News-Press from Fort Myers, Florida • Page 1

A GANNETT NEWSPAPER 35 CENTS THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 1988 FORT MYERS, FLORIDA I wciitc son Move or stay? Decision could come today3A CCSihCLIOUT Publix testing JJ robots15A tJ Publix Boxer: I'm Sports drinks k7 quitting ring1C keep comingIE TV-36 wants ABC to switch channel Reforms face Soviet blocks Still a chill in cold war, vice president says if network's current affiliate, are confident it will retain its 15-year affiliation with ABC. WFTX made its pitch to ABC officials in New York. Chris Andrews, WFTX general manager, confirmed the station's interest but would not saywhenthe presentation was made. "WFTX-TV is an extremely successful independent television station and believes in the future of independent television," said An- drews in a prepared statement. "It always behooves a corporation to look at alternatives and investigate, various options." She would not comment further.

Executives at WEVU say there would be no reason for ABC to select a new affiliate. "Networks do listen to presenta- SeeTV, back page this section BySHELDONZOLDAN News-Press Staff Writer WFTX-TV, Channel 36, wants to be the ABC affiliate in Southwest Florida. The Cape Coral-based independent station already has made a presentation to ABC to convince the broadcasting company to make the change. But executives at WEVU-TV, the Bush, warning that "the cold war is not over," linked the reforms proposed by Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev to the U.S.

defense buildup. In a Wisconsin speech, Bush said "some of the dramatic reforms General Secretary Gorbachev proposed would truly, if imple- See SOVIETS, back page this section Los Angeles Times-Washington Post Mikhail Gorbachev's policy of glasnost came under heavy attack at the Soviet Communist Party conference Wednesday in Moscow, signaling that curbs on editors and official publications spearheading the movement for greater openness in the Soviet Union could soon be imposed. Also Wednesday, Vice President George BUSH Dim President stumps for Senate hopeful during Miami visit ry ByJUDI HASSON Gannett News Service MIAMI President Reagan took his considerable clout to Florida Wednesday to help Rep. Connie Mack's campaign for the U.S. Senate and attacked the Democrats for taxing, spending and deficits.

In one of the first of the standard stump speeches he is expected to give this year for GOP candidates, Reagan zeroed in on Michael Dukakis' history of raising taxes and spending money as the governor of Massachusetts. He made a pitch for George Bush's presidential bid and said it was important to help Mack, a Republican Congressman from Cape Coral, win Florida's Senate seat one of the key races GOP leaders believe will help the Republican Party regain control of the Senate. "In 1988, the American people face a choice, really the same choice we've faced before, and much the same choice most of the world has recently had to make," Reagan Said. "And each time, the people have made the same decisions: To continue in the direction of economic freedom, entrepreneurship and individual opportunity. And to move away from the heavy hand of government, which seeks to control the people and the economy." Reagan mentioned Mack's name more than a dozen times in his speech as he talked about Republican policies of deficit control, support for the Nicaraguan freedom fighters, a strong national defense and family issues.

"Connie Mack knows that to fight the deficit, you must control spending," Reagan said. "He supports the balanced budget amendment and the line-item veto. He helped lead the fight to pass Gramm-Rudman (the balanced budget law), and that law is already helping to put a lid on federal spending. "Connie knows that the American people are not undertaxed, but that the federal government overspends. Isn't that the kind of man Florida needs in the Senate?" Mack, a conservative Republican, is running in one of the most closely watched Senate races in the nation.

There are six open seats out of 33 up for re-election this year and the GOP believes it has a clear shot at regaining control of the Senate, which it lost in 1986 to the Democrats. Reagan emphasized the importance of the race to the crowd of 600 who paid $500 or $1,000 a ticket to see him at a luncheon at the Omni International Hotel. "This November, if the people of Florida don't want an increase in federal taxes or a big-spending Congress, all they need to do is go to the polls and vote Republican," Reagan said. "We must get the Senate back if we are to continue our economic growth," he said. KELLY PACENews-Press dorsing Mack.

Reagan spoke at a GOP fund-raising luncheon at the Omni International Hotel in Miami. President Ronald Reagan shows off a baseball jersey given to him by U.S. Senate candidate Connie Mack after Reagan's speech Wednesday en- For Cape lawmaker, a presidential power lunch 1B Parker on politics. of my campaign the fact that the president was here on my behalf today shows that most of the party leadership supports my campaign." Reagan agreed to appear at the event several months ago, when Mack was the sole GOP Senate candidate, and well before former U.S. prosecutor Robert Merkle of Tampa announced Monday that he plans to run against Mack for the See MACK, back page this section Reagan added, "Isn't that the kind of man Florida needs in the Senate?" Funds from the event will be split 50-50 between the Mack campaign and the Republican Party of Florida, which plans to use the money to help elect GOP candidates this fall.

