European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 16, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Musical footsteps Elizabeth von Trapp left will play the role of her grandmother Maria von Trapp in the play the sound of music being performed by a Hyde Park vi., theater group beginning sept. 29. Be Side her is Maria s great granddaughter Kirsten von Trapp who will also play a part. Saturday september 16, 1989 the stars and stripes Page wholesale prices dip again Energy costs sink sharply Egton a wholesale prices fell for so Cutic monthly drops in the producer Price Indi is Culive month in August As a Hie Dron in since a four month of cried of Falline wholesale Fri Washingto the third consecutive August a big p Energy costs pushed inflation Down by 0.4 percent the government said Friday. The decline in the labor department s producer Price Index followed a similar 0.4 percent plunge in july and a 0.1 percent dip in june. It was the first time wholesale prices have fallen for three consecutive months since Early 1986. The August Price moderation was even belter than had been expected and provided further evidence to support arguments that inflation should be Well under control in the second half of the year. The three month string of declines in wholesale prices was particularly Welcome because it came after a surge in prices earlier this year had triggered fears of a possible inflationary spiral. Wholesale prices were surging ahead at an annual rate of 9.4 percent through May. However with the monthly declines since that time wholesale inflation Isnow running at a much More moderate annual rate of 4.4 percent through the first eight months of the year. In 1988, wholesale prices Rose 4 percent. A Broad based drop in Energy costs was credited for the Price decline in August. Gasoline prices plunged 12.1 percent the third consecutive monthly decline. Prices of natural Gas were also Down dropping 5 percent while prices of Home heating Oil fell 2.1 percent. Food costs were not As Well controlled posting a 0.3 percent increase As the costs of beef Dairy products and bakery goods accelerated. The Price of eggs and pork Rose in August after having fallen in july. Inflation excluding the food and Energy categories was up 0.5 percent reflecting in part higher prices for new cars. Many economists took to Price increases of other goods As a better indicator of the underlying inflation rate because food and Energy costs Are More volatile from month to month. The june july August declines marked the first consecutive Index sinc h Perio g prices from january through april in 1986. The improvement in August left the producer Price Index at 113.3, meaning that a hypothetical selection of goods costing $ 100 in 1982 would have Cost s113.30 in August. Unlike the other figures in the report this one is not adjusted for Normal seasonal variations. Economists had worried that higher food and Energy costs were threatening to become imbedded in permanently higher inflation rates As workers demanded higher wage increases to make up for the ground lost to rising prices. That also was a concern at the Federal Reserve which began moving in March 1988 to push interest rates up in an Effort to Dampen inflationary pressures. The fed s goal was to slow economic growth enough to allow inflation to moderate without pushing the country into a recession. In june of this year the fed switched course and began lowering interest rates be cause of signs the Economy might be slowing too much. Many economists believe the fed s delicate Balanc ing act has worked and inflation will remain moderate in the second half of the year while the economic expansion already the second longest on record continues at a steady Pace. Although the Bush administration has complained the Central Bank needs to do More to boost growth by lower ing interest rates Michael pc scr an economist at the Bank of America in san Francisco said he did not expect any further credit casing in the immediate future. The fed knows that much of the Good news on inflation has come because Energy prices and food prices have been falling reversing their Steep climb earlier in the year he said. The inflation situation i better but the inflation problem has not been  the producer Price Index tracks inflation at the wholesale level. The consumer Price Index which measures inflation at the retail level will be released next tuesday. Restrictions against smoking spiral in . By the new York times restrictions on smoking in the work place and a wide array of Public accommodations have increased dramatically across the nation in recent years As corporations state Legislatures and local lawmakers have responded to the grow ing demands of health advocates and non smokers. Forty four states including new York new Jersey and Connecticut have passed comprehensive Laws limiting smoking in such places As restaurants offices schools Public transportation retail stores hospitals Heaters another cultural and recreational centers. Surveys by Trade and Industry groups indicate that 70 to 80 percent of the nation s corporations acting under new Laws or at the Behest of workers have adopted or plan to adopt policies restricting smoking in offices and other in door work Sites. In addition 32 states and scores of cities have banned or limited smoking i government buildings and the general services administration