The Desert Sun from Palm Springs, California • Page 1

i Hill i ACTIVE RESERVE New Indian Wells course "already sports some legendary storiesC6 TAKING IT STEP BY STEP Women confront challenges of joining a ready-made familyDl BRANCHING OUT OF STRESS Artist deals with problems of daily life by finding serenity in wood caryingDl i Today's valley high, low Some winds could kick in again for the next couple days. Complete color forecastAM Tuesday; December is, 1998 SERVING THE COACHELLA VALLEY SINCE 1927 50 Group putts study on track for LA passengeB' service Regional rail route: Coachella Valley Association of Governments pursues option to boost tourism. By CECILIA CHAN There are a number of very important issues that need to be resolved," said Carl Schiermeyer, president of the Seal Beach company, "the principal issue being that we have to reach some form of agreement with the railroad that owns the tracks, Union Pacific." According to Schiermeyer, Union Pacific is "at best a very reluctant partner On the basis that they already have too many freight trains for the tracks' capacity. If there were a train operating, we are confident it would be popular and 1 Currently, the only passenger service offered by Amtrak is Sunset Limited, which travels from Los Angeles to Florida, and Texas Eagle, which travels from Los Angeles to Texas. Both stop in Palm Springs.

Waggle predicted that offering passenger trains would be a boon to the valley's tourism market There is from one end of the valley to the other interests that would benefit from safe, quick and easy transport of passengers from the Los Angeles coastal areas to the Coachella Valley and vice versa," he said. Schiermeyer Consulting Services is looking into train services outside the valley. Southern California areas, there is no way that highway construction is going to keep up with the transportation needs of those people as they come into Southern With that in mind, CVAG has commissioned two studies to examine: The feasibility of daily intercity passenger rail service between the valley and Los Angeles via Riverside and Fullerton. Alternative transportation from one end of the valley to the other due after Jan. 1.

The Desert Sun Residents looking for a costef-fective and convenient way of traveling inside and outside of the Coachella Valley may have more choices than their car or an air- plane. "Obviously, the Coachella Valley and the rest of California is going to grow," said Allyn Waggle, Coachella Valley Association of Governments associate director of transportation. "With the anticipation of icant population increases in the v. well-used by both residents and tourists." Union Pacific's West Coast We i Doug ParkThe Desert Sun Passenger potential: A Union Pacific train heads east near J' Interstate 10 at the Cook Street off-ramp. A consulting firm is considering the rail line's possible use for passenger trains, 'j See RAILA10 -Holiday ryslh pvelops post offices oa 0 ft DS) DOB Busy day: Customers line up to ensure that cards, packages make it to their destination by Christmas Day.

By DAVID HERMANN The Desert Sun A blizzard of holiday packages, cards and letters inundated Coachella Valley post offices Monday on what the U.S. Postal Service described as its busiest day of the year. In Indio, at one point, the line of people clutching stacks of envelopes and balancing boxes stretched from the counter to the Fargo Street post office front door. Within a few minutes the linn 1W Xrf-; -i .4. -ii swaaaiea in rea, green ana mue Jay CaMaranThe Desert Sun customers Monday at the Amado Road office during the busiest day of the year for the Postal Service.

Steady flow: Palm Springs postal employee John Coombs (second from right) and other workers help I jt" 3 to sari your packras. Saint Nicholas wrapping paper with a card that read "Letters for Santa Claus." think we hit it just right," said Gloria Alvarez, who waited outside the shortened line with her 2-year-old granddaughter Lauren as daughter Joann Duke spent $83 on Christmas stamps. bet it will really be crowded at noon." Postal Service officials said they expected to process at least 50 percent more mail than on a usual Monday. Many of those cards, packages and letters will take two days to arrive, making Wednesday the Postal Service's busiest delivery day of the year, officials said. More than 21 million customers are expected to visit post offices during the holidays to mail more than 280 million stamped cards and letters.

TIME FRAME: The deluge of mail is a signal that time is running out to send those last-minute packages and cards, says David Mazer, the ni.i ct .1 I r.ll Most major cities packages up to 2 lbs. 1 'a av 1 nnflllv an4 Public opinion The Impeachment debate that consumed Washington last week did little to change public opinion In the rest of the country, according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. It found that: Two-thirds of American adults think President Clinton should not be impeached and removed from office. More than half are unhappy with the way the president has handled the congressional investigation into his affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. 61 percent approve of the job he is doing as president.

About 60 percent of respondents disapprove of the way Republicans in Congress have handled the impeachment issue. 71 percent said Republicans are pursuing impeachment for political reasons; 61 percent said Democrats are acting out of political motivation. One In throe closely followed the impeachment story during last week's debate and the votes by the House Judiciary Committee. Nearly two-thirds said the media is paying too much attention to the issue. The Pew poll was based on telephone Interviews with 1,201 adults Dec 9-13.