Accompanied by his wife, Priscilla, Mack sat beside the president at the head table. After the speech, the Cape Coral congressman said he was "quite pleased" with what Reagan said and thought his statements "were a strong endorsement U.S. Senator from Florida, Congressman Connie Mack." Speaking to about 600 Republicans who paid either $500 or $1,000 to lunch at Miami's Omni International Hotel with the President, Mack and a host of state Republican officials, Reagan said, "Next year, thanks to you, Washington will have a new winning team, and I mean real major leaguers: Sen. Connie Mack and President George Bush." Citing Mack's efforts to control the budget deficit and government spending, By BETTY PRICE PARKER News-Press Staff Writer MIAMI President Reagan stopped short of saying "Vote for Connie Mack" in his Wednesday stump speech on behalf of Mack's U.S. Senate candidacy, but he left little doubt about whom he supports.

Saying part of his work is to elect Republican candidates, Reagan began his 30-minute speech by saying, "That's why I'm here today, to campaign for the next SR 78 plan hits dead end Road widening victim of budget ax By JENNIFER SHAFER News-Press Staff Writer The $1.3 million widening of State Road 78 in North Fort Myers i and $612,000 for new offices of the Southwest Florida Health Center were among $150 million in projects that came under the budget-cutting ax wielded by Gov. Bob Martinez on Wednesday. Independent prosecutors get court OK Supreme Court roundup 10A By The Associated Press WASHINGTON The Supreme Court, in a setback to the Reagan administration and some of its key former officials, Wednesday upheld a law that allows independent prosecutors to investigate alleged crimes by high-ranking government officials. The 7-1 decision dispels crucial doubts about the convictions of former Reagan aides Michael K. Deav-er and Lyn C.

Nofziger and clears away a possible stumbling block in the prosecution of ex-White House aides Oliver North, John M. Poin-dexter and two others indicted in the Iran-contra affair. The decision also allows an investigation to continue into the activities of Attorney General Edwin Meese III, accused of financial improprieties and conflicts of interest. The court, in a momentous constitutional decision, said the special Michael K. Deaver: Convicted of lying to a grand jury and a House subcommittee that investigated his lobbying activities.

Lyn C. Nofziger: Convicted for illegal lobbying. Oliver North: Charged with conspiring to divert profits from the sale of arms to Iran to the contra rebels. prosecutor law does not violate the separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government guaranteed by the Constitution. Chief Justice William H.

Rehnqu-ist, in his opinion for the court, said, "We observe first that this case does not involve an attempt by Congress to increase its own powers at the expense of the executive branch. "Similarly, we do not think that the act works any judicial usurpation of properly executive functions." See COURT, back page this section INSIDE A-107 million U.S. households have received the government's AIDS message.12A LOCALSTATE The Illinois legislature votes on a Chicago stadium proposal today.9B SPORTS French Open champ Mats Wilander and defending champion Pat Cash fall at Wimbledoh.1C LIFESTYLES Meet Lehigh Acres' resident world-class percussionist.1D Bridge Business 15-17A 8-20C Comics 9D Crossword 9D DearAbby 2D Deaths 5-8B Lottery numbers 2A Movies 6D Opinion 18-19A TV 10D Weather 20 A Copyright 1988, The News-Press Steve Floethe, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation office in Fort Myers, said the SR 78 project was cut because it was not scheduled to be completed this year. "It was a turkey from the very beginning," Floethe said, referring to a legislator's pet project. "It was a special project Arnold put in in hopes of getting it passed." Floethe said the state had scheduled the $1.3 million SR 78 project in 1992.

The money is to be used to acquire right of way to widen the road from Piney Road to U.S. 4 1 The $612,000 for the Southwest Florida Health Center in Fort Myers was to be used to renovate a Winn Dixie building at Grand Avenue and Crawford Street for new offices. The veto "seems to be contradictory to his administration's desire to promote solutions to the access problems involving indigent health care and elder health care," Lalai Ham-ric, executive director of the center, See BUDGET, back page this section State budget cuts Axed $1.3 million widening of State Road 78 in North Fort Myers. $612,000 for new offices of the Southwest Florida Health Center. The center provides health care to the needy.

$18,000 for a Collier County early intervention program to prevent school dropouts. Made it $100,000 for the Dunbar Recreation Center. A $100,000 item MARTINEZ for expansion of the Dunbar Recreation Center was left in the budget, said Nan Summerall, an aid for state Rep. Keith Arnold. Arnold had said Tuesday the project was cut.

The reductions also included $19 million in education construction money. But Martinez's press secretary, Jon Peck, said the cuts are special projects, and none affects Southwest Florida schools. 1 4 'iTBfHf 't TlflT.VT'' iffy TrJmlmMZAmtiMmSimMm uiMwMMrir A ft it rHf -Mm nr mrv.