European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 02, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday. November 2, 1993 . The stars and stripes Page 9 fires fear of mudslides Altadena Calif. A the raging wildfire that destroyed nearly 800 buildings and burned across 170, acres last week has left a new threat in their Wake mudslides. As Crews struggled to close containment rings on the remaining fires specialists planned to quickly reseed denuded hillsides with grass to hold mud against Winter  downpours could come any Day said . Forest service rehabilitation expert Dill Brown. We re really racing against the clock Brown said sunday after returning from a Survey of a scorched area above the los Angeles suburb of Altadena. There s virtually nothing left to hold any water on the slope. We get some major storms in there and irs like raining on Cement or Asphalt he said. Brown said he hoped grass would be planted on stripped Hills within two weeks. Homeowners still recovering from the effects of the fires had already begun worrying about the new threat we re going to pack up the China and the heirlooms Vand put them in storage Connie Towne of Altadena said at a neighbourhood party for fire survivors. Once the sat build up in the mountains it s going to be a Wall of , wet weather Over the weekend helped firefight ers get the upper hand on most of 13 major wildfire that broke out last week along a 200-Mfle arc from Ventura county through los Angeles to the mexican order. The fires torched 170,724 acres damaged or destroyed 787 buildings including at least 650 Homes and injured 62,. A preliminary estimate from the state office of emergency services put damage at $500 million. Fire officials predicted Complete containment of Al blazes by today. However the National weather serv ice predicted that hot dry Santa Ana winds would re turn today which could fan any remaining  Progress made against the fires allowed officials to release some firefighting Crews from Northern Cali fornia and other states though More than 8,000 fire fighters remained on the lines backed up by 35 Heli copters and 28 air planes dropping water and fire retardant  natural Cycle of fires and floods or mudslides in the Southern California Foothills is Well known. For those who carve expensive Homes into the Steep Hill sides it Means a one two punch of  in right behind most firefighting Crews will be teams working to Blunt the danger of  that bulldoze fire lines along ridges wit Cut Shal Low water bars to divert Runoff Brown said. Crews also will install Concrete basins to capture run off and debris and string heavy cloth across washes to catch smaller debris Brown  part of the replanting plan tons of seed will be scattered front helicopters planting native grasses toehold the soil against erosion. In Altadena Laurie Kay said she was calling in Engi neers to advise her How to Avert mudslide Damag to her Home which survived flames that burned up iwo dozen neighbouring houses. We never take this place for granted she  s just so special we know we re coming Back. All the people i talked to Are coming  other developments a fire that destroyed 366 Homes and businesses i Laguna Beach was extinguished sunday evening. Firefighters reported a containment line had ringed 85 percent of the stubborn Altadena fire in the Foothills Northeast of los Angeles. The Blaze scorched5,700 acres and destroyed 118 Homes. A 42,000-acre fire that destroyed 35 dwellings and eight Mobile Homes in Ventura county was 95 percent contained. Amid Rains of her Home in Altadena Calif., sue me Gough Fulli out insurance claims for fire losses. Secession sex on voters ballots around .  associated press californians vote on school vouchers. Tax rebels i Washington could weaken health care Reform. Gay rights foes target  Island tries to secede from new York City. Maine May limit terms for  Calendar says this is an election off year the 12-month Nap voters take from politics after the handwork of picking a president a Congress a slew of governors and deciding thousands of ballot ques  More question keep coming. An unusually Busy off year culminates today with some critical choices for voters from whether to tax themselves to deciding what s right or wrong in their hometowns. Should mall Happy Bergen county n.j., finally allow sunday shopping what about fingerprinting those who want welfare in san Francisco. Do they go for gambling on Indiana Nve boats and off track in Virginia t can Texas North Carolina Ohio and Pennsylva Nia afford More debt will three time felons in Washington state get life sentences without parole what is in pensive is the magnitude of voting in an  professor David Magleby an expert on Public referendum who teaches political Sci ence at Brigham Young University in Provo  reason activists Are discovering they get More mileage for their causes going straight to the  is a growing tendency to see the ballot Box As the place to resolve big questions rather than the legislature or local government entities Magleby  year s issues Echo those of recent years school vouchers and Choice crime control term Lim its Gay rights. They also show the Impact of a sorry Economy when states turn to investors and gamblers instead of their strapped taxpayers for such basics As Parks an libraries and water supplies. And More than Ever voters Are taking More control of their taxation or trying to. A menu of today s ballot Box highlights education California proposition 174 would give schoolchildren tuition vouchers Worth $2,600each to Foster school Choice and Competition. Term limits recall voters consider Ter limits for Maine s state lawmakers and four executive offices new York City s mayor City Council and Vother posts upstate Monroe county n.y., county offices and the Downey City Council in Southern Cali fornia. A new Jersey ballot invites voters to take the Power to recall anyone in elected office. Crime californians May adopt a permanent half Penny sales tax to pay for local Law enforcement. Washington voters May order life sentences without parole for most three time felons. The Texas ballot to Ere is a growing tendency Tosee the ballot Box As the place to resolve big questions rather than the legislature or local government entitles professor a Vid Magleby a political Swienc professorial Brigham Young University includes a proposal to raise $1 billion in Bond sales to build prisons and mental health facilities. Gay rights voters in Cincinnati and Lewis ton Maine decide whether repeal Gay rights ordinances Portsmouth  a a nonbinding referendum asking citizens whether they want a Gay rights ordinance. Taxes two measures on the Washington ballot would keep taxes Down by tying them to inflation population growth and personal income one also would kill a $1 billion tax package used to balance the state budget and help pay for health care Reform. Voters in Texas will decide if they should be consulted first if legislators get serious about creating a state income  voters May reinstate a 0.2 percent tourist tax to pay for advertising. Borrowing other proposed Bond issues in clude $740 million for North Carolina for state col Leges and universities water supplies and Parks $200 million for Ohio to restore aging Parks and $50 Mil lion toward a Pennsylvania fund for Upkeep of Parks libraries historic Sites museums and  new York state proposals would smooth out debt payments for local school District state and sewer projects All to make new York Bonds More attractive to investors. Gambling riverboat gambling will be an option for people in 11 Indiana communities by Lake Michigan and the Ohio River and for three cities and three counties in Missouri along the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. While Virginia plans its first horse race track Vot ers in Arlington Alexandria and Hampton will con Sider allowing off track betting. In Southern California Barstow and Lynwood will decide whether to allow limited gambling at card Par lors. Welfare san Francisco would fingerprint applicants for City welfare benefits and require a mini mum 15-Day residency if proposition v passes. In addition voters will consider these be of a kind referendums secession Staten islanders will vote on whether to keep pushing to get out of new York City and become a suburban City of their own. Environment Maine has a proposal to shipits Low level radioactive waste to Hudspeth county Texas. Public transit in san Francisco a non binding referendum seeks to require that full time employees use Public transport at least twice a week. Never on sunday bustling suburban her Gen county n.j., directly across the Hudson River from Manhattan has a referendum to repeal Testate s last countywide Blue Law a 1959 ban on Mer chants Selling clothes and household goods on Sun Day. Sex voters in South Portland Maine will Pon Der referendums on two sides of a moral ence. One would ban total Public nudity and lewdness such asexual Intercourse passage could require dancers at the City s Lone topless bar to Don pasties. The second measure seeks repeal of an ordinance that bans pornography. Dummy cop should a san Francisco police officer be allowed to take his uniformed ventriloquist s Dummy along on patrol the people will de cide that too