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Dioxin Solano trounces - Continued from page Bl 0 the Delta near Antioch ppt),and tax hike farpolice,a white surf perch fromm Laururitzen Canal,a small shipping arm into San Francisco Bay in Richmond(28 ppt). If the EPA toxicity rating is drugmabuse fight ap- plied, none exceed 50 ppt and only my the sucker from the San Joaquin Riv- er,near Stockton,would be in the re- By Eric Mattson stricted category. Bee Staff Writer ELECTION '88 But Alex Kelter;chief of the Prop- osition 65 reporting branch in the Solano County voters, by a 2-1 Critics of the tax increase said state health agency, says that num- margin, just said no to a so-called Measure A — despite the cover of ber—50 ppt—may be too high,too. "war on drugs" initiative, which being a"war on drugs"—was really "It all depends on which rating would have raised the sales tax by just a bailout for Solano County. . scale FDA used," said Kelter, "If it half a cent to pay for law enforce- This year,the county made$7 mil- used ours, and it probably didn't, ment and education to fight drug lion in budget cuts, and county em- maybe the 50 is more like 25. Cer- abuse, ployees are threatening to go on tainly,it would be lower." Measure A was rejected 70 per- strike if they don't get a pay raise. There is no disagreement between cent to 30 percent.Measure B,an ac- Supporters of the tax hike pointed state and EPA scientists and risk as- companying proposal to raise the to a countywide survey that showed sessment specialists about the toxici- county's spending limit,was rejected that drugs and drug-related crime ty of those members of the dioxin 61 percent to 39 percent. were top concerns of Solano resi- and furan family for which there is "I think it was not totally unex- dents scientific test data. For instance, pected,"said Vallejo Mayor Anthony "Certainly, the loser will be the they agree on what is the most po- Intintoli, a strong supporter of the tent: 2,3,7,8 tetrachlorodibenzo-p-di- tax increase. "It's very hard to pass ey that would have been avadablmunity itself, because the eon- oxin,or TCDD,for short, these fund-raising measures. in Vallejo a little more than $1 'mil- And they also agree that the "So we regroup and approach (the lion—simply isn't going to happen," 2,3,7,8 tetrachlorodibenzofuran — drug problem) another way," he Intintoli said. TCDF—form of dioxin,itself an un- said. wanted and contaminating byprod- Because Measure A would have The "war on drugs" initiative was uct of chlorine used to bleach pulp been a general tax, it only needed a originally billed as a"quality of life" feedstock for paper products and the simple majority — not a two-thirds initiative, with the money going to lethal compound in the controversial majority that a special tax needs— build roads and improve transporta- Vietnam defoliant Agent Orange, is to gain approval. Intintoli said the tion in the fastest-growing county in only one-tenth as potent as TCDD. fact that the ballot didn't say any the Bay Area. But there are a bewildering array thing about the money being ear- But community pressure, much of of other names to specify the differ- marked to fight drugs also worked it from Vallejo,changed the focus of ing molecular arrangements, and in against the measure. the proposed tax increase, and the each only the prefix changes. Tetra Local government agencies county supervisors put it on the Bal- is used for the four chlorine mole- agreed before the vote to divide the lot with the understanding that it cute form, penta for five, hexa for money among themselves. would be used for law enforcement six, and.hepta for seven, But animal If it had passed,Measure A would and drug education. toxicity tests have not been done for have raised some$10 million a year. The proposal to raise the sales tax . all. Seventy percent would have gone from 6 to 6 E/Z cents ran into almost "We both recognize the numbers to financially strapped Solano Coun- immediate opposition. for which there is animal test data;" ty; the other 30 percent would have Two supervisors who voted to put explained Kelter,"but there are sev- been divided among the cities of it on the ballot said they did so even eral compounds for which there is Benicia, Dixon, Fairfield, Suisun, though they were personally op no test data. So, we just have differ- Vacaville and Vallejo. posed to it. ent ways of filling in the blanks.We assume that the forms for which there is no data are just as potent as the most closely similar forms. But Schools,who knows?" banks, offices Arnold Den, senior science advis- er to the state public health agency, closing on Veterans Day . said, "It is a very difficult decision for the state because of the limited number of samples taken so far. Bee Nletrn staff veterans, especially those who "An advisor impacts the commu- served during a war." Y p Federal, state and Sacramento nity and its tourist industry,I haven't city and county offices will be In Fair Oaks, a large crowd is seen the draft language for the warn- city a on couVeterans Da expected to attend the annual ing that has been suggested," added Friday y Veterans Day memorial ceremo- Den, "but it is a decision that will — as the nation takes a day to ny at Mount Vernon