Wednesday. May 31, 1978
mD Sixteen Pages
Ann Arbor, Michigan Ten Cents plus Supplement
PSC bulb challenge in works
By BRIAN BLANCHARD
The Public Service Commission (PSC) plans to
challenge the federal district court order which ended
Detroit Edison's light bulb exchange program last
Friday, but the state attorney general's office has not
yet decided how to carry out that action.
Robert Nelson, PSC Policy Director, said yesterday
"we wil probably go to court either today or
tomorrow" to urge a temporary restraining order to
force the utility to maintain the free light bulb program
until a final decision can be made "in several months."
BUT STANLEY STEINBORN of the state attorney
general's office, which handles all PSC legal action,
said, "We are almost certainly not going to court" im-
mediately, adding his office "is still studying" possible
Sadat:
I'll give
peace 60
more days
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - President
Anwar Sadat declared yesterday he is
giving his peace initiative with Israel
another two months to prove itself a
success or failure.
If his overtures to Israel fail to being
a settlement, Sadat said, "it's not the
end of the world. Let us try another
way, let us try another system."
But, speaking at a news conference at
his Nile-side villa, he hinted that if the
peace process proves fruitless, he
might not agree to renew the
disengagement of forces pact with
Israel in the Sinai Desert. The
agreement expires in October.
HE INDICATED he might reach a
decision by the time Egypt celebrates
the 26th anniversary of its revolution in
July. "I hope on the next 23rd of July
there will be a surprise," he said.
In Jerusalem, meanvhile, Israeli
press reports claimed hard lobbying by
Israeli embassies in Washington 'and
other capitals of the North Atlantic Summer is
Treaty Organization (NATO) has sof- in the bac
tened a draft statement by NATO on the season wit
Middle East.
Israeli officials said they could not SLAM
confirm the reports, but acknowledged
that the United States had been pushing
for a strongly worded statement4
backing President Carter's Mideast
policy. WASHIN
ANTICIPATING A tough stand by the Carter ye
NATO foreign ministers' meeting in "massive
Washington, the Israeli Foreign Africa," ai
Ministry published a communique Vance hel
Monday saying Israel would be "very Western ai
surprised" by a one-sided NATO security fo
declaration. Carter e
The reports said the final NATO mit sessio
communique is likely to drop a call for Organizati
granting "legitimate rights" to the reporters:
Palestinians and for Israeli withdrawal NATO is th
on all three fronts-the Egyptian, Jor- any' boun
danian and Syrian. massive pl
and this ce
See SADAT, Page 2 be a non-al
actions. Although the PSC has the power to regulate all
of the state's privately owned electric and gas utilities,
it is up to the attorney general to direct "an eleventh-
hour attempt" to revive the program, according to
Steinborn.
Edison ended the light bulb swap after Southfiedl
druggist Lawrence Cantor took the utility to court,
claiming Edison's exchange program violated anti-
trust laws and hampered his own light bulb business.
The order to close the program was approved by U.S.
District Judge John Feikens.
An earlier dismissal of Cantor's suit by Feikens was
reversed last year by the U.S. Supreme Court. Nelson
yesterday said the Supreme Court decision was con-
tingent on the approval of the PSC.
STEINBORN SAID THE most likely course of action
for the PSC would be to go back to the federal court
level to ask for reveral of the approval on the basis of
new evidence.
The new evidence would apparently be the public
support for the "Lamp Supply Program" claimed by
the PSC.
The PSC could also go to local circuit courts, but
"ther you'd have the situation in which on the one hand
the federal court would be saying 'no' and on the other
the state would be saying 'yes"' to the program, accor-
ding to Steinborn.
ON MAY 22 THE attorney general's office recom-
mended to the PSC that Edison's monthly rate for
r-sidential customers be reduced by 44 cents, an
See PSC Page 10
Daily Photo by ANDY FREEBERG
Ah, summer!
s when watermelon and popsicles drip down your arm, blue jeans become cut-offs, and hamburgers are barbecued
kyard. Memorial Day weekend kicked this summer off to a sunny start and these three sun-worshippers began the
h a floating frolic on the Detroit River Monday.
[S AFRICAN BUILD-UP:
Carter assails Cuban troops
GTON (AP) - President
sterday assailed Cuba's
placement of troops in
nd Secretary of State Cyrus
d open the possibility of
d for building a Pan-African
rce.
merged from a secret sum-
in of North Atlantic Treaty
on (NATO) leaders saying to
"The general feeling inside
at the Cubans have exceeded
ds of propriety in having
acement of troops in Africa
rtainly makes their claim to
igned country ridiculous."
WESTERN authorities estimate that
Cuba has between 38,000 and 40,000
troops in various African countries.
Later, Vance, answering questions at
a news conference, labeled the for-
mation of a Pan-African force as "anin-
teresting idea that we would like to con-
sider."
"I certainly would not rule out the
possibility of some sort of economic
assistance to such a force, but it's much
too early to draw any conclusions on
it," Vance added. .
KEY WESTERN nations will meet in
Paris on Monday for preliminary talks
that would serve as a prelude to a
broader conference on African security
to be held in Brussels on June 13 and 14,
he said.
Vance said the government of Zaire
will attend the Brussels meeting which
will focus on the central African coun-
try's economic problems resulting from
the recent invasion of Shaba province
by rebels based in Angola.
Besides the United States, the Paris
and Brussels talks will be attended by
France, Great Britain, West Germany
and Belgium, Vance said.
See CARTER, Page 11