The Billings Gazette from Billings, Montana • 1

a Eye on the title Miami University defeats the Florida Gators 37-20 in the Sugar Bowl. Sports 1D WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 2001 The Source STATE EDITION Racicot, Martz budgets criticized Racicot plan leaves state $81 million in debt, Legislature's fiscal analyst says HELENA (AP) The budget prepared by former Gov. Marc Racicot is a precarious one that would leave the state in financial trouble in just a few years, and Gov. Judy Martz's version isn't any better, the Legislature's chief budget analyst says. In fact, Martz's tinkering has made it worse, said Clayton Schenck, who heads the Legislative Fiscal Divisioa The Martz 1 1 11 1 -r 1 1 i 1 1 li Today's briefing "2 local INSPECTING A COLLEGE: A delegation from the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges' Commission on Colleges is planning to visit Little Big Horn College soon to evaluate the college's stability.

Their visit comes on the heels of a Nov. 21 request signed by at least five trustees who want LBHC president Janine Pease Pretty On Top removed from her post IB ON THE MOVE- Denny Menholt Frontier Chevrolet has announced construction of a new dealership along King Avenue West In a full-page ad Sunday, the dealership announced plans to start building a new facility on 21 acres directly west of Pierce Flooring on the south side of the road. IB Stats DEATH DETAILS: Nathaniel Bar-Jonah, who is accused of killing and butchering 10-year-old Zachary Ramsey, may have left behind a trail of young victims in Massachusetts. The Boston Herald reports investigators found a second list of names in Bar-Jonah's home in Great Falls. IB SET FOR THE SESSION: Plotting strategy a day before the Legislature convenes, House Democrats pledged to focus on a few key issues this session, namely the flaws in electric utility deregulation and pushing for economic development and more education funding.

Democrats hold 42 seats in the House, compared with 58 Republicans. 2B i -J llMM MIDEAST TALKS: Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat called on President Clinton Tuesday for "clarifications" of a VS. outline for a negotiated settlement with Israel although chances of a breakthrough before Clinton leaves office seemed remote. 2A CAPITOL HILL A day before the 107th Congress convenes, the two parties remained at loggerheads Tuesday over how to share power in a Senate cleaved 50-50 for the first time ever. Republicans prepared to resume their reed-thin control of the House.

3A The 2001 Session budget provides only a $30 million surplus by the end of the next two-year budget period, $13 million less than the already inadequate balance Racicot pro-posed, Schenck said. An analysis of the Racicot budget written For up to DAVID GRUBBSGazette staff Gov. Judy Martz, left, and Montana Supreme Court Chief Justice Karla Gray shared a laugh Tuesday during outgoing Gov. Marc Racicot's speech at the State Capitol in Helena. date news on Montana firsts mark inauguration the session, go to: www.billmgs gazette.com by Schenck's staff warns that the plan spends at least i 1 i 1 famnMnlVMiln minimi I I DAVID GRUBBSGazette staff Supreme Court Chief Justice Karla Gray, left, reads the oath of office for Montana's new governor, Judy Martz.

Martz sworn in as governor, seeks to unify Montanans edged the ceremony as a milestone in Montana's history, but said it shouldn't be a celebration of historic firsts. "Today is not about what Karla Gray and Judy Martz have accomplished," she told the crowd. "Today is about what we Montanans, working together, can do to make Montana a leader in the new economy." Gray, who has served on the bench since 1991, said the day is very special for Montana, but not simply because two women were sworn into important new jobs. She said Tuesday's female firsts show that gender walls have been razed in Montana and that voters evaluate people as people. "That's as it should be," said Gray.

Yet Racicot, who completed his two four-year terms in office Tuesday, didn't play down the significance of the Please see Firsts, 9A By ERIN P. BILLINGS Gazette State Bureau HELENA Montana's 2001 inauguration on Tuesday took on added significance as the first female governor and first female Supreme Court chief justice took office. Republican Gov. Judy Martz and Chief Justice Karla Gray were sworn in to their new posts before a crowd of more than 400 people in the newly restored Capitol. The ceremony marked the first time in the state's history that women will occupy both the governor's chair and the.

top judicial job. And for the first time, a female chief justice swore into office a female governor. Martz and Gray acknowledged their gender as notable, but not extraordinary. Martz, who served as lieutenant governor to Gov. Marc Racicot since 1997, acknowl $81 million more in the next two years than government expects to collect.

The report said that imbalance" in the state's finances will continue and probably grow in the following biennium. The problem is that such a trend comes at a time when the economy of the nation and Montana is expected to slow, prompting doubts about future tax revenue, the report said. On top of that, soaring electricity prices, rising health care costs and continued growth in corrections complicate government budgeting, it said. Given the signs of an economic slowdown, the primary question for lawmakers to decide is whether the state can sustain the proposed level of spending for very long, the report concluded. Schenck said that concern does not disappear with the new administration.

