The Michigan Daily - Thursday, April 14, 1994 - 5 . Archer calls for cutting waste in city budget * DETROIT (AP) - Mayor Dennis Archer proposed a streamlined city budgetyesterday aimed atcutting waste without sacrificing social services to tackle an expected $63.3 million defi- cit. "This budget can be a new begin- ning," Archer told the City Council. "With dedication, effort and time, we will restore Detroit to greatness." Archer's $2.2 billion budget plan got rid of a 10 percent pay cut for city workers initiated under his predeces- sor, while wiping out 270 city posi- tions, including 50 high-level jobs. But his recommendation of a $3 per vehicle entry fee for Belle Isle Park, the city's major public park, immediately prompted protest from the council. The fees, expected to bring in $1.5 million, will apply only to cars, not 0walk-ons and bikers. "I just don't think that we should balance our budget on the backs of the poor,"council member BrendaM. Scott told Archer. She said in an interview after his presentation that she planned to "zero in" on two proposals - the park fee and the increase of bus transfer costs from 10 cents to 25 cents - during the upcoming discussions in the council. The council plans to finalize a bud- get plan by the end of next month. Council members praised the mayor as forthright, areputation he has earned since taking office in January. Council member Clyde Cleveland said Archer's openness struck a con- trast to the secretive, autocratic style of Coleman Young, the former mayor. Archer's proposal to end the so- called "doo-wop" arrangement, in which city workers agreed to stay home some days of the week without pay, was welcomed with good-natured laughter. Archer also suggested some invest- ments that he said would pay off in the long run. Those included 20 new posi- tions in the city's legal department, a 14 percent increase, and $90,000 in new computer systems to grapple with "the paperwork jungle." He also restored a department to oversee youth programs and set up a new task force on the homeless. It allotted $2 million for home repair financing and $9.8 million for neigh- borhood development projects. But the thrust of his proposal was trimming the fat. The cuts in city jobs alone, he said, would save $10 million. The mayor's office, with a staff of 78, would be the smallest since 1980. The Detroit police was asked to sell two helicopters and two planes, adding $1.1 million to the city's coffers. He urged bus drivers, police and firefighters to begin making conces- sions on wage negotiations. He chided the way city funds were now being managed as "haphazard." "Productivity is dismal and em- ployee morale is worse," Archer told the council. Council member Gil Hill said he backed Archer's plan to trim waste. "We're living in such times that we're going to have to take a real good look at this. And we've got to suffer," he said. "When you're $63 million in the hole, everybody is going to get hurt, if you do it right." GOT THE WHOLE WORLD IN MY HANDS Tobacco industry reveals additives used in cigarettes MARY KOUKHAB/Daily Kindergartner Ivanna Candido plays with the Cube yesterday during a brief respite from two days of rain. 1-ear, $4 ilontd on beta caoeneyelsConflicting results WASHINGTON (AP) - Under intense pressure from Congress, the nation's biggest tobacco companies re- leased a top-secret list of chemicals in cigarettes yesterday. "We really don't know the health effects of smoking a cigarette with a very specific quantity of chemicals added in a specific combination," said Rep. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). "It's disingenuous at best to con- tend the absence or presence of certain chemicals means that cigarettes are safe," said Victor Zonana, spokesper- son for the Department of Health and Human Services. "We've been misunderstood, mis- represented and we want the American public to know there is not any misrep- resentation," said Robert Suber, a toxi- cologist for R.J. Reynolds, which spear- headed the unveiling. The release came one day before a congressional hearing on the content of cigarettes and whether the Food and Drug Administration should regulate them as drugs. Key to FDA's decision is proving whether cigarette companies manipu- late nicotine levels. Yesterday's list of additives is tobacco extract, which con- tains a small amount of nicotine. Suber contended the amount is too tiny to justify FDA action. Also yesterday, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) released a 1981 article written by a tobacco executive stating that companies specially blend tobacco to maintain high nicotine while reducing tar. The executive, Alexander Spears of Lorillard Tobacco Co., last month testified before Waxman's health subcommittee that companies don't do that, saying nicotine levels naturally drop when tar drops. "Once again tobacco industry rep- resentatives have not only withheld information, but they have misrepre- sented the truth," Waxman said. Tobacco is the biggest ingredient in cigarettes, and scientists have shown that tobacco itself and chemicals in cigarette smoke are lethal. The government estimates that 400,000 Americans die from cigarettes every year. There is growing uproar over a fed- eral law that makes companies list for the government the more than 700 ad- ditives that go into different brands. The law forces that list to be kept secret under penalty of jail. The list contained 599 additives used by domestic cigarette companies. Foreign companies use an additional 100 chemicals, which remain secret. Among the more common addi- tives: chocolate, wine and coconut oil. Government officials have said 13 cigarette additives