nearby. Dubuque, Iowa, which has a metropolitan population of 110,000, is just 170 miles from Chicago but getting there requires a trek on U.S. Highway 20, portions of which are considered among the more dangerous in Illinois. The closest interstate to Dubuque is 70 miles away. Dubuque Mayor Terry Duggan says not having an interstate or a safe, fast route to Chicago has "hampered development industrially, commercially and residen-tially." "We've been stagnant forever," Duggan said.

Experts say access to north-south and east-west interstate routes offers a city a chance to attract businesses and new residents. With safe and fast roads, trucks can carry goods to businesses and cars can make quick weekend trips to the bigger cities. "Cities that don't have interstate access or limited access are limited economically in how they develop," said Frank Moretti, director of research for The Road Information Program, a transportation research group based in Washington, D.C. "Large businesses are always looking at good transportation access and how they can locate to a community." Huntsville, which has a population of 250,000 and is considered one of the most prosperous cities in the Southeast, has managed to 1 Ik. AP photo Balloons of comedians Bud Abbott (right) and Lou Costello give the appearance of pulling the Empire Theater along 42nd Street on Sunday.

Historic Empire Theater is relocated Democrats, some Republicans criticize Starr's reach have been critical of the president admitted that Starr may have been unwise in extending his investigation to the president's aides. "I think that Ken Starr made a mistake on that," Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) told CBS's "Face the Nation" program. Supporters of Clinton say Starr has gone too far, especially in the last week, when Starr subpoenaed presidential aides such as White House Communications Director Sidney Blumenthal about whether he helped spread malicious lies in an attempt to sabotage Starr. "The fact of the matter is that Kenneth Starr has been totally out of control," Vermont Democratic Sen.

Patrick Leahy said on NBC's "Meet the Press" program. "He has this fixation of trying to topple the president of the United From Tribune News Services The special prosecutor investigating whether President Clinton had an improper relationship with a White House intern came under heavy fire from both sides Sunday, with even supporters saying he had gone too far. Democrats called for independent counsel Kenneth Starr to step down, and Republicans who NEW YORK-Even in a city constantly on the move, this was extraordinary. On Sunday, at a rate of less than a foot a minute, the Empire Theater all 7.4 million pounds of it moved a half-block along 42nd Street amid gawking crowds and giant balloons. Transferred onto a temporary foundation and propelled by hydraulic cylinders along a set of eight rails, the theater took less than five hours to slide 168 feet.

In its new home, the theater will be the centerpiece of a 25-screen movie complex and retail center. For hundreds of curious spectators who gathered to the theater's progress, it appeared that two giant Thanksgiving Day Parade-style balloons of comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were using yellow ropes to pull the building very slowly to its new location. Abbott and Costello first teamed up at the Empire, which was then called the Eltinge Theater, in 1935. Other famous entertainers who played the stage before it closed in 1985 included Laurence Olivier, Clark Gable, Jackie Gleason and Phil Silvers. The theater will be restored and its Art Nouveau facade will serve as the main entrance for a cinemaplex scheduled to open in the spring of 1999.

Connected to the AMC movie complex will be retail stores, restaurants and the first Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in North America. I 9 MEN'S WARDROBE EVENT Now through Saturday! FLORIDA Tornado toll hits 41 as body is discovered Look for these special offers during Asked whether Starr should step down, Leahy answered, "Sure he should." Starr and a grand jury are probing accusations Clinton had an affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky and urged her to lie about it under oath. Clinton has denied the accusations. Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch defended the legality of what Starr was doing.

"In the federal criminal code, it says if people are trying to impede the investigation it's illegal. It's a criminal act. He was perfectly within the codes of legal sanctions to do what he did," Hatch said on "Meet the Press." "I think it was politically inadvisable, but I don't think it was illegaL "There's no question that he has to sit there like a punching bag and take really unfair punches thrown at him." George Terwilliger, a former deputy attorney general, agreed. "Clearly I think he is legally entitled in an obstruction investigation to issue the subpoena that he did to Mr. Blumenthal and bring him in before the grand jury," Terwilliger told ABC's "This Week." William McDaniel, one of Blu-menthal's lawyers, said the prosecutors were trying to intimidate people.

"This is a pure and simple attempt to intimidate the White House and intimidate Sidney Blumenthal," McDaniel said on the same show. "Sidney went in there on Thursday of last week and was asked a series of questions like, 'What did you tell the press about the independent 'What did the press tell and he was even asked what I think is the silliest question ever asked before a grand jury, which was, 'Did you ever say anything positive about Ken to which he said, 'Not that I Paul Begala, counselor to the president, denied he and other aides were interfering with Starr's investigation. "First off, there's no effort to intimidate," he told CNN. "The true nature of the investigation it has been extraordinarily excessive. "He's now on his way to the history books as one of the most abusive and coercive and excessive special prosecutors we have ever had The statute creating the position of special prosecutor gives him unlimited budget and unlimited power and unlimited scope and somehow he has exceeded them all." MORE ON THE INTERNET: Read Tribune coverage and keep up with developments surrounding the investigation of President Clinton at chicago.tribune.comgoclinton DAYTONA BEACH, Sunday found a body believed to be that of a man missing since tornadoes wreaked havoc in central Florida last week, bringing the death toll to 41, authorities said.

The search for Joel Heaton, a 53-year-old roofer and the last person missing after the storms, had been suspended Saturday. His trailer was blown from the camp where he was staying into Lake Haney, but divers and searchers found no trace of his body. Then Sunday a sightseeing tour on the St. Johns River discovered what is believed to be Heaton's body nearly a mile from where he had been staying, Volusia County authorities said. A medical examiner, will check dental records against those of Heaton to confirm the identification.

Storms, which spawned at least a dozen tornadoes Feb. 23, ripped apart mobile home parks and tore roofs off houses in central Florida, seriously injuring 265 in four counties. Rescue workers in Osceola County found the 40th victim Saturday buried beneath hundreds of pounds of debris. He was believed to be college student Craig Paulsen, 23, Osceola's fire chief said. our Men's Wardrobe Event: Receive free basic alterations on your Men's Wardrobe Event purchases Basic alterations limited to coat sleeve, pants waist and hem.

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Sportcoats, reg. $295. (D.6D PENNSYLVANIA Gunfire kills 1, wounds 3 after basketball finals boys basketball finals on a street lined with Penn and Drexel buildings. Police found a handgun in a driveway of a Penn fine arts building. Police said a 22-year-old man, whose name was not released, was killed.

One of the injured men was working in the fine arts building when he was hit in the leg by a bullet that came through the wall. Two of the injured men were in stable condition, and the extent of the other man's injuries was unclear. Before entering the Palestra for the games, the 3,700 spectators had tq, pass through metal PHILADELPHIA One man was killed and three others were injured Sunday when gunfire broke out as a crowd streamed from a championship high school basketball game. Witnesses said more than 50 people were running and screaming when the shooting started about a block from the Palestra on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. "A Lexus stopped in front of that building and it looked like the shots came from there," said Drexel University student Armando Urbina, 21, who was riding by on his bicycle.

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