Edmonton Journal from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada • 1

IlEPd to fqure The International Living in leap Skating Union JT" KSm Dotes rf02iX Cask Prix "I'iSMilt! tickets are "TPSSDC" only $25.00 ea. League of dreams Female hockey players look for a place to call their own ExlraBI Death of a U.S. blood faces another judging scandal i donor reignites anxiety among hemophiliacs CanaM3 1 The TTrn ti mrn snll Edmonton Carissa Anderson. Age 7 Mainly sunny. High 5.

WeatherC8 EDMONTON'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1 903 Sunday, March 28, 1999 httpwww.edmontonjournal.com t-- 1 tILy o( fa (if 'M m. Things are Very Tight The night the lights almOSt went out in Alberta Charles Frank Calgary Herald Calgary At 6 p.m. on December 21 and 22 last year the two longest nights of the year furnaces, ovens and televisions across the province came within a blink of being shut down. As unsuspecting Albertans arrived home to prepare dinner and enjoy their evening, demand for power surged past 7100 megawatts, the amount of electricity ordinarily available to meet peak consumer needs across Alberta. Parts of the province could have been plunged into darkness, as was the case on October 25, when more than 15,000 Calgary homes lost their electricity after an unexpected demand surge short-circuited power supplies.

But eagle-eyed officials at the Power Pool of Alberta the agency that distributes electricity across the province saved the day by quickly implementing emergency procedures that reduced the supply of electricity flowing to a pre-arranged group of industrial customers. "It was touch-and-go," says Power Pool chief operating officer Dale McMastec "But the problem hasn't gone away. We're managing, but things are very very tight" That's been the case since the spring of 1996, when Alberta Energy Minister Steve West announced the government would deregulate the electrical industry by Jan.l, 2001. The announcement left the industry in limbo. "I don't think the minister realized that deregulation of the electrical industry would be slightly more complicated than privatizing liquor stores," observes one industry observer.

Alberta power producers generate about 7,000 megawatts a day, but demand regularly threatens to surpass that When demand for electricity exceeds supply, it raises the ugly spectre of brown-outs. The arrival of spring, which should offer a respite from the threat of cold-weather-induced brown-outs, won't ameliorate a supply-and-demand conundrum that is growing more serious every week. "Electricity supplies will be tight this summer as some suppliers shut down for regular maintenance," says Power Pool's Dale McMaster, who is reluctant to say precisely how much power is regularly available to, or demanded by, non-industrial consumers. It is, however, no secret that power reserves have fallen to seven per cent from the 45-percent norm a few years ago. Please see POWERAS Weather patterns could disrupt power suppliesA5 The Associated Press Refugees from Kosovo weep outside a police station in Kapikule at Turkey-Bulgaria border on Saturday.

More than 3,000 Kosovo refugees, mostly Albanian, found shelter in Turkey. At top, the burning wreckage of a U.S. fighter jet, shown on Serbian television Mm on Low-profile bomber finally sees some action Yugoslavia Serbs claim to have shot down U.S. jet; NATO forces step up attack as atrocities continue New York Times and southam news services On the Macedonia-Kosovo Border An U.S. F-117 stealth fighter went down in Yugoslavia Saturday night, the first allied loss in the four-day Balkan conflict, even as NATO officials announced a broad new phase of the air assault on Serbian targets.

The pilot of the F-117 was rescued by a U.S. military search-and-rescue team six hours after his plane went down, according to administration officials in Washington. Authorities in Belgrade claimed that Serbian air defenses had shot down the radar-evading stealth aircraft, one of the most advanced weapons in the U.S. arsenal. There was hostile missile activity in the area where the plane was operating, one Pentagon official said, but there was no independent confirmation that the plane was brought down by Serbian fire.

Serb officials have repeatedly claimed to have shot down NATO planes. Until Saturday, those claims did not come with such dramatic television footage. Reports of the the loss of the U.S. aircraft stunned White House officials, who had spent most of the day consulting with European leaders about expanding the military mission in Yugoslavia. Appalled by numerous reports of atrocities in Kosovo, Man charged with shooting was once a victim himself Lisa Gregoire and Edward Parsons Journal Staff Writers Edmonton A suspect charged with shooting a man in the face at a Millwoods bar early Saturday was himself the victim of a brazen noon-hour shooting in a mall parking lot nearly three years ago.

