Florida Today from Cocoa, Florida • Page 2

2A FLORIDA TODAY, Thursday, March 30, 2000 NAACP wants road named for King Senate kills amendment to ban flag desecration Group asks state to remove Poole ROAD, From 1A this case because 49 states have passed resolutions urging Congress to send them a flag amendment. But supporters have failed to overcome free speech concerns in the Senate. The last vote, in 1995, fell three short of the two-thirds majority. Sen. Robert Byrd, who voted for the amendment in 1995, on Tuesday appeared before a convention of the American Legion, a major backer of the measure, to explain why he was changing his vote this time.

"We love that flag; it symbolizes the nation," said Byrd. "But we must love the Constitution more." One other Democrat also changed his vote from 1995 Sen. Richard Bryan of Nevada. Sen. Christopher Dodd, said he is reassured that the nation does not blithely amend the Constitution.

"Of the 11,000 amendments that have been offered to our Constitution, not one has ever been ratified to change the Bill of Rights," he said. Bush, the only person who can remove officials from public office, cannot do so without finding malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, habitual drunkenness, incompetence or a permanent inability to perform official duties, according to state statute. It's unlikely the state's conditions for removal can be met. "But we're not leaving any stone unturned," Floyd said. "We want her out of that seat, and we feel the governor should know about it." Poole told a crowd of 991 people at Tuesday's City Council meeting that she will not resign.

The NAACP led more than a dozen civil rights organizations in calling for Poole's resignation. Samuel Lopez, president of Brevard County's largest Hispanic civil rights organization, said the NAACP has the full support of United Third Bridge Inc. "We find her comments repulsive," Lopez said. "And we're sick of it." By Tony Manolatos FLORIDA TODAY MELBOURNE If a letter to the governor isn't effective, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said Wednesday it will attempt to recall City Council member Pat Poole. "We're gonna be busy," said Carole Floyd, president of the NAACP's South Brevard branch.

"Our work is going to be cut out for us, but we're not going to stop." Poole is up for re-election in November and has said she plans to run. The NAACP has called for her resignation. A letter calling for Poole's removal should be complete and mailed to Gov. Jeb Bush in the next two weeks, Floyd said. Poole, who drew national attention last week with comments she made about blacks and the Rev.

Martin Luther King Jr. to Florida Today, did not return phone calls Wednesday. City Council voted 5-2 Tuesday to censure Poole for her remarks. "It would require, at the very least, coordination with those other agencies," Moore said. Council members seem bewildered.

"I don't know where that came from," Mayor John Buckley said. "We've been talking about University and Florida Avenue, and now it's this." Councilman Ed Palmer said his decision won't be easy. "There's more to it than saying that's a nice road. We've got to see what impact there is and on whom." Dita Vogel, who co-owns Metro Dry Cleaners on New Haven Avenue, has no objections to renaming the street after King. "He's a hero," she said.

"And he did things for the whole country." Jane Anderson, who owns Stop-n-Mail on Babcock Street, doesn't see it that way. "I don't want my business cards to read Martin Luther King Boulevard," said Anderson, who isn't opposed to renaming University Boulevard. "That's in their area, as far as I'm concerned." Floyd said too many don't understand what King stood for and who he represented. Nathaniel Harris said King is worthy of the recognition. "The world recognized King with the Nobel Peace Prize," he said.

"The. country recognized him when they gave him a holiday. Today, cities throughout the country continue to recognize him by naming streets and roads after him. Melbourne should have some understanding for the black race of people." Associated Press WASHINGTON A proposed constitutional amendment on flag desecration was narrowly defeated in the Senate Wednesday, with opponents arguing that the protection of free speech rights outweigh the need to ban unsavory acts against the flag. The 63-37 vote, four short of the two-thirds majority needed, put to rest for another year an issue that has been a top agenda item since Republicans took control of Congress in 1995.

The amendment, proposed by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, consisted of one sentence: "Congress shall have the power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States." The flag is "not just a piece of cloth or a symbol," Hatch argued. "It is the embodiment of our heritage, our liberties, and indeed our sovereignty as a nation." "Flag-burning is not speech; it is conduct of the most offensive kind," said Senate Majority Leader Trent The amendment grew out of 5-4 Supreme Court decisions in 1989 and 1990 that struck down state and national flag desecration laws on the grounds they weakened First Amendment rights to free speech. The House has approved flag desecration amendments three times since 1995, most recently by a 305-124 vote last year. Constitutional amendments also must be ratified by three-quarters of state legislatures, a near certainty in The council, which considered renaming University Boulevard or Florida Avenue for King, tabled the issue until April 11 because Tuesday's meeting ran until midnight while the public and council debated the censure of Poole for racially insensitive remarks.

