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Show IT T i 1 Dukakis Likes The Stale Of His State The Salt Lake Tribune, ' V For years Americans were told that the weed and insect killing chemicals applied to the ground would do their job without threatening humans or the environment The herbicides and insecticides were sup posed to ding to the topsoil until the broke down into harmless compo nents, and nearly all of the nitrogen fertilizer that wasn't used by the crops was supposed to vaporize into the atmosphere, posing no more of a threat to the environment than a herd of dairy cows So says an article in the current Progressive magazine by Larry a reporter for the Des Moines, Heston administrations combined, they give him a horse laugh if they have a horse That's the problem, says Gov. Michael S. Dukakis of Massachusetts. Some states on the East and West coasts are doing fine, but the governor notes that Albert Sindlinger, a consumer pollster, was quoted in The Wall Street Journal as saying that 31 states, with half the population of the republic, are now in recession "This is the first time we've had ' regional recessions like this, Sindlinger writes "Each region is moving into recession at different times and for different reasons and there almost has to be a political price for his Employment Training and Choices program. This was celebrated in a vast warehouse in a Boston suburb, where more than 300 business representatives were recruiting potential employees from the welfare rolls. "When we started this program, the critics said it couldnt be done, the governor recalled. They said welfare recipients didn't want to work. More than 30,000 have entered e or part-tim- e jobs since then. "Between April and June of this year, he added, "14 percent of this programs placements had been on welfare five years or longer. There was supposed to be a great lump at the bottom of the employment scale, an underclass I hate that word -hlost, opelessly unemployed and unemployable. It's just not so. Later in the morning Dukakis proposed the creation of a college opportunity investment fund, a partnership between parents and colleges and universities, that would enable parents to guarantee a child's college education by prepurchasing tuition at an established rate He noted that families save to buy houses by calculating the mortgage payments they can afford. They do the same for other major family purchases The notable exception is the way in which most families approach financial planning for their kids' college education. The major advantage, as he sees it, would be that the parents would have a guarantee of a tuition rate, and the possibility of tax advantages. This program and the Massachusetts Employment Training and Choices program are now being studied by many other states Dukakis explains New England's economic progress in recent years as a product primarily of improved education He noted that half the Ph D. graduates from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology now settle and work in the state Knowledge really is power in this generation, he said, and his administration is giving it the highest possible priority. He serves as chairman of the Committee on Economic Development and Technological Innovation of the National Governors Association, and presides over similar committees for the New England Governors Association and the Democratic Policy Comfull-tim- mission He is now up for but t efuses to discuss rumors that he may enter the presidential primary elee-uoin New Hampshire in 1988. It is not at all clear at this point, he observes. what program either party ill present to the voters. The main thing with Reagan out of the eompeti-ion- , he insisted, will be the records nd the results rather than the rhetoric at that time. He will be active in his party's s planning, particularly on for the 31 states that are now n trouble But much, he "thinks, will depend on events such as the outcome (,f the preliminary meeting of Rea-Taand Soviet leader Mikhail Gorba-- ' he in Iceland this month, and on what they manage to achieve in the control of nuclear arms at the main summit meeting later on. ' I like my present job," he said as we drove back to his office on Beacon Hill "All I'm thinking about is the present campaign " It was the only improbable remark he made all day n eco-oom- n Srnalor Son per Few things are more discouraging ban finding out how much they would have accepted for a used car A19 Insecticides, Pesticides Threaten Groundwater It James among the walking wounded. In 1985, its annual unemployment rate was 3 9 percent (the nation as a whole was over 7 percent). All told, it has added 300,000 new jobs since 1983, and now has the lowest yearly unemployment rate of any of the nation's 10 top industrial states. I spent a morning with Dukakis this week on the third anniversary of 3, 1988 h BUtvt Boston, for example, is on a prosperous roll, which includes the Red Sox But when the president says in Kansas City that he is helping thp nation's farmers more than the last five Dont include Massachusetts October ttf.T n turned the nation's economy around, you have to ask, which part of it7 this. , Kriust II. Linford New York Times Service BOSTON When President Reagan says his administration has ... I i nlay Garn May Win and Still Be a Loser Sen Jake Garn can win and win this election year in Utah, and big yet he runs the risk of coming up a loser in the direction of his political career. And it s a matter he has no control over. Ditto, Sen Ornn Hatch, and he's not up for This helpless feeling about managing their own political destiny stems from Democrats, nationally, being close to returning as the majority party in the US Senate And with that goes committee chairmanships held by the Utahns Democrats need a net gain of four seats out of 34 up for election in Nos vember of them now held by Republicans The Utahns leading roles in the national agenda, so to speak, are in the hands of farmers in the midlands, laborers in the south, and miners in nearby Rocky Mountain states. It was the Republican wave elsewhere in 1980, churned by the Ronald Reagan juggernaut, that elevated Sen Garn to chairman of the Banking Committee and fourth-yea- r Sen. Hatch