aren't allowed in food. Domestic cigarettes contain only eight of those, and Reynolds contended they're not harmful in the trace amounts used. Among them: 0 Methoprene, an insecticide sprayed onto tobacco leaves to prevent beetle pupae from maturing. Reynolds said FDA allows methoprene to be used on dried fruits, but FDA officials couldn't confirm that Wednesday. Ammonia, which can be toxic but is allowed in food in certain forms. BOSTON (AP) - Wait. Clean up your plate. Mom's advice is still cor- rect: You really should eat your car- rots. The release of astudy casting doubt on the seemingly awesome powers of beta carotene has led to some under- standable confusion. The research found that not only did mega-doses of this vitamin found in carrots fail to protect smokers from lung cancer, it actually seemed to increase the risk. At DeLuca's Market on Boston's Beacon Hill, produce manager Paul Sousa was as puzzled as anyone. "This is something that's been good forpeople for so long. Then they change their story in midstream. It's hard to understand," he said. Not even the people who conducted the 10-year, $43 million study are sure what to make of it. But one thing seems clear: carrots, broccoli and other foods rich in beta carotene are surely good for you. And while vitamin pills are not provendto be harmful, the study pub- lished in yesterday's New England Jour- nal does nothing to support the exuber- ant claims made about them, either. "This is very specific to pills. All of the studies thatpreceded this thatlooked at foods showed no suggestion of harm," saidKaraSmigel, adietician and spokes- woman for the National Cancer Insti- tute.. "We are worried about headlines that say, 'Carrots Are Bad for You,"' she said. "That's exactly what we do not want people to hear from us." Inrecentyears, though, many people have turned to vitamin pills to boost their daily intake of beta carotene and other nutrients found in much smaller levels in a healthy diet. The Council for Responsible Nutri- tion, a vitamin maker trade group, says use of beta carotene pills has doubled in the past three years. Now about 5 per- cent of U.S. adults take the supple- ments. The latest study - though not con- clusive proof of harm - is certainly noteworthy. It is the first in a well-fed Western country to look at the long- term effects of high doses of beta caro- tene. In this project, 29,133 older male smokers who lived in Finland took beta carotene capsules, vitamin Eordummy pills for five to eight years. When it was done, the beta carotene users had 18 percent more lung cancer than did the others. It is possible that the finding was a statistical fluke, even though the odds of this were calculated to be one in 100. Furthermore, it could turn out that the results would be different in nonsmok- ers, or that somewhat lower doses could have an effect on other types of cancer. "When the study began, we wanted nothing more than to prevent cancer. It's a good example of the idea that science is not always highly predict- able," said the cancer institute's Dr. Demetrius Albanes, the study's princi- pal author. Many foods contain beta carotene, the vegetable form of vitamin A. It is especially common in deep yellow, orange and dark green vegetables and fruits, such as peaches, spinach and yams. Typically, Americans consume 2 or 3 milligrams of it daily. Until now, there has been no hint that beta carotene is harmful, either consumed in the relatively low amounts contained in food or when taken in capsule form. " - COUPON MUST BE PRESENTED THRU 4/30/94 1 1 /C20 pricei i OFF store wide1 1 1 1 Over 400 gifts and souvenirs about Ann Arbor, 1 the.State ofMichigan, and ofM i Go Blue" or "Michigan" t-shirts in 15 languages i I feeling t-shirts in 4 lang pges 1 1 Michigan Gourmet Gift Baskets and Foods 1 1 (Delivery and Shipping available) , 1 I *I 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 Main at Liberty Downtown Ann Arbor 1 1 Open. 7 days & Ovenings - 769-5151 1 Sale Valid only with presentation of coupon thru 4/30/94 Donald S. Lopez, Jr. Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies, Dept. of Asian Languages and Cultures Then Life of the DalaiLama(ls) A special background presentation in advance of the visit of the Dalai Lama Featuring a brief lecture, video, and Q&A on the history of the institution of the Dalai Lama and biographical information about His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, the current Dalai Lama of Tibet Presented twice Tuesday, April 19 at 4:39 p.m. Wednesday, April 20 at 7:30 p.m. in Angell Hall, Auditorium D Free and open to the public. Sponsored by LS&A. Rackham School of Graduate Studies & College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Welcome His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso the Fourteenth Dli L f Tibet to the University of Michigan " April 21-23,1994 call 998-6245 for more information The Dalai lama's visit is funded jointly by the University Wallenberg Endowment and the Warner-Lambert Corporation. EsL 1976 F n Spolstsar In Line Skates Rent 'em & Roll 'em Special Financing with proof of degree or commitment of graduation (Graduate students also eligible) and proof of job or commitment of future employment To apply for this special program, simply fill our the form on the right and bring it in. * proof of car insurance needed NEW '94 Acura Integra RS * previous credit history NOT required with air conditioning, dual Clean, Affordable Used Imports Arriving Daily- for College airc Graduate Financing air bags, power windows, Ask about or College Graduate Leasing Programs & more! I NEW'94 Hvundaii Qty- 11 QUALIFICATION FORM Name Address City State Zip I ,