News in Brief

State

Mayor outlines goals for city water use reduction

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Mayor Martin Chavez would like the city to cut water consumption by 40 percent but he says that would mean everyone in Albuquerque cutting their use by 53 gallons a day.

The city's current water conservation goal is 30 percent. Chavez said he will hold public meetings this summer before deciding whether to raise the bar.

The 30 percent goal was established seven years ago during Chavez's first administration. Average daily per-person water use has dropped 23 percent since then.

Right now, the average daily water use in the city is about 203 gallons per person per day.

Under the 30 percent goal, that would drop to 175 gallons per person per day by 2004. Under the 40 percent goal, the average would drop at some unspecified time to 150 gallons per day - which Chavez said is the current per-capita use in Santa Fe, Tucson, Ariz.; and El Paso, Texas.

Chavez said the progress toward reducing water use has been impressive, but there is increasing pressure on New Mexico's limited water supply, particularly on the Pecos River and Rio Grande.

He said he prefers voluntary rather than mandatory reductions, but "the strategies that are getting us to 175 gallons per person might not get us to 150 gallons."

Legislature, governor close to passing budget

SANTA FE (AP) - Legislative leaders said Thursday they and Gov. Gary Johnson are "very close" on a budget compromise and there could be a special session next month.

They made the comments after meeting with Johnson to get his reaction to budget proposals from a bipartisan legislative committee, which they had given him last week.

"The governor seemed to like the work the group did," said House Speaker Ben Lujan, D-Santa Fe. "He's got some recommendations."

The governor's counterproposal will be discussed April 29 by the budget committee, the lawmakers said.

"We're close. Awfully close . . . There's just a couple of areas we need to iron out," said Senate President Pro Tempore Richard Romero, D-Albuquerque.

"There are some things I think can be worked on," said Senate Republican Leader Stuart Ingle of Portales.

The state does not have a spending plan for the budget year that begins July 1 because the Republican governor and the Democrat-controlled Legislature could not reach agreement during the 30-day session that ended Feb. 14.

Johnson vetoed two $3.9 billion budget packages lawmakers sent him, and said if no other deal was reached, he was prepared to try to run state government without a new budget - which Democrats dispute his authority to do.

New projections for next year's revenue should be ready by mid-May. Assuming they are no worse than earlier estimates - which said New Mexico would have only $8 million in "new money" to spend - a special session could be held shortly thereafter, the lawmakers said.

"I think that it's important that we have an opportunity to get some kind of idea where revenues seem to be headed" before a special session is held, Lujan said.

Lawmakers want to resolve the budget impasse before the June 4 primary election. All House seats are up for election this year. Senators don't run again until 2004, although a few of them are seeking higher office this year - including Romero, who is a candidate for Congress in District 1.

"I think people, as they're out campaigning, hate to get asked the question, 'When are you going to get the budget done?'" Lujan said.

Ingle said the ongoing negotiations leave him certain a spending plan will be in place before July 1.

"There's always a chance of a dance while the music's playing," he said.

Report: LANL behind on plutonium fuel project

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) - Los Alamos National Laboratory might be lagging in its effort to build plutonium pits, which fuel nuclear weapons, a federal report says.

The lab is behind schedule in about half the things it needs to do to make the grapefruit-sized metal balls, says the report prepared by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Inspector General.

The report, released this week, cites bad management and planning that relied on a problematic computer program.

Progress has been made since the report was prepared, said Everet Beckner, the DOE's deputy administrator for defense programs.

The lab is now only behind in 14 of the 40 manufacturing processes needed to make the pits, he said.

And many of the mistakes outlined in the report have been fixed, Beckner said.

The United States has not built new, weapons-grade pits in more than 10 years. The DOE made the Los Alamos lab responsible for making new pits seven years ago.

The lab has made pits, but they have not been certified, or guaranteed to work as good as the old ones.

Only certified pits can be placed in nuclear weapons. A pit is squeezed by high explosives. The pit then explodes in a fusion blast.

The lab is on track to make a certifiable pit by next year, but one will not be ready for a few more years, according to a schedule developed by the DOE and the lab.

The report says it will cost $1.7 billion to prepare the first pit.

