European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 24, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 6 the stars and stripes thursday August 24.1989 Federal private pay Gap up to 28.6%, panel reports b Judith Havemann Washington Post Washington the president s advisory com Mission on Federal pay said tuesday that the pay Gap Between the Federal government and the private sector has grown to 28.6 percent. The Cost of implementing a pay increase of that magnitude would be $35 billion in the first year according to the office of personnel management. Con Gress has agreed on a 3.6 percent annual increase next january and the White House is expected to go along. Pm director Constance Newman acknowledged the pay Gap would not be closed. Given All the pres sures on the budget for us to talk about major increases Over the 20 percent level is not realistic and no necessary across the Board because of differences in pay rates in different parts of the country she said. The annual report to the president on Federal pay is supposed to trigger an automatic increase to bring fed eral employees up to comparability with employees performing the same jobs in private firms. Federal workers however have not received full comparability increases since 1977. The advisory commission whose members were named by president Reagan said the pay Gap has become a  current Federal pay the panel said is not attracting and retaining a skilled work Force and. As a result the Quality of service offered the pub Lic has  even so commission chairman Martin l. Duggan said. We Are Well aware that our recommendations arc not going to be  the commission recommended a 10 percent in crease next year leading to a gradual closing of the Gap Between average government and private salaries Over four years. Members also called for changes in the pay system to reflect local labor Market conditions and m the health insurance system. The advisory commission was established under the Federal pay comparability act of 1970 to provide an orderly and fair mechanism for setting pay based on objective salary  the Law designed to prevent a Federal pay raise from becoming a political football every year Calls forthe pay agent s recommendation to go into effect unless the president submits an alternative plan because of National emergencies or economic conditions affecting the general  president Carter began the pattern of holding wage increases below the comparability figure in 1978, and the Gap has grown by about 2 percentage Points a year. The Gap was 26.28 percent a year ago mean while wage increases under president Reagan ranged from 0 to 4.8 percent annually. The comparability figure has been attacked by conservatives As too High because it measures the exact same Job in the private sector As in the government. Government Type jobs Are very unusual jobs in the private sector said former pm director Donald , a critic of the comparability process they arc not  Gao study predicts More delays on glitch plagued c 7 transport by the los Angeles times Washington the air Force s newest trans port plane the c-17 already months behind sched ule and More than $3 billion Over budget faces further delays because of production problems and glitches in Complex computer software programs according to a new government study. Because of the problems the first flight of the c-17, built by Douglas aircraft co. Of Long Beach calif., will be pushed Back from next August to at least de Cember 1990, according to a general accounting of fice report issued this week. Further delays could result if Douglas cannot solve continuing troubles with production tooling Assembly flight control software and the plane s weight the Agency reported. Douglas aircraft is a subsidiary of Mcdonnell Douglas corp. Of St. Louis the nation s largest military contractor. The c-17, which will Cost an estimated $37.5 billion Over the next 10 years is one of the Pentagon s biggest procurement programs. Among current military projects Only the $70 billion stealth bomber and the $69billion Star wars anti missile program arc More costly. Douglas spokesman David Eastman called the Gao findings nothing particularly new and said that the problems Are under control. He acknowledged however that the first flight would be delayed by at least four months. We be been saying since the first of year that we re three to four months behind. We re trying to make it up but the possibilities right now Are very slim Eastman said. It s getting More and More obvious to us that we re probably not going to be Able to meet the August 1990 target for the c-17 s Maiden flight. The first c-17 is being assembled at Douglas air Craft s Long Beach Plant where 8,000 workers arc employed on the project Eastman said. The Gao cited problems in the delivery of parts As contributing to the delays. Douglas engineers hoped to male the wings to the fuselage in july for example but have been forced to postpone that Milestone until next january he said. The air Force plans to buy 210 of the jumbo trans port planes. Each will weigh 135 tons and is designed to carry 83 tons of cargo 2,700 Miles without refuelling. The air Force contends that it needs the new cargo plane to assure that overseas forces can be resupplied quickly in the event of War. The current $37.5 billion estimate for the program does not include improvements in the plane s defensive systems that the air