Austin American-Statesman from Austin, Texas • 27

STATE BRIEFING Saturday, August 31, 2002 statesman.com B2 METRO CENTRAL TEXAS DIGEST -TC if the parking lot of Club Carnaval at 2237 E. Riverside Drive, police said. The men followed the women to the Country Club Creek apartments at 4501 E. Riverside Drive. The men were approached in the parking lot by two other men carrying knives.

The driver of the Chevrolet was stabbed and has not been found by police. In the second incident, a man was stabbed at Faro Drive and Crossing Place about 30 minutes after the first stabbing. Detectives think the two incidents might be related. Police asked anyone with information to call 974-5092 or CrimeStoppers at 472-8477. SAN MARCOS AUSTIN Farmers maintains innocence Farmers Insurance Co.

officially responded Friday to a state order to halt alleged illegal pricing practices, continuing to deny any wrongdoing. "Our response reaffirms what we've been saying all along: that the charges are without merit and our business practices are legal," said Mark Toohey, a Farmers spokesman. The Texas Department of Insurance issued a cease-and-desist order earlier this month that gave Farmers 90 days to develop a new pricing structure. The state also is seeking $150 million in restitution for policyholders and fines of $25,000 for each policy written under the disputed practices. Farmers, which says the Insurance Department has overstepped its bounds, recently announced that it will stop writing new homeowners' policies in Texas after Oct 31.

Farmers has not decided what it will do about renewals for policyholders starting Nov. 1. Ammonia spill may have been theft Austin police are investigating an ammonia spill Thursday night as an attempted theft Authorities were called to Ridgeway Printing Co. at 615 S. Lamar Blvd.

about 10:40 p.m. Officials said a person apparently was trying to transfer the chemical from one canister to another using a leaking makeshift valve. The person was not an employee. No one was injured in the incident, which required the assistance of the Austin Fire Department's hazardous materials team. Police investigate stabbings Detectives are looking for information on the people who stabbed two men in two incidents in Southeast Austin on Thursday.

In the first incident, four women flagged down two men in a red Chevrolet Cavalier at 2:14 a.m. in Students steamed over heat College wasn't supposed to be like this. Almost 250 freshmen at Southwest University moved into their dormitory last week only to discover that the air conditioning doesn't work. University officials say the air handler unit at Jackson Hall, a 12-story dorm, is broken and will take several months and more than $100,000 to fix. In the meantime, students on floors three through seven will be without properly functioning air conditioning.

School officials say the system continues to work but not well. The highest temperature they've seen is 81 degrees, but most rooms are in the 70s, they say. Students have been given the option of moving into a new dorm or receiving $50 a month while the air conditioning struggles. LEANDER Construction worker killed A construction worker was crushed inside the cab of his truck Thursday as he was unloading asphalt at a construction site, a Williamson County sheriff's spokesman said Friday. Jack Zizzo, 63, of Nolanville died about noon at a site between RM 2243 and County Road 279.

Authorities were investigating the cause of the incident STATE GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS Budget news getting worse Senate Finance Committee Vice Chairman Chris Harris, R-Arlington, says the state's budget gap going into the 2004-05 biennium could top out at $12 billion. A cooling economy coupled with a growing demand for social services means the state probably will spend more money than it takes in during the two-year budget cycle. Because state law requires a balanced budget the Legislature will have to raise taxes or cut services. Higher Medicaid and health insurance costs pushed the number to $8.6 billion last week, but Harris now says even that number is too low. Other state officials said it's too early to tell whether Harris' projections are correct It's Farmers, not fanners Now that political candidates have targeted insurance companies as Public Enemy No.

1 for the campaign season, candidates have found they have to be careful in how they make their case. "By the way, it's Farmers Kirk Watson, Democratic candidate for attorney general, said in a recent campaign speech in which lie bad-mouthed the insurance company. "I was recently in another part of Texas and saying, 'Man, I'm going after "I'm for farmers," he said. "For the record, I'm for farmers. It's Farmers Insurance." The law backs Barrientos Sen.

Gonzalo Barrientos this week received endorsements from the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas and the groups that represent Austin firefighters and police officers. TheAustinDemocratisrunningforre-election against Republican Ben Bentzin, a former Dell Computer Corp. executive. The law enforcement groups praised Barrientos for helping bring collective bargaining to the Austin police force and sponsoring a law that increased the use of DNA testing. And then there was one Former state Comptroller John Sharp, now the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, says he is one of two people who have the state government experience needed to address the budget crunch that will confront lawmakers next year.

And, says Sharp, you can't vote for the other one. i "Myself and Bob Bullock worked real closely at that," he said of battling budget crises. "One of those two is not available at the present time." Bullock died in 2000, a fact that is not stopping Sharp from claiming an endorsement. "I think just as he endorsed me when I ran last time, I think he would do that again," said Sharp. From staff reports TEXAS DIGEST Taylor Johnson AMERICAN-STATESMAN of Texas Law School Dean Bill Powers announces a legal aid program in which a federally financed toll-free hot line will be available for low-income residents of Central and South Texas.

