December 18, 1977

Ann and Michael Coburn are ordained as Episc priests, St James' Ch, Danbury, Conn; are 1st married couple in US to be ordained together into priesthood; vows are administered by Mass Bishop John B Coburn, Michael Coburn's father; Mrs Coburn is 90th woman to be admitted into priesthood and 1st woman ordained in Conn; Rev Willaim D Lording scores Mrs Coburn's ordination; Rev Dr F Graham Luckenbill comments; Elizabeth Ann Habecker is ordained, St Luke's Cathedral, Portland, Maine; is 1st woman admitted to priesthood in Maine; illus of Coburns (M)

Conn, supported by Mass, asks Fed Energy Regulatory Comm for some of cheap hydropower now sold by NYS to Vt and Penna; Fed Redevelopment Act of '57, which permitted construction of hydropower plant at Niagara, requires NYS Power Auth to set aside reasonable portion of output for use within reasonable econ trasmission distance in neighboring states; Vt and Allegheny Elec Cooperative of Pa, an assn of 13 rural cooperatives in Penna and NJ, have so far been only out-of-state purchasers, taking about 7% of Niagara output; auth recently rejected applications for part of that power filed by Conn, Mass, Ohio and Boro of Lansdale, Pa, on grounds that reallocating power would hurt Allegheny and Vt more than it would benefit new applicants; comm is not expected to rule on Conn complaints until after Gov Carey decides whether or not to approve contract extension for Vt and Allegheny; Robert Sussler, atty for Conn Munic Elec Energy Cooperative, which made appeal on behalf of Conn, and John W Boston, dir of power operations for auth, comment (M)

Cong leaders and pol scholars call 1st session of 95th Cong moderately productive; summary of some legis developments during session in areas of econ, housing, energy, foreign affairs, natl defense, labor, consumers, environment, soc policy and agr; pors of Sen Majority Leader Byrd and HR Speaker O'Neill (M)

F Lewis analyzes vital role US plays in Israeli-Arab peace talks and will play in finalizing settlement terms; cites Sadat view that Washington holds ‘99% of cards’ and Begin's taking peace proposals to Washington before telling Egypt or own people (L)

Amer families increasingly are raising cash by borrowing against enormous appreciation in mkt value of their homes; in 2d qr of '77 mkt value of nation's entire stock of single-family, owner-occupied homes was increasing at annual rate of $62.2-billion; in same period net new mortgages written on that housing stock were growing at $60.2-billion annual rate; graph shows net growth of borrowing on home mortgages from 4th qr of '74 to 2d 1/2 of '77; illus (L)