The Buffalo News from Buffalo, New York • 1

zrara NORTH EDITION 13cZ g'A BUALO NfOlflp HUteEffl Sggafjta hzs wsEsasW Existing home sales rebound in October Page B7 Make plans with Weekend Connection Page Cl As college basketball begins a comprehensive look at the coming season Special tabloid section A 112 PAGES A A THURSDAY NOVEMBER ML A Mix of sun clouds riday high in upper 30s Page A2 Signs point to progress in talks on new Bills lease By GENE WARNER News Staff Reporter Twice a month four people County Executive Gorski two top Buf falo Bills officials and a local repre sentative of Gov Pataki meet at a private country club in the Buffalo area to discuss the Bills But not a social gathering meeting to hammer out de tails of a new lease that would bind the Bills to Buffalo for at least the next 15 years The secret negotiations which start ed in July are described as serious intensive and detailed Negotiators from the Bills Erie County and New York State are mak ing progress working steadily toward an agreement that could be reached before the start of next season And the mood is said to be a far cry from the once frosty relationship between the Bills and Erie County The lease would replace the 25 year agreement that ends after the 1997 season feel that no longer a ques tion of if have a new lease but simply a matter of said Scott Brown a spokesman for Gorski not really going to (com ment) on the nature of the added Jeffrey Littmann the treasurer we really want to say is that they are under Sitting at the bargaining table are Gorski Littmann another Bills official and a local Pataki confidant who files detailed memos to the staff after every meeting See Lease Page AG QzcOad 39 perish in Hong Kong fire HONG KONG The death toll stood at 39 today after fire raced through a downtown high rise building Officials said most of the dead were found on the 13th to 15th floors of the building located in a popular tourist district One firefighter was killed after falling into an elevator shaft At least 80 other people were injured Story on A10 AA is hiring more inspectors MIAMI The ederal Aviation Administration is hiring scores of new inspectors to check for haz ardous cargo aboard passenger airliners Bruce Butterworth the head of the security opera tions said today In the wake of the ValuJet crash that killed 110 people the AA also plans to pursue criminal charges against anyone who improperly sends haz ardous materials aboard commercial aircraft Story on AIO Wealthy worry about values NEW YORK Two thirds of the wealthiest parents fear their children will be overly materialistic and ignorant of value and half fear a cushy lifestyle could sap their drive and independence A poll revealed that most of those surveyed try to teach their children the value of money by set ting up a checking or brokerage account Story on A6 Teen surrenders in death WILMINGTON Del An 18 year old college freshman facing charges with his girlfriend of mur dering her newborn son surrendered today while onlookers shouted and his mother wept Brian Peterson Jr accompanied by his parents and his lawyer turned himself in to the BI in Wilmington Story on A8 Power Authority pays well ALBANY At the New York Power Authori ty 105 employees earn more than $100000 annual ly according to an Associated Press survey The highest paid is William Cahill Jr chief of nucle ar power plants at $250000 Consumer advocates said the salaries are too high considering the cost of electricity but authority officials said the pay must be commensurate with private utilities i Story on All Gusto: An entertainment menu for the holidays Index Business B7 Classified DI 0 ElCpmicfGi Crossword E12 Deaths D8 Editorial Page B2 Entertainment C4 Lifestyles Cl Eocal Bl Notebook I 'B4 People )C3 Sports DI Television C6 Viewpoints 63 Jingo numbers on Page 08 Jnis newspaper in part Un recycled paper and is recyclable or specific recycling information phone the municipal offices in your community 7 142440 00050 8 raw tee Time Down under Associated Press V' 'OJ HM SpI' sjgw 7 irv ggaK XSflr "Ki I I I IB I II President Clinton and professional golfer Greg Norman follow one of tee shots today on a golf course in New South Wales Australia No score was kept for the round Clinton is on a four day visit to Australia before heading for the Pacific summit in Manila Story on A8 HOUSING GRANTS City to receive $87 million for elderly disabled By JERRY ZREMSKI News Washington Bureau WASHINGTON The US Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced nearly $87 million in federal grants for housing for senior citizens and the disabled in Buffalo The money includes $37 million to build a new 50 unit res idence at Seneca and Cazenovia streets in South Buffalo and $296 million for renovations at a 40 unit senior residence at 2787 Main St the former St rancis Hospital In addition $12 million will go to rental assistance over the next several years is good news for the senior population iri said Rep Jack Quinn Hamburg who announced the pending grants this