San Angelo Standard-Times from San Angelo, Texas • 15

rn 1 It's Your Business 2B Agriculture 4B Oil 67B SAN ANGELO Sunday May 31 IB Compromise bill detours complete deregulation of trucking industry Inside Business by Rex Henderson TRUCKING IN TEXAS CARRIERS NarV'CCMFA Members Other CCMFA members Herder Truck Line Total Texas Revenue On millions of dollars) Brown Express Big State Freight Lines Southwestern Motor Transport Red Arrow Freight Line listeners from Junction to Osona will be hearing San top-rated radio programming beginning June 1 The Walton Foster-owned stations KHOS AM A FM in Sonora KYXX in Osona and translator stations in Junction and Big Lake will broadcast KIXY-FM programming after the first of the month Foster Mid The Federal Communications Commission last year repealed the non-duplication rule that had prohibited the practice Foster said the KIXY programming on his remote stations will improve the quality of broadcasts there while saving money at the same time Foster said he will not lay off employees at the Sonora and Osona stations An attorney with the National Association of Broadcasters said the federal broadcasting regulators still require local stationa to meet the news and public affairs needs of the community of license 9 9 The bank franchise tax receipts showed San Angelo banks were slightly worse off in the first quarter of 1987 than in the same period a year earlier The state comptroller's office reported last week that the tax receipts were down 5 percent for a six-month period through March 15 The state levies a 525 percent tax against the capital and surplus retained by banka A drop in the franchise tax reflects a decline In capital atrength The office does not release figures on individual banks' tax payments But for a clue to why franchise tax receipts are down recall that Central National Bank reported serious losses in the fourth quarter of 1991 Those losses in turn hurt capital strength at the city's biggest bank Midland Regional Airport will have a fifth carrier after July 1 when Atlantic Southeast Airlines opens service Atlantic Southeast became the Delta Airlines feeder this year after the bigger company bought the Atlanta-based commuter airline The airline plans to fly a Brasilia turbo prop five times a day from Midland to DaBas-Fort Worth Regional Airport second largest hub behind Atlanta Atlantic Southeast also provides service from San Angelo to Dallas The airline made no mention of service between San Angelo and Midland Whoops Last week in thla space I reported on the bankruptcy id JG Bunyard and Sous and referred to it a plumbing company That raised a few eyebrows among the San Angeloans who know that the company Is of course an electrical contractor still a loss id a firm that has been a part of the West Texas business landscape for a long long time The co-writer id this column for the past three months Carol Daalel left for Austin this week Her husband Renay San Miguel formerly of KLST-TV took a Job at an Austin television station this month She resigned Thursday to Join him I will miss her By REX HENDERSON Staff Writer Buiinesa forces seeking deregulation of the Texas trucking industry wanted to deliver an open market freight system to the state this year but found themselves on a detour A bill passed by the Texas Legislature this month wu characterised as a compromise between the pro-regulation and deregulation forces In the end the deregulation forces say they gave up more than they got The Texas Bailroad Commission has had an Iron fist on trucking routes and prices since 1829 The opponents of regulation wanted the Railroad Commission to loosen its grip on prices and let go of routes altogether The bill passed two weeks ago will loosen the grip on prices a little but not at all on routes "I see the bill having any significant Impact at ill" said Dr Harold Gross an economist in Dallas who helped write a study recommending deregulation San Angelo grocer Baugh Lewis owner of System said he's still uncertain how the final bill will affect him but he hopes it will reduce freight rates That in turn could reduce prices in the grocery tores have to pay those rates and we have to raise our prices to cover the costs" he said PL Stephens owner of Town A Country Food Stores said a half a loaf better than what we had but I think we should have gone with full deregulation" trucking regulation has created some shipping practices because cheaper to ship goods over state lines than it is within Texas Stephens said Some Texas shippers move goods out of state and then return them to Texas locations to get deregulated interstate freight rates instead of paying higher regulated in-state rates Closer to home one San Angelo freight agent said the regulatory system forces her to route shipments bound for Eden 44 miles away through Dallas and San Antonio A load takes five days to get from San Angelo to the Concho County community by the roundabout route The compromise trucking bill came out of House Transportation Committee negotiations The opponents of reform led by the Texas Motor Transport Association had effectively blocked all deregulation efforts early in the session The negotiations began only after