European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 14, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and stripes saturday july .14,1990 smog fighters rail cars in los Angeles new 22-mite metro Blue line wait thursday for the signal to leave a Down town station during dry runs on the line connecting los Angeles and Long Beach. The trolleys Are the heart of a $10 billion Effort to wean los Angeles from smog causing automobiles. The Blue line system financed by a los Angeles county sales tax was set to go into operation saturday. Nasa Hopes to isolate leak new tests Cape canaveral Fla. Apr Nasa partly filled Atlantis external tank with liquid Hydrogen Friday in an attempt to locate a leak that has grounded the spacecraft and Teft All shuttle missions on hold. A leak re occurred during tests conducted around a valve in a pipe that carries fuel from the external tank to the main engines. Engineers were analysing the data and trying to pinpoint the teak a source. During the testing super cold volatile fuel was pumped into the tank. A Small amount of Hydrogen escaped into a bag around a 17-Inch-diameter valve. When the flow was increased More Hydrogen leaked into the valve area. Engineers had placed extra sensors next to the valves pipes and seals suspected of leaking and covered the components with plastic bags. The contents of the bags will be Analysed later in an attempt to pinpoint the leak. In late May a Hydrogen leak was detected in Columbia while the shuttle was being fuelled for an astronomy Mission. Columbia was returned to the hangar for repairs. Atlantis remains at the launch pad. The leaks have prompted Nasa to ground the three shuttle  problem wont affect nerve agents Transfer by Chuck Vinch Washington Bureau 1 Washington a a temporary halt in operations at the . Chemical disposal Plant at Johnston atoll will not affect the removal later this year of nerve agent weapons from West Germany according to a Pentagon spokesman. The Plant located on the tiny Island about 700 Miles Southwest of Hawaii was shut Down less than two weeks after it began operation because monitoring equipment picked up positive chemical readings in a mechanical equipment room Pete Williams said thursday. A there Are sensors in that room that detect the presence of All sorts of things and there were positive readings on those monitors a Williams said. Whether the readings Are due to faulty monitors or an unexpected leak is unclear but Johnston atoll officials consider the readings to be a deficiencies that Are minor and expect to resume operations within a few Days he said. A a there a no safety Hazard because the Monitor room is a confined area a Williams said. Williams said the Plant  Back in operation in plenty of time to handle the 100,000 chemical munitions expected to be shipped from the Clausen army depot near Kaiserslautern West Germany beginning in september a so far we Are within the time constraints for certifying to Congress that the system is operational and that s what the German program depends on a he said. The stockpiles in Germany will be moved to Johnston atoll after an undisclosed number of chemical weapons already stored on the Island Are disassembled and incinerated by the Plant s automated equipment. Scores Cut to pass math teachers Tallahassee Fla. Apr if math teachers arc asked 98 questions on a certification test How Many do they have to get right to pass a 90 11 70 c 60 or d 49. In a new certification test in Florida the Correct answer is a and although a score of 60 would earn most students a d on a math exam the Florida Standard is High compared to some other state fifteen Stales use a different exam developed by a National testing company and have established Culott scores thai Range from approximately 33 percent of 130 questions to a High of approximately 55 percent. A it wont do any Good to have passing  nobody can reach Quot said Tom Fisher head of testing for the Florida department of education the Supply and demand of teachers is a problem that always confronts states As they debate Cert 11 cation re quire limits said Catherine a Gavriles by executive director of teacher programs at educational testing service ets in Princeton . And math teachers Are in Shon Supply everywhere according a it Iris Carl president of the National Council of teachers of mathematics and director of mathematics for the Houston Independent school District Marita eng a High school meath teacher in Jacksonville who sat on an advisory panel that recommended a higher cutoff score in Florida said International comparisons of student performance show that the United states is in the Middle of a a crisis in mathematics  one of the problems eng said is poorly prepared teachers. Car conceded she a concerned that the scores required of math teachers across the nation seem Low. However the testing systems defenders Point out that the exams include hard questions and Arentt designed to result in extremely High scores. The ets developed the 150-question test used by 15 states. It also offers tests in about 40 other subjects. Some of the other cutoff scores include from 50 percent to 55 percent for Early childhood education from 40 percent to 45 percent in Earth space science from 40 percent to 55 percent for chemistry and from 40 percent to 60 percent in physics. In math the Low qualifying score was set by Kentucky at 35 percent and the High by California at 55 percent. Emily , director of the National Center Lor education information a private research organization in Washington called it shocking that each state sets its own teacher certification standards. A the data is so scattered. There really is no National data As far As teachers Are concerned a she  ordered to pay inventor $5.2 million Detroit apr the Ford motor co on Friday was ordered to pay nearly $5.2 million to the inventor of intermittent Windshield wipers because the automaker unintentionally infringed on his patents. Ford attorneys said they were pleased with the amount of the award to Robert a. Kearns. But Kearns attorney and son said they were disappointed and considering an Appeal. A it follows the Standard of the Auto Industry but i done to think that a fair. 1 hey have no interest in paying for innovations a said Dennis Kearns the inventors oldest son. Robert Kearns a former Wayne state University professor who lives in Gaithersburg md., was absent when the jury an Cut need the award. The verdict could have wide implications because Kearns has similar suits pending against general motors corp., Chrysler corp., Daimler Benz Honda Toyota Nissan and More than 20 other companies. The Ford Case was the first to go to trial cams 63, originally sought $141 million. 1 he jury that decided Ford had unintentionally infringed on the patents was deadlocked on How much Kearns should get. A second jury was convened to decide the damages Issue Only. The jury awarded $6.3 million based on what Kearns had called Ford s profit of $6.85 on each of More than 20 million inter item wiper options it sold from 19/--88, when his main patents were in e Fleet. During a Friday afternoon hearing . District judge Avem Cohn ordered the award reduced to $5,163,842, which represents what is owed to Kearns Only after april 1978, when he originally filed suit. # Kearns claimed in his suit that he installed a set of his intermittent wipers on a 1962 Ford and took it to the automaker. He said he believed Ford would buy his invention after engineers questioned him at length about it. Robert a Kearns