European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 17, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 14 the stars and stripes Money matters tuesday May 17, 1994today�?Ts rates following Are fixed rates at which Community banking and credit Union facilities will sell foreign currencies to . Personnel for personal use British Pound. 1.54 dutch Guilder. 1.83 German Mark a 1.63 greek drachma 240.5567 note the rates above apply within the Host country. Figures Are expressed. In dollars to the British Pound other currencies to the dotlai1 following Are Interbank rates that fluctuate arid should be regarded As the approximate value of the . Dollar to foreign currencies a. Austrian Schilling a a a a to it a a 11.777 Bahrain Dinar 0.37675 belgian franc British Pound 1.5040 Canadian Dollar 1.3751 danish Krone 6.705 dutch Guilder. 1.8785 French franc 5.7385 German Mark 1.6740 italian lira 1,607.94 Kuwait Dinar 0.2979 norwegian Krone 7.2565 portuguese escudo .172.60 saudi rial. 3.7498 Spanish peseta 138.30 Swiss franc 1.4250 turkish lira 31,700 note figures Are expressed Iri dollars to the British Pound Othet currencies to i hts Dollar. Gold quote $380.75 an ounce Silver quote $5.36 an ounce sources merchants National Bank ii troist co i the associated press United Presa International tobacco firm puts hot topic before voters in California. By b. Drummond Ayres or. New York times los Angeles a for the last five years California has been the National Leader in the fight against smoking. It has used a combination of restrictions taxes and advertising campaigns to reduce cigarette consumption by almost 30 percent. Now with smoking higher than Ever on the nations health Agenda. And other states beginning to look to California As the Model Philip Morris inc. Has begun an All out counterattack aimed at slow my and then rolling Back the nationwide drive toward More stringent smoking Laws. A a Quot Quot v through the help of a political consulting firm and at a Cost of More than $500,000, the nations largest tobacco company has used Street canvassers and phone Banks to gather enough petition signatures throughout the state to place a Strong proposal a dubbed a Quot tobacco control act a on the november election ballot. A / a a a. Generally speaking the proposal would replace some 270 stringent smoking Laws locally enacted in California with a single less stringent statewide Law. Moreover the proposal would allow business and building owners a rather than government officials a to decide where to permit smoking so Long As it was in specifically designated Well ventilated areas. A a. Voit is believed to be the first time that any area of the cigarette Industry has taken a proposal in favor of smoking to voters on a statewide basis. And the company is prepared to spend much More on its efforts but it will not disclose How much. A a a a fall we seek is uniformity arid to provide fairness for both smokers and nonsmokers a said Lee Stitzenberge the consultant hired by Philip Morris to run its Campaign in California. A we say let businesses and building owners decide whether they want to allow smoking and whether that will bring in or run off customers. A a lot of people especially restaurant owners Tell us smoking bans have Cost them 20 percent or More of their business if they re in a locality that forbids smoking and the next town Over does no to forbid  / smoking opponents contend that the Effort has nothing to do with fairness and uniformity and everything to do with Selling cigarettes and rolling Back the antismoking movement. They also contend that the campaigns supporters misled Many of the 607,000 people who signed the petition sheets necessary to qualify the proposal for the november ballot. A Philip Morris has decided to make California  line of the Srno King War a said Julia Carol one of the directors of americans for non smokers rights a National group based in Berkeley Calif. A they figure if they can win Here they can win anywhere. And to do it they be passed around a pro smoking petition that they deliberately miss Abele a a tobacco control act. Control a state election officials have agreed to investigate whether the petition Campaign was properly conducted. A a we be had hundreds of Calls and letters complaining about the tactic a said Melissa Warren chief assistant Secretary of state. A they could jeopardize the qualification of the measure for the ballot if we find there a sufficient  Campaign supporters deny their petition pitch was misleading. A keep in mind that this initiative would extend smoking regulations to hundreds of places that currently done to have them a Stitzenberge argued a a we re also proposing stricter rules on use of tobacco by youths. And we re not proposing to change anything about smoking in Public  service to get