The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 2

2-A Wednesday, January 1, 1992 The Philadelphia Inquirer NEWS SUMMARY 10 T-v Family-leave laws take effect today in three states The programs are among hundreds of state initiatives that become effective with the start of the New Year. NATIONAL In the IS days before Christmas, New Hampshire received an unexpected federal windfall of more than $240 million, a boon that lawmakers from Portland, Maine, to Portland, are portraying as a partisan effort by the Bush administration to influence the nation's first presidential primary. 3-A. The government's civil rights enforcement agency has issued a policy directive barring thousands of people from winning job bias cases under a new anti-discrimination law. AZT, the first drug approved to treat AIDS, and the experimental drug ddC combine to work better than either alone to treat the fatal disease, a study concludes.

But the chief of the government's AIDS research program warned in an editorial accompanying the report in the Annals of Internal Medicine that the pilot study did not mean AZT could safely be combined with unapproved drugs. 4-A. More than $23,000 in ticket receipts from a rap stars' benefit ketball game in New York has turned up, but it remained unclear whether a supposed beneficiary of the event really existed. 4-A. National news in brief, 6-B.

INTERNATIONAL El Salvador's 12-year-old civil war will end with a cease-fire Feb. 1, a top U.S. official said early today, after both sides in the conflict wrapped up intense talks under U.N. sponsorship. 1-A.

Across Russia, the shelves in the shops are empty and everyone is waiting, especially the Young Turks in the republic's finance ministry. When shops reopen after the New Year holiday, the country's leaders will have launched a colossal gamble that will determine whether Russia moves toward economic recovery or economic disaster. 1-A. As the civil war in Croatia grows increasingly brutal, both sides stand accused of routinely torturing and mistreating captured enemy soldiers and civilians. Thousands of former prisoners of war have been exchanged in recent weeks.

Many of them are telling harrowing tales about how they were treated during their capture and subsequent imprisonment 3-A. President Bush began a politically daunting new year faced with the immediate need to persuade U.S. voters that his trip Down Under and beyond may help resolve what is wrong back home. 4-A. By Alan Flippen Associated Press While Congress and President Bush wrangle over family-leave legislation, three states are going ahead this week with their own laws to let workers take time off without pay to care for newborns, adopted children or ailing relatives.

The family-leave measures in California, Oregon and Hawaii are among the hundreds of new state laws that take effect today. Other new laws include new restrictions on drivers, new and higher taxes on their vehicles and a new ethics law for South Carolina, which has been plagued by scandals. In California, workers in companies with 50 or more employees will be allowed to take up to 16 weeks off without pay during a two-year period to care for a newborn or newly adopted or sick child, or an ill spouse or parent. Oregon, which already has a parental-leave law, will let workers take up to 12 unpaid weeks every two years to care for ailing relatives. Hawaii's family-leave law will apply to state and county workers next year and private companies with at least 100 workers starting in 1994.

Congress is nearing final passage of a bill granting workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave. The President has threatened to veto it. Drivers in some states could be among the first to feel the effect of new laws. Delaware drivers will have to buckle and motorcyclists and passengers will have to put on helmets in California. In New Hampshire, open containers of alcohol in vehicles are banned.

Fines range up to $1,000. New Yorkers will not be able to bully other motorists out of the way with dazzling auxiliary headlights; they will have to dim them like regular headlights when approaching or following other cars. A new Michigan law cracks down on drunken driving by letting police confiscate and destroy a driver's license as soon as the motorist fails a breath test or refuses to take one. Previously, people charged with drunken driving could remain behind the wheel for up to two years while their cases were pending. Many of the new year's tax increases also center on vehicles: a gasoline-tax increase in California, a $2-a-day surcharge on rented vehicles in Hawaii, and a tax of $2 apiece on new tires in Texas.

Not all the tax news is bad. Pennsylvania repealed sales taxes on such things as warehouses, safety deposit boxes and transactions at cash machines. Wisconsin cut its inheritance tax so wealthy retirees will not move out of state. Georgia is offering a S30 million tax break to its poor starting in 1992, but there is a catch: They cannot collect it until 1993, when they file their 1992 tax returns. Minnesota lawmakers will save money by taking it out of their own paychecks.

Legislators delayed 6 percent raises for themselves as well as Gov. Arne Carlson and other top officials. In South Carolina, a new ethics law requires politicians to disclose more about their business interests and dealings with lobbyists, and to take smaller donations for their campaigns. An FBI investigation has led to guilty pleas or convictions of 27 C. politicians and others since 1990.

