El Paso Times from El Paso, Texas • 1

Pcfocattebcrf forth rich ED BASEBALL'S BIG FRANKUNf BOYS OPEN TODAY La TO. STATE, (if SUNDAY, MARCH 31, 1996 PRICE: $1.50 mm And while Asarco and other companies already in El Paso consider spending money to protect their investments, otrfers considering a move here could be scared off by the blackouts. The city already faces hurdle of geographic isolation and a low-skilled work force in its efforts to attract more large manufacturers and businesses, and, could be hampered further by Please see Blackouts 8A because some of the equipment is sensitive to surges or sudden losses of power." Castor said the smelting company employs 450 people and each hour without power causes from $7,000 to $10,000 in revenue losses. Because of damage to equipment during Friday's black- out and the previous power failures, Castor said Asarco was considering investing in a surge-protection system for its expensive motors. Though Friday's blackout the fourth since September lasted only 45 minutes for most customers, it caused thousands of dollars of production losses and equipment damage for some El Paso industries.

"It's very serious business to us," said Larry Castor, plant manager at Asarco. "We lost two hours of production and it damaged some of our electric motors and other equipment. Even short power failures cause problems months, El Paso Electric Co. has suffered massive failures affecting more than 270,000 customers from Hatch, N.M., to Van Horn. The Texas Public Utility Commission, which oversees power utilities in the state, has promised to address the problem at its April 10 meeting in Austin, and could issue sanctions against the company.

The industry standard for systemwide failures is no more than one every three years, an agency spokeswoman said. By Bernadette Self El Paso Times Companies doing business in El Paso and the chances of luring others here in the future are seriously hurt each time the electric company suffers a systemwide blackout like Friday's, businesspeopie and economic observers say. Four times in the past six The Texas Public Service Commission will consider El Paso Electric blackout problem April 10. The PUC can slap the company with sanctions or fines if it determines tc utility has failed to provide reliable service. Faulty sensor iiU'iiliPil piilu -V 1 fowji? d3 4 fori Military trainees valuable to communities German pilots, families adopt Southwest as home The training unit's insignia is seen on the wing of a fighter bomber.

startle to to By Jim Conley El Paso Times When five German Tornado fighter-bombers banked low over Alamogordo at high noon last week, then set down smoothly on the Holloman Air Force Base runway, only a few people were on hand to greet them. But that RkKwtf "'mm Mtt-mM doesn't mean the community didn't MILITARY: Relationships from abroad mi MMAif -fx. M-r- Pfa? Close call Malfunctioning sensors almost forced the space shuttle Atlantis to land Saturday. What happened: The crew learned the latches to the shuttle bay doors were open, although two sensors indicated they were not. The crew was ordered to override the automatic system to open the doors.

2. By the time the doors swung open, Atlantis was just 25 minutes from an emergency landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Since it would have taken 15 minutes for the crew to get ready for the engine finng, astronauts had 10 minutes to spare. 3. Flight controllers eventually traced the problem to two frozen, malfunctioning sensors.

Such a dual failure had never happened before. IrMi'Birtfci'riir'iiiife ml Florida Today CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. The problem-plagued flight of shuttle Atlantis came close to ending with an emergency landing Saturday because of a malfunctioning sensor on the spaceship's payload-bay doors. The 60-foot-long doors had been closed hours earlier to prepare for two landing opportunities at Kennedy Space Center, both of which were canceled because of cloudy weather. After being ordered to stay in space until today, the crew attempted to reopen the doors, a critical procedure that allows radiators in the payload bay to release heat and keep electronics systems cool.

But a sensor reported four latches had failed to open, automatically stopping the doors' release and leaving astronauts uncertain if they were stuck shut. "There is no problem at all with the door or the latches themselves," NASA spokesman Rob Navias said. "What hap pened this morning was simply a sensor issue." For nearly an hour, astronauts and mission managers discussed alternatives, including a possible emergency landing at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California. The crisis ended when astronaut Linda Godwin crawled into an experiment module in the pay-load bay to take a closer look at the doors. Peering through a small window in the module, Godwin reported that the latches appeared to be open.

After mission managers determined an electronics failure was to blame, the crew proceeded to reopen the doors. This problem was the second that threatened to end the mission prematurely. A leak in one of the ship's hydraulics systems was discovered moments after launch March 22. Although the astronauts were allowed to complete their nine-day mission to dock with the Russian space station Mir, the problem resulted in stricter than usual Victor Calzada Ei Paso Times Staff Sgt Kai Augustln worked on a Tornado fighter bomber on the Holloman Air Force Base tarmac Wednesday. The booming roar of the jets signaled what Alamogordo civic leaders expect will be a long-term, prosperous economic and cultural relationship between hundreds of incoming German families and the El Paso-southern New Mexico region.