to chairman of the Labor Committee It was a stunning, unexpected reversal, relative newcomers lifted to national political visibility and agenda-settinpositions in a body where normally you'd have to be around at least a decade before acquiring a committee staff beholden to your wishes. It is with some irony that now, six years later, the strength of Democrats in state elections elseuiiere threaten the Utah senators hold on the reins of power, to be specific: whether Democratic Sen. William Proxmire of Wisconsin takes over as head of the Banking Committee, or two-third- one-ter- g Parker Sen Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts edges Sen Hatch to the sidelines as ranking minority member on the Labor Committee (In another scenario, a Democratic majority could also stifle Sen. Hatch's interest in assuming chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee to replace Sen Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, who is taking the Armed Services Committee helm from retiring Sen Barry Goldwater of Arizona ) Does it really mean that much more being a committee chairman? Well, it does to hear Utah's two past U.S senators, Republican Wallace F. Bennett, serving from 1951 to 1975, and Democrat Frank E. Moss, in office from 1959 to 1977 Both were senators during the administrations of five presidents, from Eisenhower to Ford. "It's not exaggerated, this extra bit of power," Sen. Moss contends. "Each senator has one vote, but a committee chairman controls the flow of legislation referred to him He can use his power without being checked, if hes a mind to. He can sidetrack bills or study them to death On the positive side, he can schedule quick hearings at the right time to move things along The former senator, in the major- - The Public Forum No Representation With all the problems the serviceman has, why should this latest indignity be heaped upon them? I am referring to Rep. James Hansen being posted to the Armed Services Committee. I cannot think of a worse choice I have yet to meet the serviceman who has received any answers to any letters written to him I gave up writing to Hansen a long time ago. I also have not heard of him helping any union problems I am curious as to who he represents? I sincerely hope we elect Gunn McKay, he was a person, who, if he disagreed with you. gave you the courtesy of an answer. To reiterate, who does James Hansen representJACK E. BINKERD SMSGT USAFRet - I orum Rule: Public Forum letters must be submitted exclusively to The Tribune and bear writers full name, signature and address. Names must be printed on political letters but may be withheld for good reason on others. Writers are limited to one letter every 10 days. Preference will be given to short, typewritten (double spaced) letters permitting use of the writers true name. All letters are subject to condensation. Mail to the Public Forum, The Salt Lake Tribune, P.O. Box 867, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110. Ted Cannon almost caused me to lose my lunch when I saw him on television casually explaining the sexual harassment charges against him to the guys from the media "Sure I flirtheh. heh ed with her I've alMost of ways joked with our girls . them don't care " Can a man who refers to the women he works with as "our girls' even begin to comprehend what sexual harassment means' I wonder how-olthe "girls" would have to get before they earned the dignity of being called women And who, besides himof our girls"' Does self, is Cannon think of himself as a boy. and whose boy is he0 Of course, 'girls" arent the same he doesn't have to treat them the way he'd want to be treated But try this on for size You're a young man working for a living You need the money You work for a verv powerful, overweight, overbearing woman in her 50s or 60s How would Ted feel if she referred to him and the other men working under her as ' our one-wa- old-lin- y farm-chemic- weed-killin- g al Pick an island. flirting" with her? A little sex play in the office never hurt anyone, so be a good boy and play along No harm done, right Ted? my island Heh, heh, heh. CONNIE BLAINE Proud to Sen e controversy-regardin- the county attorney and a few employees is, of course, disheartening to those of us who work in the Salt Lake County Attorney's Office Regardless of the findings of the county's investigative panel or the grand jury, a negative shadow has been cast over the entire office. This is unfortunate The Salt Lake County Attorney's office is made up of more than 120 attorneys and support staff who maintain the highest ethical standards. Most people who work here do so because they enjoy working for the public interest. They enjoy living up to the high ethical standards expected of government attorneys and staff Despite the discouraging nature of recent developments there are a lot of people working hard to see that the county receives legal services of the highest professional quality I am proud to be associated with the dedicated public servants who make up the vast majority of the Salt Lake County Attorney's Office. PAUL W B05 DEN Sobering; Thought Be a Good Boy dents are discovering that the pesti cides and fertilizers upon which modern farming relies are more resilient and enduring and hazardous -than almost anyone suspected Tests of drinking-wate- r supplies in the towns and on the farms increasingly reveal traces of toxic pesticides and higher and higher concentrations of nitrates from fertilizers What's worse, unlike polluted rivers, which have a certain capacity to cleanse themselves, groundwater may not move a foot in a year's time. The supreme worry is that once groundwater is contaminated it is very difficult to decontaminate It is street invariably a kind of We seem to be moving down that street rather rapidly. Last spring 319 citizens of a farm town in northwest Iowa received the unwelcome news that their public water well contained traces of five chemicals Aatrex, Bladex, Sencor, Dial and Lasso along with a little of the insect-killincompound Counter In a well serving a nearby community, five farm chemicals were found. By summer, officials and specialists concluded that one quarter of the wells in the area are contaminated by nitrates or pesticides or both Seventeen different agricultural pesticides and herbicides now have been detected in the groundwater of 23 states, and the list of hazards is expanding all the time. