January 25, 1979

Tires of 49 tow trucks are slashed at NYC Police Dept car pound on Hudson River pier; illus (M)

Current scene on island; residents comment; illus (L)

Power Auth of NYS, at urging of Gov Carey and Mayor Koch, is trying to find site in S Bronx where it could construct 700-megawatt power station; coal and garbage-fired plant, which would provide about 18% of Con Ed's avg daily elec load, will take place of power station Power Auth had hoped to build at Arthur Kill on Staten Island; auth exec dir George T Berry and chmn Frederick R Clark comment; officials of Power Auth, PUC and NYS Energy Office expect that in long run this could save Con Edison customers in NYC and Westchester County considerable sums; auth spokesman Cliff Spieler and Deputy Mayor in charge of exec development Peter J Solomon and PSC chmn Charles Zielinski comment (M)

Finance Min repts record $18.3-billion trade surplus for '78; exports surged to record $97.6 billion; imports rose 12% to $79.3 billion; graph (M)

Laurie Koehler, legally blind hs student, wins honors in annual Westinghouse Science Talent Search for research project on vision tests administered to mentally retarded; uses flashcards containing such individual symbols as a house, apple or other common item; illus (M)