The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland • Page 1

McDonald wins 11th as O's Edge angels, 3-2, 1C Latest News a Sports FRIDAY, JULY 15, 1994 HOME DELIVERY: 25 (inmost NEWSSTAND: 50 BALTIMORE, MARYLAND Hi' PclEce aoresS 36 in cradaloi 03H vin'dM pirn E. EbAnnore 3 ft V. next place we hit will be the next most violent," said Police Commissioner Thomas C. Frazier, adding that the raids are part of his effort to drive down the Eastern District's high homicide rate. The district led all others In the city last year, with 83 homicides and more than 500 shootings.

Mr. Frazier, who took over the Police Department in January and vowed to reduce violent crime, said the goal of the raids is "to take the drugs off the street and let the community catch its breath." As was the case in Operation Midway, undercover officers obtained grand jury indictments and arrest See RAID, 8A E. Eager St. with battering rams and arrest warrants for 104 people. Among those arrested were four charged with murder.

Investigators, slowed by lightning and heavy rain that accompanied the 7 p.m. raid In the Middle East neighborhood, walked through the neighborhood with note pads containing names of alleged drug dealers. The area, Just north of Johns Hopkins Hospital, Is the second-deadliest area of the city behind the Midway-Barclay neighborhood that was raided In March having accounted for 39 shootings and six homicides this year. "Next to Midway, this was the most violent area In the city. The This article was written and reported by Sun staff writers (Peter Hermann, Michael James and Joel Obermayer.

More than 200 Baltimore police officers raided a drug-ridden neighborhood last night during a torrential rainstorm, arresting 36 people as part of the second phase of a crackdown on the city's deadliest neighborhoods. 1 Operation Mid-East similar to but Involving twice as many officers and arrest warrants as Operation Midway, In which 42 people were arrested In March brought officers to-'the area around the 1800 block of KENNETH K. IAMSUN STAFF PHOTO Officer David Brendel, one of more than 200 officers involved, holds sawed-off shotgun seized in raid as other officers lead suspect from a house on East Eager Street near Johns Hopkins Hospital. Fill 'er up, trim the grass WJZ to join CBS in 3-station deal Hutus flee Rwanda for Zaire Exodus swamps authorities and relief groups From Wire Reports GOMA, Zaire A tidal wave of Hutu refugees from Rwanda's civil war flooded across the border Into Zaire yesterday, swamping relief organizations and Zairian authorities in instant chaos. Up to 1 million Hutus have been reported on the road to Zaire, in what could be the largest exodus in history, surpassing even a similar torrent of Rwandan refugees a few months ago.

An estimated 200,000 to 250,000 people poured past three overwhelmed checkpoints along the border by late afternoon. They balanced bundles of possessions and mattresses on their heads, carried babies on their backs and herded along reluctant goats and cattle. In Geneva, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata said her agency could not cope with the exodus of refugees and appealed to the warring factions in Rwanda to guarantee their safety. In New York, U.N.

Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali urgently appealed for an immediate ceasefire, saying: "Unless this exodus ceases, the stability of the whole region will be endangered." The Hutus are fleeing advancing Tutsi rebels, who they fear may want to avenge massacres of minority Tutsis by extremist supporters of Rwanda's Hutu-dominated government There has been no evidence of reprisals for the massacres, which have been blamed for most of the estimated 200,000 to 500,000 deaths in the latest round of the civil war. Also, little evidence emerged that the advancing Tutsis were pursuing the fleeing Hutus or trying to attack them. But Hutu radio stations were warning of Tutsi attacks, and many refugees apparently believed they were In imminent danger. Also, some civilians have been killed In See RWANDA, 4A By David Zurawik Sun Television Critic The shake-up in Baltimore's TV market continued yesterday as the owners of WJZ announced a deal that will make the city's top-rated station a CBS affiliate for the next 10 years. The move left WBAL the current home of CBS In Baltimore wjthout a network and likely to align itself with either NBC or Fox.