UT law students to staff hot line for poor people By Sharon Jayson AMERlCAN-STATESMiV STAFf University of Texas law students will sharpen their skills and dispense free legal advice to low-income residents of Central and South Texas via a toll-free phone line that's gotten a federal financial boost At least 20 students at UT will be needed to get the program started in Austin by January under a $100,000 federal grant to Texas Rural Legal Aid announced Friday at the UT School of Law. The money from Legal Services a Washington private nonprofit that oversees federally funded legal aid, will allow the Texas nonprofit to duplicate in Austin a San Antonio center staffed by law students from St. Mary's University. With the Austin site, officials hope to double the 5,500 people served annually in San Antonio. "This grant, will help provide our students with valuable professional experience that will help them in whatever area they go into, but it will also help them understand and have the ideals of providing legal services to every citizen of this state," said Bill Powers, dean of the UT School of Law.

Some 250 law students already participate in legal assistance for low-income people, said Eden Harrington of the Center for Public Interest Law atUT. Students staffing the hot line (888) 988-9996 will gather client information and assist lawyers representing low-income Texans, said David Hall, executive director of the Texas legal aid group. "It will provide us with a new crop of people who can carry the concern they will no doubt create in themselves as they listen to the problems of poor people and the justice system," he said. U.S. Rep.

Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, and Texas Supreme Court Justice Deborah Hankinson joined in the announcement. 445-3620 HOUSTON Judge rejects illegal adoption A Houston couple cannot adopt a Mexican infant they illegally brought to Texas even though they feared that the severely malnourished boy could die, a federal judge ruled. U.S. District Judge David Hittner said he couldn't condone smuggling despite support for the adoption from the baby's biological mother, Griselda Guadarrama. "Such a precedent could conceivably impact the legal adoption process and might potentially encourage abuses and exploitation of children," Hittner said Thursday.

The couple, Nick and Patricia Skafi, in June arranged to have thebaby boy, Aldo Guadarrama, brought to Texas illegally. They argued that the baby was malnourished and they thought their action was necessary to save him. The U.S. and Mexiran governments contended that Griselda Guadarrama wanted to keep the baby, but she said she supported the Skafis' desire to adopt him. School board member apologizes A Houston school board member accused of calling Mexico a country of parasites says the comment was taken out of context.

Lawrence Marshall did not explain the context but said Thursday that he was "sorry the issue has been presented in such a divisive manner," the Houston Chronicle reported Friday. School board member Esther Campos said Marshall was discussing the taxing arrangement between the Houston Community College System and the Houston Independent School District during a June retreat when he said, "parasites, parasites, parasites, just like our neighbors to the south." The comment prompted several Hispanic groups to demand Marshall's apology and, in some cases, his resignation. SAN ANTONIO Kirk suggests rival funneled money. When Republican U.S. Senate candidate John Cornyn gave his national party $3.1 million in campaign money originally raised for his state attorney general campaign, he says, ha, had nq idea what the money would be spent oni Opponent Ron Kirk has an idea.

He suggested this week that the-attorney general funneled the leftover campaign money through the Republican National Committee, which transferred it to the state party, where some of it was used to buy two anti-Kirk TV ads. The ads liken Kirk to liberal New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and provide a phone number to Kirk's Dallas campaign headquarters. I Man sentenced for raping boy A San Antonio man will spend 40 years in! prison for repeatedly raping a boy who contracted HTV as a result of the sexual assaults. I Hector Chapa, 58, was sentenced Thursday; after pleading guilty in an agreement with prosecutors.

The charge against him was enhanced to a first-degree felony because he knew that he had the deadly disease while raping the boy, prosecutors said. Chapa also pleaded guilty to indecency with a child, a charge stemming from a separate incident involving a 13-year-old boy. He was sentenced to an additional 10 years in that case. Chapa admitted to police that he had sexually assaulted the first victim since the boy wasll and continued the assaults even after he learned that he was HIV-positive. i Compiled from staff and wire reports ROTATING FEATURES Each day of the week, different rotating features will run In Metro State Briefing.

Here is the schedule: Sunday: Local news in review Monday: Traffic report Public agenda Tuesday: Achievements Wednesday: Schools Thursday: Urban and suburban affairs Friday. Higher education Saturday: State government and politics VOLUNTARY WATER CONSERVATION Water today if your 2 or 7 address ends in: City of Austin recommends watering 0.4 inches. LOTTERY RESULTS Cash 5 Aug. 30: 16 19 3537 Pick 3 Aug.30.day: 4 2 4 Aug. 30, night 5 1 Lotto Texas Aug.

28: 2 18 36 40 4253 Postal service: Post offices will be closed Monday, and there will be no regular mail delivery. Special delivery and express mail will be delivered. Schools: All area school districts, col-legef and universities will be closed Monday, except for the McDade Independent School District Libraries: Austin, Cedar Park arid Georgetown public libraries will be closed Monday. The Round Rock and Leander libraries will be closed today through Book drops will remain open. Garbage, recycling: City of Austin collection will slide back one day, with no service Monday.

The City of Austin Landfill will be closed Monday. Central Texas Refuse, Round Rock Refuse, BFI, Longhorn Disposal, the Austin Community Landfill and the Texas Disposal Systems Landfill will maintain normal business hours and run on regular schedules. Banks, savings and loans: Most banks and savings and loans will be closed Monday. Labor Day closings Government Federal, state and local offices will be closed Monday. Transportation: Capital Metro buses will run on Sunday schedules Monday, and there will be no University of Texas shuttles.

Call 474-1200 for specific route information. Texas Two Step Aug. 30: 6 11 21 31 Bonus number 6 Aug. 30 jackpot S62S.006 1 Aug. 31 Jackpot $19 mflfion For more detailed results of recent drawings, go to www.txlottery.org or call (900) 555-0889.

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