Santa Cruz Sentinel from Santa Cruz, California • Page 12

A-12 Tuesday, March 14, 2000 Sentinel Republicans Sentencing Continued from Page A1 Update King's words offend songwriter SPARTANBURG, S.C. More than 40 years after his first brush with fame, Joe Bennett's not sure he wants this one. In Stephen King's latest book, "Hearts in Atlantis," the author includes lyrics from the 1957 song "Black Slacks by Joe Bennett and the Sparkletones. But Bennett, a devout member of the Mormon Church, objects to what he says is King's explicit and offensive language in the book. "I don't want to seem pious, but this is absolutely not endorsed by me," he said.

"That's the bottom line. This is just shock stuff." The song helped the group earn two slots on the Ed Sullivan Show and was recorded by SN King 'Black blue dialog "'V. i i. i- i T. st My Simon and Garfunkel.

The rights are owned by MCA, which got $10,000 from King last year to use it. Bennett didn't know the song was in the book until he got a royalty statement last month. He asked King in a letter not to use it again, "but if he wants to, we don't have any legal ground to stand on." Jacko cancels visit to Poland WARSAW, Poland Michael Jackson canceled a visit to Poland this week after negotiations stalled on his proposed theme park, but he still hopes to purse the project, officials said Monday. Despite calling off the trip, the pop star "would like to confirm his interest in Warsaw and hopes that his investment plans will eventually come to fruition," said a statement is- Continued from Page Al the seat of Assemblyman Peter Frusetta, R-Tres Pirios, who retires this year. Carolyn Busenhart, one of the conservatives re-elected to the board, said members had every right to take this action.

"They can raise their own money," Busenhart said, referring to the incoming board. "They can get it from the liberals who put them in office, the liberals who bought the election." The remaining conservatives will be Monteith, Busenhart, Michael Pisenti, Ron Price, Steve Meyer and Barbara Hall. Tom Walsh, a moderate who was just voted on to the board, expressed his disapproval after the meeting. "I'd like to say the people who are controlling the board are so paranoid, they think they are the only ones who can get Republicans, or their kind of Republicans, elected," Walsh said. Another committee member, Jack Ward, said the majority was trying to sabotage the incoming group.

Monteith expressed regret over the committee's decision. "I didn't want to drain the treasury because I don't feel it's appropriate," he said after the meeting. "We're going to have to work together with Monteith's statements were part of a message of unity that he repeated throughout the evening. They were in dramatic contrast to his recent assertions that the moderate Republicans were paid off to recruit other moderates and that his party was being gutted by amoral people. But many of Monteith's supporters did not share his conciliatory message.

During a tribute to Monteith, committee member Joan Peros spoke of "conservatives who were viciously attacked by the moderate mob." Some of the committee wanted to leave no money behind at all for their successors. But they backed down after other committee members asked that they leave some funds for the future group's operating expenses. The group's vote came shortly after state Republican Party Chairman John McGraw asked for unity. Mc-Graw, who attended the first part of the meeting but left before the treasury vote, said Republican infighting should be avoided. "These interparty fights are the most vicious and contentious," he said.

"Anything we can do to come together after the election is really important." New moderates include Marani, Walsh, Jane Armstrong, John Bauer III, Tom Sprague, Sally Van Kaathoven, Jeanell Martin Montero, Steven Bontadelli, former County Supervisor Ray Belgard, Dale Skil-licorn, Paul Marigonda, Kathy Hosick, Tom Kelly, Bob Flack and David Hodgin. Moderate incumbent Karell Kelley Reader was re-elected. The remaining seat went to Kathie Cummins, who is affiliated with neither the moderate nor conservative-leaning groups. Though Stephens, 29, maintained he acted only out of fear for his life, a jury convicted him in January of second-degree murder with the special allegation that he had used a gun. The murder charge carries a 15-year-to-life term and the firearms enhancements adds 25 years.

During the trial, Stephens admitted shooting Hall, but said that was only because, in the pre-dawn darkness, he thought the Thermos Hall was carrying was actually a gun. Stephens said his memory afterward was sketchy including details about how Hall was bludgeoned in the head and later discovered burning in the back yard. In a brief statement to the judge Monday, Stephens said he was "truly sorry" but maintained his actions were "justified." Stephens sometimes put his face in his hands as others spoke for or against him. But at times, he looked directly at them, apparently unmoved by their words. "You're about to enter hell on earth," Hall's cousin, Joan Clements of Scotts Valley, told him.

"Could it be practice for your life thereafter?" Clements said Hall had tried to resolve the land dispute by legal means. She blasted "the Eagle Scout" Stephens for breaking two Commandments: love thy neighbor and thou shall not kill. Frank Hall, of Illinois, reflected about the times he spoke with his son about the property dispute. He said he had persuaded his son not to move out of beautiful Santa Cruz County because of it. "I told him, '(Stephens) may be hard to get along with but at least he won't kill Well, I was wrong." Bolli sides also spent time lambasting public officials for their roles.

