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Show m The Daily Herald I""" Briefs mNIMII.III SI Man gets fine for Christmas lights UIIMIIjJp. v. Virjl ... ' : t By ROBIN ESTRIN Associated Press Writer LITTLE ROCK. Ark. (AP) businessman turned on 175.MX) Christmas lights outside his home last year down from more than 3 million in 993 but that's still ScienHARVARD. Mass. tists have developed quite an ear for extraterrestrials: an radio telescope with a billion channels tuned to finding intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. 250 About physicists, astronomers and curious stargazers from Harvard University and beyond gathered Monday to watch and listen as one of the Earth's largest receivers was turned o.i. "No one knows the likelihood that we will find a civilization." said Paul Horowitz, a Harvard physics professor who directs the telescope. "But we won't know if 84-fo- too many for the state Supreme Court. The court Monday ruled Jennings Osborne in contempt, finding that he had violated an order to tone down the display. The court said 175XHX) lights was still "a massive commercial lighting display" inappropriate to a quiet neighborhood. He was fined $15,000. sentenced to 10 days in jail, which w as suspended, and ordered to pay fees and attorneys' costs totaling The Billion Channel Extraterrestrial Assay, or BETA, is a 300-fol- d upgrade of the first telescope dedicated to listening in on aliens, actuated nearly a decade ago on the same hilltop in this rural town 20 miles west of Boston. Resembling a huge satellite dish, the new telescope can best be thought of as an enormous radio receiver with millions of separate channels tuned to different stations. It is designed to pick up outside signals, or beacons, that may be beaming from hundreds, if not thousands, of light years away. Horowitz, who along with some other scientists is driven by the belief that there is life elsewhere, said he is hopeful that the stronger BETA system will be able to detect what its weaker predecessor could U.S. may pay hiliion to U.N. WASHINGTON (AP) The Clinton administration is reported to be circulating a plan to pay the United Nations Si billion in unpaid dues and other arrears in five annual installments of S2(X) million each. The Washington Post reports in today's editions that Secretary of State Warren Christopher and other top administration officials discussed the plan last week with key for the United Nations to reduce its overall costs and institute reforms such as those sought by Sen. Nancy Kassebaum. and Rep. Lee Hamilton. They have proposed cutting the number of U.N. agencies, ending international conferences that the organization sponsors and limiting its peacekeeping operations. Public flight first for British Queen LOS ANGELES (AP) Queen Elizabeth II got a taste of the common life and airplane food traveling for the first time on a commercial plane. Well, not that common: the first-clas- s section was for her alone and the seats were ripped out and replaced with an elegant table, four armchairs and two beds. The food was regular airplane fare, though. She even had a layl I2 hours at Los over Angeles International Airport on Monday en route to New Zealand for a meeting of leaders of the Com- ot don't try." we S7.000. Neighbors had sued Osborne in 1993. saying the thousands of visitors to the Osborne home snarled traffic and left trash in their upscale neighborhood. Republicans. Christopher and other top officials told them the payments would be used as an inducement Tuesday, October 31, 1995 Harvard receiver listens for new life A $1 .6 not. AP Photo About 250 physicists and astronomers from Harvard University and radio telescope in Harvard, elsewhere gather underneath an machine, the earth's largest Mass., on Monday. The billion-channreceiver, was turned on Monday giving scientists hope in finding intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. 84-fo- el Since the earlier system, the Mega Channel Extraterrestrial Assay, was first activated in 1987. researchers have several times isolated signals that seemed promising. But none w as ever duplicated. That could mean one of several things: The signal was a false reading or the telescope was too unsophisticated to capture it a second time. The improved BETA telescope uses two simultaneous beams, one pointing to the eastern sky. the other to the west. A third radio antenna, pointed earthward, is designed to weed out terrestrial signals that may be coming from a ceilular phone dow n the road. A sophisticated computer sys- tem that nearly fills a small room breaks down the frequencies, trying to isolate from the constant static a pure tone that might sound like a note on a flute. Funded by contributions from the 100,000-memb- Planetary er Society and several private companies and foundations. BETA costs about $40,000 a y ear to operate. It takes about six months for the radio telescope to scan the whole sky. NASA contributed to the project for about 2 12 years until the