Among other new laws: Owners of automatic weapons will get, second chance to register them in California. They were supposed to do so a year ago, but only a few thousand of California's estimated 300,000 assault weapons were registered. A gun-control law of a sort also takes effect in New York state, which is banning food products that resemble weapons. Lawmakers said children might not understand the difference between a gun that squirts juice down their throats and a real weapon. Jim Rogers carries finery for the Mummers Parade, which heads up Broad Street today.

Page IB. Israel gave Syria a guarded hint at recent peace talks in Washington that it might contemplate withdrawing from some occupied Arab territory, diplomats close to the talks said. S-A. China's economy expanded by about 7 percent in 1991, creating improved conditions for political stability and economic reform, according to a top government spokesman. 5-A.

International news in brief, 7-A. CITY After 42 years of living to fix flats, Don Fagan will miss the comforting smell of old rubber in the morning. The thought of walking away from his grease-stained, North Philadelphia tire shop makes his soiled hands tremble, his pale, blue eyes flood with tears. But now Fagan has handed over the copper-colored keys to Don Fagan's Tire Center to two young men from the neighborhood who still can't believe this shop will really be their own. 1-A.

In Raymond E. "Gene" Shipman, Mayor-elect Edward G. Rendell has found a managing director who has already been through many of the wars Rendell vowed to fight in Philadelphia. As city manager of Hartford, Shipman took on labor unions, laid off workers, privatized services. And caught hell for it.

1-A. Maybe it was a symptom of global warming or merely the fallout from the mayoral campaign, but Philadelphia was exceptionally warm in 1991. In fact, with a yearly average temperature of 58.1, Philadelphia tied a record set in 1931 for the warmest ever in the 120 years Lotteries Pennsylvania DAILY Dec. 31.... 634 BIG 4 Dec.

31 9 53 7 WILDCARD LOTTO Dec. 31 05 24 27 33 43 47 Wildcard: 08 SUPER 7 Dec. 25 05 06 10 20 22 42 44 49 52 74 Delaware PLAY 3 Dec. 31 1 1 9 PLAY 4 Dec. 31 5 4 5 5 LOTTO Dec.

31 15 16 20 21 28 30 LOTTO AMERICA Dec. 28 9 14 34 35 45 58 of record-keeping, according to the National Weather Service. I B. Jesus, Mary and Joseph are back in the manger. A couple returned the white porcelain figures, which had been discovered stolen the day after Christmas from a nativity scene inside Old St.

Joseph's Church on Willings Alley in Society Hill. 3-B. When he stands trial on mail-fraud charges later this month, Philadelphia lawyer A. Charles Per-uto Jr. will be defended by one of the best in town his dad and a federal prosecutor wants to keep the dad from highlighting their family ties.

3-B. SUBURBS A Council Rock High School senior apparently died in her sleep in a London hotel room, on the eve of the school band's appearance in the Lord Mayor of Westminster's New Year's Day parade. 1-B. A verbal blunder by a prosecution witness led to a mistrial in the Montgomery County trial of a Northeast Philadelphia man charged with conspiracy to rob an Abington Township home. 3-B.

PennDot officials ordered Tyler State Park to remove a snow fence that had been set up along Swamp Road in preparation for the park's deer hunt. 3-B. Lancess T. McKnight, former assistant superintendent of the Southeast Delco School District, was held for trial after a hearing on sexual abuse charges involving three former students. 4-B.

REGION- He is an engineering major from Massachusetts, a senior at Princeton University. He requests anonymity, because the off-campus ceremony he participated in a year ago is supposed to be kept secret. During that initiation into the "21 Club," he joined 20 other Princeton juniors, each of whom chugged 21, 16-ounce cans of beer, one about every 60 seconds, with a one-minute break in between. 1-A. Don't look now, but Pennsylvania state taxes have just gone down.

The withholding rate for the personal income tax was lowered from 3.5 percent to 3.1 percent, increasing the take-home pay of someone earning an annual income of $26,000, or $500 a week, by $2 each week. 1-B. BUSINESS The nation's chief economic forecasting gauge registered its biggest decline in 10 months in November, the government reported. The New Jersey PICK 3 Dec. 31 i 47 7 Straight: $325 Box: $108 Pairs: $32.50 PICK 4 Dec.

