Florida Today from Cocoa, Florida • Page 3

"Sag! Hn COPING AFTER A PET DIES -V'f 'V WHERE TO INVEST IN 1997? Local financial experts pick stocks for the coming year. Money Monday. 1 i 1 ft'- MS i i i .11, 1 j. 4 i 5 AN Expert offers advice 1 i- on dealing with the grief over a beloved i 1 a animal, 1D. HEAT EDGE BUCKS 95-94, 1C.

JX Gators-'Noles war hits the big time MONDAY, December 30, 1996 HEADLINES Matchup's gritty history puts it in national spotlight TODAYS NEWS AT A GLANCE By David Jones FLORIDA TODAY More coverage, 1-2C. GAINESVILLE Is there any doubt now that the Florida- 49ers, Steelers enter 2nd round Florida State college football haps the nation's premier game is Florida-Florida State. The past two years, the game made its final climb to greatness. In 1994, the Gators led 31-3 only to see the Seminoles come back and tie the contest late in the game. The deadlock prompted a second meeting at the Sugar Bowl, which FSU won 23-17.

Then last season, the Gators romped 35-24 on the way to a showdown with Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl. See BIG, Next Page game has grown up to join all the big boys? It already had reached a high-water mark in November when both teams were 10-0 for the first time when meeting in the series. It wasn't until the mid-1980s that Florida-Florida State became nationally televised on a regular basis. For so many years, Florida State's clashes with Miami meant more. For so long, Florida had Georgia as another strong rival.

All that's changed. Now the state's and per USC-UCLA, Michigan-Ohio Thursday, 8 p.m. (ABC) possibly claiming a national championship. FSU won the first meeting this season on Nov. 30 in Tallahassee, 24-21.

If the 'Noles win in the Sugar, they undoubtedly are the national champs. If Ohio State beats Arizona State, Florida's got a shot at its first national title with a win Thursday. Yep, this series is getting pretty hot wouldn't you say? State pick a traditional matchup, and this one now matches all the others. The week ahead VMS In fact, it has gotten so good, Look for complete Sugar Bowl coverage from Florida Today, including a special eight-page pullout section on Thursday. 1 they're going to play it for the fifth time in three years with Thursday's Sugar Bowl winner 4, )3 Computer chaos looms in 2000 i 'mmf i i worn 'mot mm Hotel CI N.J.

prisoner's prints match those from $500,000 holdup By Susan Decker FLORIDA TODAY PALM BAY Two years after a half-million-dollar jewel heist, police think they've caught one of the men who committed that and several other 1 If i 1 AP SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS safety Merton Hanks (36) and linebacker Gary Plummer smother Philadelphia Eagles running back Ricky Walters during their game Sunday. The 49ers won 14-0. Also Sunday, the Steelers beat the Colts 42-14. Both winners advance to the second round of the FL playoffs. Story, 1C.

Next week's playoffs Saturday San Francisco at Green Bay, 12:30 p.m. (FOX) Jacksonville at Denver, 4 p.m. (NBC) Sunday Pittsburgh at New England, 12:30 p.m. (NBC) Dallas at Carolina, 4 p.m. (FOX) fa? high-stakes robberies in four states.

Officer Scott Leitz located 35-year-old Lawrence R. Lawton, 35, formerly of 1615 Norwood St. NE in Palm Bay, in a federal lockup in New Jersey. Lawton will be charged with the October 1994 Diamond Brokers robbery in Palm Bay. I Photos by Rik Jesse, FLORIDA TODAY HECTOR VARGAS, owner of Compumart, puts a mother- problem, when old double-digit dates could crash comput-board into a case.

Much work remains before the year 2000 ers. Below: The computer's central processing unit. Programmers rush to fix date problem before it's too late Cost of the millennium Fixing year 2000 computer problems will take billions of dollars. Estimated costs include: Federal governmental agencies $10 billion. KSC $6 million.

Florida agencies more than $115 million. Federal officials suspect he LAWTON is part of a ring that has been hitting jewelry stores in brazen daytime heists, Palm Bay Police Detective Buck DeCoteau said. The Diamond Brokers robbery took place shortly after the store opened for the day. Two men came in, tied up owners Bradley and Janice Roshto and then let in a third man before sweeping the display cases clean. It was the largest robbery ever in Palm Bay.

The thieves got away with just under $500,000 in gold and gems. Local police suspected the Palm Bay robbery was connected with the May 25, 1994, holdup of Carter Jewelers in Daytona Beach and contacted the FBI. A robbery-turned-shootout earlier this year in Pennsylvania resulted in Lawton's arrest "The FBI opened a file and told us each time there was a robbery with a similar (method of operation)," DeCoteau said. "We've been tracking these people for two years." In that case, a robbery ended when the store owner began shooting at his assailants, according to a report in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Lawton was arrested earlier this month on federal firearms and robbery charges and is in a federal prison in Fairton, N.J.

