European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 30, 1978, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars  stripes saturday september 30, 1978 Urban failure new communities program phasing out after countless headaches huge losses Washington a the depart ment of housing  Urban development is shutting Down its disastrous new towns program putting an end to a sad painful  expensive Effort to build innovative communities throughout the nation. The new communities Effort is one of the Best publicized failures of All Federal Urban programs. One official declining to be identified said its reputation is so Low that we did t want to tarnish the Urban policy with a new towns initiative. Losses in the eight year new communities program now total $149 million  the office of management  budget has refused to release planning funds to revive the program. Thus this week Hud Secretary Patri Cia Roberts Harris approved staff recon. Emendations to end the new towns Effort. And she will ask Congress to close Down Hud s new communities development corp., shifting its duties elsewhere within the department. Harris said Hud plans to liquidate seven of the 13 new town projects it subsidizes while committing additional Money to six towns still Given a Chance to survive. The Secretary had hoped to Salvage the new communities development corp. By redirecting its efforts to concentrate on in Ner City rather than suburban or Rural projects. This new town in town idea also is be ing shelved the victim of a history we can t escape said assistant Hud Secre tary William White who Heads the new towns corporation. A moratorium on subsidizing new projects has been in effect since 1975 while the department sought to untangle the Finan Cial problems plaguing practically All of the existing efforts. Under the program the government was to subsidize private sector new town developers by guaranteeing their Loans  by coordinating Federal  for Basic Community needs  As housing or ate vote. One vote kept our language the american revolution like another War filled those on both sides of the conflict with deep bitterness. On this Side of the Atlantic the feel ing was so acute that the american peo ple seriously considered Tutti air off All cultural ties with the Mother country. One of the most effective ways of doing this it was thought would be to Stop speaking English  choose another language. Because there were Many germans in the colonies a Bill was drawn up to make German the official language of the newly Independent country. This was duly presented to Congress  although it had much pop ular support it met with a tie. This dead lock finally was broken by a single vote which was cast against the Bill. And the Man who broke that tie the Man whose one vote Defeated that historic Bill  kept English As the official language of the United states was him self the son of a German immigrant your one vote counts use it nov. 3 amazing but True 1970. Am right r, sewers. But most of the developers ran out of Money before they could sell enough property to sustain the development  Hud was forced to pay off their Loans  foreclose on the projects. The department will try to sell off most of the seven projects it is liquidating. These projects Are in Jonathan minn., perhaps the Best known of the new towns Chicago s Park Forest South Cedar River Side in Minneapolis Flower Mound near Dallas Texas Riverton  Vananda near Rochester n.y.,  Newfields near Day ton Ohio. Towns that will receive future housing Grants As Well As Community development Grants include soul City n.c., St. Charles md., a faraway suburb of Washington . The Woodlands Texas near hous ton Maumelle ark., near Little Rock Harbison s.c., near Columbia  Shenandoah ga., near Atlanta. The new communities projects including some still afloat have been troubled by the huge front end costs of development buying  holding land building sew ers  roads carving out amenities consistent with the goal of creating a Community for people of All income classes with residential commercial  Industrial areas. The new communities history is a sad painful  expensive one said White who recommended that the program be phased out of existence. There were High Hopes for the program when president Johnson first conceived the idea As an antidote to the problems caused by unplanned Urban sprawl. Unfortunately the carrying out of his ideas during the next two administrations never came to pass. In fact you might say it s three administrations because White House budget officials have scuttled efforts recently to re Vive the program White said. He said he feels the new communities corp. Can be abolished by the end of 1980. Though some projects would continue. Comfortable trip on Freedom road1 heavyweight boxing Champion Muhammad a makes himself comfortable can t get a fair shake while learning his lines for a made for television movie Freedom Road in which he plays a freed slave in Post civil War Mississippi. A photo Philly mayor lashes out at Black reporters Philadelphia a mayor Frank Rizzo who last week urged philadelphian to vote White in his bid for a prohibited third term has lashed out at Black report ers saying that those of italian or polish heritage might better represent  at ceremonies thursday at which he designated oct. 9 As Columbus Day Here Rizzo singled out Jan Gorham a Black re Porter with radio station Wip whose questions have angered the mayor in the past. It seems to me that when you Deal with a Black reporter you can t get a fair shake in my opinion particularly you Rizz said. You know i got to see some More Italo american reporters or some polish re porters you know some of the ethnics that might represent our Side. We can t get it with  later Rizzo challenged Joe Davidson a Black who covers City Hall for the evening  sunday bulletin whom he had told sept. 21 to keep on writing that Black stuff. It gets me votes every  that s the problem with press Guys like you. They Wear it on your sleeve your race on your sleeve Rizzo told Davidson thursday. Moments before Rizzo had predicted the City s three newspapers will be bomb ing me in the next few  the Power of the press frightens me Rizzo said. They want to Tell you who your mayor is going to be where you re going to live. They want to run everything. They destroy people  then they Call that  Rizzo made the vote White comment sept. 21 when campaigning in a White neighbourhood for a charter change on the nov. 7 ballot that would allow him to run again next year. He said the City s Black leaders stand up  say vote Black vote Black vote Black i m going to say to the people of this City vote White  also the Black people that think like me  there Are a lot  also thursday a civic watchdog group which has been studying various City governments said the two term limit was the Only real Check on the Powers of the Mav or in Philadelphia. The committee of seventy issued press release concluding that of 18 big City mayors none other has anything to match Rizzo s combination of appointment administrative  financial control of his City. High rats take Over courthouse san Antonio Texas up the rats Are big As cats High on marijuana  they re getting Brave in their new play ground swinging from Flagstaff  sleeping in chairs in the Bexar count courthouse. The rats apparently have found their Way into marijuana stashed in the base ment As evidence but have expanded their Domain to every floor of the old five Story building. Since they moved the marijuana the have absolutely gone wild said . Cal Lahan building superintendent. There was a horde of rats where the marijuana was stored. I think that s what they were thriving on. It s a tremendous problem he  be had the problem on every  Joyce Mcclay a clerk for county court at Law no. 2, said she suspects some of the rats some As big As cats Are enjoying marijuana highs. As proof she pointed to a place on the ceiling near the top of a court room Flagstaff where rats were chewing on the ceiling while swinging from the  must have been High on marijuana Why else would they be swinging froma flagpole she said