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U.S. moves to
prop up dollar
Greenback falls to record low
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON - The United States intervened in
oreign currency markets yesterday to prop up the value
of the dollar after it hit a record low against the Japanese
yen and remained weak against the German mark.
The Federal Reserve - acting for itself and the
Treasury Department - bought dollars in exchange for
yen and marks, and Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen
issued a strong statement declaring the Clinton
administration's support for the dollar.
"Recent movements of the dollar are inconsistent with
e fundamentals of a strong investment-led recovery in
e United States and the greatly enhanced ability of U.S.
firms to compete around the world," Bentsen said. "Con-
tinuation of recent foreign-exchange trends would be
counterproductive for the United States and the world
economy."
Government officials are concerned about the dollar's
decline for two reasons:
n A falling dollar makes imported goods more expen-
sive and gives U.S. producers whose goods compete with
imports more room to raise their prices.
t n And a cheaper dollar lowers the value of foreign
nvestments in this country in terms of the owner's
currency. The prospect of such "currency" losses makes
overseas investors less willing to buy U.S. stocks and
bonds, which holds down stock prices and pushes up
interest rates.
Yesterday's dollar purchases, which came in several
waves and caught foreign-exchange traders by surprise,
caused the U.S. currency to rebound from its record low
of 96.08 yen to the dollar to 97.54. At the same time, the
llar rose from 1.4960 marks per dollar to 1.5143.
The success of the intervention initially helped both
the stock and bond markets, but by the end of the day
prices in both markets were off.
But in the absence of a sharp increase in interest rates
by the Federal Reserve - a path the Fed is unlikely to
follow - foreign-exchange experts were skeptical that
yesterday's intervention would do more than temporarily
See MONEY, Page 2
SEARCHING FOR LOVE
Police isolate
serial rapist's
fmngeqprits
By FRANK C. LEE
Daily Staff Reporter
The task force investigating a se-
rial rapist who allegedly has sexually
assaulted 12 women in the Ann Arbor
area and killed one has found a finger-
print from the crime scene of the
latest attack that may match the as-
sailant.
Police found a fingerprint found
on the Oct. 13 rape victim's posses-
sions, which was removed from the
crime scene. The fingerprint is being
compared with the fingerprints of
potential suspects. Police hope that
further prints can be developed from
that property at the Michigan State
Police Crime Laboratory.
Physical evidence collected in the
most recent rape has been sent to the
laboratory in Northville, Michigan,
where it is still being analyzed. DNA
testing of bodily fluids left on the
victim currently are being conducted
to confirm if there is physical evi-
dence connecting the Oct. 13 incident
to four other previous rapes.
Results, however, can take as long
as six to eight weeks before they are
available.
His last known victim was a 41-
year-old Ann Arbor woman who was
brutally beaten until she was uncon-
scious. She was raped near the city's
Community High School on Oct. 13
as she was walking home.
Police say the serial rapist's vic-
tims did not get a good look at their
assailant. The women were physi-
cally attacked, usually by blows to
their heads.
The task force is also working on
a composite drawing of the suspect. A
forensic artist from the Dearborn Po-
lice Department has volunteered his
services in an attempt to construct a
composite drawing of the serial rap-
ist.
In a separate case, the search for a
serial molester has generated about
50 calls to the University's Depart-
ment of Public Safety (DPS) as to his
whereabouts.
The calls came after yesterday's
release of a composite drawing of the
molester - a man believed to have
fondled four women in the city and
throughout Washtenaw county since
April 1990.
"I did talk to an officer from U-
M," said Ann Arbor Det. Dave Burke,
who is heading the investigation of
the serial molester. "I was told that
three or four people had seen some-
one matching that description work-
ing construction up there (on North
Campus) but I haven't confirmed
whether that's true or not."
"We have received some calls but
we cannot comment on other police
agencies' investigation," said DPS
Police Capt. Jim Smiley. "That is
being handled by the Ann Arbor Po-
lice Department. There are some calls
from the North Campus area. We have
one of our detectives who is working
on it."
The Ann Arbor Area Task Force
was formed in response to the rapes
that occurred within the city limits
since February 1992. Twenty-one in-
vestigators from four different police
age'ncies have been searching for the
attacker who has terrorized the Ann
Arbor community.
Police said that to date, they have
received tips on over 550 potential
suspects, 253 of whom have been
cleared.
The FBI now has joined forces
with the task force. Its Behavioral
Science Unit, along with the Michi-
gan State Police, is working on a
psychological profile to help capture
the - suspect.
The task force also has helped the
investigators working on the serial
molester.
"They were out tracking down a
few leads today," Burke said. "One of
the detectives from the Sheriff's De-
partment that has been working on
the task force has been helping me out
- organizing the tips that came in."
The composite drawing released
yesterday of the serial molester has
generated many leads.
"We're in the area of 50 to 60 tips
today that I'm organizing here," Burke
said. "We're still going through the
organizing process, calling people
back to get more details."
See MOLESTER, Page 2
JOE WESTRATE/Daily
A swan glides along the surface of the waters of the Huron River at Gallup park yesterday.
19ng1er to
By JONATHAN BERNDT
Daily Staff Reporter
President Clinton slid into office
in 1992, helped by the economic
trough his predecessor couldn't es-
cape. Now John Engler is trying to
ride a similar wave to re-election.
" In 1990, Engler campaigned on a
a of cutting taxes and the size
of state government. Now, he says
his policies have made Michigan a
business-friendly state and dropped
unemployment to its lowest level in
decades.
