8A • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
WEDNESDAY,OCT.31,2001
FEATURING...
Great Menu 'till
1 a.m. Every Day
ALL Major TV Sports Packages on 40 TV's
Dart Boards
Pool Tables
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TUE. • HALF PRICE BURGERS 5PM-1AM
(WITH DRINK PURCHASE)
• $300 BIGGIN'S SIZE BUD LIGHT
• 10PM-1AM KARAOKE
MON. • $3⁰⁰ BIGGIN'S SIZE SHINERBOCK
• OB1 TOURNAMENT
and we NEVER charge a cover
WED. 2 FOR 1 ON MOST DRINKS
THUR. . $300 PREMIUM DRAFT BEERS
. $350 FROZEN MARGARITAS
FRI. $4^{75} BIGGIN'S SIZE
MARGARITAS ON THE ROCKS
SAT. • $3⁰ᵀ CORONAS
• 10PM-1AM KARAOKE
SUN. $300 BIGGIN'S SIZE LABATTS DRAWS
--girl is tallest.
The checks from this year's big tax cut came back to the IRS in most cases because they could not be mailed to the proper taxpayer. That occurs commonly when taxpayers move to a new address or change last names, frequently due to marriage.
Open Daily 11a.m.-2a.m., Just West of Kasold at
3512 Clinton Parkway （1 mile west of Iowa on 23rd Street ）
[ 1 mile west of Iowa on 23rd Street ]
Rebate checks can still be claimed after address corrections are made
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Almost 300,000 tax rebate checks worth an average of $322 apiece are languishing at the Internal Revenue Service, waiting for taxpayers to claim them. Checks were returned undelivered from all 50 states and the territories of Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
IRS Commissioner Charles Rossotti said yesterday that taxpayers who do not claim their checks by Dec. 5 will have to wait for the money until they file their 2001 income tax returns next year.
we'll send the check on its way."
"All we need is a good address," Rossotti said. "As soon as we get the correct address.
The 295,000 rebate checks are worth about $95 million. They represent only a fraction of 1 percent of the 85 million rebate checks mailed out as part of the 10-year, $1.35 trillion tax cut signed into law in June by President Bush.
The checks of up to $300 for individuals, $500 for heads of households and $600 for married couples represented this year's payment for a new 10 percent income tax bracket created by the law.
Congress may direct the IRS to mail out a second batch of checks as part of pending legislation intended to stimulate the economy. If approved, those checks would most likely go to people whose incomes were too low to qualify for the first round and those who didn't get the full amount initially.
amount military.
Some of the undelivered rebate checks appeared intended for American soldiers.
The ZIP code with the most
returned refund checks — 379 — was at Camp Pendleton in California. The IRS also listed 188 returned checks from the Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune, N.C., 175 from Fort Campbell Army base in Kentucky and 156 from Fort Hood, Texas.
California had the most returned checks, at 38,929 followed by Texas with 25,710 Florida with 24,975 and New York with 15,734. There are more than 21,000 cities on the list, with Chicago having the most returned checks at 4,401.
The IRS interprets a 1950s-era federal law as prohibiting the agency from posting a list of names on its Internet site. The list can be posted privately.
Aside from the Internet, people who believe they are due a check can call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. Taxpayers can also notify the IRS about a new address by filing Form 8822, which can be downloaded from the agency's Internet Web site.
Founder's great-grandson takes reins at Ford Motors
The Associated Press
DEARBORN, Mich. — Ford Motor Co. chairman William Clay Ford Jr. took over as chief executive of the struggling automaker yesterday after the ouster of Jacques Nasser, becoming the first Ford in 22 years to run day-to-day operations.
"We've been given an amazing legacy, and we're going to build an even better one," said the 44-year-old great-grandson of Henry Ford.
Nasser's fate had been the subject of widespread speculation as the world's second-largest automaker lost sales amid the Firestone tire debacle and questions about the quality of its vehicles.
Ford complimented his predecessor, saying Nasser "made many significant contributions to our business operations around the world, and we all appreciate his dedication." He said the job "is not something I sought, but
something the board thought was necessary."
automaker.
But last year, Ford was shaken by the news that people were dying in accidents when the treads separated from Firestone tires, most of which were installed on Ford Explorers. Federal authorities say there is no evidence the Explorer's design was at fault, but the automaker has reportedly spent millions to settle more than 100 Firestone-related lawsuits.
was necessary.