And business leaders hope that if Germany is suitably impressed with the region's hospitality, it could lead in the long run to investment in the area by German corporations. By 1999, about 900 German Air Force troops and 1,100 of their wives and children perhaps even more are expected to be based at the new training center at Holloman, along with 30 of the front-line fighter-bombers. That's in addition to 220 German troops and about 550 family members in El Paso, where the Germans hold air-defense training and maintain their Air Force headquarters for operations throughout the United States and Canada. The growth means this region has the largest full-time German military contingent outside of Europe. That group has blended extremely well into the general population in El Paso over the years, never clustering into a particular enclave or insulating themselves.

"This is my third time here," Tech. Sgt. Andreas Menzel said. "We live on the East Side, in a house. I suppose what I enjoy most is the friendly people, and Please see Germans 2A What next This morning's scheduled landing could be either at Kennedy or Edwards Air Force Base, depending on the weather.

Source: Associated Press German soldiers have a large impact on El Paso and Alamogordo: German troops at Fort Bliss: 20 with Air Force headquarters staff; about 200 with air defense staff, training 600 air defense students annually. German military family members In Paso: Approximately 550. German troops at Holloman Air Force Base: 300 (Increasing to 900 in 1999). German family members at Holloman: 320 (increasing to about 1,100 in 1999). German Air Force spending In the U.S.: $200 million in salaries.

In El Paso: $34 million on salaries and purchases. Aw 'Jr: El Paso Times weather guidelines for landing. Cloud cover over Cape Canaveral forced flight directors to wave off both landing opportunities at the Shuttle Landing Facility Saturday. With bad weather forecast for Central Florida Sunday, NASA officials also plan to ready the shuttle's backup runway at Edwards Air Force Base. Monika Van Der Beek, left, and Michelle Meyn welcomed German Air Force pilots to Holloman Congressional candidates contrast experiences Politics captivated Sanchez early Reyes looks beyond immigration ELECTION Couple's dreams of new beginning destroyed forever in nightclub slaying 3B rights and health-care abortion reform.

6 think it's an issue that I need to push. There's much more to representing a district than one issue." From his roots on a family Former Border Patrol chief Sil-; vestre Reyes, describing himself; as a leader, labels Sanchez as a 4F -1C farm in Canu- 4F Ann Landers Classified Crossword Deaths Issues Kids J2B, 1C 10A 5F 2B "technician" with a dismal -record of ac-complishment that has left the border im-po verished and neglected. a' and his supporters counter that San tillo to combat service in Vietnam and his experience in the Border Patrol, Reyes portrays himself as a leader who can empathize with the typical El Pasoan. Living Lotto Mexico. Money.

Movies JL9A IE 9F 10B ID APRIL 9 RUNOFF The runoff for U.S. Congress pits a political veteran against a newcomer whose bold border policies made him a national figure. Here's a look at Jose Luis Sanchez and Silvestre Reyes, who meet April 9. The winner will face GOP candidate Rick Ledesma in the general election Nov. 5.

By David Sheppard El Paso Times His classmates were still playing with marbles and watching morning cartoons when Jose Luis Sanchez joined his first political campaign. "When I was 8 years old, my parents handed me literature for LBJ's presidential campaign and I was taking it around the neighborhood distributing it door to door. That was my first political experience." Shaped by the civil-rights movement and President Kennedy's New Frontier, Sanchez, 40, exhibits a lifelong passion for pol'tics particularly Democratic politics. A longtime aide to retiring U.S. Rep.

Ron Coleman, Sanchez has based his campaign on his Capitol Hill experience and his loyalty to core Democratic principles such as labor rights, preservation of entitlement programs, By David Sheppard El Paso Times Silvestre Reyes made his name as the border's top cop the tough Border Patrol chief whose Hold the Line blockade in El Paso showed that illegal immigration could be reduced. Reyes' strategy three years ago became a model for the southern border, inspired efforts in Congress to hire more federal agents and earned him publicity in Time and Newsweek, Texas Monthly, the Los Angeles Times, on National Public Radio and in George magazine. Enough said, says Reyes, who has strived to broaden his base beyond immigration issues in his campaign for Congress. "I will be uniquely qualified to lend that kind of expertise (on immigration) in Washington," Reyes, 51, said in a campaign office dotted with awards from his government career. "But I don't Sanchez Reyes Profile, 8A Profile, 8A Southwest Sports Television Things to do Weather TV Times 4F 2A chez's deft handling of -Coleman's congressional agenda for 13 years sharpened Washington's focus on El Paso and resulted in $250 million in new federal spending for the veterans health center, upgrades at Fort Bliss, the first border Environmental Please see Sanchez 8A Printed on recycled newsprint using a soybean-based ink zJ CONTAINS IIsoyoilI Jose Luis Sanchez has attacked Reyes as a closet Republican.

But in speeches and debates, Reyes voices support for Lyndon Johnson's Great Society ideals: affirmative action, Head Start, bilingual education, public housing, strong environmental Please see Reyes 8A Ann Richards backs Sanchez IB County Democrats have convention IB Copyright 1996 El Paso Times A Gannett newspaper.