Chris Paine, of the Natural Resources Defense Council, questioned how the lab had failed to make a certified pit, especially given how much money the lab has spent.

"I think it's ridiculous," he said. "You spend a billion dollars over a decade and you say you can't certify a pit. You're either incompetent or you're lying."

National

Elimination of TV show credits rankles industry

NEW YORK (AP) - A television industry trade group is speaking out against the disappearance of credits at the end of TV shows.

The listings that traditionally conclude shows have been sped up and shrunken over the past decade to where they are frequently illegible, and now the 11 Discovery-owned cable channels plan to eliminate them entirely.

But the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences board voted unanimously Wednesday night to urge networks not to get rid of them.

"I think people want to stand up for the right to be credited for the work that they do," academy Chairman Bryce Zabel said. "That's been a historic right in Hollywood and the entertainment industry."

Discovery Communications, whose cable channels include Discovery, the Travel Channel, TLC, Animal Planet and BBC America, said it is likely to eliminate end credits within the next month. Discovery says it will direct viewers who want to see them to a Web site.

Discovery, and other networks that have de-emphasized credits, said viewers aren't interested and see them as an excuse to change the channel.

Discovery representatives had no immediate comment Thursday on the ATAS action.

The board's vote, 38-0 with four abstentions, carries no force of law. Zabel said it was like a U.N. resolution.

"We want people to know that they should not do this lightly," he said. "This is an industry-wide issue and it affects all of us. If there ever was a topic that demanded industry-wide dialogue, this is it."

Producers, directors, writers and other professionals say they depend on credit listings to help them get future work, as well as the satisfaction of being recognized.

There is also a concern that other networks are watching the Discovery plans closely and may do something similar.

Red Cross warehouse bombing not a violation

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. airstrikes on a Red Cross warehouse in Afghanistan last October did not violate the international Law of Armed Conflict, the U.S. war commander announced Thursday.

Gen. Tommy Franks, commander of U.S. Central Command, investigated two U.S. attacks on the warehouse compound in Kabul, the Afghan capital. The first, on Oct. 16, happened because Taliban fighters were believed to be using the facility and the International Committee of the Red Cross had not informed Central Command that it maintained a warehouse at that location, Franks said.

Also, the facility was not marked to give sufficient visual notice of the Red Cross presence, he said.

In a brief summary of Central Command's investigation, Franks said that when it was discovered after the airstrike that the warehouse was used by the Red Cross, it was removed from Central Command's list of approved targets. But it was not placed on the command's "no strike" list, he said.

Even though the warehouse was removed from the approved target list and new safeguards were implemented to minimize the chance of such mistaken attacks, the warehouse was bombed by U.S. aircraft again Oct. 26.

Franks' summary made no mention of why the target was struck the second time, but it said the investigators concluded there was insufficient evidence to sustain a finding of a Law of Armed Conflict violation.

Even so, the Oct. 26 incident met the criteria under Defense Department rules as a "reportable incident," Franks said. As a result, Franks on Nov. 30 forwarded the results of his inquiry to Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper in the Pentagon "for such action as he deemed appropriate."

An Air Force spokeswoman, Maj. Cheryl Law, said Jumper reviewed the report and decided to take no action. Law said the Air Force worked with Central Command to improve targeting procedures.

There have been a number of news reports in recent weeks quoting unidentified Pentagon officials saying the target was hit the second time because an Air Force commander believed he had authority to re-strike partially damaged targets even if they were no longer on approved target lists.

Polaroid agrees to sell its assets to Bank One Corp.

BOSTON (AP) - Polaroid Corp., the bankrupt instant camera and film maker, said Thursday it has agreed to sell most of its assets to Bank One Corp. for $265 million.

Polaroid reached a sales agreement with One Equity Partners, the private equity arm of the nation's sixth-biggest financial institution.

Polaroid said the sale could allow the company to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Bank One spokesman Tom Kelly declined to comment on any plans for Polaroid should the sale be approved by bankruptcy court.

Ulysses Yannas, an analyst with Buckman, Buckman & Reid, said Polaroid would likely continue to operate because its core business and brand remain strong despite the company's financial problems.

