European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 29, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 a the stars and stripes tuesday october 29, 1991viewers fuming off tvs to protest programs by the los Angeles times today is a turn off the to Day for thousands a perhaps millions a of viewers who plan to protest network programming by Reading Bowling knitting eating a anything but flicking the a a on Button of their television sets. Refusing to watch they say will Send the message that they Are sick of current programming trends that they believe focus far too much on sex and violence. If they done to speak up if they done to grab the attention of network programmers under pressure to hang onto an audience increasingly lured to Cable to and Vars proponents of the one Day Boycott predict that full frontal nudity blood splattering violence and televised executions will soon become the Norm. Conceived by a 30-year-old Delaware homemaker and supported by a wide ranging coalition of Media watchdog groups the a turn off Day is being publicly ignored by the networks none of which had any official comment on it last week. A basically we do not believe there will be any effect a said Peter Christanth Opolous president of the network television association which represents All three major networks. But Abc Abc lbs and Fox Are in for a big sur prise said Vicki Riley the homemaker and Mother from Wilmington del., who first came up with the National a turn off the to Day plan 14 months ago. A a in a expecting at least 6 million people to turn off their sets a said Riley who Heads concerned citizens for Quality television and is chairing the a turn off coalition. The other groups involved Are the new York based morality in Media the Michigan based americans for responsible television the Georgia based Christian film and television commission the Illinois based National coalition against television violence the Washington based National Christian association and the Mississippi based american family association. A a we re All concerned in some Way with the Content of to Quot said Brian Sullivan director of to monitoring for the National coalition against television violence. A a my group is particularly concerned with the glamorized look of violence on to but All the organizations Are concerned about this being a loud and Strong message to networks that to Consumers want and deserve More diverse Quality  a the vast wasteland is now a toxic wasteland Quot said Terry Rakolta founder and president of americans for responsible television. It is a message she re Peats frequently throughout the Eastern United states where she is constantly on the stump these Days speaking out against sex and violence on television particularly during Early prime time on All four networks. Rakolta said selection of today As a turn off Day was purely arbitrary. She estimated that the newsletters and networking of the seven organizations alone will reach a minimum of 700,000 people. Riley incorporated her concerned viewers for Quality television shortly after Rakolta founded americans for responsible television and first tried her turn off Day in Delaware on sept. 7, 1990, As a statewide protest. It Drew at least 5,000 supporters she said. The network associations Christanth Opolous said that studies conducted by the Roper organization and researchers at University of California Santa Barbara indicate that the majority of americans viewers support the networks treatment of sensitive and controversial subject matter. In an aug. 5 letter sent to More than 7,000 advertising specialists the network television association cited those and other studies conducted during the past 10 years that show that less than 1 percent of the viewing Public approve of Boycott tactics Christanth Opolous  to mix business pleasure on German trip Man powered record Mark Brela an associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics when he a not cavorting on water sets a world record for human powered hydrofoils sunday on the Charles River in Cambridge mass. His Craft covered the 110-Yard course at a Speed of 21.375 Mph bettering the previous Mark of 17.641. Brela 32, is with the Massachusetts Institute of technology. Reports of violent crime increase 5% a and Economy May be to blame Washington a the amount of violent crime reported to police Rose 5 percent in the first half of 1991, the Fri said and some authorities believe the increase is linked to the weak Economy. The Fri said sunday that combined figures fun violent and property related crime Rose 2 percent in the first six months of the year compared with the same period a year ago. In contrast a household Survey released by the Justice department a week ago showed that crime Overall for 1990 declined 3.9 percent. That Survey is considered a More accurate reflection of crime trends because it measures crime generally not just those reported to police. Authorities say less than 40 percent of major crimes Are reported to police. The of big a crime Index bused on data from 16,000 police departments shows that a the Northeast experienced a 3 per cent decline in the amount of reported violent and property related crime. But there were increases elsewhere 4 percent in the Midwest 3 percent in the South and 2 percent in the West. A nationally robbery reported to police was up 9 percent while other violent crime categories Rose As Well murder s percent forcible rape 4 percent and aggravated assault 2 percent. A there was a 1 percent increase in each of three categories a burglaries larceny thefts and motor vehicle thefts. Arson showed no change. A the nation s biggest cities showed a 2 percent decline in reported crime. The biggest increase was in cities of less than 111,000 population where there was a 5 percent Rise. The increases in the Fri crime Index Are connected to unemployment and drug addiction among poor youths in the most crime prone age group Ages 15 to by the new York times new York a mayor David n. Dinkins said sunday that he has accepted an expenses paid invitation to attend a Tennis tournament in Munich Germany in december. He added that he would also use the trip to explore economic opportunities for new York City in Central Europe and to visit a memorial to germans who defied the nazis. A promoter of the tournament the Compaq grand slam cup invited the mayor to Munich and will pay for his airfare and hotel accommodations As Well As that of a guest and two aides said Jennifer Kimball a spokeswoman for Dinkins. The mayor an unabashed Tennis enthusiast has invited Claire Shulman the Queens Borough president to be his guest but she has not yet responded. Booi the mayor and Sluiman have been negotiating with the . Tennis association Over its request to expand the site of . Open tournament in Flushing Meadows Queens. The mayor announced plans in feb 24, said Gene Stephens a professor of criminal Justice at the University of South Carolina. Their situation a never Good a is worse now with the Economy in the doldrums Stephens suggested. The Fri Index does no to include breakdowns by age. Another academic expert Alfred Blumstein said there were indications in the earlier Survey that crime might be turning upward and that the Economy might be a Factor. Robberies in 1990 were up sharply by 5.3 percent. A weak Economy can tend to drive crime rates Down in some categories said Blumstein Dean of the school of Urban and Public affairs at Carnegie Mellon University. Many people in a weak Economy Are at Home More which can Lead to less household crime such As burglary. Attempted forcible household entries Larcenie and car thefts were Down sharply last year Rumary for a $150 million expansion of the National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows Corona Park the site of the . Open since 1978, the Usta is a member of the International Tennis federation which sanctions the Munich tournament but Kimball said the Tennis portion of the trip was for pleasure and is not connected to those negotiations. The trip is tentatively scheduled from dec. 10 to 15. Dinkins said that by itself the Tennis tournament did not warrant a trip to Germany. �?o1 would not go to Munich Only for that purpose a the mayor told reporters. A a in be directed my staff to look at other things we might  Kimball said Dinkins and his aides have focused on two major concerns. She said the first centers on the Pursuit of economic opportunities in Germany a topic that Dinkins Hopes to broach with the mayors of Munich and Berlin among others. The second part of the trip which Kimball described As far More solemn might involve outings to the White Rose memorial and the Dachau concentration Camp As Well As meetings with German jews fantasia videos stolen by Driver Detroit apr a Man hooked up a trailer loaded with $1.7 million Worth of videocassettes of the Disney film fantasia and drove off a s i hours before the real Driver showed up the Fri said. Federal agents continued searching sunday for the thief but had no leads said Fri spokesman Hank Glaspie. The 49,000 tapes were stolen wednesday from video International amp associates inc., a Disney distributor near Detroit Glaspie said. The tapes were new recordings of fantasia an animated film originally released in 1940 and scheduled for re release nov. 1. The stolen Container was bound for Cincinnati Glaspie said