| OCR Text |
A8 The Salt Lake Tribune NATION Saturday, November24, 2001 Election Reform oe Gets Bipartisan Backing KNIGHTRIDDER NEWS SERVICE WASHINGTON A $2.65 billion federal election reform packageis gainingbipartisan support in the U.S. House of Represe: ives.v Across Capitol Hill, en. Mitch McConnell, a Ky., is working with Sen. topher Dodd, D-Conn., to craft bipartisan election reform legislationin the Senate. pat all that together until the issue,-says the Help Amer- the early part of next year,” McConnell interview. said in an The Help America Vote Act of 2001, sponsored by Republi can Robert Ney of Ohio and Democrat Steny Hoyer of Maryland, would earmark $400 million to buy out punch-card voting machines. An addi- tional $2.25 billion would be The goal: to channel money to state andlocal election offi cials so that modern voting equipmentc: time for the 2004 presidential election. Lawmakers want to avoid-a repeat of the 2000 election. “Thereis a great desire available to help states mod: ernize voting equipment, update eligible voter improve access for the disabled andtrain poll workers. The bill, introduced last week, would establish an Election stance Commission to advise state and local try to reach a compromise, election offic it's complicated and I think McConne! ig probably the leading Senate Republican on we're not likely to be able to 1971 Hijacker Leapt From Jet Into Folklore ‘THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ATT ica VoteActis “certainlya step in theright direction.” McConnell hadcrafted a bipartisanbill of his own. Butafter Democrats took control of the Senate in May, Democratic leaders refused to allow McConnell’s proposal to be votedon. Partisangridlock ensued. After Sept. 11, other issues took higher priority. But now lawmakers from both parties are refocusing attention on election reform. Previous attempts to over- haul the system havefailed beca Republicans and Democrats couldn't agree on whether to maketheelection reforms But McConnell suggests offering financial incentives to state and| sure all Americans’ votes are countedonElection Day government to make improvements, insteadof federalizing theentireelection system. “That would be in the best interest of everybodyin Amer} ica,” hesaid. Thebill has picked up 43 Democratic sponsors and 39 Republican backers. Stressless Is exactly howyou'll feel when you relax in oneof these beautiful soft leather chairs from Ekornes.It tilts, swivels and is probably the most comfortable chair youeve! in. Prices starting, at voluntaryor mandatory. Critics of the presentsystem argue that the changes must be mandated in order to make People love to eat. Give them whatthey want. Gastronomy Gift eT Thirty years have passed since D.B. Cooper jumped froma hijacked jetliner with $200,000 in ransom moriey anddisappeared into a remote forest. Withthe30th anniversary of the crime today, Cooper's esca- paderemainsunsolved. The FBI Call 322-2020orclick astronomyinc.com elm Tr ee Clem eCUe IC ULUa has received thousands oftips, but investigators have nothing to goon nost Scandinavian and Contemporary Furniture for 28 years 5410 South 900 East Salt Lake City 266-5818 | t, no leads, nothing to prove who Cooper wasorwherehewent. e James and id Jerry Tho- OURELCET LOETeYTD rN , a retired Army infantry- man who has searched the backwoods. of southwestern hington for any trace of Cooper. Many who havestudied Cooctions on Thanksgiving n 1971 are certain he died trying to escape. They haverea- son to believe that, too. He exited the plane in heavy rain and jumped over a dense forest of pine and Douglas fir. He was dressedin a suit and loafers and one of the two parachutes he usedwasdefective. But h aes SpOrts tory continues to fascinate. jn Nov.24, 1971, a thin man in his 40s calling himself Dan Cooper showedupat the Northwest Orient Airlines ticket counter at Portland International Airport in Oregon. He paid $20 in cash for a one-way flight to Seattle departingat 4:35 p.m. He boarded the plane and OFF took aseat near the back. Soon after takeoff, Cooper handed a noteto a stewardess and said he had a bomb on Buy 1 weight plate or dumbbell at regular price and get1 for 50% off board. He let her peek into his briefcaseat wires and red sticks that looked like explosives. He then demanded $200,000, four parachutes and “no funny Equalor lesser value stuff.” At 5:40 p.m., the plane landedat Seattle-TacomaInternational Airport and authorities met his demands. Heordered the plane back into the air and demandedthat it fly toward Mexico through Renoatno more than10,000 feet. He later jumped, and hasn't beenseenor heardfrom since, Coast Guard * Trying to Snag Errant Tanker ‘THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PORTLAND, Ore. An oil tanker set adrift after its tow line broke in a storm came within 24 miles of the shore on Friday as the Coast Guard worked to reattach the vessel to a tugboat. Friday’s work was made easier because rough seas had subsided and winds slackened, but if the operation fails, the Coast Guard was considering flooding the ballast tanksof the tankerso it wouldride lowerin the water and run aground offshore, Officials could also sink the 906-foot Atigun Pass in deep water, said Amy Gaskill, a Coast Guard spokeswoman. ‘The decommissioned tanker, which carried about 20,000 gallons offueloil, was being towed from Portland to Shanghai, China,to be carved upfor scrap metal, It broke loose about 100 miles from the coast on Tuesday and by Friday was ap+ proaching the Oregon- Washingtonstate line, Several attempts by the tug boats to regain control of the vesselfailed, Ahalfdozen salvage workers took off in a helicopter Friday morning and planned to rappel to the tanker’s deck to help reattach the tow line from a tug boat. SPORTSCASTLE 5550 South 900 East 801-263-3633 SOUTHTOWNE 10200 $. State St, (East of 1-15) 801-566-7404 5786 S. Redwood Rd. (East of +215) 801-963-0984 ;atts ee ee not ee eae 435 586-0687 © Wet 9244+ ST Oeee Logan Aee2-087 fin) ides Beseta Coe‘clint patos 801-224-9115 ; j } aC on |