Council voted 5-2 in favor of the censure. "I knew something was going to have to be tabled," Floyd said. "I'd rather have it be this than the censure. What we took care of (Tuesday) night was sufficient." Poole sparked the controversy surrounding the meeting, which 991 people attended, while discussing her opposition to renaming University Boulevard after King. Floyd said renaming University is no longer an acceptable option to NAACP members.

Poole's comments about blacks and King left many members shocked, angry and bothered. "We've decided that's not enough," Floyd said, referring to the designation for University Boulevard. NAACP ieaders called for Poole's resignation and are now making plans to recall her if Gov. Jeb Bush does not remove her from office. A letter is being sent to Bush seeking Poole's dismissal.

The street renaming debate is expected to draw a large crowd April 11, the date of council's next regular meeting. Councilman Steven Beltz reminded civil rights leaders Tuesday that renaming a street places a burden on businesses and homeowners who have to change addresses, signs, stationery, licenses and checks. Lottery results Wednesday, March 29 Cash 3: 8-5-3 Play 4: 6-1-9-5 Fantasy 5: 16-17-20-23-26 Lotto: 5-12-24-28-34-38 For updates and payoffs, call NewsNow. In Brevard County, call 633-NEWS (6397) or in SebastianBarefoot Bay, dial 728-81 18 and enter 7777. The call is free.

Beltz suggested renaming Melbourne Causeway after King because it wouldn't interfere with anyone's day-to-day operations. Floyd appreciates Beltz's suggestion but said it's not acceptable. She reiterated the NAACP's wish for a major thoroughfare. City Manager Henry Hill directed his staff Wednesday to determine what steps are required to rename a street the county or state maintains. Hill is expected to provide council members with the findings before the next meeting.

U.S. 1, which already carries several different names, is federally owned, and parts of New Haven Avenue, Apollo Boulevard and Babcock Street are maintained by the county or state, city spokesman Michael Moore said. SUTHERJJN ISUZU go Goldin accepts NASA blame farther. GOLDIN, From 1 A when they see things that are being done improperly, even if their bosses are involved. Amid the acknowledgements that mistakes were made, Goldin still had plenty of praise for his own efforts and NASA employees, too.

"Since we changed our approach (to faster, better, cheaper), the NASA budget (which currently is about $14 billion) has decreased by 5 percent without even taking inflation into account," Goldin said. "But, and this is a real testament to the NASA team, as our budget went down, our number of missions went up." Since he took over NASA, Goldin said $18 billion worth of equipment was launched into space, with losses representing only $500 million of that. Goldin did not say that smaller budgets were responsible for some of NASA's problems, but his tone suggested that they played a role. powehtkain limited warranty f-i I I 1 I "jwwf mm Corrections, clarifications, amplifications NASA and Goldin also have been battered by other reports, including two that said the administrator's management approach had put many missions at risk and resulted in the loss of many seasoned workers. Goldin put the approach in place after becoming administrator in 1992 and last week acknowledged it was not working as it should.

And Wednesday he provided more insight into why he believed it was not working. At a dinner Tuesday night, he said he was "very candid" with Mars-program people. "I told them that in my effort to empower people, I pushed too hard. And in doing so, I stretched the system too thin. It wasn't intentional, it wasn't malicious.

I believed in the vision, but it may have made some failure inevitable." In the wake of the Mars failures, he said NASA administrators and all employees should examine their work practices, learn to "listen better" and seek more training and mentoring when necessary. He said NASA employees also should not be afraid to "speak up" to our attention. You may report factual errors to the editor of the section in which the mistake appeared. The names and telephone numbers of the department editors are listed on the front pages of each section. Or please call our Readers Desk at (321) 242-3600 or toll-free (800) 242-3604.

You also may write to: Readers Desk, Florida Today P.O. Box 419000 Melbourne, FL 32941-9000 The Associated Press included an erroneous description of the Islamic faith in a story published Monday in Florida Today on Muslims who feel they have been wrongly stereotyped as radical terrorists. The story, which quoted a Muslim resident of Alabama, suggested Muslims believe in submission to Christ. It should have said Muslims believe in submission to the will of God, or Allah. It is Florida Today's policy to promptly correct errors of fact that appear in our news reports.

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