31 4 5 5 0 Straight: $1,557 Box: $129.50 PICK 6 LOTTO Dec. 30 05 23 28 30 36 40 Bonus: 6 2 0 5 4 For lottery information: Pmnlvanii 21631-6968 or 831-6969 Nw itraty 609-976-2020 Detowari 302-737-9797 Th Naw Jartay numbw can ba reached onty by cafcra wnftn tha nata of New JarMy. ti moat caaae. ttwie tottery telephone number carry aervice charge in addroon to any normal longdistance or locat-cal charge. cy Commerce Department's Index of Leading Economic Indicators droppei by 0.3 percent in November, its fourtii consecutive poor showing and the worst since a 0.6 percent plunge last January.

1-D. A big falloff in demand for new homes in the Northeast in November pushed regional sales to their lowest level in nearly a decade, while new-home sales nationally were unchanged. I D. SmithKline Beecham said it would introduce a new arthritis medicine in the United States early this year, following approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The drug Relafen will enter a highly competitive marketplace made up of more than 15 nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for arthritis treatment. ID. The IKEA chain of home-furnishing stores said it planned to expand by acquiring the STOR home-furnishings chain, which has four outlets in the West. 1-D. The Dow Jones average ended at 3,168.83, up 4.92 points, a record closing high.

1-D. Business summary, 3-D. OBITUARIES John Francis Marion, 75, Philadelphia's story-telling tourist guide and historian who knew everybody there was to know living or dead. 1-A. James P.

WhiteselL 74, a hands-on developer who took pride in the things he built. 4-B. DAILY MAGAZIXE Many New Year's resolutions will involve staying or getting fit Exercise and diet are the main routes to fulfilling that resolution, and have we got some ideas for you! 1-F. Gail Shister: Channel 3 may have dropped the Mummers, but the Mummers haven't really dropped Channel 3. 8-F.

SPORTS There will be no national-championship implications when sixth-ranked Penn State (10-2) and 10th-ranked Tennessee (9-2) go at it at Sun Devil Stadium. Thank goodness. 1-C. The Rose Bowl blooms anew after a withering decade of matchups that didnt matter, a decade of seeing its stature usurped by other bowls. However, Washington vs.

Michigan in the 78th Rose Bowl could produce a national championship. 1-C. Sports in brief, 2-C. Compiled by Thomas J. Brady Zfo frnlabdpfiia Jlnquirtr Th Philadelphia Inquirer (USPS 4300001 is published daily by Philadelphia Newspapers, 400 N.

Broad P.O. Box 8263. Philadelphia 19101. Second Class Postage paid at Philadelphia. Seven-day rate by mail, Philadelphia area, six months, $128.

The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for reproduction of all local news printed in this newspaper as well as AP news dispatches. Postmaster: Send address chanaes to The Philadelphia Inquirer, 400 N. Broad P.O. Box 8263. Philadelphia 19101 For subscription or circulation call: Home delivery Philadelphia 215-665-1234 Suburban 800-222-2765 New Jersey: 800-523-9068 Delaware 302-654-6033 Mail Subscriptions 215-854-4790 Newsstand Sales 215-854-2740 Hearing impaired (TDD) 215-854-2630 To place, correct or cancel an id: Classified ads Philadelphia 215-563-5000 Suburban 800-462-2867 New 800-523-2826 Death notices 215-854-5800 Legal ads 215-854-5834 National 215-854-5576 Neighbors (PA) 215-854-5439 Neighbors (NJ) 609-779-3800 Retail 215-854-5450 Advertising telecopier 215-854-5780 For bitting question: Advertising Customer Service Weekly billing 215-665-9222 Monthly billing 215-854-4768 Outside 215 Area 1-800-445-3480 To contact the new department: Newsroom information 215-854-4500 ArtsEntertainment 215-854-5617 Business News 2 15-854-2450 City Desk 215-854-4500 Editorial Board 215-854-4531 Foreign Desk 215-854-2400 Inquirer Magazine (Sunday)2 15-854-4580 Daily Magazine 215-854-6797 National Desk 215-854-2410 New Jersey Desk 2 1 5-854-4500 or 609-779-3840 PennsylvaniaSuburban 2 1 5-854-4500 Photography 215-854-2620 Sports (after 1 1 a.m.) 215-854-4550 Sports Dial-a-score 215-854-2500 State Desk 215-854-2517 Weekend Section Listings.