has restricted smoking in 6,800 federally owned or leased buildings where nearly a million government employees work. There arc two trends said John f. Banzhaf executive director of action on smoking and health a Washington based anti smoking group. The number of places where smoking is restricted has increased but More importantly the extent of the restrictions has  for example the number of stale with Laws limiting smoking Rose from 41 in 1987 to 44 this year he said. But if you look at How Broad those Laws arc that s the real Story and the real trend Banzhaf added. Last june new York state passed a sweeping Law that starting Jan. I will prohibit smoking in Public areas of hospitals schools retail stores auditoriums food stores Arenas and the waiting areas of Public transportation terminals. Vio Latars would be subject to fines up to $1,000. The stale Law will also restrict smoking in restaurants with More than so scats. And by april i the Law will require businesses in the stale to adopt written policies providing employees with smoke free work areas. Smoking has Long been banned in the aters and libraries and on mass transit. Smoking Laws adopted earlier in new York City and in Nassau and Suffolk counties were at least As strict As Testate s and will not be generally affected by the new Law. In new York City however businesses with fewer than 15 employees had been exempt but will fall under the new Law after april 1. Banzhaf said a 1987 Survey by the american society of personnel administration and the Bureau of National affairs found that 12 percent of the nation s companies instituted total bans on smoking by their employees up from 2 to 3 percent a year earlier. The same Survey he said also found that 54 percent of America s companies had imposed restrictions on smoking by employees up from 36 percent a year earlier and that 25 percent of the remaining companies were considering such policies. Another study by Northwestern uni a Cisily last year found that More than 70 percent of 226 Large and medium size companies surveyed had limited smok ing or were planning to Banzhaf said. Still another study by the administrative management society reported this year that 6 percent of companies surveyed would not hire smokers. In Washington smoking is limited in the Capitol the White House the old executive office building and other buildings housing the presidential staff with bans enforced in auditoriums con Ference rooms elevators and some offices. President Bush docs not smoke and smoking is not allowed in the Oval of fice. 34 Whites sue to get Obs As Boston firefighters Boston a thirty four White men turned Down for firefighting jobs de spite their perfect scores on a civil service exam sued thursday to Force the depart ment to adopt a Colo Blind hiring policy. Spurred by a recent . Supreme court decision paving the Way for such lawsuits the plaintiffs said they were seeking a court ruling allowing them to be hired. We re not trying to deprive any body plaintiff Larry Mackin said. We just want the Best Man to win. It s not As if we re asking for positions of Power or Money. We just want to do a very dangerous Job that we be always wanted to  Boston has Long been under a Federal consent decree requiring it to hire one minority person for every White to ensure the police and fire departments reflect the City s ethnic makeup. The hiring policy is important to Quality of life in the City City councilor Bruce boiling said. The City s fire and police departments Are about 20 per cent minority and 80 percent White according to boiling who is Black and has been a longtime proponent of affirmative action programs the consent decree addresses the Issue of ensuring that there would be a More equitable process in which minorities have Access to these critical jobs he said. But Mackin said the policy has foiled his efforts to become a firefighter for 12 years. He said he has always scored Well on the civil service exam but not Well enough for a White  in 1987, he scored perfectly on the exam the last the 32-year-old could take be cause of an age limit and thought for certain he d realized his dream. He was passed Over again because of the City s efforts to hire minorities he said. Michael Powers an attorney for the plaintiffs said he was Able to bring the suit because of the supreme court ruling in june allowing White men to Challenge court approved affirmative action pro Grams. The ruling widely criticized by civil rights groups revived a Challenge to program to promote More Blacks in the Birmingham ala., fire department. To Mackin and the other plaintiffs the Boston policy discriminated against them by allowing minorities with lower scores to join the ranks while they were left behind. They be not Only leaned Over Back wards but they be twisted and perverted the whole system so a White kid does t stand a Chance Mackin said. The lawsuit charges the City the depart ment. Mayor Raymond Flynn fire com missioner Leo Stapleton and David Haley the state personnel administrator with  lating the while applicants civil rights. It also seeks to halt the hiring policy. Powers a former Legal adviser to the Boston police department said he i confident the men will get positions with the fire department and he also plans to file a similar lawsuit against the police. Attorneys for the City said they could not immediately comment on the suit