Smoke detectors must be in jet cargo holds by 2000

John Bacon; Robert Davis; Jonathan T. Lovitt ; Doug Levy

05/16/1997

USA Today

FINAL

Page 03A

The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday it will require airlines to

install smoke detectors and fire suppression systems in cargo holds of aircraft

within three years, two years sooner than carriers had promised to make the

changes. The safety effort began a year ago, after ValuJet Flight 592 exploded.

All 110 people aboard were killed. Officials say the pilots did not know the

cargo hold was ablaze until flames broke through the cabin floor.

The FAA also identified Santa Barbara Aerospace, of California, as the

maintenance firm that packaged oxygen generators carried illegally on a

Continental Airlines flight last month. The generators were banned from airline

cargo after a set burned on the fatal ValuJet flight. The firm says it is cooperating

with federal investigators.-- Robert Davis

SIMPSON CIVIL CASE: A judge ordered O.J. Simpson, accused of lacking

candor in his dealings with the family of his slain ex-wife, to produce financial

records and details of how he has used money from his pension plans. Simpson's

lawyers repeatedly lost legal arguments over disclosure of financial and personal

records to families trying to collect a $33.5 million judgment. Simpson, acquitted

of murder, was found liable by a civil jury for the June 12, 1994, slayings of his

ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman. ``He's got money coming

in, but he claims he has no knowledge of it,'' said Daniel Petrocelli, lawyer for

the Goldman family.-- Jonathan T. Lovitt

CIGARETTE LABELS: Packs of Chesterfield, Lark, Eve and L&M cigarettes,

brands of the Liggett Group, starting next week will carry warnings that

``smoking is addictive.'' The move is part of Liggett's settlement with 23 states

that are suing the tobacco industry over health risks. The company also agreed to

bankroll a fund to settle claims, turn over industry documents and comply with

new regulations. Also Thursday, Liggett said that a federal judge in West

Virginia has issued an injunction halting class action and individual suits against

Liggett.-- Doug Levy

Police group honors Jewell for heroism

Medal ceremony: Dennis Martin, president of the American Police Hall of Fame,

places the order of Michael the Archangel medal around the neck of Richard

Jewell. The former Olympic bombing suspect was honored in Miami for helping

evacuate Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park after he noticed the suspicious

package. One person died and scores were hurt in the July 27 bombing.

ARMY SERGEANT CLEARED: A military jury in Anniston, Ala., cleared Fort

McClellan Staff Sgt. Matthew Griffin of adultery, sodomy and improper conduct

charges brought by two female trainees under his command. Griffin, 36, testified

that his accusers were angry at him for counseling them about improper sexual

relationships. Proceedings begin today for Staff Sgt. David L. Norwood, charged

with indecent assault. Staff Sgt. Fenton Buchanan also faces a court-martial. The

charges came from an investigation of sexual misconduct at bases worldwide

after 11 instructors were accused of sexual misconduct at a base in Maryland.

CITADEL WOMEN: Fifty-one women have applied to become freshmen at The

Citadel this August, and 27 have been accepted and are considering attending,

the Charleston, S.C., college announced. The Citadel, after a protracted court

fight, dropped its all-male admissions policy last year and enrolled four female

cadets. Two dropped out after a semester, citing hazing and harassment.

STOP SIGN THEFT: Three people face up to 46 years in prison after being

convicted of stealing a stop sign at a Florida intersection where three teen-agers

later died in a collision with a tractor-trailer. Nissa Baillie, 21, Thomas Miller,

20, and Christopher Cole, 20, denied they uprooted the sign but acknowledged

stealing 19 other signs on a February 1996 night along rural roads 20 miles east

of Tampa. Cole testified that the group did it ``for a rush.'' All were convicted of

manslaughter and grand theft; sentencing is June 19.

ALSO THURSDAY . . .

FATAL FIRE: Investigators said the Harveys Lake, Pa., fire that killed nine

residents of the Country Manor Personal Care home began in a smoking area

outside the house. Officials revised the casualty list and said that a resident

initially thought killed in the blaze, Bill ``Fisherman Bill'' Hoffman, is in critical

condition.

GUN APPLICATION: Treasury officials are issuing a new application that

requires that gun buyers prove they have lived in the USA for 90 days. The

change is in response to the Feb. 23 shooting of seven people by Ali Abu Kamal

atop the Empire State Building in New York. He bought the gun a month after

entering the country.

PLANT BLAST: An explosion at the Hanford nuclear reservation in Richland,

Wash., ruptured a water line and blew out windows. No radiation was released,

officials said.

`Baby Richard' judge holds on to job

The Illinois Supreme Court justice who wrote the fiercely disputed Baby Richard

ruling survived an impeachment effort over his attempts to duck traffic tickets.

Justice James Heiple's behavior in repeatedly driving away from police trying to

ticket him for traffic violations was inappropriate but ``does not rise to the level

justifying impeachment,'' a state House panel said. Heiple, 63, has claimed that

he is a victim of lingering resentment over the Baby Richard ruling, the 1994

decision that took a 4-year-old boy away from his adoptive parents and gave

custody to his biological father. Heiple said afterward that he will serve out his

term, through 2000, ``with the integrity I have always given to public office.''

Contributing: Gary Fields and Bonna M. de la Cruz

PHOTO, B/W, Reuters; PHOTO, B/W,Gregory Smith, AP; PHOTO, B/W, AP