According to the Hall family, county officials were partly to blame for having indefinite county maps and surveys. And for the Stephens family, the Sheriffs Office was partly to blame for not trying harder to resolve the neighborhood dispute that took deputies to the men's homes on previous occasions, including an August 1998 incident in which Stephens al- kJf sued by his spokeswoman and a 1 vN. spokesman for Warsaw's mayor. all Mayor Pawel Piskorski invit- 1-1 I nA 1 I i Jackson was to have started Tues day. Jackson signed a letter of intent with Warsaw officials in 1997 to develop the $500 million park, but the two sides have not agreed on a location.

Morning, Noonan and night NEW YORK Peggy Noonan says she deliberately wrote her new book about Hillary Rodham Clinton "so that it could be read aloud in bed." "I know couples who are split on Hillary and they talk past each other when the subject of Hillary comes up," said Noonan, President Reagan's former speechwriter and author of "The Case Against Hillary Clinton." "So I thought, write a book that can be spoken aloud." Noonan also said Monday that she got so obsessed with writing the book, a sometimes critical view of the first lady, that there were days she didn't bother getting dressed. "I sat down Sept 1 to write it and I got up Nov. 2," she said. There was a time when I was writing in pajamas. I was going to bed at night and then getting up the next morning to write some more." Shmuel ThalerSentinel Jacqueline Stephens, left, turns away in tears after asking Judge Samuel Stevens for leniency in sentencing her son, Walter Stephens, who sits at right flanked by his lawyers Nedra Ruiz and Tony Serra.

Quote of the day lies that Stephens' punishment is largely dictated by state law. "The court has no room it doesn't make a difference if there was provocation or not or if Mr. Hall was a good guy or not," Stevens said. He also rejected the defense's request that Stephens be released on bail pending an appeal. "I have to take into account legedly attacked Hall with a backhoe.

Hall was killed four days after he served Stephens with a lawsuit over the backhoe incident. The civil ease has since resulted in an unknown payment from Stephens' homeowners insurance company to the Hall family, prosecutor Ariadne Symons said. Meanwhile, Judge Samuel Stevens reminded the fami the crime he committed," Stevens said. "It was violent. It was unnecessary." Stephens' attorneys, J.

Tony Serra and Nedra Ruiz of San Francisco, vowed to appeal. The pair lost a motion for a new trial Monday based, on the argument that the judge had incorrectly prevented testimony about Hall's "arsenal" of guns and Stephens' knowledge of the weapons. "I have to take into account the crime he com-. mitted. It was violent.

It was unnecessary." JUDGE SAMUEL STEVENS, upon sentencing Lompico killer Walter Stephens to 40 years to life for killing neighbor Robert Hall. Story begins, Page Al Compiled from Sentinel wire services National Weather Today is fll'y fi Oil 11 in sLiLdJu JIJUUL 10a Os Anchoi.9, '1" 10S California Weather 5-Day Forecast Air Quality Index Clouds and some sun; a stray shower. Euraka 6638 Trace ij I aRaddlna 6842 Statistic! 101312 Monterey Ozone 33. Good Santa Cruz Ozone 42. Good Scons Valley Ozone 42.

Good -''lIMrf 6741 0.00 Taho Vallay 6026 5722 a 0.00 Pollution Standard Indax Rating: I thowars ElT-atonna National Cities World Cities Today Today Today City Hi Lo City Hi Lo City Hi Lo Albany, NY 50 35 Jacksonville 71 51 Amsterdam 48 32 Albuquerque 68 39 Juneau 42 29 sh Athens 56 44 Anchorage 34 26 Kansas City 61 44 pc Beijing 47 45 Atlanta 66 46 pc Las Vegas 79 53 Berlin 48 34 sh Atlantic City 54 39 pc Little Rock 66 47 pc Cabo San Lucas 80 52 Austin 68 53 sh Louisville 63 44 pc Cairo 72 49 Billings 52 30 Memphis 70 47 pc Calgary 32 12 sn Boise 54 28 Miami 78 68 pc Caracas 83 68 pc Boston 48 39 Milwaukee 55 31 sh Dublin 46 36 Bulfalo, NY 48 31 Minneapol.s 42 26 pc Frankfurt 47 29 Burlington. VT 40 31 sn Nashville 69 42 pc Geneva 53 42 sh Casper 52 29 pc New Orleans 72 54 pc Havana 78 66 pc Charlotte. NC 67 46 8 New York 54 40 pc Helsinki 35 32 sn Cheyenne 54 31 pc Norfolk, VA 60 46 Hong Kong 78 66 pc Chicago 52 36 sh Oklahoma City 69 49 pc Jerusalem 54 34 Cincinnati 56 39 pc Omaha 57 35 Kingston 86 73 pc Cleveland 50 35 pc' Philadelphia 56 40 pc London 52 34 Concord, NH 47 31 Phoenix 85 60 Manila 89 70 pc Dallas 66 54 sh Pittsburgh 50 39 pc; Mazatlan 81 59 1 Denver 63 36 Portland, ME 42 31 sf Mexico City 72 43 Des Moines 56 35 pc Portland, OR 55 38 pc Montreal 36 30 sn Detroit 48 34 sh Providence 53 36 Moscow 30 27 sf Duluth 34 15 pc Raleigh 65 43 New Delhi 85 49 El Paso 76 44 Reno 63 33 Paris 57 39 pc Fairbanks 34 2 Richmond 64 45 Rio de Janeiro 81 70 pc Fargo 32 21 pc Salt Lake City 59 35 pc Rome 61 46 pc Flagstaff 62 27 San Antonio 64 53 sh Seoul 52 37 Grand Rapids 46 29 sn San Diego 68 55 Singapore 91 77 pc Great Falls 52 25 0 San Francisco 64 46 pc Sydney 85 68 pc Helena 50 28 Seattle 51 38 sh Tokyo 46 31 pc Honolulu 80 65 pc Spokane 45 28 pc' Toronto 37 28 Houston 70 56 sh Tucson 84 49 Vienna 52 37 Indianapolis 65 39 pc" Washington, DC 58 43 pc Warsaw 43 37 0 Wsathsr (W): aatamy, ckjudy, c-ckxjdy, alvahowars, MhundanrtonnSi praln, sfanow fkvrias, aivanow, Mca. National Extremes: High 92 at Thermal. CA Low -2 at Fraser.