Leslie Cletus Raymond, 21, faces several charges in the Saturday shooting which left an unidentified 18-year-old in critical condition. A bouncer at the Windmill Bar and Grill in the Milbourne Shopping Centre was shaken after narrowly escaping being shot in the incident Raymond was seriously injured July 4, 1996 when a youth jumped out of a car, ran across the Southgate mall parking lot and shot him in the log, back, hip and stomach. A 17-year-old was sentenced to 24 months at the Edmonton Young Offender Centre and was released in July 1998. Please see SHOOTA10, back page of this section Knight Ridder Newspapers Washington Until this week, the B-2 bomber was the unloved child of the American military. It had cost megabucks to build but was never invited to the fray, not the Gulf War, nor Operation Desert Fox, nothing.

This week, NATO forces made sure the enemy received a healthy dose of B-2. More than two decades after it was conceived and 10 years after it first took wing, America's B-2 stealth bomber finally saw combat this week. Sinister-appearing and for- Rle photo winged B-2s took off early Wednesday from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, flew more than 30 hours with two midair refuelings, struck multiple targets, then returned to the base about 70 miles southeast of Kansas City shortly before dawn Thursday Two of the bombers also flew on Thursday Please see BOMBERA16, back page of this section biddingly futuristic, the B-2 looks like a UFO or something from a George Lucas movie. But "the beast," as it is known to its crews, is as sweet to fly as it is menacing to look at, its pilots say Tve flown them all, and this one is incredibly smooth," said B-2 pilot Maj. Tony Monetti.

"The first time I flew it, thought I was a bird." A pair of the black, bat- Refugees tell stories of horrorA4 Call for ground troopsA4 including mass executions, deportations and forced marches, NATO and U.S. officials accelerated a decision to attack Serbian forces in the field, officials said. Please see KOSOVOA16, back page of this section Your Audience Awaits So, you wanna be a rock star You know how to rock, you just need stage. And a little less stage fright Pick a Stage, Any Stage styles, but some are more focused. The Horshu Cocktail Club features jazz, the Fiddler's Roost goes for bluegrass, and Blues on Whyte specializes in, what else? Da blues.

Him Time: There's an open stage every night of the week, but Sundays seem most popular. The Urban Lounge, Rose Bowl Pizza, Mickey Finn's, Drake Hotel, Highrun Club and Nu Wave Pub are a few with Sunday night open stages. Before musicians get up the guts to go on stage, they have to decide which one to grace. There are about 30 open stages at the moment, varying in size and musical genre. Stage size: Rose Bowl Pizza and the Breadstick Cafe offer intimate settings.

The Sidetrack Cafe, Urban Lounge and Rossdale Community League boast the largest venues. Specialties: Most open stages welcome a variety of music ZJ 4 Sandra Sperounes Journal Music Writer Edmonton You're an aspiring rock star Every njght, you attack your guitar in front of thousands of screaming fans in the confines of your room. Now, you're ready for a challenge: playing in front of a real audience But where? How does an unknown guitar god go from his own cage to centre stage? Five years ago, Edmonton's musicians had a tough time answering that questJoa Nowadays, up to 30 restaurants and bars off er open stage nights every week. All you have to do is show up, sign up, then get up on stage. For your efforts, most venues treat you to a pint That's not always enough to calm the nerves.

Two years ago, singer-songwriter Tim Formo did his first open stage "It was like a blur," he says. "I did two songs, it was supposed to be a three-song set They wouldn't even let me keep going. I was just so bad. I couldn't even get the lyrics out" In January Formo decided to start performing again and now mm track, too. He thinks the explosion of open stages is due to a mix of fun and finances.

For McDonald, open stages are a great way to perfect new songs. For Formo, open stages are a test of personal strength. At the age of 40, he's not about to give up his day Job at Healy Ford He Just wants to come to grips with his stage fright "Once I'm comfortable up there and the fear's gone, I think that's it That's all I'm really looking for," he smiles. For more on the city's open stages, turn to ErrtertalnmemVCI FlntiQht "I still can do it better at home in my living room." open stage regular Tim Formo, at left terathome in my living room." Open stages are not Just for amateurs. Mike McDonald, former frontman of Jc Gone Wild, is a veteran.

In 1990, he began hosting one of the city's first open stages at Rose Bowl Pizza. Nine years later; he's still there and now does the duties at the Side Comic CroMword.EII Dr. Donoho. OH eHorccop.E11 LottarM A2 ObituarlM. E10 Opmton.

A14 E11 WondarwordEU THI JOURNAL A2 lan Jackson, The Journal he's a regular at the Sidetrack's Monday night open stage. "I still get nervous, but it doesn't affect the way I do it as much," he says. "But I still can do it bet-.