the leadership in the Legislature especially House Speaker Gib Lewis brought the TMTA back to the bargaining table TMTA lobbyist Tim Raven characterised the bin as step in the right direction to deal with what we agree is a changing tranaportation community" The TMTA represents truckers bus companies airlines and private shipping companies The bill that passed gives truckers flexibility in rates a new feature in the Texas trucking industry but not as much as the deregulation backers represented by the Texas Association to Improve Distribution (TEXAID) wanted Truckers may vary rates from those set by the Texas Railroad Commisalon by 5 percent on loads of 500 to 10000 pounds and by 15 percent on loads of 10000 pounds or more The bill also defines pricing" a practice MistletoeExpress Merchant's Fast Motor lines Alamo Express Central Freight Curry Motor Freight Ferry Motor Frugal 20 40 60 80100120140160 S-T graphic Center for Enterprising argued that shipping rates here are higher and that the high rates are damaging economic development efforts is growing evidence suggesting that ex-cesaive regulation of intrastate trucking is driving existing and potential employers out of Texas" the study stated The rates are costing the economy 51 billion a year the study said Both sides have lined up batteries of experts to argue their positions An expert for the pro-regulation forces David Huff of the University id Texas-Austln said deregulation would create discriminatory prices Gross said the bill addressed in part the question of Please see TRUCKS Page 2B already prohibited as rates below operating costs or unreasonably far above those -costa and unduly discriminatory A final provision promises to keep the issue out of -the legislature until the 1980s a provision that could permanently doom the deregulation forces "Public enthusiasm for deregulation in general may wane after this session like education reform did after the last session" said Grosa the associate director of the Center for Enterprising at Southern Methodist University are like fashions They come and go" Support for deregulation comes primarily from shippers who say that Texans pay higher freight rates than nearly anybody else in the country A study done by Gross and Bernard Weinstein of the Agricultural experiment could increase productivity of arid land in West Texas Nuts asparagus irrigation provide key to experiment SounaiULS Dapt ofCommarca root rot common in the area The project is being carried out according to recommendations made by Tahal Consulting Engineers Ltd state-owned water company Tahal recommended interpersing the young pistachio trees with asparagus plants to provide crop income while the trees mature The trees will produce in about eight years Morgan said while the asparagus a perennial will produce a crop in three years The asparagus will be taken out iff the orchard once the trees are grown because the trees will provide too much shade for the plants The young pistachio trees are being grown at Sul Ross State University Dr Dale Davis director iff ranch animal science at the university said Thursday that the usual germination rate or percent iff seeds planted that sprout is 70 percent Hackett said that through techniques such as freezing and acldlzatlofl the germination rate has been increased to 95-98 percent Temporary freezing and submerging the seeds in sulfuric add weaken the seed's shell and make it easier for the seed to sprout he said By STEPHANIE MeCOLLUM Staff Writer Technology to be used in an sgricultural experiment in Reeves County Includes carefully chosen species of plants and a low evaporation irrigation system Bruce Hackett lessee iff a 410-acre term about 23 miles southwest of Pecos City Mid Thursday in a phone interview from Plano that the irrigation system to be installed on the property is top priority He Mid the underground system is similar to a of tree branches" He said that a 10-inch distribution line will branch off into 8- and 0-inch and 4- and 3-inch lines that will supply water to the pistachio trees planned for the term The system is underground to control evaporation Frank Morgan deputy land commissioner for land management in the state General Land Office said Thursday in a phone interview from Austin that pistachios were chosen for the land became they are tolerant of the saline water in the area The species tertblnthua was singled out by Israeli consultants because it can withstand freezing temperatures to 3-8 degrees It is also resistant to the vertlcilllum cotton estimates are baaed on a projected price of $1850 per crate Morgan said a pistachio crop is expected by the seventh year and grou income from the crop is expected to be about $11190 By the 11th year after the asparagus is gone the office expects grou income from the pistachios to be $255000 The pistachios alone are estimated to gross $376000 in the 15th year and more than $500000 in the 20th year Estimates are based on a projected price of $120 per pound of in-shell dry pistachios Morgan said that since the land belongs to the Permanent School Fund some of the Income from the experiment will go to the fund Morgan said although no agreement has been signed it looks as if