Please see Budget, 9A Associated Press used her brief speech as a pep talk to urge Montanans to join forces to improve the economy, which was a theme of her campaign. "Today is not about what Karla Gray or Judy Martz have accomplished," Martz said. "Today is about what we Montanans, working together, can do to make Please see Martz, 9A By CHARLES S. JOHNSON Gazette State Bureau HELENA With appropriate fanfare, a 19-gun salute and even a protest that was quickly stopped, Republican Judy Martz was inaugurated Tuesday as the first female governor in the state's 112-year history. Martz, 57, sworn in by new Chief Justice Karla Gray, Arriving on (he first ships to sail legally between Taiwan and China In 51 years, Taiwanese visitors like Chen Qlnghao, left, here meeting his aunt, had lunch with Chinese officials, carried a goddess' image on a religious pilgrimage, and promoted exchanges.

The new links with China, however, are limited to Taiwan's Kinmen and Matsu islands. 7A GENOCIDE TRIAL Cambodia's legislature on Tuesday approved a tribunal to prosecute leftist Khmer Rouge leaders blamed for a genocide that killed an estimated 1.7 million people a fifth of Cambodia's people -in the 1970s. 7A Defense State me osnpsefes Meet the Cabinet On Tuesday, President-elect Bush completed his 14 cabinet positions, including one Democrat. Here's a look at the new Cabinet. i nominees ist of us Weather mm Donald Rumsfeld Former defense secretary Health, Human Services Retired Gen.

Colin Powell Former joint chiefs of staff chairman Labor 7 Attorney General Treasury day Br High 54 Low 33 Partly cloudy windy and warmer. 6B Index Linda Chavez Former director of the civil rights commission Paul O'Neill Chairman of aluminum maker Alcoa JohnAshcroft Senator and former governor of Missouri Tommy Thompson Wisconsin governor Veterans Affairs Housing Energy Classified 4C Markets 5D Comics 3E Movies 3D Deaths 3B.4B Opinion 4A Living IE Sports ID Local State IB TV 4E w-! vmw tin lJ uA Li "That's something he has to answer, especially since he's been bashing Gore on that same issue" of truthfulness, Mineta told the San Jose Mercury News days before the election. "It turns out he's not been as forthright." Mineta would claim a rare place in American history, apparently becoming the first Cabinet officer to jump straight from the administration of one party to the succeeding administration of another. Bush called his team of nominees "one of the strongest that I think any president has ever been able to assemble." In 1996 and again in 1999, Abraham was one of several senators who sponsored legislation calling for the abolition of the Energy Department, which has recently been mired in questions about security at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The bills died.

Abraham, if approved, would face thorny problems at the Department of Energy: Please see Cabinet, 9A "7 would hope that all of our nominations sail throughybut that's not generally the way it goes." George W. Bush, president-elect But with the election over, Mineta said, it is time to move from campaigning to governing. Mineta set conditions for accepting the job, a White House official said, insisting he would not campaign for Republicans and wanted to choose his own subordinates. The former California congressman had campaigned for Democrat Al Gore and had questioned Bush's forthright-ness following recent revelations of a drunk driving arrest in Maine dating back to 1976. AUSTIN, Texas (AP) President-elect Bush plucked a Democrat from the Clinton administration to go with two conservative Republicans as he completed his Cabinet picks Tuesday, 2-12 weeks before his inauguration.

Bush named Commerce Secretary Norman Y. Mineta to head the Department of Transportation, just-defeated Sen. Spencer Abraham of Michigan to be energy secretary and Linda Chavez, who served as director of the civil rights commission under President Reagan, to be secretary of labor, Bush had pledged to select a Democrat for his Cabinet. "This man is perfectly suited for the job," Bush said at a news conference announcing the trio of nominations. ''It's also important to send a signal that this is an administration that recognizes talent when it sees it, regardless of political party." Mineta, 69, reaffirmed his allegiance to his party, declaring at the news conference: "I am a Democrat with both a small 'd' and a large one." 2001 The Billings Gazette, a Lee Newspaper, 115th year, No.

246 biSlsngsgazettexoni" Anthony Principi Former deputy of Veterans Affairs Education Mel Martinez Chief executive of Orange County, Fla. Commerce Norman Mineta Democrat, commerce secretary under President Clinton Interior Spencer Abraham Senator from Michigan Agriculture 1 Test your knowledge of past presidents: Match the quote to the appropriate inaugural address. Don Evans Bush campaign chairman Ann Veneman Former California agriculture director Gale Norton Former attorney general of Colorado Roderick Paige Superintendent of the Houston Independent School District Hi AP.