CO Partly cloudy. i 0.90, flood! SMOO.Moderatoi 101-200, Unhaalthful j.v Flurrlaa i 9. tllffuw La PM fc.5ionlatr.ir San FranchcS Saoramanto 6446 73 6147 6944 -4 0.00 soo Shown are noon positions ol weather systems and precipitation Temperature bands are highs for the day. Forecast highlow temperatures are given lor selected cities. Maps, forecasts and data provided by AccuWeather Inc.

2000 Daath Valley 9160 8954 Surf Forecast 0.00 Froano 7446 7047 Bakarsflald San Luia Obispo 7246 Shown is 70M6 todays 000 7450 Wind waves 2 feet: a 5-foot swell. Water Tamp is 54 U.UO a. 6954 weather 0.00 Temperatures, Santa BarblMx Palm SDritla. 75S2 are today's highs and 6552 tonight's lows, qq Marine Forecast Winds today will be west to northwest at 8-16 knots. t.

San Dlago Yesterday's temperatures are shown in light text. For more cities see www.santacruzsentinel.com a Turning out sunny J' and pleasant. I EBErffff Clouds and I I perhaps a 1 shower, then sun. I I 1 111 'l'B VH iWt" I'f Wl 9 fu-. Mostly sunny.

i Kwrn'tu r- rri I Sunny to partly 0 00 Satellite Almanac Pacific Weather Area Weather Swanton 6644 As of 6 yesterday Forecast (or noon today 6642 Santa Cruz through 5 p.m. yesterday Temperatures t. Boulder Creek 6747 7139 Ban Lomond San Jos 6746 6744 674S 7140 66 42" 64 .42 ft Bonnv Doon 4.oona vaiiey 9713 6746 6837 8oqu.l6546 it nana High Low Normal high Normal low Precipitation 24 hours ending 5 p.m. yest. Month to date Normal month to date Season to date Normal season to date Total last season Davenport 6544 nana tCorralitoa 6745 7139 far 0.00" 2.41" 2.10-32.70" 24.13" 32.57" 1 634f ta.

Capitola 6747 R.ode. Mar 6546 6144 Tides Pollen Index Sun and Moon La Salua Bauh SS4B I- tatlatlea lor ianta Cra Lavala ovar 2O0 c.f.u'a axcecd stata standards! Sunrise today 6:20 a.m. Sunset tonight 6:15 p.m. Today Statistics tor San Joaa yattarday trees mold Source: National Allergy Bureau Moonrise today 12:36 p.m. Salinas 6645 6548 Moonset loday Shown is today's weather.

Temperatures are today's highs and tonight's lows. Yesterday's temperatures are shown in light text. 2:25 a.m. First Natural Bridges 28 Capilola Beach 30 Cowell Beach 2 Seaclilf Beach na Twin Lakes 12 Rio del Mar 120 'Main Beach 8 Manresa Beach Units fecal coliform c.l.u's per 100ml Data from the S.C County Department of Heath and Human Services. Last measured: 22900 Full Last New Monterey 6546 6344 UV Index Lowft.

11:54 a.m.-0.1 11:57 p.m.2.8 Lowft. 12:57 p.m.-0.4 nonenone HighIt. 4:32 a.m.5.2 7:04 p.m.4.0 Highft. 5:43 a.m.5.2 7:57 p.m.4.3 First Second Tomorrow First Second Apr 4 Apr 1 1 Highest Today 4, low' 1 -3. Mnmal, 4-5.

Low. 6-7. Moderate. 8-9, High. 10.

Very Hdi Values indicate the exposure to the sun's ultraviolet ravs. Mar 19 Mar 27 ammmtmmm'mjK'ivwW'f9nmmmimKWimnif yv, irl.w-. siiaatasalataaaaaaaaaaattiaTsaaa iasUWiVwrftWiUaW 1 1.