European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 23, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday april 23, 1989 the stars and stripes Ford motor Cov to ban smoking in offices Detroit not the Ford motor co. The nation s second largest Industrial ,plan5 to ban smoking in All work areas of its 80 office buildings nationwide by inc end of the year. Smokie g would still be permitted in Ford factories except where it creates a safety Hazard under Ford s contract with the United Auto workers. Ford said the restrictions which cover about 160,000 office workers would go into effect in two phases beginning june i when smoking will be forbid Den in air conference rooms training rooms class. Rooms and auditoriums. On Jan. I the ban will be expanded to include All shared and private offices. A spokesman said Ford would continue to provide smoking areas in cafeterias and garages for those who arc addicted to tobacco. The company will also continue to provide classes for those wanting to quit. Ford s new rules had an immediate Impact on three lop executives. Lou Ross executive vice president and a Cigar smoker and David Scott vice president of external affairs and a half a pack a a cigarette smoker said they intended Lou it smoking As a result. Scott also said Helen Petrauskas vice president for environmental and safety engineering and a cigarette smoker intends to quit. Last month inc new policy was announced to Ford directors who no longer will be permitted to smoke during Board meetings. Scott said Only one director whom he declined to identify was a cigarette smoker. He was very supportive of the change Scott said. Ford is not inc first company to adopt such a Lough stance but its rules reflect a growing trend among . Corporations responding to requests from employees to provide a work place free of smoke. A Ford spokesman said the rules had been suggested to management by a committee of employees that had studied the Issue for a year. There s u growing segment of the population that favors Protection from smoke in the working Environ ment and Ford is not different from that Irand said. Dick Routh a Ford spokesman. Ford cited a recent study by the administrative management society showing thai 60 percent of 2s3 companies surveyed have anti smoking policies com pared with 16 percent in 1980. Twenty five percent of the companies had banned smoking completely com pared with 14 percent a year earlier. But Walker Benyman a spokesman for inc Tobac co Institute cited surveys indicating thai 40 percent of american companies had rules restricting smoking. The Chrysler corp. And general motors corp. Have rules limiting smoking but both companies permit smoking in closed private offices. Reacting to the news of Ford s policy the spokes Man for the Trade association for inc cigarette Industry disputed Ford s use of the word addicted for those who continue to smoke. Benyman said the word makes smokers believe they Are less valued employees than those who do not smoke. Award to Hudson a Over reduced to $5.5 million los Angeles a Superior court judge Bruce gear nacre Friday reduced a s11.75 million jury 1 award to the Laic Rock Hudson s Lover. Marc Christian to $5.5 i million. Geirnaert called Hudson s not telling Christian of his aids i Gnosis outrageous and re pc Hon Siulc bul said the jury s passion had led it to make an excessive award. He. Said that both the Compon i satory1 and. Punitive damages were excessive and he cell that i the amounts he set were Suffi Christian Cicil to compensate Christ Jaii. He specified that the reductions would go into effect Only if Christian accepted Ihm. If he did not consent Ger nacre said he would order a new trial on damages. Christian s lawyer Harold Rhodon said that Al though his client was As disappointed As i am Chris Tian would accept the ruling. Christian later said he still Felt he won because the judge had removed any reason for Appeal on grounds of excessive damages. La i still a big award , noting Hal he had never expected realistically to collect the larger figure. In was More symbolic than anything else Chris. Tian said adding he believed the $5.5 million award still sends the same message out thai Ollinse with aids must warn their Sci partners. Robert Parker Mills the attorney for the Hudson estate said his clients probably will Appeal. There s not any evidence 1 can see that would substantiate a $5 million award to this Man . The judge said he had Given the Mailer much thought since an earlier hearing when he suggested a figure of 13 million in punitive damages. Upon further reflection in Light of the entire record a punitive damage award of 1500,000 seems id fairly accommodate. The pertinent factors Gocr nacre said. He set compensatory damages 31j5 million. The court finds that the jury s award of is 4.5 Mil lion in compensatory damages is so High that it must be concluded that the award u based in part on Pas Sion resulting from inc jury s evaluation of the outrageous and reprehensible nature of the conduct of Rock Hudson and defendant Hudson s Secretary Mark Miller the judge said. He added that substantial evidence supported Chris Tian s claim Ofin Hancck fear Ocon tracing aids after he teamed that Hudson had the disease. Lawyers for Hudson s estate tried to show during the often lurid trial testimony that Christian s affair with Hudson was Over by the Lime the Star s disease was discovered. Hudson died at age 58 on oct. 5, 1985. 