The margin of error Is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. packages up to 5 lbs. Impeachment: Two previously undecided Republicans announce intent to back vote. By DAVID E5PO The Associated Press WASHINGTON The ranks of pro-impeachment Republicans swelled on Monday in the run-up to a momentous House vote, and one prominent moderate arranged a meeting with President Clinton to discuss the case against him. Dogged by the issue on a trip to the Middle East, Clinton said he was open to "any reasonable compromise" with Congress short of impeachment.

But if anything, the shaky ground under the president appeared to shift more during the day. Two Republican lawmakers from the Northeast, eyed by Clinton's defenders as potential opponents of impeachment, announced their intention to vote the other way. And Rep. Christopher Shays" of Connecticut," one of a handful of anti-impeachment GOP lawmakers, said he was "willing to reconsider" his position and asked for a meeting with Clinton. Clinton could take some comfort from Rep.

Virgil Goode who was widely assumed to be pro-impeachment but declined to say how he would vote. The Associated Press conduct-See CLINT0NA3 raHMfoi3jg across the country 1 "EZ3n3rnS Across the country I'Most economic -f if Brian CralnThe Desert Sun Mailing tips: Send packages by priority mail after today to ensure delivery before Christmas. Use guaranteed overnight ex-" press mail for packages mailed after Dec. 21 to ensure delivery on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Use international express mail after Dec.

10, the deadline for most international mailing. Use holiday greeting cards with white envelopes. Colored envelopes cannot be processed automatically. Write, type or neatly print the complete address on envelopes and packages.afc-. Always use a return address.

Use the correct ZIP code. For more Information call the Postal Service toll free at (800) ASK-USPS or contact them on the Internet at www.usps.gov. wait bothered her, Wood said with a laugh. Tm in the middle of grading finals at school," she said. "I'd rather be here than there." deliver them on Christmas Day in major cities," he said.

IDEAL SmJAnOM: Mazer said the deadline to send a card or letter: safely across the country before Clhristmas is Saturday. But a better idea, he said, would be to mail your cards, letters and packages today or Wednesday, especially if they are going to a small town and you want them there for Christmas. The last thing we want is to deliver your package on Saturday, Dec. 26," he said. No post-Christmas deliveries for.

Dee Wood, who pulled her car up to the curb near the Rancho Mirage post office entrance just before noon Monday and began unloading a back seat full of packages onto the sidewalk. The College of the Desert communications and public speaking instructor then launched her car into the nearest available parking space, gathered up her parcels and hurried into a serpentine queue to the counter. Asked if the prospect of a long ruHuu oeryux ouuumrn vtuuuniui manager of corporate relations. "I would say (today) is the last day to send packages parcel post across country," he said. "After that, priority mail the rest of this week and express mail next week to ensure Christmas delivery." Mazer said the Postal Service will accept express-mail packages for overnight delivery on Christmas Eve.

"If you're real last-minute, well put on our little Santa hat and Palestinians end animosity toward Israel f1 1 Show of hands: Members of the Palestinian National Council vote to abolish resolutions of the Palestinian charter that called for the destruction of Israel. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright urged Netanyahu to move ahead with West Bank troop withdrawals, although she acknowledged Israel probably will not conduct a pullback by Friday. "We hope very much that it can be as close to the schedule as possible," she said, i Pressing both sides to reconcile, 1 aaiA "I rtiinlr fVipro will lv I Netanyahu said in Jerusalem that the Palestinian vote would "lead to a real peace, a lasting peace, not a minute-long peace." But at the same time, he said, Arafat must renounce plans to declare statehood and take steps to end the violence in the region. Just as Netanyahu told Clinton on Sunday that the Palestinians were violating peace accords, Arafat said on Monday that Israel was guilty of violations. He called on Israel to release jailed Palestinians, Netanyahu vowed not to release prisoners he regards as terrorists.

Peace hurdle: Vote 1 provides another step to resuscitating shaky wye River accord. By TERENCE HUNT The Associated Press "7 GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip Stirring Palestinian passions for statehood, President Clinton stood witness Monday as hundreds of Palestinian leaders renounced a call for the destruction of Israel. Clinton urged legitimate rights for Palestinians, real security for Israel." The Palestinian vote registered with a show of hands and applause removed a contentious issue dating back to 1964 from the crisis-shrouded Mideast peace process. Clinton, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu planned a meeting At stake was the revival of the Wye River land-for-security deal, nearing collapse with Israelis and Palestinians accusing each other of violating the deal more, breakdowns, frankly. But I think there will be more breakthroughs as well." Skepticism: Gaza residents wary latest promisesA4.