Force is demanding on half of the 210 planes. The changes will add at least $437 million to the c-17 s Overall Cost the Gao said. The plane is currently scheduled to join the air Force inventory in 1992, with the final jets to be delivered at the end of the decade. The air Force did not dispute the Gao s finding son program delays noting that the c-17 s computer systems arc More Complex than any previous transport and that Douglas has installed millions of dollars Worth of elaborate automated production machinery to build the plane. Stateside bag with $25,000 in drugs dragged in by stray dog Institute . A the neighbor Hood stray dragged a shopping bag containing $23,000 Worth of drugs into a woman s drive Way prompting state police sgt. Don Cook to say you be heard of drug pushers. This was a drug  the dog which roams around the neighbourhood in which the woman lives left the bag in her drive Way monday night. Cook on tuesday said she was going to throw it out with the trash tuesday but looked in the bag before tossing it out. It had these strange vials that she could t identify. She thought they might be drugs so she called us Cook said. Some 160 vials containing a highly potent Smo Kably form of cocaine were in two plastic bags inside the shopping bag. And no telling How Many vials the dog might have lost while it was dragging it Cook said. It May have fallen from a car it May have been stashed under a House  hush puppies sweat suits being recalled by firm Washington a a new Jersey com Pany is recalling 47,000 hush puppies sweat suits for children because a noise making device behind the plastic dog decal on the suit can com Loose and present a choking Hazard the con Sumer product safety commission said tues Day. The safety commission said the suits were supplied by the Haddad group Ltd. Of Bay Onne n.j., and were sold at Montgomery Ward stores from August to mid december 1988. Al though no injuries have been reported the safety commission said there have been two incident sin which the Squeaker or its half Inch Noi Semak ing tube was found in a child s Mouth. The recall covers All sizes from three months to four toddler. The suits May be returned at any Montgomery Ward store or mailed to the had dad group Ltd., 90 East 5th St., Bayonne no. 07002, for a full refund plus postage new chapters of Acle being formed in Illinois Chicago a citing a boost in Public support after coming under lire by republicans in the 1988 presidential Campaign the american civil liberties Union says it is organizing new chapters in Illinois. Overall Acle membership in Illinois has increased by nearly is  said . Sulli Van membership director for the group s Illinois division. During the 1988 presidential Campaign then candidate George Bush faulted the Acle for what he said were far left stands. The attacks on the organization during the presidential Campaign and recent anti civil liberties decisions by the . Supreme court have combined to arouse Public support Sulli Van said tuesday. The group s Illinois membership which totals about 14,000 and is concentrated in the Chicago area was also boosted by interest in the fight to keep abortion Legal she said. Nathan s red hots headed for red Square role new York up it won t be Long until they Start Yelling gotcha Sosi skis when Nathan s famous open sits first hot dog stand in Moscow s red Square. Nathan a which has been peddling its famous red hots since old Man Nathan opened his stand in Coney Island in 1916, announced tuesday it has signed a Deal with Moscow officials to Start serv ing the frankfurters. The hot dogs Are to be manufactured in the United states and the Rolls baked in Russia. But forget the sauerkraut and the on ions. It will just be Mustard and Catsup at first. Nathan s hot dogs have been Hai Ledas a most succulent slice of american democracy. And we arc confident muscovite shoppers and tourists will feel that same sensation said chairman of the Board Stuart Benson at a press con Ference Complete with toasts in russian Vodka and lots of hot dogs. Outside one of the Chain s restaurant sin Manhattan s theater District sat a Bright Green and yellow hot dog cart with a talc Nathan s in the cyrillic alphabet printed on it in big letters. Benson said Nathan s was negotiating with Gums the soviet department store in red Square. We anticipate that we will be open ing there in mid november he said on a recent trip to Moscow we brought Over our hot dogs and gave them away he said. They loved  the Deal was arranged by Shelley Zeiger chairman and president of Cziger enterprises inc., of Trenton nj., an entrepreneur who specializes in arranging american business ventures in the soviet Union. He said the soviet Side of the arrange ment was with Moscow s Lenin District food Trust which oversees More than 200 eateries and cafeterias. We Hope to be Selling Nathan s hot dogs at the Usa 89 exhibit in Moscow oct. 17-25, where More than Iso . Companies will be represented he said. To his right sat a beaming Sergei a. Gorbachev mayor of the Lenin District Gorbachev who Speaks no English was translated by Zeiger. We feel in Moscow that Nathan s will contribute a positive Impact. We wish you Good spirits he said and then went outside for a hot dog on Broadway in the. Bright summer Sunshine As Unous crowds watched will they be calling them Sosi skis the russian name for sausage Zeiger v was asked.  re going to try to get them to Call