European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 22, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday february 22,1989 the stars and stripes Page 3 wont to fight City a use fhe computer Santa Monica Calif. A Santa Monica residents can now fire off a complaint to City Hall look for a Job or Check to see if the latest Best seller is at the Library All by tapping a few computer keys. Touting itself As the City of the future Santa Monica was to go on line with a computer system tuesday that would allow residents with personal computers a direct Hookup with City Hall. Officials say that they will answer each computerized missive with a reply sent to that person s own computer. But residents can use the system to do More than complain about municipal problems. They can comb the computer network to find out such things As where to get parking permits and dog licenses what events Are scheduled at the pier and the Santa Monica civic auditorium which City agencies Are hiring and whether the books they want to pick up at the local Library have already been checked out. Eventually the system will be used to apply for licenses and permits said assistant City manager Lynne c. Barrette. The idea is the brainchild of Community activist Michael Hill. This is a marvelous Way to Access the City staff reports said Hill who suggested the computer net work two years ago. You can play a truly effective role. People who feel disenfranchised can find a Way to be a part of  not All reaction to the system has been positive however. Some officials fear the computer system will give this Seaside Community an image As an elitist City cat ering to affluent personal computer owners. They Hope to overcome that by setting up computer terminals at the Library and other Public centers to give everyone Access. Computer experts expressed concern that neither the Public nor bureaucrats May be ready for such an innovation. It May overburden ambivalent department Heads and City employees who want to be responsive but Aren t getting additional resources said Judith Payne a social scientist at Santa Monica s Rand. Corp. Thin tank. The Cost of setting up the system has been nil How Ever. The $350,000 system called Public electronic network was a gift from two computer companies. Hewlett Packard provided the hardware and met systems inc. Donated the software programs. The system is designed to work with any Model of personal computer. There is no charge to use the net work although frequent users will find that their phone Bills Are higher officials said. Sick pay abuse May be costing Sweden billions Stockholm Sweden a More and More swedes Are calling in sick from their jobs and authorities say they plan to try to find out if they Are faking. Abuses in one of the world s most Liberal welfare systems May be costing billions in sick pay. A recent study by the swedish employer s association said the average swedish Industry worker missed 27 Days a year for illness in 1987, compared with 18 Days in West Germany 16 in France and 11 in Britain. A recent opinion poll indicated that 86 percent of those questioned suspected their colleagues of cheating. Official statistics show that sick pay costs have in creased by 50 percent Over the past three years. Sweden s sick pay plan has traditionally been based on the Honor system. Under a 1987 Reform Blue Collar work ers joined other wage earners in being entitled to 90 percent of their pay when they Are off sick starting from the first Day they stay Home. The government handles the pay ments but most of the Money comes from taxes paid by employers. In the swedish system an employee who is ill Calls his social insurance office and later signs a form stating the nature of the illness. A doctor s certificate is required Only if the worker is Home for a week or More. One form of abuse is simply for an employee to Call in sick when he s not. However authorities say it s even More common for workers to file for sick pay and go to work anyway getting sick pay in addition to regular pay. It s difficult to Check. If i Knock on the door and nobody opens what is my proof Yvonne Stro Berg a local official said recently on swedish television. She suggested More Telephone checks with employers rather than Home visits by inspectors. The National accounting Board de scribed another scheme in a report late last year. It said some people collect pay ments for sick leave parental leave and student Grants for the same period. Karl Gustaf Scherer director of the National social insurance Board said on television his organization would in crease its supervision. In band Hagen South of Stockholm the local office started a three week Campaign to Check All claims on certain Days. Sick leave pensions and various other social benefits Are expected to amount to 20 percent of the Gross National product this year. Illness benefits last year amounted to $5 billion $120 million More than Sweden paid for defense. One option under study is to let employers take Over sick payments for those absent from work up to two weeks Sav ing the government Money and paper work. The employer would then claim a refund from the authorities. Unions have opposed the plan. Marga Reta Svensson at the Blue Collar general confederation of unions said it would permit employers to put pressure on employees. There would be people who would not dare to be off ill if their employer controlled sick payments she said. Since benefits Are administered locally there is no official Overall picture of cheating nationwide. A random Check by insurance offices in the West coast town of Halmstad indicated 20 percent of All sick claims were false and the figure was 15 percent in neighbouring Varberg Sven ska Dag bladet said. Another study reported by the Dagens Nyseter newspaper said a three Day Check of claimants in the Northern prov Ince of Jam land showed All 180 cases were valid. The National accounting Board s re port said illness claims valid or not varied strongly by location. The 10 districts with the highest absenteeism were Low income suburbs of Sweden s three largest cities. The head of the social insurance of fice in Rinkey a Stockholm suburb in habited mostly by immigrants topped the list with an Absentee rate almost twice As High As the National average. People out Here have heavy monotonous dangerous and Boring jobs said gun Britt Johansson head of Rinkey s social insurance office. Philip declines to discuss criticism of visit to funeral Nairobi Kenya a Prince Philip the husband of Queen Elizabeth ii declined comment monday on the reported hunger strike by a world War ii Veteran protest ing Royal attendance at emperor Hirohito s funeral. I am not going to an agricultural conference in the far East the Duke of Edinburgh said in response to a ques Tion at a news conference in Nairobi. Stick to agricultural  he was scheduled to deliver the keynote address tues Day at the opening of a conference of the Royal agricultural society of the Commonwealth. In London Andy Burgess 70, was reported As saying he was ready to fast to death if the 68-year-old Philip who also served in the Royal Navy during world War ii rep resents Britain at Hirohito s funeral on Friday. In 1944, Philip then a first lieutenant fought against the japanese and was present at the japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay. I m prepared to go on with this As Long As possible even if it kills me. I know there Are Many veterans who Are in Censed about the Duke going to Japan As i am Burgess said. He said he had eaten nothing since Friday night and was taking Only liquids. Burgess has a weak heart and a neighbor said Lack of food could kill him much sooner than it would a fit person of his age. The former warrant officer in the Royal artillery is treasurer of his District chapter of Burma Star association a veterans organization for soldiers who fought in Burma. He said he regretted the association had not protested the Duke s attendance at the funeral. Sending the Duke of Edinburgh was a kick in the Teeth of soldiers who died for their country and did not come Home Burgess said. Sliding toward a record a in what they claim sets a world record for the num sity students Are sliding Down a 220-foot course on Aher of people to ride a Toboggan 187 people Glide 120-foot-Long Toboggan. Monday s ice fest bid was Down a Hill at Appleton wis. The Lawrence univer for an entry in the guinness Book of world records