under Way in Chunnie Paris apr two weeks after the gala inauguration the Channel Tunnel will open for business this week with the Start of freight service the operator announced monday eur Tunnel an Anglo French Consorti urn said its freight shuttle service under the English Channel will begin thursday. The twin rail Tunnel also will be open to freight trains from the British and French National railroads. No Date has been set yet for the Start of passenger  Independence Ohio a negotiators for Goodyear tire amp rubber co and the United rubber workers Union reached a tentative agreement sunday on a contract for 12,000 workers at nine plants. An earlier contract agreement was rejected by five of nine Union locals. Curt Brown a Union spokesman declined to detail provisions of the agreement but said it addressed concerns raised during the earlier vote. Workers will vote on the three year agreement Over the next 10 Days he said. Hank Inman a Goodyear spokesman said both sides had agreed to withhold release of any contract details pending ratification. The agreement affects workers at plants in St. Mails Marysville and Akron Ohio Gadsden Ala. Union City Tenn. Danville a. Sun Prairie wis. Topeka Kan. And Lincoln neb. Urn members at St. Marys Gadsden Union City and Danville struck for a halfday Friday to press their contract  Akron Beacon journal reported that the previous agreement reached april 24, included a profit sharing plan Cost of living adjustments increases in monthly pensions and a $500 signing Bonus. Some locals were apparently unhappy with the economic terms. Apple imports hit Japan a 23 years late Tokyo up a the first major shipment of foreign apples to be sold in Japan arrived in the Western port City of Kobe on monday 23 years after Tokyo officially opened it Market to imports of the fruit. Some 19 tons of new zealand apples were unloaded without fanfare in the City 260 Miles West of Tokyo local officials said. A they Are expected to appear on grocery store shelves in a few Days after passing inspection at the ports quarantine station. Japan ostensibly opened its Apple Market in 1971 but had continued to ban apples m effect from major growers such As new zealand and the United states citing fears that imported apples would bring insects and disease to Japan. After Long standing pressure by Washington Japan announced last week that it has approved . Apple inspection methods and that american imports Are expected to join those from new zealand before the end of the year. Growers in both new zealand and the United states have Long argued that japanese fears of their Apple imports spreading disease were Little More than disguised Trade barriers. Japanese Apple growers have protested the governments opening of the Market. They say their product normally sold As an individually wrapped and pricey gourmet treat will be unable to compete with the much cheaper imports. When a test shipment of new zealand apples arrived in Japan in april japanese Farmers staged demonstrations handing out free samples of their fruit and carrying signs warning Consumers to a beware of chemicals in foreign  a few weeks ago japanese growers submitted a petition signed by More than 500,000 people to the country a ministry of agriculture protesting the imports and urging the government to reverse moves to open the Market. There Are about 85,000 Apple growing households in Japan producing some 1 million tons each year. New zealand officials have said they Hope to Export about 500 tons of apples to Japan this year. Japanese tourists shy away from California los Angeles apr californians traditional wave of japanese tourists is ebbing. Japan s worst recession since world War ii and fears of american violence Are keeping the japanese visitors away officials say. The states share of the $14 billion japanese tourist Market has dropped fronv44 percent in 1987 to a projected 18 percent this year according to the California division of tourism. Other states also have seen declines in the japanese tourist Market. For instance new Yorkus share of the Market has fallen from nearly 19 percent in 1987 to an expected 11 percent this year. But California is taking the Brunt of the loss and its costing the state $658 million a year officials say. Each japanese tourist spends an average of $3,000 in California. Ryo Okura vice president of Japan travel Bureau International a major travel Agency said Many japanese Are visiting Florida instead. Pet project chinese citizens take strolls with their rented pooches Ren its the dog Park near Beijing on sunday. I he Park houses 600 dogs and is the first in China to Ottar mutts for rent. A 10-minute stroll costs 23 cents and the gone to the dogs Park is proving popular. The communist government considers the animals a luxury that citizens cannot afford