European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 13, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 a a the stars and stripes sunday january 13, 1991riders find it costs More to take bus Jar Ohr Ising Gas prices recession to blame Columbus Ohio apr bus riders Are having to dig out an extra dime or a Quarter in cities across the nation As transit agencies Fork out nearly double for their fuel and the recession bites into their tax revenues. In some cities in the East and Midwest where the recession is most acute higher fares have produced falling ridership. But in parts of the South and West soaring gasoline prices Are forcing some motorists to take the bus. Many transit agencies arc yielding to the pressures of hardening economic times by increasing passengers fare or at least considering higher fares. A a the increase in fuel prices and the costs of Petroleum products have hit us hard a said Joan Florence a spokeswoman for the Central Ohio transit authority which serves about 66,000 daily riders in the Columbus area. The Agency which had planned to raise its fares in 1992, had to push up the Basic fare from 75 cents to $1 As fuel prices nearly doubled and Revenue from a 0.25 percent sales tax increase fell below projections Florence said. Before Iraq invaded Oil Rich Kuwait on aug. 2, a we were paying 59 cents a gallon for diesel a she said. A after it went As High As $1,11 a gallon so we did no to have much  it the Cost of diesel fuel used in buses has risen an average of 84 percent since the invasion said Dennis Kouba a spokesman for the Washington based american Public transit association v transit officials in cities from Pittsburgh to Memphis  Phoenix say fuel prices Are most to blame for fare increases. In larger cities such As Boston Chicago and Washington higher fuel prices Are combining with recession linked factors to drive up fares. In Omaha neb., metro area transit on thursday cited fuel costs in its average 15-cent increase which raised Basic fares to 90 cents. Memphis raised its bus fares by a dime to 95 cents its first increase since 1983. In Phoenix bus fares Rose 15 cents to $1.15, in late August. Pittsburgh a bus and subway fares went up from $1.10and $1.25 on Jan. 1. Higher fares Are in the works in other cities from Salt Lake City to Baltimore and Washington to Minneapolis St. Paul. Apart from the effects of the Gulf crisis a labor materials All of our expenses have gone up. Our Industry is no  real life a said Bob Thompson finance director for the twin cities metropolitan transit commission. The less affluent who depend on Public transit to get around will suffer the most from higher fares Kouba said. A your profile of the average bus rider is generally someone who can to afford a car does no to have Access to other forms of transportation a he said a substantial numbers of people rely on Public transit and they re usually the people who can least afford to pay  Mary Lesch a rider in Omaha suggested that Able bodied riders Bear a greater share of the fare increases. A that additional 20 cents is going to Hurt that senior citizen a lot More than that 15 cents is going to Hurt somebody that a making it Good a Lesch said. Elderly and handicapped passenger fares in the City have jumped to 45, cents from 25 cents. In the Midwest and the East ridership is falling As unemployment rises. Transit agencies Are a catching a double whammy where unemployment is up a Kouba said. A not Only does it Cut ridership but it also cuts Down on the tax revenues that help support the  in Philadelphia the head of the Southeastern Pennsylvania transportation authority said fuel prices weren tas big a problem As the Economy in general. A fuel costs Are up but ridership is not holding As unemployment builds a said general a manager Louis Gambacini. Kouba said higher gasoline prices appear to be forcing More people out of cars and into buses in Southern and Western cities where the recession is less severe. Allison Burtron general manager of the Memphis area transit authority said average daily ridership had jumped from about 50,000 to 61,000 since fares were raised in August. In Tulsa okla., Muriel Ford finance director of the metropolitan Tulsa transit authority said ridership there had risen about 10 percent since september but she a not sure higher gasoline prices arc the reason. Tulsa a bus fares have not increased but higher fares will probably follow any further fuel Price increases she said. Black activist stabbed before leading protest new York apr the Rev. Al Sharpton was inst say a stabbed in the Chest saturday afternoon minutes before the controversial Black activist was about to Lead a protest March through a neighbourhood marked by racial tensions. A suspect described Only As a White male was arrested in connection with the 1 30 . Stabbing on a Street Corner in the predominantly White Brooklyn neighbourhood