West ing Broadcasting or Group jiW, announced ah agreement yesterday In which its stations In Baltl- mml guess will be billboards, newspaper i-i everybody buying radio and ads telling viewers where they can see their favorite showsH PHIL STOLZ WBAL's general manager Harold Smith waters his grass-covered Datsun, an entry in Artscape '94, which begins today and runs through Sunday. Mr. Smith created it from a junker, and now it's the only car in Baltimore that needs daily watering and Miracle-gro fertilizer. (More on Artscape, Page IE and Maryland Live) if Brokers complained new rates were high surer, with about 1.4 million people insured, is locked In a battle to retain and increase its share of the market as new types of coverage and managed care take hold. Blue Cross cut its rates on two of its three plans for the new standard package of health benefits all Insurers are required to offer to groups of between two and 50 employees.

The health Insurance reform law mandating the new benefit package, which took effect July 1, also requires insurers to accept all who apply regardless of their medical condition. It's Intended to end the practice by some Insurance companies of cherry-picking healthy groups and pricing others out of the market. and Philadelphia will switch over to CBS, Joining the group's CBS-affiliated stations In San Francis-co and Pittsburgh. The announcement comes a month after WJZ lost its affiliation with ABC. That happened when ABC signed a similar multistation deal with Scripps-Howard, the owner ofWMAR.

WJZ will be the new home In Baltimore of such popular CBS shows as 1 PATRICK SANDORSUN STAFF PHOTO But some small employers, primarily those with healthy employees, found that their Blue Cross rates would increase by as much as 50 percent under the new small-business coverage. Some brokers found themselves telling long-time Blues customers to sit tight for better prices while others began finding their clients new Insurers. Blue Cross apparently feared a loss of existing business after seeing that its popular preferred provider organization plan, under which customers get a discount for using a Blue Cross network of doctors, was priced as much as 30 percent above the market. Its more traditional Indemnity insurance was 20 percent higher, brokers said. Blue Cross filed for permission to change its prices for these two plans See BLUES, 9A children.

What they find are attitudes already fixed with harsh stereotypes. There is an animosity, almost a xenophobia, by Israeli kids about Arabs," said Knesset member Avra-ham Burg, head of the Education Committee of the Israeli parliament. Israel is beginning an effort to change the attitudes of its young. The Ministry of Education has announced a special yearlong program in which students of all ages will learn about the peace process and about Arabs. "We will try to change the way they are looking at Arabs, thinking about Arabs, talking about Arabs," said Yigal Zalmanson of the Education Ministry, who is helping plan the program.

"We want them to See ISRAEL, 4A Blue Cross cuts small-business prices David Letterman, "60 Minutes" and "Murphy Brown." Under terms of the agreement, the switch will take place by the end of the year. But It could happen as soon as Labor Day so local stations don't have to promote a fall lineup of shows for a network they'll be leaving. "For over two months, we and Group have been in intense and constructive discussion regarding this alliance. The result Is this very exciting agree ment, which further demonstrates our commitment to the networkf-filiate system and our belief in the future of broadcasting," said Laurence A. Tlsch, chairman and chief executive officer of CBS Inc.

"We are de- lighted to create this alignment with CBS, which will help both organizations accomplish long-term strategic goals," said Bill Korn, Group Ws president and CEO. Other parts of the deal include CBS and Group forming a Joint See WJZ, 7 A ALGERINA PERNVSUN STAFF PHOTO John Lohman, 7, of Essex, eyes a telescope at The Nature Co. The impending collision has boosted sales nationwide. (Article, 11C) if 'String of pearls' comet hear collision with Jupiter McCormick chief recalled for his humor Bailey Thomas dies at age 63 By Fred Rasmussen Sun Staff Writer Bailey A. Thomas, who began his sales career as a youngster going door-to-door selling greeting cards, seeds and ointment and rose to become chairman and chief executive officer of McCormick Co.

died yesterday of a heart attack at Northwest Hospital Center after being stricken at his Worthington Valley home. He was 63. As a top executive of the world's largest spice company, Mr. Thomas is credited with helping to revitalize McCormick during the late 1980s. He was also prominent in Maryland's corporate and charitable circles, most notably as chairman of Maryland Business for Responsible Government, a lobbying group, and on numerous local boards.