Memorial have to go all the way to the top, honor those who served their Park. right to Director Kizer (DHS Direc- country. The service will start at 11 a.m. Public schools and most banks for Dr.Kenneth Kizer):' and will take place at the "Court He said the decision to post the in the county will also be closed. of Honor"in the memorial park, warning could take "several weeks But those driving into the city The ceremony will be headed ...but probably less than a month." to catch the annual Veterans Day by flight instructor Lt. Col. Lee Parade should be aware that Newman, said Kevin Danz, mor- "There is seldom as much infor- parking enforcement officers will mation as we need or want," said not be taking the day off, tuary manager at Mount Vernon Kelter in further explanation of how They will be out in full force Memorial Park.Color guards and the agency reviews and then issues a and owners of illegally parked drill teams from Mather Air specific risk warning."We try not to cars will be given$11 tickets'City's said Farce Base will also participate put the resulting burden on an one , in the 45-minute ceremony. p g Y Mike Mervin, chief of the city s person but propose something and street parking unit. In Auburn,the annual Veterans let other scientists comment on it. "They should definitely pay be- Day Parade featuring 31 march- That takes time." cause we will definitely be out ing units will begin at 10:50 a.m. Kelter would not criticize "public there,"Melvin said. The parade is sponsored by the impatience"for such information. Hundreds of veterans will at- American Legion and Veteran's "There have been times in the past tempt to.squeeze into their old Council and will start at 510 High when contaminants like this got into uniforms to participate in a num- Street. the environment and it would have ber of events scheduled for Fri- From there,the procession will been better for them not to have day head south to Cleveland Street, been so patient,"he said. About. 162 groups will partici- west on Lincoln Way to the city's pate in the Sacramento County Memorial Hall. "We don't want that to happen Council of American Legion's an- Richard Wheaton, Gov. Deuk- again but we also don't want to issue nual Veterans Day parade,which mejian's special assistant for vet- advisories that are not important to begins at 10:30 a.m. The parade eran affairs,is scheduled to head public health.This is a tough call be- will begin at 11th and I streets, a ceremony at the Port of Sacra- cause it is not all hard science. But move along I to 8th Street, along mento to recognize the formation that," added Kelter,"is what we get 8th Street to J Street and then of a new veterans group - the paid to do." along J Street to 12th Street. American Merchant Marines of Although the current discussion is A variety of veterans organiza- World War II. over the risk to people who eat the tions, military groups and bands The ceremony will take place . fish, water quality officials are in- will march in the parade,said le- aboard the SS Jeremiah O'Brien creasingly concerned about the dan- gion member Jesse Orta. and will begin at 9 a.m. The ger to the fish,themselves. "It's going to be a really nice American Merchants Marines parade," Orta said. "We're just Veteran Association, which was "There was a report in January of hoping for good weather. These formed this year,will also partici- this year,from the Columbia Nation- things are really important to pate in the ceremony. al Fisheries Laboratory and others," said Frank Palmer, the dioxin ex- pert for the state water board."They exposed rainbow trout to TCDD for Schools56 days and at the lowest concentra tion, 38 ppq .. . yes, that's parts per quadrillion (a quadrillion is 1 fol- Continued from page BI lowed by 15 zeros,or a billionth of a. interests. Honig estimated Wednesday that rnillionth part) they saw both de- Honig, however, said schools had Proposition 98 will bring an addition- creased survival—death—and re- no choice but to go the Proposition al $200 million to $400 million to productive effects." 98 route. Districts throughout the schools during the current year and state, he said, have not been getting possibly twice that much next year. "What is very interesting," added enough money from the state to In the years to come,it could means Palmer, "is that the signs are mani- meet the needs of more and more billions more dollars for schools, he fested as a wasting disease. You poor and minority students who are said. won't see that in any short-term bio- entering the system. The money, he said, will enable assay." Proposition 98 guarantees in the schools to build classrooms and hire Now, most tests to determine the constitution that schools will get the teachers to keep up with the state's lethal or toxic effect of contaminants same share of the budget as they re- staggering enrollment growth.About subject test organisms to the corn- ceived during the 1986-87 school 140,000 new students enter the pub- pound for no more than four days. year,or roughly 40 percent. lic school system every year.. In addition, the treasure calls for In addition, he said, it will enable turning over to the schools any mon- local school districts to begin lower-of the ing class sizes,paying teachers more