European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 18, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 6 o the stars and stripes monday january 18, 1993 Library aide Eleanor Prince laments the loss of opportunities for children As Money woes hit California libraries. Budget woes closing the books on Many of California s libraries los Angeles apr Eleanor Prince knows Only too Well that few things in life offer the Promise Ana knowledge found in books. And standing behind the Weingart Public Library a counter a where budget cuts and reduced hours have blocked those opportunities a weighs heavy on her heart. I feet helpless a the 58-year-old Library assistant in Felt suburban Lakewood said. Quot i feet sad for the Community facing financial disaster not seen since the depression Public libraries in California Are closing in record numbers. In their Stead Are missed opportunities impossible to measure and the piecemeal destruction of one of this country s Basic precepts a free Access to knowledge. A a we re not really providing Library  Prince sighed. A a it a very frustrating for  its also frustrating for youngsters. In the past decade More than half of California s school libraries have been shut. Most youngsters who use the Weingart Library Are minorities and Many Are Latchkey children who read while waiting for a Parent Togetti ome from work. Nine year old Mec Jung to is one of those kids and the Library is one of her favorite places. �?�1 read a lot of animal books a she said. What would she do if the Library closed a i guess i would just stay Home a she said sadly. Many states including Massachusetts and Illinois have tightened their financial belts with similar actions. But the american Library association says none has done so As drastically As California where Art estimated 50 of 700 libraries closed last year. In new York City however. Mayor David Dinkins this month proposed adding $15 million to the Library a budget to keep the City a 205 branches open six Days a week. Most Are open five Days a w Eek. A communities Are coing to have to prioritise their needs a said Marilyn filler Library association president. A wh3t is the Quality of life it s More than police and fire Protection and garbage  in los Angeles county the nation s largest Public Libraty system with 1.2 million card carry ing borrowers 10 libraries closed in november. There Are several factors. The budget crisis comes on top of the revolutionary property tax cuts of 197s�?Ts proposition 13, which systematically chipped away at publicly funded institutions. A a Quot since prop 13, Public libraries have done a tremendous Job of retrofitting their services Quot said state librarian Gary Strong. A but you can to buy materials and you can to buy staff with no  v the average Price for hard cover editions a spectrum ranging from Best Sellers to reference volumes is s4q, Miller said. Databases and other computer services now considered Standard Library materials Are a bottomless pits of additional fees she said. Increasingly California communities Are finding that maintaining Quot Public libraries Means paying w Ith nontraditional Revenue sources. Quot the Central California county of Fresno placed a a sos buckets in 33 libraries to raise several thousand dollars needed to save four branches. In Northern California. Berkeley residents approved local taxes in 19s0 and 1988 to fund Library sen ices. In los Angeles county where budget cuts slashed 10 of percent or $10.2 million from this fiscal years Library funds officials Are readying statewide legislation that would allow counties to Levy local taxes to pay for Libran services. Still the Outlook is Bleak. Counts officials estimate that los Angeles will face a 50 percent loss in Library funds for the fiscal year beginning in july. At Weingart Library Prince worries about the people. It is As one of the 10 county libraries closed but it reopened Ssith an emergency infusion of Lakewood City funds. It scaled Back to three Days a week and Prince As a Library assistant is its highest Rankin. Time librarian has been reassigned. It emr Ovee. The full Stop or my mom will hit you a again Richmond a. Up a a police detective was in for a Surprise after he arrested a Man who allegedly tried to abduct a woman and broke a biotite Over her head when she resisted. It Wasny to until the accused Man was in Handcuffs that investigator Mike Wade Learned the victim was his Mother. 1 guess you tend to look at it from a different perspex toe when a family member is involved the members of the Henrico county police department said in saturday editions of the Richmond times dispatch. His Mother Doris Wade 57, was not seriously Hurt. After Doris Wade dropped off a relative at a hair Salon in a shopping Center thursday she walked to a grocery store and bought some items and was putting them in her �,-1 when a Man said he wanted her Auto and tried to Force her Back inside the veh Ieie. She uttered the Man the kept it but refused to get in. The officer said when the Man insisted she be in the car she whacked him with her purse he retaliated by  her three times w Ith the .  said. By that time people in the Beauty Salon Ramot it de and began chasing the assailant. Wade and another investigator heard a patrol officer report the suspects location Over the  . The detectives sped to the scene and  the Man within minutes. Wade chased him on foot an  15 a Dot a. J k he a i -i., Ivy , 1 it a i ground and was arrested on charges of attempted Rabb Erv and malicious w . A ado said the temptation to take  Remer c Cut so. A a. A v i v-"1 x a a a 1 guess people have . To   my Quot an a i cues. To comment to that it. No. M. Mother  Quot sex Arizona state senator gets 4 years in bribery Case from wire reports Phoenix a a former state senator was  four years in prison for her role in a political corruption Case that snared 21 people including seven sitting legislators Carolyn Walker a Phoenix Democrat was convicted nov. 5 of conspiracy to commit bribery and making a false Campaign contribution statement. She was acquitted of five other charges including bribery and Money laundering. A judge also sentenced her Friday to three years probation. Walker had been accused of taking More than $24,000 from an undercover police operative posing As a Nevada High roller trying to get Casino gambling legalized in Arizona. Of the other defendants Only two were sentenced to prison. Others received probation and,4n two cases Brief terms in the county jail. All of the indicted legislators except Walker resigned their seats Ana entered into plea agreements. Walker was ousted by the Senate when she refused to cooperate with an ethics committee hearing following her  commutes sentence new York a former immigration agent Joseph Occhipinti a suddenly freed from prison by president Bush a was welcomed Home As a modern Day Serpico who supporters say fought drugs and was done in by the dealers. Quot on Friday Bush commuted the agents 37-month sentence for illegally searching hispanic owned businesses in new York. He had served about eight months at a prison Camp at Eglin fab near fort Walton Beach Fla. A one supporter Daniel Carrique compared the agent to Frank Serpico the corruption busting new y Ork detective of two decades ago portrayed on film by Al Pacino. Although his sentence w As commuted the 1991 conviction of Occhipinti 42, for violating the Shopo Nerri civil rights stands. Prosecutors believed that Occhipinti violated the rights of store owners in Washington Heights w Hen without the use of search warrants he ransacked their businesses and searched their shelves and Cash registers and safes. Many Law enforcement officials however saw him As an aggressive agent doing his Best to clean up a drug and Quot crime infested  suspect surrenders Evansville ind. A a suspect in the slaying of 3 College student and the rape of another w Oman on two Florida College campuses surrendered to Indiana police. Enc Scott Branch 21, appeared in court Friday and was ordered held without bail pending a Jan. 2$ extradition hearing Quot authorities in Pensacola Fla., have called him the prime suspect in last w Eek a slaving of a l River site of West Florida student. Branch also is charged w Ith rape in the dec. 31 attack on a student at a Community College in Panama City Fla. Branch also was wanted in Evansville on a warrant charging him in a 190 theri Case. Although Branch declined 10 waive extradition Friday bus Lawver verde ski Miller said he would not contest extradition 10 Florida later. Florida a cheers and Fri agents had wanted to talk to Branch on Friday but Miller said he had made no statements to police. Police officer slain and was arrested after a shootout Thomas Harrison. 35, a police officer for 12 curs. W upshot Friday a he talked to the Man in a Nir i it Bek Hudson Der Arteni store at the  of Orange Mai. A   the mar. Outside the act he fore Triune him into custody