Based on the fingerprint evidence, DeCoteau got a warrant signed against Lawton last week but didn't know where he was. Leitz called relatives at Lawton's last local address and was told the man had been arrested. By Kathy Hagood FLORIDA TODAY Some survivalists think we have only three good years left. When the century turns, they think numerous computer systems using two-digit year dates will fail, creating a global crisis followed by a depression. Even computer gurus are worried that government and business are not moving quickly enough to fix their computer systems' year 2000 problems.

When 2000 rolls around, comput-ers not equipped to handle calculations based on dates in the new century will crash or spit out bad data. In addition to computers going down, anything connected to a computer and affected by dates, including air conditioning and security systems, also may fail. Survivalists are recommending people stopk up on food, gas, cash and other necessities to cope with interrup- SPACE: Next shuttle launch: Atlantis on a mission to space station Mir on Jan. 12. A 7-to 10-minute window opens at 4:17 a.m.

Next rocket launch: A McDonnell Douglas Delta rocket carrying a military Global Positioning System satellite Jan. 16. Launch window: 11:32 a.m. to 12:02 p.m. World Wide Web: Computer users interested in space can access Florida Today Space Online at http:www.flatoday.comspace.

Space Update: Florida Today's NewsNow carries the latest on space program developments. In Brevard County, call 633-NEWS (6397) or in SebastianBarefoot Bay, dial 728-8118 and enter 4321. The call is free. WEATHER: Partly cloudy with highs near 80. A slight chance of isolated showers along the coast.

Lows in the low 60s, 8A. FLORIDA: Hours before a fatal 54-vehicle pileup on the Sunshine Skyway, a bridge surveillance operator asked the Florida Highway Patrol to test the span for safety. But the patrol didn't do so, 8B. Rep. Stephen Wise says he wants to preserve families by changing Florida's 1971 no-fault divorce law, 8B.

NATION: For second consecutive New Year's Day, the 10 percent federal tax on commercial airline tickets is lapsing. Unlike last year, travelers won't benefit, 3A. WORLD: Joyous Guatemalans eager to put 36 years of war behind them crowd into the main plaza outside the National Palace to bear witness to the arrival of peace, 3A. OPINIONS: Space Mirror Memorial should reflect Maj. Robert Lawrence's life and death, 6A.

i. 1 tered "00" will be read as 1900. Because so many programs are date-dependent, solving the two-digit year problem is crucial. Personal computers more than a few years old and mainframe systems using programs with two-digit years are at risk. See 2000, Next Page tions in services.

When the new millennium rolls around, computer systems using two-digit year dates will assume all dates are in the same century, so 2000 en Winter attacks Northwest with snow, 90 mph wind I I Local forecast While the Northwest is under siege, Central Floridians can enjoy partly cloudy skies and highs near 80 into the new year. officials canceled bus service when most of the vehicles were stuck in the snow or just frozen to the ground. All three main routes across the Cascade Range in Washington were closed by multiple avalanches. Avalanches also closed a 45-mile stretch of Interstate 84 on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge, and one just west of Cascade Locks trapped a pickup truck. Both occupants escaped safely.

One man was feared dead on the Oregon side of the gorge when the backhoe he was using to clear away ice jams at the foot of the 620-foot Multnomah Falls slid into the water. The truck's cab remained submerged late Sunday night. Associated Press SEATTLE The Northwest was pummeled by its second major storm in less than a week Sunday as 2 feet of snow, heavy rain and high winds blocked major highways, collapsed roofs and closed the Space Needle. Blizzard warnings were posted for northwestern Washington, where snow was piled by bone-chilling gusts as powerful as 90 mph. Compounding the problems was heavy rain, which created an icy glaze and led to flood warnings for parts of Oregon and Washington.

"Basically we're paralyzed," said Neil Clement, director of emergency management in northwest Washington's Whatcom County. "Even the snow plows are getting stuck." Washington Gov. Mike Lowry I If Across Space Coast, 4B Money Monday, 1-1 0E Bridge, 5D Movies, 4D Classified, 1-16F Obituaries, 5B Comics, 6D Opinions, 6-7A Crossword, 5D Players' Page, 3C People, 1-5D Hanna Lea Krause, 1D Space Coast Report, 6B 6B Sports, 1-6C Horoscopes, 50 State News, 7-BB Local News, 1-6B Television, 3D declared a disaster in 11 western counties and mobilized the National Guard. And a symbol of Seattle, the 610-foot Space Needle, was closed because heavy, wet snow and ice was falling in "something resembling missiles," spokeswoman Lynn Brackpool said. Travel ground to a halt throughout the region.

Seven to 10 Inches of snow fell on Seattle overnight on top of 6 to 12 inches already on the ground. Transit AP SNOW DRIFTS on the streets of Seattle snagged many drivers Sunday. Although the van driver tried to push Christal Larson's car out, all he managed to do was break her taillight. Weather, 8A Milt Salamon, 8A iHMnaniin i.