Florida Today from Cocoa, Florida • Page 1

tying UNIONS TARGET Yf HEALTHCARE Growing service indus- tr'es manv wnicn Pay low wages, are ripe for --3 unionization, 1E. I i STARS DEFEAT SABRES, 2-1, 1C. WE'RE FLOODED WITH FICTION Winning entries from Florida Today's 1999 Fiction Express short-story contest, 1 D. CASSINI CRAFT FLYBY PROMPTS RALLY, 1B. 'A' TV SUNDAY, June 13, 1999 MMM mm It PUDS Debates in Congress contribute to sharp increase HEADLINES TODAYS NEWS AT A GLANCE Boxer could slug his way off streets By John Tuohy FLORIDA TODAY it-- 4 Fears about Y2K computer ill failures and increased federal restrictions on gun purchases have combined to boost the number of people buying firearms in Florida to its highest level in four years.

a- Gun applications in the first in April have set off a spirited gun control debate in the U.S. Congress that could result in stronger laws. The Senate last month passed a bill that requires background checks on customers of unlicensed dealers at gun shows and child-safety locks on guns. In Florida, the FDLE, which performs the background checks for licensed dealers, is not authorized to do them for for unlicensed dealers. Gun control advocates argue that criminals are flocking to unlicensed vendors at gun shows.

See GUN, 2A number of people who have applied to purchase guns from licensed gun dealers but does not indicate the number of guns sold, because one applicant can buy more than one gun at a time. Gun dealers in Brevard County said the threat of stricter gun laws always spikes sales, but this time Y2K apprehension also is a factor. "Nothing boosts sales like the government passing more laws. I would say half the people who come in here mention gun control and the other half say Y2K," said Bob Griggs, manager of Gun Rack on Merritt Island. The shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, five months of 1999 are up 16,967 from the same period last year, to 87,127, according to the Florida Department of Law If guns continue to sell at the current pace, 223,325 gun applications will be completed in 1999, the highest total since 1995, Rik Jesse, FLORIDA TODAY HERB STRATTON, owner of Action Gun Outfitters in Melbourne, displays a Colt King Cobra .357 magnum.

Stratton's customers have mentioned Y2K fears when making recent purchases. when there were 236,079. The figure represents the NATO reaches INSIDE: Extended coverage, 4-5A; Editorial, 1 2A. atterers face crackdown Kosovo's Domestic violence arrests up, but conviction rate unchanged capital Confrontation with Rik Jesse, FLORIDA TODAY JOE "BIGGIE BOY" ELEGELE, a 14-year-old amateur boxer, is a product of south Melbourne's 'hood. He is the fourth oldest in a family of 10 and lives in the shadow of constant drug deals.

But he punched his way into Saturday's Junior Olympic National Boxing Championships. Story, 1C. Domestic violence Tougher state laws have increased the number of domestic violence arrests and convictions. Russian troops tense but 'cordial' Associated Press Arrests Formal charges filed Convictions PRISTINA, Yugoslavia Streaming into Kosovo's capital, almost unopposed by retreating Serbs, NATO peacekeepers came face to face Saturday with SPACE Next rocket launch: A Boeing Delta 2 rocket June 23 with a NASA astronomy satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Station. Launch window: 11:36 a.m.

to 12:48 p.m. Space Update: Florida Today's hot line carries the latest on space program developments. Call 633-6397 in Brevard or 728-8118 in Barefoot BaySebastian and enter code 4321. WEATHER 3,500 3,000 2,500 i 1 (161 2,000 1,500 -JL. I618J 1,000 -T 500 2 the Russian troops who beat them to the city.

A U.S. official said the two sides were running "a coordi nated occupation, but some re ports described tense moments Ii Ill.ll) ,1,1. ..1 'H! I. I .1 jWIW-ltl II I i Partly sunny today with a high in the mid- to I X34T '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 between NATO troops and the small Russian force. upper 80s and a 40 percent chance or rain.

Partly cloudy tonight with a 30 percent rain Amid more confusion in Mos FLORIDA TODAY chance and a low in the low to mid-70s, 14A. BREVARD Rain and mud made Sonfest '99 a bit of a slop fest. but that didn't seem to impede the rev Story by Maurice Tamman FLORIDA TODAY cow about who decided Friday to send the Russian column, U.S. and Russian negotiators worked feverishly to design a formal job for Russia in the Kosovo peacekeeping jorce. But there was no elry of the estimated 6,000 people attending immediate result and no sign the the outdoor Christian concert Saturday, in.

FLORIDA column was planning to leave. or generations, domestic violence was a secret crime, treated by police officers as a private The first meeting between The first tropical storm of the season so far poses no threat to anyone, 8B. British and Russian forces at Pristina's airport was "cordial," said Gen. Henry Shelton, chair A man playing with a homemade pipe bomb in bone-dry woods started a wnoiire mat raged for a week, destroying 20 homes and damaging 18 others in Flagler County last June, authorities say, 8B. NATION Against the backdrop of sunny Iowa skies, Republican Texas Gov.

George W. Bush kicks off his presidential campaign, making it clear man of the Joint Chiefs of btan. "It's a coordinated occupation right now, and the final details are going to be worked out," Shelton told reporters in Washington, adding there would be 800 NATO troops in the area by nightfall. The Russian forces in Kosovo are believed to number 200 to 300. At least 100 additional Russian troops were expected to move soon into Kosovo from nearby Bosnia-Herzegovina.

