May 23, 1996

China's Dying Yellow River

In an effort to head off a policy change proposed by the Clinton Administration, United States Senators Bill Bradley and Frank Lautenberg, both Democrats, introduced a bill yesterday that would require the Army Corps of Engineers to continue to carry out beach restoration work, giving priority to projects that previously received Federal funds. The Administration has been trying to phase out Federal involvement in beach replenishment projects, on the theory that states should use revenue from tourism to pay for the work, said Carol Sanders, a spokeswoman for the Corps. Critics have said the projects are a waste of money and environmentally unsound. A restoration project that could cost as much as $1.7 billion is under way on the New Jersey coast.

The Whitman administration's latest proposal for financing schools does not comply with a State Supreme Court order aimed at achieving parity between New Jersey's richest and poorest districts, the Educational Law Center contended in documents filed with the court yesterday. The center said the formula announced last week, which would allot up to $8,285 per student per district and require voters to approve any additional spending, would "operate as a ceiling for poor districts, while wealthier districts can more readily use the local option to support their educational program."

In a political retreat, House Republicans have canceled a vote set for Thursday on a bill demanding a national anti-missile defense -- an important element of Bob Dole's Presidential campaign -- after the Congressional Budget Office said the system could cost $60 billion, 12 times what the Republicans had said. The nonpartisan budget office's estimate could make the anti-missile measure a booby trap for Mr. Dole, its sponsor in the Senate, and a political weapon for President Clinton.

New York City public schools, which serve some 130 million meals a year to children, keep their cafeterias about as safe and clean as restaurant kitchens, the city's Department of Health said yesterday. "What we found was pretty comparable to what we see in restaurants," a department spokesman said. A nine-month inspection by the Health Department covering 1,047 school cafeterias in all five boroughs was prompted by allegations a year ago that rancid beef, turkey and chicken had been delivered to some cafeterias. A spokesman for Schools Chancellor Rudy Crew said the findings show that most schools were doing a good job. Article, page B3.