Arizona Daily Star from Tucson, Arizona • Page 3

FIRST EDITION best available copy Arizona The West Wednesday, September 26, 2001 ARIZONA DAILY STAR A9 Regional Briefing Senate OKs payments for those radiation made ill in Cold War On StarNet: Find out more about the compensation to miners at www.azstamet.comllnks Judge.OKs$2M Symington deal with union funds THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOENIX A judge approved a settlement Tuesday allowing former Gov. Fife Symington to pay at least $2 million to six union pension funds. The settlement, signed by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge George B. Nielsen ends a bankruptcy case over a botched real estate deal that helped force Symington from office.

Symington agreed to pay the pension funds the greater of $2 million or 40 percent of his share of a family trust that will be distributed to beneficiaries upon the death of a Symington uncle. In return, the pension funds have agreed to settle their claims against Symington. The funds had been trying to recover a $10 million loan that, with interest, they say was now worth $17.4 million. Efforts to reach Symington for comment Tuesday were payments to down-winders and uranium miners who contracted diseases, mostly cancer and respiratory illnesses, because of their exposure to radiation from 1945 to 1971. The fallout drifted from Nevada into Utah and Arizona.

The uranium was extracted in Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming. The program offers $100,000 checks for miners and $50,000 for down-winders. But for several years the program has been underfunded. Beginning in May 2000, the Justice Department, which administers the program, began issuing IOUs to qualifying claimants. Many died while awaiting payment.

"This assures that we're not in the business of issuing more IOUs," said Sen. Jeff Bingaman, a co-sponsor of the amendment. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON Thousands sickened by radiation during Cold War nuclear weapons development could be guaranteed compensation under a proposal adopted by the Senate Tuesday. In the past, payments to former uranium miners and "down-winders" people unknowingly exposed to radioactive fallout from above-ground atomic tests had been delayed because the program had run out of money. Many died holding IOUs from the government.

But the amendment to the Senate defense spending bill would set aside $655 million over 10 years to pay the claims, beginning with $172 million in the coming year. Sen. Pete Domenici, who sponsored the amendment, called the repeated funding shortfalls an "insult" and said the Senate action would "eliminate a serious, serious sore that's out there among a few thousand Americans." The House and President Bush also must approve the funding. The long-term funding was a key for supporters, who didn't want the program dependent on year-to-year appropriations. "I was doing handsprings," said Ed Brickey, co-chairman of the Western States RECA Reform Coalition.

"It's not over, but with this part of it you can't help but have a smile." The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act was passed in 1990 to make lump-sum last week after apparently slipping out of a seat belt and lap bar on the Perilous Plunge ride as it dropped 121 feet at up to 50 mph. "Might she have gone unconscious for some reason and then her lap bar and seat belt were still in place but her weight had shifted in some way? Weight may have been one of the factors, but there may have been others," said Susan Gard, spokeswoman for the Department of Occupational Safety and Health, the state agency investigating the accident. There are no weight restrictions on Perilous Plunge, which remained closed. But park officials said it was an issue they would study and consider, if investigators determined the woman's size played a role in the accident. 2 minor quakes felt COSO JUNCTION Two minor earthquakes shook the Inyo County desert Tuesday, but there were no reports of damage or injuries.

The first of the temblors struck at 4:35 a.m., three miles northeast of Coso Junction, 140 miles north of Los Angeles, according to the California Institute of Technology. The second hit at 11:34 a.m., about 26 miles north of the tiny community along U.S. 395, in the desert below the southern flank of the Sierra Nevada. The Associated Press NEVADA Jay Leno to give free show in Vegas LAS VEGAS Comedian Jay Leno, host of NBC's "The Tonight Show" and a frequent Las Vegas headliner, will give a free performance Saturday at the MGM Grand hotel-casino. "I talked to some friends in Las Vegas and they said the town is pretty empty," Leno told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

"Las Vegas has been good to me and I wanted to give something back. I thought it would be fun to do." Leno announced his plans during Monday's taping of "The Tonight Show," saying it was a gesture to help boost business on the Las Vegas Strip, where visitor numbers have dropped since Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Leno will perform at 10 p.m. in the EFX Theatre.

The performance is open only to Nevada residents or anyone with a Las Vegas hotel room key and an out-of-state driver's license. CALIFORNIA Probe looks at size of rider In fatal fall BUENA PARK State investigators tried to determine Tuesday whether a woman's weight contributed to her fatal fall on a Knott's Berry Farm water ride. Lori Mason-Larez, 40, of Duarte, a heavyset woman, died try t-m. i Wll iw Cs 11 li il i i 1 1 II 1 i i ATTENTION High School Ct College Students Would you really like to make a difference in someone's life? Want to have Fun while you serve you want rht rAmmnnihr kNY ricke with Call us and ask about the Change for a Change Program 740-1501 Mission BBS Just a month plus tax Oriental Rujs Since 1980 jJr We buy old rugs Professional cleaning and repair in our Tucson facility BET r.y 2623 I. Campbell 326-7828 Hours: Mori.

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