Tallahassee Democrat from Tallahassee, Florida • Page 11

Tuesday November 7, 2000 Church sued for damages in sex abuse case. 3B Metro Editor Audrey Post Phone: (850) 599-2391 Fax: (850) 599-2295 Email: aeposttaldem.com Local Briefs 2B Obituaries 5B State Briefs 5B llf' Yffii extasira die We Ihearits oup LdDM(B Ex-chamber president urges vote against penny sales tax Frenchtown getting federal money; mayor touts sales tax RON HARTUNG THE TRAFFIC DOCTOR their Commerce and the older, larger Tallahassee Area Chamber of Commerce, which has been a strong supporter of the 1-percent tax. Johnson charged that: Tallahassee Area Chamber officials and community leaders made deals with Capital City Chamber members to support the sales tax initiative. Two Capital City Chamber board members on the Environmental and Economic Consensus Committee (EECC), which proposed the list of projects the sales tax would fund, remained silent and did not share the project list By Juana Jordan DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER On the eve of the general election, former Capital City Chamber of Commerce President Marti Johnson urged Tallahasseeans to say "no" today to the extension of the 1-percent sales tax. Johnson made her appeal Monday, three days after the 13-member chamber board she once represented threw its support behind the countywide tax, which would pay for $544 million in transportation, green-space improvements and drainage projects.

Johnson, who resigned from the chamber last week, lodged a number of accusations against the Capital City Chamber of Spin city MA The Frenchtown money was part of an appropriations bill approved in Washington, D.C. It was added to the bill late last month. Boyd called the $1.7 million figure "a token of what's to come in the future." Maddox also promised more to come especially if voters approve a 1-percent sales tax extension today. City officials are not sure how they will spend the federal money but said the first step will be to survey Frenchtown to find, the best ways to keep rising Please see FRENCHTOWN, 2B Tampa, Orlando equal in offerings By David Hefner DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER In two reports laden with figures, Orlando and Tampa made then: final pitches Monday for the Florida Uni versity law school and," again," nei ther seems to have an over whelming edge over the FAMU LAW SCHOOL competition. The cities were responding to a request by Chancellor Adam Her bert and FAMU President Freder ick Humphries to provide additional information that will supposedly help them decide which city is best positioned to host the law school.

The cities were asked to provide information regarding available student hous Humphries ing, the number of minorities in the area, support from those who could aid in recruiting, such as black law groups and law firms, and the number of food and fitness centers near the proposed law school sites. The results are a mixed bag: While Orlando currently appears to have more available apartments, they are on average more expensive than those in Tampa. And while Tampa apparently graduates more minority college students, Orlando appears to have a larger number of blacks who are active members of the National Bar Association, a national group made up of black lawyers. Orlando also appears to have more law firms that have committed to offering internships (38), while Tampa appears to have oral commitments from law firms will-, ing to offer clerkships and jobs, to FAMU law students. What do the numbers mean, and how will they be judged in deciding where the new law school will be located? No one will know for sure until Nov.

16 or 17, when regents, after hearing a recommendation from Herbert and Humphries, will decide which city gets the law school. Please see FAMU, 2B mm: Herbert By John Sevigny DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER U.S. lawmakers have set aside $1.7 million to help alleviate flooding in Frenchtown, a historic but low-income neighborhood working to revitalize itself in the wake of decades of urban decay. Congressman Allen Boyd and Mayor Scott Maddox talked about the appropriation Monday during a news conference beside a stormwater pond in Frenchtown. This is where the rubber hits the road," said Boyd, D-Monticello.

This is what our role as public servants, is all about: helping regular people improve i "Everybody's jaw dropped in disbelief. We knew (termination) was one of the options. We just didn't think it would happen." Mike Rucker Chief Meteorologist numerous technical problems and personnel turnover. In 1996, the station was bought by Guy Gannett Communications, which poured more than $3 million into restarting the news operation. The station resumed newscasts in March 1997, featuring modern sets, state-of-the-art weather equipment and broadcasters such as veteran CNN news anchor Kevin Christopher (who recently left for a similar position in Lexington, The renowned Rucker, who had been the meteorologist at WCTV for 18 years, was the station's first news hire.

He said Monday he had no idea of his future job Please see WTWC, 2B Stakeout a success An 18-yearold faces charges in connection with Killeam car burglaries. Page3B Plan for CareNet getting without The long and the short of green lights Dear Traffic Doctor, When I visited your great city to drop off my daughter at FSU, your traffic situation was a total surprise. I am deputy sheriff in Houston, and the traffic here is nothing compared with Tallahassee's. I think the congestion is due to the length of time the traffic signals stay green. I believe they stay green two minutes or more, which is entirely too long.

