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.

In an unusual 3-to-2 split vote, the Federal Trade Commission charged today that Toys "R" Us Inc., the world's largest toy retailer, had illegally pressured manufacturers since 1989 to quit selling some of their hottest toys, ranging from Barbie dolls to G. I. Joes, through warehouse clubs that offer steep discounts. The two dissenting votes came from commissioners appointed by President George Bush and could signal some uneasiness with the agency's recent aggressive approach to enforcing antitrust laws. Toys "R" Us, based in Paramus, N.J., insisted that it did nothing wrong, and the company today accused the Government of stretching the law and vowed to vigorously contest the allegations.

The White House said today that if Congress passed a bill to deny Federal recognition to same-sex marriages, President Clinton would sign it, although such unions are not yet legal in any state. The announcement, intended to remove any potential controversy with Republicans over a divisive social issue, infuriated gay rights groups. One of the President's most prominent homosexual supporters, David B. Mixner, a California fund-raiser and old friend, called the decision "nauseating and appalling" and an "act of political cowardice." Mr. Mixner said gay rights advocates were considering waging a platform fight on the issue at the Democratic National Convention this summer.

The towering blue sign that lights up the night at Samsung Group's sprawling new industrial complex seems out of place in this gray and grubby border town. But in the months since it was erected, the 70-foot steel structure has become an unofficial landmark, at once a beacon for poor and restless Mexicans looking for work and a symbol of the free-trade forces that are siphoning manufacturing jobs from the United States.

KURT L. SCHMOKE, the Mayor of Baltimore, touched down in New York for a few hours the other night to deliver an interesting message. Unfortunately, and typically, hardly anyone was listening. The forum was a symposium at the Society for Ethical Culture on Manhattan's West Side, and the subject was drugs. Eight years ago, the Mayor of Baltimore stepped out on the limb of decriminalization, and while he has since substituted the less provocative-sounding "medicalization," he is still on his crusade.

Federal agents today began searching out and arresting representatives of two of China's state-owned arms companies on charges of smuggling 2,000 AK-47 fully automatic rifles into the United States. The action ended a 16-month sting operation that is likely to further complicate Washington's quickly deteriorating relations with Beijing. More than 90 Federal agents fanned out across the San Francisco Bay area late today to seize the $4 million in weaponry and to arrest at least eight suspects -- American citizens and Chinese visiting or living in the United States. Federal officials in Washington said the case marked the largest seizure of smuggled automatic weapons ever in the United States.

People go to the Bronx Zoo to ogle more than 4,000 treasures of the animal kingdom, including 4 polar bears, 6 elephants, a 22-foot-long python and 15 snow leopards, one of which is thought to be pregnant. But starting Saturday, the number of animals on display will increase by more than 1,000, as the zoo opens one of its quirkiest, most colorful and arguably most educational exhibits ever.

Bob Dole will make his first visit to New Jersey since he became the presumptive Republican Presidential nominee, his campaign announced yesterday.