Nasser, 53, earned the moniker "Jac the Knife" for his prodigious cost-cutting. He took over as CEO in 1999 when Ford was poised to overtake General Motors as the world's top automaker.
Nasser resigned Mondayafternoon during a meeting with Ford.
"This seemed to be the right time," Ford said. "Outside events like Firestone weighed heavily on management distraction."
The management shake-up includes the elevation of North American group vice president Nick Scheele to chief operating officer. Known as "Mr. Fixit," Scheele was brought in last July in the first sign that Nasser's job was on the line.
Ford's market share is down, slipping during the first nine months of 2001 to 22.6 percent from 22.8 percent a year ago.
Sales of Ford vehicles through September were down 11 percent from the first nine months of 2000, a record sales year for the industry. In the third quarter of 2001, Ford lost $692 million after earning $888 million a year earlier.
Looking for ways to save money, Ford announced in August it would cut 4,000 to 5,000 salaried positions by the end of the year through voluntary buyouts or early retirement packages. More restructuring moves are expected.
Court to review affirmative action
The Associated Press
DENVER — A white contractor who lost a highway guardrail job to a Hispanic-owned company 12 years ago is making his third trip to the U.S. Supreme Court in a battle to roll back minority preferences in the awarding of government contracts.
Randy Pech, owner of Adarand Constructors Inc. in Colorado Springs, Colo., won a major victory in 1995 when the Court ruled that the federal government must follow strict rules justifying special treatment for minorities when it awarded construction contracts.
Congress then established a new program that eliminated quotas and bonuses to contractors who hire minority subcontractors. It requires minority contractors to sign notarized statements swearing they have been discriminated against in the past and bars people with a net worth of $750,000 or higher from participating in this affirmative action program.
Pech's attorneys will argue before the court today that the government has yet to prove that special treatment for minority contractors is needed.
If the court rules the program unconstitutional, it could call into question other federal affirmative action programs, said Mark Rahdert, associate dean of Temple University's law school. It also could provide insight into the court's thinking on affirmative action cases involving college admissions, he said.
Marisa Demayo, regional counsel for the Mexican-Ameri
can Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said the construction-contract program had already been scaled back enough.
"Without the program, women- and minority-owned businesses really will lose the little chance they have now," she said.
said.
Pech sued the government in 1990 after his company's low bid to erect a five-mile guardrail in Colorado was rejected. The Transportation Department's program at the time gave bonuses to contractors if at least 10 percent of their subcontracts went to disadvantaged enterprises. At the time, all four of Adarand's competitors benefited from the program.
Full moon adds fear to fright night
The Associated Press
MIAMI — For the first time in 46 years, this year's Halloween ghosts and goblins can trick or treat by the light of a full moon. They won't get another chance until 2020, astronomers said.
Wednesday night's full moon will look like an orange jack-o'lantern rising from the east at dusk, said Jack Horkheimer, executive director of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium.
It will appear orange at the horizon because it is seen through denser layers of the earth's atmosphere. Adding to the effect, the moon's tilt at this time of the year makes the "man in the moon" particularly visible.
Some astronomers believe
Gaster series To make the superstitious even more jittery, a constellation associated with the some end-of-the-world beliefs will also be at the top of the night's sky.
jack-o-lantern carving was inspired by the rising, orange October moon, said Horkheimer, writer and host of PBS's nationally syndicated Star Gazer series for 25 years.
Saints Day, 1067 According to myth, the Seven Sisters constellation is at its highest point in the sky during a great calamity, possibly the biblical
The Seven Sisters constellation, which looks like a small cluster of grapes, has long been a signal for the time of year to honor the dead — such as All Saints Day, Nov. 1.
flood or the sinking of Atlantis. The Aztees and Mayans believed it would be overhead at midnight on the night the world comes to an end, Horkheimer said.
The Seven Sisters and the full moon will both be directly overhead at midnight, he said.
"It's just very nifty because it will be a very bright full moon and when it's up high like that, it will just flood the landscape with a lovely bright light," said Horkheimer.
Technically, the moment the moon will be at its fullest is 12:41 a.m. EST tomorrow, but the moon will look virtually full when trick or treaters are out in force tonight.