A British pool reporter de he plans to win his bid for the omce, bA. WORLD His right temple stitched and bandaged after a fall, Pope John Paul II argued Saturday against abortion, euthanasia and prenatal medical intervention in a matter rather than a serious problem in society. That attitude is changing, and with good reason: Domestic violence is the leading cause of homicides in Brevard County. Since 1992, 42 of the county's 143 slayings have been domestic violence-related. Had that many people died of an infectious disease, the public outcry would have been deafening, said Dr.

Heidar Heshmati, head of Brevard's Health Department. "We don't like it when a virus or bacteria kills even one of us but when we kill ourselves, no one seems to be upset," he said. During the past several years, police have been making more arrests, but the conviction rate about one in five has not substantially changed during that time. Advocates blame a disjointed system that doesn't give victims the support they need. As a result, victims often turn on authorities and refuse to cooperate after deciding to return to their mates for emotional and economic reasons.

11 powerful plea to his country- i jir men 10 respect numan me, scribed a tense encounter at the airport when Russian forces, supported by Serbs, initially tried to bar British forces from the airport. American Apache i 17A Malcolm Denemark, FLORIDA TODAY husband on domestic violence charges. Harper says that despite the abuse, she still loves her husband. Talks between India and Pa kistan over the disputed re NONA HARPER, with son Craig Harper says she'll cooperate with authorities in prosecuting her helicopters buzzed overhead and British Challenger I tanks were gion of Kashmir end in dead lock, with both sides volley ing accusations over the lat ordered forward in a show of strength, but Serbs blocking the est fiehting in the entrance refused to back down. John Paul II Himalayan territory, 18A.

The impasse at the airport Communist North Korea sends patrol boats wasn't resolved, the report said, across a disputed sea border after threaten until negotiations were con has come a long way with law enforcement," said Virginia Daire, general counsel for the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence. "We believe that the next push needs to be focused on prosecution and the judiciary." See ARRESTS, 4A 1994 to nearly 3,000 last year, a Florida Today analysis found. But formal charges are filed in less than half of the cases. While prosecutors have doubled the number of domestic violence convictions during the past five years, the conviction rate has remained the same since 1994 about 21 percent. "I think the state of Florida In 1995, the role of law enforcement officers in domestic disputes changed.

The Florida Legislature passed a law prodding police agencies into action, forcing officers to make arrests rather than referee domestic quarrels. Since then, the number of domestic violence arrests has nearly doubled, from 1,600 in ing to attack South Korean warships in con vened between the Russian commander, his Serb counterpart and British Brigadier Adrian tested waters or the Yeiiow sea, ia. Freer. More coverage, 3A. floridatodaycoM Space Coast prepares for Apollo 1 1 anniversary www.floridatoday.com Ground-breaking for monument will celebrate mission Your online guide to the Space Coast and more, including the latest images from the HuDDie space telescope.

Arts Leisure. Business Space Center. Armstrong and Al-drin will attend. The next day, a barbecue picnic doubling as an Apollo workers reunion will be held at Fox Lake Park in Titusville from 6 to 11 p.m. Tickets, which cost $15, will be available to the public.

NASA hopes to launch shuttle Columbia on July 20 the anniversary of the day Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon. The KSC Visitor Complex is working out details of its July 17 celebration, which may feature a speech by Aldrin and performances by three 1960s bands. 4-6F 1-5E 1-16G 1-7J By Francis X. Donnelly FLORIDA TODAY The Space Coast will be looking a lot like the 1960s next month as NASA and Brevard County celebrate the 30th anniversary of Apollo 11, the mission that first landed men on the moon. Among those in attendance July 16 and 17 will be famous astronauts from that era.

NASA and space groups will hold a gala dinner, a possible shuttle flight and the groundbreaking for an Apollo monu Mercury programs. "I can't believe it was 30 years ago," said Calvin Fowler, president of the Space-walk of Fame Foundation. "This was the first time we got on something other than Earth." At the ground-breaking, the first shovel of dirt will be turned at 9:32 a.m., the same time Apollo 11 was launched in 1969. The banquet will be at 6:30 p.m. July 16 at the Apollo Saturn 5 Center at Kennedy nauts aboard Apollo 11, have agreed to cttend the festivities.

The other, Michael Collins, no longer attends such events. The commemorative association also is trying to convince John F. Kennedy Jr. to speak at the ground-breaking July 16. The monument will include a sculpture of Kennedy's father, President John F.

Kennedy, who launched the space race to the moon. Once built, it will join exhibits honoring the Gemini and ment outside the U.S. Space Walk of Fame in Titusville. "This will be much larger," said George Maguire, comparing the upcoming celebration with past years'. Maguire, who is co-chairman of the Apollo Commemorative Association, should know.

He's been involved with every Apollo celebration Brevard has ever hosted. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Al-drin, who walked on the moon and were two of the three astro 1-8B Classified Employment. Local, State-Lottery Outdoors Real Estate oo o-o- 4i 12C -1-16H 5-6E Space Science. Sports 1C 1-3F 14A Travel. Weather Watcru.