2A
The Inside Front
Wednesday March 11,1998
News
from campus, the state, the nation and the world
The Virginia Inn Motel and Beeper Depot both were robbed Saturday by suspects with similar descriptions.
On CAMPUS:
The third gunshot in eight days was reported in the area of Sixth and Mississippi streets Monday.
In the WORLD:
A new format and shorter acts await audiences of the 49th annual Rock Chalk Revue.
Federal regulators are looking at whether WorldCom's proposed takeover of MCI Communications would drive up prices of Internet and long-distance services.
■ Israeli soldiers opened fire yesterday on a van carrying Palestinian workers at a West Bank roadblock.
Two local establishments robbed by similar suspects
Armed robberies occurred at two Lawrence businesses Saturday, Lawrence police said.
The Virginia Inn Hotel, 2907 West Sixth St., and Beeper Depot, 2540 Iowa St., both were robbed by suspects with similar descriptions, said Sgt. George Wheeler.
The Virginia Inn Motel was robbed at 7:50 a.m. by a 5-foot-8 man wearing a dark sweatshirt and stocking cap, Wheeler said. This is the second time the motel has been robbed this year, he said.
The suspect entered the motel's lobby and asked the clerk, a 28-year-old Lawrence woman, for a room.
The suspect then drew a knife and demanded that the clerk give him the money in the register, he said.
"The subject jumped on the counter and took the money out himself," Wheeler said.
Wheeler said that police thought the suspect entered and fled the scene on foot. He left the motel with an undetermined amount of money, Wheeler said. No one was hurt in the robbery.
A Beeper Depot employee who was work ing when the store was robbed said the holdup occurred about 2 p.m.
Wheeler said that a man with the same description as the suspect in the motel robber entered the store on foot, displayed a knife and demanded money from the register.
No one was injured in the second robbery, and the suspect left the store on foot with an undetermined amount of money.
Wheeler said that he could not give details of the knives used in the holdups and that police had taken note of the similarities in the robberies.
"We don't know if they're related," he said, "but we're looking at it. It's kind of unusual to have two similar robberies in the same day."
—Ronnie Wachter
Gunfire reported again in recent trouble spot
Another gunshot was reported Monday night in the vicinity of Sixth and Mississippi streets, bringing the total number of reports in that area to three in eight days. Lawrence police said.
Sgt. George Wheeler said police received a gunshot report at 11:25 p.m. from an area resident.
"Officers responded to the call, and the party said they heard a loud bang." Wheeler said. "They weren't exactly sure if it was a gun being discharged or not."
Police investigated the area and found no evidence of a gun being fired.
"Unless we can find an explanation for the noise, such as a transformer blowing out or a car backfiring, we classify that as a possible gunshot," Wheeler said.
The neighborhood has been the site of several reports of gunfire this month, Wheeler said. About 10 p.m. March 2, several gunshots were fired into Pinckney Elementary School, 810 W. Sixth St.
About 1 a.m. March 4, four gunshots were heard in the 500 block of Mississippi Street. Wheeler said.
Shots also were heard between 3:24 and 3:25 p.m. Sunday in the 400 block of North Street, he said.
"A resident said he heard two consecutive shots, then a third a moment later," Wheeler said. "He said the shots came from the northwest corner of the block."
Officers inspected the area, and found no evidence of gunfire. It was the first report recently filed in that area, Wheeler said.
Ronnie Wachter
Rock Chalk acts gearing up for newly formatted show
The 49th annual production of Rock Chalk Reve is set to open tomorrow night.
This year the revue will use a shorter format, strictly enforcing 23-minute time limit and in-between acts. The shows in the past had time limits, but they weren't enforced and the shows went long, said John Laing. Rock Chalk promotions coordinator.
Laing said that the shows had done a good job following the new format and that some had even made fun of time limit, mentioning it in their acts.
Laing expects this year's revue to last about two and a half hours.
Instead of the in-between acts, Laing said that a local female a capella group, Femme, will sing for about 15 to 30 minutes before the shows open at 7 p.m.
Tickets for the Saturday show are sold out, and there are only 100 left for Friday. Thursday's show probably will not sell out, but 1,100 tickets already had been sold, Laing said.
Tickets can be purchased in the fourth floor of the Kansas Union or reserved by calling 864-4033. Any remaining tickets will be sold at the door.
Tickets cost $10 for the Thursday show and $12 for Friday.
The amount of money raised has not been announced yet, but Laing said that the reue had been doing extremely well.
*Last year book Clink Revue bonowed $30,000 and 34,000 hours of community service to the United Way of Douglas County. Corporate sponsors for this year's revue include Mercantile Bank, Sprint, Kelly Services and 105.9 The Lazer.
— Carl Kaminski
GTE Corp. and Sprint Corp., which have raised concerns about the merger, confirmed yesterday that they had received civil subpoenas from the department. Both companies provide long-distance service and operate high-capacity networks that carry Internet and other data traffic known as the Internet backbone business.