government stopped funding it, Horowitz said. Louis Friedman, executive director of the Planetary Society, based in Pasadena. Calif., said he occasionally hears criticism from people who think the project is a waste of time and money. But even if the search finds nothing in his lifetime, he said, it's worth doing. "The fact is we're gaining knowledge and advancing technology." Frank Drake, one of the pioneers of an institute known as the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, said the BETA quest may take decades. "It's there to be found." he said. "How hard it is to be found we do not know, but it is there." Marshall AP) Cordell can call up the names of his "skeleton crew" with ease: Petite Pete. Tiny Tim. Mr. Thrifty and Max. hones They don't make an about working, though, since their normal duties consist merely of hanging around and looking scary. Cordell's company. Anatomical Chart Co.. sells more than 30.00(1 skeletons a year. They're mostly plastic, but he does sell about 300 all named Max. real ones His customers include Hollywood studios, police departments and even a Caribbean resort looking to startle scuba divers. But Halloween with the parties and haunted houses that is the backrequire fake frights bone of Cordell's business. "Halloween without skeletons is like Christmas without Santa Claus." Cordell said Monday. Cordell. 4S. bought Anatomical Chart in pro. when the company made only chart- - for medical school-- . The company, based in the subuib of Skokie. expanded to become a retailer of Selling bones has given Cordell enough ghoulish moments for several Halloweens. Once, a customer placed a skeleton bought from Cordell in the trunk of a car and set the car on fire. Cordell had to reassure police officers who found the charred SAN DIEGO (AP) Beer ads featuring Halloween characters such as Elvira and the Crypt Keeper are encouraging children to start drinking, and the beer industry should withdraw them, health advocates say. "It is so blatantly obvious to people that Halloween imagery has special appeal to children," said Laurie Leiber, director of the Center on in Alcohol Advertising Berkeley. Calif. presentation today at meeting of the American Public Health Association. Leiber outlined "Hands Off Halloween," a campaign intended to persuade the beer industry to remove Halloween imagery from advertising, just as the industry has done with Santa In a the annual Claus. Coors has featured the Elvira buxom, black-haire- d in its advertisements, and Anheuser-Busc- h this year is television's using creepy bones peekCry pt Keeper ing out of his decaying clothes and all. "Children start drinking by age 3 on average, and by senior year in high school 88 percent have had a drink," Leiber said. "The drinking age in this country is not 21; the drinking age is when you can get it." She noted that the consumption of beer is strongly linked to auto deaths, suicide, homicide and sexual assault in teen-aeerLeiber's Hands Off Halloween campaign has met with determined resistance by the beer industry. 1 s. Skeleton vendor calls Halloween backbone of his business CHICAGO Group strikes at Halloween beer ads bones and a box from Anatomical Chart that the blaze was probably an prank. T feel normal around Halloween." he says with a laugh. "It's like Halloween every day of the vear around here." "Our marketing materials for all occasions are directed to adults," Raymond . J. McGrath, president of the Beer Institute, said to Leiber ' in a letter on Oct. 17. Chicago novelty gag and scare items, such severed limbs and g as brain- - and heart-shape- gelatin d molds. Skeletons still support the business, however. Eight-incplastic skeletons Petite Petes! sell for about S9. t sets of real bones are imported from prisons and nursing homes m France and sell tor about S2.300. h We i Six-foo- constantly go out of our way to provide the best dining experience. So we monwealth. The queen agreed to fly Air New Zealand at the suggestion of the New Zealand government, which is hosting the meeting. Buckingham Palace said last don'tfeelsobadaskingyou to do the same. week. The queen usually Hies in an aircraft of the Royal Squadron or e charters a jet. long-rang- Okay, we do feci a little bad. But it's beyond 4 our control. They're still working on State fas wimsHtuoi WATS RIGHT... FOR LIMITED A ACI WILL WAIVt Uf lfHJU miW INSIMNCF DFDUCTIMF GLASS APPROVED BY COMPANIES. M TO ! . bqaawi open and cooking away in here. We're a fn H brand new restaurant in Otem with an emphasis on fresh, quality MOBILE ST. GEORGE. ingredients (we use only an misimww Of Uh INSURANCE FAST, FREE FROM LOGAN SERVICE t tmsm ALL Street in front of the restaurant but we're TIME !ut:rr IMS uyjp hand-selecte- corn-fe- d d, Midwestern beef, for example). We're uxwwi Housewarming Celebration mWWW TTTTTTTTTTI to serve the best prime rib in our housewarming celebration and a percentage of each dinner will be donated to Join us during mm o N J. 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