The Modesto Bee from Modesto, California • 29

MARKET INDEX CLOSE I DOW 30 500 1061732 2 136528 -10153 mJM -1173 NYSE 62599 438 NASDAQ 312504 -1893 SECTION The Modesto Bee How to reach us: Business News 578-2336 Wednesday November 10 1999 PERSONAL FINANCE Spanish TV station debuts today Modesto-based KCSO to broadcast Telemundo network local programs By JEFF JARDINE BEE STAFF WRITER Dale Road and Pelandale Avenue in about two years Smith started KCSO Channel 19 another a Spanish-language station in 1966 He sold it to Univision for $40 million in 1997 but he reserved the right to the call letters KCSO the CSO of which stand for the Chester Smith Organization knew be starting this Smith said of Channel 34 Channel 19 became KUVS after the sale Univision moved the production facility to Sacramento in 1998 Smith said his new station received the last full-coverage license granted by the Federal Communication Commission in the Sacramento-area market KCSO should connect its final two transmission lines and begin testing its broadcast range today The signal is expected to reach north to Marysville south to Delhi east to Sonora and west to Tracy That would make it the most powerful broadcast station based in Stanislaus County Viewers will be able to pick up the station via antenna but it will not be available over cable or satellite systems KCSO will be the only Telemundo broadcaster The temporary headquarters are at 142 Ninth St KCSO owner Chester Smith who already has invested more than $2 million in the project said he plans to build a new studio at Full coverage means the signal penetrates the entire market Channel 34 will transmit through a powerful new antenna in Calaveras County The so-called antenna emits rays in a circular motion unlike traditional antennas that send signals in straight lines enables the signal to penetrate buildings mountains whatever Castro said Even at 30000 watts the station still is low powered compared to the 5-million-watt Channel 19 and other full-power Sacramento stations Castro said he expects to hire on-air talent soon for 6 pm daily newscasts and other local programs newest television station should go on the air sometime today station officials said KCSO Channel 34 will broadcast Spanish-language programming through the Telemundo network along with local news and public affairs shows Station manager Rob Castro said Public backs a giant Gallup poll says Americans support Microsoft even more 7 W' ADRIAN MENDOZATHE BEE Everything from vintage clothing to rare oddball jewelry can be found at Sabrina Osborne's Manteca business The Vicious Rag Vintage returns to Manteca By DENNIS ROBERTS BEE STAFF WRITER KATHY KRISTOF Car neglect leads to costly repairs The lack of a $1 part cost Maria Taylor $2000 Taylor a San Francisco resident knew her car had a leaky oil gasket that needed to be replaced But she figured taking the car to a mechanic would be costly and time-consuming Besides she always left repair shops with the vague feeling that been ripped off So she procrastinated Eventually she got to a mechanic but only after her engine seized up on the freeway having run out of oil was one of those things that you just wanted to kill yourself for not having she said sighing would have been the simplest thing to fix And there I was stranded in Sonoma The repair was more than the car was The only thing unusual about Taylor is that she can quantify the cost of neglect says Ren Volpe the author of Lady Total Car Care for the An aging population complicated vehicles the rise in auto leasing and a distrust of mechanics are causing 200 million drivers to increasingly ignore simple auto maintenance experts say Although tough to put a dollar value on what that neglect might cost consumers experts agree that anyone who plans to keep a car for several years will find that it vastly exceeds any savings accrued from skipping visits to the mechanic irony is that people would like to keep their cars longer because new cars are getting so says Larry Northup executive director of the Council for Automotive Reliability in Washington would think that people would be more inclined to protect their investment But that necessarily the Yet mechanics also admit that one of the reasons people are reluctant to repair their cars is they frequently trust the people who do the work The baby boom generation used to fix their cars themselves but now that older and modern cars are stocked with computers and webs of complex wiring they need help Northup says But many people either have had a bad experience with a mechanic or have watched one of dozens of television exposes about repair documenting repair shops recommending unnecessary work or vastly overcharging There are some things consumers can do to maintain their cars properly and avoid rip-offs mechanics agree Ironically one of the best strategies is to have the car regularly maintained lot of people wait until something drastic happens and then they need to get the car Volpe says way too late to find a decent Instead you ought to look for a mechanic the way you look for a doctor Seek references Then check the shop out on minor issues oil changes new filters and wiper blades Volpe suggests Before you agree to a major repair ask the mechanic for credentials Does the shop specialize in your type of car? Are their mechanics ASE certified? The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence certifies mechanical competence in seven disciplines from fixing the air conditioner to replacing the engine says Larry Hecker president of the Automotive Maintenance and Repair Association in Washington Make sure that anyone who does a big repair on your car is ASE certified to do that type of work Simple mistakes made by mechanics who been properly trained are far more common than rip-offs Hecker says Either way it costs you money Also make sure to get a written estimate of the work to be done and ask whether each repair is or If you are having parts replaced ask to see the old parts Ask the mechanic how you can tell something wrong Volpe says is important for the customer to have enough information to make informed Hecker says should not feel bashful or uncomfortable about asking questions If the repair shop want to answer an indication that they know or are not telling you the LOS ANGELES TIMES SYNDICATE By TED BRIDIS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON Whatever the score in federal court Bill Gates and Microsoft are winning in the court of public opinion A new Gallup poll suggests Americans hardly feel victimized in stark contrast to More on the charac- Microsoft terization of Micro- PAGE D-4 soft as a monopo- list to blame