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rather belatedly has labeled Lasso a probable human carcinogen. Studies have linked Bladex to birth defects after some laboratory animals ex, ased to the product were born without eyes - and assumed he would (or boys should) be flattered and delighted to be coerced and intimidated into The recent flurry of come from many sources, including animal manures and human sewage-disposa- l systems In wide areas, nitrate contamination has gone up 10 times, reflecting a tenfold increase in use of nitrogen I hvsicians have known for years that high nitrate levels in water can kill infants bv inducing a reaction that rohs a baby s brain of nitrogen For this reason nitrates in a concentration of more than 45 parts per million are considered dangerous for infants That level is now frequently exceeded, particularly in the wells used by farmers Farm wells tend to be closer to the land surface and thus more susceptible to contamination As public concern grows over the possibly irreversible contamination of groundwater the makers of farm chemicals are beginning to realize they have a problem After several years of negotiating the manufacturers have compromised with environmental groups on accelerated health testing of pesticides and agreed to pay some of the costs Meanwhile they have gone on a public relations offensive to salvage as much business e as they can for their product currently under suspicion. The Bottom Line, a publication of the Dow Chemical Company, contains an article on groundwater, following the industry's standard line. The publication said that one part per billion is a very little bit of anything, that were it not for the newly discovered analytical technology no one would even know if there were parts per billion of pesticides in the water. The EPA has adopted a typically ineffectual approach to the problem. The agency's new Office of Drinking Water, making its initial stab at determining supposedly safe levels of pesticides in public water supplies, level proposed a for weed killer Lasso Congress gave the Office of Drinking Water a mandate to strive for a philosophical ideal of purity. The Office of Pesticide Programs is doing a better job in establishing economic benefit in killing weeds and insects. Iowa. Register Such illusions are rapidly wilting From the potato fields of Long Island to the orchards of California, resi- and Space Sciences Committee, and also chaired a few subcommittees of the Commerce Committee His fellow Utahn, Wallace Bennett, was, except for two years immediately after being first elected, part of the minority party during four Senate terms And he was such a newcomer in that relatively brief initial period he didn't have the seniority to lead a committee Although he became an influential conservative because of his longtime role on the Finance Committee, there still was that something extra missed had he been majority chairman "Because the chairman decides what to take up, he controls the tone of legislation the political attitude, Sen Bennett observed He appoints all the majority party staff, and in these complicated times, it is the staff experts who shape the details of legislation Depending on the chairman, he can leave the minority out in the cold, although maybe not that crudely." It's a high stakes election not only for the Utah senators, but for those from surrounding Western states who have basked in a share of power represented in the Reagan years Sen Fete Domemci of New Mexico and Sen James A McClure of Idaho are committee chairmen as well. Senators from states west of the Mississippi River to the Pacific Coast are chairmen of half of the Senate's 16 standing committees. Just as a baseball team looks at the score board to see how rivals are doing elsewhere, Utahns will want to check nationwide election returns Nov 4 to see if Western states Republican influence remains big or little league. Tribune Readers Opinions genic 1 hen add nitrates to the concoction that is the groundwater Nitrates can Fru-blin- lty party all his Senate years, rose to chairman of the former Aeronautical Douglas L. And in April 1986 the EIA informed health authorities that Aatrex, after having been on the market for 27 years, earning millions of dollars for the manufacturer ma'1 be carcino- A woman was injured by a drunken. uninsured driver resulting in per- manent injuries According to The Tribune, Sept 24. her expenses exceeded $20,000 She was awarded $25,000 by the Utah DUI Victim Restitution Board A woman was injured by a sober, uninsured driver resulting in injuries so severe that she will never walk again Her expenses, so far, have exceeded $21,000 and are still mounting She is entitled to an award of nothing One of the drivers was drunk, the other sober Ironic, isn't it. that a state so predominately Mormon secs fit to subsidize the drunken driver to the tune of $25,000 while nothing is to be awarded to the victim of a sober motorist'1 The moral of the story is clear If you choose to drink and drive cancel your insurance and go have a ball If you should happen to have an accident just be sure you are drunk When you sober up, call and inform the U'ah DUI Restitution Board so that they can pick up the tab ROBERT ROLLER Kavsville For one low fare. Hawaii Mam, Kauai Oahu oi Hawaii Big tin Island IVkanv one Ihevreeaeh .ours tor the same low Ian. onlv S Ws round trip But theres nuu h more to the triendiv skies than iust low tares United s the onlv airline that otters dneet serv ice trom the Mainland to all tour maior islands ith more (lights trom the Mainland more often than am other airline And onlv United otters Roval I lawanan Seiv ici That s noth mg new though United s hem serving Hawaii tor almost 40 ve.us now It's on little conn t ot the world I all v out 1 tav c Age nt ( )t call United Airlines at Us sn t m Onus 1 lit. s - i el Cl tHlJuii'lls C t si UK 8 -i ft s Mill j'J ll t V.H' in 1m. ik ,1 un i f t .is ll.t t,i i:tss,.hi u i p A IX S I ila J v, ii A i, h -i t J J'l.it Mi t ci I'l.i ,s( , e K ' Vs ' |
