ROPOULO
(AP) - L ni
NAVY
ANNOUNCEMENTS
By PAUL NOWELL
A •• ocl.ted Pr ••• Wrlt.r
GREEN BORO N.C. CAP) - A
department store that was the
ite of a historic protest by
Blacks against racial segrega­
tion will be reborn as a civil
rights museum. Officials of Sit­
In Movement Inc. said Thu day
they hoped to open the museum
by Feb. 1, 1995, the 35th anni­
versary of a lunch-oounter sit-in
at the F.W. Woolworth store,
which is slated to close this
month.
In 1960, four Blac college
students t down in the action
of the store's lunch counter re­
served for whites. The prot t i
considered a key event in the
civil rights movement.
One of the four students, .
Franklin McCain, spoke at
Thursday' ne conference.'
"I always felt this place was
more than just another five-and­
dime, " McCain said. "From here,
rine Corp
S Di go, rui ugh
the b i ofb ttlefield urvival,
introdu d to typical military
daily routin , and pe onal nd
prof ional nda
Th 1989 graduate of Muske­
gon H igh High School, Mus­
egon Heights, joined th
Marine Corp in April, 1993.
a clarion call as sent out for
justice, brotherhood and equal­
ity.-
LAST YEAR, Woolworth an­
nounced that the Greensboro
store, which opened in 1923,
would b among nearly 1,000
across the country to close.
Sit-In Movement official
said they need to raise between
dlrs 3 million and dlrs 5 million
to purchase and renovate the
store. They said they have raised
INSURANCE REFORM
doctor-will have the final say
about what treatment is appro­
priate Rr .tl)�1l1 �p,d to add insult
The state' most, inj rv it we d for cci
sur ce compaai on' ttim··�lrno"'· e .�/ ..
�top trying to ite.a�. ute .. I 0 appeal first to he v' ry eam­
insurance law for their own pany that denied them coverage
benefit according to Rick Stod- in the first place" Stoddard ex-
dard, secretary of the Michigan pressed '
Citizens Lobby and a member of .
the Committee for Fairness and
Accountability in Insurance Re­
form (FAIR).
-A little more than a year ago
Michigan voters overwhelm­
ingly rejected AAA's Proposal
D," Stoddard said. "We rejected
it because it dramatically re­
duced our benefits, did not guar­
antee lower rates, and meant
more mpney for insurance com­
panies:"
Now voters are faced with re­
jecting yet another law written
to benefit the state's insurance
companies.
Stoddard says they will have
to do it again because the Legis­
lature and Governor just didn't
understand they meant by their
"no" vote last year.
The new law will go into effect
April 1 unless enough signa­
tures are gathered to force a
public referendum.
By CRAIG HILL
JUST WEEKS AFTER vot­
ers rejected Proposal D, legisla­
tors gave in to the Governor and
insurance company lobbyists
and passed into law a bill based
on exactly the same principles as
Proposal D-significant cuts in
consumer benefits and no guar­
antee of lower rates for Michi­
gan drivers, says Stoddard.
"The new law, Public Act 143
of 1993, is even worse than Pro­
posal D because it gives insur­
ance companies even more ways
to deny ooverage," said Stod­
dard.
Stoddard explained that the
new law takes away the full cov­
erage for medical bills that peo­
ple have today if they are injured
in an auto accident and it allows
them to buy back their old cov­
erage, "but of course it will east
them more and they won't be
able to buy back the coverage
they have today a any pri ."
Even more devastating for
consumers is the fin prin tha
gives insuranc companiews
much' more control ov r your
treatment and arbi rarily limi
, many rehabilitation services to
a fixed time period, "no matter
whatcareyourdoctord temines
that they need, says Stoddard.