Hackett will receive 80 percent iff the income and the fund will receive 20 percent during the first few years of the experiment Later the fund will receive a larger percentage he said By the seventh year of the experiment the fund will be receiving more than $90000 annually from the farm Morgan said it goes up every year after This is a sharp contrast to the present state income from the land which produces a maximum of $3 per acre per year for the fund Morgan said some iff the land in the Trans-Pecos area produces as little as 30 cents per acre per year The far-reaching effects of the experiment Morgan said may be to educate area farmers on better ways to use their land thus aiding the area's economy and Increasing state revenue have to encourage farmers in the area to look at this and to learn from it" Morgan said The experiment will "make a laboratory for anybody and everybody who wants to look at Such educational benefits are why UT AAM and Tech put money into the project he said By STEPHANIE MeCOLLUM Staff Writer A 30-year agricultural experiment being conducted in Reeves County will be money weB-spent whether or not it works a General Land Office official said Thursday Frank Morgan deputy land com-miaaloner for land management said in a telephone interview from Austin Thursday that the project which seeks to take marginally productive land and make it more productive wifl be a learning experience whether or not the new water use techniques and crops work The experiment will be carried out on 148 acres of a 410-acre farm 23 miles southwest iff Pecos The state land which is leased to Bruce Hackett will be used to test crops and irrigation techniques suggested by Tahal Consulting Engineers Ltd Israel's state-owned water company A aimilar project is already underway at Laredo Junior College and the Reeves site was chosen by Tahal for the project from among five other brackish-water sites in the Trans-Pecos area Morgan said the site was recommended in March 1988 over its closest competitor a site in El Paso County becauM the water in Reeves County is leu saline the soil is leu sandy and there wu already a well on the Reeves County site Hackett and Investors from Texas and California will fund the project with about $800000 from The University iff Texas Texas ARM University Texas Tech University and the General Land Office Morgan said The land will be planted in pistachio nut trees Interspersed with asparagus plants which will provide a cash crop while the trees mature When the trees mature 10 years after they are planted in i Indicators fall in April WASHINGTON (AP) The government said last Friday its main economic forecasting gauge plummeted 08 percent in ApriL It was the biggest decline in two years and provided evidence private economists said that the UJS economy is slowing down The Commerce Department's Index of Leading Indicators posted its biggest setback since a 08 percent feU in April 1985 The setback followed a revised 08 percent increase in March While analysts said they did not believe the huge drop signaled an Impending recession they said the index has been flashing signals iff slower growth since the beginning of the year i In the past four months the index his fallen twice including a 05 per-j cent January decline 'The economy does not look too good right said Michael i Peuer senior economist at Bank of America in San Francisco Afghan pine trees which will be marketed as Texas Christmas trees Morgan said not counting these additional crops the annual gross income estimates for the experiment exceed $300000 for the seventh year and more than $500000 by the 20th year Estimates put grou income from the asparagus crop at $62000 by the end iff the third year the first year the asparagus will produce enough to selL The fourth year should bring in $295630 and expected Income from the asparagus remains constant up to the 10th year when the asparagus will be pulled up once the trees produce too much shade to allow the asparagus to live The In addition to the prohibitive cost a search for the particular odd-and root rot-resistant species needed revealed that the 17500 trees could be obtained but only after a five-year wait Because Hackett who is directing much of the experiment decided to start the trees from seeds he is spending about $2-55 per tree he said Now the estimated cost for the young trees is $35000-587500 Morgan said other coats include salaries for farm hands to take care iff the pistachios and the asparagus Irrigation equipment buildings and roads Hackett said he will use other land on the 410-acre farm to grow February the asparagus plants will be taken out of the orchard The trees are being grown at Sul Ross State University in Alpine Dr Dale Davis director of Sul Rom' ranch and animal science department said Thursday about 5000 of the plants are now 2 inches tall and may he transplanted to the Reeves site when they are 2 feet taB The plan laid out by Tahal calla for 17500 young tertbinthuM pistachio trees to be bought at each Hackett Mid Thursday in a telephone interview from Plano At that rate the trees alone would have accounted for $140000-5157500 of the estimated $13-515 million needed for the experiment i I.