European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 19, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday july 19, 1987 the stars and stripes Page 3 businesses to be sold by Comsat Washington a communication satellite corp. Said Friday thai in will sell ill manufacturing businesses and Dis pose or two planned direct broadcast satellites As part of a major restructuring. These actions better position us Tor the future said Comsat chairman Irving Goldstein. The decisions will result in losses of approximately j90 million which will be charged against earnings in the recently ended March june Quarter resulting in a net loss for that Quarter of ib3.8 million Goldstein said As part of the restructuring Comsat said it is abandoning a project to orbit two direct broadcast satellites that were to provide entertainment programming Tor satellite dish receivers. Richard Mcgraw a company spokes Man said the satellites which Are under construction would be disposed of As  company also announced that it plans to sell All of its manufacturing Bush Nesses including Amelica inc., a subsidiary that designs microwave components and systems for the electronics Industry. Lines that produce Mobile satellite dish terminals and electronics equip ment for private communications net works will also be sold Comsat said. The company had previously announced an agreement to sell its Comsat International communications inc. Subsidiary and its technology products Ter Minal business. Goldstein said that in the future Comsat would put increased emphasis on maintaining the competitiveness of our regulated businesses and would continue to build on our strengths in the government systems and entertain ment distribution  he singled out Comsat video enter Prises which provides movies and other entertainment services via satellite to hotels. We Are upgrading the system by add ing More programming options and More people Are buying movies in hotel rooms As a result Goldstein Aid. While the restructuring we Are announcing today will cause our i9b7 re sults to be negative the result is a stronger More profitable Comsat. We have a Strong cd iwo our remaining business will continue to have Strong earnings and Cash  Comsat said it would have had a prof it of $14.5 million or 79 cents a share if not for the charge to cover discontinued operations and other one time items. Revenue Rose to 188.2 million from 17 7.4 million a year earlier. For the first half of the year Comsat had a loss of $75.3 million after the charge compared with a profit of 128 million or 11.53 a share a yen earlier. Revenue Rose to si68.9 million from 1153,6 million. Plucking a Duck from the muck a photo water Utility worker Don Myers reaches into the Muddy water of a storm Drain to downtown Anchorage Alaska and his hand comes up with a duckling. The indignant looking web footed Waidler in one of seven that were res cued from the Drain Friday after they fell in. The ducklings were transferred to a in Nash near the City. Problems Spur air Force to withhold Northrop Morton Thi Okol payments Washington up the air Force said Friday that it is withholding s89.4 million in payments to Northrop corp. Because of faulty guidance systems for the my missile and that it will with hold ii minion a month in payments to Morion Thi Okol inc. Despite he problems with the con tractors a spokesman said 22 icbms my missiles Are in the Hole in silos at Warren fab wyo., ready to go and an other 14 can be fully operational in a Short period in any emergency. Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles May Deputy director of advanced programs told a Pentagon news conference that nothing is wrong with the Overall performance of the my. But he said there were problems with Quality control and late deliveries of Rockel motors made by Morton Thi Okol and defective inertia measurement units Imu manufactured by Northrop discovered before installation in the first stage of the four stage Rockel As result 189.4 million in contractual payments have been withheld from Northrop since March and Starling with the next Billing Al million will be with held monthly in Progress payments for Morion Thi Okol until Imu production and Quality control arc Back on schedule. A division of Morton Thi Okol built the rocket boost or for the space shuttle challenger which exploded shortly after launch in january 1986, killing its seven member Crew. The peacekeeper my missile sys tem has been Superb in All 17 flight tests to Date May said. We have achieved accuracy and reliability statistics far bet Ter than we zip cited when we started out to design a new intercontinental ballistic missile. The stage i Rockel motor produced by Morton Thi Okol has been one of the most reliable components throughout our Llight lest program in most cases exceeding design specifications and requirements he said. But problems have been uncovered including unsatisfactory worker supervision and discipline and poor management attention to Quality control leading to Laic deliveries of the Rockel motors. The Imu which costs is million apiece and is part of the my guidance system is turned on As soon As the mis Sile is installed in its silo in a ready Mode and like a Light bulb has a finite life. Twenty two missiles Ai Warren Are ready to go but 14 have not had their Imu units installed and turned on. There Are enough units on hand to be quickly in stalled in an emergency bul there Are no spares until new units arrive. Congress authorized the air Force to buy 66 my missiles 50 for operational deployment and 16 for testing. Deploy ment and operational status for the first 10 what accomplished on schedule in de Cember 1986. Minneapolis to level shacks arrest transients Minneapolis a police targeted transient shacks and shelters at demolition and promised an aggressive Campaign of arrests Friday following a re port that linked the homeless to two thirds of the City s homicides. Deputy police chief Bob Lulu said officers will look at shelters Over the weekend and get the Public works department to bring out a front end loader and haul that junk  when they break the Law. When they try to take Money from other people when they urinate in Public and Are involved in disorderly conduct Here Are no constitutional protections for that conduct and we will aggressively move against it Lutz said. The crackdown comes after the department s Homi cide unit earlier Las week released figures showing that two thirds of the suspects and half the victims in the City s 1987 homicides were drifters or new arrivals. Al least eight transients have been slain since last july others Are suspects in what police say is a grow ing  committed by transients. Lutz said transients will be arrested for minor in fractions such As drinking in Public. Previously they would have gotten Oit with a warning he said the Campaign will allow officials to keep Irasek of lawbreakers and encourage some troublemakers to leave the City Lulu said. Jane Eastham program supervisor at a Catholic shanties social services Agency for the Hom Alcis in Minneapolis said the crackdown won t address the real transient  said the real issues concern severe Home leviness and joblessness. An estimated 500 transients Luc under the City s Bridges and near Railroad tracks according 10 police figures. Eastham said she is worried that the homeless Wilt suffer because they Lack funds for proper Legal representation but Lulu said officers will Only be enforcing existing  Deputy chief said he too. Is concerned thai the rights of every citizen Rich and poor Are guaranteed and guarded but when icy Cross thai line and break the Taw they re up for  demolition of Iran site shelters a occurred on a regular basis in at least one other City. In los an Geles police and sanitation Crews conduct regular sweeps of the downtown area removing temporary shelters from sidewalks and trs Liburn. Transients in los Angeles have been ordered under threat of arrest Togoto incl Cibij housing Aboul 1,000 homeless people in the downtown area or to a Huit a for the night