It allows backup traffic to accumulate between each light. In Houston the lights stay green no more than one minute in each direction, allowing all traffic to move more rapidly. Tallahassee is a great city, but I think the traffic situation could be eliminated with a little planning. Billie Bundage City traffic troubleshooters Alan Otley, Tracy Forester and Rob Mauck read your note a while ago. Hotheads that they are, they cussed up a storm and vowed to rent a Winnebago and spend a weekend critiquing Houston's traffic signals.

Just kidding, Deputy Billie. These gentlemen always seem eager to hear from drivers. They won't quarrel that better planning would solve some traffic problems. They point out, for the record, that they're not the ones who laid out the city in this traffic-unfriendly design, that they're not the ones who decide whether and where to build roads, that they try to make the best of the situations they inherit, that they love their country and floss regularly and hope for a brighter tomorrow. They don't necessarily agree; though, that (pardon the expression) snorter is always better.

The traffic-signal cycles in Tallahassee, they say, range from 70 to 180 seconds. The key question is which cycle creates the least delay, given particular circumstances at particular times on particular days. Sometimes, they say, longer cycles help move traffic more productively. Yes, they acknowledge, a long cycle backs up side streets. But, they say, they try to run long cycles primarily during peak periods, otherwise known as rush hour.

When there's that much traffic on the main roads, they say, shorter cycles are less efficient. They wish they knew which days and which times you encountered your worst traffic moments here. The more specific information they have, the better chance they have of -answering questions and possibly making improvements. The number for the Traffic Engineering Division is 891-8261. If your daughter needs help with her homework, have her give 'em a call.

Dear Traffic Doctor, To the two frustrated fiends who passed me in the school zone on Tharpe and MLK on Wednesday, I'd just like to say that 20 mph is the speed LIMIT. Why can't TPD have an officer waiting at 10th and MLK to stop the people who turn onto MLK from Tharpe and ignore the continuing school zone? This is so dangerous. Many middle school children are crossing the street to Raa, and many drivers gun it because they think they're out of the school zone. Meg's Mom Perhaps the fine Americans we elect today will take on the fiend problem. Meanwhile, even though the handful of traffic cops can't be everywhere at once, they're always open to suggestion.

Call 891-4373. Contact Ron Hartung at rtiartungtaldem.com or 599-2303. i i i Please see JOHNSON, 2B Broadcasting, which bought the station in 1999 from Guy Gannett Communications, "We were facing big cutbacks that would have damaged the product and would have been a disservice to our viewers," Moore said. "Rather than do that, we decided to eliminate (news) totally. This was an incredibly difficult decision for us to make." WTWC has 69 employees.

All 37 people in the news operation will be laid off after the station's 11 p.m. newscast Nov. 30. Moore made the announcement to a stunned newsroom at 1 p.m. Monday.

She had posted a memo Friday asking everyone to attend the meeting. The memo kicked off a weekend of rumors. "Everybody's jaw dropped in disbelief," Chief Meteorologist Mike Rucker said of Monday's announcement. "We knew (termination) was one of the options. We just didn't think it would happen." WTWC went on the air in 1983.

The station made its first entry into news programming from 1986 to 1988 but suffered Tree surgeons run scam Crooks claiming to work for the city scam an elderly man out of $3,800. Page3B MIKE EWEN Democrat She loves going out for a spin: Dymond, a female pit bull with a strong grip on a well-loved rope toy, goes airborne with assistance from owner Reed Ross at Winthrop Park. "She's a real gentle giant," said Ross, an animal science major at Florida University. "She'd probably lick you to death before anything." Station pulls plug on News 40 By Gerald Ensley DEMOCRAT SENIOR WRITER NBC News 40 is giving up the fight. Three and a half years after making a splashy re-entry into local news broadcasting, WTWC-TV announced Monday it was eliminating newscasts at the end of the month.

The NBC affiliate had jockeyed with ABC affiliate WTXL for the No. 2 position in news ratings but could never challenge the local television news leader WCTV, a CBS affiliate. WTWC General Manager Maria Moore said the news operation had consistently lost money since the station reinstituted news programs in 1997. She said the station was planning significant cuts in budget next year before it decided to pull the plug entirely. The station will continue to carry NBC programming and plans to add first-run, non-network programming, such as game or court shows, in place of the three daily newscasts.

WTWC is one of 62 television stations owned by Sinclair Couple wins Lotto The winners drive from Vero Beach to collect a one-time payout of $22 million. Page2B uninsured introduced unveils a new program aimed at pharmaceutical drugs to those medical insurance. Page SB.