morning grant greatly advances the availability of city housing and significantly addresses the goal of affordable decent hous ing for our Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros was scheduled to for mally announce the grants in a conference call with reporters later today Mayor Masiello and HUD officials in Buffalo were to fol low with a press conference of their own The money also includes $474100 for the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Western New York and $348100 for the Geneva Scruggs Health Care Center in Buffalo That money will be used to provide housing for the disa bled is a continuation of my efforts to support federal housing initiatives for seniors and persons with Quinn said The grants result from an annual program in which non profit agencies apply to the federal government for the money The grants are awarded on a competitive basis Last year a $428 million grant was awarded to 1490 Jeffer son Enterprises Inc for the construction of the 60 unit apart ment complex for senior citizens at 1512 1514 Jefferson Ave OUR STATION SWAP Gannett to sell Gazette in deal to acquire Ch 2 By DALE ANDERSON News Staff Reporter WGRZ TV Channel 2 will be acquired by Gannett Co Inc par ent company of USA Today upon federal approval of a four station swap with its current owner Ar gyle Television Inc of San Anto nio Texas Gannett will have to sell the Niagara Gazette its daily newspa per in Niagara alls to comply with the ederal Communication rule banning cross ownership of newspapers televi sion stations and cable TV fran chises in the same market The Gazette a Gannett paper since 1954 was one of the first acquisitions The swap of the TV stations which is expected to be completed within four months is subject to CC approval The CC may give Gannett a waiver to allow it more time to sell the newspaper The deal was announced Wednesday afternoon by Cecil Walker president and chief execu tive officer of Gannett Broadcast ing and Bob Marbut chairman 1 and chief executive officer of Ar gyle Television At the same time management and staff of WGRZ TV were in formed of the transaction and the staff of the Niagara Gazette was told that the paper is for sale In addition to WGRZ TV an NBC affiliate Gannett would re ceive WZZM TV an ABC affiliate in Grand Rapids Mich and $20 million Argyle would take over WLTW TV the NBC affiliate in Cincin nati and KOCO TV the ABC af filiate in Oklahoma City Walker said the swap was being made so that the com pany could resolve cross ownership conflicts in Cincinnati where it will maintain ownership of the Cincinnati Enquirer newspaper and Oklahoma City where it will continue operation of Multimedia Cablevision a cable TV franchise The CC had given Gannett a year to sell the Cincinnati TV sta tion after it was acquired in the purchase of Multimedia in Decem ber 1995 Andrew Schwartzman of Media Access Project a public interest advocacy group based in Washing ton DC warned that the Gan nett announcement does not mean that the deal has been completed Gannett to announce they See Gannett Page A10 PRESIDENTIAL TAPES Nixon told aide to burglarize think tank in 1971 paper says Associated Press SAN RANCISCO Recently re leased audio tapes capture former Pres ident Richard Nixon ordering his top aide a year before the Watergate burglary to break into the Brookings Institution and steal the liberal think files on Vietnam the San rancisco Exam iner reported today The newspaper quoted from audio tapes of a conversation between Nix on and Chief of Staff HR Haldeman part of 201 hours of tapes re leased this week During a June 30 1971 Oval Office conver sation Nixon asked Hal deman to take the institu files relating to the Vietnam War the Examiner said According to a partial transcript pro vided by the newspaper Nixon said way I want that handled Bob is through another way I want Brooking just to break in Break in and take it out! You Haldeman responded who do we have to do discuss it here You talk to to break into the place rifle the files and bring Nixon re sponded according to the transcript The transcript provides further evi dence of Nixon's well known interest in the liberal think tank Nixon aide Charles Colson testified before the Senate Watergate committee that Nixon talked ot a plan to Brookings in the days after the June 30 meeting according to the report The fire would have allowed the BI to accom pany firemen into the build ing and take the documents The newspaper also quot ed from 1975 mem oirs in which he recounts telling his staff that he wanted Vietnam files that he believed were at Brook ings delivered to him if it meant having to get it National Archive logs and Halde diaries note that National Securi ty Adviser Henry Kissinger Attorney General John Mitchell and Defense Secretary Melvin Laird were present at the June 30 meeting Kissinger reached Wednesday said: have no such of the meeting often said exalted things that people didn't think would be he said 1 Richard Nixon korth edition Ail it a Sod BUSINESSJ Index.