215-854-6600 To contact the new bureau: Atlantic City 609-344-2873 Camden 609-966-2722 Doylestown 2 1 5-345-4250 Harrisburg 717-787-5934 Media 215-566-8810 Nornstown 215-272-2707 Trenton 609-989-8990 Wayne 215-688-9474 West Chester 215-431-1 160 Neighbors bureaus: Bucks County 215-741-2700 Burlington County 609-779-3835 Cherry Hill 609-779-3825 Chester County 215-524-7380 Delaware County 215-544-9140 Devon 215-688-8787 Gloucester County 609-779-3830 Montgomery County 215-832-8300 For new coverage question or new 215-854-2425 For permission to reprint from The Inquirer 215-854-4529 To contact public service for: Back issues (60 days) 215-854-4440 Previously run articles 900-988-2450 ($5 minimumcall) Photo reprints 215-854-2628 Our service counter is located at 400 N. Broad St. on the first floor. Hours are 8:30 i.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Monday to Friday. You can pick up back issues or make ad. payments at the counter. To contact all other departments: Main switchboard 215-854-2000 fmmmmm-. mmmmmmmmmmmy 'S fa: tstlkmif.

'2K, i w' "fcfcevt '''''r'" Eurak Tim Standard MICHAEL HUGHES children ages 1, 3 and 4 may have started the fire Monday when a 16-year-old baby sitter went upstairs to the bathroom. The sitter was rescued from an upstairs window. OFFICERS in Areata, in northern California, restrain James Lauson from entering the apartment where his three children died of smoke inhalation. Police believe one of the A GREAT WAY TO START THE YEAR! Misfortunes It was a bad year for psychics i a i a By Laura Myers Associated Press SAN JOSE, Calif. This is what didn't happen in 1991: California didn't slip into the sea, Tom Cruise didn't go bald, the Pope didn't meet a crazed camel, and Tammy Faye Bakker and Imelda Marcos didn't open a boutique.

This is what did happen: The Soviet Union dissolved, the Kennedy clan faced another public trial, the United States went to war in the Persian Gulf. The psychics were wrong again. And the members of the San Francisco Bay Area Skeptics Society were around to point that out Yesterday, the society issued its eighth annual list of failed psychic predictions that made tabloid headlines, but not news, during the year: Terri Brill predicted that an earthquake would dump California into the ocean and that U.S. housing costs would drop by as much as 50 percent. Housing prices slipped a bit, as did the state, but Brill kept her California residency.

Maria Graciette predicted that a massive earthquake would strike the Grand Canyon and that actor Cruise would lose his hair because of a stress-related illness. Both appear to be intact. John Monti said that a former U.S. president would die and that an American tourist would foil an assassination attempt on former Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev.

Maybe the psychic signals got crossed; it was Gorbachev's Communist Party that died. Judy Heavenly said that Pope John Paul II would have a "close call" with a charging "crazed camel" and that scientists would find evidence of extraterrestrial life using the Hubble Space Telescope. The hard-to-focus Hubble did suffer from gremlins, but only of the high-tech type. Jeane Dixon predicted Jimmy Swaggart's ministry would be saved by a last-minute donation, and she forecast Prince Charles and Princess Diana would announce their separation, an annual psychic favorite. Dixon correctly predicted the release of the remaining US.

hostages in Lebanon and the short tenure of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide of Haiti. But Skeptics Society spokesman Robert Sheaffer dismissed those predictions: "Most people knew the hostage crisis was nearing an end, and Haiti presidents aren't known to last." Clarisa Bernhardt twice predicted quakes that didn't happen and said Tammy Faye Bakker and Imelda Marcos would team up to open a chain of clothing boutiques. As of yesterday, the two shopaholics were still on the user end of credit cards. Lou Wright predicted that a major quake would rock Los Angeles and that a famous politician would leave his wife for singer Whitney Houston. Only Brill could be reached for comment, and she said the Skeptics Society had twisted her predictions: "I never said California would fall into the ocean.

And housing prices did fall. I said the coastline would change, not disappear." But another Lou Wright, who shares the female psychic's home town of Denver and masculine first name, offered to share her 1992 predictions when she answered her telephone: "I'm getting so many calls for the other Lou that I might as well try it: "Warren Beatty and Annette Bening will name their new baby daughter Madonna not!" New Year's Sale Shop today 1 1 AM-7PM macys (Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.).