"There is no better indication of
the health of our economy and the
strength of our families than the num-
uts economy in bid for 2d term
-L.J
ber of men and women who go to
work every day," Engler said in Sep-
tember, after those numbers were
released.
But Howard Wolpe, the Demo-
cratic challenger, said Engler's poli-
cies will lead to lower wages, which
will hurt the rest of the economy.
"You do that, you begin lowering
the standard of living for all our
state," he told the Detroit Economic
Club Monday. "Somebody's got to
buy those products."
But average income in Michigan
is currently above the national aver-
age. During the recession of the early
1990s, however, it plummeted to the
bottom half, reinforcing the notion
that Michigan's economy is more
subject to the fluctuations of the busi-
ness cycle.
"In the short run, there's not a
whole lot the state can do," said Rob-
ert Kleine, the senior economist at
Public Sector Consultants, an inde-
pendent Lansing firm. "Most of what
affects it economically is dependent
on national and international factors."
This would be music to the Demo-
crats' ears, since they have claimed
Clinton's policies should get more
credit as the real force behind
Michigan's recovery.
After the boom of the 1980s,
Engler inherited a budget with a pro-
jected $1.8 million deficit from his
predecessor, Democrat James
Blanchard.
Even so, he has cut taxes 11 times
- the Single Business Tax alone five
times - saving taxpayers more than
$1.1 billion. He has also cut the size
of state government by almost 5,000
workers, trimmed the budget of every
See ECONOMY, Page 2
Vespite defeat, Pollack still craves public office . '
By ZACHARY M. RAIMI
Daily Staff Reporter
On the warm, muggy night of Aug.
2, 1994, Lana Pollack did not sleep.
Instead, she watched the results from
Michigan's primary election slowly
trickle in. One of six Democrats vy-
g for the U.S. senatorial nomina-
on, Pollack finished second to U.S.
Rep. Bob Carr, losing by less than
7,000 votes, out of more than 575,000
votes cast.
And with the loss, Pollack, a state
senator serving Washtenaw County
since 1982, began reflecting on her
career and making decisions about
her future.
Pollack has gained a loyal follow-
g among liberal Ann Arbor resi-
ents, and said she does not plan to
move permanently from the city. "Ann
Arbor is home," she said. "Michigan
is home."
With less than a week until a new
person is elected to fill her 18th Dis-
trict Senate seat, Pollack is undecided
about her future employment, which,
she says, "is the one thing I've given
the most thought to and feel the least
certain (about)."
Pollack said public policy remains
"compelling" and she has not ruled
out the possibility of running for pub-
lic office again. But she does not
know if an opportunity will arise. Her
interests, she said, lay in the U.S.
Senate.
"Should (current Michigan U.S.
Sen. Carl) Levin retire, I would cer-
tainly pause to consider the race, but
I frankly do not expect Carl Levin to
retire," Pollack said in an interview
last week.
"I'm not living my life as a dress
rehearsal for the next election," Pol-
lack added. Levin is up for re-election
in 1996.
Henry Pollack, a University geol-
ogy professor, said his wife is looking
toward the future. "There is life after
the primary. ... She's not one who
looks backward, but forward."
Pollack said she is considering
many job possibilities, including tak-
ing a position with a non-profit orga-
nization, seeking an appointed posi-
tion in a Democratic administration
in either Washington or Lansing, be-
coming involved with the media or
working for a small lobbying firm.
Born in Ludington, Mich., in 1942,
Pollack received a bachelor's degree
in political science in 1965 and a
teaching certificate in secondary edu-
cation in 1971 - both from the Uni-
versity.
She became politically active
during her time in Ann Arbor by
volunteering for campaigns. "I got
into politics gradually and acciden-
tally by volunteering," she said. "My
path to politics was very much
stamped by my time and my gen-
der." Like Pollack, many women
started careers in government ser-
vice.
Pollack chaired the Ann Arbor
Democratic Party for two years in
the mid-1970s and was elected trustee
to the Ann Arbor Board of Educa-
tion. In 1982, she was elected to the
state Senate and has served on many
subcommittees of the appropriations
See POLLACK, Page 2
'U' student
coalition
supports
local ems
By DANIEL JOHNSON
Daily Staff Reporter
In the shadow of Congress' "worst
environmental performance in 20
years," a coalition of University envi-
ronmental groups has sprung up to
endorse local and state candidates.
The Green Student Voting Block
(GSVB) is a non-partisan student coa-
lition endorsing pro-environmental
candidates at all levels of govern-
ment.
"Most voters are unaware of a
candidate's environmental stance
when they vote. GSVB was formed to
allow voters to make a more educated
choice when they step into the voting
booth," said Brent Plater, GSVB di-
rector.
The Block endorsed almost every
state Democratic candidate up for
election: Howard Wolpe for gover-
nor, Lynn Rivers for U.S. Represen-
tative, Liz Brater and Mary Schroer
for state House and David Stead for
Ann Arbor mayor.
For City Council. the Group en-
Pollack
75 Hindu students mark
IN-SIDE.
Diwali to welcome year
By MARIA KOVAC
Daily Staff Reporter
In India, Singapore, South Africa
and Stockwell Hall's Blue Lounge,
last night's lights marked the Indian
and Hindu New Year known as
Diwali.
The Hindu Students Council
ters strong.
Hinduism believes in one God
who is known to the people by many
names. Likewise, the celebration of
Diwali has many legends behind its
origin.
The day marks the victory of sev-
eral ancient lords over evil demons
First-year students will soon
have a better chance to move
into West Quad, The popular
residence hall will be
renovating two new houses
by 1996.
SPA RRS
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