of Bensonhurst said sgt. De Burns a police spokesman. Sharpton 36, was taken to Coney Island Hospital where he was in stable condition barns said. Hospital spokeswoman Barbara Sullivan said he was admitted and that a statement on his condition was being prepared. The stabbing took place As Sharpton was about to Lead a protest attended by the parents of Yusef Hawkins. Despite the attack More than 100 protesters conducted a peaceful demonstration Burns said. Hawkins was a Black teen Ager who was killed by a group of White youths in the Brooklyn neighbourhood l /2 years ago. The highly publicized slaying inflamed racial tensions in the City. It Wasny to the Only racially charged incident in which Sharpton known for his Media savvy and flamboyant confrontational style has been involved. Sharpton was a major Backer of Tawana Brawley the Black teen Ager in upstate Wappinger Falls whose allegations of rape in november 1987 also inflamed racial tensions. Authorities eventually dismissed her allegations As unfounded. He also was involved in advising relatives in the slaying of a Black Man in a predominantly White neighbourhood in Queens Howard Beach in 1986 and relatives of Black teen agers accused of gang raping a White Jogger in Central Parkin 1989. Past demonstrations in Bensonhurst held to protest Hawkins murder have drawn hostile local crowds that taunted demonstrators and hurled racial epithets. However there were few violent incidents police had been assigned to the neighbourhood again saturday to forestall problems during the demonstration and it was they who arrested the suspect Burns said. Police were investigating reports that a second Man might have been involved in the stabbing the spokesman said. ,. At Grade mansion mayor David Dinkins Learned about the stabbing and went directly to the Hospital mayoral spokesman Albert Scardino said. Man convicted of murder to get new or Billings Mont. Apr a Man who has spent 19 years in prison for a murder he says he did no to commit will get a new trial or be released from prison a Federal judge ruled. . District judge James m. Burns of Portland ore., ruled Friday that Fred Perry a constitutional rights were violated when prosecutors did not release evidence that could have affected his 1971 trial which resulted in a life sentence. Burns said he would consult with attorneys involved in the unusual Case about the next step. Fridays ruling filed in Federal court at Billings came 4vz years after the Man who claimed Perry was the killer recanted his testimony and said it was he a and not Perry a who murdered 14-year-old Vicki Renville of great Falls in february 1971. Despite the recantation by Michael Stillings state courts in Montana refused to Grant a new trial for Perry now 41. But Burns order throwing out the conviction had Little to do with Stillingss 1986 confession. Instead it entered on a series of letters that Stillings wrote after. He was arrested for Renville a murder. While in the Cascade county jail Stillings wrote four letters none of which mentioned Perry As an accomplice to the crime. Nonetheless he later told authorities att Ujj 4v it 4 amp costs of War a nuclear physicist or. Frank Barnaby talks about the environmental problems that a War in the persian Gulf could cause. Barnaby was addressing a news conference at the United nations Plaza in new York on Friday. Several experts warned that burning Oil Wells could cause As much environmental damage As a Small nuclear War. That he and Perry raped the girl and that Perry killed a Neveu a a. Her. Stallings received a 60-year sentence for his role in the killing. Perry has steadfastly denied being with Stillings on the night of the killing. When he recanted his testimony Stillings said he lied about Perry out of revenge because he believed Perry had implicated him in the crime. In his Appeal to the Federal court Perry said that when his attorneys asked for Stillingss letters before the 1971 trial they were told the letters did not exist. But in 1987, attorneys working on Perry a Appeal to the Montana supreme court found the evidence in a file in the sheriffs office. Klan marchers greeted with jeers in a. Town bums said prosecutors failure to produce the letters in 1971 undermines the jury a verdict and that the evidence could have undercut Stillingss testimony. West Chester a. Up residents gave the Kun flux klan a rough reception when about 25 klans men marched through downtown saturday. Hundreds of spectators watched by 200 police officers in riot gear jeered and hooted As the klan members w earing the hooded Robes that Are the groups trademark marched through downtown West Chester. Some Crow d members shouted obscenities at the klan marchers who yelled Back at the spectators. Most businesses along the two Block Parade route heeded a Call by City officials to close their doors during the event in a show of protest against the klan