for higher prices and stifled innovation in the computer industry Consumers side with the software giant oppose a possible court-ordered breakup and respect the most famous billionaire more than ever a natural monopoly I think any ill said Regina Obe president of a database company in Boston Wall Street deserting Gates either stock among the most widely held dipped only slightly this week as investors wondered how the decision might affect their nest eggs admires Bill said Robert Mager who owns a small computer company in Lafayette Colo come through with a lot of enhancements probably brought the technology forward more quickly than anybody else Mager said who never used computers they can turn around and do things they never were able to do The Gallup poll based on telephone interviews with 1011 adults showed 68 percent with favorable opinions of Gates 19 percent unfavorable about as high as Republican presidential front-runner George Bush and as good a figure foi Gates as any since Gallup began tracking it in March 1998 months before the government filed its lawsuit Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller who helped organize 19 states suing Microsoft with the Justice Department said he and his peers make law-enforcement judgments based on got a job to Millei said made a courageous decision to get in when it was politically unpopular to take on Microsoft and now the attorneys SEE PAGE D-4 MICROSOFT Business: The Vicious Rag 249 Yosemite A ve Manteca Phone: 239-8636 Owner: Sabrina Osborne 27 Why Vicious was Vintage when I first started And I designed this little symbol that consisted of I decided I want to call it The Vintage Room because at the time everything was The So I wanted a name that would really stand So the name really has no significance? really Plans for the future: think going to start a chain or anything like that I thought I did when I was younger But I get stressed really easily I really hope the Web page (wwwviciousragcom launching Jan 1) will bring business Do you stress easily? tiny things Like kids who come in with their parents and I have to baby-sit Since this is like a clothing store people think they can come in and try everything on But a lot of my stuff is really delicate so you just throw it around And I get really tired of cleaning up after people I have enough trouble cleaning up after myself" Business philosophy: (Based on a sign in her window): Tuesday through Saturday 10-6 Most of the time open until 8 pm Sometimes open Sunday and Monday unless I have something better to Osborne also stocks several items featuring Bettie Page the most famous pin-up queen no one ever heard of Bettie on a lampshade wearing a leopard skin bikini Bettie in several poses on a set of button covers But the bulk of sales at The Vicious Rag comes from vintage clothing: furs and formal evening wear one with a Gloria Swanson tag gaudy Hawaiian shirts and dresses 1950s swing dresses Kramer would go wild here And even though fashions define daily dress for a few strictly costuming for many customers is like my busiest she said year everyone wanted to do the hippie thing I know why because you know kids dress like that every single Mothers and daughters often come in to shop together got a lot of variety every kind of style you can said Amber Davis 16 different every time you come in an exciting said mother Shelly Casey-Davis think it appeals to a pretty big range of people got things from the average to the like the clothes the perfumes that she has the rings the little clippies for the said Kitsie Diaz who was shopping with her daughter Jenny 14 come in here and shop for each Unlike her hair Osborne has returned SEE PAGE D-4 RAG MANTECA Think retro Think grunge Think leather Think tu-tus Think leather tu-tus Think no one but the pierced-tongue set would venture into a store called The Vicious Rag? Think again get just one particular type in said Sabrina Osborne owner and sole employee of the store you might vote Least Likely to Show Up in Manteca get old ladies in here because of the vintage clothing I get teen-agers I get all Look past the tongue jewelry the two-tone hair the diamond lip pin the tattoos a dragon on her left calf and a poisonous flower on her left forearm and gosh dam it Osborne is just another spunky entrepreneur with a suitcase full of dreams and black-leather metal-spiked bracelets Osborne 27 opened the store in April 1997 She fled her life as a graphic designer and part-time vintage clothing vendor in San Jose to set up shop in the Family City Why here you ask? sounds really bad but cheap she confesses really no competition here There any other stores like this in true Few shops in Manteca are likely to carry glow-in-the-dark panties Vargas Girl pill boxes spectacles chain link jewelry studded leather cuffs multi-colored fake eyelashes and purses decorated with 1930s naked lady tattoos Investors expect UPS to deliver big stock gains By JUSTIN BACHMAN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Helane Becker an analyst with Buck ingham Research Group called UPS transportation Internet a really very strong company and always have been" she said adding that UPS enjoys profit margins higher than its main competitors FedEx and Airborne Express Wall Street alone in getting excited about the IPO Employees and retirees who own about two-thirds of the company could see the value of their stock increase significantly over the Internet In 1998 UPS reported net income of $17 billion on revenues of $248 billion a premier said Cameron McLennan a logistics and transportation analyst with Scott and Stringfel-low in Richmond Va a brand-name type company This is an IPO of a company with a UPS plans to use the IPO to raise money for acquisitions particularly as it gears up for an expected surge in online sales ley Dean Witter said Tuesday that the 1094 million shares about 10 percent of available stock will be priced at $50 a share The offering easily surpasses the previous largest domestic IPO of $440 billion when oil company Conoco Inc went public in October 1998 Analysts say the biggest package carrier is an instant blue chip on Wall Street which likes the strong performance record and prospects for snaring a sizable portion of the business delivering products sold ATLANTA not a dotcom or a high-tech outfit But United Parcel Service which delivers many of the goods bought online is expected to soar as high as the hot technology stocks when it begins trading publicly today The 92-year-old Atlanta-based debut on the New York Stock Exchange will be worth $547 billion the biggest domestic initial public offering to date Lead underwriter Morgan Stan.