"Under this new law, your in­
urance company-not your
•
ering 12�,OOO signatures for a
petition so the law can be de­
layed until the November elec­
tion so th t can Teject it
in," Stodd "said,
roups like the NAACP De­
troit Branch, Michigan Con­
sumer Federation, Mothers
Against Drunk Driving, the Ad­
vocacy Organization for Pa- _
tients and Providers, the
Michigan State AFL-CIO and
the Michigan Head Injury Alli­
ance are asking voters across
the state to sign petitions sup­
porting the referendum, says
Stoddard.
Stoddard warned that the in­
surance companies aren't about
to give up their fight to k p
voters off the ballot.
"They know voters will reject
it just as they did AAA's Pro­
posal D so their lawyers are pre­
paring to go to court to take
away the people's right to vote, "
he said.
Stoddard urged consumers
thi is a "fi h we can't afford to
los ." .
This is a fight about the pub­
lic's right to vote, theinsurance
company control over lives, and
the arrogance in Lansing-the
kind of arrogance that led Gov­
ernor Engler and many legisla­
tors to ignore two-and-a-half
million voters who said no to the
insurance companies and will
say it gain, expressed Stod­
dard.
"I talked to a couple of legis­
lato about this bill," Stoddard
said. "One legislator said they
didn' car and wo said they
wer n't bound."
about dlrs 450,000, including a
dlrs 50,000 chec presented
Thursday by John Franci , th
vice president of First Citizens
Bank, which owns th building.
"We ha ived numerou
offers for this building," Francis
aid. "Weknowofnooth rcause
more worthy ... than th p r­
vation of the F.W. Woolworth
tore where the civil rights
movement began."
Plans for th two-level mu­
seum call for a variety of exhibits
dealing with human and civil
rights. The famous lunch
counter will reopened.
Marin Cpl. Bobby M Cow n,
on of Viola McCow n of u k
gon, ntly rived th Good
Conduct Medal and wa pro-
moted 0 his p nt rank. Th
medal recogniz as rvi mem-
r's honest and faithful rvi
during a three-year p riod.
H is currently igned with
He dquarte B t alion, 2nd
Marine Division, Marin Co
B , Camp Lej une, .C.
Th 1990 gradua of u k -
gon High School, Mu kegon,
joined th Marin Corp in June,
1 O.
TODDARD ASKED THE
question: What are consumers
suppo ed to get in return for
these cuts in benefits?
He explained that the law
contains something called a "six­
teen percent average rate reduc­
tion" but it applies only to those
who choose th minimum bene­
fit levels while extra coverage
would be available but at a
higher price.
"Insurance companies can
, even request waivers from all or
part of the rollback and are free
to raise their rates again after
just six months," Stoddard
claimed.
, According to Stoddard, AAA's
Proposal D had the sam loop­
holes in its fine print.
"I beHeve AAA had a lot to
with this new law but they are
keeping a low profile," he said.
THE AIR COALITIO
believes that Michigan citizens
should be allowed to xercis
their Constitutional right to ask
for a referendum(means some­
thing provided in .constitution
Article 2 Section 9 that guaran­
tees the right of vot rs to vote on
something the legislature did
before it take affect) on this
law, Stoddard says.
"We are in the process of'gath-
Young�o
teach, lecture
atWSU
ernors.
u Marx Smock, n ofth
CoIl ge of U rb n, Labor nd
M tropolitan Aff irs, says
Youngs r ponsibiliti "will in­
clud t chingand pa icipation
in writing and cholarlyendeav­
ors as may b appropriat ."
She says Young will giv ev­
eral lectur ,both in specified
class and for the student body
in gener 1.
"His pr
State," she no , "will giv
den nd facul y th privil
learning abou governan
poli ics from on of th nation'
mos xperien prof; ion Is.
Mayor Youn halo to of r,
and w w n 0 k optimum
dv nt of this opportuni y by
having him h his knowl ge
nd experience through t ch­
ing and luring."
eights man
compl t
training
Support
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1Ie.ll1ltiJrnm� mteasure of a
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;mOJtnerJ!ts t?f comfort and nv-
me.nce, wh h stands
at tim s of challeng and
contro\1i y. "
MARTI. I nIH· R KJ, '() ,
I" }lI
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