Along with former McCormick Chairman Charles P. "Buzz" McCormick Mr. Thomas oversaw a period of rapid growth at the Fortune 500 company, nearly tripling its profits in five years and expanding its markets around the world. Mr. McCormick, whom Mr.

Thomas succeeded in 1992 as See THOMAS, 9A Analysts expect the company will maintain its focus. 11C By Patricia Meisol Sun Staff Writer Two weeks after It began selling new health Insurance coverage aimed at the small-business market. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maryland has slashed some prices up to 30 percent The insurer acted in response to pressure from brokers who compared prices and saw that the Blues were way out of line with others in the marketplace, said those In the Industry. At least two other insurers have told state regulators they may file for rate reductions. There are other ones coming in.

It could be a feeding frenzy for market share," said Donald P. Bran-denberg, chief actuary of the Maryland Insurance Administration, who approved the price cuts yesterday. Blue Cross, the state's largest In- Clinton on crime bill An administration compromise may block a filibuster of the crime bill. Page 3A Bridge 6E Editorials 10A Business 11C Horoscope 7E Classified 5B Lottery 12B Comics 7E Movies 14 LIVE Deaths 4B Television 4E Weather Sunny, chance of showers. High 90; low 72.

Yesterday's high, 92; low, 78. 12B 083455 0 Portions of The Sun are printed each day on recycled paper. The newspaper also is recyclable. 6 SECTIONS 1 2 3 4 nn it-m i ii i i i i. i it In in- ii Israel tackles prejudices of young Israelis, Arabs Impacts could be A-blasts or fizzles By Frank D.

Roylance Staff Writer Faster than a speeding bullet and more powerful than an arsenal of hydrogen bombs, fragments of Comet PShoemaker-Levy 9 are streaking toward a series of titanic collisions with the planet Jupiter beginning this weekend. Astronomers have never seen anything like it before, and from Baltimore to Beijing and the South Pole, they are gearing up to record the seven-day barrage, which will occur more than a half-billlon miles away. The 2-million-mile-long squadron 'of 21 fragments, each composed of loosely packed Ice and rock up to 2 -miles wide, is rustling toward southern hemisphere at nearly 1 AO miles per second. The first one of the smallest will plunge Into the gaseous planet just before 4 p.m. EDT tomorrow, and every major telescope on Earth, 'n orbit or touring the planets has 'spun toward Jupiter to watch.

The last fragment will hit Jury 22. "We're all excited about it," said Astronomer and comet specialist IHarold Weaver, 40, at the Space 'Telescope Science Institute In Balti more, a similar comei sumung me IGulf of Mexico 65 million years ago is believed to have ended the reign of 'the dinosaurs, and another like that "might ultimately wipe us out" Thousands of amateur astrono-rnersHiround the world hope to spot School program to counter biases By Doug Struck Jerusalem Bureau of The Sun TEL AVIV By age 3, many Israeli children already have formed an Image of "Arabs" and it Is not good. By age 9, they are drawing pictures in which Arabs appear in dark, sinister colors, often carrying a knife. Palestinian children, asked to draw a Jew, invariably show a soldier in uniform firing a rifle or dropping bombs on Arabs. As Israel and the Palestinians move cautiously toward peace, they must confront le prejudices of their the fireballs the largest fragments may produce as they bore into the dense Jovian atmosphere, or at least some hint of a change in the planet's banded cloud patterns.

Despite their excitement, scientists are urging the media not to expect too much, recalling the public's disappointment with the appearances of Comet Kohoutek in 1973, and last August's Perseid meteor "storm." Both were duds compared with their advance billing..