The San Francisco Examiner from San Francisco, California • 25

Friday, October 27. 1995 A-25 fSanJnmctoco Sxammcr How to contact The Examiner i i 4 WU .1, Northern California weather For latent inft.rmatum, call CityUnea'(415510408) 808-5000. Enter 31 10 for San Francisco and Peninsula; 3 120 for East Bay Day; 3 140 for Sierra; 3150 il 3 fjiMiiinm'l i-- Switchboard (416) 777-2424 Fax 777-2525 Reprint approval 777-7769 MolfO 7777850 Photo 11119. Photo reprints 777-7790 Art 777-8746 Local delivery 777-7800 Bureaus Marin (415) 479-0104 Oakland (510) 832-7833 Sacramento (916) 445-4310 Peninsula (415) 777 7891 11 for Sacramento Valley; 3160 for Central Coast; 3170 for beach report. BAY AREA AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA "1 CHINATOWN'S MIRACULOUS MURAUnw TlM rash "pJf jAi snarls ri Z1 i i'rjii 1 in i 1 i 1 1 1 I It' 1 oxJ I dead, 1 hurt, 5 lanes closed on Bay Bridge when van rams stalled car By Malcolm Clover OF THE EXAMWER STAFF One person was killed and another critically injured early Friday in a fiery crash on the upper deck of the Bay Bridge that caused a massive traffic tie-up for City-bound commuters.

The 5:17 a.m. accident occurred about a mile west of Yerba Buena Island and forced authorities to shut down all five westbound lanes. Officer Shawn Chase, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol, said a 1974 Toyota apparently had stalled and was stopped the No. 3 lane of the five-lane roadway with its lights flashing. Several cars avoided the car, but the driver of a 1978 Chevrolet van apparently did not see the vehicle and plowed into it, Chase said.

The driver of the van was ejected out of a window by the impact, and both cars then burst into flames, he said. Motorists, CHP officers and firefighters from Treasure Island attempted to reach the driver of the stalled vehicle, who was trapped in the burning wreckage, but were unable to save the man. The van's driver was taken to San Francisco General Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition. He was identified only as a 40-year-old Oakland man. The dead man was not immediately identified.

An hour after the accident, authorities were able to open two lanes on the bridge, but the backup extended several miles by then, all the way to the Oakland maze near the intersection of Interstate 80 and 580. The remaining lanes were final- See BRIDGE, A-26 -av 4pyi -Ifeiic 1 work of art with the help of Darren Acoba, Tonia Chen and Joyce Lu in celebration of the contributions and aspirations of the Chinese American community. tockton Street pedestrians stroll before the newly dedicated mural that adorns the side of the Ping Yuen Senior Recreation Center, near Pacific Avenue. Artist Darryl Mar created the Bay Area investors Philippines leader tives and said his trip, which began with the U.N. 50th anniversary in New York, had led to $1.7 million in new investments for the Philippines.

"This is the Philippines who is out of the hospital, out of the intensive care ward," Ramos said at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose before attending a dinner party there. "We're not trying to (take companies away) from the Silicon Valley. We want them to think about investing (in the "The new saying is trade, not aid," Ramos said. "We are not just independent anymore. We are a sovereign state, and we are directed by our own people to be a functioning state in the world." The Philippine government is trying to create more jobs for its 68 million residents.

Unemployment' in the country grew from 9.9 percent last year to 10.4 percent in the first half of 1995, according to the International Labor Organization. At a press conference Thursday See RAMOS, A-26 U.N. celebration earlier this week and then met with business people in New York and Boston before flying to San Jose on Thursday. During his one-day stop, he spoke to numerous high-tech business people at a round-table discussion in Menlo Park, visited with executives and met with Filipino Americans before leaving for home. An aide said several businesses including the Stanford Research Institute, Seagate and Packard Bell had committed to investing in the Philippines.

The Philippines offers interested investors an improving economy, political stability, a better infrastructure and an educated, English-speaking work force, Ramos said. Since he took office in 1992, Ramos said his administration has made many improvements in transportation, electricity, telecommunications and the mining and banking industries. Ramos, who succeeded Corazon Aquino with a six-year term as president in 1992, took part in the Ramos touts his nation's economy By Ray Delgado OF THE EXAMINER STAFF SAN JOSE The Philippines has come a long way since the tumultuous Ferdinand Marcos years, and now President Fidel Ramos wants U.S. high-tech businesses to invest in his country. Ramos spent Thursday in the Silicon Valley meeting with execu Hall.

oween Planners approve Columbarium revival 1 ess scary th is year I V5 Police Chief Tony Ribera joins drag queens Adela Hollyday, left, andJelousyin announcing new plans for Halloween in the Castro. This is the last year the celebration will be held there, as residents and merchants say it has grown too large and rowdy. right to build 5,900 more niches for cremated remains, a wall to hold the container urns and an office building. Built in 1898, the Columbarium was deteriorating until its recent purchase by the Neptune Society, which has been gradually making repairs. It is accessible only by a residential cul-de-sac bordered by homes whose residents also are concerned about increased traffic.

Residents of adjacent Francisco Heights complained that the place already is being operated as a funeral parlor where bodies are embalmed. "Last year 10 embalmings took place," 6aid Robert McCarthy, attorney for the Neptune Society, "and only when it was necessary because the family asked for an open casket funeral." Embalming also is necessary when bodies must be refrigerated longer than usual, McCarthy said. This happens sometimes when out-of-town relatives take days to arrive for a funeral, he added. By Gerald D. Adams EXAMINER URBAN PLANNING WRITER Richmond District neighbors of the century-old Columbarium say they love having the beautiful domed landmark with its cremated corpses in their midst But they don't want it to become a full-scale mortuary where bodies are embalmed, hearses drop off corpses in the middle of the night, and cars of grieving survivors crowd their secluded streets.

Although they turned out in droves Thursday to make that point, they lost their battle before the Planning Commission which unanimously approved the Neptune Society's application to operate and build on the property. Conditions of operation and a petition to make the Columbarium an official landmark are to be decided at the commission's Nov. 9 session. Commissioners took their action after the Neptune Society agreed to restore and maintain the deteriorating landmark. In exchange, the society has won the $2 entry for Castro street party security By Jim Herron Zamora OF THE EXAMINER STAFF Gay anti-violence activists joined Castro District merchants, drag queens and Police Chief Tony Ri-bera to announce plans to charge a $2 admission for security at San Francisco's largest street party on Halloween.

For the first time, organizers will try to control admission to what historically has been a spontaneous event by cordoning off several blocks in the Castro. In each of the past three years, police estimate that 300,000 people came out to strut, prance, promenade or just See HALLOWEEN, A-27 it EXAMINERCHRIS HARDY i (mm.