The Monitor from McAllen, Texas • 1

I 4 4 1 In nxx vl SOUTHWEST MICRDFUBL I5HING I I Jf I it-si i ANDElL HR CTI nrr, C.L ribu SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2002 Rio Grande Valley Since 1909 50 CENTS DAILY $1.25 SUNDAY it "HMD) li 90B I I I I T.V.: NBC channel I' Nordic I Alpine skiing, The 'speed in speed skating Top speed skaters are among the world's fastest athletes; approximate top speeds: kfol WM33 7p.m A l'f speedskater -r a Today: 1 Chris Witty OiJiUa 5 mph (8 kph) 1 11 mph (18 kph) 23 mph (37 kph) Speed skating, :2p.m. shows, 11 p.m." Sgnday. Speed skating, 2 p.m. '-r Snowboarding, Ice hockey, 5 p.m, on CNBC Luge, 7 p.m. Nordic combined, 7 p.m.

Ski Jumping, 7 p.m.. Highlightreview Swlmmftr Rower Sprinter Speed ekater i Freestyle skiing, Ice hockey1, 5 p.m. if 2 7 p.m. ShOWS, 11:05 p.m. Track cyclist 37 mph (59 kph) ffo on IINdu rjAj.

Vf. For more on Winter Olympics see today's Sports section, 1B. 90 'li pin liii 1 up ft MISSION'S TOXIC LEGACY Mission, state officials to meet on environment 1980 hockey stars light the flame By Kevin Fee Knight Ridder Newspapers SALT LAKE CITY The lighting of the-cauldron is one of the most enduring moments of the Olympics. Who would light it was the burning question all week here. The well-kept secret and the suspense ended just before 9:30 p.m.

Friday in Salt By JEFF SHIREMAN The Monitor MISSION City officials are bracing for the potentially explosive final report from toxicologist Robert K. Simon by contacting the Texas Natural Lake City, when current U.S. Olympic athletes Picabo Street and Cammi Granato handed the Olympic torch to Mike Eruzione. Eruzione waved out Resource Conservation Commission. The state environmental agency will take the lead in any fallout from Simon's report on possible pesticide contamination of south Mission homes, city leaders have long maintained.

So city representatives want SALT LAKE CITY 2002 TREVlAO to meet with TNRCC to see what steps can be taken immediately after Simon's reportreaches City. Manager Isauro Trevifio's desk See MISSION page 9A Luis Miguel postpones McAllen show his teammates from the 1980 Miracle on Ice team, and they helped their former captain light the cauldron, Jj jWas reminiscent of 1980; when 7-fruzTonem tnedal stand after the young United States team shocked the world by V' winning a gold medal in men's ice hockey against veteran teams such as Russia. "This is the probably the final journey," Eruzione told NBC. "It's something hard'to describe." Once the Olympic torch reached the sold-out Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium, it was carried by the Olympian teams of Dick Button and Dorothy Hamill; Scott Hamilton and Peggy Fleming; Phil Mahre and Bill Johnson; Dan Jansen and Bonnie Blair, Jim Shea Sr. and Jim Shea and Street and Granato.

"It was the hardest thing I've ever had to keep," Eruzione told NBC about getting the nod to light the torch. George W. Bush became the first U.S. president to open a Winter Olympics. He did so while standing among U.S.

athletes. IOC President Jacques Rogge made specific reference to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States during the ceremony before 52,000 fans at Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium. "People of America, Utah and Salt Lake City, gathered once again in See GAMES page 8A By MELISSA SATTLEY The Monitor. McALLEN Latin crooner Luis Miguel Of II If it didn't make his scheduled performance at La Villa Real on Friday evening, but the singer will be back April 2 with the possibility of a second show.

Concert prompter Nano Ramirez said the singer might add another date to his April 2 performance. Fans interested MIGUEL in buying tickets should check with La Villa Real in the upcoming week, Ramirez said. The Associated Press Bringing the Light: Members'vof the' 1980 gold meda( hockey team light the Olympic torch during the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympicson Friday in Salt Lake City. See MIGUEL page 10A Drowning iii credit card debt Rising interest rates are sending more and more people into lasting Ex-astronaut wants to see Man on Mars Credit card rates soar for cash-strapped consumers debt that could take decades to pay oft. Assuming debt-holders pay their monthly-minimurVi on time, it wiH still.take many years and many more aonars to pay on tneir credit cards.

-v At these rates, It will take you this I long and cost this much In Interest to pay off your $1 ,000 debt Astronauts would use a "space taxi" to enter and hotel, 24 years 1 $3,655.73 By MICHAEL LIEDTKE 'AP Business Writer I I- 13 years months -s which would shuttle endlessly between the two planets at 12,000 mph. The trips from Earth to hotel," or Mars to hotel, would take one day, Aldrin told Knight Ridder Newspapers. This is basically like a bus that goes around its route and! never, stops," said James Longuski, an of dollars from financially strapped households during the next few years. The strategy is part of the credit card industry's attempt to boost profits in a sagging economy. Lenders believe they can offset some losses by collecting more from borrowers who have been flagged as the most likely to miss ments.

The new rate at Providian, which is nursing an ailing loan portfolio, affects about $5 billion in outstanding loans. See RATES page 10A By SETH BORENSTEIN Knight Riddej Newspapers WASHINGTON Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon, will ask NASA on Monday to consider sending astronauts to Mars using a cosmic version of a conveyor belt. Aldrin wants to launch what he calls a "space hotel" into a continuous loop around the sun. It would ferry astronauts from Earth to Mars every six to nine months. 'SAN FRANCISCO While mil- lions of borrowers are basking in low interest rates, refinancing their mortgages and buying, new cars, other consumers are watching their credit card rates climb further into the stratosphere -to 30 percent and beyond.

Providian Financial Corp. recently raised the rate on its high-risk accounts from 23.9 percent to 29.9 percent, a move that threatens to drain thousands 7 34 i 1 10 years. 5 months jf 87 8 years. 6 months $50968 7 years, 1 month Rate r.9 13.8 18.9 23.9' 29.9 r.vi-.--jr,'-v AP See. MARS page 9A 1 1 Mini Iff inJJ -5; 1 Classifieds IE.

Puzzle 8C Comics 9C Scene 3D Lottery 2A Sports IB 'rMlen 3C TV Listings 2D 'wies 20 ValleyState 1C People 2A What's Up ID DEMONSTRATING EXCELLENCE Boy Scout Troop 83 receives Top Troop honor for third year in a row. Page 10 SEASON OPENER. Yhe ,2002 high school track and field season opens today with the PSJA North Winter Relays in Pharr. Page IB early, men wiiT'yarm. High: 82 "it Low: 50 Complete Weather on Page 10C 38091 "00006' If McAllen, Texas Since 1909 Vol.

93, No. 221- 60 Pages, 5 Sections A Freedom Newspaper www.TheMonitor.com ..4 it.