2 sentenced in Pentagon bribe scandal cases Alexandria a. Up Jack Sherman a for Mer Marine corps procurement officer was sentenced to in months in prison Friday and ordered to pay the government the $43500 in bribes he acknowledged taking for leaking insider contract information. During the same hearing stemming from the govern ment s sweeping defense corruption investigation  District judge Claude Hilton sentenced Joseph cola Russo a former senior vice president of the Haze line corp., to 10 Monlai in prison for his conspiracy conviction in addition to his jail term Colarusso also was. Fined $30,000 and placed on two years supervised release. The two men were prosecuted for their roles in Sepa rate schemes in Llu bribes for data scandal which was v unravelled through the use of  and which to Dale has led. To the. Convictions of u individuals and iwo companies. Sherman 52, pleaded silly on Jan. 27 to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and defraud the United slates and to one count of receipt of a bribe. The charges carried maximum penalties of 20 years in Pris on and a $500,000 Fine. Any beneficiaries of Sherman s alleged leaks have yet to be publicly identified but prosecutors disclosed previously that an Industry consultant who offered him bribes was acting at the time As a government informant. Budget Cut protesters overrun Philadelphia Council Chambers in a Brief statement before his sentencing. Sherman said he could offer no excuses for his conduct and that he wants to put the episode behind him. Colarusso s sentencing was the second in a broader scheme that has led to eight convictions including five present and former executives at Haic line and Cali fornia based tiled one electronics found to have conspired to bribe a Navy Engineer to influence contract awards. Colarusso s lawyer Paul grand implored Hilton to give his client a lighter sentence describing Colarusso As a decent arid ethical Man who got into trouble in part because of the government s Lack of Clear rules. He said Colarusso played a minor role in the scheme quarterback cd by Industry consultant William Parkin who represented the two companies. Hilton declined however to vary from Federal sentencing guidelines. Philadelphia a hundreds of activists upset with proposed cuts in social services spending disrupted a City budget hearing Friday and 12 protesters singing we shall not be moved were taken into custody police led the protesters from City Council Chambers after a Puly police commissioner Thomas Mcguchan asked them to move from Council members chairs so the hearing could resume. Robert Brand a research director for the Hospital workers Union was the first person taken out of the Chambers. He said he joined the protest to guarantee that inc City passes a budget that does t kill  City solicitor Seymour Rutland said he was not sure  detained would be charged. L mayor w. Wilson Goode last month proposed a $2 billion budget that would Cut spending for the homeless Aid for aids victims and Community organizations but bolster police find health clinic staffs. Goode was nol at the hearing. His spoke woman Karen Warrington had no immediate comment. The protest was organized by a coalition of labor and Community groups. Four Hundred people packed the or Nate chamber gallery bearing signs saying aids coalition id unleash Power save City health services and be fair lot Hose who  testimony by City finance officials had barely begun when protesters started climbing Over railings and seizing microphones on members desks to make speeches or snout slogans. A dozen police buses and Paddy wagons raced to City Hall and officers quickly lined inc chamber As the protes ters shouted you say Cut Back we said fight Back.1" Council president Joseph a Coleman tried to Gavel the protesters into silence several times but gave ii shortly before 11 30 . And called a recess until afternoon. Mostof the a Roussere then left but about 40 stayed. When City officials tried to reconvene the hearing the 12 protesters who refused logo to the part of the room set aside far the Public were detained. The Channg then proceeded quietly with a limited number of people allowed to Sil in the spectators gallery. Many held protest signs in silence. Protesters will attend every Council Meeli no and budget hearing until inc budget is approved said Joe Rogers an activist with project share an advocacy group for the homeless and mentally ill. Well be demanding that they develop a human Bud get a humane budget that does t Cui Back i Hie. Cost of the poor said Rogers who also was detained. City councilman Ansel Ortiz a Democrat who has opposed. The cuts said he fell the protest effectively showed inc City s spending plan is a very mean  we cannot be cutting recreation health aids Home less and so on and is Eccl to have a Safe City . Sands of time in the stars and stripes 40 years ago today. April 23, 1949 leaders of inc West German Christian democratic Union rejected a social Isi draft. Constitution fur the country and charged the authors with not favouring the establishment of a West Ger Man  30 years ago today. \ april 23, 1959 state department spokesman Lincoln while rejected As hypocritical a soviet de Mand that the Western Powers withhold nuclear and other modern weapons from West German forces. 20 years ago today april 23, 1969 the House passed and i tent to the Senate a Bill to extend free mailing privileges 10 All .  overseas a measure that was opposed by the Nixon administrator. To years ago Foda april 23, 1979 nearly 50,000 cambodian including thousands of soldiers of the toppled pol pol regime streamed into Thailand to escape vietnamese forces advancing into Western Cambodia