WASHINGTON — Federal regulators are taking a hard look at whether WorldCom's proposed takeover of MCI Communications would dampen competition and drive up prices of Internet and long distance services.
The $37 billion merger, the biggest in U.S. history, is being reviewed by the Department of Justice, which is collecting detailed information from the companies and their rivals.
Attorneys for GTE and Sprint said the department was seeking detailed information about the proposed merger's impact on competition and pricing in Internet and long-distance businesses. The agency currently is focusing more on Internet competition and pricing issues, attorneys said.
WorldCom's MCI merger causes pricing concerns
WorldCom and MCI have rejected their rivals' allegations that the merger would lead to higher pricing in Internet and long-distance businesses, said MCI spokesman Frank Walter.
Soldiers' shootings add to tensions in Palestine
TARKOUMIAH, West Bank — Israeli soldiers opened fire yesterday on a van carrying Palestinian workers at a West Bank roadblock, killing three passengers and wounding at least four others.
The Israeli army arrested two soldiers who fired at the van and began an investigation into the incident, which Palestinian Cabinet Secretary Ahmed Abdel Rahman called a new Israeli massacre.
An Israeli soldier was injured after what the army said was an attempt by the van to run the roadblock. However, one Palestinian passenger said the soldiers opened fire after the van accelerated to keep another car from cutting in line at the roadblock.
As news of the incident spread, angry protests erupted in the nearby town of Hebron, where dozens of Palestinians threw stones and firebombs at Israeli soldiers. Hebron, which is home to 130,000 Palestinians and 450 Jewish settlers, is one of the most volatile spots in the West Bank.
Committees to hear plan for Union fix
By Melissa Ngo and Marc Sheforgen
msheforgen@kansan.con
Kansan staff writers
The finance committee will hear a plan to renovate the Kansas Union using student fees when Student Senate committees meet at 6 p.m. today in the Kansas Union.
The plan, sponsored by the University Memorial Corporation, designates a $12 per semester addition to the student union fee to build a connection between the Union and a new parking garage to be located north of the building. The 1,000-space garage would be financed by the parking department.
Money also would be used to increase office space for student organizations.
The student union fee of $41 per semester would not increase under the new plan because $18.50 of the current fee used to pay for 1992 union renovations expires after this semester.
Art Yudelson, non-traditional senator, heard the proposal in a finance subcommittee yesterday and said he felt that more space was needed for student organizations.
"The main thing we looked at was how it would benefit students," Yudelson said.
If the plan goes into effect, the renovation fee would be paid for 12 years.
Two committees will decide whether to support the University's equal opportunity hiring practices.
Pat Matzumdar, graduate senator, is a sponsor of a petition to increase diversity on campus. The petition will go before the University Affairs and Student Rights committees tonight.
"Students care about these things," Mazudar said. "This petition will show that we are behind increasing diversity at the University by increasing minority faculty."
By passing the petition through committees, Senate would show its official support of Chancellor Robert Hemenway's goal to increase the number of minority faculty to 200 by the year 2000. And it would offer financial assistance to the Equal Opportunity Office and the Office of Minority Affairs with minority faculty recruitment.
Senate also would instruct the Student Legislative Awareness Board to lobby against state Rep. Anthony Powell or any other legislator who works to end affirmative action in state hiring.
Powell, R-Wichita, has proposed a bill that would prohibit public employers from using race or gender in hiring and employment practices.
Matt Dunbar, off-campus senator and petition sponsor, said he hoped Senate would not stop discussing campus diversity.
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"This is a nice first step to get dialogue started about increasing minority recruitment and retention after this legislation," Dumbar said.
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Today IN HISTORY
1302 - According to Shakespeare, this is Romeo and Juliet's wedding day.
1810 - Emperor Napoleon married by proxy to Archduchess Marie Louis.
1847 John Chapman 'Johnny Appleseed' died in Allen County, Ind.
1867 · Great Mauna Loa eruption (volcano in Hawaii)
1888 - Blizzard struck the northeastern United States. 400 people died.
1930 Former Press and Chief Justice William
Turf buried in Adlington.
1928 - Germany invades Austria.
1941 - President FDR signed into law the Lend-LeaseBill.
1942 - Gen. Douglas MacArthur left Bataan for Australia.
The driver's-side window of a KU student's car was smashed between midnight and 8 a.m. Sept. 20, 1997, in the 1100 block of Louisiana Street, Lawrence police said. The damage was estimated at $100.
A false alarm was triggered at 7:12 p.m. Sunday in Oliver Hall, KU public safety said.
A KU employee's yellow parking pass was stolen from his car between noon and 3 p.m. Sept. 21, 1997 in the 3100 block of Iowa Street, Lawrence police said. The permit cost the employee $70.
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