"It was never a question of Polaroid disappearing," Yannas said.

A hearing is scheduled for May 6 to set an auction date for the assets, which include all domestic businesses and the common stock of the company's foreign subsidiaries. Once the auction takes place, and no bidders come forward with a higher price, the deal could close between four to six weeks, said Polaroid spokesman Skip Colcord.

Polaroid, the creation of scientist Edwin Land that delighted generations with its instant cameras and film, faced nearly $1 billion in debts when it filed for bankruptcy in October.

Polaroid said it is likely stockholders will be left with nothing.

International

More U.S. troops off to aid Philippine military

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - The United States is sending 2,700 more troops to the Philippines for a joint military exercise aimed at helping the Southeast Asian country improve its defenses and its readiness for U.N. peacekeeping missions, the Philippine military said Thursday.

The latest batch of troops comes on the heels of a 660-strong American military contingent, which began arriving in the southern Philippines in January to train Filipino soldiers to fight against a Muslim militant group thought linked to the al-Qaida terror network.

The new, three-week exercise begins Sunday on Luzon Island, in the north of the sprawling archipelago. It will involve U.S. forces based in Hawaii and in Okinawa, Japan, along with the U.S. Navy landing ship USS Fort McHenry and several American helicopters, transport planes and fighter jets. The Philippines is sending 2,900 troops, 20 aircraft and four naval vessels.

The Philippine military said in the statement the latest exercise will enhance its pilots' night-flying and search-and-rescue skills, while army troops will gain command skills and experience in helicopter operations, field artillery firing and other areas.

In the southern exercise, U.S. troops are helping the Philippine army against the Islamic militant group Abu Sayyaf, which has been holding an American missionary couple and a Filipino nurse as hostages for more than 10 months.

In the north, potential danger comes from communist rebels, who have threatened to "inflict severe casualties" on any Americans venturing into their area of operations.

The New People's Army, or NPA - the armed wing of the Maoist Communist Party of the Philippines - claims it and a Muslim separatist group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, will be the next targets of the expanded U.S. war on terrorism after the Abu Sayyaf. Philippine defense officials have repeatedly denied the claim.

The Philippine government and the communist rebels opened peace negotiations last year, but President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered a suspension after guerrillas assassinated a former congressman. Informal contacts continue between negotiators from both sides.

Singapore unveils new weapons storage facility

SINGAPORE (AP) - International ammunition-storage experts visiting this island nation got their first glimpse Thursday of Singapore's new underground facility for storing bombs, missiles and bullets.

The complex of granite caverns, which cost $20 million to excavate, was blasted out of granite between August 1999 and July 2001.

Singapore's Defense Science and Technology Agency is installing the mechanical and electrical infrastructure needed to make the facility operational by 2004, said Lim Chee Hiong, deputy director of technology for the agency.

Singapore sits on an island smaller than Manhattan - with only 251 square miles for its 4 million inhabitants - but has a sophisticated military arsenal.

The underground caverns will be given a polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, skin to help maintain a cool, low humidity environment for the sensitive storage, said Lim.

Officials are hosting several dozen delegates for a series of defense seminars.

Many of them were collaborative partners in the planning stages of the underground facility and were seeing the site Thursday for the first time, said Sharon Liew, a spokeswoman for the defense agency.

Hailing from the United States, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway and the United Kingdom, they were taken to a cavern outfitted for visitors with air conditioning, toilets, multimedia displays and a basketball court.

The court, along the back wall of the long tunnel, was erected in part to help show the scale of the site, said Liew.

Design testing for the caverns was done overseas, in Northern Sweden, Lim said.

Singapore's Air Force also often trains in the United States, as jet airplanes flash across its air space in minutes.

Last year, Singapore exploded 10-tons of explosives in a specially constructed model tunnel near Alvdalen, Sweden, said Lim.

Col. Peter Johansen of the Swedish Armed Forces, a visiting delegate and organizer of last year's blast, said the arrangement served both Singapore and Sweden well.

"Singapore put lots of money into the tunnel," said Johansen, referring to the Alvdalen site. "And when they are done testing we get to keep the tunnel."